From now through August, Swenson Book Development LLC offers a special package for editorial feedback on the first ten pages of your manuscript. I want to read what you’ve been writing. One of the most frequent requests I get from writers is a simple answer to the general question: is this any good? In order to answer any questions about a manuscript, you need to… [Read More]
When you write a book, it needs to be about something. When someone asks what your book is about, how do respond? Do you stumble over your words trying to describe your book? Time to pin down your premise. The perfect pitch means you need to hone your premise statement. Premise: The central idea, situation, or set-up which provides the foundation and pushes the narrative… [Read More]
Has your inbox been full of messages related to new privacy policies? Have you read them? Why is this happening now? On May 25, a new law goes into effect across the European Union. The General Data Protection Regulation strengthens individual privacy rights and has teeth for enforcement. Each notice is a result of legislation to protect citizens in other countries. This is not a… [Read More]
If you are an author of memoir, then you know the story isn’t entirely about you. It’s about the reader. Taking the “me” out of memoir is important if you seek publication for your story. If you use the pronoun “I” in every sentence you actually create a division between you and the reader. Imagine the difference between these two passages. The trees formed a… [Read More]
For thirty years, the Minnesota Book Awards have recognized the best in writers, illlustrators, and book artists who are Minnesotans. Last Saturday evening in downtown St. Paul at the Intercontinental Hotel Riverfront, more than 800 people attended the awards ceremony emceed by Rohan Preston, theater critic for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. With more than 250 books submitted for the annual award, a panel of judges narrowed… [Read More]
It starts with falling down. In the snow. And not being able to get up. Art Hritus. Ben Gay. Johnny Walker. Three men I don’t want to meet up with these days. Of course I wasn’t wearing boots. The mittens had been left on the kitchen counter. I didn’t even have a hat. The wind and the snow came up out of the open expanse… [Read More]
Julie could run like the wind. Claire had trouble adjusting to college. Nick felt increasingly disconnected from his family and friends. Anna was resistant to recovery. May suffered abuse at the hands of her boyfriend. Emma was a secret eater. Like mother, like daughter for Maeve. Each chapter in this new book is a case study of a teen to illustrate the development, nature, and… [Read More]
Publishing is a business. Books are products. When you want to publish your book you need to understand that you are introducing a new product into a crowded market with decreasing demand. The number of books published each year has exploded. The average number of sales for each book continues to decline, despite the increasing number of titles published. For every spot available in bookstore… [Read More]
This Friday, March 16, Routledge releases Understanding Teen Eating Disorders: Warning Signs, Treatment Options and Stories of Courage by three Central New York authors who bring years of experience and expertise in the eating disorder field to the subject. Eating disorders are relatively common among tweens and teens and the numbers have stayed roughly the same for several decades despite effective prevention and early intervention… [Read More]
Recently I finished teaching a six week workshop where one participant asked a tough question that has haunted me. “What shouldn’t I do as a writer? What mistakes can you help me avoid making?” I stumbled through an answer. I like to focus on the positive things writers can do to improve their writing and yet the question was a legitimate one. And in my… [Read More]
