Pub Rants

Category: client books

CONGRATS ALLY!

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: We are dancing around the office; we can’t believe it!

What’s playing on the iPod right now? GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN by Cyndi Lauper

It’s no small feat to hit the NYT series list. Looking at who was on the week before last, it was even scarier. At that time, there was only one non-vampire, non-paranormal title on the list (Diary of A Wimpy Kid).

Then last week, 39 Clues popped back on making that two titles on the NYT Series list.

Now I’m happy to report that there are THREE titles on the Series list. Coming in at #6, The Gallagher Girls land a spot.

HUGE CONGRATS ALLY!

Children’s Best Sellers
SERIES

1 THE TWILIGHT SAGA, by Stephenie Meyer. (Megan Tingley/Little, Brown, hardcover and paper) Vampires and werewolves in school. (Ages 12 and up)

2 PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion, hardcover and paper) Battling mythological monsters. (Ages 9 to 12)

3 DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, written and illustrated by Jeff Kin­ney. (Abrams, hardcover only) The travails of adolescence, in cartoons. (Ages 9 to 12)

4 THE 39 CLUES, by various authors. (Scholastic, hardcover only) A brother and sister travel the world in search of the key to their family’s power. (Ages 9 to 12)

5 HOUSE OF NIGHT, by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. (St. Martin’s, hardcover and paper) Vampires in school. (Ages 14 and up)

6 GALLAGHER GIRLS, by Ally Carter. (Disney-Hyperion, hard­cover and paper) A school for spies. (Ages 12 and up)

7 THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS, by Cassandra Clare. (McElderry/Simon & Schuster, hardcover and paper) A world of demons and warriors. (Ages 14 and up)

8 NIGHT WORLD, by L. J. Smith. (Simon Pulse, paper only) Su­pernatural races form secret societies. (Ages 14 and up)

9 WARRIORS, by Erin Hunter. (HarperCollins, hardcover and paper) Four clans of cat warriors aspire to meet up with the Star­Clan. (Ages 10 to 14)

10 VAMPIRE DIARIES, by L. J. Smith. (HarperTeen, hardcover and paper) Vampires in school, with a love triangle. (Ages 12 and up)

Write The Story That Grips You—Guest blogger Kristina Riggle

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Back in my office in Denver. And what will I miss most from New York City and the Upper West Side? The Magnolia Bakery. ‘Nacking on some cupcakes.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? Nothing at the moment.

Here is an author who really understands what I was trying to get at with the Dancing With The Stars entry of last week.

So often writers see a first novel get published, have lots of success, and just assume that was the first manuscript the author had done. I’m sorry to say it, folks, but it really isn’t so. Yes, a first PUBLISHED novel might have a lot of success but a lot of writers forget about all those drafts hidden under the bed.

And Kristina knows the value of this. She has at least two fully completed novels stashed away—never to see the light of day. Because that’s what it took for her to write a really phenomenal debut called REAL LIFE & LIARS, which hits shelves today. Congrats Kris!


Kristin asked me to blog about something educational for her readers. This is a pretty smart crowd, and Kristin has done so much to educate all of you about query letter etiquette and so many other important topics, I’m not sure what I can add. So I decided the most useful thing I could do is share what this process has taught me that I didn’t know before.

Write the story that grips you and won’t let go. I didn’t think about the market when I wrote REAL LIFE & LIARS. I’d been writing something else that was supposed to sell, and I was hating it. So I finally decided to instead write exactly the kind of book I like to read, so at least I would have fun, even if no one wanted to publish it.

Someone wanted it. Several someones. It sold at auction. Even the rejections were lovely.

This time around, I produced a heartfelt and genuine manuscript, and I’m convinced that came through on the page.

Blurbs matter. I’ve gotten lots of lovely quotes from many generous and talented authors who were kind enough to take time away from their own careers to read my book. And several times in recent weeks, people have remarked with pleased amazement that I have so many quotes “for a new author.” I don’t know if it affects readers browsing in a bookstore (we could debate that for ages, and in fact it has been debated elsewhere) but I know that reviewers and booksellers have been impressed, and that can only help. One might ask how I landed these blurbs. The short answer is that I asked politely. See next paragraph.

Connections matter. First, networking with other writers kept me sane. I’m hardly a loner by nature, and if not for my support system of fellow writers, by now I would be huddled in a corner, curled around a whiskey bottle. But the business aspect came after the socializing and the friendly support, and this is key. This was no calculated, manipulative attempt at butt-kissing. In fact, many of these connections were in place long before LIARS ever came to be. Thanks to the Internet, networking is easier than ever. Twitter, Facebook, Backspace, various RWA chapters and other genre associations… Our group blog for debut authors, The Debutante Ball, emerged out of connections like these. You don’t have to live in New York to be part of a writer scene anymore. Just talk to people about books and writing, and connections will naturally form.

The coolest things don’t sound sexy at all, like Target and Costco. I got a few minutes recently to chat with Jen Lancaster (BITTER IS THE NEW BLACK, SUCH A PRETTY FAT, PRETTY IN PLAID) at the Printers Row Lit Fest. That bolded statement is a paraphrase of something she said when I told her my book was going to be in Costco, Sam’s Club and BJ’s warehouse stores this summer, and it’s a Target “Breakout” pick starting in August. This is a big deal for a new author, to have my book in front of so many eyeballs, in so many places, all around the country. For non-writers – and myself, a year ago – it’s hard to grasp why that’s cool. But it absolutely is!

I’m sure many more such lessons are coming. (Is it tacky to sign a book in blue ink? Do I have to write my whole name or is it OK to scribble “Kristina”?)

That’s the other thing I’ve learned. There’s always more to know!

The Gallagher Girls Are Here!

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Manhattan had some rockin’ thunderstorms last night about 3 in the morning. Chutney is not a fan. Took me 20 minutes to coax her out of the closet.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? MY PREROGATIVE by Britney Spears

Interesting Fact #1: I signed Ally as a client for an adult novel—not a young adult novel. In fact, her first two published novels were adult women’s fiction for Berkley.

Interesting Fact #2: This series has over a million copies in print.

Interesting Fact #3: The first two books in this series, I’d Tell You I Love You But Then I’d Have To Kill You and Cross My Heart And Hope To Spy, both hit the New York Times Bestseller list. For this book to hit the NYT list, we’ll have to land on the series bestseller list along with the Twilight Series, Percy Jackson, Night World, House of Night, Mortal Instrument, Vampire Kisses, Nicholas Flamel, and Pendragon.

If we do, it will be one of only three non-paranormal/fantasy titles on the list (with Diary Of A Wimpy Kid and Maximum Ride). [I stand corrected! I hadn’t read Maximum Ride but according to the comments, I guess it has a paranormal element. I amend, “If we do, it will be one of two non-paranormal/fantasy titles on the list.”]

Happy Release Day Ally!

DON’T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER
When Cammie “the Chameleon” Morgan visits her roommate Macey in Boston, she thinks she’s in for an exciting end to her summer break. After all, she’s there to watch Macey’s father accept a nomination for vice president of the United States. But when you go to the world’s best school (for spies), “exciting” and “deadly” are never far apart. Cammie and Macey soon find themselves trapped in a kidnapper’s dangerous plot, with only their espionage skills to save them.

As her junior year begins, Cammie can’t shake the memory of what happened in Boston, and even the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women doesn’t feel like the safe haven it once did. Shocking secrets and old flames seem to lurk around every one of the mansion’s corners as Cammie and her friends struggle to answer the questions, Who is after Macey? And how can they keep her safe?

Soon Cammie is joining Bex and Liz as Macey’s private security team on the campaign trail. The girls must use their spy training at every turn, as the stakes are raised, and Cammie gets closer and closer to the shocking truth…

Nick Hornby, Dan Brown, Gail Carriger!

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: I’m actually going to take the day off tomorrow but I’ll slip in the blog entry for the early morn.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? UNBELIEVABLE by EMF

I just can’t stop laughing. Don’t get me wrong. I’m tickled to death. When am I ever going to see one of my authors included on a list like this again?

It’s Nick, Pat, Dan, Elizabeth—and Gail!

Congrats Ms. Carriger! I heartily agree with the Media on this one. (wink)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Roger Bilheimer

MEDIA SELECTS ITS OWN “BUZZ” BOOKS AT BEA

More breakout books are picked in random survey

Norwalk, CT, June 3, 2009: Members of the media who regularly cover the book industry were asked by BEA convention officials this year to submit their favorite buzz book of the show. Lance Fensterman, Vice President and Show Manager for BEA, notes: “This is one of the most unscientific surveys that we could possibly initiate but it’s also one of the most interesting because anything goes. Most importantly, the survey calls attention to a couple books that may have been overlooked by others, and if this is the case, then I think this effort is well worth it! The people that we asked to participate know an enormous amount about books, they have been coming to the convention for years, and it’s their job to seek out sleepers and winners.”

The guidelines were simple: show officials asked the media for their personal pick of the most interesting book at the show. This could be measured by the book itself, its publishing history, what was been heard about the book at BEA (i.e. its “buzz” factor), or a simple assessment of the title based on reading jacket copy or meeting the author. There were some duplicate responses but officials are not “weighing” or “rating” the results. The final list of books represents the full range of titles submitted back to BEA on the last day of the show by the “movers and shakers” in the media whose job it is to cover the world of books.

AMERICAN ON PURPOSE by Craig Ferguson (HarperCollins)
CONNECTED: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives, by Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler (Little Brown)
JULIET NAKED by Nick Hornby (Riverhead)
SOULLESS by Gail Carriger (Orbit)
SOUTH OF BROAD by Pat Conroy (Doubleday)
SPOONER by Pete Dexter (Grand Central)
STITCHES by David Small (W.W. Norton)
THE LOST SYMBOL by Dan Brown (Doubleday)
THE SWAN THIEVES by Elizabeth Kostova (Little Brown)

ABOUT REED EXHIBITIONS: Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events organizer. In 2007 Reed brought together over six million industry professionals from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held in 38 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and organized by 39 fully staffed offices.

Because It Really Could Happen To You—Guest Blogger Sarah Rees Brennan

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Running out the door in about 30 minutes for all-day meetings. If I had been smart, I would have taken a day or two off right after BEA. Make note for next time….

What’s playing on the iPod right now? BEAUTIFUL DAY by U2

As authors (and even as agents), we aren’t always up on the latest technology so let this be a reminder to always have a backup system in place—even for things you didn’t think needed backing up.

The sad part of this story is that the attack on Sarah Rees Brennan’s live journal and her email account was obviously a deliberate one. We can only assume it was meant to sabotage her release day as Sarah Rees has a large online following and there are a lot of great things tied into her internet presence for her release day.

The good news is that she foiled her saboteur. With the help of a lot of good friends, supporters, and fellow generous writers, Sarah is good to go today–her official release day for her debut YA—THE DEMON’S LEXICON.

Congrats Sarah!

It happened six days before my book came out.

I was in the shower, singing a country music song and blinking coconut-scented bubbles out of my eyes, when I heard my phone ring and scrambled out to answer the phone. It was my friend Bob. ‘Hello, Bob,’ I said in a perplexed way. ‘Aren’t you at work?”

Go to your computer,’ he said. ‘Don’t freak out. I’m going to help you fix this.’

I went to my computer and saw that my blog had been deleted. I’d been writing my blog for seven years, since I was eighteen, and it had a lot of my life recorded in it: the parts dearest to me were the posts announcing my book deal, and all the posts I’d made about the terrifying, wonderful process of publication in the almost two years since then. They were all gone.

Then I tried to get into my email, and discovered that was where the hackers had got in: the thought of malicious strangers being able to go through all of my personal and some fairly crucial business emails had me shaking in my fluffy pink bath towel, but there was just no time to panic: I had to call about a hundred people, starting with my bank, proceeding onward to my website hosts and my friends, all the while being on the phone to report the computer abuse to both livejournal and google.

Thanks to the efforts of my more computer savvy friends, who were basically acting as my ninja team of technology, I got control of my blog and my email back in less than three hours. Unfortunately, that was plenty of time to delete every post I’d ever made on my blog, and every email I’d ever sent or received: emails from a long-distance boyfriend, my first email from my publisher, a million emails from my best friend in the diplomatic service. Not to mention all of my email contacts, which was scary given the whole six days to publication, and all the people I needed to be in contact with whose email addresses I had not memorized.

It still makes me feel a little ill to think of all that, lost. Then my tech ninjas said ‘Sarah… this looks like deliberate malice rather than a regular hack’ and I said sadly that given the timing, I had figured as much.

It was probably just someone who didn’t like my style on my blog, and thought they’d take me down a peg. Holy violation of privacy, Batman! The internet is sometimes a scary place.

Since I was given that object lesson in It Can Happen To You, I collected up some very, very simple tips (I am not a tech ninja, so I can only understand the basics!) on how to safeguard yourself against hackers, and wish to share them with you guys. Especially since I know a lot of you are writers, and I don’t want anyone trying to ruin your big day! So three tips, then.

1. Using your password on public or unsecured wifi is not safe, as it means you’re broadcasting your login data: so if you’re going on holiday or away on business and you’re going to be using public or unsecured internet for some time, change your password before you go and when you come back.

2. Whenever you’re given a link, hover your mouse over it and see where it leads before you go there: just going to a dodgy site can infect your computer, so always regard new sites with a little wariness.

3. And then there are passwords, and how we really do need them to be random, even though it’s so much easier to remember your dog’s or your boyfriend’s name… Not that I’m suggesting those two things are on the same level. I really love my dog! Here’s a great site with tips for creating better passwords.

And if despite your precautions – and I thought I’d taken precautions myself – it happens, well, it happens, and it’s awful, but right after it happened to me my blog readers were collecting up all their saved entries from my blog, and helping me reconstruct it. Lots of people re-sent emails to me that they’d sent me years ago. And one blog reader provided me with some handy tips, much like the ones I’m giving out to you! The internet can be scary sometimes, but it can be great as well.

Even though that day last week was horrible, today is wonderful. My book is out – my very first book, on shelves, where people can read it!

And nobody can delete that.

A stack on the table at the Borders–Penn Station

Some BEA Observations

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: I’ve got so many great notes to share with you folks. Just not enough time in the day to blog about it all. Thank goodness we have the rest of the week.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? LYIN’ EYES by The Eagles

I have to say that I’m very glad that I attended Book Expo this year. A lot of things are changing in the industry and it only makes sense that BEA is going to evolve, transform, change, or even disappear (although doubtful) in the years to follow.

I had heard that publishers were cutting back this year and now having seen it, I can tell you for certain that that is true.

Random House had a booth the size of a postage stamp.

Macmillan wasn’t even on the floor. They simply had meeting rooms in the basement—I mean the lower floor that held the conference rooms.

At past BEAs, aisles were so stuff with people, you had to do an interesting shuffle with a lot of “pardon me” to get through. This year, the open space was like walking down an uncrowded boulevard. I think the only time I felt packed in was when the new Balzer & Bray imprint had their champagne toast launch party in the HarperCollins booth. However, once all glasses were distributed, the bar magically disappeared. It was up for maybe 15 minutes total. The champagne bottles were not abundent.

At past BEAs, ARCs (otherwise known as Advanced Reading Copies) abounded. In fact, you couldn’t walk through a booth without tripping over one. This year? Scant would be the word I would use to sum it up. Unless there was an actual signing going on, very few galleys could be had. [Although I should have assigned my client Megan Crewe to be my stealth ARC gatherer as she totally scored with a copy of CATCHING FIRE (hot sequel to The Hunger Games) and a copy of BEAUTIFUL CREATURES (which is getting some solid pre-buzz).] She managed to snag about 60 ARCs.

However, in general, I can’t complain about this year’s Book Expo. The show was very good to my authors as the pictures below will attest.

Photo 1: Hank Ryan draws crowds in the Harlequin booth for the release of her third book in the Charlie McNally series–AIR TIME.

Photo 2: Now this is good editor support. Notice how Devi Pillai dressed to match the poster colors. That’s going above and beyond the call of duty! (Actually, Devi hadn’t realized that she had done so until I pointed it out to her.)

Photo 3: Gail Carriger signs her copies of her debut fantasy SOULLESS. One of the few ARCs that were out and about every day for the taking, Gail had some really nice lines–especially considering she’s so new to the scene. In fact, in a funny related story, three separate people at random times came up to me during the weekend to tell me about this really cool ARC they had snagged. Imagine my surprise that at three different times, the book they pulled out to show me was of SOULLESS. I had to then ‘fess up that it was my book.


Photo 4: Nice signage for the third book in the Gallagher Girl series that is releasing next week!

Photo 5: Ally signs in the Brilliance Booth

Photo 6: Electronic Poster of THE SHIFTER in HarperCollins Booth for the Balzer & Bray Champagne toast for the launch list.

The Black Sheep of Fiction Writing—Guest Blogger Carolyn Jewel

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Lots of meetings at the end of last week so I’ll type up some notes and get that to you tomorrow. Book Expo is starting on Friday (could it get crazier?). And just a heads up that I’m at the Backspace conference all Thursday (May 28) so if you are in town, you might think about attending. And a reminder, there’s only a couple of days remaining in the Brenda Novak auction for Diabetes. I’m doing a breakfast at RWA (or in Washington D.C. if you live in the area. You don’t necessarily have to be attending the conference just as long as you are in the City). A 24-hour read with an intense critique.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? YOU WERE MEANT FOR ME by Jewel

For me, Carolyn is one of those amazing writers who should be getting a lot more attention than she is. Her historical romance, SCANDAL, was a tour de force. Reviewers were stunned at how complex and sexy it was. It’s as good as anything that the established titans are doing in that genre.

And the same is true for her paranormal series that begun with MY WICKED ENEMY. The writer she is compared to the most? J.R. Ward. If you are a romance lover and haven’t picked up a Carolyn Jewel book, I only have one question for you. Why not?

So in the spirit if huge generosity (as this blog entry took some time to write!), Carolyn teaches you the art of the back story. From some of the sample pages Sara and I have read lately, this is a lesson that any aspiring writer (no matter the genre) should pay attention to. Enjoy! Happy Release Day Carolyn.

Backstory: Can’t write with it, can’t write without it.

Most writers have heard repeatedly that backstory is bad. I’m here to say that backstory isn’t bad; it’s just misunderstood and misused. In fact, I’ll lay it all on the line right now and say that the more backstory you have the better. With some pretty important caveats. Yeah, there’s always a catch, isn’t there?

Please keep in mind that I am speaking in generalities here, though I will give concrete examples. Your specific story may call for a different use or construction of backstory. After you read this, don’t rush back to your story to slavishly apply these principles without more.

What you need to do, what you MUST do, is figure out how to adapt these concepts to the story you are writing. You need to make sure you understand why we, as writers, even talk about something called backstory. It’s not easy, but the time you spend thinking about it will serve you and your writing very well.

What is This Backstory of Which I Speak?

That’s easy.

It’s all the stuff that happened before a story actually starts. It’s the baggage your characters bring with them to their story, their hang-ups, history and life stories. It’s the political and historical past that matters to the story you’re going to tell.

James Michener is one writer who built a reputation by including ALL the backstory in his actual story. Other writers, however, are not James Michener and they (we) do not have his special dispensation for backstory. Do not let Michener lull you into thinking it’s OK for you to describe the formation of the universe before you get around to introducing your characters.

Backstory can be a swift and sure route to readers who end up enjoying a book that isn’t one you wrote. But it’s also the key to making your story resonate and having people dying to find out what happens next. Powerful backstory will do that for you.

A frequent mistake I see from writers who are starting out (or sometimes, just in an early draft of a work) is too much backstory revealed. They write prologues, start their story too soon, or most egregious of all, stop the story dead to explain how the hero’s mother abandoned him as a child and therefore he believes all women will abandon him.

The problem is that we are not writing a story about the backstory of our novel. We’re writing about what happens BECAUSE of the backstory. Readers aren’t very interested in what happened to the heroine ten years ago. They want to know what’s happening to her right now. Every single time you stop telling your present story to relay the past, your story dies on the page. D. E. A. D.

Because of this, backstory is something you release into the wild in small amounts and, whenever possible, indirectly through active, present-story events. I like to think of backstory as a door I am not permitted to open except in case of dire emergency. My job is to find a way to include the backstory without opening that door.

Sweat over writing a scene in which your hero interacts with the heroine but is driven by his abandonment issues without ever explaining that he has them. Yes, I know. It’s hard. (This is me, shrugging.)

What to do In Case of Dire Emergency

Eventually, you will probably have to explain something about the past. The less time you spend doing this the better. (That’s time on the page, by the way, not time working on how to figure out where, when and how much.)

When you’ve reached the point where you have to insert some backstory or risk confusing your readers or making a character seem unpleasant or illogical, then make the revelation count. Make the reveal complicate things or add complexity to a scene or characterization. Do it and move on.

Depending on the sort of writer you are, you may or may not have all this worked out in advance. I never do. I spend a lot of time re-jiggering where and when I reveal backstory. If you’re like me and are on the write by the seat of the pants side of the spectrum, you’ll need to pay a lot of attention to where to place, add, move or remove such scenes as your story develops. If you’re more of a plotter, then these are all things you’ve struggled with before you start writing chapters. It doesn’t matter where in the process it happens, as long as it does happen.

And Now, Some Concrete Examples

In my June release, My Forbidden Desire, my heroine, Alexandrine, is a witch who doesn’t have much power. She knows she’s adopted and has searched for her biological parents, with some limited success. She has an adoptive brother she believes is dead. She also wishes she had more power and regrets that she doesn’t fit better in the normal world to which her lack of magical ability more or less relegates her. Creatures she’s only read about actually exist. There really are demons and there are mages who use their power in horrific ways. She also has an amulet she hopes will boost her power.

The hero is Xia, a fiend who hates the magekind because they kill and enslave creatures like him. He hates witches in particular because he was betrayed by a witch and ended up enslaved because of it. He also hates them because his species is attracted to the magic, and he doesn’t like being vulnerable. Unbeknownst to Alexandrine, her amulet contains the spirit of a murdered fiend, and though she thinks its supposed power doesn’t work on her, in fact, she’s bonding with the amulet in a way that may cost her her life. Xia intends to release the spirit of the trapped fiend and end its suffering.

These two paragraphs of backstory are condensed for this article, by the way. My challenge was to find a way to reveal these elements without directly visiting the past unless or until there was no other choice.

I could have started the story with Alexandrine finding the amulet or started with a scene about how Xia was betrayed by a witch. I could have started with Alexandrine trying to use the amulet, or, even, with Xia being told he has to go protect a witch. Any of those choices would contain a lot of emotion, and they certainly would have mattered to the protagonist.

Keep in mind, however, that My Forbidden Desire is about Alexandrine and Xia and the collision of all that backstory.

How Backstory Helps you Figure Out Where to Start

My Forbidden Desire is not about Alexandrine finding the amulet or trying to use it. It’s also not about Xia having been betrayed. It’s about what those two characters do BECAUSE of the backstory I’ve laid out.

Another way to look at this is to consider at what point the backstory carries so much weight in the present that forward motion is unavoidable.

If I’d chosen to start with Alexandrine finding the amulet, the other backstory does not come into play. The identity of her biological father doesn’t matter at that point. Nor does the existence of fiends. Same with the betrayal Xia experienced. If I’d started with her finding the amulet, I would have ended up with a very different story.

Instead, I chose to start My Forbidden Desire with Alexandrine meeting the brother she thought was dead. That isn’t enough on its own to make the story move forward. Her brother is there because he’s learned mages are willing to kill her for the amulet. Since he’s leaving the country in a few hours, he’s arranged for her to have a bodyguard – the witch hating Xia who hates her even more when he learns Alexandrine’s biological father is none other than the mage who once enslaved him.

All the backstory is present in chapter one, but not all of it is explicit. From page one on, the story has no choice but to move forward. Alexandrine’s father is after the amulet and willing to kill her to get it. She is now sharing her small apartment with a creature she thought wasn’t real. Xia has to protect a witch whose father once enslaved him.

And neither of them knows just how much their world has changed.

Some Nuts and Bolts Tips

It’s been my observation that more often than not a prologue makes things worse, not better, in terms of backstory. If you have a prologue, I suggest deleting it (at least temporarily) while you confirm that it really truly needs to be there. Just because you like it isn’t enough reason to keep it around. This, of course, is true of every single scene in your story.

The use of “had” in your prose is a strong signal that you’re dumping backstory. It’s boring. Stop it. When you find yourself writing, He had gone to the store that day, never knowing his mother had been packing her bags while he had been buying Frosted Flakes.

Find another way. If that goes on for more than two or three sentences: snooze. Think up a scene or predicament or even a secondary character through which you can imply or otherwise reveal this information directly and actively. It’s hard work, I know.

Summing It Up

I am of the firm belief that every writer must find her own way to truths about writing. My advice is to think about what I’ve said about backstory. If you disagree with me, and I’m sure some of you will, spend some time making sure you understand exactly why you disagree. It’s quite a valuable experience. After a good faith effort and study, use the parts that resonate with you and discard the rest.

I’ve always been frustrated by articles that wrap up their writing advice in pretty metaphors that show off one’s prose more than they give concrete advice. And yet, there’s gold to be mined in those metaphors. So here’s mine:.

Backstory gives your story heft, weight and shape and help you find a way into your story. But for all that, backstory isn’t your story. It’s just chasing your story down a dark alley.

Knowledge Dissemination As A Tool of Promotion–Guest Blogger Sherry Thomas

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Meetings and more meetings. Chut really enjoyed Riverside Park this evening.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? YOU’RE ON THE ONLY WOMAN by David Pack

Bad Agent. I was supposed to post this entry on Wednesday which was Sherry’s actual release day for NOT QUITE A HUSBAND. Bad Agent.

“Sherry Thomas is the most powerfully original historical romance author writing today.”
—Lisa Kleypas, New York Times bestselling author

But today’s entry is so worth waiting for. Not to mention, I get to share Sherry’s hilarious book trailer. I completely share Sherry’s sense of humor so I’m going to apologize beforehand if this doesn’t tickle your funny bone. I spit coffee when I watched it for the first time. Understated to say the least…

Now, without further ado, named one of PW’s top five authors of 2008, Sherry Thomas. Happy Release Day!

When it comes to promotion, Agent Kristin is my model. Make no mistake, this blog is a promotion tool, for her agency and for her clients. But the lovely thing about this blog is that it is not just a promotion tool, it is also a knowledge dissemination tool. When you read this blog, you get the insider’s look, you get to see publishing as it happens.

I wanted to do that. But compared to Kristin, I had a significant drawback. I didn’t have any specific useful knowledge. What to do? Well, knowledge can be acquired. But what knowledge to acquire? I made a decision: I would learn about those things that interest me as an author and hope that what interest me would also interest a good number of other people.

For example, I was curious as to how genre books, particularly romance, get into public libraries–because I’m a devoted patron of my local public library and because if my books didn’t make it to the library branch right next to my house, I wanted to know why! I pitched it as an article idea to the editor of Romance Writers Report (RWR), Romance Writers of America’s monthly newsletter. She said go ahead, and I did.

I contacted blogger Super Librarian (http://super_librarian.blogspot.com), an online reviewer who is, in non-virtual life, the adult fiction buyer for the Orange County Public Library. I contacted the fiction selector for my local public library system. I contacted John Charles, reference librarian and fiction selector at Scottsdale Public Library who also conducts romance reader advisory workshops at state and national library association conferences. I read the material Mr. Charles kindly sent me. I did my homework.

The result? The lead article in the August 2008 issue of the RWR—and a pretty good one if I do say so myself. Plus, now I know pretty well the whole process on how books get into libraries.

My next area of significant interest is foreign rights sales. Kristin and Whitney, her foreign rights sub-agents, do a bang-on job of it. But how exactly does a sale happen? Well, I know how it happened for me in one instance. Kris Alice Hohls, the publisher of LoveLetter, a German monthly devoted to romance novels, had read an ARC of my debut novel and loved it. She spread that love to the editor at CORA Verlag, where my book was on submission, and voila, the rest was much happy dancing on the way to the bank.

So, who is Kris Alice Hohls? How did LoveLetter come about? How does a young woman decide one day to create a magazine for an underserved market? There is nothing to do but interview her.

The interview would appear in the June 2009 issue of the RWR. A couple of weeks ago, Kris Alice Hohls emailed me and asked if I would be interested in doing a panel at next year’s RWA National with her, my German editor, and Agent Kristin, to discuss how foreign rights sales really go down.

Oh, would I? You bet. Because I have been hoping to get hold of a foreign editor for a long time–along with Whitney–so I could write a proper nuts-and-bolts article on the art and science of foreign rights sales. That article would appear in the RWR when my next book comes out.

Why the RWR always, you ask? Well, because the RWR goes out to 10,000 subscribers and I get a half-page ad space in exchange for giving them an article they can use. Not to mention the rights to the articles remain with me. For example, on May 19 the article on how romances get into libraries is getting a reprinting at DearAuthor.com, one of the premier romance blogs on the net.

And when I have a book out next time, that nuts-and-bolts article on foreign rights sales just might make an appearance on this blog. Further promotion through knowledge dissemination. Maybe I’ll learn to live with promotion after all.

Holy Display Batman!

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Did some meetings today but don’t have the brain power to write up for tonight’s blog. Stay tuned tomorrow though. I’m going to shoot for the morning.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? Nothing at the moment.

20 days and counting down to the release of DON’T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER. Would you say this bookstore is enthusiastic?

All I can say is that I wish every store in America would follow this example! Huge grin here.

Get Vamped! Get A Street Team!

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: TGIF! It’s supposed to be a lousy weekend in Denver. Rain both days. Guess who will probably get a lot of reading done?

What’s playing on the iPod right now? TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART by Bonnie Tyler

Happy Release Day Lucienne!

I imagine that most writers believe that because Lucienne is also an agent, she probably got special treatment when she went out on submission. But actually, that’s not true. If the editors knew who she was, then I’m sure they kept that in mind while reading but most of the editors were in the children’s realm—a market Lucienne doesn’t do a whole lot of repping in. So her being an agent didn’t necessarily carry extra weight.

And even with that, the work had to live up to its promise, and the editors had to love it as a novel to take it on.

In looking back on my submission notes, we had quite a few editors who wanted the angsty vampire romance—not something fun, campy, and totally different than anything out there already.

All the editors loved Lucienne’s voice. One editor felt it was similar to something she already had on her list but she went back and forth on it as she really loved that voice. Another editor thought they had too many vampire books on their list (can’t argue with that!).

Now it’s the lead title for Flux’s spring list. It’s debuting today. It’s gotten a good Kirkus review. Excellent sell in. It’s being featured as part of Barnes & Noble’s book club.

And Lucienne has a great promo tip for you. I’d like to welcome guest blogger and fellow agent, Lucienne Diver of The Knight Agency.

I can haz minions?


I don’t know, something about starting my own street team has me talking in LOLcat and wanting to laugh maniacally, like a cartoon villain. I’ve been feverishly working on my evil villain laugh, actually. Taking a page from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog.

But I’m not here today to talk to you about my minions. Or, not exactly. I’m here to talk about promotion. You know how they always say that two heads are better than one? Well, twenty is ten times better than two. And one hundred…well, you get the point. It’s a truism in the publishing field that word of mouth is the biggest seller of books. Ads and reviews are all well and good, but nothing works as well as recommendations from friends. Hence the idea of the street team… providing advance copies of your book (and maybe other freebies like t-shirts, bookmarks, mugs, whathaveyou) to a group representing your target audience with the understanding that if they like your work they’ll spread the word, go forth and kvell—blog, put up reviews on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Borders.com, Twitter, go tell it on the mountain. I don’t know if Mari Mancusi was the first author to come up with the idea, but I do know that I first heard of it through an article she’d written. Brilliant! I thought. I let my young adult authors know about it, because it seemed especially suited to the young adult field. I filed it away in my own mind.

You see, at the time, Gina, my heroine from Vamped, was not even a twinkle in my eye. In fact, when she first started talking in my head (yes, that’s how it happens), she was a snarky fashionista who, after clawing her own way out of the grave, discovers that true horror is a lack of reflection. No way to do her hair and make-up; eternity without tanning options. She decides that her first order of business is to turn her own stylist. The story didn’t have an actual plot. It was more of a vignette, really, a slice of unlife. I thought I’d have done with her and be able to walk away. But as it turned out, Gina was more resourceful and stronger than I knew. A short story wasn’t enough for her (or my readers, who wanted more). Oh, no, she had to have a novel. Then a series. Next thing you know, she’ll be taking over the silver screen (oh please, please, please).

Anyway, that part of me that is Gina – because, let’s face it, there’s a little of us in all of our characters – is crowing “I can haz minions!” My street team is fabulous. I put out a call on my blog for teens and twenty-somethings, directed them toward the section on my website where there’s an excerpt posted to see if they thought they’d like it, and recruited. The first ten to respond would got T-shirts and a signed copy of Vamped, the next twenty-five were offered signed bookplates. I got a great response. I’m actually pretty humbled by the amazing energy, enthusiasm and creativity of my team. They’re heads and shoulders above Victor Frankenstein’s iconic Igor. They’re people that make me go “wow” and “I’m not worthy” on a regular basis. I actually want to succeed as much for them—so they can brag about how they were part of it all, that they were there before I was someone—as for myself.

In short, having a street team can be incredibly rewarding, hopefully for all parties. It’s certainly the most fun I’ve had promoting my book. It makes me feel like I’m not in this alone and gives me the comfort that there are folks other than me enthusiastic about my new release. Writing is too often a lonely endeavor.