I'm going off to do the family thing visiting relatives with limited computer access, so there will be no Sunday post on December 26th. I'll be back January 2. I hope you're all having fun holidays. Just for grins, here’s a little verse I wrote a few years ago—updated for current trends. (Sorry about the seriously clunky rhyme. Anybody have a better rhyme for “zombies?”)Yes, we all need to learn the rules. Then we need to learn how not to follow them.THE WRITER’S REWARD…with apologies to Dorothy ParkerWriter, writer, never penBackground...
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
Sunday, 19 December 2010
OK, sez you. I’ve finally finished my novel/memoir and I’m about to send out my first round of queries. People say I need a blog. But now you tell me not to post excerpts from my WIP or focus on my personal life. I’ve only written one book (if you don’t count that one I’ve stuffed in a drawer for now.) I’m not famous or an expert on anything special.…so what DO I blog about!!?To get your ideas flowing, start by surfing around the writing blogosphere. Click on some of the names of commenters on popular agent blogs—or right here—and read their...
Sunday, 12 December 2010
I’ve had such great responses to the first two posts in this series, I have to take a minute to welcome all the new blogfolk—and thank everybody who has commented and/or retweeted the links. I’m also very honored by the shout-outs I’ve had from media professionals like Gary Canie and Kaze and Ras at the 3:17 AM blog Mr. Canie says the blog is your #1 marketing tool. It’s the face you present to the world. Use it well. Make it a “hub” for your online presence, as Writers Digest editor Jane Friedman suggests. Here are...
Friday, 10 December 2010
Wednesday, 8 December 2010
I know a lot of my followers write YA/MG—so here’s a list of the top ten 2010 trends in children’s publishing—just released by Scholastic’s editors.1. The expanding Young Adult audience2. The year of dystopian fiction3. Mythology-based fantasy (Percy Jackson followed by series like The Kane Chronicles, Lost Heroes of Olympus and Goddess Girls)4. Multimedia series (The 39 Clues, Skeleton Creek, The Search for WondLa)5. A focus on popular characters - from all media6. The shift to 25 to 30 percent fewer new picture books, with characters like...
Sunday, 5 December 2010
Last week I wrote about how to set up a blog and got some great responses—like from this guy. So here’s some more of the stuff I wish I’d known before I started blogging:If somebody comments, respond in the thread. I did not know this for, like, months when I started out. If any of you who commented early are still reading in spite of my cluelessness—I apologize. Some bloggers respond via email, which is kind, but responses in the thread stimulate discussion and generate further comments.Don’t be a voice crying...
Thursday, 2 December 2010
Sunday, 28 November 2010
A lot of my readers are already bloggers. You guys can skip this—although if you have anything to add, I’d sure appreciate it. My post this week is mostly for the lurkers (love my lurkers!) who know you’ll probably need a blog eventually, but feel intimidated by the whole process.Lots of sites give tips on how to make your blog successful (Nathan Bransford had a great list of Seven Tips on How to Build a Following Online last week) but it’s hard to find the A-B-C basics for set-up. I had to learn by trial and error myself, making a lot of...
Monday, 22 November 2010
Sunday, 21 November 2010
I sure did upset some people when I expressed my envy of YA/MG writers in last Sunday’s post. I said—in what I intended to be a humorous fashion—that the children’s wing of the book business looked to me like rainbows and unicorns compared to the dark fortress that is most of American publishing.Well, it seems I was wrong. Somebody has been hunting the unicorns. His name is James Frey. This is the James Frey who cashed in on the big market in I-was-lost-but-now-I’m-found recovery tales that were hot stuff when Oprah was the queen of the American...
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
When I wrote on Sunday about YA/MG fiction seeming like a welcoming world of rainbows, bluebirds and unicorns in comparison to the Phantom Zone of adult fiction, this is what I was talking about—here’s a quote from today’s post from the wonderful YA writer Beth Revis.“YA doesn't care about the rules. The YA genre is one of the few genres where you can have a contemporary romance beside an action-based sci fi and no one bats an eye. YA books care about telling a good story, and the rest of the rules don't have to apply. In adult books, you have...
Sunday, 14 November 2010
Last week George W. Bush’s memoir gave Random House their best opening day sales in seven years—170,000 print copies.BUT—on the same day, Middle Grade fiction writer Jeff Kinney launched his fifth book for Abrams in his Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and sold—375,000 print copies. Yeah. Do you wonder why so many agents are looking for KidLit and passing on that brilliant stuff you’re writing for grown-ups? You kind of have to wonder if it’s time for us all to give up on our chosen genres and start penning middle-school-nerd/angsty-teen sagas....
Sunday, 7 November 2010
Everybody who reads this blog probably knows I’m an obsessed long-time fan of Curtis Brown agent Nathan Bransford. When I read his Friday post saying he’s left the publishing business, I felt a personal loss. I know he promises to keep up his blog, and I’m not losing my agent, like Natalie Whipple, Lisa Brackman, Kristi Marie Kriddle and so many others. But “knowing” somebody with Nathan’s kindness and integrity in the business always made me hopeful. The news that he’s leaving for a more lucrative position at the tech news site CNET seemed...
Sunday, 31 October 2010
When you start a writing project, whether you’re diving into the intensity of NaNoWriMo, or just carving out a few hours to peck away at the keyboard on weekends, it helps to get emotional support from friends and family.But be prepared for the opposite.Some people in your life may find your new interest threatening, and if you’re not emotionally prepared, they can derail your project and undermine your self esteem. They’ll work to sabotage your writing and confidence in dozens of subtle—or not-so-subtle—ways.Here are some non-supportive...
Sunday, 24 October 2010
For the uninitiated: NaNoWriMo is the National Novel Writing Month project. Started a decade ago by a young San Franciscan named Chris Baty—and 21 of his verbally ambitious friends—it challenges you to write a complete novel in a month. That month is November. Last year 165,000 writers—called “Wrimos”—joined in the merriment.Entering the contest—now run by Mr. Baty’s non-profit outfit, the Office of Letters and Light—is free. Anybody who finishes 50,000 words by midnight November 30th is a winner. No prizes that I know of: completion of your novel...
Sunday, 17 October 2010
Gearing up for NaNoWriMo? Good for you. You’ve always wanted to write a novel and next month you’re going to do it.But remember that most first novels never see print. Editors call them “practice novels.” Like any other profession, writing requires a long learning process. But there are a few things that will give your first novel a better chance in the marketplace.1) DO write in a genre that’s being read. You may have always dreamed of writing a sweeping Micheneresque saga, a Zane Grey western, or a stream-of-consciousness Kerouac ramble,...
Friday, 15 October 2010
Beth Nevis, author of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE which debuts from Razorbill in January 2011, is running a contest on her blog this week, asking readers to write about their greatest adventures. I thought of a piece I wrote it in 2005 for the Canadian zine INkwell Newswatch, when I was riding high after the publication of my first novel, FOOD OF LOVE. I try not to blabber on too much about myself in this blog, but I thought some of my readers might enjoy this. I’ll post my regular how-to article on Sunday.********When I started writing...
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