STEM Stories With An SEL Heart By Betsy Ellor If you’ve been writing picture books long you know there’s a strong market for STEM...

Cumulative Stories: The House that Jack Built and More By Sue Heavenrich My newest picture book begins with the line: This is the seed...

Taking A Look at White Space by Lauren H. Kerstein I absolutely love the concept of white space. White space is: A pacing tool. A way to...

To Speak or Not to Speak: Dialogue in Picture Books By Jill Dana The picture book world has the full range of dialogue: from all dialogue...

UPPING THE ABSURDITY WITH ANDREW HACKET Part of the magic of writing books is that there are no boundaries. It is easy to question if we...

by Mary Boone I love a good nonfiction picture book. But there are times when the straight nonfiction-telling of a story isn’t the best...

Crafty Tip: Use Comp Titles to Strengthen Your Pitch By Mary Boone Just mention the term “comp title” in a room of writers. and you’re...

We are very excited to feature our March Guest Guru who brings a wealth of knowledge and information to us and will give a rating and...

As many of you know already, reading and studying Mentor Texts can play an important role in our journeys from aspiring writer to...

First, I want to say that we are grateful to all who reached out to make sure that they weren't missing our initial post! And if you...

Note: Lisa Amstutz is our Mastermind for our March Rate Your Story Professional Series. If you are a Member who is interested in...

Inspired by the beloved Sitcom, Friends, I thought I would answer the question -- how do I find takeaway from unrelated texts? Well, just...

When I came across the glittery cover of Be My ValenSLIME at the bookstore, I immediately grabbed it up. As a lover of holidays AND slime...

Our February Guest Guru loves so many things about Kidlit and has enjoyed learning many perspectives -- Writer, Author, Mentor, Editor,...

I am excited to share that many of our Judges have new books coming out in 2024! It’s just a testimony to the talent we have gathered...

Rate Your Story is kicking off a new Professional Series of Mentored Critique Groups, which are optional, upcharge experiences with...

The truth about writing a potential Christmas book is that there are two distinct possibilities to consider. One, that Christmas books...

This month, I am super excited to Interview Erin Dealey and share her joy of kidlit and holidays with our readers. Aside from wearing...

As you may or may not know, Rate Your Story offers Gurus who serve as Guest Judge for certain member submissions each month. January...

[Art by Lorna Hussey, Hedgehog's 100th Day of School by Lynne Marie.] As you may or may not know from my last post -- my very first...