The best reference you can buy on the subject of publishing children’s books is the Writer’s Digest publication, 2012 Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market, edited by Chuck Sambuchino. For the best publishing tips, the first 175 pages are a gold mine. In the 2012 edition of CWIM (the acronym used for this desk reference for the past 20 years), Sambuchino added lots of new instructional materials for authors. You’ll find interviews with best-selling authors, the basics for business, agent Do and Don’t tips, and insights into the way agents and editors think and what they want to read. It’s a writer’s clinic in a book. How-to sections cover writing a query letter and synopsis, creating likeable characters, developing voice, and following the path of revision to the road of publishing success. The directory of publishers, agents, contests, awards and grants is comprehensive and up to date. With purchase of the book you are provided with a 1 year online subscription to the 2012 Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market (dotcom). Click on “Sign Up Now” and you enter the scratch-off code on the inside page of your paper edition. Another bonus to buying the book is a free one hour webinar with Chuck Sambuchino that teaches you how to use the book and see your work in print. It’s a tool-kit and workshop in one. One of the best pieces of advice given in several places in the book is the importance of participating in local chapters of the Society of…
The work of being a writer is never ending. When you’re not writing, you’re reading. When you’re not reading, you can listen! Podcasts are a wonderful way to learn about new books, hear authors talk about their writing practice, learn new skills, improve your writing craft, and gain fresh perspectives on the business of publishing. Here’s a short list of some of my favorite podcasts… [Read More]
Filed Under: Fresh Air, Grammar Girl, Guardian Books Podcast, Longform Podcast, Longorm, Memory Palace, Nerdette Podcast, Nerdist's Writers Panel, New Yorker Fiction Podcast, Odyssey SF/F Writing Workshop Podcasts, Poem of the Day, Radiolab, Reading and Writing Podcast, SCBWI, Writer's Almanac, Writing Excuses
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Perhaps you got hooked on podcasts last year by listening to Serial. From the creators of This American Life, produced by WBEZ Chicago, and hosted by Sarah Koenig, Serial offered listeners a true story told over the course of a season with weekly episodes. The first season focused on the disappearance in 1999 of Hae Min Lee in Baltimore and the conviction of her boyfriend,… [Read More]
Filed Under: Ann Marie Ackermann, Crime Writers, In the Dark, John Ferak, podcasts, Reveal, Ron Chespesiuk, Serial, True Crime
Last week here I shared a dirty little secret. Authors get the blues. Depression strikes when you least expect it: upon the successful publication of your book. I did not intend to discourage writers from pursuing the path to publication, though it may have had that effect on those who hadn’t realized how much hard work and personal sacrifice might be involved. Today I’d like… [Read More]
You spend years working toward the publication of your book. Take writing classes. Attend workshops. Mingle at literary conferences. Develop your craft. Work with a writing coach. Write the manuscript. Hire an editor. Revise and rewrite. Build a website and blog every week. Grow an audience platform. Write reviews of books by authors you admire. Polish a proposal. Query agents. Receive rejection after rejection. And… [Read More]
Filed Under: agent, Depression, fame, fortune, post-publication, Publishers, Rejections, royalty statement, sadness of success
This week Rowman & Littlefield releases Compassionate Critical Thinking: How Mindfulness, Creativity, Empathy and Socratic Questioning Can Transform Teaching by Ira Rabois. In his new book, Ira demonstrates how to use mindfulness with instructional effectiveness to increase student participation and decrease classroom stress, and it turns the act of teaching into a transformational practice. Many books teach mindfulness, but few provide a model for teaching… [Read More]