THIS SITE HAS MOVED. Inkygirl posts are now part of DebbieOhi.com.
====
Debbie Ridpath Ohi reads, writes and illustrates for young people. Every once in a while she shares new art, writing and reading resources; subscribe below. Browse the archives here.
I tweet about the craft and business of writing and illustrating at @inkyelbows. If you're interested in my art or other projects, please do visit DebbieOhi.com. Thanks for visiting! -- Debbie Ridpath Ohi
The winner gets a signed copy of I’M BORED with a hand-drawn doodle inside. If you already have a copy of the book (yay, thank you!), I will inscribe the book to anyone you’d like and send it to them. Even if you DON’T win, all commenters will be entered in a random drawing for a hand-drawn doodle.
And LOOK, a copy of I'M BORED is in the background!!
Even if it wasn't, this episode would still be my favourite.
I love the chemistry between the two lead actors, the humor, the background characters (Muses?) who assist Jill and Dale during the genuinely touching duet at the end.
Yay, episode 2 of NaNoMusical is online! I just love the delicious NaNoEmoAngst of the first song. Plus Dale and Jill are just SO ADORABLE together. :-)
Congrats to Tina Cho, who recently won the COWBOY CHRISTMAS book prize giveaway as part of my interview with Rob Sanders.
Tina Cho is an author of 22 guided reading books from Lakeshore Learning and Compass Media. My Mini Pet Shop and The Christian Girls Guide to Grace (a book about etiquette), both with Legacy Press Kids, and a coloring book with Warner Press will be out in 2013. She is a former elementary teacher who currently homeschools her 5th grade daughter and 2nd grade son. Though she grew up in Iowa, she is now living outside of Seoul, South Korea. She is participating in Julie Hedlund’s 12x12 in 2012 picture book challenge and Tara Lazar’s PiBoIdMo.
What advice do you have for aspiring picture book writers?
I had to read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by the late Stephen Covey in college, and one of those seven habits stays by my side. "Be proactive." If you really want to learn how to write picture books and get one published, you can! Join a critique group. Read writing craft books. Read writers', illustrators', editors', and agents' blogs. My children's lunch was delayed today because I was so engrossed in reading blogs! Read picture books every day. And join picture book challenges. Not only are they fun, but they connect you to other writers like yourself.
If you're a teacher, librarian, aspiring kidlit/YA author or illustrator, I strongly urge you to check out the services currently up for auction on Kate Messner's site as part of KidLit Cares, generously donated by members of the children's/YA community to help raise funds for Red Cross disaster relief efforts.
NOTE: If you lack the money, expertise or time to bid or donate services, you can still help by spreading the word about KidLitCares. If you're on Facebook, do "Like" the KidLitCares Facebook Page. You can follow KidLitCares updates on Twitter with the #kidlitcares hashtag.
Just a few of the listings:
Penguin Art Director Giuseppe Castellano is offering a written portfolio critique, with a follow-up phone call to discuss your work. Just added yesterday: "If we reach $300, I’ll add a one-on-one lunch with me, my treat. We can talk about art and publishing, linseed oil and Wacom tablets! We’ll hammer out details after the auction. If we reach $500, in addition to the above, I will bring a book idea of yours to our Editorial Meeting." Details here. (Auction closes Tue. Nov. 13, 2012)
Chronicle Books editor Melissa Manlove is offering a picture book critique, a "free pass" to an editorial meeting (will take your revised mss to an acquisitions meeting for consideration & feedback), $300 of Chronicle books, advance copies of four of her books.
And just added yesterday: "If the bids reach $3,000 I will include a one-on-one lunch with me whenever we’re next in the same area (my treat, of course)–at which you will feel free to pepper me with publishing questions." Details here. (Auction closes Mon. Nov. 12, 2012)
Egmont USA publisher Elizabeth Law, who specializes in children's and YA fiction, will critique 30 pages and a synopsis of your manuscript. Elizabeth will provide written notes and line edits and have a 40 minute phone call with you to discuss your project and your writing, and any questions at all you have about the industry, agents, publishers, e-books etc.
AND (just added yesterday), she'll read, critique & discuss the first 40 pages and synopsis of the next round of your manuscript, if you get it to her within 6 months of her initial call. Details here. (Auction closes Fri. Nov 9, 2012)
Plus Skype visits from authors like Linda Sue Park, Mo Willems, Laurel Snyder, Laurie Halse Anderson, Veronica Roth, Linda Urban, Sara Lewis Holmes, Barbara O'Connor, Ellen Hopkins and others -- or in-person visit with Sarah Albee or Cynthia Lord. Get a character named after you or a friend in one of Robin Wasserman's upcoming books. Get your mss critiqued by a pro author like Laurie Halse Anderson, Julie Berry, Jo KNowles, Jean Reidy, Kody Keplinger, Deborah Underwood, Michelle Knudsen, April Henry, Sarah Darer Littman, Kelly Fineman, Tessa Gratton, Gwenda Bond. Get pitch/publicity/launch tips from experienced pros. Soooo much more! Do browse the full list.
****Note: Make sure you read over the full rules/details on Kate Messner's KidLit Cares page before bidding, plus verify listing details.
If you're a member of the children's book community and would like to donate your services to the next round of KidLitCares, fill out the form at the bottom of Joanne Levy's Kidlit Cares page; Joanne will be organizing Round 2.
Errol's doing NaNoWriMo, of course. I won't be participating in NaNo this year except as a NaNoRebel. If I had finished my outline for my novel, I would be so doing NaNoWriMo. And I -have- done NaNo without an outline before.
This year, however, I just have too much going on and also will be away for a chunk of November.
In the past, I've found NaNoWriMo a great motivational challenge in terms of getting me writing. Nowadays, though, I find I already HAVE that motivation -- my main challenge is more efficient time management. I still believe that NaNoWriMo can be a fun and useful event for aspiring writers as well as experienced writers, given the right mindset and situation.
For aspiring writers, NaNoWriMo can be a much-needed motivational kick in the pants, and a chance to prove themselves that they can write a novel-length manuscript. I've heard several pro writers who say that NaNo helped get them to finish their first novel. The key, I think, is to remember that the 50,000 words you write in November is a FIRST DRAFT. Don't make the mistake of thinking you've written a finished manuscript and DO NOT immediately send it off to agents and editors.
You will be doing yourself a great disservice by sending out a mss that you have bashed out in 30 days for the following reasons:
1. Your novel is not nearly polished enough for submission, no matter how pumped up you are about finishing it.
2. Editors and agents are likely already being inundated with naive NaNoNewbie novel submissions in the months just after NaNoWriMo.
3. If you are an unpublished writer sending out your first draft of a NaNoWriMo novel, there is a 99.99% chance (ok, I can't prove that but I still am confident that my stats are accurate) that you will be rejected.
My advice for NaNoNewbies who are writing their novels with hopes of eventual publication: let your novel sit for at least a few weeks before looking at it again. Then start proofreading, editing, polishing. Work on your craft. Study the industry. DO THE WORK.
For more experienced writers who like online communities, NaNoWriMo can be a fun way to work on your first draft of a novel that you've done prep for: an outline, character studies, etc. Why fun? Because you can commiserate with other NaNoWriMo participants as you're writing. The atmosphere can be compared to writing to a deadline in the same room as other writers working to a deadline.
You could also share your writing tips with other NaNotypes on your blog -- this will not only attract traffic this year but add permanent search-friendly content to your site. In 2011, there were over 250,000 NaNoWriMo participants and chances are excellent that numbers will go up this year.
I've seen a number of posts out there from pro writers who bitterly rail against the event, saying it's a waste of time. I believe that NaNoWriMo can be fun and useful for writers of all levels of experience, but it depends on each individual's mindset and motivation.
And if NaNoWriMo isn't your cup of tea or you don't need these kinds of motivational challenges to write, that's fine. Cheer on other writers and then go back to your work. :-)
And speaking of NaNoWriMo, the first episode of the 6-part Web series NANOMUSICAL is now online! You can see me as a dancing extra (yes, I said dancing) in this episode, too:
The goal: to come up with 30 picture book ideas in 30 days.
Even if you're not ready to join the challenge but are still interested in reading the daily guest posts about writing, illustrating and publishing picture books (hey, I'm one of the guest bloggers), you should follow Tara Lazar's blog.
I have a comic caption contest over on Tara Lazar's blog today, as part of PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) as well as a guest post about how I come up with picture book ideas.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012 at 8:49 AM | 
