A sixth grade class from Rochester, NY writes: “We have been reading a lot of your books. Why do you have so many different publishers?” It is true that my books have had many publishers. There are a number of reasons for that. Sometimes a particular book changes publishers. Poppy was first published by Orchard Books. The paperback
If a book you have written is accepted by an editor, more often than not you will get what is known in the trade as an “Editorial letter.” I doubt very much if anyone has formulated how these letters should be composed, but over the years, considering the many such letters I have received, they
What a writer needs more than anything is feedback. If you consider the word ”feedback” in a dictionary, you learn that it is a very old English word with many nuanced meanings, most of which have to do with food. In the context of writing, the term that has most meaning is that feedback can
A good friend of mine—a highly educated man in his seventies—was talking about e‑books. “I use them for only one purpose,” he said. “I have loaded my reader with the books I read when I was a boy—The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, The Deerslayer, and the like. The children’s books of my
Going repeatedly over a manuscript is not just hard; it can be tricky, tedious, and unproductive. The familiar words, blocked out in familiar ways, pass before your eyes so that you see less and less. You are reading from memory, not with a fresh mind. Here, my computer (and beyond) comes to my rescue. Here are
In response to my article last Tuesday, Hertha asks, “How do you find a good editor or know your editor is doing a good job?” It is not easy. In the world of publishing, editors more often than not go through a process of apprenticeship, working their way up from clerical positions until they become editors. It
I have worked on a book for a year. I feel good about it. It seems set. Coherent. I send it to my editor. If I am lucky, my editor can make one comment—not necessarily a criticism—as much as an observation, a question. When I begin to work with that one point, everything changes. The
Years ago, I spent a teenage summer as an apprentice in a rural summer stock theatre, the theatre being a converted old barn. My job was to line up the various props for the particular play in production. During performances, I was stationed under the wooden auditorium floor. From that location, I could hear the actors’
Cole, from Laurel, MS asks: “What inspired you to be a writer?” When I was a boy, there were books in the house, and I saw my parents read. My mother read to my twin sister, my brother, and me every night. Each Friday she took us to the local public library. In those days
Ever since Sir Walter Scott invented historical fiction with his novel Waverly (1814), there have been many kinds and definitions of the form. One of the questions that comes up repeatedly is historical accuracy. It is a complex question and usually has an equally complex answer. One can try to be accurate, but it is almost impossible