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…
Tag: Karen Cioffi
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…
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, after the book was almost complete, began to talk herself out of the project. Keep in mind this had nothing to do with money – the project was already paid for. The client simply began second-guessing herself. She wondered will there be a market for her story. She wondered if…
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,…
Get Your Self-Published Book Into Libraries – 6 Must-Know Tips
Have you wished you could have your book in the library system? How thrilling would it be to have someone borrow your book from your local library? For a long while this was only possible for traditionally published books. But that’s no longer the case. I read a great article at Jane Friedman’s site about…
Writing – Do Not Worry About Failures
“Don’t worry about failures; worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.” Jack Canfield had a dream. He and co-author Mark Victor Hansen, both motivational speakers, compiled true inspirational stories from people in their audiences. They put these stories in a manuscript, called it Chicken Soup for the Soul, and sent it…
Selling Middle Grade
In my last post, Writing Middle Grade, I wrote about a webinar I attended through Writer’s Digest. It was presented by literary agent Andrea Somberg and focused on writing and selling middle grade (MG). The first article is about writing MG. This article is about selling MG manuscripts. To sell your manuscript, the manuscript itself…
Written a Picture Book? Are Illustrations or Layout Next?
I read an interesting article from a self-publishing service (1106 Design). The article explains that the best way to produce a children’s picture book is to create the interior layout before getting the illustrations done. This is something I hadn’t thought of. But it makes so much sense. I write a lot of stories…