2019 Wrap Up: Book News and a Giveaway of 2020 Releases

© Sylvia Liu

2019 was a banner year for me, creatively. To celebrate, I'm giving away TWO pre-orders of highly anticipated 2020 PB, MG, and YA releases. Read on for my recap and info about the giveaway.

How to Make a Picture Book Trailer: NOAH NOASAURUS

My critique and Kidlit411 partner Elaine Kiely Kearns's picture book, NOAH NOASAURUS, illustrated by Colin Jack (Albert Whitman) debuts on April 1. As part of the marketing effort, I made her book trailer using software that comes pre-installed on any Mac.

Happy New Year 2019 - Plus Agent News!

© Sylvia Liu

Last year, my New Year's resolutions were to (1) declutter and simplify my house (getting ahead of the Marie Kondo curve, at least in intentions) and (2) focus on writing, specifically finishing and querying my MG novel.

I totally failed in the first but completed the second. I am now represented by Jennifer March Soloway of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, a dream come true! I am so thrilled and honored that she is my agent.

2018 Roundup: Cheers to My Creative Community

© Sylvia Liu

2018 was another great year for my creative communities. I'm always blown away by how generous my writing friends are. Here are some of the awesome people I've connected with on my writing journey this year (and some of their super cool books coming out in 2019!):

1. MY PICTURE BOOK CRITIQUE GROUP, with 3 picture books coming out in 2019

Going on our sixth year, my picture book critique group, the Penguin Posse, started out as a group of unpublished and un-agented authors. By the end of next year, almost all of us will have agents or books out. I'm so psyched for these 2019 releases:

My Adventure into MG Sci Fi: The Making of an Illustration

© Kathryn Ault Noble

This amazing image is created by Kathryn Ault Noble and represents a scene from my middle grade manuscript. I love it so much and want to share the story of its creation. This post is Part 1, about my end of the process. In the future, I'll post an interview with Kathryn for more insight on her creative process.