Thinking Outside the Book Cover

I'm still settling into to our new home, but had the fortune of watching the video above. It's an interview for SCBWI, of Julie Hedlund, author and founder of 12x12. The publishing world is adapting and Julie's interview exposes one way to think outside the traditional methods of getting published. It's definitely worth viewing.

On another note, I joined WriteOnCon for the first time this year. We had the chance of having agents view our queries and first five pages or first 250 words. I posted a middle grade novel I've been working on and a picture book. I can't say I got any agent comments, but I definitely benefited from the other writers' comments who graciously took time out to critique my stories.

Forums like 12x12, Verla Kay's Blueboards (now the SCBWI Blueboards), PiBoIdMo, NaNoWriMo and WriteOnCon are all great ways to meet other writers and learn the ins and outs of the publishing world for anyone seriously considering a plunge into the world of writing.  

And to take a page off of Leandra's blog, here's my favorite line from my historical-fiction, middle grade novel that I posted in WriteOnCon:

I heard the screen door slam and saw my father’s shadow skirt the corner and disappear. The truck started up and the sounds of it pulling away masked the clanging of the pots coming from the kitchen. 

Whatever my mom was doing stopped when Grandma entered. She rarely came out of her room, but when she did, we had to be on our best behavior. 

Happy Writing.