Oh...if only I'd known a few of the following things when I started this journey...
Oh, the ThingsYou Should Do
Join SCBWI (Society of Children Writers and Illustrators) www.scbwi.org Attend Conferences/Workshops Find a critique group Take a class (or two) from the Institute of Children's Literature. www.instituteforwriters.com
Build a social media presence - Editors and Agents look
NEVER quit writing - not even if you feel you don't have enough time or enough energy or enough talent. If you want to be published, you MUST write no matter what. Make time.
NEVER be afraid or embarrassed to put your work out there. Attend writing conferences, sign-up for critiques, attend workshops, find a critique group (or two). The more eyes on a project the better it becomes.
NEVER quit submitting - not even if your inbox is filled with rejections or you never hear back from editors or agents. It only takes one "yes" to change you from pre-published to published, but that won't happen if all your manuscripts are sitting in your documents file or some other virtual drawer.