When Stephen King writes a first draft, he just writes. So, I understand this to mean that crafting comes with revision. And to draw your reader in, your opening line “should say: Listen. Come in here. You want to know this.”
Author: Karen Cioffi
Karen Cioffi is an award-winning author and children's ghostwriter. She loves to help those who want to be the author of a children's book fulfill their dream. Contact Karen today to get your story started!
A Children’s Writing Coach or Editor– Do You Need One?
25 Reasons You May Need Help Writing Your Own Children’s Book I’ve been a children’s ghostwriter and rewriter (book doctor) for many years. Now and then, though, I’ll get someone who comes to me for help, but they want to write the book themselves. This is great. I encourage wannabe authors to go for it….
Writing and the Imposter Syndrome
I watched an amazing Zoom webinar with Carolyn Howard-Johnson and her publisher Victor Volkman. It was from the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association Writing Conference – they did it virtually rather than in-person. Carolyn is an award-winning author and an expert book marketer, so I listen when she has something to share. A small…
Should You Edit Your Professional Edit?
Once I ghostwrite a children’s story, I edit and proof it. If I don’t have enough time to let the story sit for a while, I’ll send it out for proofing. Or if it’s a middle grade or young adult and I’ve been working on it for a long time and am too close to…
Don’t Give Up – Seek Inspiration
Contributed by Linda Wilson All writers experience it: low times. A low time can rear its ugly head after a particularly painful rejection, a bad case of writer’s block, or in my current challenge, a serious case of lack of writing time. At times like these there is only one thing to do: Seek inspiration….
Writing for Children – Know What You’re Doing
As with anything you attempt to do, it’s essential to know what you’re doing. My father was a contractor – he built homes. How structurally sound do you think those homes would have been if he didn’t know what he was doing or didn’t know how to read blueprints? Or what about a musician who…
8 Must-Know Tips to Get Your Book Visible for Free
Are you thinking about writing a children’s book? Or, maybe you have one published already. Well, unless you’ve written a book for ‘your eyes only’ or maybe your family’s, you’ll want to make your book visible. You’ll want as many people as possible to see what you’ve written. This is especially true if you want…
Children’s Ghostwriter, Rewriter, or Writing Coach – Which Do You Need?
Are you going to wait until you’re in your fifties, sixties, seventies, or older to fulfill your dream of being a children’s author?
Talking Yourself Into Success or Out of It
I had a client who began to talk herself out of the project after the book was almost complete. Keep in mind this had nothing to do with money – the project was already paid for. The client simply began second-guessing herself. I was able to convince her that ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained.’ I told…
Chapter Book Guidelines
I like writing children’s chapter books. They allow the writer more freedom than picture books or early readers, but they’re not as involved as middle-grade or young adult books. The children’s chapter book is just right—at least to me. I’m currently working in three different genres: picture book, chapter book, and a young adult. And,…