View Post A while ago, I received a query from a potential client who wanted a children’s picture book series. She had seven ideas for storylines. Numbers 2 through 7 were sound ideas. They focused on a child protagonist and lent themselves to conflict, but the first one wasn’t kid-oriented. The story idea for book…
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5 Top Tips to Boost Your Writing Skills
There are a number of strategies you can use to create and build your writing skills, but I’ve found there are five top strategies. 1. READ! If you don’t read, you won’t know what good reading is. Along with this, it will help you fine tune your own writing, by broadening your vocabulary. Another thing…
Your Self-Published Book and the ISBN
Being a children’s ghostwriter, I get a lot of clients who self-publish. Many of them use self-publishing services to do the work for them: format, design, publish, and distribute the book. If you self-publish a physical book or ebook and intend to sell it online, in bookstores, or pretty much anywhere else, you will need…
How Much Are You Worth?
“If you put a small value on yourself, rest assured that the world will not raise your price.” I love this quote and wish I knew who wrote it – I’d love to give the author credit. This quote is so appropriate for all writers. You have to value your writing skills and your expertise,…
Want to Become a Writer? Read!
If you want to be a writer, one of the most important things you can do is READ. So what exactly does that mean? Read what? Read in the Genre You Want to Write I’ve written about this a number of times. If you want to write, especially for children, you need to read in…
Writer’s Conferences Are Not All the Same
A few of my clients who travel the ‘real’ traditional publishing road have attended writer’s conferences, or are thinking of attending one. Well, Carolyn Howard-Johnson has a great article that helps writers choose the perfect one. Every writer thinking of attending a writing conference should read it. CHOOSING THE PERFECT WRITER’S CONFERENCE Guest Post by…
5 Rules of Writing a Children’s Book
As a children’s ghostwriter, I usually work on multiple children’s book projects daily. This usually includes weekends. I also have a family. So, my plate is FULL. Juggling all the time, I thought about what it takes to write, not just children’s books but other genres as well. Here is my list of the 5…
16 Reasons Why You Should Publish a Book
Carolyn Howard-Johnson Author of the multi award-winning #HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers There are naysayers enough to fill every dark crevice in your defense against negativity. When people telling you not to publish a book (no, I won’t list all the reasons they will give you), here is a list for you to check…
Are You Determined to Be a Writer?
“If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you.If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you!”~ Zig Ziglar Cambridge Dictionary defines determination as “the ability to continue trying to do something, although it’s very difficult.”Cambridge Macmillan Dictionary defines it as, “the refusal to let anything prevent you from doing…
Your Children’s Manuscript and the Ghostwriter
Coming up with a fiction story idea is an amazing thing. Getting notes down or a basic outline takes it to the next level. However, at this point, some authors realize they need professional help to bring their ideas, notes, or outlines to life. This is when it’s time to hand it over. In this…