Category Archives: On Writing

6 Ways to Get Unstuck in Your First Draft

December 3, 2025On Writingkathymacmillan

Whether you’ve been writing for five minutes or fifty years, first drafts are hard. They rarely resemble the perfect story your imagination wants, and too often, the gulf between the goal and the reality causes writers to give up. More than two dozen books into my publishing career, I still struggle with first drafts. But I have learned some techniques to trick the voices of negativity in my head. Maybe they will help you too.

1) Remember who your real audience is.

The audience for your final book is your readers. But for a first draft, your real audience is simply…you. Future You, who will somehow take this vaguely book-shaped mess you are creating and turn it, draft by draft, into a real book.

Present You has only one responsibility: assemble the ingredients that Future You will need. Future You will have all kinds of perspectives and ideas on how to fix your story, thanks to the hard work that Present You is doing right now to assemble the raw ingredients.

Future You will bake the cake. All Present You has to worry about is measuring out the flour and sugar.

Continue reading 6 Ways to Get Unstuck in Your First Draft →

Now enrolling: 1-on-1 Picture Book Writing Mentorship

August 20, 2025Critiques, mentoring, On Writing, Upcoming eventskathymacmillan

Picture Book One-on-One Mentorship with Kathy MacMillan, Apply Now! Photo of Kathy appears above her book covers.

Who Should Apply:

Anyone working on picture books (fiction, nonfiction, or both) should apply. Maybe you have an entire draft—or several!—and you’re not sure how to revise. Maybe you have an idea in your head, and you’re not sure how to get it on the page. Maybe you’re somewhere in the middle. Let’s work together to make your stories come to life!

How It Works:

After you get accepted, we’ll talk about where you are in your picture book writing process, and we’ll plan how to move forward. I will give you deadlines for your work. You’ll be turning in one picture book manuscript each month. It’s up to you whether you want to submit a new manuscript each month or turn in revised pages. I will read your pages and provide big-picture and line-level feedback, and then we will have a video chat to make sure you feel clear about what your next steps should be and discuss any concerns you may have.

During our 6 months together, I’ll be available to you via email to talk about your progress. I may also suggest readings or writing activities if that seems appropriate, and I’m happy to answer questions about my experience publishing books.

In bullet points, here’s what you’ll get:

An initial consult on the phone or on Zoom to discuss your specific needs
A calendar of deadlines
Monthly calls to discuss your work
My email address, which you can use as much as you want for 6 months
A final plan for how you’re going to move forward when the mentorship ends
Info on publishing books

“I’ve worked with a number of well-regarded editors over the years, but none as good as Kathy. She immediately got the vision for my book and guided me on issues big and small to bring that vision onto the page. Her feedback was insightful, precise, and practical. With her edits in hand, I had confidence that my manuscript and my query letter were ready to put out into the world. All that, and she’s a warm, encouraging, and positive person. We need more Kathy MacMillans in the world!” — William T., middle-grade author

Applications accepted on a rolling basis. Payment plans available.

Click here to learn more and apply!

Amplifying Voices of Change

March 11, 2024Interviews, On Writing, She Spoke, She Spoke Tookathymacmillan

My co-author Manuela Bernardi and I joined publisher Christopher Robbins on the Familius Helping Families Be Happy podcast to discuss the lessons we learned from the inspiring women featured in She Spoke Too: 14 Women Who Raised Their Voices and Changed the World.

Listen here:

She Spoke Too: Amplifying Voices of Change (Familius Podcast)

Meet the Teaching Artist

November 17, 2023Interviews, On Writing, picture books, Professional Development, Upcoming events, webinarskathymacmillan

I recently did an interview with WritingWorkshops.com, where I talked about some of my favorite writing resources, the best writing advice I ever got, and what picture book writers can expect from my upcoming online Picture Book Revision workshop.

Meet the Teaching Artist: Picture Book Revision with Kathy MacMillan

Picture Book Revision Workshop (3-week online workshop)

Webinar Recordings Available for Purchase

September 27, 2023American Sign Language, Critiques, eCourses and Webinars, On Publishing, On Writing, Professional Development, Resources for Teachers and Librarians, webinarskathymacmillan

Learn on your own schedule with these recorded webinars, available now!

You will receive recording access information by email within 24 hours of order. You will have access to the recording for 30 days.

For Writers

Sale! ~~$35.00~~ $20.00

You’ve got the idea, you’ve got the drive, and you’ve got the willingness to work to get your book in print. But where do you start? Kathy MacMillan, Compton Crook Award finalist and author of more than two dozen traditionally published fiction and nonfiction books for children, breaks down the bewildering world of publishing, from writing and revision to submission and publication and the realities of life after publication.

Sale! ~~$35.00~~ $20.00

No matter your genre, a rich palette of details brings the world of your story to life. Compton Crook Award Finalist and author of fiction and nonfiction for children, teens, and adults Kathy MacMillan shows how to focus on the specifics you need at each stage of the writing process to build your characters’ world without ever losing sight of the story at its heart.

Manuscript critiques and coaching calls also available!

For Librarians and Educators

Learn basic American Sign Language vocabulary and how to use it in storytime with these lively sessions that teach themed vocabulary while demonstrating storytime activities and best practices for signing with young children. Each webinar focuses on a vocabulary theme and follows a demo storytime with language and culture notes to help you present American Sign Language to hearing audiences in context. $35.00 per recording.

One-on-one coaching calls also available.

Upcoming live webinars open for registration.