Sunday, September 15, 2013

This Week on Books Direct - 15 September 2013

Here's a list of the articles you may have missed this week:


"Preschool Learning" - Brought to you by Bundle of the Week.
With back to school for older kids behind us, this week's bundle is designed for parents of preschoolers! Whether you're looking for informal learning activities or more structured curricula, this collection includes inspiration for learning activities you can do at home with your preschooler, tons of great printables and an 80-minute audio recording to encourage you during these early years. And it's available this week only for 80% off!




"12 Great Quotes from Atticus Finch" - Article by Writing Sisters.
You can get your own copy of To Kill a Mockingbird here.




"Marketing Madness: Five More Ideas" - Article by Kathryn Elizabeth Jones for Idea Creations Press.
Five ideas to help you market your book.




"How to Read Ebooks" - Article by Amy Lynn Andrews.
Amy's got some handy hints you may not know about.




"What Books Are Made Of" - Article by Kathryn Elizabeth Jones.
Why do some books fail, while others succeed?




This year's Man Booker Prize finalists have been announced. The six books on the list could not be more diverse. There are examples from novelists from New Zealand, England, Canada, Ireland and Zimbabwe.




Handy flowchart if you're in the mood for Margaret Atwood.




"How to Edit for a Friend" - Article by Mark Nichol for Daily Writing Tips.
Many writers seek assistance from friends or family members for various projects, but this aid must be given and received with care. Here are some tips about asking for informal editing assistance and providing it.




"Make the Impossible Look Real" - Article by Lorrie Porter for This Craft Called Writing.
As Donald Maass states, "What makes a breakout novel memorable are conflicts that are deep, credible, complex and universal enough so a great number of readers can relate."




"Guy Kawasaki: The Doctrine of Self-Publishing" - Article by Guy Kawasaki for Kirkus Reviews.
Now that (virtual) shelf space is infinite, ebooks and print-on-demand mean that access to printing presses is irrelevant; and anyone who can use a word processor can write and publish a book.




"How To Become A Badass Creative Writer" - Article by Jennifer Blanchard for Story Fix.
And one problem a lot of writers have is they don't know how to get into a creative flow that will allow them to keep coming up with amazing stories to write. Wouldn't it be great to have consistent creative flow? If you want to be a badass creative writer, along with writing a story that "works", you need 5 things.




"How Today's Computers Weaken Our Brain" - Article by Tim Wu for The New Yorker.
Today’s computers feature programming and writing tools more powerful than anything available in the twentieth century. Do these things help us, or are computers more of a distraction?




"Essential Tools to Organize Your Book Manuscript" - Article by Mary Carroll Moore for Grub Street Daily.
Books are all about organization, not just about sitting down and letting it flow. Good organization rescues us when we're sinking into confusion about how to delve for meaning, it brings us ideas on how to infuse our manuscripts with emotion, and it gives us ways to structure outer events into a logical sequence that a reader can track.




for Brain Pickings.
Brandon Farley captures the essence of Gaiman's philosophy on writing and his advice to aspiring writers.




If you enjoyed this blog post, please visit the This Week page for links to more great articles.