Teen Me v. Adult Me (or Am I Becoming My Mother?)

Tip of the Day: Get all the stories of your parents' teen years while they are still around to tell you -- and still remember. There are some gems in there!

When I was a teen, I remember seeing my mom do certain things, or being with her during certain events, thinking, "WHY is she doing that?"

Wait, strike that. What I was thinking was, "Oh my god, she's SO EMBARASSING!"

And now? Even without having kids of my own to embarass, I find myself doing the following -- and I completely blame my mother. :)

1. Carrying one, if not two, big bags around with me to work, the gym, a 30-minute car trip instead of just a small purse.... Because what if I need a snack? Water? Adil? Toothbrush? Sweater? Book?

2. Carrying a travel mug of hot tea around with me.... Because what if I need caffeine? Something hot? Something soothing?

3. Not being able to sit down and just do one thing.... Because if I'm not writing AND/OR watching TV AND/OR reading AND/OR working out AND/OR cleaning AND/OR eating -- I might not have time to get everything done during the day and doing just ONE of those things is way too little taxation on my brain!

4. Being "allergic" to certain foods.... Because apparently as a kid I could eat McDonald's and candy and fried foods with no problems, but as an adult I have inherited my mother's inability to eat certain things without feeling ill.

What traits did you swear you would NEVER HAVE that your mother/father did...that now you proudly embrace?

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Things I'm liking (or a completely random post about nothing)

Tip of the Day: sometimes a list of things you like is a nice reminder of all the awesomeness in the world. It should also come as no surprise then that oddly the only song I probably know the complete "real" words for is "My Favorite Things" from the Sound of Music.

This week has already been really LOOOONNNNGGGG, so the only thing my brain will let me focus on writing about at this moment in time are things I'm liking right now. 

1.) Iced Fruit Punch--I'm obsessed with this drink right now that I found from Country Living. Basically, you just freeze fruit punch in an ice cube tray and mix with half ginger ale and half seltzer water. Yum.

2.) Stuffed Animal Sleepovers--we had a fun one staging stuffed animals for a sleepover at the library this evening. They got to play tug-of-war, competed in an obstacle course, robe climbed up our tree-shaped coat hangers, had pizza, and of course read books (among many other things). It's always fun to act like a kid on occasion. Isn't that why a lot of us love to write middle grade and teen books, to think like our old selves?

3.) That there will be a new Heather Wells mystery book. Even though it's an adult book, this is one of my favorite Meg Cabot series and I can't wait to get my hands on it. Now if only July 10th would get here sooner!

4.) The coolest pop (or soda for all your Southerns) machine EVVVEEERRR. Pop machines must be completely off my radar, because I had never seen one of these until I stepped into a Burger King in a neighboring city. And now I'm in love with the fact I could get Orange Coke if I wanted to! This takes the idea of mixing drinks that we used to love to do as kids to a whole new level.

5.) Taking a writing break!!! Sometimes it's hard to admit it, but taking a break from writing every now and then can be lots of fun. And just want I needed. After relaxing my Writing Brain, I'm even more motivated and excited to get back to several book projects next week (or possibly the week after that).

Is it odd that two of my five favorite things at this moment are drink related? Or that several of them have me wanting to be a kid again? Hmmmm....something to ponder as I take a brief break from writing.

Which also brings me to the fun idea, of how wonderful would it be to keep just a random journal of five things you are liking at that moment in time? It would be pretty interesting to be able to step back into time and relive my amazing love for slap bracelets, roller skating parties, the game MASH, and so much more. If only I'd thought of this 20 years ago. Maybe that should be my Tip of the Day for all our younger blog readers: think about making a journal of your favorite things. When you are older, you'll totally want to read it!

--Emily, Miss Querylicious

The First Chapter Read Aloud

Tip of the Day: Futurama season premiere on Wednesday night!

I did something this week I rarely do. I read my first chapter out loud to my daughter. I know a lot of you let your kids read your work, and I admire your bravery, or perhaps your kids. My 13-year old daughter is hypercritical of Mom. (Was that sentence redundant or is it just me?) She lives to pick over my flaws, so I rarely let her read my work.

Upping the bravery quotient, I read my first chapter while my husband was in the room. I never share my writing with my husband. Oh, I tell him what I'm working on and ask him for suggestions if I'm stuck because he's good with technical, sciencey things. But he doesn't read fiction. He doesn't watch anything on TV but documentaries and the Walking Dead, which I suspect he thinks is a  documentary of the near future. Basically, the most my husband feels qualified to comment on in my work is "Wow, that's a lot of words."

The verdict? My daughter said "I like it." I asked her if she thought something bad was going to happen in the next chapter, and she said yes, so I guess I've built up some tension. And I found a mistake or two as I was reading. She didn't ask to hear Chapter 2, but that's okay. She doesn't think it's cool anymore for Mom to read to her, and frankly I was amazed that she sat still for Chapter 1 so willingly.

But for the most part, I'm going to stick to my wonderful critique partners for opinions. It's much less stressful and more informative.

-- Kate, Miss Perfecting the Pages

Should a Movie Follow the Book Exactly?

Tip of the Day: Looking for a new online magazine to help your writing career and entertain you? Then check out Writing Fools!

I swear, at A2A we did not discuss theme in advance this week, and yet we've done a great job of feeding off each other posts.

I'm going to touch on the book-to-movie angle today.

( I originally wrote a really controversial post about authors who scream how much they hate Amazon.com, yet still continue to sell their books on there...but decided against it and deleted it. :p )

So, let's ask the question: Should a Movie Follow the Book Exactly?

No.


I know, I know, I always say the opposite of everyone else. How many times has a theatrical version of a beloved book caused hordes of people to tear out their hair and gnash their teeth because something wasn't "right?"

I don't do that. I don't really care if a movie is faithful to a book.

My dear cousin, who is a fan of all things fantasy, hates the Lord of the Rings movies because they aren't an exact reflection of his beloved novels. Peter Jackson changed too much and left out the parts that were important to him.

I thought the movies were amazing and have seen them a billion times. Same with Harry Potter. Twilight. Eragon. I could go on and on.

A movie is a totally different art form than a book. So why do people expect them to be a direct visual translation of the written word? It simply isn't possible.

Have you ever listened to a book on tape? It can take 40 hours to sometimes read the whole novel aloud. 40 hours. Do you want to sit in a movie theater for 40 hours? I didn't think so.

Screenwriters have to make compromises. It's the nature of adaption. I prefer to listen to my dad (who just happens to be the wisest man on the planet) when he says, "I go to the movies to be entertained, not to analyze. Sit back, relax, and enjoy."

Yeah, I know you're thinking: Well, I bet if Megg's books were made into movies, she'd feel differently. Nah, pretty sure I wouldn't change my mind. One of my friends is a screenwriter and I'd love to see what he could do with Anathema (which is still free on Amazon, Barnes&Noble, iBookstore, Smashwords, Kobo, Wattpad, etc - so download it now). He even discussed adding a dance scene - which I LOVED because I am a dancer. See, it's all about taking a concept and translating it in a way that entertains. I would totally be entertained by a dance scene between Reychel & Mark, even though there isn't one in the book.

Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber

What Should I Charge for an Author Visit?

Tip of the Day: Check out this Monster Cookie Dough Dip. It looks way yum.

I was sitting next to a lovely brand new author at an event recently and I heard a very interested teacher ask her to come do a school visit and ask her what did she charge.

PANIC.

If you're an author and you've ever been in this position and you're not prepared with an answer, you kinda panic. Because what DO I charge for a visit? What is my time worth? How much planning do I need to do? These are all things racing through your head while the teacher is staring at you waiting for an answer.

I watched this author struggle with and finally just tell the teacher to e-mail her and they could chat more later. I badly wanted to whisper to her "charge $200". Or some such thing but I kept quiet because I had just met this author. Soon as the teacher walked away though the author turned to me and said that she was so uncomfortable and had no idea what to say.

I was in the exact same position years ago when approached at an author fair and was at the um...um... part when young adult author Kristin Walker piped in and said "she charges $200 an hour." It was a huge relief for me when she did that because I was totally flailing. (and Kristin could get away with it because we're such good friends. I didn't feel I could jump in for the new author mentioned above.)

Instinct for most new authors anyway is to try to do the events for free. Why do this? I don't know. For some reason do we think our time isn't worth it? Or that we don't know enough about being an author to get paid for our wisdom? Or is it a female thing and we just want to be nice? I have been at an event before where I heard a woman asking a number of authors to come to an event she was planning and the first three women said sure they'd do it to free and when she reached the male author he said he wouldn't leave his front door for less than X amount of dollars. So maybe it's also a female/male thing.

But our time IS worth it. Think about this:
- we've been through a process that not a ton of people have done and is interesting for students to hear about (writing a book, selling it, editing it, having it published etc.)
- we take hours putting together neat props and cool slide shows to bring to these visits
- we have to travel to and from these visits
- we have to secure and pay for babysitting for our kids in order to go to these visits
- that three-four hours it takes for me to dress up (yes, they don't want you in your PJs), drive to your school, give a presentation, and drive back, I could be writing.

So you're definitely worth it. Say the visit you're doing is $100 for a one hour presentation. Even if it's local I need a babysitter for at least two hours. $20. I spent two hours putting together a presentation. So right there is at MINIMUM (and I do mean minimum-- I usually take a good 5-10 hours to put together a presentation) you're taking home $20 an hour. And then you have to pay taxes on that too. Really, you're worth it. Go ahead and charge for that visit. But how much? Let's look at a few authors' pricing for examples:

From children's and middle grade author Brenda Ferber's web site I found she charges:

"Half Day (1 or 2 presentations) $400
Full Day (Up to 4 presentations) $800
Book Clubs (Within 20 minutes of Deerfield) $100
NEW! Virtual Classroom Visit using Skype $100
Travel expenses are not included in the above prices and will be added as they are incurred."

From children's and middle grade author Cynthia Lord's Web site:

"$1,600 per day plus travel expenses (flight + hotel)."

From young adult author Saundra Mitchell's Web site:

"As she grew up in Indiana, and understands that author visits there are rare, she offers reduced rates for schools and libraries within the state. Within Warren Township, 1 hour visits are free. Within 50 miles of Indianapolis, 1 hour visits are $35.00. 50 miles or more outside of Indianapolis, but within Indiana, 1 hour visits are $75.00."

From children's, middle grade, and YA author Lisa Schroeder's Web site:

"Portland Metro Area: $800/day
Other Oregon/SW Washington: $800/day plus travel and hotel as necessary
Out of state: $1,200/day plus travel and hotel as necessary"

For me, I don't do a ton of presentations but when I do I go with the standard $200 per hour long presentation. If you're a very local school or library and I like you I do it for free (if I don't have to pay for babysitting. So evenings generally.). If I'm just hanging out and doing a Q&A for an hour I charge $100. If you're a very local book club and you all bought and read my book then I'll visit for free. If I have to travel, $100. And if you want to skype with me it's always free. And I'm not the only one. Here's Kate Messner's list of authors who skype with book clubs for free: http://kmessner.livejournal.com/106020.html

So plan ahead as to what you want to charge for a school/library/book club visit and next time you're asked, you'll be ready.

Kristina, Miss Author in Action

Books to Movies (or Movies to Books)

Tip of the Day: Good sci-fi movie that was totally underrated -- though not based on a book to my knowledge: MOON, directed by David Bowie's son, Duncan Jones. Great minimalist film.

Kate's post from Monday on how many times her daughter saw Hunger Games in the theater got me thinking about other current YA books that I would like to be made into movies. Here's a short list (and if some of these already are optioned for film, comment and let me know!):


1. TRAFFICKED by Kim Purcell -- this contemporary story of human traffiking from Europe to America could make a great thriller/drama.

2. ALTERED by Jennifer Rush -- this novel that releases in Jan. 2013 is like a Bourne Identity for teens starring a kick-butt girl.


3. THE BOOK OF BLOOD AND SHADOW by Robin Wasserman -- this clue-following novel is like The Davinci Code starring smart teens and a cool European setting.


4. THE BUTTERFLY CLUES Kate Ellison -- this murder mystery stars an OCD sleuth who won't give up until she finds the killer.


5. CINDER by Marissa Meyer -- an alternate future China with cyborgs and a Cinderella retelling: the perfect combination.

Some other books I could see as TV dramas or series. I'll talk about those next time.

What recent YA novels would you like to see in movie format?

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Library Programs for Authors

Tip of the Day: don't forget about your library's Summer Reading Programs. You might get some fun prizes just for reading!

Summertime is always a busy programming time at my library, and since I book a lot of authors and other performers for my library, I thought it might be helpful to go over some program suggestions if you are looking to make extra money as an author.

Not every program as an author has to be about selling books. Sometimes you can just earn extra money doing school visits or library programs. Most libraries have Friends groups that help provide thousands of dollars worth of programming for their local communities.

I think many authors have this assumption that they can't make money doing library programs and from my experience that couldn't be further from the truth.

Here are some of my tips if you are interested in pursuing this further:

1.) Make all your marketing materials professional looking and don't be afraid to send libraries a sheet of the programs you offer or even an email. We get them ALL the time and are used to it. The more professional they look, the better. You are competing for programming funds against magicians, singers, jugglers, etc. that travel around to libraries for a living. Some of them do up to 200 shows a year and are used to marketing heavily to libraries. It's a much bigger business than I think a lot of people are aware of.

2.) Just because you are an author, doesn't mean you only have to offer programs about writing. If you are comfortable branching out, you might be able to get more of an audience. Do you have something interesting about your book? Maybe it's a book on cupcakes, could you offer a tea and cupcake party with an author program? Or if your book has a singing component, you could actually perform if you are able. The added bonus that you are an author will help sell it, but the more interesting the program the more likely you are to have libraries want to bring you in. Which brings me to...

3.) Give all of your programs a clever name (having more than one-type of program is nice too) and make sure you give prices. If I have a clever name to sell it to my patrons then I'm more interested. And I don't want to waste my time emailing someone or calling them to get their price information, only to find out they are way out of my budget. If you want to work with people, you can always put in your materials that you are willing to work with schools or libraries that might be more financially strapped. But be realistic about how much you charge too and you are likely to book more libraries.

4.) Even if you write books for teenagers, it doesn't mean you might not have a cool program  you can give for kids. Kids are by far the largest audience in libraries. Even though this would be awesome to change, it still remains a fact that most librarians will spend more money on children's programs because they bring in many more people than other programs. So if you can gear anything to kids, even a hands-on kid friendly writing program or something like that, it will help. Just think big, broad, and creative.

5.) Try not to charge mileage if you can. Work it into your price, so we can just pay you a lump sum. If you have to limit that to a certain radius of where you live, then that's fine. But if you can work it out to do several library visits at once, then try that, so that way everyone benefits. Libraries are used to working with authors or performers on getting discounts by setting up programs on the same day or a day apart.

If you are curious how much authors charge, you should be able to find sheets like this online. But I will say on average, in my area (the Midwest) most authors charge between $200-$400 for an hour program. For some authors I would pay that, but for others I won't. Now for New York Times best selling authors, it's more like the top end of that and higher just for a Skype visit. There are also many local authors that will do library programs for free. And to be honest, I usually feel more secure when I'm paying even a small amount to an author. On top of that, our Friends group usually sells books for the authors too or some of them do take care of that, depending on what type of books they are.

School visits are usually far more money than that, but then you do three to four times the programs in one day.

For some people this is enough for them to plan programs. For others they would much rather be writing. But if you want to be a full-time author, just don't forget there are other options out there to supplement book sales. And libraries are always open to the possibilities of authors doing programs. But if I don't know you offer library programs, the chances are pretty good that I'm not going to go to your website or look you up to double check. So if you want to do this, you need to market directly to libraries. I would say on average, I get between 50-75 mailers, phone calls, or emails a year related to those that offer library programs (that is not including all the talk on list-serves from other librarians on programs they have liked...it's just cold calls or mailings). So I'm used to people trying to sell their stuff and don't mind at all.


So do any of you do library visits? Or school visits?

--Emily, Miss Querylicious