Children's Book Authors - Gifts, News, Recommendations

If you are the author of a children's book, is it an e-book yet? More and more children are reading on gadgets and gizmos, though I don't see the attraction. They do, however, and it's up to us to be ready. Keep this in mind, whether you take action now or later, to offer your book or books as electronic reading.

One of my favorite books for my pre-schoolers was A Child's Garden of Verses (Robert Louis Stevenson). Now, a companion coloring book is also available.
A favorite for my choices was formatted by ages, Honey for a Child's Heart. Now, there's Exhausted Rapunzel: Tales of Modern Castle Life-my favorite for family laughs by adults and children.

Children's e-book news from TGDaily.com: 

"...Barnes & Noble has turned its attention to a group of consumers with ...a strong place in the world of literature - children.
"The #1 brick-and-mortar bookseller has launched a new version of its Nook software and online Nook store, called Nook Kids. There will soon be a special "Nook Kids" app for the iPad, iPhone, and other Nook-enabled devices. Additionally, Barnes & Noble will launch NookKids.com early next week.
 "The new kid-centric marketing approach will bring more than 12,000 children's books, aimed at the 3- to 8-year-old market, to the digital scene. Much like how children today are growing up alongside computers, it seems logical they should start using e-readers from an early age as well...." Click here to read it all.

Source of quote and cartoon: TGDaily.com-"Barnes & Noble launches 'Nook Kids' label"-Raven Lovecraft | Mon 25th Oct 2010, 06:25 am

• Amazon to let Kindle users lend e-books
• Opine Books Rapunzel companion for new Disney film, Tangled.

(c) Jean Purcell

Screenwriters Do Not Always Flee, "Like Some ...People": SECRETARIAT, the movie

 Screenplay By: Mike Rich
 
I live not far from the Preakness racetrack, where Secretariat won the second race of his historic 1973 Triple Crown. I just saw the movie. It's terrific! 

Later, I read a Secretariat review by Stephanie Zacharek:
"Randall Wallace’s Secretariat opens with a voice-over by the movie’s star, Diane Lane, quoting from the Book of Job. If, like most sane people, you’re inclined to flee movies that open with biblical quotes..." [ital. added]. *(from Job 39)

"Have you given the horse its strength or clothed its neck with a flowing mane? Did you give it the ability to leap like a locust? Its majestic snorting is terrifying! It paws the earth and rejoices in its strength when it charges out to battle. It laughs at fear and is unafraid. It does not run from the sword. The arrows rattle against it, and the spear and javelin flash. It paws the ground fiercely and rushes forward into battle when the ram’s horn blows. It snorts at the sound of the horn. It senses the battle in the distance. It quivers at the captain’s commands and the noise of battle" (Job 39: 19-24).

The movie is fun, exciting, wondrous, and tells a true story..well, see it for yourself.

The script was based on a book about Secretariat by Bill Nack.

Predictions, News, Rumors about Books and E-books

Whew! Think about this!

"...Kindle’s domination of e-book readers seems to be at an end. Credit Suisse predicts that over the next five years Amazon’s 90 percent of e-book market share will drop to 35 percent. That’s because Apple and Google are muscling in with snappier readers (the iPad) and the easy-to-access, direct e-book downloader, Google Editions. Assuming Apple and Google are successful, these three powerhouses will soon be splitting the market roughly evenly. Should Amazon be worried? Should publishers?" - Source: National Book Network/Book Sense. 

What does this have to do with us? Many authors are going with POD through Amazon.com. Maybe that's a good idea, if done after lots of research and strategies about advantages and use, now and into the future. What to believe? Rumor, news,  hope...predictions of downfall and uprising. We'll wait actively and try to stay informed. Check out ForeWord, Book Sense, Publishers Weekly and other sources of publishing and book-selling news-regularly.

I LOVE WHAT I DO WITH AUTHORS AND BOOKS

What better job is there for a book lover?

I love what I do to develop books, which means working with authors. Every product has a person behind it, and I get to analyze authors' work, respectfully. I analyze, edit, and help shape the writing as a concept. What more could I ask for, as a writing mentor, than to help shape the writer's concept so that it reaches readers in a form that is accessible, interesting, entertaining, and meaningful?

Here are the basics I recommend, and see if these apply to you: You need, of course, outstanding grammar and composition skills of the language. BUT...you also need something indefinable, something you are almost born with or have developed unintentionally. It is the something that helps you "judge" the writing, the feel of it, the voice of the writer, and what to strengthen in all of that, to reach readers that will love and appreciate the work. This analytical set of skills tells you what works and what does not. If you have this "sense," then by all means treasure, develop, and refine it. Above all, use it.  

And, Wow! What is "dumped" can be "recycled." It is not "trash," but is material better used somewhere else. I want always to help writers save all of their work that is good, whether or not it works for the book they send to me.

Marketing Network for Authors Excited to Launch I'M A KEEPER Parenting Book

Click here to read more about Lorilyn Roberts

Lorilyn Roberts is a parent and the founder of John 3:16 Author Group. Lorilyn says:  "Whether you goal is to correct bad behavior or to take your relationship with your child to a new level, THIS parenting book WILL give you the tools you need and the explanations to apply your new knowledge that will MAKE AN EXTRAORDINARY DIFFERENCE. For a Limited Time I’M A KEEPER comes with some extraordinary GIFTS. Get them here: http://tinyurl.com/23rrxt6"

I'm a Keeper, by Ray W. Lincoln 

Buy, Read, Share, Discuss in Groups. We recommend.

 

I THINK YOU NEED TO THINK STRATEGICALLY ABOUT WHO PUBLISHES YOUR BOOK

I think you need to think strategically about who publishes your book. Strategy requires much thought and care. Decisions about publishing are among the most important a writer ever makes. Shall I publish myself? Shall I submit book queries and proposals to a list of established publishing houses? What publishing houses whould I consider, the ones publishing the kind of books I write? If I decide to aim for an established publishing house, should I submit query and proposal only to them, or to more? If I self-publish, is that the same as "vanity publishing"?

Whatever your decision, be glad to take credit for it. Hey, we've all been there as authors. Some authors are "over the moon" happy about their decisions about publishing, while others end up "in the dumps" about it. Read as much as you can about others' experiences. All the best to you in researching and carrying through on this! 

Have You Lost Your Mind - er, Focus?

"Why do I keep butting my head against the writing wall???!!!" Does this sound like you? It sounds like me, sometimes. We need to keep going back to basics of why we write. Why do we do this? It helps, believe me, to use two kinds of mission statements. I know, sounds crazy. "Can words solve my problem?" you may wonder. I'm serious here: There is something good about mission statments. They do work to calm us down and help us get on with what we want to do, no matter what.
The first kind of statement is general. It covers why you write, what, and to what readers. Maybe you write fiction. Or, maybe nonfiction. I don't know. Maybe you write both, and also are a poet. Whatever, you need a mission statement for what you do or want to do,
Trust me on this, and go to the second kind: You need a focus, or mission, statement for every writing project you do.
For both kinds of statements, start with lots of expressive words that speak for what the work intends to be about and do. Then, narrow it down in stages until there is one sentence of 14 words. No more than 14 words. Less, yes; more, no. This word limit works. Can't explain it, but it does, and I've had lots of feedback from writers. There's no fluff. No fanciness. Just the core of the mission. Then, assess the work of the project by the mission statement. If a mission statement is weak or incorrect, correct it. But whatever you do, make sure the writing and the mission statement (no more than 14 words) are in harmony.