Publishing Blogs Weekly Round-Up January 30, 2009

Nothing happened in publishing this week.

 

Ok, that’s completely not true, but my week’s been insane, so we’re all going to pretend it is.

 

Of course, if you disagree, feel free to link to anything you thought was important this week.

Story Collection to Benefit Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis January 27, 2009

“Oh Goddess ” by Gwen Hayes

Read An Excerpt Online
Genre: Paranormal Romance

ISBN: 978-1-60504-367-8
Length: Short Story
Price: 2.50
Publication Date: January 27, 2009
Cover art by Tuesday Dube

Born to protect women’s hearts, her own beats longingly for a mortal. Oops…

Ondina, one thousand years a goddess, doesn’t think much of mortal men. Probably because her sole purpose in life is to protect the hearts of women who don’t want to fall in love. And now one of those blasted men—Jack—has shattered her sacred chalice, trapping her in a mortal body.

Jackson Nichols, on the partner track at his law firm, is the first to admit he always follows his head. Never his heart. Dina is infuriating, messy, condescending, sexy, beautiful and…well, just about everything that doesn’t fit into his meticulously planned life.

Neither expects to find many redeeming qualities in the other. But when push comes to love, which will Dina choose? Her newly human heart…or one thousand years of duty?

*All author and editor proceeds from the sale of Oh Goddess will be donated to the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis. You can find out more about the foundation at www.coalitionforpf.org.

Warning: Recent studies show that consuming beverages while reading this story can cause damage to computer monitors, clothing, and sometimes nearby walls. Reader agrees to hold both Samhain Publishing Ltd. and Gwen Hayes harmless in case of accidental spewing caused by laughter.

Read An Excerpt Online

Buy from MBaM!

The Agent Decision January 26, 2009

I just made the most difficult decision of my writing career and (after thinking long and hard) decided to blog about it.

 

I passed on an offer of representation from and agent in a large agency.

 

I know, a ton of you unagented (and maybe some agented) writers just fell out of your chair, and to be honest, I’m feeling a little ill myself.

 

So, why did I pass? I’m not going to go into details. I can say, I liked the agent. She was bright, intelligent and had a passion for books. She offered me the opportunity to break all those pesky “rules” that made my book cross-genre. She liked the idea that she also saw the potential of the book to cross the YA/Adult line.

There was something –not a BAD thing– that made me realize we weren’t a good fit for a partnership at this point in my career. And so, after 6 months of querying , I did something I NEVER thought I’d do – I sent her a letter thanking her and explaining why I’d made the decision.

 

I’ll admit it, it was an AMAZINGLY DIFFICULT (like difficult to the level of blanking on words to measure the level of hard it was) — but when it comes down to it, we all know our own writing styles and personalities better than anyone else.

This is what I learned: Know what you need in an agent so that she can take what you’ve done and make you BOTH successful at what you do.

While this person will be a great match for someone else, I know that I’m not that girl.

 

OK, I’m still feeling ill, but I’m sure this is the right decision and, after all, this is a business we’re running here, right?

Thinking Out Loud – Conferences January 26, 2009

Let’s start with what I write for all the people who don’t typically follow my little rambling here. I write Traditional Fantasy- YA. No. I don’t write Romance. Yes, my books have strong Romances in them. No, that doesn’t make them Romances. Yes, really, there are “rules” that make a romance a Romance. No, honestly, my book doesn’t follow those. Yes, it really is Fantasy. No, MG I won’t change the end of the book for you – it’s a series. I promise, trust me.

 

OK, moving on.

 

So, I’ve told everyone who reads this and writes to look into RWA. I know several of you did exactly what I did when I was told (by 3 different STRANGERS 3 days in a row to do that) – scoffed. But I have to tell you, it’s the best thing I ever did for my writing career (for what it is thus far) — and I’m going to do my thinking out loud here and you can tell me what your thinking about my thinking is. K?

 

Last year I had a job for all of, oh, three months. It was bliss. OK, it was stressful after the 3 months was over and I realized I didn’t have a job, but during that time I sent my registration in for three conferences:

• Boskone
• RWA Nationals
• RWA New England

I was so darn excited to go to Boskone it was almost embarrassing. I mean, the list of people there and the topics they were going to speak on – Wow! WOW wow! Super excited. I’d already gone to the New England Chapter of RWA’s conference, so I knew what to expect and had a fresh notebook and a couple pens, powerbars, bottled water, chapstick and a sweater for the colder rooms. What else could I need?

Well, a grip on reality would have been good.

I went expecting what I got from RWA – only more shaped to what I write. How could I not be excited by that. I found out quickly enough that other “young” writers were looking for the same.

This is what I got instead: Panels of people discussing what was the topic for 30 seconds and then drifting off onto whatever topic they wanted. One panel was so excited to have a BNA (yup, there it is again, Big Named Author) on the panel with them that they spent the entire time praising his work and asking him questions about his future stuff.

This was all very interesting, but not going to help my writing. So I looked at my little brochure and saw a topic that actually said the word “Writing” in it and went. Yup, more off topic conversation – still very interesting and valuable if that was what I was looking to hear.

Then I went to a thing where I had the opportunity to meet one of My Heroes. Lets just say that since that moment, I haven’t laid down any cash for that person’s book again.

I walked away feeling depressed, neglected and wondering about this whole sci-fi/fantasy world I wanted to be a part of.

Oh, one person took the time to answer a very quick question for me. I shot her a thank you email. She ignored it and put me on her mailing list. That goes right to my SPAM file now – I have a big big thing against adding people to your mailing list who don’t ask to be there.

 

A few weeks later I went to the RWA New England Conference. The workshops were actually right on topic. The people had handouts discussing how to better your writing around their topic. Examples were given. Authors even talked about how they got to where they were – giving EXAMPLES of their good and bad steps along the way. BNA’s introduced themselves and invited newbies into conversations. Questions where answered in workshops, over drinks, at dinner and in the hallway.

I was shocked that people who had hit the NYTBS list several times remembered my name and asked my specific questions about my book and then gave gentle nudges towards different ways to think about it. I went home revitalized and with some hands on stuff to help me with my writing.

 

RWA Nationals was an interesting blend of those two – while the BNA weren’t standoffish, it was obvious they were there for their annual meeting with editors and agents, as well as to catch up with other BNA friends they only see once a year – but, never once was a snubbed. I sat in Starbucks with my own BNA friend and we people watched for awhile with me going, “Hey! Is that___” and her just nodding and typing her deadline R&R. I watched people approach her, interrupt her work to ask her questions and never once did she say anything to make them feel that they weren’t the break she needed right at that minute to escape the work she was trying to get done – even though this was probably true. I watched this happen over and over again with other authors also and was amazed.

 

What did I learn from all this:

1. Ignore the “genre” of the group and measure their ability to give you what you need at that moment as a writer
2. Know what the conference you’re going to offers for real – I would have loved Boskone if I’d gone strictly as a fan
3. There are two types of Heroes in the writing world – those you adore as writers AND those you adore as writers and people
4. Romance may be a genre, it may be just an aspect of your story, but if you can make any claim to it at all, grab the help they give

I’m going to close with this – in my post that started out as, if I could afford one conference what would it be and ended as a defence of genre-ignored group joining:

 

RWA has its issues (I could do an entire post on those) but I’ve learned a ton from them. I’ve also had 6 (yes, that’s a six) agents tell me they can tell an RWA members query letter by its professionalism and well-written organized pitch before they get to the bio section. I’ve heard several agents discuss the fact that they’ve grabbed their best Mystery or Fantasy writer at an RWA conference. And so, I’m going to push you to look not where your genre takes you, but where your need for knowledge does.

 

And with that, there’s a great Mystery writers group I’m going to go investigate.

Publishing Blogs Weekly Round-Up January 23, 2009

It’s the end of the week again and, of course, a lot happened out there in the world of writing and publishing.

 

Over at HarperStudio there was  quick discussion on what makes a good author site. Great place to start when thinking about yours and marketing yourself.

 

Soyabits created a subway-type map of publishing in 2008 - The were kind enough to put English subtitles, you may have to squint, but make sure to check out the description going with each color. It’s interesting to see how it all ties together, readers, writers, publishers, commentary.

 

In a time where everyone is so nervous about the future of publishing and books in general, Three Guys One Book take a quick peak at the 2009 seasons. OK, I’ll be honest, just hearing them talk about other people talking about a couple books put them on my TBR list.

 

WOW! Richard Curtis reports on ebook sales for the 2007/2008 period and I have to say “doubters, read the numbers.” I had not idea the jump was that big – like, huge big. Have I convinced you to go peek yet

 

“Trash” – It’s a quick, easy word to use and we all feel like we know what it means. But when we’re talking about books, does the definition change? Well, Nathan Bransford has had enough and he’s blogging about it HERE.

 

Jessica Faust is critiquing query letters at BookEnds. Get over there now! She’s posted some great examples and worked through all of them from her point of view as an agent. I linked to today’s HERE, but there are several this week to check out.

 

Twitter? Yeah, me too *sigh* You all know who to blame….Anyway – Here’s Editor Unleashed’s top 25 people to follow if you’re a writer. Editor Unleashed gets a two-fer deal here this week. Also, with conference season approaching, check out the post on Business Cards for Writers.

Who is Your Writing/Publishing Must Read? January 22, 2009

If you’re playing along at home, you know every Friday here at Luv YA I do a little round up of posts and articles I enjoyed that week in the publishing/writing world.

 

Who is your must read? I’m sure I’m missing some amazing bloggers or journalists! Do tell!

Bettering Bria’s Book January 21, 2009

You’re probably going to hear a lot about this in the near (and probably not so near) future since I’m working thru Donald Maass’s book Writing The Breakout Novel & Workbook with some friends.

 

The book is done. The book is polished. But is it the best darn book it can be? Probably not, but that might be the answer for just about any book written by just about anyone. The problem is making it the best darn book I can on my own. I feel like I’ve done that. I feel like I’ve really created something I love here. Now I want to blow my own socks off. I want to surprise myself and then maybe surprise an agent or two. I want their to only be feedback, suggestions and corrections I couldn’t have seen myself. I want to be able to master this thing.

 

Yeah, I hear ya. Good luck, bria.

 

But, I do think there are more things, Big Things, I can learn that will push me toward that socks-blowing level. In comes WBN by Maass. I was one of those people who (from here snippets and reviews) assumed Mr. Maass was constantly pushing us toward the exhausting novels that you put down and don’t even know if you liked but they dragged you through them with build build build build until you couldn’t take any more. I’m already seeing that this (fairly common) misconception is, well, a misconception.  Pulling some gems from what I’ve read that I’m doing some heavy thinking around are somethings that sound obvious, but he really pushes it further than just the obvious when reading the book and using the workbook:

 

Novels are written one word at a time, and the choices made along the way can as easily produce a mildly engaging midlist novel as a highly memorable breakout. I believe that the difference lies in the author’s commitment to great storytelling.

 

There it is, the first thing I underlined in the book. I know, it feels obvious, but is it really? Not to just say something is good enough or even good? But to say to every single word: You are the very best?

It isn’t a how to do something, but the DIFFERENCE between midlisting and breaking out. As an unpublished writer will this book shoot me to breakout? Who knows, but one thing one of my cohorts in this adventure and I discussed was that the workbook could very easily be used as something you make into a little checklist and half-ass your way thru and then say: Well, Maass’s book didn’t work for me, so whatever. How many people claim things don’t work after putting in the minimal effort?

 

So, we’re going to dive deep, dig deep, and hopefully write something at least socks-breezing if not socks-blowing.

Line by Line Contest – Line #6 January 20, 2009

Wow! I made it thru another week at Karen Tabke’s First Line Contest!

If you’re just checking this out for the first time, here’s the low down: The 1st 100 people to post get to play. The first 2 weeks they cut 20 people each and then every week after that they cut 6….and I’m still in!!! Woot! 

Seven lockers down, my boyfriend was making out with Cheryl, the way-too-perky head cheerleader.

 

I tried not to stare, but when his hand slid past her waist and over her hip, I slammed my locker shut and stormed off in the opposite direction. Not that anyone noticed. The problem – not only was I that gorgeous jock’s secret girlfriend, I also had a secret power.

 

I’m invisible.

Ok, not invisible invisible.

 

What do you think comes next? Do you think I’ll make the cut again? Will AJ Chase kill off my heroine in the comments this week? Let me know!

Blogging and Subscribing January 19, 2009

This  seems to have been a theme this week, so I figured I should address it…blogs, popularity and subscribing.

 

Why does it feel like a theme?

1. A reader emailed me to ask why I didn’t have a subscription button (oh, and YAY! I have readers!)
2. My critic partner asked why I didn’t have a subscription button – If the other 1/2 of my brain couldn’t find it, well, maybe I should go look for it
3. I went to look for it and thought — Seriously? That’s where it is on this wordpress theme?
4. There’s been press on blogs lately about an agent (I have no idea who and if you’re playing along at home you know I try to stay out of the public view giving opinions of this or that — especially if its not first hand and none of my business anyway) —so, “an agent” ‘apparently’ (those quotes and such should cover it *grin*) told “a writer” that they only took on people who had proved their popularity through mega popular blogs – if this is happening (which I’m going to assume it other is, or there was a miscommunication – I honestly don’t believe people run around making this stuff up) then, yeah, my little blog is nothing and I’m in big huge trouble

I have no idea if this is true, but I have a couple things to say.

 

First off, I’m amazed how many hits I get a month for being an unpublished writer who has only had this blog up half-a-year. I love it – what I love more is when people play along in comments, even when they tell me I’m wrong It’s fun, it keeps me focused, it forces me to think about writing  more in able to talk about it. That’s what this blog is to me.

 

Second, it’s good practice and good practice. For what? A ton! Networking, learning, building readership, etc

 

Third, I have a technorati button right under my “Top Posts” section on the right – I’d love your votes (or whatever this group is calling them now)

 

Finally, yes! I’d love to have more people subscribe. I get happy little chills when I see people coming in from subscription feeds!  So, for those who wondered and didn’t email me….If you page all the way down to the bottom…I mean ALL THE WAY DOWN….there’s a place to subscribe there!

 

For those of you who do read on a regular basis (hi all!) let me know what I can blog about or how I can update the blog to make it more all-of-us-friendly.

 

Happy Monday!

bria

Winner of the ‘Pick A Book-Win A Book’ Contest January 17, 2009

Some of you may have heard that I had an insane day last week when I meant to post this and -yup- it just fell thru the cracks. Sorry!

 

So, I showed the comments to a reader friend and let her pick the book….AND THE WINNER IS:

 CINDE recommending The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King

http://www.thedustof100dogs.com/

In the late 17th century, famed pirate Emer Morrisey was on the cusp of escaping pirate life with her one true love and unfathomable riches when she was slain and cursed with the dust of 100 dogs. Three hundred years later, after one hundred lives as a dog, she returned to a human body—with her memories intact. Now she’s a contemporary American teenager, and all she needs is a shovel and a ride to Jamaica.

 

Luv YA Book Club to discuss The Dust of 100 Dogs will be on Monday, March 16th.

 

So, Cinde – would you like a copy of The ABC’s of Kissing Boys OR Deadly Little Secrets?

Bid At An Auction – Help A Reader….Yes, Literally January 16, 2009

 A word from the oh-so wonderful Gemma Halliday:

 

Katy is a sixteen year old avid reader and aspiring author and illustrator who has won local awards for her artwork. Just before Christmas, Katy and her mother became homeless. They were evicted from their apartment and  have been living in hotel rooms (when they’ve been lucky) or their car (when they’ve not been so lucky) since then. Katy has been blogging about life on the streets, and you can read all about how this incredibly sweet mother and daughter ended up in this situation here: http://destinationanywherebuthere.blogspot.com/ As Katy states on her blog, “Homelessness has many faces. And sometimes it happens to have a computer.” Both Katy and her mother seem to have very positive outlooks, but it’s clear they’re in some real trouble.

That’s where this auction comes in. All proceeds will go toward helping Katy and her mother get back on their feet. This is a pair that are actively looking for ways to improve their situation, and just need a little push to help them get there. So, please bid generously and know that you’re doing a wonderful thing to help two wonderful people.

AND, off Gemma’s blog:

Which is where we come in. I’m putting together an auction to help get Katy and her mom back on their feet. So far we’ve gotten donations of agent critiques, editor pitches, website design, tarot readings, artwork, jewelry, handmade quilts, and tons and tons of autographed books. A huge thank you to everyone who has donated so far!! And if any of you would like to donate something, it would be amazingly appreciated. We’ve set up a special email address to take donations at: ri.auction@gmail.com

The auction will run January 19-26th and will be hosted on the Romantic Inks website at www.romanticinks.com, so please come by and bid once we’re up and running!

A word from bria:

So many families are one step away from this, please please, take the time to help one talented young woman and her mom get a safe, warm room over their heads.

Publishing Blogs Weekly Round-Up January 16, 2009

I’ll openly admit its been a crazy week for me (life/work/writing/writing career-wise) and, looking at my little calendar — Next week’s looking just as crazy…if not crazier!  So, I’m looking around screaming What happened this week in Publishing Blogs?

 

This is getting posted because I’m partial – I’ll admit it. Janet Reid had a little run in with a book and, Heck Yeah I’m partial to the writer So, everyone go check it out and if you don’t believe me, the RITAs and Janet Reid than pfft to you for missing a good book (warning: this is an adult book, but pretty sweet level-wise, so I have 2x as much “no trouble” posting it here!)

 

Well, to kick off with one of my regular go-to-ladies, Jessica Faust blogs again about writing as a writing career – but in the attitude department. See why some authors in this economic downturn are losing their deals. To all of you that think writing is exempt from being “professional” — read the blog, hit your head against the screen repeatedly.

 

Elena Roth at Caren Johnson Lit Agency blogged about Writing Realistic Goals…and referenced a great post by Mary Ann Scott. I’m actually part of a goals group (hey ACers) and think that goals give you a map and occasionally we all need on (OK, I’m in the more-than-occasionally we need them camp) – let’s face it, sometimes it’s nice to go for a Sunday Drive, but at the end of the day, you end up back at home just like you started.

 

Of all the “little things” an unpublished writer can worry about – I’d say The Cover is right up there. I think it’s part of the think-positive-worry-about-the-future thing that keeps us writing. Kristen Nelson does a little cover discussion translation.

 

I LOVE Simon Pulse. Seriously – so, check out this interview with their editor Michael del Rosario for a peek at the inner workings.

 

Because how can you not quote a blog with this line: “God bless the vampires,” she said. “They saved Christmas.”

Line by Line Contest January 14, 2009

I’m still in Karen Tabke’s First Line Contest!

Let’s review: The 1st 100 people to post get to play. The first 2 weeks they cut 20 people each and then every week after that they cut 6….and I’m still in!!! Woot! 

Seven lockers down, my boyfriend was making out with Cheryl, the way-too-perky head cheerleader.

 

I tried not to stare, but when his hand slid past her waist and over her hip, I slammed my locker shut and stormed off in the opposite direction. Not that anyone noticed. The problem – not only was I that gorgeous jock’s secret girlfriend, I also had a secret power.

 

I’m invisible.

 So….Play along…Do you think I’ll make it thru this round? What do you think my next line is?

Luv YA Book Club: DEADLY LITTLE SECRETS January 12, 2009

WARNING: This is NOT a review – its a Blog Book Club. That means, we’re going to discuss the book – the whole book – yes – even the end – so guess what. There’s going to be spoilers.

 

SPOILERS PEOPLE

 

NO! Seriously. If you read past here, it’s you’re own darn fault.

 

OK. Welcome to Luv YA’s first Book Club Book Blog – YAY! 

I know it won’t go smoothly this month like this, but in the future, the LYA BC will run like this – Everyone will read the book *hint hint hint* I’ll post a blog with some thoughts and questions at 9pm EST on the Book Club Night – the Comments section will be a live discussion period – We’ll have special guests some months like….oh…say…the author. How cool will that be?

 

Anyway, on to BC #1

Deadly Little Secrets by Laurie Stolarz is the first in the Touch Series….and wow.

 

Three months ago, 16 year old Camelia almost died. The only thing that stopped that from happening was the mysterious (gorgeous) boy who scooped her up from in front of the oncoming car. She’d never seen him before, but between how he made her feel when he touched her and the extreme scar on his arm, she knew she’d know him again when she saw him next.

Only  — She didn’t.

Three months later she’s still looking for him everywhere she goes – but only to thank him. Or at least that’s what she tells herself. And her friends.

Chapter 2 is the first of the chicken scratch anonymous journal entries. We know they aren’t Camelia, but someone who is interested in her. Someone who is watching her.  Someone who doesn’t say who he is.

Camelia goes about life, wondering about the boy, yearning for that odd touch and basically ignoring the dating scene at her school to her boy crazy (make that psychotically obsessed) bff’s unhappiness. That is until Ben Carter (recognize that name Kaige? Coincidence?) shows up. Rumor is, he has a temper and killed his last girlfriend. Pushed her off a cliff. That’s why he transferred and is living with his aunt. And being Camelia’s lab partner.

Ben is hot (we covered that, but apparently we’re supposed to cover that a lot since it’s mentioned so many times) and not the only man in Camelia life – and that’s what makes this book so interesting. There are so many people in the book and they’re all painted well. We have several boys, one man, a bff, parents having issues and some walk-on’s who actually effect the plot.

Camelia struggles to pull Ben out of his self-imposed prison while the journal writer gets more erratic in his delusions. But who is he?

The book is actually a paranormal romantic suspense. So, going much further makes this a practice in spoiler writing.

But lets talk a little – when did you guess who the journal guy was? I’ll admit, I guessed pretty quickly. I’d heard such great things about this book that I knew it could be obvious answer number one. I LOVED that there were enough guys in the book to create a “but what if?” scenario for each of them. I loved comparing each chapter with the more and more crazy journal entries. I loved (as a writer) watching her show everything thru Camelia’s POV till she doesn’t know who to trust, where to turn or even if she can convince her parents to listen to her long enough to let them know she’s being stalked.

Stolarz does a great job of convincing me Camelia can’t go to any of the adults in her life for help — I’m wondering if I just wanted to believe that. What do you think? The PJ situation had me saying “no” for a second, until the line about telling her dad some guy bought her something from a lingerie store – ok, I buy that.

While the writing sucked me in and totally had me hooked at paragraph 2. . . I was a little *eh* about him saving her from a car in the school parking lot and then being forced to be her lab partner while being moody and refusing to look, talk or touch her. Felt a little Twilight’y — but it wasn’t and the story had just begun taking turns there so I was willing to forgive those key scene mirrors — What about you? Did they pull you out and make you think of Edward and Bella or did you get sucked further in and turn the pages faster — or like me, a little bit of both?

I loved that she gave us a believable way for Ben to find her at the end and for him to go away. I loved them together and didn’t want to see him go (book two comes out WHEN?)

 

The only thing that didn’t grab me was the chemistry between them. I know its there because she tells us….but i didn’t FEEL it. I wasn’t devastatingly heartbroken at the end, and shouldn’t I have been? What do you think? Were you?

 

So, there are some thoughts to kick us off. I’m super excited to hear and respond to other people’s ideas about Deadly Little Secrets – I can tell you THIS – Laurie Stolarz just jumped onto my auto-buy list!

 

Next month we’re reading ABC’s of Kissing Boys by Tina Ferraro – I’ll have more news about this later – hopefully fun stuff to report!

Luv YA Book Club Tomorrow! January 11, 2009

Tomorrow is the first day for the Luv YA book club! YAY! I’ve had several people email me to tell me they couldn’t read the book this month, but would be following along. Everyone feel free to jump in. Also, because of standard release dates, I’ve moved each book club to the 3rd Monday of the month….So, Tina Ferraro’s ABC’s of Kissing Boys will be Monday, February 16th

 

Tomorrow – I’ll post the LYBC post tomorrow at 9pm EST…I’ll try to keep them always at 9pm so people who catch on and want to play in the future can do an open blog book club evening!

 

So, go grab your copy of Deadly Little Secrets by Laurie Stolarz.

 

BTW – Tina Ferraro has a new front page! It’s the book trailer for ABC’s – it’s sooo cute. Go check it out HERE.

 

And check out HERE to win a free book