Are You a Writer?

I’ve been thinking a lot about Rachel Gardner’s blog post yesterday. She refers to writing as “a lifestyle,” and it’s hard to achieve this with so many other daily demands around us. While I agree with her that a writer pursuing publication can’t be flippant...

A Simple Trick to Inspire an Entire Story

I must admit I was inspired by a saying for one of my own manuscripts. So when I stumbled upon this post today, I had to pass the concept along. Sometimes, all it takes is a small seed, or concept, to jumpstart you into writing an entire story! Post your favorite...
Who Are You Calling Dummy?

Who Are You Calling Dummy?

Unless you are also an illustrator, creating a dummy for the picture book you are writing may feel like an unnecessary step. Every agent and publisher out there will tell you never to send one in with your submission. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t...

Be Up Front

In the world of picture books, you have to make every word count. Author Ann Whitford Paul’s book Writing Picture Books encourages picture book authors to go through their manuscript and identify critical elements. Mark up your manuscript by underlining the...

Slush Pile Mountain

The world of querying etiquette is a little scary because we want to get published, but it seems to be such a slow process at times. Kate Nash, a literary agent, recommends waiting six months between queries to the same agent. Yes, this applies...