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 TheAwakening) 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.
Oh my heck! This is great. Now all my books I read and buy on Amazon will be linked to Goodreads. I already have an account with Goodreads and share my reviews with readers everywhere. This is big news for book lovers everywhere.
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.
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’sHard Times. That sounds pretty boring. Imagination is a freedom we should all savor.
Anyone else have a list of books they want to read?
Mary Shelley is profoundly an inspiration to writers that came after her. Reading Frankenstein was hard to understand with the words she used. It is written in comparison to something Charles Dickens wrote. There was prose and style of the time era. Imagination wasn’t closeted to just a small area but encompassed a whole theology of religion and philosophy of the universe. She brought about the question of where a soul comes from. The horrors in the book grip you until the very end when you sigh with relief it is over.
Letters to the Editor
The New York Times
620 Eighth Avenue
New York, NY 10018
letters@nytimes.com
To the editor:
It was nice to see in the newspaper an article about small businesses. The article (Small Businesses Still Struggle, and That’s Impeding a Recovery, 2/13/13) was objective and informative. As a small business owner it is nice to gain some perspectives about where the economy is headed.
At one point you make the comment big companies are benefiting from being overseas while smaller businesses are “tied to the leaden domestic economy”. That is a fact we have seen since the Clinton administration. The tax laws benefit bigger companies more than smaller ones. There wasn’t enough information in the article about a solution to this problem.
Until the economy is on the right track we will see more and more small businesses close down. The only solution is to give tax breaks and benefits to small business owners. Any kind of incentive to stay in business in our country is good for the economy.
I have said this before about libraries. But I like how Nathan Bransford puts it. That libraries could be going the way of the dinosaurs.
The only issue I have is that if I don’t want to buy a book but I have to read it then I want to borrow it from the library. I would hate to lose an institution that provides a big service to those of us who just wants to read a book and give it back.
Only time will tell what will happen to the libraries in the world. What are your thoughts on this issue? Do you support your local library? Do you use a library to check out an author’s books before deciding on buying?
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?
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:
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.
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.
A book is good when you finished reading it quickly within a couple of days. But a book is great when after falling in love with the main cahracter you are sad to see him leave you. Nobody Owens is one of those characters who leaves you wondering. Wondering about life, people, and whether you lived life to it’s fullest. One of my favorite quotes is near the end of the story and is said by Liza, “Truly, life is wasted on the living, Nobody Owens. For one of us is too foolish to live, and it is not I. Say you will miss me.” (“The Graveyard Book”, by Neil Gaiman)
This story is beautifully written and poetic to the end. It is obvious why this book won the Newberry Award. Literature is not dead, and is found in “The Graveyard Book”.
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.
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Writing Tips for Beginners 