New Year’s has come and gone, the blogs are beginning to reawaken. 2010 is about to spring into action. What will it hold? Here’s what caught my eye this week. Enjoy.

Joe Konrath on A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing
What I Know
“So it’s worth it to the read old posts. But it’s almost 2010. We’re in a technological tsunami. Instant gratification isn’t fast enough for us. So here’s a blog post that distills the essence of what I’ve learned in this biz.”

James Barclay on SFFWorld.com
Interview with Barry Nugent
“The only strategy I knew was the fact that I had no strategy. I had no idea how to market the book. The idea of shouting from the rooftops “Buy my book, it’s great” filled me with dread. Self promotion has never been one of my strong points but I knew if I didn’t do it no one was going to sweep in and save the day.”

Mick Rooney on POD, Self-Publishing and Independent Publishing
Branding and Publishing Strategies
“Branding one book can be difficult. I think it gets easier the more books an author writes. And so, it should if the author is making defined and progressive development in their books and writing style.”

Jeff Barry on Soro Design Book Design Blog
How Book Design Can Enhance Non-Fiction
“Making the narrative more visual doesn’t necessarily mean the use of images. It’s also about the use of white space & visualizing blocks of text on a page. (You’ll notice that writing for the Web is about much the same thing).”

And for Something a Little Different . . .

The Ampersand
“I like the ampersand. I think it is often the most attractive character of them all. This blog is an attempt to give this humble ligature the respect it deserves. If you would like to submit some ampersand-related content, please let me know.”