Every now and again I like to shake things up and try something new. As a nonfiction author that is fairly easy to do since I can write many different things for many different audiences.
So what do I see in 2019?
Cozying Up with My Cozy. Ironically, this nonfiction author will be continuing to work on fiction because, as much as I’ve gotten done, there is a long way to go before my mystery manuscript resembles a mystery novel. Among the issues, I need to fix names because I noticed about 20,000 words in that one of my characters mysteriously underwent a name change. Add to that all the notes (what would this look like) and problems (weave this in earlier in the story) that need to be addressed and I’ve got a lot of work to do. It feels odd as a nonfiction author to spend this much energy writing fiction but I’ll get over it.
Pitching a Series. Not that working on my cozy means that I’ll be giving up on nonfiction. I’ve written one or two titles for a wide variety of nonfiction series but I’ve never written all of the books in a series. Recently I saw that a publisher had put out a call for nonfiction series for elementary students. After examining the publisher’s backlist, I’ve come up with an idea. I’ve pitched single nonfiction books but never a series so this is going to be a learning experience. It’s a good thing I like learning to do new things!
Graphic Novels. As if one series idea wasn’t enough, I actually have an idea for a second nonfiction series. I don’t have a specific publisher in mind for this one so I’m going to have to explore publishers to find at least one that’s a good fit. But there’s a twist. This series idea involves graphic novels. How many graphic novels have I written? Zero. So I’ll be learning to script a graphic novel out as well.
Add to this my blogging, my work-for-hire and all the other things that I find myself doing and I’m sure 2019 will be a busy writing year. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m looking forward to developing some new skills. Cozies, nonfiction series, and graphic novels – oh my!
--SueBE
To find out more about Sue Bradford Edwards' writing, visit her blog, One Writer's Journey. Sue is also the instructor for Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults. The next session begins January 14th, 2019.
Sue--You are going to be one busy (and successful) writer in 2019. Will you draw the pictures as well with the graphic novel? (Please tell me no. I'd like there is at least one thing Sue Bradford Edwards is NOT capable of. ;)
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas!
Sue ~ Omg, that's funny you changed your character's name at 20k. TG for MS Word's Replace All function. :) Diving into a different genre is odd. I've always written fiction, but for the past two years I've been honing my craft in creative nonfiction, and it still feels weird, but I love it.
ReplyDeleteHurray for your series! We're publishing an article in our Feb issue by Karen Wiesner that talks about series. Margo recently reviewed Karen's book on blurbs, and she covers blurbing/pitching a series, but I think it may be tailored more towards fiction because she talks about series arc. I'm intrigued about your idea. Your nonfiction books are fantastic.
Holy moly! I just popped over to Amazon to look up the title of one of your nonfiction books and just saw all the books you've recently had published and that are coming out. Two this month alone. Wow, Sue, I'm super impressed! And you even wrote a book about Meth. That's incredible. Your topics are so diverse. And Puggles!
I'm thrilled to hear you'll be scripting out a graphic novel. I'm helping my hubby write a screenplay, and his idea is so funny...plus, he has connections. I'm super excited about it.
Cheers to new things in 2019!
I love how we are all challenging ourselves with projects we never would have thought to tackle before. Maybe we get bolder with age, LOL! Anyway, these projects all sound very exciting Sue, and you are just the writer to do it! Can't wait to hear your progress in all these areas!
ReplyDeleteAnd Angela. A screenplay? That sounds so exciting!
Hi Sioux,
ReplyDeleteDraw the pictures? No way! I may play with a panel or two but I am no illustrator. Nope.
Hi Angela,
I'll be looking for Karen's article. And I did note Margo's review. Karen's book is on my wish list. I may end up playing with a fiction series idea too - short fiction. Very short fiction. But Karen's book would doubtless help.
Scripting a graphic novel is a lot like a screenplay except for the percentage of the whole alloted to each act. That's going to be a tough adjustment for me. But I'm looking forward to playing with it.
Good luck on the screenplay.
Hi Renee,
My husband would tell you that I've always been a bit too willing to try something new. Without a complete plan. Don't tell him I'm getting bolder. He might run and hide.
Off to contemplate plot instead of sleeping--
SueBE