14 Quotes About Reading That Make All the Sense in the World

The Literary Site blog has collected fourteen quotes from authors about reading. I have to agree with Jim Rohn. “The book you don’t read won’t help.” His quote makes a lot of sense.
Or Joseph Brodsky. “There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.”

All of them are worth a moment of your time to read. http://blog.theliteracysite.com/reading-quotes-list/

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

What Books Readers Buy: Readers' Survey

Every year Smashwords examines sales data to extract insights about best practices that give indie authors and publishers incremental advantages in the marketplace. This data is probably the only firm facts anywhere about digital sales. The survey is based on over $25 million in actual verified ebook sales data, aggregated across the Smashwords distribution network between April 2014 and March 2015.

1. Preorders. Less than 10 percent of books began as a preorder, yet two thirds of the top 200 bestselling titles were born as preorders.

2. Series with free series starters earn more money.

3. Free still works to build readership.

4. Longer books sell better than shorter books.

5. $3.99 remains the sweet spot for full length indie fiction.

6. 99 cents is still good for building readership.

7. Bestselling authors are more likely to have a presence on Facebook and Twitter, and more likely to have a blog.

8. Top Fiction categories during the period: 1. Romance. 2. Erotica. 3. YA and teen fiction.

9. Top Non-fiction categories during the period: 1. Biography. 2. Health, wellbeing and medicine

Anyone seriously interested in making a success of a writing career needs to read the full article and apply areas that relate to them. Here's the link:
http://blog.smashwords.com/2015/12/SmashwordsEbookSurvey2015.html

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

The Bestseller Book That Didn’t Exist

This is an absolutely brilliant hoax. It's hard to believe it ever happened, but the way it was pulled off is amazing.
I find human nature endlessly fascinating, and an author's fans should never be underestimated.
Go, read, laugh, enjoy.

http://www.jmarkpowell.com/the-bestseller-book-that-didnt-exist-how-the-author-of-a-beloved-christmas-classic-pulled-off-the-hoax-of-the-century/

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

Read more

People attending the recent Book Expo America were asked to offer advice as to why people should read more.
Buzz Feed has chosen twenty-six of them to feature in a story. I was excited to see an author I know among them!
For reasons why you should read, check out: http://www.buzzfeed.com/jarrylee/reasons-to-read-more#.uaxg0VPyj


Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

The worst things that can happen to a book lover

The worst things that can happen to a book lover

I can relate to a lot of these! Tell me which one is you.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariannarebolini/worst-things-that-can-happen-to-a-book-lover#.ndmw1DREA


Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

12 Letters That Didn't Make it into the Alphabet

I can actually remember seeing old books with the long S used on covers and in illustrations, back when I was a small child. Since the long S and the short s are both pronounced identically, it gradually disappeared during the nineteenth century. (No, I wasn’t alive in the nineteenth century!)

Ash, the A and E joined together, was also still seen occasionally when I was a child. And as for the Ampersand, he’s still very much around. But most of the others are quite fascinating, and each has its own story.

Happy reading.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/31904/12-letters-didnt-make-alphabet

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

End of Year Romance Statistics

According to the 2014 Nielsen Romance Buyer Survey, the top ten tropes for romance books are:
1. Friends to lovers
2. Soul mates/fated mates
3. Second chance at love
4. Secret romance
5. First Love
6. Strong heroines
7. Reunited lovers
8. Love triangle
9. Sexy millionaire/billionaire
10. Sassy heroine

Some facts:
Romance fiction generated $1.079 billion in publisher revenue in 2013.
9513 romance fiction ISBNs were published in in 2013.
Romance ranks #2 in publisher revenue for adult fiction.
40% of romance is ebooks
84% of romance buyers are female.
The biggest single age group of romance readers is 30-54.

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.
The photo at the top of this blog was taken in 2008 at a romance convention. These are authors I worked with at the time.

40 books every child should read

This was a newspaper article I saw with suggestions of books for Christmas gifts for kids.
Two of these books I’d never heard of, some are wonderful old favorites, and a few are newer arrivals.
The list is missing one I thought should definitely be there, “Good Night, Mr. Tom” by Michelle Magorian.



'The Lion & the Mouse' by Jerry Pinkney, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $17.99.

'Green Eggs and Ham' by Dr Suess, Random House, $9.99.

'Library Lion' by Michelle Knudsen, Candlewick Press, $16.99.

'Bread and Jam' for Frances by Russell Hoban, Harper & Row, $13.99.

'The Polar Express' by Chris Van Allsburg, Houghton Mifflin Co., $16.99.

'The Mitten' by Jan Brett, Spoken Arts, $15.99

'Where The Wild Things Are' by Maurice Sendak, Harper & Row, $17.99.

'Madeline' by Ludwig Bemelmans, Viking Press, $15.99.

'Strega Nona' by Tomie DePaola, Prentice Hall, $15.99.

'A Bear Called Paddington', Michael Bond, Houghton Mifflin, $19.99.

'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' by Jeff Kinney, Amulet Books, $14.95.

'The Story of Babar' by Jean de Brunhoff, Crocodile Creek, $31.95.

'The Magic Treehouse' series by Mary Pope Osbourne, Random House, $34.99.

'Ramona' series by Beverly Cleary, Listening Library, $22.99.

'Sylvester and the Magic Pebble' by William Steig, Simon & Schuster, $15.99.

'Charlotte's Web' by E.B. White, Harper & Brothers, $15.99.

'Captain Underpants' by Dav Pilkey, Blue Sky Press, $10.99.

'James and the Giant Peach' by Roald Dahl, Knopf, $13.99.

'One Crazy Summer' by Rita Williams-Garcia, Amistad, $11.99.

'The Black Stallion' by Walter Farley, Random House, $13.99.

'Island of the Blue Dolphins' by Scott O'Dell, Houghton Mifflin, $13.99.

'The Tale of Despereaux' by Kate DiCamillo, Candlewick Press, $15.99.

'Where the Red Fern Grows' by Wilson Rawls, Doubleday, $13.99.

'The Phantom Tollbooth' by Norton Juster, Random House, $13.99.

'All-of-a-Kind Family' by Sydney Taylor, Dutton, $25.95.

'The Borrowers' by Mary Norton, Brace & World, $13.99.

'D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths' by Ingri and Edgar D'Aulaire, Doubleday, $39.95.

'Wonder' by R.J. Palacio, Knopf, $16.99.

'Esperanza Rising' by Pam Muñoz Ryan, Scholastic Press, $13.99.

'Smile' by Raina Telgemeier, Graphix, $14.99.

'Harriet the Spy' by Louise Fitzhugh, Harper & Row, $13.99.

'A Series of Unfortunate Events' (1999–2006) by Lemony Snicket, A Series of Unfortunate Events, $16.99.

'Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret' by Judy Blume, Bradbury Press, $19.99.

'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' by C.S. Lewis, HarperCollins, $13.99.

'The Harry Potter' series (1997–2007 by J.K. Rowling, Levine Books, $16.99 each.

'Bridge to Terabithia' by Katherine Paterson, Crowell, $13.99.

'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak, Knopf, $19.99.

'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' by Anne Brasheres, Random House Children's Books, $16.99.

'The Hunger Games' trilogy (2008–10) by Suzanne Collins, $49.99.

'The Fault in Our Stars' by John Green, Dutton Books, $19.95.


For the complete list go to:
http://www.essentialkids.com.au/photogallery/entertaining-kids/parenting-and-childrens-books/40-books-every-child-should-read-20141118-3kmid.html#utm_source=FD&utm_medium=lifeandstylepuff&utm_campaign=40books


Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

The Most Famous Author From Every US State

A few weeks ago mental Floss blogged on the most famous book in every state of the USA (http://helenwoodallfreelanceediting.blogspot.com.au/2014/11/a-book-for-every-state-in-usa.html).

Now they’ve chosen an author for every state. These are authors who were born in that state, not necessarily ones who lived and wrote there. They said, “We considered the authors’ fame in terms of ubiquity, literally acclaim, and financial success — and awarded bonus points if the author showed state pride by setting their works there.”

What do you think? Do you agree with them?

For the full article see: http://mentalfloss.com/article/60316/most-famous-author-each-state

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

A book for every state in USA

Business Insider has chosen what it considers to be the most famous book from each state in America.
I don't think too many people would argue about "Gone With the Wind" or "To Kill a Mockingbird".
But what about some of the others? What do you think?


Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

99 Book Nerd problems

How many are true for you? (Yes, I ticked most of them too.)

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/99-book-nerd-problems/

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

11 Banned Books

People who know me well, also know that every now and again I rant about internet cafes that won’t permit me to access the dictionary. For an editor, a really good dictionary is the most essential tool available. I use onelook.com, but most editors have their own favorite, and some publishing houses have a dictionary they insist on. Merriam-Webster is probably the most common choice.

I’m well aware that dictionaries have naughty words in them, but banning the dictionary is hardly a useful solution in my opinion.

Which brings me to today’s blog. Banned books. When the first Harry Potter book was published adults everywhere started screaming that it would cause “the destruction of a generation of children”. I wasn’t convinced then, and time has shown that the prophets of doom were wrong and actually those books had a positive effect, encouraging reluctant readers to attempt to read a full-length book.

So here’s a collection of eleven banned books that should have you scratching your head in confusion. Seven of them were set texts I had to read at school/university and only one of them I haven’t read. All the others I wouldn’t hesitate to encourage anyone to try. (I can’t comment on the one I haven’t read).

Most of them are on my bookshelves at home somewhere. Perhaps I’d better hide them before the grandkids find them. Or maybe not.

http://www.11points.com/Books/11_Most_Ironically_Banned_Books_Of_All_Time

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

11 books people will judge you for reading

The “Daily Life” blog has assembled a list of books it considered make a statement about the reader. I definitely don’t agree with some of the things they say, but it’s certainly an interesting concept that will make you think. Or laugh. Or possibly even argumentative. But anyway, here are some of their suggestions.

It’s no surprise to find “The DaVinci Code” and “Fifty Shades of Grey” on the list. Or possibly even “Twilight” but some of the others might surprise you. Just a warning, this is an Australian list and some overseas readers might not recognize one of the books.

The article is at:
http://www.dailylife.com.au/photogallery/news-and-views/dl-opinion/the-11-books-people-will-judge-you-for-reading-20130606-2nt7x.html

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

Why kids can’t read

Every few years educationalists start arguing about whether or not children should learn reading by rote, by being taught their letters, by phonics, by whole word, or any of a dozen other methods. Each method has wonderful success stories and appalling failures. It seems that reading is most definitely a situation with no “one size fits all” solution.

A new Australian study has shown that children who are lagging behind at reading don’t speak “school English”, or Standard Australian English, at home. They may speak a language other than English, or Aboriginal English, or a creole, or “bogan” English – the kind where words like “youse” feature. I expect this is the same in America, the United Kingdom and many other places as well.

But it’s not school English; it isn’t how the teacher speaks and it certainly isn’t what international tests or NAPLAN (National Assessment Program, Literacy and Numeracy tests) reward. So, it is the school’s job to teach school English to ensure everyone gets equal access to the learning that happens at school.

The number of non-Standard Australian English speakers in schools has grown over the years, and Australia’s education system doesn’t cope well with “non-standard”. I expect most overseas programs don’t either.

Teachers who grew up speaking and reading school English fluently are less effective with the students who write “I seen that at the movies”, or “My sister go to shopping on a car”. All teachers can correct those errors but far fewer can explain why they’re wrong to the students. Students who hear the language being spoken all around them exactly like that all the time.

What these learners need is good literature, and teachers who have a strong understanding of how the English language works which they can convert to meaningful teaching.

You can read about the study at: http://www.essentialkids.com.au/younger-kids/kids-education/why-the-best-literacy-approaches-are-not-reaching-the-classroom-20131031-2wid6.html#utm_source=FD&utm_medium=lifeandstylepuff&utm_campaign=literacy


Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

30 books you should read before you’re 30

The “Huffington Post” has assembled a list of thirty books they think people need to read before they’re thirty. They say some books simply resonate better with a younger audience, whereas other books are just so good everyone should make the attempt to read them.

While I don’t necessarily agree with every book on this list—as an Australian I’m not too sold on “A People’s History of the United States” for example—I do very much approve of the idea of readers trying a little bit of everything and potentially being surprised to find that things they were forced to read in school and hated, aren’t as bad as they remembered.

Happy reading: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/20/30-books_n_3949614.html?utm_hp_ref=tw


Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Review of Ken and Barbie book cover doll set

This is hysterically funny although decidedly irreverent. Warning. Do not attempt to eat or drink while reading this “book cover” review.

http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/blog/barbie-the-raider-the-washboard-and-me

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

25 signs you’re addicted to books

How many are true of you?
http://www.buzzfeed.com/summeranne/signs-youre-addicted-to-books-reading



Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

How Reading Books Fosters Language Development around the World

This is a long, heavy, scholarly article about reading development worldwide.
Let me give you just a few interesting points from it.

The years from birth to age three are very important to later literacy. That’s when babies learn about language so reading to preschoolers is vital. Language teaches children how to categorize things – how to organize their world so they understand it.

Using gestures with children not yet able to talk helps them learn.

Kids will learn words much faster if they’re interested in the item or topic under discussion, and they learn faster when an adult responds to them.

Children learn grammar as they learn vocabulary. This is why reading books together helps so much. They learn sentences, they are with an adult and the story is usually interesting to them.

The frequency of reading is more accurate at showing children’s educational success than socio-economic status.

Giving kids an exciting book to read is a great start. Reading it with them is even better.

http://www.hindawi.com/journals/cdr/2012/602807/

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

A Eulogy for a Library

I can see both sides of this story. I grew up with books, learned to read before I even started school and have always had a passion for books and reading.
Yet on the other hand I love the idea that I can have a hundred books on my flash drive and read them anywhere. No more storage problems. No more being stuck waiting for someone with nothing to read. No more having to carry a heavy bag of books on holidays (vacation).

An excellent article, worth reading and thinking about.

http://www.dailylife.com.au/news-and-views/dl-opinion/eulogy-for-a-library-20121206-2axmu.html

Helen Woodall

helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.