6 Best Articles This Week for Writers 6/3/11

After the Sale

• Preparing For A Release [Mystery Writing is Murder] Tips on setting up blog tours, stock signings, and social media.
• The Best and Worst Writing Advice I Ever Got [The Kill Zone] Good advice on how to market and how NOT to market your book.
• How to be interviewed [Seth's Blog] Six tips for better interviews.

Book Reviews

• Review: Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott [Confessions of a Bookaholic] 4 out of 5 stars for BETWEEN HERE AND FOREVER by Elizabeth Scott.
• First Page and Giveaway: FORGIVEN [First Page Panda] Read the first page of @JanetSFox's FORGIVEN!
• I Love My Editor. [The Michelle Show] Five incredible YA reads, one eloquent editor, and one delighted (and delightful) author.
• Fantasy Books We NEED Now [Fantasy Faction] Fantasy titles you won't want to miss -- or wait for.
• First Page: Nightspell [First Page Panda] Loved MISTWOOD? Here's the first page of NIGHTSPELL by @LeahCypess.
• Twitter Tuesday - Julie Kagawa [Mundie Moms] Download @Jkagawa's e-novella tomorrow while you wait for THE IRON KING.
• POSSESSION by Elana Johnson + Giveaway [YA Highway] Win an ARC of Possession and read the synopsis. WOW.
• To Read or Not to Read [Novel Matters] Five common denominators of a classic novel.
• Beauty Queens by Libba Bray [Frenetic Reader] BEAUTY QUEENS by @LibbaBray: an absolutely hilarious, witty & smart read.

Contests and Giveaways

• ARCS of ENTHRALLED, anyone? [Claudia's Blog] Win an ARC of ENTHRALLED with stories from the fall Smart Chicks Tour authors.
• April/May Debut Giveaway [Anna Staniszewski] Enter by 6/16 to win one of twelve AMAZING 2011 YA book releases.
• HarperCollins Dark Days of Supernatural: Summer Series Giveaway! [/- LA FEMME READERS -/] Win 7 supernatural YA novels from HarperCollins. Enter by 6/14.
• A Need So Beautiful (SIGNED) ARC Giveaway! [Babbling Flow] Enter by 6/10 to win an ARC of A NEED SO BEAUTIFUL.
• What's Broken: Another Round! [Miss Snark's First Victim] Your finished MS isn't working? Enter 500 words of a broken scene for crit.
• Show Your Love for YA Contemp - Win a First Chapter Critique (and some other fun stuff) [The Sharp Angle] Enter your unpub'd YA Contemporary first chapter by 6/18 to win chapter & query crit.

Craft of Writing

• Conflict = Tension = Emotion - Part I [Writing Fiction Right from novelist Gail Gaymer Martin] Four kinds of conflict your manuscript should have.
• Conflict = Tension = Emotion - Part II [Writing Fiction Right from novelist Gail Gaymer Martin] Six tips to wring emotion from the conflict in your manuscript.
• Character Traits Thesaurus Entry: Proper [The Bookshelf Muse] Add conflicting characteristics to round-out your "proper" character.
• The Opening Chapter [Magical Words] Tough 1st chapter? Throw it all in, then prune generously.
• What's the Story on Backstory? [Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent] Backstory doesn't show, it tells, thereby risking losing the reader's interest.Use wisely.
• 3 Reasons Dialog is Important, 3 Reasons It’s Not [A. Victoria Mixon, Editor] Readers love to eavesdrop. Why good dialogue is important.
• 3 Things Screenwriting Taught Me That I Applied to Fiction [Guide to Literary Agents] Structure, beats, and character -- 3 steps from screenwriting to achieve a better ms.
• Six Tips for Writing 'Clean' For Young Adults [WOW! Women On Writing Blog] Five basic story ingredients: humor, seriousness, mystery, drama, and a surprise or twist.
• 7 Things Guns Cannot Actually Do [Superhero Nation: how to write superhero novels, comic books and graphic novels] Seven misconceptions about guns. Have one in your ms? Read this!
• 5 Ways to Develop a Unique Voice [.W.I.P. It] Nine ways to consider voice style for your ms.
• Story vs. Craft [Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent] Is there enough heart in your story? Enough technique? You need a baseline of both.
• Writing YA Versus Adult Fiction: what’s the difference? [Let The Words Flow] Excellent points on teen doubt and what defines YA.
• Cliched Writing: Avoid it Like the Plague [Author, Jody Hedlund] Three types of cliches and how to avoid them in your writing.
• Effectively Conveying Emotion [The Sharp Angle] Brilliant advice on emotion: Work backwards to set [things] up to hurt even more.
• Writer's Wednesday: Avoiding a Faceless Voice [Oasis for YA] Great examples of voice and how it comes from the 3-D personality of your characters.
• A Way to Study Outer and Inner Story in Your Favorite Books [How to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book] Six ways to help you master the balance of inner and outer story.
• Guest Post: Making A Commercial Novel More Upmarket Using Setting [Pimp My Novel] Three tips to elevate your commerical novel and extend its audience.
• Writing Lessons Learned from WATER FOR ELEPHANTS [Julie Musil] Five things to learn from WATER FOR ELEPHANTS.
• Meet and Greet Your Characters [Words from the Woods] Who your MC meets in the novel should change her inner journey and the plot.
• Nuts and Bolts and Chocolate [Ingrid's Notes] Fantastic tips for writing picture books from Tony Johnston.
• Why pants and plots are the same thing [James Killick's Blog] Three things all stories have in common, no matter how you get there.
• 15 Figures of Speech to Color Your Characters [Daily Writing Tips] Fifteen figures of speech you can use as character mannerisms.
• What Our Characters Do When No One is Looking [Mystery Writing is Murder] Do you track what your characters do off stage?
• Archetype vs. Stereotype [The Enchanted Inkpot.] Great post! Great characters rise above stereotype to deepen their archetype.
• Writer’s Den: Developing Supporting Characters [Fantasy Faction] Never underestimate the power of supporting characters.
• Burning Questions Answered [Paranormal Point of View] Want to be a better writer? Write what scares you.
• Visual Image Systems [Alexandra Sokoloff] Wonderful article on visual image systems in screenplays and novels.
• Physical Clichés [Kidlit.com] Taps foot, glares, sighs: Physical Telling is for movies, not books. Convey emotion with interiority instead.
• Scene Antagonists–The Making of a Hero [Kristen Lamb's Blog] Good stories have clear finish lines. Great protags grow and change.
• The Outline Dilemma—Plotting vs. Pantsing [The Editor's Blog] Both Plotters and Pantsers will love this article on outlining.

Critiquing

• Our One and Only June Crit, Now Underway! [Miss Snark's First Victim] June What's Broken? critiques underway. Go critique and learn.
• How To Tell if You’re Really a Writer [GENREALITY] Critiquing, trial by monsters, and the meaning of a single word.

Inspiration

• GREEEEEEN with Jealousy [Mary Brebner] Friends finding success but not you? @MaryBrebner on what to do when the green-eyed monster strikes.
• 3 multitasking tips for swamped writers [Don't pet me, I'm writing] Short on time to write? Three survival tips.
• Six Saboteurs of Creativity and How to Thwart Them [The Creative Penn] Overcoming six writer's problems that stifle creativity.
• Forget About Being Published [QueryTracker.net] Dream bigger; don't seek to be published, seek to be read.
• 5 Tools to Carry in a Conspiring Universe [Pimp My Novel] Five ways to survive when you can't find time to write.
• Vision Board, Inviting the Law of Attraction [Enter the Between] Making a vision board to help you visualize success.
• Are you setting summer goals? [Janet Reid, Literary Agent] Great tips on setting goals and what failure ISN'T.
• 7 Things I've Learned So Far, by Lisa Lawmaster Hess [Guide to Literary Agents] Never submit anything without sleeping on it and other great tips.
• What If You Think You Might Be a Mediocre Fiction Writer? [Advanced Fiction Writing Blog] Think you just don't have what it takes to be published? You could quit, OR you could read this post & be inspired.
• Fear of Letting Go [Julie Musil] Is fear preventing you from clicking SEND? Common writer fears, & pep talks to help you get over them.
• Coming ‘Out of the Closet’ as a Writer [Let The Words Flow] Should you call yourself a writer even if you've never been published? An inspirational story of YES

Issues, News, and Trends

• Going Public [Pub Rants] Are publishers under-reporting electronic book sales?
• The pricing of ebooks and perceived value [GENREALITY] Good points on e-book pricing.
• Core Workout for Writers [iggi & gabi] Six core exercises to give you more painless computer time.
• Lessons for Writers from the Library [Novel Matters] Five things people do at the library.
• A Literary Superagent’s Thoughts on Publishing [Superhero Nation: how to write superhero novels, comic books and graphic novels] Three insights from agent Andrew Wylie that may open your writerly eyes.
• Writers helping Joplin, MO [Mad Woman in the Forest] Donate to help Joplin, MO and be entered in a contest to win a full ms critique by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Self-Editing

• WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR WRITING STYLE [Writing Fiction Right from novelist Gail Gaymer Martin] Eight tips to take the beginner out of your writing style.
• Five Proofreading Techniques Every Talented Writer Should Know [www.publetariat.com] Double check, take a break, look it up, divide and conquer, call for backup. Five tips for better proofreading.
• Facts About Phrasal Verbs [Daily Writing Tips] Confused about those common phrases or possibly hypenated word groupings. You might have a phrasal verb.
• On Grammar and Punctuation [The Editor's Blog] Use grammar and punctuation as solid foundations for your story.
• Tip Tuesday #90 [Literary Rambles] Three tools to help you analyze your ms.
• Twisted Tuesday: REWRITING, Step 3 [Writers' Ally aka ➔ sa larsenッ] More steps to REwriting, and how to go about more efficiently.
• Challenge: Going Filter-less [Writer Musings] Cutting through the filter words to eliminate excessive "I" sentences.
• 25 Words and Their Prepositional Pals [Daily Writing Tips] 25 words that change the required preposition depending on their meaning.
• 3 Signs You’re Renovating a Condemned Novel [Write It Sideways] Five tools to help you find (and fix) the structural problems in your ms.
• The Value of Reading Your Book Aloud [Guide to Literary Agents] Catch more problems in your ms by reading it aloud.

Social Media

• Should You Use RT or the Retweet Button on Twitter? [Nathan Bransford, Author] To RT or Retweet? The differences and results.
• Best Tweets + Upcoming Events [There Are No Rules] Five places you can hear @JaneFriedman or take her workshops.

To Market

• New Agent Alert: Jessie Cammack of JABberwocky Literary Agency [Guide to Literary Agents] Agent Jessie Cammack wants epic fantasy, YA science fiction, literary fiction.
• Showing (not telling!) how to pitch! [Janet Reid, Literary Agent] The worst of the worst elevator pitches. A must see.
• You Have Your Elevator Pitches, Now What? [Babbles from Scott Eagan] Approaching an agent w/your elevator pitch: How to know when you're up to the challenge.
• Agent Spotlight: Eric Myers [Literary Rambles] Agent Eric Myers is always looking for good YA and MG fiction.
• Who to Query First [Jennifer Represents...] Should you query your "B-list" of agents first? @literaticat explains why this is a horrible idea.
• Contract Red Flag: Net Profit Royalty Clauses [Writer Beware™ Blogs!] Writer beware: publishing net profit royalty clauses.
• Tips on Pitching your Manuscript [The Kill Zone] Eight pitch tips to put an agent in a receptive mood.
• Querying a Collaboration [BookEnds, LLC — A Literary Agency] Querying a collaboration? Here's how.
• Why I Stopped Hiring Bloggers to Write for Quips and Tips [Quips and Tips for Successful Writers] Tips on why you may not be getting freelane assignments.

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