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]
Work in Progress #20: Are You Finished Yet With Your Emily Post Biography?
July 30, 2015 By
“Are you finished with that book you’re working on yet?” It’s a question I get asked over and over again. I suspect that, lurking behind that question are other unspoken ones, like “Do you perhaps have procrastination issues?” or “Are you really writing a book or just putting us all on?” It’s hard to explain… [Read More]
Work in Progress #19: Warming Things Up For My Emily Post Biography
July 21, 2015 By
As I begin chapter 11 of my Emily Post biography and survey the material I have to work with, it all looks a little cold to me. It’s the 1930s, and the pinnacle moment of Emily’s life (the publication of her etiquette book) took place in the last chapter. Now I have to figure out… [Read More]
Work in Progress #18: The Moving Light at the End of the Tunnel
July 6, 2015 By
I am three quarters of the way through my Emily Post biography…maybe (dare I hope it???) even further. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Except for the fact that writing a longer piece always goes slower and slower the further I proceed because I realize with every sentence I write… [Read More]
Work in Progress #17: A Quote File
June 1, 2015 By
I keep a quote file on my desktop where I can record interesting tidbits from the things I read. I’ve developed a list of categories to file them under so that I can access them when a particular subject comes up in a piece I might be working on: “aging,” “being/becoming,” “freedom,” “history-writing,” “self,” “superficiality,”… [Read More]
Writing and Talking
July 22, 2014 By
Awhile back, I wrote a blog (“I Don’t Talk – I Just Write”) about how terrified I was when people discovered I was a published writer and started asking me to do talks. Today I can tell you that not only did I overcome that initial fear, but the talks I do for various audiences… [Read More]
Work in Progress #16: Leaving the Interstate
June 4, 2014 By
A few weeks ago, I left my desk research, loaded a bunch of books and accordion files into my trunk and drove east. I was on the Interstate for two days before I veered off onto some winding mountain roads that would lead to my destination. “Leaving the Interstate”is the perfect metaphor for the particular… [Read More]
Work in Progress #15: The Joy of a Legal Pad
May 6, 2014 By
There’s a time in my writing process when I have been sweating and agonizing and re-thinking how to proceed with a chapter and am terrified to actually start writing it. The amount of material I have to include seems overwhelming, I need to be sure to include enough warm, human parts in the midst of… [Read More]
The Children’s Literature Network is Now Offering “Mentors for Rent!”
February 11, 2014 By
The Children’s Literature Network has a unique offering called “Mentors for Rent,” a consulting/coaching/critiquing service for writers of children’s or Young Adult books. Mentors for Rent is … A consulting/coaching/critiquing service for those who write for children or young adults. Two award-winning children’s book writers who have long-term experience as writing teachers and coaches. Happy… [Read More]
Creative Writing Now is Offering a 5-part Audio Course on Writing and Publishing Children’s Books
February 11, 2014 By
Interested in starting a career as a childrens book author? Then check out this 5 part audio course. Connie lead the course on writing non-fiction, and the other courses are taught by accomplished writers Linda Leopold Strauss, Sally Derby, Emma Carlson-Berne and Mary Kay Carson. >> Learn More / Purchase the Course Course Contents Write and… [Read More]