Episode 48: Niña Mata, Author-Illustrator

Children’s author-illustrator Niña Mata joins the Thriving Writers Podcast to chat about her publishing journey—from illustrating educational materials, working with Olympian athletes, to finally writing her own stories! Listen to hear Niña share some tips on what illustrators gravitate towards in manuscripts and ways writers can make the collaborative process smoother. Plus, get her thoughts on the value of storytelling and what she hopes readers take away from her work.

Niña Mata
Website: https://www.ninamata.com/
Social: @ninamataart

Good Story Company: If you have a story in your head, we’re here to help you get it out into the world. We help writers of all skill sets, all genres, and all categories, at all stages of the writing process. Need a hand with brainstorming? Want to find a critique partner? Looking for an editor to help polish up your pitch, your idea, or your entire manuscript? We have all of it and more in our community. If you’re ready to take the next step (or the first step) on your writing journey, we’re here to help you.

Website: https://www.goodstorycompany.com
Membership: https://www.goodstorycompany.com/membership
Writing Workshop: https://www.storymastermind.com

Mary Kole: Former literary agent Mary Kole founded Good Story Company as an educational, editorial, and community resource for writers. She provides consulting and developmental editing services to writers of all categories and genres, working on children’s book projects from picture book to young adult, and all kinds of trade market literature, including fantasy, sci-fi, romance, and memoir. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and has worked at Chronicle Books, the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, and Movable Type Management. She has been blogging at Kidlit.com since 2009. Her book, Writing Irresistible Kidlit, a writing reference guide for middle grade and young adult writers, is available from Writer's Digest Books.

Manuscript Submission Blueprint: https://bit.ly/kolesub
Writing Irresistible Kidlit: http://bit.ly/kolekidlit
Irresistible Query Letters: https://amzn.to/3yg511K
Writing Irresistible Picture Books: https://amzn.to/3SrApRU
How to Write a Book Now: https://BookHip.com/ZHXAAKQ
Writing Interiority: Crafting Irresistible Characters: https://amzn.to/4evsX0B
NEW! Writing Irresistible First Pages: https://amzn.to/4gxgslq

Follow us on social:
YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/goodstory
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/goodstory.bsky.social
Instagram: https://instagram.com/goodstorycompany
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@goodstoryco
Facebook: https://facebook.com/goodstoryco
Substack: https://goodstoryco.substack.com/