How to write a query letter

Agent Jill Corcoran has posted a complete list of what an agent (and probably an editor) wants to see in a query letter.  Click on over to see.

Her blog is chock full of great help for writers.

One of her  more recent blog posts is all about how to write first chapter books -- you know, like Clementine, Mercy Watson, Marty McGuire, Captain Underpants, etc.  Those step-up books longer than easy readers but shorter than middle readers.

Edited and added:
Yet another post about writing a query letter, this time from Jane Friedman.

Where's the Delete Key?

We went to Florida to visit my parents in the early 1990s -- without computers. (We didn't have laptops at that time. Were they even invented, yet?)

My computerized husband was in withdrawal.  I finally gave him a pad of paper and a pencil.
He moaned, "but where is the delete key?"

I pointed at the eraser.

It's PI Day !!!

Yum!
3.14
(PI rounded up.)

And -- If you'd like to see some PI in the Sky, jump on over to Sandra Boynton's page on Facebook.

Yes, I'm also thinking of making a pie today. Pumpkin would be nice and easy and delicious.

2014 Golden Kite Awards

The Golden Kite award is for the best of the best, as awarded by members of the Children's Book Writers community.  Not librarians.  Not booksellers. Not publishers, but chosen by other writers in this field.  Given out by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and honored at their International Convention in August in Los Angeles, CA.

Take a look at the winners here, and go read them. They're wonderful.

Your first book -- does it predict success or failure?

Janni Lee Simner brings up an interesting thought -- Someone once said to her:

“If you look at careers that crash and burn you can often trace it to a first book that failed to do well.”

And Janni was all, "what? Umm, no."

She continues with examples of well-known, successful writers whose first novels you've never heard of.  Check our her Desert Dispatches blog entry about Unknown first novels and the myth of the big debut.

So, go ahead and get that first novel out there. Then write your next. and your next. and your next. Some will be hits and some will have small sells, but just keep writing to keep your writing career going.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss

Can you believe he'd be 110 years old?   (if he were still alive)

Here's a link to an article in the Denver Post about Theodor Seuss Geisel, who is known to the world as Dr. Seuss.  (If it's still online)

And here's a link to the national Read Across America, a celebration of reading held every year on Dr. Seuss's birthday. If you click on the pictures to the right, you'll get to their Pinterest page with printable copies of all of their handouts.

And another link to Seussville, the web page brought to you by Random House Children's Books, featuring Read Across America activities.

Or you could grab and listen to these audio clips of Dr. Seuss books at the Audiobook Blog read by some of my favorite actors.  After you click, scroll down the page to see the links.

Celebrate Reading Today!

Successful People and their Emails

There's an article on Huffingtonpost about how successful people use emails.
Good Advice.  And it's something you can do, too.  Click on the link for the whole article.

In the article the author, Alexis Kleinman, explains why successful people send very short emails:

1. People don't need as much background information as you think they do. It might seem essential to you, but it actually seems superfluous to the email recipient. They'd rather you get to the information and request more quickly, and then they can ask you to fill in any holes in their knowledge later.

2. Don't waste your subject line. In many email services, including Gmail, just the subject line and first line or two is visible in the recipient's inbox. Why make the subject "Hi" when it could be "Dinner on Thursday?" Give the recipient an idea of what the email contains and a good reason to click on it.

3. Just because your email is short, that doesn't mean it has to be rude."No matter how short your emails, there is a way to inject a friendly, cheery note, and don't forget to do that. Short doesn't mean that it's okay to go around barking orders," Schwalbe says.

I'd like to add a note about that subject line. 

Some years ago, a group invited me to talk to young writers in Illinois. I waited and waited for the final bit of information that I needed before I could purchase my airline ticket.  Finally, I emailed them back, repeating my request.  They insisted they had sent it -- with the subject heading of YOU.  At that time my email system only showed the subject line and did not add the first sentence. It looked like SPAM, so I had deleted it without reading it.

Use that Subject Line to let the person know what is in the email. You want them to read your email, not delete it without reading.