VS Grenier ~ Award-Winning Author, Speaker & Podcaster

The Maggie Project: Book Review: Humberto, the Bookworm Hamster : "Humberto, the Bookworm Hamster by Mayra Calvani illus. by Kit GradyPrimary &n..."

The world of children’s picture book publishing is extremely competitive. If you’re an aspiring children’s author, you need to make sure your manuscript is in excellent shape and has all the elements editors and agents look for before you begin the submission process. Here are five tips to make your picture book manuscript more marketable: Start right with the problem.  Many times beginner writers begin a picture book with back-story. It’s okay to have this back-story in the first draft, but be sure to get rid of it when you edit. Back-story is unnecessary 90% of the time and it only serves to slow down the beginning of a story, making it weaker. You want to grab the reader right from the start. So don’t be afraid to begin your story at the heart of the problem. It’s okay to set the stage with a sentence or two—but no more! Have a protagonist readers can relate to. Generally, children like to listen to stories about other children or animals with children’s characteristics. They

Jane's Ride: Book Signing Tips : "You’ve got to tip an awful lot. It seems like we’re tipping everybody. – Eric Reed When I stand near a table where my books are arranged in..."

For Immediate Release Award-winning Author Mayra Calvani joins the Stories for Children Publishing February ‘11 World of Ink Tour   Stories for Children Publishing will be touring Award-winning author Mayra Calvani’s latest children’s book, “Frederico the Mouse Violinist” and her other books all month long in February 2011. You can find Mayra Calvani’s World of Ink Author/Book Tour schedule at http://storiesforchildrenpublishing.com/MayraCalvani . There will be giveaways, reviews, interviews, and guest posts. Make sure to stop by and interact with Mayra Calvani and the hosts at the different stops by leaving comments and/or questions. Calvani will be checking in throughout the tour. Mayra Calvani is an award-winning author who writes fiction and nonfiction for children and adults. She’s a reviewer for The New York Journal of Books and co-editor of Voice in the Dark ezine. She's had over 300 reviews, interviews, stories, and articles published in print and online. Mayra is

After a nice long two month hiatus VBT-Writers on the Move is ready for action in February 2011. As always, VBT-Writers on the Move has a great tour planned with writers and authors who collectively, have tons of writing and marketing experience and information to share. I'll be hosting one of these wonderful authors each month along with my other weekly posts and interviews. One goal I have and VBT-Writers on the Move is to provide more value packed informational content so you can not only learn about the authors, their books and services, but also pick up tips and advice on writing, ghostwriting, marketing, and more. So, look over the schedule below. Each day in February a different author and information will be presented. Just follow the schedule and click on the corresponding day. However, don't forget to stop by here each day too. I'll be posting a link to the Writers on the Move stop and some writing tips as well. Writers on the Move’s February 2011 To

I really liked this blog post and wanted to share it with you. Utah Children's Writers: Writer Zen: We Are Our Own Protagonists : "by Deren Hansen As the protagonist approaches the climax of our novel, we pull out all the stops, throw ever thing at them, and turn what ..."

Writing articles can actually take a good amount of time when you combine all the necessary preparations along with the writing process itself. In fact it is not unusual to begin monitoring the time you invest in this process which can than lead to writer's block. The more time you realize you spent the more frustrated you become and this disrupts your flow of thoughts adding even more time to the writing process. Is there a way to write articles but avoid the various 'barriers' that are bound to occur that lead to more frustration and time spent in the process? Here are 5 tips on writing articles which help to break down the process allowing you to consistently make progress thereby minimizing any wasted time. Pull Your Thought Together - Stop Take the time preferably away from your computer and brainstorm some ideas to determine what you want to write about. As ideas come to mind jot them down and continue to brainstorm different ideas. To start yourself off thin

by Shery Ma Belle Arrieta-Russ 1. Work hard to become competent. Neil Gaiman said, "There's no magic formula. To become a competent writer, you  write until you start to sound like you, and then you keep on writing. Finish  things you start. Get better." 2. View life from different perspectives. Douglas Clegg said, "Get out and live and travel and see the world from  perspectives other than the one with which you've been saddled. Youth doesn't  last very long, and it might be better to participate in life awhile before  writing from it." 3. Write one page at a time. John Steinbeck said, "When I face the desolate impossibility of writing 500 pages,  a sick sense of failure falls on me and I know I can never do it. This happens  every time. Then gradually I write one page and then another. One day's work is  all I can permit myself to contemplate and I eliminate the possibility of ever  finishing." 4. Strive for vigorous writi

CONTACT:  Karina Fabian Phone:  (805) 285-0108, karina@fabianspace.com Ann Margaret Lewis Phone:  (317) 755-2693 annlewis@joesystems.com For Immediate Release Carolyn Howard-Johnson Conducts Seminar at Free Online Conference World Wide Web--Writers, editors, agents, and other publishing professionals from around the world are gearing up for the free fourth annual Catholic Writers’ Conference Online, featuring veteran presenters like Carolyn Howard-Johnson, multi-award winning novelist, poet and book marketer. The online conference will run from March 21 to 27, 2011 and is sponsored by the Catholic Writer’s Guild. It is free and open to writers of all levels who register before March 1. Writers needn’t be Catholic. It is conducted in an online forum at http:// www.catholicwritersconference.com . Workshops and live online chats cover the gamut of writing topics from idea generation to marketing a published novel; traditional and self-publishing, article writing and fi

SFC Blog: Families Matter: Bargain Priced Family Vacations...Do They Exist? : "What could be more cost effective than a family camp-out? Of course, the cheapest kind is finding a local campsite in your area and pitchin..."