Have a Seat. I Have Something to Tell You.

This isn't going to be easy.
I'm moving.

No no no no no! I'm not moving from New York. That won't happen for a good year and a half, if ever.

No, I'm talking about Fuse #8. It's moving. I thought about waiting to tell you this until the day in question, but I figured it might be a better idea to let you know ASAP. We've had some fun times together here on Blogger, haven't we? The pageantry. The fact that Blogger will randomly, and for no apparently reason, shut down when you least expect it. The random nature of the comment selection. But for all that, I'm going to miss the old place.

You see, School Library Journal expressed an interest in the old Fuse. So they offered the following: Appear on their website and do exactly the same thing I'm doing now but with pay. Negotiations were made. They're going to lift all my archives and put them on their site. I retain the right to leave them insofar as I give them a month's notice (and vice-versa). When I leave, the posts I've made are my own, though they have the right to use them however they please.

There is, however, a requirement. Hold onto your seats now. To appear on their blog I must write...

... drumroll please ...

THREE POSTS A WEEK.

I don't know if I can handle that kind of pressure.

So basically I'm going to get paid to do exactly what I'm doing now, but on a website which may raise my visibility. Here's a FAQ or two, though you can definitely pummel me in the comment section if you like (and I'm certain you do like).

Q: You say they're not going to touch your content. Really? Even if you wrote a scathing expose of SLJ? Even if you wrote reviews that contradicted the ones written in the magazine?

A: Actually, SLJ informed me that they'd prefer that I contradict them in my reviews. They want a variety of opinions on their site. As for scathing exposes, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I write on the news and nothing is going to affect what I do or do not comment on.

Q: So the blog is going to look exactly the same as it does now?

A: Oh... uh. Um. About that. Okay, so here's the deal. We're switching from Blogger to Wordpress, so that'll change things right there. And of course, there won't be a banner (which is fine since it's out-of-date with the whole review a day mention). There will be a picture of my mug with every post. And this, in turn, will affect my posts because, quite frankly, as much as I love my mug, I don't really want to see it over and over and over, five times a day. So I might start consolidating my pieces a little. And, most importantly, there are my links to consider. At this moment in time, I can't create any for the side of my blog. However, I have been assured that in time they'll find a way to allow us to modify our links. When that happens I'll reinstate everything. It'll just take a little time.

Q: You've sold out, old man! You're going to have ads on your site, won't you? Won't you?

A: (Old man?) Yeah. There will be ads. SLJ ads for books n' stuff. There are worse ads to have and I've never found the SLJ ads to be intrusive. So that's too bad but there's nothing to be done. Hopefully you won't find them distracting.

Q: What's to stop people from thinking that your reviews of books are the official stance of SLJ?

A: Nothing. SLJ and I talked about this. There's bound to be confusion and complaints, but that's life. If they don't mind, I don't mind.

Q: Oh, bloody hell. Am I going to have to change your URL on my website?

A: Probably you will if you have a RSS feed or LiveJournal link. For those of you who link from blogs and websites, I've been told that SLJ will link the site in such a way that Fuse #8 will immediately redirect clicks to the new site. We'll see how that goes.

Q: When will this happen?

A: Early June. The end is near.

Q: I don't like this. I fear change.

A: So do I, sweetie. Don't worry. We'll just have to see how it goes.

Horn Book - Now in Paper!

Roger Sutton poses the following query:

What could the Horn Book Magazine do better, or more of, or more interestingly? I always have this question running around in my mind (this is not necessarily a sign of dedication; it stems as much from my default anxiety as anything else) and I've come up with plenty of ideas that usually involve money we don't have. Like becoming a monthly, or printing in color, for example. Some ideas don't cost anything, but they do collide with Tradition: changing the logo, say, or making the magazine a standard size (which would actually save money).

Ix-nay on the ize-say ange-chay, I say.

Got me thinking though. What's a literary mag to do in this era of digital updates? In many ways Horn Book was ahead of the pack by having their own resident blogger. Publisher's Weekly and School Library Journal are following suit, but HB was the first of its kind in this respect. One wonders if Kirkus has thought much on the subject. What a blog THAT could be!

But in terms of the actual physical magazine you hold in your hand, I like how Roger has phrased this question. What can they do, "more of, or more interestingly?" You'd have to look to the adult equivalent of Horn Book to find an answer to this, perhaps. Worth thinking about, just the same. Brian Kenney of SLJ recently gave a talk at Dominican University (yay, my graduate degree's pseudo-alma mater!) entitled Does Print Still Matter?. Spoiler Alert: It does. His talk didn't concern itself specifically with SLJ's status in print, but in terms of the immediate future it may tie in nicely with Roger's query. And back and forth it goes.

The Re-Jiggering of School Library Journal

FYI, happy campers. You may have noted that the School Library Journal website has gotten a bit of an upgrade. Now on the right side of their website are four blogs that discuss various kidlittish topics. You've got your Bowllan's Blog (Amy Bowllan, The Hewitt School, New York), your Practically Paradise (Diane Chen, Librarian, Hickman Elementary School, Nashville, Tennessee), Brian Unbound (Brian Kenney, Editor in Chief), and Digital Reshift (Chris Harris, Coordinator, School Library System, Genesee Valley BOCES). Neat, huh?

Lots of good stuff there. I was particularly taken with hearing from Brian Kenney about the fantastic School Library Journal cover that just came out featuring Susan Patron. You guys saw this too, right?


Sorry I can't make it bigger. Says Brian, "I insisted that we get a dog in there!" Good stuff.

So As To Explain Why Your Hits Will Be Increasing Soon

Boy, SLJ is just all about bloggers these days, aren't they?

Our own Liz Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace, & A Tea Cozy fame has written a piece for School Library Journal entitled Curl Up With a Cup of Tea and a Good Blog. Obviously if you're a regular blog reader already then this piece is preaching to the converted. If you RUN a kidlit blog, on the other hand, you may find it included in the roundup. Worth a gander. A tip of the hat to Liz, then.