Five ways to make your book better – right now!
If you are stuck on a project, trying to find an agent, or need help getting published, these simple, easy-to-apply tips will improve your book immediately.
Author: Sarah Stewart
Sarah Stewart is a Director at Lighthouse Literary. She was previously a Commissioning Editor at Scholastic Children's Books and a Senior Editor at Floris Books, and she writes the Elspeth Hart series, published by Stripes.
Don’t write a query letter like this
The query letter is a tough thing to get right – it needs to be informative, but not boring; warm, but not over-familiar. But please, before writing your query letter, make sure you don’t write one like this…
“Be original. Don’t look at what’s selling and try to imitate it…”
We sat down with the delightful Zoe Griffiths, Senior Commissioning Editor at Bloomsbury Kids, to ask her some questions about finding brilliant children’s fiction.
How to make an agent or editor fall in love with your book
A really brilliant opening line, followed by a brilliant opening paragraph, is crucial. It gets your prospective agent or editor’s attention and makes them more inclined to like the rest of your writing.
How many words are in a children’s book?
How long should my children’s book be? We wish there was a simple, one-size-fits-all answer to this! There are no set rules for how long a children’s novel should be, and the lack of clear guidance can be frustrating. That’s why we often get asked questions like this.
Want to write a book? Just do it
Exciting times at The Lighthouse! Cat Clarke’s new book, The Lost and the Found, is out in July (and it’s stunning – buy a copy!). In same month, my very first children’s novel, Elspeth Hart and the School for Show-offs, hits the shelves. All this writing has got me thinking.