Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 224
March 9, 2017
Query Letters: Comparing Your Book to Another Title
One of the things that you need to do in your query letter is show the agent that you know something about the market. Many writers do this by comparing their work to a book that is already in print. As with everything, there is a right way to do this and a wrong way […]
March 8, 2017
Welcome to Sesame Street!
This is a great opportunity for any writer who can pursue it. Sesame Street Writers’ Room is a new fellowship opportunity from the creators of Sesame Street. Who is it for? New writers from underrepresented racial backgrounds. Sesame Street has always represented diversity on screen and this is a behind-the-screen opportunity for people of any […]
March 7, 2017
Query Letters: Connecting with the agent
A query letter is a business letter. Check. That’s easy and straightforward enough that most of us get it. A query letter is also the writer’s opportunity to connect with the agent. But remember, it is still a business letter. Did you hear the agent speak at a conference? Then say so. “When I heard […]
March 6, 2017
Theme: The Opposite of Preaching
Throughout March, I am taking part in ReFoReMo or Read for Research Month. In this picture book writing challenge, you read a wide variety of books and then read blog posts by various authors on how to use the mentor texts to improve your work. One of the books for last week was Jacob Grant’s Cat […]
March 5, 2017
Emotion: Making the Reader Feel It Too
What is the most vital job that you have as a writer? To hook the reader and keep them reading. To do this you need to make them care about what you are writing. In fiction, this means making the reader care about and relate to the character. One of the best ways to do […]
March 2, 2017
Mysteries: Edgar Nominees Announced
For those of you interested in writing mysteries or at leat books with a strong mystery element, here is a reading list to help you learn how to do it right. Mystery Writers of America have announced the nominees for the 2017 Edgar Awards. You can see the entire list here — the only two […]
March 1, 2017
The Beginning: Set Your Story Up for Maximum Impact
Yesterday, I read Freedom Over Me, Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan. This was one of the books most recently read by the American Library Association. Honestly, I need to send them a thank you note because until I saw this book on the award list, it had escaped my notice. […]
50 Precious Words Writing Challenge
Interested in competing in a brief, and I do mean super short, writing challenge? Tomorrow, March 2, is the 50 Precious Words Writing Challenge. Author Vivian Kirkfield created this challenge in honor of Dr. Seuss whose birthday is March 2. Seuss apparently wrote Green Eggs and Ham when Bennet Cerf, founder of Random House challenged him to […]
February 28, 2017
Picture Book or Magazine-Length Story
One of the most difficult things for new writers, and even experienced writers, to grasp are the differences between different types of writing. How does an early reader manuscript differ from a picture book? How does a magazine story differ from a picture book manuscript? Today, I’m going to talk about how a magazine story […]
February 26, 2017
Research: How much is enough?
Recently someone asked me how much research is enough to write a book. Do I use 20 sources? Thirty? Do my books for teens require more than the third grade books? I wouldn’t say that age level plays as big a part in the amount of research that I need to do as the topic […]
