From the Writing Room – By Word of Beth

Susanna Leonard Hill is FOR WRITERS!

25 Comments / For Writers!, From the Writing Room, Perfect Picture Book Fridays, Susanna Leonard Hill, Writers' Resources, Writing / By Beth

Many of you already know Susanna Leonard Hill and the myriad things she does to benefit the writing community, but there may be a few of you who aren’t familiar with all she does. Besides, Susanna is worth being celebrated! Susanna is a prolific picture book writer (although with all the other things she does, I have no idea where she finds time to write.) One of her recent picture books, MOON’S FIRST FRIENDS, was on the New York Times bestseller list. All her books are wonderful, in my estimation. You can find a listing of them on her website. When she’s not writing books, she’s supporting writers. She is the mastermind behind Perfect Picture Book Friday, (recent post as an example) and each week during the blogging year she hosts a listing of picture books other bloggers have read and reviewed. These posts are also cataloged by topic, so if you’re looking for a book about some particular topic, check Susanna’s listings. You’re sure to find (dare I say it?) the PERFECT picture book. On Tuesdays at Susanna’s, it’s time to meet debut picture book authors and illustrators as Susanna interviews a new debut for Tuesday Debut (recent post as an example). It’s a great showcase of new authors and illustrators, and lets readers get to know the person, their journey to publication, and their brand new book. Below the interview, there’s always a listing of previous Tuesday Debuts, and the list is getting long! Wednesdays bring an opportunity for writers to have their pitches critiqued by blog readers, as Susanna presents Would You Read It Wednesdays (not just for picture book writers). Would you read this book as pitched? What suggestions can you make to help the writer make their pitch even more appealing? Each month, one lucky pitcher has their pitch reviewed and commented on by editor Erin Molta. Here’s a recent post as an example. But wait! There’s more! A few times a year, Susanna presents a writing contest that challenges writers to condense their writing into very few words, still with a full story arc. The first of these contests will be coming up soon – watch for my post about the Halloweensie contest sometime this month. There is also a Holiday contest in December, and a Valentiny contest in February. Participants post their short stories on their blogs, or in the comments on Susanna’s contest post, and blog hop to read and support their fellow contestants. There are always amazing prizes for the winners, and an enormous amount of work for Susanna and her crew of helpers, who read every story (often over 200 entries per contest) and narrow the field to a shortlist of 12 or so. The shortlist is posted (without author names) on Susanna’s blog, and readers vote for their favorite. Each of the shortlisted writers is guaranteed a prize, and sometimes there are honorable mention prizes as well. It’s a lot of fun, and a great way to hone your skills at expressing a full story arc in a very few words. There are also blog post mini-series from time to time. And there’s still MORE! Susanna runs a highly-commended picture book writing course called Making Picture Book Magic. Each month, there’s a new session of the interactive course, in which Susanna guides her students through the creation of a picture book manuscript, with interaction, feedback, and support in a private Facebook group. There is also a self-directed version of the course (at a lower cost) which doesn’t have the interaction, but still allows you to learn through Susanna’s brief daily lessons, and still helps you create a picture book manuscript by the end of the course. I have heard many positive comments about this course, and participating in it is definitely on my bucket list. Back in 2013, I interviewed Susanna on By Word of Beth. To read that interview, click here. All this, and she manages to write delightful pictures books, too. Here’s to Susanna, a person who is definitely FOR WRITERS! (and illustrators!)

Mary Kole is FOR WRITERS!

4 Comments / For Writers!, From the Writing Room, Writers' Resources, Writing / By Beth

At least once a month, I plan to do a post specifically FOR WRITERS as we sit in our respective Writing Rooms, highlighting writer resources, educators, opportunities and more. This, the first of these posts, highlights editor, educator, writer, and former agent MARY KOLE. I first became aware of Mary when I read her excellent writer’s-craft book, WRITING IRRESISTIBLE KIDLIT, subtitled The Ultimate Guide to Crafting Fiction for Young Adult and Middle Grade Readers. That subtitle describes the book perfectly. It is a full course in writing for YA and MG – a course you can hold in your hand and refer to again and again. Mary has a WEBSITE, kidlit.com, where she has shared a plethora of writing craft information over the years. If you have a question about writing, whether for kids or grownups, Mary’s site is bound to have the answer. Scroll down the sidebar of the home page of her website to find the “search archives” box to find that answer. As a fabulous bonus for subscribing to her informative and fun posts, you will receive a pdf “Manuscript Submission Cheat Sheet.” It is packed with helpful information. The opportunities to learn from Mary don’t end there, though. There is so much more available! Here’s a mini Heads-Up! Mary runs a small group writing workshop, all online, over the course of six months, called STORY MASTERMIND. You can consider it a mini-MFA, accessible and doable. The next cohort is coming up soon, and the deadline to apply for that upcoming cohort is October 8, 2021. For more information, and the link to apply, click HERE. If you’re most interested in submission information, Mary created the MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION BLUEPRINT, part of the excellent offerings of Children’s Book Insider’s many Manuscript Blueprint courses. This will lead you step by step through the submission process, and it’s something you can go back to again and again. Like other Manuscript Blueprint courses, there’s a free sample so you can see if it’s what you’re looking for. You can find out more about it at this link, as well as being able to look around and see what else Manuscript Blueprint has to offer. Mary offers seven courses through Udemy. I have taken her course in Crafting Dynamic Characters through Udemy, and it was fabulous. I would highly recommend it. Here’s the link where you can learn more about these learning opportunities. Are you still with me? Because there is even MORE! Mary has also teamed with others to form the GOOD STORY COMPANY, which seeks to educate, offer a variety of editorial services, connect writers and readers into community, and above all, “help writers unlock their potential.” You can learn more by clicking on this link to Good Story Company. And as you might expect, with all her experience and editorial expertise, she is also a freelance editor, at MARY KOLE EDITORIAL. From a one-time consultation to an in-depth analysis of your manuscript, and with many options in between, Mary is ready to help you take your manuscript to the highest level possible. Find out more about how you can work with Mary on your manuscript at this link. For a taste of what Mary is like, you can hear her talking with Laura Backes Bard on the fabulous KidLit Distancing Social (now KidLit Social). She was Laura’s guest for the seventh Social on May 14, 2020. At that time, Mary talked about submitting your work to agents and editors. You can watch the full replay at this link. Thanks for joining me for this spotlight on Mary Kole’s work. I hope you’ve found something that will benefit you in your writing life. (And now, I have some resources to add to my Writer’s Resources page, haven’t I?) I hope you’ll come back next week, when I’ll be talking about Rajani Larocca’s writing in general, and her MG novel MUCH ADO ABOUT BASEBALL in particular.