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Writing & Publishing Questions Batch #4, Darwin & Barbie

A few shout-outs to some friends, first.

Deborah Heiligman’s new book, CHARLES AND EMMA: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith, is rocketing to the top of everyone’s Best of 2009 List, collecting bushels full of starred reviews and well-earned praise from everyone. Deb had an editorial in the Los Angeles Times recently and will be talking about all things Darwinesque on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition tomorrow.

Tanya Lee Stone has also been very busy. Her newest book, Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream, will be published at the end of the month. Tanya is working on a book about Barbie (yes, the doll). She is looking for submissions – from you! But the deadline is a week away, so hop to it!

Let’s have Tanya explain: “I am currently collecting short (150 words or less, please) quotes/anecdotes from kids, teens, and adults about BARBIE for my new book, BARBIE: FOR BETTER, FOR WORSE. If you have a Barbie story to share, read this, and email me your contribution by February 20, 2009! Email: tanyastone AT tanyastone DOT com.”

And, now, today’s writing/publication questions.

You wrote: I’ve read you published your first seven books without an agent before getting Amy Berkower. How difficult is it to publish without one and were you actively pursuing one the entire time before Speak brought you acclaim?

I sent many manuscripts, both picture book and novels, to a couple of agents when I started out, but no one was interested, so I decided to focus on going straight to the slush pile. Yes, it took years. Yes, it was very frustrating. And yes, both Speak and Fever 1793 were rejected by other publishers before they were bought. They are my “Success From the Slush Pile” stories. Once I had proven my ability to write books that readers enjoyed, it was easier to get an agent.

Getting your foot in the door is going to take longer than you want. Instead of pouring your energy into being frustrated, devote that energy to the book you are currently writing. Be thoughtful and steady with your submissions and keep developing your craft. Eventually, the door opens.

You wrote: I wrote a YA contemporary fantasy based on a Native American legend, but it also references a few Christian ideas (the protagonist goes to church, reads the Bible, and believes in God). The Christian themes are not the main focus of the story, but a friend of mine suggested I should send it to Christian publishers (or try to meet Christian agents and editors at a local writer’s conference). How do I know whether to try the Christian market? I respect Christian literature… but I wonder if that market would limit my audience. I just want my story to be available and accessible to all readers, whether they read Christian fiction or not. But perhaps I have a better chance of selling the book in the Christian market?

This is a terrific question. I have never been published in the Christian market, so my opinion is not based on much, but I have an idea for you. Before you submit anywhere, you should have a very good understanding of the kinds of books that a publisher or an imprint puts out. You should read a number of their books before you send to them – and that goes for all publishers! Get the names of a couple of respected publishers in the Christian market, then read the books they’ve published in your genre. If you think that your story fits their vision for fiction, then by all means submit to them.

Busy day ahead! Scribblescribblescribble….

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Kindling with the Muse

So, if my beloved Eagles can’t win, I throw my support down the PA Turnpike to the Steelers. Which means I sort of get to say “We won!” Awesome game, great-half-time (tho’ it sure looked to me like Bruce is going to be a little sore today, what with flinging himself into the stage and crashing into the camera. When he popped down on his knees in the first song, I though for sure he tore an ACL. Maybe he does yoga. Or maybe he’s in traction right now.)

We enjoyed the game in our basement, which BH has been renovating for the past year. It is becoming affectionately known as the “Man Cave”. I have lifetime privileges.

And, for the record, I did not break my thumb. More on that later.

But before we get to that, let’s back up to the Kindling Words Retreat this weekend. For those of you dropping into the Forest today for the first time (this blog is an LJ Spotlight this week – welcome, everyone!) Kindling Words is a writer’s retreat. It’s a bit different than most writer’s conferences in that the emphasis is on craft and inspiration, instead of getting published.

One of the nice things was that I did not have to give any presentations this year, so I was able to focus on my own writing and listening to the wisdom of others. The retreat started out with an evening of being creative outside the box, with the opportunity to create group poetry, group painting, and to sit in on a drumming circle and be taught by a gentleman from South Africa.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic I forgot to write his name down, but he was AMAZING. That’s him with my friend Marnie Brooks, who is one of the organizers of the retreat. I was completely ready to run away and hide because the thought of having to play a drum in front of other people, was very scary. But everyone else walked in, so I screwed my courage to the sticking point, went in and picked up a djemba.

To say that I forgot my shyness and played with enthusiasm is to put it mildly. I didn’t know that I loved playing the drums because I had never played the drums before! (How many other fun things have I not yet tried that could be a blast?) Our teacher was extremely good and he led us (30 of us) in a drumming circle for about 20 minutes, then we had another brief session that night. I got in that place that I sometimes get to when I’m writing or running, when I am so deep in the experience that I lose sense of who and where I am. I am sure this looked scary to the people sitting next to me. I. Was. Gone. More on the consequences of that later.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were filled with presentations by author Nancy Werlin, artist Mary Jane Begin, and a keynote by Mr. Ashley Bryan, who is one of those people who carry themselves with such dignity, but at the same time exude such warmth, that I could not bring myself to call him Ashley all weekend. He is Mr. Bryan.

I attended a few of the presentations, but played hooky from a few more so I could concentrate on a plot knot and some extremely wrong character motivations in the book I’m working on right now. Despite the fact that my hands were sore from the drumming, I spent most of Friday and Saturday morning typing like a mad woman. More on the consequences of that later.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic But there was plenty of time for catching up with folks at meals. Where else can you breakfast with Mr. Ashley Bryan and Jane Yolen, and see over their shoulders, Gregory Maguire, and the brand-new Coretta Scott King honor book author, Hope Anita Smith?

Image and video hosting by TinyPic Or lounge on a couch by the fire with Ellen Wittlinger and Sibby Falk? The number of authors there whose work I admire was staggering. You can see more pictures on Kate Messner’s LJ.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic There was an additional drumming circle, but I could not participate. In fact, by lunchtime on Saturday, I couldn’t move my thumb. (Notice swelling and bruising.) I was pretty sure that I had fractured (in a small way) a bone at the base of the thumb and had aggravated it wicked by all the frenzied typing. It didn’t seem to make much sense to go for x-rays until I was home, so I iced, iced, iced it, and put arnica on it, courtesy of Anne Sibley O’Brien.

By Sunday, the swelling started to go down and I could move it again. Crisis over. Many pages accomplished. My only regret was that the weekend had to end. Note to self: participate in drumming circles only when not on deadline!

At the traditional bonfire on Saturday night, I threw in my wishes for the next year. (It certainly worked for me in 2008!) The retreat is held in Vermont, so yes, the bonfire is built in the snow.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

A bonfire in the snow is the perfect metaphor for our creative journeys; improbable, unexpected, delighful, circled by friends, kindled by the Muse.

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It’s monday so I have to be organized, right?

First – I am blushing and squirming profusely as I do this, but Betsy Bird posted an incredibly detailed and generous review of CHAINS. Thank you, Betsy!

The weekend sort of didn’t exist for me because I spent most of it rushing hither and yon. Saturday morning I flew to Detroit and then took a cab to Dearborn for the Great Lakes Bookseller’s Association annual tradeshow. I hung out with Sarah Miller and ran into Jaime Adoff, who has produced both a new book and (with considerable help from his wife) a new baby this year.

Early galleys of David Macinnis Gill’s Soul Enchilada were there! (Click on the link to see the real cover, which is v. cool.) I toured the floor, signed a couple hundred copies of CHAINS, soaked my hand in ice-cold water, then spent a looooong time on the treadmill so my legs would be as tired as my signing hand.

The big event was Sunday – the booksellers gathered for one of the nicest conference breakfasts I’ve ever eaten, thanks to the generosity of Bookazine. While the booksellers enjoyed their sausage, eggs, and way too many pastries, I grabbed the microphone and talked about the reasons I wrote CHAINS, then Suzanne Collins talked about the writing of HUNGER GAMES, and Jerry Pinkney showed us his process and motivation for his new book, THE MOON OVER STAR.

We were all very happy when the speaking part was over.

I also got to meet Kathe Koja, seen here between Sarah Miller and me.

Two weeks from today I leave on the CHAINS book tour! Yikes! I need to write many, many pages before then. I also need to find the appropriate tour sneakers. Anyone know where I can find a pair of sizzling, baby-blue high-tops, women’s size 10 or men’s 8? Oh, and I need a couple of shirts that won’t wrinkle. But mostly I have to write oodles of pages.

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carolyn mackler’s visit & a holiday in the forest

BH and I scurried down from the tundra to Syracuse last night to listen to Carolyn Mackler talk about her writing and her experiences with having her books challenged and banned.

That’s my friend and fellow author Ellen Yeomans on the left, Carolyn, and me with the goofy face.

Carolyn gave a terrific speech that including reading some letters from readers that moved me to tears. She’s had to deal with terribly nasty challenges, but she’s handled them with grace.

It was also very nice to finally meet my LJ friend freakfest! An unexpected delight was the presence of a group of students from Chittenango High School. Several of them remembered me from my school visit four years ago. It was really nice hanging out with them. I would love to see more area high schools sending interested groups of students to this library’s annual Banned Books lecture. It is a whopping teachable moment.

While Speak is at position #65 on the ALA’s Banned Book List for 2006-2007, Carolyn’s book, The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things sits a few spots above it, and has made it to the Top Ten a few times. No author ever wants to have their book challenged or banned, but it provides us all with a tremendous opportunity to revisit the principals of the First Amendment and continue to fight for our guaranteed rights as Americans.

Which is more important now than ever.

And speaking of attacks on the Constitution…. I still think the bail-out bill gives too much authority to the Treasury Secretary, and not enough accountability.

But I am not going off on a political rant today. (Shocking, I know.) Today is the birthday of my youngest daughter, Meredith, aka The OfficeMouse, aka Daughter #3.

A rare photo of Mer sitting still.

Happy 21st Birthday, darling girl!

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to the parents of the future writers of America…

I often hear from young readers asking my advice about how they can become an author, but yesterday, the question came from a different angle. The mother of a talented teen writer wrote in asking my advice.

She wrote “I need some advice (please)…… My teenage daughter writes beautifully and her teachers are saying she should consider a future in journalism or writing etc. When I try to discuss this with her all I manage to get is “I hate to write”. Did you know from an early age that you wanted to be a writer/author? How do I cultivate such a gift without turning her away from it? You know how it is when you are a teenager, the more your mother wants you do something the less you want to do it.”

My first thought was that I’d love to have coffee with this mom. She’s she’s probably a little overanxious about her daughter’s future, but most parents are, and besides, this mom is reaching out for some information. How cool is that?

So I wrote back: “I have a strong opinion about this, so brace yourself.

Leave her alone. Please!

I had no idea I was going to be an author when I was in high school. I didn’t major in English or creative writing or journalism (though I wound up working at newspapers for years). But I found my path. If my parents had dragged me to this path, I can guarantee that I would never have become an author.

There are countless ways your daughter’s gift can unfold. Please give her the space to explore them on her own. Fill your home with books, art, music, and good food, and keep the “You Must Be A Writer” pressure locked out.

If she does become a writer, please don’t turn her bedroom into a guest room, because she’ll probably move back home to save money.”

She, in turn, wrote back a very nice note thanking me.

I wish I could take some of that mother’s enthusiasm about her daughter’s talents and sprinkle it on the parents who discourage their kids’ artistic dreams.

Come celebrate Banned Book Week with me tonight! Join me in downtown Syracuse where the Onondaga County Library System is hosting a reception for and presentation by Carolyn Mackler, author of wonderful books like The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things, and Vegan Virgin Valentine. The reception starts at 5:30pm, and Carolyn speaks at 6pm.

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