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Authors, how do you sign a digital copy?

2/18/2014

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So here's the thing, authors are my rock stars. I have gone on countless road trips to meet, greet, and hey, get autographs. As a librarian I have gone to American Library Assoc. conference and Texas Library Assoc. conference met and got autographs of more authors. I have lots of autographed books many authors whom I have met Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg, Kevin Hearne, Jim Butcher, Liliane Hart, Delilah S. Dawson, Jaye Wells, Nicole Peeler, Mark Henry, Ernest Cline, Molly Ringwald, and Tracey Hickman, and a few I haven't met but have ordered signed copies of their books Nora Roberts and Marissa Meyer. These books are among some of my most prized possesions.

A side note for any authors reading this, as a fan meeting you I tend to be goofy, starstruck and tongue-tied. So the best autograph I have gotten to date was from Ernest Cline who asked, "Star Trek or Star Wars?". When I answered Star Trek he signed my book To Wendy, Live long and prosper! Ernest Cline. I have to tell you that really took the pressure off, I could converse, be personable instead of a tongue-tied goob. Now I'm not suggesting all authors ask "Star Trek or Star Wars?" I'm just letting y'all know that something like that makes all us starstruck plebeians be a little more comfortable.

So, back to the main point. I have spent a significant amount of time and money going to places so I can meet authors and get their autographs on their books. I am not the only person who does this. Apparently Disney, a marketing genius, is aware of this phenomenon because the last Rick Riordan book was about $14 for the hardback and about $100 for the autographed copy. I would like to side step the whole ebook versus paper copy argument for the moment but, what if all you have is ebooks and audiobooks? What do you ask the author to sign? A question to ponder for the week...
 

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I got another Book contract!!!!!

2/11/2014

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I had an amazing day yesterday! My wonderful husband brought me lunch on his way home from work. I turned in a few auditions, did some household chores, and then spent some time as a guest speaker for Janice's community ed class. When I got home I had a message that I had an offer to produce Into Thin Air by MJ Allaire. So now I don't have to worry that the first offer was a fluke, guess what? I read books for a living! So back to work for me.

And here is the Amazon link if you would like to see what the book is about.

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Literacy and audiobooks

2/5/2014

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I'll start with a quote “Reading out loud to children is a proven way to develop vocabulary growth and language expansion and plays a causal role in developing both receptive and expressive language capabilities. Reading out loud can also enhance children’s background
knowledge of new concepts that may appear in both oral and written language.”
—G. Reid Lyon, The Keys to Literacy: Overview of Reading and Literacy
Research

So not only is listening to a book a great, relaxing pastime but, it can also help kids build literacy skills, audiobooks for the win! Moreover, comprehension levels are shown to be higher when listening to books then when reading books, so for all kids who are struggling to reach the next comprehension level audiobooks can help bridge the gap until the student "catches up".  I could go on and on about the many benefits of audiobooks but, I'll stick to a short list.

Audiobooks are great for:
  • Reluctant readers
  • Readers who are not native English speakers
  • Building vocabulary
  • Listening to the classics - such as Dickens' Great Expectations
  • Time crunched parents and teachers who would like to have their kids read to more

Here is a great website if you would like to read some articles on the benefits of audiobooks
  Books on Tape

References
Ditlow, Tim (2005). Young Adult Audiobooks: The Audio Answer for Reluctant
Readers. Random House, Inc.

Lyon, G. Reid (2002). The keys to literacy: Overview of reading and literacy
research. Washington, D.C.: Council for Basic Education.



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    Author

    I love books!  I love reading books!  I love reading them aloud so others can hear the characters I imagine  when I read.

    I am a professionally trained voice talent, librarian and certified teacher.  I read books for a living, and I'd love to read for you.


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