Resources!!!

You’ve landed on my Resource Page. If you’re new to writing for children, I suggest you read my Writing Tips page first. Just click HERE.

First, resources about choosing your publishing path. I publishing paths on my Writing Tips page. Here’s what I said: 

Think about your goals to help with your decision. 

My goals were clear in my mind and so I knew from the get-go I wanted to go the traditional route.

My goals:

  • To get my books in the hands of as many readers as possible.
  • To get my books in public and school libraries.
  • To get my books in bookstores across the country and around the world.
  • To write and not be responsible for all the other aspects of publishing a book.

My last goal was key in making my decision because with traditional publishing I knew I’d have the support of an editor, art director, publicist, etc. at a well-respected publishing house. I didn’t want to take on these tasks. 

Statistically, many self-published books don’t sell well because the person publishing their book doesn’t understand what it takes for a book to be successful. But some people self-publish and do a really great job. Their books sell well. There are also some “in-between” ways to publish and I can’t begin to explain all of your choices here. But I can share information from some very smart people to give you a glimpse and lead you to other resources.

Now for the resources.

Jane Friedman offers comprehensive information on her website about the different ways to publish a book and this post HERE is a great place to start reading.

Arree Chung is an author/illustrator and did an excellent video about traditional and self-publishing. He focuses on earnings. As he talks about self-publishing, you’ll see that the investment is more than you might find when you look at other options. But remember, he’s talking about those who have self-published successful books. Click HERE for Arree’s video. 

Tara Lazar is a very successful traditionally published author and HERE are her Five Reasons Not to Self Publish & Five Reasons You Should.

Check out Kidlit411’s resources about self-publishing HERE.

More Resources (I’ve used these along my journey and found them UNBELIEVABLY valuable.)

KidLit411– Kidlit411 website which is INCREDIBLE. They gather writing and publishing information from all over the Internet and share it weekly. Click on their menu to sign up for email notifications.

Susanna Leonard Hill – She’s wonderful. She offers advice, challenges, and opportunities for participation. She offers an online course for writing Picture Books (Making Picture Book Magic) that I think is amazing. She features a lot of books on her blog which helps build a to-be-read list for your library visits. On Fridays she hosts Perfect Picture Book Friday. She features a book and other bloggers leave links to their blogs where they have featured a book.

PictureBookBuilders–This blog is written by a group of picture book authors and reading the posts is educational and will add books to your to-be-read list.

Tara Lazar – Great! Another blog that’s amazing. And Tara hosts a challenge in January that I participate in every year. It’s called Storystorm and is all about generating ideas. Check it out when you visit her blog. Not only will you generate new ideas, you’ll gather valuable tidbits from the industry professionals that contribute to Storystorm. If you missed it, no worries. You can still learn from the posts over the years. Find the Search box in the upper left hand corner and type in storystorm. Read to your heart’s content! And this is another site for adding books to your to-be-read list.

Find Classes and Challenges That Will Keep You Writing and Improving Your Craft

I mentioned joining SCBWI where you can find fantastic webinars.

I mentioned Susanna Leonard Hill’s Making Picture Book Magic above. Check it out!

You can find wonderful classes at The Storyteller Academy. Keep an eye out because they tend to be generous with free content.

The Highlights Foundation is known for exceptional classes.

Want to write in rhyme? First check out Lesson’s #8 & #9 on Josh Funk’s website HERE. (His other lessons are awesome, too!) Then check out Renee LaTulippe’s Lyrical Language Lab! She’s an extraordinary teacher! Want a taste for free? Check out and subscribe to her YouTube Channel HERE. I watch every video she posts! 

Julie Hedlund and 12 x 12 – This will keep you busy writing. 12 x 12 challenges you to write 12 picture book drafts in 12 months. Registration is open in January and February. You’ll find a supportive community here willing to share all kinds of helpful information in the private Facebook group. They also have a forum. There is a fee for joining…totally worth it!

I’ve shared many resources and you’ll find many more as you explore these.  

Happy Writing!

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