Picture Book University

Not a fly by night poster? Not just here to do Self Promo? Okay. How did your account get messed up? Perhaps we can sort it out for you.

Hi there!

I remember your book from the Verla Kay message boards. (We also read it in my preschool class during P week.)

Hope you get your account issues straightened out.

Will see about getting your two accounts merged. Welcome back to the watercooler.

pammiechick said:

Anyway...you can either look at these posts or not. It's a free workshop--I'm giving back the knowledge I've gained over the years. It's amazing the mean spin this place puts on someone. Wow.

Thank you, Katrina. If they don't link my account, it's fine with me. I originally stopped coming here because of the treatment I received with regard to my former agent. I think I made a wise decision on not venturing back, but thought there may be other picture book writers that might like the information.

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Your input is much appreciated, and there's plenty of good stuff there. (Part of my job is editing picture books.) If we seem stern or wary sometimes, it's because we see spammers, or people trying to use the community to puff their blogs, on a fairly regular basis, which is a no-no; and a post #1 with a bunch of links is usually how they present themselves. Please don't take it personally, and do stick around.

pammiechick said:

Thank you, Katrina. If they don't link my account, it's fine with me. I originally stopped coming here because of the treatment I received with regard to my former agent. I think I made a wise decision on not venturing back, but thought there may be other picture book writers that might like the information.

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Hi Pam

I couldn't merge the accounts until you'd actually posted from the new one I'm off to do that now.

And I suspect part of the problem before was that your previous agency was not exactly a stellar performer in terms of public relations.

I note, by the way, that the local librarian has one of your books up in the current picture book display for parents wanting to read to their kids; that's pretty cool.

How many posts for PBU?

Hi Pam, I really liked your post on genres. I was hoping to see a fourth post.

pammiechick while I think your blog is great, you really need to participate in the community in ways other than posting links to your blog.

That said, please don't use link shortners, like tiny URL. Just create a link using the link tool as explained here.

People are going to be suspicious of link shortners because they can't tell where the link is going, and also, the link may stop working eventually. They aren't permanent.

We don't allow them to be used on AW.

Please edit your posts with the link shorteners and engage more with the community in ways that don't involve your blog.

Thanks-

pammiechick said:

Um...okay. I thought this was a service to your readers. I'm sorry, but I'm very busy. When things pop up from time to time, I will post as I have with my opinion about ICL, etc.

Don't worry. The vibe around here is not welcoming. You may delete the whole thread if you wish.

Good luck with your writing endeavors.

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Though people learn things on forums, it's a social place more than a service. It's not really a good idea to turn up to a social gathering assuming it'll be unwelcoming, the people will be unfriendly and you'll have a bad time. Which is exactly how you came across: that you'd already decided the forum was a bad place before posting. And it became self-fulfilling, because it meant you wouldn't talk to people. And it's why I didn't talk to you, because the atmosphere was already tense from the first post.

If you want to turn it around, think less about needing time for opinions and tutorials. Just post something in a silly thread and get to know people. Or reply to someone that said hi by saying hi back. It can short and simply. But it has to come from a place of assuming most people aren't trying to be unfriendly (even if they don't always hit the nail on the head).

Pammiechick, could you edit your link in post 11 of this thread so it isn't using tinyurl, as AW Admin asked. Many thanks.

AW Admin said:

That said, please don't use link shortners, like tiny URL. Just create a link using the link tool as explained here.

People are going to be suspicious of link shortners because they can't tell where the link is going, and also, the link may stop working eventually. They aren't permanent.

We don't allow them to be used on AW.

Please edit your posts with the link shorteners and engage more with the community in ways that don't involve your blog.

Thanks-

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Polenth said:

If you want to turn it around, think less about needing time for opinions and tutorials. Just post something in a silly thread and get to know people. Or reply to someone that said hi by saying hi back. It can short and simply. But it has to come from a place of assuming most people aren't trying to be unfriendly (even if they don't always hit the nail on the head).

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I recommend critiquing stuff in SYW, as well. It's a great learning experience for all involved.

Billtrumpet25 said:

I recommend critiquing stuff in SYW, as well. It's a great learning experience for all involved.

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It's good for learning... but critiquing isn't a good starting point for someone who is already feeling defensive. It works best when people enter into it feeling positive. Critiques may well be bluntly honest, but they shouldn't come from a place of disliking the person posting the work or the community.

Which is why for most people, getting to know the community is important. I'd also argue it's a good skill for professionals, because writers do have to interact with others, from editors to fans.

Polenth said:

It's good for learning... but critiquing isn't a good starting point for someone who is already feeling defensive.

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You have a fair point there. I had recommended SYW because pammiechick said (if I understood her correctly)she was looking for a degree of seriousness from members here. Aside from perhaps P&CE, I think SYW is about the most serious place you'll find on AW.

Do you guys realize how Monty Python you are?