Friday Filler: Nov. 12 Edition

This week we seem to be bigger on resources than anything else, so here goes!

National Novel Writing Month: For those of you who are obsessed with carving out writing time and counting words for NaNoWriMo (count me in on that!), take a laugh break with Fake NaNoWriMo Tips on Twitter (@FakeNNWMTips). My current favorites:

• “Only NaNoWriMo Premium Subscribers may count “the” and “a” as words. Upgrade your membership today!”
• “If you put a gun in the first half of your book, it should go off in the second half. Or turn out to be a vampire gun.”

Save the Words: If you love words, this one’s for you! NPR did a great piece this week, “Website Helps Rescue Obscure Words.” Give it a listen, the go to Save the Words and adopt a word (better yet, pick a word and work it into your next book or

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Friday Filler: News You Can Use

It’s that time again, time for a roundup of book news, contests, resources, events, and WLT member news! So let’s get going:

News

Indie Writers: With the ever-expanding options for self-publishing, Amy Edelman (right) of IndieReader.com raises an interesting question this week at Publishing Perspectives: “Why Is Indie OK for Musicians and Filmmakers… But Not for Writers?” Good question. Read it and let us know what you think.

The Agency Model: No, we’re not talking Ford or Elite. Doris Booth, editor-in-chief of AuthorLink, posted an eye-opening opinion piece, “Publishers’ Agency Model Punishes Mid-List Authors.” It dissects how the new agency model struck by publishers and Amazon in attempt to agree on how to set retail pricing for books in the e-book world. Turns out the agency model actually slashes author royalties. Read “Publishers’ Agency Model Punishes Mid-List Authors.”

Facing Rejection: Writers are always puzzled by not getting explanations from agents about why they were rejected. Here’s agent Rachelle Gardner’s explanation