One of the most common—and detrimental—query mistakes I see these days is loss of voice. I’m not referring to laryngitis. I’m talking about narrative voice: the style, spirit and tone of your manuscript. This is an easy mistake to make. After all, a query is a business...
Read More
Recently, a former student and colleague of mine asked for advice on how to convert her picture-book-in-verse to prose. An editor had...
Read More
We’re celebrating Women’s History month with 31 days of posts focused on improving the climate for social and gender equality in...
Read More
Not every children's book with illustrations qualifies as a picture book. Picture book is a unique format, distinct from chapter books or illustrated novels. Picture...
Read More
If you're a working or aspiring picture book writer, this post is for YOU. The single best resource that I know of for...
Read More
Authors interested in doing school visits often wonder when they should contact schools to cultivate bookings. The answer is: as far in advance as...
Read More
I'm putting the final touches on School Visit Wizard, a step-by-step, customizable kit to help authors book, plan and deliver A+ author...
Read More
Happy New Year! As a children's author, editor and writing coach, I spend a lot of time talking about writing and/or publishing books...
Read More
I'm thrilled to announce that my good friend and colleague, author and 12X12 Picture Book Challenge Founder Julie Hedlund, and I have officially launched...
Read More
Backstory can be essential to understanding a character and his/her journey. It can deepen conflict, reveal motivation and elicit sympathy for a...
Read More