Saturday, February 9, 2013

The Deep End

Authors are talking about the pros and cons of online connectivity. 

Pros = keeping current with publishing changes, linking/friending writers, editors, and readers, as well as marketing your work 

Cons = finding time to write, attend conferences, and spend time with family, horses, dogs, and cats.

Initially, I kept to the shallow end of the pool with 2 websites (fiction and non-fiction). Slowly, I waded in with LinkedIn, Facebook, blogs, Twitter, and Pinterest (fun!). I'm up to my neck now, but wait, there's more! 

With global competition for a reader's attention, authors must take on much more of a book's online and hands-on marketing efforts. 

How many hours are there in a day again? Where's a pesky time machine when you need one?

Do I have the answer? Well, I recently read an eloquent Writer Unboxed post by Robin LaFevers on prioritizing and saying no to time-consuming things that don't grow your writing dreams. For me, it was a life preserver in an increasingly murky marketing pool.

With a new picture book, Alphabet Puke: Monsters' Medicine A-Z, ready to launch next month, Robin's post reminded me that saying no was not just an option for writers, but a necessity. 

Sans a time machine, saying no, gives writers time back to relax in/out of the pool.  
-Q

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Read, Read, Read

As we begin another writing and critiquing year, I am amazed at all the interesting ways children's writers tell stories. Take Lee Wardlaw's Won Ton - A Cat Tale Told in Haiku. As the title describes, the story is told via page after page of haiku. Clever!

Will I ever write a book in haiku? Who knows? But now I have a role model and trail blazer to look to in case I want to try it.

Or how about How the Dinosaur Got to the Museum by Jessie Hartland that tells a historical story and slips in tons of science details. Super!

Will I be writing about dinosaurs soon. No, but thanks to this book, I have a excellent example of how interweaving science and history can be done. 

There are lots of other examples. I save mine at Picbooksrock on Pinterest. Then, I can go back and reference my favorites whenever I want.
-Q