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I'm confused and have some concerns about the copyright laws regarding the publication of novels. I am not sure how I should go about copywriting my work. I am hoping you will be able to clarify this process for me.

Is my work already copyrighted once I create it? If you were to accept my manuscript, do you help me copyright my work? Any information you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.







Your work is protected by copyright law as soon as you write it.

Once your work is sold to a publisher, there's a clause in your publishing contract that says the publisher will register the work with the US Copyright office.

You should not register something with the copyright office at the query stage. And you also don't need to put the (c) notice on your manuscript.

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Lots of books teach kids their colors.

So does White is for Blueberry (Greenwillow Books, 2012) — but in a totally unexpected way.

Author George Shannon shows young readers that things aren’t always what they seem. Blueberries, for example, start out white and then turn blue. And crows aren’t always black.  And do you think you know what color snow and fire are? You just might have to think again.

Illustrator Laura Dronzek drives home this point with her warm paintings.

Today’s reviewer knows a thing or two about colors, as you can tell from the purple and green fairy wings she’s holding.

And she was happy to walk us through this delightful book.

Take it away, Amelia!

————-

Our reviewer: Amelia Grace

Age: 5

Things I like to do: Dance, draw pictures, play with my brothers and friends and eat candy.

Book: White is for Blueberry by George Shannon. Pictures by Laura Dronzek.

This book was about: It’s about colors and the different colors things are when they’re growing up.

The best part: Baby crows are pink. Pink is my favorite color, because it is so beautiful.

I smiled when: I saw the birthday cake.

This book taught me: Sometimes things are not the color we think they are.

Three words that best describe this book: “Colors.”  ”Pink.” “Birds.”

My favorite line or phrase in this book is: “White is for blueberry.” Did you know they’re white when they are baby blueberries? I don’t think Gavin (Amelia’s older brother) would like this book, because he doesn’t like blueberries.

My favorite picture in this book is: Baby crows are pink when they crack out of their eggs!

You should read this book because: I don’t think they should read it, because it’s my book now. They should get their own book!

————-

Thank you, Amelia!

If you’d like to learn more about author George Shannon, you can:

• Visit his website.
• Read his blog. (Including his list of books you should check out.)
• Read this interview with George on Books We Love.

Editor’s note: I saw George Shannon speak at Wisconsin’s fall SCBWI conference. He was charming and well-spoken and his love for the craft of writing picture books was evident in every word he spoke. He’s written more than 40 books, and I think you should read as many as possible.

If you’d like to learn more about illustrator Laura Dronzek, you can:

• Read this analysis of her work on the blog Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.
• See other examples of her art from the Tory Folliard Gallery.
• Learn what picture books she recommends in Just Read It, a feature in the Wisconsin State Journal.

Editor’s note: I’ve never met Laura, but she has many lovely books out too, and I’m sure she’s just as nice as George.

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The latest Robot of the Month.
As always, prints available in the art store.

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What if Snow White wasn't a princess, but just a girl, named Snow in Summer, loved by her papa and mama and growing up good and beautiful in the mountains of West Virginia in the mid-20th century?  And what if her mama died, and her papa was so grief stricken he couldn't spare a thought for his little girl anymore...but was ensnared by the magic of a wicked woman, who became the poor child's evil stepmother?

Snow in Summer, by Jane Yolen (Philomel, 2011) is that story, and these twists of time and place and character make for a fascinating retelling.   It's a dark one, starting off right away in sadness with the death of Summer's mother, and working its way slowly and inexorably into horror, as Summer's evil stepmother cuts the girl off from the rest of the community, punishes her horribly, and finally, plans to kill her.  For the stepmother's magic is dark indeed, and it's a greedy, hungry magic that feeds on young life....

Summer herself is aware that things are horribly wrong, but can't seem to find any way out of the maze of cruelty that's been woven around her.  It's not until she runs for her life that she finds a refugee--in the home of a family of small German immigrant brothers-- and that isn't until page 195.  

It wasn't one I loved.  I found Summer a somewhat distant, unemotional narrator, and I never connected quite enough with her to care all that much.  On top of that,  I couldn't help but feel that the last bit of the book was rushed (we don't get enough time to really get to know the Seven Dwarf equivalents), and the romance at the end (not even a romance) was unsatisfactorily tacked on.   But I did appreciate the freshness of  Jane Yolen's reworking, and can recommend it to fans of fairy tales on that basis--it made a lovely change from the faux medieval that's so ubiquitous in retellings (though I think I'll always love those medievally ones best!).

Those looking for fairy tale retellings with pretty dresses should look elsewhere (they will find the pretty cover has deceived them), but older middle-school kids (seventh graders or so) who are almost ready to move on to darkish, more Young Adult books may well enjoy it.  

Note on age:  The lust (verging on attempted rape) of the teenaged boy who has been charged with killing Summer pushes this, in my mind, out of the range of younger readers.

A sample of other reviews:  Semicolon, Leaf's Reviews, and Book Aunt

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Finally! I've got a month's worth of movie news to catch up on! I'm sure everyone has already heard about all of these, but better late than never, right? :) So here we go:

-Deadline reports that Sailene Woodley is near a deal for starring in the big screen version  of Divergent.  There are also rumors about Alexander Ludwig (aka Cato in The Hunger Games) playing Four. What do you guys think?

-New Line acquired the film rights to The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. This is exciting news, especially with Shiver and The Scorpio Races having movie developments in the works well. Maybe we’re close to seeing one of Maggie’s imagined worlds come to life? (Cynopsis)

-FilmNation Entertainment (I haven’t heard of them-anyone else familiar with them?) has acquired the rights to A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz. I loved this book and really hope the movie works out! (Cynopsis)

-The CW and Amblin Television are teaming up to bring Embrace by Jessica Shirvington to the small screen. The CW is the place to go for YA turned TV series, isn’t it? (Shelf-Awareness)

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Okay, I know I used this image for a previous topic, but it fits the topic tree so well. It did take me quite a while to paint so I figure it gets to be up again.....right? I live in an area full of monumental redwoods. It still awes me that they have been around for so long. If they could talk the stories they could tell. There is a park nearby with a huge grove you can hike through and there are stories of those who came before us that stood beneath these same trees.

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Seagull and Pigeon are going leaf surfing with the squirrels from the big tree!

I’ve had the idea of them leaf surfing for a while, so when I found out the topic for Illustration Friday this week was tree, it seemed like a good fit. I decided to add the squirrels, because like the pigeon and the seagull, squirrels are abundant in my neighborhood. We also have black squirrels, which I’d never seen before I moved here, so I included a couple of them in this drawing, along with a grey squirrel. I’m still drawing every day for DaDraMo (Daily Drawing Month)! If you want to join me, there’s still time. Click here for more info.

A quick follow up to Monday’s post: as you might have seen on the news, we got hit again this week with a nor’easter. Some people that just got their power back lost it again, and there are many that still don’t have power or places to live due to Hurricane Sandy. If you’re looking for ways to help, there’s a list below.

How you can help people affected by Hurricane Sandy:

American Red Cross (They list several ways to help on their site, and also how you can get help if you need it.)

The Humane Society (To help our furry friends, many who were left homeless after the storm.)

A more extensive list of how you can help, from NBC / Rock Center with Brian Williams

A list for how to help if you live in the NY area, from The Gothamist

Kidlit Cares (An auction from the children’s book community. Round two will be starting soon at this link.)

NYC Food and Water Distribution Locations (If you live in NYC and need help.)

For Occupy Sandy, there are two sets of listings below. One for New York. One for New Jersey. Both need help.

Occupy Sandy *New York* (They have a wedding registry where you can order items they need now, like cleaning supplies, blankets, and diapers, and have them shipped directly to Occupy Sandy in New York, who will distribute to the people who need them.)

Twitter: @OccupySandy

Occupy Sandy *New Jersey* (They have a wedding registry where you can order items they need now, like cleaning supplies, blankets, and diapers, and have them shipped directly to Occupy Sandy in New Jersey, who will distribute to the people who need them.)

Twitter: @OccupySandyNJ

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I saw on TV they want more people to read books so it got me thinking about Book Worms.

I’ve never seen a real Book Worm but I’m sure they must exist.

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has shortlisted ten films for the Best Animated Short category. From these ten selections, five nominees will be selected:

Adam and Dog, Minkyu Lee, director (Lodge Films)

Combustible, Katsuhiro Otomo, director (Sunrise Inc.)

Dripped, Léo Verrier, director (ChezEddy)

The Eagleman Stag, Mikey Please, director, and Benedict Please, music scores and sound design (Royal College of Art)

The Fall of the House of Usher, Raul Garcia, director, and Stephan Roelants, producer (Melusine Productions, R&R Communications Inc., Les Armateurs, The Big Farm)

Fresh Guacamole, PES, director (PES)

Head over Heels, Timothy Reckart, director, and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly, producer (National Film and Television School)

Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare, David Silverman, director (Gracie Films)

Paperman, John Kahrs, director (Disney Animation Studios)

Tram, Michaela Pavlátová, director, and Ron Dyens, producer (Sacrebleu Productions)

For the record, I tweeted a few days ago about the four films from this year’s qualifying animated shorts that I felt were truly Oscar-worthy. Not a single one was selected for the shortlist, but don’t let that stop you from seeking them out. They are all fantastic shorts that engage and challenge the viewer in a meaningful way:

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It has been a while since I posted on my blog. My newest fabric collection, Creatures and Critters 2, will be shipping out to stores by December. I have been waiting to do a give away of some yardage as it gets closer to being available to retail shoppers. So sometime after Thanksgiving, just in time for Christmas!

Otherwise, I have been crazy busy getting designs ready for a January show, working on some greeting cards, and some wall art for children's hospitals.

Hopefully I will have some work to show you soon. In the meanwhile, I just updated my Etsy shop with a bunch of new prints and some fabric.

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I need to clean out my tabs LIKE WHOA. So here goes:

• Want to own an original Brett Helquist? Adam Rex? Lane Smith? MO WILLEMS? Click on through. And feel free to buy the DiTerlizzi for me. (via Fuse)
• "Clean" YA Reads Pinterest board curated by Stacy Whitman.
• Two last pieces by Ray Bradbury will be out this fall: the intro to the newest installment of The Best American Nonrequired Reading, and a Christmas story in Strand Magazine. (Which I totally now want a subscription to.)
• Another piece of Twilight fanfiction is headed to bookstores: this one is set in an office! (Maybe Ricky Gervais could play Edward in the movie version?)
• Speaking of, Mette Ivie Harrison and Shannon Hale have both written blog posts called In Defense of Twilight. From Hale's piece: "But this is one woman who makes her own choice. Feminism advocates for women to have the opportunity to make choices and live their lives according to their best desires and full potential, not hindered by their gender. If feminism has changed and only advocates for women's right to make choices that always agree with me/you/the group/some ideology, then feminism won't work anymore."
• The essay YA Fiction and the End of Boys has, predictably, generated much comment, both in the comments section at the LARB and around the interwebs.
• David Levithan is featured in this year's Out100! Woo!
• Entertaining Twitter hashtags: #MoreCynicalKidsBooks and #authorsexmoves.

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When I was 12 years old, Aunt Sophie gave me my first book on architecture: Sir Banister Fletcher's A History of Architecture on the Comparative Method. I think Aunt Sophie liked it because it was elegant and English. I liked it because it had 3,500 drawings. Originally published in 1896, running to 20 editions (Aunt [...]

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These were all for Imagine Learning's Spanish Team.

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Ninja Cat Girl & Kitty Design

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The trailer for Daniel Radcliffe's upcoming mini-series, "A Young Doctor's Notebook" can now be seen here or below. "A Young Doctor's Notebook" will start to air on Sky on December 6th.

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In my last Time Management Tuesday post, I talked about strategies for reading more in whatever time we have. Today I've been reading a lot. I've been researching Internet sites to approach for promoting Saving the Planet, and I've been taking notes on a nonfiction book that will be the basis of a post here and maybe have an impact on my work some day.

When I went to The Millions for one of those breaks between 45-minute work binges I do, I didn't feel I had a lot of time. I settled on Elegy for a Grey Cat by Janet Potter because it included an His Dark Materials reference in the sub-title.

The essay is divided into three sections. I skimmed just enough of the first section to determine that it was about a human's relationship with her cat, a subject that doesn't hold a whole lot of interest for me. (Yes, I am an awful person.)  But sections 2 and 3 dealt with books, By the Shores of Silver Lake and The Amber Spyglass, respectively. I've read Silver Lake and a lead-in to Amber Spyglass. Those sections of the essay interested me.

Those sections were, in fact, quite lovely, as far as I'm concerned. Have I not gained something in pleasure and thinking from having "just" skimmed the first part of this essay? Isn't my reading experience valuable, even though I didn't read every word of the whole piece? Because I'll tell you, if I were an all-or-nothing type of reader, I wouldn't have started a cat essay at all. And what would I have gained from that?

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Lucky Black Cat Heart Pendant–Gothic Glass Necklace is the perfect charm for cat lovers. Whether you believe in superstitions or it’s just its fun to think about, the black cat heart charm is a delicious little trinket for your whimsical imagination. Maybe you have that eccentric friend who would love this as a gift. The heart glass pendant is 1 1/4″ tall by 1 1/4″ wide. The silver bail is attached firmly to the back. It’s sturdy and waterproof. Resin in the back for best quality.

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Lucky Black Cat Heart Pendant–Gothic Glass Necklace is the perfect charm for cat lovers. Whether you believe in superstitions or it’s just its fun to think about, the black cat heart charm is a delicious little trinket for your whimsical imagination. Maybe you have that eccentric friend who would love this as a gift. The heart glass pendant is 1 1/4″ tall by 1 1/4″ wide. The silver bail is attached firmly to the back. It’s sturdy and waterproof. Resin in the back for best quality.

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Slate journalist Fred Kaplan reported today that General David Petraeus resigned his CIA director post over an affair with journalist and author Paula Broadwell.

Broadwell (pictured, via) wrote All In: The Education of General David Petraeus, a biography published by Penguin Press in January. She has a Twitter account, and most recently tweeted about the general: “My take: Petraeus ldrshp maxims in Newsweek http://tinyurl.com/byeqtsx Take performance personally/if u r ok 2 b average, so 2 will be your team.”

Follow this link to read the complete report at Slate.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

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