Early Links

Friday Links come early, as I’m vowing to get crackin’ on plotting a new novel. There isn’t much to report in the YA department—aside from the myriad of author interviews and chats in light of YALSA’s Teen Read Week—but lots of stirring in the publishing pot, for those of you interested:

I thought this first column by Cory Doctorow (he wrote Little Brother, for you YA fans) was really interesting; basically, he’ll be running an experiment, to see how giving away free e-books will boost sales (among other things). He’ll be blogging about this monthly at Publishers Weekly, and I’ll keep you posted on this, since I find this stuff fascinating.

J.A. Konrath explains how e-books put the power with the writer, and squash Lady Luck’s hold on our sales. Food for thought. GalleyCat wonders if sharing e-books is okay, or if this leads to e-piracy—interesting stuff being said in the comments.

M.J. Rose links back to an indie bookseller in Boulder, who talks (tongue-in-cheek?) about why the book price war isn’t such a bad thing. And Pimp My Novel’s Eric looks at all the angles of the price war, and why publishers are worried.

At Kidlit, agent Mary Kole talks about writing in multiple genres, and things to consider as writer. She also explains where series stack up in today’s market. Very informative.

For more writing craft stuff, Women on Writing covers what makes a good children’s short story for Highlights Magazine. And Type M for Murder reports on agent Donald Maass’ seminar at Bouchercon for SinC, and tells us what makes a great villain, in case you need help with that.

And if you haven’t already, you must check out Readergirlz; they’re really rocking Teen Read Week.

Happy early weekend, all!