Clearly, Ellie is clueless. But it's okay, we all were/are at first. But luckily, if you do want to become a picture book writer, there is a fantastic class waiting for you!

The Craft and Business of Writing Children's Books is being taught by the amazing Dr. Mira Reisberg through http://www.childrensbookacademy.com/writing-childrens-picture-books.html

And I'm so happy to announce that I have the opportunity to assist her. I am actually a graduate of this amazing course.

You will learn the basics and beyond!  The best part of the course for me, was having a critique group and being involved in a community of writers. 

As a reading teacher and writer of children's books, I've realized that writing is writing. The writing that we teach kindergartens or fourth graders is the same craft that I learned in my MFA program. There are basics of craft that you must learn as a writer, no matter what age. 

Having a background and degree in both reading and writing has been very helpful and eye opening. 

As an assistant in this class, I plan to share some of that insight. 

So, if you are thinking about taking this class, DO IT!

So who am I?

And here are some of my thoughts about being a writer. 

So, do you wanna be a picture book writer?  Then go for it!  Sign up today!

Here are the basic beats in a story. The numbers beside each beat is the page it falls on in a script of 110 pages. (Obviously these numbers won’t line up with your book, since most likely you aren’t writing 110 page book exactly. But mathematically you could divide it to figure out about where each beat should take place.)

1. Opening Image (1):

2. Theme Stated (5):

3. Set-Up (1-10):

4. Catalyst (12):

5. Debate (12-25):

6. Break into Two (25)

7. B Story (30):

8. Fun and Games (30-55):

9. Midpoint (55):

10. Bad Guys Close In (55-75):

11. All Is Lost (75):

12. Dark Night of the Soul (75-85):

13. Break into Three (85):

14. Finale (85-110):

15. Final Image (110):

Attached you will find a word doc. to use for your own beats. 

Also you can view this document for the exact definitions of each beat.

What do you think about Blake Snyder's beat sheet?  Have you ever used it before on a chapter book or novel?

I was so looking forward to Mandy's post today and when it wasn't there, I reread my post above and realized that maybe she thought that it was just going to be me. Oh no!! I corrected the post now and hopefully we'll hear from Mandy soon. My agenting series will be back the first Monday in February.

Meanwhile to make up for this snafu, I am going to give you a sneak peek at one of the beginning videos for the upcoming interactive Craft and Business of Writing Children's Picture Books e-Course, which combines live webinars, written and video lessons, templates, optional critique groups and more goodies than you can shake a stick at (possibly an Australian expression). Anyway your upcoming video is on writing hooks to seduce the reader into reading further. And if you like weirdness, note how my bad-hair-day-hat takes on a life of its own towards the end :)

For the past 5 months, I’ve been trying to keep two major parts of my life separate. One side as the director and an instructor here at Children’s Book Academy (formerly the Picture Book Academy). And the other as the founding agent of Hummingbird Literary. Recently, I realized it was becoming ridiculous and making me feel schizophrenic, so I’m getting integrated beginning with this first Mondays monthly series of posts on the Agony and Ecstasy of Agenting.

Agenting is hard work. Ridiculously hard. Most people have no idea what happens once they manage to sign with an agent. In the coming months, I’ll be talking about this and why you may or may not want an agent, how to work with an agent, what agents look for in submissions and how to increase your chances for representation, not necessarily in that order.

Right now I’m reading a client’s young adult manuscript that I’m in love with. It’s a real page-turner with believable characters, a building plot, a wee love story, universal themes, and an historical background. It needs some work but not too much; mostly in avoiding repetition and taking a bit long to hook into the drama of the story. While different age levels have different language and age-appropriate conceptual development needs, as well as different word counts, all good stories need a strong introductory hook. Helping to ensure this, is part of the magic and ecstasy of being an agent and a teacher. And then, of course, there’s the magic of making a sale to bring these meaningful and beautiful words into book form and then into children’s hands. The ups and downs of accomplishing what feels like a Herculean task to fruition is part of the agony while helping others is truly a joy.

As an agent, because of the small size of the agency, we can only accept submissions on certain dates, but when submissions come in, there are certain things we look for that show that the writer or illustrator is professional and knows what they are doing. As the director and an instructor at the Academy, part of my job is preparing writers and illustrators to create marketable children’s books. As an agent I’m on the receiving end of submissions. On January 24th at 6PM Pacific Standard time, I’ll be doing a free webinar on writing cover letters and pitches that agents and editors want to read based on what I've learned from both teaching and agenting. Here’s the link to register http://www.childrensbookacademy.com/free-cover-letters-and-pitches-webinar.html I plan on also leaving time for critiquing as many 30 word pitches I can to help make the submission as appealing as possible. I hope you’ll join me. Next month, I plan on writing about what an agent actually does.