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 →
How to Write a Query Letter – A Basic Breakdown
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 →
Closed to Submission
This post is brought to you by the one and only, Lisha Cauthen. Your manuscript is shiny and happy. You've done your research and found the perfect agent for you, your novel and your career. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCQ0vDAbF7s But there's a problem--the agent is closed to submissions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbfMlk1PwGU Do you give up? Not necessarily. If you're convinced... Continue Reading →
Additional Tips for Formatting Your Email Submissions
So, Lisha talked about how to format your email sample chapters and I must say, she is good! But, I said I would do a post about emailing your picture book submission so here’s a few more tips about email submissions. They aren't really picture book specific because it's basically the same no matter what... Continue Reading →
11 Red Flag Phrases to Avoid in Your Query Letter
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 →
Format Your Email Sample Chapters
This post is brought to you by the one and only, Lisha Cauthen. You can understand why agents/editors want First Contact with their potential authors to be through a safe, clean email. With the volume of correspondence they receive from strangers, the likelihood of viruses arriving in attachments is high. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaPpa-eoxi4 Fine. So I took... Continue Reading →