It’s a question I’m asked repeatedly and one I’ve had a hard time answering: How do I find a reputable agent? I found my agent by first getting six books published and then approaching a top notch agency with my latest manuscript and my publishing history. But I got my first contract in the early… [Read More]
Tiger and Badger by Emily Jenkins Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
August 16, 2016 By
Tiger and Badger by Emily Jenkins; illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay; Candlewick Press, 2016. 32 pages; $15.99 (hardcover); reading level: ages 3-6. Using soft watercolors and acrylics, Gay has created an outdoor world with everything a child could dream of: phantasmagoric flowers, striped and polka-dotted birds, a stack of empty boxes, chairs out on the grass… [Read More]
Jane Friedman’s Blog is An Outstanding Resource for Writers
August 10, 2016 By
Jane Friedman (former publisher of Writer’s Digest) caught my eye with this quote from her online bio: “I have a special interest in how the digital age is affecting and transforming writing careers, publishing, and storytelling.” I had heard glowing things about her before attending the July 2016 Midwest Writer’s Workshop at Ball State University… [Read More]
Big Tractor by Nathan Clement Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
August 2, 2016 By
Big Tractor by Nathan Clement; illustrated by the author; Boyds Mills Press/Highlights, 2015. 32 pages; $16.95 (hardcover); reading level: ages 3-7. Reminiscent of the human-machine relationship in the 1943 classic Katy and the Big Snow, the farmer in this picture book talks his tractor-friend through the seasons: he wakes “Ol’ Partner” for spring planting, urges… [Read More]
Work in Progress #27: Waiting To Find A Publisher For My Emily Post Biography (The Sequel!)
July 28, 2016 By
A writer’s life is full of surprises. As it turned out, my agent didn’t come back with either of the responses I described in my last Work in Progress blog. Instead, she suggested some revisions. They were pretty major revisions: Re-writing the last chapter, putting in more material that would appeal to the junior high/high… [Read More]
Checkout This Infographic About 18 Famous Writers’ Work Habits…
July 27, 2016 By
Mostly, we writers figure out how to write on our own. Sometimes we read books about writing or go to conferences to hear about writing but, in the end, it’s really a matter of trial-and-error. We stumble on something that seems promising, we give it a go and if it works, it becomes part of… [Read More]
The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
July 18, 2016 By
The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin; HarperCollins, 2012. 426 pages; $15.99 (paperback); reading level: adult. Pairs of relationships drive the plot of this beautifully-written, tightly structured novel (Coplin’s first). In 1865, when William Talmadge is an orphaned 17-year-old living in what will later be the state of Washington, his younger sister goes into the forest to… [Read More]
Douglas, You Need Glasses! by Ged Adamson Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
July 15, 2016 By
Douglas, You Need Glasses! by Ged Adamson; illustrated by the author; Schwartz & Wade Books/Random House, 2016. 32 pages; $16.99 (hardcover); reading level: ages 3-7. When Douglas the nearsighted dog mistakes leaves for squirrels, sits so close to the television that no one else can see, and fetches a beehive instead of a ball, his… [Read More]
Resources for Preschool Parents – Helping Children To Begin Reading Books
July 13, 2016 By
Valerie Garfield, an editor at Simon & Schuster, has started a great new blog on sharing books with preschoolers called “Bookmom.” Recent posts are “How to Read a Wordless Book,” “How to Read a Book to a Baby and Toddler,” and “Sometimes I Read Books I Hate.” I’m adding her blog to the Resources tab… [Read More]
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
July 8, 2016 By
The Art of Hearing Hearbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker; translated from the German by Kevin Wiliarty; Other Books/Random House, 2006. 325 pages; $15.95 (paperback); reading level: adult. Responding to a just-discovered letter, Julia Win, a hard-nosed young New York City attorney, travels to Kalaw, Burma, her missing father’s birth place, to track him down. The story… [Read More]