Blogroll – Page 10

Category Archives: Blogroll

Writer Links – Vampires, Pirates, and Novel Titles

Posted on 08 Jun 10 by Editor

This week I have begun a variety of summer renewal projects. I have potted 10 new plants in my new place, and have begun a photo catalog of my bookshelves. (I may post these to the blog, if encouraged.)

I have also begun a targeted revision of The Ligan of the Disomus, and a related short story, The Woman Who Wouldn’t Die. Although I do not subscribe to the common wisdom that a work of art is “never finished, merely abandoned,” I am glad that Ligan had not been picked up for publication before I had a chance to sketch out and complete a few short stories in the Observer’s world, and thus work out some larger-scale plot and character development decisions.

But, enough about my writerly life! On to the links from other writers: Continue reading →

Category: Blogroll | Tags: anne rice, becky levine, bookfox, brittany landgrebe, dawn simon, dying light, fiction, john fox, juliette wade, les edgerton, novella, novels, pirates, plotting and scheming, Poetry, publishing, scott meek, talk to youniverse, twilight, vampires, writing

Link Bonus – The Importance of the First Reader

Posted on 03 Jun 10 by Editor

As it occasionally happens, I discovered a great piece of advice not on my usual rounds of favorite writer, agent, and pub-pro blogs. Today’s iteration of this phenomenon is from Andreas Kluth, a correspondent for The Economist. His site, The Hannibal Blog, is ostensibly about composing a book, so I guess this is technically a writer link.

Pazoom — writer-link icon activated! (Hope Andreas doesn’t mind being represented by Sappho.)

Anyway, to the link itself. Invoking a few historical examples along the way, Kluth stresses the importance of having a good First Reader. Every aspiring author should find this quite interesting. Enjoy!

Category: Blogroll | Tags: alexander hamilton, andreas kluth, first reader, george washington, hannibal, moliere, publishing, sappho, the economist, writing

Publishing Links – Trends, Desires, and the End of Things

Posted on 03 Jun 10 by Editor

Let’s just dive straight into the links this week!

♣ The Author Magazine blogster reminds us that a really good story forces us to ask the question: “What do I want most?” (This is also true of magical compasses, I hear.)

♣ Moonrat at Editorial Ass(istant) tells us how to throw an awesome book launch.

♣ Kassia Krozser at BookSquare points out that change in the publishing biz must start at home, with the executives who run it.

♣ The Moby Lives blog asks whether we are seeing the end of book ownership.

Finally, the ever-prolific Eric at Pimp My Novel:
♣ issues a call for guest posts (you have until 16 June!);
♣ warns us of the approaching E-Pocalypse;
♣ explains the difference between billing and point-of-sale; and
♣ analyzes publishing trends like The [Adjective] Wife, vampires/werewolves, literary mash-ups, and the world ending in 2012.

Category: Blogroll | Tags: 2012, author magazine, book launch, Booksquare, editorial ass, kassia krozser, literary mash-ups, moby lives, moonrat, pimp my novel, vampires, werewolves

Lit Agent Links – Writing Contests, Writer's Syndrome, and Retellings

Posted on 02 Jun 10 by Editor

As you might have noticed, I have added some sidebar graphics for the short stories Tyson’s Corner, The Chameleon Missive, and The Dun Cat of Mill Bridge, as well as a new graphic to add mood to the master page for all of the Observer Tales.

I will probably work something up for Reading Cats, too.

And, before we get to the main links, two contest announcements:

♦ First up, in honor of the release of Rock Paper Tiger, Nathan Bransford announces a contest to (in his words) “write the most compelling chase and/or action and/or suspenseful sequence. It may be something you have written for the purpose of the contest or from a work in progress.” The prizes? Hey, I didn’t put that link up there for nothing! Go, go!

♦ Rachelle Gardner also announces a combination contest and exercise, to write a one-sentence summary of your book.

Now, on to the (other) links! Continue reading →

Category: Blogroll | Tags: Book Expo America, BookEnds LLC, books, da vinci code, Dystel & Goderich, literary agents, lucienne diver, nathan bransford, pride and prejudice and zombies, publishing, query letters, rachelle gardner, rock paper tiger, writing, writing contests

Writer Links – Criticism, Fantasies, and Love Triangles

Posted on 01 Jun 10 by Editor

Everyone having fun back at work after the long weekend?

A little spring cleaning note: I will begin going through my sidebar links and removing the ones that connect to blogs where there have not been any new postings for two months. The one exception will be Miss Snark, which shall remain as a memorial to one of the coolest literary blogs of all time.

Now to the writer links! Continue reading →

Category: Blogroll | Tags: baycon, becky levine, brandi guthrie, chip macgregor, christina katz, jade smith, juliette wade, les edgerton, lydia sharp, publishing, talk to youniverse, the prosperous writer, unhinged seriously

Publishing Links – Book Expo, Book Titles, and Lost Redux

Posted on 26 May 10 by Editor

Before I get into the links to publishing pro blogs, let me do a short follow-up on my Lost-inspired “Advice From A Dude” column. I was surprised to find it one of my most well-received advice pieces; I really expected a lot of defensive Lost fans in the comments trashing my trashing of the show’s creators. Thanks for being kinder to me than I was to them.

And thanks to Jade Smith for including me in a Lost-oriented link soup. If I am missing anyone else who linked me up, just speak out!

Also: I am the creator of the parody Lost – Gilligan’s Island graphic used in the article. I consider it covered by the Fair Use doctrine; one of the perks of being an American! Insofar as I have any control over it as an original composition based on sampled (parodied!) pieces, I hereby free it for use to anyone who credits me, John Nelson Leith, with a link.

And now, on to the publishing links! They may seem a little thin this week, perhaps because everyone is busy at Book Expo America 2010.

♣ Speaking of which, MediaBistro‘s GalleyCat is promising all the news and snarks on BEA 2010.

♣ The Author Magazine blog opens up the forum to Deb Caletti, author of The Six Rules of Maybe, who advises writers to be who they are.

♣ The Moby Lives blog follows up on Editorial Ass‘s recent piece on giving your book a title that another book already has. (That phrase just seemed more descriptive than “duplicate titling.”)

♣ Eric at Pimp My Novel offers his own take on the Lost finale, a little peek into the future of self-publishing with Barnes & Noble’s new PubIt service, and a few pointers on writings (and selling) literary fiction.

Also, as a bonus

Category: Blogroll | Tags: author magazine, barnes and noble, Book Expo America, deb caletti, editorial ass, galleycat, gilligan's island, jade smith, lost, mediabistro, moby lives, pimp my novel, publishing, the six rules of maybe, writing

Lit Agent Links – Pitches, Strike-Thrus, and a Webinar!

Posted on 24 May 10 by Editor

Here we are at the beginning of another week, on a day that happens to be the anniversary of several significant events in the history of written things.

Four hundred eighty years ago today in London, a list of heretic books was ordered burned. A short 13 years later on this date, Copernicus published the landmark work on the heliocentric model of the solar system, De Revolutionibus.

On this day in 1610, on the 3rd anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, Sir Thomas Gates establishes a draconian civil code for the colony. (Fourteen years later to the day, Virginia is declared a failure and its charter is revoked.)

This is also the birthday of magazine and newspaper publisher Samuel Irving Newhouse (1895-1979) and United Press International (1958).

Now, on to the book-oriented side of publishing, with this week’s literary agent links! Continue reading →

Category: Blogroll | Tags: banned books, BookEnds LLC, copernicus, Dystel & Goderich, jamestown, literary agents, nathan bransford, publishing, rachelle gardner, rejectionist, samuel newhouse, united press international, writing

Writer Links – Creating Worlds, Building Heroes, and Wrapping it all Up

Posted on 23 May 10 by Editor

It’s that time again in my three-part cycle of link soup.

Just like how, at the cafeteria where you work, the middle of the week means taco bar, the beginning of the Leith Literary soup cycle means links to stuff other writers are writing about! There’s no guac or salsa here, but there certainly is a lot of spicy goodness.

So, set your laptop somewhere it won’t overheat (the cooling vents are probably on the bottom!) and enjoy the following links offering advice and other neat stuff from writers. Continue reading →

Category: Blogroll | Tags: authors, becky levine, christine kling, ink phantom, juliette wade, les edgerton, lydia sharp, publishing, talk to youniverse, the sharp angle, write it sideways, writing

Publishing Links – Eavesdropping, eBooks, and Evil Drill Sergeants

Posted on 20 May 10 by Editor

Do you guys know how hard it is to come up with these quirky little introductions? After flagging the articles around the web I want to share, devising a compelling preface is often the most difficult part of the process.

The pressure to tap out enough text so that it wraps down below the badge! Something topical, quirky, engaging, and yet not too distracting from the cool links to follow?

The need for a new joke, a new angle, a new … oh, hey! Hmmm, I guess I’m done.

And now, links from publishing industry insiders: Continue reading →

Category: Blogroll | Tags: Alan Rinzler, author magazine, dennis johnson, editorial ass, ipad, kelly burdick, literary agents, melville house, moby lives, new orleans, norman mailer, pimp my novel, publishing house, query letter, the book deal

Lit Agent Links – Bookshelves, eBooks, and Lots of Query Advice

Posted on 18 May 10 by Editor

Okay, so I haven’t dropped a chain of literary agent links since April. Throw something heavy and hard at me. (I can take it.)

But, seriously, moving across town without hiring a moving company takes a lot out of a guy, especially when most of what you own consists of boxes and boxes of books. Kindle is looking real nice right about now.

So let’s get to those links!

♦ Dystel & Goderich doesn’t disappoint! Look at what the folks there have served up lately:

Miriam reminds us that the real point in publishing is to enjoy it.
Stacey does a damn good job and slapping down the cliché that men don’t read.
Rachel gives up her best books list.
Jessica seeks the logic underlying vampire stories, teenage hook-ups, mash-ups, and Malcolm Gladwell.
Lauren confesses her love of bookshelf-lined walls.

♦ Jessica at BookEnds dives into the thorny issue of getting published after being self-published, and answers questions about resubmitting a reworked query letter, the purpose of query letter guidelines, and morality clauses in YA/MG contracts. She also warns us that confidence in a query can backfire.

♦ At her Pub Rants blog, Kristin compares different POVs, explains why enhanced ebooks will cause havoc, and tells writers why highlighting your age in a query is not a good idea.

♦ Nathan Bransford reminds us that every writer gets rejected.

♦ Rachelle Gardner at Rants & Ramblings reveals the secrets of a great pitch.

Enjoy!

Category: Blogroll | Tags: BookEnds LLC, books, Dystel & Goderich, ebooks, Kristin Nelson, malcolm gladwell, mid-grade literature, nathan bransford, rachelle gardner, vampires, young adult literature