Tag Archives: publishing tips

10 Inspiring Kite Tales Quotes from 2025

31 Wednesday Dec 2025

Posted by in Agent's Perspective, Author's Perspective, Community Corner, Editor's Perspective, Illustrator's Perspective, Tips and Tools

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Photo by Tairon Fernandez on Pexels.com

January is not just right around the corner—it’s tomorrow! But don’t panic. We still have time to make our resolutions or More/Less lists (see below and linked), and to dream big for 2026. Hopefully, revisiting some of the ideas and insights in Kite Tales’ 2025 posts through the quotes and article links below will provide a fresh sprinkle of information and inspiration to help you get started. Write on. Draw on. Read on!

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10 Inspiring Kite Tales Quotes from 2024

27 Friday Dec 2024

Posted by in Agent's Perspective, Author's Perspective, Community Corner, Editor's Perspective, Illustrator's Perspective, Tips and Tools

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Photo by Tairon Fernandez on Pexels.com

It’s been a roller coaster of a year. But that means there’ve been ups as well as downs. Joy, growth, progress, breakthroughs, satisfaction. So, take a moment to peruse our traditional year-end inspirational quotes column, which this year includes a baker’s dozen. We need ’em! And we have them, thanks to all of you who have been kind enough to share your time, expertise, images, thoughts, words—and reasons for huzzahs—with all of us through Kite Tales. Now, let’s hop in the time machine together and take a look back at some of the highlights.

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10 Inspiring Kite Tales Quotes from 2023

27 Wednesday Dec 2023

Posted by in Agent's Perspective, Author's Perspective, Community Corner, Editor's Perspective, Illustrator's Perspective, Tips and Tools

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The high-flying little girl in Laura Hunt’s illustration “Kite Night,” winner of this year’s SCBWI-L.A. Twitter Banner Contest, answered the question of whether it’s ever too late to follow your dreams.

Editing Kite Tales has its perks. One is being among the first to see, hear, and be able to use the many uplifting ideas expressed by the blog’s kidlit guests during the year. Another is being one of the first to look back at year’s end and take inspiration anew. Here are some of my favorite 2023 moments gathered up in KT’s traditional list of 10 inspiring quotes. (Plus some extra inspo via the images.) Scroll through. Click through. Catch a thermal current and be uplifted. Thank you to everyone who brought words, pictures, and stories to the blog this year. Thank you to our readers! May you continue to soar in 2024.

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Introducing … The Faculty for the 2023 SCBWI-L.A. Working Writers Retreat

06 Wednesday Sep 2023

Posted by in Agent's Perspective, Los Angeles, Tips and Tools, Tri-Regional News, Writers' Retreat

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Lucy Hamilburg, owner and agent at The Hamilburg Agency

The SCBWI-LA Working Writers Retreat returns on September 29-October 1. There are still some seats left for this popular in-person gathering that puts you in the company of kidlit agents or editors and writing colleagues with a serious commitment to their craft. Our fabulous faculty members are looking forward to it, and they’ve been kind enough to field some mix-and-match interview questions about themselves to help break the ice. Whether you’re attending this year or just curious, there’s plenty to discover in their words.

First up: Lucy Hamilburg, who is a literary agent based in Los Angeles. A former teacher with a goal of motivating young people to love books, she’s now an agent who works to create long-lasting relationships with her clients, editors, and publishers, to amplify diverse voices, and to inspire and sustain life-long readers. Heading the kidlit side of her agency, Lucy represents picture books, middle grade, and young adult fiction. Read on to get acquainted.

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Publishing BTS: Author Sara Hosey and Freelance Editor Christine Van Zandt Talk Process

16 Wednesday Aug 2023

Posted by in Author's Perspective, Editor's Perspective, Tips and Tools

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Sara Hosey, author of Iphigenia Murphy, Imagining Elsewhere, and Summer People

The editorial process is a give-and-take experience between two equal, essential partners. Kite Tales listens in as YA author Sara Hosey and freelance editor Christine Van Zandt discuss working together to bring a book they felt was both crowd-pleasing and socially significant to market. Summer People, published by CamCat Books and released August 8, 2023, tells the story of seventeen year-old Christmas Miller. Over the course of a summer, as Christmas tries to navigate sudden friction in her closest friendship and fathom a violent attack on another of her friends, she learns that the ADHD she’d thought was a liability is actually a superpower. Here are Sara’s and Christine’s reflections on the path to publication. – KT

Summer People by Sara Hosey, published by CamCat Books, August 2023
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Launching a Debut Book in the Middle of a Pandemic–Or, This Isn’t Really Happening, Is It?

15 Wednesday Jul 2020

Posted by in Author's Perspective, Central Coast

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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:

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Interview with HarperCollins Senior Editor, Maria Barbo

13 Friday Mar 2020

Posted by in Writers Days

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Unfortunately, as you may have heard, SCBWI L.A.’s 2020 Writers Day has been postponed due to the Coronavirus. Please check your emails for the announcement which provides more details. Despite this news, the below interview (unedited from the original) provides fantastic information – so, please, read on! 

MARIA BARBO (Senior Editor at HarperCollins) acquires high-concept series and standalones for young readers of all ages—focusing mostly on middle grade and select picture books, chapter books, and graphic novels. She is particularly interested in projects with authentic voices, strong hooks, and fresh perspectives that use humor, magic, or illustrations to help young readers learn to navigate their world. She works with award-winning and bestselling authors such as Natalie Lloyd, Jim Benton, and Lisa Greenwald. Prior to joining Harper, Maria worked at Scholastic Inc, earned an MFA in painting, and lived in Spain via the Fulbright Program. When she’s not working, you can find her playing soccer or practicing her handstands.

CHRISTINE VAN ZANDT: Welcome to Kite Tales! We’re excited to have you as a Keynote Speaker at SCBWI L.A.’s 2020 Writers Day event. Your topic, “It’s TOTALLY Personal: Character Motivation is Everything” sounds amazing, as does the breakout session, “Master the Middle of Your Novel.” Does character motivation differ in picture book, middle grade, or YA?

MARIA BARBO: Thank you, Christine. I’m excited to meet everyone in L.A. I’d say the basic guiding principle across all age levels is that your main character’s motivations, their deepest desire, is what drives the plot forward. What do they want? Why do they want it? And which of their personality traits is going to get in their way? Continue reading →