Welcome to this week’s Top Picks Thursday! School has started here, and we are cruising with the remote learning in my house.
Looking for reading material for your kids? Check out NPR’s 100 best children’s books for young readers.
Sadly, writer and ScoobyDoo co-creator Joe Ruby died at age 87.
Ed Nawotka, Claire Kirch, and Alex Green report on a different kind of Independent Bookstore Day.
John Peragine walks us through the different types of plagiarism.
The Aspen Institute discusses “changing the narrative” on diversity in publishing.
Writer Beware warns authors about the “Lovecraft Country” short story contest.
CRAFT
For those who like stories a little outside of reality: Caitlin Hobbs reveals the difference between a myth, a fairytale, and a legend; and Roel Karstenberg gives us a quick guide to worldbuilding cultures.
You have to worldbuild in realistic settings, too. Rebecca D’Harlingue has 10 steps to doing worldbuilding right in historical fiction.
Wendy Walker delves into how to structure a psychological thriller.
There are a lot of elements that create the alchemy of your story. Stavros Halvatzis discusses how the story question saves the tale, Katharine Grubb shares 7 ways to develop romance in your story, Jami Gold goes over the options for the black moment in your story, an Donald Maass wrestles with what—and how much—belongs in your novel.
Characters carry the reader through the tale, so they’d best be compelling. Yen Cabag tells us how to create believable characters, Melissa Bowersock talks naming your character, Janice Hardy asks if you are showing or telling your internalization, Angie Hodapp reminds us that our protagonist must fail, Dustin Grinnell outlines the 3 characteristics of extraordinary heroes, Terry Odell advises us that men are not women with chest hair, and Kristen Lamb shows how story forges and refines character.
To sell your book you need to write the much-dreaded synopsis, and once you send it out you face rejection from publishers and/or reviews from readers. Roz Morris explains how to write a synopsis if you hate writing synopses, Joe Ponepinto says to avoid rejection take the writer out of the story, and Laura Drake discusses the good, the bad, and the brutal in reviews.
We all can use some help to get to “done”. Orly Konig has a little support for the pantsing writer, while Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson tell us how to collaborate and succeed.
There are times in every writer’s life where it’s emotionally hard for them to write, and it can happen for any number of reasons. James Scott Bell has creative ways to defeat self-doubt, Angela Ackerman says it is time for struggling writers to turn the page, James R. Preston gets on the road again, Christine Hennebury shares 5 gentle steps to coax yourself to write, and James Scott Bell returns with a great explanation of why you don’t feel like writing.
BUSINESS
Publisher’s Weekly reports that print book sales rose 7% at the end of August, while Rachelle Gardner says that in this unstable time in publishing, it’s important to know what we don’t know.
If we are self-publishing, Deanna Cabinian has 4 lessons about self-publishing, Nathan Bransford tells us how to get our book uploaded and self-published, and Erika Liodice talks right reversion: how to give an out-of-print book new life with self-publishing.
If you are going the agent route, Janet Reid discusses what to do if another book with your title comes out before you start querying, and how to handle an agent who has your full for a long time with no response to nudges. Also, Jessica Faust opines on whether social media presence is needed for fiction authors.
Authors need to reach their audiences. Marissa DeCuir shows how to create an author success map using reasonable expectations, Laurisa White Reyes discusses how to build your brand, and Kate Tilton explains why authors should know their target audience.
Mallory Campoli explores crafting effective articles to support book promotion, while Sandra Beckwith clarifies why you want to share your knowledge.
Email lists can be a great way to connect with your readers, too. The AskALLiTeam continues their mailing list series with maintaining a mailing list, and Penny Sansevieri shows how to power up your email book marketing and promotion, and use it in conjunction with a book promotion BOGO.
Garry Rogers has top 10 tips for Amazon ebook publishing success, Dave Chesson gets granular with how to change your Kindle keywords, and Crisitan Mihai gives us 11 important pre-publish questions for your blog.
PODCASTS
Roz Morris answers the question: “I’ve written a book. Now what?”
Literary Disco podcast examines when a 13th-century Japanese essay hits close to home.
On The Literary Life podcast, Eric Weiner talks to Mitchell Kaplan about searching for answers from dead philosophers.
Joanna Penn discusses creativity, business, and ambition with Emily Kimelman on her podcast (with transcript).
THE UNIQUE SHELF
David Karashima takes us inside the intricate translation process for a Murikami novel.
In times like these, Amir Ahmadi Arian says it’s time for the slow, aimless novel to get its due.
Emily Temple compiled the 45 best bad Amazon reviews of Capote’s In Cold Blood.
We all know how much our books can change from first draft to final. Hephzibah Anderson looks at the surprising secrets of writers in their first drafts.
Meet Alice Birch, the British playwright quietly writing all your favorite shows.
Emma Specter praises the power of Jennifer Weiner’s body positive novels.
Hannah Cost investigates why up to 100 authors live in the Canadian mountain town.
From ancient to modern, libraries are ever-evolving. Jo Marchant explores obsession and desire in an ancient Assyrian library, while Lara Ewen reveals virus-responsive design for libraries.
That’s all for this week’s Top Picks Thursday! Join us next week for more links and podcasts!
