09 Wednesday Sep 2020
When you dream something and envision it, goals drive you onwards.
At the encouragement of my childhood friend, I became an SCBWI member and attended the 2013 Los Angeles summer conference. Although I wrote marketing copy or non-fiction often at work, and had developed stories and poems for fun, I never considered myself a writer. In my misbelief, only English majors became authors. That was not me. I could not write like them.
Regardless, I attended the 2013 SCBWI Summer Conference.
02 Wednesday Sep 2020
Posted in Ask an Editor
Tags
“Ask an Editor” is a forum wherein SCBWI members submit questions that are answered as part of our quarterly Kite Tales blog.
Dear Christine – With all that’s going on in the world, should I be querying? Thanks.
—Lynn, Los Angeles
Dear Lynn – Query, just be sure to check the agency’s or publisher’s website first. If they are closed to submissions, it should state that.
26 Wednesday Aug 2020
Posted in Author's Perspective, Community Corner
At the start of quarantine, I checked in with my writer friends. All of them reported they simply couldn’t write or open a book. They berated themselves, something painfully easy for writers. The anguish of loss and uncertainty during this global pandemic was taking a toll on their creativity. Feeling no different, I was terrified of even glancing at my half-baked manuscript. I feared it would go unfinished.
I didn’t want that to happen, so I took a leap.
Continue reading19 Wednesday Aug 2020
Posted in Author's Perspective, Tips and Tools
Tags
book option, Colleen McAllister, Hollywood, Maddie Breeland, manuscript option, Nathan Schram, option, tips
by Colleen McAllister
Hollywood executives are on the prowl for the book or series that could become their next franchise long before a manuscript is published. But what are they looking for and how do they find it?
We’ll hear from Nathan Schram, Senior Manager of Animation Development at Nickelodeon, and Maddie Breeland, Development Executive in charge of developing material for Fox, Disney and most recently Anvil Pictures, about how they find your book.
COLLEEN MCALLISTER: What does the process look like as far as how you look for book manuscripts to option?
Continue reading12 Wednesday Aug 2020
Posted in Great News!
SCBWI loves celebrating our members’ successes and noteworthy news, and there are many! Read on to find out who’s got something to shout about. Digital high-fives welcome in the comments!
Continue reading05 Wednesday Aug 2020
Posted in Critique Day
by W. R. Miller
Like the rest of the world in 2020, COVID-19 had crippled SCBWI events. No longer could we meet, and network, and learn at various LitMingles and conventions.
Or could we? Thanks to the internet, we could—and did.
29 Wednesday Jul 2020
Posted in Contests & Grants, SAG
By Karol Ruth Silverstein, SCBWI-L.A. Contest Coordinator
Though the SCBWI-Los Angeles isn’t able to schedule any in-person events for the remainder of 2020 due to the pandemic, the Sue Alexander Grant competition is a constant we felt was important to keep in place.
Continue reading22 Wednesday Jul 2020
Posted in Writers Days
In this year’s SCBWI-L.A. Twitter Banner Contest, illustrators were asked to submit their most creative response to our prompt: In the Wild. The winning contestant’s artwork is featured on the Los Angeles Region SCBWI Twitter Profile until the next contest, with a feature article published here on Kite Tales.
We’re excited to announce illustrator and author Nancy Whitesides won! Nancy is an author and self-taught illustrator born and raised in the Philippines. Her middle-grade fantasy novel won first runner-up at the 2016 SCBWI-L.A. Writer’s Day. She loves nature and has participated in environmental causes for more than ten years.
Read on to learn more about Nancy, her tips and tools, and her own illustration prompt for anyone looking for some inspiration.
Continue reading15 Wednesday Jul 2020
Posted in Author's Perspective, Central Coast
by Claire Annette Noland
The announcement was posted in Publisher’s Weekly. The cover was revealed. The date was set and events were scheduled. My debut picture book was ready to launch.
Or was it?
Evie’s Field Day: More Than One Way to Win, published by Cardinal Rule Press and illustrated by Alicia Teba, features a competitive girl set on winning her school’s field day events. The book’s release was scheduled to coincide with end-of-the-school-year activities. In March, when the pandemic caused us to shelter at home, we thought it would soon be over. Then reality set in. Schools, bookstores, and parks closed. Suddenly, my calendar was empty. But the book was being released and I wasn’t going to give up on my dream of it reaching children. It was time to make a new plan:
Continue reading08 Wednesday Jul 2020
Posted in Toot Your Horn!
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!
Continue reading
