While writing is a dream come true for me, getting published can take some of the magic out of that dream. Remember, you are the creative mind behind the stories. Find a publisher, or press that allows you to make the most of your writing experience. Don’t let a publisher or agent tell you whether or not you are worth their time. Find a community of writers, publishers, editors and friends who allow you to publish your work, profit from the sales, and support your dream to write.—Traci McDonald, author of Burning Bridger.
The best advice I can give to authors is just to enjoy what you’re doing. There isn’t much money in writing books unless you’re in the top 5% of authors, so you may as well just have a blast spinning a tale. The only other big piece of advice I can give is get a really good editor. After reading and editing then reading and editing my books at least forty times, I then pass a book over to my editor, and she finds a whole bunch of things I just overlooked! It always amazes me, but like I mentioned, I’m a storyteller not a writer. It's far better for an editor to find those mistakes than the first few readers. You don’t want the first reviews you get to be complaints!—C. M. Gray, author of Shadowland.
Never quit. That's true too for aspiring authors. Keep writing. Do what you love. If you practice writing enough, eventually you'll be good enough to publish. It's a great feeling when somebody else likes your story.—Madeleine McLaughlin, author of Beggar Charlie.
One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever heard: Believe in yourself. If you don’t, who will?—Audrey Kane, author of The Purple Girl.
I’ve only recently realized how impatience spoils my work. Given time to sit for a few weeks, or even months, I look back and see faults in my writing that I couldn’t see before. It’s a maturity thing. Many writers will tell you this, but few aspiring writers will believe it’s true until they see it for themselves. Also, for young writers, I’d say go ahead and write your ideas and stories even if you don’t feel completely confident as a writer – you can always come back and revise it later. I have a pet theory, which I can’t prove, that George Lucas conceived most of the Star Wars story when he was in middle school. It has elements to it that I think really point to that.—Edwin Hanks, author of Uprooted (The Brothers of Orinthia Book 1).
And Now,
Welcome to the 60th Kid Lit Blog Hop where we continue to develop a dynamic and engaged community of children's books bloggers, authors, publishers, and publicists.
On this Hop, Carpinello's Writing Pages interviews
MG author Carrie Cross
and
MG author Kurt Chambers
Also, if you haven't entered yet, be sure to check out the Children's Book Week Kindle Fire, Kids Edition Tablet giveaway hosted by Mother Daughter Book Reviews where you can enter to win a brand new Kindle Fire HD 7", Kids Edition tablet + a $50 Amazon gift card to buy some new books (can substitute a $200 Amazon gift card or PayPal cash). This giveaway is open worldwide and ends May 31, 2015. No purchase necessary. Just click the image below to take you there.
Hostesses:
Mother Daughter Book Reviews
Julie Grasso, Author/ Blogger
Cheryl Carpinello, Author / Blogger
Stacking Books
BeachBoundBooks
Pragmatic Mom
Reading Authors
The Logonauts
A Book Long Enough
Spark and Pook
Happy Hopping everyone and enjoy the Hop!
Kid Lit Blog Hop & Linky Party Rules *Please Read*
1. LINKY PARTY: Add the link to your Goodreads profile page in the Goodreads Linky Party list below. Be sure to visit at least the two links directly before yours as well as your hosts' Goodreads pages. Be sure to friend or follow some folks with similar interests and like any reviews that catches your eye. If you do not have a Goodreads profile, you are welcome to link up a different social media profile (Pinterest, Facebook, etc.). 2. KID LIT BLOG HOP: Link up any Kid Lit related post in the Kid Lit Blog Hop. This can be a link to a children’s book review, a discussion about children’s literature/literacy, or a post on a recently-read children’s book or one that you love from your childhood.
* Don't link directly to your blog, it must be a specific post.*
* For Authors, we prefer you to link to your blog if you have one. Please link unique posts each time ~ no repeats please. *
* Make sure you include an image relevant to the POST (e.g., book cover), not your blog button or photo of yourself.*
* Feel free to link more than one post.*
3. KID LIT BLOG HOP: Please visit AT LEAST the TWO LINKS from the Kid Lit Blog Hop directly ahead of your own and leave them some love in the form of a comment. We are trying to build a community of bloggers, readers, parents, authors, and others who are as passionate about children’s literature as we are so please CONNECT and follow any or all of the blogs that interest you!
4. If you like, grab the button above and put it somewhere on your blog, preferably the post you're linking up. If you'd prefer, you can just add a text link back to this Hop so that others can find it and check out all these great book links!
5. It would really help us get the word out about the Kid Lit Blog Hop if you would be so kind as to tweet, share, and spread the word about the Hop!
