Sadly, there are still new authors who fall for the lure of self-publishing (vanity) services. And, while this article focuses on picture books, it’s solid advice for authors of other genres. As a ghostwriter, the majority of my clients hit the self-publishing road as do I think most of today’s authors. It’s just easier and…
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!
Writing a Successful Children’s Series – 3 Key Elements
This is Part2 of writing a children’s series. And, if you’re a children’s writer of chapter books, middle grade, or young adult you can write one. To write a series, you need three things: 1. Strong characters In a ‘live’ workshop, Scholastic senior editor Matt Ringler noted that the most important element of a series…
Writing a Children’s Book Series – Different Types
I attended another ‘live’ workshop through SCBWI. This one was with Senior Editor Matt Ringler with Scholastic. He’s in the series department for chapter books, middle grade, and young adult. If you write in these genres, you’ll want to read on! In case you weren’t aware, Scholastic is the only publisher that deals solely with…
Villain or Antagonist – Is There a Difference?
Guest Post by Linda Wilson Is a villain and an antagonist one and the same? Sometimes, and sometimes not. First stop, the dictionary definitions: Mwa Ha Ha A villain is: 1. a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime; scoundrel; 2. A character in a play, novel, or the…
Writing a Publishable Children’s Story: 12 Power-Tips
I’m a children’s author and ghostwriter, and I’m always honing my craft. I read lots of books and articles on writing and writing for children, as well as books in the genres I write. I also attend workshops and webinars by expert children’s writers and editors. If you want to write for children, you must…
Create Strong Story Settings with Visual Prompts
Contributed by Team Member Suzanne Lieurance Setting plays a big part in any novel or short story. And the best way to create a strong sense of setting is to “show” your readers where your characters are living out your story. But how do you do this? Well, it takes practice. Generally, you will want…
The Query and the Author Bio
I read an interesting article by Robert Lee Brewer, senior content editor at the Writer’s Digest writing community. It talked about the author bio in your query and book proposals. According to Brewer, the bio “is a part of the query that has more potential to harm a pitch than to help.” (1) Okay, if…
Positive Thinking and the Writer’s Life
I’ve been looking for a house, for about two months now. And, when I saw this quote by Sean McCabe, it amazed me how accurate it is. As my husband and I are looking, my husband sees all the things wrong with each house. It has wall paper, it needs a complete renovation, it needs…
Save Writing Time – Try an Outline-Sketch
Guest post by Linda Wilson I wrote my next book, Book two in a mystery series for 8-12 year-olds, while making dinner last night. To be more precise, every time my hands were free I jotted down plans for the book in a sketchy outline. Don’t let this boast fool you, though. The one-page outline-sketch…
Selling Books and By-Pass Marketing
Selling books is a must for authors. But even if you’re a freelance writer or have a home business, you should have at least one book you’re author of. Books are one of the most powerful authority building tools. And, they can be created with little or no money, though services like CreateSpace, Amazon, or…