Kirsten W. Larson

May 30, 2024 | publishersweekly.com | Barb Rosenstock |Richard Men Ho |Kirsten W. Larson |Kim Hyo-eun

Barb Rosenstock, illus. by Katherine Roy. Norton, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-324-01607-6Five major currents in the Atlantic Ocean “swirl billions of gallons of water clockwise around and around,” creating an immense body of water, called the Sargasso Sea after the floating sargassum forests within it.

May 29, 2024 | kirstenwlarson.com | Kirsten W. Larson

Whether you choose to query agents or editors, you must know where your book will fit on a bookseller’s shelf, be able to explain why your nonfiction picture book should be published in the first place, and give a sense of who your intended reader is.  My favorite advice on how to write a query comes from this Sub It Club post on the basic query letter breakdown.

Apr 22, 2024 | kirstenwlarson.com | Kirsten W. Larson

As writers of nonfiction picture books, we often find ourselves grappling with the question of word count. In the early stages of crafting our manuscripts, we strive to adhere to the industry-recommended range of 800 to 1,000 words, fearful of exceeding the limits. Yet once books are acquired, they most frequently grow longer. This is what I discovered in my word count survey of debut, nonfiction picture book authors. You can read the survey results here.

Mar 9, 2024 | kirstenwlarson.com | Kirsten W. Larson

One of the most frequently asked questions I get from newer nonfiction picture book writers is: “How many words should my book be?” Nonfiction picture book writers often have heard their book must be 1,000 words or fewer, sometimes even 800 words or fewer. But is this really true? To get the straight scoop, I undertook a word count survey for debut nonfiction authors in early 2024 to see what word counts editors are actually acquiring and publishing.

May 20, 2023 | kirsten-w-larson.com | Kirsten W. Larson

Welcome to the second installment in the “Killer Concepts” series where we’re exploring: What makes a killer concept when it comes to a nonfiction (or any) book? What makes an idea jump out from a writer’s notebook and demand to be written? What makes editors snap it up? And what makes readers flock to the book and keep turning the pages?