Here are some tips for new writers:

Read craft books like Ann Whitford Paul’s Writing Picture Books and/or check out KidLit411 for a list of online writing courses. The children’s book industry is a difficult business to get started in and knowing the fundamentals is essential.

Join Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and check out your local chapter’s offerings as well as the national conferences. Becoming a member gives you access to all of the resources on their website as well as discounts for SCBWI events. It also allows you to signal agents, editors, and your fellow writers that you are serious about being a professional writer.

Join a critique group. You can find online groups on Facebook or face-to-face groups through your local SCBWI chapter. Critiquing your peers’ writing and having your own writing critiqued is a wonderful way to develop as an author. Listen to feedback, but don’t feel like you need to change everything people tell you to. However, if you keep getting the same feedback then take a step back from your writing and listen to the feedback. Remember that it’s your writing that’s being critiqued, not you. Finding a group you mesh with is also crucial. Some groups are very low-key and informal while others have consistent meeting dates and agreed upon policies. You’ll know the right group for you when you find it.

Participate in Tara Lazar’s annual month-long brainstorming event called Storystorm. “The Storystorm challenge is to create 30 story ideas in 30 days. You don’t have to write a manuscript (but you can if the mood strikes). You don’t need potential best-seller ideas. You might think of a clever title. Or a name for a character. Or just a silly thing like ‘purple polka-dot pony.’ The object is to heighten your idea-generating senses. Ideas may build upon other ideas. Your list of potential stories will grow stronger as the days pass. Eventually, you will have a list of ideas to flesh out into concepts, premises and manuscripts in the coming year. On this blog, daily posts by authors, illustrators, editors and other publishing professionals will help inspire you. By the end of the month, you’ll have a fat file of ideas to spark new stories. Hone your writing voice and discover what you’re passionate about writing. Don’t write towards current trends unless they feel important to you.”

Most likely, you’ll be rejected. A lot. But keep writing and submitting and don’t forget that a lot of it is totally subjective. You need to find the agent/editor who *gets* what you’re writing. Perseverance is key.

When you finally sign a book contract, a new world awaits. Now it’s time to think about marketing your book. If that sounds as overwhelming to you as it did to me, here a couple of wonderful resources that I found useful. Author Posse is a marketing support group, while Wild Ink Marketing offers workshops and courses. Also, in the year before your book comes out, join a debut group (authors who band together to help promote each other’s books). You can search for one on social media sites or found your own.

Good luck!