Photo via Pexels Are you looking for ways to make money before landing your dream career? Whether you’re still in college or a recent graduate hunting for a full-time role, freelancing could be a great way to earn some cash on the side. Despite what many people think, you can earn a comfortable income by selling your writing skills online! Of course, everyone who is … Continue reading How to Make Money as a Freelance Writer During College
Rory still can’t say his r’s, but that’s just the beginning of his troubles. First Rory’s ex-best-friend Brent started hanging out with the mean lacrosse kids. But then, a terrible accident takes Brent out of school, and Rory struggles with how to feel . . .
Read more in today’s post! Continue reading Recommended: THE WAY I SAY IT by Nancy Tandon
This year’s New England SCBWI Conference is Friday, April 29th through Sunday, May 1st. It’s my regional conference and I look forward to it every year. This year’s conference is particularly special because co-director Juliana Spink Mills lives in my town. It’s wonderful that a writer-friend is running the show!
I wanted to get the word out about how great this conference is, so I sat down with Juliana to get the inside scoop. Continue reading The Inside Scoop on the 2022 New England SCBWI Conference: An Interview with Juliana Spink Mills
This is the feel-good book that we need right now, when there is so much not right with the world. It’s got the kind Ogress you want to hug and the greedy dragon it’s so easy to hate, especially when he plays tricks on people for his own benefit. And then there are the clever orphans to cheer on as they try to unravel why so many bad things are happening . . . Continue reading Recommended: The Ogress and the Orphans
One of the most common pieces of advice given to writers is that their manuscripts must be complete and as perfect as possible before querying agents or editors. That is true in most cases, but there are some instances where complete manuscripts are not required. In fact, just a proposal will do. What? I have an idea for a book, a really good idea, and … Continue reading Writing on Proposal: A Different Option
Have you ever seen those mysterious tweets from authors . . . “I have a secret I can’t wait to tell you!”
How frustrating is that? Well, as it turns out, it’s just as frustrating for the author! Halli’s had both some new book cover secrets as well as some award secrets. As soon as she was allowed to talk, I got the scoop!
Here’s a look into the secrets authors have to keep. Continue reading The Secrets Authors Keep: LIST OF TEN News Halli’s Been Waiting to Tell Us!
I was drawn into this book by the fun voice of Trixy, a girl who loves to tell stories. Trixy draws on the stories Gran told her of when Gran was a young girl and good at getting into trouble. Continue reading Recommended: TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH by Beth Vrabel
I’ve been diving into middle grade fantasy recently, and one of my projects was to re-read one of Young Me’s favorites: Susan Cooper’s DARK IS RISING series. Which makes this a good time to do another post in our semi-regular series: Blast from the Past. The gist: We will occasionally read (or listen) to a book we had loved as children but have not re-visited … Continue reading Blast From the Past!
As a fellow reader, I already have a list of books to read in 2022, and a list of books to recommend. Top on my list to recommend is the new middle grade series featuring Cole Champion, a regular kid who attends a not so regular school. (Think Sky High meets Big Hero 6.) These books include three features certain to grab the attention of … Continue reading Cole Champion: STEM Versus Superpowers
We wrote an article on querying your manuscript a couple years ago. That advice is still solid, but I wanted to write a follow on for people who have been around the query block before.
Why?
When writers first query, they tend to rush into it, sending out lots of queries without taking the time to incorporate feedback. I’ll admit I was guilty of this. Once you’ve put time into a few manuscripts and have a better sense of what type of agent you’d like to work with, it’s easier to slow down and be deliberate.
So whether your first (couple?) manuscripts didn’t get you an agent or you’ve parted with your agent and need to find a new one, these suggestions can help you dig deeper to find the best partner for you. Continue reading Querying 201: 9 Tips for Querying a Manuscript That’s NOT Your First
It’s always fun when there’s good news to share, and today is one of those days. You may know Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi, the authors of The Emotion Thesaurus. Well, I’m a big believer in the helpfulness of their books and so joined their Street Team for The Conflict Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Obstacles, Adversaries, and Inner Struggles (Vol. 1). It’s just released, and I am so … Continue reading A New Writing Guide for You: The Conflict Thesaurus +Giveaway
As writers, we spend most of our time writing – as we should. We draft then revise, revise, revise, and revise until our manuscript is as perfect as possible. Then we move on to the next step. Query, query, query. Let’s go one further and say we sign with an agent. What now? More querying, but this time your agent is querying editors. It’s called … Continue reading A Peek into the Life of an Editor
