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10 Suggestions for Picture Book Titles
Once you have a draft, it’s a good idea to make a stab at a title. This will likely change as you revise and, in the end, the publisher may prefer a different title. But this is a good place to start. BRAINSTORMING TITLES My best technique for finding a good title is to make […]
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The Craft & Business of Writing
From Writer’s Digest Press is the new book, The Craft & Business of Writing. There are five sections: Getting Started/General Business, Fiction, Nonfiction, Children’s Writing and Poetry. I have two articles in the book: Picture Books 101: Pay Attention to Structure Great Expectations: Conferences Can Make a Difference Meant to be used as a reference […]
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Picture Book Manuscript Quiz
Picturebook Manuscript Quiz: How do you measure up? Take the Quiz Fourteen Sections–Structure, Plot: Divide your manuscript into a minimum of fourteen sections, with each section a scene in the story. ( If you have fewer than fourteen sections, it’s probably a magazine piece, not a picturebook.) Does each section have an action to illustrate? […]
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Friday Ideas 2008
Where do you find your ideas? Every author gets this question, but I’m one of the few who has a straightforward answer. Go to www.illustrationfriday.com. Friday Ideas 2008 Last year, in the midst of lots of family struggles, I asked several people to join me in trying to come up with more original picturebook ideas. […]
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My Favorite Thanksgiving Books
These are my favorite Thanksgiving books: Molly’s Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen. This classic never fails to touch my heart. Molly has to make a Pilgrim for her class’s Thanksgiving celebration. Mama tells her that she will make the Pilgrim, so go on to bed. But Mama makes a doll that looks like a Russian peasant. […]
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Wait to submit
Editor Requests Revision Two weeks ago, I got a revision letter from an editor about a picturebook. Hurrah! You can guess what I did. I tore the mss apart and revised and revised. I read it aloud. I reseached typical dialogue for different regional dialects, so I could personalize the characters. I sharpened the conflict. […]