Win Two YAs! (or I'm Not Above Bribing Readers for Reviews)

Tip of the Day: Get ready for WriteOnCon 2014, the free online kidlit writing conference August 26-27. I'm excited to check out the buzz again this year!

I want to start with a huge THANK YOU to all A2A readers who have read BLACKOUT or DESERTED! I am so grateful for the support and excited to work on book #3, which I never thought I'd say. (Me? A trilogy?)  I plan on releasing an unrelated YA contemporary novel this winter, and then Jenny and Zak's story in August 2015.

To celebrate other summer 2014 YA novel releases, I want to give away two of them that I loved:

 

THE FOURTH WISH by Lindsay Ribar is the sequel to THE ART OF WISHING but it also stands on its own. Why did I love it? Because Margo loves Oliver, a genie, regardless of the exterior form he takes. Margo is a positive, uplifting character who is fun to follow through her own transformation.

THE BRIDGE FROM ME TO YOU by Lisa Schroeder is by our very own former A2A contributor! Why did I love it? Because the love story is sweet and non-angsty, and the dual povs from both Lauren and Colby are expressive and connected, but also unique.

All you have to do for a chance to win is leave a review on Amazon or B&N for BLACKOUT, DESERTED, or both, and leave the link to the review in the comments! You'll get one entry for each review you write and post below (for a total of 4 possible entries). Enter in the Rafflecopter below between 8/18-9/18. Sorry, open to U.S. mailing addresses only.

For links to the books on Amazon and B&N, go to www.DeenaLipomi.com.

Happy Second-Half-of-August!

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Why I Now Like Book Trailers (or Video Killed the YA Book Star*)

*with apologies to The Buggles

Tip of the Day: Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Mini Pretzles are dangerously delish. (9 servings per bag? How about 4?)

As A2A readers undoubetly know, a few years ago book trailers for YA and MG novels started becoming more popular. Many discussion cropped up on if they were worth having.

Personally, I watch trailers that:

a. get a lot of buzz,
b. are by authors I know, or
c. are for books I'm planning on buying/reading anyway.

In other words, I have never been swayed to buy/read a novel because of the trailer even though I have been entertained by them.

One of the first trailers I remember thinking was cool was this one for Carrie Ryan's THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUi3Ap2ga1U
But because it has actors and spoken dialog, it feels more like a movie trailer than one for a novel.

A recent favorite is this amazing animated trailer for THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL by Soman Chainani:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqnU3ZqvL1k
It is also very cinematic, and way too expensive for a novice like me to ever do.

When I decided to self epub BLACKOUT, I didn't originally plan to produce a book trailer. But my husband was writing new tracks for his band Blue Falcon around the time I was formatting my novel and I thought it would be cool if he created original music for a trailer. Once he agreed, I was excited!

While I enjoy some of the cinematic book trailers out there, I wanted mine to be more in line with the experience of reading a book. I also knew I needed it to be about 45-60 seconds long. I watched Lisa Schroeder's trailer for THE DAY BEFORE for inspiration as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBnbubgIMJA

I love the filming that Lisa did for her trailer, but that is more work than I wanted to put into it so I went with the photo that was used for the cover as a backdrop for the whole thing. The rest was my husband using the limited options on iMovie.

But honestly the best part of having a book trailer? I can hock my wares by giving people an experience -- a free taste of music and atmosphere for BLACKOUT -- instead of just a link where they can buy my book. As someone who is not into self-promotion, it makes talking about my novel a lot easier.

I don't expect my trailer to be the one that transforms people like me into those who buy books based on them. But if the music and atmosphere at least entertains those who click on the YouTube link for 60 seconds, I've done my job.



What are your thoughts of book trailers as a viewer or as an author?

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

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

Fun Friday: Guest Post by Former A2Aer Lisa Schroeder

We've talked about book trailers before on Author2Author. Some of us think they help to sell books, some of us, we're not so sure. As an author, what's hard is that there really is no way to know if they affect sales. And they usually aren't cheap. Unless you do one yourself. And in that case, it still has to be good. Also, more and more, book trailers with just still photos are criticized as being boring. And some believe your trailer won't stand out if you use only still photos. But to hire someone to do a trailer with actors and actresses - you're talking a boat load of money the average mid-list author simply doesn't have to invest in one marketing tool.

I wanted a book trailer, but I didn't have want to spend the money. So, my husband and I headed to the beach for the day and we filmed some beautiful beach footage. I sent it to a friend who was kind enough to edit it for me. I love how the video turned out. Yes, it's quite simple, but in this case, I think simple works. The entire book takes place at the beach, so why not use the lure of the beach to pull people in? That's what I hope this trailer does.

Lisa Schroeder
http://lisaschroederbooks.com

[Click here to see Lisa's beautiful, intriguing trailer!]

A Christmas miracle - sales numbers easily available!

Tip of the day: Trader Joe's eggnog cookies are delicious - you should try them even if you don't care for eggnog. 

So, if you were on twitter yesterday, you may have heard agents and authors talking about the new deal between BookScan and Amazon. (You can read the article that announced it HERE). If an author participates in the Amazon Author program, he/she can access BookScan sales numbers for books he/she wrote and see sales figures for four weeks time.

Up until now, BookScan numbers were too expensive for most authors to get. Subscribing to BookScan costs thousands and thousands of dollars, from what I understand. Editors have the numbers, but they generally don't give authors those numbers unless they ask. And even then, information is usually handed out with an explanation of what it means for YOUR books and a reminder that BookScan is known for being highly inaccurate. Plus it doesn't include library sales and sales through places like Walmart, Target, etc. Apparently numbers on your statement will vary anywhere from 15-75% from BookScan numbers.

I sort of have mixed feelings about all of this. On the one hand, we get SO little information about how our books are selling. Royalty statements only come out twice a year and they often don't tell the whole story because returns can take a long time to show up. So, it's nice to have something that says - your books are selling, and here's how many in a week.

On the other hand, how many authors are going to know what that particular number means? I mean, pick a number. Is it good or bad? Is 500 copies a week good? 100? 50? 25? I've heard that it takes probably 4,000 - 5,000 books sold to hit the NYT list on any given week, so in that context, 500 doesn't seem that good. But then, I think - 500!? That's pretty good. I'd be happy with that! Other things that come into play - how long has the book been out? How many books were printed in the first place? Is it hardcover or paperback?

And let's say your book is down there in the 25/week range. And you get a stomach ache and go UGH! Now you have a stomach ache, but what can you do about it? Most of us do as much as we can already when it comes to promotion. So how does knowing really help us?

One person on twitter did suggest that when you tried something new promo-wise, or did some signings in a particular week, you could watch your numbers and see if it had an affect on the sales that week and take note.

My guess is that Amazon got tired of the questions - what does the Amazon ranking mean? Can't you give us more information about it? So, somehow they struck a deal with BookScan and here we are. One author on twitter asked, how long before they make us pay for this information? Good point. Give it to us free for a while, suck us in, and then start charging. It'll be interesting to see if that happens.

So... what do you think? Do you like the idea of having access to these numbers or not?

~Lisa, Miss Crafting a Career

What makes a good school visit presentation?

Tip of the day: Saturday, December 4th has been declared Take Your Child to a Bookstore day. Here's the post from the woman who had the idea.

Yesterday, I got an exciting e-mail. I've kept in touch with this sweet woman named Jen over the years after I met her when I was a Pampered Chef consultant. She brought her daughter to my launch party for It's Raining Cupcakes and her daughter is just the sweetest thing. Here's a picture of me and her:

Apparently when Cupcakes was spotted at her book fair, she helped to sell many copies! And then, Jen reached out to me and asked if I ever do school visits.

I've done some writing workshops for kids and teens, but as of yet, I haven't done a full day school visit at a school. But it's something I'd love to do more of.

Anyway, yesterday Jen let me know that she decided to go to the PTO and request some money to have me come to her daughter's school, and yesterday they approved the request. So next spring, I will have my very first school visit!

I am excited about this prospect, but also a bit nervous. I told Jen my goal will be to provide entertainment, education and inspiration - all three rolled into my presentation(s).

I'm going to have to figure out 3 different presentations: one for kids K-1, one for kids grades 2-3, and one for kids grades 4-5.  I want them to be interactive in some way. I don't want to just stand and talk at the kids for 30-50 minutes. I want to find some cool props to take along.

I've been scouring the web for information, and once I finish a draft of my WIP, I'll need to get my three presentations ready on Powerpoint or Prezi, and maybe go shopping for some props or costumes or something.

Have you been to any school visits that you thought were fantastic? Or any that were horrible? I'd love tips on what to do and what not to do, if you have any!

~Lisa, Miss Crafting a Career

Journey from Idea to Book

Tip of the Day: Thanksgiving is just 13 days away. I don't want to know how many days until Christmas, because it's not enough. I should start shopping now!!


On Monday, I finished line edits on my upcoming middle grade novel, SPRINKLES AND SECRETS. This is a companion novel to IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES, and will be released 9/2011.

This book has had quite the journey, and I thought it'd be interesting to share that journey today.

Back in February or March, I decided to pitch a sequel to Aladdin, the publisher of IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES. I wrote 5 chapters and a proposal. But, in April, my agent received word that my editor thought we would be better going with a companion novel, rather than a sequel. I think the reasoning is that with a companion, new readers can pick up the book and jump right in, without having read the first one. There is a connection, but the book can easily stand on its own. My editor suggested a book told from Sophie's point of view. Sophie is Isabel's best friend (Isabel is the main character in CUPCAKES).

I was a bit disappointed at first. I liked the idea I had for the sequel (although, now, all of these months later, do you know I can't even remember what I had planned). And I had no idea what I could possibly do for a plot in a book with Sophie as the main character. I mean, without a plot, you don't really have a book!

So, I whined to my friends, including my buddies here at Author2Author, trying to figure out what a story about Sophie might entail. In CUPCAKES, we learned that Sophie is a real go-getter. She loves to sing and act and her dream is to be an actress someday. Deena suggested - what if she has the chance to be in a commercial? And that got the wheels spinning. I made some connections from the first book to create some conflict - and a new book idea was born. (Thank you DEENA!!!)

I wrote another five chapters and we sent it to my editor. She didn't love them, but thought the book had the potential, so they made an offer. I couldn't stop worrying about whether they might not like the whole book though. And I *really* wanted to make this idea work. So I sat down and fast-drafted the rest of the novel in a matter of days, after I briefly outlined the whole book. That was key - knowing what each chapter was going to be about (in a very general way).

When I got my editorial letter, there were some major changes I needed to make. The beginning just wasn't working. I had to find a way to show the kind of person Sophie is and get readers up-to-speed on what happened in CUPCAKES, if they hadn't read that book. But it needed to be fun and interesting, so people who had read CUPCAKES wouldn't be bored. I don't think I've ever had to change a beginning of a book before - I seem to have more trouble with endings. With this revision, I also needed to eliminate one sub-plot entirely and make a minor character more of a major one, and bring out a sub-plot with him. I decided the best thing to do was open a brand new document and start writing.

I was able to use probably 50% of the existing manuscript, but I added another 50% that was entirely new. Did this make me regret writing the entire novel like I'd done? No. I think having an entire novel to work with allowed my editor to really figure out what she liked and what she didn't like, so she could give me some good editorial direction.

So much of what we do is rewriting. We worry we won't be able to come up with new scenes, new sub-plots, new characters, and yet, we do! And often, they're better than we ever imagined they would be.

I love how this book turned out, and my editor does too. The journey had a lot of twists and turns, but I never let myself doubt that I couldn't get where we needed to go. I've gotten a lot of notes from readers of IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES who want another book about Isabel and Sophie. And I just kept thinking - I have to make this work for them.

And it feels so good to have made it to the finish line!!!

~Lisa, Miss Crafting a Career

When characters don't fall from the sky, what do you do?

Tip of the day: If you happen to be in the Portland, Oregon area, I'm reading and signing my new picture book, LITTLE CHIMP'S BIG DAY, at the Beaverton-Tanasbourne Barnes and Noble on Saturday, 10/16 at 10:00 am!

My YA novel-in-progress has lots of characters. Sometimes characters come to me fully formed, but just as often, they don't. I have to work at them.

When I was writing IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES, which also has quite a few characters, I didn't have much trouble. Stan the barber wanted to tell knock-knock jokes. So I let him. Isabel's grandma loved hats. Okay then, hats are nice. Characteristics just sort of fell from the sky, and each time, I'd grab them, smile, and whisper thank you.

Well, it's not as easy with this book. Things aren't falling, dang it. So I'll sit there, wanting to write the page, but I'll be stuck because unless I can show who the character is, I can't move forward. And what I really want are characteristics that will add something to the story. You know, bring depth and meaning to the theme and all of that. Okay, at this point, I'm not sure I even know what the theme is, but still - I don't want just any characteristics, I want cool ones. Unique ones. Brilliant ones!

One of my favorite books this year is SORTA LIKE A ROCK STAR by Matthew Quick. One of the characters is a Vietnam Vet who writes haiku poetry. And the poems become important to the story. Even more important is the relationship that forms between the old guy and the main character.

THAT'S the kind of thing I want. I mean - a quiet war veteran who writes haikus? BRILLIANT! And I don't think those type of brilliant characteristics just fall from the sky. I don't know, maybe they do, if you're open to them? I'm open to them, I swear (in case anyone up there is listening).

I love it when a character appears and he/she is perfect and there's not a lot of thinking that has to go on. But with this book, that's just not happening. So... any suggestions as to what I can do or resources I can turn to for cool characteristics?

~Lisa, Miss Crafting a Career

The game of writing and publishing

Tip of the Day: Want a chance to win a copy of IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES? There's a contest at Marcia Hoehne's blog where you can enter to win. 

So yesterday, Tina talked about whether or not it's harder than ever to publish in today's market. Author Cynthea Leitich Smith commented that she loves supporting debut authors, but she can barely fit them all in over the course of a year.

This is a good sign, yes?

When I went to the SCBWI conference in LA in August, the agents and editors all seemed to sound hopeful about the market. I certainly didn't walk away with a sense of gloom and doom or anything.

I think, however, that there are more people than ever writing for kids and teens. And I know there are books circulating out there that are great and incredibly well written and yet, they aren't being bought. So it got me thinking - how do you keep going when you know it is SO competitive? When your drawers are full of rejections and it feels like all hope is gone, how do you keep going? Or, should you just give up? Should you admit defeat eventually, and stop trying?

I think as long as you can still find some joy in the process, especially in the writing, you shouldn't stop trying. So much of this business is right place, right time. And you won't hit that right place, right time if you stop trying. And you certainly won't write the manuscript you were meant to write and sell if you stop writing.

With each story I begin, I have no idea if it will be good or not. I don't know if it will be something that sells. I don't know if it's going to be something that I'll even finish. But I love the process of making my way through a story with characters I've created, and seeing what happens. It's challenging for me, still, and I love a good challenge! That's why I keep doing this - because there is joy in the process of writing for me.

If at some point, however, the joy is gone and the process of querying and/or submitting is sucking all the life out of a person, and the writing isn't fun anymore, I think it's time to stop and think hard about the options. Because honestly, life is too short to be miserable. For most people, having a book published doesn't change their life *that* much. Is it a good experience? Some of the time, yes. Not always, though. Ask any author who has had a book published but had incredibly low sales how he/she feels. I bet you get a lot of mixed answers.

My kids loved playing chess when they were younger. They would play me or my husband again and again, even though they lost most of the time. They simply loved the game, whether they won or not. They weren't this way with most games. Most games, it was all about winning. But not chess.

I think writing is like that. If you love it, keep playing. If not, it's okay to move on to other things, like my kids have. Although just last week, my younger son asked his dad if he'd play chess with him.

And guess what? My son won!

~Lisa, Miss Crafting a Career

Is the grass THAT greener? Thoughts about writing FT

Tip of the Day: Easy A looks like a really good movie for those of us writing books for teens! I may see it this weekend.

This week I read a post on a message board by an author who was feeling frustrated about going to work that day when she wanted to be writing.

I remember those days well. I can specifically remember sitting on the couch with my laptop, trying to catch up on e-mails and do any blogging before I left for work at 8:30. There would be moments when I'd look out the window at my backyard and think, I want to stay home! Why can't I stay home?

It's hard to believe it's been 9 months since I quit the day job.

Most days I love it. I really do. I wrote three books this year, two of which have already sold and been revised. More writing time is obviously a wonderful thing. I also love being more available to my family. I love having more time for things like exercise and occasionally, sleep! But I have to admit, there are things I miss about having a day job. (Granted, I could also do a list of things I don't miss as well, like the commute!)

Anyway, for those who are still at the day job, I thought I'd share the things I miss about working, to help you feel a little better.

1. I get lonely! I'm very much an introvert, but still - working in an office with people and having those water cooler conversations? I miss that!! Not to mention going out to lunch at least once a week.

2. It is SO easy to squander the day away. I watch a little bit of Good Morning America, but I turn the TV off at 8:00 at the latest, so it's not that. It's the dang internet! When I'm into a story I love, it's easier to ignore the lure of the internet, but right now, when I'm playing around, trying to find a story to sink my teeth into, it's hard. And I really don't like the fact that at the end of a day when I didn't do much but play on the internet, I have nothing to show for it. I'm trying to be better about getting off the computer and reading a book if I'm really struggling with writing. Because at least reading a book is time well spent.

3. The routine a day job brings. Yes, there is less time to get things done, but there is something really nice about routine. I'm trying to make my own, and I think it's getting better, but still, it's hard.

4. And of course, the regular paycheck, and the contributions on my behalf into a retirement fund.

Whatever we're doing - writing full-time, working while writing too, parenting while writing - I think we have to realize that there is no *perfect* situation. We just have to do the best with what we have, and be  thankful for those good writing days, whenever they come.

Whatever your writing situation is - do you wish you could change it somehow?

~Lisa, Miss Crafting a Career

Wait. Should I really be reading this?

Tip of the day: If leggings did not look good on your short and stocky legs 25 years ago, they probably will not look good now. Yes, I am speaking from experience.

I've been reading some REALLY good books lately.

First of all, I read THE BOOK THIEF shortly after it first came out, but I recently decided I wanted to listen to it in audio form, so I got the set from the library. Wow, what an experience it is, listening to that book being read out loud. 

I finished some Advanced Review Copies of some great books - MY FAKE BOYFRIEND IS BETTER THAN YOURS by our own Kristina Springer; THE MOCKINGBIRDS by Daisy Whitney; and LOSING FAITH by Denise Jaden.

I'm currently about two-thirds of the way through CLOCKWORK ANGEL by Cassandra Clare. Holy crap, that girl can write!!!

So this morning, when I sat down to start in on a brand new project, I had a really hard time! All of these great books made me feel so inferior. Like - I will NEVER be able to write as good as these people, what am I doing even trying?

The first couple of hours were rough. Eventually, I found my way and stopped thinking about all of the wonderful words THEY had written and was finally able to focus on my own.

I think reading good books is important. I learn a lot from well written books. But at certain times, they actually hurt me more than they help me, if that makes sense. 

Anyone have a crappy book to recommend after I finish CLOCKWORK ANGEL? I need something to make me feel a little better.

~Lisa, Miss Crafting a Career

Looking back at this revision process

Tip of the day: To print out your manuscript so it looks like a book (and saves on paper), go to Format, Columns, then select two. After that, change the set-up of your page to landscape and your line spacing to single spacing. I find reading the book this way helps me read it differently and I often find things I want to change I didn't see before.


I am happy to report my revisions are finished!

This book required some big changes. Lots of scenes had to be deleted and new ones put in their place. I was really nervous going into it, because I liked what I had and I worried I was going to ruin the book.

I think this is often what we fear when we go in and make changes. What if we make the thing worse, not better?

What really helped me was to draw out on a piece of paper 24 boxes, with each box representing a chapter. The chapters that didn't change, I wrote in what their purpose was (develop the plot, develop the characters, or both) and the big thing that happened in that chapter. Then, with the boxes where things were going to change, I wrote in pencil what I needed to have happen, and ideas around the scene(s) that would get me there.

One character became a lot more present during this revision. My editor liked him and said - more, please! Okay then. More. But if he was going to be a bigger character, I realized I needed to figure out what he wanted. Every character wants something, not just the main character. And I love it when characters' desires compliment each other or contradict each other. In this case, what he wanted came sort of organically, as I played around with a scene, but it ended up working really well, and tied in nicely with my main character's desire. I hope it works, anyway. We'll see what my editor has to say.

Anyway, each time I revise, I learn something. And the more times I do this, the more I realize that it's during revision when the real book is really written.

So yay, I'm done! Now I get to clean the house. Although there's that new idea I've been pondering...

~Lisa, Miss Crafting a Career

The Top Ten Things I Don't Like About Revision

Tip of the day: Have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend. School starts up for my kids next week, which means I'm back to my third (or is it fourth?) part-time job, that of Homework Assistant. Oh joy.


It has been a week of revision for me. This is me revising:

I know revision is a necessity. I know it makes the book better. I know it's a wonderful thing to have an editor tell you what to do to make the book sparkle and shine.

But it is hard.

Really, really hard. Sometimes it's harder than others. And this time? Pretty dang hard.

Here is my top ten list of things I don't like about revision.

10. About halfway through, you start to question everything. Everything! It can become almost paralyzing, because you have this urge to erase the whole freaking file and start completely over.

9. It makes you focus on all of your weaknesses.

8. Because it makes you focus on all of your weaknesses, you start to feel like you really suck.

7. That sucky feeling makes you reach for the crappy food, because crappy food comforts you.

6. Because you're eating the crappy food, and sitting at the computer for 12+ hours a day, you start to gain weight.

5. Sitting at the computer for 12+ hours a day not only puts on the pounds, it also gives you raging headaches.

4. A raging headache means when you finally get off the computer, you are absolutely no fun to be around and your family wants nothing to do with you.

3. When you finally go to bed at night, hoping for sleep that will bring relief from the misery and pain, you toss and turn, plot struggles and character issues refusing to leave you alone.

2. Each passing day means more suck, more fat, more crankiness, and less sleep.

And the number one thing I don't like about revision.

1. It is messy. It is rip your book apart, throw the pieces on the ground, mix them up, throw some of them away, try to find new ones that fit, messy. I hate messes!! And then there's the mess that accumulates around the house while you're revising, too. See?

MESSY!!!!

I better get back to it. I have a lot to clean up.

~Lisa, Miss Crafting a Career

Monkeys would do a better job promoting than I am!

Tip of the Day: My new picture book, LITTLE CHIMP'S BIG DAY, is showing as shipping from Amazon. If you have little ones, I hope you'll check it out! 


I think I'm supposed to be promoting my new picture book, and I'm totally and completely lost as to how to do it.

I know some people do book trailers, but I don't have the money to hire someone and I don't really feel skilled enough to do it myself. Besides, unless it's really creative and I can think outside the box, I'm not sure a book trailer for a picture book is all that effective.

If I had postcards done, I don't know where I'd send them.

The only thought I had was I could try and get in touch with Sara Gruen (WATER FOR ELEPHANTS) who also has a book coming out Sept 7th called APE HOUSE and see if she would take me on tour with her. She could sell her monkey book to adults and I could sell my monkey book to kids.

Something tells me, she probably wouldn't take me up on it though. But what a good idea, huh? We could call it the Monkey Tour! Or, uh, monkeys on tour. Ha!

It's hard to feel motivated about it too, because a big part of me feels like people simply don't buy picture books anymore. At least not hardcover ones from an unknown author anyway.

So, if you were me, what would you do? Put on a monkey suit and walk around town? Spam your facebook friends every day for the next month with stuff about the book? Other ideas? Not a thing?

Can I just say that I really don't like promotion much?

But yay - a cute picture book with adorable illustrations and fun, rhyming text!! That part is fun. The rest, um yeah, not so much.

~Lisa, Miss Crafting a Career

Thinking about third person POV

Tip of the day: A new and exciting blog is coming next week! Follow @YAContemps on twitter and all will be revealed SOON!

I can't believe it's the middle of August. How did this happen?

I haven't been writing lately. Just enjoying summertime, hanging out with my kids, working on a group project that's been taking lots of time, etc. But all the while, I've been trying to decide what my next project will be, so come September, when the kids are back in school, I can dive in.

I think I've finally found the next idea. That is no small feat. Ideas are hard for me! Of course, we'll see, because there are those things called false starts where I go 10-20 pages and decide the story isn't for me after all.

Anyway, at this point I know the story is YA. I know the basic premise. I know the title. I think I even know the first line.

What I don't know for sure is how I'm going to tell it. When you have a story idea, how do YOU decide how you're going to tell it? Is is the way the voice comes to you in your head? Or is it more than that? Something tells me it may be best to tell this new story in third person. Maybe even third person omniscient. What does that mean?

It means the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all of the characters in the story, as opposed to third person limited, which is just one character's perspective.

It scares me to try writing a book this way, because I think you have to be a beautiful story teller. Or at the very least, an interesting one. Probably two of the most famous books told in this manner are THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak and THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS by E. Lockhart.

I put them on hold at the library so over the next month I can reread them and study how these authors wrote these amazing stories using an omniscient point of view.

I'm curious - how do you feel about third person in general, and if you've read the above books, what do you think of third person omniscient? Most YA today is written in first person. And yes, so far, all of my YA novels are written in first person. But I like stretching myself, trying new things. It keeps things interesting!

~Lisa, Miss Crafting a Career

I'm heading into forbidden waters - advances

Tip of the day: I think this article, featuring author Janet Fitch's 10 rules for writers is really worth reading.

Okay, let's talk about advances.

I'm going to admit a deep, dark secret. Whenever I read a deal from Publisher's Marketplace with those beautiful words "significant deal" my brain screams at me, WHY CAN'T THAT BE YOU???

For those of you who aren't familiar with Publisher's Marketplace "deals" here is how they are defined:

A "nice" deal = $0 - $49,000

A "very nice" deal = $50,000 - $99,000

A "good" deal = $100,000 - $250,000

A "significant" deal = $251,000 - $499,000

A "major" deal = $500,000 and up

I didn't start out writing for the money. But once this writing thing becomes the only way you're bringing in the green stuff, suddenly it becomes a lot more important. And I find myself paying more attention to other people's deals, even though that's putting myself on the fast path to Crazyland.

In theory, I guess it doesn't matter what your advance is, because every author wants his/her books to sell well, and if it sells well, you'll see the money in royalties later. (Years later, however).

And yet, to me, the size of the advance says something. If it's a good one, it says:

~ we LOVE this book and believe in it big time.

~ we value you as an author.

~ we want you and this book to succeed.

~ we plan to put some marketing dollars behind this book.

Among other things.

I understand that with a big advance, there comes pressure and expectations. But there also comes heavy marketing, author tours, a big push to sell to foreign markets, etc. And what author doesn't want those things?

Those of you who haven't sold yet are probably thinking - I don't care what the size of the deal is, I just want a deal.

But here I am, with six books sold over the course of three years, and I find myself thinking about it more and more, and feeling like a failure more and more, which is not a fun place to be.

People will say to me - but how can you feel like a failure? You have multiple books on the shelves. Your first novel is still in print and still selling well two years after it came out! Your publisher continues to buy books from you. How can you see yourself as anything other than a success?

Because at this point, I would make more money as a secretary than I do as an author. So there is the ugly truth.

And yet, I'm not giving up. I'm not going to let my occasional green feelings stop me. I'm not going to let the size of my deals define me. With every new book, there is the potential for big things to happen. Just because I'm in the nice deals now, doesn't mean I have to be there forever. (Dear God, please don't let me be there forever).

Yes, some authors hit the big time the first time out. What we have to remember is that they are the EXCEPTION. If we did a survey of all the young adult novels sold in the past year, my guess is that most deals would be in that "nice deal" range.

How many musical artists look at U2 and think, I wish that were me? I'm guessing a lot. And yet, there is only one Bono. Only one U2. And while I like U2, I'm so very glad there are other groups hanging in there, doing their thing, making pennies compared to U2. Their music brings me and others joy.

Ah, let's think about that word.

Joy.

I don't want to be about deals.

I want to be about JOY!!

So I'm going to do what I've always done. I'm going to keep writing, because my books do bring some people joy. Maybe not a "significant" number of people, but some people nonetheless. And writing, most of the time, brings me joy. And I will remind myself daily that there are more important things in this world than money.

Like pantyhose. If I went to work as a secretary, I'd have to wear pantyhose. Ew! No thank you!

~Lisa, Miss Crafting a Career

The magic of word of mouth

Tip of the day: Iced tea mixed with a little lemonade is a delicious summertime drink!

I read a book recently, SORTA LIKE A ROCK STAR by Matthew Quick, that I loved so much, I have been telling everyone I know about it. I even sold a copy to someone at one of my own book signings.

Yesterday I did a one-hour presentation at a children's writers conference, and read from some favorite books to illustrate some examples of voice, character, etc. And when I came to SORTA LIKE A ROCK STAR, I couldn't help it. I started gushing about it again. I was like - I just LOVE the vietnam vet who writes haikus. I mean, I LOVE him. And it's not even like he does that much, but him and Amber form such a special relationship... blah, blah, blah. I couldn't stop talking about it!!

But you know what? When I finally did manage to shut up, someone raised their hand and said, "What's the author's name again?" And everyone, I mean, EVERYONE, frantically wrote it down when I shared it again.

I am convinced there is no better kind of promotion than word of mouth.

So what is it that makes people love a book so much they want to tell everyone they know about it?

I think it's a perfect combination of a unique but also familiar story with well-drawn and interesting, admirable characters along with memorable scenes that make us laugh or cry or preferably both.

Think of the book you love so much you tell everyone about it.

Or think of the classic TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, that so many people will say is their all-time favorite book. A unique but somewhat familiar story? Check. Interesting and admirable characters? Atticus is probably one of the most interesting and admirable characters ever written. Not to mention Scout and Jem. Scenes that make us laugh and cry? Check and check.

It has it all.

With each book we write, we should strive for those elements that will make people want to pass the book around and share it with their friends and loved ones. We might not always succeed, but by keeping those elements in mind, and trying to do the impossible, you never know - we might just succeed some day.

~Lisa, Miss Crafting a Career

I love my idea journal!

Tip of the day: I will be talking books, reading and signing at Vroman's in Pasadena on Thursday, July 1st at 7:00 pm. If you're in the area, I'd love to see you!

Last fall, I read THE MAGICIAN'S ELEPHANT by Kate Dicamillo. Now, while it wasn't my favorite book of hers, I still really enjoyed it. There was something a little bit magical about it. And after I closed the book, I had this longing to write a book that felt magical in a way. I can't describe what I was thinking or feeling. But I grabbed my idea journal and I wrote down these words:

A story in the garden.

Events happen in and around the garden, a beautiful flower garden.

There is a bird.

There is a gypsy.

There is a girl and a boy.

There is a mother.

There is a king.

The bird ties everything together

Since then, I've written many other things in that journal. But always, I came back to that page, and thought, what is the story on this page? I want to find it. Someday.

Recently, when I became frustrated with a novel I had been writing for a few months, I flipped open my idea journal, like I often do, to see what I might find. And again, I paused on that page I had written months and months ago. And suddenly, things started coming to me.

I finished writing the book recently - it's a middle grade novel. Once I started, everything came together in a very magical way and I love, love, LOVE the story I ended up with. Not all of the things listed above ended up in the book. And some things are a tad different from what's listed above. My agent has read it, and she loved it as well. YAY!! I have some minor revisions to do on it before it's ready to go, and I've been swamped with other stuff, so haven't gotten to it yet. But hopefully it will be ready for submission soon.

When I bought the journal on etsy, the girl making it asked me what quote I'd like put on the inside, for inspiration. I chose this one:

Do you have an idea journal? Have I tempted you to try one if you don't? I highly recommend it!

~Lisa, Miss Crafting a Career

Writing, you are always on my mind

Tip of the day: Need a book to read? Here's a 40% off coupon for Borders - go buy a YA or MG book you've been dying to read!

Most of the time, I love being an author. I love writing, I love hearing from readers, I love talking with other authors.

But one of the things I don't like very much is that it's really hard to turn the job of author "off."

If I'm not writing, I'm thinking about the book I'm working on. Or I'm thinking about what I should be doing promotion-wise. Or I'm thinking about how I need ideas for the next book. Or a million other things.

The problem is, I rarely take a day off. Because Saturdays and Sundays are good writing days since I get up early and my family sleeps in, so I can get a few hours of good writing in during that time. I may not do much else the rest of the weekend, unless I'm on a deadline, but nonetheless, I'm still doing some work 7 days a week.

I'm beginning to realize that this is not a good way to live. I have to start designating "days off" for myself, and stick to it! It's hard though, at least for me. Because even if I say - okay, no working today (which of course I do tell myself from time to time), it's hard to turn the brain completely off. It likes to drift... back to the story, back to the characters, back to the world I've chosen to leave behind.

I think I need to take more longer vacations, because that's when I can really relax and leave it all behind. Fortunately, we have one coming up soon, at the happiest place on earth. I can't wait!!!

So, I'm wondering. Is this just me? Do you have the ability to shut it all off and really take a break from the job of writer?

~Lisa, Miss Crafting a Career

Amazon, Sales, and Returns - OH MY!

Tip of the day: If you think tracking Amazon rankings is a fun way to pass the time, www.titlez.com is a web site you can use to make a list of books and compare their Amazon rankings.

Yesterday Tina talked a little about the craziness of Amazon checking, and I thought I'd follow up on that and talk about why it is authors do this, even though it is totally crazy-making.

Publishing is not just a business that is slow on the front end - waiting for responses to submissions. It is also slow on the back end. Most authors don't have any idea how their books are selling until months, perhaps even years, after the book is released. Why? Because royalty statements only come out twice a year, but not only that, they reflect a period of time that was months ago. Before I show you an example, understand when I say "most" that's because if your book is selling extremely well, you'll likely know that. If you hit a list, like the NYT list, of course your editor is going to call you! And if your book goes into a second printing fairly quickly, you'll probably be notified of that also. But beyond that, it can be very hard to know exactly how your book is selling.

So, let's take a look at my second book, FAR FROM YOU, which came out December, 2008.

Now, for those of you who don't remember what was happening in December, 2008, that was back when the financial market was on the verge of collapse, companies were laying people off right and left, and it pretty much felt like the floor was about to fall out from underneath us. So, a good time to have a book released? No, not really. But what could I do? That's the thing that authors have to understand - so much of how a book sells is beyond our control. Whether the chains pick it up or not, whether a cover screams "pick-me-up!" or cries "what were they THINKING?" or a hundred other things is all beyond the author's control. And the economy at that point, when my second book baby was released, was completely out of my control.

Was I curious how much it was going to affect sales of my book? Yes, absolutely. Wouldn't you be?

So, all I had at that point was Amazon. And I could tell within the first month that FAR FROM YOU probably wasn't doing very well. While rankings don't mean anything per se, and I've been told by a professional in the industry that Amazon sales are only 2% of total sales, I think they do give us a general gauge as to how a book is doing.

In the first month that I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME was released, the ranking most of the time was below 10,000. And I think anything below 10,000, and you can be fairly certain your book is selling well, both on-line and out in the real world. And that was true for that book, because after just one month of being released, it went back for a second printing.

As far as the rankings for FAR FROM YOU during that first month? I was lucky if it got below 100,000.

So, fast forward to August, 2009, and this is when I got my first royalty statement for FAR FROM YOU (9 months after the book came out). It listed the sales for the months December 2008 - March 2009. And that's when the reporting period stopped for that statement. The problem, though? At that point, it didn't take into account returns. That is - bookstores order a number of books. And your statement will show those orders as "sales." However, the bookstore has the ability to return books that don't sell, and that's probably going to happen AFTER the first 3 months of a book's release.

So, I had to wait all the way until February, 2010 (1 year and 2 months after the book came out) to see the next six months (April 2009 - Sept 2009) to have a better picture of what was happening with the book.

And guess what? Quite a few returns! The publisher holds back some of your royalties because of the return issue, so they do expect it at some level. But until you see the statement, you have no idea how it all played out.

Some authors will have their agents or editors check bookscan, which is the database bookstores report sales to, and find out how retail sales are going. The problem with that for us who write for kids and teens is that often, a book's total sales will be off by 25-75% when talking about bookscan, because it doesn't take into account school and library sales.

Since my last royalty statement, FAR FROM YOU has made the Texas High School Reading List. It's also been rereleased in paperback with a new cover. I'm hoping those two things will help with the sales.

I'll let you know in a year or so. And in the meantime, I'll try not to let my Amazon rankings drive me too crazy!!!

~Lisa, Miss Crafting a Career