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Narrative Nonfiction: Making Facts into a Story

When editors say they are looking for narrative nonfiction, what does that mean?

Narrative nonfiction is creative nonfiction yet while both are fact-based book categories, narrative nonfiction is also about storytelling, not just presenting facts in a clever way. It gives people, places and events meaning and emotional content

Start Here: How to Self-Publish Your Book

by Jane Freidman

Industry veteran Jane Friedman gave us special permission to reprint the following article, which outlines the steps necessary to self-publish your print or ebook, and includes links to numerous resources. If you’re thinking of self-publishing, this article is a must-read. Another must: subscribe to Jane’s blog

Pull a Character and Plot from Your Idea

Brainstorming is an important step when developing your story idea. Once you have an general idea that feels right, use brainstorming again to start building your characters and plot.

Quick Tour of the Knowledge Base

A brief look inside the Children’s Writing Knowledge Base — the world’s largest children’s writing library — and all the goodies that await children’s writers.

To join now, check out the special offer at http://writeforkids.org/come-join-the-insiders-2/

Top Ten Grammar Bloopers

We’ve all seen blooper shows on television. Family bloopers. Actors’ bloopers. Talk show bloopers. But have you ever seen a grammar blooper show? Probably not. Well, I can’t provide you with an actual show on grammar bloopers, but I can give you my top ten.

You may ask why I

Ebooks and Apps: The Future of Picture Books

The mainstay of books for very young children, the picture book, is undergoing a revolution as these books are translated to and written directly for the ebook and app market.

Though the majority of books being released as picture ebooks and apps were first best-sellers in the print

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Turn Your Research into Several Magazine Credits

So, you have a good idea for a magazine article. Can you turn it into a great idea? Many writers put a huge amount of effort into getting a piece published, only to stop with one byline. Their ideas hit the press once, and stop there.

Getting a publication

Real Time Management for Writers

Many of us have taken time management classes in an attempt to get more out of our days. However, sometime we don’t realize that writing and managing a writing career takes different types of time: actual writing time, time spent marketing, time spent communicating with clients (editors and others), time

Insider Appreciation Gift – Public Domain Resource Guide

For a children’s author (or illustrator) public domain works can be a huge help in creating new work.

Here are just a few ideas to get you started:

retell a public domain story in a modern setting
use a public domain story as a jumping off

Thrust Your Character into the Unknown

When we start a story, we usually know our main character’s background, or at least some of it. We also know his environment or his milieu. Taking a character from one milieu and thrusting him into an entirely different one can be a source of great conflict and growth as

Self-Published Author Gives Tips for Finding Cover Designer

interview by Jane McBride

Karin Kaufman, author of mysteries, thrillers and children’s books, used the website 99designs to create the cover of her new children’s title The Adventures of Geraldine Woolkins. Here, she talks about her experience and walks you through the process.

Would you go this

Gracefully Handling Critical Feedback on Your Work

Have you ever received criticism? Yikes, it usually feels quite painful, particularly when it pertains to a story or poem that you really poured your heart and soul into. You want to vanish into the floor like the Wicked Witch of the West does at the end of The Wizard

Understanding Copyright and Fair Use

COPYRIGHT

Did you know that you have invoked a copyright as soon as you write something—putting it on paper or other media? For many years I didn’t understand this concept. I thought I needed to take out a copyright on each short story, article, or book I wrote.

Using Connectives to Make Your Prose Flow

Do you ever wonder how to use connective words? I do. I am constantly second-guessing myself on the proper use of such words as “than,” “as,” “nevertheless,” “neither,” “either,” etc.

Like transitions, connectives serve as a bridge, connecting anything from a word, a clause, a sentence, or a paragraph with

Mastering the Vital Art of Transitions

I grew up in the Washington, DC/Maryland area. In navigating your way through the city and its many suburbs, you often need to cross over rivers, the Anacostia, the Potomac, to name just a few. Bridges provide the means for you to cross the rivers.

Bridges also provide the means

What’s Holding You Back?

You’re a writer. Perhaps you’ve just started your writing career and dream of becoming a New York Times bestseller. Or maybe you’ve been writing for a while and sold some short stories, but you have yet to reach your goal of selling a book.

What’s holding you back?

FEAR

Three Common Grammar Mistakes that Make Your Work Look Unprofessional

When do we use who and whom?
What is an antecedent and how do we use it?
What is an appositive?

Can you answer each of these questions? If so, you’re on your way to becoming a grammar expert. If not, maybe you need to brush up on the

Author Tamera Will Wissinger Talks About Gone Fishing, A Novel in Verse

interview by Anne Tews Schwab

Novels in verse are most often written for young adult readers and typically tackle difficult subjects. But Gone Fishing: A Novel in Verse by Tamera Will Wissinger is a novel in verse written for a different audience (the middle grade crowd) and covers a

Book Apps for Beginners

Welcome home! :)

Your free ebook is right below. While you’re downloading, have a look at this quick video to see everything that’s changed here at CBI. We’ve been busy bees, making everything simpler, faster and more useful for our members. I know you’ll really enjoy it.

Productivity and the Writing Life

We all want to be more productive. Too often, though, we approach this goal with no clear idea of how to make it happen. Saying “I want to be more productive” is not likely to bring results. Start with a plan.

Define productivity in personal terms. Do you want to

Glossary of Common Publishing Terms

What’s your writing IQ? Do you know the lingo used in the writing and publishing business? Take a look at the following definitions and see how many you know.

Let’s start at the beginning with basic terms:

Antagonist: the anti-hero or force who works to keep the protagonist from

Start with One Sentence

Practically speaking, there’s nothing more difficult than staring at an empty computer screen, willing yourself to be creative. You may be stuck trying to find the perfect place to start your story. Or you’re contemplating the entire story arc—an intimidating process at best. From start to finish, your book must

Networking Can Help Your Career, and the World

In the March 2015 issue of Children’s Book Insider I wrote about establishing your networking goals to help you boost your writing career. I also showed you how to identify your networking personality. Once you’ve done all that, you’re ready to put it all together.

There are principles that can

Perfect Your Writing Style

Fashionistas talk a lot about style. So do writers. Interestingly, both groups use the word in much the same manner. Style, in fashion and in writing, is unique to the individual and revealed in the details.

I will never be a fashionista, so I won’t be instructing you in that.

Get Targeted Feedback Through Response Sheets

Writers need feedback. Unfortunately, feedback can be hard to come by. What to do?

Your first reader should, of course, be yourself. After you’ve read through the manuscript and revised to the best of your ability, find several other readers to offer critiques. These first readers are often referred to

Opening Lines: Make Yours Count

“Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, if the was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of

VIDEO – How to Write Compelling Dialogue, Part 2

In Part Two of her dialogue tutorial, writing coach Teresa Funke covers the most common dialogue challenges, including using slang and cussing, dialect and accents, inserting humor into the conversation, and linking the dialogue with the character’s movements.

To download a pdf transcript of this video, or to learn

How to Use Fiction Techniques in Nonfiction

by Sue Bradford Edwards

To sell your nonfiction, you have to hook your reader, including your first reader – an editor or agent. When I write narrative nonfiction, I grab my reader using the same techniques used by fiction writers. I create a story full of interesting characters who

Do You Have to Write From Beginning to End?

Many writers believe they have to begin with “Once upon a time” and finish with “The End.” In between, every word must be written exactly in the order that it will be read. There is little flexibility in this approach – and it’s difficult to continue the entire way through

Is Your Story Plot-Driven or Character-Driven?

Should you start with a well-crafted plot? Or with a memorable character? You want to start typing, but you have no idea where to begin. Many writers debate whether to start with a plot or character; there is no “correct” answer to this dilemma. Your decision impacts not only how

Understanding the Editor/Writer Relationship

What should a writer expect of an editor? What should an editor expect of a writer? What expectations are reasonable? And what are unreasonable?

Let’s examine the questions one by one.

What should a writer expect of an editor?

A timely response. A writer should be able

The Writer as Businessperson: How to Take Your Career Seriously

My husband owns a business that makes power supplies. He operates it as would any business person, with attention to inventory, marketing, record-keeping and, always, professionalism.

Did you know that writers are also business people? Sometimes, however, we forget that, focusing on the creative side and neglecting the business one.

How (and Why) to Eliminate Passive Writing

According to Strunk and White’s classic The Elements of Style, “The habitual use of the active voice…makes for forcible writing.” In its most basic sense, the active voice involves the subject of the sentence being the doer of the action, whereas in the passive voice the subject is being acted

Prologues, Epilogues, and Other Useful Bookends

What if the reader needs more information than what you can squeeze into the body of your book? You have several elements at your disposal that can lead the reader into your work and ease them through the ending. But to use them, you have to understand each element’s distinct

7 Steps to Researching the Magazine Market

Here are a few steps toward learning the magazine market:

1. Read magazines you enjoy and study the content carefully.

2. Carefully study about a year’s worth of issues in a magazine so you have a sense of what has recently been published.

3. Take a look at competing publications

9 Reasons Why Magazine Writing May Be For You

If your definition of breaking into children’s publishing includes writing and selling a 300-page novel, or convincing a publisher to invest thousands of dollars in your picture book, you’re overlooking a substantial part of the market. Magazines need new material on a weekly or monthly basis. Some writers start off

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Your Insider Discount Code!

As a CBI Insider in good standing, you'll get 10% off CBI products in our new 21st Century Children's Author Success Store!

Here's your EXCLUSIVE coupon code: FB315

Here's how to use it…..

1. Go to http://writeforkids.org/success-store/ and select an item. Add it to your

5 Ways to “Teach, Don’t Preach”

In my writeforkids video “Show, Don’t Preach”, I examined five books that teach the readers life lessons without being didactic. Here, now, in this bonus article exclusively for Fightin’ Bookworms, are five ways you can incorporate these techniques into your own writing.

Show, Don’t Tell. This

The Biggest Mistakes Writers Make When Creating Their Own Book App

When I sat down with the wonderful Karen Robertson to talk book apps (How to Develop an App for Children – A Beginner's Guide), I convinced her to stay online for a little while and share something really meaty just for Fightin' Bookworms!

So here, exclusively for you

Thanks for Ordering “From Mindset to Action”!

The course is presented in three formats. Pick the one that works best for you and start changing your mind… and your life!

Right Click and Select "Save As" to download the course as an eBook

Download Each Module as an Audio File

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Book Apps for Beginners

This month, we’re giving you a wonderful ebook that will help you understand the remarkable possibilities offered by book apps!

Karen Robertson, our Book App Expert, has created a special ebook version of her Book Apps for Beginners just for Children’s Book Insider subscribers!

Webinar Replay: How to Explode Your Writing Career with Video

Your CBI Buried Treasures

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Your CBI Buried Treasures

* What One Top Reviewer Looks for in a Children’s Book

Laura chats with Terry Doherty of the Reading Tub about how to get a book reviewer's attention.

http://cbiclubhouse.com/clubhouse/what-one-top-reviewer-looks-for-in-a-childrens-book/

* Video: How to Judge Your Children's Book Idea

You've got a book idea. But

VIDEO – How to Get the Attention of an Author, Agent or Editor

Looking to reach out to a well-known author, editor or agent for some advice and assistance? It can be done, but you need to go about it the write way. Jon’s here with some tips!

This Month’s Member Appreciation Gift!

Hey there !

To say thanks for your loyalty and friendship, we're offering a surprise bonus gift for you on a regular basis.

This month, we bring you a classic piece of CBI history!.

Over the years, Laura and I have had the honor of speaking with some