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Our world is craving genuine people and authentic stories. The market is flooded every day with new children’s books. What will set yours apart?

Some days, finding time to write feels like trying to catch a firefly with oven mitts on—possible, technically, but wow does it take effort.

The good news? Most website mistakes are fixable—and once you know what to look for, you'll never make the same mistakes again.

Below are four excellent writing conferences (including ours!) that picture book writers should keep on their radar—plus two kidlit writing organizations that are just too good to leave out. 👇

In publishing, the wins aren’t just the book deals or the big moments. They’re the people who hand you coffee. The mentors who show up. The gut feelings that say, this one’s worth it.

As someone who designs websites for authors, I've seen firsthand how a strategically built website can become a review-generating machine.

Deciding whether your children's book manuscript is truly ready to send out into the world—whether that means querying agents or diving into self-publishing—can feel both thrilling and terrifying. And honestly? Only you can make that call. But as an agented and traditionally published picture book author who’s helped hundreds of writers navigate both traditional and indie publishing paths, I’ve found that most successful authors can answer YES to the following question

Children’s book authors, on the other hand, face a unique challenge.  We must write a book that appeals to two very different audiences: 4-8 year olds with limited vocabularies and the attention span of a fruit fly; and adults who may have already maxed out on the amount of Bluey they can handle in one day.

Write because you want to write, not because you want to be published. Because that is the one thing that is truly under your control!

If you know me at all, you know that school visits are one of my absolute favorite parts of being a children’s book author. The hugs, the high fives, the curious questions like “How long does it take to write a book?” and “Do you know Mo Willems?” (yes, that’s a real question I’ve been asked)… I live for this stuff.

Not just royalties. But smart money moves. Tiny financial shifts that make a big difference. And most of all, let’s talk about building stability—one choice at a time.

These days, I might find out I hit a bestseller list while I’m cleaning Play-Doh out of the carpet. Or while one kid is yelling that their banana broke in half and the other is crying because I dared to sing the wrong version of the clean-up song.

Comp title is just short for “comparable title.”  It’s an already published book that has something in common with your unpublished manuscript, and including it in your query or cover letter helps the agent or editor understand where your book would sit on the shelves of a bookstore, or what readers would be likely to purchase your book.  

...it's critical that you take the time to learn the genre and it's unique expectations before you dive in.

At a recent conference, someone sat down across from me and said, “I wrote a picture book, but it got too long—so now I’m turning it into a young adult novel.” This wasn’t a one-off comment. When I asked more questions, I realized: they had no idea that middle grade was a thing. They didn’t know what chapter books were, either. And they definitely didn’t realize that a picture book isn’t just a book with pictures. That moment is exactly why I wrote this post. Because I’ve bee