I’ve got a nice list for this week. Some really good books that you will want to check out for sure.
Get Known Before the Book Deal by Christina Katz. Katz has provided a classic outline for writers who are hoping to sell a book in this rather chaotic publishing environment. After Black Wednesday, we’ve seen that it will take a massive effort by an author to get their book placed by a mainstream publisher. Not that it can’t be done, but be prepared. You don’t just get to write and someone will pluck you up into bestseller status. It will take work. Katz’s book is a great blueprint.
The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging by the editors of the Huffington Post is a timely addition to my blogging bookshelf (I’ve got every book on blogging out there) just because it’s different from the usual guides to blogging. Those guides start by explaining what a blog is (this book does as well) and how to set it up. And then there are pages and pages of technical instructions on how to set up a blog or how to post a picture. I think those books were doomed from the start. Sure, a dummies guide to blogging that gives that info, but a whole bookshelf of books that do it? When the Internet moves so fast and updates to blogging software occur once or twice a week? Couldn’t that information be left for online resource sites? I always thought so. Thus, I was delighted to see that the HuffPo eds just moved right along past setting up a blog to talking about how to define your voice and how to write about topics that are at the top of the news sites. HuffPo still does not pay its bloggers (you blog for free if you send a query to them), even after their recent round of VC fundraising. I hope that changes soon. HuffPo gets the traffic and their blogs get lots of readers. Might be worth checking out their book on how they do it.
And for my fiction picks:
What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell is the 2008 National Book Award winner and quite a worthy winner, may I add. Fantastic coming of age story set in the late 1940s and from the first sentence, the story sucks you in and won’t let you go! Highly recommended. Fantastic.
The Private Patient by P.D. James. I finally finished this last week and stayed up half the night to do so! The story is amazing, well-constructed. I was a tad disappointed by the denouement of a major plot twist (unrelated to the murder) and wondered if P.D. James has just written her last book. I hope not. The 88-year-old British author can spin a tale that keeps us reading. I’d love to see many more books in the future from Baroness James.
Happy reading!
{ 4 comments }
Hello Trish – I love your blog page! I have been looking for a few book recommendations for the holidays. I am going to check in from time to time and enjoy more of your post.
Best wishes for a safe and blessed holiday season.
James
Hi, James,
Welcome and thanks for visiting! I hope you’ll check in again. I try to put up a lot of book recs (I do read more quite a lot) and hope you will find something you enjoy.
Happy December!
hey Trish!
Dropped by from Allison’s blog. You’re gonna keep me busy for a while with the book links. I just bought Christina Katz’s book and signed up for one of her classes. I’m an aspiring freelance writer/novelist myself and know that it’s important to get known first before agents/publishers pluck your book from the shelves themselves.
Happy Holidays Trish!
Hi, Kate, thanks for stopping by. Welcome! Please let me know how Christina’s class goes for you! I am sold on her books and she is one of the nicest people to boot! Best wishes on your writing projects!
Have a great holiday season, Kate!
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