I’m here in the winterless North of New Zealand wondering where the sun went.
This is supposed to be the middle of summer... but no we have rain, rain and more rain. Today the sun taunted us and came out...We soaked it up wearing bathing suits and light clothing...and then went back to sweatshirts and raincoats. Nothing else to do but stay inside and eat...
Over on the blogosphere the rumours are flying... Apple may be about to launch a publishing company...in competition with another company starting with A. Check out the gossip on Passive Guy about how things could impact for the author.
Also on the ‘if you can’t beat them, join them front’ check out this link about indie bookstore becoming publishers...if you know a bookstore owner tell them to check it out, it might tickle their tastebuds.
There is a new blog on the block that is making a stir. Passive income author aka Skellie examines what works about author and eBook marketing and is writing some great posts to help others. Check out these two - The uncommon truth about marketing and 5 tactics to get more eBook sales per reader.
Jody Hedlund takes a thoughtful look at what skills she thinks writers will need in 2012.
Yesterday, because I was on holiday, I was able to join in the weekly kidlit twitter chat. The topic was predictions for 2012 for kidlit writers. One of the most discussed predictions was an increase in book trailers for mid grade. I am interested in this as I have a mid grade book coming soon and I have created a book trailer for it. Some good ideas were tossed around in the chat. You can go
to Kidlitchat host Greg Pincus’s blog to check out the transcript...it might not be up just yet but it will be soon in the meantime check out the other topics Kidlitchat has chewed over in 2011.
Chewing over meaty topics is what Mike Shatzkin and Jane Friedman do best.
This week Mike has taken a hard look at children’s publishers and what 2012 may hold for them. He particularly examines Picture Book publishers as they are the only ones doing well in print. He asks the hard question, Can digital really deliver an immersive reading experience?
Jane Friedman responds to a readers question this week - How do you know if your agent is any good? Jane lists questions to ask the agent and advice to follow. Do they stack up?
In the craft section,
The brilliant Adventures in Children’s Publishing blog have posted a ‘print out and stick on the wall’ checklist of 40 questions to ask your manuscript.
Over at wordservewatercooler they have a post looking at the emotional development of your characters. You can’t afford to ignore their emotional growth....
New challenges get underway this week around the writing blogosphere.
You might like to get involved in Row80 (a Round Of Words in 80 days) the wonderful Jenny Hansen is sponsoring this first quarter.
If you are picture book inclined there is a 12x12 in 2012 running over at Julie Hedlunds blog...Tara Lazar kicks it off looking at PB endings.
Today I was asked if I thought small far flung communities of writers could get together and promote their work through eBooks and a website. I most emphatically said YES. Groups of writers are doing it all over the place from Killzone to Readergirlz. What better way for an isolated group of writers to get readers and support by joining together with a common goal.
Go on... Take A Bite!
maureen
Major inspiration video follows....
