7 WOW Wednesday: Jessica Corra on Letting Your Crazy Out

Jessica Corra, today's guest, eats, sleeps, and breathes words. Really, she's only nominally crazy. In real life, she has a degree in English/Creative Writing which qualifies her to type really fast and point out your comma splices. She lives in Philadelphia, where she is working on more books. She is represented by Suzie Townsend of FinePrint Literary, but you can find her on her blog or on Twitter.

“My Crazy, Let Me Show You It”

by Jessica Corra

When I found out my debut novel, After You, would be published by Dial in Spring 2013 (look, I got my plug out of the way in the first line, I’m efficient), I was standing in a Barnes and Noble. I began flapping my hands up and down in front of my face, squeaking, “My book’s going to be here. My book’s going to be here.”

Because no matter how excited I am about everything else related to publishing, the whole endeavor is summed up in that line: my book’s going to be here. You’re going to be able to read my book. The gravity of that astounds me at the most basic level. We often say we write because we want to share our stories with people, but until your story is going to be shared with people, it’s an abstract idea. At least, it didn’t hit me until it was going to be a reality. (This is as it should be, I think. I would never have finished a novel if I had any real sense of an audience. Your mileage may vary.)

I think it took a full day for me to realize precisely what that meant: you’re going to be able to read my book? Oh. Em. Gee. I’m a practical writer; I believe in deadlines and wordcounts and the daily unbeautiful work of it. But I also believe that books are truth, words have magic, and that good writing is a piece of our souls made manifest.

So, basically, I’m writing to show you my soul. And you’re going to see it, in all its broken, vulnerable beauty. You might not like it. I have to be okay with that. Thing is, souls are resilient. They can be shaped and molded into stories, tossed around between the writer and the reader, and when caught, still shine their truths out. They’re soft things, vulnerable but resilient. Haven’t you noticed that about the books you love? They are fierce things, and they can burn themselves out in their fierceness. They leave you hollow and aching because they took a piece of you with them. I hope my books could be like that for someone.

Writers are some of the most courageous people I know, emotionally. We’re not afraid to let our crazy out, and we get that you have your own crazy. Heck, we write because of that. We want you to see you aren’t alone. So, come Spring 2013, I hope you’ll like my crazy. I worked very hard on it.

13 Tumblr - The Missing Link for Writing and Social Media

I love to blog about books and writing. I do. And I love the amazingly warm and supportive writing community on Twitter, although when I'm writing or knee deep in the quicksand of (gulp) actual work, I have to resort to Tweeting vicariously through Google Reader.

I don't totally love Facebook yet, and I'm mostly on it because my son went to college and he wants me to keep in touch with what he's doing without having to repeat  himself. (So yeah, I'm on Facebook because I raised an efficient kid. And oh, good, I just admitted that out loud.)

As much as I loved all this social networking though, until this weekend, there was something missing. All the time it takes up was time I used to spend reading newspapers--yes, Virginia, they DO still exist--or craft books. My craft book time has dwindled, and my newspaper reading has become nonexistent. I still devour actual book books as much as I can, but I find that it is reading nonfiction and looking at art and the world in general that opens my mind to perspectives, thoughts, and break-throughs. Without the random nonfiction fix I'd been getting through the newspaper, I felt like my brain wasn't getting as much imagination fodder, and without that, I started to worry that my writing would eventually become dull and uninformed.

I needed a quick way to catch up with the stuff that feeds other areas of the brain: social issues, fashion trends, culture, news, scientific breakthroughs, etc. And then Tahereh Mafi introduced me to Tumblr.

Game chANging! Epically. Brilliant.

Tumblr has blogs on all the topics I just listed. And they are visually-based. I can go through and quickly collect a whole slew of different topics, think about these briefly, and squirrel them away under appropriate tags like Story Ideas, Inspiration, Genetics, Faeries, etc., all in the blink of an eye. With enough time to spare to actually--oh, I don't know--write something.

So now, here's how I look at the different social media I'm using:

• Blogging gives me a chance to coalesce my thoughts about writing, craft, inspiration, the market, whatever. In the process of collecting the best articles for our Friday posts, I learn so much and stay on top of the publishing industry. Our Monday posts usually keep me up to date on new releases and what people are saying about them.
• Tweeting is a quick way to find new blogs, new writers, and connect with the writing community. It's an amazing community. And if I need a pick me up, a kick in the ass, or whatever else, there is ALWAYS someone there to administer it. How cool is that?
• Facebooking lets me stay "friends" with my friends, connect on a personal basis.
• Tumblr exposes me to a stream of images and information as broad as I want to make it. While the information isn't necessarily "deep", I can dig deeper when something interests me, and meanwhile, I see all sorts of things that make me pause and think about the beauty and problems in the world at large.

I finally feel like I have a balanced diet of social media.

What about you? Are your thoughts Tumblred? No? Come on, what are you waiting for? Shake things up a little!

Happy social networking,

Martina

14 Breaking the Writing Rules Can Lead to Failure or Possibly to Magic



Is the Universe Hitting You Over the Head?

photo via Arwen879



You know those times when you hear something, over and over, until you just know the universe is trying to tell you something? We'll I'm having one of those months. Everywhere I turn around, I run into the concept of rules that writers should live by, and someone (okay, mostly me) questioning whether or not it's okay to break them.

Committing Suicide. Or Magic.

First, I do believe we have to know the rules, get intimate with them, and think about why they are "the rules."

Next, before we decide to break one of those "rules," I think we need to consider it in context with our own work and see if we have a truly valid reason/inspiration for breaking it.

Finally, I am certain that if we break "the rules," we are risking failure. But we also risk committing art. And magic. And a piece of truth that will reach out from our hearts straight into the hearts of our readers.

photo from tellmeyoufeelthisfire

Ultimately, the decision to follow a "rule" or break it must be yours. Do you follow and play it safe? Or walk the gangplank, stare into the eyes of the shark, and risk making a great big bellyflop into infested waters? You might die. Or you might have the most adrenaline-charged swim of your life, with an amazing story at the end of it.

Not the Regularly Scheduled Program

I was going to start us off on a discussion of one of the books we chose on Thursday, but I'm taking a risk. I want to know what book you have read recently that broke a rule and gave you chills as a result. What rule did it break? Why did the author choose to break that rule, and how did she manage to pull it off? Or can you think of a book that broke the rules and did a face plant?

Are You Taking A Risk?
Are you taking risks in your writing? What rule are you breaking? Thinking of breaking? Are you comfortable with your decision and how's it working for you?

Leave a Comment by 8/31 for a Chance to Win Crescendo
Give us a thoughtful answer and I'll put you in the running to win Crescendo (Hush, Hush book 2). (Winner will be selected Wednesday night and announced on Thursday. U.S. or Canada entries only.) I might pick some surprise additional winners too, depending on how many great answers we have.

So tell me, what do you think of rule-breaking?

Happy writing,

Martina

9 Best Articles This Week for Writers 8/26/11

A Quick Request

It came to my attention this week that Goodreads, which provides a wonderful service for both readers and authors, will let anyone add a book, and let them rate it, even if the book isn't available in anything except manuscript form. According to Goodreads, this is valid--people can use the rating system any way they wish, including adding a star or two before a book comes out as a sort of bookmark to express interest. Unfortunately, the rating system doesn't numerically distinguish between these uses. A few of us suggested to Goodreads that they add an "Available for Rating" field or some other mechanism to help separate prepub interest from post-release ratings, but they were disinclined. If you would like to see this happen to help create an even fairer rating system, please consider signing the petition to give the request more weight.

Thanks very much!

Martina

After the Sale

• Do You Need an Author Photo? [WOW! Women On Writing Blog]
• Five Tips On Being Naked In Front of an Audience [* Roni Loren - Fiction Groupie *] Welcome to being an author.
• Don't Expect The Moon With That First Book [Babbles from Scott Eagan] Important post!
• How to Market Your Book Without Paying a Penny! [Author Marketing Experts, Inc. » BLOG]
• Exploring Conversational Marketing [Digital Non-Conference]

Book Reviews

• Bookanistas: IMAGINARY GIRLS [Lisa and Laura Write] This. Sounds. Amazing.
• Blog Tour: River of Time series by Lisa T Bergern [Mundie Moms] OOOH, can't wait to read this one.
• FEATURING COURTNEY COLE! [ROOTS IN MYTH] Great interview with author of PRINCESS.
• First Page Revisited: SPLURCH ACADEMY [First Page Panda]
• Agent Ginger Knowlton Interviews Author Cynthia Leitich Smith [Cynsations]
• Blog Tour: Chain Reaction (Perfect Chemistry #2) by Simone Elkeles [Katie's Book Blog] A++!
• Final Cover for DITCHED [Robin Mellom] It's beautiful!
• Waiting on Wednesday #98- The Carrier of The Mark [Mundie Moms] by Leigh Fallon.
• Gretchen McNeil, from Opera Diva to Fog-Bound Demons! [The Enchanted Inkpot.] I can't wait to read this!
• YA Cafe Book Club Discussion Questions: SWEETHEARTS by Sara Zarr [Iggi & Gabi] Such a great book!
• The updated cover for THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER [The Michelle Show] OMG CONGRATS, @MichelleHodkin! WOW!
• Book Birthdays! [A Blog about Nothing] Ten AMAZING #books you need to get this week!
• An Interview with Sonia Gensler, Author of THE REVENANT [YA Highway]
• in which I freak out about people reading WANDELOVE [Kirsten Hubbard: YA Author + Travel Writer]
• A SHAMELESS REQUEST [ROOTS IN MYTH] Vote for your favorite book trailer -- it is@PJ_Hoover's SOLSTICE, right? :D
• Book Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin [Candace's Book Blog] TEN out of 5 stars!
• Divergent by Veronica Roth [The Undercover Book Lover (Not Really)]

Congrats!

• My First Rewrite Request [The Bluestocking Blog] Congrats! It's one step on the road, but it's a big step closer!

Contests

• First Lines Contest!~ [YA Highway] Hurry! Enter by 8/27.
• Opportunity for Unpublished Manuscript [Ripping Ozzie Reads] AMAZING opportunity for Aussies.
• Descended by Blood Blog Tour Information [Confessions of a Bookaholic] Angeline Kace's schedule and chances to win BIG prize packs.
• Win a copy of Dragon’s Oath signed by P.C. & Kristin Cast [Novel Novice]
• FATEFUL comes out three weeks from today! Contest time! [Claudia's Blog] Enter by 9/30.
• The "Spread the Love" ARC giveaway! [Shannon Whitney Messenger] CROSSED, SHATTER ME, PERFECT, THE SCORPIO RACES. Enter by 9/3.
• Giveaway: Bargains & Betrayals by Shannon Delany [Confessions of a Bookaholic] Great change to win! @TotalBookaholic @Shannon_Delany
• Pretty Little Liars: Summer Finale Book Giveaway [Novel Novice] Enter by 8/30.
• Release Day Giveaway for This Dark Endeavor, The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein by Kenneth Oppel [Mundie Moms] Enter by 8/31.
• KELLEY ARMSTRONG INTERVIEW AND BOOK GIVEAWAY [Literary Rambles]
• Beautiful Creatures Series by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl [Novel Novice] Great interview and a giveaway.
• Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: The Unwanteds, by Lisa McMann--and an ARC Giveaway! [Shannon Whitney Messenger]

Craft

• Wispy Middles [Fantasy Faction] Make them count. Love --> Stretch them, deepen them, or redefine them.
• Best Advice I Ever Got: Joanne Rocklin and Clete Smith [Anna Staniszewski] So simple, so brilliant.
• Two Signs of Overwriting and Why It’s a Problem [Kidlit.com] Why simplicity is better.
• Scene Writing Tips - Part 1 [*Lynnette Labelle* @Chatterbox Chitchat] Create stronger scenes with this excellent list
• How Writing a Good Hook is like Running a Good Con [Natalie C Parker]
• How writers can use Dennis Hopper's way to get into characters [Time to Write] Tarot as characterization.
• Why Writers Should Let Readers Fill in the Blanks [Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors]
• Characterization Moment: Embarrassment [YA Author Elana Johnson]
• Layering: The Hunger Games [Musings of a Novelista] Nice post!
• Three ways to give your characters True Grit [Julie Musil] Good tips!
• Characters: Bigger Than Life [Fiction Notes]
• 10 Tips for Attacking First Drafts [It's a Mystery] These are really good.
• Character Clinic: Vianne Lawson and "Save the Cat" [The Character Therapist] Quick 'save the unsympathetic character' tip!
• 101 of the Best Fiction Writing Tips, Part I [Write It Sideways] Top 25. WOW!
• Dialogue as Weapon [Writer Unboxed] Four brilliant tips to sharpen your characters' words.
• Outlining a Novel - Step By Step [Writing Fiction Right from novelist Gail Gaymer Martin]
• A Method in the Madness: Outlining As You Write [Author, Jody Hedlund]
• What Does Your Character Want? [Mystery Writing is Murder]
• Writing Tips From Best Selling Writer Dorothy Koomson [BubbleCow]
• When You Need Backstory And When You Don't [YA Author Elana Johnson]
• Regrets and What They Say About Your Character [The Character Therapist]
• A Bunch of Articles on Plot [Writer Musings] Available in PDF. Great stuff!
• Preaching in Picture Books [Kidlit.com]
• Wait For It...Waaaait For It: The Nuance of Suspense by Joan Swan [* Roni Loren - Fiction Groupie *]
• Captain America’s 10-Step Guide to the Likable Hero [Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors]
• It took me years to write my first book. Does it get easier? [Nail Your Novel]
• Lost Interest in Writing Your Novel? How to Love Your Characters [Quips and Tips for Successful Writers]
• How to Hire an Editor [Daily Writing Tips]
• How Intuition Can Enhance Your Writing [The Creative Penn]
• Character Trait Entry: Impulsive [The Bookshelf Muse]
• Forty-five more flaws that expose your lack of storytelling experience, part 4 [Show Some Character!]
• Tease Your Reader With Joking Clues [Harry Potter for Writers]
• QOTW! Describing Characters [Let The Words Flow]
• Villains: Cardboard Cut-outs Need Not Apply [The League of Extraordinary Writers]
• Tips on Self-Destructive Protagonists [Superhero Nation: how to write superhero novels, comic books and graphic novels]
• Friday 5 – My highlights from WriteOnCon [Laura Pauling]
• Deadly Sin of Writing #5–P.O.V. Prostitution [Kristen Lamb's Blog]

Critiquing

• How to Deal with Unconstructive Criticism [Superhero Nation: how to write superhero novels, comic books and graphic novels]
• How to Critique Works That You Find Awful [Superhero Nation: how to write superhero novels, comic books and graphic novels] Important post!
• Advanced Novel Writing [Writers Digest University] Workshop!

Inspiration

• Lost the Ability to Write? How Writers Get Their Grooves [Quips and Tips for Successful Writers]
• Do You Write for Yourself or Your Readers? [Jami Gold, Paranormal Author]
• Where Good Ideas Come From [The League of Extraordinary Writers] Hunch + Hunch + Time to Incubate = IDEA Bigger than Sum of Parts
• An Interview with Alissa Grosso [Class of 2K11] Love this --> Have patience. It takes a long time to hone your skills.
• Road Trip Wednesday #93: Writer's Block [YA Highway] Great collection of ideas.
• The Difficulty of Finding Story Ideas That Publishers Like [Author, Jody Hedlund]
• WOW Wednesday: Julie Musil on the Power of "Going for It" [Adventures in Children's Publishing] Lovely post.
• So, What If Your Book Doesn't Sell? [Jennifer Represents...]
• There Is No Such Thing as an Overnight Success Story [Nathan Bransford, Author]
• 5 Brainstorming Strategies for Writers [Daily Writing Tips] Get unstuck. Fast.
• Holding Yourself (and Your Writing) Accountable [Let The Words Flow]
• 3 Writing Lessons Learned While Backpacking Europe [YA Highway] Yes: Fearing mistakes = mistake.
• Setting Goals [Paranormal Point of View] Love this --> The higher you aim, the higher you reach.
• Nine Ways to Find the Time and Achieve Your Creative Goals! [Ingrid's Notes]
• 12 1/2 Rules for Writing [Unedited] Can we get this in poster size?
• How to deal with people: Advice for the shy & socially awkward [Steph Bowe's Hey! Teenager of the Year]
• WFMAD Day 24 – Overcoming the pain [Mad Woman in the Forest] "Take a minute to dream your secret dream of artistic or athletic triumph."
• Help for Writers—in Case You Missed It [Mystery Writing is Murder] The Insecure Writers Support Group. LOVE IT!
• If You’re Discouraged Because Your Writing Sucks… [Writer Unboxed]

Issues, News, and Trends

• How Booksellers Can Fight Censorship During Banned Books Week [GalleyCat]
• What’s the Difference Between an IP Lawyer and a Contracts Lawyer? Why Does an Author Care? [www.publetariat.com]
• Looking for KidLit Intern [Bent on Books] Jenny Bent is looking for an intern. Are you up for a challenge?
• Damned with faint praise. Or something like it. [The Kill Zone] A dangerous Amazon trend?

Just for Smiles

• Life as Seen Through Queries [BookEnds, LLC — A Literary Agency] LOL!

Self-editing

• 3-Act Structure: Solving a Top-Heavy Problem [Fiction Notes] Nice post!
• Hyphen-powered Punctuation [The Blood-Red Pencil]
• Nouns and Verbs [The Blood-Red Pencil] Look at them differently. Make the nouns carry the action.
• 4 Tricks for Improving Your Fiction in One Day [A. Victoria Mixon, Editor]
• A round-up of tricky words even writers misuse [Time to Write]
• How to Reverse-Outline Your First Draft [Daily Writing Tips]

Social Media

• How Authors & Publishing Professionals Can Use Storify [GalleyCat]
• To Blog Or Not To Blog [Paranormal Point of View]
• Get Started Guide: Blogging for Writers [Jane Friedman] Great post!
• Is blogging effective? Or are we wasting our time? [Laura Pauling]
• How to Use Social Media to Promote Your Writing and Yourself – Live Webinar [Writers Digest University]
• RIP the Author Book Tour—and why you shouldn’t be sad to see it go [Anne R. Allen's Blog]
• Stop Being an “Aspiring” Writer [Jane Friedman] How to build a solid readership. by @OllinMorales at @JaneFriedman

To Market

• Agent Spotlight: Rachel Coyne [Literary Rambles] Another exhaustive collection of available info.
• Query Bombing: Your Query Timing Questions Answered [QueryTracker.net]
• Declining a Partial [kt literary] @DaphneUn translates the agent-speak.
• When to Re-Query an Agent [Rachelle Gardner] Great explanation for all contingencies.
• Workshop Wednesday [BookEnds, LLC — A Literary Agency] Great query breakdown from @bookendsjessica
• Moonrat's Rundown Of Publishing Options [www.publetariat.com]
• Notes From A Query Workshop [kt literary] Hard truth.
• Gearing Up For Sept. 1 - Open Again To Submissions [Babbles from Scott Eagan] Scott Eagen outlines wants and don'ts.
• Open Letter to Agents [Behler Blog] From the editorial side of the desk.
• Things You Didn't Do [Glass Cases] Quick reminders before you query.
• Author Advances: Is There Such Thing as Too Much? [Rachelle Gardner]
• What Exactly...Does an Agent DO? [Adventures in Agentland]
• WHIPPED INTO SHAPE: Synopsis Special [Help! I Need a Publisher!]
• How Many Clients Do You Have [BookEnds, LLC — A Literary Agency] And how many is too many?
• A Safer Way To Get Noticed [QueryTracker.net] Follow directions when you query.
• Submission Formatting [Kidlit.com]
• More Publishers Looking For Superhero Short Stories [Superhero Nation: how to write superhero novels, comic books and graphic novels]
• COME MEET ME--UPCOMING CONFERENCES [Jill Corcoran Books] Some lucky writers will be happy!
• Write On Con Roundup: Conference Quotes [christina lee]
• Don’t Shoot Yourself in the Foot! [The Blood-Red Pencil] The importance of the query letter.
• Q&A with Steven Malk of Writers House [WriteOnCon.com]
• Marketing Fiction-Branching Out to Fresh Blood & Bringing New Readers “into the Family” [Kristen Lamb's Blog]
• Should You Pitch (and Sign With) a New Agent? The Pros and Cons… [Writer Unboxed]

Other Weekly Round-Ups:

• Jane Friedman of Writer's Digest 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 enjoyed during the week.
• Elizabeth Craig posts 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 and Clara

10 Winner of BEAUTY QUEENS and Next Week's Book Selection

Winner

First and foremost, the winner of Libba Bray's BEAUTY QUEENS is LisaPotts. Lisa, please email me your addy and I will get that out to you next week.

If you didn't win, I highly recommend you pick up this amazing book. If you're a Libba Bray fan, you won't be disappointed. And if you've never had the pleasure yet, quick, what are you waiting for? Click the pic to get it. You'll snarf, you'll roll your eyes, and you'll see things in different ways. You'll be amazed at what comes out of Libba's superbrain. I promise.

From Goodreads:

The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eyeliner.



What's a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program--or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan--or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up?

Welcome to the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Your tour guide? None other than Libba Bray, the hilarious, sensational, Printz Award-winning author of A Great and Terrible Beauty and Going Bovine. The result is a novel that will make you laugh, make you think, and make you never see beauty the same way again.

Next Week's Book

Next, we need to pick what we're going to talk about on Monday. Ideas anyone? I'm trying to think of all the amazing books I've read recently, and frankly there are so many the list would be ridiculous. So once again I'm going to throw it out to you. What novels have you read that have been mind-blowing? Life-changing? Inspiring to you as a writer?

Drop your suggestions in the comments! I can't wait to hear what has made you stop and think!

Happy reading,

Martina

28 WOW Wednesday: Julie Musil on the Power of "Going for It"

Julie Musil, today's guest, is a children's author, wife, and mother. She lives in a rural California town amid hiking trails and dirt bikes, and married my high school sweetheart. They have three sons, two cute little doggies, and two leopard geckos, which gives Julie fodder for her YA books. She's been a writer since she was 10 years old, when her Christmas poem was published in her hometown newspaper. Catch her on her website, her blog, or on Twitter.

The Power of “Going for It”

by Julie Musil

Wanna know a secret? When Martina and Marissa asked me to guest post, I panicked. Their blog is amazing, and what in the world could I say that fits in this wonderful place? After all, I’m simply a stay-at-home mother of three with a passion for writing. And then I realized that’s what I loved so much about blogging. It’s regular people, like you, like me, connecting and sharing what we know and what we’ve learned.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is to just go for it. That’s a big step for me, because I’m not outgoing. Sure, when I’m with family and friends I’m confident, and sometimes even witty. But put me in a room with strangers or industry pros and I freeze up, lurking behind the courageous people.

But “going for it” helped me write three books and secure representation from a wonderful agent. I’ll tell a brief version of my writing story, hoping it’ll inspire someone else who’s holding back.

I wrote several magazine articles for kids, and had some successes in that field. A major accomplishment for me. And then I wondered if I had it in me to write a novel. I thought why not? Go for it. I finished a middle grade novel, had it critiqued, prepared the query, and sent it to many agents. I received only one full request, which ended in a rejection.

After considerable thought, I wondered if I had it in me to complete a YA novel. Then I thought why not? Go for it. And I’m glad I did. I found that this is where I belonged. I was comfortable in this writing place, with telling a longer story about wonderful teens with heart. Sure, it was an over-written story in desperate need of revision, but I had finished a story I loved and felt passionate about.

While letting book #2 cool, I plotted book #3. An idea came to me, a vehicle for telling this story, that was out of my genre. Did I have it in me to write in a genre I’m not familiar with? I thought why not? Go for it. I wrote the story and fell in love all over again. My heart was in this story. Yes, this one needed a lot of work also, but I’d accomplished something I never thought I’d do.

While revising book #2, I saw an open submission call from a major publisher who normally only accepted agented manuscripts. They were seeking stories about main characters who perfectly matched my MC in book #3. But book #3 wasn’t ready. I hadn’t touched it since writing those final words, and the submission call ended in 30 days. I wondered if I could clean it up in time, and then I thought why not? Go for it.

For 29 days I spent every available moment revising that manuscript. I sent it out to my wonderful beta readers, Lisa Green and Leslie Rose. They read it promptly and sent it back with valuable comments. I revised again, and again, and again. One day before the deadline, I submitted my manuscript.

This publisher ended up rejecting my story, but the silver lining was I had a polished manuscript. I had already prepared my synopsis and query, so I was ready to submit book #3 to agents. I was ready to go for it once again.

I prepared a list of agents, and selected the few I’d submit to first. In the meantime, Lisa and Leslie attended a writing retreat where they met Karen Grencik, a seasoned agent who was partnering with Abigail Samoun and launching Red Fox Literary. My friends thought this agent and I would hit it off, so I added Karen to my short list of first-round agents. And like magic, or like someone else’s literary dream, a week later I signed with Karen Grencik.

I have such a loooong way to go on my writing journey, but there’s one thing I know for sure--amazing things can happen to ordinary people, and we won’t know what we’re capable of unless we go for it!

Tell me, are you holding back or are you going for it? I’d love to hear about your writing journey.

40 Goodreads Allows Ratings Before the ARC is Out -- Let's Change That

Update 3: 87 wonderful folks have signed the petition so far. PLEASE help us spread the word. And if you know of anyone who has been reluctant to sign because they require the name and address, just let them know to UNCHECK the "Make This Public" box. I've looked at the signature file, and the address doesn't show up when the box is unchecked. Hope that helps!

Martina
UPDATE 2: I received the answer (posted below) from Goodreads in response to my additional explanation. In response, I posted a petition on Change.org that should explain WHY this is so important. Please take a look or send your own response. Their answer doesn't make sense. The pre-read interest level and the post-read rating should be two different things!

To see the petition, go here: http://www.change.org/petitions/goodreadscom-protect-books-from-being-rated-before-copies-are-available-to-be-read?share_id=rnHVzWAqaR&utm

And here's the note I got back from Goodreads:

Hi there,



Thanks for contacting us. Goodreads policy allows users to rate a book as soon as it is listed on the site. While most users use the star-ratings to review a book, some like to use the rating system to indicate interest or excitement in an upcoming title. There is not one set way to use the rating system.


Additionally, it’s not a simple matter to prevent ratings of a book based upon publication date. The publication date is frequently inaccurate. Thousands of our users receive advanced copies of books; we have no way of knowing when ARCs for individual books are sent out. There is no universal standard in the industry for that. In the end, we have no way of knowing that any person on the site has read any of the books they claim to have read. Verifying this would be impractical.

Please keep in mind that when users rate a book that has not yet come out, other users tend to take the rating with a grain of salt.


If you feel a user is being abusive in other ways, please let us know and we'll look into the matter further.

Best, Kara


UPDATE: Evidently, Goodreads is responding that this early rating is a "valid use" of the rating system.

Please see the bottom of this post for the letter I recommend sending in response to their response!

Thanks,

Martina

So I was on Twitter the other night--I wish I had more time to spend there--and I happened to see a tweet from a writer about getting a two-star review on Goodreads for a book that no one has read yet. Now, to clarify, by no one, I do mean NO ONE. The book is still in manuscript form. There are no ARCs, no copies, no nada. Needless to say, it's a little unnerving, not to mention unfair, to find that someone doesn't like the book when they clearly haven't read it yet.

How can this happen, you wonder? I wondered too, so I asked her to explain.

It turns out that there is no mechanism in Goodreads to distinguish between an author's advance post about an upcoming book, and a book that is out there and ready for reviews. Many authors have evidently had their books rated before people have read them.

Now I may be naive, but it strikes me that this is something we could, and should, change. It should be a relatively easy fix, too. All it needs is a date field: available for rating after XX/XX/XXXX. And so long as that date hasn't passed yet, the author should be able to change it, in case ARCs are late going out. But once the date has passed, the book is fair game.

What do you think? Does that make sense as an approach toward Goodreads? Do you have any alternate suggestions?

Let's work together to fix this hole in Goodreads and make it more fair to authors. Hopefully, several voices raised together will be heard.

Since everyone's time is at a premium and I haven't personally experienced this situation, I wanted to post my draft letter for critique in case anyone has suggestions. Once we have the facts/approach right, if anyone wants to use that same letter, I'd be happy to share. This letter, or one of your own devising, can be posted to the Goodread's contact page (http://www.goodreads.com/about/contact_us)
in support of a requested fix to the problem.

Please make suggestions to improve the letter below, or otherwise let me know where I've screwed up. I just wanted to start the conversation going.

Draft Email:

Dear Goodreads Staff,

It has come to my attention that once an author creates a Goodreads page and adds their "in the pipeline" book, there is no way to keep people from rating/reviewing the book before copies are actually available for reading. This seems to be a hole in the system, and I wondered if it might be possible to add a date available for rating field for each book to eliminate this loophole. Such a field could contain the date ARCs will be released, and would, ideally, be changeable by the author prior to that date in case ARCs are delayed.

An additional service to authors might allow for a field to help build pre-publicity buzz or let fans build pre-release support, a way to show that someone is looking forward to reading a book once it becomes available. This could be as simple as allowing a book to be added to a TBR pile, and then showing the number of times it appears in a TBR pile for any book that hasn't yet passed the ARC release date.

I hope you will consider these suggestions.

Thank you and best regards,
Blah, blah, moi

So what do you think? Anything worthwhile in this? Changes? Gripes? Grudges? Grumbles?


Response I am sending (and recommending) to the stock, "this is a valid use" answer that Goodreads is sending back:

Dear Goodreads Staff,



That cannot be a valid use of ratings so long as the ratings factor into total ratings for the book, nor can it be a valid use when such ratings can actually deter someone from buying the book or reading it once an actual copy becomes available. Pre-release ratings can be highly prejudician to a book's success, not to mention demoralizing for an author and the editorial team.


Furthermore, it has been brought to our attention that anyone can add a book and attribute it to an author, even if the book does not exist.


The Goodreads site performs such a service to readers and authors alike. It is truly a shame to allow an easily-fixed loophole to become a policy that makes no sense and damages the very industry you serve.


Best regards,




etc.

Thanks for the help, everyone!

14 Writers' Book Talk: Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Today marks the first of our Writers' Book Talks, and the first book we're going to do is
Libba Bray's Going Bovine. Here's what Goodreads has about it:


Going Bovine by Libba Bray


All 16-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school—and life in general—with a minimum of effort. It’s not a lot to ask. But that’s before he’s given some bad news: he’s sick and he’s going to die. Which totally sucks. Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure—if he’s willing to go in search of it. With the help of a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America into the heart of what matters most.


On a slightly unrelated note, the above paragraph, would make a great query letter, wouldn't it? It sets up the plot, the inciting incident, and the main characters, and it even gives you a good idea of the voice in which the story is told.

What the summary above doesn't set us up for is that the story tips its hat to Cervantes' Don Quixote de La Mancha, but twists that around to very overtly give us a microcosm of some issues facing kids today. In the Cervantes story, the antihero, Don Quixote, read too many novels and overdosed on chivalry, honor, glory, and knights errant much the way kids (and many adults) today overdose on video games or movies. Convinced the real world sucks because it doesn't live up to his expectations, Don Quixote sets off to win some glory of his own in honor of the fair peasant maiden Dulcinea. Accompanied and constantly berated by his skewed perception of the world and his trusty "squire" Pancho, Don Quixote creates nothing but disaster for everyone he tries to help at first. All the while that he battles through his adventures, we see Don Quixote's madness. Even he seems dimly aware of it in brief glimpses of sanity, until eventually, he comes to see the world more realistically at the end and, declaring himself sane, makes us wonder if he ever was crazy or only faking. Cervantes pulls off a masterpiece of slight-of-hand, leaving the reader constantly questioning.

Libba Bray achieves a similar bit of trickery. We're never quite sure whether her stoner antihero, Cameron, is lying in a hospital bed slowly having his brain eaten away by mad cow disease, or if he is in fact running around saving the world. The closer he comes to death, the more he becomes engaged in life, in his family, and in the love he starts to feel for Dulcie, the angel who guides him, watches him, and ultimately needs saving herself. But as with Don Quixote's Dulcinea, we're never completely sure if Dulcie or anything Cameron sees is real. There are glimpses of events in the hospital that break through into the quest action (hero's journey) throughout the book, but then there are several places, the phone calls to the parents, for example, where reality and quest intersect in ways that can't be explained. In the same way that Cervantes uses Don Quixote to show his readers the lack of chivalry and morality that has pervaded their world, Libba Bray shows young adults the follies of floating through life, of disengaging. Her lessons aren't subtle, and that's another way she breaks the rules.

Agents and editors tell us not to do the Wizard of Oz, it-was-only-a-dream, endings. Libba pulls it off because she does it in a way that is unique and integral to the story. It's not a gimmick, and it doesn't leave the reader feeling betrayed. Maybe that's the key to breaking "the rules."

What do you think? Can you think of other rules this book has broken? Things that might appear to be plot holes but could very well be intentional? How writers can/should/shouldn't break rules in general?

What did you like about this book? What didn't you like? What lessons did you learn as a reader? As a writer?

Let's talk so we can all learn! Looking forward to hearing what you have to say,

Martina

P.S., I'll pick a lucky winner at random from those participating in the discussion. The winner will get a copy of Libba Bray's current book, Beauty Queens. So leave your thoughts before Thursday when we will get together to pick next Monday's book!

10 Best Articles This Week for Writers 8/19/11

Sorry for the delay posting this. We had an apocalyptic thunder storm here, and I had to turn off all the computers. Then work interfered this morning, along with another stupid migraine. But never mind all that. We have a couple of announcements.

The lovely Jill S. Alexander is launching her 2nd book tomorrow, August 20th. Here's the link to Book People, if you happen to be in Texas. And if you aren't, check her out on Amazon, because her writing is fabulous.

Also, we have decided on a book (okay, mostly I decided, and all of you who commented, I hope you don't mind TOO much) on Libba Bray's GOING BOVINE for our book discussion on Monday. We're going to talk about breaking rules, making writing magic, plot as it relates to the hero's journey, the Wizard of Oz, Don Quixote, gnomes, and/or anything else anyone wants to say. Please stop by and join us.

Have a great weekend,

Martina


After the Sale

• Successful Marketing and Promotion with School Visits [WriteOnCon.com]
• Marketing 101 for Children’s Book Authors [WriteOnCon.com]
• The Indie Book Reviewers List | Simon Royle [www.simon-royle.com] OMG -- Bookmark this. Amazing!
• Poor Sales Can Affect Your Future [Rachelle Gardner]
• What you need to know about cover design – self-published or not [Nail Your Novel]

Book Reviews

• Hourglass by Myra McEntire [The Bookologist] Sizzling action, to-die-for characters, plot twists, and more.
• LEGEND by Marie Lu, A Bookanista Review [YA Muses]
• MARA DYER Launch [The Michelle Show] In FL? Don't miss this!
• Book Birthdays!! [A Blog about Nothing] Great new book releases!
• A Release and a Directory [Mystery Writing is Murder]
• Twitter Tuesday - Holly Black [Mundie Moms] Completely agree! @HollyBlack = sumptuous, brilliant writing.
• BETRAYED Blog Tour: Interview with Author Ednah Walters [Mundie Moms]
• Teens’ Top Ten: More Nominee Highlights [Novel Novice]
• Book Review: Beyond the Grave [Confessions of a YA Writer] by Mara Purnhagen.
• Bad Taste in Boys by Carrie Harris [The Bookologist] Zombie fun, and you have to love Carrie Harris.
• Teens’ Top Ten 2011: Time to VOTE! [Novel Novice]
• Lost Dr. Seuss stories to be published in September [Jacket Copy] Yay!
• POSSESS Scavenger Hunt [Candace's Book Blog] Have you seen @Gretchen_McNeil's brill trailer?
• Book Review: Destiny Binds [Mundie Moms]
• Book Review: Airborne + Author Interview! [Confessions of a YA Writer]

Congrats

• Fun Newsy Things! [Writing Finally] Congrats, @MyraMcEntire!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woot!
• Another (Late) Success Story [Miss Snark's First Victim] Congrats Kathleen Peacock, Emannuelle Morgen, and the Secret Agent Contests!
• Holler Loudly is a Finalist for the Writers' League of Texas Children's-YA Book Award [Cynsations] HUGE congrats!
• What Do I Look Like, a Protag? Describing Your First Person Narrator [The Other Side of the Story]
• YALSA's Teens Top Ten [Mundie Moms] AMAZING list! Congrats to all.
• The Saturday Post: BIG news, book trailers, photos & more [Novel Novice] Congrats to @Tiftruitt on her book deal!
• Hooray for Kidlit Writer Friends!!! [Ingrid's Notes] Congrats to @IngridSundberg for her 200th blog post, plus 5 book deal congrats.

Contests

• Blog Tour: Book Review & Giveaway for Chain Reaction (Perfect Chemistry #3) [Mundie Moms] Enter by 9/15.
• Review of POSSESS and Another Giveaway [Carolina Valdez Miller] Enter by 8/31.
• Ten Word Novel Contest Year Three (Maybe) [The Secret Archives of the Alliterati] Too fun!
• Door Prize Compliments of Suzie Townsend [WriteOnCon.com] An incredibly generous offer!
• A NEED SO BEAUTIFUL ARC GIVEAWAY [Literary Rambles] Enter by 8/27. It's supposed to be AMAZING.
• It's a Darkfall ARC Contest! [The Other Side of the Story] Enter by 8/22.
• Giveaway: Beautiful Creatures + Beautiful Darkness! [Katie's Book Blog] Can't get enough @KamiGarcia and @MargaretStohl? Enter by 8/31!
• CALLI, BORDER CROSSING, TRUDY—Three Book Giveaway from Jessica Lee Anderson [ROOTS IN MYTH] Enter by 8/26

Craft of Writing

• On Pacing [WriteOnCon.com] Great article!
• Revising Your Way To Success [WriteOnCon.com] Fan. Tas. Tic.
• Dialogue Tips [WriteOnCon.com]
• How to Make a Serious Character Likable [Superhero Nation: how to write superhero novels, comic books and graphic novels]
• The Element of Surprise [Mystery Writing is Murder]
• Weather Thesaurus Entry: Mudslide [The Bookshelf Muse]
• Four Domains of Emotional Intelligence [The Character Therapist] Great post.
• Chapter Books, Graphic Novels, & Hybrids: Exploring the Potential of the Young Reader Market [WriteOnCon.com]
• Create a Character Bible to Flesh Out Your Star Characters [San Diego Professional Writer's Group]
• Character Development [WriteOnCon.com]
• Backstory versus Front Story [Plot Whisperer for Writers and Readers]
• On Compactness [WriteOnCon.com] Great examples! Don't miss this post.
• Middle Grade’s Got Heart [WriteOnCon.com]
• Irresistible Picture Book Characters [WriteOnCon.com]
• Wednesday Tweet Round-Up: 40th Annual Summer Conference Edition #LA11SCBWI [Alice Pope's SCBWI Children's Market Blog]
• How I Write A Scene [The Creative Penn]
• Novel Beginnings, How to Know Where To Start by Author Lisa Schroeder [WriteOnCon.com]
• War of the Genres [QueryTracker.net]
• Tip Tuesday #101 [Literary Rambles] Three great tips and where they came from.
• How to Write A Killer First Sentence [WriteOnCon.com]
• Thirty Character Questions [All About Writing]
• Writing lessons learned from HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET [Julie Musil] Love this!
• The Story Queen Talks Writing for Multiple Ages [WriteOnCon.com]
• Setting Yourself Up [WriteOnCon.com]
• Puzzled by Picture Books with Author Sarah Frances Hardy [WriteOnCon.com] And a shot at a critique!
• On LGBT Lit by Author Scott Tracey [WriteOnCon.com]
• Writing Magical Realism vs Paranormal/Fantasy [WriteOnCon.com] Brilliant post!
• how to add tension to our work (4 points) [Left and Write Brained] Quick and critical.
• Three Criteria for a Killer Title [Katie Ganshert]
• Changing Your Character's Core [Paranormal Point of View] So important. Read this!
• Redefining Setting [Superhero Nation: how to write superhero novels, comic books and graphic novels] The key is to treat it like a character.
• Deep Characters for Plot-First Writers by Suzanne Johnson [* Roni Loren - Fiction Groupie *] Excellent post!
• The Sagging Character [Writing Fiction Right from novelist Gail Gaymer Martin] Four important tips to help you overcome the problem.
• 3 Tricks for Ratcheting Tension in One Day [A. Victoria Mixon, Editor] Great post!
• Looking for a Little Advice? [The Other Side of the Story] Correction on two new web sites.
• 2 Major Story Settings [Plot Whisperer for Writers and Readers] A good reminder, with links.
• FREE stuff for Writers! [Iggi & Gabi] The awesomeness that is WriteOnCon and more.
• You Don’t Say [Beyond The Margins] What's more interesting, what your characters say, or what they don't?
• Dark, Scary Things* [YA Highway] Are you scared of your book?
• Is She Someone You Want to Meet? [WOW! Women On Writing Blog]
• Character Trait Entry: Intelligent [The Bookshelf Muse]
• Real Life Diagnostics: Getting the Action Back Into Fight Scenes [The Other Side of the Story]
• Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda [Ara's Blog] Ara's take on SCBWI-LA. And YES! we want her post quickly.
• Are you writing the wrong genre? [Nail Your Novel]
• Worthwhile Tutorials on the Web [NouveauWriter] Good info for #writers!
• 6 Best Writing Tips – Besides “Read Lots” and “Show Don’t Tell” [Quips and Tips for Successful Writers]
• WFMAD Day 13 – Hero’s Journey, Part 1 [Mad Woman in the Forest] A great intro.
• WFMAD Day 14 – Hero’s Journey, Part 2 [Mad Woman in the Forest] Quick cheat sheet for plot 101.
• Deadly Sin of Writing #4–Beware the Bog of Back Story [Kristen Lamb's Blog] Read this!

Critiquing

• What Kind of Mentor Do You Need? [YA Highway] Good question!
• Critique Groups 101 with the YA Muses [WriteOnCon.com]
• 5 Keys to Giving Constructive Writing Critiques [Write It Sideways] Pay attention now.
• Writing Life: Reviews and Critiques — Dealing with One, Making the Most of the Other [Magical Words]

Inspiration

• Setting Goals and Making Schedules [Between Fact and Fiction] You must know yourself & how you work.
• SCBWI LA '11 [Paranormal Point of View] We <3 you, @LisaGailGreen. And your opinions!
• Moments that Matter [WriteOnCon.com]
• My Dream Job: Embracing the Full-Time Author's Life [Cynsations]
• Your Own Hero’s Journey [WriteOnCon.com]
• First Lines from the Shelves [Kidlit.com]
• Know Your Intent for your Writing Goals [GENREALITY]
• WOW Wednesday: Anne Greenwood Brown on Climbing Through Windows [Adventures in Children's Publishing] (No matter how far the drop!)
• Call for Queries/Submissions: Niche Writing [WOW! Women On Writing Blog]
• Yes You Can! Finding Time For Your Creative Life. [Ingrid's Notes] Five reasons from @HalseAnderson.
• 5 cures for Writer’s Block [Not Enough Words]
• The Image List : A Great Way to Get Your Creativity Juiced [How to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book]
• Why a messy first draft is a great thing [Julie Musil]

Issues, News, and Trends

• BookTour.com is closing up shop [Jacket Copy] Sad, no?
• Donate to WriteOnCon! [WriteOnCon.com] So important! DO IT NOW!!!
• Help African Kids Get Free Books [GalleyCat] As easy as clicking the LIKE button.
• The Next 10 Ebook Trends to Watch For [Author Marketing Experts, Inc. » BLOG] The next big things in how books are delivered.
• This Week on the mediabistro.com Job Board: Quirk Books, Henry Holt, Random House [GalleyCat] Looking for a job in publishing?
• Want to help promote reading? Here's one innovative way. [Time to Write]
• A Few Thoughts on Book Pricing [Mystery Writing is Murder]

Just for Smiles

• Minimalist Fairy Tale Posters [WORD for Teens] Lovely!
• an overdose of cute today [Janet Reid, Literary Agent]
• What It's Like Being A Writer: An Examination and Explanation [www.publetariat.com] What to tell the naggers.

Self-Editing

• 40+ Tips To Improve Your Grammar And Punctuation [www.publetariat.com]
• Five Secrets Of Better Proofreading [www.publetariat.com]
• For Word Count, Make Words Count [Daily Writing Tips]
• Most Common Mistakes Series: 10 Stylistic Mistakes Sabotaging Your Story [Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors]
• Is “They” Acceptable as a Singular Pronoun? [Daily Writing Tips]

Social Media

• An Editor’s Perspective About What Authors Should and Should Not Talk About Online [WriteOnCon.com]
• What Does Your Author Bio Say about You? [Jami Gold, Paranormal Author]
• On Platform, a Live Chat with Literary Agent Sara Megibow [WriteOnCon.com]
• Twitterific [Mystery Writing is Murder] Another unbelievably comprehensive round-up!
• The WANA Theory of Book Economics–Why Traditional Marketing Doesn’t Sell Books [Kristen Lamb's Blog]

To Market

• "Please respond only if interested" [Janet Reid, Literary Agent] Every writer gets rejected. Get used to it.
• Getting Personal: Personalizing Your Query [The Other Side of the Story]
• Are You Wasting Your Time Trying to Get Published? [Jane Friedman]
• How/When I Know A Manuscript Is Right For Me [WriteOnCon.com] by Editor Annette Pollert.
• Writing A Great Query Letter [WriteOnCon.com]
• How Do I Know That I Really Love It? [WriteOnCon.com]
• Submission Basics [WriteOnCon.com]
• Are You Ready to Query? [WriteOnCon.com]
• Standing Out in A Crowded Publishing Market by Jenn LeBlanc [* Roni Loren - Fiction Groupie *]
• Literary Agents: Top Ten Ways to Make or Break that Relationship, Number 3: The Agent at Cons, Part One [Magical Words]
• How to Write A Synopsis [WriteOnCon.com]
• Grantwriting 101 for Writers [Jane Friedman]
• Will Self-Pub Sales Affect Your Future? [Rachelle Gardner]
• Myths and Misconceptions [WriteOnCon.com]
• Why Do Agents Close To Submissions? [Babbles from Scott Eagan]
• Taking Famous Names in Vain [Writer Beware™ Blogs!] Don't fall for this scam!
• Live Forum Event Submission Threads [WriteOnCon.com] Pitch and query letter instructions.
• Live Panel with Michelle Andelman, Emily Meehan, Annette Pollert, Jim McCarthy [WriteOnCon.com] Great discussion!
• Do I Need an Agent? [BubbleCow]
• Are Agents &amp; Publishers Too Picky? [Author, Jody Hedlund]
• Agents Are Not Out To Hate And Reject [Babbles from Scott Eagan] They really are looking for gems.
• Name Mistakes in Queries [Kidlit.com] Don't make them.
• How-to: Crafting a Query for FICTION (a.k.a. your first impression) [Kathleen Ortiz] Excellent post.
• too many agents, not enough gin: the truth about multiple offer situations [The Intern] Great advice with smiles on top.
• WriteOnCon Ninja Agents [Adventures In Writing] A primer on how it works.
• letters from the query wars 8.12.2011 [Et in arcaedia, ego.] A little query math from Jennifer Jackson.
• yes [Janet Reid, Literary Agent] -- Listen to people actually doing the work you want done.
• The Way We Publish Now [Anne R. Allen's Blog] Comprehensive review of the options, past and present.
• Your Novel Isn’t Ready for Submission Because… [WriteOnCon.com]

Other Weekly Round-Ups:

• Jane Friedman of Writer's Digest 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 enjoyed during the week.
• Elizabeth Craig posts 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 and Clara