Just Starting Out

What age do you want to write for?

10 commandments for a happy writer

Mistakes to avoid

So you’ve written a children’s book…tips from Chronicle

Writing YA

Mitali Perkins on Writing Race

SCBWI’s The Book (you must be a member to access)

Picture Book Resources

Debbie Ohi’s Picture Book How-Tos

Tara Lazar’s #Storystorm archive

Darcy Pattison’s Picture Book Mistakes

A LOT of resources for picture book writers and illustrators

Novel Writing & Revision

Point of View: 1st Person vs. 3rd Person

Scene Structure Checklist

Story Arcs

Basic Story Structure

Character Development

Darcy Pattison’s Shrunken Manuscript

Fiction Editing Checklist

Revision Checklist

Line Editing Tips

Hemingway App (helpful in identifying saggy sentences, etc.)

Nonfiction

SCBWI Western Washington’s Nonfiction Facebook group

NFforKids Facebook group

Melissa Stewart’s Celebrate Science blog

Nonfiction Notes from the Horn Book (and a bunch of other NF resources, too!)

Illustration

Inkygirl Picture Book Templates

Self Promotion for Freelance Illustrators

Kidlit 411 Resources

Society of Visual Storytelling

Meghan McCarthy’s Guide to Creating a Picture Book

Make Art that Sells

Skillshare

Storyteller Academy

Design Seeds for palette inspiration

Submitting Your Work

How to Write a Query Letter

How to write a synopsis

Publishers Marketplace (for agent, editor, and publisher deal info)

QueryTracker

Query Examples

Query Shark

Submissions from the agent’s POV

What to ask when you’re offered representation

After the Editorial Letter, Part 1

After the Editorial Letter, Part 2

Business & Promotion

How to create a basic author website

Book marketing 101

Social media tips for writers

Lisa Schroeder’s book release checklist

School visit resources

Should a writer be an LLC?

Money

Author payment basics

Read Your Royalty Statements!

Understanding royalty statements

Author bookkeeping spreadsheet template

Miscellaneous

Darcy Pattison’s archive on the creative life

Writers Helping Writers

Harold Underdown’s site

Publishing Crawl

We Need Diverse Books

Kids’ IndieNext list

ALA Youth Media Awards

Scrivener– popular writing software

Newsletters, Blogs, etc.

Publisher’s Weekly Children’s Bookshelf newsletter

Publishers Lunch

SLJ Blogs

7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Nerdy Book Club

Watch. Connect. Read.

Regional Resources & Organizations

Hugo House

Seattle Public Library’s Seattle Writes

Authors Guild, Seattle Chapter

Pacific Northwest Writers Association

Mystery Writers of America- Northwest Chapter

Greater Seattle Romance Writers of America

Clarion West

Hedgebrook

UW Continuing Education Programs

Craft Books We Love

WRITING PICTURE BOOKS by Ann Whitford Paul

PICTURE THIS by Molly Bang

SYLLABUS by Lynda Barry

THE MAGIC WORDS by Cheryl Klein

ON WRITING by Stephen King

BIRD BY BIRD by Anne Lamott

MAKING COMICS by Scott McCloud

DEAR GENIUS: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom by Leonard Marcus

ILLUSTRATING CHILDREN’S BOOKS by Martin Salisbury

WRITING WITH PICTURES by Uri Shulevitz

DAMN FINE STORY by Chuck Wendig

ANATOMY OF NONFICTION by Margery Facklam and Peggy Thomas

WRITING FOR THE EDUCATIONAL MARKET by Laura Purdie Salas

The resources shared on this page are for general information purposes only and views expressed are not necessarily shared by SCBWI Western Washington. We assume no responsibility.