Monday, December 31, 2012

Avoiding Scams

Remember, money flows to the author, not from the author. 

http://myplace.frontier.com/~mfinke/Beware.htm#beware

Sunday, December 30, 2012

The Elusive Voice

What do editors mean when they say they are looking for a strong, unique voice? 

http://www.bobbimillerbooks.com/on_voice.html

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Writing in Meter

It's not as easy as it seems to keeping your rhythm consistent.

http://writeoncon.com/2010/08/meter-meter-sleep-depleter-by-author-tiffany-strelitz/


Friday, December 28, 2012

Book Trailers

Now that you've made your book trailer, what should you do with it? 

http://redroom.com/member/karen-dionne/blog/what-can-you-do-with-a-book-trailer

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Holding Back Information

When you're pitching or querying, don't leave any surprises. 

http://scotteagan.blogspot.com/2012/12/thre-can-be-no-surprises-in-pitches-and.html

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Tension on Every Page

Here are some tips to put tension, even if only a little bit, on each page of your manuscript. 

http://jodyhedlund.blogspot.ca/2012/12/ten-techniques-for-getting-tension-on.html

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Series Pitfalls

Even if you're writing a series, each book has to stand on its own. 

http://scotteagan.blogspot.com/2012/12/potential-pitfalls-of-writing-series.html

Monday, December 24, 2012

Submission Guidelines

This incredibly useful site provides links to the submission guidelines for Children's Book Council publishers. 

http://www.rillart.com/rCube/Pages/PublishersList.htm

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Picture Book Biographies and Story Arcs

Not all picture book biographies fit neatly into the standard story arc structure. 

http://donnabowmanbratton.blogspot.com/2011/07/do-nonfiction-picture-books-always-have.html

Friday, December 21, 2012

Action and Reaction

Your story is a chain of actions and reactions, each leading to the next one. 

http://jamigold.com/2012/11/actions-and-reactions-the-end-all-be-all-of-storytelling/

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Common Core Standards

What are the standards and which states have adopted them? 

http://www.corestandards.org/

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

How Many Books to Pitch

Only pitch one book, your best one, in a query. 

http://www.rachellegardner.com/2012/12/why-you-should-pitch-a-single-book/

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Royalty Calculations

You need to look past the percentage. 

http://www.ivanhoffman.com/royalties.html

Monday, December 17, 2012

Free Indirect Discourse

How do you give your character's thoughts, even when you're writing in third person. 

http://litreactor.com/columns/the-benefits-of-free-indirect-discourse


Sunday, December 16, 2012

Writing Rules of Thumb

You need to know the rules before you can decide if you want to break any of them. 

http://metteharrison.livejournal.com/385718.html

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Visual Editing

Break out your colored highlighters/crayons/markers before you revise. 

http://querytracker.blogspot.com/2012/12/visual-editing-color-coding-your-way-to.html

Friday, December 14, 2012

Creative Nonfiction

How does creative nonfiction differ from nonfiction and historical fiction? 

http://donnabowmanbratton.blogspot.com/2010/08/nonfiction-vs-creative-nonfiction-vs.html

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Nonfiction Mistakes

It always helps to have someone else's mistakes to learn from. 

http://www.throughthetollbooth.com/2012/11/26/nonfiction-mistakes-ive-made-and-ways-to-avoid-them/

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Momentum

There are many ways to speed up or slow down your book's pace. 

http://thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.ca/2012/11/increasing-your-books-momentum-by.html

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Facebook Profiles, Fan Pages, and Groups

What are the different types of Facebook pages and when should you use each type? 

http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/53-FE2-Facebook.html

Monday, December 10, 2012

Proposals

When you query longer nonfiction, you're usually asked to submit a proposal. 

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/how-to-write-a-proposal/

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Fruit and Vegetable Idioms

Make your writing more interesting by using these idioms based on fruits and vegetables. 

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/50-idioms-about-fruits-and-vegetables/

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Reference Books

Seven reference resources for writers. 

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/7-reference-resources-for-writers-and-editors/

Friday, December 7, 2012

Ticking Clock

One of the best ways to increase suspense in a novel is to add a deadline. 

http://childrenspublishing.blogspot.com/2012/11/using-ticking-clock-to-add-suspense.html

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Word Choices

How to choose the best word(s) to say what you mean. 

http://www.writingforward.com/writing-tips/writing-tips-every-word-matters

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Turning Down a Contract

It takes courage, but sometimes it's in your best interest to reject an offer. 

http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2012/11/guest-blog-post-mustering-courage-to.html

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Monday, December 3, 2012

Twitter Etiquette

Make sure your tweets project a professional image. 


Sunday, December 2, 2012

Loglines

This one-line summary boils down your book into a simple statement that can be easily understood.

http://www.rachellegardner.com/2012/11/writing-a-one-sentence-summary/

Saturday, December 1, 2012