I’m trying out a new look here. What do you think? I’m having trouble getting rid of the search function due to my lack of HTML coding abilities. Any advice, I’m open to your thoughts!

Hey guys! Sorry, but I’m trying out some new templates. Hope I can get things in order soon.

Hurry! Because you have only until Apr. 3rd to enter Beth’s celebration deal contest. You get to choose between a writer’s pack or reader’s pack. Love it!

Yesterday I was out doing errands with my two boys in our dong (that’s Korean for neighborhood). Our first stop was the bakery and while I ordered bread, my boys’ cheeks were pinched and chocolates were handed out. Now this is the same bakery we’ve gone to for eight years, so these ladies have watched my boys grow up and received many scribbly drawings too!

Our next stop was the florist, but when I ordered, I had trouble communicating. Thankfully my six year old knows more Korean than I do and was able to help translate. Evidently the man wanted to know where I was from and when I told him the US, he was all excited because his son is also living in the States. And once we had made that connection, the whole interaction flowed easier.

Connections and relationships are very important to Koreans. It’s how their whole culture runs whether it’s through business or family relationships.

And doesn’t that relate to blogging, too? When I went to SCBWI LA a couple of years ago, I was able to connect with people that I had ‘met’ through the Blueboards. Through blogging, I’ve gained help in my own writing through critiques and insights into the writing industry. Here I am a half a world away from most of my writing friends and critique partners, and yet they have been there for me in the hard times and celebrated with me in the ‘yeah!’ times.

I’d love to know your thoughts on making connections in the writing world. How has blogging or message boards effected you?

Times are changing and with it, so is the publishing business. For some people this is an exciting time. Others worry.

This discussion came up in our latest SCBWI meeting. We talked about how the music industry made the change, but really struggled and resisted it at first. It was I-Tunes who found a way and changed it all.

One of the guys in our group said the key for the book industry is similar. Publishing houses need to provide what I-Tunes does for the music and film industry, which he thought would be to charge less for an e-book than the real book. Get people to take the impulse buy. If it’s affordable, people will buy them.

Interesting. Because the reality is, things are changing. The question is, how will it change and can we evolve to make the business even better. I really believe that those who take the plunge will be successful like Apple has been with I-Tunes.

Yet admist all that, DK has put together an awesome video. If you have 2 minutes, watch it! But don’t stop halfway, you’ll see why because it’s a great twist midway through.

What do you think? What will make the publishing business more successful? What can we do as authors to be cutting edge?

Picture by: Kenneth Sponsler

I am totally freaking out with excitement for Beth, my very cool and smart critique buddy. Why? Read this:

In another major YA acquisition before the Bologna Book Fair, Ben Schrank at Razorbill pre-empted North American rights to the debut novel by high school teacher Beth Revis, Across the Universe. Merrilee Heifetz at Writers House brokered the deal, which is for three books, and Universe is scheduled for spring 2011. In the novel, set in the near future, a teenager is cryogenically frozen only to thaw too soon, before arriving at the new planet that’s her destination. Set to wake 300 years in the future, She rouses 50 years too early, still on a spaceship in transit. Schrank said he thinks the book will do for popular sci-fi what The Hunger Games did for postapocalyptic fiction. Rights have been pre-empted in the U.K. (by Razorbill UK, which will do a joint publication with Penguin USA) and Germany, and sales have also closed in France and Greece.

(via Publisher’s Weekly)

And there’s also this:

High school teacher Beth Revis’s debut ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, in the near-future, a reluctant teenage girl and her pioneer parents are cryogenically frozen for a 300-year trip to a new planet; she awakens 50 years early on a vast spaceship with a murderer on board, to Ben Schrank at Razorbill, in a major deal, in a pre-empt, in a three-book deal, for publication in spring 2011, by Merrilee Heifetz at Writers House (world English).
(via Publisher’s Marketplace)

Congratulations Beth! And rumor has it she’s having a rocking awesome contest soon on her blog, so check things out here.

This past Friday I presented three workshops at the KORCOS conference here in Seoul. Nearly a thousand international teachers from across Korea gathered together to learn and share ideas. I shared about writing- of course! One of them was on bookmaking, I was honored to co-host with Jenny Walters, our SCBWI Korea representative. She’s so innovative and creative that it was a real joy to work with her.

Jenny and I also set up a booth for the SCBWI Korea chapter to promote who we are as well as try to network with schools to bring international authors to Korea. We are so excited because we have three authors coming already!

Last week was an insane week with getting ready for the conference. Plus I broke my toe in taekwondo class. So I’ve been hobbling around and frustrated at not being able to move faster. I’ve decided that since I can’t go running in the morning until it heals, I’ll just write during that time. That brightened my mood. And the fact that it snowed here again! In March!

I’ve been neglecting my blogging of late, but I did notice that A Romantic Enters the World is having a great contest. Definitely go check it out!

And it’s too late to enter Nora’s contest, but you need to check out here adorable blog at Lemons for Lemonade.

I am doing a presentation for teachers next week called “I Hate Writing!” In the talk, I’ve listed one way to motivate students is to hear their favorite authors chat about what motivates them to write and how they craft a story. But bringing authors to Korea is expensive, so I’ll be mentioning two alternatives: YouTube and Skype chats.

If you are an author who is willing to Skype with an international school (these kids all speak English), could you please let me know either here or PM me? Please let me know your fees and details if you have those set up.

Or if you have a YouTube clip, I’ll also pass that out that link.

I’m also a member of SCBWI Korea and we’ve created the Author International School Network, which is committed to bringing and connecting authors with the international schools in Korea. If you are an author and you’re planning a trip to Korea, email me and we’ll hook you up with the schools (working with multiple schools may even be able to pay for flights).