The old saying says that it takes a village to raise a child but I’ve recently found that to also be true about children’s writers, and I suppose writers in general.

If you read my previous blog post (Elizabeth Gilbert Was Right) you’ll know that I recently jumped back into the world of creative writing after a ten year hiatus. And writing for children is completely new to me so once I came up with my first idea for a children’s book I figured my next step better be to learn how to actually write a children’s book.

So I started searching online and I couldn’t believe the abundance of information I found, everything from the craft of writing and querying to advice on branding and social media. But it wasn’t just information from professional organizations like SCBWI, it was also information that writers, agents and editors were sharing.

I was so pleasantly surprised because in my previous writing life this information was not as readily available as it is now. (You have to keep in mind that the last time I was actively pursuing a career in writing MySpace was the big thing and Twitter hadn’t even been invented yet.)

Quite possibly the most shocking and absolutely wonderful thing I’ve found is the support writers give one another. Let’s face it, everyone in this industry is competing to get an agent, a book deal and their share of space on a bookshelf. But despite that, there seems to be very little competition among writers and rather an abundance of support. It’s incredible and incredibly refreshing to see. It’s as though everyone is saying “There is enough room at the top, grab our hand and we’ll help you get up here.”

So I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who shares their knowledge and experience to help people like me learn about the craft and the industry. Thank you to the village of writers, agents and editors who are helping to raise us new writers.