When you join please introduce yourself!

[Mike]

Hello everyone! My name is Mike and I am putting the finishing touches on my first children's book, The Voyage of the Sharky Sloop and the Quest for Orange Marmalade.

[Deb]

Hi Mike,
I'm Deb and I'm have my first picture book hopefully coming out next year. Well, the tentative publishing date is next year. Welcome to the group!
http://www.debhockenberry.com

[Deb]

Hi Gusty,
My picture book is for the youngest readers or the ones who get read to. It's a very simple talking animal story about four friends who want to have a birthday party for their friend (another jungle animal).
http://www.debhockenberry.com

[Gusty]

Deb wrote: "Hi Gusty,
My picture book is for the youngest readers or the ones who get read to. It's a very simple talking animal story about four friends who want to have a birthday party for their friend (ano..."

Hi Deb,
My book is like that too. It has talking animals and is sort of a read aloud tale in verse, also for readers 5-8/9 years old. It's already available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Trafford Book Store, This is an indie publisher and my first try at this. It's titled "The Most Important Critter in the Whole Wide World". Preliminary readers (Family and friends, y'know?) thought it well done. But time alone will tell. Best of luck with yours.

[Deb]

Hi Gusty,
Your book sounds great! Did you create an author's page for it here on Goodreads? I intend to make one for my book once it's on Amazon.
http://www.debhockenberry.com

[Gusty]

Deb wrote: "Hi Gusty,
Your book sounds great! Did you create an author's page for it here on Goodreads? I intend to make one for my book once it's on Amazon.
http://www.debhockenberry.com"

Hey Deb,
I have an authors page here as part of the contract with Trafford publishing, They actually set it up for me. Right now I and my illustrator are setting up a reading at the local Boys and Girls club here in Springerville, Az. I may be able to get some local press coverage from this as well.

[[deleted user]]

Hello :) I'm a writer and have just self published a children's book. Last year I was lucky enough to have a book of poetry published. I live in the UK and would love to meet people of similar interests, and share/read new authors.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17...

[Gusty]

Louise wrote: "Hello :) I'm a writer and have just self published a children's book. Last year I was lucky enough to have a book of poetry published. I live in the UK and would love to meet people of similar inte..."

Good day Louise,
"Gusty" McCabe here. I too have just published a children's book but this is my first. My beginnings were as a storyteller and yarnspinner here in the American Southwest I was "A teller of tales both tall and true, of outlaws and miners and coyotes too" Several of the coyote tales that I told received such a good response from children that I though I'd try to publish, thus my story "The Most Important Critter in the Whole Wide World". It's just out on Amazon, Barns and Noble and others.
This story you have, does it have pictures? and might I review it for you? What age group is it for and how many pages? Will it be available in the U.S.? Who is your publisher?
I've just signed as a "friend" with Mariana, also in this group, and am reviewing her story "Tristan Wolf". find her post and introduce yourself. She is from Lima, Peru, but now lives in the U.S. (I think).
May fortune smile upon your efforts.
"Gusty" McCabe http://www.gustymcabe.com

[Mariana]

"Gusty" wrote: "Louise wrote: "Hello :) I'm a writer and have just self published a children's book. Last year I was lucky enough to have a book of poetry published. I live in the UK and would love to meet people ..."

Hi Louise! Just like Gusty said I formed a new group Pay it Forward Reviews and Advise where I hope we can all share our views and experiences. This Children's/ Illustrators group is also very helpful, I have found lots of nice people willing to share. It helps to be a member of a lot of groups (within your interest)because your network grows. The absolutely amazing thing about the Internet and the Social Media is that we can all be connected no matter where we are from, where we are at or where we are going to. I love it.
And yes, I live in the U.S!
Mariana Llanos

[[deleted user]]

Hi Marina! Thank you for such a lovely welcome...I'm always a little nervous about introducing myself to new groups, so it's great to meet such nice people. And also people from all over the world...the internet is an amazing thing. I will look into the other groups, definitly! :)

Dear Gusty...I would be delighted if you were to review my book. It is available in the U.S...I actually self published it through Createspace. It is a 'cause led' book, being that we are fighting the UK government against a cull of our beloved badgers at the moment. However, despite that, I hope it's still a good story for the kids (8-12yrs) as well as being thought provoking for adults. It's 166 pages, and has no illustrations. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CZD62XY

I would of course, be happy to review yours too, if you wish? Your book sounds great! :) Let me know...perhaps I could send you the review copy in PDF? Just as you prefer :)

Again, thank you both for your kindness. Best wishes

[Patti]

New to the group -My name is Patti Brassard Jefferson (pbj) I am a first time author/illustrator living in Florida. My first book is How Long Will You Love Me? which is out this week thru Halo Publishing International. Looking forward to networking with everyone!

www.howlongwillyouloveme.com

on Facebook: www.facebook.com/howlongwillyouloveme

-pbj

[Jennifer]

Hi, I am currently a children's book author, of the uniquely written Mortal Realm Witch series. Book One in the series, Mortal Realm Witch: Learning about Magic Mortal Realm Witch: Learning About Magic is available now in print at Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and as a Kindle eBook.
The series is targeted for ages 8-12 and anyone who loves animals and magic.
Book Two in the series, Mortal Realm Witch: The Magic Continues is expected to be released by August of this year.
You can learn more about the books in the Mortal Realm Witch series, as well as meet the characters, read character interviews, read a free story, and more at: www.mortalrealmwitch.com

[Judy]

Am going to check it out, Jennifer. Looks like something I would like.

If any of you have read Ozette's Destiny, would you consider writing a review on Amazon, Goodreads and LT? Thanks all.

[Manju]

Hi everyone!

This is Manju Studio and we'd just like to introduce ourselves to the group. We focus on children's books for kids ranging from 2-6. Our works are illustrated with strong influences from Japanese animation, and the focus of our stories is on friendship, courage, and following your dreams.

If you all get a chance, please do take a look at our works through our profile on goodreads and leave a review. Also please feel free to email us at themanjubun@gmail.com for a free digital copy.

[Gail]

Judy wrote: "Am going to check it out, Jennifer. Looks like something I would like.

If any of you have read Ozette's Destiny, would you consider writing a review on Amazon, Goodreads and LT? Thanks all."

Hi,
I have not yet finished Ozette's Destiny, but plan on an Amazon review ASAP!

[Jennifer]

Hi Everyone! I'm happy to join your group and browse around. I have one children's Ebook out with MeeGenius and one forthcoming in the fall of 2013 with Willow Moon Publishing. I am also an active member ( going on two yrs ) of Julie Hedlund's 12x12 picture book challenge.

[Judy]

Thanks. Will appreciate the review.

Welcome., Jennifer!!

[Gail]

Jennifer wrote: "Hi Everyone! I'm happy to join your group and browse around. I have one children's Ebook out with MeeGenius and one forthcoming in the fall of 2013 with Willow Moon Publishing. I am also an active ..."

I checked out your ebook with MeeGenius-it's adorable. Is the Willow Moon book also a picture book? Congrats and welcome!Something Stinks!

[Jennifer]

I just put Something Stinks on my to- read list. What an important topic for kids today. Hopefully many teachers will want it for their classrooms.
Thank you for your checking out my MeeGenius book and thanks for your kind words. My next book is also a children's picture book for ages 4-8. It will be out in paperback and as an Ebook.

[Jodi]

Jennifer wrote: "Hi Everyone! I'm happy to join your group and browse around. I have one children's Ebook out with MeeGenius and one forthcoming in the fall of 2013 with Willow Moon Publishing. I am also an active ..."

Welcome to the group! Congrats on your new works! :)
Jodi

[Jodi]

Just a hello and welcome to all of our new members! I love the way everyone is helping each other! Keep it up!

Jodi Stone :)

[Rockwell]

Hello all. My name is Rockwell. I have recently ventured in to my first children's book. It is entitled "Thaddeus Tabler and the Sea of Mayonnaise". I have set up a web site (below) and the book is currently available on the web site and on Amazon.com. Thanks!

http://seaofmayonnaise.com/

[Deborah]

Hi I am Deborah. I would love to learn all I can from everyone here. I have published my first children's book."Isabella's Special Wish", which will be available in 3 weeks on amazon. thanks for making this informative place!
Deborah

[Deborah]

Very Happy to be here. I have just self published my first book through Halo International Publishing. I think this group is a great place to share. My book is Isabella's Special Wish, it is a read aloud picture book aimed at ages 3 to 7. (on vaca no access to photos, will add when home).

[Deb]

Hi Deborah, Jennifer and Patty,
I hope I haven't forgotten anyone. Welcome to our little group! My picture book is with 4RV Publishing and the tentative publishing date is March?April 2014.

I do have a question for the group. What is a media kit, what all goes into one, and what do you need one for. I hear you do need one so I guess I should learn how to make one. Wait! That's three questions isn't it?
http://www.debhockenberry.com

[Caroline]

Hi my name is Carrie I've just finished my first book it's called " Evie and the Mystical purple Unicorn." My granddaughter Evie inspired me to write it. I am a primary School teacher and love writing but don't get a great deal of time. My next project is about a pixie called Donald. Thank goodness the Summer holidays are in sight and i can try to get the book edited and published! there are so many choices out there! Thank you for accepting me into the group.

[Caroline]

I did introduce myself as requested but can't see my post anywhere? Hello my name is Carrie and I've just finished my first children's book Evie and the Mystical Purple Unicorn it was inspired by my granddaughter who adores unicorns! I am a primary School teacher and have been writing for years but never really finished anything until I read Oli Hilles book. Then I did it! Thanks to Oli ! Many thanks for allowing me to join the group.

[Caroline]

Hey I scrolled down pages and pages and there I found the comments! Three of them! I've certainly made myself known! Thanks.

[Deborah]

Deb wrote: "Hi Deborah, Jennifer and Patty,
I hope I haven't forgotten anyone. Welcome to our little group! My picture book is with 4RV Publishing and the tentative publishing date is March?April 2014.

I do h..."

I would love to help but i have never seen a media kit.lol deborah

[Sheri]

Hi,
My name is Sheri and I am a frustrated children's picture book writer from the Western U.S. Just got my latest rejection letters from two publishers this week and need to revise and begin again. I love reading picture books and going to workshops. Hope to publish someday soon.

[Gail]

Welcome to the group! My suggestion, if you can swing the membership fee of about $80 (US), is to join SCBWI. Great things can happen to you with them-starting with finding a critqiue group in your area-most important. Check their site out online-money well-spent,combined with this helpful group-will help the frustration factor by light years!

[Patti]

Sheri wrote: "Hi,
My name is Sheri and I am a frustrated children's picture book writer from the Western U.S. Just got my latest rejection letters from two publishers this week and need to revise and begin agai..."
Sheri - Have you considered self-publishing? I decided to go that route and so far have not been disappointed! I used Halo Publishing International. The have plenty of different marketing packages available to fit any budget. CEO is an award-winning children's book author herself so she "gets" it - Great to work with!

[Patti]

Media kit is something that one send to the media so I would include: an author bio, an author photo, description of the book, cover photo,
press release, some good reviews, links to book related sites (your website, book trailer, amazon author page)

I just found this article to be pretty informative (tho from 2011): http://saundramitchell.com/tools-for-...

[Patti]

Any body out there want to share a link to their blog? I just started mine yesterday & i'm looking for some inspiration on what others are doing.... how often do you blog? is it all book related? How have you built a following? Thanks!

www.1crayonshort.blogspot.com

[Patricia]

Hi Jodi and Everyone, My name is Patricia. I've lived in Asheville, NC for many years and have just started writing in the last few of those years. My stories are about connecting with Nature and inspiring children to want to learn and care about the Earth. I am attempting to do this with characters called the Gemstone Elves.
I'm also interested in any subjects in Children's Literature, and hope to make many friends in this wonderful group. Please visit my author page and my Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/GemstoneElves

[Jodi]

Sheri wrote: "Hi,
My name is Sheri and I am a frustrated children's picture book writer from the Western U.S. Just got my latest rejection letters from two publishers this week and need to revise and begin agai..."

Deb wrote: "Hi Deborah, Jennifer and Patty,
I hope I haven't forgotten anyone. Welcome to our little group! My picture book is with 4RV Publishing and the tentative publishing date is March?April 2014.

I do h..."


Hello and welcome! My best advice is keep at it. I remember those days, waiting for what seemed like forever only to receive rejection letters over and over. I would polish and work on my craft, send it out into that mystical world we call publishing, and get rejected again. I won't lie. It was tough. But, if you really want it, keep at it. Sometimes it's all about getting it into the right home and hands where it belongs. Gail gave you a great idea too in joining the Writers group, but also remember a lot of times, unless there are multiple errors and a bad story, it really is all matter of opinion when the publisher opens it. They will ask themselves, is it a good fit for our publishing house? Is it original?

As any published author will tell you, we were all feeling exactly what you're feeling when we started. I have been published for three years now, and still get scared that I will find rejection. That never goes away. But you must keep going. It will happen. Keep at it. :) Best of luck!!
Jodi

[[deleted user]]

Hi, My name is Paul G Day and I have 4 children's books.

[Ann]

Hi There,
My Name is Ann, and I come from the beautiful Gold Coast on the east coast of Australia.

I recently published my first book Where Is Silly Bear? and am not sure how to use the Goodreads site. Are you able to post your book up on the site? How do we help others?

If I am offering my book for free on Amazon promo, is there a place I can let Goodreads members know?

How do you become friends with other members? I notice that I have a few friends already, but I'm not sure how!

Also how does one get a review?

Thanks in advance,
Ann

[Gusty]

Ann wrote: "Hi There,
My Name is Ann, and I come from the beautiful Gold Coast on the east coast of Australia.

I recently published my first book Where Is Silly Bear? and am not sure how to use the Goodreads ..."

Hello Ann from Australia. You'll get a lot of help from the goodreads groups. Try the group "Pay It forward review and advice" hosted my Mariana. It's a great group and lotsa help is available. Goodreads isn't hard to use and we get better and better with practice and time.
My name is Paul Larson but my pen/stage name is "Gusty" McCabe. I've just self published my first children's book as well and have had some valuable reviews for it from that group. Tell me more about your book, how many pages, what age group, is it illustrated, in narrative or verse etc.
Glad to have you with us.
Paul, aka "Gusty"

[Ann]

Hi Gusty,
Thanks for your reply and interest. I'll take you up on your tips.

My book is targeted at baby-6 years old. It's a really simple "board book" with 30 fabulous illustrations and a rhyming story to go with them. It's just 33 pages long. Why it's good for up to 6 is because the words are suitable for beginner readers. I've done pretty well with it in the first 6 weeks - had a good spike up to 5200 ranking on Amazon. But it has fallen back now, so I'm ready for my next promo this Thurs and Friday.
Thanks for your interest!
Ann

[The]

Hi out there =)

I'm getting ready to release the first of my children's series Sept 1st, Cali & the BF Crew. I'm very excited and giddy.

Oh yeah, duh...my name is Chele and I write under the pseudonym, Journi Roe.

Looking forward to meeting fellow writers who are forever children at heart <3

Be well,
Chele

[Mariana]

Hello everyone,
I have a HUGE favor to ask: you see, the 8 year old son of a friend of mine (actually the director of a preschool where I work, St. Paul's CDO in Oklahoma City)has been diagnosed with leukemia just a couple of weeks ago and is undergoing chemotherapy. This sweet, lively boy is giving the fight of his life. His prognosis is good, but you know how depleted that leaves the parents, emotionally and financially. A group of friends is organizing an event on August 9th. There will be a silent auction with different items and gift baskets to raise funds for the Novosad family. I just offered to organize children's books gift baskets. Of course I will be donating copies of my book Tristan Wolf and I was wondering if any of you would like to participate. One copy or two of your book will be plenty, but it will have to be MAILED to me almost IMMEDIATELY. I live in Oklahoma and will give you my address if you'd like to participate. It will be great if you sign your book! You can look up the event on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/HopeForGage
It looks like I'm going on stage to read a little story that I wrote for Gage, and I will mention the help and cooperation of my fellow authors and friends. Any help that you can give will be greatly appreciate it. Please, private message me ASAP if you'd like to participate.
Thank you,
Mariana.

[Lyn]

Hi all, new to Goodreads so forgive any breaches of etiquette! My name is Lyn and I will soon be releasing my first kid's book

Anyone wants to hook up on Twitter too, my handle is @LynXDuffy

Also if you'd like to preview my book before it goes please let me know, I'd be happy to send you a copy in exchange for a review.

[Kids Can Press]

Hello! We're Kids Can Press, a Canadian-owned & operated children's book publisher. Along with creating good children's books, we love to read them as well. Some of our titles include the Franklin the Turtle series and the Scaredy Squirrel series. From animal tales to whimsical poetry to fantastical stories, we're dedicated to cultivating a love of literacy in children through great stories. Looking forward to connecting with like-minded readers and creators! It would be great if you checked out our titles.

Our website: www.kidscanpress.com

[Linda]

Hi

My name is Linda and I am the author of 2 books, The Firestone Crystal and its sequel, The Hidden Realms of Firestone. They are aimed at children aged 9 years and over, but are suitable for adults too. I write a combination of sci-fi and fantasy adventure stories, but I have to say, I am struggling with sales and reviews. Hope I can pick up some tips here and share the, somewhat limited, knowledge I have.

My website address: www.firestone.moonfruit.com

Nice to meet you all.

Linda

[C.S.]

Hi to all. Good to find this group. Latest book is Hush, Puppy! A Southern Fried Tale (announcement in "my books" section), available to reviewers (please email me at fuqua.cs@gmail.com for more info). For more information about my work, please visit my Goodreads site (please consider "friending" me!) or my website at csfuqua.weebly.com.

[Brittany]

Hello - what a great group discussion!

Did your children love camp this summer? Check out Bookworm Bea's adventures at Camp Bug Juice!

http://www.amazon.com/Camp-Bug-Juice-...

Bea the Bookworm has never been to summer camp before! She is just a kid and leaving home for the first time and going off into the wilderness to live with all kinds of insects she doesn't even know. Bea wants to have fun at summer camp but she really just wanted to make sure that she makes it through the summer safe and sound.

[Dan]

Hi all you yon teenagers,

I have published my first Children's Christmas book:
'A Glimpse from Christmas Past'. My publisher is authorhouse.com but my book is available on all online bookstores Amazon, B&N, Google etc... I had my press release last week (see below link) Wish Me Luck!

http://www.prweb.com/releases/DCDonah...

[Ronnie]

Hello,

I've just joined this group. My name's Ronnie James and I have a small children's book series that I'm constantly working on called "The Adventures of Blue the Very Happy dog". There are two published now, with a two more ready to publish and another almost finished.

The books are inspired by my own rather adventures and naughty Golden Retriever, also called Blue!

I really look forward to meeting people here.

[Rebecca]

Hi everyone,
I'm Beck. I just decided to look into "groups" on Goodreads and discovered a world I didn't know existed. I can't wait to see what everyone is up to.

I write and illustrate children's books for very young readers. I have published 3 titles in English and 2 of them have been translated into Spanish. Right now I'm working on an educational series.

So that's me. Here's where I can be found: http://www.booksbeck.com/books