[Kellie Hultgren gives us her perspective on creating layouts in the TFCB list.] If a picture really is worth the proverbial thousand words, then I’m thrilled to be in charge of between sixty and a hundred thousand words per TFCB title—not including captions! Images are almost as important to a TFCB book as the words: […]Read more "The Invisible Word Count"

By Carol HinzEditorial Director, Millbrook Press Each of Lerner’s imprints has its own identity and defining characteristics. One part of Millbrook’s identity is that its books may be illustrated with photos, original artwork, or a combination of the two. Having these options is great, but it also means that we have an important decision to […]Read more "Photos, Artwork, or Both?"

By Sara Hoffmann, Managing Editor One of my favorite things about editing is the aesthetics of it. Sure, researching different subjects is interesting, and looking things up in the Chicago Manual of Style is (oddly) fun for me. But what I really love is choosing words so that a sentence has a certain flow and shaping […]Read more "The Aesthetics of Editing"

In preparation for a SCBWI talk I’m giving, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about social networks recently. My talk is going to focus on surviving as a socially networked author, and I’m sure I’ll touch on these two points. 1. Blogging means more than writing blog posts. It means commenting and linking, of […]Read more "More social networking thoughts for authors and illustrators"

by Carol Burrell, Editorial Director, Graphic Universe So. Yes. I waited until the very last moment to write today’s blog post. Editorial Intern Erin and I brainstormed for a while and came up with an idea; I polished off some line edits on, oh, a few tens of thousands of pages, as one does every […]Read more "GU Comics Day: Publishing Scam: A Princely Saga"

[Senior production editor Martha Kranes, whose birthday it is today, agreed to guest blog about her insights into the visual side of series development.] One of the fun things about working for a publisher that produces nonfiction series is discovering the ways in which the design team, with input from editorial and marketing, expresses the […]Read more "Shaping a Series"

By Carol HinzEditorial Director, Millbrook Press A few weeks ago, Kelly DiPucchio proposed a contest on her blog. The basic concept is this—if books were sold next to items that reflected their content, where would they be sold? This idea was far too much fun for me to pass up, so I got in touch […]Read more "Price Check in Aisle 3"

By Carol HinzEditorial Director, Millbrook Press Well, what a week. We’ve expanded our vocabulary, gotten up close and personal with a mosquito, delved into some disgusting photo research, learned how to draw a grumpy virus, and kicked off a very germy drawing contest. So what now? Let’s celebrate! What could be more appropriate than a […]Read more "Week of Grossness—Day 5: Eyeball Cupcakes for Everyone"

By Carol HinzEditorial Director, Millbrook Press Did Michael Slack’s drawing lesson inspire you to draw a gross germ of your very own? Enter our contest, and you can win an original drawing from Michael Slack himself! Rules:-Open to residents of the U.S. and Canada, ages 5-14. -One entry per person. -Your drawing may be black-and-white […]Read more "Week of Grossness—Draw a Germ Contest!"