CKT's Blog

What is a writers' group? Is it necessary to be part of one? How do you find one? Can you set one up yourself? What does it take to set up and run a great writers' group? I love my Writers' Group. We are a group of friends who discovered each other in the last two to four years. We found out that we loved writing, and each of us had at least one W....

2016 is now history, but for many her impact cut deep and the wounds are still raw. Every year the world loses a multitude of talented people. Last year was no different. However for me, so many of them had touched my life in some way growing up. I was mesmerised by Muhammad Ali both in and out of the ring. Not only was (and still is) he my favouri...

It's said, that you should smile—for you never know who's watching.It's true.You never know who's watching.Not just for your smile. A few years ago, my darling emailed me this article (below).He thought it would interest me.He'd been watching.Me—the Writer—the Imposter. "Not to be confused with false modesty, impostor syndrome is a psychological ph...

Here is part 3 of Julie Anne Grasso's article - Publishing An Independent Middle Grade Book in 22 Easy Steps. Step Fourteen: Book Launch Preparation: Uploading to Amazon and Createspace can take anything from a couple hours to appear in store, to several days, so be sure to set your release date with this in mind. Having print versions for a releas...

Here is part 2 of Julie Anne Grasso's article - Publishing An Independent Middle Grade Book in 22 Easy Steps. Step Eight: Cover conjuring and interior decorating: Produce a cover brief to give the artist an idea of what you would like, the themes used, the colours and style. Keep it simple, because your book will be reduced to thumbnail size on mos...

Hi I'm Julie Anne Grasso, an emerging author with Creative Kids Tales. I have independently published seven middle grade books in science fiction and mystery, for ages 8-12. I'm often asked what is in involved in independent publication. The short answer is with blood, sweat, tears, time, money and determination, but who am I kidding? 22 Easy Steps...

Here is part 2 of our Author Etiquette article. Critiquing Critique groups are a vital step in a writer's development. If you have the opportunity to join one you should jump at the chance. Groups are made up of like-minded people who are at different stages of their creative journey. Always read and adhere to the critique guidelines set out by the...

Dear Ms Lawyer, I have a pending legal matter that needs urgent attention.I know you are no doubt busy with other cases but I believe reading through my 20,000 word complaint, providing detailed feedback as to what action I need to take should take you no more than a day or two. As you have undoubtedly dealt with dozens of these cases providing the...

I have a friend who paints in watercolours under the guidance of an Adelaide Hills artist.   Every now and then, my friend gives me ademonstration (and a good laugh) of her antics and interpretation of the ‘Paintingwith Gay Abandonment’ style that the artist advocates one should embraceregularly.  Don’t get me wrong…she hasevery fait...

Work-life balance is a term we are now all familiar with. It is bandied about, argued over and striven for. According to Wikipedia, 'work-life balance is a concept including proper prioritizing between "work" (career and ambition) and "lifestyle" (health, pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual development/meditation). This is related to the idea o...

Writing routines! We hear about them all the time. The author is advised to sit their butt in the writing chair and not move until they have achieved their word count for the day, whatever they have decided they need to write. This could be 1,000 or more words. And they continue this routine every single day until the book is finished. That is fine...

​Diary of a Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney didn't grow up wanting to be a children's author. His dream was to become a newspaper cartoonist, but he wasn't able to get his comic strips syndicated. In 1998 Jeff came up with the idea for Diary of a Wimpy Kid, a story about a middle-school weakling named Greg Heffley. Jeff worked on his book for almost e...

I have followed recent Facebook comments regarding the cancellation of a Sydney Book event. Sadly the organisers faced an uphill battle not only in selling tickets but also securing stall holders. Did the fact it moved from the Sydney Showground at Homebush to Rosehill Racecourse make a difference? Comments would indicate it did have an impact. The...

Lucy Cousins the author and illustrator of the much loved Maisy books was born in 1964 and attended school in Kent, UK. After doing a foundation course at Canterbury College, Lucy did a BA Honours in Graphic Design, followed by a postgraduate degree at the Royal College of Art. Maisy, the famous mouse, "drew herself" one day, when Lucy was doodling...

We have allread them. You know what I’m talking about. Those books with passages andpassages of description of what can be seen, heard, felt etc. You either skipover these until you get to the story, or you persevere, trying to find why onearth did the author feel it necessary to write it the way they did? And why somuch detail?  As writers,we...

​I'm very excited to share with you a recent interview I did with Timmy Failure author, Stephan Pastis. Stephan kicks off our International Author Series.We'll be featuring more international authors and illustrators here on our blog.Enjoy! Stephan Pastis is the creator of Pearls Before Swine, an acclaimed comic strip that appears in more than six ...

In all my years of writing, my speciality has been—keeping it to myself. Not the fact that I write—although I’m not one to make grand announcements—but that I kept all my work to myself.

Two things happened that changed this:

We always endeavour to answer as many questions as we can and to provide you with the necessary tools and services to assist you on your journey to publication. After all, publication is what it is all about right?

You work hard writing, editing, re-writing and editing your submissions until your brain is reduced to marshmallow.

Is it a waste if you don’t get published?

 

I was recently asked by a writer friend how do I handle rejection?

After so many of them I guess you could call me a rejection pro.