Hi all, Remember me? It’s been ages. You might wonder where I’ve been. Well, I’ve been off launching my debut nonfiction picture book, WOOD, WIRE, WINGS: Emma Lilian Todd Invents an Airplane (illustrated by Tracy Subisak), which came out in February from Calkins Creek. But I haven’t forgotten about Sub It Club. After all, it... Continue Reading →
I'm dancing with excitement today! One of our very own Sub It Club members, Valerie Bolling, has just had her debut picture book released. Let's Dance is a rhythmic good read that was released by Boys Mills Press! Plus, Valerie was recently chosen to receive the 2020 We Need Diverse Books mentorship with Kelly Starling... Continue Reading →
Graphic novels are a steadily growing market, which is exciting to see. These days, more publishers are accepting graphic novel submissions. Some publishers have even started imprints that focus on graphic novels; for instance, First Second at Macmillan, and Graphix at Scholastic. And of course, as more traditional houses are publishing graphic novels, there has... Continue Reading →
One of my most frequently asked questions (right after "Do you really need all that ice cream?") is how far I will read through a query letter before I decide if it will be a rejection. The truth is, I will almost always read through the entire query, but I usually have a good idea... Continue Reading →
Whether you're drafting your first-ever query letter or have written a whole bunch of them, the truth remains the same: query letters can be tough. Each manuscript is different. Heck, each query letter is a little different! Even when you're querying the same manuscript to multiple people you still need to take the time to... Continue Reading →
This post is brought to you by the one and only, Lisha Cauthen. Today's post is down and dirty, mostly because I'm feeling down. And dirty. By the way, do not google "down and dirty animated gif". If you know what's good for you. CATEGORY--basically, the age of the audience your manuscript is written for... Continue Reading →
This post is brought to you by the one and only, Lisha Cauthen. We're told to personalize queries. We're told to research agents and editors--heck, I told you to personalize queries and research agents and editors. But there is a caveat. Don't be a creeper. Don't mention in your query letter how pretty an agent's... Continue Reading →
This post is brought to you by the one and only, Lisha Cauthen. Agents/editors are busy people. And they read fast. Very, very fast. You might even say he/she skims a query letter to see if it merits the engagement of her/his whole brain. And if he/she sees any one of a set of toxic... Continue Reading →
This post is brought to you by the one and only, Lisha Cauthen. Been a long while since we talked about the nuts and bolts of query-letter writing. Today, let's discuss a very simple step that if skipped, will sink your chances of getting an agent: CHECKING YOUR SPELLING, PUNCTUATION, AND SYNTAX First, use Spellcheck.... Continue Reading →
