Catch Me, I'm Falling

Tip of the Day: Help spread the word about your favorite indie writer on INDIEpendence Day!!!!

http://ritawafu.blogspot.com/2009/11/sadness.html

Sometimes the writing life isn't easy.

I think most writers have a sensitive soul. The past couple of weeks have been difficult for me, in a professional sense. It was one of those "perfect storms," where everything dropped on me at once.

Luckily I have incredible writers who support me. Friends who take time out of their European vacations to let me vent via email. Friends who talk on the phone with me for 90 minutes, making me realize I'm not wholly insane (maybe just partly...lol). Friends who tell me they love me and will follow me through this crazy jungle we call publishing.

http://single-woman.tv/2010/01/12-golden-friendship-rules/

I think publishing is one of those careers where you must bear your soul to your co-workers and the world. It's equally rewarding and frightening. Self-publishing makes it even more so, because that stamp of approval from trad pubs is glaringly absent.

I wrote a bit more about this on my blog a couple of days ago. If you're curious, you can find it here.

Since this blog's focus is authors reaching authors, I wanted to take my time this week to remind all of you that while your publishing path may be littered with pitfalls, you are never alone. We all experience the fear, the uncertainty. Band together with other writers who understand you - you won't regret it.

It's great to have friends to celebrate with when everything is going your way. It's even better to have friends who catch you when you stumble.

Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber

Rotten Rejections

Tip of the Day: You HAVE to click on this link. I swear, it's so funny. It's the 10 Worst Book Covers in the History of Literature.

I was cleaning out my bedroom closet this past weekend and came across this feel good book that I used to love to read:

ROTTEN REJECTIONS by Andre Bernard. It's awesome. It was printed in 1990 and I bought it probably ten years ago for 95 cents at the used bookstore that used to be in my home town (sadly they've since closed). Andre is not only a writer but (at the time of compiling this) was an editor at a giant NY publisher. So he's been on both sides of rejection.

I'm going to share some of my favorite rejections from the book:

"JOURNEY BACK TO LOVE," Mary Higgins Clark, 1962

"We found the heroine as boring as her husband had."

SANCTUARY, William Faulkner, 1931

"Good God, I can't publish this. We'd both be in jail."

SARTORIS, William Faulkner, 1929

"If the book had a plot and structure, we might suggest shortening and revisions but it is so diffuse that I don't think this would be any use. My chief objection is that you don't have any story to tell."

UNTITLED SUBMISSION, Rudyard Kipling, 1889

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kipling, but you just don't know how to use the English language."

THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, Anne Frank, 1952

"The girl doesn't, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the 'curiosity' level."

THE TORRENTS OF SPRING, Ernest Hemingway, 1926

"It would be in extremely rotten taste, to say nothing of being horribly cruel, should we want to publish it."

THE DEER PARK, Norman Mailer, 1948

"This will set publishing back 25 years."

IN THE CAGE, Henry James, 1898

"A duller story I have never read. It wanders through a deep mire of affected writing and gets nowhere, tells no tale, stirs no emotion but weariness. The professional critics who mistake an indirect and roundabout use of words for literary art will call it an excellent piece of work; but people who have any blood in their veins will yawn and throw it down--if, indeed, they ever pick it up."

Ouch! I guess we can say that rejections have gotten nicer over time!

I want to end with a memo in the book from George Bernard Shaw which makes me think he would have been a huge advocate for today's self-publishing authors:

"I finished my first book seventy-six years ago. I offered it to every publisher on the English-speaking earth I had ever heard of. Their refusals were unanimous: and it did not get into print until, fifty years later, publishers would publish anything that had my name on it...

I object to publishers: the one service they have done me is to teach me to do without them. They combine commercial rascality with artistic touchiness and pettishness, without being either good business men or fine judges of literature. All that is necessary in the production of a book is an author and a bookseller, without the intermediate parasite." - George Bernard Shaw (July 26, 1856-November 2, 1950)

Kristina, Miss Author in Action

Conference Specificity (or I'm Gonna Stay at the Y-AL-S-A*)

*with apologies to The Village People

Tip of the Day: It's SUMMER READING time at your local library! See what great games and events they have planned!

I love SCBWI conferences, but my favorite ones have been those with a focus on writing YA, my personal first love, where I get the most bang for my buck.

And I love Book Festivals, but again my favorites are those that focus on teen books -- like the Rochester Teen Book Fest.

Likewise, for my allotment of library related professional development conferences I can attend, there are many choices, but to get the most out of it, I prefer ones that focus on YA lit.

So how lucky was I that the same year I started my job as a YA Librarian (2008), the first YALSA Symposium on Young Adult Literature was held in Nashville, TN.


This symposium is held every two years, and this year's is in St. Louis, MO on Nov. 2-4. The time to apply to hold a session has passed, but it's a great place for YA authors to schmooze with librarians who are obsessed with their works. :)

So if you're a YA author, librarian, teacher, or other fan of the lit, I highly recommend attending this event. You'll often leave with free books, and always leave with energy and inspiration from being around people who love the same literature you do.

Who will I see in St. Louis this November?

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Am I anything like an Olympic Athlete?

Tip of the Day: if you are an avid gymnastics fan--like me--don't miss the upcoming Olympic trials this week!

It's not even July yet, but I already have London fever and have been watching a few of the Olympic trials.

What strikes me is how long many of them have been training for the Olympics.

Now it's pretty obvious if you want to be an Olympic athlete you are going to have to practice hours a day and start your sport from birth.

But I've already watched a few diving and swimming athletes that have been waiting four years for one more shot. Maybe they lost the last Olympic team by 0.2 seconds (or whatever). Four years is a long time to wait to see if you've improved by that 0.2 seconds (or now it might be a minute, since everyone else has improved around you too) to be fast enough to make the new team.

Four years is a long time to prove yourself.

Luckily for us writers, even if we get rejected on one book, we don't have to wait four more years to see if another agent will pick up the book or even to submit another book.

However, sometimes it feels like it.

There's been multiple occasions when I've almost said out loud something to the effect of, "I honestly have to write a whole other book to see if that one will be the one that gets published?"

I'm not a speedy writer by any means. I've tried to practice every other writer's advice to start working on the next book, even before I stop shopping the current book. But still, there are occasions when it feels really daunting to come to terms with setting aside one book (or dream) and focus on a completely new book to realize the same dream. And the time and effort put into the new book often feels like an eternity (especially during those times of horrible writer's block). I'd imagine it's somewhat how these aspiring Olympic athletes feel: they had one shot to make the team and lost out. Now they have to focus their energy on the next task where they can realize their dream.


Not that getting an agent or a book deal is the end all of my writing career. It would be just the beginning. But there are days when it feels like that validation of receiving that honor would make all the hard work worth it. Being in limbo is hard to deal with at times. You don't know if you are a good enough writer or if you are just wasting your time. And you don't really know what to fully expect when that book deal does come around.

I'm just lucky we get more than one shot at making the dream a reality, unlike many of these athletes. Thank goodness.

Let's just hope it doesn't feel like another four years until I finish the next book and start submitting it.

--Emily, Miss Querylicious

Today Is Thank You Day! Yes, Today.

Tip of the Day: Having trouble staying positive? I find that scratching a cat under the chin turns my attitude around very quickly. Take regular "pet your pet" breaks from writing! 

I was going to write today about cats and dogs and writing. My cat and dog keep me company while I write, so for me, cats and dogs and writing go together. But someone got to me first today and asked me how I keep going with my writing. And I admit that my pets help keep my spirits up, but they're not the major way I get recharged and excited about my writing.

The number one way I keep excited about writing is through the support of my awesome critique partners.

Now, I've realized this before, but today it occurred to me that maybe I haven't said thank you enough. Maybe I'm waiting for my first dedication page in my first published novel. I've mentally composed that page many, many times. It goes something like this:

This novel did not write itself. If it wasn't for my wonderful, intelligent, and talented critique partners, I never would've been encouraged to keep writing. Their ideas and inspiration kept me going, and I learned a lot from the privilege of reading their writing. Thank you so much, MiGWriters Christina Farley (who pushed me to add more romance and tension), Susan Laidlaw (whose main characters have the best sense of humor), Andrea Mack (who has one of the smartest writing blogs I've ever read), Debbie Ridpath Ohi (who keeps me working on perfecting point of view), and Carmella Van Vleet (we may have been separated at birth).


Thank you also to my Rochester writer friends. This book would not exist without you. Thank you Kelley Allen and Maureen Chu for reading so much of my writing, Vicki Schultz for some fantastic ideas and solutions, and the absolutely brilliant Lisa Tiffin, who has been incredibly supportive and keeps my fingers on the keyboard. And I never would've started submitting my writing at all if it wasn't for my mentor, Deena Lipomi. Deena, my writing buddy for so many years now, taught me everything from double spacing my work to what an agent is. I can't thank her enough.


Also thank you to my loving kids and to my dog and cat for keeping me company when writing got lonely. Most of all thank you to my husband, who knows how to shore up the tides of self-doubt and keep the spark of confidence alive.

I still fully expect to get a dedication page in a book, but I was tired of waiting to say thank you!

-- Kate, Miss Perfecting the Pages

Would You Like Some Spam with that Promotion?

Tip of the Day: Do you like cute, crazy, and cheap t-shirts? Then check out Tee Fury, they have a new design every 24 hours.

Every single day I get at least fifteen to twenty promotional notifications (via Facebook, Twitter, email, Goodreads, etc) from authors I don't know.

It's as if they think spamming thousands of people via social networks is a good way to promote their book.

Guess how many books I've purchased from one of these messages.

Go ahead, take a guess.

ZERO!

Why?

Because that type of promotion irritates the crap out of me.

If you want me (and other people) to look at you as an annoyance, do these things:

1. Start a Facebook group for your book release and invite everyone on the planet to join. Then post fifteen billion times a day so my notifications are filled with crap and I can't find notifications from my friends. (I used to be afraid to Decline or Leave Groups. I'm not now.)

2. Steal my email address from Facebook (or Twitter) and add me to your newsletter mailing list. I really love it when my inbox fills up with stranger spam. Even better? No link to unsubscribe! (This really drives me batty.)

3. Post on my Facebook wall telling me all about your book and how much I will enjoy it - particularly if I just accepted your friend request. (I will delete your post and unfriend you. Don't tempt me. If we're new friends, say something nice like "Great to meet you." That gives Megg smiles not the snarls.)

4. Email me directly, tell me how your book is so great, how badly you want a blurb from me, then direct me to your sales page so I can buy it. (I won't buy it. Even if it sounds like the best book ever.)

5. If I get so far as to 'like' your fan page, please talk about your book 24/7. (I fill most of my wall posts with things like the day my son rode on a lazy river with me and spent the whole time purposely tooting in my face. Trust me, people would rather laugh at my misfortune than listen to me blabber about my books.)

Kitteh wants you to act professionally or you may find yourself sleeping with the fishes

 

Here's the thing - if people want to know about your books so bad, they will go to lengths to make sure they are kept informed. You can:

1. Start a newsletter. Let people know it's there so if they want to be notified immediately about new releases, they can sign up. NEVER add people on your own. Give your readers some respect and let them choose. Make sure you also have an unsubscribe feature. It's common courtesy.

2. Create a Facebook fan page. Invite your current FB friends (it's a one-time invite, so it doesn't seem so spammy). Don't treat it like a promotional page. Use it as if you're just hanging out with friends for the afternoon. Be fun and engaging. Be yourself.

2. Use Twitter, Goodreads, blog, etc, but don't post about your books unless you have something newsworthy to say. If your book has been out for three months, don't post about it every day. If someone is looking at your social network, chances are they already know about the book. Leave the promotional posts for things that truly need promoting - like a new book release.

3. Don't force yourself on people. Let them come to you. I know, it's frustrating. You want the whole world to know you and love you right this second. Guess what? Life doesn't work that way. Be yourself. They will come.

4. Don't stress so much about promo. Adding to the noise won't help you get discovered. It only makes readers more agitated. Instead, write a good book that people will enjoy and tell their friends about. That's the very best promo you could ever get.

Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber

Summer Fun???

Tip of the Day: This is a great article about today's society and our lack of wanting to pay for things like music (and books too!).  People think it doesn't hurt to download stuff illegally but think about this-- if an author has 50,000 people download her book illegally and only sells 2,000 copies legitimately, well that author has a good chance of not get another book deal. So even if you absolutely loved that author's book you might not get to read another one from her.

Oh man, I am so doing nothing. And by doing nothing I mean doing so much of everything that my head is spinning and I'm dead tired each night so therefore I am doing nothing. Writing-wise that is. Who had the bright idea of giving kids three months off in the summer? They are KILLING me! My everyday is full of sunscreen, walks to the park, the zoo, swimming, crafts, the library, screaming (them, not me), and popsicles (again, them not me. I never could get into popsicles.)

Why is it so so hard this summer? Maybe it's the ages. I have four kids between the ages of 4 and 9 and they want to be doing something every second of the day. I keep trying to wear them out by taking them on long walks all over town, thinking aha, now they'll want to nap! But no such luck. I'm the only one wanting a nap everyday. They just want to move on to the next thing.

SIGH.

And I'm getting such little work done. I'm writing a page here and there. Or e-mailing myself a few notes. And I've been revising the same chapter (ten pages) for THREE WEEKS. That is really really bad.

Tell me writer mommies, how are you getting any work done over summer vacation?

Kristina, Miss Author in Action