This is a blog hop started by Tara Tyler, Christine Rains, and C. Lee McKenzie to share some favorite memes. Visit the other participants for more!
Manningham Trust Student Poetry Contest Deadline: March 1, 2016 Genre: Poetry Length: No more than 30 lines Ages: Grade 6-8 (Junior Division) and Grades 9-12 (Senior Division) Sponsor: National Federation Of State Poetry Societies Prize: First prize $75, second prize $50. Additional prizes awarded. More Info: Detailed rules on the NFSPS website the Claremont Review's Annual Writing & Art Contest Deadline: March 15, 2016 Genres: Poetry, fiction (postcard stories up to 500 words and longer stories up to 5000 words), visual arts Entry fee: $20 CAD Ages: 13-19 Sponsor: the Claremont Review Prize: First prize in writing $1000 CAD. Additional prizes awarded. Visual art prize $500 CAD. More Info: Detailed rules on the Claremont Review website Want to learn more about the Claremont Review? Read my interview with Editor-in-Chief Jody Carrow. Imagine’s Creative Minds Fiction Contest Deadline: March 17, 2016
Genre: Short fiction Length: No more than 1000 words Ages: 18 and under Sponsor: Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth Prize: Publication in May/June 2016 issue of Imagine More Info: Detailed rules on the CTY website  Several people have asked me recently about the seemingly elusive "golden ticket." How do you go about finding a literary agent to represent you? Just as "how did you meet your significant other" stories differ, each author can have a different version of the finding-an-agent experience. While there is no one way to find a literary agent, there is a common denominator: your work needs to submission-ready. Assuming that you've written, revised, been critiqued, and revised some more, this week's Friday Five resources can guide you on your agent search: 1. If you are still learning about the publishing business, start with How to Find a Literary Agent for Your Book. 2. For children's writers (picture book through young adult), consider joining the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). Members can access The Book, a giant resource that includes an agent directory, as well as information on how to prepare and submit your work. SCBWI also hosts national and regional conferences. These conferences are a great way to learn what agents are looking for through panels, workshops, and one-on-ones. (Opportunities vary by conference.) I've been a member for fourteen years, and I met my agent at an SCBWI conference. 3. Also for children's writers: check out Kathy Temean's blog. As a former SCBWI NJ regional advisor, Kathy frequently posts about agents looking for submissions. 4. Try QueryTracker.net to access a database of agent information. (Registration required.) 5. Subscribe to the SubItClub blog, which is dedicated to the querying and submission process. There is also a SubItClub Facebook group where members can ask questions and get query letter feedback. If you know of other online resources for finding an agent, please share in the comments.
Did you know that "80% of YA novels are now purchased by adults, with the vast majority of those purchases being for the adults themselves"? What Can Data Tell Us?: An Agent's Thoughts on the 2015 Nielsen Children's Book Summit by Stephen Barbara is an interesting look at publishing data and its implications.  Blogging friends: Sign-ups for the A to Z Blogging Challenge are now open! Last year, I blogged about Productivity for Creative People from A to Z. I collected these posts on Pinterest or you can access them through this Reflection post about last year's challenge. I plan on participating again this year. Are you an adult you reads YA? (I am!)
Will you be participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge?  For this week's Teen Tuesday, I'd like to direct you to an excellent blog post, Writing Advice for Children and Teens, by Jane Friedman. Much of this advice applies to writers of all ages. For your random listening pleasure, I love this acoustic duet: What's the best advice you've ever received?
For this week's Friday Five, here's a roundup with a "lying" theme. True statistic: According to one study, 60% of people can't go 10 minutes without lying. Interesting quote: "Those that think it permissible to tell white lies soon grow color blind." ~Austin O'Malley Useful to know: A Harvard psychologist explains the key to spotting a liar.  Upcoming YA novel: In case you haven't heard about my latest project through Facebook or my newsletter, I have a new YA novel coming out in October. Thanks to UncommonYA for featuring my cover today! You can read a description of BLACK FLOWERS, WHITE LIES here. In honor of Glenn Frey, I'll close with an appropriate Eagles song. What have you lied about lately?
 This was a sad week with the deaths of musician David Bowie and actor Alan Rickman, who played Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movies (among other roles). I shared an Alan Rickman quote on Facebook that has been making the rounds, only to learn based on a Snopes report that he is not the source of the quote! (If you've never used Snopes, it's a great site for debunking reports like potential carjackers leaving a flyer on your windshield.) I'm posting a corrected meme here for your use, because as a writer, I like to be accurate. For my Friday Five, here are five blog posts/tidbits I came across this week: For declutterers and Marie Kondo fans: I blogged about her first book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, last year. Now she has a new one out, Spark Joy. (I haven't read it yet, so if you have, let me know what you think in the comments.) For Teen Writers: "3 Things for Teen Writers" by Blair H. on Teen Ink. For writers of all ages: Not everyone loves social media, and even for those who do, it's not the only way to promote books. Sandra Beckwith discusses How To Promote a Book Without Using Social Media. For the bored: Try the Bored Button! (Results may vary.) For readers: Do you have any favorite books from David Bowie's list of top 100? I'll close with one of my favorite David Bowie performances. Peace on Earth.... Happy New Year! A new year often brings new resolutions. I thought about what advice I could give on this topic, and since many of my resolutions are repeats from last year, I decided I'm not a qualified expert on this. What I can do, however, is provide you with 5 interesting links to start off 2016.  If you want to achieve more (who doesn't?), here's some inspirational and practical advice from James Clear: The Only Productivity Tip You'll Ever Need.  If your goal is organize, check out this list for some innovative ideas: 52 Meticulous Organizing Tips To Rein In The Chaos.  If you're a writer, you might be interested in Jane Friedman's 5 Industry Issues to Watch in 2016 and Betsy Bird's SLJ article, What’s Trending? What Is, What Was, What’s Soon to Be in Kid Lit.  Also for writers: Heather Ayris Burnell has compiled a lengthy list of contests you can enter on the Sub It Club blog.  Lastly, if you use Twitter, check out their plans to expand from 140-characters in this Wall St. Journal article. (Say it isn't so, Twitter!) Do you have resolutions for the upcoming year? Or maybe anti-resolutions? Share your own favorite related links or advice in the comments.
Writing Contest for StudentsHappy New Year! Teen Tuesday is back this week, but the featured contest deadline is coming up fast. Can you write a story of exactly 1000 words over the next few weeks? If so, check the contest details below.  What: 1000-word story contest with $1000 prize. Your short fiction must be *exactly* 1000 words.
Who: Students in grades 6-12 When: Now through February 1, 2016 Prizes: According to the website, "two $1,000 scholarship prizes will be awarded, one for grades 6-8 and one for grades 9-12. Seven $100 cash prizes will also be awarded for winning entries, one per grade level. Stories selected for publication into Bluefire, but not selected as a grade-level or scholarship winner, will receive a $50 cash prize.... The author retains all copyrights to the submitted work." Details: Visit the Bluefire contest page for complete information. Teachers: Visit the educators' page join the teacher mailing list, see excerpts from past contests, and get a copy of their creative writing curriculum. Some good news! My next young adult novel, coming out in Fall 2016 from Sky Pony Press, has a new title: BLACK FLOWERS, WHITE LIES. If you'd like to keep up with this kind of information, please consider subscribing to my newsletter. And now, on to the Friday Five: Five Tips for Staying Organized While Marketing a Book Promoting a new novel can be a whirlwind of activity. Here are five ideas for staying organized during the madness that is book marketing. 1. Publicity opportunities require the same information over and over again, so create a Word file with all of your frequently used links: your website, social media links, and book sale sites. Keep a version of your bio in the file, too, so you can easily cut and paste. I keep the file in the same folder as a copy of my book cover jpg and my author photo, that way the info is simple to access. 2. Keep track of interviews you’ve done. You can print them in a folder or bookmark them online, or even create a list of links on your website “media” page. But at some point when you’ve done quite a few, it’s helpful to have a way to remember who you’ve spoken to and what you’ve said. You can also consider making a table. Here’s a sample from mine: 
3. Create an event “go” bag and keep it stocked with supplies for library panels, book festivals, etc. Include a display copy of your book, bookplates, favorite signing pens, bookmarks, and business cards. Consider bringing an envelope of small bills if you ever handle your own sales and need to make change. I also have a laminated “author signing today” poster of Pandemic’s book cover, an inexpensive washable white tablecloth, scissors, and tape in my bag. (If you drive to an event that will provide copies of your book, it’s still a good idea to bring extra books with you just in case. I’ve been to many events where there were “glitches” with getting an author’s books in stock.) 4. Sometimes a book festival (or other event) is just too far or maybe the date doesn’t work. Time passes and when people start buzzing about said event on social media, I may forget why I chose not to participate. To avoid these lapses in memory, I developed the “Not Doing” folder where I keep information on events I’ve decided to forego with a note about why. 5. Besides your regular to do list, keep a Kindness list. I jot down all the nice, helpful, kind things people have done for me during the process of launching and marketing Pandemic. An acquaintance writes a glowing review, an old friend travels to my book launch, another writer lets me know about an upcoming festival. During a process where so much is out of my control, keeping a kindness list helps me focus on the positive. Please share any of your own writing/marketing organizational tips in the comments. This will be my last post for 2015, but I look forward to more blogging in the new year.
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