KidzTales - KIDLIT AND MORE!

FREE TRAINING!

4/19/2021

This is posted with Brooke's permission.

"I received the BEST news this weekend!
My picture book, This is My Castle, just received the Independent Book Publishers Award as the distinguished favorite for preschoolers.
️
While my books have received awards before, I'm always so humbled every time I see the email come in. It wasn't very long ago that my picture book manuscripts weren't ready to publish.

So how can you go from just okay writing to award-winning? You start by avoiding the 5 misconceptions new writers make about children's books.

I'll teach you what they are tomorrow during a live webinar at 11am CST. Sign-up for the free training here.
During the webinar, we'll talk about:

What ideas qualify as children's books and what ones don't.
The story concepts you must master before you start writing your first draft
How to know when you have a story worth publishing and what your role as the author is.

Plus, you'll receive a free workbook to follow along so you can take action with your own story right away. I'm anticipating a full house so come early.

Save your seat here.

See you then!
XOXO - Brooke

PS - The webinar will be recorded so even if you can't join me live, still be sure to sign-up! It's going to be a game-changer for you as a children's book writer and I expect to see A LOT of lightbulbs click, so don't miss this one."

The La Viness Short Story Contest

4/13/2021

I found a new contest that I hope you'll enjoy! It's the annual La Viness Short Story Contest. It works like this. The creator gives you two words to give you an idea for the story. In this case, it's butter and fly. You can combine 'butter' and 'fly' (butterfly) or keep them separate. Let your imagination go wild and think outside of the box. Good luck! Info about the contest follows.

THIRD ANNUAL
La Viness Short Story Writing Contest
2021Hosted by Renee' La Viness.
.
SUBJECT

Butter and Fly do not have to be the focal
point(s) of the story, but they should be
so important that the story would not
make sense without them.
USAGE: As one word (BUTTERFLY) or two separate words (BUTTER and FLY)
Any type of BUTTER is acceptable: milk butter, peanut butter, almond butter, body butter, engine butter, butterfly, etc.. Also, any type of FLY is acceptable: a fly, butterfly, dragonfly, or other item with the word FLY in its name; or the story might require an airplane, helicopter, drone, bird, hot air ballon, sports balls, kites, fairies, ghosts, knives, arrows, or other flying objects.
   1st Place - $100
2nd Place - $75
3rd Place - $50
Up to three Judges' Choice
Up to three Honorable Mention
For more information about awards, click here.
      SUBMISSION DATES
E-mail submissions will be
accepted from July 1, 2021 until
11:59 PM (CDT) on August 31st, 2021.
.ENTRY FEE
$10.00 USD for up to two stories per author.
Multiple entries allowed.
.WINNERS
Winners will be announced and
awards/certificates will be mailed
on or before December 5th, 2021.
First Place will also be listed here.
GUIDELINES
Fiction or Nonfiction
Any subject / Any genre
(No erotica, gore, or poetry.)
2000 word limit, not including title
Must be a complete story. (Beginning, middle, end.)
All entries must be UNPUBLISHED* at time of submission.
.
ANONYMOUS SUBMISSION RULES
No identifying author information
allowed on the story pages.
.
   FORMATTING
Entries should be written in American English.
Font: size 12, easy to read, use curly quotes.
Double-spaced.
One inch margins.
No special "front page only" formatting is required.
Top right of every page: Title / page #
EXAMPLE: The Last Tadpole / 1
   COVER PAGES
Each story should have a separate cover
page with the following information:
Author Name
Mailing Address
City, State Zip Code
Phone
Email Address
Story Title
Fiction / Nonfiction
# of words in story
First full line of story

Polish your story with this check list:
Story Checks
.
Questions about the contest?
Email Renee' at LSSWC@jespiddlin.com
DO NOT mention details about your story or title.
.
* UNPUBLISHED
Not published in a book, ebook, audio, website, mass email, or other format that is publicly shared, including online. (This does not include items shared for critique in private writing groups. In fact, we encourage critique before submission.)
.

AWARDS INFO
RULES/REGULATIONS
PREVIOUS WINNERS
SUBMIT NOW

.

.

JesPiddlin - copyright 2021.

PROMOTING YOUR WEBSITE

4/5/2021

Okay, now you’ve built your website. YAY! It was quite a job getting it just the way you want it, getting the right feel in it, along with letting it show the world that you’re a professional. Now what? It’s up, it’s published, but who’s going to see those videos much less read your brilliant words? Just how do you promote your website? I ran into this problem myself and I’ve found a few ways to do this.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Visit Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, StumbleUpon, YouTube, MeWe, and any other social media site you visit regularly. Create a post saying something like, “Hey, I’ve just built a website. Come check it out and tell me what you think!” Then add your URL or link.

I did this on Facebook. I put it on my wall, my announcement and link traveled down my newsfeed, and went out to all my friends. Who knows where it went from there. I also shared this announcement to any applicable Facebook group I’m in. Make sure the group will accept announcements, announcements for blog posts or articles first.

I also did this on Twitter. I changed my announcement a bit to fit their 200 character limit and added appropriate hashtags. The hashtags I put in my announcement were things like #children’swriting, #debhockenberry, #article, and #links. Don’t forget to include your link too. But remember, your announcement, hashtags, and link have to stay in the 200 character limit.

Pinterest is a great way to do this. You can create boards that link to your website. Each time you add new content, pin it and put it on the appropriate board. It will automatically link back to your website and people will notice.

You can use all of the other social networks in the same fashion.

YOUR EMAIL SIGNATURE
I’m supposing you have your email signature made out. If you don’t, it’s in the settings area of your email program. In your signature you’re allowed several lines to put your information. I’ll use myself as an example here. You can have something like this:

Deb Hockenberry, Children’s Author
Where Can We Have The Party? http://www.amazon.com/dp/1537077120 <- List your book here. If you have more than one you can list them one under the other.
KidzTales: http://kidztales.net <-Here’s your website and it’s link.

Because of your email signature, everyone that you email will know about your books and website including where they’re at. Hey, I’ve had people visit this website from the email link!

YOUR OWN WEBSITE
That’s right. Your own website can help you get the word out that it’s there! You see all those social media icons on the left side of your monitor on KidzTales? Click them and fill in your information for that site. When someone reads or views your content and is impressed, they click these buttons and information goes out. Believe me, this does happen. It’s happened to me more than once!

GUEST BLOGGING
That’s right. Guest blogging. When someone puts out the call for anyone to be a guest blogger on their blog, jump at it!

Ask to have your website link below where the blogger puts “by guest blogger, “Your Name,” ask to have your website link put under your name. When the blog owner’s readers read your informative article, they’ll visit your website to see what other information you have to offer them. And all because you asked the blog owner to include your website link.

COMMENTING ON OTHER’S BLOGS
When commenting after reading another’s blog post, don’t just say things like, “nice post,” or “I can relate to everything you say.” Add something useful to the subject or expand on something the blogger touched on. At the end of your comment, add your link. Others will read your words of wisdom and wonder what else you have to say. They’ll see your link and visit. This does work!

SEARCH ENGINES
There are a few search engines that will let you list your site for free. You will want to have a few good keywords of exactly what you have to offer on your site. People who want to find a (example) children’s writing website will put in the search bar “children’s website.” For your convenience I’ve included a few of the most popular search engines and the pages where you can list you website. We’ll start with the most popular search engine.
Google- http://www.google.com/submityourcontent/website-owner/
Bing- http://www.bing.com/toolbox/webmaster/
Sign in with your Microsoft account. If you don’t have one, it’s free. Just go to http://www.hotmail.com.
Yahoo – That just took me to Bing who, I suppose, has control of Yahoo search.

If you decide to submit your search to other search engines, always read the privacy notices and the terms of services! Sometimes these are just called legal terms.

HOW TO EASILY CREATE A WEBSITE YOURSELF

3/29/2021

Guest Post by Brooke Van Sickle-Journey to Kidlit

In today's world, you need a website. Especially if you have a book coming out! Your website is a landing page that lets readers know who you are, what they can expect from you, and where they can buy your book.
But it doesn't have to be a frustrating experience for you. Authors can create their own websites without becoming expert coders or super technicians. Here are three steps you need to take in order to get started.
How to Easily Create an Author Website Yourself:Today, there are a TON of website builders out there. Some popular builders are free sites like Wix and Wordpress. However, if you can afford to spend a little extra, I'd highly recommend you move past the free builders in order to have 100% control over your site’s content.
To do that you'll need these three things:
1. A Domain Name (About $10-$15)Before you can create an author website, you will need a domain name. This is the URL that people will use to find you. A lot of authors use their full names, but it's not a requirement. Just make sure it's something easy to remember and spell, and that it doesn't have any dashes.
Once you know what name you'd like to use, go to GoDaddy.com, or another domain provider, to make sure it's available. If it is, you’ll want to purchase it then find a place to host it. (Your host could be the same place you purchase your domain through or an outside source.)
2. A Hosting Account (Anywhere from $5/mth - $200 for the year.)A hosting company is the place where your website lives. They make sure that your site speed is high and everything loads correctly. You can also get email accounts with your hosting that are associated with your URL so you look extra fancy on your business cards. 💁‍♀️
There are quite a few hosting companies around, like Bluehost, GoDaddy, A2, etc. But out of all of them, I recommend using SiteGround. They have AMAZING customer service, awesome load times, and will help you set up your Wordpress account for free. Plus, you get a FREE SSL which is the https at the beginning of your URL, which is great for search engine optimization and having a secure site.
3. A Theme that Works for You (A one-time purchase between $0-$150)Finally, you need to purchase a theme. Your theme is what your website will look like to the outside world. There are so many beautiful themes that people have made that you don't have to worry about coding or writing HTML to make changes. Instead, search for what you want your site to look like.
When considering a look for your author’s website, I suggest you focus on clean lines and lots of white space. This will make your design look modern and fresh, as well as, allow people to find things easily.
Those are the 3 Steps! Once you’ve finished, you’ll build the website that’s perfect for you.
Now that you have purchased your theme, you will want to install it and start to add all the pages that are important for your specific website. The number of pages you have on your site will vary depending on everything you want to offer as an author. However, every author will need a home page, about the author page, and a page for the books you’ve written.
That’s the bare minimum, but I’d also suggest adding these pages:

Contact me -- to add people to your email list and can link to social accounts
Book a Visit -- for speaking gigs and school visits
Blog -- if you want to keep up the writing, it’s nice to have a blog for tips, things about you/your life, and how your book journey is going, etc.

____________________________
That’s it! You’re well on your way to creating an awesome website. Have fun creating and be sure to share with your family and friends after you’ve hit publish.

Author Bio:
Brooke Van Sickle is the CEO & Founder of Journey to Kidlit - the best online resource to learn how to write and publish a children’s book. Her books have received honors like the Moonbeam Children's Award, Purple Dragonfly, and Mom's Choice for honoring excellence in children's books. You can learn more about her on her website www.journeytokidlit.com.
Plus, if you’re ready to get started writing your own children’s book, you can download Brooke’s children’s book template for FREE! Download your template here. Just Brooke’s way of saying thank you and a way to help you with your writing journey.

Where to Start? Look No Further.

12/28/2020

CInstitue

Hi! How was your Christmas, Hanakkah, Kwanzaa or the holiday that you celebrate? For me, that would be Christmas and mine was great. Because of Covid-19, it was quiet but nice.

Usually, my family and myself gather at my niece's house but Covid made us celebrate differently this year. I suppose many of us had to do 'different' this year. What changed for you?

Enough about me and how my Christmas was. Let's get back to the business of writing! Wait. Could it be that you want to write for children but you don't know where to start? Look no further, I'm here to help.

Here are some links (some pricey and some very reasonable) that will help you down that bumpy road to publishing. These links are strictly for writing for children.

Writing Courses From Kidlit 411
Children's Book Insider
Institute of Children's Literature
Children's Book Academy

Here are some workshops from the folks at Highlights that might help you out. Just follow the link that's in blue.

If you've found anymore helpful courses, please drop me a line in the comments section and tell me about them. I'll be sure to share your info on this site!

What Are These Things You Speak Of?

12/21/2020

We have new courses from the folks at Highlights! These courses show you how to write picture books, middle grade books, and novels for young adults. I've taken courses from a couple of these instructors and I can't speak highly enough about them. You'll just love it (and have fun in the process)!

To get to the list, just follow this link. https://mailchi.mp/highlightsfoundation/online-courses-jan-mar-2021?e=53200b90d9

... And the Controversy Continues

11/22/2020

Like so many others, I self-published 'Where Can We Have The Party?'. Will I do it again? You bet! You have complete control when you self-publish. This is something I wouldn't trade! Now that I know a bit more about marketing, I'd do it a bit differently. What would I do you ask? I'd create ads on Facebook, Amazon, Book Bub, and any other book marketing sites where you can create ads.

I've found a video downplaying placing an ad on Amazon. Why? You don't get that passive money unless you really work at it. I've met other authors who make a living by making Amazon ads for their books. So, I guess if you really work at it, you can increase your visibility and get sales. We all know sales=money.

Anyway, this video makes 5 points about it. To be fair, I'm posting not only this video that I spoke of, but following that I'll post a video by the same person saying the opposite thing. I really enjoy the person who created these. I think he has a lot of insight.

Keyword Tools

8/31/2020

If you've ever self-published over Amazon's KDP and set up an ad, you know that the struggle is real for finding keywords for these ads! The following video addresses finding the best keyword tools. I hope you enjoy this video. As always, if there's any subject you would like to see me tackle, please tell me through the contact page! In the meantime, enjoy!

EXCITING NEWS!

8/24/2020

I'm so excited! I was checking my email the other day and found a letter from The Highlights Foundation. They have several courses for writing for children of different ages and I really want to share this with you. I think I'm going to invest in one of these myself! Check these links out!

*FILLING THE WRITER'S TOOLBOX WITH EDITOR EMMA DRYDEN, ONLINE
WORKSHOP 2020
*FIND YOUR POETRY MUSE: A SEVEN WEEK CREATIVE JOURNEY, ONLINE COURSE 2020
PICTURE BOOK REVISION-MINI ONLINE COURSE: A TWO-PACK BUNDLE 2020
*CREATING AN IMAGE SYSTEM THAT WORKS FOR YOUR VERSE NOVEL ONLINE COURSE 2020
*LATINX WRITERS: A VIRTUAL SYMPOSIUM 2020
*SO YOU WANT TO BE AN AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR? ONLINE COURSE SEPT-NOV 2020
*GETTING YOUR MIDDLE GRADE OR YOUNG ADULT *NOVEL UNSTUCK: AN ON DEMAND ONLINE WORKSHOP
*MEDITATIONS FOR WRITERS & ILLUSTRATORS: AN ON DEMAND COURSE

JUST ANOTHER VICTIM OF COVID-19

7/6/2020

How have you been faring through the quarantine? Has much changed for you? Have your writing habits changed? For me, my writing came to a screeching halt. I developed writer's block.

This was the perfect chance to give myself more outlets for my writing but I couldn't think of anything creative to write at all. I should have kept a journal but did I? Nope. I should blogged about it. Did I? HA! I guess you've noticed that I haven't posted anything at all lately. That's why. I just didn't hit a brick wall, like you do with a regular case of writer's block. I lost my desire to write. As of today, my writing is s-l-o-w-y coming back, but I'm not 100% yet.

My friend, Marilyn L. Rice, from England, developed a great way to deal with the quarantine. She posts a weekly diary of exactly what she does during each day. I really should've followed her lead. As I said, I'm far from being 100% yet.

This raised a question that I posed to myself. Do I treat this as an ordinary case of writer's block? I don't think so since it wasn't caused by an ordinary situation. I think my writing was a victim of Covid-19. But it's not going to be a victim that stays down. Oh, no! I will regain what I lost! Would you believe it? Facebook has helped me. Yes, Facebook!

I found out on Facebook that other authors lost the desire to write, although they've since gotten it back. A few of them have even published unfinished manuscripts. Good for them! I got my determination going and thought, "If they can do it, I can do it." Others, like myself, are still on the mend.

I remembered today that years ago I'd written an article on writer's block. I think this is the perfect time to re-visit that article. I hope it'll help some of you as well as myself. So, I'll go find that article, brush it off, and post it here.

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WHAT TO DO ABOUT WRITERS BLOCK

What is writer's block? Wikipedia defines writer's block as a condition primarily associated with writing, where an author loses the ability to produce more work or experiences creative slowdown. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writer%27s_block. You never know how long your block is going to last. It's been known to clear up in a few hours and last a few months.

Could this also be called the writer's struggle since it happens to everyone who has chosen the writing path? Yes.

A writer's struggle sounds much more realistic since when it strikes, it really is a real struggle to get something written or get a work-in-progress just right. We put our butt-in-chair, turn on the computer, and try to write. As hard as we try, and nothing happens. It's like hitting your head against a brick wall. Who among us, who has experienced this, and has instead gone to Facebook to play a game, go outside to garden, or whatever else interests you? I admit it, I'm guilty of this, myself. Believe it or not Facebook games and gardening are just two ways to banish this demon. Here are some other ways:

Join an online or physical conference in the genre that you write in. Brainstorm with these other writers. You'll be surprised at just how freeing this is just to be with likeminded people. I've found this out myself and have more finished picture book manuscripts to prove it!
Work on another WIP. This frees your mind to think about something else besides that WIP you're stuck on.
Read a book in the genre you're writing for. Reading books in your genre gives you so many ideas on how to continue on with your story. It can also provide the 'aha' moment whether or not to toss that manuscript and start all over again. If this happens, you'll be able to visualize your story exactly as it should be written.
Read a book to review. Again, make sure it's in the genre you write for. You're giving your brain permission to focus on something else.
Take a day off to go to the library, Barnes & Noble, or another bookstore. In this case, like most of the others below, you're granting your brain permission to just relax.
Are you a freelance editor or proofreader? If you are put your WIP away and do that.
Go for a walk outside (if the weather's nice enough) and don't forget to take a notebook and pen! You never know when your writer's block/struggle will clear up and you get an idea.
If the weather isn't nice enough to go outside, exercise indoors. Nothing clears your head and reboots your energy like a workout. This does work!
Visit with a neighbor. There's nothing as good as a visit with a friend.
Can't visit that friend because of the nasty weather mentioned above? Call him/her. A good talk with a friend gets your mind off everything else.
Go to the dog park and play Frisbee with Fido. Again, you're freeing your mind.
Cook that new recipe that you just clipped out of the magazine.

Take a good look at the list above. I realize some of these things on the list might seem are silly, but they have something in common: focus on something else for a while. It does wonders.

It might be that it might take a week or more to get your muse back again. That's fine if it does. Take that time off to do other activities you enjoy. Concentrate on YOU during this time.

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I see that I've tried a couple of these ideas since our quarantine started. I do yoga and attend a weekly yoga class. I've also developed a new hobby. Sewing. I've started making masks for people in the area. I'm focusing on something other than writing.

How has all this affected you and your writing? Is your writing a victim of Covid-19? I truly hope not, but if it is I do hope that my little article about writer's block helps you!