ESC Conference in Corpus Christi, TX

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Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the Education Service Center, Region 2, TCEA Technology Conference in Corpus Christi, Texas. Four other authors and illustrators were in attendance as well. Librarians and teachers packed the center. We presented and talked about our books. I always enjoy going to Corpus Christi. The city has some fabulous eating places. Watching the seagulls fly over the bay lifts my spirit. It is a great place to visit.
 
I now have my two latest books in my hands. They arrived a few days ago from the publisher. The books are now in bookstores and online. The illustrations in Lupita’s First Dance/El Primer Baile de Lupita and Let’s Salsa/Bailemos Salsa are gorgeous. The colors are vibrant and full of energy. I am so pleased with the art that the illustrators, Robert Casilla and Gabhor Utomo, did on my books. Such talented people!
 
There is a brand new SCBWI website where you can view my books, the synopsis for each one, and book reviews. Just click on Member Bookstoreand type in my name: Lupe Ruiz-Flores and my books come up! Awesome website!

“The struggle to master a medium, whether it’s words, notes, paint, or marble, is the heroic part of making art.” – Chris Van Allsburg

Revisions in writing

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A writer friend of mine is moving out of state and decided to give away some of her books on writing before she moves. She has hundreds of them. I was giddy with excitement as she handed me several boxes filled with books. The first one I read was Gates of Excellence: On Reading and Writing Books for Children by the awesome author Katherine Paterson of Bridge to Terabithia and many other books. Although Gates was published in 1981, everything she wrote still applies. Not only was the book inspirational, but she had so many quotes in there. One of my favorites on the topic of revisions: “I love revisions. Where else in life can spilled milk be transformed into ice cream?”
 
And speaking of revisions, here is an excellent interview on the Cynsationsblog with author Caroline Carlson, The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates: Magic Marks the Spot. She details her pre-and-pro contract revision process. 
 
Here’s an interesting bit of information. Author Alice Munro, who just won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature, got her share of rejection letters. Talk about perseverance! Gives the rest of us hope.
 
Take a peek. This is simply unbelievable! A gown made out of Golden Books. 

Contract: A written agreement stating the rights to be purchased by an editor, art director or producer and the amount of payment the writer, illustrator or photographer will receive for that sale. – Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market

Book Festivals

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I’ve attended many book festivals since becoming an author. Book festivals are not only fun but a great way to promote your books. When I first started I didn’t know what to expect. But the more an author participates in such events, the smoother the ride. Author Chuck Sambuchino’s post on the Writer’s Digest blog, “How to Maximize a Book Festival Appearance: 9 Tips,” offers excellent advice if you’re ready to participate in one. 
 
Here’s a wonderful piece about a librarian who opened a rural-one-room library in the Ozarks. Heartwarming story. Bless librarians who are book lovers and our friends!
 
And if you like biographies, you must read Daughters of Two Nations, which just came out. Published by Mountain Press and written by Peggy Caravantes and illustrated by Carolyn Dee Flores (my daughter), it is a must read.
 
 SCBWI: The Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (www.scbwi.org)

First Drafts

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Are you a writer who outlines before starting? Do you write an entire draft and then go back and make revisions or do you write, revise, and edit, chapter by chapter? I don’t think there’s any right or wrong way. I believe whatever works for you—go with it. Here’s an interesting post on the Writer’s Digest blog on the benefits of writing a draft first in case that’s what you want to do. It is titled, “7 Reasons to Write an Entire 1stDraft Before Going Back to the Beginning.” Benefit Number 7 is: “One of the greatest benefits of writing a truly awful, lousy, no good first draft is that it can only get better from there.” What do you think?

 
And if you’re in the middle of writing a short story, you might want to enter the Writer’s Digest Short Short Story Competition. The early-bird deadline is November 15, 2013. 

Final draft: — The last version of a polished manuscript ready for submission to an editor. – Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market

Avoid the Slush Pile

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Are your stories going into the slush pile? Do you keep getting rejection letters? Do you want to change that? You might want to read this feature article and get some tips on, “Getting Out of the Slush Pile,” by Harold Underdown. He writes about the different types of manuscripts, cover letters, agents, and even the acquisition process. A must read.
 
Here’s a “Favorite Picture Books of the Fall” list on the Publishers Weekly blog ShelfTalker. I love the design and art on the book covers. They draw you in and make you want to buy that book. I have a great respect for illustrators and their awesome talent. 
 
Here’s a neat post of quotes from famous writers about writing for children. Follow this link. 


Dummy: A loose mock-up of a book showing placement of text and artwork. – Children’s Writers & Illustrators Market

Handling bad book reviews

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Now that you’ve written and published a book, here come the book reviews. Good and bad. So how do you handle the bad ones? Even famous authors get bad reviews once in a while. Do not despair, though. According to Beth Bacon’s post on the dbw (Digital Book World) blog, “…any review is publicity.” Her article, “5 Ways for Authors to Handle Bad Book Reviews,” addresses this topic in some detail. You might just want to read the entire article.
 
And if you are in the middle of writing the Great American Novel, take a peek at a post on the Writer’s Digest blog titled, “5 Things Novelists Can Learn From Screenwriters.”  Screenwriter David Magee offers excellent tips on structuring your story, i.e., scenes, tension, plot, character, and dialogue. I guess these two posts have the number “5” in common, huh?

Backlist: A publisher’s list of books not published during the current season but still in print. – Children’s Writers & Illustrator’s Market

Character development in stories

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Here’s an excellent Cynsationsblog interview with K.A. Barson, author of 45 Pounds (More or Less). Barson goes into detail about how she develops her main character. She asks questions of the character, what is it they want, how is she/he trying to get it, their reaction to certain situations, etc. My favorite line of that interview is: “Sometimes the only way to get to the heart of the story is to step out of it and spend time with the characters somewhere beyond the pages of the draft, using things like letters, interviews, journal entries, and scenes outside of this story.”
 
Here’s a question that author Nathan Bransford asks on his blog: “Do you re-read your books when you’re finished writing them?” Well, do you? Read his interesting answer to find out if he does or doesn’t. 
 
Here are three different links and the submission guidelines to Cricket magazine. For Cobblestone. For Odyssey. For Faces. Best of luck!


“Slant: The approach or style of a story or article that will appeal to readers of a specific magazine.” –Writer’s Digest Weekly Planner

Writing picture books

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I’ve been getting excellent feedback on three picture book manuscripts that I’ve written. They have potential, I am told, but still need some work, especially bringing the word count down. So I’ve been busy editing and revising. Here’s a good article on Harold Underdown’s blog posted by Margot Finke on “Writing Picture Books: The Basics.” 
 
At the SCBWI-LA conference, I learned that I need to Invite, Entice, and Encourage a reader with the first few lines of my book. Make the reader want to join you on the journey. Show through human action. Action verbs are very important. Make sure your words are moving the story forward. Some think writing picture books is easy. Let me tell you. It’s not. But it’s a lot of fun. Enjoy the journey.
Speaking of word count, the Children’s Writer is sponsoring a Seasonal Poetry Writing Contest. The word count limit for that is only 300 words. Yikes! The deadline is October 31, so if you like to write poetry, you’d better hurry. For more details, click here.
Halloween is right around the corner. Check out this blog post on BuzzFeedabout Halloween costumes that use book characters. It’s really cool.

 
Pen Name: The use of a name other than your legal name on articles, stories, or books. Also called a pseudonym. – Writer’s Digest Weekly Planner

The story question

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The Horn Book’s blog post just came out with their, “Book Review of the Week,” for the middle of September. On the review are picture books, middle-grade books, and young adult ones. Take a look.
 
I am rereading the book, Writing Picture Books, by Ann Whitford Paul. I met Ms. Paul at one of the SCBWI-LA conferences a while back. She was charming. Her book is full of sound advice for writers who write in this genre. She mentions the “story question,” that a writer must ask before starting the story. She writes: “…it behooves writers to think of a general question about the underlying issue they are trying to unravel in each new story.” In other words, what does your character want or what happens if? She continues, “…spend time carefully formulating your question and answer. If you do, the writing of your book will be infinitely easier.”
 
It’s one of the many books I have on writing picture books.  I especially like this one because it is a “hands-on guide,” with writing exercises at the end of each chapter.

“Each time a child opens a book, he pushes open the gate that separates him from Elsewhere. It gives him choices. It gives him freedom. These are magnificent, wonderfully unsafe things.” – Lois Lowry

Revisions

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I just finished editing one of my picture book manuscripts and I cut, cut, cut to bring the manuscript down to a decent word count. I workshopped it with my critique group last week. Their comments were right on target. After revisions, my story was tightened, the word count was down, and it still

Gumballs anyone?

made a lot of sense when I read it again. That’s what is great about being in a critique group. They point out what you might not notice because you’re so close to the story that you miss these things.

In the book, The Portable MFA in Creative Writing, revision is defined thus: “… good writing involves hard revision. …it means that each draft is a step toward the finished product.”

 
Here’s a cool blog post by author Nathan Bransford titled, Bestselling Novels by Year. His list starts with 1900 and goes all the way to 2012. You’ve got to take a look at this. 



Trends: Never try to chase trends. Write what you love, and write the best book you can, and worry about publication later.—Writer’s Digest Weekly Planner