Rossa Motte

Rich people like to think they're rich because they're smart --they're not smart, they have less morals.
People get rich in this country by cheating other people: Underpaying employees; overcharging & price gouging; etc.
People with morals won't do those things, so they don't get rich.

Great post! ✨ I have been thinking the same but on a larger scale: of course life is unfair in many ways, but in some others I ask “is it really unfair or am I entitled?”
And I have been thinking of that regarding my artistic career. I can be good and still have to work hard to earn “success” 🥲

I think some of the best stories ever are “kids” stories. You don't *need* “adult stuff” to tell great stories. I see a lot of people who think otherwise and do mediocre work. But good kids stories were very important to me growing up and even as an adult I can see what I took from each one of them

This is a reason why so many teens are into manga and graphic novels now. It's a good thing.

As someone who is unagented and unpublished (by the traditional industry) I so much feel this! Luckily I don't take it against the successful John Does, but sometimes I feel like I try and try and try and I'm just running on a treadmill 😅😩

i just want to read the book. i don't want siri but a novel. give me paperback first, better royalty payment structures for adults, cheaper ebook options, a new marketing category between YA and adult, literally anything except this.

If you see this, post a witch! 🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘

#illustration #art #kidlit #kidlitart #witch #witchy

"I will, with love, set you on fire if you talk to me about how I'm just not seeing its potential" is my new response to every listserv email I get from a school librarian about how to incorporate genAI into our work.

so... i had NO idea i wrote this much this year. I was honestly feeling really behind and like I wasn't accomplishing anything new but getting *most* of SMASHwip written (and rewritten) is pretty cool ig

#booksky #writingwrapped 2024

This is a great thread, and so true. The secret to writing great picture books is to write a lot of them.

If you’ve got a manuscript close to your heart that isn’t working yet, set it aside and write new stuff for a while. I guarantee you’ll have a better idea of how to shape it when you return.

My soon-to-be old self portrait! I drawing the new one 🖤

If you see this, post a redhead! ❤️

#kidlitart #kidlit #art #illustration #portrait

Although I already queried a not-so-good manuscript at the beginning of the year 🥲

Great post, it really puts things into perspective! 🖤 As an illustrator I assumed it would be easier to get an agent as author-illustrator (luckily that's my dream!) and for editors it would be more flexible. Right now I stopped querying to focus on improving my PB writing skills 😵‍💫

Pie chart based on Publishers Marketplace data showing only 23% of 2024 announced picture book deals going to author-illustrators.

"Why are picture books texts so hard to sell?" Short answer: THEY'RE NOT! This is one of the biggest misconceptions about children's publishing. After saying this for the twelfth millionth time this week, I wrote a looong post about it: writingcommunity.ca/kidlit-confu... #kidlit #picturebook #pb

Text on Halloween-inspired background reads: Less words. More nightmares. The what: Share your micro-spooky story for kids and/or your spooky art for kids. The How: Everyone: Use the hashtag #KidLitSundayScaries. Post anytime on Sunday. Use an age-range hashtag if you have a vision for one. Use bsky's alt text feature if you share images. Use your noggin, not a robot -- no AI. Authors: Share your micro-spooky story of 250 characters or less. Illustrators: Share your spooky art for kids.

My story is already scheduled to post tomorrow -- as Sunday is my sleep in day -- but if you can see this, I'd love for you to join me. There's still plenty of time to create something short and sweet (and spooky, obv 👻).

#KidLit #KidLitArt #WritingCommunity #KidLitSundayScaries #Horrorsky

Board books (BB) 2%; Picture books (PB) 52%; Chapter books (CB) 2%; Middle grade (MG)16%; Young adult (YA) 21%; Graphic novels (GN) 8%

Hello #kidlit friends. I've compiled 2024 Publishers Marketplace data into this friendly pie chart.

Please note:
- data is for U.S. based publishers
- not all publishers/agents announce every deal
- some deals include multiple books/cats so numbers are approx.
- CB data also includes early readers

I'm not on twitter anymore, but this tweet from 2 years ago is sadly more accurate than ever

I forgot about #KidLitArtPostcard day because I had a dentist appointment 🥲 So here is the last one!
I can add that I've been experimenting with traditional art more, as well as reading “Writing Picture Books” by Ann Whitford Paul, so I've been redeeming my manuscripts from writing sins! 🖤🌚🌿

We need to keep talking about how weird it is for people to think they should have a say in reading choices for anyone's kids but their own. You're not in charge of what other people's children eat or wear or when they go to bed. Why on earth would you get to choose what they read?

I've long dreamed of using magic to move objects with my mind.
The older I get, the more I know my dream is fulfilled each time I pick up my cup.
What is a body?
A spell billions of years in the making.
Soil and storms and the fruit of forests and phytoplankton.
How well familiarity masks our magic.

Reminder: you don’t have to be good at something to enjoy it, you don’t have to get better at it, you don’t have to monetize it, and it doesn’t have to be useful.

Jesse Hamm 2015:
"The biggest enemy of meeting deadlines isn't laziness. It's the false belief that badly drawn bits aren't allowed.

Wanna draw everything perfectly? Then be a cover artist. Spend days on one image. Wanna tell a story? Then make friends with ERROR." 1/ 2

I can never understand why children's books get left out of "great book" lists. The books we call "children's books" are really books written for an audience that includes children, but excludes no-one. They are books for EVERYONE - and if you exclude them, you miss the most important books of all!

lol & lmfao even. there are a lot of problems w publishing, but the entire point of an agent is so you can ultimately get paid more upfront & better rights bc they negotiate for that. others can speak to self pub/kickstarter/whatever. tech bros can die in a fire

I've had a couple writers recently withdraw immediately saying they signed with another agent, so I thought I'd do a mini chat on what's expected once you receive an offer.

1) thank the offering agent. Let them know you still have materials out and ask for 2 weeks to make your decision.

All about KidLitArtPostcard — Gina Perry Illustrations

This is your advance reminder that KidLitArtPostcard Day is a little over a week away on December 5th. Let's make this one for the records here on Bluesky. #kidlit #kidlitart www.ginaperry.com/postcard

If you see this, post your orange art! 🧡🍊🍂🥕🎃

#kidlit #kidlitart #illustration #art #bookcover

Busy studying and came across this passage in my school book:

"My purpose on this Earth is to live my own life and to do so as well as I possibly can. That's why I need to recapture my own story."

- Quote by Göran Larsson (translated text from Swedish into English)