grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

How to be a good Literary Citizen

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How to be a good literary citizen

Literary Citizenship?

Lately I’ve been thinking about the topic of literary citizenship. I learned of this concept from author, Kathleen Rooney. When Kathleen spoke about it at a writer conference, she credited Cathy Day who teaches a class on the idea. Kathleen’s talk on literary citizenship was a light bulb moment for me. I’d been working to be a good literary citizen without knowing there was an official term for it. But I realized there was more I could do in that department. There’s always more we can do, right?

No, this isn’t anything new. Anyone who tries to follow the golden rule will likely do many of these things already. But putting a title on the concept expanded the idea for me and gave me a clear pathway to follow.

So what does it mean to be a literary citizen?

Literary citizenship is about supporting the literary community, whether you are a writer or a reader, a storyteller of any sort. That’s all of us! Continue Reading

7 Word Reviews: December 2018

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I’m trying something new beginning with my December 2018 Book Reviews. 7 Word Reviews. 

Why?

Because over the past two years, I spent an inordinate amount of time writing my monthly book review blog posts. And I want-need-must spend that time elsewhere. But because I LOVE to read and I still want to recommend books to you, this is the idea I’ve come up with for now.

Writing a 7 Word Review feels like a fun challenge for me—like trying to tell the shortest of stories in the least amount of words. Yes, I’ll continue to provide my favorite quote from each book. I believe this gives you a glimpse into the author’s voice as well as the setting of the story. I will also continue to share my ratings on Goodreads, so I hope you’ll be my Goodreads buddy. I find so many great reads via books my friends add to their “want to read” shelf.

Tip: Adding books to your “want to read” shelf helps authors by making the books more visible to readers.

So here we go…Continue Reading

How to Write a Book Review

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How to Write a Book Review

Since I’m always preaching on the importance of book reviews, I thought I should put my blog where my mouth is and write a post about it. How to Write a Book Review plus my random thoughts on a topic near and dear to me.

Reviews are important, y’all, for reasons I never understood until I wrote a book. It’s about visibility. Most authors (including me) have no publicist or agent, no real budget for advertising. We do our own marketing and typically feel invisible in a sea of books being released daily.

Most readers search Amazon for book recommendations. Amazon doesn’t promote books that only have a handful of reviews.

It makes complete sense.

I was a reader long before I became a writer. And on those days when my writing confidence drags in the dirt, reading keeps me sane, inspires me, makes me want to write again. I’m always looking for books to read. I find them based on reviews and word of mouth recommendation. Don’t you?Continue Reading

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THANKS FOR READING!