10 Best Articles This Week for Writers 10/8/2010

After the Sale

• Six Tips for Selling Your Book [WOW! Women On Writing Blog] The practical realities of a book signing.
• Creating an author's platform - part 2 [Time to Write] 4 more tips for reaching people in order to promote your book.

Book Reviews

• Torment by Lauren Kate [Candace's Book Blog] Haven't read it yet? Here's some things to consider.
• Her and Me and You [Elana Johnson, Author] Great interview!
• The Mermaid’s Mirror by L.K. Madigan: Steph’s review [Novel Novice] Questions left to be answered in a series?
• Matched - Ally Condie [Forever Young: A YA Lit Blog] A good viewpoint on the buzz around Matched.
• I'm back. And do I have the book for you. [The Michelle Show] 'I simply could not stop until I had finished.'
• Book Review: Torment [Breaking the Bookshelf] 'Better then I could even comprehend.'
• Review- The Lonely Hearts Club [A Blog about Nothing] 'A fun story full of girl power and a great message to love yourself.'
• Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James - Review [Book Crazy] 'Intense and gripping, beautiful and sad.'
• The Toymaker by Jeremy de Quidt [Searching] 'Haunting, fast-paced read with a unique setting and premise.'
• The Ivy by Lauren Kunze and Rina Onur [The Bookologist] For a 'drama-filled, hilarious, and fun read, The Ivy is a perfect choice.'
• Plain Kate by Erin Bow [Frenetic Reader] 'Magical and memorable.'
• House of Dead Maids [Babbling Flow] 5 out of 5 stars!
• Jane [WORD for Teens] 'A fantastic retelling of my favorite classic.'
• Review of: Dead Beautiful [Young Adult Books Reviewed] 'Worth the read if you hang in there.'
• Review of: Arson [Young Adult Books Reviewed] 'From start to finish I was blown away.'
• The Mermaid’s Mirror by L.K. Madigan – Sara’s Review [Novel Novice] 'Madigan magically weaves together elements of fantasy and coming-of-age.'
• Tiny Knives and Cute Little Tails…Hail, NIGHTSHADE CITY! [Carol's Prints] 'Tense moments, touching scenes, and some heart-thumping action.'

Congrats

• Nobel Prize in literature is awarded to Mario Vargas Llosa [Jacket Copy] Congrats!
• Yay My Books Been Optioned!!!! I'm so not kidding! [Diary of an Unpublished Wanna-Be Writer] Congrats, Julie! Wonderful news!
• Capturing Ideas [Julie Musil] Yay! Our friend Julie Musil gets an acceptance with Highlights magazine!
• It's a Boy! [Laura and Lisa Write] Lisa Roecker finally welcomes baby Benjamin Michael!
• Release Day!! Come Celebrate With Me!! [Author, Jody Hedlund] Congrats to Jody Hedlund on the release of The Preacher's Bride!
• An Actual Book [Brodi Ashton] Michael Bourret at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management just sold her first book THE EVER'NEATH, "based in part on the myth of Persephone, in which a seventeen-year-old, after having spent the past six months in the underworld escapes to the surface -- to her old life, her family, her boyfriend -- for another six months before she's banished back to the underworld once again, this time for eternity" to Kristin Daly at Balzer & Bray, in a three-book deal, for publication in Winter 2012.
• New YA Series [Darynda Jones] GRIMSIGHT, the first book in a new series by the author of FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT sold in a pre-empt to Jennifer Enderlin at St. Martin's.

Contests

• October Giveaway [Searching] 'Win a hardcover copy of Savvy by Ingrid Law.'
• AUTUMN GIVEAWAY EXTRAVAGANZA Contest #6 begins now! [Claudia's Blog] Enter by October 13th!
• A Must-Read for Writers [Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent] Win a copy of Betsy Lerner's book The Forest for the Trees.
• A Review + A Giveaway [Book Dreaming] Win a copy of Travels with Gannon and Wyatt: Botswana.
• The Happy Hollisters news and Giveaway! [Candace's Book Blog] Contest ends Oct. 19th!
• Haunted Halloween with Denise Jaden and a giveaway! [Confessions of a Bookaholic] Win Losing Faith! @TotalBookaholic
• Haunted Halloween with Shannon Delany and a giveaway! [Confessions of a Bookaholic] Signed copy of 13 to Life up for the taking!
• AUTUMN GIVEAWAY EXTRAVAGANZA Contest #5 is underway! [Claudia's Blog] Weird socks may just help you win great books!
• SAA Part 3 - BLESSED by Cynthia Leitich Smith ARC Giveaway [ROOTS IN MYTH] Enter by 10/15!
• Haunted Halloween with Nancy Holder and a giveaway [Confessions of a Bookaholic] Win Possessions and The Evil Within.
• 400 Follower Giveaway!!! [A Blog about Nothing] Excellent SmartChicks & Shadow Hills prizes & international option. Enter by 10/17
• Halloween Giveaway! [Young Adult Books Reviewed] Three ARCs and swag. Yay Halloween!
• Contest alert [Buffy's write zone] YA writers: new secret agent contest starts 10/11.
• Marvelous Middle Grade Monday--and a Giveaway!!! [Shannon Whitney Messenger] Win a signed copy of The Atlantis Complex!
• Freaky Fright Writers Fest!! [Writers' Ally aka ➔ sa larsenッ] Share your spooky story by October 29th!
• Amazing Prize Pack Giveaway, includes signed copy of The Mermaid's Mirror by L,K. Madigan [THE BOOK BUTTERFLY] Enter by October 17th!
• Haunted Halloween Contest : Alyson Noel and Leah Cypess [Confessions of a Bookaholic] Enter to win Radiance and Mistwood!
• Halo by Alexandra Adornetto Giveaway! [/- LA FEMME READERS -/] Enter by October 16th!
• October Book Giveaway! [Writer Musings] Several terrific books being offered as prizes!
• Haunted Halloween: Comment Contest [Confessions of a Bookaholic] Win great prizes by simply leaving comments!
• Haunted Halloween with Andrea Cremer and a giveaway! [Confessions of a Bookaholic] Enter by October 15th! #hauntedhalloween
• October Debut Contest and Happy Birthday to PD Down Under!!! [Personal Demons] PD & Nightshate. Enter by 10/29.
• Contest: Win a copy of Torment by Lauren Kate [Novel Novice] 3 winners. Enter by 10/8.
• Haunted Halloween Giveaway: Cover Contest [Confessions of a Bookaholic] Design your own scary cover!
• Haunted Halloween Giveaway: Story Contest [Confessions of a Bookaholic] Submit your spooky story and win cool prizes!
• SAA Part 2 - ALIEN INVASION AND OTHER INCONVENIENCES ARC Giveaway [ROOTS IN MYTH] Enter by October 8th!
• AUTUMN GIVEAWAY EXTRAVAGANZA Contest #4 begins! [Claudia's Blog] Ooh, hurry! Great books await one lucky winner!

Craft of Writing

• Tip Thursday: Fiction Writing [Angels and Demons and Portals. Oh My!] Hodgepodge of all the basics. Good job.
• Symbolism Thesaurus Entry: Love/Affection [The Bookshelf Muse] Another wonderful resource for when you're stuck for inspiration.
• T3 - Types of Grief, Part 4 [The Character Therapist] More plot and character fodder. Pay attention!
• The BubbleCow Guide to Academic Book Pitching: Part VI [PhD2Published] The final installment: the essential review process.
• Strong Dialogue [Write Anything] 5 quick tips to strengthen your dialogue.
• Creating Characters Using the Dialectical Method [Let The Words Flow] 'Dialectics reveal the dualism and conflict within each of your characters.'
• Writing the Devil into Your Bad Guy [Mystery Writing is Murder] Delve into the psyche of your antag to find out what makes them tick.
• How can you set up a successful writing collaboration? [Time to Write] Advice for co-writing a book.
• Know Your Why (Intent). [GENREALITY] 'Clear intent helps you stay consistently motivated.' @Bob_Mayer
• Never Give Your Characters What They Want [Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors] 'Refuse to give your characters what they want, right up until the end.'
• Tip Tuesday #57 [Literary Rambles] A resource for portraying age accurately.
• DIALOGUE TECHNIQUES [Help! I Need a Publisher!] 'It’s about not writing as we would not speak.'
• 5 Ways to Make Your Novel Helplessly Addictive [A. Victoria Mixon, Editor] Keep them turning the pages.
• Antagonists in Contemporary Fiction [Kidlit.com] The antag's role in external conflict and the need for internal/external balance.
• Learning From Hollywood - High Concept In Women's Fiction [The Sharp Angle] Read this no matter what you're writing!
• In which an ADD reader invites you to jump inside her brain [YA Highway] Funny (and true?) analysis of novel openings.
• Adventure Genre No-No’s [The WriteRunner] Great. Especially the part about sparkly vampires.
• Plotting Tips We Could All Use [Chatterbox Chitchat] Nine quick tips for a tighter more active story.
• Got Rhythm? [The Blood-Red Pencil] 'Transform lifeless description into a symphony.'
• Creating the Page-Turner: Tricks to Great Pacing in Your Books [How to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book] 'Leave the reader in a state of wondering right up to the end of the book.'
• One of the very best books on writing ever [Janet Reid, Literary Agent] 'Particularly helpful to those starting out.'
• Character Stereotypes: The Do-Gooder [The Character Therapist] Examination of this character type and how to spice them up.
• Tips For Writing Effective Dialogue [The Blood-Red Pencil] 'Some concrete ways to make your dialogue more compelling.'
• Setting Thesaurus Entry: Bank [The Bookshelf Muse] The Bookshelf Muse does it again!
• Tales of a Picture Book Writer: Do’s, Don’ts, and Maybe’s [Ingrid's Notes] Author Jon Scieszka provides numerous PB tips.
• The Problems With Sarcastic Voice [Kidlit.com] Don't use in tense sits? I disagree, if done well like @CassieClare.
• Ending a Short Story: Some Thoughts [The Literary Lab] LOVE THIS: People read partly for the pleasure of figuring things out for themselves
• Writing Series—Thoughts and Resources [Mystery Writing is Murder] Round-up of links for writing across a series.

Critiquing

• Bad Advice to Ignore from Your Critique Group [www.publetariat.com] Excellent post!

Inspiration

• Winning The Staring Contest [Lisa Cooper Writes] Excellent post about the blank page & urge to revise.
• A Reading List for Writers [Chip MacGregor .com] What do you think?
• The Beauty of a Bad Idea [Shannon Whitney Messenger] Analyzing ideas that won't work will help you find the ones that will.
• The 4 Golden Rules of Being a Writer [Guide to Literary Agents] 'Pitch your book before you write it.'
• Defeating Your Inner Critic Part II - Put the Critic on the Stand [QueryTracker.net] 'Top secret therapy techniques to defeat the Inner Critic.'
• DIY MFA Keynote Speech: Benjamin Andrew Moore [iggi & gabi] 'Go big or go on home.'
• Guest Richard Hine on How to Write a Novel in 30 Years or Less [The Divining Wand] Just follow these 25 steps.
• How I Got My Literary Agent: Kathleen Mulroy [Guide to Literary Agents] Persistence, Acceptance, Patience.
• The Yin-yang of Writing [James Killick's Blog] 'The imagination can thrive in a cramped space.'
• Don't Ration Out Your Ideas [There Are No Rules] 'This is, after all, a gambler's trade. All in. Always.'
• Why I Wrote POSSESSION [Elana Johnson, Author] A great example of inspriration from High Concept.
• Defeating Your Inner Critic Part I - Track the Problem [QueryTracker.net] The ABCs of coping instead of suffering.
• 9 Ways to Prepare for the National Novel Writing Month [Write Anything » 9 Ways to Prepare for the National Novel Writing Month] 9 areas of importance for your NaNo campaign.
• For Richer or Poorer: Writing Through the Good and Bad Times [Ingrid's Notes] Author Carolyn Mackler shares tips on the literary life.
• Enjoy the Luxury of the Unpublished Life [Anne R. Allen's Blog] Why this side of the fence isn't so bad after all.
• A Word to Children's Writers: Spend Time at Schools [Guide to Literary Agents] Watch children 'in the wild.'
• The Worst Writing Advice [Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors] Ignore these negative suggestions.
• Surviving the Cheap Seats of the Writing Journey [Excuse Editor] 'Buckle in, and enjoy the ride!'
• Happy Writers Society: Respecting Your Own Work [Between Fact and Fiction] Good advice from @NatalieWhipple
• If you're stuck, here's one solution [Time to Write] Do the wrong thing.

Issues and Trends

• SCBWI Winter Conference Registration is Now Open... And Very Popular! [The Official SCBWI Conference Blog] An explanation for the registration issues.
• Good Historical Fiction = Historical Thrillers [Mad Woman in the Forest] The next trend in publishing?
• Genre-Jumping: Because It's Not As Fun To Stick With One! [YA Highway] 'The hope is to take fans with you, instead of leaving them behind.'
• YALSA’s Not So Silent Auction: Your Name in a Forthcoming Novel [YALSA] Too cool! Your name in print.
• 5 Articles You Should've Read Over the Summer [There Are No Rules] Have you seen these?
• SCBWI's 2011 Annual Winter Conference Registration Opens Tomorrow! [Alice Pope's SCBWI Children's Market Blog] Will you be there?
• You Can't Take Your Name For Granted [Babbles from Scott Eagan] Resting on your laurels doesn't cut it.
• In it For the Long Haul [Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent] Actions that can build your staying power, and some that can diminish it.
• Thoughts on Changing Agents [Chip MacGregor .com] Great discussion on this touchy topic.
• The Importance of Being Ridiculous [Miranda Kenneally] 'YA lit could use a whole lot more silliness and less seriousness.'
• Queries, jealousy, and the internet is the internet. [Kaitlin's Blog] A little bit of everything via @Kaitlin_Ward, and all of it very wise.
• You Speak Loudly & I Love Mick Foley [Mad Woman in the Forest] GOOOO Penguin! And thank you Laurie and everyone who takes on book banning.
• No, all interns aren't idiots, in fact most of them are anything but. [Janet Reid, Literary Agent] The intern's job is to learn.
• Paranormal Heroines vs. Paranormal Heroes [Supernatural Underground] Sophie Jordan asks why so many paranormal figures are male.

Just for Smiles

• What They Really Mean [Magical Words] 'Common phrases in negative reviews that don’t mean what you think they mean.'
• HOW TO BE A WRITER [Grab a Pen] Two working fingers will do.
• QUERYPOLITAN OCTOBER 2010 [Grab a Pen] Be a sexier writer instantly!
• New comic on Writer Unboxed: Obsessive Compulsive Editing Support Group [Inkygirl.com: Daily Diversions For Writers - by Debbie Ridpath Ohi] Cute and funny new comic by Debbie Ohi.
• The Emotional Data Bank [GENREALITY] Every crappy situation can go into a book. Instant redemption. Gotta love it!
• How to be a writer in 15 easy steps. [Jade hears voices] Who knew Johnny Depp inspires writers?

Self-Editing

• Is it Writing or Renovating? [It's a Mystery] Love this! So many truths.
• Wordiness:The Post in Which I Discuss Reduction of the Aforementioned [* Fiction Groupie *] Excellent tips for cutting the fluff.
• Grammar Police: Who vs Whom [Justine Dell] If you can sub him choose whom. Easy.
• 7 Reasons Why You Should Read Your Book Out Loud [The Creative Penn] The many benefits of reading your text out loud.

Social Media, Twitter & Blogging

• Could Someone Be Plagiarizing Your Writing? [Write It Sideways] If you blog, don't skip this article. Unbelievable.
• 3 Reasons to Start Blogging Before a Book Contract [Author, Jody Hedlund] 'Every writer needs to find the social media presence that works best for them.'
• Online Safety and Presence [Mystery Writing is Murder] 'How vigilant are you to protect your identity online?'
• A Writer’s Guide To a Successful Interview [BubbleCow] Excellent tips for getting your head in the game.
• When is the Best Time to Start Monetizing Your Blog? [Blogussion] It depends on your goals.

To Market

• It's Who You Know [Pimp My Novel] Sometimes it's not enough to write a great book?
• Are There Really That Many People Out There Writing Books? [Nathan Bransford - Literary Agent] 'The odds are just numbers. Don't let them get you down.'
• Comments on Comments from Prior Blogs [Babbles from Scott Eagan] Dismaying view of manuscript submissions.
• Agent Spotlight: Holly McGhee [Literary Rambles] Known for picking timeless, class books for timeless, classic works in MG and YA.
• cue JAWS music? [Ara's Blog] Why queriers hate the Non-Response option.
• Ask Daphne! About Querying After a Breakup [kt literary] Should you mention you've been agented in the past?
• Agent Advice: Jen Rofe of Andrea Brown Literary [Guide to Literary Agents] Interview with an agent seeking kid lit, ranging from PB to YA.
• How to Pick an Agent if You Write for Many Audiences [Kidlit.com] Discussion on getting representation when you write across genres.
• Adventures in Agentland: The Pitch Session [adventuresinagentland.blogspot.com]
• Your Agent List [Creepy Query Girl] Resources to compose this important list.
• How to Get a Foot in the Door With Agents [Author, Jody Hedlund] 5 practical tips for getting an agent's attention.
• I Want to Publish My Book. Now What? [There Are No Rules] Publishing 101.
• Queries from Published Authors [BookEnds, LLC — A Literary Agency] 'If you are previously published, a proposal should be enough.'
• Successful Queries: Agent Kate Shaefer Testerman and ''The Last Good Place of Lily Odilon'' [Guide to Literary Agents] See what made this YA suspense query successful.
• New Query Guidelines! [Coffey. Tea. And Literary.] Nancy Coffey is now open to e-queries.
• Barnes & Noble Launches PubIt! [GalleyCat] 'Publishers can price their titles between $0.99 and $199.99.'
• Behind the Scenes... "The Call" [Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent] Eavesdrop on a pseudo transcript. Curious?
• Lessons from Peggy Olson [Glass Cases] Queries, rejections, revisions, and professionalism. Excellent.
• Self Publishing on the Kindle [BubbleCow] How to prepare and upload your book for sale on the Kindle.
• New Agent Alert: Caryn Karmatz Rudy of DeFiore and Company [Guide to Literary Agents] 'If you can make her laugh, you've won half the battle.'
• The Stress Free Query [The Kill Zone] The simple basics of a query and how you can get them right—every time.
• Query Series: Emilia Plater & Suzie Townsend [YA Highway] Author Emilia Plater shares her successful query.

 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