Here are some great links on writing, the industry, and all things book related. Some are serious, and some are just downright hilarious. We highly recommend you read them!
The Cruelest Hoax
A valuable lesson in why you should always be on your guard when it comes to selling your book.
Handle Pop Culture Terms With Care
A great article on how every day terminology may not mean what you think it means, and how it can affect your writing.
Here are some great links on writing, the industry, and all things book related. Some are serious, and some are just downright hilarious. We highly recommend you read them!
The Best Writings on Writing
Looking for a critique group? Trying to start one? Don’t know what they are? Want the pros and cons? Here’s a great collection of links that’ll help you do it all.
First Person vs. Third Person
Yet another great post from former agent Nathan Bransford, who offers his advice on which one might work for your book.
Contrariwise
A collection of really awesome literary tattoos. I’ve definitely lived vicariously through this site for a while.
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July Debut Novels
THE BOOK OF THE CONCEALED by Sang Kromah (July 4th)
LOST VOICES by Sarah Porter (July 4th)
CHARLIE JOE JACKSON’S GUIDE TO NOT READING by Tommy Greenwald (July 5th)
BESTEST. RAMADAN. EVER. by Medeia Sharif (July 8th)
BAD TASTE IN BOYS by Carrie Harris (July 12th)
WILDFIRE by Karsten Knight (July 26th)
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What We’re Reading
Sammy: ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins
Sarah: OUTLANDER by Diana Gabaldon
Vee: SUPER SAD TRUE LOVE STORY by Gary Shtynegart & LOVE IS THE HIGHER LAW by David Levithan
Savannah: SLATHBOG’S GOLD by M. L. Forman & SAINT CITY SINNERS by Lilith Saintcrow
Julie: DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth
Susan: MISTWOOD by Leah Cypress
Jenn: A STORM OF SWORDS by George R. R. Martin
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Happy Saturday, everyone! We hope you’re all enjoying your summer! And curious minds want to know what books are on your summer reading list.
Here are some great links on writing, the industry, and all things book related. Some are serious, and some are just downright hilarious. We highly recommend you read them!
– Alexandra Bracken, YA author of BRIGHTLY WOVEN and the upcoming 2013 novel BLACK IS THE COLOR sheds some light on how publisher lists work – including how and why books are scheduled for different seasons. Very informative!
– We’re pretty sure you’ve all heard by now that Jennifer Lawrence has been cast as Katniss for THE HUNGER GAMES movies (which all of us are THRILLED about!). But did you see the statement from Suzanne Collins over the casting of Lawrence? Cause it’s pretty awesome!
– If there is one thing you should know about us LTWF girls, it’s that we love Disney – so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that we absolutely loved this video!
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Quotes:
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“Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.”
—
E. L. Doctorow
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What We’re Reading:
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Vanessa: WOEFIELD POULTRY COLLECTIVE by Susan Juby
Kat: HUNGER by Jackie Morse Kessler
Mandy: RULES by Cynthia Lord
Sarah: SUMMERS AT CASTLE AUBURN by Sharon Shinn
Vee: BLOWOUT by Susan Vaught
Savannah: A MOUNTAIN OF CRUMBS: A Memoir by Elena Gorokhova
Sammy: JANE EYRE by Charlotte Bronte
Susan: STARCROSSED by Josephine Angelini
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Reading any good books? Share them (and any thoughts or cool links) in the comments! Happy weekend!
Hey all! It’s been a month since the last Saturday Grab Bag (can you believe it?), but it feels good to be putting them together again. I just wanted to include a quick little note saying thanks to everyone for all the wonderful congratulatory comments while I was away getting hitched – and that it feels GREAT to be back!
– Vanessa Di Gregorio (Campbell!)
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Mashup:
Here are some great links on writing, the industry, and all things book related. Some are serious, and some are just downright hilarious. We highly recommend you read them!
– Warning: you will laugh hysterically. And you will laugh out loud. If there is one link you should click and read in this entire post, it is this one. And then you will know exactly how to get agents to fall over their feet to sign you.
– Attention all typography lovers! These aren’t your ordinary t-shirts – these are t-shirts that pay homage to different typographies! You need to click this link to really see what I mean.
– Okay okay. Time to get serious here, folks. You’ve probably already heard about this, but for those who haven’t, get ready to be appalled. Frey’s controversial publishing company, Full Fathom Five, is hiring authors – and taking advantage of them.
– Yes, that’s right. A list of clichéd dialogue. (And you know what… I’m totally guilty of some of those lines in my past works. Who knows… there might be some in my current WIP! Dun dun dunnn).
– This was a special request from one of our readers in the UK. I Value The Arts is an online petition against the cutting of funding for the arts in the UK. So if you’re interested in joining the cause to protect the arts, you can register and show your support on this site.
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Quotes:
“Sure, it’s simple, writing for kids… Just as simple as bringing them up.”
— Ursula K. LeGuin
“This manuscript of yours that has just come back from another editor is a precious package. Don’t consider it rejected. Consider that you’ve addressed it ‘to the editor who can appreciate my work’ and it has simply come back stamped ‘Not at this address’. Just keep looking for the right address.”
— Barbara Kingsolver
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What We’re Reading:
Vanessa: Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Sammy: The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney
Sarah: Changeless by Gail Carriger
Savannah: The Buffalo Soldier by Chris Bohjalian
Julie: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Susan: World War Z by Max Brooks
Mandy: Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
Kat: Unwindby Neal Shusterman
Vee: Fury by Shirley Marr
Jenn: The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
Biljana: Beowulf
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Happy first weekend of December! If you’ve come across any great links/quotes, share them in the comments! And let us know what you’re reading, too! (We love discussing books!)
Here are some great links on writing, the industry, and all things book related. Some are serious, and some are just downright hilarious. We highly recommend you read them!
– Another post about Austen. She is renowned as a pristine literary stylist; but her semicolons were not her own – instead she scattered dashes through her prose (among other things).
– Here is another article about kids lit vs. adult lit. But this one is more about the lack of respect kids lit gets – how writers of kids lit aren’t respected as much, or thought highly of – and why people who look down on kids lit book and authors are wrong to do so. Loved this article.
– We also love book covers. Coverspy is a tumblr of – you guessed it! – book covers. It’s a visual feast for your eyes!
Notes from the Twittersphere:
Don’t put the first paragraph of your query in the subject of your email.
– @WolfsonLiterary
Don’t send pages from the middle of the book. The BEGINNING needs to grab me.
– @WolfsonLiterary
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Quotes:
“Some readers have found children’s literature to be a rack of hats: didactic, useful books that keep us warm or guard us against weather. I find children’s literature to be a world of snakes: seductive things that live in undergrowths and that may take us whole.”
— Seth Lerer, Children’s Literature: A Reader’s History from Aesop to Harry Potter
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What We’re Reading:
Vanessa:The Healing Wars Book 2: Blue Fire by Janice Hardy
Sammy:Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
Sarah:Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
Savannah: The Witching Hour by Anne Rice
Julie:Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis
Susan: Travels With My Aunt by Graham Greene
Mandy: Prisoners in the Palace by Michaela MacColl
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If you’ve come across any great links/quotes, share them in the comments! And let us know what you’re reading, too! 😀
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