Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 147
March 3, 2020
Three Ways to Tell Narrative Nonfiction from Informational Fiction
Narrative nonfiction tells a story that is 100% factual and true. Informational fiction will have a significant amount of fact but it will also contain sections that are obviously fictional. How do you tell them apart? Here are three tests that you can apply. Impossible elements. No matter how many facts you can glean from […]
March 2, 2020
The Best Way to Keep a Tab on Literary Agents
Every time I decide to query agents, I have to refresh my knowledge. By the time I’ve researched three of them, I’m struggling to remember who doesn’t want picture books unless you are an author/illustrator and who absolutely loathes birds. Keeping track of everything is a huge job. Novelist Michelle I. Mason conquered it by […]
March 1, 2020
Three Things to Remember When Writing a Picture Books with a Message
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked up When Aidan Became a Brother. I knew it had to be top-notch because it won a Stonewall Medal from the ALA in January. But how had author Kyle Lukoff pulled it off? For those of you who aren’t familiar with the book, Aidan is a transgender boy. […]
February 27, 2020
3 Reasons to Sign Up for the Middle Grade Magic Virtual Summit
If you are interested in writing for middle graders, check out Middle Grade Magic, an event put on by School Library Journal. Can’t attend on April 8, 2020? Not a worry because the sessions are recorded and you can watch them later. I spotted sessions on writing humor, writing stories about friends and friendship, and […]
February 26, 2020
3 Ways to Get Creative with Your Book Marketing
Recently I saw a post, a know not where, that listed the four types of book events you can do. An author signing. A group signing. A workshop. A school visit. I looked at that and thought, “There has to be more.” And there are. Creative Venues. This weekend fellow Business of the Book speaker Dan […]
February 25, 2020
5 Reasons to Join the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)
Last weekend, I spoke at a day long workshop put on by the Kansas-Missouri Region of the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Way back when, I was the regional advisor for what was then only the Missouri Region. Although I’m still active, I don’t make it to many events but this one […]
February 24, 2020
3 Things You Need to Know about NASA’s Katherine Johnson
Feeling a little blue today after hearing the news that Katherine Johnson, formerly of NASA, died yesterday. This 101 year-old math whiz was one of the Hidden Human Computers that Duchess and I wrote about in our book. She was portrayed by Taraji P. Henson in Hidden Computers. When Hidden Figures come out, Johnson was the […]
February 23, 2020
When Giving a Presentation, Keep This in Mind
It doesn’t matter if you are doing a school visit, speaking at a workshop, or entertaining the crowd at a literacy event there is one thing that you should keep in mind. Preparation pays off. And this should include a backup plan. This weekend, I was the first speaker at the KS-MO workshop. I haven’t […]
February 20, 2020
5 Reasons to Take Part in This Picture Book Challenge
Do you write picture books? If so, you should sign up for the ReFoReMo challenge? If you’ve never heard of it, this isn’t a picture book writing challenge. It is a challenge all about studying picture books so that you can learn to write them. Writing Picture Books Is Harder Than It Looks. Most of […]
February 19, 2020
3 Problems to Fix when You Revise Fiction
Last week, I was reading Jane Friedman’s blog when I came across a post on rewriting. I’ve suspected for a while that two of these things were problems in my manuscript. The third one? She didn’t point this one out but I’m just as certain it needs to be fixed. Along for the Ride. While […]
