Debbie Ridpath Ohi

A little spark of curiosity can lead to something much more mountainous...and not necessarily in the direction a person might think.

Little Hana is simply enjoying watching the rain through her window, when she wonders where the rain drops come from. Instead of giving her the answer, her mother gives her a book. After all, there are books about almost everything. The more Hana learns, the more questions she has...and so does her thirst for books. More and more books. If she reads every single show more book that there is, she's sure she'll know everything. But getting ahold of every single book that exists isn't exactly easy.

When I first picked this up, I hoped it wouldn't simply be about the joy of reading...I've seen several books (lovely reads, by the way) along those lines. These pages go above and beyond that theme, and not only take a different twist to book-love but also stuff in the cutest little adventure with an adorable and very curious character. Hana's desire to learn is inspiring, but it's her determination to meet an impossible task, which puts a smile on the face. Things don't run smoothly, and while the plot doesn't stomp into loads of humor, it uses just the right dusting of silliness to draw a huge smile.

There are several messages in these pages, and they don't rotate sheerly around books. Hana needs to understand those around her better, and she needs to work with her expectations versus reality. The mother is very supportive and patient, and there's a nice twist at the end to inspire, too.

The text flows very well, making it a nice read-aloud. The illustrations swing in a lighter-toned direction and balance with the right motions and details to let the story take gain richness. It's an enjoyable read with lots of positive goodness. show less

Spencer loves his books, but suddenly they start disappearing one by one. He asks his family members (mom, dad, little sister), but they don't know, so he invents a clever trap to find the culprit, which turns out to be...book-loving squirrels! Spencer agrees to share his books - once a proper lending agreement is in place. Humorous.

Hana has lots of questions, and learns that answers can be found in books, so she decides she's going to read ALL THE BOOKS: "That way, I'll be able to answer all the questions." She ropes in her friends, but when she realizes that reading ALL THE BOOKS is impossible, a librarian helps her: "Isn't it fun to share the ones you love? And to hear about the books your friends love?" And that's how Hana's book club began...

For all the bookworms.

A decent guide to writing for the Web

In "Writer's Online Marketplace," Debbie Ridpath Ohi profiles several hundred paying online markets that accept freelance work. Only 118 pages of this 262-page are devoted to market listings, however. Ohi begins with an overview of writing for online audiences, discussing details such as Netiquette, online queries and submissions, copyright and contractual issues, networking, promotion, e-publishing, and the many types of online markets (including where show more one can find market info online). Only later does she profile the various markets available to aspiring and experienced freelancers alike.

To date, I've read about dozen books on writing, publishing, and promoting books and other work (I'm quickly devouring my local library's collection!). "Writer's Online Marketplace" is, by far, one of the more useful, enjoyable, thoughtful, and organized guides available. When reading a self- or e-publishing book, I oftentimes find myself wondering how in the world the author ever managed to publish and sell such an atrocious manuscript. In fact, it seems as though many writers are jumping on the "how-to" bandwagon and rushing their ill-conceived and underdeveloped manuals to print, trying to cash in on the current e-publishing trend (some excellent examples of this phenomenon include "How to Make Money Publishing from Home" by Lisa Shaw and "How to Publish and Promote Online" by M. J. Rose & Angela Adair-Hoy). "Writer's Online Marketplace," while it does have its flaws, is a welcome break from some of the other train wrecks I've encountered.

Debbie Ridpath Ohi is the real thing - she's an excellent writer as well as an expert veteran in the field. Her sentences and chapters flow together very well; in contrast to many how-to guides, she writes in a mature tone and doesn't "talk down" to her readers (no "Idiot's Guide" here!). She also features articles from guest essayists; again, this isn't uncommon among writing/publishing guides, but what is exceptional in this case is that she manages to integrate them seamlessly into the book. Each essay is placed into its proper context, and features an introduction and follow-up by Ohi (imagine that!).

Now for the cons. While I did find some sections to be quite informative (Chapter 2, "Online Queries & Submissions"; Chapter 5, "Contracts & Copyright"), others were noticeably lacking. For instance, Chapter 3, "Types of Online Markets," was very basic; writers who know not the difference between web portals and corporate sites, for example, should pick up a "Dummies' Guide to the `Net" before even thinking about querying an online editor! Likewise with Chapter 4, "Where to Find Market Information" (answer: on the publication's web site (you don't say!?)). The chapters on e-publishing and online promotion were disappointingly basic as well. I felt as though Chapter 9, "Insider Views" (a compilation of short, 2-3 page essays by/interviews of industry insiders) could have been omitted entirely, thus leaving more room for online promotion/networking tips and a lengthier discussion of electronic publishing (particularly eBooks).

Of course, the biggest problem I had was that a majority of the information is out of date - especially that contained in the market listings. This is understandable, as "Writer's Online Marketplace" was published in 2001 and has yet to be updated. While I won't detract any "stars" for this inevitability, I also won't be buying the book any time soon!

Although I didn't go through every market listing, I did skim through the entire section and looked up those that interested me. All told, I think I tried to visit the web sites of approximately half on the publications listed in the book. Of these, *maybe* a quarter were still online, active, and accepting queries and/or submissions (and this is a generous estimate!). Most of the links were broken, and a search for the publication's title with Google usually failed to help. The links that were still valid tended to take me to sites that had not been updated in quite some time - several years, in many cases. A few of the publications hadn't went belly-up, but were actually generating all their content in-house. In the end, I don't think I found a single new prospect at all! You see, by the time I consulted "Writer's Online Marketplace," I had already signed up for a half dozen market-database newsletters. Thus, I was already aware of the few interesting and accurate listings I found in "Writer's Online Marketplace."

To illustrate just how pervasive the problem is, consider this: Ohi points readers to her site, Inkspot, for further information in many instances (a site that she's run since 1995 and even won awards for, mind you). However, the site was bought out by Xlibris 2000 and shut down just eight months later. Thus, even the links to the author's own site are dead! Not that this is anyone's "fault," really, since this is just the nature of the beast. Nonetheless, it does render guides to the World Wide Web obsolete in a ridiculously short period of time. Which brings me to the punch line: if you can borrow "Writer's Online Marketplace" from the library, a friend, whatever, I say go for it; otherwise, save your money and wait for a revised edition to come out. In the meantime, scout the `Net for free (or even subscription-based) market listings: it's a much better use of your time and/or money. "Writer's Online Marketplace" would have been a great buy in 2001, but it's just too old to be of much use in 2005.

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