- 10 Tips for Effective Book Covers [There Are No Rules] Learn how to stand out at first glance.
- Your Author Photo: Posing Tips [QueryTracker.net] Look skinnier and more natural in all your photos!
- How It Feels To Have Your Book Out There In The World [The Creative Penn] WONDERFUL, honest post from the wonderful @thecreativepenn.
- How Slow Can You Go? [Jennifer Represents...] Even after the sale, the pace can be glacial.
- Excellent Online Learning Opportunities (Free + Paid) [There Are No Rules] Education on author marketing and e-publishing.
- Marketing Or Selling: What’s The Difference And Why Do I Like To Do One And Not The Other? [www.publetariat.com] Defining yourself in the age of self-publishing.
- How to promote on Twitter (or why I went pink for LIAR SOCIETY) [Dancing with Dragons is Hard on Your Shoes.] Great example of smart book promotion.
- 10 Awesome YA novels from Down Under! Part II [YA Highway] More great books for your TBR pile.
- THE LIAR SOCIETY by Lisa & Laura Roecker [Writer on the Side] A must, must read.
- Cloaked by Alex Flinn [Writer Musings] Spotlights a common writing issue. Do you have this in your WIP?
- Tantalizing Future YA Releases! Covers you continue to amaze me... [/- LA FEMME READERS -/] OMG, SO many amazing books coming out!
- The City of Fallen Angels Chapter Hunt is On [Cassandra Clare's Blog] Ready for the big reveal?
- POSSESSION by Elana Johnson [ROOTS IN MYTH] A book as AWESOME as Elana!
- Book Review: Soul Stalker (Timeless, #2) by Laura Kreitzer [/- LA FEMME READERS -/] Tighter writing than the 1st book lets you enjoy the story without the distraction of unnecessary scenes.
- Review of: Tomorrow's Guardian [Young Adult Books Reviewed] "A new twist on time travel you have to read to believe."
- First Line Blogfest... [Southern Princess]Great idea. And wonderful writing.
- Win an ARC of Drought by Pam Bachorz! [THE BOOK BUTTERFLY] Enter by 3/1/11.
- First Page and GIVEAWAY: Rival [First Page Panda] Must read! Enter by 3/2/11 for chance to win it.
- Giveaway time! [Where Fantasy and Love Take Flight] $50 gift card--enter by 2/24/11.
- Interview & Giveaway: Other Words for Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal [Confessions of a Bookaholic] Signed copy. Enter by 3/11/11.
- Young Adult Book Review: The Mind Readers by Lori Brighton and #Giveaway! Open Internationally, 3 winners [Candace's Book Blog] Enter by 2/28/11.
- Insanely Mega Elevensies Debut Giveaway [TerryLynnJohnson] Nine amazing books--enter by 3/18!
- Giveaway: The Devil's Kiss & Dark Goddess [WORD for Teens] Ends 2/19/11.
- 15 Original Sin ARCs up for grabs! [Personal Demons] Check out the giveaway from Tor.com.
- FAB ALERT and GIVEAWAY: Across the Universe by Beth Revis [Searching] Enter by 3/1/11.
- Valentine Treat & Giveaway: Owen from Purpose [Confessions of a Bookaholic] Enter by 3/7/11.
- Giveaway: Win The Light Series by Jennifer DeLucy [The Bibliophile's Journal] Enter by 2/24.
- Interview & Giveaway: Solid by Shelley Workinger [Confessions of a Bookaholic] Enter by 3/3 to win.
- Aspiring Writers of Kids and Young Adult books… [Ripping Ozzie Reads] Publisher offers manuscript competition. Enter 5/2 to 6/3/11.
- Tip Thursday: Tips from the Masters [Angels and Demons and Portals. Oh My!] Ten things best-selling authors recommend to make your writer stronger.
- Goals versus Need [Plot Whisperer for Writers and Readers] GREAT: Tie a plot goal to an emotional need to a higher good for an emotional story with thematic significance.
- Finding my core. [Jade hears voices] AWESOME: Find out what the core of your novel is. Be willing to change everything but that.
- Building Our Protagonist [Mystery Writing is Murder] Great links (thx for including us!) plus questions and perspectives on creating your protag.
- Prologues: Not as Evil as You Think [The Other Side of the Story] Pros, cons, and valid reasons for using them.
- Write What You Know [Paranormal Point of View] LOVE: How do readers become invested in my story if they can't put aside reason enough to fully immerse?
- Grammar of Old and New Worlds [The League of Extraordinary Writers] Great things to think about for any character with dialect or other language issues.
- T3 - Challenging Your Character's Inner Lies [The Character Therapist] And great ways to tie then to your plot!
- Guest Post: Sarah C. Campbell on Connecting Nonfiction to the Curriculum [CYNSATIONS] Find how your book fits into curriculum and develop additional tie-in meterials.
- 10 Questions for your Characters [It's a Mystery] Excellent list to help you build 3-D characters.
- OMG! You can totally see her double spaces. [Creepy Query Girl] Love this. I DO feel the claustrophobia!
- 10 Percent Uncontrolled [Words from the Woods] Do your characters make conscious decisions that create problems as often as they clear them up?
- Enriching Your Story [Seeing Creative] Check the different main plot layers and subplot layers. (Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook)
- Are You Overusing Passive Verbs? [Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors] Great reminder that active verbs foster engagement and connection.
- Writer's Wednesday: Can you Plot Without Voice? [Oasis for YA] Chicken vs. egg = voice (character) vs. plot. Opinions?
- When the Words Won’t Flow: Four Tools to Try [Cheryl's Musings] Engage the senses. Play the movie. Have the conversation. Try on a different point of view.
- Symbolism Thesaurus Entry: Religion [The Bookshelf Muse] LOVE: Let the story's tone decide if one strong symbol or several smaller ones work best.
- Rejection or Learning From Those First Line Mistakes-l [TheWriteGame] Five reasons your first line may not work.
- Lovable and Admirable Characters [Denise Jaden] Pick too of these five extremes to create a winner?
- That elusive voice [Alexandra Sokoloff] Truly GREAT article about defining, teaching, and learning voice in fiction.
- Agent and Editor Panels [Chocolate for Inspiration] Invaluable recap and tips presented in easy bullets. Excellent.
- Character Clues [Mystery Writing is Murder] Excellent points and examples for revealing character traits.
- The 3 Integral Components of a Story’s Beginning [Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors] LOVE: Character. Action. Setting. (Hitler invaded Poland.)
- Lessons from Sex and the City 2 [Julie Musil] Five craft tips writers need to keep in mind.
- Quote of The Week: John Gardner (on Endings) [Ingrid's Notes] LOVE this quote!
- Writing from the Place: TEN WAYS TO MAKE ROMANCE SIZZLE IN A MANUSCRIPT [ROOTS IN MYTH] Great for anyone writing a love interest.
- Descriptive Passages, Part III: Action [Magical Words] Like description, action sequences should also reinforce character, backstory, narrative, etc.
- Synopsis Part 2 [GENREALITY] The synopsis is a tool that helps the agent or editor make a decision, but the book clinches the deal.
- Simple Writing Tip [Rose Cooper] Write aloud to catch dialogue flow, typos, pacing and inconsistencies.
- Hook, Line, and Sinker: How to Hook Readers and Reel Them In [*Lynnette Labelle* @Chatterbox Chitchat] $25 course runs 4/4-4/30.
- What makes a good sex scene? [Books] It captures the complexity or beauty or ugliness of the real thing.
- Weeding through the Mess: How to Make Sense of Your First Draft [How to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book] Six easy steps to rising and falling action!
- Worksheets for Writing a Novel in 30 Days [There Are No Rules] The best tools from Writer's Digest.
- A is for Amateur, B for Bathtub [Words and Such] Two great writing tips, and how to remember them.
- Setting Thesaurus Entry: City Transit (train) [The Bookshelf Muse] Another great entry. And so true about the foot & body odor...
- If You Build it, They Will Read: Plotting With Layers [The Other Side of the Story] How to use layers to craft a well-constructed story that keeps readers interested.
- Using Fear To Create A Dystopian World [The League of Extraordinary Writers] Decide what YOU couldn't live without, then don't let your characters have it.
- Setting By Example: Crusie/Mayer [edittorrent] Example of thorough yet incredibly efficient scene-setting.
- Character Habits and Identifiers [Mystery Writing is Murder] Help to remind your readers about who's who.
- Symbolism Thesaurus Entry: Mystery [The Bookshelf Muse] How does Angela do these so well so consistently?
- Gender Bending: Writing a Different Gender Than Your Own [The Other Side of the Story] Five tips to make it easier.
- Blast from the Past: Got Micro-Tension? [Sisters in Scribe] The three main components and how to get them into your fiction.
- Phrase Frequency Counter for Writers [GalleyCat] Excellent tool! Even more useful than Wordle!
- Scenes–what are they in novels, and how do you write them? [Let The Words Flow] From transitioning to ending on a hook. Good stuff!
- Wait—Who Said That? Keeping Your Speakers Straight [The Other Side of the Story] Five tips to make dialogue more readable.
- Revision--Shannon Style (Part Three: Critiques) [Shannon Whitney Messenger] Critique partners, process, beta readers, and chocolate covered Twizzlers.
- SCBWI Vlog [Ramblings of a Drifting Mind] And quick summary if you prefer the written word.
- What I Learned About Writing a Second Novel [Guide to Literary Agents] Great: The best agents have an uncanny ability to see into the heart of a story.
- Making It Your Business: Setting Goals [Magical Words] Goals and how they fit into your writing mission statement.
- Highlights From NY SCWBI Conference, Part One [Write-Brained] A post to bring back memories. Awesome conference!
- The Answer is In the Work [iggi & gabi] LOVE this: "The true goal to strive for is to love doing the work." @SaraZarr
- The Care And Feeding of a Writer - Perseverance [The Blood-Red Pencil] Seven great tips to keep you going.
- Reading to Escape [Sisters in Scribe] LOVE: Someone is going to find your characters as real as you do.
- Interview with Helene Boudreau [Miss Snark's First Victim] Fantastic interview from a wonderful author!
- Why crap people make crap writers [James Killick's Blog] Writing isn't just about words. To become a better writer, you have to become a better person.
- 5 tips for squashing self-doubt demons [Don't pet me, I'm writing] LOVE THIS: Compensate for what sucks.
- How to Beat the Fear of Being a One-Book Wonder [Author, Jody Hedlund] Five things to help you write the next book.
- Creativity, Success, and Following Your Own Path [Caroline by line] Seven wonderful posts on the creative process.
- How a light bubl can make you more creative [Time to Write] Seriously? The human brain is so amazing!
- 6 Techniques for Using Music to Help Our Muse [Jami Gold, Paranormal Author] Love: Train your brain to know listening-to-music time as work time.
- Trust Your Demon [Book Dreaming] Love this quote about taking big risks in writing.
- 8 Signs Your Writing Is Stuck in a Rut - and Why You Should Care [Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors] On laziness and fear--and how to get past them.
- SCBWI SAN DIEGO CONFERENCE OVERVIEW [Jill Corcoran Books] Red hot from the fabulous Natalie Fischer!
- The Fine Art of Conquering Impatience [The Bookshelf Muse] Three things you can do to take it out of the equation.
- 14 Ways to Love What Your Manuscript Loves [A. Victoria Mixon, Editor] Great post: You will never get it all down in words.
- 7 Things I’ve Learned So Far, by Leslie Tentler [Guide to Literary Agents] Don't let your inner critic psych you out.
- Scientists Date Unreadable Manuscript [GalleyCat] Mysterious book in unknown language is 25 years older than the Guttenberg Bible.
- For Ebooks, An ISBN Dilemma [www.publetariat.com] Without a way to identify “books” as they are published, information and creativity could be orphaned.
- What is Copyright and What Does it Do? [iggi & gabi] The breakdown in layman's terms. Excellent!
- Femmes Fatales and Deadly Men [The Publication Follies of Alexandra Shostak] FABULOUS: All I am saying is this: women deserve to value themselves in the same way men do.
- Updated Predictions for Authors [GENREALITY] LOVE: Writers have focused on getting an agent, book contract, etc., but what you really want are readers.
- Survive Your Writing or Editing Career [The Blood-Red Pencil] Tips for keeping your hands, back, and shoulders healthy.
- Could Your eBooks & Digital Writings Survive an Electromagnetic Pulse Attack? [GalleyCat] WOW! e-book libraries, manuscripts! Oh, the implications.
- Editor Margaret K. McElderry Has Died [GalleyCat] An enormous loss for children's publishing!
- How Free Chocolates Can Help Bookstores [GalleyCat] Could/should bookstores plug-in to customers' GoodReads or Facebook pages?
- The fate of the world lies in my hands. Be very afraid. [Personal Demons] How big do the stakes have to be for YA?
- 28 Days of Teens & Tech #16: What’s Happening? [YALSA] Should educators and teens connect via social media?
- Adult Hardcover Sales Rose 23% in December But Slipped 5% for Calendar Year [GalleyCat] And annual e-book sales up 164.4 percent.
- Margaret Atwood on Changes in Publishing [Cynical, Ornery, Sublime, Lush . . .] LOVE this: Authors as the "dead moose" of publishing.
- Borders Releases List of 200 Stores to Be Closed [GalleyCat] The list plus links about the human cost and bankruptcy.
- The mess at Borders [Janet Reid, Literary Agent] Janet Reid points us to the John Mutter piece on how Borders got here.
- Barnes & Noble Writes Open Letter to Amazon Affiliates [GalleyCat] Battle of the behemoths--and B&N sides with the little guys.
- Graduation [Glass Cases] Wonderful post about issues to address in YA lit and teen shows.
- The Pressure To Jump In Too Soon [Author, Jody Hedlund] How new writers can avoid burnout.
- Wild Wild West? [Confessions From Suite 500] Apps & ebooks have forced us to change the way we think about books & publishing.
- Have A Dance Break [Myra McEntire] Great idea! And not just while waiting for @MyraMcEntire to return.
- The Huffing & Puffing Post [PassiveAggressiveNotes.com] OMG, I laughed so hard. I want the bumpersticker version.
- Don't do this in your book [Coffey. Tea. And Literary.] About starting with a bang.
- 6 EXOTIC PLACES TO MEET YOUR MANUSCRIPT: Valentine's Day Edition [Grab a Pen] Six locales to jumpstart your imagination.
- If you try sometimes... you get what you need [The Publication Follies of Alexandra Shostak] FANTASTIC: If you've revised something too closely for too long, emotions of characters start to blur into steps in the plot equation and stop being the raw, chaotic and random things they are.
- The joy of editing [Musings of a Penniless Writer] Four basic rules of self-editing.
- No Pain, No Gain: Killing Your Darlings [The Other Side of the Story] No matter how good the line or the scene, if it doesn't work for the overall story it hurts that story
- How to Survive the Revision Process [iggi & gabi] LOVE: Revision is where you add the strategic elements of your story.
- How to Break Up With Your Writing [A. Victoria Mixon, Editor] Three tips to make revisions more palatable.
- 50 Things Your Manuscript Is Judged On [Falling Leaflets] BEST list of ms evaluation questions I've ever seen.
- Self-Editing Part 2: Writing Style [NouveauWriter] Excellent points on passive voice, qualifiers, wordiness and more.
- How to Help Google Find Your Site [Author Marketing Experts, Inc. » BLOG] Ten tips that really work.
- The Unspoken Rules of Publishing: Twitter [Let The Words Flow] Twitter as high school. And how it can be wonderful.
- The Power of Social Networking [BookEnds, LLC — A Literary Agency] Great note about connections in publishing.
- How to Meaningfully Grow Traffic to Your Site/Blog [There Are No Rules] Juicy explanations and examples.
- Seven Tips to Grow Your Mailing List [Blue Rose Girls] Want to stay in touch with readers? Potential readers?
- The Truth about Writing Contests [Jami Gold, Paranormal Author] And submissions. Sometimes you've done nothing wrong. It just isn't love at first sight.
- Best Literary Journals in Los Angeles [GalleyCat] Great list to help you build some writing cred.
- Question from a Writer - Paranormals [Babbles from Scott Eagan] A paranormal needs to be real and believable, unique enough not to sound like...
- Synopsis Example: ''A History of Violence'' (Thriller) [Guide to Literary Agents] Love these examples. So helpful!
- When You're Missing the Mark [Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent] Once you get an agent, it could still be a long time until... you find the perfect match.
- How I Got My Agent: Jami Attenberg [Guide to Literary Agents] Great: You are entitled to work with someone who believes in you.
- Publishers That Accept Writers Without Agents: Boyd Mills Press [BubbleCow] Complete guidelines for unagented submissions.
- one fast way to instant rejection: Lie [Janet Reid, Literary Agent] The truth about requested material.
- February Premium Kit is "Find an Agent." Tons of Stuff for a Deep Discount. [Guide to Literary Agents] Nine great WD tools bundled together.
- Query Workshop [BookEnds, LLC — A Literary Agency] Opportunity to get your query critiqued by BookEnds LLC!
- 5 Reasons You Might Be Hearing No [YA Highway] When querying, give yourself the best chance you can.
- Interview with Agent, SuzieTownsend [Dark Angel Fiction Writing] FABULOUS interview!
- Question from a Writer - Scott and paranormals [Babbles from Scott Eagan] Scott loves a paranormal that sucks him into the mystery of a world surrounding ours.
- 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.
Martina, Marissa, Clara, Cam and Cici
Another amazing list! You guys rock the web!
ReplyDeletethanks for the shout out!
Wonderful links. Thank you. Enjoy your weekend.
ReplyDeleteI always look forward to Fridays and your weekly wrapups, thanks again! And thanks for the mention of my post, too--fun to see it listed here :-)
ReplyDeleteUseful links....thanks for sharing with us!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link. It was nice talking on Twitter. Miss you!
ReplyDeleteWow, there's so much great stuff out there. Can I just say how much I love blogging writers? Thanks so much for all you do, and for the kind mention of my blog post.
ReplyDeleteYou have the best roundups! Thanks for making my life easier :)
ReplyDeleteGreat links. Thanks for keeping us all updated on the best posts.
ReplyDeleteVery cool, the first link--especially since I like to experiment and mock up my own book covers. LOL Thanks for the usual extensive linky list!
ReplyDeleteSo jammed packed with good stuff!!
ReplyDeleteWow, I know what I'm doing until bed time. This is an amazing list. :D
ReplyDeleteThanks for the congrats and the link! :)
ReplyDelete