Write2Ignite

Anyone can sabotage their writing career. It takes less skill to fail as a freelance children’s writer than it does to succeed. I’ve interviewed four editors from popular Christian children’s magazines who reveal details on what to do to increase your chances of staying out of print. In this four-part series, you will learn 10 ways to lose an editor. (Note: I hope you won’t ever heed my advice.)

Here are the topics we will cover starting next Monday:

Way 1: Skip This Step

What better way to lose an editor than to write 3,000 words of middle-grade fiction for a publication that requests 150-200 words for preschoolers? In Part 1, you will learn how to have your work rejected immediately. Trust me. You can build your rejection portfolio quickly by simply skipping this first step.

Ways 2-3: Mess Up Your Characters

Here, we will reveal the secret on how to lose an editor through your characters. There are some common mistakes you can implement to make sure your reader does not relate to anyone in your story.

Ways 4-7: Scramble Your Content

There are many ways to lose an editor with content. We will cover a few of the most common in these four steps that our editors have received.

Ways 8-10: Believe You Are Perfect

Love your writing? Hate to have your work critiqued or edited? These last three steps will give insight on what you should avoid prior to submitting your work to ensure a rejection.

Sarcasm aside, my real goal is to help you succeed. What better way than to hear straight from the experts? So, stay tuned for “Way 1: Skip This Step.” You’re not going to want to skip it!

Cindy works as marketing manager and brand storyteller for Child and Parent Services, a nonprofit child abuse prevention organization. She has written more than 525 articles for publication and a handful of book excerpts. Her published portfolio includes children’s stories, kids’ activities, profiles, how-to, humor and human interest. Cindy’s website here.