All Things Middle Grade

*goes to count how many books she's read on the list*

ETA. Only 32. With 4 more on the bookshelf waiting to be read. Looks like I have lots of work to do!

I refuse to count. Math is against my religion.

I only counted 16 on the list that I have read, but if it said series, I only counted one, even if I read the whole series. Not that t matters. I know I have a list longer than California of books I want to read. I'm pretty sure with 3 kids, a husband and trying to write, it will be impossible for me to ever catch up.

timp67 said:

Hey, MGers, here's a blog you will love. Perhaps you know of it already?!

Check out this great list of wonderful MG reads they've posted.

http://mglitchat.blogspot.com/2011/07/list.html#more

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I thought I commented on this a few days ago...don't know where my post went?? Oh well, we had this discussion on twitter two Thursdays ago and it was great! If anybody is on Twitter or would like to participate, the chats are Thursdays @...um...I think 8 central time. This past week's chat was about the differences in upper MG vs. lower MG and I belie e this Thursday will be about voice. (But don't quote me about that one.) They're fast and furious, but a lot of fun!

What's your twitter handle Kelly? Is there a hash tag to follow?

Since I'm super creative with my name...I'm also librarykelly on Twitter. The hashtag is #mglitchat or # Mglitchat It'll pop up!

I don't Twitter. I know everyone else on the planet does, but I refuse.

I also refused to Facebook, though, and look how well that turned out.

Oh, and I refused to have an iPhone, and again, um, failed miserably at that.

I suppose I'll eventually open a twitter account, especially since there seems to be good stuff for MG writers.

Hey Smish, you're not completely alone. I don't Twitter or iPhone either. But I do Facebook--after an intervention in which my friends forced me to join. I have to admit, I do love Facebook now that I'm there. I guess I'll eventually start tweeting one of these days too.

Smish and Eldritch,
I'm trying to push Twitter on anybody, but I really think it's a great resource for MG writers. Especially in the lit chats, agented authors join in (some even host the chats) and agents pop in as well. A week ago Saturday, I participated in a chat that included 2 children's book editors, 2 agents, a few authors, and then a few nobody's like me What was so great about that one was that because there were so few people, I got ALL my questions answered. I think that hashtag was #kidlitchat. I love this website, you can speak in more than 140 characters, but I certainly think Twitter has it's benefits, also.

Oh Crud! That should have been I'm NOT trying to push Twitter.

Nnnnn Ooooo Ttttttt pushing Twitter.

Must reread before hitting post quick reply. Sheesh.

Librarykelly said:

Oh Crud! That should have been I'm NOT trying to push Twitter.

Nnnnn Ooooo Ttttttt pushing Twitter.

Must reread before hitting post quick reply. Sheesh.

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No worries. We knew what you meant.

I'll probably join twitter if and when I ever finish a novel and am ready to query agents.

I just joined twitter... always heard about the mglitchat, and after I saw that fab list, I decided to go for it even though I've been a long-time twitter-hater. Well, not hate, just don't really get it. I am too wordy for 140 characters! Plus conversations are hard to follow. I am on g+, and I like it. I started a nice mg list that people continue to add to. If you want to be added, it's here:

https://plus.google.com/109032723025939433478#116599407297928414732/posts/jGyMGwUEnRj

I know people (agents, authors) who are posting meaningful & helpful stuff on twitter, so I guess it's time to join even if I don't choose to tweet.

Ruth, what's your handle on Twitter? I've been thinking about Google+, but I just started a blog and I'm not sure how much more time I can spend on not writing! (But not be involved in it is getting to me!)

Smish said:

No worries. We knew what you meant.

I'll probably join twitter if and when I ever finish a novel and am ready to query agents.

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I'm sure you'll finish soon. Like this site, Twitter keeps you accountable.

yeah, facebook and twitter sound like fun and all...but i really, really, really don't need any more distractions.

MsJudy said:

yeah, facebook and twitter sound like fun and all...but i really, really, really don't need any more distractions.

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Amen to that, sister!

Librarykelly said:

Ruth, what's your handle on Twitter? I've been thinking about Google

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I'm ruth_donnelly on twitter.

g+ is fun, but at the moment all that's happening is making circles, finding people, and talking about g+. Starting to seem kind of, well... circular.

Found and followed you, Ruth! And yes, that does seem rather circular.

MsJudy said:

...but i really, really, really don't need any more distractions.

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I think this is why I keep putting off the Twitter thing.
And now that I've acquired a magical quill over on Pottermore, I'm going to be even more distracted.

YAY! A MG thread! I swear I was starting to think I was the only MG writer in the world, and all published MG authors I knew about were just robots.

Anyway, to keep up with the current thread of discussion (I'm new to the Cooler but not to forums), I'll add that I just started a blog and a Twitter account in order to beef up my platform, and I swear I have no time to write now. Ugh.

On the same subject, I was wondering if you guys had any tips as to what a MG fiction writer can possibly blog about? Thanks!

Eldritch said:

I think this is why I keep putting off the Twitter thing.
And now that I've acquired a magical quill over on Pottermore, I'm going to be even more distracted.

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I am soooooo jealous!!! I've been trying for three days! Maybe tomorrow's my lucky day.

Morgan! Welcome to the kidlit gang.

Welcome, Morgan. When you figure out what to blog about, would you share it with me? I tried once and was horrible about it. Too many kids and volunteer commitments and family and animals. And then there's the writing, which I don't get enough of completed to make me happy, so I'm not ready for the blog thing yet.

But welcome, and I hope you have lots of fun here.

Welcome Morgan! There's a whole MG world in here for you to discover, so jump in and have fun. Bounce in the castle, take a ride on party dirigible, or have some serious conversations on one of the many threads.

To add to Morgan's comment; What should MG author blog about? I was wondering about "beefing up my platform". I have heard about other authors marketing themselves as well and just wondering what is the right way to go about it? Why does an unpublished author need to blog, twitter or facebook? What are the benefits? Besides making some awesome friends on AW how can a wannabe network? Not to be naive or anything, but I don't use any of the platforms previously mentioned (besides AW, obvioulsy) and I want to do all I can to become a published author, but is all that necesary or helpful? Just looking for some opinions and thoughts.