WRITERLY WORDS

If you followed along on my 10-part blog series – From Premise to Published – thank you! This is a quick summary of each blog, which can...

Well…we’ve done it! We started out on a little journey together and we have come to the end - or at least we have come to the end of the...

Well, my friends, if you have followed along with me from my very first tip to now, thank you. This was meant to be a blog series...

A critique group can be a very useful tool on your way to publication. Basically, it is a group of 4-6 people (usually) who gather...

Every publishing house will tell you that an author’s involvement in the promotion of their books is paramount to success. In other...

One of the nicest things about the writing community is its generosity. For the most part, people are very kind and helpful. I can...

Along with your manuscript submission, you will need to send a query letter. This is the who, what, and why of your submission. A lot of...

This tip is for the those hoping to write a children’s book. There are two people involved in the writing of a children’s book - the...

The simple definition of formatting is to put things in proper order. This means, as a writer, you will have to format, or prepare, your...

It may seem like an obvious question, hardly worth asking, but knowing your target audience is very important if you hope to be...

FIGURING OUT YOUR WHY. Are you educating, explaining, defending, entertaining, promoting, attacking? Are you writing for money, for fame,...

Warning: The Tale of the Bunny – is a sad one. From my office window I can see my neighbor’s house and yard, and the little space of...

As in any profession or discipline, writing has its own unique learning curve. Obviously, much can be learned through education, but so...

It finally happened! I signed a book deal (Brandylane Publishers). They found an illustrator for the book. There is a tentative release...

“You don’t start a children’s book with dialogue. Children need a little info to get their bearings. A little where. A little who. Give...

When I think of the word branded, I see a burly ranch hand grab a cow around the neck, while another slowly inches his way toward the...

I was online last week researching agents and publishers so I could start sending out my latest picture book manuscript. One small...

Books are like living things. While in the process of being born, they are constantly changing. It is most unlikely that a finished...

I realized, after a discussion with a potential editor, that I had shied away from giving my protagonist her fair share of ‘flaws.’...

July 10, 2019 Like the proverbial phoenix, I am climbing out of the ashes of my family conflicts and scheduling hodgepodge to begin...