Here's yet another innovative way authors are using the Internet to explore their writing and connect with their readers. Dear Teen Me is a blog featuring published and unpublished young adult authors writing letters to their former teenage selves. The posts — some funny, some poignant — show how the details of teen life may have changed, but the angst remains the same. The blog is dedicated to modern teen readers, but it's also a treasure trove for aspiring authors wanting to reconnect with their adolescent voices. Check it out.
Are you a plotter or a pantser? (For those of you who don’t know, pantser refers to those authors who write by the seat of their pants.) This is a common discussion among writers. Those who are plotters defend their position of outlining complete with Roman numerals and letters and writing out thirty page synopses. Pantsers feel equally strongly about their more free-wheeling techniques and love the spontaneity of writing whatever comes into their mind at any given moment.
Where do you fall? Are you a logical and precise plotter or an emotional and intuitive pantser? Or do you fall somewhere in between?
Not sure what you are? Let’s examine the differences between plotters and pantsers:
You are probably a plotter if you:
You are probably a pantser if you:
Very often, finding an agent to represent your work feels like a cross between luck, fate, and flipping a coin. But first-time author Allan Woodrow decided to use with a slightly more scientific method. Beginning with a strong manuscript (that's really the most important thing, after all), a stand-out query, and a system for researching, ranking and submitting to agents, he landed an agent within a month and sold his first middle grade novel, The Rotten Adventures of Zachary Ruthless, to HarperCollins two months later.
Read all about his secret here, and then put it to work for yourself.
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It's time to reveal our super-secret project: Write4Kids! TV. It's a web video channel devoted exclusively to writing children's books, and will feature video interviews with authors, editors and publishing visionaries. It's completely free and is certain to become must-viewing for anyone interested in creating children's books.
Right now, the very first episode is up, and it's a doozy. Join me for an exclusive chat with Karen Robertson, author of Treasure Kai and the Lost Gold of Shark Island and creator of an amazing eBook called Author's Guide to Book Apps.
Karen has a great story: about a year ago, she decided to create an iPad app for her book. She's a self-described "total non-techie", but she taught herself how to do everything. Her journey turned out to be more fun and less expensive than she imagined. Now she's become an evangelist for writers to create and sell their own children's book apps and, to prove that absolutely anyone can do it, she's created a step-by-step roadmap that shows exactly how to make it happen (and she's teamed up with us to offer it at a special price).
Apps are super-hot right now and can offer exposure and, yes, profit for writers, whether they've been previously published or not.
In our chat, Karen shares exactly what apps are and how they're sold. It's a meaty conversation that will leave you feeling confident that, in fact, you can do it.
Go check out "Children's Book Apps Made Easy" at http://Write4Kids.tv
Karen has a free report about creating apps at http://bit.ly/apps4kids
