Kristin Wolden Nitz

Author: Kristin Wolden Nitz

  • Twinkle, Twinkle. Buy Me Now!

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    I attended an SCBWI France retreat with Candlewick Editor Mary Lee Donovan about six years ago.  For part of her talk, she discussed the process of coming up with the right covers for books.  When they work, they have a sort of innate sparkle that says, “Twinkle, twinkle. Buy me now!”   I can’t remember whether she…

  • Thump!

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    My author copies of SUSPECT arrived today.  The computer screen really doesn’t do justice to just how vivid the pink is.  I held the book up to the computer screen. It’s not quite a match.

  • Chapter 19…Done!

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    Earlier this summer, I marked the end of a newly completed chapter with an announcement.  I believe the reason why I got out of that habit was because I went through a stretch where I was mostly revising old material and adapting it to some new aspects of my plot.  But today I noticed that…

  • In stock? I’m shocked.

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    Wow!  Even though SUSPECT’s official release date is October 1, Amazon has it listed as In Stock.  That was a bit of a surprise because I really was planning on sharing some stories about the writing of SUSPECT on this blog beginning in September.  I think that I might just stick to that schedule because bookstores tend to follow official…

  • When to Follow-up with Agents and Editors

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    One things writers struggle with is when to follow up with an agent or editor after that person has requested a manuscript.   I’m going to share a few general recommendations.  Keep in mind that I’m the type who tends to err on the conservative side of this. I don’t want professionals in the publishing world to…

  • Naming Characters III

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    This morning, I had a chance to see the beautiful cover for Elizabeth Bunce’s forthcoming novel, Starcrossed. I was pretty excited because her CURSE AS DARK AS GOLD was my favorite new fantasy the year that it came out.   The plot for her new book looks interesting and unusual, but I was a bit horrified to…

  • The Day Job

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    I did a short interview with Erin E. Moulton at The Day Job where she explores the day to day life of writers and authors.  She has a new novel called Flutter: The Story of Three Sisters and One Incredible Journey coming out from Philomel the summer of 2011.  I’m looking forward to reading it!

  • The Edgar Award Submissions

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    Every year the Mystery Writers of America give out Edgars to writers for a variety of projects.  I wasn’t surprised to discover that Peachtree had submitted SUSPECT in the young adult category.   They had actually submitted SAVING THE GRIFFIN to the juvenile category back in 2007 since it had an element of mystery to it.  In contrast, SUSPECT falls firmly…

  • A Very Short Summary

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    All writers have a difficult time trying to summarize their books in a single sentence.  Writing short and interesting summaries is also a challenge of the marketing departments.  They prepare different ones for different markets.  This week, I received a Google Alert that directed me to the Publisher’s Weekly’s list of children’s books coming out this fall.  The…

  • How Many Chapters?

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    Once you get a burst of inspiration, you need to find different ways of getting it down on paper from outlining to polished prose. After my last mowing/brain-storming session, I wrote down a lot of the specific ideas in my Calyn notebook: encounters, events, scraps of dialogue.  After that, I moved onto a bit of outlining.  …