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Slight: What Does an Editor Mean?
Thanks, L.A. for the question for today. She received a rejection that called her picture book manuscript, “slight.” What does an editor mean by that term? And what can you do about it? (BTW, I love questions! Send me your questions and I’ll try to do a post on it.) When my nonfiction book, Praire […]
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What Makes a GREAT Bedtime Story?
Swedish psychologist Carl-Johan Forssén Ehrlin surprised the book publishing world this summer as his book for children and their parents shot to number one on Amazon. The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep is a self-help book that gives parents a script to follow as they try to get a child to go to sleep. […]
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How Many Pages in a Children’s Picture Book? Printing Methods Determine the Answer
I recently watch Miss Potter, the movie based on the life of children’s book author and illustrator Beatrix Potter. It’s a fascinating look at the life of one of the all-time best selling authors of children’s books. When my children were small, I read The Tale of Peter Rabbit to them so many times that […]
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Rhyming Dictionaries
Yesterday, I was working on a picture book with rhyme in it. Now, I have two great rhyming dictionaries that I use. Yes, two. Because they are organized differently and provide slightly different answers. In addition, I use Rhymer.com, because again, it’s organized slightly different and has slightly different answers. But my dictionaries are old […]
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Revising a Picture Book: Length, Common Core, Details and Research
I just did a quick revision of a picture book that’s in progress. Shorter. One goal was to shorten the story whenever possible. I cut out an entire page, and an entire sentence. Doesn’t sound like much? At only 700 words, the story is as streamlined as I can make it. Well, no. I just […]
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NonFiction Picture Books: Research Required
How much research do you need to do for a children’s nonfiction picture book? Tons! Nonfiction means that you have the facts straight, ma’am. 3 sources agree. Traditionally, writers look fora at least three sources to back up each piece of information. This means the content isn’t just a personal opinion or a poorly researched […]