The News (As I See It)

As expected, Mockingjay (the conclusion to Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games trilogy) did exceedingly well in terms of sales. More specifically, Mockingjay sold more than 450,000 copies in its first week, meaning it sold over 200,000 more copies than the third Twilight book did in the same timeframe. Still think publishing is dead?

In the e-reader wars, the Kindle 3 continues to earn glowing reviews and is being hailed as the "best e-ink reader". But Sony isn't out of the game just yet; they're bringing out redesigned digital readers with brand new capabilities. My prediction? The pricetag is still too high, and Sony will never achieve a market readership like Amazon. Even as a fan of Sony, I must say, Sony, you will not win this war. When this newest ploy fails to topple the Kindle, duck out of the game and save your money. Or better yet, reinvest it into the PS4. Make me happy?

On other fronts, who doesn't enjoy a good list about the world of agenting? Well here's a collection of 5 Myths You Shouldn't Believe About Agents. Missing from the list is their ability to sustain themselves with small animal sacrifices and the bucket of tears shed by aspiring authors that they keep underneath their desk to quench their thirst. Perhaps we'll see a part two to this story? ;)

For a laugh, head on over to Stir Your Tea for the 100 step process of writing a "fiction novel". How many blunders did you make in your early days? I certainly recognize a few.

But I think my favourite read of the day is over at Writer's Digest -- 8 Basic Writing Blunders. The title pretty much sums up the content. You owe it to yourself to check this list, if only to exonerate yourself of these literary crimes.

Question for my readers: I'm debating making these news updates a recurring topic for my blog. Would you like to see more posts like this? Let me know!

Also, have anything to say about the news you've just read? Leave it in the comments below!

Toodles!