15 Best Articles This Week for Writers 7/2/2010

Here's the round-up of new articles and some older posts we found on our trips around the blogosphere this week. Do you have an announcement, article, or good news we missed? Please comment and let us know!

Inspiration

• The Road to Publication [Sherrillyn Kenyon] Her incredible, by-the-fingernails journey to publication, the best-seller list, poverty, and back to the best-seller list. MUST READ.
• Fiction Writer Reaches Climax of Her Book [The Plot Whisperer for Writers and Readers] You will gain insight about your own writing journey through this article about another writer.
• Why I Don't Quit My Day Job [CBA Ramblings] Guest blogger Sandra D. Bricker outlines reality, one check at a time.
• Does It Get Any Better? [BookEnds, LLC] Some encouraging words in overcoming rejection.
• 7 Things I've Learned So Far [Guide to Literary Agents] Author Jan Underwood shares her insights on writing.
• The Writer in the Mirror [Excuse Editor] Which mirror shows your reflection?

The Craft of Writing

• Creating Prejudice in Fantasy [Mens with Pens] Adding prejudice into your fantasy world adds built-in conflict.
• Do Your Characters Have What It Takes? [Ziggy Kinsella via @ElizabethCraig] Discovering your characters as you write has its pros and cons, but making them strong and rounded results in a better book.
• Writing Related Quotations [The Writer's Den via @ElizabethCraig] Nuggets on craft from the masters.
• Guest Blog: Bryan Russell on the Architecture of Revision [Nathan Bransford] Guest blogger provides a fantastic metaphor for revising.
• The Nuclear Family in MG or YA Fiction [Kidlit.com] Mary Kole makes the case for the less-than-perfect family.
• How Settings Make or Break Your Characters [Plot to Punctuation] Why a believable setting is crucial to character development.
• A Tale of Psychopathic Chocolate Bunnies [Unbound via Chocolate and Vodka] Showing versus telling decisions made practical.
• Show Don't Tell, and Other Myths [Mark C. Newton via Chocolate and Vodka] A great essay from Ursula LeGuin plus a passionate defense of having the freedom to "tell" as the story and the character's voice demand.
• Key Elements to Plot Structure [Socialpolitan] Story consultant Michael Hauge provides a different way of looking at plot that can help you expose holes you didn't even know you had. Excellent!
• Writing Flashbacks [edittorrent] Minimizing the use of "had" in your writing.
• 14 Tips For Effective Characterization [C. Patrick Schulze] Excellent character-crafting tips.
• Tension on Every Page (and all that crap...) [The Literary Lab] Michelle Davidson Argyle provides excellent discussion about including tension in your scenes, not necessarily suspense.

Self-Editing

• Passive Voice = Passive Scene? [EditTorrent] If your voice has gotten too passive in a scene, consider whether the problem isn't more with your characters and the action than with your verbs.
• The Proofreading Blues [Type M for Murder via @ElizabethCraig] Donis Casey discusses a post-editorial revision, and points out some errors we may all be making.
• Good Writing Tips [The Huffington Post] Chris Guillebeau provides an excellent list to help you improve your writing and your manuscript.

Critiquing

• Developmental Editing Letter [A. Victoria Mixon] An excellent example of an editorial letter for a manuscript, covering the type of things we should be thinking about our own work as well as what we should consider when critiquing a novel for another writer.
• 11 Types of Bad Writing Advice [Psychology Today] FANTASTIC post about absolutes and types of critiques you need to ignore to preserve your writing and your sanity.
• Story Write- Publish Your Stories [It's All About Writing] Nicole Humphrey Cook generously passes along a great resource for writers!

To Market

• The Query Project [(W)ords and (W)ardances] Jodi Meadows, an author and former slush reader, reviews query letters and provides detailed insight.
• Life of Pie [AgencyGatekeeper] An explanation and pie chart of what comes over the transom at a literary agency and why it doesn't cut it: 6% unresearched/not ready yet; 2% platform lacking; 5% unprofessional; 9% not intuitively good enough; 3% oversaturated; 18% concept not appealing/marketable; 10% writes well but not for us; 4% great concept, bad writing; 10% inadequate writing; 33% genre not a good fit for the agency. Great explanations of each category, plus a simple suggestion for road testing new concepts.
• Would You Please Quit Assuming Stuff Already? [Janet Reid, Literary Agent] Once you read this, you'll never assume silence means no again.
• Query Series: Kristin Miller & Suzie Townsend [YA Highway] Author Kristin Miller and Agent Suzie Townsend break down a query for us. Very interesting.
• What To Title Your Book [Dystel & Goderich] Consderations when choosing a title.
• Queries: Really Not That Complicated [CBA Ramblings] Rachelle Gardner discusses querying from an agent's perspective.
• The Power of No [Guide to Literary Agents] Alison Ashley Formento encourages us to slow down when we get "the call."
• Tips for Potential Self-Publishers [The Creative Penn] Excellent, realistic discussion on self-pubbing.
• How to Create a Bidding War for Your Book Proposal [Huffington Post @RachelleGardner] Applies to queries, book openings, and a lot more. Read this!
• Agent Spotlight: Stefanie von Borstel [Literary Rambles] Casey does it again!
• The Mystical Blue Yonder (Or, Book Publicity) [Editorial Ass] Excellent advice on getting your book out there.

Congratulations

• To Kate Messner (@KateMessner) and Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency for the sale of two new novels to Walker.
• Erin Cashman's The Specials gets picked up by Holiday House through Trident Media Group.
• Lola Schaefer's Swamp Chomp sells to Holiday House through Stimola Literary Studio.
• Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr.'s middle-grade baseball series, co-authored by Baltimore Sun sportswriter Kevin Cowherd, starting with Hothead to Disney-Hyperion through Objective Entertainment.
• Stephanie Watson's The Wee Hours sold to Disney-Hyperion by David Black Literary Agency.
• Adam Rex's heavily illustrated trilogy, Cold Cereal gets nabbed by Balzer and Bray via Writers House.
• Books 6 and 7 in Ridley Pearson's bestselling Kingdom Keepers series sold to Disney-Hyperion via Writers House.
• Author-illustrator Jennifer Sattler's Pig Kahuna sold to Bloomsbury Children's through Liza Dawson Associates.
• Wesley King's The Vindico, pitched as The Breakfast Club meets the X-Men, sold to Putnam Children's through Writers House.
• Kim Siebold's Alphabet sold to Running Street Press through Mansion Street Literary.

Contests

• J.A. Souder's Angels and Demons and Portals New Secret Agent contest is open to the first 25 MG and YA entries through Monday. Good luck!
• Happy Independence Day! (And a giveaway) [Emily's Reading Room] A whole list of wonderful giveaways!

Trends and Issues

• E-books, hardcovers, online booksellers: Why everybody can win [CNN Fortune] "Ultimately, there's no reason traditional bookstores and digital booksellers can't co-exist; for all their common ground, each offers a substantially different value proposition. Of course, the onus is on booksellers to prove their continued relevance in the digital age. If they continue to innovate in the services and experiences they offer and the ways they engage the community, consumers will continue to make bookstores a vital part of their lives. If they fail to adapt to changing market conditions and consumer needs, they'll deserve the empty aisles -- and cash registers -- that result. The next chapter is up to them."
• The Latest Trends in Query Letters and Sample Pages [Pub Rants] Agent Kristin Nelson provides insight into trends she's seen in recent queries.

Twitter, Blogging and Social Media

• Turn Your Visitors into Advertisers [AdTaily via @BooksLoveMe] Monetize your blog with customizable advertising separate from  your google options.
• Writin' it "Old School" [Excuse Editor] The challenge: step away from the internet and write already. Can you do it?
• Agent Interview: Jill Corcoran, Herman Agency [Alice Pope's SCBWI Children's Market Blog] Jill Corcoran gives an insightful interview, but her remarks about blogging specifically caught our eyes.
• The Writing Community [QueryTracker.net] Elana Johnson provides a terrific list of online writing resources to network.
• Online Contest for Book Promotion [Fiction Notes]Angela Ackerman, , participates in Q&A for running a contest successfully.
• WriteOnCon Registration Begins July 1st! [Literary Rambles] Have you registered for WriteOnCon? It's free and it's going to be amazing!

Just for Smiles

• EMOTICONS: The New Form Rejection [Grab a Pen] A simple smiley face can say so much!
• A Thirsty Gerbil's Kiss: Best Bad Writing of 2010 [TodayShow.com via Jane Friedman]
• Revamp Your Writing With 8 Sexy Words [Grab a Pen] Try using these words in your latest WIP- they will change your life ;)
• Bookshelf Porn [Inkygirl] Book lovers will appreciate this photo in only a way a book lover can.
• The Latest WriteOnCon vlog
• Here's to the Crazy Ones [Hip Writer Mama] This inspirational video made us smile inside and out.

Other Weekly Round-Ups:

• Favorite Tweets for Writers This Week [All About Writing] Nicole Humphrey Cook's round-up of writing tweets.
• Jane Friedman of Writer's Digest also does a wonderful list of best tweets of the previous week. 
• Alice Pope does a Wednesday Tweet Roundup for the SCBWI Children's Market Blog.
• Northern Colorado Writers do This Week in the Writing World every Friday.
• Jennifer Roland does a Writing Roundup on Fridays.
• Ricki Schultz does an "In the Blogosphere" post on Fridays where she lists posts she's stumbled across during the week.
• Elizabeth Craig has started posting a weekly list of all her helpful Twitter posts.
• And don't forget to check Nathan Bransford's blog later this morning for his weekly recap of publishing news and information.
• Saturday Link Party [Forever Young] Jessica rounds up fun and interesting links.
• Stina Linddenblatt does a Cool Links Friday. This week, she caught a lot I wish we had on ours. I know what I'm doing for the next few minutes!
• DuoLit does a weekly list of links with some emphasis on self-publishing and marketing.
• YA Highway's Friday Road Trip hits the high points of the publishing industry, writing craft, submissions process, and other fun stuff.
• Cynthia Leitich Smith at Cynsations does a Cynsational author and book news review.

Did we miss anything? Anyone? Please leave a comment!

Happy reading and joyous writing,

Martina & Marissa