Top Picks Thursday 06-28-2012

Congrats to our latest Anniversary Giveaway winner: BRYAN PRINCE! He’s won the 10-page developmental edit from Kathryn Craft. On Sunday we pick the grand prize – a video and audio performance of an excerpt from your manuscript by professional actor Keith Strunk.

Cultivating future readers is in our best interest as authors. Michel Kripalani shares tips on encouraging kids to read in the digital age; and in the same vein, Reading Rainbow now has an app!

We’ve all been there – someone at a gathering starts talking about a book that “everybody” has read. Everybody but you. Heba Hasan explains how to talk about 10 important books you probably haven’t read.

And because we can never have enough encouragement from the best writers out there, Zachary Petit compiles 72 of the best quotes about writing.

CRAFT

For the travel writers among us, Grace Bello lays out tips for travel writers that can spark your career.

Back in the fiction world, Ursula K. Le Guin tackles the debate that will not die – Literature vs. Genre.

No matter what you write, Tonya Kappes has tips to strengthen your writing; and K.M. Weiland reminds us that speed isn’t everything by asking: are you writing your novel too fast?

We all have to start somewhere with a new project. Samantha Warren wants to know: are you a pantser, plotter, or thonger?

Jon Gibbs, on the other hand, is interested in endings, and asks: where do you end your first drafts?

Those deviling details are at it again. Roger Colby lists 5 ways to work with stubborn writing; Janice Hardy helps you choose your point of view; and Jami Gold gives tips for writing heavy emotional scenes.

Melinda S. Collins tells how to create a (semi) original vampire (or any other creature, for that matter); K.M. Weiland shows how to improve your story with specificity; and Chuck Wendig shares 25 things you should know about writing sex.

If readers don’t care about your characters, chances are they won’t love your book. Fae Rowan writes character arcs made easy; Marissa Graff lists 5 tips for creating memorable characters; and Stavros Halvatzis tells us how to design minor characters.

When those characters get chatty, make the most of it. Lynette Labelle defines buried dialogue and explains how to avoid it, and Carolyn Kaufman demonstrates the proper use of dialogue tags and punctuation.

Editing and revising are often the least favorite parts of the writer’s job, but they are perhaps the most important. Jennifer Gracen talks about the importance of editing; Elaine Smith says to ask yourself if the adjectives are really necessary; and Moody Writing points out that one of the byproducts of writers reading a lot is an instinct for knowing what critiques to listen to when editing.

Karen Cioffi offers 8 steps needed before submitting your manuscript (and they all involved revision or editing), while Jeffe Kennedy advises knowing when to STOP revising and move on to a new project.

Readers are the lifeblood of any author’s career, whether they are critique readers or fans buying your book. Imelda Evans supports the wisdom of using beta readers, and Terry Odell examines the relationship between readers and writers—and what readers can do to make a writer’s day.

Sometimes, becoming who you want to be means making big changes in your life. Marie Lamba addresses reinventing yourself, while Kat Howard talks about finding the courage ro write something that feels too hard and scary.

Jody Hedlund discusses what to do when you feel like a lousy writer (because we all get there sometimes); and Krissy Brady gives a pep talk to those who fear failing as a writer.

We all want good reviews to boost our ratings and get us noticed. But how far would you go to secure some 5-star reviews? Jon Gibbs encountered a group of writers giving other writers 5-star reviews—without reading the book. And for those books lucky enough to get reviewed professionally, there is always the chance of a horrid review. Adam Gopnick shares a novel way to respond to bad reviews.

BUSINESS

Michael J. De La Merced reports that News Corp. is considering dividing itself in two—splitting off the entertainment divisions from the rest, and what this means for the Wall Street Journal, Times of London, New York Post, and HarperCollins.

In good news for library patrons, Jennifer Maloney reports that Penguin has made a deal with 2 New York City library systems to return its ebooks to library shelves in a one-year pilot program. Meanwhile, the Pew Research Center has released a study on library ebook borrowing.

Piracy is a big problem for writers. Stephanie Lawton gives writers steps to deal with book piracy, while Andrew E. Kaufman prefers a “do nothing” approach to book piracy.

In the ongoing self-pubbed vs. traditional pubbed author war, Kristine Kathryn Rusch speaks for most writers when she wonders why and how this became such a divisive issue, and reminds us that most writers will be hybrid-published at some point in our careers.

When it comes time to knock on traditional publishing’s door, you need a query. Jane Lebak offers a different perspective on how to write that often-intimidating query letter; Query Shark says don’t use the climax of your book as the query hook; and MuseInks posts 5 shocking things no query letter needs.

Even if you have a perfect query letter and get asked for a partial or full, Ruth Harris lists 11 reasons writers get rejected—and why only 3 of them matter.

For those of us wondering what Stumbleupon is and how it fits into our already over-social-media-ed lives, Nicole Rivera demystifies Stumbleupon for writers.

Marketing is key, no matter how you are published. Book trailers are the rage. Tim Kane wonders if a Hollywood-designed book trailer would help your book, while Lada Ray lays out how to make a book trailer on a budget.

And we all know that our readers are our best advertisers, so Jody Hedlund lists 20 easy ways readers can help promote a book. Pass it on to your fans!

THE UNIQUE SHELF

PJ Casselman shares a comic with a little query humor.

If you ever felt like you needed an excuse for reading poetry, here are the 12 most practical excuses for reading poetry daily.

Want your manuscript to last 200+ years? Follow the Medieval Rules of Book Conservation, including, “Do not give your books to children!”

That’s it for this week! You have until Sunday to enter for the grand prize in our Anniversary Giveaway!