From Slush Pile to Stand Out Manuscript with Deborah Halverson

In this episode of the SCBWI Podcast, we are joined by Deborah Halverson!

Deborah Halverson was an editor at Harcourt Children’s Books for ten years—until she climbed over the desk and tried out the author’s chair on the other side. Now she is the award-winning author of Writing Young Adult Fiction For Dummies, Writing New Adult Fiction, the teen novels Honk If You Hate Me and Big Mouth, the picture book Letters to Santa, and three books in Remix series for struggling readers. Armed with a master’s degree in American literature and a fascination with pop culture, she sculpts stories from extreme events and places—tattoo parlors, fast-food joints, and, perhaps most extreme of all, high schools. In addition, Deborah is a freelance editor, writing instructor, and founder of the popular writers’ advice website DearEditor.com. She serves on the advisory board for the University of California San Diego Extension “Children’s Book Writing and Illustrating” certificate program and speaks extensively at writing conferences and workshops. She has been working with authors—bestsellers, veterans, debut, and aspiring—for over twenty-five years. She specializes in editing picture books and middle grade, teen, and new adult fiction and nonfiction. The books she’s edited have garnered awards and rave reviews, and many of the aspiring writers she’s coached have landed agent representation and book deals. She lives with her husband and triplet sons in San Diego, California. For more about Deborah, visit www.DeborahHalverson.com.

Follow Deborah Halverson on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deborahhalversonbooks/

Buy Writing YA Fiction for Dummies here:

https://bookshop.org/p/books/writing-young-adult-fiction-for-dummies-deborah-halverson/8821834?ean=9780470949542

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