Suzanne Lieurance - Part 2

The first part of the interview with Suzanne Lieurance covered The Morning Nudge, Suzanne's writing habits, her projects, and her preferred type of writing. Today, we'll have more questions and answers.

Q: What advice would you give to aspiring children’s writers who are trying to break into the field?

A: First, take a course or workshop to learn the basics about writing for children. Next, join or start a critique group for children’s writers and be sure there are at least a few published children’s authors in the group. Third, read, read, read all the children’s books you can. Finally, write, write, write!

Q. Describe yourself and tell us about an ordinary day in your life.

A: I think the essence of who I am involves teaching, coaching, and motivating others every single day. This may sound strange, but I don’t think I have ordinary days. To me, every single day is special because every day I wake up and get to do what I love to do most - write, coach, and help others in some small way.

But the best part is, I get to do all this no matter where I am, so I can work from home in my pjs if I want - and I often do want to write in my pjs. I think pjs are totally underrated.

Q: Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? What seems to work for unleashing your creativity?

A: I don’t have trouble being creative. What I have trouble with sometimes is staying focused on ONLY the project at hand. My mind can get to racing a mile a minute if I don’t control it. So, I meditate and write in my journal every morning in order to get focused before I work on the day’s writing project.

Talking with other writers and other coaches unleashes my creativity.

Personally, I find reading or doing something completely different from writing, mine or anyone else's, helps me work out the sticking spot in my writing.


Q: How do you set about promoting your books? How many hours a week do you spend on book promotion?

A: I promote my books in a variety of ways. Mostly through school visits and speaking at writers’ conferences and other events, plus through my websites and blogs. However, I probably spend more time every week promoting my coaching than I do promoting my books. Nowadays, I seem to be a coach who also writes, even though I started out as a writer who also coaches. Still I love to make school visits. And I love to talk to other writers about my books and their books.

Q: What type of book promotion seems to work the best for you?


A: Speaking at conferences and making author visits to schools seems to work best for me as a means to promote my books. But I also like networking with other children’s authors, illustrators, and editors to help get the word out about all sorts of books for children, not just mine.

To find out more about my books for children, visit my author website and to find out more about my coaching visit Working Writers Coach. Also, be sure to listen to my talk show about children's books, LIVE on blogtalkradio every weekday afternoon at 2:00 central time - http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bookbitesforkids Please subscribe to The Morning Nudge.

Also, be sure to listen to my talk show about children's books, LIVE on blogtalkradio every weekday afternoon at 2:00 central time.

Thank you for visiting with us, Suzanne, and I hope you'll stop by and answer any questions left in the comments section.

Friday I will post a review by Midwest Book Review of The Locket.

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