12 Wednesday May 2021
Posted in Toot Your Horn!
Tags
biography, middle grade, picture book, published, publishing, SCBWI community, SCBWI members, young adult
SCBWI members’ publishing news is something to celebrate here at Kite Tales! Check out whose book is coming to a platform near you or around the world. Horn-tooting and digital hi-fives welcome in the comments!
05 Wednesday May 2021
Posted in Ask an Editor
“Ask an Editor” is a forum wherein SCBWI members submit questions that are answered as part of our quarterly Kite Tales blog.
Hello Christine – Does traditional publication require an agent? Thanks.
—Jay, Glendale
Hello Jay – Traditional publication often happens via an agent, but an agent is not required.
Writers who seek traditional publication typically query literary agents. Once they secure an agent’s representation, that agent will submit the writer’s manuscript to publishers.
However, some publishers will connect directly with authors. For example, I pitched my children’s nonfiction picture book idea on a Twitter pitch event called #PitMad. The children’s editor at a midsize publisher contacted me and my book was published without an agent.
30 Friday Apr 2021
Posted in Contests & Grants, SAG, Writers' Retreat
Tags
call for submission, contest, Nicholas Ponticello, Nick Ponticello, SAG award, submissions, Sue Alexander Grant, Working Writer's Retreat
by Brenda Scott Royce
The 2021 Sue Alexander Grant contest opens today, offering one SCBWI-L.A. writer a guaranteed spot and free tuition to the Working Writers Retreat (to be held virtually this year on October 9). Winning a golden ticket to this always popular event is not the only reason to enter. Since COVID-19 sidelined last year’s event, 2020 winner Nicholas Ponticello will be among the attendees at the 2021 virtual retreat. But winning the prestigious prize has already impacted his career:
Continue reading28 Wednesday Apr 2021
Posted in Author's Perspective, Central Coast, Tri-Regional News
Tags
Biomimicry, CenCal, Eiji Nakatsu, interview, Kristen Nordstrom, Mimic Makers, nonfiction, Paul Boston, STEAM, STEM
by Ann Rousseau Smith, SCBWI CenCal News Liaison
Kristen Nordstrom is the debut STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) author of Mimic Makers: Biomimicry Inventors Inspired by Nature, illustrated by Paul Boston (Charlesbridge Publishing, July 2021). The picture book profiles ten real-life scientists, engineers, and designers who copy nature to create amazing new technology. Thank you, Mother Nature!
Kristen teaches biomimicry and other topics to elementary-school students in a gifted science program, and is a member of NSTA, the National Science Teaching Association. She has written innovative curriculum, and has been honored with two writing awards from SCBWI for outstanding STEM manuscripts. Kristen took a moment from her busy schedule to answer some questions for the Kite Tales blog.
Continue reading21 Wednesday Apr 2021
Posted in Contests & Grants, Mentorship Contest
Tags
contests, Edward Underhill, Joseph Taylor, mentorship, narrative nonfiction, Nicole Maggi, nonfiction, writing
by Edward Underhill
Editor’s update (6/1/21): The deadline for the SCBWI-L.A. 2021 Mentorship Contest has been extended to June 18, 2021! Get your entries in ASAP!
In March 2020, my partner had just moved her work home for the foreseeable future, my day job was suddenly paused while everyone scrambled to set up remote work, and Los Angeles was entering lockdown. With the roads suddenly quiet outside and more time on my hands, I decided to take a risk and submit my newly finished YA novel for the SCBWI-L.A. Mentorship Contest with mentor Nicole Maggi.
14 Wednesday Apr 2021
Posted in Author's Perspective, Tips and Tools
Tags
Amy Rubinate, audiobook publishing, Audiobooks, Erin Bennett, Ideal Audiobooks, Live Oak Media, Mosaic Audio, picture books, Ron Butler, writing tips
by Amy Rubinate
Many authors use audiobooks to enhance their readership and increase sales. To confirm why a writer would want to ensure that their book is made into an audiobook, I went straight to the source. I asked the executive director of the Audiobook Publishers Association (APA) Michele Cobb for her thoughts. She replied, “By giving the consumer all the format options, you maximize their ability to connect with your title. With eight years of double-digit growth, audiobooks have proven their value again and again.”
07 Wednesday Apr 2021
Posted in #KTWriteOn
Welcome to the Kite Tales Writing Challenge: #KTWriteOn. Each writing challenge is crafted by a kid-lit publishing professional to help spark ideas, renew creative energy, and get your work moving out into the world.
This exercise was created by Elana K. Arnold, author of critically acclaimed and award-winning young adult novels and children’s books, including the Printz Honor winner Damsel, the National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of, and Global Read Aloud selection A Boy Called Bat and its sequels. Elana teaches in Hamline University’s MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program and lives in Southern California with her family and menagerie of pets. Today she’s challenging us to revise our work by first taking a look at what we believe about ourselves.
31 Wednesday Mar 2021
Posted in Author's Perspective, Tips and Tools
Tags
alternate reality, Black, Craig S. Phillips, fantasy, Harold Hayes Jr., humor, Kingston and the Magician's Lost and Found, magician, middle grade, mystery, Rucker Moses
Rucker Moses is the pen name of Los Angeles authors Craig S. Phillips and Harold Hayes Jr. Together, they have been nominated for three Emmys for writing in a children’s program. Along with Theo Gangi, Rucker Moses are co-authors of the middle grade book Kingston and the Magician’s Lost and Found (book one of two, Penguin, February 2021).
CHRISTINE VAN ZANDT: Welcome to Kite Tales! Your new book has three authors. Wow! How did two of you work together, and then how did your Rucker Moses portion coordinate with the sections Theo Gangi wrote?
24 Wednesday Mar 2021
Posted in #KTChat, Tips and Tools
Tags
#KTChat, branding, contests, promotions, social media, Twitter
by Jean Lizotte Grabow, SCBWI-L.A. Social Media Manager
Social Media is an opportunity for us as writers and artists to become part of the larger publishing community, create a brand for ourselves, and promote our work.
Today we are focusing on Twitter as a tool for all book creators, particularly writers, to support our careers. The platform has an amazing publishing community and many opportunities to participate, including our very own SCBWI-L.A. Kite Tales #KTChat contest (more on this below).
Here are some tips for maximizing your time on Twitter to enhance your writing life.
17 Wednesday Mar 2021
Posted in #KTChat, Author's Perspective, PAL
by Kitty Felde
Editor’s Note: Host of the award-winning Book Club for Kids podcast Kitty Felde adapted her middle grade novel Welcome to Washington Fina Mendoza to a podcast. The second book in her Fina Mendoza Mysteries series will be out later this year in the summer and she will be available to chat with you on Twitter on Friday, March 26, 2021, from 12PM to 1PM (Pacific Time).
Keep on reading to learn the benefits of adapting your book to a podcast, and some of her tips and tricks for when you do…
Podcasts are everywhere — a record 1.8 million podcasts, according to Edison Research. So why not turn your book into a podcast?
I’m not talking about an audiobook where one actor reads your manuscript word for word. I’m talking about an audio play, like an old-time radio drama, that takes your readers on a literary journey through their ears.
Kite Tales 