Top Picks Thursday 05-16-2013

It’s mid-May already. How did that happen?

In a belated Mother’s Day entry, Molly Wetta highlights some mother-child relationships in YA.

A post entitled “What is a Library?” caused passionate response from librarians: Teen Librarian Toolbox retorted that the Internet is not free and libraries are not dead, while Rita Meade defined and defended the role of the library in the digital age.

You think our standardized tests are bad? England’s new grammar test is so tough on commas it could make “the whole output of Oxford University Press” wrong.

These people wear their passion for books on their skin: tattoos inspired by books.

We’ve all had the urge to take a marker and correct public signs with typos in them. In Brooklyn, a vigilante copy editor is actually correcting placards in a sculpture park.

CRAFT

Most people suffer from self-doubt occasionally, and writers seem to have a penchant for it. Jami Gold ponders how self-doubt can take away the enjoyment of good news, while Gwenda Bond fights the writer’s block of self-doubt with her uvula.

The dreaded synopsis. We all face it. To get us through, Susan Dennard tells us how to write a 1 page synopsis, and Chuck Sambuchino has 5 tips for writing a novel synopsis.

Do you write for children? Jean Reidy asks if your picture book has a strong premise, while a panel of children’s authors discusses how to write about global dangers for young readers.

Want to be successful? Elizabeth Sims says to be ordinary and have a good voice. Need inspiration? Sarah Ockler explains how Tarot cards are part of her writing process. Think you should write your memoir? Rachelle Gardner lays out the commitment it takes to write a successful memoir.

Character is the heart of every book. Most of us love our characters, but we put them in traumatizing situations in our works. Sarah Fine, psychologist and author, kicks off a series about trauma and your characters. Jessica Baverstock tells us how to deepen our characters by carefully choosing the objects they have in their house.

A successful book requires attention to every detail. K.M. Weiland gives 17 steps to a reader-grabbing title, and Les Edgerton shows how to write amazing dialogue.

The writing process is different for each writer. Veronica Rossi describes how the process can vary even from book to book. Joe Bunting reveals how to write whether you feel like it or not.

Writing is a long, strange career. Janet Edwards takes us on her journey from fan to author; famous authors reveal the secrets of writing; and Dani Shapiro tells us how to reconcile and balance the 3 selves every author has.

BUSINESS

In publishing, David Pogue examines what Tor’s DRM-free results mean for the publishing industry as a whole.

Agent Janet Reid reminds writers that you do not need to copyright unpublished work, and warns that anyone who tells you otherwise and then takes a large amount of your money to do it for you may be a scam artist.

Marketing is everything, and your author website should be a prime driver for your sales. Penny Sansevieri has 3 ways to improve your website design. Meanwhile, David Gaughan explains how to use Amazon categories to gain visibility and drive sales.

We all want to make the most of our online presence without it eating up all of our writing time. Angie M. Jordan tells us how to write smarter, seduce your readers, and write better blog posts. Rob Peterson gives us 12 tips on how to write for you audience and the search engines, and Anne Chaconas lists 10 tips for getting the most out of Facebook in the least amount of time.

THE UNIQUE SHELF

A fun flow chart on what people THINK The Great Gatsby is about, and 12 things you didn’t know about F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.

Nathan Bransford’s foolproof way to get your house ultra-clean.

When it’s time to kick back and relax, here’s 10 delicious literary beers to drink while reading.

That’s all for us this week!