Category: Technology

Blazing Trail(ers)

Leave a comment

When I first heard the term “book trailer” I was wary. We’re not making movies; why do we need trailers? But when I got to see some real examples, I was impressed by how much they can bring to a book’s release and how creative they can be.

Of course, book trailers don’t just appear, and I’m sure most writers don’t know how to put one together. Fortunately, Hazel Mitchell has put together a fantastic step-by-step guide for putting together your very own book trailer. I think this might work best for picture books, which have a lot of lovely illustrations already, but lots of helpful advice even for novelists. Check it out and put together your very own book trailer today!

The Writing Life in 140 Characters or Less

Leave a comment

In a recent New York Times article, Anne Trubek looks at why authors tweet. She discusses the relationship between the author and the reader and how that’s changing due to modern technology: “At their best, social media democratize literature and demystify the writing process.”

Although Trubek’s article stays mostly with the author/readers, I also enjoy following authors and interacting with them as fellow writers. Okay, maybe interacting is a strong word here. But it’s heartening to see that famous and talented writers like Shannon Hale or Sara Zarr might be in the middle of revisions or having a hard time balancing writing/real life or cheering over good reviews. Tweets can be a reminder that a writer’s life is work, even if you’re an accomplished author. And this endears me to these writers even more.

Obviously, Twitter can also be an important marketing tool. But I think it works best for writers when the writer genuinely enjoys tweeting and understand what he/she can provide to his audience through that kind of contact.

Which authors are you following?

Studies Show Reading Is Cool

Leave a comment

Another reason it’s a great time to read and write children’s literature:

“In 2004, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) published a study titled Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America, reporting that the number of literature-reading young adults dropped 20 percent between 1982 and 2002—the greatest recorded loss of readership in the country’s history. The decline represented 20 million potential readers and Dana Gioia, NEA Chairman, called it a “national crisis.”

Panic ensued and a flurry of reading incentive programs sprung up around the country, including NEA’s own The Big Read which now operates in all fifty states and even internationally. Then, in a 2009 report, Reading on the Rise, the NEA proudly reported a 21 percent increase in young adult readership which began in 2002 and has continued through 2008.”

The emphasis is mine, but the facts stand alone. Thanks to cultural touchstones like Harry Potter, more kids are reading and more publishers have recognize that this is a huge market that demands good writing. Also, in case you think technology is going to kill the book:

“In January 2010, the Kaiser Family Foundation published a comprehensive study of the media habits of more than 2,000 eight to eighteen year-old American children. The study found that the average time spent reading books for pleasure in a typical day rose from 21 minutes in 1999 to 23 minutes in 2004, and finally to 25 minutes in 2010. The rise of screen-based media has not melted children’s brains, despite ardent warnings otherwise: “It does not appear that time spent using screen media (TV, video games and computers) displaces time spent with print media,” the report stated. Teens are not only reading more books, they’re involved in communities of like-minded book lovers. The Story Siren, a young adult online book review authored by an Indiana graduate student gets 3,500-4,000 unique page views a day.”

The internet isn’t the end of the book. It’s helping teens explore books and connect with similar-minded readers. I find this all extremely hopeful for the next generation of readers and writers.

Start Thinking of Your Thoughtful Comments

Leave a comment

You know that feeling of hope when you craft a new blog post and hit Publish? Ah yes, you say, this will truly get them talking! This will be the post all my readers love! Viral, here I come.

And then you wait. And wait.

That’s the nature of blogging. For the most part, you put it out there without any kind of response. That’s why it should be something you find personally fulfilling, not just fulfilling because it gets you attention.

But!

The Fourth Annual Comment Challenge is all about spreading the blog love. The details: you comment on (at least) 5 kid lit blogs everyday for 21 days. Get conversations started. Let bloggers know their work is appreciated. Maybe they’ll even comment back!

Head over to MotherReader to sign up. I’m excited to find lots more awesome children’s/YA blogs to add to my rss feed. Please share any cool blogs you think I’d like!

Guten Tag, Liebsters!

Leave a comment

In college, my roommate took a semester of German just for fun. She’d come home and teach me phrases she’d learned. I’m not great with languages, so all I could remember was “Guten tag!” which we would say cheerfully as one of us entered/left the room.

But now I know another German word: Liebster, meaning “dearest.” Why? Because Lisa of Writer’s Block Party so kindly nominated me for the Liebster Blog award. Thanks Lisa!

The Liebster is designed to encourage bloggers who are new or don’t have a huge following, which I think is awesome. There are a lot of lovely bloggers out there, so let’s get them followed! Some Liebster rules:

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog. Check. Lisa, you rock!

2. Link back to the blogger who presented the award to you. Also check.

3. Copy and paste the blog award on your blog.  Check #3.

4. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 5 blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed. (some say just 3 or more blogs of less than 200 followers each). Man, 200 followers? You have to be a celebrity for that, right? Honestly, I have no idea how many followers these blogs have, but I’m trying to avoid some of the huge ones. If you guys all have 1,000+ followers or have gotten book deals based on your blogs, just pass along the love to smaller blogs.

5. Let them know they have been chosen, by leaving a comment at their blog. 

Onto the blogs! In no particular order:

LibriCritic
Lots of wonderful thoughts on reading and writing by a librarian/bookseller. (Who better to get book recs from?) Add in some Sherlock clips and I’m sold.

Lollygag Blog
 A Chicago playwright/nanny/awesome-er shares the hilarity and joy of everyday experiences and challenges.

Looks and Books
Jill combines the best of literature with a sharp fashion sense. I love her outfits based on characters/covers. It makes me want to dress up everyday.

Girl Meets Formosa
Kim went to Taiwan to do research for a book about her family. Lots of great info on living abroad, finding family/self, and the writing process.

Emily Kaye Lazzaro
Emily is a playwright and is so funny that I have to hold back from commenting on her blog because otherwise I might look like a blog-stalker.

Please check out all of the above blogs. They’re awesome and written by fantastic people. And keep spreading the blogger love, no matter how many followers you have.

 

Copy, Paste

Leave a comment

This New York Times article is more based in visual art than literature, but it’s a fascinating look at what’s going on with copyright issues. One quote that struck me:

““For the generation that I spend my days with, there’s not even any ideological baggage that comes along with appropriation anymore,” said Stephen Frailey, an artist whose work has used appropriation and who runs the undergraduate photography program at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. “They feel that once an image goes into a shared digital space, it’s just there for them to change, to elaborate on, to add to, to improve, to do whatever they want with it. They don’t see this as a subversive act. They see the Internet as a collaborative community and everything on it as raw material.”“

I see a lot of truth in that. Images get passed around sites like Pinterest or Tumblr, maybe edited, maybe without a link to the source material. I’m sure that’s frustrating to artists (you want to be credited for your work) but a lot of times things are passed around because people enjoy them and are inspired by them in some way. If we cut off the possibility of sharing, does that hinder potential creativity? And what can artists do with these images? What kind of value needs to be added to a image for it to be new and fresh in some way, so the second artist has made it his/her own? Lawyer Daniel Brooks argues:

“It can’t just be random, that he ‘liked it,’ because there’s no practical boundary to that.”

It’s a hard look at what the design and creation process actually is. Is it wrong for an artist to include something because he “likes” it or because he finds that it adds an aesthetic value to his work without it necessarily commenting on the original? Part of me wants to allow that kind of creation process, but another agrees with Brooks–it’s a slipper slope for the people who are creating these images in the first place.

The whole article is worth checking out. I’m very curious to see how copyright law will address these issues, but I don’t think anything will be cleared up anytime soon.

The E-Clause

Leave a comment

The big news in publishing now is how to deal with e-readers. Along with that comes questions regarding publishing contracts, some of which are decades old. I’m guessing that’s the reason HarperCollins is suing Open Road Integrated Media over the latter’s e-book edition of Jean Craighead George’s children’s book classic Julie of the Wolves. HarperCollins originally published the book in 1972 ,and Open Road (founded by former HarperCollins CEO Jane Friedman) came out with its e-book edition in October.

Although Open Road says they were granted rights by author George, HarperCollins counters:

“Our contract with Jean Craighead George, the author of Julie of the Wolves, grants us the exclusive digital rights to the book, and Open Road’s e-book edition violates our rights. We intend to take all appropriate steps to protect our exclusive rights under copyright against infringement, in this case and in any instances that might occur in the future.”

It sounds like someone–the author, the agent, one of the publishers–really dropped the ball on this one, and I don’t think this will be a rare lawsuit in the years to come. Publishing contracts can be hard enough to understand without trying to update each one with regard to new technology. I’m curious to see how this will pan out.