Photo by Dean Hochman

I’ve got picture book ideas–and the sticky notes, crumpled napkins and scribbled notebooks to prove it. I’ve got manuscripts–some crappy first drafts, some overworked revisions and some that look pretty good. But which story to focus on next?

This summer, I’m gratefully participating in Mira Reisberg and Kelly Delaney‘s Children’s Book Academy course on the Craft and Business of Writing Children’s Picture Books on a Yuyi Morales scholarship. For this online course, participants choose one story to hone over five weeks. How do I go about choosing just one story?

After two rounds of Tara Lazar‘s Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo), I’ve learned a few tricks that help me make these kinds of choices. One of my favorites is SHELF RESEARCH. Continue reading →