tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35732160156609062152024-03-28T08:09:47.690-07:00Crowe's NestAn Agent and Her List Discuss Children's Books, Publishing and BeyondUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger266125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-46520442756396705792016-03-20T10:41:00.000-07:002016-03-20T10:41:05.110-07:00Retiring the blog...I have been unable to keep up with this blog for awhile now, and am retiring it. I wanted to share links to the most popular posts, see below.
*Thank you to my lovely authors for sharing their stories and advice and keeping this blog going for so long. News about my authors and new titles will be on my website, as always: www.saracrowe.com
Marianna Baer on sex in YA:
http://Unknownnoreply@blogger.com258tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-87242989789671443742015-07-24T11:14:00.000-07:002015-07-24T11:18:24.508-07:00 Interview with (and by) Co-Authors of A 52-HERTZ WHALE, Natalie TIlghman and Bill Sommer
Nat Interviews Bill
Nat: So Bill, how did the process of collaboration on A 52-Hertz Whale start and then evolve? What was it like to work with someone else (um, me) to write a novel?
Bill: Well, I was nearing the end of Writing School, where I had met Natalie (henceforth “you”), and I became worried that I'd stop doing my homework, i.e. writing. I was slogging through a long, Natalie Tilghmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01878090871783210664noreply@blogger.com54tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-5643605418284289692015-02-24T10:06:00.000-08:002015-02-24T10:15:29.596-08:00The Question Behind The Cipher
My second novel is out today. You don’t know how good it feels to say that.
Scratch that—they are plenty of writers reading this blog,
many of them familiar with the heady brew of pride, relief, and gratitude that
comes with seeing your book on a physical shelf. They also know that when you start on the
path toward that moment, the road ahead feels long and lonely. Certain John C. Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10961919906658057934noreply@blogger.com103tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-3630051629511929312015-02-10T03:53:00.000-08:002015-02-10T03:53:09.325-08:00 The Road to Utopia,Iowa Was Paved With Rejection
Utopia, Iowa, my YA
novel, is being published by Candlewick Press today (FEB 10) and that’s a most
excellent thing. I’m very grateful. But it almost didn’t happen. That is to say
Utopia, Iowa’s road to publication
was not a smooth superhighway. It was more like a road I drove in rural Mexico
one summer not long after I graduated from high school, one that was an
obstacle course of potholes and Brian Yanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338795130182877245noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-17382493326667965662014-09-11T04:00:00.000-07:002014-09-11T04:00:08.383-07:00The Long Game
I quit my day job in 2006. If someone had told me it would
take me eight years before I published my first book, I’m sure I would still be
working that day job or one like it. I thought it would take me a year…maybe
two tops. I was ambitious and overly confident. I didn’t realize that if it
took me ten years that would be normal.
Edith Cohn, Middle Grade Author
I didn’t know many other Edithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128068211341608353noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-89808750390380111442014-09-08T22:51:00.000-07:002014-09-27T11:45:09.001-07:00Why a haunted LIBRARY?I’m so pleased to have the opportunity to write about the Haunted Library here on your blog, Sara. The Haunted Library is where my relationship with you began. I included
a 10-page proposal for it when I first wrote you to ask about representation
and I think you had the series sold almost before the ink on our letter of
agreement was dry. That was almost three years ago now…and finally the DoriHButlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08180623427070338864noreply@blogger.com92tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-26946768527080417632014-08-08T07:02:00.001-07:002014-08-08T07:02:11.890-07:00Kim: Donna Tartt is My Imaginary Friend Or, How I Get Unstuck During Revision
When I’m revising a manuscript, I carry a book with me at all times. It bangs around in my bag, its corners wearing soft. It has oily fingerprints from wasabi peas. Friends do not ask to borrow it. I panic when it goes missing. Rumpled and stained, it’s like a beloved teddy bear.
If you’re inclined to slice a teddy bear down its middle, rip out its Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712198651023851534noreply@blogger.com86tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-34084688427846091112014-06-30T03:00:00.000-07:002014-06-30T03:00:08.120-07:00Dianne: Writing a Series -- What I Didn’t Know
Ever since the first book in my middle grade series released
in April, people have been asking me if I’m excited about writing the next two
books. When I tell them both books are already written, were in fact written
before the first one even came out, they’re surprised. So am I.
The third book hasn’t undergone editorial revisions yet, but
it’s due for completion this fall. The offer for Dianne K. Salernihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16459839567235304842noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-88003869490453596432014-03-04T05:43:00.000-08:002014-03-04T05:44:09.582-08:00Laura: Looking to the Past
If you're reading this, you're probably a writer. Or know a writer. So maybe you can tell me: is there a writer out there who thrills to the sight of a blank page? Whose creative juices are goosed by a blinking cursor?
If so, I don’t want to know about it.
Like most writers (I hope), I need something to set my mind wandering down a path of “maybes” and “what ifs”. Often it’s people I knowUnknownnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-56629875443576382692014-02-11T06:00:00.000-08:002014-02-11T07:56:39.501-08:00Lisa: On Quiet NovelsHi, my name is Lisa and I love quiet novels.
I love writing them, and I also love reading them. Am I in a group of a select few when it comes to this? Hold on to this thought, I'll come back to it in a minute.
I've been thinking about quiet books after a writer told me she received a rejection letter that basically said, "I'm sorry, this is just too quiet."
So, what does quiet even mean when Lisa Schroederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10677227681455190084noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-29030650873299647732014-02-04T03:00:00.000-08:002014-02-04T03:00:00.206-08:00Dianne: The Unbridled Enthusiasm of MG Readers
In April of 2014, I look forward to making my debut as a
middle grade author. As much as I love being a YA author, there’s something
special about MG readers. I should know. I’ve been teaching fifth graders to
love reading for over twenty years.
YA readers also love their books, of course, and invest
themselves in the character relationships (especially the romances), but MG
readers are Dianne K. Salernihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16459839567235304842noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-84667072643865446292014-01-21T00:30:00.000-08:002014-01-21T00:30:01.562-08:00The Age Of Wonder
I love writing for a middle grade audience.
There are no hard and fast rules, but generally
speaking a middle grade audience falls between the ages of 8-12. Personally, I call
this the age of wonder.
Readers in these ages have one foot in the magical
world of childhood, and the other in the “real world” of growing up. Generally
speaking, middle grade readers might:
<!--[if !supportLists]-->·Marion Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07888929474349403689noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-16796930989268221032014-01-07T12:09:00.001-08:002014-01-07T12:09:12.297-08:002013!
The 2013 news roundup- congrats to all on a great year for the nest!
DR. BIRD'S ADVICE FOR SAD POETS
by Evan Roskos is a Morris Award Finalist 2014, a Kirkus Best Teen Book
of 2013, on the TAYSHAS 2014 list, a CYBILS Finalist, and received a
starred Kirkus review.
PICKLE by Kim Baker is on the 2014-2015 Texas
Bluebonnet Award master list, won a Crystal Kite from the SCBWI, and a
2013 Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-32020689416671763012013-10-15T03:00:00.000-07:002013-10-15T03:00:00.780-07:00Dianne: When Research Turns Up Nothing – And It’s a Good Thing
Caerleon, Wales -- a Roman amphitheater
It’s tough when you travel to another continent for research
and don’t get what you want.
That’s what I thought when my trip to the U.K. this summer
didn’t give me the results I expected. My husband had hired a private tour
guide to drive me around southern Wales, visiting places related to King Arthur
so I could gather information for my MG fantasy Dianne K. Salernihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16459839567235304842noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-31675760758534929552013-09-26T13:39:00.000-07:002013-09-26T13:39:45.317-07:00Frances: The Origins of THE MISADVENTURES OF THE MAGICIAN'S DOG<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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mso-padding-alt:0in Frances Sacketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11097312019659136960noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-42315183401123225082013-08-15T05:46:00.000-07:002013-08-15T05:46:00.265-07:00Peggy: The origins of SKY JUMPERSSky Jumpers began in an airplane in 2009. My family and I were flying home from Disney World, on a day when most of the country was covered in clouds. I sat by the window, staring out at the clouds below us, and imagining how much fun it would be to jump out of the airplane and have the clouds catch me. To slow my fall. (Just for the record: clouds will not slow your fall. I recommend you not Peggy Eddlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10241451940725996650noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-58822147078462961022013-06-11T04:00:00.000-07:002013-06-11T04:00:08.823-07:00Kelly: Origins / 45 POUNDS (MORE OR LESS)
45 POUNDS (MORE OR LESS) essentially
evolved from a character. I imagined a girl who struggled with her weight and
her place in the world. She’s from a typical American family, and by typical I
mean atypical. Families today are likely to include step-parents and single
parents and gay parents, so I wanted my character’s family to reflect that,
too. I envisioned the mother/daughter dynamic to be K.A. Barsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09859642126518596230noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-71447832340032205472013-06-05T18:28:00.000-07:002013-06-06T08:23:40.890-07:00Betsy: The Isles of Shoals (Where TIDES Lives)
This is where my imaginary friends live.
No—real people live here, actually, in the real house on White Island, at the Isles of Shoals off the coast of Maine and New Hampshire. But this house, and this lighthouse, are where the main characters in my first novel, Tides (click the link!), live, too.
I grew up in coastal New Hampshire, and I regularly went fishing and duck Betsy Cornwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188924084447991795noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-57318965471093513722013-03-19T03:11:00.000-07:002013-03-19T03:16:36.479-07:00Katie: The Story Behind A Girl Called Problem
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Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640221516800286288noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-15466552613848019502013-03-12T06:00:00.000-07:002013-03-12T06:01:15.911-07:00Erin: Origins / TAKENAs TAKEN's release date approaches (just barely a month now!), I'm answering the So what's your book about? question more and more often. (Thank goodness for one line pitches.) The ever-popular follow-up question--How did you come up with that idea?--is a bit harder for me to address.
Some stories are born from what if scenarios, while others are sparked by dreams. Some are retellings or Erin Bowmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11415377887347978552noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-74136262287540789582013-02-28T10:04:00.000-08:002013-03-12T09:59:59.542-07:00Frances: Writing a Novel One Bite at a Time<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Frances Sacketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11097312019659136960noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-79138374854197459372013-02-21T09:00:00.000-08:002013-02-21T09:00:00.994-08:00Sara: WriteOnCon's Perfect Your Pitch workshop: The Short Synopsis
The most important part of a query is the book pitch. I tend to skip over any biographical information until I have read the short synopsis. When I read a query I want to know quickly if I want to read the book. That is it. I will look at your credits/ MFA/ hobbies, if I like your pitch. Here are my thoughts on what you need to do to with your pitch to get a request:
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-42203073897059131162013-02-14T06:00:00.000-08:002013-02-15T12:49:07.538-08:00Evan: Origins/DR. BIRD'S ADVICE FOR SAD POETSI'll admit it: my book's got some odd things going on. My main character, James, quotes Walt Whitman to cheer himself up. He hugs trees, literally. And not because he's environmentally minded. He also talks to an imaginary pigeon therapist.
Named Dr. Bird.
Yes, it's not just some cool name for a DJ or a birdwatching forum username. Dr. Bird is a pigeon, in James's head. A pigeon that James knows Unknownnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-81682941646771392422013-01-22T11:48:00.000-08:002013-01-22T11:48:50.456-08:00Megan: Mentor Texts - A Wrinkle in TimeEnglish
teachers call them mentor texts. These are books that can be used to
teach a specific writing lesson or skill. Writers often use mentor
texts, even if they don’t know the term. While student writers use
mentor texts often to start a project, professional writers are likely
to find them more useful in the revision stage, so as not to become
unduly influenced by the work. I know Megan Frazer Blakemorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05696347974876943856noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3573216015660906215.post-42803595327405362632013-01-15T13:26:00.000-08:002013-01-15T13:28:44.423-08:00Michael: 5 Tips for School Visits
I’ve been doing school visits fairly regularly since my first middle grade novel, Plunked, came out last March. I’ve flown down to Texas, AmTrekked to Virginia, taken the G to Carroll Gardens, rolled into Newark in a tricked out SUV, you name it. In addition to gaining quite a few frequent-flyer miles and a new appreciation for the Palisades Parkway, I’ve actually managed to learn a few Michael Northrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01464814819505400641noreply@blogger.com15