The new “Hunger Games” book title (This week in books)

This week! Books!

It was a distracting week if you pay attention to our unraveling democracy but I still caught some books links this week and will be sharing them with you… now.

Well, speaking of dystopias, Hunger Games is coming back! The new prequel now has a title and cover: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

I’ve long talked about the importance of a character’s motivation for creating an engaging novel, so naturally I was excited to read author Kristen Lamb’s very exhaustive post on characters and motives.

Alexandra Schwartz at The New Yorker published a lovely interview with Philip Pullman, complete with his thoughts on omniscient perspectives and the present tense, his critique of Tolkien, and his thoughts on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Definitely worth your time.

Publishing industry sage Mike Shatzkin wrote a great post summarizing some of the changes in the book business in the past decade. Most importantly: many (but not all) of the structural advantages of being a book publisher have disappeared as it becomes easier and easier for anyone to publish a book.

What happens if you submit a manuscript before it’s ready and you end up revising it? Jessica Faust suggests erring on the side of “what’s the worst that can happen” if you re-query, but don’t be that person who endlessly keeps sending the same project.

This week in bestsellers

Here are the top five NY Times bestsellers in a few key categories:

Adult print and e-book fiction:

1. The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
2. Vince Flynn: Lethal Agent by Kyle Mills
3. The Institute by Stephen King
4. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
5. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Adult print and e-book nonfiction:

1. Inside Out by Demi Moore
2. The United States of Trump by Bill O’Reilly
3. Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
4. Over the Top by Jonathan Van Ness
5. Know My Name by Chanel Miller

Young adult hardcover:

1. Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell
2. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
3. One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus
4. Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott with Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis
5. American Royals by Katharine McGee

Middle grade hardcover:

1. Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid by Jeff Kinney
2. Beverly, Right Here by Kate DiCamillo
3. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
4. The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
5. Wishtree by Katherine Applegate

This week on the blog

Don’t forget that you can nominate your first page and query for a free critique on the blog:

• Nominate Your First Page for a Critique on the Blog
• Nominate Your Query for a Critique on the Blog

In case you missed them, here are this week’s posts:

• 32 book marketing ideas
• How Jane Ubell-Meyer combined her passion for books and traveling into a new career
• What’s the best book marketing campaign you’ve seen?
• Make your plot tangible (Query critique)

Comment! of! the! week! goes to Wendy, who talked about how the best marketing campaigns come from authors who inspire us:

…This concept James has bought to life – that anyone can change and tap into their enormous potential inside – gives us all hope that we can become and achieve almost everything if we can just put aside our doubts and insecurities. Authors who can inspire on this level, both with their own lives and their books, and aren’t afraid to put themselves out there across all media to share their stories – both real or fictional – are an unbeatable force.

And finally,

Have a great weekend!

Need help with your book? I’m available for manuscript edits, query critiques, and coaching!

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