Posted by: Kerry Gans | April 4, 2013

Top Picks Thursday 04-04-2013

Happy April! How many of you got caught out by April Fool’s pranks?

Winners of the Coretta Scott King Award and Pura Belpré Award announced.

Publisher’s Weekly’s photo essay of the NYC Teen Authors Festival.

Is your head in the clouds? Carolyn Kaufman explains cloud storage’s pros and cons.

What’s the role of the library of the future? Massachusetts is launching a statewide digital library; Smashwords’ Mark Coker suggests libraries become community publishing portals; and one couple chooses a library for a marriage proposal.

CRAFT

In genre-specific posts, Richard Unger shares his 4 keys to writing un-put-down-able middle grade adventure; Craig DeLouie examines what makes good horror; and Juliette Wade takes us step-by-step through science fiction and fantasy world building.

Interested in screenplays? Chuck Sambuchino gives 7 tips for adapting your own novel. The best way to learn film structure is to break down other successful movie. The Script Lab has over 150 films’ plot breakdowns for you to browse. Also at Script Lab, how much story is too much?

C.S. Lakin takes us inside the close-up and personal POV of the one stationary camera shot metaphor; Rayne Hall tells us why our protagonists seem wimpy; Writer’s Relief demystifies active and passive voice sentences; Mark Nichol tackles dangling modifiers and the use of “that,” “which,” and “who”; and Adrienne deWolfe shares 6 self-editing tips for the harried fiction writer.

Roz Morris asks: when do you use pen and paper instead of a computer in your writing process?; Danielle Bannister wrestles with finding meaning in journaling; Ava Jae explains why she keeps every draft of her novel; and Michael Stelzner shares time management tips for writers.

Want to be a successful, better, happier writer? Cliff Cardin makes the case for confidence leading to success; James Altucher lists 33 unusual tips to being a better writer; and Chuck Wendig has 25 ways to be a happier writer.

BUSINESS

The big freak out this week is Amazon’s purchase of Goodreads. Goodreads pledges the same service as before, but better, while both parties enthuse about bringing a better experience to readers and authors alike. Finally, Chuck Wendig gives his take on the “Amazon is bad for authors meme.”

Meanwhile, Rachelle Gardner wonders if traditional publishing could be revitalized by letting editors, not sales guys, run the company.

In other business news, Jane Friedman brings the Best Business Advice for Writers (March edition) to us.

Mary Kole tells writers to concentrate on your book as a book in your query, not as an app or a movie or toy. Janet Reid adds to that with 3 tips on what NOT to do in your query.

Is Amazon’s KDP Select for you? C.J. Lyon lays out the pros and cons of the KDP Select program.

Some say author readings are dead. Others disagree. Tasha Golden says author readings rock the house when authors remember the point of the reading.

THE UNIQUE SHELF

Ever wonder what your favorite author looked like as a kid? Flavorwire brings us photos of famous authors as teenagers.

The Alexandria Library lives! Take a look at the largest open-space reading room in the world, housed in Egypt’s Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

Check out this intricate 19th century Alphabet portfolio.

That’s it for us this week! Enjoy the spring weather!


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