Writing for Children: For Published Authors Who Want to Take Their Careers to the Next Level
After much planning and coordinating, it’s finally happening. We’ve added a new level of membership here at the Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club. Our new Advanced Membership Level is for those published children’s book authors (or magazine writers) who are ready to take their writing careers to the next level.
I’m so happy to announce that children’s author Nancy I. Sanders will be the instructor for the Advanced Membership monthly tele-workshop and she’ll be coordinating the Peer Critique Group that is part of the benefits of Advanced Membership. Just look at Nancy’s impressive publication credits:
Nancy I. Sanders is the bestselling and award-winning author of over 80 books with publishers big and small. Her bestseller with Scholastic Teaching Resources, 25 Read and Write Mini-Books That Teach Word Families, has sold over 234,000 copies. One of her newest books, America’s Black Founders, is the winner of the Best Books 2010 Awards for children’s nonfiction. D is for Drinking Gourd: An African American Alphabet, illustrated by Caldecott Honor Award winner E. B. Lewis, won numerous awards including the 2007 NAPPA Honors award and the 2008 IRA Teachers’ Choice Award. She has written children’s novelty books, concept books, picture books, activity books, craft books, Bible story books, library books, beginning readers, chapter books, nonfiction books, teacher resource books, readers theatre books, and is currently under contract to write six books including a middle grade historical fiction novel series.
Nancy writes feature fiction and nonfiction stories for the children’s magazines for Focus on the Family. Her work has appeared in numerous periodicals over the years including Better Homes and Garden’s former children’s section. She is the author of the ground-breaking and award-winning book, Yes! You Can Learn How to Write Children’s Books, Get Them Published, and Build a Successful Writing Career. After landing contracts for over 80 books herself, she recently signed with New York agent Ronnie Herman. www.nancyisanders.com
Nancy first tele-workshop for our Advanced Members takes place tomorrow, Thursday, April 14, 2011, at NOON CDT.
NEW – Advanced Membership Level Available April 1, 2011
No foolin’ – we’re offering an Advanced Membership Level in the CWCC starting April 1, 2011.
Many of our members have been active in the CWCC for several years. Along the way they’ve become published children’s book authors. To keep up with their changing needs, we’ve decided to offer an Advanced Level of club membership.
Nancy I. Sanders will be presenting a tele-workshop each month for members at the advanced level.
Find out all the benefits of Advanced Membership in our club here now!
April 28 – A Survey of Children’s Magazines
Children’s author Renee Gray-Wilburn will present her next teleclass for the CWCC on Thursday, April 28, 2011, at 8:00 p.m. Central time. The topic of this teleclass is A Survey of Children’s Magazines: Looking Beyond Highlights, Cricket, Spider, and Ladybug to Lesser Known Magazine Markets.
Want to Be a Children’s Writer?
by Karen Cioffi
Writing for children is difficult. There are a number of rules, techniques, and tricks involved to make your book publishable and saleable. In fact, there are more rules for writing for children than there are for writing in general.
Some of the rules that are unique to writing for children include: the Core of Three, sentence structure, and the timeframe in which the story should occur when writing for young children. In addition, it’s essential to make sure your conflicts, storyline, and point of view are appropriate for the age group you’re writing for.
And then there are the general techniques for writing, such as adding sensory details and creating an engaging story that hooks the reader right away, along with great dialogue and correct punctuation.
In other words, you need to learn the craft of writing for children.
This is just the beginning though, there is also the aspect of editing your work, writing a winning query, and following submission guidelines, the list goes on and on.
But, what’s even more difficult than writing for children is breaking into ‘the business of writing for children.’
Imagine being stuck in the middle of the ocean without any navigational instruments. You may eventually end up on a shore somewhere, but will it be the destination you set out to reach?
Well, your destination as a children’s writer is to write quality articles and/or books for children AND have them published in paying markets. If you’re writing children’s books, having your book published is just the beginning of the journey, you also have to devise a strategy to market and sell your books. Sorry, but publishers nowadays expect you to roll-up-your-sleeves and sell books.
If you thought writing was difficult, wait until you have to create a marketing plan, create a website, target your market, post content on a regular basis to create an informational funnel, initiate and keep up with social networking, and promote, promote, promote.
Whether you’re writing fiction or non-fiction books, it doesn’t matter, going through this journey on your own can be a daunting task. But don’t fret, there is help available.
The Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club, directed by Suzanne Lieurance, is a valuable tool to help you, the children’s writer, reach your planned destination.
I’ve invested in a number of courses and programs in writing and marketing over the years, and know value when I see it; the Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club has tremendous value and delivers what it promises, both in fiction and non-fiction children’s writing.
It delves into and offers:
Expert instruction on writing children’s books as well as children’s articles for magazines
Monthly assignments focusing on getting your work published
Weekly expert critiques of members’ manuscripts or articles
Weekly teleclasses geared toward varied aspects of writing for children
This along with Suzanne’s knack for instructing, motivating, and encouraging her members helps each member to learn and hone his or her craft.
I’ve been a member of the Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club for almost three years and for less than 90 cents a day, $27 per month, it has been and is worth every penny. I can honestly say, Suzanne has helped me hone my craft, get published, and guided me toward effective marketing strategies.
In the accounting field, there is a term ‘opportunity cost.’ It refers to the cost of choosing one opportunity over another; in this case, one course or product over another. With the Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club you can be assured that if you choose to join the club, your opportunity cost will be zero.
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Karen Cioffi is an author, ghostwriter, and freelance writer. For writing and marketing information visit KarenCioffi.com, and sign up for her free newsletter: A Writer’s World. You’ll get 2 free e-books about writing and marketing in the process, and two more free e-books just for stopping by.
Do You Want to Learn to Write for Children?
by Kathy Stemke
As an author, educator, and freelance writer, I write books, poems, and articles. I love to write about, education, dance, children, exercise, antiques, science, and just about everything! Writing in multiple genres, I can tell you that writing for children is the most challenging. There are many guidelines to keep in mind to help your story avoid the editor’s trash pile.
Age appropriate story lines with simple vocabulary and sentence structure are essential to success in the children’s market. How do you learn the rules, and tricks? Where can you develop your voice and unique approach to story writing? Sure, you can plod through “how to books,” and receive hundreds of rejection letters, or you can learn quickly with an experienced coach.
OK, I admit I wasted some time myself. That’s why I’m telling you about the Childrens Writer’s Coaching Club (CWCC). Thanks to what I’ve learned in this club, I have an e-book available through Lulu, and two picture books under contract with publishers. I publish a free monthly newsletter titled, Movement and Rhythm on my blog. I’m a contributing editor at the National Writing for Children Center. I’ve sold many articles, and I’ve just joined the staff at DKV Writing 4 U, a writing services company.
I joined Suzanne Lieurance’s club when I first became serious about writing for children. Suzanne has helped me get those book contracts. Her experience, inspiration, advice, lessons, weekly teleclasses, weekly critiques, and marketing tips helped me to develop my writing skills. In fact, everyone that was in the club when I started has been published in either books or articles. All the members share their time and information with each other as well.
What’s amazing about the CWCC is it is only $27 per month. That’s less than a dollar a day! It’s the smartest thing you can do for yourself!
Along with Suzanne’s excellent coaching skills, the CWCC also guides you through creating and maintaining visibility and marketing your work. Classes vary from creating book trailers to writing a winning query letter, and so much more!
Plus, Suzanne has the best and the brightest authors on her staff! They include Margot Finke, Nancy I. Sanders, Pat McCarthy, Renee Gray-Wilburn, Simon Rose, and Margo Dill.
So, if you’re serious about writing for children, sign up today. It’s an investment in your future! Join the Children’s Writers Coaching Club.
You Can Become a Published Children’s Book Author!
Overwhelmed with all the information out there for writing for children?
Not sure how to weed out the essentials?
Look no further!
Join theChildren’s Writers’ Coaching Club (CWCC) today and learn how to set your weekly marketing plan in place (you may refer to this as your “To Do List”). Coupled with weekly tele-classes and monthly assignments you will soon see your writing career moving in a positive direction.
The guidance and support at the CWCC has been instrumental in the success of my writing career. My first story book, due to be released Spring/Summer 2010 by Guardian Angel Publishing, is a direct result of an assignment through the CWCC. And my most recent news, by attending one of the tele-classes I received direct information about a work-for-hire opportunity, I took the plunge, submitted my information, and was hired within 14-days!
Writing can be a lonely business, but with the expert coaching from Suzanne Lieurance and camaraderie of the CWCC members you will no longer feel adrift in a sea of jumbled words.”
Donna M. McDine
Member, Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club
Children’s Author
The Key to Success as a Children’s Writer
Wow! Members of the Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club are acquiring new publishing contracts and writing assignments faster than I can get them posted in our Member Spotlight! That’s wonderful!
Is there some secret or key to their success?
Well, I’d say there are several “keys” to success a children’s writer. They include:
1. Information – To become a published children’s writer you need to know what to do in order to create “marketable” manuscripts. There are certain elements in work for children that editors and publishers look for. If you don’t know these elements, you’re pretty much “flying blind” when it comes to writing. Published children’s authors get the information they need in order to become successful.
2. Practice – Once you get the information you need to know in order to write marketable manuscripts, that doesn’t mean you can instantly use this information with any real skill. For that you need practice. All of our published writers in the Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club are writing on a regular basis. They are practicing what they learn and improving their writing skills.
3. Confidence – It’s much easier to be confident when you know you know what you’re doing. Plus, once you’ve improved as a writer through constant practice, self-confidence comes naturally. And, once you have confidence in your writing ability, you’re more willing to take chances and put your work out there by submitting it to a variety of publishers. You’re also more willing to apply for writing assignments because you KNOW you can complete them to the satisfaction of the editors/publishers or other people who are offering these assignments.
These are just a few of the keys to success for our coaching club members and all successful children’s writers.
Can you think of others?
Share them with us here by leaving a comment.
Happy writing!
What I Like about the CWCC
I had been writing for many years and had several published books under my belt when I decided to join the Children’s Writers Coaching Club… and boy, am I glad I did!
It is is one of the best career decisions I’ve ever made.
The weekly teleclasses, critiques and moral support have kept me more focused and productive than ever before. I used to struggle juggling many projects at the same time and, naturally, I tended to panic and freeze and become overwhelmed, but shortly after joining the club I learned how to work with weekly plans and now I can’t live without them. I’m able to work on several projects without getting overly stressed and most importantly, I’m producing a lot of written work and submitting to publishers on a steady basis.
I’ve learned that the most important part of completing a long project (such as a novel) is to make progress each day, no matter how little, to stick to it until the end. Of course I knew this in theory before, but Suzanne’s constant encouragement and time management techniques have made all the difference.
–Mayra Calvani, www.mayrassecretbookcase.com
Why I’m a Member of the CWCC
Read Why Terri Forehand Enjoys Membership in the Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club!
from Terri Forehand
I can’t really say enough about The Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club and Suzanne Lieurance’s mentoring. I gained so much knowledge from her bootcamp and then I have continued to stay in the club for the constant support and encouragement it offers. I have obtained paid writing assignments from publishers like Mometrix Media and Kaplan as a direct result of the information and skills that I have learned from being a club member. I continue to get repeat assignments from these publishers on an ongoing basis including writing health exam questions for National Certifications in Nursing. It is so rewarding to get paid for what I love to do, write.
The Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club also teaches the skills needed for creating a blog, writing a marketing plan on a weekly basis, and learning critique and editing skills. Sharing my marketing plan with the club members makes me accountable for my writing career and encourages me to work harder and write more. I can’t thank Suzanne enough and the others for the positive feedback I get and for being honest when I need to seriously revise some of my work. The weekly critiques help get my writing focused and makes the material more polished for submission to appropriate publishers.
Because of being a club member, I now have two manuscripts for children ready for submission. I am working on a third story for children and have started to introduce my main character on my blogs. These blogs would not be possible if I had not gained this information from bootcamp and being a club member. I have a blog for new writers at http://terri-forehand.blogspot.com and a blog for parents and children who are dealing with serious health issues including terminal illness at http://heartfeltwords4kids.blogspot.com. I even have two websites I am working on and a mailing list of followers, all a result of what I have learned at The Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club.
Anyone who wants to write for children would benefit from becoming a club member. We learn, we write, we support each other, and most of all we have fun doing what we love thanks to being an active club member. I encourage all of your readers to join us as soon as possible to gain everything the club has to offer. It has been a huge impact on my writing career and has opened so many exciting doors to publishing.
Margo Dill Joins Our Faculty
We’re pleased to announce that Margo L. Dill will be joining the faculty at the National Writing for Children Center in July. She will present her first teleclass for members of the Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club on July 6th.
Margo L. Dill is a freelance writer, editor, and teacher, living in Mahomet, Illinois. Her work has appeared in publications such as Grit, Pockets, True Love, Fun for Kidz, Missouri Life, ByLine Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, Families, and The News-Gazette. She is a columnist and contributing editor for WOW! Women On Writing. She also teaches online classes for WOW! on social networking, blogging, and writing for children’s magazines. (http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/WOWclasses.html) She is assistant editor for the Sunday Book page in The News-Gazette. Her first book, Finding My Place, a middle-grade historical novel, will be published by White Mane Kids. She writes a blog called, Read These Books and Use Them, (http://margodill.com/blog) for parents, teachers, and librarians. She owns her own copyediting business, Editor 911. (http://www.margodill.com/editor911.html) When she’s not writing, she loves spending time with her husband, stepson, and two dogs—Chester, a boxer, and Hush Puppy, a basset hound. You can find out more about Margo by visiting her website: www.margodill.com.
