Wednesday links: Canada Reads, style, advertising and talking to agents

I love regularly reading tips and advice articles in certain subjects — particularly writing and publishing. I don’t always need the information right then, but I know that it’ll eventually come in handy. Or at least, I hope it will.

I know there are a lot of other people out there who feel the same way I do, but sometimes it can be difficult to find every useful advice article that’s out there. So I thought I’d bring you a few. Here are the tips and advice articles that jumped out at me the most over the past week.

1. Meet the Canada Reads 2016 Contenders, from CBC: Each year, CBC selects a panel of people to defend a selection of books, which are chosen based on a particular theme. This year’s theme is “Starting Over,” and the contest features five books by Canadian authors. Excerpt: “The Canada Reads 2016 books are all about transformation and second chances, including stories of migrants, immigrants and others who are choosing – or forced – to make major changes in their lives.”
2. Defending Your Style vs. Being Stubborn, from A Writer’s Journey: Yes, every writer has their own style–and you should definitely nurture that. But there’s a big difference between defending your style and refusing to further your writing skills. Excerpt: “There’s an important step on the way to developing your own style and voice as a writer: learn how to write good prose. It may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people think they can sidestep this requirement altogether.”
3. Facebook Ads — A Novel Overview, from Across the Board: I haven’t utilized Facebook ads myself, but I’ve always wondered how well they work for authors. This post gives a pretty good rundown of one author’s experience. Excerpt: “Images are important! After all, the whole reason people are on Facebook is to look at pictures (and, today especially, check out how much snow everyone got).”
4. How to Talk with Publishers and Agents, from Rachelle Gardner: If you get the opportunity to speak with an agent or publisher at a conference or in some other situation, you definitely want to take advantage of it. But what if you’re not sure how to go about it? Excerpt: “When I meet with you, my goal is to get to know you and your book idea. I’m rooting for you as you sit down and we begin our conversation.”