Writing tips
Q & A with nonfiction author Laura Purdie Salas
Hello world!
Welcome to my book blog. For this Q & A, please welcome the talented author Laura Purdie Salas, whose engaging nonfiction books serve as mentor texts for me (and countless others). Check out what she has to say about her new book Snowman-Cold=Puddle:
Can you describe the journey to publication for this book?
I had been submitting manuscripts to the awesome Alyssa Pusey at Charlesbridge for several years. A couple had come close, but nothing had been the perfect fit. I first sent her just the equations–no sidebars, though I envisioned sidebars from the beginning. After she expressed interest, I did a revision (maybe two) and added the sidebars (an early version of them). Then Alyssa took the manuscript to an acquisitions meeting, and I got the good news that I would finally get to work with her. (“Good news! Equations + poems + science = high publisher interest!”) I got to have a lot of input into the choice of illustrator and the concept of how the book would look. It was such a great collaboration between illustrator Micha Archer, the Charlesbridge team, and me, even though of course Micha and I never talked directly with each other. (I also share more about the path to publication for this and my other two spring 2019 books in this video: https://youtu.be/iOUtTtQKDRY)
Where did you first draw inspiration the book’s inspiration?
The inspiration for this book came strictly from the format. I was brainstorming different ways to share nonfiction content with kids, and in my picture book ideas list, I wrote: “___ + ___ = _________. Bees + flowers = honey. Short equation. Then longer prose explanation. All science-related. BECAME SNOWMAN – COLD = PUDDLE!”
Please share some of your writing process.
Because the format came first, my writing process started with spewing out dozens and dozens of equations on tons of different topics. Eventually, I realized I needed to narrow things down. First, I tried a year in a park–all four seasons. It still felt too jam-packed. So I decided to focus on spring. So much transformation happens in spring, and equations are all about how different elements change each other to create some new result. I did a lot of research to get the chronology of these spring events in a typical, logical order. And I spent a lot time on the language in the sidebars, too. I wanted the prose there to be just as playful and inventive as the equations themselves.
Why are you drawn to nonfiction?
I like to write all sorts of things, but I do think nonfiction calls to me because I’m 1) curious and 2) constantly amazed by our incredible world. I hope introducing kids to how cool the world is will lead to their loving it and valuing it.
Do you have other WIPs or projects in the pipeline you would like to mention?
I hope to keep having more and more picture books come out–and maybe some easy readers, too, though those are very hard to sell! In the next 12 months, I’ll have three books come out: Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle! How Animals Get Ready for Winter (rhyming non-fiction, Millbrook, 2019); If You Want to Knit Some Mittens (humorous nonfiction, Boyds Mills Press, 2020); and Clover Kitty Goes to Kittygarten (fiction, Two Lions, 2020).
Please share your favorite kidlit books that have inspired you and served as mentor texts.
I’m going to call Dav Pilkey’s 1999 God Bless the Gargoyles my “classic” book. Does that count? When I read that melancholy story full of yearning and fell into its saturated art, my mind spun with the possibilities of the kinds of moods and stories picture books could share. Lola Schaefer’s An Island Grows is a book that made me see nonfiction picture books in a whole new way and introduced me to the idea of rhyming non-fiction. So many other books have inspired me, of course, but those two I clearly remember making a little bell ding in my head. An Island Grows was definitely a mentor text when I wrote A Leaf Can Be….
What is the best piece of advice you would give to other writers?
You learn more from writing five different picture books than you do by polishing the same picture book manuscript for five years. Don’t be afraid to let go of a manuscript (even a good one) and move on to the next one!
Bonus Q- If you could be any flavour of ice cream, which one would you be and why??
Amaretto with toffee bits–because it’s a good mix of the familiar and the unexpected. I’m a pretty ordinary, everyday person, but I’m of course weird in many ways.
BIO
Laura Purdie Salas has written more than 125 books for kids, including Meet My Family!, If You Were the Moon, Water Can Be…, and BookSpeak! Her books have earned the Minnesota Book Award, NCTE Notables, starred reviews, and more. She offers resources for children’s writers at https://laurasalas.com/writing-for-children/ and has a Patreon community with extra resources for Patrons: https://www.patreon.com/LauraPurdieSalas She enjoys teaching and speaking at writing conferences around the country.
site: https://laurasalas.com/
Twitter: @LauraPSalas
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraPSalas/
Newsletter for kidlit writers: https://laurasalas.com/sign-up-for-a-writer-can-be/
Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/LauraPurdieSalas
Writing for Children Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WritingForChildren1/
Q & A with Amy Losak
Hello world!
Welcome to my book blog. For this Q & A, please welcome the talented author Amy Losak. I remember her struggles in trying to publish her mother’s poetry book, H Is For Haiku, years ago. But I also remember how she persevered and kept knocking on doors until she eventually found the right home. She explains her journey below.
Can you describe the journey to publication for this book? 
The journey to publish my mom Sydell Rosenberg’s poetry picture book, H Is For Haiku, was anything but straightforward, and it was filled with obstacles and bumps (many of them self-imposed). I hemmed and hawed and used every excuse in the book to keep from starting this project after she died suddenly in 1996. Of course, many reasons for my delay were valid and justifiable – the ups and downs of life got in the way. But what held me back for so long was my ongoing grief after her death, and my deep fear and anxiety that I would not be able to honor her work properly.
Finally, around 2011, thanks to the unstinting support of family and many others, I began slowly to mobilize. This meant organizing some of her voluminous and scattered, packed-up piles of papers and writings, mostly her poetry and specifically, her haiku. I researched the children’s book industry (the KidLit community is generous, and social media has been great for knowledge-building). In April of 2015, I was ready: I mailed out her manuscript – which I had slightly edited from one or two of hers I had located – to several publishers that don’t require agents.
In 2016, thanks to a haiku poet, editor, and teacher, Aubrie Cox Warner, I connected with Penny Candy Books, a terrific independent publisher started by two poets, Chad Reynolds and Alexis Orgera (pennycandybooks.com), They shared my vision for mom’s work. H Is For Haiku was released in April of 2018: National Poetry Month. Sawsan Chalabi (Schalabi.com) is the wonderful illustrator.
H Is For Haiku has been selected by the National Council for Teachers of English as a 2019 “Notable Poetry Book.” It also was a Cybils finalist this year in the poetry category.
What draws you to poetry?
In hindsight, I grew up with haiku – it was a pervasive part of my childhood. Mom, a New York City teacher and published writer, was a charter member of the Haiku Society of America in 1968 (hsa-haiku.org). She studied, practiced, and wrote this form for decades. This briefest but arguably most expansive form of poetry became a part of her personality, I think. It validated and at the same time helped to shape her keen way of looking at the world around her. I didn’t understand this when I was young. Perhaps I didn’t take her passion seriously enough. But I and other family members always knew how important her literary life was to her.
When I began in 2011 or so to organize and leverage her haiku in various ways – including a partnership with the New York City non-profit arts education organization, Arts For All (arts-for-all.org), I found myself drawn to this form. Surprisingly, I began to write my own haiku … badly, but I wrote! And I read the haiku of other fine poets. I joined HSA. I’ve slowly improved. But I’m a late and eternal beginner. I have a lot to learn..
Please share some of your writing process.
Haiku – and of course one can say this about most creative endeavors – requires me to slow down and pay attention to my surroundings. As a hyper New Yorker, I’m always in a rush. I’m constantly distracted or in a hurry to get somewhere. This restlessness can cause me to lose sight – literally – of what matters. Haiku requires a sensory focus on things that matter, however small. In a way, haiku is poetic mindfulness. But it’s much more than that, as well. So now, I try to take the time to linger over small moments, and appreciate them – make them “big.” This takes effort, sometimes. But even if nothing “poetic” comes of this approach to experiencing small slices of life, I’m enriched as a result.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I’ve long enjoyed writing, but I never had any “serious” aspirations about becoming a creative writer. I’ve been a public relations professional for a long time, and I’ve done my share of business writing. As the steward of my mom’s literacy legacy, however, I’ve come to enjoy writing short poems, and I hope to continue.
Where do you see your career headed? Do you have other WIPs or projects in the pipeline you would like to mention?
Yes, I have another haiku picture book sketched out. Right now, it features more of my mother’s lovely work, but I may add some of my own to make it a mother-daughter haiku book for kids. We will see what happens on this new journey!
Please share your favourite kidlit books that have inspired you and served as mentor texts. Pick one classic and one contemporary book. What is it about them that moved you?
These are not mentor texts, and they are both classics, but two books – and the heroines in them — that had a profound influence on me growing up (and still do today) are A Tree Grows In Brooklyn and Anne of Green Gables. I explain why in this blog post: https://www.pennycandybooks.com/blog-1/losak
What is the best (one) piece of advice you would give to other writers?
Over the years, my mom’s decades-old dream to publish a kids’ book became my dream – ours. So my advice to other writers is simple: “It’s never too late to pursue a dream. You have nothing to lose – and everything to gain – by trying. Go for it!”
And a bonus Q- If you could be any flavour of ice cream, which one would you be and why?
That’s easy: Rocky Road! I’m a chocoholic, and this luscious, chock-full flavor expresses my journey to publish H Is For Haiku perfectly!
BIO
Amy Losak is a veteran New York public relations professional specializing in the healthcare industry. She was inspired to write haiku by her mother, Sydell Rosenberg. Amy’s short poems have been published in a variety of poetry anthologies, journals and sites, including: Frogpond, Modern Haiku, Akitsu Quarterly, Failed Haiku, Prune Juice, Asahi Haikuist Network, Daily Haiku, The Heron’s Nest, Blithe Spirit, Newtown Literary, and more.
The photo on the left depicts Amy Losak.
Q & A with author Vivian Kirkfield
Hello all!
Welcome to my book blog. For this Q & A, please welcome the talented author Vivian Kirkfield. Her engaging nonfiction book SWEET DREAMS, SARAH is one of her many new releases. I was grateful she took the time out of her busy schedule to answer some of my questions.
Can you describe the journey to publication for this book?
The manuscript was written the month after I took a class in writing nonfiction. I was excited to tell the story of one of the first African American women to secure a U.S. patent…I turned to librarians to help with the research and I turned to critique buddies to help with polishing what I had written. As soon as I signed with my agent, she sent out the story to about a dozen editors…and one of them bought it. The editor asked for a few revisions/changes here and there…nothing major. Unfortunately, the illustration process took quite a long time…over three years…but that is how it happens sometimes. However, the finished product is beautiful and SWEET DREAMS, SARAH has been receiving glowing reviews!
Where did you draw the book’s inspiration?
I love to write nonfiction stories about people who have struggled, people whom history has sometimes forgotten. When I discovered that Sarah E. Goode had been a trailblazer, but that she hadn’t been properly recognized in her own time, I knew I wanted to tell her story.
Please share some of your writing process.
When I am writing nonfiction, I find a topic (watch TV or listen to people or surf the internet in order to find ideas) and then I research it. Then I decide what is the focus of the story…what do I want young kids to take away from the book. I fashion a pitch…that helps me to find the thread/heart of the story. And then I write the first line. For me, the first line is really important. It is the way into the story and sets the tone for the rest.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I always loved writing…but never considered writing a book until my children were grown and I wrote a parent/teacher book…the book I wished I’d had when I was younger. And then I discovered a world of writers who wanted to write picture books and I realized that was what I wanted to do also…it was right after I went skydiving at the age of 64.
Where do you see your career headed? Do you have other WIPs or projects in the pipeline you would like to mention?
I just turned 72…and I tell people that I need to live to be at least 100 because I have another 30 years of stories to write. I’ve got three debut picture books that just launched this year…with two more in the pipeline for 2020: Making Their Voices Heard: The Inspiring Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe (Little Bee Books, Spring 2020) and From Here to There: Inventions that Changed the Way the World Moves (Houghton Mifflin, Fall 2020). My agent has two or three other manuscripts out on submission and I have many more stories ready to go. We also just sent a nonfiction picture book manuscript to one of my editors who requested a specific book…fingers crossed that I have written the book she is looking for.
Please share your favourite kidlit books that have inspired you and served as mentor texts. Pick one classic and one contemporary book. What is it about them that moved you?
I’ve always loved The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton…I loved the story of a house that felt out of place…where change was happening all around her…and then finally, she is rescued and brought to a new surroundings where she can start a new life all over again. Newer picture books are mostly nonfiction: Laurie Wallmark’s Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine; Nancy Churnin’s Irving Berlin: The Boy Who Made America Sing; Hannah Holt’s The Diamond and the Boy. The writing in all is so lyrical…and the characters make a hero’s journey. I love them because they are inspiring stories for children and adults.
What is the best (one) piece of advice you would give to other writers?
Nothing is impossible if you can imagine it!
And a bonus Q- If you could be any flavour of ice cream, which one would you be and why?
Moosetracks…chocolate with nuts and caramel!!!! And you ask why? Because I LOVE chocolate and the nuts and caramel only make it better!
BIO
Writer for children—reader forever…that’s Vivian Kirkfield in five words. Her bucket list contains many more than five words – but she’s already checked off skydiving, parasailing and banana-boat riding. When she isn’t looking for ways to fall from the sky or sink under the water, she can be found writing picture books in the quaint village of Amherst, NH where the old stone library is her favorite hangout and her young grandson is her favorite board game partner. A retired kindergarten teacher with a masters in Early Childhood Education, Vivian inspires budding writers during classroom visits and shares insights with aspiring authors at conferences and on her blog, Picture Books Help Kids Soar. She is the author of Pippa’s Passover Plate (Holiday House); Four Otters Toboggan: An Animal Counting Book (Pomegranate); Sweet Dreams, Sarah (Creston Books); Making Their Voices Heard: The Inspiring Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe (Little Bee Books); and From Here to There: Inventions That Changed the Way the World Moves (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). You can connect with her on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Linkedin, or just about any place people with picture books are found
Q & A with author Hannah Holt
Hello all!
Welcome to my book blog. For this Q & A, please welcome the talented author Hannah Holt. Her engaging nonfiction book The Diamond and the Boy: The Creation of Diamonds & The Life of H. Tracy Halls blew me away with its lyricism. I was grateful she took the time to answer some of my questions about her writing experience.
Can you describe the journey to publication for this book? And in your case, the journey to finding the right agent?
From the beginning, I knew wanted an agent. Agents can submit work more widely and also keep better tabs on what editors want. In theory, my agent would watch the market for me, so I could spend more time focused on writing. In practice, it was a little more complicated.
My first agent was Danielle Smith. She is no longer working in the industry.
My second agent was Laura Biagi. She is no longer working in the industry, but before she left, she sold my first two books.
My third agent was another agent at the same agency as Laura and took over my work after she left. I liked her a lot; however, I wanted to be at an agency focused more exclusively on children’s literature.
I’m now with Jennifer March Soloway at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Jennifer has been great to work with. While this business if full of twists and turns, I plan to stay where I’m at for a long, long time. Publication has been a long and winding road for me. Over the years, I’ve accumulated well over 100 rejections.
Where did you draw the book’s inspiration?
The Diamond and the Boy is a biography of inventor Tracy Hall—my grandfather. He built a machine that turns graphite into diamond. The idea to write his biography was simple enough, but how to tell the story eluded me for years. I took the story in a dozen different directions before landing on the dual narrative with graphite.
Please share some of your writing process.
I wrote over eighty drafts of this story before it sold. I’m someone who write and rewrites over and over again. In fact, I wrote another post sharing thirteen different openings I tried for The Diamond and the Boy.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I wrote my first complete novel in fourth grade (forty handwritten pages). My early journals are also filled with poetry. I’ve always enjoyed writing, although it wasn’t until my thirties that I decided to pursue it as a career.
Where do you see your career headed? Do you have other WIPs or projects in the pipeline you would like to mention?
I’m working on a middle grade novel and have several picture books close to completion. I’m hopeful for upcoming submissions and looking forward to drafting several new stories this year.
Please share your favourite kidlit books that have inspired you and served as mentor texts. Pick one classic and one contemporary book. What is it about them that moved you?
Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day: I vividly remember sitting on the carpet during library time while hearing this book for the first time. I was six or seven years-old and remember thinking, ‘Yes, that’s exactly what a bad day feels like.’ That sense of connection lingered long after storytime finished.
The Remember Balloons: This book beautifully captures the frustrations and longings family members experience as an older family member goes through Alzheimer’s. My grandfather—Tracy Hall—suffered from Alzheimer’s, and The Remember Balloons treated the subject in a unique and child-friendly way. I’ll rave about it to anyone who will listen.
What is the best (one) piece of advice you would give to other writers?
There is no deadline for success. Take your time, learn your craft, and find the right publishing path for YOU!
And a bonus Q- If you could be any flavour of ice cream, which one would you be and why?
Tillamook Mudslide Ice Cream because it’s twisting veins of fudgey goodness are like a treasure hunt in a bowl.
BIO
Hannah is a children’s author with an engineering degree. Her books, The Diamond & The Boy (2018, Balzer & Bray) and A Father’s Love (2019, Philomel) weave together her love of language and science. She lives in Oregon with her husband, four children, and a very patient cat named Zephyr. She and her family enjoy reading, hiking, and eating chocolate chip cookies.
Website: https://hannahholt.com/
Blog: https://hannahholt.com/blog
Twitter: @HannahWHolt
Q & A with nonfiction author Melissa Stewart
Hello all!
Welcome to my book blog. For my first Q & A, please welcome the talented author Melissa Stewart, whose engaging nonfiction books serve as mentor texts for me (and countless others). Check out what she has to say about her new book Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers: Celebrating Animal Underdogs:
Can you describe the journey to publication for this book? Did you have an agent and how did that come about?
No, I didn’t have an agent when Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers: Celebrating Animal Underdogs was acquired in 2015. I’ve been working with Peachtree Publishing Company since 2001, and I’m grateful that my editor saw the potential in the Pipsqueaks manuscript. I’m now working with Tricia Lawrence of the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. I was referred to EMLA by author and friend Cynthia Levinson.
Where did you first draw inspiration for the “animal underdog” theme?
I’ve been fascinated by animal superlatives for as long as I can remember. After all, who doesn’t admire the world’s biggest, fastest, strongest creatures? But in early 2013, I began thinking about anti-superlatives—the smallest, slowest, weakest animals. Maybe I could write a book about them.
One morning, I woke up with the beginning of the book in my head:
“Everyone loves elephants. They’re so big and strong.
Everyone respects cheetahs. They’re so fast and fierce.
But this book isn’t about animals we admire. It’s about the unsung underdogs of the animal world. Don’t you think it’s time someone paid attention to them?”
It was a gift—but it came with a price. I realized that this wasn’t going to be just an anti-superlative book. It was going to be an anti-bullying book, too. And to write it, I’d have to revisit the bullying that I endured as a child.
I wasn’t ready for that, so I shut the file, and I didn’t come back to it for months and months. But eventually, I felt prepared to face my past. I was a clumsy, uncoordinated, unathletic kid, so the western fence lizard in the book represents me.
In the end, Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers: Celebrating Animal Underdogs is a book about animal adaptations and celebrating the traits that make us different and unique. I think pretty much every child has felt like an underdog at some point, so I hope the book will resonate with readers.
How do you go about researching your books?
No two books are the same, but I generally begin by drawing information from the nature journals I’ve been keeping since 1989. Additional information comes from books and articles and conversations with scientists and naturalists. I often use the internet to track down the experts I interview.
When did you first realize you were drawn to the world of nonfiction, and what is the appeal for you?
Many writers gravitate toward fiction because they love to invent characters and create made up worlds, but for me, the real world is so amazing, so fascinating that I just want to learn as much as I can about it and share it with other people. That’s why I write nonfiction.
Do you have other WIPs or projects in the pipeline you would like to mention?
In 2014, uber-talented illustrator Sarah S. Brannen and I published a book called Feathers: Not Just for Flying. The minute I saw the sketches for the last page of that book, I envisioned another similar book about seashells and dove into the research. We are so pleased that Seashells: More than a Home will be published on April 2.
Please share your favorite kidlit books that have inspired you and served as mentor texts.
Oh my, there are too many to name. Some of my favorite authors include Steve Jenkins, April Pulley Sayre, Jess Keating, Cynthia Jensen-Elliott, Diana Hutts Aston, Lita Judge, Nicola Davies, Owen Dewey, Joyce Sidman, Jennifer Ward, Heather Montgomery, Candace Fleming, Deborah Heiligman, Elizabeth Partridge, Gail Jarrow, Patricia Newman, Sandra Markle, Loree Griffin Burns, Sarah Albee, and Barb Rosenstock.
This is really a golden age for nonfiction. Authors are experimenting in all kinds of ways and stretching in new directions. It’s so exciting! I can’t wait to see what my colleagues come up with next.
What is the best piece of advice you would give to other writers?
It’s pretty simple: Keep on writing! Being a writer is full of challenges and frustrations and so many things we can’t control. But we can control how much time and energy we devote to honing our craft.
Bonus Q- If you could be any flavour of ice cream, which one would you be and why??
Chunky Chocolate Pudding ice cream from Bedford Farms in Bedford, MA. It’s my favorite.
BIO
Melissa Stewart is the award-winning author of more than 180 nonfiction books for children, including Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes and Stinkers: Celebrating Animal Underdogs, Can an Aardvark Bark?, and No Monkeys, No Chocolate. She is the co-author, with Nancy Chesley, of Perfect Pairs: Using Fiction & Nonfiction Picture Books to Teach Life Science. Melissa’s highly-regarded website features a rich array of educational resources for teaching nonfiction reading and writing.
Website: https://www.melissa-stewart.com/
Blog: http://celebratescience.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @mstewartscience
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melissa.stewart.33865
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mstewartscience
How to Find Time to Write
I’m a writer.
You’d think I spend most of my time writing, right?
A writer is chained to her/his computer, madly tapping away at the keys, forgetting about eating and showering, right?
Uh, no.
If you’re an aspiring or professional writer, you’ll know that’s not true. First off, daily household chores take over, and some of us writers also have second jobs. This takes up a large chunk of time. But when we finally do get to work on our craft, we find ourselves having to wear so many other hats.
What Does it Take to Publish a Book- Part 2
Following my last post about what it takes to publish a book, here’s a real life example:
In 2014, I had a great idea for a book. It was about a Rabbit who is afraid of everything and then comes face to face with a gigantic bear. So I started writing it. A month in, I realized I didn’t know how to end the story. SoI decided to put the book away for a while.
I circled back to it a few months later and managed to finish it. Then I spent a few months editing it (though I don’t love the editing process!). I also sent it to a few of my critique partners to get their honest opinions. In total, I spent 11 months writing and editing the book.
When I finally had a polished version, I started to query editors. To my dismay, it was one rejection letter after the next.
After a while, I decided to give up seeking out editors and instead focus on finding an agent.
After spending months crafting the perfect query letter and researching every agent and their areas of specialty, I went to work. I queried agent after agent, with a different book. And then…again…it was a few years of more rejection letters.
But I knew it was part of the process and I never gave up.
In 2016, I finally got an agent! I was ecstatic! She started submitting my books to publishers. But my excitement was a bit deflated by the rejection letters that came in one after the other.
But, I kept believing.
Unfortunately, things were not going that well with that agent. I began to have my doubts. But I was too afraid to make a big move, for fear of once again being agentless and feeling “lost at sea.”
In 2017, I decided to take the plunge. I let the agent go. I was upset for a few weeks and felt lost, but then I picked myself up and went back to the drawing board. Read the rest of this entry »
So What Does it Take to Publish a Book?
First, let me say:
There is no simple ‘recipe’ for success.
Many people ask me, what does it take to publish a book? While I certainly don’t know all the answers, I’ve been at this for many years. And what I’ve learned can be summed up in 5 major points:
- You Need a Fantastic Idea!
If you want attention from not only your readers but also the literary community, the first thing you need is a tremendous idea. But BEFORE you actually write the book, you need to research other books out there that may be similar. I’ve had several ideas I was convinced were potential best-sellers, but then, oh no, I found an almost identical book already on the market. Ideas are funny that way. Sometimes they float in the air and are public property.
- Be Ruthless With your Edits
Ok, so you’ve got this amazingly awesome idea. And, nobody has written anything similar. You’re off to a promising start! But a great idea is just that: a great idea. To make it come alive in a book in just the right way takes talent and a lot of practice. Your idea needs engaging characters. It needs a setting, and an ending but most of all, it needs conflict, plot and the right pacing. Once you hammer out the first draft, get back to the drawing board as many times as it takes to edit it thoroughly. Get critique partners. Be ruthless.
- Do Your Research!
It’s hard enough to achieve numbers 1 and 2 successfully. But if you do, the nest step is to do the proper research. Don’t just send it off to a batch of 50 random publishers. Many might not even accept that specific genre, or may not match with your writing style. It’s critical that you research the publishers that interest you to find the right matches. So when you do send your queries, it’s to editors who might actually have an interest in your work. Be smart about this step. And yes, this takes A LOT of time. There are no short-cuts. Don’t forget to keep immaculate records for future use. Read the rest of this entry »
How I Got an Agent, Lost that Agent, and Found a New One (Without Losing my Mind)
(This post originally appeared on the WriteForKids Blog)
https://writeforkids.org/blog/2018/06/got-agent-lost-agent-found-new-one-without-losing-mind/
Like many of you, I’ve been knee deep in the querying trenches, desperately trying to make my submission stand out in the staggering slush pile. And as we all know, this process is time consuming. It goes on and on, peppered with rejection letters, until we finally get a bite.
I signed with my first agent a few weeks after I got my first bite. In my mind, my problems were now over. Yahoo! No more submissions! No more Twitter pitch parties! No more querying! I was already visualizing a book contract with the Big Five.
But that’s not how the cookie crumbled.
Here are 3 truths nobody tells you about landing an agent:
- It can be anti-climactic: Don’t expect a book deal the next day, week or month.
- You will still need patience: The submission process is laborious, no matter who’s doing the submitting.
- You will still get rejected: The difference is that now, the rejections get sent to your agent.
The Anti-Conformist Picture Book
Mark Loewen is the author of an amazing new picture book, What Does a Princess Really Look Like? In the book, he breaks gender stereotypes and features a family with two fathers. Please enjoy my Q & A with him:
-You hit a lot of powerful topics in this book. One take-away lesson is that princesses don’t simply “look pretty.” Being a princess also involves using your brain, as well as being courageous and strong. Do you think there is too much emphasis on appearance and playing up to feminine stereotypes in society?
Definitely. And it was always obvious to me. I think this was one of the male privilege aspects that I always saw, especially growing up in South America. But I really noticed how powerful this was when I observed how people related to my daughter. Strangers everywhere tell her how pretty she is – all the time. And I agree with them! But it makes me nervous that most people who talk to her when we are out say something about her looks. As she grows up, I want her to know that her looks are not the best or most important thing about her. It’s just one part of her.
I remember one time we went to the grocery store and she was wearing a superhero mask. A lady smiled at her and said, “I can see your beautiful eyes through that mask!” And I thought… even specifically dressing as someone strong and brave, people are commenting on her eyes. And this is all well-intentioned. But I don’t think boys get this message.
-What about in literature?
Children’s literature plays into it because it sells. Even books or movies with strong females sometimes show that girls are “ditzy” or “clumsy.” I’m reminded of how Disney princesses like Anna and Moana both trip right at the end of a really big song. But I can’t think of male heroes portrayed in this way.
I’ve noticed that it’s becoming easier to find children’s books with strong female characters. Girl empowerment is big with publishers now, which is one reason why I found interest in my book so quick. What I do still notice is that books with strong female characters are still considered only for girls. But girls read books with strong male characters all the time. This needs to change. Read the rest of this entry »
- ← Previous
- 1
- …
- 13
- 14
- 15
- Next →
Lydia Lukidis 