TIPS, TIPS, TIPS...

Raising hand. Waving hand. Frantically. We have some Totally Important Posts!






Brooke Taylor's Undone and Lisa Schroeder's I Heart You, You Haunt Me have been nominated for ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers. Double congratulations!


What Shelf Elf has to say about Elizabeth C. Bunce's A Curse Dark as Gold: "Highly recommended." And, Shelf Elf, thanks for posting the video too!

Others adoring fans (in alpha order) of A Curse Dark as Gold: Bookshelves of Doom, Bookwyrm Chrysalis, Miss Erin, Sarah Miller,


And Jennifer Bradbury's Shift is a Richie's pick.


Wow! Go Class of 2k8!

Totally Important Post!

We just got word that ... drum roll, please ...

A Curse Dark As Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce

and

The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman

were nominated for the American Library Association's Best Books for Young Adults award!!!

Yowzer! We're so proud!!

The Group Scoop

T.I.P.
"Give a wave" to Kristin O'Donnell Tubb. Read RaeAnn Parker’s fun interview to see what we mean!


Now, back to group marketing. Today, we hear from Elizabeth C. Bunce, author of A Curse Dark As Gold. Elizabeth, being a part of The Class hasn't been a curse, has it?

Of course not! For me, the real value—far beyond publicity or fame or the big bucks (ha, ha)—is in having somebody to share the journey with you, someone you can compare notes with. The publishing industry is so intricate, and authors are often the last people to know what's going on with their books… having people in exactly the same boat as you, to say, "Oh, yes, that happened to me, too," has been invaluably reassuring on this crazy journey!


Regina Scott, author of La Petite Four, adds this:

Everyone in the class has a talent, many that I don't personally have. I'm a total MySpace baby, but Laurel is showing us the way. I never even read blogs until I met Marissa; now we collaborate on one. So, I'm learning personally, and I'm seeing my words go out in ways I could never accomplish alone.

More tomorrow...

Web sites! The List You Can't Miss

Class of 2k8 members love Web sites!

Here's few more thoughts on the subject:

Web sites provide author bios.
My favorite part of any author’s site is the Bio page. What can I say? I love checking out the wizard behind the curtain! After checking out the author, I always click over to the frequently asked questions. Not only are they usually very interesting and informative, but because I’m a debut author I need to prepare myself for what kind of questions I may one day be frequently asked.

And since no one has ever frequently asked me anything—except maybe if they could have my book for free—I decided to *steal* some FAQ’s from some of my favorite authors and answer them as best I could on my own site.
~Brooke Taylor, Author of Undone,
http://http://www.brooketaylorbooks.com/


A Web site is a fantastic marketing tool.
People will tell you it's an essential marketing tool these days, but I think its most important role is giving readers a more personal glimpse of the writer, a sense of the personality behind the book… and that can deepen and enrich your understanding of her work, as well as forge a feeling of connectedness between author and reader—and connecting with readers is what writing is all about.
~ Elizabeth C. Bunce, Author of A Curse Dark As Gold,
http://www.elizabethcbunce.com


A Web site adds professionalism.
I have a Web site because I love the idea of having a Web site. But more than that, it makes me feel the part of being a writer. For the past fifteen years, I've designed chips (the kind that go in computers, not in your mouth), so when I started writing, there was a certain part of me which felt like a poser. Like I was pretending to be something I wasn't. And even now, with my first book coming out later this year, it's still kind of hard to identify myself as a writer.

So what does my site do for me? It makes me feel professional. It gives me the opportunity to present myself in a positive way. And it makes others view me as a positive and professional author. Writing is fun; I love it and want to do it forever. It is more than a hobby, and I want anyone who visits my site to see that and understand.
P.J. Hoover, Author of The Forgotten Worlds Book 1: The Emerald Tablet,
http://www.pjhoover.com/


A Web site can be jam-packed with activities.
A Web site is a really good way for me to showcase my books, introduce readers to me, and to pass information on to school librarians about what happens when I come to a school to visit. I also use the site to put up teacher packs, i.e. information, games, coloring pages, mazes, extra websites, writing assignments, that teachers can use with my books either before or after I come, helping to build upon the information I present when I am there.
~Stacy Nyikos, Author of Dragon Wishes,
http://www.stacyanyikos.com


Web sites satisfy curiosity.
I think a Web site gives readers a place to get to know you, learn more about your books and your plans, and maybe try something new.
~Regina Scott, Author of La Petite Four,
http://lapetitefour.com


A Web site is the place to be.
To a writer, a Web site is very important. The Internet is where we all go now...and having a pleasant, interesting presence there can help a writer attract and keep readers.
~Marissa Doyle, Author of Bewitching Season,
http://www.marissadoyle.com/

A Week of Confessions...

(Pickpocket or writer?)

This week at the Class 2k8, we'll be giving you the inside scoop on some of the lines and names and ideas we've umm.... "borrowed" from other people... and used in our books.

This is not an uncommon practice, for authors to steal (as the saying goes, "good poets borrow, great poets steal") from other books, people, movies, folklore, even the guy sitting at the next table at the Starbuck's talking too loudly on his phone.

Really, everyone does it. Really!

But it's worth talking about. Not because it's shocking or wrong, but because it's FUNNY!

Up first is Elizabeth C. Bunce, author of the upcoming, Curse Dark as Gold.

Liz, your whole book is in a sense "borrowed" because it's a retelling of a fairy tale. But I think you've got a good story about a borrowed name?

LOL!

Well, because "Rumpelstiltskin" is, in part, about the power of names, I wanted the characters in CURSE to have literal and/or "meaning-laden" names--the miller's daughter is Charlotte Miller, the blacksmith is Nathan Smith, etc.

The crochety old dyemaster is Mr. Mordant (mordant is dye fixative). While I was running the manuscript through critique group, our moderator was subscribing to an email "word of the day" service. One day she brought in the word "dag," which means (cough, cough) a small bit of feces caught in the wool around a sheep's, uh, yeah.

She was so excited, and begged me to find a place to use it in CURSE. I resisted, until one of the very final scenes, when suddenly I needed a first name for Mr. Mordant. Dag it was, and it was perfect!

Well, and then I totally stole Pilot, the name of the dog, from JANE EYRE.

That's great, so now our readers know the "dirt" on CURSE *and* they learned a new word.

Awesome!