The Weekly 411 (1/24/14)

© 2013 Janet Lee



Jan. 24, 2014 - Issue 3

This week we introduced two new features, an Author Spotlight and a new section on Middle Grade writing. 


AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR SPOTLIGHT


This week's Author Spotlight features poet-author RenĂ©e LaTulippe and the Illustrator Spotlight features artist-illustrator-comic artist Janet Lee


NEW SECTION


Check out our new section Middle Grade


KIDLIT NEWS


Timely news links not found elsewhere on this site.

New Agent Alert! The Bent Agency-Brooks Sherman 1/27/14



New Literary Agent Alert: Laura Zats of Red Sofa Literary - 1/21/14


A Picture Book with No Pictures: PW article about debut author's "picture book" with no pictures


"Most Authors Make Less than $1000 a Year": article surveying author incomes


"Picture Books that Will Never Win Awards" article about great non-US PBs that don't qualify for the Caldecotts





The Write Practice:  Make The Most of Your Writing Time 


Agent LitMatch- matching agents to your work.


Jacket Flap - profiles more than 200,000 authors, illustrators, publishers and other creators of books for children & young adults


Odyssey Writing Workshops Podcasts- Lectures

How to Write a One Page Synopsis



Songs in the Public Domain - Royalty free music

Story Submission Tracker- Jamie Todd Rubin- Free template

Stephen King's Top Twenty Rules for Writers - inspirational and practical tips on writing


7 Qualities of High Concept Stories- Writer's Digest


23 Literary Agent Query Letters that Worked- Galleycat

Find Out the Word Count of Published Books



For Illustrators


Sub It Club's Postcard Posts: series of posts from working illustrators about promotional postcards





Miss Snark's First Victim - popular blog that runs a monthly secret agent contest, in house critiques, and an agent auction that has resulted in agent signings




Contests and Awards


NEA Poetry Fellowship Application - March 14 deadline; $25,000 grants for published poets


  • What: $50,000 grand prize advance, five $15,000 runner up advances for a novel (in General Fiction, Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Science Fiction/Fantasy, and Young Adult)

Writing Challenges


Check out this section for loads of new challenges, courtesy of Sarah Maynard. One of immediate interest is March Madness Poetry; applications to participate are now open.



What: Event designed to bring the excitement of the NCAA March Madness tournament to the world of kids’ poetry. 64 poets from around the world participate in the event; together, these poets write 126 new kids’ poems in just 21 days tournament style: IT’S MADNESS! Tweet with #MMPoetry.
Who: Authlete participants chosen through application  Fans/Voting open to all! Follow along and help crown a poetic winner.
When: Bracket Unveiling: March 2, 1st words assigned: March 17,
1st poems up for vote: March 19


Social Media


Absolute Write -Ask the agent posts, bewares and background checks.






For Better of For Verse an interactive learning tool to help you understand metered verse 





Query Letters

Writer's Digest- "The Ten Dos and Don'ts of Writing a Query Letter)

Writer Unboxed: "What to Write in the Bio Section of Your Query Letter"

Adventures in YA Publishing: "YA Literary Agents Talk About the Most Common Submission Errors"





Publetariat- A community of indie published authors





Meg Cabot's Things My Characters Say - A great daily list of happy, thoughtful, things.






Comments

  1. What a great compendium of resources! Fantastic info.

    ReplyDelete
  2. OOH This better or for verse is excellent!

    ReplyDelete

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