Another look at whether self-publishing or the traditional route is best for authors. The debate will go on.
Should Children’s Book Authors Self-Publish? | Jane Friedman.
Posts Tagged ‘Children’s literature’
Nathan Bransford, Author
Posted in Literary works, New author, tagged Amazon.com, Arts, author, authors, Awakening, Book, children's books, Children's literature, Kate Chopin, literature, Nathan Bransford, Organizations, Publish, work, Writer, Writers Resources, writing on April 17, 2013| 1 Comment »
Cover via Amazon
I agree with this article but there is a big misconception about authors. There are good authors who are not recognized because their work is not mainstream popular reading. The decisions to read and study certain literature in a canon is determined, in my opinion, by political and cultural preferences. Whatever is popular now is what people want to read about. There were books held back from the public (like Kate Chopin‘s The Awakening) because of people in power found their work offensive. Literature is a fickle thing. I don’t know a lot of people that can actually agree about what should be studied in college literature classes or read as entertainment. As a society we are like a leaf apt to go where the wind blows us.
The new writers and authors are flooding the market with self-published books and e-books. There are all kinds of writers. Sure we don’t have a lot of Mark Twains or Edgar Allen Poes’ anymore. But shouldn’t we find some that are still worthy to quote? Obviously the Noble Prize in Literature is still finding candidates to hand out the award to. Even the Newberry Award is given out every year. So there is still some talent out there.
Mark Twain statue (Photo credit: stevebkennedy)
People will read what they want to read. As writers we just need to write what we feel. Whether it will make it into a canon or not is up to those who select it.
Children’s Books that Made Us Love Reading
Posted in Literary works, Reading, tagged authors, Book, Brian Jacques, C.S. Lewis, Charles Dicken, Charlotte's Web, children's books, Children's literature, Chronicles of Prydain, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Lloyd Alexander, Philip Pullman, Redwall on March 24, 2013| 4 Comments »
Children’s books can have a deep effect on us as readers. Whether we read the Laura Ingalls Wilder series or books by C.S. Lewis, our depth of understanding comes from what we read and learned. Now years later, looking back I have noticed I missed reading some classics. Not Black Beauty or Charlotte’s Web but books by other authors.
Here are a few examples:
- The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander
- Redwall by Brian Jacques
- His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
Series were not high on my list of books to read. Now I see I have some catching up to do. Books should capture every young heart and start them down a path of reading. If we didn’t have books to read then what would we do with ourselves? What would occupy our minds? What would we be learning? Nothing but facts according to Charles Dicken’s Hard Times. That sounds pretty boring. Imagination is a freedom we should all savor.
Anyone else have a list of books they want to read?
Capturing The Elusive Literary Agent
Posted in Literary agents, tagged Children's literature, KELLY SONNACK, Literary agent, Writer, Young-adult fiction on March 1, 2013| 1 Comment »
Literary Agents have been around for a long time. They are sought after like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. But how does one go about capturing one? How does a writer’s query set the tone for their work? Agent Kelly Sonnack tells all in the 2012 Children’s Writers & illustrator’s Market book. (Sambuchino)
ON STARTING STRONG
When you’re reviewing a partial fiction manuscript, what do you hate to see in Chapter 1?
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I hate to see a whiny character who’s in the middle of a fight with one of their parents, slamming doors, rolling eyes and displaying all sorts of other stereotypical behavior. I hate seeing character “stats” (“Hi, I’m Brain. I’m 10 years and 35 days old with brown hair and green eyes.”). I also tend to have a hard time bonding with characters who talk to the reader (“Let me tell you about the summer I….).
-KELLY SONNACK is a literary agent with the Andrea Brown Literary Agency
ON PICTURE BOOKS & ILLUSTRATIONS
With picture books, I suspect you get a lot of submissions and most of them get rejected. Where are writers going wrong?
- Rhyming! So many writers think picture books need to rhyme. There are some editors who won’t even look at books in rhyme, and a lot more who are extremely wary of them, so it limits an agent on where it can go and the likelihood of it selling. It’s also particularly hard to execute perfectly. Aside from rhyming, I see way too many picture books about a family pet or bedtime.
-KELLY SONNACK is a literary agent with the Andrea Brown Literary Agency
Kelly Sonnack is a literary agent with Andrea Brown Literary Agency, has attended writer’s conferences and is found talking about children’s books on Facebook and Twitter. She has represented many authors that include Steve Watkins’ Golden Kite Winner DOWN SAND MOUNTAIN and his YA novel WHAT COMES AFTER. Find out more about this agent at:
http://www.andreabrownlit.com/agents.php
For the writer’s out there that want a different voice to help them decide if an agent is right for you please watch the video with Michael Larsen, literary agent, and Brain Felsen, president of BookBaby.
Works Cited
Sambuchino, Chuck. “Agents Tell All.” Sambuchino, Chuck. 2012 Children’s Writer‘s & Illustrator’s. Cinncinnati: Writers Digest Books, 2012. 26-30.
On the Horizon
Posted in Literary works, Reading, tagged Book, Children, Children's literature, E-book, IBooks, IPad, literature, Shopping on February 23, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Be on the lookout for a feature story. Starring (hopefully) someone from this writing world …. 
Also the news on e-books doesn’t look great according to some. Authors could be hit with the crazy price cut of their ebooks by companies who want to sell used e-books. Is it possible? Could readers really tell the difference between used and new digital books? Read the full article here: Used e-books or at What the…
Three children, with bare feet, stand waiting on the hot sand. My middle-grade fictional book is now ready for editing. Hunting for the right editor at the right price is a gamble. Anyone who knows a good editor for children’s literature, please shoot me a line.
Editing, illustrating and writing tirelessly on my picture book. I am getting closer to self-publishing, or cutting the cord, with this baby.
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