writing journey Archives - Erika Romero

My Round Table Mentorship 2024 Experience

Erika Romero — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 13:33:27 +0000

On January 12, 2024, I found out that I had been chosen as a Round Table 2024 mentee. Jessica Yoon had picked me as her mentee among the many applicants. Unlike the PBChat mentorship of 2022, which was for three months, this would be a year-long mentorship. Here’s how it went… Many Zoom Meetings The Round Table mentorship included quarterly Zoom meetings with your mentor, …

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2023 Recap: Reflecting on the Year

Erika Romero — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 20:40:24 +0000

My second full year seriously pursuing a writing career is coming to an end in a few days. In this post, I want to reflect on what I worked on and accomplished this year. I did not get an agent or a book deal, but there is still a lot I’m proud of. I want to commemorate my progress on this website, for future Erika …

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My Top PBChat Mentorship Takeaways

Erika Romero — Sun, 04 Sep 2022 20:44:23 +0000

The official mentoring element of the 2022 PBChat Mentorship experience has come to an end. My relationship with my mentor, Ana Siqueira, isn’t over. And the showcase is still coming up. But for now, I wanted to reflect on what I’ve learned during this amazing 3-month mentorship. For anyone unfamiliar with the PBChat Mentorship, you can find out more on Justin Colón’s website. 1. It’s …

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My SCBWI FL Regional Conference Experience 2022

Erika Romero — Sat, 21 May 2022 15:18:21 +0000

I attended my first in-person SCBWI conference this month. The “Reunited and It Feels So Good” conference was also my first Florida regional conference. I thought I’d write a quick post about my 5 major takeaways from the conference, both in terms of content and in terms of the conference experience. Feel free to share your own takeaways in the comments! Honorable Mention: Bring Business …

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2022 Writing Goals

Erika Romero — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 14:57:13 +0000

A new year has begun. Let’s talk writing goals… My Writing Goals I do the theme of “X goals in 20X”. In other words, “22 goals in 2022.” That probably sounds overwhelming, but most of the goals are small or very manageable. Of these goals, 6 are writing-related. So, for accountability, I’m sharing them here. Goal 1: Post Monthly on My Erika Romero Writes Website …

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KidLit Events in October

Erika Romero — Mon, 18 Oct 2021 16:00:38 +0000

October seems to be a huge month for aspiring authors, so I thought I’d compile a list of events to check out and participate in. If you’re an aspiring children’s and young adult literature author, and are not agented yet, this post is for you. PBCritiqueFest (October 17-31st) Want to win a picture book manuscript critique? Well, this event gives you 31 chances to win. …

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First Steps: You Have a Picture Book Manuscript Draft. Now What?

Erika Romero — Thu, 02 Sep 2021 03:16:31 +0000

I recently saw a social media post by an aspiring author at the very very beginning of their journey. They were unsure what the next steps were once they had a picture book manuscript written. So, I thought I’d go over the usual next steps taken at this point. If you’re completely new to traditional publishing, here’s a post to get you started. What Happens …

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Prepping for Pitch Parties

Erika Romero — Sun, 29 Aug 2021 19:17:57 +0000

There are two pitch parties coming up next month: PitMad and LatinxPitch. I’ve already participated in a couple parties, but I have more polished manuscripts to work with now. I’ve been doing even more research than usual on how to create strong pitches and participate in these events. Thought I’d share what I’ve learned and some resources. What’s a Pitch Party? An event on Twitter …

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A List of KidLit Publishing Terms

Erika Romero — Tue, 10 Aug 2021 01:39:03 +0000

I’ve been doing a lot of research these past few months, and I thought it’d be helpful to create a running list of publishing terms. This list isn’t exhaustive, but it’s a good start for anyone new to researching kidlit publishing. Also, I can only promise that these definitions are how I understand these terms. I might be missing some nuances. Traditional Publishing When an …

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My First Conference Pitching Experience

Erika Romero — Tue, 03 Aug 2021 00:53:01 +0000

I decided to pitch at this year’s SCBWI Summer Conference. It was a digital experience, where 10 pitchers were in a Zoom call with the editor or agent we signed up to pitch to. We each had 2 minutes to pitch, and 4 minutes of feedback. We could pitch our story or read the first manuscript page (250 words). Here’s how it went… I pitched …

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