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| Mary Lynn Patton |
The Kid’s Lit Conference was held in Austin, Texas on November 8 & 9, 2013 with keynote speaker Cynthia Leitich Smith of the blog Cynsations noting aspects of a great blog. Her first recommendation is to have a central mission or philosophy to your blog. Hers is “diversity” which ties to her YA books on native Americans and other culturally diverse characters. Cynthia woke me up to the theme that runs through my writing of “believing in Mexico” and wanting to share the passion I have for my adopted country. This is what keeps me motivated and brings me energy and rewards for making stuff up for a living.
Pam Coughlin, conference organizer, contributor to the Cybils, and KidLit blogger at Mother Reader also did a session on blogs that reminds us to have our names clearly stated at the blog site no matter what our blog tag may be, like Madam Mayo (...don’t miss her November 11 post on self-publishing at the Writer’s Center). Additionally, a reader should be able to find what books the blogger has written. And finally, post dates on blogs to give the reader an idea of how current is the writing. The rule for posting is “better to be regular than frequent”. Don’t miss Pam’s wonderful book giving ideas for the holidays on her website.
Biggest take away from attending a conference of bloggers in my writing genre was real connections with new friends. Exposure to a picture book reviewer like Rosemond Cates at Big Hair and Books provided a wealth of new children’s books with excellent reviews.
My website blog at http://www.marylynnpattonbooks.com will see revisions that reflect these new ideas shared at the conference. I highly recommend attending a bloggers’ conference, especially in your writing area of interest.
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>Check out Mary Lynn Patton's previous guest-blog, iWorld is Upon Us.
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