Writing for Kids

Becoming a Children's Author: Bringing Your Book to Life & Building an Audience

Sheri Fink — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 11:58:53 GMT

Current Revision posted to Writing for Kids by Sheri Fink on 3/26/2025 11:58:53 AM

Discover the ten steps of making your dream to become a successful children's author come true. Learn practical strategies from #1 best-selling, award-winning children's author Sheri Fink as she shares how to bring your book to life, how to determine the right age range for your young readers, how to choose and work with an illustrator, and how to build an audience for maximum success and fulfillment.

Here is the handout referenced in the session:
www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../ALC-Handout_5F00_Childrens_5F00_Author_5F00_Fink_5F00_25.pdf
www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../BecomingaChildrensAuthorBringingYourBooktoLifeBuildinganAudience.mp4

About the Author:
Sheri is an inspirational speaker, #1 best-selling author, and president of Whimsical World, an empowering brand created by Sheri and Derek Taylor Kent with a mission is to inspire, delight, and educate children of all ages while planting seeds of self-esteem and high achievement. She loves to write – seventeen books so far spanning 3 genres, including her beloved “The Little Series” children's books and “InstaGrateful: Finding Your Bliss in a Social Media World”. Sheri's newest book, “Magenta”, is an enchanting children's picture book about a magical kitten who discovers what matters most and finds where she truly belongs. Sheri has traveled the world inspiring audiences of all ages to believe in themselves, dream bigger dreams, and take action to live their best lives. CBS Los Angeles selected her as one of the top 3 authors in her local area, a distinction she shares with Dean Koontz, and her books have been honored with over 35 awards, including 3 gold medals in the Readers Favorite International Book Awards. Sheri is also a recipient of the prestigious Gold Mom’s Choice Award, honoring the best in family-friendly entertainment.

Tags: Children’s Books, fiction, Comics & Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, Teen and Young Adult, Subscriber, Recorded Webinar

Becoming a Children's Author: Bringing Your Book to Life & Building an Audience

Author Learning Center — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 11:56:25 GMT

Revision 1 posted to Writing for Kids by Author Learning Center on 3/26/2025 11:56:25 AM

Tags: Children’s Books, fiction, Comics & Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, Teen and Young Adult, Subscriber, Recorded Webinar

Rob Harrell on How Creating His Comic Strips Evolved Into Writing Graphic Novels

Rob Harrell — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 16:14:09 GMT

Current Revision posted to Writing for Kids by Rob Harrell on 9/29/2023 4:14:09 PM

Cartoonist and children's author Rob Harrell has always been obsessed with comic strips, even as a child. As he grew up and continued to hone his own writing and illustration skills, he kept trying to come up with new comic strip ideas. After working as an illustrator for a few years, he landed on an idea that got a lot of attention — Big Top, which is about a motley combo of circus characters. It was syndicated worldwide for five years before Harrell decided to discontinue it in 2007. During that time, he also took over a second comic strip called, Adam at Home, which he still creates today.

After years of writing and illustrating comic strips, Harrell was ready to stretch his creativity beyond the four panels he was used to working with. He was ready to further develop characters and worlds, and started exploring graphic novels. This led to his popular, Monster on the Hill, which was adapted to an animated movie in 2021. Harrell has also written and illustrated two graphic novel series - Life of Zarf and Batpig. Harrell saw the success that other author-illustrators were having with middle-grade novels for readers 8 to 12 years old, and decided to pursue that genre as well. This resulted in his critically acclaimed novel, Wink, which is an Amazon "Teacher's Pick".

Harrel has found this storytelling evolution to be challenging at times since the formats are all so different, but has enjoyed the freedom that has come with writing longer pieces.

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../RobHarrellonHowCreatingHisComicStripsEvolvedIntoWritingGraphicNovels.mp4

Tags: Children’s Books, fiction, Comics & Graphic Novels, video

Rob Harrell on How Creating His Comic Strips Evolved Into Writing Graphic Novels

Rob Harrell — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 16:13:20 GMT

Revision 3 posted to Writing for Kids by Rob Harrell on 9/29/2023 4:13:20 PM

Cartoonist and children's author Rob Harrell has always been obsessed with comic strips, even as a child. As he grew up and continued to hone his own writing and illustration skills, he kept trying to come up with new comic strip ideas. After working as an illustrator for a few years, he landed on an idea that got a lot of attention — Big Top, which is about a motley combo of circus characters. It was syndicated worldwide for five years before Harrell decided to discontinue it in 2007. During that time, he also took over a second comic strip called, Adam at Home, which he still creates today.

After years of writing and illustrating comic strips, Harrell was ready to stretch his creativity beyond the four panels he was used to working with. He was ready to further develop characters and worlds, and started exploring graphic novels. This led to his popular, Monster on the Hill, which was adapted to an animated movie in 2021. Harrell has also written and illustrated two graphic novel series - Life of Zarf and Batpig. Harrell saw the success that other author-illustrators were having with middle-grade novels for readers 8 to 12 years old, and decided to pursue that genre as well. This resulted in his critically acclaimed novel, Wink.

Harrel has found this storytelling evolution to be challenging at times since the formats are all so different, but has enjoyed the freedom that has come with writing longer pieces.

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../RobHarrellonHowCreatingHisComicStripsEvolvedIntoWritingGraphicNovels.mp4

Tags: Children’s Books, fiction, Comics & Graphic Novels, video

Rob Harrell on How Creating His Comic Strips Evolved Into Writing Graphic Novels

Rob Harrell — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 16:12:16 GMT

Revision 2 posted to Writing for Kids by Rob Harrell on 9/29/2023 4:12:16 PM

Cartoonist and children's author Rob Harrell has always been obsessed with comic strips, even as a child. As he grew up and continued to hone his own writing and illustration skills, he kept trying to come up with new comic strip ideas. After working as an illustrator for a few years, he landed on an idea that got a lot of attention — Big Top, which is about a motley combo of circus characters. It was syndicated worldwide for five years before Harrell decided to discontinue it in 2007. During that time, he also took over a second comic strip called, Adam at Home, which he still creates today.

After years of writing and illustrating comic strips, Harrell was ready to stretch his creativity beyond the four panels he was used to working with. He was ready to further develop characters and worlds, and started exploring graphic novels. This led to his popular, Monster on the Hill, which was adapted to an animated movie in 2021. Harrell has also written and illustrated two graphic novel series - Life of Zarf and Batpig.
Harrell saw the success that other author-illustrators were having with middle-grade novels for readers 8 to 12 years old, and decided to pursue that genre as well. This resulted in his critically acclaimed novel, Wink.

Harrel has found this storytelling evolution to be challenging at times since the formats are all so different, but has enjoyed the freedom that has come with writing longer pieces.

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../RobHarrellonHowCreatingHisComicStripsEvolvedIntoWritingGraphicNovels.mp4

Tags: Children’s Books, fiction, Comics & Graphic Novels, video

Rob Harrell on How Creating His Comic Strips Evolved Into Writing Graphic Novels

Rob Harrell — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 14:35:59 GMT

Revision 1 posted to Writing for Kids by Rob Harrell on 9/29/2023 2:35:59 PM

Cartoonist and children's author Rob Harrell discusses how his career started in comics and where it has evolved.
www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../RobHarrellonHowCreatingHisComicStripsEvolvedIntoWritingGraphicNovels.mp4

Tags: Children’s Books, fiction, Comics & Graphic Novels, video

Comparing the Publishing Journey Between Children’s Books and Young Adult Novels

Annie Sullivan — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 15:33:24 GMT

Current Revision posted to Writing for Kids by Annie Sullivan on 6/16/2023 3:33:24 PM

Author Annie Sullivan has found success with traditional publishing for her young adult novels, but the road to getting a children's picture book picked up by a traditional publisher has been a little more challenging. She's pitched a few children's books over the years, but has discovered that literary agents and traditional publishers look very closely at what types of children's books are selling in the market. They tend to shy away from manuscripts that aren't marketable at the moment.

Sullivan did ultimately land a publishing deal for her book Ghouldilocks and The Three Ghosts, and while the query and pitch process were similar to her previous books, the writing and editing process were quite different. Every word counts, she says when going from writing 80K - 90K words down to just a few hundred. An additional challenge she encountered was making sure the text complements the illustrations, which don't exist yet! Traditional publishers will assign an illustrator once they've decided to pick up a book.

The types of children's books that she sees doing well in the marketplace include topics and themes around animals, relationships, and positivity. If you aspire to write a children's picture book, Sullivan recommends you start by writing what is real to you, and then determine how you can different your book from what's out there.

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../ComparingthePublishingJourneyBetweenChildrensBooksandYoungAdultNovels.mp4

Tags: Children’s Books, fiction, Teen and Young Adult, video

Comparing the Publishing Journey Between Children’s Books and Young Adult Novels

Annie Sullivan — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 15:30:50 GMT

Revision 1 posted to Writing for Kids by Annie Sullivan on 6/16/2023 3:30:50 PM

Author Annie Sullivan has found success with traditional publishing for her young adult novels, but the road to getting a children's picture book picked up by a traditional publisher has been a little more challenging. She's pitched a few children's books over the years, but has discovered that literary agents and traditional publishers look very closely at what types of children's books are selling in the market. They tend to shy away from manuscripts that aren't marketable at the moment.

Sullivan did ultimately land a publishing deal for her book Ghouldilocks and The Three Ghosts, and while the query and pitch process were similar to her previous books, the writing and editing process was quite different. Every word counts, she says when going from writing 80K - 90K words down to just a few hundred. An additional challenge she encountered was making sure the text complements the illustrations, which don't exist yet!

The types of children's books that she sees doing well in the marketplace include topics and themes around animals, relationships, and positivity. If you aspire to write a children's picture book, Sullivan recommends you start by writing what is real to you, and then determine how you can different your book from what's out there.

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../ComparingthePublishingJourneyBetweenChildrensBooksandYoungAdultNovels.mp4

Tags: Children’s Books, fiction, Teen and Young Adult, video

Never Give Up: Publishing Perseverance - video

Tom Angleberger — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 13:05:08 GMT

Current Revision posted to Writing for Kids by Tom Angleberger on 3/18/2022 1:05:08 PM

Author Tom Angleberger discusses how he became very discouraged with the traditional publishing process and almost gave up on his dream...until he found the right agent to represent his work.

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../TomAnglebergerNeverGiveUpPublishingPerseverance.mp4

Tags: Children’s Books, fiction, video

Never Give Up: Publishing Perseverance - video

Tom Angleberger — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 13:04:36 GMT

Revision 3 posted to Writing for Kids by Tom Angleberger on 3/18/2022 1:04:36 PM

Author Tom Angleberger discusses how he became very discouraged with the traditional publishing process and almost gave up on his dream...until he found the right agent to represent his work.

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../TomAnglebergerNeverGiveUpPublishingPerseverance.mp4

Tags: Children’s Books, fiction, Subscriber, video

Never Give Up: Publishing Perseverance - podcast

Tom Angleberger — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 13:03:17 GMT

Current Revision posted to Writing for Kids by Tom Angleberger on 3/18/2022 1:03:17 PM

Author Tom Angleberger discusses how he became very discouraged with the traditional publishing process and almost gave up on his dream...until he found the right agent to represent his work.

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../PodcastTomAnglebergerNeverGiveUpPublishingPerseverance.mp3

Tags: Children’s Books, fiction, podcast

Never Give Up: Publishing Perseverance - podcast

Tom Angleberger — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 13:02:10 GMT

Revision 3 posted to Writing for Kids by Tom Angleberger on 3/18/2022 1:02:10 PM

Author Tom Angleberger discusses how he became very discouraged with the traditional publishing process and almost gave up on his dream...until her found the right agent to represent his work.

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../PodcastTomAnglebergerNeverGiveUpPublishingPerseverance.mp3

Tags: Children’s Books, fiction, Subscriber, podcast

Never Give Up: Publishing Perseverance - podcast

Tom Angleberger — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 13:01:53 GMT

Revision 2 posted to Writing for Kids by Tom Angleberger on 3/18/2022 1:01:53 PM

Author Tom Angleberger discusses how he became very discouraged with the traditional publishing process and almost gave up on his dream...until her found the right agent to represent his work.

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../PodcastTomAnglebergerNeverGiveUpPublishingPerseverance.mp3

Tags: Children’s Books, fiction, Subscriber, podcast

Never Give Up: Publishing Perseverance - video

Tom Angleberger — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 12:58:46 GMT

Revision 2 posted to Writing for Kids by Tom Angleberger on 3/18/2022 12:58:46 PM

Author Tom Angleberger discusses how he became very discouraged with the traditional publishing process and almost gave up on his dream...until her found the right agent to represent his work.

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../TomAnglebergerNeverGiveUpPublishingPerseverance.mp4

Tags: Children’s Books, fiction, Subscriber, video

What Every Children’s Book Author Needs to Know

Author Learning Center — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 12:07:22 GMT

Current Revision posted to Writing for Kids by Author Learning Center on 4/22/2021 12:07:22 PM

If you’re thinking about writing a children’s book, take heart. You have a lot to offer children. Reading helps children enhance literacy skills, and offers advantages that extend far beyond mere academics.

Children’s literature has the power to fight racism and create understanding, fostering empathy, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Children’s literature is important for child development

The best children’s literature takes into consideration the stages of language development. Prior to 18 months of age, children are considered pre-linguistic. At 18 months, children begin with one word sentences before transitioning to two-word composition, constituted by a noun and verb. More complex grammatical structures such as conjunctions, questions, and use of prepositions of place generally occur closer to 24 months. Linguistics, phonetics, psychology, art, and creative writing all intersect with children’s literature.

According to The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, children whose parents read to them have significantly less aggression, inattention, and hyperactive behavior when entering school. Children’s books also help create quality parental time that helps kids deal with challenging situations. For example, a parent putting aside a cell phone and focusing solely on a child, stands to make them feel loved and valued.

Additionally, children’s books help nurture greater imagination and emotional awareness. As internationally renowned child and adolescent psychologist Dr. Jilian Roberts explains, “Developing empathy allows children to put themselves in another’s place and to better understand their experience. In today’s busy world, it’s important that children learn how to be deeply present to others’ thoughts and feelings. Empathy is key to social and emotional development.”

Children’s literature tackles important issues

Children are exposed to moral and ethical quandaries at critical stages in the development of their worldview. Topics such as bullying, disabilities, and religious traditions can be brought up using texts designed to reach children at their own developmental level.

Reading can provide a window into another world. As such, it can be one of the best ways to step into someone else’s shoes or point of view. It allows children and young adults to imagine other ways of thinking that might be completely foreign or vastly different from their everyday lives. In this way, children’s literature creates opportunities for discussion regarding diversity, equity and inclusion. Simply put, children’s books can provide parents and teachers an opportunity to tackle important issues.

Considerations for writing children’s books

When writing for children, it's important that authors understand the age group classifications and the content expectations for those age groups. For example, a children’s picture book is quite different from a middle-grade chapter book. Each category of children's books has recommended page counts, word counts, language usage, subject matter, and more. It's also important that authors understand what type of content will resonate with their target readers. Whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, content needs to meet your readers where they are. Check out our collection of video interviews to learn more about specifications by age group.

As a children’s book author you have the opportunity to profoundly shape future generations. You have the chance to encourage children’s development through the uniquely powerful combination of storytelling and imagination. In the immortal words of beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss…

“The more that you read the more you will know. The more that you learn the more places you’ll go.”

Tags: Children’s Books, article, fiction, Nonfiction, Teen and Young Adult

What Every Children’s Book Author Needs to Know

Author Learning Center — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 12:06:06 GMT

Revision 10 posted to Writing for Kids by Author Learning Center on 4/22/2021 12:06:06 PM

Children’s literature has the power to fight racism and create understanding, fostering empathy, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Children’s literature is important for child development

Children’s literature tackles important issues

Considerations for writing children’s books

“The more that you read the more you will know. The more that you learn the more places you’ll go.”

Tags: Children’s Books, article, fiction, Nonfiction, Teen and Young Adult

What Every Children’s Book Author Needs to Know

Author Learning Center — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 12:05:09 GMT

Revision 9 posted to Writing for Kids by Author Learning Center on 4/22/2021 12:05:09 PM

Children’s literature has the power to fight racism and create understanding, fostering empathy, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Children’s literature is important for child development

Children’s literature tackles important issues

Considerations for writing children’s books

“The more that you read the more you will know. The more that you learn the more places you’ll go.”

Tags: Children’s Books, article, fiction, Nonfiction, Teen and Young Adult

What Every Children’s Book Author Needs to Know

Author Learning Center — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 12:01:39 GMT

Revision 8 posted to Writing for Kids by Author Learning Center on 4/22/2021 12:01:39 PM

Children’s literature has the power to fight racism and create understanding, fostering empathy, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Children’s literature is important for child development

Children’s literature tackles important issues

Considerations for writing children’s books

“The more that you read the more you will know. The more that you learn the more places you’ll go.”

Tags: Children’s Books, article, fiction, Nonfiction, Teen and Young Adult

What Every Children’s Book Author Needs to Know

Author Learning Center — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 11:59:42 GMT

Revision 7 posted to Writing for Kids by Author Learning Center on 4/22/2021 11:59:42 AM

Children’s literature has the power to fight racism and create understanding, fostering empathy, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Children’s literature is important for child development

Children’s literature tackles important issues

Considerations for writing children’s books

“The more that you read the more you will know. The more that you learn the more places you’ll go.”

Tags: Children’s Books, article, fiction, Nonfiction, Teen and Young Adult

What Every Children’s Book Author Needs to Know

Author Learning Center — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 17:05:50 GMT

Revision 6 posted to Writing for Kids by Author Learning Center on 4/21/2021 5:05:50 PM

Children’s literature has the power to fight racism and create understanding, fostering empathy, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Children’s literature is important for child development

Children’s literature tackles important issues

Considerations for writing children’s books

“The more that you read the more you will know. The more that you learn the more places you’ll go.”