Children’s Writing

1.Write a really amazing query. Which is to say: take your time, try describing your work multiple ways until you find the best approach, read successful queries online and have as many people as possible read yours so that you’re certain it makes sense and is a shiny apple.

2. Demonstrate knowledge of an agent’s list. This doesn’t mean you have to read every book they’ve ever sold—I leave that job to my mom—but by showing them you know a bit about who they represent, you’re telling agents you’ve done your research on who to query. Read more

These days, with my debut middle grade out in the world, people seem to want to know if I’d always wanted to be a writer. And I did. Ever since I can remember, that’s all wanted to do (except for that year in the fourth grade when I wanted to be a child psychologist). But why? What was it about the written word that attracted me, that attracts some people and not others?

Guest column by Michele Corriel, whose lives in Montana, and is a regional advisor for SCBWI. Her debut middle grade novel, Fairview Felines: A Newspaper Mystery (Blooming Tree/Tire Swing Press) Read more

Upon reflection, I can point to one practical activity that’s been absolutely critical to my work as a children’s author: I spend time in classrooms. Not as a visiting author, but as an observer. I sit in the back, out of the spotlight, and watch.

Guest column by James Preller, who has published a wide variety of books, including three in the past year. Each one included multiple scenes in a school setting: Bystander, set in a middle school; Justin Fisher Declares War!, fifth-grade classroom; and A Pirate’s Guide to First Grade, a picture book. Read more

I’ve been writing humor for over twenty years. During that time, I’ve received enough rejection slips to wallpaper most of the homes in Papua New Guinea. I’ve also gotten some pretty sweet calls along the way. Like the call I received four years ago. I was at home avoiding writing (aka folding laundry) when the phone rang. I saw the 212 area code on the caller I.D. and screamed, “Everyone be quiet. It’s my agent.”

Guest column by Donna Gephart, author of How to Survive Middle School, which received starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal. Read more

READ ALOUD
For 18 years, I have been reading picture books, mainly fairy tales and folk tales at an inner city elementary school. I have only one rule: I will only read stories that I absolutely love, for it is that love that seeps into the words as I read and enchants the children into another world where hope and joy make their hearts bigger and better and bolder and braver. Read aloud every day poems and stories and words that make your heart pound with delight!

FIND SPACE TO LISTEN TO YOUR INNER VOICE
When Doris Lessing won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2007, she told the reporters that the real question they should pose to any up and coming writer, should not be about how they write—word processor, electric typewriter, pen or quill—but rather, “Have they found the space to write, for that space is a form of listening…” Read more

This weekend was the NESCBWI (The New England chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) Conference in Fitchburg, MA. There were informative workshops and inspiring speakers. One particularly informative session was an Agent Panel featuring Ammi-Joan Paquette of Erin Murphy Literary Agency, Sarah Davies of Greenhouse Literary Agency, and Edward Necarsulmer IV of McIntosh and Otis. They gave insider opinions on the state of fiction, picture books, nonfiction, and writing a standalone novel versus a series. In addition, they spoke about writers maintaining an online presence. Keep reading to find out what writers wanted to know and the advice agents gave. Read more