Where Authors Get Successful
Childrens Books
Children’s books can be both creatively and lucratively rewarding. However, even though the genre appears simple there are a lot of important things you need to know to succeed at delivering the message and getting the books made and sold.
Janet Muirhead Hill – Writing True Fiction
Jan 11th
| On Thursday, January 8th, 2008 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with Janet Muirhead Hill, a children’s author and writing coach about True Fiction. Janet is the author of eight published True Fiction novels for young readers. Additionally she is a publisher, speaker, and writing workshop leader. She educated us on what True Fiction is and how it differs from popular escapist fiction. The keys lie in the emotional lives of the characters and choosing a character-driven approach (rather than plot-driven). We learned how writers can draw on their own past experiences as part of the driving creative process emotionally. |  |
| When Janet, grew up on a cattle ranch in the Yampa River Valley in the Colorado Rockies, her greatest love was for horses and children. Her childhood dreams were not to become a writer or publisher, but to own a horse ranch and to have lots of kids. Janet began her writing career when her children were small by submitting short stories to magazines and had several published. Her 3rd novel Miranda and Starlight, began a series of six books, all published within a three year period by her own company, Raven Publishing, which publishes other authors as well. She has published another novel she wrote called, Danny’s Dragon. It is about the stages of grief and healing, seen through the eyes of a 10-year-old boy who lost his father in the war. A newly released book, Kyleah’s Tree, is the beginning of a trilogy about twins that were separated at 4 years of age by divorce.Janet’s education has included several years at Montana State Univer sity in various disciplines, including English writing. She also completed two writing courses, (two years each) from the Children’s Institute of Literature. She presently divides her time between publishing, family, and writing, from rural Montana where she lives with her husband. She also presents interactive workshops on “Writing True Fiction and other genres” |
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Suzanne Lieurance – Developing Your Passion of Writing as a Career
Nov 21st
| On November 20th, 2008 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with Suzanne Lieurance about how to convert your passion for writing into a viable career as a freelance writer. In addition to being the author of more than 20 published books, Lieurance offers a variety of coaching programs via private phone calls, teleclasses, listserv, and private email for writers who want to turn their love of writing (for children and/or adults) into a part-time or full-time career. We talked about all types of freelance writing and what it takes to get started as a freelance writer, common pitfalls and mistakes to avoid, how much you can really expect to make, how to build your writing resume, and ghost writing. We also touched on some secrets for success in writing for children’s books. |  |
| Suzanne Lieurance is a fulltime children’s author, freelance writer, and The Working Writer’s Coach. She teaches children’s writing for the Institute of Children’s Literature based in West Redding, Connecticut, and is the founder and director of the National Writing for Children Center. Lieurance has written articles for a variety of magazines, newsletters, and e-zines like Family-Fun, Kansas City Weddings, Instructor Magazine, New Moon for Girls, Children’s Writer, and many others. She hosts a talk show about children’s books, called Book Bites for Kids, every weekday afternoon on blogtalkradio.com. |  |
Kevin Collier – Illustrating and Designing Children’s Books
Oct 20th
| On October 16th, 2008 Tyler Tichelaar and Victor R. Volkman spoke with award-winning children’s book illustrator and author Kevin Colllier. He educated us on key areas of unique factors in designing and illustrating children’s books, including: how do authors and illustrators find eachother, avoiding a creative tug-of-war with your artist, the importance of chemistry between author and illustrator, project management pitfalls, and how to choose the right number of illustrations for your book. |  |
| Kevin Collier is the author and/or illustrator of about 100 books to date (some pending publication). A book he illustrated won the New York Book Festival. Another was reviewed favorably by the New York Times, which only reviews a handful of the tens of thousands of books they receive. As a favor for a minister’s wife, Kevin did some quick illustrations for a poem called Topsy Turvy Land. He never imagined that that she would send those sketchy drawings, done in three days, to a publisher. That book was voted one of the top 50 children’s books of all time by World Magazine in 2006. He is also a critically acclaimed author. His first chapter book, barthpenn at heaven.org, was called “a masterpiece of communication,” and received the Craig’s Choice Award for children’s fiction. His second chapter book, Esther’s Channel, received 5 stars on Amazon.com. Literary professionals have said that Kevin is the “next C.S. Lewis,” and that his “writing will set the standard for children’s literature for generations to come.” Kevin also stars in an upcoming show called “Drawing for KICKS,” which will be broadcast nationally, and possibly internationally, on Christian television stations. An offshoot of internationally broadcast show “KICKS Club,” “Drawing for KICKS” features Kevin, his son, Jarod, and some of Jarod’s classmates. Part reality show, part art class, and all fun, “Drawing for KICKS” is shot primarily in Grand Haven, MI. |
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Jim and Linda Salisbury – Smart Self-Publishing Ideas
Jul 19th
| On Thursday, July 17th 2008 Victor R. Volkman and Tyler Tichelaar spoke with Jim and Linda Salisbury of Tabby House press about smart self-publishing ideas: tips and techniques for becoming successful without spending a ton of money. We covered essential knowledge for self-publishers and a lot of specifics about Children’s Books, a particular area of expertise for Tabby House. Specifically, how to make your book conform to industry standards (and hence be sell-able), how to understand your market, effective no-cost and low-cost marketing and promotion techniques, and making money outside of the bookstore arena. |  |
| Jim and Linda are authors of “Smart Self-Publishing: An author’s guide to producing a marketable book” now in its third edition. The book has been mentioned in both Newsweek and BottomLine Personal. Listen up to this podcast and find out how to get a FREE copy of this $16.95 book for just the nominal charge of $6.00.Jim is the publisher at Tabby House now based in Central Virginia, and was president of the Florida Publishers Association for many years. He and Linda offer self-publishing seminars in libraries, bookstores and for writers’ groups. They are members of FPA, Publishers Association of the South, and Independent Book Publishers Association (formerly Publishers Marketing Association).Linda is the author of the juvenile fiction Bailey Fish Adventure series, which has won four national honors. The sixth book in the series will be out this fall, and she has another environmentally orien ted children’s book to be released soon. She is a former journalist and a free-lance writer. |
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