6 Best Articles This Week for Writers 2/11/11

After the Sale

• 7 Links To Help Every Writer With Taxes [www.publetariat.com] Because it's that time of year again!
• Authors Signing eReaders Instead of Books [GalleyCat] Interesting. What happens at an event if there are no books?
• 5 tips to avoid being a media moron [Don't pet me, I'm writing] How to nail an interview or press event.
• The 2K Classes [Caroline by line] Know anyone with a YA or MG book coming out in 2012? Read this!

Book Reviews

• POSSESSION by Elana Johnson [ROOTS IN MYTH] It sounds like the book is 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] Awesome idea. And wonderful writing.
• Review: These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf [Confessions of a Bookaholic] "...will leave you completely breathless."
• Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance by Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin [Frenetic Reader] A light, romantic read.
• Delirium by Laren Oliver - Review [Reading, Writing and Waiting] This one lives up to the hype.
• Review: ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, by Beth Revis [As the Plot Thickens] An amazing story with deep themes.
• REVIEW:Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis [Bookaholics Oye!!] This urban fantasy gets a good YA review.
• SCBWI Crystal Kite Awards Voting is Underway! Vote on SCBWI.org Today! [Alice Pope's SCBWI Children's Market Blog] What are you waiting for? Vote by 2/28/11!

Congrats!

• BIG NEWS REVEAL! [Cambria Dillon] Congrats to our beautiful, beloved Cam who just signed with Vickie Motter at Andrea Hurst!
• CBC Best Books of 2010!! [Tales from the Real OC (Really!)] YAY! Dark Flame and Night Star BOTH make the CCB Best Books of 2010 nominations!
• Rachel Cohn Lands Four Book Deal [GalleyCat] Congrats to Rachel Cohn and her agent, Jennifer Walsh, on a four-book YA deal with Hyperion!

Contests

• 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.
• Give It Forward Book Giveaway! [Literary Rambles] Enter by 2/15 to win The Sky is Everywhere--but be willing to host a contest and give it to someone else.
• the awkwardness of self-promotion [Kirsten Hubbard: YA Author + Travel Writer] Oh, and you can win LIKE MANDARIN. :D
• I'm GIVING AWAY BOOOOKS, Again! [Writers' Ally aka ➔ sa larsenッ] Yay! Great books up for grabs.
• Members: Nominate Your Book for the Crystal Kite Member Choice Awards! [Alice Pope's SCBWI Children's Market Blog] Another chance to register!
• Marvelous Middle Grade Monday--The 39 Clues (plus a giveaway!) [Shannon Whitney Messenger] Another excellent recommendation and giveaway!
• February Book Giveaway! [Writer Musings] Enter by 2/26/11 to win an ARC of DROUGHT or THE DEMON TRAPPER'S DAUGHTER.
• Brenda Drake Writes . . . under the influence of coffee.: Interview with agent Weronika Janczuk . . . our first line contest judge and prize giver... [brenleedrake.blogspot.com]
• First Page and GIVEAWAY: Anya’s War [First Page Panda] Enter by 2/16/11.
• Interview & Giveaway: The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver [Confessions of a Bookaholic] Enter by 2/24.
• ELANA JOHNSON ~ Period! Oh, and Elana SWAG!! [Writers' Ally aka ➔ sa larsenッ] Win Possession swag!

Craft of Writing

• 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!
• The Subtle Art of Transition [The Sharp Angle] Excellent! Just about every way possible to get from here to then.
• Why write a synopsis? [Anita Laydon Miller's Blog] To help yourself hone in on your plot, emotional points, and thematic elements.
• Whiners: Easy outlining part uno [The Misadventures In Candyland] Great approach excerpted from YA Novel Writing for Beginners class.
• Three Places Where You Should Tell Instead of Show [Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors] Use narrative to skim over unimportant scenes and keep readers focused.
• How Much Should You Know Before You Start? [Anna Staniszewski] You don't need to know the plot, but figure out how your character will grow or change.
• Query Writing Troubles? It Might Be The Story, NOT The Query [Babbles from Scott Eagan] Find the unique twist and spin to your story before you start to write.
• Treatment Tuesday - Triggers (i.e., Flashbacks) 101 [The Character Therapist] Six things to consider before you add that flashback!
• Confused Characters [unedited] Three tips to help you get your characters straightened otu.
• Back to Basics-Dialog ii [TheWriteGame] Four things dialogue must do, plus a great example.
• 10 Reasons Novel Manuscripts Get Rejected [Superhero Nation: how to write superhero novels, comic books and graphic novels] Is yours suffering from one of these?
• Finding Clarity in our Words [.W.I.P. It] Four questions to help you write a better novel.
• The Grand Finale [www.publetariat.com] A breakdown of the climax and how to nail it.
• The Secrets To Pace In Your Novel [www.publetariat.com] Conflict is a key tool in developing the readers’ interest and goes hand-in-hand with the pace of your scenes.
• From Focus to Palette [Paperback Writer] FABULOUS character development tool!
• Magical Realism [Novel Matters] LOVE: Magical realism is contemporary fantasy written to a high literary standard... fantasy that non-fantasy readers will also love.
• Creating a setting [The Kill Zone] LOVE: Setting is all the external elements that affect your characters and their goals and objectives.
• Tip Tuesday #75 [Literary Rambles] A helpful website for naming your characters.
• Question from a Writer - More Baggage Than An Airport [Babbles from Scott Eagan] Are you overcomplicating?
• What is It? The Importance of Knowing [Katie Ganshert] Questions to ask yourself to craft a killer logline.
• When you're stuck in the middle of your novel or screenplay [Time to Write] Three ways to get unmired.
• Setting Thesaurus Entry: Bowling Alley [The Bookshelf Muse] Great craft and voice examples in addition to the setting.
• Setting, POV, Backstory and Characterization: Part One [Magical Words] Great example of how it all turns into VOICE.
• Zen and the Art of First Draft Writing [Claire King] Five puppies you have to corral to keep yoru 1st draft sanity.
• Writing, Publishing And Book Marketing Tools For The Mac Lover [The Creative Penn] AWESOME breakdown for Apple-loving writers.
• Busted! Anna Quindlen caught with no inciting incident [The Blood-Red Pencil] But she makes it work.
• Visual Thesaurus for Writers [GalleyCat] SEE the connections between words so you can find the perfect one.
• Oh no! Melodrama! -- Avoiding the Reader Eye Roll [* Fiction Groupie *] How to tell if you've crossed the line.
• Conflict, Tension, and Stakes on Every Page [The WriteRunner] Excellent point about degree, plus an exercise to get you thinking.
• Storyboarding--Using the W Storyboard Structure to Chart Stronger Conflict in Your Book [How to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book] Awesome video!
• I Want Perfection! What It Takes to be Sexy in Fiction [www.yafantasyguide.com]

Critiquing

• Writing from the Place: TEN REASONS TO HAVE A WRITING GROUP [ROOTS IN MYTH] Love: Isolation sucks. Why do that to yourself?

Inspiration

• Writing Rituals, Secrets, and Superstitions, V [The Divining Wand] Lots of examples from authors!
• I've only one word for you today: BELIEVE [Justine Dell] LOVE: Believe in yourself and your own common sense.
• FUELed-UP Rejection [Oasis for YA] Rejection is not fatal. Let it fuel you to the next stage.
• Write Like a Sword-Wielding Martial Artist [The Literary Lab] Six things you need to confront so you can write bravely.
• Crafty Thursday: Writing Conferences [Ara's Blog] The three types and how to decide if they are right for you.
• Getting Your Life & Writing Priorities in Order [Write It Sideways] Define your life priorities to define your writing.
• Handwriting, Learning, and the Science of Writing Longhand [Cheryl's Musings] Interesting to ponder!
• SCBWI Annual Winter Conference in New York: A Roundup of Roundups [Alice Pope's SCBWI Children's Market Blog] Want to know what others got out of it?
• (title unknown) [. . . . . . . ~© The Writer's Den ©~ . . . . . . .] F.Scott Fitzgerald: Quotes on Writing and Other Things
• Idea Whore [Write-Brained] Do your best thinking in the shower? LOVE these AquaNotes!
• Are you a writer or just a tourist? [James Killick's Blog] How to tell if you're the real thing.
• GUEST POST: On Being a "Real" Writer [Grab a Pen] You already are a real writer.
• Full Boil or Slow Simmer? [Writer Unboxed] What's your pace of writing?
• What's the secret of self-discipline? [Time to Write] Six things to give yourself to achieve writing success.
• Words From A Newbery Medalist [Falling Leaflets] Seventeen Linda Sue Park quotes from SCBWI-NY.
• Processes and Page Counts [GENREALITY] Many types of writing go into a mss. Stop kicking yourself.
• Victims aren't sexy [Don't pet me, I'm writing] In a book, manuscript, or author, victimhood is a total turn-off.

Issues

• Is there hope for small bookstores in a digital age? - USATODAY.com [www.usatoday.com] Link to USAToday article with statistics on the book industry!
• Do You Have Business Cards? [QueryTracker.net] Add to your PR arsenal easily and cheaply.
• In Which I Defend Children's Books Against A Literary Twit [Scribble City Central] Join in! Sound off!
• The Future of Agents [GENREALITY] The line between agent and publisher is going to blur. What does this mean for authors?
• The Misleading "Research" By McSweeney's [There Are No Rules] What the stats really say.
• Most Common Mistakes Series: Are You Confusing Readers With Poor Cause and Effect? [Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors] Your knowledge as the author may be standing in your way.
• Problems an editor can't fix [Blue Rose Girls] Do you have something to say?
• Embrace Change -- Don't Fight the eBook Pt. 1 [Neverending Page Turner] Two videos, a quiz, and food for thought.
• I Can Haz Grammar Back? [Glass Cases] A plea for a return to literacy.
• AWP 2011: Bookmobile’s Ampersand App Has Big Implications for Indie Publishers [PWxyz] What do you think? Worth be buzz?
• Male Writers Outnumber Female Writers at Literary Journals [GalleyCat] More than 2-1! Really? What gives?

Just for Smiles

• GUEST POST: Spelling And Grammer Matter’s [Grab a Pen] Fun and painfully true!
• 10 Tips to Ensure a Productive Writing Day [The Blood-Red Pencil] Some humor and a few sharp truths.
• GUEST POST: How to Become BFF With Your Favorite Author [Grab a Pen] You have to be proactive.
• How to Write a Novel [Novel Matters] LOL! And we choose to do this voluntarily?

Self-Editing

• Five Self-Editing Tips to Ease the Editing Discomfort [GENREALITY] Excellent article about identifying and fixing ms issues.
• Revision--Shannon Style (Part Two: Personal Revisions) [Shannon Whitney Messenger] Dive in and clean up your own mess.
• Thrashing [QueryTracker.net] Rushing through revisions can ruin your book.
• How Much Editing Does a Contracted Book Need? [Author, Jody Hedlund] What's behind the curtain when your book gets contracted?
• 10 Signs You've Been Revising Far Too Long [The Katacomb] Love this- your crit partners have gone on strike.
• Beyond the Most Common Fiction Mistakes [The Creative Penn] WONDERFUL advice for the manuscript that's almost there!
• Revising: How To Avoid Staring Into The Great Black Abyss [The League of Extraordinary Writers] Ten steps to a better manuscript in 30 days.

Social Media

• Best Blogs for Writers to Follow [My Name Is Not Bob] GREAT list of blogs of interest.
• Writer's Wednesday: Twitter To-Don't list or a rant. [Oasis for YA] Three things to avoid.
• Pub/Lit Roundup [Claire King] Twenty fantastic links for writers.
• Bring Back that Lovin’ Feeling [Writer Unboxed] Great post by the author of The Writer's Guide to Social Media!
• You Don't Have to Blog, Tweet, or Be on Facebook [There Are No Rules] Define yourself in Social Media without forcing yourself into something you don't love.
• How To Avoid Becoming Another Boring Writer's Blog [Author, Jody Hedlund] Five tips to help you find your blog identity.
• How Does Social Media Sell Books? [Mystery Writing is Murder] A healthy platform indicates a potential audience to an agent.
• Fans, Friends, and Followers: How to Build a Solid Author Platform That Sells More Books! [Author Marketing Experts, Inc. » BLOG] A platform now will make it easier in the future.
• Twitter, Us & Unique Writing Resources [The Bookshelf Muse] @WriterThesaurus is dedicated to finding a treasure trove of links just for us writers.
• ANNOUNCING: The WRITE ON! Blog for Teens! [Miss Snark's First Victim] A fun new online hang-out for teen writers & readers.
• SMW Pt. 1 - Beyond Blogging [Neverending Page Turner] How does your blog make you stand out?
• On the Social Media Shift for Promo [Mystery Writing is Murder] How to get started with social media.

To Market

• Find an Agent and Get Published [Writers Digest University] Writer's Digest Premium Collection. Only fifty kits left!
• How I Got My Agent: Sophia Bennett [Guide to Literary Agents] Five tips to help you get there too.
• How to find your very own Truly Fabulous Agent (because you can’t have mine) [Personal Demons] It's all about research and the query says @LisaDez
• Exciting news at D4EO! [Author/Agent Mandy Hubbard] Mandy Hubbard's wishlist.
• FAQs Answered [Neverending Page Turner] Questions about @KOrtizzle's process? Read this post!
• D4EO Welcomes New Agent & Expands Kidlit Interests! [Lightning + Lightning Bugs - Musings from Weronika Janczuk, Literary Agent] February only: you can query Kristin even if Mandy Hubbard already passed.
• Tell Me What You Know re: Pitching [YA Author Elana Johnson] Call for help: Elana needs stories, experiences, and advice about pitching to agents and editors.
• What Your Query Says About Your Book [The Other Side of the Story] "A query sums up an author, too!"
• It's All Subjective . . . to a Point [BookEnds, LLC — A Literary Agency] Great: A good author will make the book work for just about anyone.
• Publishing Interviews: Agent Kristin Miller!! [YA Highway] Looking for pop-off-the-page characters, mc's struggling with feminist ideals, multicultural, psych-horror, pacey paranormal/UF, feel-good beach reads and brilliant experimental writing.
• Quick & Easy Answers [Pub Rants] Answers to seven publishing questions you'd love to ask.
• How to Get Published [Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent] "...you're going to have to work for it. All the resources are available and many of them are free of charge" (and listed here)
• Are you ready for our February Live Event? [WriteOnCon.com] Agent Suzie Townsend and editor Maria Gomez answer your questions on 2/28/11.
• Some Calls for Submissions [Where Fantasy and Love Take Flight] Need some publishing credits? Here are two sub opportunities to consider.
• Agent Advice: Faye Bender of the Faye Bender Literary Agency [Guide to Literary Agents] She seeks YA and MG.
• New Agent Alert: Lora Rivera of the Claire Gerus Literary Agency [Guide to Literary Agents] She's interested in guy-focused YA and fresh middle grade.

Other Weekly Round-Ups:

• 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, Clara, Cam and Cici