Career & Work Archives

Career & Work

How to Build Public Speaking Confidence with Proven Strategies

Public speaking consistently ranks among people's most common fears. Whether you're giving a presentation at work, leading a meeting, delivering a toast, or speaking to a large audience, nervousness is normal. The good news is that confident speakers are not born confident. Public speaking confidence is built through preparation, repeated exposure, and learning how to manage fear rather than eliminate it. These proven strategies can help you become a more effective and confident speaker.

August 3, 2018

Author Lisa Wheeler on Persistence, Picture Books, and 225 Rejections

Few aspiring authors realize how much persistence often lies behind a successful writing career. Author Lisa Wheeler spent years honing her craft, collecting roughly 225 rejections before selling her first book. Since then, she has become one of the most recognizable names in children's literature, publishing dozens of books while helping countless writers improve through workshops, critiques, and speaking engagements. In this interview, Lisa shares lessons on rejection, revision, creativity, picture book writing, and the mindset required to build a lasting writing career.

August 1, 2018

How to Know When Your Writing Is Ready for Feedback

Finishing a draft feels like a major accomplishment. Sharing that draft with someone else can feel even harder. Every writer eventually faces the same question: When should I ask for feedback? Share your work too early and you may receive criticism for problems you could have fixed yourself. Wait too long and you may miss valuable opportunities to improve. The goal isn't simply to get feedback. The goal is to get the right feedback at the right stage of the writing process. Before sending your manuscript to critique partners, beta readers, agents, or editors, consider these four signs that you're ready to share your work.

July 31, 2018

6 Essential Writing Fundamentals Every Author Should Master

Strong stories are rarely the result of a single breakthrough technique. More often, they emerge from consistently applying a handful of fundamental writing principles. Whether you're writing novels, picture books, short stories, or articles, the same core elements tend to separate engaging writing from forgettable writing. Strong openings capture attention. Meaningful characters create emotional investment. Well-structured plots maintain momentum. Careful revision strengthens everything else. Mastering these fundamentals won't guarantee success, but neglecting them almost always leads to weaker stories. The six writing fundamentals below can help you create more compelling work and become a stronger writer over time.

June 29, 2018

What Writing Can Actually Do for Your Thinking and Life

Writing is often viewed as a skill reserved for authors, journalists, and content creators. In reality, writing is one of the most powerful tools available for improving how we think, communicate, learn, and create. When thoughts remain in our heads, they often feel complete and coherent. Writing forces us to examine those thoughts more carefully. It exposes weaknesses in our reasoning, clarifies our ideas, and helps us communicate more effectively with others. Whether you write professionally, keep a journal, publish online, or simply take notes, writing can have a profound impact on both your thinking and your life. Here are five reasons writing remains one of the most valuable skills you can develop.

June 27, 2018

How to Create Memorable Main Characters for Your Story

Memorable stories are built on memorable characters. Readers may forget a setting, a subplot, or even parts of the plot itself, but they rarely forget characters who feel real. Whether you're writing a picture book, novel, short story, or screenplay, strong characters help readers become emotionally invested in the story. The good news is that memorable characters aren't created by accident. Authors use specific techniques to develop personalities, motivations, flaws, and growth that make characters feel believable. If you're struggling to create characters readers care about, these four strategies can help.

June 26, 2018

How to Write Picture Books Without Being Preachy

Stories are one of the most powerful teaching tools ever created. They help children explore ideas, understand consequences, and learn valuable lessons without feeling like they're sitting through a lecture. Unfortunately, many writers make the same mistake: they prioritize the lesson over the story. When that happens, readers feel preached to instead of entertained. The best picture books don't force lessons onto children. They invite children to discover those lessons for themselves. If you want your story to educate without becoming preachy, these five strategies can help.

June 22, 2018

Who Is the Real Audience for Picture Books?

When writing a picture book, it's easy to believe your audience is an editor, literary agent, parent, teacher, or librarian. After all, those are often the people deciding whether your book gets published, purchased, or shared. But while many people influence a picture book's success, only one audience truly determines whether the story endures. The real audience for a picture book is the child experiencing it. A child may not buy the book, approve the manuscript, or negotiate the publishing contract. Yet they decide whether the story is remembered, requested again, or forgotten after a single reading. Understanding this distinction can dramatically improve your writing and help you create stories that resonate with young readers and listeners. This distinction is one of the most important lessons new picture book authors can learn.