Conversation with Cindy: A Famous Blogger

So today, I have a little Q/A going on with one of my favorite bloggers, Cindy, from Conversations with Famous Writers. If you haven't checked out the site, do it asap - she manages to lure all sorts of fabulous and interesting authors to the site, and it's a must-read for me each week. Cindy is also the author of Thousand Dollars for a Kiss, a fun read set in the world of celebrity, and she took an unconventional route to getting published. Since I know so many aspiring writers check out this blog, I thought she might make for a bit of inspiration. Check it out!

1) You run one of my favorite blogs. What compelled you to start blogging and how did you attract such a big audience?

I started blogging for fun about celebrities in my (now defunct) gossip site, Conversations About Famous People. I got many, many hits every day, which was great fun but not satisfying to my soul, you know? It's not like I was doing something really positive by making fun of celebrities. It was bad karma.

I began Conversations with Famous Writers as a way to read and review and write about books and authors in an entertaining and casual way. I didn't want a stuffy, very literary type blog, I wanted to combine interesting, off beat interviews and inspire people to read really good books while getting to know the writers behind those books.

CAFP afforded me the opportunity to gather a big audience, some of which followed me to the book blog and helped make it successful. I still can't believe that this stay- at- home mom ran a successful gossip blog and reached over seven million viewers. Like, wow, millions of people read my work! I went to the E! channel in Los Angeles and did a screen test. It was exciting but not the direction I wanted to take my life in.

2) You interview a lot of well-known authors. Has any interview stood out as the best among others? How do you approach these authors? Anyone ever say no?

Jeannette Walls was super nice, she stands out as being one of the best. Jen Lancaster is lovely and hilarious. I adore Caroline Leavitt and Gayle Brandeis who I knew before I started my site. The fact that Pamela Anderson did an interview with me and linked to it on her website was huge for me. The majority of the authors are awesome and kind and grateful. Writers are generally speaking, a wonderful bunch.

I approach the authors through their PR people, some writers contact me directly. Paulina Porizkova wouldn't be interviewed for Model Summer and Angelina Jolie's manager said she wasn't giving interviews for her book Notes From My Travels. I was totally bummed!

Imagine me and Angelina doing an interview? We would become best friends forever and our kids could play together, we could get tattoos and were matching black clothes! She really missed out.

3) A lot of my blog readers are aspiring novelists. You refused to give up when it looked like a large publishing house wouldn't grab your manuscript...how did you then go about getting published?

I wrote two books and sent out hundreds and hundreds of query letters to agents. I received so many rejections that I seriously lost count of all of them. I could have wallpapered my whole house with those rejection letters.

When I wrote my third novel, A Thousand Dollars for a Kiss, I began the process all over again and of course the rejections trickled in. It was torture! I thought maybe I should self publish. I couldn't bear the thought of one more "no". I assumed that because I had a well known website and a built in audience of book buyers getting an agent would be easy. Not so.

At this time, Ephemera Bound got in touch with me to review their books. Instead of reviewing books, I asked if they would be interested in publishing my novel. I submitted it; they liked it and set me up with an editor. I was anxious.

4) What were the pros and cons of taking this route?

The positives aspects of going with a tiny publisher was that my book would be published in less than a year, I would work with an editor, I wouldn't need an agent, I would have a say in the cover art, the book would be available on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com. I would finally have a published book that people could read. My dream of being a published author would come true. Fame and success were sure to follow! Visions of Prada and a new Infiniti FX 35 danced in my head.

The downside is a small publisher doesn't have a lot of marketing or advertising money, I did not get an advance, they didn't send out review copies to the big reviewers so my book was not widely exposed.

Places like Barnes & Noble, Costco, and Target have deals with the bigger publishers to have their books displayed and/or sold there but not with a small, relatively unknown publisher. Had I held out and found an agent who could have negotiated a great deal for me, my book would be in every book store and I'd be zooming around in my silver Infiniti wearing my True Religion jeans, lunching at The Ivy and shopping at Neiman Marcus.

5) What are you working on now?

I finished the sequel to A Thousand Dollars for a Kiss which is called Fifty Cents for Your Soul. It's about the celebrity obsessed character of Barrett and it features Marilyn Monroe. I'm plotting out the third book in my Hollywood series; this one will take place in the 60's with Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison. I love that whole era. I wish I could wear faded bell bottoms and daisies in my hair all the time. But with MAC Lipglass and YSL mascara of course.

I'm reviewing my beloved beauty products on Hello Dollface and interviewing writers on Conversations With Famous Writers. Lately on my blog, I'm featuring movie trailers and news of novels being made into films. My goal is to have my books made into movies and somehow develop other good books into films. Angelina and I will become BFF and she can also star in my movies and we could do charity work together. It's a win/win all around.

We're Not Normal

So the other day, my husband was told "no" to something. And he was pissed. Annoyed and peeved too. And a little demoralized. You have understand: my husband is very, very good at what he does, which has lead to success, so rarely, does someone say, "Er, sorry, no thanks to that idea." (Of course, he hears "no" just plenty around our house. Hee.)

He came home and we chatted about it, and I said, "Look, you can't take it personally," and he said, "Of course I can! How can I not take it personally?" And I looked at him like he had ten heads because I'm so used to not taking anything personally in our business that I didn't see how on earth he could consider this personal.

So over dinner, I said, "Let's role play." (No you dirty birds, don't go there.)

He shrugged and said, "Fine."

"An editor told me today that my manuscript wasn't publishable....what would you say?"

"I'd say that he's an idiot," my husband replied.

"Exactly!" I answered, triumphant in my brilliance. "You wouldn't personalize it when it comes to my job, so you shouldn't personalize it when it comes to yours."

He begrudgingly admitted to a sliver of my brilliance and then we moved on. But later, it dawned on me: I think I'm the one with the abnormal reaction, not him. Of course it's rational to feel the sting of rejection rather than just coast past it; of course it's rational to be pissed and annoyed and a little demoralized. But I've been in this business for so long that my armor is basically impenetrable.

And I'll tell you what: I wouldn't have it any other way. While my husband might not get rejected very often in his line of work, in our line of work, it's inevitable. It doesn't stop just because you've landed national magazine stories or even published your first novel. And I've repeatedly said it on this blog, but I'll say it again: if you have a thin skin or take rejection personally, even if it might be slightly personal, this isn't the industry for you. Because you know, sure, every once in a while, that rejection just might be personal, but guess what? You don't have the luxury to consider that it might be, because, that, my friends, is a slippery-slope. If you spend time trying to sort through the intricacies of what all the various rejections mean - are they personal, are they not, do they hate you, do they hate the work? - you'll spend far too much energy and effort focused on the negatives and eventually, it will suck away at both your self-confidence and your writing.

Which is why I've developed an emotional moat: nothing's getting through to me unless I let it. And sure, that might not be normal, but it's what you need to get by as a writer. My husband's not a writer, so for him, sure, he can feel that sting, but honestly, I can't afford to. My ego and confidence would be bloodied on a daily basis.

So...what do you think? Are writers normal or not when it comes to rejection and how we cope with it?

It Appears That I'm a Junkie

So I was straightening up our living room last week because our apartment is on the market, and really, all it ever feels like I do is straighten up our living room, but as I was doing so, I encountered masses and piles and stacks of magazines: some new, some old, many unread, frankly, many untouched. And while hints of my problem have danced around corners of my mind in the past, last week, it became unavoidably apparent: I am a magazine junkie, and it's time to quit. Or at least slow down.

So I counted. And it seems that I subscribe to about 20 magazines, which means, because a few of these are weeklies, that I'd have to read about one magazine a day per month to keep up. Which is just insane! I mean, I barely have time to take one shower a day, much less read that much per day. I do most of my mag reading in the gym, and even in a 45-60 minute workout, I can't get through an entire magazine (not to mention that I often grab mags there - or if I run on the treadmill, I don't read at all - which only contributes to my backlog), so it dawned on me last week that it was time for an intervention. Namely, as many of these mags send me note after note, begging for renewal, I'm going to have to just say no. Not this year. Not my $12. Not because I can't spare the $12. But because I can't take the clutter! I can't take the guilt of the magazine cover looking longingly up at me from my coffee table or my dining room chairs (more piles there) or my nightstand, crying, "Please read me!," and me promising that I will, knowing in the back of my mind that I really probably won't and it's just another obligation on my to-do list. So goodbye many of my old standbys that I've subscribed to for longer than I can remember. Goodbye. It was fun while it lasted. But to be honest, I'm not sure how much I'll miss some of you.

It has occurred to me, however, through this cleansing process, that there are a few magazines that I can't live without. And while I'm cutting back, I'm certainly not cutting myself off. (Egads! I'm a magazine writer for cryin' out loud! No way could I go or would I want to go cold turkey!) I'm whittling the list down to 12-15 or so vital mags - ones I actually look forward to getting. But if I had to choose just two or three? Well, I'd say that Women's Health and Entertainment Weekly will basically get a lifetime pass from me. I'll be 92 and still reading them. Fear not subscription departments - you'll always have my credit card!

So...how many mags do you subscribe to and which ones could you absolutely never give up?

Magazine Blogs

Question of the week: Are there any good blogs which specialize in writing magazine articles?

Well, for starters, have you searched the archives of my blog? I've tackled a lot of magazine-related questions here.

As far as ONLY handling magazine writing, I'm not sure. I'd definitely check out The Renegade Writer - while they're not limited to magazines, they have oodles of excellent advice about breaking into the industry, and their books can be invaluable.

And while it's not a blog, I think that Freelance Success is the best online tool for any writer. When I was just starting out, I gleaned SO MUCH knowledge on the forums that it's hard for me to even imagine the trajectory of my career if it hadn't been for FLX, and now, while I don't necessarily reap the same amounts of info (only because I'm more of a veteran), I try to contribute advice when I can and equally as valuable, have forged close friendships and a level of support that I couldn't do without. A few things about FLX: yes, you have to pay to join, as such you should. This weeds out spammers and people who aren't serious about their careers. Secondly, there are a lot of veterans on the boards who happily offer advice, but do cruise through the archives to make sure you're not asking a question that's been answered 100 times. Lastly, join in the discussion! The more you give, the more you'll get out of it.

So those are my thoughts. I'm sure that there are plenty of other blogs that specialize in mag writing, so readers, what are your suggestions?

Print Run Posturings

So, I was cruising the forums at Backspace, and stumbled upon this fabulous blog entry by best-selling author, Tess Gerritsen, in which she talks about the impact of print runs and what they mean for making the best-seller list. It's funny: before my book came out, all of my friends were like, "Oh, I can't wait to see you on the NY Times list!," and I'd just snicker because I knew it was such an impossibility. And as her blog indicates, yeah, it pretty much is. To make the best-seller list, you have to sell thousands per week. (I believe that 2k in hardcover is what I've read, though I might be wrong - correct me if so.)

From what I understand about print runs, which, btw, means how many books the publisher prints of your book (I know that's basic info, but some people might not know), the initial print run is basically based on how many pre-orders they have from their sales team. So - if the sales team has gone out there and sold the hell out of it, and Barnes and Noble wanted, say, 50,000 - your print run will sizeable. And this, when it comes to best-seller lists or really, even for your book to do well at all, is a tricky situation, sort of a self-fulfilling prophesy, if you will. Because if your print run is, say, 100,000, your book is going to be well-stocked in stores, so people will gravitate to it, simply because it will land in their hands, and because publishers will have a bigger incentive to buy co-op space, advertising, etc for it. But if, for some reason, the sales team screws the pooch, well, your book is screwed too because no matter how much promotion you do or if the buzz spreads like wildfire, if it's not in stores, it's simply not going to sell, much less reach the best-seller list. So the books with huge print runs are already given a huge leg up.

But - and this is where it gets interesting - these BIG books also have a lot more to lose, both for the author and the publisher. As Gerritsen notes on her blog, the books that have enormous print runs might have poor sell-throughs (the number of books sold compared the number of books printed), even though in total, they might have sold more than a book with a smaller run. Following? For example: a book with a 100,000 print run might sell 50,000, which is an okay sell-through, but a book with a 25,000 print run might sell 20,000, which is a much better return on the publisher's investment.

It's an interesting situation, and I don't know which I'd prefer. Probably the shot to at least make the best-seller list, but with these huge print runs comes a lot of pressure, and even though you have the machine of the publishing house behind you (which, incidentally, you really MUST have to reach the upper echelons of sales...I can't think of any book, barring perhaps, Sara Gruen's Water For Elephants, that took off without a HUGE publisher push and gobs of marketing/co-op money), you can certainly fall flat on your face. And the downside to that is that no one is going to give you a big advance again. In this industry, you don't get a lot of chances to prove yourself.

So which would you rather: start small and work your way up or start with a bang and hope to soar?

Blah, Blah, Blurbs

So I'm chatting about blurbs - getting 'em, what they can do for you, what readers think of them - today on Writer Unboxed. Check it out!

I'll be back later this week to talk about print runs and best-seller lists.

GCC Presents: Ellen Meister and Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA

Girlfriend Cyber-Circuit time! Today, I'm thrilled to present Ellen Meister, whose laugh-out-loud Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA premiered with a bang last year. And guess what? If you didn't check it out then, now's your chance to grab the paperback version.

Here's the juicy scoop: When a Hollywood location scout comes to Applewood, Long Island, and announces that the local elementary school might make the perfect backdrop for an upcoming George Clooney movie, the PTA's decorum crumbles like a cookie from last week's bake sale.

Enter Maddie, Ruth, and Lisa, three women who become the glue that holds the project together, forging a bond of friendship stronger than anyone could imagine. And not a moment too soon, as marriage woes, old flames, and scandalously embarrassing family members threaten to tear each of them apart. Is their powerful alliance strong enough to overcome the obstacles to getting the movie made in their town? And will their friendship be enough to mend their hearts and homes? Join them as they reach for the stars . . . and try to pull off a Hollywood ending of their own.

And now, Ellen answers five questions just for Ask Allison readers! Here ya go:

1) What's the backstory behind your book?
Back in 2000, I finally got the gumption to stop procrastinating and pursue my lifelong dream of writing a novel. I was determined to find the time to do it, even though I had three small children, one of whom wasn't yet in school full time. Only problem was that I didn't know what I wanted to write about.

My head was swimming with the notion when I attended the first PTA meeting of the year at my local elementary school. As I smiled, greeting all the other women with my best soccer mom persona, I thought about the fact that no one in the room knew I had this special dream. In fact, no one knew I had an inner life at all. Then it occurred to me that everyone there could be feeling something pretty similar. As soon as I had that thought, I knew I wanted to write about these types of women--to explore the pain, passion, heartache and joy hidden beneath facade of the perfect suburban housewife--and do it with humor and compassion.

From there I set out to construct a plot around an event that could affect the community as a whole and the women as individuals. Eventually, I got the idea to bring a Hollywood movie studio to their town, and select their schoolyard as a possible location for the filming of a George Clooney movie.

2) It seems that a lot of readers confuse fiction with real life, assuming that a novel must be an autobiography of the author as well. How many elements of your real life are reflected in your book?
This has been a big issue for me. Since I'm ON the PTA in a Long Island town and I WROTE about a PTA in a Long Island town, everyone in my community assumes the book is autobiographical. Alas, I can't seem to convince them otherwise! I have a lot of interesting conversations in the supermarket.

Truth is, if I wrote about my own life I'd bore the reader to death. All I do is take care my kids, laugh with my husband, and write. So I have to dig pretty deep into my imagination to find my stories and my characters.

3) A lot of my blog readers are aspiring or new authors. How did you land your first book deal?
Hard work, patience, and more than a little bit of luck! I worked hard on the book, hard on finding an agent, and hard on revisions. Still, it's such an insanely competitive market that I consider I consider myself lucky I found such a wonderful agent ... and an editor who was willing to take a chance on me.

4) I have a serious procrastination problem when it comes to tackling my fiction. What's your routine? How do you dive it? Do you have any rituals or necessary to-dos before or while you write?
I wrestle the procrastination bear, too. But I find a busy schedule is the thing that propels me to get off my butt and get it done.

5) Clearly, your book will be optioned for a multi-million dollar film deal! Who would you cast as the leads, if you were given creative control?
I've given this a good amount of thought over the past few years! As Maddie, the emotionally-needy ex-lawyer, I'd cast Amanda Peet, as I need someone who can do physical comedy and also be touching. Ruth Moss, my brash and bosomy protag, could be played by Virginia Madsen or Joely Fisher. Keith, Ruth's brain-damaged husband who makes inappropriate sexual remarks to every woman he sees, could be a great fun role. I'd love to see Paul Giamatti, Steve Carrell or Alec Baldwin do this. For modest and timid Lisa Slotnick, who suffers a relationship with an alcoholic mother, Laura Linney would be perfect. Maddie's sarcastic friend Beryl could be played by Janeane Garofalo or Rosie O'Donnell. And last, but most definitely not least, a certain someone who has still not called to thank me for the signed book I sent him, could do a cameo as himself.(George Clooney, are you reading this?)

On the Horizon

OK, here's my question - yes YA is hot now, but what are the forecasts for next year (with the thought that if I'm working on my YA now, it gets bought, and then takes 12-18 months to pub, will I have missed the boat)? I didn't see the end of chick lit until it was too late. Your thoughts, o wise one?

Hey Mia! For those of you who don't know the fabulous Mia King, who sent in this question, check out her wonderful blog. Of course, she's in Hawaii, so it's probably a lot easier to be fabulous and wonderful out there than it is anywhere else!

Oh geez, if I could answer this question, I'd have the million-dollar book deal, right? I think it's basically impossible to predict because, I mean, who can say what might resonate with the public. Did anyone foresee that a boy wizard become a worldwide phenomenon a few years ago? Probably not. Did anyone anticipate that paranormal vampires would recently take a bite out of the market? (Hey, give me the bad pun already!) I doubt it.

So..man...I dunno. I'm hoping that the trend toward commercial women's fiction continues - you know, women who want smart characters but still lively and diverting plots, and I have to believe that since there are so many intelligent, well-read women in our country, that this will always be a staple in the publishing industry. But the next big thing? I have no idea! (Of course, Mia, I know you were asking this hypothetically and would never write in anticipation of a trend, but it goes without saying that what you should do is write a good book - the best book you can, regardless of "what's hot," and then the rest will follow.)

But I wanted to post this because I bet that A LOT of readers have better ideas than I do! So what say you, oh wise readers? What's the next big thing?

I'm Booked on Book Keeping!

I'm super-excited...today, I'm the featured new article on MediaBistro. (Okay, I'M not the article, but the article is all about moi.) Check it out in Book Keeping. I can't remember the entire interview exactly (and haven't yet seen the completed piece), but the general gist is my road to publication...and the interviewer asked a lot of questions, so I'm sure that there are more details there than I might have noted here.

Also, our dog, Pedro, is finally famous! We knew he had it in him. In fact, my husband, who is mildly (and perhaps clinically) nuts, has conceived an entire movie series around him in which Pedro becomes a dog vampire at night. (He calls it Count Barkula. Don't ask. I love him or else I'd flee.) But that's neither here nor there. The point is that GalleyCat will be using Pufro's (that's what my son calls him) picture to promote the Book Keeping article later today. Check it out!

So, does anyone else's beloved spouse do equally inane things...or is it just me? :)

A Little Reflection...

So the lovely Larramie, of Seize A Daisy, tagged me two weeks ago, and handed me a Blogger Reflection Award, which basically means, she named the blog as one of the five blogs that brighten her day, infuse her brain and generally make her say hmmm. Here's a direct quote: "Five Bloggers who when you reflect on them you get a sense of pride and joy… of knowing them and being blessed by them.” I'm so honored! I adore Larr, and for those of you who haven't checked out her blog, you should. Hers is a cool blend of writing discussion and every day rumination. She's a smarty, that one. (And I don't say that often!)

Okay, so, here is my list, in no order whatsoever. Larr's would have made it, but alas, as I understand the rules, I can't tag back the person who tagged me. Or else these awards would end up being pretty self-congratulatory, no? :)

1) The Debutante Ball. Duh. I adore these sassy gals - I was nearly one of them until I realized that my commitments were about to boil over like a pot left unattended, and I threw my hat over to Anna David. These lovely ladies opine on just about every subject under the sun, and since they've all written novels to great acclaim (seriously, I've seen incredible promotion for every last one of them), you know that what they have to say will be packed with fabulous prose.

2) Karen Lynch's Discussing Breast Cancer. No! Don't flee at the mention of "cancer." Instead, peruse Karen's fabulous blog (and I'm not saying that simply because she's currently reading my book) to hear about her personal experience with the disease. If you've ever been touched by cancer in any way, you'll be amazed at how her insights resonate.

3) The Renegade Writer. Okay, confession time: Diana and Linda are two pals of mine, but hey, in this case, I say that I'm happy to be defined by the company I keep. These two industry-savvy pros dish out more writing goodness than should be allowed, and they do so with humor and down-to-earthiness (yeah, I made that up) that appeals to every level of writer.

4) Jennsylvania by Jen Lancaster. This is where I head when I need some spit-coffee through my nose humor for the day. You all know Jen from her snark-worthy books, the most recent being Bright Lights, Big Ass, and I know Jen from those too, as well as through her biting emails that occasionally land in my in-box and never cease to crack me up. Jen's blog is up there in my to-check list, along with Dlisted and Just Jared.

5) Conversations With Famous Writers. Before I got published, I'd read these interviews with "famous writers" with revelry and awe. Now that I'm published, I read them to see what I can learn (well, I suppose I did that before too), as well as to check out what I have in common, in terms of the publishing experience, with from these fellow authors. I dunno, sometimes writers seem like friends whom you don't yet know, and Cindy, the blogger, has a way of assuring you that if you met these writers in person, indeed, you guys would be pals. And then there's the flip-side: sometimes these authors seem so unattainable/untouchable, and you're just totally psyched to be reading a Q/A with them in which they discuss something as mundane as changing their kid's diapers.

So...those are 5. BUT, you know, I feel weird doing this because I read so, so many more wonderful blogs out there, and I guess I had to choose, and based my decision on diversity, etc. (Ergo: I didn't want them all to be about writing life, etc!) Hey, I LOVE YOU ALL! (Can you tell I'd be a worse American Idol than Paula? Minus the booze, pills, etc...)

My First GCC Post: Deborah LeBlanc

So I am so super-duper excited. For the past few years, I've trolled around on the blogs of a slew of authors whom I've admired, all of whom were part of the Girlfriend Cyber Circuit - a club, of sorts, that hosts tours for its authors when they have a book to promote. And I'm thrilled to report that I'm now a part of the GCC! Whoohoo! So, here's my first shot at hosting a tour. The next authors I host will answer personalized and specific questions, but for now, here's Deborah LeBlanc, author of Morbid Curiosity, a horror book whose cover alone will cause you to sleep with the lights on.

Here's what you need to know about the book that Publisher's Weekly calls, “An imaginative chiller. Riveting!”:

It seemed like the answer to Haley’s prayers. The most popular girl in her high school promised Haley that her life would change forever if only she performed certain dark rituals. And if Haley can convince her twin sister to participate, their power will double. Together they will be able to summon mystical entities they never dared dream of. But these are powerful, uncontrollable forces, forces that can kill—forces that demand to be fed . . .

The Horror Fiction Review says this about Deborah, "It’s now official: Deborah LeBlanc has become a master not only of good spooky stories, but also of crafting great characters to fill them!” And here are a few other things you need to know about her:

She is the president of the Horror Writers Association, president of the Writers’ Guild of Acadiana, and an active member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, the National Association of Women Writers, and International Thriller Writers Inc. In 2004, she created the LeBlanc Literacy Challenge, an annual, national campaign designed to encourage more people to read. Her most recent novels are: FAMILY INHERITANCE, GRAVE INTENT, A HOUSE DIVIDED, and MORBID CURIOSITY. Deborah’s next release, WATER WITCH, is scheduled to be on bookstore shelves in August ’08. For more information on Deborah or the Literacy Challenge, visit www.deborahleblanc.com

Pick up Morbid Curiosity today!

The YA Market

Question of the week: About the "getting an agent" question--my problem is, I want to write young adult and juvenile fiction. Since writing YA fiction (usually) isn't as lucrative a writing market as others, do you know if it's standard for a writer to have an agent? I've seen YA agents advertising, but I'm not sure if it might be any more difficult getting representation, or if the difference is negligible and all areas take the same amount of perseverance and luck.

Actually, the YA market is one of the hottest markets to be in right now. Despite the internet and TV, teens are reading like crazy, they're armed with their parents' credit cards, and they're snapping books up in droves. And if you can write YA well - smart and appealing to that demo - and agent would be thrilled to have you.

Also, I should note that having an agent goes beyond just the actual dollar amount that he or she brings in for your book. He helps you negotiate the contract - no small feat - I think my contract is something like 20 pages long, helps you navigate the publicity process/cover art/blurbs/etc, and is generally around as your go-to cheerleader and advisor. I think it's short-sighted to only see your agent as the bait for more money.

I'm not that well-versed in the YA market because, er, obviously, I'm not a YA writer, but I'm sure that others here are, and they can weigh in on the industry. To find the best agent for you, I'd do a thorough search of Publishers Marketplace, Agent Query, google, Writers.net, etc, and if you land one, I think you'll be far better off than without.

Free Books!

One of the things that I love so much about the internet (besides my ability to endlessly procrastinate on gossip sites), is how many people I've met via the web. Writing seems like it should be a very solitary existance, but thanks to the web, for me, it doesn't feel that way at all. I've made so many "friends," and even though I haven't met many of them face-to-face, they (many of whom read this blog) know things about my life, both professionally and personally, and for that (and them), I'm thankful. This profession must have felt a lot lonelier 20 years ago.

So, to that end, I am super, duper-excited to get my copy of (my online friend) Gwendolen Gross's The Other Mother in the mail this August (I've pre-ordered on Amazon), but now one of you lucky readers might land yourself a free copy. Like TDLF, it's been selected as a Redbook Book Club of the Month pick, so I'm sure that it's fabu!

Here are the details:

BLOGGERS! FREE BOOKS! GWENDOLEN GROSS, once called "the queen of women's adventure fiction," has moved on to the rich loamy pastures of writing about motherhood. THE OTHER MOTHER will be out August 7th, and Gwendolen is giving away signed copies of her third novel (which takes both sides of the mommy wars, with two first person narrators) to the first five bloggers who email her at ggross@gwendolengross.com---in return, you need to have a blog, and agree to read and blog about the book during the week of August 7th.
Send her your blog address and mailing address, and if you're one of the top 5, she'll send you a book!

For more on THE OTHER MOTHER, visit http://www.blogger.com/www.gwendolengross.com "suspenseful and compulsively readable"--Harlan Coben "..manages to engage all the contradictions of motherhood, marriage, and friendship.."--Rosellen Brown And for a free mini-writing-workshop, visit http://gwendolengross.typepad.com/
Email ggross@gwendolengross.com

And watch for THE OTHER MOTHER (REDBOOK's SEPT BOOK CLUB PICK), coming to a store near you.

Lots of Link Love

So I'm guest blogging at two places today:

First, head over to Writer Unboxed, where I discuss how often people mistake your fiction for your real-life. Ugh.

Then, check out Trashionista, one of my favorite book review sites, for the story behind my story and why cancer can be funny. Really.

The Numbers Game

Thanks everyone so much for your thoughts on Monday's post. I'm really not so concerned about my son - who demanded a book last night at dinner - but I thought it was great fodder for a discussion, and I certainly picked up a few tips. Hope you guys did too.

So, the question I'm most asked, now that TDLF is out there in the world is, "How are sales going." I mean, I'm seriously asked this several times a day. And I have to give the vaguest answer, which is, "They seem to be going well. It's still in the front of stores." And that's the truth. They do seem to be going well, but the reason that this is such a bland answer is that honestly, from what I've gleaned, no one has concrete numbers about the sales of books.

Huh? Seriously? What?

Okay, for real. From what I understand, publishers don't track exact sales, and even when your royalty statement comes in - which, incidentally, isn't until six months or so after your release date - these still might be incomplete or inaccurate. It's mind-boggling. Truthfully, I don't understand the intricacies of it all - and maybe someone else here can explain it - but evidently, while publishers do get numbers from Bookscan (which your agent can occasionally prod your editor to receive), which reports sales at Borders, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Walden and some others, these numbers aren't complete. And this doesn't then include the libraries, independents, and a slew of other distributors, including the big box stores like Costco.

I just don't get it! I'll talk more in the future about how publishing seems to be one of the few industries that does little to no market research, but this just seems like such a glaring situation. I mean, beyond the obvious accurate numbers for royalties and monetary situations, don't publishers want to know say, what actually sells books? If, say, there's a review in the Seattle Times and sales shoot up, or if doing a radio tour has some impact on overall sales or whatever?? It's not a huge surprise that some people equate buying a potential best-seller with throwing something against the wall and hoping it sticks because this situation is just an clear indication of one of the major lapses in the industry, IMO.

(Disclaimer: I do want to say that I have nothing but happy things to report about my own publishers, so please don't take this as an indictment on them!)

Anyway, this has been really eye-opening for me. It's truly mind-boggling that the publishers don't have all the fine print on how books are selling, and true, someone, somewhere, probably does have those details, but in general terms, most people at the house don't receive them.

Have you ever heard of anything so crazy?? Now you see why my answer to my sales question is so vague. Because, other than Bookscan estimates, I really have no idea.

Help My Kid Read!

So my husband and I are having a convo about our son last night at dinner. Well, it was also about us. See, I am an avid reader. (Obviously.) I can read just about any book in two-days, and once I pick up a juicy one, I'm completely oblivious to the world. My brother is the same way...I mean, he reads more books and reads them faster than any human being I've ever seen.

My husband, however, is not so eager to dive in. In fact, I'd go so far as to say (as would he) that not only doesn't he read very often, he doesn't particularly enjoy it when he does. (Trust me, it was a huge accomplishment in our household when he read TDLF.) To be fair, he spends a good deal of his day reading for work, so it's not like he's illiterate and it's not like he's not freakishly smart: he is. He just doesn't enjoy reading for pleasure.

So this comes up last night as we're discussing our son, who is almost 3. Now, Cam really digs it when we read to him, which we do every night, and I often do while he eats, and at intermittent periods during the day, etc. But he also plays around with us: we ask him to point out letters, and even though it's obvious that he knows them, he jokes that he doesn't and pretends that certain letters are numbers, etc. This, I know, is just part of his personality: he's a ham and finds the whole scene hilarious.

But there's a niggly feeling in me that wonders if we're not doing enough to turn him into the readers that my brother and I became. I mean, I'm an easy-going mom. He's allowed some TV, and spends a lot of his day just playing, and certainly, I'm not interested in pinning him to the library and turning him into a superhero reader. But I do want to impart how much joy books can bring into his life, and how they can take him places that TV and other mediums can't. (I should add that I'm not truly concerned that he won't love to read or doesn't love to already: he's surrounded by books and a writer mom, etc, but I'm more interested in what you can do to fashion a good reader.)

So, I know that a lot of you out there are avid readers...how did your parents help you get there? Why are so many kids out there completely disinterested in reading these days? Is it because TV is just so much easier and since a lot of kids are lazy to begin with, they'd rather plop down in front of it and zone out?

And yes, I do plan to ask my mom what she did right...but I'm curious to hear what other people are doing for their own kids or what nurtured their own love of books.

The Times They Are A'Changin'

Well, I can hardly believe it but it's been A YEAR since I started this blog! Happy anniversary to me! Which means that, while I haven't counted, I must have answered a couple hundred questions by now...and I hope that I've proven myself helpful and put some good juju out there in the world.

SO.

I think, as recent posts have indicated, that I'm going to shift gears a bit from here on out. I feel like I've answered just about every question related to writing that's humanly possible, so I want to expand the blog a bit to discuss a wider range of industry and writing-related subjects. Is that cool with you guys?

I'll definitely still be answering questions: so please don't think that you can't email me with them. You can, and I'll happily post them, along with my insights. But, well, I have other things to say, dammit, and I want to say 'em! :) This also might mean that I'll slow down the pace of the blog, but we'll see how it goes.

So from here on out, that's what we'll be doing. Cool?

In the meantime, if you haven't bought TDLF, why not??? Here's another rave review from the Tampa Tribune, along with another one from Coffee Time Romance. Now, explain to me again what you're waiting for? Buy it here. Buy it now.

Why Do I Write?

Yes, I'm in a philosophical mood these days.

I've been mulling over this question of late. I've been fortunate enough to receive a bevy of emails from people who have read TDLF and with whom it resonated enough that they actually took the time to track me down online and send me a few kind words. Some of these people have been touched by cancer, others are cancer survivors themselves. And their notes mean EVERYTHING to me. I mean, seriously. Here I am, just someone who had the misfortune of losing a loved one to cancer, but not anyone who battled it herself, so for these survivors to reach out to me and say, "Hey, thank you for writing my story," or "Thank you for portraying a kick-ass woman who is strong enough to wreak fury on the disease," or "Thank you for helping me to heal when cancer took my mother," well, seriously, it's truly hard to express the emotions that these notes drum up for me.

All of which has gotten me thinking. I wrote TDLF as a way to cope with my own grief. The truth of the matter is, that I'm not sure why else I wrote it. I guess, now that it's out there in the world, part of me must have written it as a way to connect with others, to share my story and hope that it resonated with them. Is this why we write? Is this why we pick up books? I guess so.

It would be easy for me to say that I write because I'm good at it. But I'm good at a lot of things - I don't expect to be paid for them. I'm an excellent Precor-er, that doesn't mean that I think I should be a professional aerobics instructor! (I'm stretching my point, but I think you get it.) I mean, I do write partially because I'm good at it, but there has to be something more than that. I suspect that some people write because they want the world to see how brilliant they are...they should only wait until they get their first scathing review or discover that the world doesn't think they are as brilliant as they anticipated. Others write because "it's their calling." But what does that really mean? (And I'm being serious in asking this.) Is it your calling to share your stories or to entertain people or to be able to make money while working in your pajamas? Which is it?

I think that I've finally realized that for me, as I said above, it's about being able to connect with people. I don't kid myself that my work will win huge prizes or land on the top of the NY Times list...but I guess that via the emails I've gotten, I now understand that I write because my story is also someone else's, and in reading the book, it helps/entertains/amuses/soothes that other person.

But what of all those unpublished writers whose work might never see the light of day? (Though hopefully it will!) Why do they write? Or even for other published authors...why do you write? I think it's an interesting question that a lot of us don't focus on...because we're too busy writing. :)

When A Book Changes Your Mind

So I'm reading a book now (shout out to Trish Ryan!) that won't hit shelves until 2008, so I can't really chat too much about it, but I'm having a really interesting experience with it. Here's why: it's a subject matter about which I have not that much interest or experience - namely, religion - so I was really hesitant (and expressed this to Trish) about whether or not it would appeal to my sensibilities. And here's what I've found so interesting: through her writing, which is strong and relatable and at times, so funny (seriously, some of her dating experiences have had me giggling with glee on the Precor at the gym), that I've found myself tugged into her world, despite the fact that I didn't think I would be.

I've heard similar comments about my own book: that because it's about breast cancer, people aren't initially interested. But once they're drawn into the story, they discover that a) it's not really about breast cancer, just as Trish's book isn't about religion, and that b) there's a lot to learn about experiences that aren't your own or even ones that you thought would interest you so much. Rather, TDLF is about one woman's journey of finding her way in the world, and in the book, cancer is just the catalyst for that. Just as in Trish's, religion is the catalyst for her path to self-discovery. (Trish, I hope you don't mind me taking liberties here!) :)

And this was a sort of eye-opening experience with me: I tend to pick up books that might in some way reflect something that I've already gone through, but I'm learning that this is a mighty small box that I've constructed for myself. It's the reason that I haven't read The Kite-Runner (shhh!). I thought, "Ugh, I won't relate to that," but I'm guessing that just because I don't really have a HUGE interest in Afghanistan in the 70s, that there are still things to be learned, just as I'm learning about religion and spirituality via Trish, and just as people might have learned about cancer via my book.

I dunno. I can't believe that it's taken me this long to figure this out. But I guess I look at books as entertainment, even if it's heavy entertainment, so I've never wanted to slog through something that didn't immediately appeal. But I'm learning that my gut instinct might be wrong.

So let me ask you: have books ever surprised you? Have you ever found yourself interested in a book that you thought would hold little interest? If so, which ones? Or am I alone in my discovery? (Please say no!)

Getting Organized

I was wondering if you could recommend some writers' organizations I could look into joining. Do you belong to any?

The only "official" organization to which I belong is the American Society of Journalists and Authors, also known as ASJA. It's a group of talented, well-regarded journalists (they have fairly strict entry requirements), and its focus is on non-fiction journalism. You can grab invaluable contract advice from its contract committee, and I particularly enjoy the month newsletter, which has insidery tips on who is paying what, who is delinquent in payment and lots of other good scoop.

That said, ASJA does not cater to fiction writers, so I'm also debating joining The Authors' Guild. I received an invitation package when TDLF came out, but I just haven't gotten my rear in gear. But I've heard that TAG is a wonderful advocate on behalf of writers, and from what I could tell, it looks like a network of tremendously accomplished authors.

There is also the National Writers Union, which I really know very little about, and I'm sure that there are a slew of others. Anyone want to chime in on where you belong and why?

I should note that the membership I find the most valuable is at FreelanceSuccess.com, which has no strict requirements for entry - but just asks that you maintain a professional, helpful and friendly attitude on the boards. Which, for 99% of the folks there, isn't hard at all.

So where do you guys belong? And why?

Query Letter Confusion

I am writing because I am a little confused about the whole query letter thing.

Let me start by saying, I did not write a book for anyone but my daughter. I wrote her a story of her own because she hated Harry Potter, not because she read it and did not like it but because her brothers loved it.

After I wrote, “Anna and Her Amazing What if Machine” something odd happened. My daughter started passing it around to her friends. Much to my surprise, they loved it. Then my daughters teacher read it and she loved it. Together they pushed me to get it edited and ready for publishing. I did, and now I am stuck. I have read every website, and I have seen so many different variations on the query letter, my head could spin. I have sent out a few letters and no takers so far.

I could use some good advice…..Can you help me?

Hmmm, well, I'll try. To begin with, I'm not sure what "a few letters" means, but most folks have to send far more than "a few" to land an agent. I've rarely heard of writers who have sent out fewer than, at least, a dozen, and most send out five times as many. If you're serious about getting an agent, then you have to keep pitching and pitching. I started with my top twelve or so, then kept sending out a new letter every time a rejection came in.

As far as query letter format, yes, there are some variations, but in general, there are also some rules.

1) Limit it to a page. If you can't sum up your book in that amount of space, you need to figure out how to hone your writing.

2) Imbue the letter with the same voice that you use in your book. Don't just make it an, "I wrote this book and I'm sure it will top the charts" letter. Agents get that all the time and honestly, there's nothing unique about that at all.

3) Toot your own horn but depersonalize it. What I mean by that is that I would emphasize your professional accomplishments, but I wouldn't let them know that your friends and family endorse your book. That screams amateur, and frankly, agents don't care if your mother thinks it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. That's part of a mother's job.

4) This isn't a rule, but I like to set up my letters in the following format: opening paragraph is a brief, snazzy, grabs-ya summary of the book and what makes it unique. Second paragraph is a real push for why readers will love it. Third paragraph is my bio. (See last week's posts for my query letter for TDLF)

Hope this helps. Anyone else have other query letter tips to help out this reader?

Top Freelancers' Traits

I'm still in vacation-land (mentally, anyway), but wanted to pass on this fabulous article from MediaBistro today. True, I'm quoted in it, but that's not what makes it fabulous. :) (Though that doesn't hurt!) Heh. No, it's about the top qualities you need to make it in this crazy biz.

Read it here.

Hope everyone's holiday was happy and healthy! And given that Al Gore's son was arrested for a DUI...? Well, it just goes to show, as I noted below, that education and wealth do not equal class. Period. (Please note, this isn't a political statement of any kind, just my overall disgust at Junior's behavior, and anyone else who behaves similarly.)

Vent of the Day

Warning: non-book related vent ahead...feel free to skip if you're so inclined.

So, my husband and I are at a wedding a few weeks ago, actually, the following event takes place at the rehearsal dinner, and I'm sitting nearly across (just to the right and then across) of some dude I don't know. I overhear his conversation with the gal next to me (the girlfriend of one of my husband's friends), and cock an ear. I pick up on the fact that he's a lawyer of some sort, and the convo then goes something like this:

"Yeah, no, I could never have been a prosecutor." - Him

"Why not?" - Her

"Oh because I could never prosecute someone for things that I do, you know, like driving drunk. I mean, I do that all the time, so how could I string someone up for that?" - Him

Stunned silence - Her. And from me. Though at this point, I'm seriously considering leaping across the table, shoving a breadstick up his nose, dousing him with wine and setting him afire with a tea candle.

I mean, I just CANNOT believe that there are idiots out there like this guy: educated enough to be a freakin' lawyer, yet clearly so dumb that he doesn't even realize that he's risking not just his (stupid, insignificant) life, but lives of innocent others when he gets behind the wheel. Seriously, I wanted to punch him in the face.

Anyway, the point of this post - and there is one - is that a lot of us will be on the road over the holiday week, so please have a safe and healthy one. Morons are littered among us (and sorry, drunk driving, which is so easily preventable, is just inexcusable and one of my major causes), so please go out there and have a great time, but have a safe one too!

I'll be hanging with my fam for the next few days, so I'll be back on the blog later this week!

A Little Horn-Tootin'

Wanted to take today to note some new raves and reviews for TDLF.

Haven't gotten your copy yet? WHY NOT???

Buy it here: Amazon.

- One of my favorite book blogging sites, Trashionista, posted a wonderful review last week, calling it "thoughtful," "heartwarming," "informative," and yes, "funny."

-The lovely librarians at Hennepin County Library in Minnesota have a fab book blog, and this week, they highlighted TDLF, noting that they found it, "Just plain great." Woo-hoo!

And finally, Romance Junkies (rated one of the top 101 sites by Writers Digest), has this to say about the book: "A fantastic debut. I loved this book, and would recommend it to those looking for a story strong in both love and friendship."

So what are you waiting for??? Buy it now!

What's In A Name?

How did you feel about changing the title of your book? I like Round Trip as well! Who chose TDLF for a title--did you have to brainstorm?

Well, I really liked Round Trip too because I felt like it really played on the rounds of chemo that Natalie went through but also spoke more metaphorically to how she comes full circle and rediscovers her life.

But.

Nearly every business-y side person thought that it wasn't strong enough, eye-catching enough, if you will. So, what was I going to do? I mean, I wasn't not going to change the title when my agent so strongly urged me to (and my agent before that too), and when her whole agency agreed.

So...my agent and I brainstormed for a while, but didn't come up with anything really genius. In fact, I'm embarrassed to admit them now because they just feel so off. So anyway, my agent also asked for input from other agents at her firm, and bam, her boss came up with TDLF. While I liked the catchiness of it, I wasn't sure, frankly, how well it tied into the book, so I went back and tweaked a scene (toward the end with Susanna Taylor when they're eating scones) to make the title feel less esoteric. Once I did that, it was settled. TDLF was born.

Anyone else have his or her title changed? How did you feel about it?

The Rejection Blues

Allison, you seem like an upbeat person. Congrats on your book, btw. I am wondering if you've experienced a lot of rejection as a writer and how you deal with it. Also, what do you think of my new blog? You can check it out at Literary Rejections on Display. I guess I'm naming names! www.literaryrejectionsondisplay.blogspot.com.

First: your blog. Hey, if you're willing to put yourself out there and risk that an editor might recognize you, then more power to you! Personally, I'd be wary because the industry is small and incestuous, and you never know with whom you might work. BUT, it seems like you're just reporting the facts and not disparaging anyone, so yeah, if you're comfy w/it, so am I. And maybe people can find solace in numbers.

As far as personal rejection? Well, I think there are different types of personalities in this world: people who take rejection personally and people who do not. I fall into the latter category. My ego must be too big or something because yup, between the magazine world and the book world, I've gotten rejected hundreds of times, and I just don't care that much. In fact, my agent and I were chatting the other day about a rejection for TDLF, and we were cracking up at it (not at the editor, I should note, just the strong distaste noted for the book in the rejection)...which was sort of the same reaction that I had at the time. What else can I do but laugh?

I dunno. My attitude is always like, "Oh well, what am I going to do about it?" Which isn't to say that you can't learn from rejection. You often can and even more often should, but I've been around long enough to know that an editor or agent or whomever isn't rejecting me when he or she says no to an idea or a pitch or even a completed manuscript. By depersonalizing it, I've already removed the emotion from the situation.

I also find that it's really helpful to get right back on the horse. When I was in the midst of my agent hunt, I'd send out a query as soon as I got a rejection back from someone. That whole "close one door as another one opens" idea.

So readers, how do you deal with rejection? Any good coping strategies?

Milking Money From Fiction

I'm an aspiring literary novelist, and have been for many years. All this time, I've also been freelancing unrelated (and un-literary) nonfiction work, both in the form of books (low-paying) and magazine articles (high-paying). My freelance work has been just a job to me -- I've mastered it enough to do it half-asleep, but I only do enough to keep the bills paid and buy time for my "real" work that I put everything into.

Now that I'm selling my novel, I feel ready to show my "real" self to the world, and never again go back to those nonfiction articles I only did for money. So I've begun to sell some of my short stories, but while I regularly got 4-digit sums for nonfiction magazine features, I'm discovering that magazine and web outlets don't seem to pay much at all for serious fiction. What should a writer in my position do to shift successfully to fiction?

First of all, congrats on selling your book! That's a big accomplishment.

Second of all, I don't have much advice that you're going to want to hear. I feel your pain - I do - I certainly understand the tug of fiction and the monotony that one can feel (but not always because, hey, some magazine assignments are interesting and informative, etc, etc, etc,) with the freelancing gigs. But the truth is that fiction just doesn't pay well, and often times, the only way to keep a steady flow of incoming coming in is to make compromises with yourself and with your career.

I can't tell you how many best-selling authors I know who didn't quit their day-jobs until their third or so book. Because then, and only then, will you (hopefully) have an influx of royalties, as well as money from new advances, coming in. It sucks to say and to hear, but it's the truth. Even if you get a 100k offer, that's 85k after your agent's cut, then say, 50k after Uncle Sam is done with you...and that's your income until you crank out another novel. Short stories and such? Well, unless you're writing for top markets - Esquire, The New Yorker, etc - you're just not going to bring home a lot of bacon.

I wish I had better news. I wish I could say, "kiss all that soul-sucking work goodbye," but I can't in good conscience do so. Sometimes, it's called a job because it IS one. So the best advice I have to offer is to keep writing - the more books you sell, the more money you have to potentially pad your back account.

But readers, am I too conservative? What advice would you have for transitioning to fiction full-time and not going hungry?

You Show Me Yours...

Now that I've read TDLF, would you mind sharing your query letter for it? It might help inspire those of us struggling to concoct the perfect letter!

Sure, no probs. Here ya go (note, the name of the book got changed after I signed w/my agent):

Dear XX,

Natalie Miller had a plan. She had a goddamn plan. Top of her class at Dartmouth. Even better at Yale Law. Youngest aide ever to the powerful Senator Claire Dupris. Higher, faster, stronger. This? Was all part of the plan. True, she was so busy ascending the political ladder that she rarely had time to sniff around her mediocre relationship with Ned, who fit the three Bs to the max: basic, blond and boring, and she definitely didn't have time to mourn her mangled relationship with Jake, her budding rock star ex-boyfriend.

The lump in her breast that Ned discovers during brain-numbingly bland morning sex? That? Was most definitely not part of the plan. And Stage IIIA breast cancer? Never once had Natalie jotted this down on her to-do list for conquering the world. When her (tiny-penised) boyfriend has the audacity to dump her on the day after her diagnosis, Natalie's entire world dissolves into a tornado of upheaval, and she's left with nothing but her diary to her ex-boyfriends (who, in her haze of delirium, she tracks down like a wolf does prey), her mornings lingering over the Price is Right, her burnt out stubs of pot which carry her past the chemo pain, and finally, the weight of her choices - the ones that might drown her if she doesn't find a buoy.

Round Trip is a story of hope, of resolve, of digging deeper than you thought possible until you find the strength not to crumble, and ultimately, of making your own good luck, even when you’ve been dealt an unsteady hand.

I'm a freelance writer and have contributed to, among others, American Baby, American Way, Arthritis Today, Bride's, Budget Living, Cooking Light, Fitness, Glamour, InStyle Weddings, Lifetime Television, Men's Edge, Men's Fitness, Men's Health, Parenting, Parents, Prevention, Redbook, Self, Shape, Sly, Stuff, USA Weekend, Weight Watchers, Woman's Day, Women's Health, and ivillage.com, msn.com, and women.com. I also ghostwrote The Knot Book of Wedding Flowers.

If you are interested, I'd love to send you the completed manuscript.

Thanks so much! Looking forward to speaking with you soon.

Allison

Going Into My Cave

Apologies, guys. I'm am getting my booty kicked with a project I'm working on and am behind in my blog posts. I'm taking the rest of this week off and will be back on Monday to answer more questions. (Yes, I know that they've piled up!) I just have to burrow down and crank out some work until then...I'm sure that you can relate!

Thx!

Reading Quandary

So I'm halfway through a book that I was enjoying enough to keep going. Parts of it were really pulling me in, and parts of it were good enough to have me flipping to the better parts. But now I've hit a wall. I've set it down for three days, and even though I keep walking by and looking at it and thinking, "I should pick it back up," I haven't yet been able to.

Now this was a big bestseller that got rave reviews. So that's probably why I feel compelled to keep going. I mean, if people say it's great, it's great, right? Well, not always. And I'm not talking about this particular book, but I can't tell you how many times I've read a book or seen a movie that has been lauded and lauded some more, and thought, "Well, that sucked."

(Though here's a secret: the more people I talk to about this book, the more admit that they didn't love it either, though they say so in hushed voices. Interesting.)

So my question is, do I keep at it? Is the critical praise worth anything? When do you guys abandon a book? Honestly, if something doesn't draw me in within the first 50 pages, I put it aside with absolutely no guilt. But I'm halfway done with this one, so...what to do? Complicating matters further is that I'm not someone who reads two books at once, so I've been holding off starting something new because I know that means that I'll have given up on this one forever.

So what are your rules for reading books? When do you throw in the towel?

I Want More Peanuts!

I have been contributing regularly to a magazine for about a year. It pays me the least of any other publications to which I contribute, but I love it the most. Right now, they pay me about one peanut. I'd like to ask for two peanuts. How do I go about this professionally and in the right way with the editor? Can I even go there?

Yes! You can and should go there, in fact. But asking for a raise seems like one of the most daunting things that we do, right? I mean, it's one of those pulse-pounding sweat-inducing tasks that we put off at all costs. Why? Because we're so grateful that someone is handing us work that we don't want to seem ungrateful, nor do we want to offend the person offering said work.

But.

Here's the thing: in any job, you'd get raises as time goes on and after you've proven yourself a valuable commodity. Writing is no different. If you feel that you deserve a raise, well, then figuratively march yourself into your boss's/editor's office and ask for one.

Here are some tactics as to how to go about it:

1) Say something like: "You know how much I enjoy writing for you. However, I earn more money writing for your competitors and was hoping that we could discuss a boost in my rate."

2) Be prepared with a number to offer. I think the best tactic to do so is to figure out how much you need or want to earn per hour for each article, and then suggest the word rate that will get you there.

3) Be kind and gracious yet still professional and firm. One of the best negotiating tips that I've read said, "Pretend that you're negotiating on behalf of a friend. You'd never allow her to get paid poorly, so do everything for yourself that you'd do for her."

4) Don't take it personally or worry that you'll be fired for asking for a boost. Most editors are actually PREPARED to raise rates if they can - the author just has to ask. And if they like you, they sure as hell aren't going to ditch you for asking. They might not be able to raise your rate, but seriously, you'll almost NEVER lose the job just for asking...and if you *do* lose a gig over getting money that you deserve, is this really an outlet you want to be associated with? (Other readers can chime in here to agree with me!)

So, those are my thoughts. Other writers out there who ask for raises, how do you go about it?

Final Formatting

Once you've gotten the go-ahead on a story, how do your format it for submission and how do or do you include sidebar information if you have it?

I think that every writer has his or her own way of formatting, and I don't think that there is a truly wrong way to go about this, but that said, here's how I set up my stories:

Greatest Article Ever Written: Allison Winn Scotch, Genius Magazine, December 2007

(Note: the above is the publication date, not the date that I hand it it)

Text, text, text that is written in Times font, size 12 and double spaced or 1.5 spaced
End of text

Sidebar: Why this story is so genius

Text, text, text

And that's it! Sort of common sense, and unless you turn your piece in on paper with unicorns in the background, I think you'll be okay.

But writers, I'm curious: how do you format your pieces when you hand them in? I know that everyone does it differently!

The End of an Era

Wow, so today is Bob Barker's last day on The Price is Right. So sad, but yeah, looking at him, it does seem like it's time to ride off (in a new car!) into the sunset. The man has been on TV for FIFTY YEARS! Can you imagine?

For any of you who read the book, you know what a big Price is Right fan I am, so I thought it was only fitting that we spend today sharing our favorite Price is Right moments and games.

My fave? Undoubtedly, Plinko. They only rolled it out, like, once a month, but when I was a kid, I waited with breathless anticipation for that wonderful day! And yes, it's true, when I was younger, I thought I would spend my 18th birthday on the show: that's how old you have to be to go on it, so, at 12 or 13 or whenever I was at the height of my PIR obsession, that was the fantasy.

So...what was your favorite game? Did you ever dream of going on the show, like I did?

But What Happens Next?

For my post today, head over to Writer Unboxed, where I talk about the post-publication letdown, er, experience. :)

Parenting Essays

How can I find a good place to to send a parenting essay?

Well, this might seem obvious, but the place way to find outlets is to read those outlets. I've said it before here, but editors can get quite peeved when people submit to them and the mag doesn't actually cover said material. So I'd be sure to flip through the mags you plan to submit to before doing so.

That said, Cookie runs a lot of essays, Parenting usually runs (I think) about one per issue, as does American Baby, and Parents runs the occasional one. But there are sooooo many other options out there: your local paper, bigger papers like the Christian Science Monitor, and a ton of websites. Just google "parenting essays" (without the quotes), and you come up with a lot of options.

Good luck! And what say you readers? Do you have favorite outlets for your essays about your adorable tots?

Jumping the Gun

Thanks for all the insightful comments on yesterday's post...at the very least, it's a good thing that people like us are concerned about this trend, and will raise our children (and spouses, hee!), differently.

Question of the day: Can I pitch a story without having the story written, or the subject on board? For example, if I would like to write a profile of someone (well-known or not) do I have to get their approval before pitching the article?

Well, this raises two questions. First of all, you should never write the complete article until the editor has given you the green-light. The exceptions are essays and travel pieces. As I've said before on this blog, sending in a complete story before an assignment is a huge newbie mistake and sends red flags to editors right away. (Search the archives of the blog for more info on this.)

But things do get tricky when you're pitching a celeb piece or a profile. It's a bit of a catch-22 situation because if you approach your subject first, then don't get the assignment, you've let that person down...and if you approach your editor first, then can't land the subject, you risk letting your editor down. BUT, if this is a well-known person (a celeb, for example), most editors understand that landing the interview isn't a slam-dunk. I do celeb pieces (have a cover story coming out on the 15th with Jaime Pressly), and when my editor and I chat about who he wants me to cover, it's always with the understanding that the publicist might say "no."

So...if you're uncertain that you can land your interview subject, I'd probably just be up front with the editor and say, "I'd love to cover this story for you, and while I *think* I can land Brad Pitt, I just wanted to see if you'd want to run the story if, indeed, I can land him." This covers all bases: you've pitched the story, but also given yourself an out. In my case, since I have a relationship with my editor, I'd rather give myself that flexibility than waste the time of Brad Pitt and his publicist, who might not take kindly to my wasting their time.

But there really aren't any easy solutions for this type of situation, at least not that I've found. Readers, do you have better suggestions? I'd welcome hearing them.

Just Pick Up a Damn Book Already!

While perusing my usual blog roll (something I'm very behind in these days because I'm so busy), I came upon Eileen Cook's wonderful post which noted the alarming statistics about how few people read books these days. I mean, 58% of the US adult population never reads another book after high school????? Can these stats be right???

So, in light of her plea on her blog, I'm posting about the alarming dearth of reading going on in our country these days. What do you guys think is causing it? Beyond the obvious problems in our education system - I mean, these stats note that these are LITERATE people who are choosing to ignore books - I'll say that there are a few factors at work.

1) The internet (and I guess video games, though I don't really have any personal experience with them). There are stats out there (which I'm too lazy to google) which show that people now spend hours in front of their computers, even taking away from the time they spend in front of the tv. If the tv usurps time from books, I can't even imagine how much time the internet sucks away. And hey, I'm just as guilty as this as anyone. Last night, I was mindlessly surfing - just to zone out - rather than get into bed and read The Time-Travelers Wife, which I'm working my way through right now. Why? Because reading doesn't allow my brain to turn off...and that's a GOOD thing, but in our society, we like to vegetate, and reading just doesn't allow for it.

2) Reading takes work and cost money. True, to go to the movies these days, it can cost waaaaay more than a book, but people don't seem to see it this way. Shell out $20 for a book that might be difficult to get through or cause you to actually use your brain? No dice.

3) We're a lazy society. (See points above.)

I'm sure that there are a gajillion other reasons that people don't like to read, starting with the fact that parents don't emphasize it to their children, so people don't grow up as readers, which they then don't pass on to their own children, etc, etc, etc. But what say you? Why don't people enjoy reading and what can be done about it?

Well, for an initial solution, head over to the lovely Larramie's blog today and see what some authors (yours truly included) are recommending for summer reading...