Children's Book Week 2012: Join The Golden Pathway in the Celebration at Write What Inspires You

Children's Book Week: Celebrate with Guardian Angel Publishing Authors ~ May 7-13, 2012 

Established in 1919, Children's Book Week is the longest-running literacy initiative in the country. Each year, books for young people and the joy of reading are feted for a full week with author and illustrator appearances, storytelling, parties, and other book-related events at schools, libraries, bookstores, museums, and homes from coast to coast! 

Visit Guardian Angel Publishing authors via their blogs as they celebrate Children's Book Week. Each stop includes special topics of discussion: teaching writing and grammar using children’s books, road to publication, professional critiques, educator guides, Skype and in-person author visits, what’s selling in children’s non-fiction, writing narrative non-fiction, interviews, book reviews, individual book information, and so much more.

Enter at a chance to win two prizes:

·         One FREE Picture Book Manuscript Critique by Margot Finke

·         One FREE tote bag of children's books from the participating authors

Visit May 7-13, 2012 and enter at a chance to win by commenting, GFC Follower, and/or become a Facebook Fan or Friend at each of the author blogs.

Guardian Angel Publishing Author Blogs:

Mayra Calvani - www.mayrassecretbookcase.blogspot.com

Margo Dill - www.margodill.com/blog

Margot Finke – www.hookkidsonreading.blogspot.com

Donna McDine - www.donna-mcdine.blogspot.com

Nancy Stewart - www.nancystewartbooks.blogspot.com

Kai Strand - www.kaistrand.blogspot.com

Nicole Weaver - www.mysisterismybestfriend.blogspot.com

About the authors:

Mayra Calvani writes fiction and nonfiction for children and adults. Her children’s picture books include Crash, The Magic Violin, Humberto, the Bookworm Hamster, Frederico, the Mouse Violinist, The Doll Violinist, The Water Cycle: Water Play Series Book I and the upcoming The Fox in the Night. She’s had over 300 reviews, articles, stories and interviews published online and in print. She’s represented by Mansion Street Literary Management.

Margo L. Dill is a freelance writer, editor, and teacher, living in St. Louis, Missouri. Her work has appeared in publications such as Grit, Pockets, Missouri Life, ByLine Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, True Love, On the Line, Fun for Kidz, and The News-Gazette. She is a columnist, instructor, and contributing editor for WOW! Women On Writing. She writes weekly book reviews for The News-Gazette (Champaign, IL). Her first book, Finding My Place, a middle-grade historical novel, will be published by White Mane Kids in 2012. She also has a picture book accepted by Guardian Angel Publishing and another by High Hill Press.

Margot Finke is an Aussie transplant who writes midgrade adventure fiction and rhyming picture books. For many years she has lived in Oregon with her husband and family. She has 11 books published so far. Gardening, travel, and reading fill in the cracks between writing. Her husband is very supportive, though not interested in children's books . Their three children are now grown and doing very well. Margot didn't begin serious writing until the day their youngest left for college. This late start drives her writing, and pushes her to work at it every day. Margot said, "I really envy those who began young, and managed to slip into writing mode between kid fights, diaper changes, household disasters, and outside jobs. You are my heroes! "

Donna McDine is an award-winning children's author, The Golden Pathway, an historical fiction story book about the Underground Railroad. Her stories, articles, and book reviews have been published in over 100 print and online publications. Donna has three more books under contract with Guardian Angel Publishing, Hockey Agony, Powder Monkey, and A Sandy Grave. She writes, moms and is the Editor-in-Chief for Guardian Angel Kids, Publicist for the Working Writer’s Club, and owner of Author PR Services.

Nancy Stewart is the bestselling and award winning author of the four Bella and Britt Series books for children. Her newest book, Katrina and Winter: Partners in Courage, is the biography of Katrina Simpkins with Winter, the dolphin. All are published by Guardian Angel Publishing. She is a frequent speaker and presenter at writing conferences throughout the United States. A blogger with a worldwide audience, she writes of all things pertaining to writing for children.

Kai Strand writes fiction for children and young adults. Her debut title, The Weaver, was a finalist in the EPIC eBook Awards. Her upcoming titles, Save The Lemmings! and The Wishing Well, Another Weaver Tale, will be released in 2012. Links to current and upcoming short stories can be found on her website. You can find book related downloads and more information about Kai and her writing at www.kaistrand.com.

Nicole Weaver was born in Port-au-Prince Haiti. She came to the United States when she was ten years old. She is fluent in Creole, French, Spanish, and English. She is a veteran teacher of French and Spanish. Her second children’s trilingual book, My Sister is My Best Friend was published by Guardian Angel Publishing, November 2011. She is also the author of a children’s trilingual picture book, Marie and Her Friend the Sea Turtle. The story is about a Haitian girl who resides by the beach in Haiti.

We look forward to your visit. Thank you and good luck! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Award-winning Children's Author
The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
http://guardianangelpublishing.com/pathway.htm ~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval Recipient and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist

And the Winner of the $25 PayPal payment is...

I'm pleased to announce the winner of the $25 PayPal payment for following along and entering at a chance to win during my Working Writer's Club Virtual Book for The Golden Pathway...

Mayra Calvani

Congratulations!

Thank you one and all who visited with me during my tour and left such heartwarming words of support.

All the best,

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Award-winning Children's Author
The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
http://guardianangelpublishing.com/pathway.htm ~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval Recipient and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist

Online Book Promotion for The Golden Pathway by Donna McDine

Day 2 of my Working Writer's Club Virtual Book Tour continues at Mayra Calvani's blog http://mayrassecretbookcase.blogspot.com/2012/03/writers-life-with-childrens-author_20.html on Tuesday, March 20th where I share what my writing life is like.

Be sure to stop by and enter at your chance to win a $25 PayPal payment.

Thank you for your time and interest!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Award-winning Children's Author
The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
http://guardianangelpublishing.com/pathway.htm ~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval Recipient and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist

Day 4 of Mayra Calvani's NWFCC Virtual Book Tour

Writing Tips from Children’s Writer Mayra Calvani


Writing original, engaging, fun children’s picture books kids will love takes A LOT more work than people think. Just being a mom or a grandma doesn’t qualify someone to write a children’s story. This is especially true for picture books. Writing great picture books takes special skill. Sure, a few lucky people possess a natural talent for it, but for most of us, it is a craft that must be learned.

Here are a few tips for aspiring authors:

It’s absolutely essential to learn the craft! If you’ve never written a picture book before, you need to learn its structure, elements, as well as the various types that exist. Study books on the technique of picture book writing. I especially recommend: Picture Writing, by Anastasia Suen and Writing Picture Books, by Ann Whitford Paul. Yet, don’t settle on just reading these books. Take online courses or workshops. As many as you can afford. Learning the craft of writing is a never ending process.

Join a good critique group. This is vital. It’s difficult for writers to be objective about their own work. They need those extra pairs of eyes to spot the weak parts in their manuscripts. Eventually, the greatest investment you’ll ever make in your writing career is to hire a professional children’s editor to go over your manuscript. Not just any editor, but one that has extensive experience with picture books. The editor I hired for one of my picture books, one that eventually landed me a contract with an agent, was a former editor at a major NY children’s publishing house.

Support, support, support! I’m a firm believer that most writers need moral support and encouragement to help keep them inspired and motivated. Join a local writers group or a club such as the Children’s Writing Coaching Club. You can also start your own group, either locally where you live or online.

Subscribe to a few newsletters and publications, such as Children’s Insider http://www.write4kids.com/aboutcbi.html and Children’s Writer http://www.childrenswriter.com/. Not only will you read great articles on the craft but you’ll also keep up to date with new agents and publishers and what they’re looking for.

If you’re serious about starting a children’s writing career, you should consider joining the Society of Children’s Book Author’s and illustrators (SCBWI). You could join their local chapter. Plus, it looks great on your query letter!

Prepare a writing schedule. I know some beginning writers who have been working on only one story for years. You won’t grow as a writer that way. You learn by doing it. So you have to write. Write. Write. That’s the only way to improve and hone your craft. The more you write, the better you get and the easier writing becomes. It’s just like learning an instrument. Can a violinist improve her skill by practicing a few times a year? Then why should it be any different for a writer? It doesn’t matter if you can only write for 20 minutes 3 times a week. The important thing is to make your plan and to stick with it.

Finally, even if you’ve written a masterpiece, it will never see publication if you leave it in the drawer. You have to SUBMIT. Non stop. Obsessively. Submitting only once or twice a month is a drop in the bucket.

I hope you’ve found my tips helpful. Good luck!

Be sure to leave Mayra a comment and/or question for she will be checking in throughout the day.

Follow Mayra on her next stop when she visits with Suzanne Lieurance on Oct 10 at http://suzannelieurance.com/.

Thank you for your time and interest.