WRITE ON WRITER’S…WRITE ON!When writing gets tough, we need to write on. In the on-again, off-again love affair life of being a writer, the writer can be certain that he or she will one day wonder if the process of writing is worth all the trouble. We wonder because writing is lonely. Writing is intoxicating. Writing is frustrating, fulfilling, heartbreaking, complicated, and most of all… Read more
GETTING BOYS TO READSadly, getting boys to read has been a problem in the past, but now it is an epidemic in our country that we need to address. In our rapidly changing, dancing with the stars, fast food nation of American culture, boys are falling behind in school for one reason and one reason only. Getting Boys To Read is difficult.
The official GUYS READ website tells us that the United States Department of Education reading tests over the last 30 years shows us that boys are scoring lower than girls in every age group…every…single…year. The study also showed that eighth grade boys were 50% more likely to be held back Read more
7 SECRETS TO CHILDREN’S BOOK MARKETINGChildren’s book marketing is the most important element there is after you write a children’s book.
So, there you are, drained from giving your blood, sweat and tears to write the next great American best-selling children’s book, but what’s this? You have more work to do? I know, it’s hard to imagine, but it is true as the sky is blue. You see, the minute you finish your manuscript, you are only 10% there. You must now must up the strength to give another
7 SECRETS FOR CHILDREN’S BOOK WRITINGWhile there are potentially 1000 tips for children’s book writing, here are my 7 Secrets for Children’s Book Writing. I used these secrets to write my award winning children’s book, Saltwater Taffy. And remember when taking advice from other writers about writing…find what works for you and apply it to your writing, but never lose sight of YOUR writing. More and more, people are writing to satisfy either the marketplace or their agents. What does that leave? A bland and boring piece of writing.
1. MAKE IT FUN – Kids want adventure. Kids want action. I once heard a kid say: “If it’s not fun, I don’t want to read it.” With fractured attention spans and our culture of ADD and ADHD, you have to grab your reader on page 1 with an awesome opening!
2. CHARACTERS AGE – Once you determine your target audience, tack on a few years to your main characters. Kids like to read what it’s like to ‘be older.’
3. PACE IS EVERYTHING – On Law & Order, we had one rule; if the scene doesn’t move the story, cut it. This speaks to TIP #1. Kids want the story to read stories that are fun and cook! Read more
Middle Grade Fiction: You Have to Really Want ItWriting a Middle Grade Fiction novel has taught me many things, but the one thing it’s really taught me is that you have to really want it. After 7 cities and a grueling 14-day tour that took me as far as the Big Easy of New Orleans, Louisiana, I am back on the road of adventure that will make Saltwater Taffy a best selling book for Tweens.
We have had some amazing things happen at the Saltwater Taffy Network as of late, most of which will be a mention in the upcoming issue of Scholastic Instructor Magazine, hitting shelves in May. Yes, that is HUGE for an independent book, but as one Teacher of the Year remind me in an email, ‘it is not a surprise.’ Read more