Walking Through Walls Receives CLC Silver Book Award

WALKING THROUGH WALLS RECEIVED THE CHILDREN'S LITERARY CLASSICS 2012 SILVER BOOK AWARD!

Here's the CLC's Press Release:

For Immediate Release
October 15, 2012
Literary Classics
info@clcawards.org

Literary Classics Announces Youth Media Top Book Winners

SOUTH DAKOTA - Literary Classics announced its 2012 selection of top books for children and young adults today.  Award recipients were selected from entries received throughout the world.  The Literary Classics selection committee is proud to recognize the following titles in children's and young adult literature which exemplify the criteria set forth by the Literary Classics Awards committee.

A list of the 2012 recipients follows:

Best First Picture Book, PreSchool, A Box Story by Kenneth Kit Lamug
Best First Picture Book, Early Reader, Terple Always Dream Bigger by Richie Frieman
Best Illustrator, Bella & Harry, Let's Visit Athens, Illustrated by Kristine Lucco
Best Series, The Bella & Harry Book Series by Lisa Manzione
Best First Chapter Book, Shelby & Shauna Kitt and the Dimensional Holes by PHC Marchesi
Gold - Picture Book, Preschooler,  Fantastic Flight by Barbara Bockman
Silver - Picture Book, Preschooler, Sh Sh Sh Let the Baby Sleep by Kathy Stemke
Gold - Picture Book, Early Reader, Bella & Harry Let's Visit London by Lisa Manzione, Illustrated by Kristine Lucco
Silver - Picture Book, Early Reader, Bella & Harry Let's Visit Cairo by Lisa Manzione, Illustrated by Kristine Lucco
Gold - Educational, Early Reader, The Great Divide, Suzanne Slade
Silver - Educational, Early Reader, Animal Animalogies by Marianne Berkes
Gold - Environmental Issues, Early Reader, Sea Turtle Summer by Nancy Stewart
Silver - Environmental Issues, Early Reader, One Pelican at a Time by Nancy Stewart
Gold - Non Fiction Preteen, Clara's Great War by Evelyn Rothstein
Gold - General Preteen, the Casting by Joyce Shor Johnson
Silver - General Preteen, Return to Finkleton by KC Hilton
Gold - Fiction Preteen, the Reinvention of Moxie Roosevelt by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
Silver - Fiction Preteen, Walking Through Walls by Karen Cioffi
Gold - Fantasy Preteen, Shelby & Shauna Kitt and the Dimensional Holes by PHC Marchesi
Silver - Fantasy Preteen, Shield Maiden by Richard Denning
Gold - Science Fiction Preteen, Shelby & Shauna Kitt and the Dimensional Holes by PHC Marchesi
Silver - Science Fiction - Preteen, The Crystal Ship by CJ Carter-Stephenson
Gold - Mystery Preteen, the Stone Child by Dan Poblocki
Gold - General Young Adult, Runaway Twins by Pete Palamountain
Silver - General Young Adult, Young, Funny & Unbalanced by David Smithyman
Gold - Fiction Young Adult, Caves, Cannons & Crinolines by Beverly Stowe McClure
Silver - Fiction Young Adult, Young Knights of the Round Table The King's Ransom by Cheryl Carpinello
Gold - Non-Fiction Young Adult, Black & White by Larry Dane Brimner
Gold - Fantasy Fiction Young Adult, Griffin Rising by Darby Karchut
Silver - Fantasy Fiction Young Adult, Drawn by Marie Lamba
Gold - Science Fiction Young Adult, the Limit by Kristen Landon
Silver - Science Fiction Young Adult, the Orphan Ship by Sterling R. Walker
Gold - Mystery Young Adult, Stalked by Kristiana Gregory
Cultural Issues, Clara's Great War by Evelyn Rothstein
Holiday, Santa & The Little Teddy Bear by Peter John Lucking
Self Esteem, Beautiful Wild Rose Girl by B. Magnolia
Female Audience, My Sister is my Best Friend by Nicole Weaver
Mature Issues, In Memory of Dad by Maranda Russell

Literary Classics, an organization dedicated to furthering excellence in literature, takes great pride in its role to help promote classic literature which appeals to youth, while educating and encouraging positive values in the impressionable young minds of future generations.  Judging is based upon the criteria set forth by Literary Classics' highly selective awards committee which honors books promoting character, vision, creativity and learning, through content which possesses key elements found in well-crafted literature.

The Literary Classics judging committee consists of experts with backgrounds in publishing, writing, editing, design, illustration, and book reviewing.   To learn more about Literary Classics, visit their website at www.literaryclassicsawards.com.

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I want to thank the CLC for choosing my book and say congratulations to the other winners and the illustrator of Walking Through Walls, Aidana WillowRaven, along with 4RV Publishing. Aidana's illustrations for the children's fantasy middle grade book are amazing.

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Please take a minute and check out the Walking Through Walls YouTube Book Trailer
http://youtu.be/90aJO5qHHWc

YOU CAN GET YOUR COPY TODAY AT:

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

4RV PUBLISHING CATALOG
http://4rvpublishingcatalog.yolasite.com/mg---ya-books.php
(scroll down to "W")

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Freelance Writing - An Education for the Uninitiated

An education in freelance writing for the uninitiated

Guest Post By Nadia Jones
Freelancing is tough work for any trade, but freelance writers looking for work on the web have it particularly rough. I say that to anyone who expresses interest in freelancing just so they know what they're getting into. Freelancing can be a rewarding and empowering gig, but it takes serious effort and talent to make it big.

Why is freelance writing so difficult? In this (freelance) writer's opinion, it largely has to do with the sheer number of writers on the blogosphere competing for coverage and attention. Some are professional journalists and writers looking to make a living off their web writing, others are simply entrepreneurial bloggers who lack real writing experience but possess social media savvy that can pave the way for success.

Long story short: there's a ton of competition out there. So how is a person interested in freelancing expected to make a splash in an already saturated market? Consider my tips on the subject.

I wholeheartedly encourage writers to try out freelancing for themselves to see if they like it. But what I don't advocate is for those same writers to quite their day jobs and take up freelancing as their sole source of income.

It's possible to be self-sufficient on paid gigs through freelancing, but it takes time to build up that kind of loyal client base. A newcomer to freelancing would be better off keeping their job and freelancing on the side until they start making considerable profits from their efforts. Doing it any other way is simply foolhardy.

Search for potential clients and viable projects whenever you're on the web
Writers interested in freelancing should look for opportunities whenever they're on the web. A seemingly infinite number of writing opportunities await freelancers; they just have to know where to look for them. Many blogs accept guest post submissions from qualified and insightful writers, for instance.

You never know where an opportunity might pop up—maybe someone on your Twitter feed is asking for some help writing content for their site, or perhaps your favorite blog offered guest posting and you never even realized it. The point is that you keep your eyes peeled for these opportunities whenever you're online.

Don't be picky about assignments
In the same vein as the previous point, I have to emphasize that freelance writers refrain from being choosy about their assignments. For example, say a writer comes across some drab medical blog looking for writing help that doesn’t remotely pertain to their personal writing interests. While it's tempting to pass up that opportunity in hopes that something "better" will come your way, the writer would be much better off if they took the gig.

Why do I say that? Because you never know when you'll encounter work, and keeping busy on work that doesn’t exactly excite you is much better than sitting idle and wishing you had something to write about! Writing is rarely as glamorous as its made to be in popular culture, and aspiring freelancers should learn that truth sooner than later if they want to become a seasoned writer.

Nadia Jones works as a freelance blogger a number of websites, including sites focused higher education and online colleges. When she’s not writing about the overlap of technology and higher education, Nadia writes on topics as wide ranging as the food industry, small business, and the latest in mobile tech. Feel free to leave Nadia some comments!

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More on Freelance Writing

Writing for Money – Breaking Into Freelance Writing
Freelance Writing Work: The Possibilities
A Ghost Writer: 5 Features That Can Help Your Business Part 1

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To keep up with writing and marketing information, along with Free webinars, join us in The Writing World (top right top sidebar).

Karen Cioffi
Multi-award Winning Author, Freelance/Ghostwriter, Editor, Marketer
Writer’s Digest Website of the Week, June 25, 2012

Productive Writing Projects for Young Writers

Productive writing projects for ambitious young writers and college students

Guest Post By Nancy Wood

Many new writers approach their craft with sense of urgency. They expect to produce great work immediately, and they aspire to publish that work even faster. Likewise, some college students don’t want to wait for graduation to start realizing their potential. They want to test the entrepreneurial waters here and now while they're in school to determine if they're pursuing the right field. This naïve ambition can be a powerful impetus to propel both college aged writers and beginning authors.

Personally, I salute those who have the drive to test their skills in the real world to see what happens. Writing is no easy profession to take on full time, and the shaky US economy only complicates the issue of employment after graduation. It's a smart move to try out projects while in the stability of a college environment. It allows for entrepreneurial writers to take big risks without worrying too much about the consequences. If a writing endeavor falls through, a student can always rely on their classes and academic network to determine a viable career path.

I have a few suggestions for starting professional writers and young writers who want to embark on their own personal projects while attending college. Check them out below!

Start a blog based on your greatest passion

Starting a blog may seem like the most obvious option available to the entrepreneurial writer, but that shouldn't deter someone from trying it out. The web offers the most visibility for unknown authors and writers than any other venue for trying to get noticed by a publisher, a magazine, or a hiring employer.

One of the most appealing aspects of starting a blog is the freedom that it lends to its creator. As the webmaster, writers can turn their blog into just about anything that they want, from a how-to cooking blog to a running commentary on college life to a glorified portfolio of recent clippings. I've seen author blogs that combine photo collages with their prose, drawing on powerful images to inspire impressionistic short form writing. I've also seen blogs that serve as a platform for publishing an author's novel in episodic form.

In short, a blog's potential is only limited by a writer's imagination.

Form a writer's group among your peers

A writer could also start a writing group among fellow writers at school (for college students) or in their localized community (for career-level writers). Sometimes the most important relationships that a writer can make during college are the ones made among peers with whom they've shared their work.

A writer's group can help students overcome thematic and structural obstacles that they might have in their writing just by virtue of sharing it with someone on their level.

Likewise a career-oriented writer could definitely benefit from a support structure of their peers when they're just getting their feet wet in the industry. There's an intimacy in sharing one's work with their peers that a writer simply can't find often with professors and more established authors. I highly suggest this option for struggling writers.

Write stories, poetry, or essays for submission to small and large publications

This point applies to young writers and college students with writing ambitions. No matter what kind of writer someone aspires to be, they won't get any credit unless they can show that they've published their work in a reputable publication. Clippings are everything to a writer, and the earlier that someone cuts their teeth in some publication—even an obscure one—the better chance they'll have at getting more work in the future. I heartily suggest that ambitious writers spend some time crafting works for submission at various publications, both large and small. A publisher or general employer looking for new hires will definitely take notice of a writer if they published anything at all during college. After all, it is a considerable feat!

Nancy Wood is a freelance education writer. Nancy loves writing about technology in the classroom, and she often muses about what the classroom of tomorrow will look like. She also gives business tips to entrepreneurial writers such as herself. Feel free to send some comments her way!

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More on Writing

Writing an Ebook – What’s Stopping You? 
Building an Writer’s Portfolio

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To keep up with writing and marketing information, along with Free webinars, join us in The Writing World (top right top sidebar).

Conferences as Exhibitors

Conferences as Exhibitors
by Elysabeth Eldering

As an author promoting oneself, we are told to "think outside the box" and promotion is all about finding new ways to get your books out there. We are also encouraged to attend conferences for the information to help us better our craft. But what about attending conferences as an exhibitor or vendor? How many of you put that extra into attending conferences as an exhibitor? What kind of conferences do you think your books are best suited for as a vendor?

Since I'm writing an educational series meant to supplement the social studies curriculum, not overtake it by any means, my goal is to exhibit at as many school related type conferences as possible. The attendees may not have buying power but if I can put an order form in their hands, it is more likely that somewhere down the line that those orders will show up.

Here is a list of some conferences I hope to attend as an exhibitor or vendor over the next few years, in addition to the ones I've already attended and plan on going back to:

- South Carolina School Librarians Association conference
- Georgia COMO (this was a combined school librarians and other librarian associations conference, which led me to four book distributors to get my books in the schools)
- Geofest (South Carolina)
- South Carolina Council for Socila Studies
- Georgia Geofest
- Georgia Council for Social Studies
- North Carolina Council for Social Studies
- any state Social Studies conference as my books start supporting me since I want to travel to all 50 states and do school visits, et cetera
- Any state librarian or school librarian association conference
- homeschool conferences (I've attended and hope to find several more and attend more in the future)

I know this list seems limited but for the moment, my funds are limited and until my books are supporting me and I'm able to quit my full-time job and just travel, these are fairly close to home and within driving range. The possibility is endless. Even some writer's conferences allow authors to come in and be exhibitors. The biggest factor is just finding the right conferences to attend that are within your budget in order to make the most of it. I encourage all authors to attend at least their state librarian conference as an exhibitor or the school librarian conference because you never know who you will meet or connect with that will lead to bigger and better things. For me, it's the opportunity to gain the exposure I need to get my books out in the nation and to the schools where they need to be. So don't limit yourself, invest in your books and find those conferences that will allow you to be an exhibitor and promote yourself like crazy.

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Ms. Eldering is the award winning author of the Junior Geography Detective Squad (JGDS), 50-state, mystery, trivia series. Her stories "Train of Clues", "The Proposal" (available as an ebook), "Tulip Kiss" (available as an ebook), and "Butterfly Halves", all placed first, second, or runner up in various contests to include two for Armchair Interviews and two for Echelon Press (Fast and ... themed type contests). Her story "Bride-and-Seek" (available as an ebook) was selected for the South Carolina Writers' Workshop (SCWW) anthology, the Petigru Review. Ms. Eldering makes her home in upper state South Carolina and loves to travel, read, cross stitch and crochet. When she's not busy with teenaged children still at home, working her full-time job as a medical transcriptionist or participating in virtual classroom visits, she can be found at various homeschool or book events promoting her writing. For more information on the JGDS series, stop by the JGDS blog or the JGDS website. For more on Elysabeth's other writings, please come over to her blog or her website.

Philanthropy for authors

Do you give?  I mean as part of your author platform? Is philanthropy - that is, giving back, a key component to your book promotion strategy?

If not, you might want to rethink it. Not only because helping others is inherently powerful and feels really good, though those are reasons enough. Not only because when you give, you open doors for others to give - you create a kind of ripple effect by example, making the world, in one tiny way, a more caring place, though those are reasons enough too.  Not only because, when you use your business to do good works in the world you create a sense of achievement and inner satisfaction that even great sales can't provide - a sense of your work actually meaning something in the broader context of the world, though once more, that alone would be reason enough.  You should also include philanthropy in your platform because it's good for your business.

Here are a few reasons why philanthropy will help you sell more books:

• Because your platform will have grown from just selling books to supporting a charity or cause, you will increase your visibility. If you pick a charity that has some connection with the theme of your writing, you can make use of the charity to promote your work. Take a photo with them as you hand over a large, mocked-up check (followed of course by a real one) and use it in your promotions.  Provide them with free material (books, bookmarks, handouts) which will further expose your work.  Get out there and be seen supporting the charity.  You will become known for being a good person (which you will be!) and can take advantage of that by creating positive press.

• It will differentiate you from your non-charitable competitors - some people call this "cause-marketing". According to Inc magazine, some 79% of Americans will switch to your brand if you are associated with a good cause. You can read that as buying your book over a similar book that isn't allied with a cause. If your good works stimulate your competitors to jump on the philanthropy bandwagon, then you've done double-good. Don't hestiate to take the credit for doing it first!  

• Depending on the charity you choose to support, you're also helping to create a future market by supporting your community, literacy, the world.  If you support literacy for example, as I do, you're creating a world of readers who may ultimate form your book buying public. You're growing a more literate world.  That's the world into which you market.

So how do you do it?  Easy, just find a charity that aligns with your upcoming (or already out) books, and give them a porportion of sales.  Or hold an event for them.  Or volunteer your time.  Or donate books. Or donate to your fellow author's charity of choice (see below for mine :-). It really couldn't be simpler, and you may find, as I have, that once you begin, it's kind of addictive. The giving process releases endorphins that make you feel good and it becomes easier and easier to share your bounty (however small) with others. The more you share, the more that seems to come back to you, thereby creating more wealth that you can share more widely. Some people might call that good karma. For me, it's just good sense.

Magdalena Ball runs The Compulsive Reader and is the author of a number of poetry books and novels. She has pledged 50% of the sales of her most recent novel, Black Cow, to the literacy charity Pencils of Promise, an organisation building 50 schools around the world. 

 

Finding Balance in Daily Life

by Dallas Woodburn

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about balance. One of my favorite quotes {which I might have shared on here before, I can’t remember} is from the late, great coach and teacher John Wooden. He said the two most important words in the English language are “love” and “balance.” I think that is so true, and yet balance can be really difficult to achieve. Especially in the fast-paced, multi-tasking-obsessed, constant-communication world we live in these days. It’s so easy to get sucked into the void of doing, doing, doing; more, more, more; faster, faster, faster.

Balance is something I am continually striving for. My work ethic is a quality I am really proud about, yet this is something that can easily slide off-balance. When that happens, I become a stressed-out, perfectionist workaholic. That is not who I want to be or how I want to spend my time!

So I’ve been taking some time each day to focus on balance. Find my center. Close my eyes, take a few deep breaths, and think of all the things I love about my life. I think about who I want to become. The hard work I plan to put in, the goals I want to accomplish–but also the fun things I wish to do, too. The places I want to travel. The fun books I want to read and movies I want to see and concerts I want to go to. The random treasures I want to take advantage of in everyday life: the awesome pinball arcade Mike & I stumbled upon, the nature trail along the river, the plethora of local restaurants we want to try out.

I’ve started to think about balance as a day-by-day thing, something I am working towards each and every day. For me, a good day does mean putting in two or three or four solid hours of work on my thesis draft. But it also means other things, too: relaxing with my sweetie on the couch watching an episode of The Wire; letting my mind wander while I try out a new dish in the kitchen; going for a long walk around the neighborhood; catching up with my family or friends on the phone; laughing till my stomach hurts over a hilarious video on YouTube; making my way through the stack of good books on my bedside table; and on, and on. A truly good day, to me, means a balanced day. I have discovered that I feel the most fulfilled and joyful and content when my life is balanced.

I saw this cartoon in a recent issue in The New Yorker and I wanted to share it here because it seems super appropriate not just to the theme of this blog, but also to the idea of balance. {Many thanks to my boyfriend Mike for helping me when the scanners at school tried to thwart my efforts!}

This cartoon made me smile, but it also gave me pause. I started my new organization blog because I wanted to become more organized in my daily life, while also saving money and time. But I never want organization to become a source of stress, or to feel pressure for perfection. My life and my apartment have become a little more organized in the past few months. I’m making progress. I’m trying new things and cooking more meals at home and flexing my newly developed decorating muscles. But my life will never be perfectly organized. I will never be that woman in the cartoon.

And I think that’s a good thing.

I’m not striving for perfection. I’m striving for balance. To me, love + balance = happiness.

What’s your happiness equation? How do you find balance in your busy life?

Dallas Woodburn is the author of two award-winning collections of short stories and editor of Dancing With The Pen: a collection of today's best youth writing. Her short fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize three years in a row and her nonfiction has appeared in a variety of national publications including Family Circle, Writer's Digest, The Writer, and The Los Angeles Times. She is the founder of Write On! For Literacy and Write On! Books Youth Publishing Company and is currently pursuing her Master's degree in Fiction Writing at Purdue University, where she teaches undergraduate writing courses and serves as Fiction Editor of Sycamore Review. Many of her short stories are compiled online here.

F.E.A.R.

False
Evidence
Appearing
Real

I’ve suffered insomnia at times in my life and I know that fear can raise its ugly head during the wee hours when you are between awake and doze. You are most vulnerable then and negative things keep running through your mind in a continuous loop.

As writers, we all experience this to some degree at various stages of our work. First it might be “I can’t come up with an idea.” Then, after a great start where the story flows effortlessly, there is that sudden stop and “Oh no! Where do I go next? What if I can’t finish the story?” The fear seems real.

After you finish the story and polish it to a high sheen, then fear sets in again: “What if I can’t get it published? What if nobody likes it?” Any small word of critique becomes that F.E.A.R.

OK, say your book gets published and after the happy dancing and celebrating calms down, then next phase of fear sets in. “What if I’m a one-shot wonder? That was just a fluke. I’ll never be able to do that again.”

I’ve been there, done that—all of it. Fear is destructive and counter-productive. We all need to confront that Fear and talk it down. You know you are doing the best job you possibly can, and you WILL finish that WIP, and readers WILL like it!

Think positively, take the next step, and persevere. Don’t let fear rule your writing life.