14 Wednesday Jun 2023
Posted in Community Corner, Great News!, Toot Your Horn!
Be heard.
Whether you’re a PAL member, independently published, or pre-published, Kite Tales wants your stories about your experiences in kid lit. Writers, illustrators, translators, editors, publishers, agents, teachers, librarians, and more welcome!
Continue reading29 Wednesday Jun 2022
Posted in Community Corner, Great News!, Toot Your Horn!
Have a topic you’d like to share with your fellow kidlit community? Want to share your process and inspire other writers or illustrators? Or maybe you have a list of incredible authors you’d like to interview but no idea where you can publish it? Let Kite Tales be your outlet for creative community and discussion!
Continue reading16 Wednesday Jun 2021
Posted in Community Corner, Great News!, Toot Your Horn!
Have a topic you’d like to share with your fellow kidlit community? Want to share your process and inspire other writers or illustrators? Or maybe you have a list of incredible authors you’d like to interview but no idea where you can publish it? Let Kite Tales be your outlet for creative community and discussion!
Continue reading04 Wednesday Dec 2019
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 Editor – I’m getting ready to query my book for the first time and am confused. Do I query an agent or a publisher?
—Jackson, Los Angeles
Dear Jackson – Congratulations on having finished a manuscript! To pursue traditional publication, a writer “queries” (sends a query letter to) a literary agent or a book publisher. At a publishing house, it may be the acquisitions editor’s job to find new talent so, sometimes, you will hear a writer saying they “queried an editor”—this is essentially the same as querying the publisher. Whether you choose to query an agent or publisher, check online submissions specifications to see whether they are accepting queries and, if they are, how to do so. Continue reading
18 Wednesday Jul 2018
Posted in Central Coast, Tri-Regional News, Writers Days
Tags
agents, Allison Moore, Andrea Loney, Antoinette Portis, Carol Heyer, editors, erry Pierce, Hannah Mann, Happy LaShelle, Lorin Oberweger, Lynn Becker, Maria Middleton, Mathew Rivera, Molly Ruttan, Sarah Jane Abbott, SCBWI events
By Ann Rousseau Smith, SCBWI CenCal News Liaison
SCBWI CenCal ArtWorks Re-Cap
By Laura-Susan Thomas, CenCal Illustrator Coordinator
Our amazing and talented faculty this year at ArtWorks were Maria Middleton, Art Director for Random House Children’s Books, and Antoinette Portis, author-illustrator of Not A Box, an ALA Geisel Honor book, and Not a Stick, one of the New York Times Ten Best Illustrated Books of the Year. Maria Middleton kicked off the day with lots of creative energy, informing us how a middle grade cover gets created, coming up with unique characters and world building, and including a live drawing exercise for all our illustrator attendees. Antoinette inspired us all to get creative, explore, find and work out those perfect picture book images and storytelling. Continue reading
12 Wednesday Oct 2016
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 Editor – Word count requirements confuse me. Should I try to reach a certain number before I submit my novel? Does it really matter? —Rob, Studio City
Dear Rob – An ideal reference for word count is SCBWI’s annual publication, The Book: The Essential Guide to Publishing for Children, available to SCBWI members at https://www.scbwi.org/online-resources/the-book/. The printed version is a bargain at $6.25 plus shipping, or download the PDF for free. Continue reading
16 Friday Oct 2015
Posted in Author's Perspective, Editor's Perspective
Tags
agents, authors, Chuck Sambuchino, editors, queries, query letters, reference guides, synopsis, word count, writing tips
GIVEAWAY: We’re giving away one copy of the newly-released Writers Digest 2016 Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market. We enjoy reading your comments! Therefore, on October 30, 2015, one person who has commented (left a reply) attached to this post will randomly be selected for this fabulous prize.
I met up with Chuck Sambuchino on October 10th at the Writing Conference of Los Angeles, where he was the featured speaker. With humor and enthusiasm, 
Chuck provided current marketplace insight and information. The breadth and depth of his presentations clearly revealed his expertise as a successful writer and editor for Writer’s Digest publications and as an author of his own two books. Read on for Chuck’s tips on reference guides, query letters, agents, writing a synopsis, word count—and clown attacks.
Kite Tales 