Drinking The Water

What’s been the talking point around the virtual publishing water cooler this week.

If you are into children’s books then the Publisher’s Weekly article on the shifting sands of children’s book selling and the inroads being made by digital into this category is for you. There are some interesting numbers on what genres in children’s are selling well.

(Little Sips)

In the general category... The Mighty Zon is expanding. Publishers Weekly reports they are hiring and expanding their already impressive imprint range. This has raised some disquiet around the water cooler... how big can they get... and already close to half the books on the Amazon bestseller lists come from AmaZon imprints.

(Gulps)

In a surprise move the Judge has finally ruled in the Julie And the Wolves e-book case (HarperCollins suing Open Road Media and Jean Craighead George, Author,) that HarperCollins were within their rights to publish the book as an ebook because the original contract for the book signed in 1971 had this clause.

‘Specifically, paragraph 20 of the 1971 contract states that HarperCollins “shall grant no license without the prior written consent of the Author… including uses in storage and retrieval and information systems, and/or whether through computer, computer-stored, mechanical or other electronic means now known or hereafter invented…”

This is going to affect authors and their backlists...

Open Road are appealing but it’s going to be difficult as while this case has been disputed (from 2011) the author and the agent have died.

(Maybe Something Stronger) 

Mike Shatzkin published an article this morning that is almost a How To Be A Publisher Now 101 course. It is a very interesting read and echoes other things I have been reading around the blogosphere this week that author/publishers are starting to take note of. Use those readers well…Engage, Engage, Engage.

(On to Coffee)

Dean Wesley Smith has another great post in his series on publishing. Getting into Bookshops. Dean shows how it is done if you are publishing on a shoestring. One of those bookmark it posts.

(Slurp It Up)

Jane Friedman has another interesting article from her Scratch magazine and it takes a further look at serialisation… writing and uploading on a new platform called Leanpub in chunks where you get feedback and money…

(Drink It Down)

Porter and Publishing Perspectives Ether issue (at 3am our time this morning) was on the issues that were brought up in Joanna Penn’s interview with KOBO guy Mark Lefebre on pricing of ebooks. Porter gathered up the main points from the audio into an interesting article - Have Authors LowBalled Themselves? This was used as the springboard for the #Ether talk. Check out the article, which links back to Joanna’s article that I linked to last week.

(Look for Something Stronger)

Joanna Penn has a great article this week on how she used promotion and collaborative team work to achieve her goal. Which is to get on the USA bestseller list...this entitles her to splash that title all over her books in future...and she has just done it!

(Pour The Wine)

In the Craft Section,

Ten Dialogue Tips - One of the better articles on dialogue I have read. Bookmark it!

Novel Revision Strategy – retype the draft. (Interesting idea here.)

Janice Hardy - On Five Ways To Jump Start A Story.

Defending Your Antagonist - first you have to like them....

Middle Grade Vs Young Adult – the differences between them.

Are you guilty of being didactic? Melinda Szymanik has some thoughts about didacticism and how to spot it in your own writing. Great writing!

Jami Gold has THE post on using keystroke Macros inrevision. (I didn’t know you could do this...whole new world just opened up.)

How To Know You Have Chosen The Wrong Critique Partner.

In the Marketing Section,

Susan Kaye Quinn on Four Ways To Discoverability and a stellar post on Not Rushing To Publish.

Best Ways To Look at Crowd Sourcing projects. This is a really interesting article.

Small publishers and digital technology.

Agent Janet Reid talks about idiot agents... Great article on platforms and web presences.

Indie ReCon keeps on giving and this fabulous post by Angela Ackerman is no exception.  6 SmartWays authors can collaborate. This week Angela was the special guest at a weekly live Twitter chat  #indiechat and was her usual awesome self with a great discussion on marketing and promotion. (Just type #indiechat in the search bar and scroll down to the start and work up.)

To Finish,

We always like to know how the Pro’s do their writing stuff. Here is a couple of nifty articles where writers describe their daily routines.

 Leaning back like Stephen King

Writing Rituals of Famous authors.

First get a coffee….

maureen

Pic from Flickr Creative Commons/elitatt

Debating The Issues.

My daughter has been wandering the house singing ‘Happy Birthday New Zealand’ loudly as I try to collect my thoughts to put together this weeks roundup of opinion tips tricks and trends in publishing.

The collecting my thoughts bit has been haphazard over the last year with different things happening in this very busy... occasionally chaotic... household. My elder daughter back from Uni observed...Mum you don’t have a dedicated writing space anymore and put her finger on something that has been niggling me. So this week I got the chance to join a writing friend for four hours a day and just write...well write and plan a new children’s writing project that is as light as I can make it and a great challenge if I can pull it off. 

Writing with another person in the room is interesting... there is a mental whip hanging over you... the other person will see if I don’t keep at it. When we take a break for lunch we talk over something frustrating us in our project and bang the answer seems to be crystal clear coming from the other writing head, who is finishing a memoir project.

Another interesting side effect...is arriving ready to work. The twenty minute journey on a good day down the motorway...has me shedding, with each kilometer, household concerns. When they are all gone I can begin to think of my writing project and in pops something that I really need to take notice of.

Russell Blake puts it well with his great 3 D’s blog post onwriting.

Rebecca Smart wrote in her opinion piece for The Bookseller an interesting observation about publishing in Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger. Publishing must become flexible and agile to stay afloat. This post has been resonating through the blogosphere as it comes from a publisher. 

Porter Anderson looks at the continuing debate over Mike and Chucks opinion pieces, that I profiled last week and how the debate has widened and almost polarised people into two different nations.

Bob Mayer has looked at the debates around self publishing over the last few weeks and written his perspective about being agile as a publisher. How he is walking the talk and bridging the gap between both sides.

Last week I mentioned the #EtherIssue debate on giving percentages to all collaborators in a self publishing project. Porter Anderson published an excellent roundup of the Twitter debate and has set the topic for the new debate. (5am our time tho)

News making waves across the blogosphere Hugh Howey has re-signed with Random House (UK) to bring out his print books. ( They are more agile than US publishers…)

Yesterday Icelandic author Baldur Bjarnason wrote a great piece on ethics in publishing. This is a great observation on what many commentators are seeing as the great divide between the two different publishing communities. (Traditional and Self Publishing)

Elisabeth Spann Craig has written a great post on her self publishing mistakes that have her readers saying Bookmark this!

Dean Wesley Smith has written a great post on publishing schedules. Always something to learn from Dean!

Publishers Weekly has highlighted the 6 best blogs to read if you want to keep up on what is happening  in publishing.

In Craft,

Janice Hardy on strengthening your writing and studying the wake up scene.

Rachel Gardner on thinking of your muse as a puppy that needs training and Good first drafts.

Writers Workout looks at divorcing the draft.

Sci Fi writers – you need this tool, Stellarium.

Write To Done on starting a novel.

K M Weiland- when your protagonist is MIA.

10 Foundational writing practices.

In Marketing,

Joanna Penn on getting reviews and marketing

Melinda Szymanik on what should be included in info to reviewers

Bibliocrunch on using Dropbox to review epub files and what your epub file size should be for each outlet.

Four questions every proposal must answer to interest an editor.

To Finish,

Today is Waitangi Day, or the day we commemorate the signing of a ‘mutual respect’ treaty between two nations which began the ‘establishment’ of our country 174 years ago. Our biggest selling newspaper shot itself in the foot in my opinion by using a stupid fist raised logo to advertise there were no pictures of protests in today’s coverage of the annual commemoration ceremonies. Waitangi Day should be a day when we, as a nation, look at ourselves critically. 174 years ago Maori Chiefs sat down and debated among themselves for three days about whether they would sign a treaty. There were protests and arguments and very pointed questions aimed at the British about what was in it for them. Protest and debate shine a spotlight on what is not working well in a partnership. In the last forty years the watershed moments in our nation’s history (Land Marches, Nuclear Free ... ) were all aired at Waitangi. Denying that there is protest is not responsible or ethical journalism.

PS This post was supposed to be up last night…the computer ate my homework….

Maureen

Pic from Dylan Horrocks…His Logo Fix for the NZ Herald.

Conference Challenges

Conferences have been in my mind lately, specifically Book Expo America (BEA) and Golden Yarns (GY) here in New Zealand. 

BEA brings people from all over the publishing spectrum together for a packed 3 day conference. This is where new research is shared, trends predicted and deals are made. It isn’t much about the writers of the content but more about how the content is managed, packaged, delivered and distributed to the global marketplace. 

Golden Yarns was the latest conference for the Children’s Literature community in New Zealand. This community has now had 3 stellar conferences two years apart. The Golden Yarns conference focussed on best practice writing and illustration workshops with keynotes being delivered by leaders in the NZ Children’s Literature field on their personal heroes. There were many opportunities for the group to share ideas, hash out issues and drink wine. (The wine bill paid for by a NZ Children’s Writing Icon...gob smacking and a lovely gesture as she wasn’t there to drink it.)

Two very different conferences in focus but both valuable to the writing and illustration practitioner.

Breaking down B.E.A.

Bob Mayer gives an entertaining overview of what was going down in old New York Town. His main concern the lack of digital focus by the organisers (who seemed to believe the talk from publishers that ebooks sales have plateaued....) A report to show this was released at BEA.

Sam Missingham examined that report on ebook sales facts and figures, and blew that idea out of the water. Sam $40% BEA 0

Publishing Perspectives took a punt at what they think will be future trends in publishing....hmmm more amalgamations?

Shelf Awareness took a look at a BEA first, Power Readers, who were invited to participate at BEA. Who are they and Why do they matter... they also checked out Neil Gaimen’s talk on why fiction is dangerous.

Inspiring and Challenging

Here in New Zealand everyone who attended GY is coming down off their high. Melinda Szymanik has written an overview of the first part of the weekend.

Over in the UK the Children’s Laureate, Julia Donaldson stepped down after her two year stint with a great broadside at the lack of reviews for children’s books. The wonderful Malorie Blackman takes over.... 

This sparked a debate in NZ within the KidLit community for our own Children’s Laureate...after all we have a Poet Laureate. If you would like to add your voice to this and are on Facebook, check out this page.

Chuck Wendig has written another 25 things post.... this time on YA Lit. Be entertained...BeWare...it’s Chuck.

Jane Friedman has another of her Best Business Advice List For Writers

In Craft,

Jami Gold on Can ThisStory Be Saved...how to figure out what’s wrong. and What Soap Opera’s CanTeach You...

Janice Hardy on Handling Scene Transitions with Multiple POVs

Chuck Wendig on Ten Stupid Writer Tricks That Might Actually Work (they do!)

Writer’s Digest- Stormwriting- What it is and How To Do It

In Marketing,

Ways for writers to use Pinterest

4 best strategies for savvy self publishers

7 tips for choosing your book cover

PR and Marketing for Self Publishing Do’s and Don’ts

The Book Designer has a great blog and his guest blogger Joan Stewart has a take note article on Business Opportunities That Even Savvy Writers Are Missing Out On.

 To Finish,

 A good conference should allow time to network with your peers, should inspire you, educate you and give you tools to move forward in the ever changing world of publishing.

Suw Charman Anderson has written a Forbes article on what she thinks needs to happen next. Why Publishers Should Invest In Authors Not In Books.... could this be the model for the future?

Below the animation announcing Malorie Blackmans appointment...and no that rap was not written for the announcement it’s been out for a few years now.

(Such street cred with her readers!)

 

maureen 

pic from Flickr/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/ncvophotos

Go Forth And Seek

It has been a busy week in the publishing blogosphere. Following on from the emphatic statement (in last weeks blog post) by the Science Fiction and Fantasy writers association over the shonky nature of the new eBook imprints from Random House. Random House protested, got laughed at and backed down.

Writer Beware broke the news with the new changes to the imprint contracts and John Scalzi of SFWA details how those changes should work in practice...and what he personally thinks about them.

*Late addition. Dave Gaughran has put the new contracts under the microscope...and it still is not pretty. If the ebook is selected for print...the author will bear all the costs. Check out his very comprehensive post on this and other Big 4 vanity press ideas being slid past unsuspecting authors.

Futurebook blogger Phil Jones looks at the wider issues for publishers over what Random House attempted to do.

In other news here in NZ the registrations are open for Golden Yarns- The Children’s Writers and Illustrators hui to be held in Christchurch on Queens Birthday Weekend.

Melinda Szymanik had an interesting blog post this week on how we as writers have changed. Along with our interest in publishing digitally we have become adept at finding our writing friendships online. 

How far we have come from the writer in the garret struggling over a typewriter. Today information on writing and publishing is at the end of the modem cable. The writer needs to go out and hunt it down like a stray comma. I do my bit by providing a weekly roundup of good things I’ve come across but sometimes attending a writing conference fills in the gaps and reminds you that you are not alone.

Hugh Howey has written a tell all article that has been bouncing around the blogosphere all week on how he got that publishing deal for Wool. In a surprise move his print publishers are releasing AT THE SAME TIME hardcover and softcover editions of Wool.

Paidcontent reports that there is some disquiet over rumors that Amazon are tying up the new domain suffixes like .author and .book.

Joel Friedlander has an excellent article on 5 top legal issues for writers.

Dean Wesley Smith has made an excerpt of his book free entitled thinking like a publisher... and yes it is a must read.

The issue of writing for free got a workout in the blogosphere last week after a journalist had his material for a publisher repurposed and wasn't paid for it...here is Ernie Smith from the Future of Publishing blog on owning your work.

Agent Rachelle Gardner has a post on writer’s rights and responsibilities.

If you are mulling over translation of your work.... read this post so you understand all that it entails.

Larry Brooks from Storyfix has a great post on how to move your concept from good to great.

In Craft,

Writersinthestorm have a must read post on how to use your logline tag and pitch before you start writing! (I’m just in the process of figuring this out for my next book.)

James Scott Bell on how to work on more than one project at a time.

Jami Gold on 5 tips to writing that sexy scene.

YA Hiway on tips for researching your next project.

Clarity in Writing and the Curse of the Reader.

In Marketing,

Five Shades of Book Discovery.

How to handsell your own books.

Mathew Turner (AKA Turndog Millionaire) on five things he learned in 2012 about self publishing.

Bookriot on how to sell like Charles Dickens...this is an interesting article on serials.

To Finish,

Last year I linked to the video of Neil Gaimens commencement speech on freelancing which became a viral hit. Media Bistro have announced that HarperCollins is about to launch the book of the speech. Check out the details here along with a link to the speech if you missed it. The secret knowledge is out there...

maureen

pic from flickr/digitalrob

Going Into Battle

Last week the blog post you would have got didn’t happen because I was traveling unexpectedly for most of a day. Arriving back to where we were staying at 10:30 pm was not a great time to start writing it...so you got a week off.

I have finished traveling up and down the country and so there are no excuses this week.

January continues to be the month of setting writing goals for the coming year in publishing along with planning or attending conferences to beat the Winter blues in the Northern Hemiphere.

Here in the Southern Hemisphere the weather is changeable from wet to frying. The kids are still on holiday and for me getting stuck into writing, battles with, finding air conditioning or towels to mop up the sweat or the rain or the puddles from the kids tracking through the house and sorting out the fights from overheated kids or bored kids or manuscripts that won’t play nice!

The battle for predicting a clear direction for writers to follow in 2013 continues with commentator Brett Sandusky on how this is the year that publishing must address the elephants in the room. Brett names seven elephants. Among them Agents and Amazon.

Social Media Examiner has the Social Media predictions for 2013... the ongoing battle for your attention...

Victoria Mixon has decided to repost her last years rant because she still feels strongly about the non artistic people running publishing who over the last 30 years published work of low artistic quality (because it brings in money quickly) and what that means for the rest of us. This is an interesting read and you will find yourself saying ‘so that’s why....’

Jane Friedman touched a few sore spots as she examined self publishing and the rush for genre commodity over literary quality. This is a great essay which weighs up both sides and their future. Will epublishing help one over the other...118 people have an opinion so far. Jane also asks the question, How long should you (battle) keep trying to get published?

Once you are published it is only the start of the uphill slog to stay relevant and in the game. Melinda Szymanik tells the honest truth about being a children’s writer in New Zealand and how much it costs. Hats off to Melinda for telling everyone just what it takes to stay in the battle for hearts and minds and damn good writing!

Who are your writing stakeholders? Kate Gale suggests you won’t succeed unless you have some of these on your side.

Why authors who say they don’t have time are doomed to lose the battle...or are they?

Why backing up your work twice will save your book...a cautionary tale.

Have you tried a stand up writing desk?...this could be the solution for all those niggling pains writers get...

In Craft,

Writetodone talks about writing smart and the 7 truths of being a writer.

How to turn your weak scenes into strong scenes.

Creative insight from Emily Dickinson...slant!

Tami Cowden has the 16 Villain Archtypes....(after all you need someone to battle against)

In Marketing,

Why writers need an email newsletter.

A case study on how readers discovered a debut novel (half the battle)

Publishers Weekly looks at three children’s writers who used crowd sourcing to tour...

Unexpected battle moves in publishing ...

Variety reports that a film media company has moved to get an exclusive first look at all new titles from an epublishing only publishing house. This is a new move for acquisitions and film rights and something authors and agents should take note of.

Janice Hardy takes a hard look at Twitter followers and tells you who to dump.

Agent Mary Kole becomes one of the first children’s publishing agents to offer a few other extra services in addition to agenting. This is a move that some see as a logical response to the current state of publishing and others as the thin edge of the legitimate Agent wedge. Take sides now.

Finally,

The figures are out for 2012 and children reading ebooks. Passive Voice takes a look at what it all means as the numbers are higher than predicted...and Scholastic releases their own ebook reader numbers.

The battle for children’s electronic eyes is upon us.

maureen

photo from Augapfel Flickr photostream

Marking With An X

It’s Banned Books Week and some top writers have been interviewed on how they feel about having their books banned. I remember a NZ writers comment about having his children’s book banned in the US. Sales went through the roof!

A challenged book, placed on a list gets noticed. This in the hands of a canny publicity team can ensure that these books get a huge profile. A children’s book on the banned list is usually pointing to society expectations that we protect children from reality. Is it what the characters say that is upsetting or what the book asks children to consider...or the setting of these books?

The NY Times interviewed Lois Lowry, author of The Giver, one of the most banned books in the last 30 years. Tamora Pierce adds her insightful comments at the end. Katherine Paterson is also interviewed on the risks of great literature. Her books regularly turn up on banned book lists.  Take a look at Amazon’s list of banned children’s books, it is a who’s who of famous children’s authors.

This week Nicola Morgan has been talking about copywrite education. Try to explain to kids that downloading pirated books and movies actually benefit big corporations and not the creators...It is a great article and should be passed around...let’s get some education out there...

Melinda Szymanik has also written a passionate plea on this subject.

The UK children’s booksellers conference has just wrapped up and there was a digital focus as gaming companies addressed publishers about unlocking the rights and getting together to exploit all the storytelling opportunities...

Author Platform is getting another airing with Rachelle Gardner commenting on author collectives and platforms. Everybody shares, everybody reaps benefits...

Chris Brogan has the essential how to do an author platform now, list of do’s...and don’t bothers...

For those flirting with indie publishing, 

Joel Friedman has a great post on mono typefaces...and Shannon of the mega helpful Duolit girls has 3 common mistakes to avoid when indie publishing.

Does your novel have rising tension...how can you tell? Publishing Crawl has the answer...drop your story plot points into this graph...(for those writers that love info graphics.)

If you are looking at your finished manuscript and wondering what next, check it over for these common editing mistakes and what to do about them.

Last weekend Karaveer Writing School had their first rewriting and editing course and it was a great success. So another popular course gets added to the portfolio. There is an advanced course coming up in November for published novel writers, a master class tune up which has a couple of places left.

In the craft list,

Develop your antagonist...

Don’t leave your characters in limbo, develop the setting...

Ten ways to barf a book...just get that first draft out there and on a simila theme Jane Friedman says Kitchen sink it!

Angela Ackerman has gathered all her great craft resources posted on twitter together...

Martina from Adventures in Children’s and YA publishing has the Go To post on Concept...It all begins in line one!

Seekerville has the best post on keeping reader empathy and I know my writing mentors will be waving it at me....

How is your productivity? Could it use a little tune up?

Dana Sita has got a productivity routine that works for her...maybe you should try it or you can immerse yourself in Chuck Wendigs 25 ways to get your creative groove back...(warning it is Chuck!)

To finish,

Buzzfeed looks at Aladdin and Titanic and discovers they are the SAME story.

and to refresh your memory...the following video is on basic plots....and everyone of them has shown up on the banned books list...

maureen

pic from pic from http://www.flickr.com/photos/takomabibelot/2875992647/

Choosing To Be Creative

This week on the writing blogosphere RAOK has been the catch phrase. 

Random Acts Of Kindness. This has been started because Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have finally made a print version of their wonderful Emotion Thesaurus and they celebrated with a RAOK blitz week which lots of writers got behind.

The Indie vs Trad argument has been heating up with many diatribes on both sides hitting the blogosphere this week.

Just for the record...You don’t have to be one or the other. You can choose the publishing medium with each project. You can be small press, Indie press, mainstream, give stuff away for free to build readers. It is up to you. Don’t get sucked into the Trad is bad or Indie is to die camps which diss each other and lose sight of the whole picture.

Anne R Allen has a nice piece about the bullies of both sides and what a new writer should be doing...take your time!

I post weekly and weekly it seems is the nature of change in the publishing landscape. This week Waterstones, a large bookselling chain in the UK has announced a partnership deal with Amazon. Some commentators have likened this to the hens asking the Fox to move into the henhouse. Here is Futurebooks take on this breaking news and the gamble and possible benefits for the booksellers.

Chuck has his 25 reasons to quit writing...of course you can turn it on its ear and choose to write. Either way Chuck is always thought provoking...(warning it is Chuck!)

Sometimes tho the act of writing is painful. Roz Morris looks at coping with RSI and what she has had to do to get through these times. I know this from bitter experience and am writing these words with tingling feelings in my left hand. (off to find my brace...)

In the craft corner, Here are some great posts on

Converting back story into character from Romance University

Margie Lawson looks at humour and the use of it to hook readers

20 craft rules from Stephen King

Mary Kole straight talks about Sounds great, No substance.

K M Weiland looks at not sabotaging your main character.

How to write from the Male point of view.

Great tips

Jane Friedman has some tips on getting the best online advertising for your dollar.

Joanna Penn talks multi media and why different media can complement your brand. 

Janice Hardy has ways that you can be more productive. 

Writers Digest has the definitive info on word counts for each genre.

Melinda Szymanik has a great post on the importance of being at the Frankfurt book fair with this year’s fair focussing on Kidlit.

And I will leave you with the video that is making waves through the creative community. This week Neil Gaiman gave the commencement speech at the University of Arts...These are words to live by no matter what stage of creative endeavour you are.

maureen

E Reader Revolutions

I ADMIT IT...I pop into Facebook every day. There is always an interesting conversation going on. 

Today the hot news is the launch of Kindle Fire from Amazon. They enter into the tablet market, with an ‘ereader on steroids,’ and it is one quarter the price...at $199 US. Along with this fancy new piece of tech, Amazon launched three new versions of Kindle starting with the basic Kindle going out the door at $79. As I commented this morning on Facebook, I looked at a Kindle yesterday thinking I could afford it as my Dad wants one for Christmas then discovered I was looking at the fancy cover you can buy for it. Kindle are $289 NZ. (Maybe next year Dad!)

However the launch of the colour whizzy Kindle Fire in time for the Christmas market shows how ereaders will be the tech gift of choice this Christmas as the mainstream buyers start to pick up on this technology. Now is the time to upload content for them to buy.

Joanna Penn wrote a great little piece on what the Kindle Firemeans to Authors...It is time to get off the fence!

Melinda Szymanik must have known something was up as her first ebook The Half Life Of Ryan Davis will be available this weekend on Amazon. I think this maybe a NZ first. First Young Adult Title to go straight to ebook before print. Melinda has a competition on her website for a copy and she also has the opening chapter up to give you a taste of her teen thriller.

This week Jane Friedman was also looking at ebooks on Writer Unboxed. Jane has written a great article with a handy checklist on marketing ebooks looking from the viewpoint of the marketing 4 P’s.

Bob Mayer has an interesting article on The Perfect Storm In Publishing that is looming. As more and more agencies look at adding epublishing imprints to their business...Are they looking at the author as a brand? and How is Pottermore and Amazon Publishing changing the game?

Roni Loren takes a hard look at Author Branding and Social Media. She has listed five ways to guard your brand...Something we all must keep in mind as we log on to the internet.

James Scott Bell has written an open letter to Traditional Publishers wishing them well in their recovery.

Dean Wesley Smith has a timely warning about Agents and Money...Do they know what they are doing? and Do you know what they are doing, with your money?

If you want a sneak preview on what will be talked about at the Children’s Publishing Goes Digital conference being held at the Frankfurt Book Fair next month Publishing Perspectives has an excerpt from the program guide on Building Online Communities For Teen Readers

Over on the Craft Side

Mary Kole has an in depth article on beginning your stories with a balance of information and action and how to achieve this.

Mary Anne Scheuer of Great Kids Books has begun reviewing Children’s Book Apps...have a look at her criteria and check out what she has to say.  

Over on Craicerplus (My Amplify Page) I have links to articles on

Ebook Covers -Getting It Right!

Porter Anderson’s Interview on Journalism Today...The rise of dramatic storytelling in news stories...

To finish,

I read this true story this week with amusement then alarm. It reads just like a MG/ YA plot.  Last week a boy dressed in a banana costume and ran onto a high school football field at half time to rally the crowd...the school principal took exception and recommended suspension for the rest of the school year...(school has just started.) Read what happens next...

This kind of plot will soon be in a popular ebook coming to a Kindle near you...

enjoy,

maureen