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