Avenue of Children’s Books

Tweeners! So my story consultant, Brad Schreiber, thought that tweeners would be the main audience for my book. Of course, that still left me in an ambiguous area between the established children's and young adult genres, much like the tweeners themselves.

It was time to explore the world of children's books.

Years ago, someone suggested to me that I connect with the SCBWI, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, a key organization for those involved in the world of children's books. Back then, I was still working my way through the first draft and initial illustrations of my project. I didn't want to tie myself up with the many extracurricular activities that the organization offered because I wanted to focus on the project at hand.

The time had come, however, to connect to the world of writers in some fashion. I joined the SCBWI; members get a subscription to the organization's bi-monthly magazine. Then I connected to the SCBWI Twitter page, which in turn drew a couple of children's writing and illustration bloggers to my Twitter page. These connections turned me onto a wealth of information, websites and articles surrounding the world of writing for children. I had to be careful, because it was easy to get lost in the constant influx of info. I could never read it all, even if I tried, and I didn’t want to ignore my primary project. But I could feel that this organization would be more than a valuable resource for me as I moved forward.

I filtered and bookmarked the information, incorporating what I felt was relevant to my work when it seemed appropriate. My little "tales" project was, more and more, taking me to places I had never imagined.

Learn more about the SCBWI at: http://www.scbwi.org/