Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 14

When My Editor Asks for Revisions

I actually work for a number of different editors. When I work on a manuscript for RedLine, I frequently work with at least two editors and may also work with a content expert. This means that when I get a manuscript back, it may have well over 100 comments on it. “Can you have it … Continue reading When My Editor Asks for Revisions →

Children’s Book Week and Looking Back at Uncomfortable Truths

May 5 – 11, 2025 is Children’s Book Week. I wish I still had a copy of this, but it fell apart before I could even remember loving it. That said, I’m sure my parents correctly identified this toddler favorite because they continued to recite it to me into adulthood. Childhood books have a huge … Continue reading Children’s Book Week and Looking Back at Uncomfortable Truths →

Books as Gifts

This weekend, we got to go to a three-year-old birthday party. This was a family get together for our 3 year-old great niece. What was there in the gift pile? There were sandbox toys and bubble toys which she was super chuffed to play with. There were a ton of clothes which she took out … Continue reading Books as Gifts →

3 Steps to Defeat Imposter Syndrome

“I’m such a fake. I don’t belong here with the real writers.” Every writer I know, including those who are also editors and those who are published, sometimes feels this way. Sometimes it happens when they almost make a sale and then get rejected. Or because one too many people has asked when they are … Continue reading 3 Steps to Defeat Imposter Syndrome →

Don’t Let Perfectionism Bring You to a Halt

I’ve been reading about perfectionism lately and how it can bring your creative endeavors to a halt. The first place I saw it mentioned was in Adam Ming’s Ten Minute Artist. The post I read discussed, among other things, the fact that so many people won’t draw at all if they don’t have the time … Continue reading Don’t Let Perfectionism Bring You to a Halt →

One Writer’s Reading

This seriously cracked me up. Part of the reason for this is because when I look at those quizzes on social media, “You can only keep three of these things,” I invariably think, “Pfft. Like you’re the boss of me? I don’t think so. I’ll get rid of one.” Or I don’t want any of … Continue reading One Writer’s Reading →

Picture Book Gold: Why Reading Stacks of Picture Books Pays Off

Last week, I read a stack of nonfiction picture books. I’m working my way through Reimagining Your Nonfiction Picture Book: A Step-by-Step Revision Guide for a manuscript about animal coloration. I needed to figure out what structure would work best for my book, and I needed to find a mentor text. Among the books in … Continue reading Picture Book Gold: Why Reading Stacks of Picture Books Pays Off →

How Do You Get Things Done When Everything Goes Kablooey?

Catastrophes unseat the best of plans. I have a deadline for a contracted book. It is due Friday. I’ve also been working on a revision for a grant application. That’s due Wednesday. I was popping along getting things done. It wasn’t going to be easy, but I was going to meet my deadline. Unfortunately, multiple … Continue reading How Do You Get Things Done When Everything Goes Kablooey? →

Using a Mentor Text in my Picture Book Revision

Yesterday I read a whole stack of picture books. Being a writer means I get to count reading as work. How cool is that? There were about 15 books in the stack. A handful were fiction but the vast majority were nonfiction. Why? Because my manuscript is nonfiction and I needed to find appropriate mentor … Continue reading Using a Mentor Text in my Picture Book Revision →

Creative Discipline as Defined by Calligrapher Nhuan Dao

I read a wide variety of newsletters including one sent out by Nhuan Dao, a Vietnamese calligrapher (find her site here). Recently she wrote about something she read about years ago but only recently started to think about in terms of her art. It is the idea of The Discipline Trinity. So often, as Dao … Continue reading Creative Discipline as Defined by Calligrapher Nhuan Dao →