Advice for Just Starting Out
Has this happened to you? You are introduced to someone new as a children’s author. Response: “I have an…
April 8, 2024Has this happened to you? You are introduced to someone new as a children’s author. Response: “I have an…
April 8, 2024Research for 181 words? Research and back matter have never been more important. Reviewers and consumers have access to…
March 8, 2024Libraries buy quality books for all ages in the children’s department and hope to match the book with the…
February 8, 2024One a scale of 1-10, parts of the year 2023 were a minus 6. We saw family, we traveled,…
January 6, 2024The press, the marketers, and the bookstores all clamoring for autographs and first-day Amazon rankings! Then “NEW” is over.…
December 8, 2023As more books are published in a variety of ways (traditional, self-pub, hybrid, assisted), a whole crop of people…
November 9, 2023“I was born as a small child…and did stuff.” My bio in nine words, but who’s counting? One piece…
October 9, 2023One gazillion years ago when I started writing on stone tablets, I never needed an agent to get published.…
September 8, 2023As I wrote this article, I got an email from my publisher letting me know that the pre-order sales…
August 9, 2023Have you met adults who somehow believe that writing a picture book is EASY because there are so FEW…
July 8, 2023There are some thrilling moments in book publication that make all the back work (sometimes YEARS of edits!) pale…
June 8, 2023People seem to be taking sides on AI and feeling strongly about it. Recently we had an AI adventure…
May 8, 2023My e-mail is suddenly full of opportunities! Live face-to-face conferences are happening all over the country, sponsored by different…
April 8, 2023Two Epic Proportion Floods are predicted in the publishing industry. Artificial Intelligence has discovered writing and illustrating. At the…
March 8, 2023That is my fear each time I search for comparative titles (comp titles) for a book proposal or query…
February 8, 2023Not as well known as “Call me Ishmael,” but equally important are these first lines from adult biographies: “On…
January 8, 2023Ever since the Grinch stole into our holidays in 1957, authors have been spinning the “How xxx Christmas” tales.…
December 8, 2022The birth of Jesus from Luke 2 is one story that never grows old. Generations of writers have explored…
November 8, 2022Back in 2021, I relayed the long, long trail to sell a 181-word board book manuscript for publication. And…
October 8, 2022First lines make a promise. From “Call me Ishmael” (Moby Dick, Herman Melville, 1851) to “Happy families are all alike; every…
September 8, 2022Things are getting more exciting for fall – real conferences in person with live editors taking pitches. But until…
August 16, 2022The clock begins the minute we hit “send.” We just launched a glorious new concept, never done before in…
July 8, 2022“So how do you feel about art notes?” This came up to a panel of editors recently, and it…
June 8, 2022After the fifth editor said, “I am especially looking for high concept picture books. I can’t explain that, but…
May 8, 2022We’ve all read picture books that just seemed not quite right – the subject matter was too obscure for…
April 8, 2022