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>> ITEM 5 - Featured Children's Lit Blog: Books For Boys

In the past couple of years, there's been an explosion in wonderful blogs about children's books and the writing process.  Now, in each issue of the Update, we'll profile a unique and helpful blog.

This issue, we highlight Books for Boys, a blog created by author Max Elliot Anderson.  The blog focuses on issues and concerns facing today's boys, how to write for them, and how to encourage reluctant readers.  Check it out at: 

http://booksandboys.blogspot.com/

PS:  If you have or know of a blog that should be featured in the Update, drop Jon a line at jon@write4kids.com   Also, if you happen to come across a children's writing blog or site that doesn't list the Children's Writing Update or Write4Kids.com among its links or resources, why not send a friendly note telling them about us?  We'd really appreciate it!

 

 

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We've Got Solutions to Aid Your Resolutions!

• Need insider secrets and fresh markets for your manuscript? Check out Children's Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children's Writers at http://write4kids.com/aboutchi.html

• Just getting started and need a friendly, step-by-step guide to becoming a children's author? Check out Career Starter, The Beginner's Guide to Writing for Children at http://write4kids.com/starter.html

• Want to have an incredible amount of "How To" wisdom right at your fingertips? The Children's Writer's Big Book of How To has the solution to more than 100 of the trickiest issues faced by children's authors. From coming up with great ideas right through signing the contract, this amazing volume is packed with insight. http://write4kids.com/bigbook.html

• Have you written a story but don't know what to do next? I've Written a Story, What Do I Do Now? tells you what you need to know about submitting your manuscript to publishers efficiently and professionally. http://write4kids.com/nowwhat.html

• Tired of getting rejection letters? Improving The Odds reveals the manuscript-revision secrets of top authors that help push them over the top. http://write4kids.com/odds.html

• Looking to self-publish a picture book? Could You, Should You Self-Publish a Children's Picture Book? is the perfect step-by-step guide for anyone who's considering the self-publishing route. Don't spend a dime of your precious funds before reading what Anne Emerick has to say! http://write4kids.com/could.html

• Need to know how to write a killer query or cover letter that gets noticed? Author to Editor collects actual letters used by top authors that resulted in publishing contracts. Full analysis and lots of easy-to-apply tips help make writing the perfect query or cover letter a breeze. http://write4kids.com/a2e.html

• Having trouble developing a plot? Crafting strong characters? Coming up with good story ideas? Our In-Depth Workshop Series goes in-depth to make you a stronger and more confident writer. http://write4kids.com/indepth.html

• Care to hear -- first-hand -- the best advice superstar authors have to give for aspiring children's writers? In Their Own Words offers exclusive insight from Lois Lowry, Judy Blume, R.L. Stine, Chris Crutcher and many, many more. This is pure gold and available nowhere else. http://write4kids.com/itow.html

And there's more. For a full listing, just go to http://write4kids.com/collect.html

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>> ITEM 6 -  Children's Author's Bootcamp News:  After Colorado, It's On to Omaha!

 

Children’s Authors’ Bootcamp was the most worthwhile investment I’ve made in my writing career. No single class or workshop I’ve attended has offered as much concrete, usable information. Thank you, Linda and Laura!
Lisa McCourt, bestselling children’s book author

Bootcamp is the best workshop I've ever attended. I came to this conference hoping I would learn more about writing magazine stories for children. I never imagined I would come away with an outline for a middle grade book -- and solid ideas on how to write it! Thank you! You've exceeded my expectations and given me hope for a children's writing career.
Jeni Bell

You've saved me years of sending stories that wouldn't have been looked at by publishers. I feel privileged to have attended.
Jill Moore

Two incredible days of fun, inspiration and learning from a couple of real children's writing pros -- it's the acclaimed Children's Author's Bootcamp.  And now, a second event has been added to the calendar!

We've been telling you about 2008's first Bootcamp, June 7 and 8 at the Centerra Promenade in Northern Colorado.  It's right off I-25 and easy to reach for anyone in Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder, Fort Collins, Cheyenne, Loveland and Greeley.  And it's only 45 minutes from Denver International Airport and has many lodging options.   

Now  the ladies have announced a second Bootcamp for June -- and it's smack dab in America's heartland.  Get ready Omaha -- The Children's Author's Bootcamp is coming June 21 and 22!

Get ready for a children's writing weekend you'll never forget --  a step-by-step journey to children's writing success that's fun, fast-paced and packed with advice you'll never hear anywhere else!

Join Laura Backes, Publisher of Children's Book Insider, and Linda Arms White, Christopher Award-winning author of Too Many Pumpkins, Comes a Wind and many other great children's books, for the ultimate children's writing workshop:

June 7 and 8 at the Centerra Promenade, Loveland, Colorado (right off Interstate 25) 

and

June 21 and 22 in Omaha, Nebraska

CAB features two full exciting days of world-class instruction and exercises on writing fiction for children of all ages, with emphasis on character and plot development, dialogue, descriptive writing, point of view, writing strong beginnings, editing your own work and submitting manuscripts to publishers. If your dream of writing children's books needs a shot of adrenaline, this is the place to get it.

Because it's a step-by-step program, CAB is great for beginners! No previous experience is needed to benefit from this workshop, and you'll leave on Sunday with everything you need to know to write your masterpiece!

For a complete class outline and registration information (including information on booking hotel rooms), see WeMakeWriters.com, or contact Linda White at (303) 747-1014, or CABootcamp@msn.com.

Reserve Your Spot Now -- Children's Authors' Bootcamps fill up quickly

Visit WeMakeWriters.com for all the details.

PS:  The Colorado Bootcamp is limited to 35 participants and it's close to selling out.   Do not delay booking your spot in either of these Bootcamps or you may have to wait 'til 2009!

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>> ITEM 7 - 30 Day "Writer's Regimens" from The Southeast Review 

Here's a neat idea:  month long courses for writers conducted via e-mail.  The Southeast Review is offering two of these "Writer's Regimens", one for young writers and the other for adult writers.  Writers receive daily exercises, podcasts, free-writing "riffs" and more. These aren't personalized, so you won't get one-on-feedback or mentoring, but it's worth a shot for self-starters and those who need a bit of motivation in the e-mail every morning.

For details, visit http://www.southeastreview.org/regimen.php

 

 

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The Children's Writers Big Book of "How To"

The Children's Writer's Big Book of "How To" has the solution to more than 100 of the trickiest issues faced by children's authors. From coming up with great ideas right through signing the contract, this amazing volume is packed with insight. Visit http://write4kids.com/bigbook.html to view then entire table of contents!

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>> ITEM 8 - Feature Article: How a Wimpy Kid Changed the Publishing World  By Laura Backes, Publisher of  Children's Book Insider

The absolute hottest books among fifth and sixth graders right now are Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney (Amulet Books). At a recent Scholastic book fair at my son's small school, 20 copies of each book sold out by the second day. Wimpy Kid has over 1 million copies in print and held the #1 spot on the New York Times Children's Chapter Books Best-Seller List. Rodrick Rules, published this past February, debuted at #7 on USA Today's Best-Selling Books List. Three more titles in the series are planned.

How did these books rocket to the top? Good old-fashioned word-of-mouth.

Yes, Kinney originally posted Diary of a Wimpy Kid as series of online daily entries on the educational web site Funbrain.com in 2004. Kids loved it so much that Amulet agreed to publish the almost 1300 pages as three books (about 80% of the books' content matches the web version, which is still available online). The last two books will be new material. Which proves two points that should be reassuring to authors: Even though kids can get a book for free online, they still like to hold the paper-and-ink version in their hands; and when kids find something they like, they tell all their friends.

Every child I've talked to between the ages of 10 and 12 has read at least one of these books. So I had to check out Wimpy Kid for myself. By the second page, I was laughing out loud. By page 15, I had stopped three times to point out passages to my husband, saying, "This is brilliant!" or "He's really nailed middle school." When a book takes me back to an era of my life that I've desperately tried to block out, and makes me laugh about it, I know the author's onto something.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid works because it stays simple. In an interview on the book's web site (www.wimpykid.com), Kinney explains, "I wanted to write a story about all the funny parts of growing up, and none of the serious parts....about what it's really like to be a kid, or at least what it was like for me." The book is a salute to all the ordinary, flawed, yet basically good kids whose lives chug along without any of the dramatic conflicts that typically make for good storytelling. Greg Heffley, Diary of a Wimpy Kid's sixth grade protagonist, is just like most kids: he's not always the greatest friend, brother or student, but he's doing the best he can. As Greg says, "Let me just say for the record that I think middle school is the dumbest idea ever invented. You got kids like me who haven't hit their growth spurt yet mixed in with these gorillas who need to shave twice a day. And then they wonder why bullying is such a big problem in middle school." That's plenty of conflict for most adolescents.

My son loves these books because they have "not just one plot, but different things happening every few pages. And there's humor every second." The diary format, with text that looks like handwriting and black-and-white line illustrations that provide the punch lines to most of the jokes, is a breeze to read. Kinney has said that making kids laugh was one of his main goals when creating these stories. His real gift is getting kids to look at themselves through Greg Heffley and laugh at the angst that accompanies virtually every middle grade moment.

Kinney's other gift, which he shares with a handful of talented "tween" authors, is the ability to see middle school for what is truly is, and to write about it authentically. He doesn't write with nostalgia, or an adult version of what school "should" be. He doesn't try to revise his own experiences and make them better, or create a protagonist who is the ideal preteen. For Greg Heffley, middle school can be a tricky minefield of trying to be cool without drawing too much attention to himself, all while understanding that he's pretty far down the food chain.

But it's not all gloom and doom. He has some good moments, but on any given day he'd really rather be hanging out with his friends or playing video games. The authors who don't hit the mark are those who think they can sugarcoat the adolescent experience, or polish off the rough edges and hope their readers won't notice. Kids notice—they live it every day. And instead of reading an author whose voice is more like their parents or principals, kids would rather read an author who can entertain them while he's walking with them through the school corridors.

In January of this year, author Jon Scieszka was named the first National Ambassador for Young People's Literature by the Library of Congress. His goal is to get kids—especially middle grade boys—enthusiastic about reading. And one way to do that, he says, is to let kids read what they want, even if they're not choosing "literature". As a writer of funny books himself, Scieszka commented, "Aw, nobody gives us any awards. They give [awards] to all the books that make you cry...." If kids could vote, Diary of a Wimpy Kid would have won the Newbery. Any book that cautions readers to avoid the dreaded playground Cheese Touch deserves a medal.