The numero uno, very best thing you can do for your writing is to find a good critique group. There are many ways to go about that, but that's a post for another day. Let's assume for now, you already have a critique group. Needless to say, they are phenomenal human beings who give you wonderful advice and suggestions on your many writing projects. Obviously, (superfluous adverb there for my editor) you'll want to return the favor. Here are five tips on how to give helpful comments and avoid hurt feelings or (shudder) tears.

1. Don't say, "I don't like this." Your job, as critiquer extraordinaire, is to comment on the craft of the piece. Chances are, you haven't enjoyed every book you've read, and the books you hated are probably someone else's favorites. You aren't going to enjoy every piece that comes through your group. Ignore the fact that you hate stories about horses and focus on how well the words flow. Does the writer 'tell' too much? Would the story benefit from a different point of view? Is "Fluffy Bunnypie" not a good name for a horse? Try to help the writer make his/her story the best it can be...even if you never want to read it again.

2. Be specific. I had an agent once who's revision request included 'making the main character stronger', and that 'the dialogue seemed forced in some places'. I stared at that letter for days. Whose dialogue? Which places? Forced in what way? And...make the M.C. stronger how? Stronger in voice? Stronger emotionally? Strong enough to lift tall buildings in a single...oh, wait. I messed that up didn't I? Anyway, the point remains. The advice was so vague it was useless. If you're reviewing a piece in dialect and the phoenetic spelling is tripping you up, don't say, "The voice isn't working." Say, "The dialect makes this very hard for me to read." If the writer gets the same comment from everyone, s/he will know exactly what to work on.

3. Be kind. Just because someone has written something truly dreadful does not mean they deserve to be drawn and quartered. It's not a crime to write bad first drafts. That's the whole reason for critiques. Try to state whatever criticism you have in the gentlest terms possible. You're a writer, after all, a master of words. You can figure out a nice way to say, "This is dryer than Mr. Norell's undergarments."

4. It's the opposite of ironing. When you iron a shirt, you start with the collar, then the cuffs. You work your way from small parts to large, so the front and back are the last parts ironed and don't get mussed up. It's the opposite with writing. If you're critiquing a piece by a fairly new author, you may crit something with LOTS of stuff wrong. If you mark every single thing (comma placement, adverbs, apostrophe's, word overuse, etc), you'll hand back something covered in red and most likely demoralize the writer. Instead, focus on the things that will change the story the most: is the plot too advanced (or too simple) for the targeted age? should the character be a boy instead of a girl? would the book be better set in contemporary times instead of the dynasty of Cleopatra? Once the big elements are fixed, you can always go back and rearrange the apostrophes.

5. Balance. Yes, you're offering suggestions for improvements, but don't forget to comment on the postive too. It's just as important for us writers to know what we've done right. If you're a person who tends to focus on the negative, orgainze your comments like this. Begin with something positive. Then, mention a couple ways you think the manuscript might be improved. And always, always finish with something positive. Think of it as a criticism sandwich...with really nice bread.

And remember, a good critique is a true gift. The more you give, the more you'll get back on your own pieces.

You may have noticed a new TAB at the top of the page called Indie Press List. This page will feature a valuable list for our readers to assist them in their search for an independent publisher.

Small presses are on the rise and there are many advantages to going with one of them including catering to niche markets, freedom to create their own economic models, and a longer book life for authors.

Coming soon, this list will include established legitimate indie publishers of children's books with information of types of books published and links to their submission guidelines. Our hope is that you will save valuable research time, and sink that time into writing your book!

This list will not include vanity presses. They will all have submission guidelines and a vetting process. If you are ever unsure of whether a press is legitimate, Children's Book Insider has a great CHECKLIST of things to look out for. In addition, a legitimate publisher NEVER asks you for money for editing or publishing or marketing. Publishers get paid via your book sales. If they ask for any kind of fees, this is a sure red flag.

There are some great resources for those authors who would like to self-publish. This would mean all the costs are the authors responsibility, but all the creative control and profits would be too. Some authors prefer to go this route.

If there is a particular indie publisher you would like us to list, please send the information to info@danikadinsmore.com and we will check into it.

I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by the Hartford, CT Writing Examiner–Michael Aloisi. Michael is an author himself and has an awesome page at Examiner.com where he shares tons of writing tips.

Having taught writing for years, he found it’s very helpful for students of the craft to talk to actual writers. Hearing about how a writer makes up a particular story, and what their techniques, routines and thoughts are on the craft are invaluable learning tools. With that in mind, he thought bringing other writers into his articles, interviewing them and discussing the craft would bring a lot of insight and help to many of his readers.  And guess what? I get to be the very first one and talk about my newest book, THE BUG THAT PLAGUED THE ENTIRE THIRD GRADE–I mean, really…How cool is that??

Hope you can stop by and leave a comment!

Read Part One of my interview with the Hartford Writing Examiner
Read Part Two of my interview with the Hartford Writing Examiner

I recently had the opportunity to interview fellow Indie-Debut 2010 member, Danika Dinsmore for Examiner.com. I've interviewed a gazillion authors at my personal blog and at Examiner.com and find Danika's to be one of the most unique paths to publication I've ever heard of.

Not only is Danika's path to publication unique, but it was interesting to find out about her writing process, including the fact that she wrote a White Forest world book so she could navigate this amazing imagined world in Brigitta of the White Forest. Many writers will hear how you should interview your characters--know their likes and dislikes and what makes them tick. Well, Danika did just that and more, creating another world full of faerie adventures.

Hope you get the chance to hop over and read the interview, and while you're there, please check out my review of Brigitta of the White Forest.

The American Booksellers Association recently announced the winners of the 2010 Indies Choice Book Awards, reflecting the spirit of independent bookstores nationwide and the IndieBound movement.

This year's winners were chosen by the owners and staff at ABA member stores nationwide in more than four weeks of voting. Book of the Year winners and Honor Award recipients are all titles appearing on the 2009 Indie Next Lists. The Indie Next List, drawn from bookseller-recommended favorite handsells, epitomizes the heart and soul of passionate bookselling. Independent booksellers are and have always been discoverers of the next big thing, the next great read, the next bestseller, and the next undiscovered gem.

The 2010 Book of the Year winners are:

• Young Adult: Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
• Middle Reader: When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead (Wendy Lamb Books)
• New Picture Book: The Lion and the Mouse, by Jerry Pinkney (Little, Brown)

Kate DiCamillo was voted Most Engaging Author both for being an in-store star and for having a strong sense of the importance of indie booksellers to their local communities.
ABA members also inducted three of their all-time favorites into the Indies Choice Book Awards Picture Book Hall of Fame:

• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst and Ray Cruz (Atheneum)
• Madeline, by Ludwig Bemelmans (Viking)
• The Story of Ferdinand, by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson (Viking)

"Our sincere congratulations go out to all of the 2010 winners," said ABA CEO Oren Teicher. "Every one of these authors has created a truly unique work that independent booksellers have enthusiastically supported and enjoyed handselling during the past year. We look forward to honoring each of them at the Celebration of Bookselling Lunch at BEA."

FACTS:

The Bowker Report for 2009 is out. Some of you may have seen bits and pieces posted around the networld. The link above will take you to the article. The highlights are...

Number of books published in 2009: 1,052,803 (up 87% over 2008)

Number of those books SELF or POD* published: 764,448 (72.6%)

 Here's the wild part:

The number of traditionally published books (ie, not self or POD published) DROPPED 0.5%, from 289,729 in 2008 to 288,355 in 2009.

The number of traditionally published fiction books was down 15%.

 On the plus side for Children's Writers:
Traditionally published kid's books (picture books thru YA) were up 8.4%.
AND
Kid's books are very close to becoming the majority of all books published! For years, fiction (adult) has been the category with the most books published. But in 2009, the gap closed with 45,181 fiction books published to 32,348 children's books published (including only books put out by traditional publishers).


Kid's books:
2008: 29,825 books
2009: 32,348 books
Adult Fiction:
2008: 53,058 books
2009: 45,181 books


If those trends continue, Children's Literature could claim the top spot in just a couple years.
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*POD Books include books put out by small presses that use publish-on-demand technology. Even though these presses may have similar submission guidelines and editing processes, they are lumped into the same group with self-published books. Bowker does not break out a percentage of books printed on demand through small presses, but it would be great to see a comparison from 2008 to 2009 for small or indie press books.