Madeline Smoot

It’s been a bit since I’ve talked about query letters for kid’s books, so I thought it was time to review them again. I always think that the best query letters answer two questions: What is this book about? & Why should I care? However, there’s way more to a...

I need you to ask yourself a question: why does my character in my children’s book act the way they do? Because if you don’t know this, then I need you to go figure it out. Put yourself in their shoes and look deep. A part of you is actually in every character, so you...

Does it matter how old your main character is? Absolutely. This isn’t adult fiction where your main character can be just any old age. We are writing children’s books, and children’s books have very specific age ranges for specific types of novels. They are: Chapter...

Everyone wants to craft the perfect sentence and then the perfect paragraph, page, and book.  And to do that, you want to use evocative, colorful language. At least, you want to use colorful language as long as it doesn’t bleed into purple prose. What is purple...

You are your biggest fan. Without a doubt, no one will ever admire your children’s books quite the way you do.  Don’t get me wrong, you’ll get those rabid fans that read every word you write and remember details you don’t even remember coming up with.  But...

This is absolutely one of the worst moments of revising. This is where you discover you need to make a change (usually a major change) to your story. You know that you need to make this change. Making this change will make your story stronger and take it to new...

So, you’ve written a children’s book and now you’re wondering: Is my main character ready to publish? Well, don’t worry, I’ve got you covered! Here are some questions to ask yourself to determine if your character is ready for publication. First, let’s focus on the...

I was talking with one of my authors today, and we were discussing ways an indie (or self-published) author can be successful. And one of the things I mentioned was to have a Binge Worthy Series. You know the kind. The one where you read book after book. The kind...

Who is the real hero of your children’s book? The one that should triumph because their motivations are so just and pure. The one character that is usually so sure of themselves, nothing and no one can change their minds. I’m of course talking about your villain. Now,...