Nancy I. Sanders's Blog

NEW MASTERCLASS FOR KIDLIT WRITERS

Exciting news for you and for my KidLit Writer friends!

This month the group of Christian children’s writers I’m part of, Write 2 Ignite, is hosting another virtual MasterClass with master teacher, Kim Peterson!

For newbies, it’s great with lots of info on how to write hooks, queries, and proposals.

For seasoned writers, it’s a great chance to polish and refine what you’re already doing.

And for everyone, we’ve got two amazing guest editors who will be sharing what they’re looking for and inviting our attendees a very unique opportunity to submit to them. Yay!!!!

Exciting Opportunity: 2 Guest Editors!

Katherine Easter with Zonderkidz will be there and is eager to talk with you!

Deborah Weuhler, Senior Editor with The Old Schoolhouse Magazine will be there and is excited about connecting with you!

At just $69 for the day, it’s an online event you’ll want to participate in.

So click here to learn more and register.

And get your manuscript ready to bring to the break-out sessions so you can prepare it for submission!

TOP TIPS FOR CHOOSING A TITLE

Whether you’ve been in the publishing industry for years or are just starting out as a newbie, you’ve probably already realized that titles are important. Choosing a great book title catches an editor’s eye. A book title with pizzazz grabs the attention of social media. Choosing a book’s winning title can make the difference in sales.

With over 100 books published by houses big and small, I’ve gone through my share of title angst. From brainstorming a title, to submitting my manuscript, to waiting for the decision of the editorial team on choosing the final book title, the process your book goes through to choose its official name can be very daunting.

I’m happy to say that many of the titles I submitted on my manuscripts actually made it to the published book. But many others didn’t. That’s okay. I’ve learned that publishing a book or a magazine article is a team effort and the marketing team (who often holds a powerful influence on the final title decision) has cutting edge experience in today’s competitive market that I rely on.

BRAINSTORM TO CHOOSE A BOOK TITLE

Brainstorming sessions are always a win-win for writers. They come in handy when choosing a title, too. (If you’re a picture book writer, CLICK HERE to read my blog post on how titles can influence your picture book, too.)

To help you in your own title brainstorming session, here is a list of prompts to consider:

Write down a title for your manuscript:

Using alliteration such as Sideways Stories from Wayside School

That you like such as A Pirate’s Mother Goose

About your Main Character’s (MC’s) problem such as Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Featuring your MC’s name such as Jane Austen for Kids

That’s in the form of a question such as Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

That’s a declarative sentence such as I Don’t Want to Be a Frog

That’s a list of 3 words such as Click, Clack, Moo

Using words that rhyme such as The Cat in the Hat

That’s only 2 words such as Math Curse

Featuring the setting such as The Door in the Wall

That’s just 1 word such as Flotsam

After you have brainstormed an idea or two for each of these prompts, also list any other ideas you think of. Then go through and choose the best title to represent your manuscript.

MORE TOP TIPS FOR CHOOSING BOOK TITLES   

As you narrow down your decision for a working title, here are some more top tips to consider:

Has your title been used before? Look online to double check no other books have been published with the same one.

Do you want your title to connect with your “brand”? CLICK HERE to read Cindy Lynn Sawyer’s great blog post and learn more about branding yourself and your books.

Will your target audience be able to find your book by its topic or is the wording in your title too obscure so that it’s hard to know what your book is about? (This is especially important when writing nonfiction.)

Does your title start with a number (such as 51) that would make it hard to find in a catalog or online list? Some people will list the title starting with F for fifty-one and others will list the title starting with the number, which even varies in different venues because some list titles beginning with numbers at the top and others list these at the bottom.

Is your title so unique or have such a strange word it in people won’t be able to easily remember it?

Compare your title with the titles of other books on a similar topic as yours. CLICK HERE to read Karley M. Conklin’s blog post on finding titles like yours.

TEST THE WATERS!

If you’re not sure which title from your brainstorming session is the best, ask your writing buddies for help. Get votes from critique members, family members, educators you know, your librarian friends, and social media contacts. Unless your project is under wraps and confidential, enlisting your writing community to help choose a working title can be a lot of fun.

So put on your thinking cap, brainstorm a potential list, then choose your favorite working title. One day, you just might see it in print!

And if you have a published book or article, tell us the journey your title took in the comments below!

-Nancy I. Sanders is the children’s author of over 100 books including the how-to book for writers, Yes! You Can Learn How to Write Children’s Books, Get Them Published and Build a Successful Writing Career. Visit her website at www.nancyisanders.com.

Image of pirate story by Tumisu from Pixabay.

Image of Astronaut by Cdd20 from Pixabay.

Image of Books and Door by Nino Care from Pixabay.

Giveaway Time!

It’s the perfect season to snuggle with your kiddos to read a book, and we want to bless YOU with a Children’s Book giveaway! Enter today for your chance to win one of three prizes!

Prize One!

PRIZE ONE: $150 Target Gift Card

Prize Two!

PRIZE TWO: Picture Book Bundle ($110 value)

My Heart’s Garden book and workbookby Charity Rios

Chantal MacDonalds’ Lester the Lobster and the Great Escape book and lobster plush toy

Quinn’s Promise Rock by Christie Thomas

Ladybug Wonder by Jenny Harmon

Quinn Says Goodbye by Christie Thomas

Garden Tales: A Seed’s Story by Brandie Muncaster

Matt, Sam, and the Swimming Unicorn by Elizabeth Harlan

Prize Three!

PRIZE THREE: Chapter Book Bundle ($84 value)

Erin Greneaux’s The Enchanted Garden book and a Gold Feather Gardeners necklace

The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman

Zayd Saleem, Chasing the Dream by Hena Khan

Abbie’s Woods: Defending the Nest by Susan Thogerson Maas

Cosmic Chaos by Carole Marie Shelton

Kate Frantz’s A Painted Rosary and Hail Mary Flipbook

Join the Giveaway Today!

CLICK HERE to enter the giveaway.

Use the sharing buttons at the end of this post to tell friends about the giveaway!

P.S. Check out the bonus entries to increase your chance of winning! We hope you are blessed by the wonderful offerings of each giveaway sponsor whether you win one of the prizes or not!

If you’re willing to share the giveaway, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! You’re the best.

*** The giveaway runs 1/23-1/26. Random winners will be selected via KingSumo on 1/27/23 and notified within 24 hrs. US and Canada residents shipping only. This is a collaborative giveaway sponsored solely by Greneaux Gardens and some writing friends. By entering you agree to receive relevant emails from several of the sponsors. No hard feelings if you need to opt-out. Thank you for joining the fun!

Happy New Year, KidLit Writers!

If you’re like me, you’re thinking and praying about the year ahead. 2023 for your writing. What will it be like? What journeys does God have in store for us in the next 12 months? How can we improve our craft and grow as a scribe?

If you’d like some inspiration and motivation for the year ahead, CLICK HERE to read this amazing post by my friend and fellow KidLit author, Kathy O’Neill. Leave a comment and use the sharing buttons to help spread the word to your writer friends, too!

Happy New Year, friend!

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

The Words We Choose to Use

As children’s writers, we all know the importance of choosing the right word to use. Shakespeare has a famous quote “What’s in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” That philosophy might work in Romeo and Juliet’s situation but not for ours. In a nonfiction book for middle graders that same rose blooms with a flower structure called a corolla. In a whimsical board book, a “happy red flower” could suffice. And if writing a lyrical book about a rose and its place in the garden, we could use words such as “inspirational,” “glorious,” and “majestic.”

Yes, the words we choose influence our readers. Like an artist selecting which colors to mix on their palette, we use words to paint the pictures our readers imagine and impact their emotional response to the story we’re creating. Here are simple strategies that can help you make the best choice.

CREATE WORD WALLS

Create word walls. In elementary school, teachers decorate a bulletin board called a word wall. For example, if they are studying a unit on frogs the teacher designs a large blue paper pond with brown paper bulrushes, green lilypads, and green frogs. Writing with a thick black pen in the center of the paper pond, she posts lists of frog-related words and phrases such as tadpole, vernal pool, life cycle, predator, amphibian, and camouflage. During the time they study frogs, students can simply look at the bulletin board and find a ready supply of words to use for the assignments they write. As writers, we can create our own versions of word walls for each manuscript in progress.

You can design your own bulletin board next to your writing desk with visuals and bold lists of words. Or you can write down lists of words related to your topic in a notebook or on your computer. You can build a word wall using an encyclopedia article on your topic (yes, Wikipedia is okay to use for this type of research!) and other resources such as topic-related children’s books. I even use travel sites to help build my word wall if I’m writing a story that takes place in an exotic setting. Whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction, picture books, middle grade, or for young adult, creating word walls helps add depth and scope to your topic and is a handy reference while you write.        

BRAINSTORM!

But how do you choose the best words to use? Brainstorming helps, especially with visuals such as a bubble map. First draw a 2-inch circle on a blank sheet of paper. Write your key word in the center of the circle, or bubble. Next draw a ring of bubbles around this key word. Connect these bubbles with the center word drawing lines like the spokes on a wheel. Look up your key word in a thesaurus. (If you’re writing a beginning reader or want your manuscript to register for a certain reading level, refer to the thesaurus in the back of The Children’s Writer’s Word Book to find grade-appropriate synonyms.) Write synonyms in the bubbles around the key word. If you want to find synonyms of synonyms, branch off with more bubbles. Or choose a new key word and start a new bubble to map on your paper.

If you want to use pre-designed Word Walls that I actually use when I’m brainstorming, I’ve included a variety of free designs that you can print out to use. Some are in black and white and some are in color. Some are basic construction blocks where some are fancy like teacups. Save and use whichever suits your fancy or your theme for your current project!

word-wall-construction-blocks-in-color word-wall-construction-blocks Word-Wall-Fruit-in-color word-wall-fruit-b-and-w wordwall-teacup Word-Wall-Idea-Bubbles

POLISH YOUR MANUSCRIPT

After you’ve written the first draft of your paragraph, scene, or chapter, go through and circle key words such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Check that each one works together as a team to create your intended emotion, image, character development, or plot point. Use your word wall and bubble maps to synchronize the effect on your reader, and polish your manuscript until it shines!

Have you ever used word walls before as a KidLit writer? If so, share the benefits in the comments below. If not, let us know which kind of word wall you’re going to choose to use for your current project!

Happy brainstorming to choose the right words to use!

-Written by Nancy I. Sanders. Nancy is a bestselling and award-winning children’s author of more than 100 books. She’s an instructor at the Serious Writer Academy. CLICK HERE to check out her list of classes. http://nancyisanders.com/workshopzone/   Click on Nancy’s name at the top of this article to learn more about her and her writing.

Image Credits:

Rose Image by Brigitte Werner from Pixabay

Paint Pallette Image by Alexander Lesnitsky from Pixabay

Lightbulb Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay

Bedtime with Daddy Author Interview

Yep. It’s book launch time!

And that means lots of fun interviews and helping each other spread the news.

I’m thrilled to share that one of my favorite Christian KidLit authors is hosting an author interview for Bedtime with Daddy!

CLICK HERE to visit Brock Eastman’s blog and learn more about the story behind the story of this book and its companion, Bedtime with Mommy.

Oh, and did I mention WHY Brock is one of my favorite Christian KidLit authors? Because my grandkids own and love many of his books. In fact, just the other day, our 6-year-old grandson said, “Grandma, do you know who Dr. Fizzlebop is? He’s cool!”

And I got to tell my grandson that not only do I KNOW Dr. Fizzlebop, but he’s a friend of mine, too!

Talk about scoring with the grandkids!

Bedtime with Daddy: It’s Not Just for Babies!

Yes! That’s right! It turns out my newest bedtime board book for babies is also being read by cats…and dogs!

CLICK HERE to read a cute and sweet interview Molly the Dog posted today about BEDTIME WITH DADDY.

And please leave a comment, too! (Maybe your favorite furry pal would like to read it, too!)

Happy Book Birthday! Bedtime with Daddy

Today is the day! Bedtime with Daddy is ready for little hands and hearts everywhere!

Thank you, Victoria Duerstock and End Game Press for bringing this book into the world.

Thank you, Cyle Young, for helping bring this about. It’s a joy to have you as an agent!

Thank you, Felia Hanakata, for the precious art that makes this book extra adorable.

Thank you, dear friends, for all your support to help spread the love about this new bedtime board book I’m hoping little ones will treasure.

Thank you, mommies and daddies all around the world who are committed to reading your young children off to dreamland.

Thank you, God, for opening doors and opening hearts to hear your message of love.

Attn Writers! Do You Need Help with Your Platform?

As writers, all we want to do is write. Right? Yet in today’s publishing world, we are required to host a website, build our brand, market ourselves and our books, and more! No wonder so many of us are turning to self-publishing. But that opens a whole new Pandora’s box.

At this stage of my career, I’ve realized I can’t do it alone. And you probably can’t either. That’s why I want to tell you about a wonderful service run by two amazing Christian gals. They want to be here for you. So you can get back to your first love: writing those books or articles you feel called to write.

Meet Teri and Madison at Word & Design Co.! Together, you’ll want to work with this team! Here’s what they have to offer…

Word & Design Co.

Contact:

hello@wordanddesignco.com

There is so much more to the world of publishing than simply writing a great book. From creating the perfect proposal, to having your manuscript professionally edited, to designing a beautiful website that showcases your work, Word & Design Co. exists to support authors in communicating their message with clarity and confidence. Started by two sisters-in-law, Word & Design Co. offers the total package of professional industry services and creative solutions.

Our Team:

Teri McKinley is a bestselling, award-winning author of over a dozen children’s books. With a decade of experience in the publishing industry, she brings an intentional eye to editing, helpful guidance in book proposals, and background knowledge to making manuscripts publisher-ready. As the daughter of Crystal Bowman, Teri has spent most of her life in and around the publishing world and is passionate about helping authors take their writing to the next level.

Madison Asher is a highly sought-after graphic designer and branding expert. With degrees in strategic communication and graphic design from TCU, she has worked with corporate, nonprofit, and individual clients seeking professional branding concepts. Madison is an expert in creating original and timeless logos and marketing materials that perfectly capture her clients’ image and message. As a web designer, Madison also creates the perfect platform to reach audiences and support blogs, contact forms, and shops.

Services:

MarketingWebsite DesignBook Proposal ServicesEditingSelf-Publishing Packages (including editing, book cover design, layout, marketing)Branding Packages (including logo design, business card design, and marketing materials)

Every client at Word & Design Co. receives a customized proposal outlining the services and deliverables they would receive for their needs. We stay in close communication with our clients to ensure their goals are met and they are updated every step of the way. Contact us with any inquiries you may have: hello@wordanddesignco.com.

Virtual Christian Writer’s Conference

(image courtesy of w2i newsletter)

Hurry, hurry, hurry! Today’s the last day to get your name in for a drawing to win one of Annette Whipple’s new nonfiction books! Just post a comment on the following link below!

CLICK HERE to read about Annette’s new adventure teaching an upcoming virtual Master Class at Write2Ignite. And be sure to post a comment for a chance to win her new book!

Why am I sharing about all this? Because I’m so jazzed to announce the BIG, BIG day! (And it doesn’t have a big, big price tag, either!)

My writing friend Annette Whipple will be sharing her expertise on how to write nonfiction for kids. And she should know! She’s been going gangbusters with lots of nonfiction book contracts with a variety of children’s publishers.

And here’s more BIG, BIG news about this special virtual one-day event:

Editor Wiley Blevins of Reycraft Books will be visiting the Master Class to tell YOU how to submit your manuscript to HIM!

And editor Rache Pfeiffer of Clubhouse Jr. magazine will be there, too, to tell YOU what she’s looking for in nonfiction articles and how to submit to HER. (Can I tell you a secret? I write nonfiction for Clulbhouse Jr. and it’s one of the best ways for Kidlit writers to break into this coveted magazine!)

So CLICK HERE to hop on over to read more about Annette and put your name in for the drawing for a free book.

And CLICK HERE to learn more about the amazing virtual Master Class that is coming to your house on September 10.

And CLICK HERE to register today!