Writing for Children

INTERVIEW WITH MAGGIE TOKUDA-HALL & JAMIE TAN

Katie interviews award-winning author Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Candlewick Senior Publicist Jamie Tan about Maggie's latest book THE MERMAID, THE WITCH, AND THE SEA.

We talk about:

• Gender fluidity in characters
• Shondaland interest
• Maggie's lyrical writing
• How Jamie did the publicity for this particular book
• How Maggie is brutal to her characters!
• Not shying away from being mean to your characters

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

Voice can be a tough thing to define and a tougher thing to master, but when I ran across this article about active voice and passive voice from my old friend Mary Rosenblum I knew I had to share it with my listeners. See how you can improve your active voice with these tips and take your work to the next level and beyond.

Join the Institute of Children's Literature Community! Get our weekly newsletter with articles on the craft of writing, hot markets looking for your work, and cool resources for your writer toolbox: www.instituteforwriters.com/icl-news

INTERVIEW WITH TALIA BENAMY

Talia Benamy is an associate editor at Philomel Books (an imprint of Penguin Young Readers), where she focuses on everything from picture books to middle grade and young adult novels. She has worked on books by Chelsea Clinton, Sonia Sotomayor, Temple Grandin, Jane Yolen, Abigail Harrison, Lisa Graff, Ruta Sepetys, Dev Petty, Sarah Brannen, and Terry Border. She sees books as having the amazing power to shape kids' worldviews, and looks for manuscripts that have the potential to do just that. In this rebroadcast, we talk about:

• What exactly does an associate editor do?
• How does the process of using a reader help you go through the slush pile?
• How do you determine if a piece of writing is good?
• What are common mistakes you see in submissions?
• What makes you reject a manuscript almost immediately?

THINGS THAT MAKE EDITORS CRINGE

Nobody wants to make an editor (or anyone) cringe when they read your manuscript. Inspired by a post from Jamie K. Schmidt, we're covering 10 things that make editors cringe with tips to avoid them. Be sure to head to writingforchildren.com/231 to download the show notes because many of these tips will be easier to see in writing.

Everybody knows to use spellcheck or Grammarly when going over their writing. However, the following mistakes aren't generally caught by these two programs. And if you want to stop an editor's eyes from rolling to the back of her head, you should check your writing for the errors we're talking about today.

INTERVIEW WITH AGENT ADRIA GOETZ

Adria Goetz is a Literary Manager with Seattle-based Martin Literary & Media Management. She primarily represents picture books, middle grade, young adult, Lifestyle books, quirky gift books, as well as everything under the Christian umbrella.

WE TALK ABOUT:

• What's the secret to getting an agent?
• What is a nightmare client and what is a perfect client?
• How should a writer "shop" for an agent to impress?
• How does one pitch a wordless picture book to an agent?
• Are agents reluctant to work with new writers that are 60+ years old?
• What is the most common mistake new writers make in a query letter?

Get a one-on-one mentor to help you write publishable work that agents and publishers are looking for! Get started here!

SUBMISSIONS

It's the beginning of a new year. A time that we as writers like to set goals for our writing success and dream about what our writing career will look like next year at this time. Maybe one of your goals this year is to submit your work to agents or editors. It can seem like a Herculean task, but like the old joke goes, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. In this episode, based on an article from our own Jan Fields, we're going to talk about what you should worry about most in your submissions and when it's okay to press the send button.

YOU'RE THIS CLOSE

We're wrapping up our five part series on National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) with special guest Jamie K. Schmidt. Even if you're not writing a novel this month, we think you'll learn some tips and techniques to help you finish your novel on your timeline. We're so close to the finish line. Let's make these final days a success!

We talk about:

• How to handle writing and the holidays
• Saving a chunk of time to devote to catching up
• Secrets to writing a lot
• What to do when you have unplanned time

Get a one-on-one mentor to help you write publishable work that agents and publishers are looking for! Get started here!

NANOWRIMO SUCCESS PART 4 - THROW IN A DRAGON?

We are continuing our November National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) celebration with tips for writing 50,000 words in one month, which is 1,667 words per day. This is Part 4 in our 5-part series to help our listeners get through NaNoWriMo with support, encouragement, and some great ideas from Jamie K. Schmidt.

WHAT WE TALK ABOUT

• The sagging middle • How to go forward • Should you throw in a dragon? • Raising the stakes • Putting your characters in danger • Getting off your butt and doing something • Jamie's new book Necessary Evil

Get a one-on-one mentor to help you write publishable work for today's market! Get started here!

NANOWRIMO SUCCESS PART 3 - GET PAST THE SLUMP

We are continuing our November National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) celebration with tips for writing 50,000 words in one month, which is 1,667 words per day. This is Part 3 in our 5-part series to help our listeners get through NaNoWriMo with support, encouragement, and some great ideas from Jamie K. Schmidt.

WHAT WE TALK ABOUT

• What to do when you're not having fun
• Motivation and why you started this in the first place
• What happens if you quit now
• Your WHYs
• Simon Sinek video
• Bribing yourself

Join the Institute of Children's Literature Community! Get our weekly newsletter with articles on the craft of writing, hot markets looking for your work, and cool resources for your writer toolbox: www.instituteforwriters.com/icl-news

NANOWRIMO SUCCESS PART 2 - DIGGING IN

Welcome to Part 2 in our 5-part series to help our listeners get through NaNoWriMo with support, encouragement, and some great tips and ideas from Jamie K. Schmidt. Jamie is a bestselling author and a NaNoWriMo enthusiast. We talk about:

• How to stay on task
• Series bibles
• How to watch out for black hole time suck
• Letting go of the need to write in order
• How to not let deleted scenes go to waste
• Sprints and the Pomodoro Method

Let a one-on-one mentor help you get that book out of your head and on to the page. Get started here!