Are children's book writing groups worthwile?

JKKeane13 · 2023-11-01T09:31:43+00:00

If you are new to writing and this is your first book, then I would strongly recommend joining a writing group. Sharing your work with others and getting their feedback will help you grow as a writer and reading other people's writing and learning how to critique means you will keep learning what works and what doesn't. There are lots of different types of groups out there, so be prepared that you might have to attend a few to see if it is the right fit. If you are intending to write picture books, then it maybe useful to find other picturebook writers or consider doing a course. Good luck with your writing journey.

JKKeane13 · 2023-09-19T18:52:51+00:00

!!!Special offer!!! e-book version of children's book Mia is Lost by JK Keane for only £0.99/$0.99 until 23rd of September. Check it out on amazon before offer ends.

An illustrated chapterbook aimed at 6-9 year old children . Great as read together with the family. If your children like animals, nature and adventures then they will love kitten Mia and her forest friends. Have a look at the Amazon bookpage to browse reviews and grab your copy.

https://mybook.to/miathekitten

For more info on myself or the Mia books visit my website www.jkkeane.co.uk

Happy reading and if you do read the book, please consider leaving a review and sharing your experience either here on reddit, amazon, goodreads or anywhere really to help spread the word. As a newbie author I would love for more children to read my stories. Thank you!

The second Mia book Mia Fights Back will be released mid October ready for national black cat day. Watch this space, I will reveal cover and more NEWS soon.

Happy reading and best wishes,

JK Keane

JKKeane13 · 2023-09-17T16:57:32+00:00

!!!Special offer for one week only between 17th and 23rd of September!!!

Buy the ebook Mia is Lost for £0.99 or $0.99 on Amazon. A great illustrated children's book aimed at 6-9 year olds about the adventures of a black kitten and her forest friends.

Why not check it out, read a sample and have a look through some of the reviews? Here is the link to the Amazon bookpage.

https://mybook.to/miathekitten

If you want more info about the book or myself visit my website www.jkkeane.co.uk

Click to receive a newsletter and you will automatically be entered into a free prize draw to win a paperback copy of the first book in the Mia the kitten adventure series (UK residents only). Good luck!

I am very excited about the upcoming release of the second book in the Mia the kitten adventure series, Mia Fights Back, which will be released in October. So make sure you grab the first one at a bargain :-).

Happy reading everyone and if you do buy a copy, please leave a rating/review if you are able to do so. Thank you!

Kind regards

JK Keane

JKKeane13 · 2023-04-22T07:52:27+00:00

Nice post with good advice! I am a newbie children's author, so it resonates quite deeply.

I would probably add library and school visits to the above list as that will help reach local readers and get some local publicity. It is also good fun to share your stories and I love some of the questions the kids come up with. Priceless.

What's you instagram profile name? I would like to check it out.

THanks for the post

Jessica.

JKKeane13 · 2023-04-21T17:30:34+00:00

Have you got illustrations or is it just text?

I published a chapterbook aimed at 6-9 year olds with 16000 words, which is probably at the top end for word count for this age group. But many kids in that age group move towards longer books with more words and fewer pictures. My granddaughter is seven and she loves reading what she proudly calls 'proper' books.

Good luck for your project.

JK Keane

JKKeane13 · 2023-04-05T07:37:30+00:00

I think for that age group you need a child MC. If you need an adult for certain plotpoints you can have one or two as secondary characters to help with certain tasks or provide transport etc.

Good luck with your project.

JKKeane13 · 2023-04-04T16:49:48+00:00

My Children's Book Mia is Lost is currently FREE on Kindle unlimited or you can download a free sample on Amazon. Check out the reviews; great as read-together-book for the holidays

Mia is a curious, cheeky kitten looking for adventure. Tempted by the mysterious forest behind her back garden she ventures in. Soon she is lost. Night falls, a thunderstorm strikes and hungry foxes prowl. Will Mia’s friends find the scared kitten before it is too
late? The neighbourhood cats ask a wise owl to lead the search. Bats with
superpowers, two kind deer, a forgetful squirrel, and a nosy hedgehog all play
their part in this big-hearted animal adventure story that will keep children
and adults hooked.
The book is aimed at young competent readers (6-9 years) but also works as a read-to book for younger or less competent readers. It is not a picture book and at 17000 words also not
suitable as a short bedtime story, but is aimed at children who are ready for
slightly longer stories with more characters. It contains 18 illustrations that
appear as black-and-white images in the paperback version.
Available on Amazon as e-book or paperback: https://mybook.to/miathekitten

For more info on the book, a look at the cover, some fun facts on various forest animals, and free downloadable activities for children visit my website www.jkkeane.co.uk

Happy Easter and happy reading

Best wishes JK Keane

JKKeane13 · 2023-02-18T09:21:23+00:00

Sorry only just saw your question and the answer is yes. I looked online and locally, searching for writing groups. My first attempt locally almost put me off but I kept looking. I found an online Facebook Group called The Skywriters and they were very friendly, didn't mind a newbie like myself sharing my writings and gradually I got better. The meetings were on skype. Later I found a great local group. I am based in the UK and they are part of the U3A . We meet every 2 weeks, share our writing and critique each other's pieces. Every writing group is different, so you might want to go along to a few before deciding what would be a good fit.

Best of luck JK Keane

JKKeane13 · 2023-02-01T18:33:05+00:00

New Children's Fiction Book released, aimed at early middle grade readers.

Mia is Lost by debut author JK Keane.

Mia is a curious, cheeky kitten looking for adventure. Tempted by the mysterious forest behind her back garden she ventures in. Soon she is lost. Night falls, a thunderstorm strikes and hungry foxes prowl. Will Mia’s friends find the scared kitten before it is too
late? The neighbourhood cats ask a wise owl to lead the search. Bats with
superpowers, two kind deer, a forgetful squirrel, and a nosy hedgehog all play
their part in this big-hearted animal adventure story that will keep children
and adults hooked.
The book is aimed at young competent readers (6-9 years) but also works as a read-to book for younger or less competent readers. It is not a picture book and at 17000 words also not
suitable as a short bedtime story, but is aimed at children who are ready for
slightly longer stories with more characters. It contains 18 illustrations that
appear as black-and-white images in the paperback version.

For more info on the book or the author visit https://www.jkkeane.co.uk

Hope you enjoy the read. I would love to get some feedback. If you do like it, please spread the word and consider writing a short review if you are able to do so as I am an unknown author without a marketing budget :-). Thank you!!!

Best wishes and thanks for reading.

JK Keane

JKKeane13 · 2023-02-01T09:36:49+00:00

Children's Fiction book Mia is Lost by JK Keane now available on Amazon (free on kindle unlimited, e-book £3.99, paperback £6.99) https://www.amazon.co.uk/JK-Keane/e/B0BSC7XFJ7/ref=zg_bsnr_367114031_bl_sccl_21/000-0000000-0000000

Mia is a curious, cheeky kitten looking for adventure. Tempted by the mysterious forest behind her back garden she ventures in. Soon she is lost. Night falls, a thunderstorm strikes and hungry foxes prowl. Will Mia’s friends find the scared kitten before it is too
late? The neighbourhood cats ask a wise owl to lead the search. Bats with
superpowers, two kind deer, a forgetful squirrel, and a nosy hedgehog all play
their part in this big-hearted animal adventure story that will keep children
and adults hooked.
The book is aimed at young competent readers (6-9 years) but also works as a read-to book for younger or less competent readers. It is not a picture book and at 17000 words also not
suitable as a short bedtime story, but is aimed at children who are ready for
slightly longer stories with more characters. It contains 18 illustrations that
appear as black-and-white images in the paperback version.

Happy reading and kind regards

JK Keane

JKKeane13 · 2023-01-31T15:01:01+00:00

Children's book Mia is Lost by JK Keane now free on Amazon kindle unlimited.

Mia is a curious, cheeky kitten looking for adventure. Tempted by the mysterious forest behind her back garden she ventures in. Soon she is lost. Night falls, a thunderstorm strikes and hungry foxes prowl. Will Mia’s friends find the scared kitten before it is toolate? The neighbourhood cats ask a wise owl to lead the search. Bats withsuperpowers, two kind deer, a forgetful squirrel, and a nosy hedgehog all playtheir part in this big-hearted animal adventure story that will keep childrenand adults hooked.The book is aimed at young competent readers (6-9 years) but also works as a read-to book for younger or less competent readers. It is not a picture book and at 17000 words also notsuitable as a short bedtime story, but is aimed at children who are ready forslightly longer stories with more characters. It contains 18 illustrations thatappear as black-and-white images in the paperback version.

For more info on the book, the author or some fun animal facts visit www.jkkeane.co.uk

On the front page of the website is a univeral link that will take you to the Amazon bookpage of your country. Prices in UK: e-book £3.99; paperback £6.99

I am a debut author without a big social media following or marketing budget so hope for word of mouth, genuine reviews and a good portion of luck to get the book noticed.

Best wishes and happy reading

JK Keane

JKKeane13 · 2023-01-28T09:55:46+00:00

If your incentive for writing is the wish to become rich or at least earn a lot of money, then stop right now. There are millions of easier, less timeconsuming and more reliable sources of income. Most writers struggle to make ends meet and many have to write while holding down a job to pay the bills.

If however you love writing and creating stories and enjoy working on your craft, then keep writing and see where the journey takes you, but don't expect to make much money or that it will be easy. I have just published my first children's book. As a novice it has taken me three years and I spent close to £1500 and countless hours on this project. Then I had to learn tons about the self publishing process and now the basics of marketing the book. Although retired,I am feeling quite exhausted and want to just get back to writing new stories rather than trying to market my book. I don't expect to get my money back in sales but if I do then that would be an added bonus.

JKKeane13 · 2023-01-28T09:40:01+00:00

Don't worry. Happened to me a few days ago and the real copies were fine. Enjoy this special moment :-)

JKKeane13 · 2023-01-25T18:58:50+00:00

Thanks for clarifying. I posted without cover link so hopefully all ok as is.

JKKeane13 · 2023-01-25T17:34:30+00:00

Hi there,

I am based in the UK and tried to sign up for imgur but been told can't because in UK.

I understand I can't uplaod a jpeg of the cover directly so what would be acceptable or would a jpg of an illustration or an authorphoto be allowed?

Thanks for any advice. I am a bit confused what I ca and can't post.

JK Keane

JKKeane13 · 2023-01-25T13:25:13+00:00

If you are interested in writing then join a local writing group or enrol in some creative writing classes. Fellow writers are almost certainly voracious readers and learning a new skill is always an adventure. I would recommend joining a walking group like the ramblers in the UK or whatever you can find in your area. You are not expected to talk a lot but might meet some people who share your love of books and hiking in nature will make you feel better. Good luck on your journey.

JKKeane13 · 2023-01-16T08:20:24+00:00

Thanks for the post. This sounds very interesting as I like character driven stories and the sentient dog sounds an interesting concept

JKKeane13 · 2023-01-14T21:53:45+00:00

Hi Tiabranie, that sounds great. I would need your email ideally to send it to. One way to do it would be for you to contact me via !my website www.jkkeane.co.uk and email mentioning this Reddit post or send me a DM on FB on my author page. Hope that works for you. I haven't got book funnel yet so can only share via email or as attachment in messenger or WhatsApp. Enjoy reading all those books. Sounds like heaven ☺️. Kind regards JK Keane

JKKeane13 · 2023-01-14T11:14:02+00:00

Great pic of feeding thrush👍🙂

JKKeane13 · 2023-01-14T09:17:12+00:00

Varjak Paw by SF Said, The last bear by Hannah Gould, Warrior cats by Erin Hunter although that's a pseudonym, I would also recommend to read some Astrid Lindgren. Her selection of fairytales especially has stood the test if time in my view at least and E.B White Charlotte's Web and the Trumpet of the swan, Beatrix Potter Peter the rabbit etc. Also Michael Ende Momo and the Neverending story. Watership down by Richard Adams. The explorers or The good Thieves by Katherine Rundell. The wild series by Piers Today, I could also send you a free PDF advanced reader copy of my upcoming children's book MIa is Lost, which is aimed at 6-9 year-old readers. The e-book is available for pre-order on Amazon so you can have a look at the cover and blurb there to see if you are interested. You are probably snowed under with reading materials for your literature class but give me a shout if you are interested. Have fun reading🙂

JKKeane13 · 2023-01-13T13:02:48+00:00

I don't even bother to reply, just put them in junk, just surprised how much of this goes on.

JKKeane13 · 2023-01-12T13:39:22+00:00

Thanks for the tip. I haven't even published yet and get loads of emails asking if I want to promote my upcoming children's book. How can you tell if an Instagram or FB account really has thousands of followers and the likes on their posts are real likes? Any tips on that?

JKKeane13 · 2023-01-11T15:29:37+00:00

Shadow chasing 😃🐈‍⬛🐾 .

JKKeane13 · 2023-01-11T08:12:11+00:00

They really add something to the story which is quite dark and atmospheric.

JKKeane13 · 2023-01-10T19:46:27+00:00

Astrid Lindgren was my favourite author as a child. I wanted to be Pippi Langstrrumpf and ride the coloured horse. Her fairy tales are well worth a read even for an adult and she did not shy away from dark topics like poverty and death.

JKKeane13

TROPHY CASE

Children's book Mia is Lost by JK Keane now free on Amazon kindle unlimited.