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Of course we’re not the only folks writing about books and bookselling. Here are a few other tidbits for you.

Have a great weekend!

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

… ‘David Sedaris’s ability to transform the mortification of everyday life into wildly entertaining art,’ (The Christian Science Monitor) is elevated to wilder and more entertaining heights than ever in this remarkable new book. …

[we just can’t get enough of Mr. Sedaris’ books. His stuff sells as fast as we can find it]

Top 10 Best Selling Books of 1952

You will find these titles easily in any good used book store, garage sales, flea markets, auctions, and internet book shops. This list of the top 10 bestsellers for 1952 was compiled by Publishers Weekly magazine. …

Secrets of a Jedi Bookseller

It’s one of my favorite discussions. I love to sell books. Some might even say I have a mutant power of sorts; this uncanny ability to match a person to the perfect book, which they didn’t even know they wanted. …

Can Somebody Make Money Selling E-Books Online?

Naturally the big challenge with selling e-books is to attract traffic in high enough volumes to successfully get a steady stream of enough prospects to be able to register sales regularly. One of the ways of doing this is through …

Your books ain’t gonna sell themselves!

One of my favorite methods for marketing and selling books is with live events. This used to be my primary method before I got immersed in the power of Internet Marketing. Channel: Books Tags: selling books authors writers marketing …

Effective Strategies For Selling Books Online

The first thing that you will need to do prior to selling books online is decide which genre you would like to specialize in. Many online entrepreneurs have found that by selling books that are informative, and nonfiction in basis, …

We will be sending out these link lists a little more often, perhaps at least once a week. If you have a blog related to books and want us to include it here please drop me a line. Hope you enjoy these ones.

Some interesting items I’ve come across this week.

This post was actually written back in January by Brian Cassidy. The 18 things he’s learned in 2007.
Here’s my favorite one:

6) Books ain’t money. Books don’t even make me money. I make me money. My overhead, time, and expertise create value. Please keep that in mind next time you think I’m being unreasonable offering you $100 for a book I’ll sell for $300. If you would like to rent a space and buy a reference library and catalog your book and list it on the internet and drag it to book fairs and wait who-knows-how-long to sell it, please be my guest. But if you want money today, please don’t insult me by suggesting you’re somehow being cheated. [More…]

Still on the topic of learning a few things, Chris from Book Hunter’s Holiday shares some ideas on getting a real education on rare books. *We’re still hoping Chris will write something for us.

When I decided to become an antiquarian bookseller, I wondered how I could obtain the kind of specialized knowledge that adds value to books. Was this knowledge something I should possess innately? Was it something that could be taught, and if so, where could I go to learn it? Did antiquarian booksellers ever share their research secrets? In answer to these questions, I learned that several things help build the knowledge of an antiquarian bookseller: experience, education, and expansion. [More…]

From one of my favorite sources on all things book, The Americana Exchange comes a bad buying experience on eBay. Many of us buy stock there and those who don’t are missing out on a great source. But buyer beware, there are many folks selling books on eBay  that you shouldn’t deal with. Asking a few questions or insisting on a couple of extra photographs may prevent this from happening to you:

When books, more than with pamphlets and ephemera, are posted for sale the risk of problems and the possibility of undisclosed faults increases. The material is simply more complex. Many sellers protect themselves and their reputations by describing uncertain material as “poor,” “needs to be carefully evaluated,” or “sold not subject to return.” Every seller does it differently but most do it. Many provide images of faults. [More…]

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Yesterday I attended a local children’s writers’ conference sponsored by the Kansas Chapter of the SCBWI (Society of Children’s book Writers and Illustrators). It was a wonderful conference with an impressive lineup of speakers - including successful children’s authors, agents, and editors. The presentations were excellent and they reminded me that one of the best ways to learn about children’s writing and publishing is from those who are already successful writers, illustrators, editors, and/or publishers.

Every month, members of the Children’s Writers Coaching Club are provided with many chances to listen, learn, and interact with successful children’s authors and/or illustrators.

Last week, children’s illustrator Elizabeth O. Dulemba was our guest for this month’s teleclass with a children’s illustrator.

Dulemba shared her secrets of success with our club members. And, even those who aren’t illustrators, learned a lot about the way a children’s picture book is created through this teleclass called The Nuts and Bolts of Children’s Book Illustration with Elizabeth O. Dulemba. Visit Dulemba’s website to view some of her amazing children’s book illustrations.

This week, our monthly teleclass with a children’s author will feature children’s educator and author Maureen McQuerry.

McQuerry’s poetry has been published in many journals including: Smartish Pace , The Atlanta Review, Southern Review, North American Review and Nimrod. It can also be found in the anthologies Margins, Pontoon 8 and The Washington Poetry Association collection Tattoos on Cedar. Recently McQuerry won the New Eden Chapbook Competition for her collection Wingward.

In her role as a teacher, McQuerry was appointed the McAuliffe Fellow for WA State in 2000 and that fellowship gave her time to write two non-fiction books, Student Inquiry, and Nuclear Legacy. Nuclear Legacy was written with a class of 8th grade students who all became published authors. The book took McQuerry to Chernobyl, Ukraine to look at how lives were impacted by the world’s largest nuclear disaster. McQuerry’s family spent one summer working in the United Arab Emirates, and another traveling through France and England.

McQuerry’s first YA adult novel, Wolfproof, started with one of the characters in a poem she wrote. The poem “Greenman” was based on carvings of foliate heads found in old churches throughout the British Isles. Eventually the greenman character from the poem worked his way into the story Wolfproof. And if you’re wondering about the title Wolfproof, well, it came from a poem too! The sequel to WP should be out next year.

Every month, members of the Children’s Writers Coaching Club are given the opportunity to attend two LIVE teleclasses like these. Members also receive a CD of each recorded event, so they can listen and learn from that month’s featured children’s author and that month’s featured children’s illustrator whenever they want.

In addition, club members are invited to weekly manuscript critique telesessions, and receive a monthly membership packet with other helpful materials for children’s writers and illustrators.

Best of all - the first month’s membership in the club is FREE - so anyone can try it out for a month to decide if the club is right for them.

To try Level I membership in our club FREE for one month - and receive CDs of both of these exciting teleclasses this month - click on the link in the right sidebar of this page. You won’t be billed a thing for 30 days. If you decide the club is not right for you before then, simply let us know and we will cancel your membership.

Join the Children’s Writers Coaching Club today and start learning from the best. You’ve got nothing to lose - and everything to gain!

Have a great day!

Suzanne Lieurance
Founder, Director, and Coaching Coordinator
The National Writing for Children Center
Home of the Children’s Writers Coaching Club

Elizabeth O. Dulemba received a B.F.A. in Graphic Design from the University of Georgia after a lifetime of art training. She spent fifteen years in the graphic design industry, mostly with child related businesses, before creating children’s picture books full-time. You can see Dulemba’s work in Glitter Girl and the Crazy Cheese and The Prince’s Diary, named Number 1 2006 Valentine’s Day Pick by Book Sense in conjunction with the Association of American Publishers (AAP). Haley and the Big Blast was released in November 2006, and Paco and the Giant Chile Plant is one of 5 books Dulemba has coming out next year. Visit her web site to learn more and download free coloring pages: www.dulemba.com.

Elizabeth enjoys talking to children of all ages, 1 to 99, about the journey of creating picture books. She also teaches beginning drawing at the John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina. She and her husband, Stan, live in the Atlanta area with two big dogs and a tiny cat who rules them all.

Wednesday night, June 20th, the Children’s Writers Coaching Club will have a special teleclass with children’s illustrator Elizabeth O. Dulemba. Club members can attend the LIVE teleclass and ask Elizabeth questions about illustrating for the children’s book markets. Each club member will also receive a CD of this recorded teleclass.

Join the Children’s Writers Coaching Club today so you won’t miss this exciting teleclass Wednesday. You get to try membership in the club for one month FREE - so what have you got to lose?