How Do YOU Spell Blogiversary?

The first time I read the word "blogiversary" was on editor Cheryl Klein's blog.
My first thought: "What a great word!"
My second thought: "What a great cause for celebration!"

Then I learned some bloggers spell it "blogoversary." But no matter how you spell it, it's a milestone we're looking forward to commemorating tomorrow. I've mentioned that we'll be offering a special giveaway in conjunction with the celebration. Meanwhile, I've been adding some new features to our site. You may have noticed a new link under our logo labeled "About Us." We've wanted to personalize our blog with photos of all the TeachingAuthors, but we didn't want to clutter up our already busy sidebar. Now you'll be able to see our smiling faces any time you like by clicking on the above link. That page also contains brief biographies of each of the TeachingAuthors.

Another thing I've been meaning to do for some time is acknowledge and thank all the wonderful readers who've nominated us for various blog awards. So I've also added a new page called "Blog Awards," with a link in our sidebar. I apologize for being so late in thanking our readers for these awards. All the TeachingAuthors are honored by your thoughtfulness, and we're pleased that you've found our blog helpful.

Speaking of finding the blog helpful, as we close out our first year of blogging, we'd love to have some  feedback from you, our readers. What are some of the features you like best? What would you like to see more of? Do you have any suggestions for topics you'd like us to address in the future? Please post your feedback as comments to this blog entry.

Blogosphere Buzz

Today I'd like to introduce a new feature called the "Blogosphere Buzz." I often come across online events, interviews, and blog posts related to children's/YA literature, writing, or teaching that I think may be of interest to our readers but that don't fit in with our scheduled topic. This section will be a place for us to share links to such items. I have three bits of "buzz" today:

• If you're a picture book writer, it's time to gear up for National Picture Book Writing Week ("NaPiBoWriWee"), which takes place May 1-7 this year. This is a challenge where you attempt to write 7 picture books in 7 days! You can read all about it here on Paula Yoo's blog. Paula is also providing 30 days of inspiring posts to prepare for the challenge, so be sure to read her blog. 
• Do writers really need to blog and tweet? Agent Jennifer Laughran has some helpful advice on the subject in an interview at Market My Words.
• I had the pleasure of sharing a Tuesday Tip on the blog Literary Rambles this week. If you don't know Casey McCormick's blog, it's an amazing resource for writers, especially if you're looking for an agent who represents children's and young adult literature.  

That's all for now. More tomorrow, on our actual Blogiversary.
Until then, happy writing!
Carmela