L.B. Schulman's Blog

Dear Readers,

If you are an SCBWI member, you have the chance to vote in the 2018 Crystal Kite Awards to support some amazing children and young adult books. Please consider voting for your favorite reads. Round one is from April 1-14 and round 2 from April 18-30th. https://www.scbwi.org/crystalkite-res...

Thank you!
L.B. Schulman
Stolen Secrets

I can't believe that Stolen Secrets has been named a Notable winner for the 2018 Sydney Taylor Book Awards. So happy!

I actually put this on my 2017 Visualization board. Guess those things work?! (And now inspired to make a 2018 one). Hey, if any of you out there want to join me, send me a picture of your board and I would love to post it on my website.

Happy New Year. Cheers!

I was reading blogs for fun + look what I found from Cybils panelist Kim Baccellia. I feel humbled and honored that Stolen Secrets is on her list of notable books (that didn't make the @cybils list this year.)

http://kimbacceliasweblogfantasy.blog...

Hope you will all read my book in 2018 and let me know what you think!

Cheers.

L.B.

This will be the last Giveaway I do on Goodreads, due to the surprisingly high amount that they will soon be charging authors to run one here. So if you're eager to read this book, sign up between now and December 30, 2017.

In other news, don't miss the Stolen Secrets blog tour at JeanBookNerd, January 15-21st. Hope to see you there!

Hey, friends....Goodreads giveaway of my book, Stolen Secrets, ends December 2, 2017. Enter now! Hope you win.

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/en...

My launch party when so well. It was incredibly fun, and my wonderful daughter started it off with a bang. Check it out on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpAX...

Today's Stolen Secrets book birthday!!!!! Super excited. This book took forever to write, almost. I am so grateful to see this day. Happy reading to you all....

Great news! The United States Holocaust Museum has told me that they've reviewed and approved Stolen Secrets for their museum shop. Since then, three more Holocaust museums have informed me that they are also considering my book.

I am so happy, because I feel there is great synergy between the message of Stolen Secrets and the ambitions of the museums to reach teens. As anyone who has read my author's note will see, it's very important to me that we keep the tragedy of the Holocaust, and history in general for that matter, as alive to kids as we can.

My generation was touched by the many interviews and personal accounts of Holocaust victims in newspapers, radio shows, and on the Internet. But kids today will find less and less of that as firsthand witnesses of this horrendous tragedy pass on. Meanwhile, hate groups are only growing stronger and more active.

I believe that society has an obligation to make sure that teens understand the world before their birth to prevent history from repeating. I am so excited to partner up with these outstanding museums to progress our common vision!

My first Stolen Secrets interview! Thanks awesomegang.com....

http://awesomegang.com/l-b-schulman/

There’s a lot of good “how-to” advice here, but I want you to pre-write. That means finding resources to prepare you for the journey ahead. Let’s look at a few:

1 Join an organization of other writers in your genre. I can’t say enough about how much great advice on craft I’ve received from being a member of SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and illustrators.) They offer conferences, classes, articles, and more that have really helped me hone my skills.

2 Read, read, read everything you can in your genre. Think about what works. Think about what doesn’t. Then incorporate what you’ve learned in your own work.


3 Read craft books. One designed for screenwriters that applies to books is Save the Cat by Blake Snyder. Read about structure and plotting so you don’t have to muck around for years learning through trial and error.

4 Go to author sites and see if they offer free content on the craft of writing. I have an area on LBSchulman.com called For Writers Only, where I post articles for writers, such as my Top Ten List for Beginning Writers.


5 Join a critique group. Find your local fellow beginner writers and trade pages. These people will become invaluable to your growth as a writer and provide much needed support and inspiration as you follow your dreams.

6 Finally, write. An hour a day is enough. Doesn’t matter if it’s crap or genius. You will get better and better with practice!