You might have noticed that I haven’t written in my blog, for ahem, one month. I had pledged to be a weekly blogger and I had been fulfilling that promise. But then I went to teach at Hollins and the blogosphere seemed so far away. Hollins University is a a woman’s college in Southwest Virginia, […]
Tweens and Facebook
As a parent of a tween and a young teen, it’s hard not to notice how Facebook use has crept younger and younger and younger. And as a children’s book author and a professor of children’s writing (Hollins University http://www.hollins.edu/grad/childlit/childlit.htm) who writes novels specifically for tweens, it’s my job to vollow this trend. In fact, […]
Questions to Ask an Independent Publisher
I haven’t worked with an independent publisher in fifteen years (not that I’m opposed). But I have lots of writing friends, as well as students, who are considering working with independent publishers asking me about contracts. Now I don’t have the best natural brain for business so this is not my area of strength. However, […]
What Should Writers Worry About?
An author friend recently asked me how much I worry about promoting my already published books. He asked me this because he admitted that he was stressed out about the fact that he wasn’t promoting enough. And then he was equally stressed because he felt like he wasn’t doing enough writing. I know what that […]
How I (Sometimes) Balance Motherhood and Writing
I’m not always an acrobat. But it’s something I’m always working on–balancing motherhood and parenting. Recently, I was blown off course. I was so busy that I found myself not having time to read to my first grader at night. Not good! I have been re-correcting over the past couple of weeks. Here are six […]
Is Your WIP Developmentally Appropriate?
Recently, I’ve been reading some manuscripts and have written out this advice–“Make sure that themes and storyline are developmentally appropriate and that you’ve chosen the best form to express your story.” Most of us know what this means. Please don’t try to create a picture book about a 12 year-old girl preparing for her bat […]