Book Lists

Today marks two years since we launched From the Mixed-Up Files…of Middle-Grade Authors.  It’s been a busy two years for us.  We’ve seen dozens of Mixed-Up Authors come and go.  We’ve published 486 posts on various topics, including author interviews, book lists, writing tips, giveaways, and behind-the-scenes info on the children’s publishing industry.  We’ve created 48 pages of resources for writers, teachers, librarians, parents, and kids.  We’ve added 175 news items to our OhMG News sidebar.  We’ve given away hundreds of books donated by authors, editors, publicists, and our own members.  We’ve connected 25 authors and schools together through our Mixed-Up Middle-Grade Skype Tour. And we’ve read every single one of the 6,389 comments our readers have left us.

It’s those comments we treasure the most.  Thank you, dear readers, for joining us in this great middle-grade conversation.  We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.

To celebrate two fabulous years, and as a thanks to our readers, we here at From the Mixed-Up Files would like to give one lucky reader a NOOK Simple Touch and a $25 Barnes and Noble gift card to purchase a few e-books.  (May we recommend A View From Saturday; The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World; Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth; and/or our namesake, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, all by E. L. Konigsburg?)

To be considered for this giveaway, simply leave a comment below.  You may earn extra entries by blogging, tweeting, or sharing a FB update about this giveaway, following us on Twitter (@MixedUpFiles), or liking our FB page (http://ow.ly/bp5GB).  Please add each entry as a separate comment below.  This giveaway is open internationally.  The winner will be chosen Thursday, June 14th.

Looking forward, we do have plenty we are hoping to accomplish in the coming year.  Right now our members are hard at work updating and revamping our resource pages.  We are also working on adding links to other MG blogs that have popped up since we started this site.  In addition, we are in the process of creating a place here to list book bloggers who review middle-grade books.  And we will be branching out through Goodreads and Tumblr as well.

We’ll be rolling out these changes in the coming months.  We hope they’ll make this site more useful to those looking for information about middle-grade books, and we hope they’ll bring our middle-grade book community closer together.

Here’s to another great year at From the Mixed-Up Files!  We hope you’ll stick around to share it with us.

You think you’ve got problems?  Try battling Amazonian tarantulas, piranhas, giant mosquitoes and jaguars–for starters.

Author David Borgenicht is giving away five copies of this  latest addition to the exciting Worst-Case Scenario Ultimate Adventure series.

From Indiebound:  Join an expedition of students exploring the Amazon jungle and face real dangers and decisions. Your choices will determine your fate. Will you survive…or  will you be forced to return home early? Only you can decide how to survive. There are twenty-two possible endings to this adventure, but only ONE leads to ultimate success! Featuring dynamic comic book–style illustrations, and based on real, true-life facts about the Amazon, this story will be a surefire hit with anyone craving a fun, highly visual reading experience.

To be one of our lucky winners, enter a comment below!

According to Thomas A. Edison, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

I’m not sure to what Mr. Edison was referring with that statement, but I do know much writer-ly advice disagrees with the sentiment. How many times have we heard that writers should stuff our unsold manuscripts beneath the bed and start something new? Fellow writers, agents, and editors caution against obsessing over one manuscript. They tell us to let go and move on. Give it up, already!

I wholeheartedly agree with that advice in regard to a first manuscript.  And maybe even the second. Write those books, learn all you can in the process, test them in the market, and move on. In fact, I’ve pretty much subscribed to the Write Your Next Book approach since I began writing novels. I’d give the manuscript my best shot and then put it away to write another. In fact, I’ve been so concerned with writing the next book I have two drafted novels I haven’t looked at in a couple years; it’s as if I’ve convinced myself whenever I’m not creating brand new work I’m treading literary water.

But I’ve recently realized the Write Your Next Book advice doesn’t always ring true. I wrote and polished a book I love (my fifth) and while writing my next book (a story I was exceedingly excited about, one that’s high concept and has a bigger hook) received editorial input on that fifth book.  Conventional wisdom says I should continue with the hook-y work in progress.  Exploit the commercial potential and finish that shiny, new book!

Instead, I set it aside and went back to the old. Am I obsessed? Delusional? Clinging to the past?  Maybe. But thanks to the editor’s comments I now understand where the story was lacking. I understand why readers weren’t connecting with the main friendship and why they didn’t believe the protagonist’s fear. And because I’ve written a whole bunch more since that fifth book went out, I have faith in my abilities to make the revisions work. I want the story to shine the way it always has in my head and heart.    

So I’m going to offer my advice:

• It Is Okay to Revisit a Manuscript if your love for the story hasn’t wavered.
• It is Okay to Revisit a Manuscript if working on it helps you learn more about the writing process.
• It is Okay to Revisit a Manuscript if the changes you’re making aren’t merely a superficial editing but represent a significant revision.

That’s my thinking, but I’d love to hear your take on all this.  How do you know whether it’s time to move on or take a step back?

Tracy Abell is currently hunkered down in a revision cave in Colorado, putting finishing touches on a manuscript dear to her heart.