I’m most comfortable stepping into the greater world via words on a page. But in these days of Zoom webinars, social media, and ubiquitous phone cameras, it’s probably inevitable that I would push the boundaries of my comfort zone. And so I have: I’ve started creating quick videos of craft tips and my DearEditor.com Q&As. […]
Editing and Writing to the Beat
I had a spectacular #MobileEditing office today! I set myself up at the Rady Shell at San Diego Bay during the San Diego Symphony’s open rehearsals. I edited a picture book AND revised two chapters of my own WIP. I know some folks would be distracted by the glorious music that swirled around me. I […]
Deborah In the Redwoods
Technology can be a very good thing. This weekend, thanks to the magic of Zoom, I’ll be “with” the members of Redwood Writers, the largest branch of the California Writers Club. I will be presenting an hour-long webinar called “You’ve Written a Book, What’s Next?” It’s beginners as well as advanced writers — published and […]
Where I Write (and Edit)
I was honored last month to be featured inWriters’ Forum magazine’s “Where I Write” feature. Originally, my husband created my dream writing space at home. He built glass-door bookcases and wainscoted the walls and lugged in a comfy green couch to set alongside my desk. But then we had triplet sons, and that space was […]
Talking Book Trends with Book Folk
I had a great Sunday afternoon. Why? Because I spent it with authors and illustrators of children’s books–always a great, varied, and energetic group of people. I was invited to a virtual meeting of SCBWI Nebraska. I talked about how the various categories of children’s books are performing, how some audience and market expectations are […]
The Coolness of Editing Bayside
Today I edited bayside at San Diego Bay, near Maritime Museum of San Diego. I enjoyed my view of Californian (the official tall ship of the state of California), and the San Salvador replica (the original first sailed into San Diego in 1542). The main museum is 1898 steam ferryboat Berkeley from San Francisco Bay. […]
Feeling Spacey Today
Have you seen the first images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope? They get my imagination all whirled up as I try to wrap my head around the depths of space. Inspired, I set up my mobile editing office at the San Diego Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park today. I get a kick […]
Podcast Alert: Deborah on “How Writers Write”
I love the “How Writer Write” podcast. Host Brian Murphy excels at leading great discussionabout writing practice and process. We get into that in this episode, plus we dig into the question “What makes a story ‘Young Adult’?” and I get to talk about what it’s like to think like an editor. It’s a fabulous […]
Deborah Auctioning Picture Book Edit & Call for #WeNeedDiverseBooks
I’m honored to be contributing to the #WeNeedDiverseBooks Campaign by offering a picture book edit and phone call with me in their Holiday Auction. Visit https://bit.ly/3HZPItU to bid on this and check out all the other offerings. The Holiday Auction ends 10pm Eastern 12/6/21.
Can You Eat 76 Hot Dogs in 10 Minutes?
Joey Chestnut can. Oh, and don’t forget the 76 buns — because he ate those, too. Today was the Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Championship, held every 4th of July. When I wrote BIG MOUTH, a middle grade novel about a boy who aspires to be the world’s greatest competitive eater, the Nathan’s Famous […]
How to Write a Great Query Letter
Every writer seeking traditional publication will submit their project to agents and/or editors at some point. Writing that submission email can be stressful. You want to get it right, right? In this post, I break down the parts of a query letter and talk you through each one. At the end, I’ve included a sample […]
Predicting a Uniquely Unpredictable 2021
I shared some predictions for children’s literature market in the January edition of SCBWI INSIGHT, a monthly enewsletter for members of the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators. INSIGHT features current children’s book hot topics, helpful hints, exclusive interviews and monthly contests. When talking about likelihoods for 2021, emerging trend-lines are intriguing to extend […]
A Book with Benefits
It was my honor to edit the Purple Project’s picture book PENNY’S ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO. Sales benefit victims of domestic violence and abuse. For this book, thirteen San Diego County mayors and a deputy mayor each penned a chapter of a story about a kind-hearted purple butterfly named Penny visiting their respective cities and […]
My New Class for KidLit Writers!
I’m honored to have created a new class for Children’s Book Insider: “10 Things That Get Kidlit Manuscripts Rejected – and How to Avoid Them.” It will be 90 minutes of deep-digging writing tools for writers of picture books, chapter books, middle grade and young adult — fiction and nonfiction. I’ve got you all covered […]
Texting in Novels – It’s a Thing
The average American checks their phone 47 times a day. 23 billion text messages are sent each day worldwide. 98% of US smartphone users send text messages regularly. American smartphone owners aged 18-24 send around 2000 text in a month.* With texting behavior like that, texting is going to show up in our novels. But […]
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