Today the news came through that writing legend Elmore
Leonard died. He was a popular crime and thriller writer getting his start in
pulp fiction. He had 10 rules for writing that have become a popular meme
around the blogosphere but Leonard often broke his own rules. Here is a link to the interview where Elmore Leonard explains when to break the rules.
If you are looking for a cheat sheet in the game of
life...Lifehacker has 10 infographics and cheat sheets to help you.
Last week I was immersed in WriteOnCon...and this week it’s
Romance (a family member is staying here to attend the Romance Writers
conference.) Romance Writers are a
savvy bunch often way ahead of other genres in marketing and trends. Here is a collection of great writing articles for Romance writers but they could easily apply right across all the genres.
However if mid grade is your specialty (and it’s mine) here is Peter Lerangis on writing for this age group.
Read this through carefully.
By posting your
content on the Sites, you expressly grant Random House a non-exclusive,
perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, fully paid-up worldwide, fully
sub-licensable right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate,
create derivative works from, distribute, transmit, perform and display such
content and your name, voice, and/or likeness as contained in your User
Submission, in whole or in part, and in any form throughout the world in any
media or technology, whether now known or hereafter discovered, including all
promotion, advertising, marketing, merchandising, publicity and any other
ancillary uses thereof, and including the unfettered right to sublicense such
rights, in perpetuity throughout the universe.
Are you shaking your head and wondering why anyone would
sign a contract with this in?
Well lots of writers have....it could be in .4 in your
latest contract. However this little excerpt comes from a Random House contract
where they invite writers to contribute blog posts to their online blogging
universe. FOR FREE.
Read all about this latest devious way to screw the content creator from the world’s largest publisher.
In the blogosphere this week...Barnes and Nobel and Simon and Schuster have made up. Great news for the writers left out in the cold...
However Barnes and Nobel are not having a good week with reaction to their
quarterly earnings out yesterday bringing out the doom sayers. Mike Shatzkin takes a look at the bookstore that wants to compete on all fronts.
Another
bookstore getting a mention is our local proudly independent Children’s Book
Shop...check out this article on what a bookstore should be doing by British
author Mal Peet who graced our city with his presence in the first part of the
year.
Passive Guy asks Do You know What Your Rights Are Worth?
This is a good run down on different rights in your contract.
Galleycat has a list of what agents have on their wishlists.
In Craft,
There is a swag of very good articles today.
Elisabeth S Craig on Outlining...This is very good.
Bookshelfmuse on sagging middles...Excellent
Justine Larbalesteir on rewriting...Just Brilliant!
Kristen Lamb on Editing...Excellent
Jim Mercurio on beating exposition...very good
Jami Gold is calling all pantser’s and if you are not sure
what type of writer that is you need to check out the article from the very
clever Ms Gold.
In Marketing,
The Indie 50 best sites...this is a mix of craft and
marketing...
Twitter lists and how to use them...a great how to guide.
Website to check out,
The Oatmeal....comics on grammar...
To Finish,
Publishers Weekly has been looking at where our audience has gone...The latest YouTube meetup had nearly 7000 vloggers...with teens to the
forefront. Some of these teens have over 2 million subscribers to their
channels....Where are the publishers? Can authors tap into this underground
movement... or are we a dying artform...
Maureen
