Dear editor: imagine once a week you could come chat with your #kidlit friends, broadly guided by a topic but really to build community. We call it #kidlitchat, and this amazing beast happens every Tuesday. You should join us, cuz the folks who come each week are THE best. See ya next week!

Admittedly, my long ago choice of comp as "Webster's Dictionary" probably didn't work for everyone as meaning "every word in my book is in it, so that's the connection" but we want to try and communicate in a way that's true to ourselves/our work, too #kidlitchat

I am not an editor, but I think comp titles often aren't helpful unless your whole pitch makes it clear why those titles are legit comps. You could use The Hunger Games for teen action or dystopia or political intrigue or tone or female lead, etc., so how is it relevant for your book? #kidlitchat

I think querying well is about clarity. What is it about your manuscript someone just has to know? How can you describe it/tease it/synopsize it in a way that makes someone say "yes. I get it. I will take a peak."? #kidlitchat

Ahhh. Here at last. Querying about what I've missed and going back to read through #kidlitchat....

Allow me to remind you or break the news that there's a #kidlitchat here on Bluesky at 9PM Eastern/6PM Pacific today. In either case, that means we #kidlit folk will be chatting for an hour, and we all think you should join us. Hope you can make it!

Thanks to all for joining in another #kidlitchat and bringing us up to date on YOU. Looking forward to seeing you next week!

Note: If you do a search for #KidLitChat for liveposts Tue nights, make sure you look under RECENT tab (it defaults to "Top"). Or you can do what I do & use @deck.blue. youtu.be/-5N2CZRIit4?...

How to use deck.blue to participate in a Bluesky livechat (#KidLitChat)

YouTube video by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

youtu.be

TOPIC: It's time to check in with what's been going on in your creative world since June. (Yes! Another quarter gone!) Victories large and small, plans, goals--it's all part of the journey worth sharing and celebrating! #kidlitchat

Tuesday! #kidlitchat! 9pm Eastern! On Bluesky! I hope you can join us for an hour of #kidlit yakking. And if so… I will see you soon!

Thank you all for joining in to another #kidlitchat. You're all ideal chatters, as far as I'm concerned, and I look forward to seeing you here next week, too!

Bonnie and I know it's impossible to have a #kidlitchat today without thinking of Dolly Parton and the 300 million+ children's books she put out into the world via her Imagination Library. I think I speak for us all when I say what a remarkably wonderful legacy that alone is....

TOPIC: Do you have an ideal reader in mind when you're working on a manuscript or illustration? Is it you or someone you know... or is it just an idea to help guide you? If you don't, what helps you guide your work for its audience? #kidlitchat

Come join us #kidlit folk at 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific here on Bluesky for our every Tuesday #kidlitchat. It’s an hour of fun, I tell ya, and we would love to see you chatting!

Thank you all for sharing your favorites with us here at #kidlitchat. It is amazing the power of what we read as kids (and for many of us... as adults, too!). And we'll see you here next week, I hope!

I ran into this online snd thought about how our childhood reading stays with us #kidlitchat

TOPIC: We know your TBR stack keeps growing! How about old favorites? Are there books you read as a child/teen that you keep coming back to, that never disappoint "older you"? #kidlitchat

Tuesday and #kidlitchat go together like <insert comparison>! Join us at 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific/<other time zone, ideally interesting> today here on <social network> and chat for an hour with your #kidlit friends. <pithy comment>! Looking forward to seeing you… <note to self: fill in template!!!>

I finally re-found I'm Pretty Well Connected (v. 3.0 from 2023) which I only posted on a few platforms. Most of these are still around, but even 3 years later... nope. Not all! #Kidlitchat

Thank you all for jumping into the #kidlitchat platform chat here on Bluesky. Will we be here in 5 or 10 years? We shall see! But we'll definitely be here next week, and I hope you join us then.....

I dust off a poem from 2008 (!!!!) about this platform issue to show how some things last and some... uhh... don't: gottabook.blogspot.com/2008/09/im-p... #kidlitchat (the poem has two newer iterations you can find, too, if that's your thing. The 2009 version has even more dead ends!)

It is interesting that TikTok hasn't been mentioned yet. That's where soooo much book talking is happening, though that is by fans more than creators. #kidlitchat

It is funny to think back to prior #kidlitchat iterations of this topic and all the platforms that... like... are no longer around. There's probably a lesson in that.

TOPIC: What are you doing these days to maintain a professional presence that also reaches your audience? Is it... websites? Social media? Newletters? Video? Text? ESP??? All or some or... what is working for you? #kidlitchat

Hey there, you #kidlit creator or lover or fan or friend - why not join a bunch of us for #kidlitchat here on Bluesky today at 9PM Eastern/6PM Pacific? We'll be happy to see you. Someone will offer you dessert. It's a good time, I tell ya! See you soon....

The other reason I turned to children's lit is so that I could start a weekly #kidlitchat with @bonnieadamson.com. Mission accomplished! Thanks for joining us again this week... and we'll see you all back here next Tuesday!

I think I was drawn to children's books because those were the stories that resonated with me AND cuz kids are the best audience. Honest. Willing to go where you want to take them rather than try to insist they know the better way. Etc. Plus I may still be a kid so write what you know. #kidlitchat

*Updated* my One Thing I've Learned blog on @pckt.blog. Photo is of a real-life #KidLitChat meetup! Speaking of which, follow @kidlitchat.bsky.social for topics every Tue 9 pm ET. Thx @gregpincus.bsky.social & @bonnieadamson.com for hosting! onething.pckt.blog/networking-i...

Networking is not a bad word - One Thing I've Learned

It can even be fun, if you stay authentic

onething.pckt.blog

TOPIC: Continuing our celebration of 17 years chatting, tonight we're re-upping the very first topic from the first #kidlitchat: "Why children’s literature? What excites you about it, whether it’s reading, writing or ???"

#kidlitchat is coming up at 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific right here today on Bluesky. All* your #kidlit pals will be there, so you should come join us! (*perhaps tonight we will discuss the techniques of hyperbole and exaggeration despite me thinking those wouldn’t cone up in a million years?)