writing tips

2021 Superlative Writing Awards: A Humorous Review of My Year

2021 Superlative Writing Awards

As I limp toward the end of 2021, I’ve been reflecting on the year that tried to outdo 2020. Inspired by my friends Chana Steifel and Tara Trudel, I’m closing out the year with my very own superlative writing awards and my predictions for the 2022 awards. 2021 Year in Superlatives Best Preschool Math Books …

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Get Organized for Querying: Two Free Submissions Spreadsheets

Get Organized for Querying: Two Free Submission Spreadsheets

Querying is no writers’ favorite. These free submission spreadsheets won’t make the querying process less emotionally fraught or more successful, but they will help you be more organized. That frees more time for writing and binge-eating ice cream which will make your querying more successful and ease the emotionally fraught-ness. I’ve outlined how to use …

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12 Things to Know About the Little Elephant's BIG Adventures books

12 Things to Know About The Little Elephants’ BIG Adventures Books

The first books in The Little Elephants BIG Adventures series finally published! *cue happy dance* I wrote these books whole five years ago. (And one of those years was 2020 – so it feels like a couple of decades.) Even in the slow world of children’s book publishing, that’s a long time to keep book …

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Writing Through 2020 and Other Hard Times

Writing Through 2020 and Other Hard Times

Let’s face it: 2020 is a dumpster fire, in a train wreck, at a goat rodeo. If it were a novel synopsis, editors wouldn’t get past the first paragraph before saying it was too unbelievable. The writers room for 2020 is terrible! You don’t put a small earthquake in the middle of a race revolution …

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Get Published and Paid with Work For Hire Writing

Get Published and Paid With Work For Hire Writing

My picture book series, the Little Elephants’ Big Adventures, is coming out soon! (Fingers crossed that 2020 doesn’t change that.) These books were a work for hire collaboration with Purdue University that began way back in 2016. There are six books in the series (so far) and the first three will be coming out soon. …

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The Writer's Guide to Children's Book Genres

The Writer’s Guide to Children’s Book Genres

Genres carve up all the works we call “literature” and put them into helpful categories. For kids, the most helpful categories are developmental stages. So children’s book genres really equate to age categories or developmental stages. Why developmental stage? What’s interesting and appropriate to a toddler is wildly different from what would make the cut …

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How I Got Started and Kept Going as a Kidlit Writer: Dumb Luck, Divine Intervention, and hard Work

How I got Started And Kept Going As a Kidlit Writer: Dumb Luck, Divine Intervention, and Hard Work

I’ve never publicly shared my “how I got started as a kidlit writer” story. Why? Well… If I’m honest, it’s because my story starts with a lot of dumb luck and divine intervention. In fact, I never even considered myself to be a writer, let alone a good one. Let’s start at the beginning. How …

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5 Tips for working From Home With Kids in a Crisis

5 Tips for Working From Home With Kids In A Crisis

Coronavirus has upended everything. Many people are suddenly working from home. (If they’re lucky enough to be working at all.) Kids are either off school entirely or doing some sort of online/homeschool hybrid. Headlines read like the plot synopsis for the latest YA dystopian novel. Literally everyone is stressed and questioning if there’s enough chocolate …

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