Wednesday Tweet Roundup: All #kidlitcon Edition

It's humpday which means it's time for me to share some of my favorite tweets of the last week from the many writers, illustrators, editors, agents, and publishers who are out there sharing information and joining in the conversation on Twitter.

Click on the Twitter handles (@name) to find each tweeter's page should you wish to follow them or read more of what they're saying. Follow the included links to read the articles or blog posts these tweeters recommend.

Remember--whether you're signed up with Twitter or not, you can read tweets and click links to find helpful blog posts, useful articles, and timely news bits (like the ones below).

This week's picks (and a few links) are all from Kidlit Con 2010 which I attended last weekend in Minneapolis so enjoy, bloggers! (It was fun to attend a conference where the word "platform" meant Blogger or WordPress.) A lot are my own tweets (because tweeting is a great way to take conference notes) and it's heavy on a handful of other users who joined me in the #kidlitcon tweet-o-rama!

You'll find Greg Pincus' transcript of all the #kidlitcon tweets here. Below I've pulled out some gems  and categorized them (on blogging, blog tours, virtual school visits, kidlitosphere, and more) so they're easier to follow for those of you who didn't attend.

After you read my post, promise you'll start including "sciency fiction" and SNAPping in your vocabulary. And don't miss the Periodic Table of Cupcakes.

MAGGIE STIEFVATER ON BLOGGING TWEETS

@teacher6th: Maggie Stiefvater keynote speaker BLOG writing since 2006 “blog years are like dog years”

@alicepope: Maggie Stiefvater: first thing she learned about blogging: the world doesn’t need another blog.

@JensBookPage: Having a voice of your own really helps when blogging says @mstiefvater

@alicepope: Maggie S: Boring people offline are boring people online and sometimes interesting people offline are boring people online.

@alicepope: Says @mstiefvater: blogging is a conversation–answer your comments

@mosylu: Maggie sez: online me is 10% of me. You don’t need to share everything

@alicepope: Says @mstiefvater: You make a personal connection when you blog. People will know your cat’s name.

@mosylu: Maggie sez: Blog readers are real people. They have an offline life #kidlitcon

@alicepope: Ten years ago, my career arc would not have been possible, says @mstiefvater. Blogging made it happen.

@alicepope: Don’t blog when you’re sick, tired, or drunk, says @mstiefvater (same goes for tweeting, I say)

BLOG PLATFORM PROS & CONS TWEETS

@teacher6th: Cons of Blogger: basic designs-not unique, limited plug-in/add on, doesn’t support threaded comments out of the box

@teacher6th: Pros of Wordpress: ease of proven tech, upgrades/ backup is taken care of, supported threads and servers, lg community

@teacher6th: Con to Wordpress: premium costs, no custom themes or option , cannot upload plug-ins, supported by ads U cannot control,

@teacher6th: Pro wordpress.org cn run multiple sites on same software install, complete control publish 2 Facebook & twttr, ultimate freedom

@teacher6th: Wordpress.org cons: need your own hosting provider, need more technical knowledge to set up & run, need 2 do own updates

@teacher6th: Posterous Pro: easy 2 use, micro blogging platform, mobile blogging, several document types used

@teacher6th: Tumblr Pro: micro blogging, easy to use, supports most media, bookmarklet tool, can reblog (embedding on other sites),

@teacher6th: Squarespace Pro: custom, seamless blog importing, handles most everything, design & themes good

@teacher6th: Squarespace Con: $$ 13-40 month average is $20

@teacher6th: Livejournal cons: hard to customize, more of a gated community/not as open, ad supported in free accounts

@CERodriguez: Gave props to @Squarespace, my web hosting platform, at #KidlitCon session for best blogging practices. I hope more writers will use it.

ADVICE ON HOSTING BLOG TOURS TWEETS

@alicepope: Michelle Corriel: When answering blog tour questions, don’t cut and paste answers from blog to blog.

@alicepope: Corriel: Come up w/ interesting questions for authors interviewed on your blog. ‘Did you always want to be a writer’ is not one

@thepageturn: Good blog interview question for authors: What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

@thepageturn: Corriel: Another quality (and fun) question to ask authors on a blog tour: Are you a plotter or plunger?

ADVICE ON PLANNING YOUR OWN BLOG TOURS TWEETS

@lovelyleann: Authors talking about blog touring. “Self promotion is a necessary evil for authors” and blog tours is a great way to do this.

@alicepope: Swati Avasthi: To authors embarking on blog tours–the one that it’s most hard on is you. Make it as easy on everyone else

@alicepope: Avasthi: When planning a blog tour, reach out to lot of different types of bloggers.

@alicepope: Avasthi: Don’t have too many blog tour stops (26 is too many; 10 or 12 is better).

@alicepope: Avasthi: Have a media page on your website for bloggers with info, bio, etc.

TIPS ON VIRTUAL VISITS TWEETS

@teacher6th: social media is opening up author visits and creating its own booking agendas

@teacher6th: social media has changed authors mindset on sharing and connecting to readers

@alicepope: Preparation is key for both authors and schools when it comes to school visits says @TeachingBooks

@alicepope: If your school visit not is a public event, you’re not allowed to take pictures of kids and post them online

@alicepope: Before a Skype visit, do a pre-check. See how you and your setting look onscreen

@MaryLeeHahn: But authors shouldn’t be expected to offer Skype visits for free.  

@teacher6th: charge for a skype vist? Personally I never pay for Skype because my school can’t pay…students do buy their books….

CYBILS & KILITOSPHERE TWEETS

@MaryLeeHahn: Kidlitosphere is about COMMUNITY.

@alicepope: The @cybils honor "the organic chicken nuggets of children's books," says Jen Robinson of @JensBookPage

@thepageturn: More than 1000 eligible nominations for Cybils this year! Crazy!

@thepageturn: 200 ppl applied for 100 slots as Cybils judges. Wow.

@mosylu: ways to support: donate, spread the word, buy bling, buy nominated titles thru the #cybils blog

@susan_marie: @MotherReader talking about http://www.kidlitosphere.org/

@mosylu: Maureen Kearney don't forget the carnival of children's literature: http://bit.ly/drD0Hv

@mosylu: blogging as a group also builds community within the group. We’ve found that in the kidlitosphere too!

@BookMoot: “Cynsations is THE place to start for authors in the Kidlitospere.” Liz Burns

KIDLITCON ADVICE TO AUTHORS TWEETS

@JensBookPage: “I never want to see an author trying to be a good writer but spending all their time online”

@mosylu: authors who interact should be passionate/energetic/engaged because otherwise it’s a waste

@JensBookPage: “I never want to see an author trying to be a good writer but spending all their time online

@alicepope: Laura Lutz from Harper Publicity says don’t embark in social networking and blogging if you can’t fully embrace it.

@teacher6th: mg & ya authors need to reach out to the mommybloggers, teachers & librarians

NOTEWORTHY MISC. KITLITCON TWEETS

@thepageturn: Blog I haven’t heard of before: Children’s War. All kids books about WWII. Fascinating!

@mudmamba: Thinking about how blogging the backlist/out of print books will tie in well with the rise of e-books.

@mudmamba: Amen! “If you don’t want it public, don’t put it online.” Big old period right there.

@alicepope: Janet Fox: play to your strengths when it comes to social media and participate.

@lovelyleann: Periodic Table of Cupcakes at book launch of Reininvention of Edison Thomas. Awesome! http://plixi.com/p/52414778

@alicepope: Llewellyn has a SNAP Committee–Social Networking and Publicity. That must catch on! And be verb-ified. Authors, get SNAPping.

@LizB: Libraries need professional reviews to inform buying decisions & also to provide backup for book challenges.

@thepageturn: Robinson: We all want to get paid to blog…but as soon as we’re paid, it becomes work. Difficult to keep it fun.

@alicepope: Houtman: wants to get a new genre term adopted–‘sciency fiction.’ Who’s on board?

@mudmamba: I think I’m only 1 at #kidlitcon matching all 3 of these criteria (a) not female (b) not an organizer (c) not named Steve.

@mosylu: major thanks to the organizers: Andrew Karre, Ben Barnhart, and Brian Farrey