Tip of the day: It will be quiet here at Author2Author next week, as we celebrate Thanksgiving with our loved ones. But we’ll return on December 1st with a fun giveaway to say thank you to YOU, our ever faithful blog readers. The only chance to *win* an Advanced Review Copy of FAR FROM YOU by yours truly will be right here! So we’ll see you then.
2008 will always be remembered as the year my first novel came out. I have friends, including our own Tina, who are looking forward to the release of their first novel in the coming months. It can be a scary, stressful time as you worry about reviews, blurbs, a web site, marketing, sales, etc. etc. So I thought for this post, I would share what I’m thankful for as far as being an author of a young adult novel.
I’ve gained more confidence. Knowing I have an agent and an editor who believe in me has made a huge difference in my writerly life. First my agent, then my editor took a chance on me and my strange little book about a ghost written in verse. While I still struggle at times with doubts, as we all do, it is a good thing to have people in my corner who believe in me. I am more confident in my abilities and perhaps I work even harder, because I want them to be happy with the work I produce.
It’s a dream come true. I can remember a time when I didn’t even know if I could write a novel. But I did. Again and again. And I dreamt of what it would be like if I ever sold one and had kids actually reading a book I wrote. I wanted that. I wanted to know what that felt like. And now I know. Which leads me to the best thing about being an author of a young adult novel.
Connecting with readers. It’s been amazing to see how my book has touched people. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined some of the notes I’ve gotten from readers. Some tell me how they’ve become more thankful of the special people in their life. Some tell me they feel less alone after experiencing the death of a loved one. And some have talked to me about how they don’t especially like to read, but they enjoyed my book, and many ask for my recommendation on other books they might enjoy. I can’t even find the words to describe how amazing it is to know I’ve touched someone’s life and maybe even changed it a little for the better.
So now, I’m looking forward to 2009 and all of the wonderful books coming out. This is an exciting time in young adult literature, and I’m so blessed to be a part of it.
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Author2Author!
~Lisa, Miss Pinch Me I’m Pubbed
Friday, November 21, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Thankful Thursday
Tip of the Day: Mush up some of the left-over Thanksgiving stuff together in a bowl the next day and heat & eat. It’s good. Really. :-)
I love this week of seeing what everyone else is thankful for and looking back on what I'm thankful for in my writing life too. And sometimes we're thankful for similar things so obviously that means they are extra cool. Like,
1) Critique Partners-- Critique partners are amazing-- they are so smart and see so many things in your writing that you may not see. Like when something really sucks or something is really great or something should be added/deleted.
2) Writing Friends-- They are just the best. They get what you are doing, they understand and share the struggles and triumphs and they are so supportive. I'm especially thankful for the A2A ladies and our cool readers, my Live Journal friends, my MySpace and facebook pals, and the Debs.
3) My Family-- They rock. They just get it and let me do my thing when I need to.
4) Time-- I'm thankful for any time I get to do this thing that I love.
5) My Agent-- I'm happy she keeps enjoying my books and is trying to sell more.
6) My Editor-- I'm thankful for the whole putting a book together experience I've had over the past year and for her helping make my book awesome.
7) Low-fat wheat pretzels from Trader Joe's-- Dang they’re good and I always pack a ziplock of them to snack on while I write.
8) The future- And all the possibilities of what will happen in my (and your) writing life (lives) next. So much to look forward to!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Kristina, Miss Soon-to-Pub
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Thanking the Thankless (or Yes, I'm Thankful for People, Too)
Tip of the Day: Amidst the business of the holiday eating season, don't forget your workouts. I recommend Hip Hop Hustle!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm thankful for my writing buddies and their LJ posts and Verla's BlueBoard and SCBWI and its organizers. Of COURSE I'm thankful for those people -- I better be or I have no business even using their bright minds and amazing resources to my advantage.
But what about the thankless? Those things that make my writing life so much easier than never get thanked? I'm going to thank them right now.
1) The Table-Mate II.
Before the Manpanion bought me this gizmo, I was writing on my laptop on my LAP. Can you believe it? The ergonomic atrocities! But thanks to the brilliant inventors of the Table-Mate II, I can write in couch-cushioned comfort all night long. Thank you, Table-Maters, for your genius crafting of metal and plastic!
2) The Republic of Tea's Blackberry Sage Tea.
It's delicious, smells amazing, can be drank warm in the winter and cold in the summer, and it provides that needed boost of caffeine for late night writing sessions without clogging you down with sugar. (I save that for #3 on the list.) Thank you, Republic of Tea, for brewing a tasting concoction that gets me through the day!
3) Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Chips.
Sometimes, despite best intentions, sugar is needed. And if you're gonna do it, you might as well do it right. For best results, freeze before consuming. Use sparingly. And do sets of 30 jumping jacks between 30-minute sessions of writing and snacking. Thank you, Hershey family, for your brilliant combination of cocoa and whatever else goes in your chips!
What are YOU thankful for that you think's been forgotten from most people's thankful lists?
Deena, Miss Recently Repped
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm thankful for my writing buddies and their LJ posts and Verla's BlueBoard and SCBWI and its organizers. Of COURSE I'm thankful for those people -- I better be or I have no business even using their bright minds and amazing resources to my advantage.
But what about the thankless? Those things that make my writing life so much easier than never get thanked? I'm going to thank them right now.
1) The Table-Mate II.
Before the Manpanion bought me this gizmo, I was writing on my laptop on my LAP. Can you believe it? The ergonomic atrocities! But thanks to the brilliant inventors of the Table-Mate II, I can write in couch-cushioned comfort all night long. Thank you, Table-Maters, for your genius crafting of metal and plastic!2) The Republic of Tea's Blackberry Sage Tea.
It's delicious, smells amazing, can be drank warm in the winter and cold in the summer, and it provides that needed boost of caffeine for late night writing sessions without clogging you down with sugar. (I save that for #3 on the list.) Thank you, Republic of Tea, for brewing a tasting concoction that gets me through the day!3) Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Chips.
Sometimes, despite best intentions, sugar is needed. And if you're gonna do it, you might as well do it right. For best results, freeze before consuming. Use sparingly. And do sets of 30 jumping jacks between 30-minute sessions of writing and snacking. Thank you, Hershey family, for your brilliant combination of cocoa and whatever else goes in your chips!What are YOU thankful for that you think's been forgotten from most people's thankful lists?
Deena, Miss Recently Repped
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Pre-Acknowledgement Post—Writing Things I’m Thankful For
Tip of the Day: If you are in or visiting an area near a casino. Make sure to people watch. Great character ideas abound. And if you are looking for teen or kid character ideas, check out the arcade!
I have a confession to make. Maybe it’s a writer thing or the fact I still have a 6th grade Gossip Girl living inside of me, but I’m an acknowledgementoholic. The first thing I do when buying a new book is open the spine and check out the acknowledgement section. I’m fascinated by all the people that help in making books, and who has helped the writer along the way.
So you can guess I’m excited for this week. Because not only do we get to thank people that have helped us, but we get to talk about general writing things we are thankful for.
So without further ado, here’s what I’m thankful for writing-wise:
1. Critique Partners: Yes, it’s cliché, but having critique partners in the past that didn’t work out for various reasons, I am incredibly thankful for the ones I have. All of them have different strengths than I do, and are incredibly insightful when critiquing my work. Also, they are one of the best writing support systems. I think I might have quit on several books if it wasn’t for them reassuring me that “no, you don’t write like a drunk monkey,” or that they want to see my book in print so I better send it in. See what I mean? Invaluable!!
2. Online Friends: Not only my online critique partners that have been a tremendous support and encouraging force that has kept me going through all the close calls, but blog friends and buddies that I’ve enjoyed reading posts, learning about their writing, and hearing they are going through some of the same joys and struggles I am. It’s almost a necessity in this solitary business.
3. Supportive family (i.e. my husband): I’m incredibly thankful for everything my husband does, but in regards to supporting my writing he’s a tremendous help. Not only as a shoulder to cry on after a harsh rejection or close call, but the fact he’s never complained when I zone out mid-sentence because I’m thinking about writing stuff, when I pause the TV mid-show because I have to jot down my writing idea before I forget it, when I shut the door to write in complete silence, or sometimes emerge much later smelling like a left over turkey sandwich. And even now he’s letting me write this blog entry despite the fact we are in crapped hotel room, it’s way too early, he’s trying to sleep, and the glow from the computer screen and tapping of keys isn’t the easiest to tune out. Is that supportive or what? I’m also thankful for my parents and grandparents who are incredibly encouraging and want to see me succeed at writing, and the fact they instilled a love of reading upon me at a young age.
4. Learning to grow: I’m so thankful that I continue to grow in my writing abilities, and that I’m willing and open to pushing myself further. I’ve had several jobs in the past where I’ve just lost interest in, but with writing, despite how frustrating it is at times, I’m glad I’m still willing to give publishing a try. Because if I didn’t, I think I might always regret the “what if.”
5. Close calls: having written seriously for several years now, I’ve had my fair share of close calls. Several requested revisions that almost made it, but didn’t pan out because of another person not approving, the market, or just general losing of interest from the requesting person. Yes, they are frustrating and yes they make you want to cry. But then after that’s passed, I’m thankful for knowing that I’m close. That at any moment one of the close calls could be The Call. And I’d rather know my strengths and weaknesses as a writer to continue to grow further, and make the best books I can. And I’m thankful these people saw potential in me that they took time away from their busy schedules to write in some cases very detailed revision suggestions that helped improve my books!
I’m thankful for so much more, but if I go on further I worry I might sound like a Hallmark card or movie. Which I generally love, don’t get me wrong. But maybe it’s best to keep some of my thankfulness for my acknowledgement page! Gotta have some suspense, you know?
--Emily, Miss Awaiting an Agent
P.S. I'm also thankful for the Aroma Coffee Shop in Reno, NV, because after driving around all morning, they were the only ones that weren't going to charge me an arm and a leg to use their WiFi for less than 5 minutes to post this! Thank you!
I have a confession to make. Maybe it’s a writer thing or the fact I still have a 6th grade Gossip Girl living inside of me, but I’m an acknowledgementoholic. The first thing I do when buying a new book is open the spine and check out the acknowledgement section. I’m fascinated by all the people that help in making books, and who has helped the writer along the way.
So you can guess I’m excited for this week. Because not only do we get to thank people that have helped us, but we get to talk about general writing things we are thankful for.
So without further ado, here’s what I’m thankful for writing-wise:
1. Critique Partners: Yes, it’s cliché, but having critique partners in the past that didn’t work out for various reasons, I am incredibly thankful for the ones I have. All of them have different strengths than I do, and are incredibly insightful when critiquing my work. Also, they are one of the best writing support systems. I think I might have quit on several books if it wasn’t for them reassuring me that “no, you don’t write like a drunk monkey,” or that they want to see my book in print so I better send it in. See what I mean? Invaluable!!
2. Online Friends: Not only my online critique partners that have been a tremendous support and encouraging force that has kept me going through all the close calls, but blog friends and buddies that I’ve enjoyed reading posts, learning about their writing, and hearing they are going through some of the same joys and struggles I am. It’s almost a necessity in this solitary business.
3. Supportive family (i.e. my husband): I’m incredibly thankful for everything my husband does, but in regards to supporting my writing he’s a tremendous help. Not only as a shoulder to cry on after a harsh rejection or close call, but the fact he’s never complained when I zone out mid-sentence because I’m thinking about writing stuff, when I pause the TV mid-show because I have to jot down my writing idea before I forget it, when I shut the door to write in complete silence, or sometimes emerge much later smelling like a left over turkey sandwich. And even now he’s letting me write this blog entry despite the fact we are in crapped hotel room, it’s way too early, he’s trying to sleep, and the glow from the computer screen and tapping of keys isn’t the easiest to tune out. Is that supportive or what? I’m also thankful for my parents and grandparents who are incredibly encouraging and want to see me succeed at writing, and the fact they instilled a love of reading upon me at a young age.
4. Learning to grow: I’m so thankful that I continue to grow in my writing abilities, and that I’m willing and open to pushing myself further. I’ve had several jobs in the past where I’ve just lost interest in, but with writing, despite how frustrating it is at times, I’m glad I’m still willing to give publishing a try. Because if I didn’t, I think I might always regret the “what if.”
5. Close calls: having written seriously for several years now, I’ve had my fair share of close calls. Several requested revisions that almost made it, but didn’t pan out because of another person not approving, the market, or just general losing of interest from the requesting person. Yes, they are frustrating and yes they make you want to cry. But then after that’s passed, I’m thankful for knowing that I’m close. That at any moment one of the close calls could be The Call. And I’d rather know my strengths and weaknesses as a writer to continue to grow further, and make the best books I can. And I’m thankful these people saw potential in me that they took time away from their busy schedules to write in some cases very detailed revision suggestions that helped improve my books!
I’m thankful for so much more, but if I go on further I worry I might sound like a Hallmark card or movie. Which I generally love, don’t get me wrong. But maybe it’s best to keep some of my thankfulness for my acknowledgement page! Gotta have some suspense, you know?
--Emily, Miss Awaiting an Agent
P.S. I'm also thankful for the Aroma Coffee Shop in Reno, NV, because after driving around all morning, they were the only ones that weren't going to charge me an arm and a leg to use their WiFi for less than 5 minutes to post this! Thank you!
Monday, November 17, 2008
And Also I'm Thankful for Turkey and Cranberry Sauce Sandwiches
Tip of the Day: Only 38 days until Christmas!
This week at Author2Author, we’re kicking off the holidays by blogging about what we’re thankful for in our writing lives. And, you know, it’s pretty easy to be thankful. I’m mostly thankful to be born in this time and place. I can work on a PC in the evenings and weekends, rather than using a sharpened quill or spending all my time foraging for food and wood. But all the people clogging the highways with me on my morning commute are also recipients of the gifts of living in a first world country in the 21st century. What makes me different from most of them? What makes me a writer and not a plumber or an accountant or an embezzler?
OK, perhaps I don’t have the education to make a good embezzler. But I think what drives me to be a writer, what makes me most thankful in my writing life, is that I was raised to have a wacky sense of humor. Nothing reminds me of this more than the holidays.
Like, we had this gorgeous old Nativity set that belonged to my grandmother and each piece was about a foot tall. We placed it under the tree every year. One of the wise men lost his head. So we used to balance the wise man’s head carefully on his shoulders and hide gifts behind him. When someone came to our house to celebrate, we’d ask him to hand us the gift we had tucked away. Naturally, the wise man’s head would fall off and my brothers and I would gasp and yell, “Oh, no, you killed the wise man!” This remained hysterically funny to us year after year. We called our Nativity people “the Wise Guys.” We also had assorted angel body parts hanging from the tree since we refused to get rid of broken ornaments, and there was much family laughter when we hung the disembodied heads on the tree.
I was very picky about the tinsel. We called that foil stuff you get at the dollar store “tinsel” and I despised clumps of it on the tree. “Separate the strands!” I’d tell my brothers every year. “Don’t just chuck it on there! No clumps!” The first year I attended college away from home, I drove home for the semester break at night. My brothers had tossed the Christmas lights into one big clump in the bushes to welcome me home.
Every year when How the Grinch Stole Christmas came on, the whole family would gather around the TV and complete silence was mandatory. I don’t know what the penalty would be for breaking the silence because nobody did. I learned the genius of Boris Karloff, Chuck Jones, and of course Dr. Seuss from my father’s absolute worship of this Christmas special. He always laughed, every year. When I asked him why he still enjoyed it so much even though he was an adult, he said, “Kate, we’ll always be kids on the inside.”
I thought he meant everyone, and it took me a long time to realize that not everyone stays a kid on the inside. And I’m thankful that my parents thought it was OK for me to stay a kid on the inside. I’m thankful we had a house where we could laugh all the time, where it was funny that the ornaments were all broken and you could watch the Grinch for free on TV and it was the highlight of the year. I think I became a writer so I could keep that feeling of looking at the world and finding it remarkably, amazingly weird and funny. I hope I can share that feeling with readers someday.
This week at Author2Author, we’re kicking off the holidays by blogging about what we’re thankful for in our writing lives. And, you know, it’s pretty easy to be thankful. I’m mostly thankful to be born in this time and place. I can work on a PC in the evenings and weekends, rather than using a sharpened quill or spending all my time foraging for food and wood. But all the people clogging the highways with me on my morning commute are also recipients of the gifts of living in a first world country in the 21st century. What makes me different from most of them? What makes me a writer and not a plumber or an accountant or an embezzler?
OK, perhaps I don’t have the education to make a good embezzler. But I think what drives me to be a writer, what makes me most thankful in my writing life, is that I was raised to have a wacky sense of humor. Nothing reminds me of this more than the holidays.
Like, we had this gorgeous old Nativity set that belonged to my grandmother and each piece was about a foot tall. We placed it under the tree every year. One of the wise men lost his head. So we used to balance the wise man’s head carefully on his shoulders and hide gifts behind him. When someone came to our house to celebrate, we’d ask him to hand us the gift we had tucked away. Naturally, the wise man’s head would fall off and my brothers and I would gasp and yell, “Oh, no, you killed the wise man!” This remained hysterically funny to us year after year. We called our Nativity people “the Wise Guys.” We also had assorted angel body parts hanging from the tree since we refused to get rid of broken ornaments, and there was much family laughter when we hung the disembodied heads on the tree.
I was very picky about the tinsel. We called that foil stuff you get at the dollar store “tinsel” and I despised clumps of it on the tree. “Separate the strands!” I’d tell my brothers every year. “Don’t just chuck it on there! No clumps!” The first year I attended college away from home, I drove home for the semester break at night. My brothers had tossed the Christmas lights into one big clump in the bushes to welcome me home.
Every year when How the Grinch Stole Christmas came on, the whole family would gather around the TV and complete silence was mandatory. I don’t know what the penalty would be for breaking the silence because nobody did. I learned the genius of Boris Karloff, Chuck Jones, and of course Dr. Seuss from my father’s absolute worship of this Christmas special. He always laughed, every year. When I asked him why he still enjoyed it so much even though he was an adult, he said, “Kate, we’ll always be kids on the inside.”I thought he meant everyone, and it took me a long time to realize that not everyone stays a kid on the inside. And I’m thankful that my parents thought it was OK for me to stay a kid on the inside. I’m thankful we had a house where we could laugh all the time, where it was funny that the ornaments were all broken and you could watch the Grinch for free on TV and it was the highlight of the year. I think I became a writer so I could keep that feeling of looking at the world and finding it remarkably, amazingly weird and funny. I hope I can share that feeling with readers someday.
-- Kate, Miss Apprentice Writer
Friday, November 14, 2008
Getting a negative review and living to tell about it
Tip of the Day: Have some Christmas shopping to do? Start now! Only 40 shopping days left!
All right. Let’s talk about reviews.
Specifically, bad reviews.
Good reviews are a piece of cake. Starred ones leave you, well, starry-eyed. A good review, especially a starred one, gives the author validation that his/her book is worth reading. Actually, even better - worth buying!
But bad ones? They hurt. There is just no way around it, unfortunately. As a book release approaches, an author is trying to figure out ways to get the word out. Marketing is probably occupying the brain about 75% of the time two months before a release. The hope, I think, is that some reviews will come in that get people talking. Because that’s what you want, right? A buzz. A buzz that it is so persistent, people just can’t ignore it and so they go to the bookstore and buy the book.
THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins is a book that had so much buzz around it I just HAD to go and get the book. And I wasn’t disappointed, believe me.
But how often does a buzz like that really happen? It seems to me, not very often. So is it realistic for us to think that any review might even come close to doing this for us? Probably not.
So what if a review comes in for your book, and it’s not what you were hoping for? In fact, it’s quite the opposite of what you were hoping for. Is it the end for your book? Like, is it over before it even began?
No. Not at all. First I think you have to ask the question, who is going to read the review journal? In the kidlit world, it’s primarily librarians and teachers. Most or all of the reviews will also end up on Amazon and B&N, but I wonder, in the end, how important those reviews are to regular readers? I think readers often put more weight into what other readers have to say versus professional publications, but that’s just a guess on my part.
Negative reviews remind me a lot of a harsh critique. At first, it stings. At first, you want to argue with everything negative being said. But eventually, after some time has passed, your brain begins to ponder the comments, and you might even begin to think, yeah, maybe that is something I need to work on.
One of my reviews for I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME talked about how, beyond Ava, my characters were only “shallowly realized.” I can tell you that those words stuck with me, and as I wrote my next book, I found myself paying more attention to the character development.
As they say, that which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, right?
~Lisa, Miss Pinch Me I’m Pubbed
All right. Let’s talk about reviews.
Specifically, bad reviews.
Good reviews are a piece of cake. Starred ones leave you, well, starry-eyed. A good review, especially a starred one, gives the author validation that his/her book is worth reading. Actually, even better - worth buying!
But bad ones? They hurt. There is just no way around it, unfortunately. As a book release approaches, an author is trying to figure out ways to get the word out. Marketing is probably occupying the brain about 75% of the time two months before a release. The hope, I think, is that some reviews will come in that get people talking. Because that’s what you want, right? A buzz. A buzz that it is so persistent, people just can’t ignore it and so they go to the bookstore and buy the book.
THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins is a book that had so much buzz around it I just HAD to go and get the book. And I wasn’t disappointed, believe me.
But how often does a buzz like that really happen? It seems to me, not very often. So is it realistic for us to think that any review might even come close to doing this for us? Probably not.
So what if a review comes in for your book, and it’s not what you were hoping for? In fact, it’s quite the opposite of what you were hoping for. Is it the end for your book? Like, is it over before it even began?
No. Not at all. First I think you have to ask the question, who is going to read the review journal? In the kidlit world, it’s primarily librarians and teachers. Most or all of the reviews will also end up on Amazon and B&N, but I wonder, in the end, how important those reviews are to regular readers? I think readers often put more weight into what other readers have to say versus professional publications, but that’s just a guess on my part.
Negative reviews remind me a lot of a harsh critique. At first, it stings. At first, you want to argue with everything negative being said. But eventually, after some time has passed, your brain begins to ponder the comments, and you might even begin to think, yeah, maybe that is something I need to work on.
One of my reviews for I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME talked about how, beyond Ava, my characters were only “shallowly realized.” I can tell you that those words stuck with me, and as I wrote my next book, I found myself paying more attention to the character development.
As they say, that which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, right?
~Lisa, Miss Pinch Me I’m Pubbed
Thursday, November 13, 2008
My Cover
Tip of the Day: Facebook is SO much fun! You should sign up. And then friend me.
I don't want to right out say I'm a psychic but I may open up a 900 line in the near future. Remember earlier in the year when I talked about my Cover Dreams? When I said I couldn't really imagine my cover but that maybe it would have a big espresso mug and maybe it would be brown or pink.
I swear I had no input but check it out:
What do you think? It's cute right? And I'm definitely a fan of the pink. Whenever I hit a bookstore or library I pick up the pink books first. (Hopefully I'm not the only one who does this).
Ahhhh. At first I thought the whole publishing process was going so slow. And now it feels like it's picking up speed! Sure, the book still won't be out until next fall but it's almost 2009! Next stop is ARCs. And then reviews (only good reviews please). And the marketing prep. Fun stuff ahead!
Kristina, Miss Soon-to-Pub
I don't want to right out say I'm a psychic but I may open up a 900 line in the near future. Remember earlier in the year when I talked about my Cover Dreams? When I said I couldn't really imagine my cover but that maybe it would have a big espresso mug and maybe it would be brown or pink.
I swear I had no input but check it out:
What do you think? It's cute right? And I'm definitely a fan of the pink. Whenever I hit a bookstore or library I pick up the pink books first. (Hopefully I'm not the only one who does this).Ahhhh. At first I thought the whole publishing process was going so slow. And now it feels like it's picking up speed! Sure, the book still won't be out until next fall but it's almost 2009! Next stop is ARCs. And then reviews (only good reviews please). And the marketing prep. Fun stuff ahead!
Kristina, Miss Soon-to-Pub
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