Good Links, February Edition

Okay, okay, so we’re a week into March and this is a little delayed… big deal. I sort of deleted my listing of good links from February in a fit of ‘housekeeping’ and had to restore them from my Mozy backup–something I put off for a week or two thinking it would be difficult. It was actually surprisingly simple. I mean, uh, it was so difficult, it took me weeks of hacking code and recalling passwords, and digging through piles of aged files and… stuff. It did NOT involve two clicks and then voila, it was right back where I had deleted it from. Definitely not.

Um, so, yeah. The links. Here’s what I’ve got for you:

Marketing Yourself

Online Platform: Kidlit posting on some most excellent dos and don’ts in creating an online platform.

Copyblogger’s post on blogging and platform: Why people think you suck. I mean, why nobody reads your blog. I mean, dammit, just be bold and shake things up a little!

Literary agent Elana Roth’s post on how to market yourself. Brand, audience and trust. Everyone sing with me now, “Express yourself, hey, hey, hey, hey!”

Alan Rinzler shares good hooks that brought the publishing world to a writer’s door.

TK Richardson’s multi-post discussion on how to create a book trailer. Aspects of making a trailer and things to consider. The visual aspect (colour, images, and more). Where to get images. More on visuals and choices you make.

Technical Writing Stuff

Problems with spelling? The Oatmeal will help these common misspellings stick to your ribs with goofy comics and jokes to help you remember.

Craft, story, voice. And the difference is? And if you have one, but not the other? And how do you know? And what do you do to improve one? And crap, I think my brain just got tied up in a knot. Fear not, literary agent Rachelle Gardner explains it all.

Funnies

And because laughter is the best medicine, here are some writer jokes.

And that’s about it! Enjoy! Spring is on the horizon, the days are getting longer, the urge to stuff oneself with everything in the cupboard in order to make it through the long winter are subsiding. Take care, and have fun!

Good Links: January Edition/New Blogs Edition

Hi. Well, there goes January, eh? Spring is on the horizon, groundhogs rearing their funny shaped heads, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, whatever. Pull me out of my cave when the sun starts shining again.

As it turns out, I didn’t end up with a ton of good links for January. However, a nice handful of AQers (Agent Query members–writers) started blogs in January (or a month or two previous to that), so instead of sharing writing links this month, I will honour these brand new bloggers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kid’s Book Junky by Charlie Eve. This kids book review and news blog is not yet one month old, but will quickly become a resource for kid lit writers seeking industry news, as well as mothers seeking a good book for their youngsters.

Layinda’s Blog. This is another developing blog that is under a month old. Layinda discusses writing, contests and everything writing.

The Forever Blog by Shawna. Inspiration, motivation, technical aspects of writing and much more.

Random Thoughts to String Together by Lisa Gibson. The name expresses it all as writer Lisa pulls random writerly thoughts together as blog fodder.

Writer/lawyer Pete Morin’s blog. The man shares what is on his mind. Burst pipes, writing and the law, short stories, and more.

RS Mellette’s Dances with Blogs. A handy blog for filmmakers (and that includes screenwriters) who are wondering what recently submitted trends might be as well as more information on the Dances With Films Festival.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There you have it. Six young blogs worth checking out. As well, you will find more great writing blogs on my blogroll to the right.

Thank you everyone!

Good Links: December Edition

Was Santa Claus good to you this year? He was very good to me. I must have been a very good girl. Okay, this is sounding a bit off to me.

<clears throat>

Moving on… I haven’t spent as much time on the Internet this month as I have in the past, but I still managed to find some great writing sites and links to pass on for December.

Writing:

Details make the character. Good details make a character memorable and bad details that don’t fit… well, yikes! Read the full article over on Behler Blog.

From Roz Morris’ Nail Your Novel blog the post on making the reader care about the message from December 9th is quite good. It has great tips on how to make the reader care about the message your scene is trying to convey.

Are you blocked? Stumped? Frozen with indecision? Don’t know what to write next? Mind blank? Try Women On Writing’s Beating Writer’s Block tips.

Querying:

Ulysses shares a most excellent query critique from The Rejectionist.

J. Martin weighs in on how to write a perfect(ly dreadful) query. Funny. You’ll actually find yourself picking up some good how-not-to tips.

Networking:

7 Ways to Create a Professional Twitter Presence. Good tips for the beginner. I’m not down with posting your phone number though. Unless, of course, your Twitter account is for a separate business. (What I’m saying: Don’t post your home number, but do post a business number if appropriate.)

Tips on how not to commit social networking suicide from PR guru Sasha Muradali. This should be a must-read for anyone thinking about using online social networking.

Fun:

Liana Brooks reposted my quiz on whether you are a book slut. As it turns out, I am also a plot whore as per Liana’s quiz. Cool beans. Are you?

Ten Gifts to Give a Writer by Margaret Atwood as well as commenters suggestions as well. Who knew she had a blog? It’s for her new book. Cool.

Good Links: November Edition

Well, so much for November. I was so peeved at November ending because I wasn’t over the 50K hump for my NaNoWriMo novel, I totally forgot to put up my favourite November links. Or maybe it was spending all that time under brain-numbing fluorescent lights (as I finished up almost all of my Christmas shopping) that has caused this small oversight.

Without further ado, here are some good writerly things found on the Internet.

Writing:

NaNoWriMo
Of course, there was NaNoWriMo where crazy writers such as myself tried to juggle the real world all while writing 50,000 words during the month of November. Did you participate? Did you finish? Already planning for next year?

Handling Feedback
Got feedback? (On your writing, that is.) Agent Nathan Bransford dishes advice on how to handle feedback from your critique partner, agent or editor. Good advice. In fact, it makes make good life advice too.

Multiple Points of View
Do multiple point of views have you muddled? If so, Vicki Hinze has an article that provides lots of great advice when it comes to writing character point of views.

Firsts
This blog post became a discussion over on AQ, in an AQ chat, as well as a post on my blog. Whew! That’s a lot of action. What was Aprilynne Pike’s post about? It’s about desperation (in writers, not daters) and firsts: first agent, first contracts, first books, etc.

Reasons for Chapter Rejection
Wondering why you’re first chapter isn’t making the grade and keeps getting rejected? Check out Chuck’s blog with guest blogger Livia Blackburne who provides 7 reasons why you might be getting rejected.

Word Counts
Editorial Ass discusses word counts and what the cap might be for a debut novel. Want more specific info on the genres and their ballpark word count lengths? (Use Word to generate your word count, by the way–this is the new standard.) Check out Lee Masterson’s article on word counts.

Publicity:

Interviews
An exclusive interview was granted to me by future YA fantasy writing sensation, TK Richardson. Coincidentally, on the same day she posted an exclusive interview with moi. Remember, you heard it hear first.

Blogs
50 ways to take your blog to the next level by Chris Brogan. Layout, content, promotion and much more.

Attitude:

Stay Positive
With the skies turning grey, the weather chilling, the rejects piling up, and the publishing industry tanking, agent Rachelle Gardner reminds us to stay positive. Don’t allow yourself to turn to negativity and allow bitterness to overrun you–it won’t get you what you want. Like Nathan’s post on feedback (mentioned above) this also works as life advice.

Rejection
Need a little pick-me-up in your querying blues? Check out this post which shares quotes and stats from published authors on rejection. Personally, some of them are not inspiring, but I must say Ray Bradbury is pretty amazing.

Because it can’t be all business, all the time:

Rejection Contest
The best, worst form rejection letter contest. And, of course, the winners.

Character Apology
Have you ever done something to your character that you felt pretty bad about? You know, like killing off the love of their life or say, having them arrested three times while they are trying to do good deeds? Maybe you should take a page out of Abby Librarian’s book and write your character an apology letter.

Where Will You Be?
Although NaNoWriMo is over and you may not need the same number of distractions as you did last month, here’s a fun game I dreamed up while visiting my favourite bookstore: Where will you be? Take a look at the shelves in your local bookstore. Where will you be shelved? Me? I’ll between Michael Ondaatje (The English Patient) and George Orwell (1984). Sweet company! Wondering where you’ll be and can’t wait to visit the bookstore? Wikipedia has author lists.

Banned Books
Totally cool. This kid rocks. I love what she is doing with an extra locker–building readers. Check it out.

Strange Signs
And lastly, Oddly Specific. Need I say more? Well, yes. These signs are hilarious.

Good Links: October Edition

Happy Halloween everyone! It’s that time again. No, not trick-or-treating. Good links time!

Here are a few good posts, articles, etc I came across this month. I hope they help you out.

Writing Tips:

Tighten up that manscript, folks. Here are some words to be on the lookout for, courtesy Rachelle Gardener.

I love the name of this blog: Writinghood. What’s more to love, how about writing tips on creating curisoity, empathy and anticipation.

Another cool blog name: Men with Pens. Har, har. Anyhoo. They help you think about story theme and its importance.

What the heck is narrative anyway?

Character names, they aren’t just for newborns anymore. 15 tips on how to select a good one.

Career:

Hey, woman, get a job. A freelance job. Check out WOW’s (Women on Writing) job board.

Be realistic! Yes, you want to write, you want to publish, you want film deals. You want to read this and get your cart in order.

Take your heart pills before reading this one. All about the money. Well, and also about rights and royalties for ebooks, traditional publishing, self publishing and basically some numbers that will make you want to put your head in your hands and cry like a little baby. Or, come up with a game plan to make you millions. One or the other.

Thinking of making an author website? Be sure to check out this one. There is a great list of things any great author website should have.

Fun:

Challenging road signs. It is said a good, challenging road sign makes better drivers of us all because we have to actually think about them. Come on folks, think and drive.

And finally, because most writers have a cat, I thought I had better share this with you. Please, take care and read carefully.

Good Links: September Edition

Well, September came and went, just like that. Now here we are in fall. Wah.

Here are some of the good links I came across this month.

Grammar, Style, etc:

Have you been wondering about spacing around your dashes and ellipses? I haven’t either, but I did discover I wasn’t spacing around my ellipses correctly when I read How Publishing Really Works’ article about it.

Along with spacing issues, do you wonder about which font to use? The Rejectionist pokes fun at Courier font while making a nice, valid point for not using that crappy old font.

Passive tense, anyone? Not sure what it is and why you should possibly avoid it? This article will help you out. (Passive tense can be more wordy, more convoluted, but it can also highlight the action instead of the agent performing the action.) Here is a nice little quote from the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL):

You can recognize passive-voice expressions because the verb phrase will always include a form of be, such as am, is, was, were, are, or been. The presence of a be-verb, however, does not necessarily mean that the sentence is in passive voice.

What the heck is an Oxford Comma and where and when do you use one?

On Writing:

Is your character reactive or proactive. Do things happen to your character or does he or she make things happen? Rachelle Gardner explains a bit about reactive and proactive characters.

Finished your project and dreaming up that perfect title? While a perfect title is good to have in the querying stage, don’t get too attached to it. BookEnds Literary explains.

Brenda Hiatt shows us the money in publishing romance. And who says getting your work with a big publisher doesn’t pay?

More on publishing and money, this time the goods straight from a literary agency. Basically, you’ve got to sell a lot folks. And that means you, the writer, have to get your butt in gear and sell your work. It ain’t no free ride.

And here’s the pitch! Rachelle Gardner advises you to tell the actual story in your pitch. Is it an emotional journey? Big deal! What actually happens.

Guide to Literary Agents’ 5 Ways to tell if you and a literary agent are a good match.

Just for Fun:

Universal Studios unveils plans for a Harry Potter theme park in Florida. Thanks, guys. I think bloody ol’ England is closer to my house than freaking Florida.

How much time do you spend listening to muzak while trying to get a hold of a real person when calling a company? Ha! Listen no more. Here’s what number to push to get to a real person. Love it!

Rick Astley (remember him?) only has one dance move. Seriously, though, this is a fun mash-up between Rick Astley and Nirvana.

Cow abduction is a very serious problem. Please check it out and be sure to offer your support for the cause by clicking on the cow. (Some folks have way too much time on their hands and I love them for it.)

And there you have it, September in a nutshell.

Good Links, August Edition

Puttering around on the Internet this month…okay, actually, I have to admit, most of these links were sent to me by other aspiring writers. Here they are:

Looking for the right word? Try this thesaurus. While I couldn’t get it to load up on my computer, and therefore found myself promptly distracted from the task, others have found it to be an amazing tool.

Looking to fix up your dialogue? Michael Stearns has a great article on the Upstart Crow Literary website that discusses how to improve that dialogue. Click on ‘Dialogue, Some Basics’.

Dang it! Rejected again? Check out this list of reasons for getting your work rejected. Maybe you can identify your ‘issue’ and get your work ‘accepted’.

Thinking about the money in books? Maybe you have an agent, or are talking with an agent/editor and thinking, ‘hey, maybe I can quit my day job’. Well, not so fast, according to Jeaniene Frost.

Have an agent? Negotiating your author-agent contract? Check out this list put together over on Writer’s Digest. While some of the tips may be familiar, #4 got me thinking.

Published? Pub date coming up? Check out this blog post over on The Blood-Red Pencil talking about blog tours. It has some great ideas on how to ensure your tours don’t get stale or repetitive.

How about a publicist for that book you’ve got, hot off the press? Do you need one? Check out this blog post by Bookends Literary.

And lastly, for fun…who are you? Type in your name and see what it comes up with. (Good for checking out possible pen names as well.)

Enjoy!

Good Links, July Edition–Sort of…Not.

I wasn’t around much for July and when I wasn’t going old-school wireless (i.e. totally detached from civilization–talking no cell phone coverage even) I wasn’t doing much browsing online. I wasn’t even checking my RSS feeds. I know, it is crazy. And I didn’t even miss it. I must have been having a lot of fun to not experience any withdrawal. Anyway, that all babbled and done, I have no good links for July.

But what I DO have are a few things that made me go ‘hmmmm’. First of all, I should note that I am Canadian. Second of all, I traveled to the United States this summer. Whenever I visit our lovely neighbours, I am always amused by the slight differences in culture. What? We aren’t the same? Nooooo. We aren’t. (Alaskans have a very different view of personal space, btw.)

But mostly what I notice is guns. For example, in Canada in the ‘Bear Aware’ brochure there was the same info as in the American brochure. With one exception. In the American literature there was discussion on what sort of firearms work best on bears. I kid you not. Here is an excerpt: “If you are inexperienced with a firearm in emergency situations, you are more likely to be injured by a gun than a bear.” Then it goes on about some parks not allowing firearms before continuing “A .300 Magnum rifle or a 12-gauge shotgun with rifled slugs are appropriate weapons if you have to shoot a bear. Heavy handguns such as a .44 Magnum may be inadequate in emergency situations, especially in untrained hands.”

Huh. So, don’t use a gun on a bear, but if you do, go for a shotgun. And it is best to be well-trained so you don’t accidently shoot yourself. Got it.

And speaking of guns, here is sign you don’t see on banks in Canada. Heck, in Canada, half the time you forget people have even heard of guns, but in the States, well, I always start wondering how many average joes are packing heat and how many walk into banks…thus resulting in this posted sign:

Homeland security is another thing that I don’t give much thought to. However, when taking the ferry, we saw these signs. For a Canadian, they can be almost alarming, (especially one who visits Dictionary.com and reads “fairly large in amount or quantity” under ’significant’. Yikes!):

What is ’significant’, really and truly? We asked the ferry terminal operator about the sign and he said a ‘1′ is the lowest on the 3 point scale. Gulp. So, on an average day, there is a ’significant/fairly large’ chance of the ferry being attacked? (He said about 1 in 9 guests get searched on a level 1 day. And no, we didn’t get searched, although a crazy guy back near home thought we were ‘Narcs’. Right, Narcs often go undercover in a Yaris with their 6-year-old.) Oh, and back to guns being everywhere, when we arrived in (American) port the captain said folks could pick up their firearms from the storage area. Double gulp.

What do you think? Do you pack heat when you head to the grocery store, the bank or the ferry? And if you do, why? Have you ever pulled it out?

Just curious.