Talk about scary...

Tip of the day: Have a safe and happy Halloween!

I can't stop thinking about this blog post by agent Kristin Nelson.

In case you don't want to click over (but I hope you do), she talks about how editors are saying very complimentary things about manuscripts, but in the end, declining because they don't see it as a "big book." She also says, "mid-list authors are getting hit the hardest - especially when it comes to option proposals."

Um, yeah. See, I am one of those mid-list authors.

So what does this mean?

It means I feel a lot of pressure to make the next book fantastic. Incredible. Out of this world awesome.

Except, I don't know if I'm really capable of all that. I will certainly do my best, which I do each and every time, but in the end, I don't know if I write the kind of stuff that equates to a BIG book.

I guess I just don't really get it. I mean, I understand, publishers have to make money. It all comes down to the bottom line. But books that aren't "big" can make money for a publisher too, can't they? Of course not as much as a book that hits the NYT list. But if I've earned out, aren't I making money for the publisher now? And surely they must realize, on some level, it's impossible to have a list comprised completely of bestsellers. Unless a house decides to have a very, very small list. And part of me wonders if maybe publishers will move to that? Which is sad because there goes a lot of choice in what we have to read.

In the end, I suppose we have to try and put all of that out of our minds and focus on the only thing we can, and that is writing a damn good book.

Yeah, it's scary out there. But pass me a Snickers fun-size bar, please. I have some writing to do.

~Lisa, Miss Crafting a Career

Release Day (in pics)

Tip of the Day: Take Zinc tablets to get rid of a cold faster.

My release day this past Tuesday was so fantastic! Since it was my birthday also I decided it was going to be a big fun wonderful day. It started bright and early with dropping off tot #1 at school (husband took the day off from work to watch tots #2 through 4) and then a stop at:





















You saw that coming didn't you? :-) Yep. I didn't get my regular drink though. Instead I got a celebratory Venti Espresso Truffle. Yum. Then off to:


















for a spa day! Oh my, this was HEAVEN.





















5 hours of quiet and relaxation! Facial, massage, pedicure, manicure, and makeup. Awesome. I tried the steam room for approximately 13.5 seconds and thought I was going to die though. Do people really like that?!

After my spa day, there was still a little time before I needed to pick up tot #1 so I stopped at the local B&N. And look:




















5th row down, 4th from the left. My book!! I just gazed at it with a stupid look until a woman came over and asked if I needed something. I told her that's my book!! She was very nice and asked if I would sign the five that they had. I said of course! And then she put these cute little autographed by author stickers on them:




















After I got home with tot #1 we finished off the day with family birthday stuff: dinner, cake, and presents.




















It was a super fabulous day!!

Kristina, Miss Delighted to Debut

Re-Agented! (or It's a Small World After All*)

*With apologies to Disney

Tip of the Day: Email the talented Cynthia Leitich Smith (go to her LJ for details) for a chance to win Lisa's FAR FROM YOU along with an armload of other great books! (FFY is a great winter read -- get ready! Snow is coming....)

Guess what? Guess what? After my agent left the agenting business this summer and I was left floating on my own in a world of editor research, I am now re-agented! And let me tell you, the way this went down was nothing but serendipity (and a little bit of talent, right? ;-)). Here it is, in list format:

1) After querying the BETH book and LAKE NEADE to select agents for about a month, I have nothing to show but rejections or no responses.

2) I email Miss Delighted to Debut, saying, "Tina! What is wrong with me? Two years ago I got requests for pages all the time, but now I'm a better writer and I'm getting nada! What is going on?" Tina assures me that bc of editor slow-downs, agents are taking on fewer clients/are being more selective, and to hang in there.

3) Less than 24-hours after my desperate email to Tina, I have a request for the BETH book. Not from an agent who I queried, but from another agent in the agency who the query was passed on to. Hey, she sounds excited so I email her the full ms.

4) As soon as I click SEND, I see the agent has already replied to me again. Her email says that she JUST opened a box of agent copies of books, saw THE ESPRESSOLOGIST and peeked at it, saw my name on the acknowledgements page, thought there couldn't possibly be two Deena Lipomis writing YA lit, and said to herself how crazy it was that she had emailed me right before seeing my name. WOAH!

5) I write back that it IS crazy, Tina is my CP, and that one reason I queried their agency was bc when Tina's agent was with them, she loved working with them. All true!

6) The next morning, I have an email from the reading agent. She says she loves the book and wants to know if anyone else is reading it, and either way she will get back to me on Monday or Tuesday. OMG! At this point, it is all happening too fast for me to even freak out too badly.

7) I work the weekend at the library so time flies by. Phew. Monday morning comes and I'm sitting on the porch working on my wip and checking my email about every, oh, 10-12 minutes. OK, OK, 5-6 minutes. Around noon there's an email from the agent. My heart races. I immediately go back to working on my wip until I have the courage to open the email, about five minutes later.

8) I read the email, scanning the long message in search of the words, "No thanks, not for me," or "I'll take it." And I find..."but if you are interested, I would like to take the project on." EEEEEEEE!

9) I write back in my oh-so-succinct way (right) that I am super excited but: I have some questions, here are some other concerns and thoughts, and could we talk on the phone before I formally accept or decline.

10) She immediately writes back that she'll call me in an hour. So far her communications in the past five days -- five MINUTES -- have answered one of my questions about her responsiveness and quickness!

11) We chat on the phone for a while, she answers all of my questions, and I'm super excited to make the revisions she has suggested. Small things that will help amp up the dimensions of the the minor characters and the drama of the climax scene. Cool!

12) What else do I learn during our phone convo? That before she worked for the agency, she was an intern for Tina's agent and had read THE ESPRESSOLOGIST as a reader before Tina's agent took it on. She had opened the published copy of the book to see how it turned out on that fateful Thursday (a mere 4 days before) when she requested my ms. That was when she saw my name. Such a small world!

13) At the end of our convo, I officially accept her offer of rep! YAYAYAY! The contract comes on Wednesday, I sign and return it on Thursday, and in the matter of 10 days from query to signing the contract, I have a new agent.

Total time from querying any agents to signing: about 6 weeks (with my 7th novel)

Total time from querying any agents to signing with my FIRST agent 1.5 years ago: about 20 months (with my 1st through 5th novels)

To all of you looking for an agent: rest assured that with each book you write and revise again and again, and with all you soak in from the writing world, critiques, conferences, and kidlit novels you read, your work will continuously improve. It will seem "easier" to get an agent as time passes, but in reality, you worked very, very hard to get to the point where things seem to come easily. Yes, I know some serendipity played a part in my query process, but without a polished novel, it wouldn't have helped me at all. Don't give up if you want publication to happen for you! -- I know I'm never giving up! :)

This week, Kerry Evans of LGLA read through the final tweaks of my newly titled MG, BAKE, SET, MATCH and we are officially subbing for pubbing! Woo hoo!

Anyone have any newly agented stories to share?

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Happy Release Day for The Espressologist

Tip of the Day: today is not only the release day for our own Kristina Springer's The Espressologist, but it is also her birthday. Happy Double Birthday Tina!!!!!

Happy Release Day!!!!!


























Welcome to the world of books The Espressologist. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

--Emily, Miss Querylicious

Coping with Too Much to Do

Tip of the Day: Tomorrow is the launch date for THE ESPRESSOLOGIST by Kristina Springer! (*throws virtual confetti*)

Let's play a game today! Let's play "How many of these things go through your mind before you sit down to write on the weekend?" Check off all that apply.

1. I should really be doing the dishes.

2. I should really be doing the laundry.

3. I should really do some critiques for my lovely critique partners before I get to my own writing.

4. I shouldn't leave dinner until the last minute. What am I going to cook?

5. I should really be getting the kids' stuff ready for Halloween.

6. I definitely should not look at the carpet in this room before I start writing. When was the last time someone took out the vacuum in this house?

7. I should get the kids' papers off the dining room table and then I'll feel like I accomplished something around the house before I write.

8. This room is freezing. I should really put the summer clothes away for the year and dig up my sweaters.

9. I should pick up the kids' (choose one: new earring disinfectant, saxophone reeds, irish dance shoes, cleats, pastels for art class, or whatever weird thing is going to take you into a store in town you barely knew existed) before I totally forget again.

10. I should get more writing done than I did last weekend. Man, where do the weekends go?

Here are your test results. Count how many you checked off:

1-3: Congratulations, your significant other is a neat freak with anal retentive tendencies, leaving you lots of time to write. Just don't let him or her near your closet or your car.

4-6: Congratulations, your life is about in balance. Now tell yourself you're going to write until one of the kids or pets comes to you with an injury or problem of great tragedy. That should give you almost an hour!

7 - 10: Do you think that medicine for adult ADD really works? I wonder that. A lot.

-- Kate, Miss Perfecting the Pages

Congratulations Tina!!!

Tip of the day: Next Tuesday, go to your local bookstore and buy THE ESPRESSOLOGIST by Kristina Springer, then grab your favorite beverage of choice and curl up and read this GREAT book!

I still remember when I heard the concept for Tina’s book. Match making based on the type of you coffee drink you like!? BRILLIANT is what I thought. I knew she would have no problem selling it. And she certainly didn’t, with multiple publishers interested!

So, I’m very lucky in that I got an Advanced Review Copy at the American Library Association conference last July. I was having fun reading it during an especially hot spell and carried it over to our neighbor’s to read during an afternoon by the pool. Remember this photo? I have proof! (You’ll notice the ARC had a bit different cover than the final book).

But then, after carrying it around with me for a few days, I went to look for it, and couldn’t find it! Isn’t that tragic? There’s nothing worse than losing a book you were in the middle of! I don’t know what happened to it. Maybe I left it at my neighbor’s and she wanted to read it so badly, she didn’t let on that she had found it? Who knows!? But I do know I’m dying to find out what happens and will be going to the bookstore next week to buy my very own copy.

There were some cover changes along the way, but I really think what they ended up with is just so perfect, don’t you?

Congratulations on your debut, Tina! I’m so very excited for you! May your book fly off the shelves and into the hearts of many, many teens, coffee-lovers, and anyone who is looking for fun, sweet read!

~Lisa, Miss Crafting a Career

Espressologist: Concept to Pub Timeline

Tip of the Day: Want to read a fun interview with me and have a chance of winning a signed copy of THE ESPRESSOLOGIST plus a $10 Starbucks gift card? Go here.

Deena had the super fabulous idea that I should post a timeline of the publishing process for THE ESPRESSOLOGIST. Fun! So here goes:

7/19/06- I type up the idea for The Espressologist in a document cleverly titled “Another idea”. I open a new document, this one titled “The Espressologist is In”, and start writing the book.

12/20/06- Book is finished and I’ve revised as much as I thought it needed. Start sending chapters to critique partners for feedback.

2/2/07- Finished revising books based on critique partners’ feedback. Start querying agents. One agent asks for edits. Start edits for him.

3/1/07- Didn’t work out with that agent. Back to querying!

4/11/07- Receive two offers of representation from agents.

4/13/07- Signed with my agent, Jenoyne Adams (then, with Levine Greenberg Literary Agency. Now, BLISS).

4/14/07- Jenoyne submits THE ESPRESSOLIGST to 17 publishers.

4/19/07- An editor called my agent with verbal interest in having the book. Said more info to come.

4/25/07- First offer for book comes in! Whoo hoo celebration!

4/30/07- Second offer comes in! Yippee!

5/2/07- Agent sets up auction for 5/10/07 and lets all editors still reading know.

5/10/07- Auction day! Offers received from four publishers. Narrow it down to the two best offers. By the end of the day, decided to go with FSG for a two-book hardcover deal with paperback follow-ups a year after release.

6/27/07- Offer from German publisher comes in and we accept.

10/22/07- First Editorial Letter arrives and I start revising.

12/4/07- Turn in first edits.

1/31/08- First round of line edits arrive in mail.

2/28/08- Complete line edits and return to editor.

3/14/08- Second round of line edits arrive mail.

3/28/08- Complete line edits and mail back second round of line edits.

4/3/08- Third round of line edits arrive.

4/7/08- Complete and mail back third round of line edits.

4/9/08- Book goes to copyedits.

6/12/08- Copyedited manuscript arrives.

6/19/08- Make adjustments and mail back to copyediting.

7/1/08- Book flap copy arrives.

7/3/08- Second draft of book flaps arrives.

9/17/08- Book galleys arrive.

9/22/08- Make minor changes to galleys and mail back to editor.

10/6/08- Queries on proofread galleys come in.

10/7/08- E-mail back responses to queries.

10/31/08- First cover arrives.

2/20/09- Cover #2 arrives.

4/28/09- Cover #3 in the works.

5/2/09- Receive Advanced Readers Copies. So cool!

6/30/09- Final cover arrives and I LOVE it! Yay!

7/12/09- Attend ALA in Chicago for the weekend. Sign ARCs. First signing!

9/12/09- First copies of final book arrive! Beeeeautiful!

10/27/09- THE ESPRESSOLOGIST releases! Party!!!!!!

Phew. That was long. And it took me forever to compile. :-) I stuck strictly to Espressologist related stuff in this timeline but it wasn’t all I was up to. During this time I also wrote Revenge Queen, Boy Swap, Night at Claire’s, three proposals, My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours, and the first draft of Pumpkin Princess. Fake Boyfriend is my book coming out next fall and is in copy edits at the moment, just in case you were wondering. It might seem like a lot when it’s all written in one post like this but this process took almost three years from start to finish. Wow, huh?

Kristina, Miss Delighted to Debut (next Tuesday. Whee!!!!)