Captivate the hearts and minds of young adult readers! Writing for young adult (YA) and middle grade (MG) audiences isn't just "kid's stuff" anymore--it's kidlit! The YA and MG book markets are healthier and more robust than ever, and that means the competition is fiercer, too. In Writing Irresistible Kidlit, literary agent Mary Kole shares her expertise on writing novels for young adult and middle grade readers and teaches you how to: • Recognize the differences between middle grade and young adult audiences and how it impacts your writing. • Tailor your manuscript's tone, length, and content to your readership. • Avoid common mistakes and cliches that are prevalent in YA and MG fiction, in respect to characters, story ideas, plot structure and more. • Develop themes and ideas in your novel that will strike emotional chords. Mary Kole's candid commentary and insightful observations, as well as a collection of book excerpts and personal insights from bestselling authors and editors who specialize in the children's book market, are invaluable tools for your kidlit career. If you want the skills, techniques, and know-how you need to craft memorable stories for teens and tweens, Writing Irresistible Kidlit can give them to you.
It is a place where ogres and wizards live in enchanted forests. It is also the home of editors, publishers, art directors, and marketers. It is the world of children's book publishing. For writers who hope to have their stories published, though, it has always been one of the most confusing places to navigate -- until now. Based on a career of two decades, award-winning writer Liza N. Burby has put together a complete guide to making the right children's book publisher say yes. "How to Publish Your Children's Book" starts off by helping you define your book's category, audience, and marketplace so that you know exactly where your book "fits in." Following this, you are guided in choosing the best publishing companies for your book, and writing a winning submission package. Then the Square One System tells you exactly how to submit your package so that you optimize success, while minimizing your time, cost, and effort. Also included is a special section on contracts that will turn legalese into plain English, allowing you to be a savvy player in the contract game. Most important, this book will help you avoid the common errors that so often prevent writers from reaching their goal. Throughout each chapter, you will find practical tips and advice from experienced editors and publishers, as well as insights from popular children's authors such as Jane Yolen and Johanna Hurwitz. Whether you're just thinking about writing a children's book or you are a published author, you're sure to find "How to Publish Your Children's Book" a solid reference you can turn to time and time again.
Education is the new currency.Regardless of what business or industry you are in; if you wish to sell what you have to others, your commercial survival depends on you becoming the EDUPRENEUR.Consumers are tired of sales pitches and promises, and instead are seeking information and knowledge. By giving it to them you get to demonstrate your capability and expertise as much as they get to experience it - making you choice number 1 for their needs.Edupreneurs strategically share their expertise in a way that provides unprecedented global reach, immeasurable impact on the lives of others, and unlimited income potential.Every single person on Earth has an abundant and unique set of skills, experiences, and knowledge that could be turned into commercially profitable products and services.In this book, Sarah Cordiner will take you through the fundamentals of monetising your expertise and profitably sharing what you know with the world.Whether you are an absolute beginner in creating and selling information and education-based products and services, or are up-levelling to a serious education-based business operation; this book will help you get there.Inside this book:How to commercialise your skills, knowledge, and expertise and start profiting from what is already in your head.How to create your own unique `funnel of service',so that you no longer need to `sell', and instead have your customers coming eagerly to you for your advice and expertise.A deep dive into the 10 stages of designing and building a highly successful information or education-based business so that you maximise your impact and income.How to price your informational and educational products and services; including courses, consulting, workshops and more.Where and how to sell your educational products for maximum exposure and sales - particularly online courses.The critical elements of an online education based business. What online tools, apps and products you need and how they all fit together for maximum profitability, scalability, and automation. How to use your expertise to become a well-known leader in your industry.
Each year writers and editors submit over three thousand grammar and style questions to the Q&A page at The Chicago Manual of Style Online. Some are arcane, some simply hilarious—and one editor, Carol Fisher Saller, reads every single one of them. All too often she notes a classic author-editor standoff, wherein both parties refuse to compromise on the "rights" and "wrongs" of prose styling: "This author is giving me a fit." "I wish that I could just DEMAND the use of the serial comma at all times." "My author wants his preface to come at the end of the book. This just seems ridiculous to me. I mean, it’s not a post-face." In The Subversive Copy Editor, Saller casts aside this adversarial view and suggests new strategies for keeping the peace. Emphasizing habits of carefulness, transparency, and flexibility, she shows copy editors how to build an environment of trust and cooperation. One chapter takes on the difficult author; another speaks to writers themselves. Throughout, the focus is on serving the reader, even if it means breaking "rules" along the way. Saller’s own foibles and misadventures provide ample material: "I mess up all the time," she confesses. "It’s how I know things." Writers, Saller acknowledges, are only half the challenge, as copy editors can also make trouble for themselves. (Does any other book have an index entry that says "terrorists. See copy editors"?) The book includes helpful sections on e-mail etiquette, work-flow management, prioritizing, and organizing computer files. One chapter even addresses the special concerns of freelance editors. Saller’s emphasis on negotiation and flexibility will surprise many copy editors who have absorbed, along with the dos and don’ts of their stylebooks, an attitude that their way is the right way. In encouraging copy editors to banish their ignorance and disorganization, insecurities and compulsions, the Chicago Q&A presents itself as a kind of alter ego to the comparatively staid Manual of Style. In The Subversive Copy Editor, Saller continues her mission with audacity and good humor.
Set in an incarceration camp where the United States cruelly detained Japanese Americans during WWII and based on true events, this moving love story finds hope in heartbreak. To fall in love is already a gift. But to fall in love in a place like Minidoka, a place built to make people feel like they weren’t human—that was miraculous. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Tama is sent to live in a War Relocation Center in the desert. All Japanese Americans from the West Coast—elderly people, children, babies—now live in prison camps like Minodoka. To be who she is has become a crime, it seems, and Tama doesn’t know when or if she will ever leave. Trying not to think of the life she once had, she works in the camp’s tiny library, taking solace in pages bursting with color and light, love and fairness. And she isn’t the only one. George waits each morning by the door, his arms piled with books checked out the day before. As their friendship grows, Tama wonders: Can anyone possibly read so much? Is she the reason George comes to the library every day? Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s beautifully illustrated, elegant love story features a photo of the real Tama and George—the author’s grandparents—along with an afterword and other back matter for readers to learn more about a time in our history that continues to resonate.
Everyone loves a children's book. And many dream about writing one. But is it actually possible for an unpublished writer—armed with a good story idea and a love of kids—to write, sell, publish, and promote a book? Yes, it is! Veteran children's book publishing executive and author Lisa Rojany Buccieri and author Peter Economy show you how, in their incredibly useful 2005 first edition of Writing Children's Books For Dummies®. Buccieri and Economy begin by explaining the basics of the children's book business, from the nuts and bolts of the various formats and genres—with helpful illustrations to aid you—to the intricacies of the book publishing market, a list of recent award-winning books, and a first peek into the particular mind set that writing children's books requires. (Hint: Throw out the adult rules, and think like a kid!) Then the authors dive into the actual writing process itself, with tips on setting up a workspace, brainstorming great book ideas, researching the subject you decide on, even speaking with the sorts of kids you hope will eventually read the book. They show you how to create compelling characters and develop them in the manuscript; how to outline and write a plot "arc" of conflict, change, and resolution; how to master the difficult art of writing dialogue; and how to use active (rather than passive) language to keep your story moving along and interesting to young minds. Or, if you're planning to write a creative nonfiction children's book—on a topic such as science, nature, or a historical figure, for example—the authors include a chapter on this, too. Ready, set, go... it's time to sit down and write! Once you've finished your book, however, the process has only begun. Now you will refine, submit, and hopefully sell your manuscript. Here again, the authors of Writing Children's Books For Dummies come through for you. They deliver solid advice on hiring an illustrator—or not; participating in workshops and conferences to learn the business and hone a story; finding an agent; and, finally, submitting the manuscript to publishers and—if you are successful—signing a contract. Along the way, the authors also include tips on handling rejection; a quick primer on the various editors in publishing houses (and how they work to make your book its best); and making a plan to publicize the book, including hiring a publicist if necessary. Like all For Dummies® books, Writing Children's Books For Dummies highlights "The Part of Tens," which includes the Ten Best Ways to Promote Your Story and More Than Ten Great Sources for Storylines. And the ever-helpful Cheat Sheet includes Tips for Editing your Children's Book Manuscript, Children's Book No-No's, Twelve Commandments for Writing Younger Children's Books, and Tips on Promotion. From setting down that first word on paper to doing a successful publicity tour, Writing Children's Books For Dummies gives you the confidence and the insiders' know-how to write and sell the story you've always wanted to write.
