Comments on: Community of power (publishers and publicists take note)

By: Gregory K.

Gregory K. — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 08:05:19 +0000

This is great. Now I can just refer everyone here and not have to type up anything of my own at all!

It must be noted that you're not only great tech support (thanks!), but you, sir, are a kick-ass presenter. Thanks for coming in at the last minute (and sorry Andrea couldn't come), and I look forward to the next time….

By: Sarah - Finding Wonderland

Sarah - Finding Wonderland — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 03:07:18 +0000

Hi Mark – it was great to meet you at the conference. This is a really insightful post that it would behoove the publishing world to read–really!

By: jone

jone — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 01:56:19 +0000

Mark, it was so great to see you and hear your presentation again. I hope that I will get this podcast thing soon. Still struggling. I enjoyed reading this post. You bring up much to think about; commuity,relationships and the future of publishing. Thank you for sharing your expertise.

By: Deb Cushman

Deb Cushman — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 23:49:13 +0000

Mark, I really enjoyed your presentation at the conference.

This was an interesting post. I think other industries, as well as publishing, are going to have to take a strong look at how relationships are built online. My blog has attracted a fairly consistent following among the “bunny blogging” community. There actually wasn’t a bunny blogging community just a year ago when I started my blog. It has developed with a core group that has expanded significantly. Dogs and cats are represented in large number in the “Catosphere” and whatever it is the dogs call themselves. All of these communities are built on relationships and are expanding all the time.

When companies begin to see that regular people are connecting and gathering according to interest, it will be interesting to see how they exploit that information!

By: Terry Doherty

Terry Doherty — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:39:32 +0000

Wow! I’ll just pile on and say it is insightful, fantastic, and (for me) thought provoking. Although I didn’t get to see the fuzzy monster we all know and love, I did hear your audio and, now, have set my sites on complementing what we do with podcasting for 2009.

By: carolyndigbyconahan.com » Blog Archive » What I learned at Kidlit 08

carolyndigbyconahan.com » Blog Archive » What I learned at Kidlit 08 — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:11:55 +0000

[...] Mark Blevis, Alice Pope, Reader Girlz Divas Dia Calhoun and Lori Ann Grover, and Betsy Bird talked about making the most of the community. The whole idea of this blog thing as a community was a revelation to me. But the way they talked together showed, quite clearly, that it is. A widely scattered, intensely focused community of people who get into books in a big way. (The discussion of whether “kidlitosphere” implied a closed form, and therefore an exclusive group, cracked me up and made me feel very welcome.) [...]

By: Barbara Shoup

Barbara Shoup — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:42:03 +0000

Thanks for this insightful picture of the way things are! (And are becoming) I’m copying it to use for workshops, classes, and…all sorts of things.

Great presentation on Saturday!

By: Jen Robinson

Jen Robinson — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:36:10 +0000

This is excellent, Mark! Thanks for putting together such a succinct summary, in a form that is accessible to people who aren’t inside the Kidlitosphere. Like Greg, I pretty much just need to link to you now.

– Jen Robinson, Red Sox fan

By: Gregory K.

Gregory K. — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 05:36:23 +0000

This is great. Now I can just refer everyone here and not have to type up anything of my own at all!

It must be noted that you’re not only great tech support (thanks!), but you, sir, are a kick-ass presenter. Thanks for coming in at the last minute (and sorry Andrea couldn’t come), and I look forward to the next time….

By: Lynn E. Hazen

Lynn E. Hazen — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:25:01 +0000

Great article, Mark. Love all the quotes, but especially:

“I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow.”
–Woodrow Wilson

I’ll be forwarding your article to my crit group and publisher. Good stuff.
Lynn

By: Jon Bard

Jon Bard — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:56:27 +0000

Lovely meeting you, Mark, and your presentation was simply outstanding.

On the plane ride back, while trying to synthesize everything I had heard, the one overarching take from the conference was this:

Band together or die.

Not just in coming to conferences such as this one, but in every aspect of our online lives. Writers need to come together in group blogs to cut through an increasingly cluttered and confusing marketplace; podcasters, webmasters, editors, indie presses, booksellers, big presses, librarians — anyone with a stake in this industry — need to set aside any lingering notions of competitiveness and find ways to work together.

We’ve been doing it “our way” — publishing our newsletter and largely conducting a one-way conversation — for 18 years, but it hit me hard that it’s time to change and reach out to create and nurture a broader community. The vista ahead is exciting, a bit daunting and utterly invigorating.

You are most certainly a key inspiration for my realization of that, so thank you.

Jon Bard
Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s Writers

By: Andrea

Andrea — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:29:38 +0000

I know I sound like an old record, but I think it boils down to passion — and freedom.

For the most part, community and contribution are the currency of the Kidlitosphere. The community works because we throw so much of ourselves into it and we throw so much of ourselves into it not on orders from corporate but because we love the books, we love bringing great books and kids together, because we want to shout about the authors and illustrators we admire, because we’re free to shout it anyway, anytime we want and because we love the community we’ve become a part of.

Give us some deadlines, rules and wages and see what you get…