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Queries Wanted for Upcoming Novel & Short Story Writer's Market...
Besides CWIM, there are a few million other exciting things I work on in the WD Community. One of them is editing Novel & Short Story Writer's Market, CWIM's sister publication solely for fiction writers.
I'm currently planning the lineup for the 2011 edition, and I'm looking for queries for articles and interviews for NSSWM. The articles are broken up into these categories:
The Writing Life
Craft & Technique
Getting Published
For Mystery Writers
For Romance Writers
For Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Writers
I'm most in need of material for the genre sections, but open to queries for all. I've also go a few spots to fill in our annual "Premier Voices" feature for which we interview debut fiction writers, so if you're a first-time novelist, I'd love to hear from you as well.
If you'd be interested in writing for me, email me at alice.pope@fwmedia.com with your ideas.
Should You Be on Facebook? Is Tweeting Really Necessary? Talking Online Presence with Loren Long...
I took Monday and Tuesday off work this week for no other reason than to use up some PTO (that expires at the end of the year). One of my Monday activities way having lunch with illustrator Loren Long and his wife Tracy. (Loren also lives and works here in the Nati.)
During lunch at the cafe at Joseph-Beth Booksellers (because I thought it appropriate and because they have great vegetarian chili), Loren, Tracy and I talked a lot about online presence. Loren has a website but has not ventured much beyond that. Does an author with more than a dozen fabulous books under his belt--who works with publishers like Philomel and Simon & Schuster, who is on the Jon Scieska's Trucktown team--need to be blogging? Be on Facebook? Twitter? It couldn't hurt.
It's no secret that authors/illustrators have a big responsibility in their own promotion. The more you're out there, the more connections you make, the more friends you have, the more conversations you get into, the better. Networking should start before you get published (see Christina Katz's Get Known Before the Book Deal)and keep rolling along once you have a book or two or ten out in the world.
That doesn't mean you have to use every social network avenue available. Twitter is not everyone's cup of tea. And heaven help us if everyone had a blog. But if you've got a blog's worth of things to say that would be interesting/useful/informative/inspiring then go for it. If you enjoy being part of the conversation and can fit it into your schedule, tweet away. But if these things aren't you, if they'd be drudgery, move along. But at least try things out to see what fits--you might really enjoy participating in the conversation. (And sometimes that conversation will be about your work.)
Speaking of work, here are a few of my favorite Loren Long covers. So so beautiful. (And now I'm off to hang up my autographed Otis poster.)
Some Friday Afternoon Led (stats) for Your Head...
File this under apropos of nothing/just for fun, but I felt the need to share my IT professional brother's latest word research here on my CWIM blog.
My brother and my classic-rock-digging teenage niece were listening to Led Zeppelin in the car, he tells me, and they had their usual discussion about how a rock song can't be a true rock song without the word babe or baby in it, or a reference to a female. "So," says my bro, "I decided to find a way to count the frequency of each word in all Led Zep songs. I included the titles of the song in my search, and used a lyrics list compiled by an obsessed fan who painstakingly documented what Robert Plant actually sung in their songs."
Here are my brother's Led Zeppelin word counts. Should I set him to work on the Judy Blume catalog? On what three occasions does Plant sing "lollipop"? And why isn't Houses of the Holy on my iPod?
Writer's Digest's Writer's Online Workshops (WOW) is launching a brand new 8-week course on Writing the Young Adult Novel based on our terrific book by K.L. Going, Writing & Selling the YA Novel. Here's some information about what's covered:
The choices you make as an author—choices about character development, setting, conflict, and plot—are going to be driven by the impulses, interests, and issues relating to a YA audience. In this course, we’ll be paying particular attention to how to write with an eye toward a teen audience. Questions we’ll ask ourselves: What kinds of characters are best suited for a YA novel? How can I develop and deepen the conflict of my novel? What are the limitations and possibilities of YA fiction? And, finally, How do I go about publishing and/or marketing a YA book? The various lessons in this book will introduce you to the YA genre and help you apply specific writing strategies to your work in order to turn the kernel of your idea into a publishable and saleable novel.
I've taught a few WOW courses myself and they're a lot of fun. Students get detailed critiques and advice from instructors on their assignment or works in progress as well as getting input from fellow students.
I'll share part of the course lecture. This begins a discussion on techniques for getting to know your character:
Before you pen even a single sentence of your novel, you should know your protagonist (and other main characters) and know him well. Entire books are written on how to well-develop character, and there’s much to consider. Going writes, “consider what truly defines each of your characters. What makes them unique individuals, different from others?”
This advice is excellent. Before you even begin writing your novel, you should write a character bio for each of your main players. Questions to ask: What is your character’s history? Where did she go to school? What is her favorite color? How many family members does she have? What is her biggest fear? What kind of job does she have, if any? What kind of grades does she get in school, and what is her favorite subject? Does she listen to music? Watch TV? Enjoy movies?
You, the writer, should know all of the answers to these questions, even if these answers do not make their way onto your pages. Why? Because the answer to these questions will reveal your character’s fully rounded personality, and it is this personality, the accumulation of all facets of the individual’s life and experiences, that will determine other aspects of your novel, such as how your protagonist responds to particular events before him.
Going’s chapter on character leaves us with a lot to consider, but let’s, for now, focus on four core elements of character: History, Complexity, Appearance, and Plausibility.
This new course on YA writing has two upcoming sessions, starting December 3 and December 31 (just in time for those writing resolutions).
Here's the message posted on the Buy a Book, Save the World! Facebook page:
Well, it’s that time again--the Buy a Book, Save the World! 2nd Annual International Holiday Bookstore Bookpush! Last year was a brilliant success, with our numbers surging over twenty-five hundred strong, all for the love of reading.
How can you participate? It’s easy. All you have to do is pledge to visit your local bookstore and purchase a book to give as a gift. Remember--try and give preference to independent stores if you can, though we love all our booksellers.
This year, we’re doing something a little different. Instead of kicking off on Black Friday, we’re getting started a little early. Tomorrow begins a Publishers Weekly–sponsored initiative called National Bookstore Day. One hundred and forty independent bookstores from around the nation are participating with raffles, author signings, and discounts to celebrate the occasion. What better time is there to start our International Holiday Bookstore Bookpush? Contact your local Indie and see if they’re participating. (If they're not, encourage them!)
So get out, invite all your friends, spread the word about Buy a Book, Save the World!, and enjoy National Bookstore Day! Happy Shopping!!!
Julie Larios maintains Jacket Knack along with co-blogger Carol Brendler (a writer with an MFA from Vermont College) . The pair offer weekly posts focusing on children's books cover art.
Why did you decide to start a blog focusing on cover art? How long have you been blogging?
Actually, Carol approached me and asked me if I'd be interested in starting a blog with her about the cover art of children's books. I'm not quite sure why she asked me—she had probably heard me going on and on about Chip Kidd , a designer of book covers for adults—but I'm so glad she did. In college I originally wanted to be a graphic designer, and I link three or four graphic design websites to my personal blog. Tell me a little about your background in regards to the children's book world.
My mother read to my sister and brother and me all the way through our elementary school years. That's where an involvement with kids books really begins—being read to as a child. When my own kids were little, I read to them, and I took a job at a bookstore. Eventually, I became the head buyer for a large children's book department in Seattle. Doing that every day—talking with reps about new books, judging all those books by their covers (!) as I ordered them (along with a quick pitch from the rep about author and plot), handing people books and watching their reactions—that got me completely hooked. I've written four books of poetry for children, and I teach on the faculty at Vermont College of Fine Arts in the MFA-Writing for Children and Young Adults program, which I recommend to all people who are serious about learning how to write for children. I also write poetry for adults, so I straddle the fence and look both ways in terms of my writing interests.
In the world of adult poetry, the community can be a little competitive, a little nuts (some of the craziness I love) and a lot hermetic. Luckily, the world of children's books is filled with generous, full-hearted people who love nothing more than building community, so I get to experience both the mysteriously introverted and the warmly extroverted extremes and everything in between. It's glorious.
Not too long ago, I started my own blog, The Drift Record and it straddles the same fence—not all Kidlitosphere, but not all adult. I go where the drifting takes me.
How often do you post and what kinds of things do you cover in regards to covers?
I post on Jacket Knack every other Monday, alternating with Carol. One of those two posts of mine each month is called “Tapjacketing”—filled with links to websites I've enjoyed over the previous month which I want to share with readers (and Carol sometimes sends me suggestions for sites she's seen, too.) I'm interested in the collaborative nature of book jackets—the behind-the-scenes decisions of art designers, editors, illustrators and marketing people who are all working together (I think) to come up with a cover that readers can't resist, so interviews with people in the business are important.
I'm also interested in patterns—having been a bookseller for a long time, I notice odd patterns and trends—one season it's photos of feet, another season, it's the backs of people's heads, another season, blue is the de rigueur color, then suddenly everything is black with white, or everything is done montage. Very strange. What generates these waves?
I'm curious, so I think of the blog as a little journey of exploration. What I'm looking for is perfection—everything working together to get a book into the hands of the child who will love it.
If you had to choose, could you tell me your top three favorite children's book jackets (and a little on why you love them).
Top three book covers. Oh, gosh—the minute I hear a number, I want to double it. Let's see…
#1) One I'd have to choose is the hardcover edition of M.T. Anderson's novel, The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume 1: The Pox Party illustrated by Gerard DuBois. The need to keep Octavian's identity a secret was an important design factor—and the solution (the mask) is just horrifying. You don't know what you're looking at—is it human? And of course, that question is the central question of the book. Brilliant cover, though the award stickers diminish the impact of the illustration, and the paperback version takes away the dark background (such a mistake—it's the darkness that draws us in).
#2) Carol wrote recently on Jacket Knack about title-less book jackets—and it made me think of the first time I saw the startling full spread cover of Puss in Boots, illustrated by Fred Marcellino. Whoever made the decision to keep all the text off that cover was a genius. The book just begs to be picked up—Puss is all-cat, all-the-way, he shines from within, you see that cover, you want that book.
#3) There's one cover that I think no one else in the world would put on a list—it's from a 1938 "adaptation for children" of the adult novel Lorna Doone, written by Richard Blackmore. But I fell into this book so hard when I was eleven or twelve, it's a miracle I ever climbed back out. The cover design and interior illustrations were done by the great graphic artist Alexander Key, who later turned to writing and produced Escape to Witch Mountain. The only photo of the particular edition of Lorna Doone I love so much, which is a woodcut showing two men on horseback, galloping at each other their swords drawn, the moon shining, oh, such DRAMA!!—is very small: and I'm not sure you can get a sense of its impact. Using black-and-white woodcuts adds immediate drama, it's built in to the technique itself, due to the contrast between negative and positive space.
Once and for all, can you judge a book my its cover?
Well, covers are made to sell books, and when the bottom line is profit, you can't ever quite trust the process. So no, you can't judge a book by its cover alone. But a good designer can get you awfully close to judging well. Good cover art conveys tone, timbre, subtext, audience, mood—a good cover gives the book's readers lots of clues.
Great interview! I am a debut author and I think I got really, really lucky with my cover. In fact, even though the book isn't out yet, I've gotten a ton of email from people saying they love the cover. I wanted to know more about how it was done and asked to interview the artist, but he declined saying he's not into the publicity side of art. I'll be checking out your blog for sure!
I spent the better part of the week working on the agonizing-yet-fun task of choosing debut authors to feature in First Books in the 2011 edition of CWIM. I've e-mailed all of my chosen ones today. To all those debut authors who haven't heard from me, I will be contacting many of you in the coming months as I resurrect Debut Author of the Month here on the blog beginning in January 2010. (Why does this all sounds so Biblical?)
Thanks so much to everyone who contacted me. I was so thrilled to hear from each of you and so happy to read about your successes (and your books). You should all be very proud.
Happy Halloween weekend to everyone. (Don't forget to fall back--and haunt for an extra hour tomorrow night).
First Books Lowdown: My Unscientific Findings on New-Author-Friendly Publishers...
Every year since I've been blogging, I've put out a call for debut authors for my First Book feature and every year I post about which publishers are publishing the debut authors who contacted me. Here's the scoop for this year (all of which are in random order because I don't like to alphabetize)...
Publishers who are publishing one of the debut books in my pool:
Flux
Carolrhoda
Flashlight Press
Scholastic
Houghton Mifflin
Albert Whitman
Dutton
Blooming Tree
Holiday House
Pelican
HIP Books
Clarion
Bloomsbury
Feiwel & Friends
Candlewick
Raven Tree Press
Delacorte
Capstone
Publishers who are publishing two or more of the debut books in my pool:
HarperCollins
Walker
Putnam
Random House
Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky
Farrar, Strauss & Giroux
Simon & Schuster
Sterling
This year Putnam ties previous two-time winner HarperCollins at five a piece, so they each get a Friendly-to-New-Authors Gold Star!
Only a handful of the debut authors who contacted me said they have agents--I'm sure more do and didn't mention it--and some of those agented writers didn't get their agents until after the first book deal. I heard from plenty of unagented writers.
About half of the authors who contacted me are YA writers, the other half picture books, MG and chapter books, with PBs as the majority.
If you're among the YA authors (or even if you're not) check out Publishers Weekly's report, What Do Teens Want?, a survey of teen über readers. Lots of statistics and charts! (I tweeted a link to this yesterday and was retweeted like crazy.)
Now back to the tough/fun job of deciding who to interview.
I noticed that Carolrhoda isn't on the list. It does welcome new authors--and unagented submissions (although the submission period is not year 'round). I think great things are happening at Carolrhoda.
Thanks... just knowing this is what you do out there gives me focus as I work on my own material. Thank you for posting here. It gives inspiration for those of us who are persevering in STARTING a career at any age.
My debut novel for middle grade readers Dead Frog on the Porch was published by a newer publisher Gumboot Books out of Vancouver. Check out their submission guidelines.
Interesting and helpful. Although they mentioned 53% didn't like podcasted INTERVIEWS, it didn't say anything about podcasted NOVELS. I'd be interested to know what teens think about that.
SCBWI TEAM BLOG Reunites for the SCBWI Annual Winter Conference in New York...
I'm very excited to announce that I will once again serve as captain of SCBWI TEAM BLOG as we offer exhaustive coverage of the SCBWI Annual Winter Conference in New York City which takes place January 29th-31st at the Hyatt Grand Central.
Conference info (faculty, schedule) is now up on the SCBWI website, and online registration will open Wednesday, October 28th at 10 a.m. PST. But whether you attend or not, TEAM BLOG will keep you posted on every session and keynote on the Official SCBWI Conference Blog.
Here are the Winter Conference TEAM BLOG bloggers and links to their blogs and Twitter pages. (Look for exclusive pre-conference content on our blogs between now and conference time):
Become a Writer's Digest VIP (and Join Our New WD Community)...
I'm a shopper and I love a bargain, especially if it's for something I wanted to buy anyway (like books and shoes). That's why I think our new Writer's Digest VIP program (which just kicked off yesterday) is a pretty sweet deal--lots of good stuff for not much money.
For $49.95 you get a one-year subscription to both WritersMarket.com (which now includes all the info from CWIM) and Writer’s Digest magazine, plus you also get a free webinar recording (which is usually $99), 10% off WOW courses, and 10% off all WD Shop purchases.
If you do the math, it could normally cost up to $198.80 so you can save $148.85. (The best part about finding a bargain is figuring out how much you save.)
Here's something else new: We've also just launched the Writer's Digest Community on Ning. Stop by, join, and become my friend. (I only have 79 so far. I want more. One can't have too many friends, too many books, or too many pairs of shoes.)
I signed up yesterday. It is a really good value and I'm sure I'll learn a lot. I've always trusted Writer's Digest since the strictly magazine days when I was a young aspiring writer.
While I'm still enjoying an nice buzz from the LA SCBWI conference (visit the conference blog if you haven't already), I thought I'd mention a few upcoming Writer's Digest events that will get me high on publishing once again.
First up is the Writer's Digest Conference: The Business of Getting Published which takes place in New York September 18-20 at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. This conference focuses on marketing and promotion, career building, and social networking, and also includes a poetry slam, manuscript critiques, breakfast discussions, a great lineup of speakers (including WD editors), and a smashing location in New York City. (I'll be heading there straight from the beach, so look for the darker pink, well-rested version of me.)
Next up is our latest Writer's Digest Editors' Intensive which takes place October 3-4 at our Writer's Digest HQ here in the Nati and features a day of informational sessions and panels offered by WD editors (including yours truly), an evening mingling event, and a day of manuscript critiques. I always feel like attending a conference is like playing while you're working hard. You spend a few days taking in endless amounts of useful information, but also enjoying the networking and social aspect of being in a room full of like-minded people. I think it's glorious.
Love it! Lee inspired me, too. I just posted Twitter Feeds for Aug. 6 & 7, and will post more Twitter feed blogs 2morrow. It was a lot of work, huh, Alice and Lee? Wow, took me an hour to post both! LOL! xo Paula (http://bit.ly/UcLN2 and http://bit.ly/12n1LE) PS. Reposted cuz I can't seem to use anything but my other blogger account which is for a food blog. just FYI if you're confused. Paula Parmesan = Paula Yoo LOL!
Okay, it really is a cool idea - I missed so many of these - and even that Holly Black quote about the Elves sitting around drinking coffee and enuii - LOL - I blogged that session! Thanks for sharing all this great stuff the second time around, Namaste, Lee
I'm back in the Nati, the humid humid Nati, and still coming down from the from the fantastic SCBWI Summer Conference in LA. If you weren't there I hope you followed the event on our equally fantastic Official SCBWI Conference Blog.
TEAM BLOG's posts, photos and video were terrific (not to mention fast and furious) and I think we offered a good taste of the conference and shared some useful information for those who weren't there as well as for attendees who could only attend one session at a time. (We could attend 6, and a few times we attended 9 or 10.) If you haven't visited the Conference Blog, click here to check it out.
And below are a few more of my photos from the Blue Moon Ball on Saturday night. (I posted some on the conference blog after the event.) There were drink tickets. There were quesadillas. There was dancing. And, of course, there were outfits.
This year they're blue butterflies; last year they were literary lady bugs.
This conference-goer's cow stopped jumping over the moon to pose for a picture.
These Royals fans were happy about the party theme.
This conference-goer got wiggy with it and enjoyed the Mexican food buffet.
Jay Asher is without mermaids but still ready to disco as he poses with Linda Sue Park.
I'm not sure if she's a superhero or a cheerleader who mistook her pom-pom for head gear.Either way I like this outfit.
Great meeting you at the greatest conference to date. Old friends. New friends. And agents and editors on fire. I am reading team blog's blog and loving it.
Day One of the SCBWI Summer Conference--The Blogsplosion Has Begun...
SCBWI TEAM BLOG has been posting live since the 38th Annual Summer conference kicked off this morning with the amazing Sherman Alexie.
Please be sure to visit the Official SCBWI Blog for reports throughout today and on through the conference close on Monday including keynotes, breakouts, events, parties, and more.
And tomorrow, I'm going on vacation. It's my annual jaunt to Garden City, SC with my in-laws. Which is always interesting. (There will be tweeting.)
I'm cutting out of vacation a day early, however, to head to New York for the Writer's Digest Conference: The Business of Getting Published, which takes place at the Times Square Marriott September 18-20. (There will be tweeting from there as well, of course. Look for #WDC09 tweets.)
If you can't make the event, be sure to visit our Official Writer's Digest Conference Blog. Members of Team WD (including me) will be live-blogging the 3-day event starting Friday night, September 18, offering posts from sessions as they are happening. (I had a blast as part of SCBWI TEAM BLOG during the SCBWI LA Summer Conference. If you haven't visited The Official SCBWI Conference Blog, be sure to check out our terrific conference coverage.)
After all this excitement, I'll be back in the office Tuesday, September 22, and back to my old tricks--blogging daily, tweeting often, and starting work on the 2011 CWIM. (Note to all you debut authors out there: watch my blog for a call for First Books authors and illustrators in early October!)
Official Call for Debut Authors for the 2011 CWIM...
Did you all miss me? I sure missed you (and my blog). But now I'm back from my little vacation and a fab WD conference in New York, my deadline-o-rama is almost over, and it's time for me to start thinking about the 2011 CWIM.
And do you know what that means? FIRST BOOKS! I'm looking for debut author and illustrators who'd like to be interviewed for my "First Books" feature in 2011 CWIM.
If you are interested in being featured in First Books, here are the rules and guidelines:
Email me at alice.pope@fwmedia.com, subject line "First Books."
Tell me about your debut book including the title, publisher, genre and approximate publication date.
The book must be available in some form by November (so it can be read before you're interviewed).
A cover image must be available by January 2009 (because I don't want to feature a book without showing the cover).
Please include links to your website or blog if you have one.
No self-published books please.
Tell me something fun/interesting/exciting/unusual/inspiring about you/your book/your path to publication.
E-mails must be received by October 8th.
I'll be in touch with those I've chosen by the October 30th; otherwise you likely will not hear from me--I simply don't have time to contact everyone, although I wish I could. (I may acknowledge receipt of emails, however, depending on how busy I am and/or how much I do or do not feel like doing other work.)
Debut authors not chosen to be featured in First Books could be chosen as Debut Authors of the Month which will be resurrected on this blog starting January 2010!
Read Banned Books! It's Banned Books Week September 26-October 3...
The American Library Association Banned Books Week is going on now. Here's a bit from their blog about this week dedicated to "celebrating the freedom to read":
Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States.
Intellectual freedom—the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular—provides the foundation for Banned Books Week. BBW stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints for all who wish to read and access them.
Click here for an Amazon list of banned books for young readers. (And if you stop by my house this evening you can enjoy a read-aloud of Captain Underpants which will never be banned in my house. Then maybe you can explain to me why people have a problem with a little poo humor.)
Wow. About 10 of my favourite childhood books are on that list.
Captain Underpants books are THE BEST. Our son struggled with reading for the longest time. It wasn't because he couldn't do it, he just had no interest in it. And then we discovered Captain Underpants. Our son went from not being able to read a simple sentence without asking for help to reading chapter books in a two week time span. He was finally motivated to read.
I love Captain Underpants, too! So many great books on the "banned" list.... I just don't get it. This is a fun blog! Thanks for CWIM- it is a lifesaver!!!
Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi at Joseph-Beth (or How Long a 5-year-old Can Last at a Bookstore Event)...
Last night Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi's book tour for The Wyrm King, the 3rd book in their Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles series, took them to the Joseph-Beth Booksellers here in the Nati. I thought Holly was terrific when I saw her speak at the SCBWI conference in LA in August so I didn't want to miss the Joe-Beth appearance despite the fact that I didn't have a babysitter for the boy. But he's seen the Spiderwick movie previews and knows the bookstore has macaroni and cheese in the cafe, so he was in. (Note: The last bookstore event I brought him to was Holly Hobbie when he was 3 months old. See From the Editor in the 2006 CWIM.)
As I suspected, the event was crowded. Check out all the people as they wait for Holly and Tony to come in. (You can't see those who are standing in the aisle and between the bookcases in the back. There were lots of people.)
Holly and Tony were really charming, engaging and funny. This was truly one of the most enjoyable book signings I've attended. Their event included talk of cool mythical creatures (with visual aids and instructions to not Google "rat king"), live dragon drawing, impromptu diaper jokes, and prizes (including Tony's drawings). Here's Holly and Tony addressing the crowd of readers.
Here's Holly reading a little from The Wyrm King (enough to get us really interested by not give too much away).
Tony takes it in from the sidelines (and rests his drawing/signing hand).
And here's me with Tony and Holly, interupting them mid-autographing for a picture. (I knew the boy wouldn't have the patience for standing in line and it was getting close to his bed time, so I didn't get a book autographed myself, but they offered to pose with me anyway. Note the cool blown up Wyrm King cover in the background.)
And here's the boy, who fidgeted on my lap for 45 minutes and kept saying "This is not hilarious for me. I'm tired of being here. Is that a dragon?" And he picked his nose like it was his job.
Finally, the boy got to do what he loves to do at the bookstore: play with trains.
He also made it home with a copy of The Spiderwick Chronicles movie and one of Jon Scieszka'sTruck Town books.
My son is five and he'd act the same, especially the nose job. Sounded like a fun night. I loved "Sweethearts" and I don't blame you for going to her signing alone:)
Stylized: A Slightly Obsessive History of Strunk & White's The Elements of Style Is Available Today...
I featured author Mark Garvey as a Blogger of the Week a while back, and I'm happy to report that his new book Stylized: A Slightly Obsessive History of Strunk and White's The Elements of Style is now available. Fans of Strunk & White's guide will find his exhaustively researched history of Elementsfascinating (I did!) and his writing style engaging. You can feel his Elements enthusiasm oozing from the text. Stylizedhas found a place on my nightstand alongwith several versions of The Elements of Style. (I like to read about style of some sort before I go to sleep. Could be from E.B. White; could be the latest issue of Vogue.)
Here's Mark on what prompted him to work on the project:
I've had a soft spot in my heart for The Elements of Style since high school. It has always seemed to me that Elements draws together, in concentrated form, the most fundamental and helpful attitudes about writing, and it is one of the books that made me want to be a writer (and editor) in the first place. A few years ago, I noticed that 2009 would mark the book's 50th anniversary, and the time seemed right for a book that considered the history and influence of Strunk and White's little book. I was lucky enough to work with the cooperation and generous help of both the Strunk and White families, and I had the pleasure of interviewing many of my favorite writers for the project.
Stylized includes more biographical detail about William Strunk than has ever been published before, including some wonderful photographs. I was also able to include some of the correspondence between E. B. White and his editors at Macmillan (the original publishers of The Elements of Style), as well as a number of notes from White to readers of Elements. E. B. White may have been the best letter writer of the twentieth century, and I'm thrilled to be able to reproduce some of his letters and notes in my book. In all, I'm excited and honored to able to pay homage in this way to a book that's been such a big influence in my life.
I think a lot of grammar geeks(yes, I'm raising my own hand here) are passionate about Strunk and White's. I love it when people discover or rediscover it!
National Books Award Finalists Named (and I'm back from vacation)...
After a six days of vacation in New York, I was not excited about the prospect of weeding through my email inbox. (It was bursting.) After a few hours of wading through, I was rewarded with today's Publishers Lunch featuring the National Book Award finalists. In case you haven't seen the list, here are the 2009 National Books Awards Finalists for the Young People's Literature caegory:
Special shout out to Laini Taylor, who is a 2010 CWIM contributor along with her husband Jim Di Bartolo, illustrator of Lips Touch. (Check out his amazing cover art below along with the other NBA finalist books.)
Scbwi.org went through quite an overhaul this year. Tell me about new features members may not be aware of.
Thanks for noticing! I've spent two years now working very closely with Lin Oliver and Steve Mooser to develop the new site, and we're really thrilled with the way it's taking shape.
Best new functions available now:
The "Find A Speaker" page: Educators and librarians can now search for SCBWI members and even see video clips from classroom presentations. PAL members can click on "Speaker Profile" on their member home page to add video and information.
The Illustrator's Gallery: Illustrator members of SCBWI no longer have to pay a separate service or web site to host an online portfolio. Just log in and click on "My Portfolio" to upload images. Once you've uploaded an image, your name will appear in the searchable index of SCBWI illustrators.
"Search Members": Our old "Member roster" search has been given a much-needed 21st-century update. Click on "Search Members" in the upper right-hand corner of any page on the site, and you can find other members by name, email address, location, even book title.
Regional Home Pages: When you log in, click on the “Regional Chapter” icon and you’ll be taken to your Regional Home Page. This is sort of like a Facebook group page where you’ll be connected with all of the other members in your region. You can see the regional events that are upcoming, details for your next regional conference, and read the latest from your Regional Advisor’s news blog. You can quickly browse members in your region and send a message or a friend request. Connecting with other SCBWI members in your area has never been easier.
Member Neworking: We're calling this function "SCBWInc." "INC" stands for "Insider Networking Community." You now have the ability to send messages to other SCBWI members and add them as a friend right at SCBWI.org. Also, click around on your friends’ profiles and see their latest publishing news, pictures and contact information.
When did the SCBWInc feature launch? What’s the advantage of creating a profile and making friends on the SCBWI site as opposed to, say, Facebook or Jacketflap? Any tips for using it?
SCBWInc, our member networking platform, just launched October 13th. Co-founder and Executive Director Lin Oliver was very specific when I was developing this part of the site that she wanted this function to be more than just "social networking." Writing and illustrating can be solitary work. SCBWInc is designed as a place for members who are often isolated in their own studios or hunkered down editing a manuscript to come and surface for a creative recharge. Without leaving your seat at the computer or the drafting table, we wanted to provide a little taste of the community aspect that is often felt at our regional events and annual international conferences in New York and Los Angeles with the click of a mouse.
Being a member of Facebook or other sites is a great way to market your work and get the word out, but there’s nothing like the community sense of the SCBWI. Those letters in our name (and we do spell it out—we don’t pronounce it as a word that sounds like “squeegee”!) have come to be synonymous not only with professional support and advocacy, but also with the true community of artistic peers who rely on one another for encouragement that goes far beyond marketing and visibility.
Are there any more changes in store for scbwi.org?
Yes! Now that the major functions are in place, we’re embarking on a round secondary additions. So stay tuned for more info on:
Blogs/RSS Feeds: Look for news soon on a blog from the SCBWI Illustrator Committee, a legal questions blog, and a tech blog with an emphasis on marketing your work—all with RSS feeds so you can get an instant update.
Redesigned Discussion Board Forum, hosted on our site (that doesn’t require a secondary login!)
The all-new SCBWI Store: A brand new shopping experience for T-shirts, SCBWI Master Class DVDs, and other great merch!
The Online Publication Guide: While members may currently download a PDF copy of the annual “Pub Guide,” all of our Market Surveys and Directories will soon be fully searchable.
The SCBWI Bulletin Archive: Over 30 years of SCBWI Bulletins have been scanned in and are currently being indexed for easy searching and reading online!
More video! We’ve got years and years of conference footage and we’re working on clearing some rights issues to be able to use some of that video on the site!
You better believe it! There’s this really great SCBWI member—Alice Pope? You may know her. (She’s got a killer SCBWI Member Profile here.) Anyway, she’ll be heading up another all-star team of bloggers to bring you hits and highlights from the upcoming 10th Annual International SCBWI Winter Conference in New York. Conference brochures will be in the mail by the end of next week, and we’re aiming to go live with registration online October 28th!
Starting today on the Readergirlz blog and continuing through October 23rd, the divas will host nine YA authors and end the week with "an online gala celebration where Sylvia Engdahl, a pioneer in young-adult science fiction, will be hosted and honored for her contributions to the literary landscape."
Monday, October 19th: Beyond Imagination rgz diva Justina Chen Headley (NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL) Alyson Noël (EVERMORE) Zoe Marriott (DAUGHTER OF THE FLAMES)
Tuesday, October 20th: Beyond Hardship rgz diva Lorie Ann Grover (HOLD ME TIGHT) Elizabeth Scott (LIVING DEAD GIRL) Lynn Weingarten (WHEREVER NINA LIES)
Wednesday, October 21st: Beyond Daily Life rgz diva Holly Cupala (TELL ME A SECRET) Lisa McMann (WAKE) Cynthia Leitich Smith (ETERNAL)
Thursday, October 22nd: Beyond Our World rgz diva Melissa Walker (LOVESTRUCK SUMMER) Cassandra Clare (CITY OF ASHES) Patrick Ness (THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO)
Friday, October 23rd: Into Our Beyond rgz diva Dia Calhoun (AVIELLE OF RHIA) Sylvia Engdahl (ENCHANTRESS FROM THE STARS)
And if you celebrate Teen Read Week, the divas want to hear from you.
Do you love YALSA's Teen Read Week? Post blog or vlog (video blog), then send the link to readergirlz@gmail.com with the subject line set up like this: Your name, TRW Tribute. Tell us about your recent release, or a book you love dearly, and then give a shoutout for Teen Read Week. We'll collect all the contributions and post them at the rgz blog in a 24 hour time span on October 23rd, 2009.
Last week I was working on an article on Twitter for the SCBWI Bulletin and ask my Twitter followers to answer this question:
@alicepope: I’m writing an article on Twitter (aimed at writers and illustrators). What’s your best Twitter tip (in 140 characters or less, of course)?
In a matter of minutes my question had been retweeted several times and I’d gotten more than a dozen tips (from writers, editors, and other publishing professionals) which you’ll find below. This served as a great demonstration of how one's Twitter community can be useful. I suggest you follow each of the wise tweeps who replied to me—and follow their advice as well.
@HeatherMcCorkle: Twitter tip: Never write anything you don’t want to read on the front page of the newspaper. Could hurt your career later!
@GirlsSentAway: Follow 80/20 rule: 80% professional tweets, 20% to show your personality. Interact.
@EyeOnFlux: Avoid TMI (overly personal information). This begs the question: what DO most people use their Twitter accounts for? Professional? Personal? Should the two mix?
@glecharles: Be relevant, always add value and remember, it’s SOCIAL media, not just an alternative RSS feed.
@loniedwards: Tip: Download an add-on like tweetdeck to help sort. Especially during kidlit chats!
@KateMessner: Just aim to be a friendly, helpful human being online. It’s much better self-promotion than shouting about your book.
@Lynne_Griffin: I found this helpful “RT @EliseBlackwell @thefictiondesk “Be yourself, not your book.”
@RuthSpiro: My tip: Connect w/folks OUTSIDE the writing/publishing world; they don’t encounter authors daily, and think you’re really cool!
@wendy_mc: If you want your funny stuff to be retweeted, shorter tweets are better (leave room for your name)
@BrianKlems: Be honest in what you post, be it personal or promotional. If you wouldn’t read it, don’t post it.
@mitaliperkins: Strive for the same integrity, vision, and authentic voice on Twitter that you pursue in your vocation as a whole.
@WriterRoss: Keep it tight. Omit connecting words. Twitter is a wonderful tool for learning to edit extraneous information.
@vboykis: Don’t overpromote yourself. Reach out to other writers and champion the ones whose writing you love.
@inkyelbows:Twitter tips: Follower count should NOT be your main goal. Support other writers. Make every character count.
@rachelsimon: My best Twitter advice is to act on here as you would in real life. You are essentially “meeting” the same people.
@nialleccles: Re: call for Twitter tips... Do not allow it to distract you from writing or illustrating. Tweet during scheduled breaks.
@marisabirns: Twitter tip: It’s a great place for linking writers to online resource material.
@leewind: Twitter does 3 things well: 1. drive traffic to links. 2. real-time discussions via “#” 3. under 140 trivia/wisdom—like this!
@CynDraws: My tip—Be of service to others and avoid complaining or negativity at all costs. Our art should inspire others and so should our tweets.
@joanna_haugen: Tip: Make sure tweets are relevant, interesting and concise to your audience.
@KarlShoemaker: Twitter = watercooler. Remember Water Cooler Politics Guy? WC Medical History Girl? WC Nosy Questions & Advice Person? Don't be them.
Alice, great post! Twitter is such a fantastic tool! My tip @HilaryWagner1 Don't be a stranger! If you forget about others, they will forget about you! Ask people how they're doing and answer their tweets. :)
The Writing Life
What a fun idea for a blog. Thanks for the post.
What a fabulous interview! I love hearing from Julie (and Carol) both on their joint blog, Jacket Knack, and off.
This was fun, and those covers were great. Reminds me of reading with my kids.
Great interview! I am a debut author and I think I got really, really lucky with my cover. In fact, even though the book isn't out yet, I've gotten a ton of email from people saying they love the cover. I wanted to know more about how it was done and asked to interview the artist, but he declined saying he's not into the publicity side of art. I'll be checking out your blog for sure!
Joelle Anthony
http://www.joelleanthony.com