Deborah Halverson

Author & Editor

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Where I Write (and Edit)

August 19, 2022 Leave a Comment

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 […]

Filed Under: Adventures in Writing, News

Podcast Alert: Deborah on “How Writers Write”

June 2, 2022 1 Comment

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 […]

Filed Under: Adventures in Writing, News

Deborah Auctioning Picture Book Edit & Call for #WeNeedDiverseBooks

December 6, 2021

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.

Filed Under: Adventures in Writing, Events, News Tagged With: DearEditor.com, Deborah Halverson

Predicting a Uniquely Unpredictable 2021

January 16, 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 […]

Filed Under: Adventures in Writing, News

My New Class for KidLit Writers!

October 12, 2020

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 […]

Filed Under: Adventures in Writing, News

Deborah to Offer a Digital Workshop for SCBWI (Free & Exclusive to SCBWI Members)

May 29, 2020

I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be presenting the fifth workshop in the Society of Children’s Books Writers & Illustrators’s second Digital Workshops series. The series is for current SCBWI members, and is free — an offering for members during this unusual summer of lockdown and creative challenge. My workshop will be “Submissions Studio: Writing […]

Filed Under: Adventures in Writing, News

SCBWI Summer Spectacular Looks SPECTACULAR!

May 11, 2020

SCBWI (the Society of Children’s Book Authors & Illustrators) is going virtual with its annual summer conference — they’re calling it the Summer Spectacular and it is indeed spectacular! 10 keynotes with children lit luminaries, an agents panel, & an editors panel, plus nightly live twitter chat socials, an online member book sale, a meme […]

Filed Under: Adventures in Writing, News Tagged With: Deborah Halverson, SCBWI, Summer Spectacular

My Article in SCBWI’s “The Bulletin”!

February 7, 2020

My article “2019: A Year in Review” has been published in SCBWI’s Winter 2020 edition of THE BULLETIN. That’s a biannual publication provided to members of the Society of Children’s Books Writers & Illustrators. The article is a children’s publishing industry overview, examining events and trends of 2019. I’m honored that SCBWI trusted me to sum […]

Filed Under: Adventures in Writing, News

New Year, New Webinar!

January 8, 2020

I’m excited! SCBWI-Austin invited me to present a submissions webinar as we settle into the new year with resolutions and recommitment. It’s called “Writing Queries, Strategizing Submissions, and Interpreting Editorial Feedback“ The webinar will be for writers of all children’s book categories, for beginners as well as advanced writers looking to perfect their submission package and strategy. I’ll […]

Filed Under: Adventures in Writing, News

Excited to Present Technique-Based Webinar for MG/YA Writers

October 29, 2019

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be presenting a technique-focused, hour-long Webinar designed to make YA/MG writers stronger self-editors and novelists on Nov 14, 2019. THE ULTIMATE CHECKLIST FOR SUBMITTING YOUR MG/YA TO EDITORS: 10 Tests Your Manuscript Must Pass to Prove It’s Ready to Submit. It all started with a question that I get […]

Filed Under: Events, News

Deborah on Faculty of 2019 Spring Writer’s Retreat

February 27, 2019

I’m pleased to be on the faculty of SCBWI-Southern California’s “2019 Spring Writer’s Retreat” for Middle Grade & Young Adult fiction at Tahquitz Pines in Idyllwild on April 12 – 14, 2019. I’m really looking forward to getting away, both as an editor (my role during the day for the writers I’ve been brought in for) […]

Filed Under: Adventures in Writing, Events, News

Deborah’s Tip for Character Development on Fab “Cynsations” Blog 

October 18, 2018

I’m honored to be a Guest Blogger on the amazing Cynsations blog today, with my post “Deborah Halverson on Viewing Narrative Beats as ‘Revelatory’ Beats in MG/YA Fiction.” There so much power and potential in those moments between lines of dialogue — the beats. I explore that in the guest post. Here’s a snippet: “Perhaps we […]

Filed Under: Adventures in Writing, News

New Look for DearEditor.com

October 14, 2018

  My website designer and I have been hard at work all summer on a little something fun: a fresh new look for DearEditor.com, my writers’ advice website. I unveiled the redesign today. Huzzah! It’s been a labor of love. This designer, Theresa, was the first person I told of my plans to create the […]

Filed Under: Adventures in Writing, News

Meet Me at the Annual SCBWI Summer Conference in L.A. Aug 3-6

April 3, 2018

I’m pleased to be presenting two sessions at the Society of Children’s Books Writers & Illustrators‘ Annual Summer Conference in L.A. August 3-6, 2018: “Up-to-the-Minute Market Report: Industry Updates, Submissions, and New Imprints” “Subplots & Subtext: How to Deepen and Energize Your MG/YA Fiction” I’ll also critique manuscripts one-on-one, which is something I particularly enjoy doing. Conference registration opens April 17th @10am PT. […]

Filed Under: Adventures in Writing, Events, News

Deborah at WIK ’18 — Fun Times, Great Craft Talk

March 20, 2018

I’ve had a lot of plates spinning in the last few months, but they’ve been fun plates to spin. A big one was prepping for and attending SCBWI-Southern Breeze’s 2018 writing-and-illustrating for kids (WIK) conference at the beginning of March. I presented sessions on non-rhyming picture books, revising young-adult and middle-grade novels for submission, and the state of the […]

Filed Under: Adventures in Writing, Events, News

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WELCOME TO DEBORAH’S BLOG

See what Deborah is up to, or sit a spell and enjoy her tales about the thrills, chills, and spills of being an on-the-go editor and writer.

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