The Tumblr social network has helped countless writers connect with readers over the last few years. We finally decided to open a GalleyCat Tumblr page, a warehouse for all the opinions, videos, photos and other items that didn’t quite fit on our publishing blog.

We caught up with Tumblr literary outreach Rachel Fershleiser for some advice about using the network. She shared five useful tips for writers who want to explore the social network. You can read her link-filled advice below…

If you have a Tumblr post you think we should see, just add the ‘galleycat’ tag to your Tumblr post. We will use the tag as a source for our own posts. The Millions created a handy Tumblr directory for readers and writers as well.

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According to Publishers Weekly, Fox 2000 has optioned the film rights to John Green‘s The Fault In Our Stars.

Here’s more from the article: “The book, about a 16-year-old girl whose life is pleasantly upended when she falls for a boy who joins her cancer support group, was optioned for producer Wyck Godfrey by Fox 2000, the 20th Century Fox division run by Elizabeth Gabler. Godfrey’s company Temple Hill has worked on a number of high profile children’s book-to-film productions including the Twilight saga (with Summit Entertainment) and Eragon.”

Who would you cast as lead characters Hazel and Augustus? The United Talent Agency represented Green in the deal. The novel was released on January 10th.

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Today novelist John Green acknowledged that B&N.com had accidentally shipped some pre-orders of his highly anticipated novel, The Fault in Our Stars.

Here’s more from the novelist: “The people who made this error were not bad or incompetent people, and they were not acting maliciously. We all make mistakes, and it is not my wish to see Barnes and Noble or any of their employees vilified. If you happen to receive an early copy of The Fault in Our Stars, you should of course feel free to read it. (You should also feel free to wait until January 10th.) But please do not spoil it for other readers. Please don’t share quotes or reveal plot or anything else that might negatively affect other people’s reading experience.”

At his Tumblr blog, Green said he had hoped his readers could all tackle the book together on its January 10th release date. Green spoke at our Publishing App Expo earlier this year, follow this link to read his commentary. (Via Sarah Weinman)

Between blockbuster books and National Novel Writing Month, fall is a busy time for the publishing industry. To celebrate the season, GalleyCat and eBookNewser will host a free party in New York City next week.

Follow this link to RSVP. The party will be held at Tonic Bar & Restaurant at 727 7th Avenue in Times Square. You can mingle with editors, writers and other publishing folk–connecting with real life readers and making new connections. eBookNewser editor Dianna Dilworth will host,

The party will also celebrate the launch of the Publishing App Expo, our December 7-8 conference showing writers and publishers how to share their stories on tablets and other mobile devices. Our speakers include novelist John Green, Wattpad content partnership manager Nina Lassman and Time.com general manager Craig Ettinger.

With the final signature photographed above, novelist John Green ended his quixotic quest to sign 150,000 copies of his upcoming book, The Fault in Our Stars.

He left a short message on his blog: “I want to thank nerdfighteria for being so supportive, Stan Muller for doing everything other than signing, my brother for hanklerfishing, and everyone at Penguin for indulging my strange dream … if you want one of these signatures, I’d encourage you to preorder today from your local independent bookstore.”

Green will be the keynote speaker at Mediabistro’s Publishing App Expo, a conference on December 7-8 showing writers and publishers how to share their stories on tablets and other mobile devices.

In the video embedded above, novelist John Green unveiled the cover for The Fault in Our Stars. His publisher also announced a contest to create a new cover for his 2006 book, An Abundance of Katherines. Follow this link for more contest details.

The new cover was created by Rodrigo Corral, the artist behind covers for Chuck Palahnluk‘s Pygmy, Colson Whitehead‘s Sag Harbor, Junot Diaz‘s Drown and many more titles.

Here’s more from the release: “When John Green first announced The Fault in Our Stars on June 29, 2011 it shot to #1 on Amazon and BN.com on the basis of title alone. Immediately, fans began creating their own covers for the unfinished book, posting them [to Tumblr]. This creative outpouring resulted in hundreds of fan-generated covers and inspired Penguin Young Readers Group to launch the ‘An Abundance of Covers’ contest to redesign the Printz Honor winning book about a boy named Colin Singleton who has dated–and been dumped by–19 Katherines.”

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What kind of content makes for a good free eBook app? Aside from eReader apps like iBooks, Kindle, Nook and Google Books, comics and weird fact book also ruled our Top 20 Free Book Apps list.

DC Comics, Marvel Comics and Comics all ranked high on the Top 20 Free Book Apps list this week from the Apple App Store. At the same time, Weird Facts 1000 (pictured), Love Quotes 500, Sex-Facts 500 and Dirty Sex Jokes all made the Top 20.

If you want to learn more about this growing side of the the publishing industry, check out Mediabistro’s upcoming Publishing App Expo on December 7-8. Speakers include author John Green and executives from Barnes & Noble, Zinio and ComiXology.

Novelist and video blogger John Green will keynote mediabistro.com’s Publishing App Expo on December 7th and 8th.

In a presentation entitled “How Nerdfighters Can Save Publishing,” Green will share lessons he learned while building one million Twitter followers and 17 million channel views on YouTube. Green wrote Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines and Paper Towns. He also co-wrote Will Grayson, Will Grayson.

Follow this link for package and pricing details–you can buy tickets for a single track, one day, or for the whole conference. The list includes digital publishing leaders from Barnes & Noble, Lulu, Zinio and Rukus Media. The conference brings together writers, editors, and publishers for a two-day safari through the world of eBook app design, demographics and distribution.

In the video embedded above, YA writer John Green revealed the title for his new book (The Fault in Our Stars) and promised to sign every single one of the 150,000 books in the first print run.

Even though the manuscript is currently unfinished and the cover has yet to be finalized, the title hit #1 on the Amazon and BarnesandNoble.com bestseller list recently. Green said the publication date has been moved up from May 2012 to January 2012. The author will be video-recording himself throughout the entire signing process; the video will be available on the Vlogbrothers YouTube channel he shares with his brother, Hank Green.

Here’s more from Green’s announcement: “I am doing this because 1. I like my readers, and 2. I want to find a way to thank them for choosing to read my books in this media-saturated world, and 3. I can’t tour everywhere, and it seems weird to preference readers who live near big metropolitan areas of the US over other readers, plus 4. I think it will be kind of fun unless my hand falls off.”

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Yesterday novelist Lisa Yee warned her followers about an online fraud–somebody pretending to be her agent has been contacting writers about book deals.

Aspiring authors should beware. Here is the complete tweet: “Someone is impersonating my agent, Jodi Reamer & offering book deals. If the email addy doesn’t have Writers House in it it’s fake!”

You can read more about the real Jodi Reamer at Literary Rambles. Her all-star list of clients includes Stephenie Meyer, John Green and Lisa Yee.