Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Shopping’

With the changes in the publishing industry to accommodate writers, who are breaking in whether through traditional or e-pub, there is a wave of new things to cover.

Amazon +1 vs. Safari

Amazon +1 vs. Safari (Photo credit: gcorrin)

First there are new genres.

  • NA – stands for New Adult books.  This is for young adults who have left their parents house and are trying to make it in the world on their own.  A lot of the stories are focused around college students or young adults in the working world.  Some new NA books that are hot grabs are Jamie McGuire’s Beautiful Disaster.  Check out USA Today’s article about this genre and the authors making headlines at http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2013/04/15/new-adult-genre-is-the-hottest-category-in-book-publishing/2022707/ . ( I just recently found out about this genre. )
  • Metaphysical Fiction – It is not really a new genre but more of a sub-category of fiction writing, whether it is for YA, MG or adult books.  This subject covers the mixture of some fantasy with real world phenomenon and or magic.  You can read a better description of what this category covers at Karen M. Rider’s blog at http://www.karenmrider.com/what-is-metaphysical-fiction/ .  She goes over the category really well along with visionary fiction.  The post is a great read.

The new writing styles have been put into these new categories to help readers find these books.  The changes seem minuscule and sure there are categories above I left out.  But you can find them on your own by visiting Amazon or Goodreads and searching through the many categories.

So what are the headaches to come with these changes.

  • Readers will have that many more choices to choose from.
  • Older books will have to be re-categorized to accommodate the new genres.

But here is the plus side to all this for authors out there.  We can now have our works more specifically categorized.  Which in turn will help all those readers out there who know what they are looking for in a good book.

So read on, fellow book enthusiast.  And may the writers imagination be forever endless.

 

Barnes & Noble eReader Software Coming to iPad

Barnes & Noble eReader Software Coming to iPad (Photo credit: John Federico)

Read Full Post »

Cover of "Ender's Game (Ender Quartet)"

Cover of Ender’s Game (Ender Quartet)

Being a fan of Orson Scott Card I have read many of his books.  So how did I miss this one?  Or the fact that it is a series?  The only reason I even knew about it was because of the movie coming out later on this year.
I loved this book and was shocked at the end.  Who would have guess?  But I kept wondering. Card takes a young child and puts him in adult situations making serious decisions. Very thought-provoking and intense scenes with bullies and fights.  Children are so innocent and usually make decisions based on what they have seen other children do.  Ender Wiggins was a genius and did things that some adults would never even thought of doing. I was glad in the end when Ender was able to reconnect with his sister.  It would have been a sad life if not.
Now I can’t wait to read the next books in the series. Card has a way with words giving them a deeper meaning.  Philosophy classes or even theorists could spend years psychoanalyzing his work.

http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/3252247-jessica-wilson”>View all my reviews

 

Does anyone have a favorite Orson Scott Card novel?

 

Read Full Post »

Learning by internet is so fun! Not only do you get to come as you are but you can do whatever else too. I have taken college courses online and now I attended a webinar online. It was hosted by Writers Digest and featured agent Jennifer Laughran. She gave great advice about what is hot now in Middle Grade children’s books. Lots of facts about what is selling and what is not. Also we were told what to expect from agents in general to query letters.
I have lots of new websites to check out like Queryshark and Preditors & Editors.
Jennifer Laughran also will be giving those that attended a critique on the first 500 words of their middle grade manuscripts. That’s exciting!
Now I am off to a library to check out some middle grade books like “When You Reach Me” and “Penderwicks”.

Cover of "When You Reach Me"

Read Full Post »

Be on the lookout for a feature story.  Starring (hopefully) someone from this writing world ….  famous-authors

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.

th

 

Read Full Post »

Odd Apocalypse (Odd Thomas, #5)Odd Apocalypse by Dean Koontz

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really enjoy reading a Dean Koontz novel. And I especially enjoy the Odd Thomas series. Except for this last installment. There was no humor like the first books so this novel left a bad taste in my mouth. It was dark and dreary. Which I can understand just from reading the title. But there was no real happy ending, just a chapter closed, and the bad guys dead. The character Annamarie is still not resolved in this latest book. And Odd keeps hinting at the fact that we are reading his memoirs. So is he dead? When do we come to the conclusion of this monumental event?
The literature side left me wanting. I know I have seen some better writing and there were a few good lines in the book when Odd was reflecting on his situation and became philosophical. But overall the language of the bad guys and the few parts of the dialect were poor at minimum.
The plot was interesting but hard to understand until the very end when Koontz explains in more detail what the heck is going on. It took me longer to read because of a slow start and Odd always reflecting back to the past. Skip those parts and get right to the meat of the book. I wish I could have liked it more.

View all my reviews

Read Full Post »

Cold MountainCold Mountain by Charles Frazier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was really surprised by this novel. It was a masterpiece of words. There were unexpected twists and turns throughout the story and I was shocked that Frazier killed off one of the main characters. This book could stand the test of time and still be a jewel among other literary works.

View all my reviews

Read Full Post »

Red's Art Journal

A place where ideas flow freely.

Corey Truax

Husband | Father | Veteran | Author

Grant Michael Gardner

I write books, I post thoughts, and I foster trustworthy creators.

Pitch Wars

The Official Site of #PitchWars & #PitMad Contests

Amanda Morris, Ph.D.

Professor, Speaker, Writer

pdpabst

A window to my brain. I'm a writer and editor..

Osteogenesis Imperfecta- Cushioned In Love

Expressive and Emotional word content... poetic justice... my thoughts are perceptive, occasionally subjective but always dimensional. My career lies in psychology and my mind lies in philosophy. To question and ponder is to reflect. I am both reflective and directive. I never walk with caution as our steps need their footprints. I love this journey we call life.

Damyanti Biswas

For lovers of reading, crime writing, crime fiction

Ambitious Procrastinator

No One Here But a Writer Who Gets Up and Try

Creating A Home For The Heart

Finding Joy in the Simple Moments of Life

Beautiful Life with Cancer

Discovering the Gift

Gina

works the diner all day

A WORRIED STUDENT

Take Us Seriously!

Writers In The Storm

A Blog On Writing

%d bloggers like this: