I’m always encouraging students to do things in threes — whether it’s the number of sources to use in a 2,000-word feature or the number of times you can repeat a playful device in a short story — and this blog articulates well the many reasons that good things happen in threes. Writers, take note — it’s excellent advice for everyone from screenwriters to copywriters to novelists.
Today’s Los Angeles Times laments the year in books, “punctuated by anxiety over the decline of many newspaper book review sections and worry that publishing, with its old-fashioned way of printing books on paper and shipping them to stores or to online services, can’t keep up with a fragmented, increasingly distracted and digital world.”
The article chronicles the closing of yet more independent bookstores and notes the apprehension in the industry over the emergence of new technologies that booksellers fear might further affect sales. Yet publishers also celebrated new books by longtime favorites, as well as the new Harry Potter.
Still, the article concludes, “Overall, as the publishing world looks back on 2007, it’s hard to reconcile the unease people feel about the business with the excitement they feel about the books themselves.” Let’s hope for better in 2008!
This New York Times story about a children’s book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, comes as welcome news in a time when we constantly hear about how the Web will make books obsolete. The book, which was first offered free online, has sold 147,000 copies and has been on the New York Times bestseller list for 33 weeks — despite the fact that it’s still available for free online.
The article also points out a few blogs that have turned into real-book successes (such as Post Secret) but notes that most popular bloggers have not managed to find success in print, and that many readers aren’t likely to buy a book that they can read free online. But because many children have limited access to the web, children’s books can coexist online and in print. As one reader told the Times, “There’s nothing like holding the weight and smelling the paper.”
Michael Stelzner of Writing White Papers has just listed his picks for 2007’s top ten blogs for writers — a great resource for copywriters and bloggers, and particularly for freelance writers (including beginners).
Freelance Writing Jobs is designed for writers seeking new work; Freelance Parent is written by two freelance writing moms; and Write from Home is part of a site that features paying markets, writing contests, and articles geared toward beginning freelance writers.
While these blogs lean toward nonfiction, marketing, and business writing, there’s plenty of information (and other links) for creative writers, too — such as how to write a good headline (need a title for your novel?), practicing good grammar (writing query letters to agents?), and overcoming fear of failure (enough said).
Enjoy!