Melissa Murray

Good to know. Thanks! #kidlitchat

I try to send a pitch along with the manuscript to my critique partners. When a story is early in development and maybe too meandering, they’ll sometimes ask what’s the pitch to help focus it. It’s helpful to get that feedback early on—even when it changes significantly. #kidlitchat

True. #kidlitchat

Good strategy. I think I need to try writing out like a 3 page synopsis for my graphic novel and then whittle that down. I also find log lines difficult. A 2 or 3 sentence pitch, I can do—but one sentence is tough for most books. #kidlitchat

I don’t typically like using comps too similar to my books. If there’s already a book so similar—why publish another? I use elements of a book instead. Does the character have a similar emotional journey—but a different plot to another book, is the structure or humor similar, etc.? #kidlitchat

Agreed. I kind of love writing pitches (especially for picture books), but synopses are like fitting an entire novel onto one page and that’s tough to do. I hate having to leave out fun subplots and minor characters. #kidlitchat

Sounds fun, thanks for the recommendation! #kidlitchat

I think this is the one I was thinking of, I loved them too. I vividly remember her talking to the bust of Freud. Thanks! #kidlitchat

This sounds very familiar…I remember reading a lot of middle grade back then that did this type of thing at least partially. Diary entries, postcards, lists, I recall something like a scientific journal. #kidlitchat

It depends. I play with the possibilities more when starting the revision phase—but I mostly write by instinct for what feels right for a particular manuscript. I trend toward 1st person for fiction and 3rd person for info-fiction or NF, but don’t really have a preference when reading. #kidlitchat

My ink, watercolor, digital illustration of a family; mom, grandma, father, Elinor, grandpa and their dog walking though the crunchy leaves a on a beautiful fall day. Illustration is from the book, Elinor's Glad-To-Be-Together Family written by Susan Layne and illustrated by me, Diana Ting Delosh. Published by Mascot Kids.

Art Directors, Editors, Designers:
Happy #KidLitArtPostcard Day!
Portfolio: dianadelosh.com
Represented by @lynnettenovak.bsky.social of The Seymour Agency.
#kidlitartpostcard #kidlitart #illustrator #illustration #kidlit

A textured, painterly illustration of a little girl using a ladder to climb on a big horse

Happy #KidLitArtPostcard day! Have a pony! 🦄
jwahlgren.com/children

This is so sweet!

Hi, #KidLitArtPostcard Day!

I'm Mayumi, a Japanese #kidlit illustrator. Excited to take on new projects! Picture books, board books, and book covers are my favorite things to work on✨ #kidlitart

Rep'd by lovely @essiewhite.bsky.social
at @stormliterary.bsky.social

🌐 mayumi-sasage.com

An illustration by Angela Matteson of a chipmunk setting a fresh baked pie on a shelf from inside her pumpkin house.

Hello! #KidLitArtPostcard! A snippet from my archives to welcome the autumnal vibes, although I'm still enjoying late summer blooms and garden tomatoes!
angelamatteson.com
I’m represented by @jmcgowanbks.bsky.social
@bookendsliterary.bsky.social

#kidlitart #kidlit #illustration #ChildrensBooks

Sketchbook paintings made with watercolor, Caran D’ache Neocolor II crayons, and colored pencil. On the left, 2 green, cartoony tortoises, each eating a large seed. On the right, still lifes studies of acorns and a blue jay feather and a loosely painted portrait of a woman.

Some sketchbooking. A mix of kidlit characters, a photo study, and some still life objects.

#sketchbook #watercolor #mixedmedia #nature #kidlitart #portraitpainting

Travel to see lots of museums and places. Maybe get an MFA in art or writing. And if it’s unlimited, probably a PhD in some kind of biology. Hopefully this also comes with unlimited energy? #kidlitart

I’d like to try learning more sculpture. I’ve got a few ideas to play with making things out of wire—but I made a couple like that in college and remember getting lots of cuts on my hands. Maybe I’ll be less clumsy this time around. 😆 #kidlitart

I prefer in-person courses, largely because of the accountability of having assignments and personalized feedback. I do also enjoy online courses and experimenting, but sometimes it ends up being another thing on the unfinished (but I’ll get to it it someday) to-do list. #kidlitart

I’m trying to use more traditional art in my illustration—but I love the flexibility of layers in digital art—so I’m trying to learn how to combine things in sort of a digital collage. #kidlitart

Very cool! #kidlitart

Finally getting back to doing some illustration after a bit of a break from it. #kidlitart

I think it was partly b/c I included way too much backmatter. 😆 I am interested in writing it eventually (it intersects with my own genealogical research). But, I need to finish other projects and send out some queries first. Also, I’m not sure if companion books are actually a thing.🤷‍♀️ #kidlitchat

I just got feedback from my critique group that a PB manuscript I wrote should maybe have an adult or YA nonfiction or HF novel as a companion book. I am trying to restrain myself from starting on a research heavy NF book before I finish the already massive pile of WIP projects. 😂 #kidlitchat

I think it’s hard to know until you’ve spent time away from a project. I find it hard to write off an idea completely, but I don’t end up returning to every one. There’s a few projects that I basically can’t quit and after some time apart, I’m able to see it more clearly & make progress. #kidlitchat

😂 I bought a poster every year. I still remember the purple unicorn one. I did also buy books though. #kidlitchat

Absolutely. It's also helpful since I don't have kids, to have parents or people who work with young kids give me a better read on what works for the age level. #kidlitchat

Me too. I love breaking down concepts and finding interesting and relatable ways to explain things like you can do with info-fiction. Picture books are particularly fun for that because you get to use images and possibly humor too. #kidlitchat

We're all perpetually Toys-R-Us kids who never want to grow up. 😂 Accurate.

I mostly write picture books and middle grade. PBs, I was initially drawn to because I also illustrate and it was a natural extension of that--but I also love how lyrical and poetic the language can be. That and the way you can play with visual humor and the interplay of text and image. #kidlitchat