VS Grenier ~ Award-Winning Author, Speaker & Podcaster

I have been asked this question more than once during my writing career. At first, I gave the standard answer I learned from my instructor at the ICL…YES! The question you maybe be wondering is has my opinion changed since then…NO. Entering writing contests (Free or Fee Based) is always a good thing. However, you want to make sure the contest you are entering is with a known company or group. I only say this because you want to make sure you’re not paying money or sending your manuscript somewhere no one has ever heard of and to never see again. With that said, I have entered all kinds of contests. Some have been through the Institute of Children’s Literature, Writer’s Digest, League of Utah Writers, Preditors & Editors, Mom’s Choice and other unknown local and national smaller groups and companies.  Winning is always nice, of course, but that isn’t why I enter contests. I do it to hence my writing and submission techniques, to hone my talents and learn from my mistakes

Picking the Right Words for a Picture Book by VS Grenier First, let me say there are four types of picture books. Story Books: Most of us grew up on this traditional picture book. This type of picture book is by far the most popular and is usually fiction based. You will have a series of events with strong character development. Story books tend to have more text on each page vs. other types of picture books. Concept Books: This type of picture book helps to promote a child’s understanding. You see this type of picture book for toddlers or as a “My First” book series. These books can be fiction or nonfiction and have very few words. The illustrations tend to be the focus. Novelty Books: A great example of this type of book is The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. This picture book relies on some short of gimmick to tell the book’s story. Modern Picture Books: This type of picture book is a lot like the story picture book, but uses both the illustrations and

Many writers and illustrators ask me, "Is it really important to have a book trailer for my upcoming book?" My answer is "YES!" Book and Event trailers are a lot like movie trailers. They catch viewer interest if done right. I don’t know if you have noticed, but many BIG publishing houses have discovered the importance of book trailers. They believe in them so much that you can catch them as television commercials. Something you didn’t see 20, 10 and even 5 years ago! Book and event trailers are fast becoming the future in marketing, promotions and school events. Similar to a movie trailer, a book trailer is a marketing tool to assist authors, illustrators and publishers in promoting their work by creating a viral marketing campaign online. You may even have noticed event trailers or home videos making it on the home pages of places such as Yahoo.com. Why is this? Because people are spending more and more time online, and they are looking for entertainment. Wh

Blog Talk Radio’s World of Ink Network Show: Stories for Children with hosts VS Grenier, Kris Quinn Christopherson and Irene Roth will be chatting about Grenier’s recent children’s book “Babysitting SugarPaw” a picture book about friendship and telling the truth. VS Grenier is an award-winning children’s author, founder & owner of Stories for Children Publishing, LLC ., award-winning editor-in-chief of Stories for Children Magazine  and chief editor for Halo Publishing, Int .; in addition, to running her own editorial and critique services.   In 2007 & 2008, VS Grenier was voted one of the Top Ten Editors in the Preditors and Editors Reader’s Poll, won 2nd place for her article on, “Yes, Virginia, There IS a Santa Claus” in the Preditors and Editors Reader’s Poll for Best Nonfiction of 2007, and won 7 th place for her article, “Dinosaur Tracks in My Backyard” in the Preditors and Editors Reader’s Poll for Best Nonfiction of 2008.   VS Grenier learned how to hone her wr

VS Grenier is an award-winning children’s author, founder & owner of Stories for Children Publishing, LLC ., award-winning editor-in-chief of Stories for Children Magazine  and chief editor for Halo Publishing, Int .; in addition, to running her own editorial and critique services.   In 2007 & 2008, VS Grenier was voted one of the Top Ten Editors in the Preditors and Editors Reader’s Poll, won 2nd place for her article on, “Yes, Virginia, There IS a Santa Claus” in the Preditors and Editors Reader’s Poll for Best Nonfiction of 2007, and won 7 th place for her article, “Dinosaur Tracks in My Backyard” in the Preditors and Editors Reader’s Poll for Best Nonfiction of 2008.    VS Grenier learned how to hone her writing skills at the Institute of Children’s Literature and is a member of the League of Utah Writers (HWG), Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and Musing Our Children.  VS Grenier offers a variety of topics related to writing childr

Stories for Children Publishing will be touring award-winning author VS Grenier and her book, “Babysitting SugarPaw ” a picture book about friendship and telling the truth all month long in June 2011.  VS Grenier is an award-winning children’s author, founder & owner of Stories for Children Publishing, LLC ., award-winning editor-in-chief of Stories for Children Magazine  and chief editor for Halo Publishing, Int .; in addition, to running her own editorial and critique services.   In 2007 & 2008, VS Grenier was voted one of the Top Ten Editors in the Preditors and Editors Reader’s Poll, won 2nd place for her article on, “Yes, Virginia, There IS a Santa Claus” in the Preditors and Editors Reader’s Poll for Best Nonfiction of 2007, and won 7 th place for her article, “Dinosaur Tracks in My Backyard” in the Preditors and Editors Reader’s Poll for Best Nonfiction of 2008.   VS Grenier learned how to hone her writing skills at the Institute of Children’s Literature and is a