By Amy Houts When I’m inspired to write, I don’t consciously think about what I’m trying to say. The theme, whether it’s about friendship, love, or sibling rivalry, grows organically out of the story. But once I have my story down and read it over, sometimes I’m surprised by the underlying message, aggravating tone, or obvious sarcasm. I think, I didn’t mean to say that! What is lurking in my subconscious comes through whether I want it to or not, at least on my first draft.

The Rate Your Story Team is pleased to welcome Nancy Roe Pimm, multi-published non-fiction author, to our fold. Here's Nancy, sharing a little bit about herself... What brought you to children’s books? How long have you been writing? I wrote my first book, a narrative nonfiction titled Horses, Horses, Horses at age ten. The problem was that most of the adults in my life discouraged me from pursuing my dream of becoming a published author. So, I went to college and became a de

This month I am excited to feature Leslie Zampetti, an Agent with Dunham Literary. Leslie is this month's featured Guest Guru. For those not familiar with this aspect of the Rate Your Story Membership, each month we have one or two Guest Gurus who are Industry Professionals who will pop in and rate the stories of four Members. So that's at least 48 Special Ratings from just one of the Guest Gurus! To share a little backstory, Leslie, Rob Sanders and I were writers in RYS Judg

Congratulations to all the Writers named here -- it was a tough decision, so we have lots of mentions. Starting from the bottom and working our way up, here are those talented writers who deserve Honorable Mentions: Honorable Mention / Notable Non-Fiction / Informational Fiction Winner Prizes: The Sound of Soup by Kelly Coutsoubous Written Critique from Marta Magellan, Author / Rate Your Story Judge 15 Minute Zoom with Lynne Marie to Discuss Manuscript Use of Honorable Mentio