“The Internet’s Largest Collaboration of Debut Children’s and Teen Book Authors and Illustrators”
It’s up. It’s running. It looks and feels good.
Without Snoop, what would we do? Oops. Thanks to Cynthea Liu also.
Young Adult and Middle Grade Author
“The Internet’s Largest Collaboration of Debut Children’s and Teen Book Authors and Illustrators”
It’s up. It’s running. It looks and feels good.
Without Snoop, what would we do? Oops. Thanks to Cynthea Liu also.
Jim Averbeck’s book, “In a Blue Room” was one of
the nominations for the 2008 Cybil’s award. Nothing could make me happier. He’s a super guy with talent that these awards has certainly validated.
Yeah, Jim.
When I opened the box it was kind of a head rush; then it didn’t seem real, like if I opened the cover nothing would be inside. It took a little getting used to seeing my words in such a different format–not scribbled notes on lined paper, not on a computer screen, not on loose manuscript pages.
Well, I’ve spent the day scratching my head and wondering where I am in all of this writing, publishing, marketing business. Then I landed on a site called Book Divas and had some fun. Great site for connecting with your YA readers and enjoying their take on what is hot and what is not. Have to say the reviews I read are spot on.
My ARCs will arrive at my doorstep soon–all 20! I will actually be able to hold onto my “almost-final” book, and guess what? I get to read it again. This has to be the last time. I wonder if F. Scott Fitzgerald read Gatsby as many times as I’ve read Sliding on the Edge? Wish I could ask him.
I now realize all those English classes might have been good, but what I really needed was a course in marketing. Little did I suspect there was so much involved in post-writing a novel and post-selling a novel. Learning all the vocabulary alone is killing me!
So last night this dream happened. The reason it’s sticking with me is that I’ve never dreamed this kind of dream before. I have some regulars: flying, getting stuck so I can’t move even when I try, searching for something in the dark. This one is waaay odd.
I’ve just shopped. That alone is weird for me. I’m not a shopper. So I have these packages and they are inside slick plastic and they slide around. I put them down on a fence, try to climb over the fence, knock the packages off into a . . . canal (where that came from I’ll never know.) filled with passing open boats. These packages land in a boat. I race to another boat and beg the guy to take me back to the boat with my packages. He can’t understand me. Why? He’s Chinese and doesn’t speak English. Still I wave my arms a lot and he gets the idea, so off we go to find my packages. We pull up alongside a boat, but it’s the wrong one. In fact, (wait for it) it’s a funeral boat. There’s a body laid out with beautiful flowers, lots of people standing along the canal crying. Now this is interesting, right? I may have a plot going here. So what does my brain do? It wakes up.
Before I don my chef’s hat and pull out the mixer from the back of the cupboard I have to share a couple of things in an about the world of writing for young readers.
Jen Robinson has a great post about The True Story of Thanksgiving, an upper middle grade non-fiction book that would be a wonderful addition to anyone’s T’day celebration. Just from the description you can tell how much richer the history of our special day really is. I’m off to the bookstore this afternoon, so I can share this around our table tomorrow.
Laurie Halse Anderson’s book, “Thank you Sarah:The Woman who Saved Thanksgiving,” is another source to begin reading about the true background to our national holiday. It made me want to know more about this woman, so after the holiday flurry I plan to do a bit more digging into Sarah Hale.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
I’m heading to Asilomar in February to actually “talk” to people who write. In preparation for socializing I’ve begun leaving the safety of my writing environment and going to events that require face-to-face verbal exchanges.
Note to self: articulate slowly so as to give your brain sufficient time to “edit” or just listen and nod. Always look interesting and interested.:)
Part of good socializing often involves food–tiny pieces that have a tendency to slip through fingers or off plates.
Note to self: eat before event, avoid rumaki, avoid accidental spitting, especially when talking to an editor.
I’m sure there are more skills I should polish, but I’m taking this challenge on in manageable bytes.
More later.