Comic: Still More #NaNoWriMo Prep...

THE SECRET LIFE OF LINCOLN JONES by Wendelin Van Draanen (Knopf)

I recently read THE SECRET LIFE OF LINCOLN JONES by Wendelin Van Draanen, which launches today from Knopf Books For Young Readers. Thoroughly enjoyed it. The narrator is 11-year-old Lincoln, who keeps secrets in his notebook. His voice is fresh, funny and I love how he sees the world. 

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I CAN'T BELIEVE I MISSED #CAPSLOCKDAY YESTERDAY

I'm on the faculty at the SCBWI Winter Conference in 2017!

When I attended my first regular SCBWI conference back in 2009, I was super-nervous about meeting people. Would anyone talk to me? Would they like me? Would the costs of the flight and hotel and meals etc. be worth it? Would I ever get published?

If I could tell my younger self that I'd be on the faculty of one of the national SCBWI conferences eight years later AND have a nice number of books published with my name on the cover, I would have scoffed and then vowed to stop drinking so much coffee.

VERY EXCITED.

I'll be participating in the Illustrators' Intensive on the Friday; you can see the schedule (including my name, woohoooo!) on the SCBWI Conference website.

The main SCBWI-NYC conference webpage is here. Registration opens on Oct. 25 at 10 am PDT! 

Comic: Vampire Readers

Thanks to my friend Kelly Light for the caption!

Comic: Bibliophile Ultimatum.

My two fav. things in life are libraries & bicycles. Both move people forward without wasting anything. - P. Golkin

In celebration of Ontario Public Library Week, here's one of my favourite quotes about libraries, from Peter Golkin.

Click the image above or this link for a free, print-ready version.

A comic for those doing NaNoWriMo this year

I'm going to be using NaNoWriMo as extra motivation to get in some extra writing done on novel-in-progress. I found out last year that NaNoWriMo actually welcomes writers who are in all stages of their project!

Just write. Many writers hope elves will come in the night and finish your work for you. They won’t. @Neilhimself

Just write. Many writers hope elves will come in the night and finish your work for you. They won’t.

- Neil Gaiman (@NeilHimself on Twitter)

Comic: NaNoWriMo Emergency (and a writing challenge for those who don't have the time for #NaNoWriMo)

Don't have enough writing time for NaNoWriMo & looking for an achievable daily goal challenge? Try my Daily Words Challenge.

Literary agent Mark Gottlieb of Trident Media Group building client list: seeks picture bk writer/illus, middle grade and YA writers

 

 Mark Gottlieb is a literary agent at Trident Media Group. Mark is actively building his client list, including those who write picture books, middle grade and young adult. For picture books, Mark prefers representing those who both write and illustrate rather than those who write only or illustrate only (see his comments below). Mark was kind enough to answer a few questions for Inkygirl.

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Productivity tip for writers/illus: While online, DON'T FALL DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE.

Writing or illustrating a picture book? Here are some free templates to help you plan your story

I've started working on a new picture book idea (YAY!). After I pick an idea I'm excited about, I start writing the text. Because I tend to think visually when writing, I also usually start paging out the manuscript and scribbling stick figure thumbnail sketches to help me figure out pacing. 

You can read more about my process as well as download some free picture book thumbnail templates.

On Rejection

On rejection: Don’t lay blame on yourself/others. Negativity is unproductive. - Juliet Marillier

A comic for fellow Canadians celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend

Comic: Squirrel Writer Therapy

My podcast interview on WritersMarket about writing and illustrating children's books

Thanks to Robert Lee Brewer and Brian Klems of Writer's Digest for inviting me to be on their new WritersMarket.com podcast! I talked about how I started writing and illustrating books for young people, what I've learned so far, my middle grade novel, meeting Judy Blume, how much I love illustrating Michael Ian Black's stories for kids, board gaming, musical instruments and much more.

I was nervous but ended up having a lot of fun; both Robert and Brian are such nice guys. I used to work with both Robert and Brian for Writer's Digest (a daily publishing news column as well as articles for the magazine) and I hope to finally meet them in person someday!

Link: How To Be A Children's Book Author & Illustrator With Debbie Ridpath Ohi on the WritersMarket.com podcast.

Award-winning indie children's book author Lucy Ravitch shares tips and clears up misconceptions about indie publishing

Lucy Ravitch is the author The Pancake Menu, a children's interactive book that helps kids practice math skills as they play restaurant. The book won the 2016 Bronze Independent Publisher Award in the Children's Interactive category, and was also the bronze Reader's Favorite award for Children's Concept Books for 2016. Lucy says she has loved math since she was young and love showing kids that learning is FUN. Lucy launched her own company (Enjoy Learning Something) to publish her books and blogs at KidsMathTeacher.com. She lives in sunny Southern CA with her husband and five children.

I usually focus on traditionally published authors in my blog, but I was so impressed by Lucy's enthusiasm, business acumen and success in her indie publishing ventures that I thought Inkygirl readers would be be curious to know more. Thanks so much to Lucy for taking the time to answer a few questions!

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Three Questions for Jeff Szpirglas, author of SHELDON UNGER vs THE DENTURES OF DOOM

Who could not want to read a book with a title like Sheldon Unger vs The Dentures Of Doom? This new book comes out from Star Crossed Press on October 1st, 2016. You can find more info about Jeff Szpirglas at Twitter and Facebook, and more about Sheldon Unger vs The Dentures Of Doom on Goodreads.

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