Through the Tollbooth -- Zu Vincent

I hope you aren’t all getting tired of hearing about the Kidlit ’08 blogging conference because here’s another post.

Zu Vincent of Through the Tollbooth talked about three important components of a group blog:

1) Passion for writing;
2) Participation using our own voice and style; and,
3) Presence: Shared presence on-line turns a monologue into a conversation.

She says that “You energize one another in a group blog.” And, “Putting your presence out there . . . you will get things happening.”

You want to vary your tone and content of the group blog so that you don’t get the “Blog Blahs”.

Listen to her for a minute.

The Big Bang - for Your Buck

FREE is a very good price. Wouldn't everyone want a free book of their choice?

FLUX - Fiction for Young Adults gave all attendees of the Kidlit Blogging Conference a free copy of any single title in their catalog. Not an ARC but one finished book from their winter 2009 catalog! Yay FLUX for supporting all of our author-ly writing endeavors!

I requested Maggie Stiefvater's LAMENT. As soon as I receive the book, I'll be in reader mode and will blog my book review. So be ready!

Cybils Nominations begin October 1st

Just passing on the information:

Cybils Nominations Open October 1st: How Can You Participate?

Nominations for the third annual Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards (the Cybils) will be open Wednesday, October 1st through Wednesday, October 15th. The goal of the Cybils team (some 100 bloggers) is to highlight books that are high in both literary quality and kid appeal.

The Cybils were founded by Anne Boles Levy (http://dadtalk.typepad.com/book_buds_kidlit_reviews/) and Kelly Herold (http://kidslitinformation.blogspot.com/).

This year, awards will be given in nine categories (Easy Readers, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Fiction Picture Books, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade Novels, Non-Fiction Middle Grade/Young Adult Books, Non-Fiction Picture Books, Poetry, Young Adult Novels). Anyone can nominate books in these categories (one nomination per person per category). Nominated titles must be published between January 1st and October 15th of this year, and the books must be in English (or bilingual, where one of the languages is English). To nominate titles, visit the Cybils blog (http://www.cybils.com/) between October 1st and 15th. A separate post will be available for each category - simply nominate by commenting on those individual posts. If you are not sure which category to choose for a particular book, a
questions thread will also be available.

Between October 16th and January 1st, Cybils panelists (children's and young adult bloggers) will winnow the nominations down to a 5-7 book short list for each category. A second set of panelists will then select the winning titles for the different categories. The winners will be announced on February 14th, 2009.

The Cybils lists, from long lists to short lists (http://dadtalk.typepad.com/cybils/finalists/index.html) to the lists of winners (http://dadtalk.typepad.com/cybils/2007/02/the_2006_cybils.html), offer a wonderful resource to anyone looking for high-quality, kid-friendly books. The Cybils team has worked hard to balance democracy (anyone can nominate titles) with quality control (two rounds of panel judging by people who focus on children's books every day). We do this work because we consider it vital to get great books into the hands of children and young adults.

How Can You Participate?

We think that the Cybils nominations will be of interest to parents, teachers, librarians, writers, and teens. If you have a blog or an email list or belong to a newsgroup that serves one of these populations, and you feel that your readers would be interested, please consider distributing this announcement (you are welcome to copy it). The Cybils team would very much appreciate your help in spreading the word. And if you, or the children that you know, have any titles to suggest, we would love to see your nominations at the Cybils blog (http://www.cybils.com/), starting on Wednesday. Thanks for your help, and stay tuned for further news!

Jen Robinson (http://jkrbooks.typepad.com)
Literacy Evangelist for the 2008 Cybils

Mischief - Raffle to Help Fight Cancer

Editorial Ass't has posted an entry on her blog about one small way we can all help one of her friends. Let's join the team and fight together. We can win this one and it's for a VERY good cause.

Cancer is a horrible disease and we can all work together to help win this battle.

I feel strongly about this topic because I lost my aunt to cancer in April of '08 and my mother-in-law just had a double mastectomy. She has finished her chemotherapy and radiation and is now on the road to healing.

Let's see if we can't help this woman win her battle too!!!

Sustainability - Top 50 Green Cities in the USA

Blogging conferences aren't the only reason to come to Portland. And though Portland might not be perfect, it's definitely great and it's green. If you don't take my word for it, read it here. We are #1 in the country for living green. And, if you want to read more, click

here

.

TOP 50 GREEN CITIES IN THE COUNTRY:

The 2008 SustainLane U.S. City Rankings (2006 Rankings in Parentheses):
1) Portland (1)
2) San Francisco (2)
3) Seattle (3)
4) Chicago (4)
5) New York (6)
6) Boston (7)
7) Minneapolis (10)
8) Philadelphia (8)
9) Oakland (5)
10) Baltimore (11)
11) Denver (9)
12) Milwaukee (16)
13) Austin (14)
14) Sacramento (13)
15) Washington (12)
16) Cleveland (28)
17) Honolulu (15)
18) Albuquerque (19)
19) Atlanta (38)
20) Kansas City (18)
21) San Jose (23)
22) Tucson (20)
23) Jacksonville (36)
24) Dallas (24)
25) Omaha (37)
26) San Diego (17)
27) New Orleans (32)
28) Los Angeles (25)
29) Louisville (35)
30) Columbus (50)
31) Detroit (43)
32) Phoenix (22)
33) San Antonio (21)
34) Miami (29)
35) Charlotte (34)
36) Houston (39)
37) Fresno (37)
38) El Paso (31)
39) Fort Worth (46)
40) Nashville (42)
41) Arlington (41)
42) Long Beach (30)
43) Colorado Springs (26)
44) Indianapolis (45)
45) Virginia Beach (48)
46) Memphis (43)
47) Las Vegas (27)
48) Tulsa (40)
49) Oklahoma City (49)
50) Mesa (47)

I had to share this good news.

Kidlitosphere Blogging Conference - Portland, OR with Greg Pincus

IF YOU WON’T PROMOTE YOURSELF
WHO WILL?. . .

You can start small, with a few simple steps.

The Butterfly Effect describes how one small action can ripple out and create an enormous reaction later.

Here are a few suggestions:

1) Send out a few email blurbs to your family and friends;
2) Simply ask those people to share your website/blogsite with one or two other people. This will start to grow your reading community. Remember, though, patience is a virtue.
3) Email listservs (e.g. SCBWI) and tell them about your blog/website and ask them to check it out.
4) Give your posts strong names (See Marketing Mentor Greg Pincus in the vlog for more on this).
5) Get involved – be part of the conversation.

According to Greg Pincus, “It is very hard to get attention whether you’re selling something or giving it away. But it’s definitely harder to get attention if you’re not out there in the first place.”

Kidlitosphere Blogging Conference - Portland, OR - Part 9

After lunch, Laini Taylor and Jen Robinson had a Q and A session. Here is a little taste of what they talked about during this Kidlit '08 talk.

For me, it boiled down to making this writing experience a personal journey and to remember to keep it personal, with an individualized touch, when submitting because no one wants to feel like a "Mr. Blogger" or "Ms. Book Reviewer".