Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 71

Even Quiet Books Can Surprise You

Monday I blogged about quiet picture books. I had not yet read I Know a Lot of Things by Ann and Paul Rand but it does it right. That said, when I picked the book up, I wasn’t so sure. My first thought when I got it home from the library and flipped through it … Continue reading Even Quiet Books Can Surprise You →

Create Life-changing Rules For Yourself That Serve You Well

Today we have a special treat. Yesterday I wrote about Marla J. Albertie’s book, The Ultimate Brag Book about Yourself. Today she is back with a guest post. As we all know, being a writer is no easy task. You have to motivate yourself and make time to write. Marla has some hints for how … Continue reading Create Life-changing Rules For Yourself That Serve You Well →

Spend Some Time Brainstorming a Character or Getting to Know Yourself

When I agreed to take part in the blog tour for The Ultimate Brag Book about Yourself: A Hundred Questions about How Awesome You Are by Marla J. Albertie, I wasn’t entirely certain what to expect. As I paged through the book, I realized that it was a book of lists about you. I’ll be … Continue reading Spend Some Time Brainstorming a Character or Getting to Know Yourself →

What Your Quiet Picture Book Needs

I’ve been trying to research quiet picture books, how to write them, and how to pitch them. It has been a challenge. Not that there is nothing out there. The problem is actually that when you try to research anything to do with quiet picture books, you get books with titles like Quiet, The Quiet … Continue reading What Your Quiet Picture Book Needs →

Marketing Plans: Should You Be Buying What They’re Selling?

I’m not sure why this trend this year, but 2023 seems to be all about marketing and self-promotion. I’ve sampled three different courses/plans. In the first, a leading author whose indie books have been on the New York Times best sellers list showed how to boost your backlist to help make sales. Her thing is … Continue reading Marketing Plans: Should You Be Buying What They’re Selling? →

Graphic Journaling

Yesterday I attended a fun, online workshop organized by SCBWI Israel. The workshop leader was Sandra Dumais who explained why she likes to keep a graphic journal and what she gets out of it. A big part of it was simply helping her to remember things that had gone on. But she also discussed thinking … Continue reading Graphic Journaling →

Pacemaker: How to Chart Your Word Count Goals

Yesterday I was reading the Institute for Writers newsletter and saw a listing for Pacemaker Planner. Curious, I clicked through to see what it is. Pacemaker Planner allows you to set goals and track your daily progress. It shares your graph within the community which means that you can check your progress against other writers. … Continue reading Pacemaker: How to Chart Your Word Count Goals →

Let Your Character’s Speak: Writing Dialogue

If you aren’t sure what dialogue is, I’d be willing to be that you’ve seen it in your reading. “Dialogue,” said Sue, “is when your characters speak. It can be when they speak aloud or when they think something. “When they think something?” asked Ricky Writer. “Yes. That’s called inner dialogue.” Dialogue is a great … Continue reading Let Your Character’s Speak: Writing Dialogue →

Write Short to Support Your Book

Recently I read an article on writing articles to support a fiction book. The author recommended writing articles to increase interest in her middle grade fiction title. I get it. This piece published in Funds for Writers was one of those pieces so naturally she used it to promote her book. But you can also … Continue reading Write Short to Support Your Book →

Can a Cozy Be Historic?

Recently I’ve been trying to convince myself to get back into my cozy mystery. Do you sense a lack of enthusiasm? Yeah, me too. Part of the problem, and if I’m honest it is a really big part, is that I’ve got enough distance to see the many problems. My main character bores me. My … Continue reading Can a Cozy Be Historic? →