I am now blogging a couple times a month at WOW-Women on Writing’s blog, The Muffin. Read an excerpt from my ebook, How to Write a Children’s Picture Book, Does EPub Change the 32-Page Illustrated Picture Book?

EBOOK Available on Nook Kindle PDF Now an iBook

For more info, see writeapicturebook.com

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

I’m sending out my novel today. Long ago, when submissions were paper, writers and authors often went through rituals to send out a manuscript for their novel or picture book.

• A lucky cat had to sit on the manuscript.
• It had to mailed with certain types of stamps.
• You kissed the envelope for luck.

IN these days of digital submissions, what is your favorite ritual before hitting the SEND button? Please leave a comment and share your rituals. I need to know what works!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

How to Write a Query Letter

I’m attending a retreat this weekend and we are supposed to bring a query letter for critique. In preparation, I’ve read a variety of articles about “how to write a successful query letter” and found the best available on the internet today.

Basics

1. How to Write a Query A classic 3-paragraph query letter. Great examples of hooks.





2. How to Write a Query Letter Great list of Do-Nots and a good sample query included.
3. How to Write a Successful Query. Covers the essentials, plus Hooks to Avoid.
4. Rites of Submission: Cover Letters and Query Letters. Details the differences and similarities between cover and query letters.
5. Tara K. Harper, FAQ: Query Letters Reminder to consider the audience (publisher, editor, or agent) and the type of manuscript you have written (novel, magazine piece, etc.)
6. How to write a query letter. With only 25 words for each major section of a query letter, this one gives you a solid skeleton for your query.
7. Stepping Onto the Query-Go-Round, pt. 1: Content First of a 4-part series on query letters, including a successful letter, notes on tracking queries and more.
8. What’s NOT a Query Letter. Send out these queries at your own risk.
9. How to Write a Great Query Letter: Inside Tips & Techniques for Success. FREE eBook from agent, Noah Lukeman, on the topic of queries.

Sample Query Letters

10. How To Query an Agent
11. How to Write a Great Query Letter: An Example that Worked. Example from a Scholastic Editor.
12. Sample Query Letter. An annotated sample query letter.
13. I’m All Done, Now What? Writing a Query Letter. A query letter is taken through several revisions.
14. The Complete Nobody’s Guide to Query Letters The query letter as a cold-call selling technique. Example of a successful query.
15. P&E: Sample Novel Query Letter. Basic annotations, but good.

Sending a Digital or Email Query Letter?

16. Query Letter Subject Lines: Act Now!! Get It While It Lasts!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

My novel, The Wayfinder, is now available in two different digital versions. You can still find used copies of the book on Amazon, Abebooks and other online stores. In addition, you can download the novel from Amazon’s Kindle store and from Mobipocket’s Ebook store.

Amazon’s version requires the Kindle, Amazon’s exclusive ebook reader. Mobipocket can be read on almost every ebook reader or on a free desktop reader (a fast download).

The Wayfinder, print edition

The Wayfinder, Kindle edition

The Wayfinder, Mobipocket edition

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

The 33 page picture book

No, there are no 33-page picture books. Not yet.

At a recent conference, though, I had a discussion about why picture books are usually 32 pages. One person suggested that some famous picture book author should come out with a 33-page picture book, and then the industry would print it.

Uh, no. It really does have to do with the way paper folds and how much can be printed on existing printing presses.

So, the response was that when picture books go digital it won’t matter. That’s right: online, page counts can be anything you want.

But I argued that the 32-page picture book has developed into a certain literary form, much like the 14 line sonnet form for poetry. Yes, of course, writers of digital picture books can choose to write free verse; but they may also choose to write in the 32-page format.

We don’t know if or when the majority of picture books will change to digital versions. But it’s still worth studying and mastering the 32-page format because it will teach a lot about selecting events and details for a picture book, about language that works in a picture book, about planning for kids to chime in, about making it read-aloud friendly, and much more. The 32-page format won’t be completely abandoned even when (or if) digital picture books become the norm.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

The Best Info About Book Trailers

I’ve followed the book trailer phenomenon for a couple years and wanted to do a post. In 2003, it was just beginning; in 2006, there was lots of experimenting; in 2009, it seems here to stay and writers should take it as a given that they need a book trailer for trade books. Here’s some of the best about book trailers from around the web.

The Book Trailer Manual

42 Sites for submission

14 Ways to approach content

10 Ways to combine audio/video

5 Case studies

Much more. . .

CLICK HERE to Learn More.

How To Create a Book Trailer

1. The Book Trailer Manual
2. Book Trailers Squidoo
3. How to Make A Book Trailer — Easy And Free
   EHow has step by step instructions for making a trailer with Powerpoint.
4. The Making of a Book Trailer. A four-day account of an author making her own book trailer.
5. Animoto.com. Animates still pictures.

Articles or Posts about Book Trailers

6. How Will Your Book Trailer Upend Readers’ Expectations?
7. In A World … Where Books Are Hyped Like Movies A 9/2008 National Public Radio article, with links to the audio.
8. Book Trailers that Matter
9. Every Book Needs a You Tube Video From CamCorderInfo.com. Of course, the Camcorder people would recommend book trailers; yet, the article is fairly balanced and has lots of links to new info.
10. What Can You Do with a Book Trailer? by Karen Dionne (billed as the “new Michael Crichton”) write a general article about trailers touching on where to share them and best practices.
11. Book Trailers Coming to Bus and Mall Billboards, buses (one company already busted!) and more links.
12. Book trailers might be overkill. 2009 post: How do you make your video stand out? It’s about finding interesting ways to tell a story.
13. Book Trailer Videos. A general article.
14. VIDEO BOOK TRAILERS: Coming to a Library near You!
    When kids make book trailers they are more engaged with the story.
15. Book Trailers, a great way to promote your children’s book The downside of trailers: less imagination needed.
16. In-Transit Viewing of Book Trailers – A Potent New Book Marketing Venue. Kids watching book trailers on the school bus.
17. Book Trailers: The Key to Successful Video Marketing. From Poets and Writers Magazine.
18. New York Statewide Summer Reading Program
    Featured book trailers for teens from their reading program.
19. A Survey of the Imperfect Art of the Book Trailer. The marriage between book jacket blurb and the video – review of 7 trailers.
20. Trailers for Sale or Rent . 2007 optimistic look at the impact of book trailers on children’s books from PW.
21. Watch Before Reading: Art-House Book Trailers. Book trailers are interpretive, rather than plot-focused.
22. Promoting your novel: How to make a book trailer. Author Brenda Coulter poss her experiences making a trailer for her book on Gather.com
23. What makes video trailers for books effective? (5 keys) Over 1 million views of a book trailer!

Ongoing Series about Book Trailers

24. Book Trailer Tuesday. Another regular posting on trailers.
25. Video Wednesday.Scholastic column which presents a book trailer each Wednesday.
26. Fuse #8 Productions does Video Sundays and sometimes features Book Trailers.

Where to Display Book Trailers (Besides YouTube and Facebook and Good Reads)

27. BookTrailers.net
28. Bookscreening.com
29. ComicBookTrailers.com
30. Blazing Trailers
31. The Red Room Where the Writers Are
32. Books Toolbox: 50+ Sites for Book Lovers
    From Mashable, this post lists many more social media sites about books.


Featured List: 42 places to submit your book video trailer.

Book Trailer Production

33. Circle of Seven Productions: Book Trailers
34. JKS Communications: A Literary Publicity Firm
35. Moving Stories Book Trailers and Book Videos
36. WritersDirect.net
37. Author Bytes
38. Living Jacket.com

Book Trailer Contests

39. Book Trailer Competition for High School Students
40. Authors Promoting Authors
41. Fantasy Book Reviews
    This UK site has a yearly Book Video Award
42. Outsourcing the Book Trailer Production to Your Fans. Authors Megan McCafferty and Lynn Messina ran book trailer contests for teen girls – a great example of a trailer contest.

Are Book Trailers Effective?

43. Publishing Monday: Are Book Trailers Effective? This author is charmed by trailers.
44. Are Book Trailers Effective? This post quotes the Wall Street Journal: “”There is scant evidence . . . that the average book trailer actually has much impact on book sales.”
45. Book Trailers Work! From LatinoLA!

Lesson Plans

46. Lesson plan for Book Trailers. (pdf). References to NCTE/IRA, NETS and CTLanguage arts standards.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win