Best in Blogs April 26-May 1 #amwriting #amreading

Here's my favorites of the week.

Chasing the Crazies
Help Amy celebrate 4000 followers on her amazing writing blog by entering a fabulous giveaway!
"I am completely and totally overwhelmed by the fact that this blog now has 4,000 followers, and yes, I agree with Kevin Bacon, “LET’S DANCE.” "

Janice Hardy
Guest post - One of my favorite authors discusses the move from panster to plotter - a journey I'm working on as well.
"Every writer has their own process for writing a novel, and it's not uncommon to want to improve that process and make our writing sessions more productive. Help me give a big welcome to Kristi Helvig, who takes to the podium today to share her journey from pantser to plotter and why this works for her."

Storyfix
Larry Brook's awesome blog - author of the best books to read if you're a panster thinking of joining the darkside (or is that the light side? ;-) )
"Submitting your work for evaluation and coaching can feel like a daunting experience.  Sometimes things don’t work as well as you thought, or hoped, and the feedback feels more like backpeddling than the forward-energizing catalyst that it really is.

And then there are those times when the feedback is nothing short of affirmation and tips on how to make “good” into “great.”

That’s what today’s case study is all about.  Read this one to see what a solid concept looks like, and how it empowers the subsequent concept that leverages it."

Charlotte's Library
Excellent kid's book reviews
"Today is the release day for The Thief and the Sword, by Mike Maihack (Scholastic), the second graphic novel installment of Cleopatra's adventures far from her home in ancient Egypt."

Michelle 4 Laughs
One of the great contest blogs out there - awesome authors lending helping hands!
"Just like a believable main character, I'm very good at procrastinating on any tasks that are difficult. But I did want to give a short update on the behind the scenes here with my attempt to keep the blog and contests running."

Sarah Negovetich
Agent/author Sarah Negovetich addresses an important point - to all of us
"Pirates exist. People who think it's okay to download an illegal copy of a book instead of just going to the library exist. People trying to make money off other people's hard work exist. No amount of take down notices, public rants or threatened lawsuits are going to stop pirates. For every website authors take down, five new ones pop up.
Trying to stop pirates is not worth my time or energy. People who scour the internet for free books knowing full well they are stealing were never going to pay for my book. They are not lost sales.
To be clear, these people stink. But I've come to accept that their existence is one of the downsides of this whole publishing biz.
But I do have a beef. Used to be these piracy sites were easy to identify. They looked like thrown together websites with clunky buttons and a swarmy feel.
Not anymore."

Kidliterati
All things kidlit!
"When I'm not writing about giants and robots and giant robots and robots who fall in love with giants, I teach English.  And there's this funny thing about both reading and writing.  It's kind of like a magic trick. See, the best way for a kid to become a really great writer is to be a reader.  And, go figure, the best way to become a really great reader is to be a writer."