The February Carnival of Children's Literature is up today at Anastasia Suen's blog, Picture Book of the Day. Head on over and check it out.
I have new appreciation for carnival hosts after I hosted the January Carnival of Children's Literature. It takes some work, but it's a fantastic way to discover wonderful blogs and to meet new people. If you're ever interested in hosting, just get in touch with Melissa Wiley at Here in the Bonny Glen. Melissa recently created a webpage that explains all about the Children's Literature Carnival and contains an archive of every carnival so far.
There's a new carnival in the works for booksellers at the American Booksellers Association Omnibus blog. The first Carnival of Independent Bookselling is about why you decided to become a bookseller (if, of course, you are a bookseller at an independent store). Submit your post through Blog Carnival's submission link, or send an e-mail to sarah-AT-bookweb-DOT-org. Submissions are due by March 21, and the carnival will be posted on March 25.
Showing posts with label Carnival. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carnival. Show all posts
Friday, February 29, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
January Carnival of Children's Literature: Book Awards
And, now (drumroll, please) Wizards Wireless is delighted to present the January edition of the Carnival of Children's Literature! (Cue wild applause).
The posts this month have been exhaustively reviewed (by me), thoroughly discussed (I talked to myself about them), and are in keeping with the finest standards of all carnivals of children's literature posted on this blog (this is the first one).
And now onto the highly anticipated topic: children's book awards. Awards are listed in a completely random order, carefully determined with help from the Wizards Wireless dartboard.
The awards go to:
- Little Willow and the Cybils Middle Grade nominating committee for their list of favorite characters (and characteristics) in the 2007 Middle Grade Hall of Fame at Bildungsroman.
- Jules at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast for sharing her Cybils ‘07 shortlist retrospective: the shortlist that rocks and what it was painful to leave out.
- Susan Thomsen at Chicken Spaghetti, who reviews the book The Whale Scientists, which was nominated for the Cybils in the middle-grade and young-adult nonfiction category.
- Catherine Derrow at Read Barefoot with Catherine who highlights the book One City, Two Brothers which received a Cybils nomination in the fiction picture book category.
The awards go to:
- MotherReader, who provides an awards reaction round-up: now fully edited for your enjoyment. And don't miss Mo' Reactions- her exclusive mini-interview with Mo Willems featuring his thoughts about the awards he recently acquired and some great new pompous children's book titles.
- Jen Robinson, for sharing her response to the ALA Youth Media Awards and her excitement about the ALA and YALSA Notables lists at Jen Robinson's Book Page.
- Kyra Hicks at Black Threads in Kid’s Lit who discusses getting a seat at the Coretta Scott King Book Award table and shares statistics and information about the awards.
- Susan Kusel at Wizards Wireless (hey, it's my ceremony, I can give myself an award) for taking a Caldecott adventure through the titles of 70 years of winners and for sharing why she has never been so happy to be wrong (her reaction to this year's Caldecott winner).
- Becky for providing commentary on the 2008 Awards and lots of reactions at Reading With Becky.
- Lisa Chellman for talking about her love/hate relationship with the Newbery Awards at Under the Covers.
- Laura Baas for providing links, information and predictions for the ALA Awards 2008: Newbery, Caldecott, and many more at Library & Literary Miscellany.
- Sam Riddleburger for testing our knowledge of the Caldecott medal with his Kidlit Trivia Quiz: Caldecott edition.
Moving right along to our next category: Other Awards and Lists.
The awards go to:
- The Brown Bookshelf, for 28 Days Later, which shines the spotlight, honors and promotes African American authors and illustrators.
- Jill Tullo for discussing and linking to a wide variety of children's book awards that celebrate diversity at The Well Read Child.
- Wendie Old for sharing a lovely story at Wendie’s Wanderings about when her book To Fly, The Story of the Wright Brothers received a Boston Globe/Horn Book honor.
- Heidi Estrin for talking about the process of the Sydney Taylor Book Awards and how difficult it is to choose just a few delectable chocolate babies.
- Becky for putting the spotlight on the Librarians' Choices list and telling us all about the process at Becky's Book Reviews.
- Abby Johnson at Abby (the) Librarian for talking about the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award, which is selected by children in
- Candice Ransom who asks for the envelope, please at Ellsworth’s Journal and discusses the Gryphon Award for books for transitional readers. And find out what book she wishes had won the Newbery in 1981.
- Terry Doherty for discussing a big week for awards and for compiling an amazingly thorough and detailed directory of state and regional awards programs in North America at Scrub-a-Dub-Tub, The Reading Tub® Blog.
The awards go to:
- Tricia Stohr-Hunt who shares an excellent award-worthy list of outstanding science books published in 2007 at Open Wide, Look Inside.
- Megan Germano at Read, Read, Read, for talking about how Christopher Paul Curtis has redeemed himself in her eyes with Elijah of Buxton.
- Anastasia Suen for her review of Rough, Tough Charley at Picture Book of the Day.
We're not done yet! Our next category is Thoughts about Awards.
The awards go to:
- Kakie Fitzsimmons of Farmer's Hat Productions for talking about the behind-the-scenes work that goes into creating award winning books, and sharing the tangible results of the awards and rewards for children's book series Bur Bur and Friends.
- Chris Rettstatt for derobing children’s literature awards and talking about the mystique and mystery of the people who pick the prizes.
- Catherine Derrow for talking about Children's Book Awards at Read Barefoot with Catherine, including her favorite books that won the Newbery Award, the new Odyssey Award and several titles published by Barefoot Books.
- Gregory K. for writing an appeal for categories! We need more categories! at Gotta Book. Head over and offer your suggestions.
And last, in the coveted Blogger Award category, we are proud to feature these terrific new honors invented by creative bloggers.
The awards go to:
- Kelly Herold, for The Pens and Pencils Award at Big A little a, in celebration of superb office supplies.
- Sarah at The Reading Zone for sharing the details of the Mulbery : a children's literature award she created with her sixth grade Language Arts class.
- Jennie at the Geek Buffet for ruminating on the Alex Awards (adult books that appeal to teens) and turning the tables to create the Xela Awards for teen books that appeal to adults.
- Mary Lee at A Year of Reading who was inspired by the devotion shown by Laura Amy Schlitz (recently crowned Newbery winner). Mary Lee hands out the To the Ends of the Earth Award to the extraordinary and unsung heroes in her school.
I'd like to thank all the wonderful bloggers who participated in this month's carnival.
And Melissa Wiley, who provided fabulous technical support.
And my dogs, who really didn't do much of anything.
To submit carnival posts for next month's carnival of Children's Literature (host to be determined), go to Blog Carnival. And hey, since there's no host yet, maybe you'd like to give it a try. It's a lot of fun. Just contact Melissa Wiley at Here in The Bonny Glen.
Do you write a blog about children's literature? To find out more about future carnivals and to have terrific conversations with other bloggers, I highly recommend joining the Kidlitosphere online discussion group. Go to Yahoo Groups, search for "kidlitosphere" and follow the directions from there.
And, if you read the whole carnival, you can have an award too. Just be sure to thank me in your acceptance speech.
Friday, January 18, 2008
There's still time
Keep meaning to submit a post to the January Canrival of children's literature, but haven't done it yet? Here's your last chance!
The topic is book awards. See this post for more details.
To submit a post to the carnival, go to Blog Carnival. Or e-mail your post to: wizardwireless [at] gmail [dot] com. The deadline is January 18 (tonight!) and the carnival will be posted on January 21.
The topic is book awards. See this post for more details.
To submit a post to the carnival, go to Blog Carnival. Or e-mail your post to: wizardwireless [at] gmail [dot] com. The deadline is January 18 (tonight!) and the carnival will be posted on January 21.
Monday, January 7, 2008
More Cybils finalists and Carnival reminder
The second list of Cybils (Children's and YA Bloggers' Literary Awards) finalists have just been announced. Click here for an index of all the finalists.
Here are the categories that were announced today:
Are you writing about your reactions to these lists on your blog? Or about your predictions for the American Library Association awards? Or about anything else having to do with children's book awards? Submit your post to the January Carnival of Children's Literature, being held right here at Wizards Wireless. See this post for more details.
To submit a post to the carnival, go to Blog Carnival. Or e-mail your post to: wizardwireless [at] gmail [dot] com. The deadline is January 18 and the carnival will be posted on January 21.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Cybils Finalists posted
The Cybils (Children's and YA Bloggers' Literary Awards) finalists have just been announced in the following four categories:
Stay tuned for January 7 when the finalists in the following categories will be announced: non-fiction picture books, non-fiction middle grade/young adult, graphic novels, and young adult fiction.
Are you writing a reaction post to these lists? Or a post about your experience as a Cybils judge? (only the things you're allowed to talk about, of course =). They would both make great entries in the January Carnival of Children's Literature, being held right here at Wizards Wireless. The topic is children's book awards. See this post for more details.
To submit a post to the carnival, go to Blog Carnival. Or e-mail your post to: wizardwireless [at] gmail [dot] com. The deadline is January 18 and the carnival will be posted on January 21.
And congratulations to all the Cybils finalists! It looks like the hardworking judges came up with a great list.
Stay tuned for January 7 when the finalists in the following categories will be announced: non-fiction picture books, non-fiction middle grade/young adult, graphic novels, and young adult fiction.
Are you writing a reaction post to these lists? Or a post about your experience as a Cybils judge? (only the things you're allowed to talk about, of course =). They would both make great entries in the January Carnival of Children's Literature, being held right here at Wizards Wireless. The topic is children's book awards. See this post for more details.
To submit a post to the carnival, go to Blog Carnival. Or e-mail your post to: wizardwireless [at] gmail [dot] com. The deadline is January 18 and the carnival will be posted on January 21.
And congratulations to all the Cybils finalists! It looks like the hardworking judges came up with a great list.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
January Carnival of Children's Literature: Book Awards edition
Wizards Wireless is proud to host the January Carnival of Children's Literature! What's a carnival? It's a group of blog posts on a specific theme. The theme of this month's carnival is: Children's Book Awards.
Your post can be about anything at all on the subject, but here are a couple of questions about awards to get you started:
There's no need to limit posts to national awards. They can be about student choice awards, state library association awards, awards given by publications, etc. Anything goes, as long as it applies to children's and young adult literature.
For an excellent listing of children's book awards, I highly recommend the Database of Award-Winning Children's Literature, compiled by librarian Lisa Bartle.
The finalists for the Cybils (Children's and YA Bloggers' Literary Awards) are being announced starting January 1. The American Library Awards (including the Newbery, the Caldecott and the first ever Odyssey, oh my) are being announced on January 14th.
The deadline for this carnival is on January 18 so that if you want to write about your reactions to this year's Cybils finalists or ALA award winners, you'll have plenty of time. The carnival will be posted on January 21. Posts don't have to be written in January... feel free to submit an older post if it's related to the theme.
To submit a post to the carnival (and I really hope you do, especially if it's your first carnival), go to Blog Carnival. Or e-mail your post to: wizardwireless [at] gmail [dot] com
Your post can be about anything at all on the subject, but here are a couple of questions about awards to get you started:
- What awards do you like the best?
- What are your predictions for this year?
- What are your favorite winners from previous years?
- What books do you wish had won in years past?
- Is there a lesser known award that you think should get more publicity?
- Are there any awards that you'd like to change the rules for?
- What award would you like to create?
- If you've had the experience of winning an award, what was it like?
- What awards have your books won that have meant the most to you?
- What award would you most like to win?
- What was the experience like? (just the parts you can tell us about, of course)
- What did you enjoy? What were your favorite parts?
- What did you like the least?
- Would you do it again?
- Which committee would you most like to serve on?
There's no need to limit posts to national awards. They can be about student choice awards, state library association awards, awards given by publications, etc. Anything goes, as long as it applies to children's and young adult literature.
For an excellent listing of children's book awards, I highly recommend the Database of Award-Winning Children's Literature, compiled by librarian Lisa Bartle.
The finalists for the Cybils (Children's and YA Bloggers' Literary Awards) are being announced starting January 1. The American Library Awards (including the Newbery, the Caldecott and the first ever Odyssey, oh my) are being announced on January 14th.
The deadline for this carnival is on January 18 so that if you want to write about your reactions to this year's Cybils finalists or ALA award winners, you'll have plenty of time. The carnival will be posted on January 21. Posts don't have to be written in January... feel free to submit an older post if it's related to the theme.
To submit a post to the carnival (and I really hope you do, especially if it's your first carnival), go to Blog Carnival. Or e-mail your post to: wizardwireless [at] gmail [dot] com
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
December Carnival of Children's Literature
Go check out the wonderful carnival Kelly Herold just posted at Big A little a. It's full of terrific suggestions about children's books to give as gifts.
The January carnival will be right here at Wizards Wireless with a focus on children's book awards.
The January carnival will be right here at Wizards Wireless with a focus on children's book awards.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Reminder for the December Carnival
Don't forget to submit a blog post to the December Carnival of Children's Literature. It's at Big A little a and the theme is gift books. Entries are due by tonight. If you've never done a carnival before, give this one a try. It's a great experience. See this post for more details and how to submit.
For an excellent example of a carnival, see the November Carnival at MotherReader.
The January Carnival will be held right here at Wizards Wireless! The theme is awards... more details to come.
For an excellent example of a carnival, see the November Carnival at MotherReader.
The January Carnival will be held right here at Wizards Wireless! The theme is awards... more details to come.
Monday, December 3, 2007
How to buy a book for a baby
What do you get for the baby who has everything?
A book.
I think books make the perfect present for any occasion... but I love finding just the right book for a new baby. And I have a perfect track record. Not one baby has ever complained.
How do I choose a book for a baby who I haven't even met yet? I have a number of methods. Here are some things I think about:
Is this a first baby? A twin? The third in a family?
This is a very important consideration. For a first baby, I make the assumption that the family probably doesn't already have a lot of children's books and I'm helping them to build their library. I'm more likely to get classic books in this situation. For a second or third baby, I tend to get newer books that have been published since the first or second baby was born. For twins, I would get two different books, because they are two different babies.
What books do I love?
I think about books I loved when I was growing up. Not all of them are still in print, but those that are make wonderful gifts. Those books mean so much to me and when I give one of them as a gift, I feel like I'm giving something magical to a new baby.
I think about the books that my son loves. The ones he's asked to read over and over and over. The ones that work every time. I give those books because I know they work and I want to share that special secret with another parent.
What books are other people likely to give as gifts?
It's usually a pretty good idea to stay away from Goodnight Moon, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, Pat the Bunny and Where the Wild Things Are. These books are almost always given at baby showers. The exception to this is if the baby has already been born, and you know for a fact that no one else has given these books.
Is the family likely to own classic children's books?
If the family doesn't have an existing library of children's books, then I'll get books such as Mike Mulligan's Steam Shovel or Harry the Dirty Dog. These are classics, but are less likely to be given by other people than Goodnight Moon. If you have friends who are extremely prolific readers and whose houses are filled with books, I'd recommend giving them recently published books that they are less likely to already own.
Is there a profession or location that is special to the family?
If one of the parents is an architect, then Andrea Beaty's Iggy Peck, Architect would make a perfect gift. Know someone from Brooklyn, New York? Give them Mo Willems' Knuffle Bunny which is full of wonderful pictures of Brooklyn. But don't go overboard with this. It's better to get a good book for a child than to hunt for a mediocre one that fits their exact situation. A child who has a dog will still enjoy Kitten's First Full Moon.
If the baby has already been born, is there a book that features their name?
I've met children named Eloise, Olivia, Angelina and Max. Clearly there are obvious book choices for those kids (although I'd ask the parents if they have the book or the series already- someone else may have had the same idea.) But lots of other great book feature children's names, such as Doctor Ted, A Bad Case of the Stripes (Camilla), or Matthew A.B.C.
What age is the book appropriate for?
If the intention is to get a book for the baby, then I'll go with a board book. It's durable and can withstand a baby's tough love. Touch and feel books are also a great idea. On the other hand, if I want to help develop their library, there's nothing wrong with getting a hardcover book they won't be ready for until they're older. I can never decide and I think there's value to both kinds of books. I'll frequently give a mixture of board books, longer picture books and chapter books.
What's your price range?
Hardcover picture books are typically about $17. Board books are typically about $7. Paperbacks are typically about $6. (These prices vary from book to book... I'm just trying to give you a general idea).
$15: Get one paperback and one board book... or get one hardcover book that you absolutely love (and go over your limit a little).
$20: Get a combination of paperbacks and board books. That way you can give three books for the same amount you'd spend on one hardcover picture book.
$35: Get one hardcover book (because they do last longer and some fantastic books aren't available in paperback), a paperback and a board book.
$50: Get a hardcover gift book such as a beautifully illustrated Mother Goose collection, Winnie the Pooh, or Charlotte's Web. Those are in the $22 range (depending on the version, of course). Then I'd get a classic paperback novel such as Mr. Popper's Penguins or The Phantom Tollbooth, a paperback picture book and a board book.
Obviously, you can mix these combinations up. My main goal is to get as many wonderful books as possible for the amount of money I'm planning on spending. I also like to give a range and variety of books, so I think it's nice to have both board books and and early chapter books.
Keep a record of the books you give.
You don't have to keep a record of every book you've ever given. But if you're giving books to a child that you'll probably be giving lots of gifts to, it's a good idea to keep track so that you don't give them the same books you gave last year. For example, I have an Excel spreadsheet with a list of all the books I've ever given to my niece. It only takes a minute, and that way I'm not giving her Goodnight, Gorilla every year. As she gets older and her library gets bigger, the spreadsheet becomes more useful.
Do you have any recommendations for specific books?
Such a tough question! For me, so much is dependent on the considerations I mentioned above. Every baby gift I give is completely different. But that being said, here's a list of ten books that I love to give to new babies. All the books listed below could be given to either a boy or a girl.
My favorite books to give as gifts:
And, be sure to check out Becky's wonderful and informative post at Young Readers about how to give the gift of books.
Above all, pick books you love. It doesn't matter whether you've loved them for a long time, or if you just fell in love with them in the bookstore. The child you give them to will love them for years to come.
A book.
I think books make the perfect present for any occasion... but I love finding just the right book for a new baby. And I have a perfect track record. Not one baby has ever complained.
How do I choose a book for a baby who I haven't even met yet? I have a number of methods. Here are some things I think about:
Is this a first baby? A twin? The third in a family?
This is a very important consideration. For a first baby, I make the assumption that the family probably doesn't already have a lot of children's books and I'm helping them to build their library. I'm more likely to get classic books in this situation. For a second or third baby, I tend to get newer books that have been published since the first or second baby was born. For twins, I would get two different books, because they are two different babies.
What books do I love?
I think about books I loved when I was growing up. Not all of them are still in print, but those that are make wonderful gifts. Those books mean so much to me and when I give one of them as a gift, I feel like I'm giving something magical to a new baby.
I think about the books that my son loves. The ones he's asked to read over and over and over. The ones that work every time. I give those books because I know they work and I want to share that special secret with another parent.
What books are other people likely to give as gifts?
It's usually a pretty good idea to stay away from Goodnight Moon, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, Pat the Bunny and Where the Wild Things Are. These books are almost always given at baby showers. The exception to this is if the baby has already been born, and you know for a fact that no one else has given these books.
Is the family likely to own classic children's books?
If the family doesn't have an existing library of children's books, then I'll get books such as Mike Mulligan's Steam Shovel or Harry the Dirty Dog. These are classics, but are less likely to be given by other people than Goodnight Moon. If you have friends who are extremely prolific readers and whose houses are filled with books, I'd recommend giving them recently published books that they are less likely to already own.
Is there a profession or location that is special to the family?
If one of the parents is an architect, then Andrea Beaty's Iggy Peck, Architect would make a perfect gift. Know someone from Brooklyn, New York? Give them Mo Willems' Knuffle Bunny which is full of wonderful pictures of Brooklyn. But don't go overboard with this. It's better to get a good book for a child than to hunt for a mediocre one that fits their exact situation. A child who has a dog will still enjoy Kitten's First Full Moon.
If the baby has already been born, is there a book that features their name?
I've met children named Eloise, Olivia, Angelina and Max. Clearly there are obvious book choices for those kids (although I'd ask the parents if they have the book or the series already- someone else may have had the same idea.) But lots of other great book feature children's names, such as Doctor Ted, A Bad Case of the Stripes (Camilla), or Matthew A.B.C.
What age is the book appropriate for?
If the intention is to get a book for the baby, then I'll go with a board book. It's durable and can withstand a baby's tough love. Touch and feel books are also a great idea. On the other hand, if I want to help develop their library, there's nothing wrong with getting a hardcover book they won't be ready for until they're older. I can never decide and I think there's value to both kinds of books. I'll frequently give a mixture of board books, longer picture books and chapter books.
What's your price range?
Hardcover picture books are typically about $17. Board books are typically about $7. Paperbacks are typically about $6. (These prices vary from book to book... I'm just trying to give you a general idea).
$15: Get one paperback and one board book... or get one hardcover book that you absolutely love (and go over your limit a little).
$20: Get a combination of paperbacks and board books. That way you can give three books for the same amount you'd spend on one hardcover picture book.
$35: Get one hardcover book (because they do last longer and some fantastic books aren't available in paperback), a paperback and a board book.
$50: Get a hardcover gift book such as a beautifully illustrated Mother Goose collection, Winnie the Pooh, or Charlotte's Web. Those are in the $22 range (depending on the version, of course). Then I'd get a classic paperback novel such as Mr. Popper's Penguins or The Phantom Tollbooth, a paperback picture book and a board book.
Obviously, you can mix these combinations up. My main goal is to get as many wonderful books as possible for the amount of money I'm planning on spending. I also like to give a range and variety of books, so I think it's nice to have both board books and and early chapter books.
Keep a record of the books you give.
You don't have to keep a record of every book you've ever given. But if you're giving books to a child that you'll probably be giving lots of gifts to, it's a good idea to keep track so that you don't give them the same books you gave last year. For example, I have an Excel spreadsheet with a list of all the books I've ever given to my niece. It only takes a minute, and that way I'm not giving her Goodnight, Gorilla every year. As she gets older and her library gets bigger, the spreadsheet becomes more useful.
Do you have any recommendations for specific books?
Such a tough question! For me, so much is dependent on the considerations I mentioned above. Every baby gift I give is completely different. But that being said, here's a list of ten books that I love to give to new babies. All the books listed below could be given to either a boy or a girl.
My favorite books to give as gifts:
- Animal Crackers: A Delectable Collection of Pictures, Poems and Lullabies for the Very Young by Jane Dyer. A superb collection of poems and nursery rhymes. The pictures are beautiful and the rhymes are short enough to keep children interested.
- Cars and Trucks and Things That Go by Richard Scarry. A classic transportation book featuring every conceivable type of vehicle and the never ending search for Goldbug. This book can be used at every age.
- Fuzzy Fuzzy Fuzzy by Sandra Boynton. A perfect book for babies. It's a touch and feel board book with irresistible pictures. See my review here.
- Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes. A new picture book that already feels like a classic.
- Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems. A funny and fantastic read aloud. See my review here.
- The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordecai Gerstein. My favorite picture book and a wonderful book for children to grow into. See my review here.
- The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone, illustrated by Mike Smollin. Hysterical and memorable and one of the best read aloud books I know.
- Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater. A classic early chapter book. This book was read to my mom when she was in first grade and I remember when she read it to me. It's a wonderful and timeless story about a man with a troupe of performing penguins.
- Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann. Just what a picture book should be. A wonderful story with terrific pictures and characters.
- Shhhhh! Everybody's Sleeping by Julie Markes, illustrated by David Parkins. The perfect last story before bed, with lush and punny illustrations. See my review here.
And, be sure to check out Becky's wonderful and informative post at Young Readers about how to give the gift of books.
Above all, pick books you love. It doesn't matter whether you've loved them for a long time, or if you just fell in love with them in the bookstore. The child you give them to will love them for years to come.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
All I Really Need to Know I Learned at the Children's Literature Carnival
What's a blog carnival? It's a collection of posts on a specific theme.
Mother Reader just posted the November Carnival of Children's Literature which is full of tips, advice and suggestions for bloggers, parents, teachers, librarians, writers and readers.
I feel smarter already.
Mother Reader just posted the November Carnival of Children's Literature which is full of tips, advice and suggestions for bloggers, parents, teachers, librarians, writers and readers.
I feel smarter already.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Advice for beginning bloggers
Have you just started a blog? Are you wondering what to do next? How to publicize it?
I've been blogging for about six months... and here's a few things I've picked up so far. I hope these tips help you. If you're looking for specific advice about being a children's literature blogger- look towards the end of this post.
Welcome!
Blogging is fun, scary, exciting and incredibly rewarding. Congratulations on starting a blog! It's a gutsy step. The hardest part is to keep it going after those first few initial posts. Keep it up... you can do it!
Don't apologize
It's hard to blog consistently. It takes a lot of time. All blog readers know that. When you have a chance to blog, don't write posts apologizing for not writing. Instead, just write a post saying something you haven't said before. Some people blog daily, some blog weekly, some blog monthly. Find a schedule that works for you, and don't be embarrassed by it.
Be proud of what you write
Don't say that you're rambling or incoherent. Your voice and opinions are valid, whatever it is that you have to say. The more you knock yourself down, the less likely a reader is to take you seriously.
Find a topic
Decide on the general subjects you want to write about. For example, Wizards Wireless is about three very specific things: Children's books, comic strips and Harry Potter. I try to keep myself limited to these topics because it carves out a niche and lets a reader know what they'll find when they visit my blog. If it's not related to one of those three things, I'll mark the post as off-topic (which I try not to do too much). And if you have too many topics to chose from, don't worry, you can always start another blog on that subject.
Find a mission
Why are you blogging? To advance your career? To tell family and friends about what's going on in your life? To become a better writer? To talk about topics that you're passionate about? All of these are valid reasons... just figure out what you hope to achieve by blogging. That will inform almost every other decision you make. For example, a person blogging for professional development reasons is much more likely to use their real name than someone who wants to let off steam about work.
Above all, write about what you want to write about, not what you think you have to write about.
Contribute original content
There's no need to post every news story on your blog. As a reader, I come to your blog for original content, not recycled information. If there's a big announcement, chances are I've already read about it somewhere else. The exception here, of course, is if you have something to say about a news story or if it's relevant to your subject matter. For example, I wrote quite a bit about J.K. Rowling's announcement that Dumbledore is gay. (The posts are here, here and here, if you're interested). Obviously, people read about it elsewhere... but since I write a lot about Harry Potter on my blog, I felt it was relevant and I had opinions I wanted to discuss.
Steal from yourself
Coming up with new things to say can be difficult. Why not post something you've written in the past? Whether it's a blurb, an annotation or a paper, you can adapt it into a blog post (if it fits your topic and mission). For example, I took excerpts from a paper I wrote for graduate school about The Man Who Walked Between the Towers and posted it on my blog. I changed it and edited it to make it appropriate. It remains my favorite review to this day, because I worked for weeks on the original paper and I'm proud of the writing and research.
If you've written something that's been previously published, make sure you say where it's been published, and make sure you own the rights to it before posting it. Otherwise (if possible), post a link to it.
Tell people that your blog exists
Let your friends and family know that you have a blog. If someone in your real life mentions an interest in the topic you write about, give them the link to your blog. Mention your blog (if it's relevant to the topic being discussed) on listservs and electronic discussion boards.
Join the Community
Connect to the community of bloggers who write about the same topic you do. There are communities of book bloggers, parent bloggers, etc. They link to each other, promote each other and toss around new ideas. Be part of the discussion. Find out who else is in your community.
If someone leaves a comment on your blog, respond to it within the comments section. Most blog programs have an option that will e-mail you whenever a person comments on your blog. This is extremely helpful... particularly when keeping track of comments on old posts.
Leave comments on other people's blogs. If you do, post under the name of your blog. It helps you build a reputation.... and it's a great way to join the discussion in the blogosphere.
If someone links to your blog, add a link to theirs.
Remember that ANYONE can read your blog
Your neighbor, your third cousin, your ex-boyfriend, a potential employer, the person in the next cubicle who drives you nuts... all of these people are potential readers of your blog. It's on the web, it's unbelievably public. Don't insult other people... they'll figure out who you're talking about.
The best advice I've gotten is to write your blog as if your boss reads every post you write.
Protect yourself
Some people put their full names on their blogs... some don't. It's a personal decision. But whatever you decide to do, take steps to protect your family. Unless your blog is specifically about parenting, you may want to refrain from mentioning your kids' names or providing pictures. Don't reveal that you're going out of town until after you come back. It's okay to be vague about who you are.
Publish your e-mail address
Include an e-mail address on your blog. Obviously, it's not a good idea to post your main e-mail address because of the potential for spam, but I highly recommend that you create an e-mail account just for your blog. Go to Gmail to set up a free account which you can forward to your regular e-mail you read all the time. Keep it simple... such as: thenameofyourblog at gmail.com
Why is it important to include an e-mail address? So that people with legitimate questions and compliments can contact you. For example, I'm in the process of writing a paper for graduate school on blogs written by children's librarians. I would love to ask bloggers for their permission to be included in my paper and get a bit more background about why they are blogging. But on the majority of the blogs I've been reading, there is no way to contact the writer. It's not really appropriate to leave a note in the comments, it would be extremely off topic.
Link to blogs
Link to other people's blogs and find out who is linking to you. Technorati is a great way to keep track of this. Sign up for a Technorati account (use your new blog gmail account to sign up for all of these various accounts) and claim your blog. Once you've done this, you can see who is mentioning your blog. If someone does link to your blog in a post, go to their blog and thank them. It's always nice to add a reciprocal link to their blog if it's relevant to your blog's topic.
Check your links
Whenever I add a new link, either in the sidebar or in a post, I click on it to make sure that the link works. It's frustrating to a reader if you have broken links.
Create a feed
Burn a feed for your blog. This isn't nearly as scary as it sounds. You may have heard of an RSS feed (which actually, just stands for Really Simple Syndication). A lot of people (myself included) read blogs primarily through feeds.
Do you subscribe to My Yahoo? Then you already know all about feeds even if you don't realize it. Feeds are the headlines that keep appearing on the page, such as the most recent stories from CNN, or the current top sports headlines. I subscribe to blog feeds on my page, so that in addition to seeing what the New York Times Bestseller list is, I also see the most recent blog posts from Fuse #8 and What Adrienne Thinks About That (and many, many others). When I see a new post that I'm interested in, I click on it. You don't have to use My Yahoo to subscribe to feeds. You can also use blog readers such as Bloglines.
The important thing is for you to create a feed for your blog, so that people who prefer to read your blog through RSS can subscribe to it. How do you do this? Go to Feedburner. The instructions are fairly simple. After you burn a feed for your blog, BE SURE to add a graphic on your blog for people to access your feed. How to do this? Once you have a Feedburner account, go to Publicize and follow the directions from there about creating a chicklet. Pick the simplest one, the top one that is a generic "Subscribe in a Reader." I also recommend selecting PingShot and SmartFeed (both available on the Publicize menu).
Once you have a feed, log back into Feedburner regularly so that you can see how many people access your blog... what searches they use to locate it and what sites they're being referred from.
Another great (free) source for statistics is Google Analytics.
UPDATE: Google has purchased Feedburner. You still need to create your RSS in Feedburner, but it no longer tracks statistics. Use Google Analytics for that.
Also, be sure to subscribe to your own feed. That way, you can see if it works, and you can see how often it's updated. Sometimes my feed is updated a few hours after I post, sometimes it takes a day.
Kidlitosphere
If you blog about children's literature (which I do), the community of like-minded bloggers is called the Kidlitosphere. It's a vibrant and wonderful group of people who love children's books and includes librarians, teachers, professors, booksellers, editors, authors and illustrators. They do multiple blog efforts such as the amazing Robert's Snow posts organized by Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.
Every week, bloggers from the Kidlitosphere join in Poetry Friday and post fantastic poems on their blogs. One blogger each week volunteers to post a round-up of all the Poetry Friday links. See this round-up at Big A little a for an example.
There's even an annual award given by kidlit bloggers called The Cybils. Nominate your favorite children's books from the past year today. Literally. Nominations close November 21, 2007.
How do you get involved with this wonderful community? Head over to Kidlitosphere Central to find out about the various activities of this hardworking group. And then join the Kidlitosphere listserv on Yahoo Groups. Once you've been approved, be sure to introduce yourself and add your blog to the Blog Directory. And then, join the discussion!
JacketFlap
If you're a Kidlit blogger, I highly recommend joining JacketFlap. It's a terrific resource for anyone involved in any way with children's books. You can read other people's blogs though JacketFlap... and be sure to add your blog to their list.
What's the point?
Why bother with all this technical stuff? Because blogging takes a lot of time and effort and creativity. If you're willing to do all of that, and put yourself and your ideas out there, it's worth it for people to see what you have to say. And it allows you to get feedback and be part of the blogging community. But, no one is going to know about your blog unless you publicize it a little.
If you make it hard for people to link to you, locate your RSS feed or e-mail you... they're not going to. And the more that other people link to you, the more your rank rises in Google and other search engines. This means that your blog will come up closer to the top of search engine results pages, and more people will see what you have to say and be able to use the information you provide.
So, take the time (it really doesn't take long)... do the technical things described above. If you're overwhelmed, you can do them slowly, one piece at a time. But let your voice be heard.
And once, again... welcome!
I've been blogging for about six months... and here's a few things I've picked up so far. I hope these tips help you. If you're looking for specific advice about being a children's literature blogger- look towards the end of this post.
Welcome!
Blogging is fun, scary, exciting and incredibly rewarding. Congratulations on starting a blog! It's a gutsy step. The hardest part is to keep it going after those first few initial posts. Keep it up... you can do it!
Don't apologize
It's hard to blog consistently. It takes a lot of time. All blog readers know that. When you have a chance to blog, don't write posts apologizing for not writing. Instead, just write a post saying something you haven't said before. Some people blog daily, some blog weekly, some blog monthly. Find a schedule that works for you, and don't be embarrassed by it.
Be proud of what you write
Don't say that you're rambling or incoherent. Your voice and opinions are valid, whatever it is that you have to say. The more you knock yourself down, the less likely a reader is to take you seriously.
Find a topic
Decide on the general subjects you want to write about. For example, Wizards Wireless is about three very specific things: Children's books, comic strips and Harry Potter. I try to keep myself limited to these topics because it carves out a niche and lets a reader know what they'll find when they visit my blog. If it's not related to one of those three things, I'll mark the post as off-topic (which I try not to do too much). And if you have too many topics to chose from, don't worry, you can always start another blog on that subject.
Find a mission
Why are you blogging? To advance your career? To tell family and friends about what's going on in your life? To become a better writer? To talk about topics that you're passionate about? All of these are valid reasons... just figure out what you hope to achieve by blogging. That will inform almost every other decision you make. For example, a person blogging for professional development reasons is much more likely to use their real name than someone who wants to let off steam about work.
Above all, write about what you want to write about, not what you think you have to write about.
Contribute original content
There's no need to post every news story on your blog. As a reader, I come to your blog for original content, not recycled information. If there's a big announcement, chances are I've already read about it somewhere else. The exception here, of course, is if you have something to say about a news story or if it's relevant to your subject matter. For example, I wrote quite a bit about J.K. Rowling's announcement that Dumbledore is gay. (The posts are here, here and here, if you're interested). Obviously, people read about it elsewhere... but since I write a lot about Harry Potter on my blog, I felt it was relevant and I had opinions I wanted to discuss.
Steal from yourself
Coming up with new things to say can be difficult. Why not post something you've written in the past? Whether it's a blurb, an annotation or a paper, you can adapt it into a blog post (if it fits your topic and mission). For example, I took excerpts from a paper I wrote for graduate school about The Man Who Walked Between the Towers and posted it on my blog. I changed it and edited it to make it appropriate. It remains my favorite review to this day, because I worked for weeks on the original paper and I'm proud of the writing and research.
If you've written something that's been previously published, make sure you say where it's been published, and make sure you own the rights to it before posting it. Otherwise (if possible), post a link to it.
Tell people that your blog exists
Let your friends and family know that you have a blog. If someone in your real life mentions an interest in the topic you write about, give them the link to your blog. Mention your blog (if it's relevant to the topic being discussed) on listservs and electronic discussion boards.
Join the Community
Connect to the community of bloggers who write about the same topic you do. There are communities of book bloggers, parent bloggers, etc. They link to each other, promote each other and toss around new ideas. Be part of the discussion. Find out who else is in your community.
If someone leaves a comment on your blog, respond to it within the comments section. Most blog programs have an option that will e-mail you whenever a person comments on your blog. This is extremely helpful... particularly when keeping track of comments on old posts.
Leave comments on other people's blogs. If you do, post under the name of your blog. It helps you build a reputation.... and it's a great way to join the discussion in the blogosphere.
If someone links to your blog, add a link to theirs.
Remember that ANYONE can read your blog
Your neighbor, your third cousin, your ex-boyfriend, a potential employer, the person in the next cubicle who drives you nuts... all of these people are potential readers of your blog. It's on the web, it's unbelievably public. Don't insult other people... they'll figure out who you're talking about.
The best advice I've gotten is to write your blog as if your boss reads every post you write.
Protect yourself
Some people put their full names on their blogs... some don't. It's a personal decision. But whatever you decide to do, take steps to protect your family. Unless your blog is specifically about parenting, you may want to refrain from mentioning your kids' names or providing pictures. Don't reveal that you're going out of town until after you come back. It's okay to be vague about who you are.
Publish your e-mail address
Include an e-mail address on your blog. Obviously, it's not a good idea to post your main e-mail address because of the potential for spam, but I highly recommend that you create an e-mail account just for your blog. Go to Gmail to set up a free account which you can forward to your regular e-mail you read all the time. Keep it simple... such as: thenameofyourblog at gmail.com
Why is it important to include an e-mail address? So that people with legitimate questions and compliments can contact you. For example, I'm in the process of writing a paper for graduate school on blogs written by children's librarians. I would love to ask bloggers for their permission to be included in my paper and get a bit more background about why they are blogging. But on the majority of the blogs I've been reading, there is no way to contact the writer. It's not really appropriate to leave a note in the comments, it would be extremely off topic.
Link to blogs
Link to other people's blogs and find out who is linking to you. Technorati is a great way to keep track of this. Sign up for a Technorati account (use your new blog gmail account to sign up for all of these various accounts) and claim your blog. Once you've done this, you can see who is mentioning your blog. If someone does link to your blog in a post, go to their blog and thank them. It's always nice to add a reciprocal link to their blog if it's relevant to your blog's topic.
Check your links
Whenever I add a new link, either in the sidebar or in a post, I click on it to make sure that the link works. It's frustrating to a reader if you have broken links.
Create a feed
Burn a feed for your blog. This isn't nearly as scary as it sounds. You may have heard of an RSS feed (which actually, just stands for Really Simple Syndication). A lot of people (myself included) read blogs primarily through feeds.
Do you subscribe to My Yahoo? Then you already know all about feeds even if you don't realize it. Feeds are the headlines that keep appearing on the page, such as the most recent stories from CNN, or the current top sports headlines. I subscribe to blog feeds on my page, so that in addition to seeing what the New York Times Bestseller list is, I also see the most recent blog posts from Fuse #8 and What Adrienne Thinks About That (and many, many others). When I see a new post that I'm interested in, I click on it. You don't have to use My Yahoo to subscribe to feeds. You can also use blog readers such as Bloglines.
The important thing is for you to create a feed for your blog, so that people who prefer to read your blog through RSS can subscribe to it. How do you do this? Go to Feedburner. The instructions are fairly simple. After you burn a feed for your blog, BE SURE to add a graphic on your blog for people to access your feed. How to do this? Once you have a Feedburner account, go to Publicize and follow the directions from there about creating a chicklet. Pick the simplest one, the top one that is a generic "Subscribe in a Reader." I also recommend selecting PingShot and SmartFeed (both available on the Publicize menu).
Once you have a feed, log back into Feedburner regularly so that you can see how many people access your blog... what searches they use to locate it and what sites they're being referred from.
Another great (free) source for statistics is Google Analytics.
UPDATE: Google has purchased Feedburner. You still need to create your RSS in Feedburner, but it no longer tracks statistics. Use Google Analytics for that.
Also, be sure to subscribe to your own feed. That way, you can see if it works, and you can see how often it's updated. Sometimes my feed is updated a few hours after I post, sometimes it takes a day.
Kidlitosphere
If you blog about children's literature (which I do), the community of like-minded bloggers is called the Kidlitosphere. It's a vibrant and wonderful group of people who love children's books and includes librarians, teachers, professors, booksellers, editors, authors and illustrators. They do multiple blog efforts such as the amazing Robert's Snow posts organized by Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.
Every week, bloggers from the Kidlitosphere join in Poetry Friday and post fantastic poems on their blogs. One blogger each week volunteers to post a round-up of all the Poetry Friday links. See this round-up at Big A little a for an example.
There's even an annual award given by kidlit bloggers called The Cybils. Nominate your favorite children's books from the past year today. Literally. Nominations close November 21, 2007.
How do you get involved with this wonderful community? Head over to Kidlitosphere Central to find out about the various activities of this hardworking group. And then join the Kidlitosphere listserv on Yahoo Groups. Once you've been approved, be sure to introduce yourself and add your blog to the Blog Directory. And then, join the discussion!
JacketFlap
If you're a Kidlit blogger, I highly recommend joining JacketFlap. It's a terrific resource for anyone involved in any way with children's books. You can read other people's blogs though JacketFlap... and be sure to add your blog to their list.
What's the point?
Why bother with all this technical stuff? Because blogging takes a lot of time and effort and creativity. If you're willing to do all of that, and put yourself and your ideas out there, it's worth it for people to see what you have to say. And it allows you to get feedback and be part of the blogging community. But, no one is going to know about your blog unless you publicize it a little.
If you make it hard for people to link to you, locate your RSS feed or e-mail you... they're not going to. And the more that other people link to you, the more your rank rises in Google and other search engines. This means that your blog will come up closer to the top of search engine results pages, and more people will see what you have to say and be able to use the information you provide.
So, take the time (it really doesn't take long)... do the technical things described above. If you're overwhelmed, you can do them slowly, one piece at a time. But let your voice be heard.
And once, again... welcome!
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