The Business of Writing: How to be an Authorpreneur

For many of creative people, it is difficult to take off the ‘creative hat’, so to speak, and put on the ‘business hat’. However, in this day and age of living in a noisy and busy world it is vital. Allison Tait interviewed Hazel Edwards in 2013 about the business of writing in her blog […]

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Magazine Matters

One of the ways to get your work published and build up your author/illustrator portfolio and presence is to submit stories/illustrations to magazines. Magazines don’t skimp on the quality of work they accept, but they have a higher through-put of stories than is possible when publishing books. Have a look in industry magazines and newsletters […]

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A Publisher’s Perspective by Dianne Bates

Guest Post by Dianne Bates Publisher, editor, author and Lady Cutler Prize award-winner, Dianne Bates, has so generously shared her insider knowledge on what’s hot, and what’s not, from a publisher’s perspective. A fascinating account! Thanks so much, Di! 😊 ———————————— In 2016, I established a children’s book imprint, About Kids Books publishing junior novels for […]

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Not Just a Piece of Cake; Being an Author: Hazel Edwards Part 2

In Part 1 of my interview with Hazel Edwards last week she provided some important pieces of advice on understanding the ins and outs of the publishing industry, as well as tips on developing oneself as an ‘authorpreneur’. In this post Hazel talks more personally on her inspirations, achievements and highlights of some of her latest […]

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Not Just a Piece of Cake; Being an Author: Hazel Edwards

Hazel Edwards, best known for her much-loved and cherished ‘Hippo’ books, is also one of Australia’s leading and most passionate authors with over 200 books to her name. Just incredible! Writing across a range of genres for a diverse population, from picture books to chapter books and adult non-fiction, Hazel brings with her a fortune […]

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Top Take-home messages from the Kids and YA Festival 2016

The value of festivals cannot be underestimated when it comes to both networking and nourishing our writing craft and career. So here are my top take home messages from the NSW Writer’s Centre Kids and YA Festival in June:  1 The Process of writing – hints from picture book authors: Don’t delete your rubbish ideas. ‘You have to […]

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Conference Camaraderie

One of the elements in my Writer’s Action Matrix earlier in the year was to attend a conference or festival. Well, it seems like festival season at the moment for Kid’s Lit. There’s heaps to choose from – check out the events section of this website! I was fortunate enough to secure tickets to the […]

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How to get your work read by publishers.

On Halloween 2015 I attended an “Inside the publishing House” event at Hachette, Australia, organised through the Emerging Writers Festival. It was incredibly insightful and interesting. Although not specifically for children’s books (Hachette has only one children’s publisher compared with five other publishers) most of the messages I gleaned for the panel discussions hold true […]

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Crowdfunding PART TWO: Tips for campaign set-up and success

Please click here to revisit Crowdfunding PART ONE: What is it and why should creatives consider it? Now that I had decided to crowdfund my first picture book, I had to make some important assessments and decisions. Which platform should I utilise and why? How likely am I to succeed in raising the funds required? […]

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Crowdfunding PART ONE: What is it and why should creatives consider it?

Last month, I wrote about finding the ‘one’; an illustrator who brings your words to life. You can read it, here. The next step in my journey was confirming finance of book production and how to create awareness of my work and its impending release. I’d recalled several colleagues over the years, utilising crowdfunding for […]

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