Laurie Ann Thompson is a children’s book author of seven books including ALA Youth Media Awards Schneider Family Award winner Emmanuel’s Dream, which can you believe was her first published book? When I set out to interview authors, I never imagined I’d get the chance to talk to a picture book author, let alone one who is accomplished as Laurie. As you’ll hear in our interview she’s every bit as talented, smart, and knowledgeable as every author I talk to, while being extremely humble.
If you write for children, you know the challenge of doing so. I’m on my sixth year of writing picture books and haven’t been published yet. Laurie shares how long it took her. She sheds light on a lot of misperceptions of writing picture books and gives so many great tips on how to improve your writing. Plus, if you’re an introvert like we are and dread author visits, you’ll want to listen to her experience and why confronting your fear of public speaking is well-worth it.
{this page includes affiliate links}
The Breakdown
2:00 Laurie shares how she went from software engineer to writing for children (preschool to teenagers).
3:00 Three minutes in and Laurie is already surprising me. Here’s why the transition from computer programmer to children’s books was not as difficult as you’d imagine.
11:38 Laurie reveals the unexpected thing that kept her persevering through the 10 years it took her to get published.
12:58 The resources you’ll want to take advantage of if you want to write for children.
13:57 Laurie breaks down how long it took to get an agent, revise and publish her book.
14:54 Here’s an important fact you need to know about writing picture books.
15:52 How do you decide what to leave out and keep in a story when you’re writing a picture book biography?
17:17 Hearing this can help you determine what you need to cut from your own story regardless of genre.
17:42 We talk about revisions for her first book. It will astound you and make you appreciate all published authors.
19:00 Find out what “cheerleaders” help Laurie persevere through years of revisions and rejections.
21:48 It’s an, “overlooked path” to finding an agent that you might want to use to find yours.
25:24 If you’re wary of social media, she gives great advice on what you should do.
26:06 For all you introverted writers (hand raised here), this is how Laurie overcame her own public speaking fears and what she learned about herself in the process.
30:09 Since the pandemic, Laurie’s been doing virtual visits and describes how different it is from in-person. I was really surprised by what she said.
34:02 Laurie writes different genres and here’s how she does it.
36:28 How do you get ideas? This is what Laurie does to generate new ideas and how she knows whether to pursue it.
37:31 Here’s what she’s working on now and what she does to keep her writing organized.
40:00 You’ll never guess how she came to write her recent picture book Elizabeth Warren’s Big, Bold Plans.
41:30 Laurie used these two picture books as mentor texts: 1. Wilma Unlimited by Kathleen Krull 2. When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan
And she highly recommends Ann Whitford Paul’s Writing Picture Books.
For more information check out Laurie’s bio, which includes her website and Twitter handle.
A former software engineer, Laurie Ann Thompson now writes for young people to broaden their understanding of the world we share so they can help make it a better place for all. She is co-author of the TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE series and author of other award-winning fiction and nonfiction books for children and teens, including BE A CHANGEMAKER: HOW TO START SOMETHING THAT MATTERS, a practical handbook for teens who want to change the world, and EMMANUEL’S DREAM: THE TRUE STORY OF EMMANUEL OFOSU YEBOAH, a picture book biography that received the Schneider Family Book Award and was named an ALA Notable and a CCBC Choice. Learn more at lauriethompson.com and on Twitter at @lauriethompson.
{Music by Kevin MacLeod from Incompetech.}
