Post Who are your favorite author bloggers and Tweeters?

It's good to know Laurie Halse Anderson has a blog--I will have to look for it!

I have been to Susan Beth Pfeffer's blog several times and about a month before her visit to our school, I encouraged some of my students to do the same.  I was pretty confident that Ms. Pfeffer would respond to their comments and she didn't let me down.  It was pretty exciting for my students. I know at least one of them continued to visit the blog.

Her blog appeals to me most when she discusses the writing process.  It's almost like going on a field trip to a factory where you see how something is made--in this case the thing being made is a story.

I enjoy the vlog of John Green and his brother Hank. I loved the year they sent a video to each other every day, and I followed it pretty closely then. I found it amusing that, in that time, Hank became more famous and popular than John,a nd now he has to go on book tours with John (sort of like McCain ahving to bring Sarah Palin along on the campaign trail).

I also enjoy the blog of Justine Larbalestier. Like John and Hank, she is witty and personable, and her blog gives a good sense of her books.  On Facebook, I really enjoy Rachel Cohn and Sara Zarr's pithy status lines. Other than that, I get a little tired of authors using Facebook to promote themselves and their books.

In  addition to author blogs, I follow the blogs of a few editors, most notably Editorial Anonymous. I've learned a lot about publishing from reading her blog, and it's entertaining, too.

I find your question about how it affects our perceptions interesting. It's getting to the point where I think some authors are over-exposing themselves online. I'm getting tired, for example, of Maureen Johnson's online presence, and her endless contests.  Her readers seem to like them, but for me they are falling into the same category as Facebook quizzes.

It also seems to me that most of the YA authors with strong online presences are mostly talking to each other, rather than to their readers. There's a sort of cool-kids-lunch-table feel to it. The big exception for me is Laurie Halse Anderson. She is one author who really seems to be reaching her teen readers with her blog and website. Maybe it's because she doesn't feel the need to sit with the "cool kids."

@lisa_mcmann

@hollyblack

@halseanderson

@heatherbrewer

@barrylyga

@realjohngreen

@libbabray

@megcabot

@sarahmaclean

@cassieclare

@AS_King

@JustineLavaworm [this is Justine Larbalstier]

There are so many more you can follow as well! The best is when they follow you back, and/or tweet back to you!

I am a high school librarian, so I also follow tons of librarians/tech people. If you want to follow me, I am @tiffanye :)

I do not read too many blogs now by authors or follow on Twitter.  I use Twitter more for updates from American Library, my local library, etc.  However I am "friends" with a number of young adult authors on Facebook.  This is really fun and feels a little more personal at times and I have even had a few email conversations.  I have Blake Nelson, Garth Nix, Scott Westerfeld, Laurie Halse Anderson,  Barry Lyga are a few. 

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Following and SLJ article listing authors who would converse with kids via Skype, Our Newbery Club hooked up with Nan Marino to discuss Neil Armstrong is my Uncle and other Lies....We had a webcam in the front of the room so she could see all the kids and hooked up a laptop to project to our little screen so all the kids could see her at the same time. It was a great discussion and an opportunity for them to talk about the book with the author.

Doris Gebel

I love how many YA authors have become bloggers and Twitter users. I think it lets the reader feel like the author is a real person - someone they can reach out to (and most of the time the author does respond!) 

Laurie Halse Anderson and Neil Gaiman are both great. I also like John Green (he and his brother, as mentioned, create web videos and answer questions - very cool), Sarah Dessen (who's a great blogger and Twitter user), Meg Cabot (who doesn't love her blog?), and Melvin Burgess (who is currently writing a book on Twitter). Kristen Harmel (a local Orlando YA author!) doesn't have a frequently updated blog, but she's great on Twitter. My favorite, though, is Melissa Walker, who's blog features the stories behind other YA book covers.