GCC Presents: Roberta Isleib and Asking for Murder

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with reading mysteries (often murder mysteries, which, hmmm, I have to check in with my parents about why they allowed that!), and from the sound of Roberta Isleib's new book, Asking for Murder, I think I'm going to take them back up. This one, the third in her Dr. Rebecca Butterman series, sounds soooo juicy. I'm posting the scoop below, and then be sure to read on as she answers my usual five questions. I really, really liked her story on how she found an agent because it shows that determination and grit can definitely pay off in our industry.

Here's the scoop:

Psychologist/advice columnist/sleuth Dr. Rebecca Butterman plunges into her third mystery in ASKING FOR MURDER by Dr. Roberta Isleib (Berkley Prime Crime, September 2008.) When Rebecca’s close friend and fellow therapist Annabelle Hart is found beaten and left for dead, Rebecca is determined to help search for answers. But this time, no one wants her help. Not Detective Meigs, who thinks the crime was either a botched robbery or the result of a relationship gone sour. And not Annabelle’s sister, who makes it clear that Rebecca isn’t welcome in family affairs.

The only place where her opinion matters is the therapist’s couch. Rebecca's agreed to see Annabelle’s patients while her friend is hospitalized, but it won’t be easy. Annabelle’s area of expertise is sandplay therapy, which Rebecca knows little about. While she studies the images in the patients’ sand trays and puzzles through Annabelle’s family secrets, another victim is murdered. With a killer on the loose, she can only hope the clues in the sand are buried within easy reach.

1) What's the backstory behind your book?
When I wrote the first book in the advice column mysteries, I gave Dr. Rebecca Butterman, my protagonist, a friend who conducts sandplay therapy. I can't remember why--I knew virtually nothing about interpreting sand trays! So when Rebecca's friend, Annabelle Hart, became a main focus of ASKING FOR MURDER, I had to do some research. I found a wonderful therapist in New Hampshire who walked me through the theory and practice of sandplay--it's fascinating!

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?
I am a clinical psychologist and I had a therapy practice in New Haven, very similar to that of my character. After that, our lives diverge! I'm married to a lovely man who isn't in the mental health business (thank goodness!) and we live near Rebecca Butterman's town. I would never investigate a murder--I'm a very big chicken. I love to eat, but Rebecca is a better cook than I am!

3) A lot of my blog readers are aspiring or new authors. How did you land your first book deal?
I studied Elizabeth Lyon's The Sell Your Novel Toolkit and Jeff Herman's Writer's Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents. I contacted agents who had interests like mine (mystery, sports, psychology), or who had some feature in their personal background that made me think we might connect. I hired an independent editor to give me fairly inexpensive but useful feedback on my manuscript-she directed me to several agents. I attended mystery conventions and talked with people there about the process. I attended the International Women's Writers Guild "Meet the Agents" forum in New York City. I groveled in front of everyone I even remotely knew connected with the publishing business. And I suffered through multiple rejections and shouldered gamely forward, my skin toughening by the hour. Finally an agent I'd met at IWWG called: Another agent had visited her office, seen my manuscript, and fallen in love with it. We're still working together!

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 have a serious email addiction. If I'm on a deadline, the best thing I can do is to work offline. I set mini-goals about how many words have to get done before I can check for mail. It works!

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'd consider Sandra Bullock, Reese Witherspoon, and Meg Ryan as the three women friends. Probably Tom Hanks as the ex-husband...I'll take suggestions for Detective Meigs.

And The Winners Are...

Thanks once again to everyone who participated in this week's contest! I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed reading the posts, and I'm certain that I'm not alone in that.

So, without futher ado, here are the winners - I chose 'em from a big bowl in my kitchen last night. Please email me as soon as possible, and I'll get the books out to you right away!

Bloggers:
Mollywood
Amie Stuart
Amy Nathan
Kristen Dedeyn Kirk
KateAnon
Ramblin' Girl
Sandra Joseph

Non-Bloggers:
LLA
Eapple

Thanks again, guys! What fun this was. Maybe I'll do it again soon!

What If I Had Awesome Readers of This Blog?

You guys are so awesome! Your answers to my "what if" contest were/are so amazing: funny, ponderous, inspiring. I just wanted to let you all know how much I've enjoyed reading them and knowing (and understanding) that regardless of how different so many of our lives are, how divided we might be politically, how varied our romantic situations, incomes, family lives, extracurricular pursuits might be, how, really, many of us don't know each other beyond the internet...we're all in this together and we all share the same universal questions and beliefs and theories and answers that life in general throws our way.

So thank you for posting! If you haven't yet posted and want to enter the contest, I'm closing it tonight, so add your "what if" moment in the below post, and I'll be back tomorrow to announce the winners! (Which I'll draw at random.)

Thanks, you guys! I've had so much fun reading each and every one of them.

Book Giveaway Bonanza!

So, on Friday, I received two big boxes of ToML...mine to do what I wished with. And what I wish is to give some of these suckers away! So, from today through Wednesday, I'm giving away SEVEN copies to bloggers and TWO copies to non-bloggers. Here's the deal:

To enter, you have to post your own "what if" moment below. What is one of your big life "what if" moments - those moments that you sometimes wonder that if you'd made a different choice, if your entire life wouldn't have taken on a different trajectory? This isn't a regret - it's just a "what if," and there's an important distinction! I have a lot of "what if" moments (and I think all parents out there do because it's so strange to consider how chance timing determined your future children and how different it might have been if, er, you hadn't chosen that exact moment to, um, do the deed, so to speak), but one of my biggies is "what if I hadn't joined the gym at which I met my husband?" (Yes, my husband and I met at the gym. Ugh! I know.) But I moved to a new 'hood, and had a choice of gyms, and opted for that one for no particular reason (actually, now that I think of it, I think I opted for it because I had an ex at the other gym - ha!), and one day, my husband crossed in front of me while I was on the stairmaster, and having just recovered from aforementioned ex, I saw stars. I stalked him (seriously) for several weeks straight until I finally shamelessly hit on him...and he all but blew me off. :) Anyhoo, when a clue finally entered his brain and he realized that I was making a play for him, he meandered up to me two weeks later and made small talk. And when he STILL didn't ask me out, I finally handed him my card and told him to call me.

(Yes, I've always had a brazen sense of overconfidence! LOL) But this is my what-if moment. What if I hadn't joined the gym? What if I hadn't worked up the nerve to talk to him? What if we had been on different work out schedules? Who knows where my life might have gone, but certainly, it wouldn't be the life I lead now.

So tell me, what is your what-if moment, and enter the contest! Just be sure to let me know if you have a blog or not. If you have a blog, the only rule of the contest is that I ask you to post something - a review if you have time to read it - a mention - something - the week that the book comes out.

Thanks! Good luck!

Do You Twitter?

So I'm trying to figure this twitter thing out - if it's worth it, what it actually does...why it makes me feel about 100 years old? Do any of you guys out there twitter? If so, why? Is it more valuable as a marketing tool than straight blogging? And is it more fun as a social network than Facebook?

I'm intrigued...but also baffled.

Yes, Reviews Do Matter

I posted this question a while back: do reviews actually matter or are book sales based on something else - co-op space at the front of the store (yes, definitely) and word-of-mouth (also, yes definitely). But I wasn't sure, really, if reviews mattered that much. In fact, I'd spoken to my team at RH, and they weren't sure so much either. No, let me amend that. They were certain that some reviews, such as in People or EW, mattered, as well as some of the other biggies, like O and Elle and the NY Times, but beyond that, no one felt strongly that a magazine review, for example, could make or break a book.

Well, it's been interesting. Because, as of now, reviews for Time of My Life certainly DO seem to have mattered. The book's pre-release sales are very strong, and I can only think this is due to the mentions in this month's magazines: Redbook, Cosmo, Family Circle and Hallmark. But what's interesting is that The Department had similar reviews - in Redbook, Cosmo and Marie Claire - but it didn't seem to sell nearly as well. (And let's hope that I'm not jinxing myself once the book actually comes out!) :) So I'm not really sure what the difference is. Maybe it's that reviews matter but only if it's a universal theme that really appeals to readers. Cancer is a tough sell, and maybe even the most glowing reviews in every magazine (short of perhaps, People, which can completely make or break a book) wouldn't have skyrocketed it to the best-seller list.

Maybe what matters is reviews, yes, but also something intangible - the excitement about a book that then spreads via both reviews and word of mouth and across the blogosphere and onward. I don't know. I'm just sort of rambling, spitting out what I'm thinking. It's sort of baffling, to be honest, and it leaves you both excited and nervous because really, who's to say how a book becomes a BIG book? Authors out there, do you know what I'm talking about? It's almost as if any book could become a big book, and certainly, yours has as much a chance as any, but you have to pinpoint that right mix of what people are looking for, as well as that right mix of publicity and awareness to make readers want to buy it.

Hmmm. It's interesting fodder. At least for me. :) As far as whether or not reviews matter, I'll be honest: I read commercial books, so I do read the reviews in both People and EW, oh, and also in Elle. Other than that - well, maybe in Glamour too - I'm not too easily swayed. What about you guys? (I know that there are some literary types on here who definitely pore over the NY Times Book Review, right?)

I'm Storked!

Yes, two posts in one day! I wanted to put up a note about one of Glamour's blogs called Storked, which has a shout-out to Time of My Life today, but also is a great place for moms-to-be or moms who want a little commiseration. (What? Like you don't occasionally need to commiserate? Come on!) :)

While you're there, click on Vitamin G, which is a blog run by my pal, Sarah Jio. Sarah was a freelance writer just like so many of us (actually, she still is!, I don't know why I wrote that in the past tense), and landed the fabu job of running the blog...which is sort like a freelancing home-run: all the perks of freelancing but with a steady stream of assignments from one of the best magazines out there. Anyway, Vitamin G is the place to head for all sorts of health-related news, tips, ideas and articles, so be sure to check it out and add it to your favorites! The beauty of these blogs is that they're updated several times a day, so whenever you're ready to procrastinate, there's something new there to be read. :)

I've been a Glamour subscriber for literally over a decade (yikes, I'm old), and I love that I can get a dose of their sharp writing and fresh wit on a daily basis.

(Now don't forget to keep reading to today's other post...and then scroll back up to click on Storked and Vitamin G!)

If You Fire Up a Pack of Writers...

...this is what they can accomplish.

As a follow-up to last week's post about Lori Hall Steele, I am THRILLED to say that since we started our "everyone give $25" campaign, we have raised over $17,000!!!! (This includes a $5000 grant that she received from ASJA.) Not only will this provide peace of mind for Lori that she can stop focusing on losing her house and start focusing on her health, but it will also start to help pay her medical bills. And we're not done yet: this is part of a larger initiative to help her with her bills.

All of this goes to show that even if you don't know Lori, even if you've never been affected by such perilous circumstances, even if you've never been in debt or been in poor health or wondered how you would cope if tragedy strikes, as a freelancer, you are part of a larger community who will help cushion the fall if you take one. Often times, it doesn't feel this way. We lead, in many ways, solitary existences: we don't have office buddies, we don't have support staffs. We have ourselves, our ideas, and our computers. We can measure our success against others, but really, we hope to measure our success against ourselves, and in the grand scheme of of things, it's easy to feel pretty small, a blip sitting alone in your home office, wondering if this is an endless uphill battle.

But what Lori's situation has shown us, I hope, is that we're not alone, we're not isolated blips surrounded by the melancholy of our own shadows. We are, in many ways, in this together - an idea that I've long espoused here on Ask Allison - and I'm truly grateful to all of you who have contributed questions, blog comments, support for my books, and especially, to Lori's cause. If you ever feel like this career is too lonely or too isolating, consider what we've all done for her (and she for us), and know that you really are part of something bigger, even if it doesn't feel this way every moment of every day.

Is an Agent Worth It?

Question of the day: I am seeking representation for my first novel. I have three agents considering it, and in the meantime have discovered that "a friend of a friend" has a connection with a large publisher in my genre. Based on my friend's recommendation, the person with the connection has offered to make an introduction. Not currently having an agent to guide me through these waters, I'm a little nervous. Any advice? I don’t want to pass up an opportunity, but also don’t want to do anything that might jeopardize getting an agent. Thanks very much.

Congratulations on all of your success thus far! It sounds like you have several lines in the water, and that's always the best place to be.

My very specific advice, in this situation, is to take advantage of the introduction because, hey, it's not going to hurt you to know more well-connected people in the business, but at the same time, keep very actively pursuing an agent. Here's why: even if this publishing house does make you an offer, you should have an agent in your corner to look over the contract, renegotiate the terms and yes, take it to other houses. Because why would you settle for one offer when you could have multiple offers? Further, the chances of this actually panning out with this house aren't so, so high. That's not meant to be disparaging, it's just honest: the vetting process at publishers is tough - a lot of people have to read your ms and nearly all of them not only have to like it, but agree that it can be marketed and sell to whatever demographic they deem fit, and it's not easy. So even if the editor at this house loves it, that doesn't mean that it will sail all the way through to an offer.

So why not keep working at it from all ends? (That's what she said. Er, sorry! I couldn't help myself: I'm dying for The Office to return!) A good agent will do more for you than just take your ms out to editors and houses. A good agent will protect you from bad offers, make better ones for you, steer you toward editors who will be good matches, advocate on your behalf on everything from good cover art to more in-store co-op, and everything in between. And yes, of course, you can take this offer to an agent once you have it in your lap, but in the meantime, I'd keep plugging away. It's always better to have more options than fewer, right?

Readers, what say you? Would you advise her differently?

Getting the Most Bang for Your Buck

So today I'm over at Writer Unboxed talking about why I decided not to hire an outside publicist for Time of My Life, but did decide to shell out some cash in other areas.

Check it out here.

And in the meantime, I got a few advance copies of TOML yesterday and snapped a moment for posterity!

On a more sober note, I'm also posting about the plight of a fellow freelance writer, Lori Hall Steele. One of the scariest things about venturing out into the freelance world, as many of you know, is that you often go out there without a net. If you're single, you might not have health insurance; if you haven't had the chance to stow away enough savings, you might risk financial uncertainty. There are a lot of wonderful things about being a freelance writer, but this lack of safety net isn't one of them.

Lori is a member of the group, Freelance Success, which I've raved about here, and to which I owe the success of much of my early freelance career. It's a community where, even when folks barely recognize a name on the forum or know that another writer might snag one of their assignments, they are still supportive, encouraging and will likely become among your closest friends. So now, all of us at from FLX are rallying to Lori's support. Here's why:

First, start by reading Lori's Washington Post essay here. It's heartbreaking. A year ago, Lori's feet stop working. Next, the paralysis spread to her arms and legs, and she was confined to a wheelchair. From there, her arms abandoned her, and thus, there went her freelance career, the means she used to support both herself and her 7-year old son. Now, within the span of 1-year, the doctors, who initially believed this to be Lyme's Disease, have diagnosed her with ALS, and Lori is paralyzed and on a ventilator. (Yes, I told you this was sobering.) Her insurance company is denying her requests to pay her medical bills, and these bills are expected to soar to well over $100,000. More pressingly, she is going to lose her home imminently because she can't afford to pay her mortgage.

So, because we are part of her community, and because her plight is also our plight, we FLXers are raising a rallying cry. Every one of us with a blog is posting about her situation and hoping that if you have any spare change to donate, that you'll consider offering a small sum to Lori. Because so many freelance writers could be in her position, and because, just because I'm sitting here on my laptop with my mortgage comfortably paid, doesn't mean that I can't feel my friend's pain. Everyone at FLX who can afford to do so is donating $25 (or more), and while I know that these are taxing times for a lot of people, if her story in any way resonated with you, I hope you'll consider helping her out as well. (Other fundraising efforts, such as maxing out at the ASJA fund, are also underway.) So if you find that you can skip some small indulgence and instead offer it to Lori, please click on this link and donate what you can via paypal.

Here's some words from her essay:

“I tell him I’ll always be here for him, one way or another. Always always always. Just like my mother is here for me. Just like I was there when he was 3. It is an impossible promise, a gamble with his trust. I secretly pray I don’t let him down, not on this.”

Thanks all! And thanks for allowing me to post this.

GCC Presents: Joanne Rendell and The Professors' Wives' Club

I love Joanne Rendell, an author friend who is also a busy mom and can commiserate with all of the juggling that we working moms do, and I also love the premise of her book, The Professors' Wives Club, which I picked up at Barnes and Noble last week. The premise reminded me a bit of Sex and the City for the academia set: strong friendships, strong women, life crises, life re-evaluations. Check out the description below, and then read on for words of wisdom from Jo herself. (I love her even more for copping to her Facebook addiction!) :)

In her new novel THE PROFESSORS’ WIVES’ CLUB, NYU faculty wife Joanne Rendell tells of four professors’ wives who risk everything to save a beloved faculty garden.

With its iron gate and high fence laced with honeysuckle, Manhattan University’s garden offers faculty wives Mary, Sofia, Ashleigh, and Hannah a much needed refuge. Each of them carries a scandalous secret that could upset their lives, destroy their families, and rock the prestigious university to its very core.

When a ruthless Dean tries to demolish the garden, the four women are thrown together in a fight which enrages and unites them. The wives are an indomitable force. While doing battle with the ambitious dean, they expose the dark underbelly of academia – and find the courage to stand up for their own dreams, passions, and lives.

1) What’s the backstory behind your book?
The initial inspiration The Professors' Wives' Club came amid a rather giggly, wine-soaked evening with one of my girlfriends who, like me, is a professor’s wife. After our usual catch-up, the cabernet began to flow and we found ourselves gossiping about other faculty wives. We talked about a wife planning a boob job; another pregnant with her fifth child. The best piece of gossip came last, however: a professor’s wife who’d just run off with one of her husband’s grad students.

The next morning I started to hammer out my first ideas for the novel. As I typed, the more I realized what intriguing characters professors’ wives would make. Even if they aren’t professors themselves (which many are), most professors’ wives are deeply connected and invested in the university where their husband or partner works. Like my friend and me, they live in faculty housing, they go to the campus gym, often their kids go to the same daycare. Yet these women often have little power when it comes to university decisions.

I liked the idea of pitting these seemingly powerless women against a dean who, in his little kingdom of the university, has so much power.

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?

Well, I’m a professor's wife and my husband teaches at NYU which looks a lot like the Manhattan U., the university in my novel. Real life and real people sneak into the book, therefore. But they’re always heavily disguised, and I’m not telling exactly where. My husband likes his job at the university too much!

3) A lot of my blog readers are aspiring or new authors. How did you land your first book deal?
I was working on a writing project with a friend and through this friend I met my (now) agent. Almost as an aside, I mentioned to my agent the idea for a novel called The Professors’ Wives’ Club. I remember her looking me dead in the eye and saying, “Write it, it will sell.” So I did and, yep, it sold! Two publishers were interested in the book and there was an auction, which was all very exciting (especially because I was visiting family in Europe at the time and thus I received a flurry of phone calls in the middle of the night!). The Professors’ Wives' Club sold to New American Library in the end, and I’ve had a great experience working with them. They will be publishing my second book next summer (2009).

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?
Me too! I try hard not to check my emails or idle away time reading Facebook profiles of people I barely know, but somehow the ping of the email or the glow of the Facebook icon always lure me in. In the end, though, I know my writing time is limited. I write when my five year old son sleeps late in the morning. If I don’t write when he’s in the land of nod, then nothing gets done! So, after satisfying me email/Facebook urges, I unplug the internet cable and write for a couple of hours. I have to admit my best writing times have been at our little ramshackle cabin in upstate New York. We have no internet connection, and it's amazing how much I’ve been able to write there. In fact, I wrote nearly half of my second book last summer while at the cabin.

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 would cast Susan Sarandon as Mary. Mary is the wife of the ruthless dean in the book and she’s also been on the receiving end of his violent temper. However, she is not some weak, shrinking violet of a woman. She is a successful writer and popular and commanding professor of writing at the university. I think Sarandon would capture these often very real contradictions and show how it is possible to be caught in an abusive marriage even if you are strong and successful woman.

Sofia would have to be played by someone like Selma Hayek. Sofia is a firecracker! She’s feisty and fun, but also sensitive, smart, and intensely loyal. Hayek, I think, could play this beautifully.

Hannah is an artist who’s stuck in a lukewarm marriage to a man who cannot seem to get over the fact his wife is no longer a fashion model. He loves her for her beauty and she wants him to see beyond that. I think Keira Knightley would make a great Hannah.

Finally, my character Ashleigh – who’s been hiding from her senator father the fact that she’s in a relationship with a woman – could be played by someone like Julia Stiles. Stiles was great in Mona Lisa Smile playing a young Wellesley woman who is trying to please those around her and quashing her own desires in the process. I see Ashleigh as a similar kind of role.

Finding Fabu Editors

Question of the day: I'm curious if you have any recommendations on young, hip editors as well, possibly those specializing in the chick-lit genre?

I don't have any specific editors whose names I'd feel comfortable passing along, but the good news is that this info is pretty easy to come by. The best place to start - if you're willing to shell out $20 - is Publishers Marketplace. Type in the name of books that you like and see who edited them. Whether or not they're young and hip by definition, they probably like books like the one I'm guessing you've written. If you don't want to pay for PM (and I think it's an invaluable resource, btw), check out the acknowledgment pages of books you like: nearly every time, an author will thank their editor.

Once you have that info, feel free to google 'em. Yeah, yeah, this might sound stalkery (and it is), but you'd be amazed what you can learn from google. At the very least, you might find out what year she graduated from college, and at the very best, I dunno, maybe you'll glean some insights from her Facebook page.

But. All of that said, I do want to issue a slight warning: yes, there are probably some intangibles that you can discover to see if you'd click with an editor, but, not to be too cliche about things, you can't always judge a book by its cover. By that I mean that just because an editor isn't "young and hip," by your definition, doesn't mean that she won't kick ass as an editor or won't be interested in your chick lit book. Some young/hip editors only read highly literary works while some older-skewing ones adore the lighter fare. So I'm just saying. Sure, go google, go find the editor whom you think you'd want to hang with (and yes, this can also be important, I'm not denying that), but remember that this isn't everything.

Readers: how important is it that you and your editor are friends? That you like her/him outside of just work?

Landing Your Very First Job

Question of the day: I'm still in college, but graduating soon with my degree in Creative Writing. All I've ever wanted to do was write, and my plan has been to start small with submitting stories and trying my best to get published, then work my way from there. Right now I write for my college's newspaper and have been published by them several times. My post-graduation plan is to try finding a full-time job in publishing and write when I can. My main question is, in your opinion, is that the right course I should take, or rather, what do you think the best course might be when my main goal is to just write? Of course I need a job, which I have, but I want to get into the editing field. I would love to edit stories and such, so I guess I'm wondering what options someone like me has at this point in time.

I think that it sounds like you have an excellent plan and also, an excellent background. I started in PR after college, so maybe some others here can chime in who went right into magazines, but from everything I know, you're on the right track.

I've been asked before from new grads if there's a chance if they can make it right away in the freelancing world, and the cold, hard truth is that I think it would be very difficult. There are so many established writers who are also circling around the same magazines that there is just very little chance that an editor will send a lucrative assignment, as a newbie, your way.

So instead, go out, get that editing job, hone your skills even more, collect great clips (which it sounds like you're already doing), and pull together a great portfolio. In addition to building both your writing and that portfolio, you'll also meet a ton of other up-and-coming editors - you'll all move to and from different magazines, go to the same parties, run in the same circles. And these contacts will prove invaluable once you're ready to head out on your own. I think - and this is just an educated guess - that editors who start at magazines and leave to freelance probably have a much easier time breaking in and staying in the game than total outsiders.

So I think that you're definitely on the right track. Keep at it! Remember that things snowball in this industry, and while you might be chomping at the bit to write, write, write, (or at least get paid for that writing!), all good things come to those who wait. And from the sound of it, good things are headed your way!

Anyone out there get a magazine gig right out of college? Want to chime in with advice for our reader?

And Then There Was Ask Allison

Question of the day: Why did you decide to start a blog (which I enjoy very much!)?

Whew! To answer this, I have to really think back to nearly two and a half years ago! I cannot believe that I've had this blog for so long. Wow.

But I started the blog for several reasons. The first - and most altruistic - is that I was tired of reading Ms. Snark (or was it Miss Snark) who anonymously offered advice that I sometimes thought was mean and also sometimes thought was wrong. I thought, "Hey, I've been in the trenches of publishing for long enough that I might be able to offer some advice of my own." Only I wanted to do it with, well, less snarking, and with accountability. If you disagree with me or want to take me to task, at least you know where to reach me, what my background is, and whether or not my experience is relevant to yours. As far as the snarking goes, I'm all for snarking. Some would say that in my real life, I'm maybe even a tad too snarky. But this business is tough, and I've never seen the need to be snide to newcomers or fellow writers...there are plenty of other people in the industry who will do that all on their own.

The second, less altruistic reason that I started the blog is that I'd just sold my first book, and I knew that a blog was a great way to self-promote. And this has been proven true. Not because I cram my books down your throats (at least, I hope I don't!), but because I've made countless friends in the blogosphere who are always more than happy to help me spread a word when I need it spread. In this sense, the blog has been invaluable.

So, to make your question a more universal question: if you're thinking of starting a blog, consider why you're doing so in the first place. Try to make yours unique in that it actually offers something to readers rather than just posting about your belly-button lint or what not. A blog requires a lot of upkeep, and I'll admit that lately, when I've been really, really busy, writing a blog post has been the last thing that I've felt like doing. So be sure that you like your topic: I've found, for example, that once I tackle a new question for a reader, I forget about the fact that I was dreading carving out some time in my day to do so. I'm sure that other frequent bloggers out there know what of what I'm speaking.

So readers, tell me: why did YOU start a blog and what do you think you've gotten out of it.

OMG, It's Crunch Time

So I got back from vacation last night - we actually came back early because we were so ready to return to real life - and I woke up early this AM with that panicky feeling that comes when you have soooooo much on your plate that you don't even know where to begin. Yikes. Can anyone relate? Nah - I'm sure that none of you out there feel so busy that you actually feel your pulse speed up when you think of everything you have to get done!

But here's the reality I recognized this AM: my book is coming out in a month! Holy freakin' crap. Which means that I have to start answering a variety of Q/As for blogs, put together a reading group guide for my publisher, stay on top of the PR/marketing stuff that's happening, check in with the movie folks who said they might have some news soon, etc, etc, etc. On top of that, my fabu hubby is throwing me a book party after my NYC reading (NYC-ers, let me know if you're around on Oct 15th, and I'll send you details!), so I'm trying to coordinate that too.

Oh, and there's all of my freelancing stuff to attend to: I love doing all of my celebrity stuff, which is primarily what I focus on these days, but now I have a slew of interviews to conduct and draft within the next two weeks.

Oh, and did I mention that we're moving out of our house in two weeks? Um, yep. For four-six months to endure construction. (Don't get me started on this one. Let's just say that I love my husband very, very, very much to put up with this!)

So...back to the point of this post. We're always discussion how we all juggle our myriad hats as freelancers, and today, here's what I did: I woke up, and started doing things immediately. While my kids' waffles cooked, I followed up on some celeb stuff and some book PR stuff on my laptop in the kitchen. Once they were settled in with my sitter, I came up to my office and fired off emails about some book club guide questions. Then I dealt with a few party-related emails. Then I posted this blog. Next, I'll take a quick walk to clear my mind (and go grocery shopping!), then I'll head right back here to keep plugging away.

For me, the only way that this stuff gets done is to do it. Now. So I am.

Anyone else wake up today - the first day after a lazy summer - and feel like everything was snowballing?

Good News, Monday!

So I got some good news last week.

First off, I found out that the paperback version of The Department went back to press for its second printing! It evidently happened a while ago, and I'm just finding out now, but hey, I'll take good news whenever it happens!

Second of all, I got my copy of the latest issue of Hallmark magazine, and Time of My Life is featured as a "must-read." In fact, they call it, "A fantastic, often funny novel," and let's be honest, anytime that someone deems your work "fantastic," you're pretty freaking happy about it.

Also, I wanted to give a shout out to Therese Walsh, whose book deal (made by my fabu agent, Elisabeth Weed) was written up by Liz Smith in the NY Post!! Whoohoo! Teri's situation and deal are just one more example of why it pays to befriend, not compete, with fellow writers. A few years ago, she approached me about becoming a contributor to Writer Unboxed, and I was flattered at her request (and knew that it would help boost my visibility before the release of my debut novel). A few months ago, when she'd completed her first novel, she asked for an agent referral, and I was more than happy to help her out by referring her to mine. Voila - a "major deal" as reported by Publishers Marketplace.

I've said it a dozen times here before but I'll reiterate: we are not in competition with each other, we should simply be in competition with ourselves to be the best possible writers we can each be. I am thrilled for Teri; I'm thrilled for my agent, and yeah, let's also be honest: their success is also mine, as the more established my agent becomes, the better off I am as her client. So it's a boon to everyone.

On that note, I'm taking the week off of blogging to hang with my family on our vacation. (Unless I get more good news, in which case, I'll post it!) :) Also, I'm working off of my laptop so I don't have some of your email addys, but I know that a few of you asked if I'd be game to do Q/As for your blogs for the TOML release, and the answer is YES! Now is the perfect time for me to take a few hours and answer questions, so if YOU have a moment, send them over!

Hope everyone has a wonderful end to their summer (sob), and I'll be back after Labor Day!

GCC Presents: Ellen Meister and The Smart One

Ellen Meister is not only one of my favorite authors, she's one of my favorite authors, and by that, I mean that she just totally rocks as a person. Sassy, fun, supportive. I love her. So that should be a high incentive for you guys to all check out her new book, THE SMART ONE. Here's the scoop:

Bev Bloomrosen thinks her sisters see her as a loser. Not that she minds being the Smart One, but she can't imagine she'll ever live up to her family's expectations ... especially since she left behind her artistic ambitions-along with her humor-impaired ex-husband-to pursue a career as a "mere" schoolteacher.

But her sisters have their own image problems. Clare, the Pretty One, married well and seems to have the perfect suburban life, yet worries that the paper thin fabric of her beautiful designer world is ripping apart. And Joey, the Wild One who had 15 minutes of fame as a one-hit-wonder rock star, struggles with sobriety and keeping the secret of her weirdest ambition yet.

They love each other but mix like oil, water, and hundred-proof gin . . . a combination that threatens to combust over family tensions, suspected infidelities, a devastating accident, a stunning confession, and the sudden reappearance of their handsome, now all-grown-up former neighbor, Kenny Waxman, who's back in town making his mark as a TV comedy writer.

It seems they'll never understand where their differences begin and their own destructive tendencies end. Then it happens: the sisters discover a decades-old body stuffed inside an industrial drum and begin a bold, heartbreaking, and sometimes hilarious journey that will either bring them together . . . or tear them apart for good.

Here, she stops by to answer some questions!

1) What's the backstory behind your book?
The inspiration for THE SMART ONE hit me from several different directions. I always wanted to write a sister story because that relationship intrigues me. This thought was floating around in my head when I got an offer on my first book, SECRET CONFESSIONS OF THE APPLEWOOD PTA. I was thrilled about the offer, but also in a minor panic about what it would mean to become a world-famous author. (I'll wait a few moments while you finish laughing.) Yes, I was terribly naive, and didn't realize I wouldn't even become a celebrity in my own house. Still, the thought passed though my head, and it made me wonder what it was about some people that made them actually covet fame. Was it something from their childhood? Something about the family dynamic?

I knew, then, that one of the sisters in my next novel would have to be a character who sought--and achieved--fame. It's not a major focus of the book, but it was a spark that started to make the story gel.

The other big inspiration was a news story that happened right in my home town. A man moving out of his home opened a sealed 55-gallon industrial drum that had been in a crawl space since he moved in ... only to discover a mummified body inside. It was a young woman, nine months pregnant, who had been killed thirty years before. After she was identified as a factory employee of the home's original owner, who had since retired, the detectives went to Florida to question him. They wanted to get a sample of his DNA to test against the fetus's, but before they could serve a warrant for it, the man shot and killed himself.

This happened so close to home that it captured my imagination and wouldn't let go. How could something like this happen in an ordinary suburban home in an ordinary suburban town? How did the killer keep his secret for so long? And how did it affect the people around him?

Of course, I had no intention of writing a true crime story, so I simply used this macabre event as the inspiration for a discovery made by my three adult sister characters ... and it became the catalyst that drives the arc of their relationship.

2) What do you love most about writing fiction? What do you like least?
My favorite part is hearing from readers who I've touched in some way. That makes the whole thing worthwhile. The despair hits when I realize I have to unravel a large chunk of a novel in order to make a change. It's so overwhelming. I start out in a panic thinking there's just no way I can do it. Then I roll up my sleeves and get to work.

3) A lot of my blog readers are aspiring or new authors. How did you land your first book deal?
A lot of time, work and rejection! Wish I had some magic shortcut to suggest, but I don't. Step one is to finish your manuscript and get it as perfect as possible. Step two is to write a kickass query letter, keeping in mind that you're trying to be the one an agent chooses out of hundreds. Most of all, remember that almost every successful writer has a long history of rejections. Keep at it!

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, too, suffer from procrastination. Web-surfing is my downfall. Caffeine is my friend. Deadlines also help, so if you don't have someone breathing down your neck, create your own deadlines.

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?
My main character, Bev, could be played by Gwyneth Paltrow or Jennifer Aniston. I think they could both be smart, funny and sarcastic. The younger sister, Joey--the wild one and former one-hit-wonder rock star--could be well played by Maggie Gyllenhaal or Drew Barrymore. The beautiful older sister, Clare, is a little tougher because she's voluptuous in a real woman sense (and not in a Hollywood "I weigh 93-pounds but have double-D breast implants" kind of way). So Scarlett Johansson comes to mind, only she's a little too young, and Charlize Theron is a bit too statuesque. Such problems!

To Publish or Not to Publish, That Is the Question

Question of the day: I have been offered publication for a memoir and my poems by Publish America, but have reservations on going ahead with it as I've heard stories of authors not receiving payment for books sold by the publishing company. I would appreciate your opinion.

I really don't know anything about Publish America, to be honest, but I wanted to post your question in case someone else here does. I took a look at their website, and it appears that it's not a self-publishing situation, but I don't know more.

One thing I will say, however, is that it is incredibly difficult for your book to get press, eyeballs and distribution with a traditional, biggie publisher, and I do think you have to prepare yourself for a difficult situation, in terms of making money and getting readers/in bookstores, if you take this route. The truth is, whether or not it is PC to say, is that not all publishers are created equal, and just because you're published, doesn't really mean that things will take off for you.

Which isn't meant to be a downer on your question. Just the honest truth.

Readers out there - anyone know about Publisher America? Thoughts?

How Close is Too Close?

Question of the day: Have you ever wondered whether a novel topic is "too close to home?" I'm considering having my main character suffer from postpartum depression, which I had, but worry that my kids may someday read it and assume I am the character. Also, I'm afraid it may make it harder for me to separate myself and stay true to the character instead of trying to have her do what I would do (or did) in the situation. BUT, I also feel this is an important story to tell, and of course events would take a different turn than in my case.

This is a great a question, and one that I definitely feel that I can answer because I've written something that, indeed, in retrospect was too close. And that would be my initial book that never sold. Now, did it sell because it was too close or because it just plain wasn't good? I don't know, but I suspect that the two are probably connected.

Everyone says that you should "write what you know," and to a certain extent, I believe that this is true. I've found, for me personally, that I need to find the seed within my characters that I relate to - something within them that resonates with my own life - so that I can really get under their skin and minds. In Time of My Life, for example, I didn't have a difficult time how off-kilter I would feel if I had long days and no stimulation other than a newborn, and certainly, I could relate to having "what if" moments like Jillian. But - in both obvious and non-obvious ways - my life is really nothing like hers at all. So, in this sense, I'm close to my characters emotionally, but not circumstantially, and I think this is an important distinction. Here's why:

In my first book - that one which got me agented but ultimately never sold - I loosely based the circumstances about an explosive event that happened in my own life. Something a lot of first-timers do. I wrote the first half of it very quickly - it was easy, after all, since I already knew more or less what was going to happen to the characters, since these things had already happened to me. But then...uh...I needed to find a way to steer the characters into fictitious circumstances, because I couldn't make this an autobiography, and I got stuck. I was so caught up in my real life that I couldn't get out of it. So I stopped writing. Eventually (two years later!), I figured out how to sort of realistically take these characters down a different path, but you know what? Their choices never really rang true to me because all I had in the back of my head were the choices that I'd made in the same circumstances.

So I think the thing to do is select a circumstance about which you want to write and about which you have experience, but write around it, not about it. What I mean by that is, if you want to write about PPD, great, but don't put the character in the same situation that you were in. Change her marriage, change her job, change her pregnancy experience, change her relationship with her parents...you get the idea. Your emotional connection with your experience will still align you with the character - and ultimately result in honest, intimate writing - but you won't get bogged down with confusing your real life with hers.

Make sense? Readers, tell me though, how close is too close for you?

Great Info on Advances

Check out this blog, from one of the agents, Michael Bourret, at Dystel and Goderich agency. He breaks down exactly what an advance means and how important (or not) a big one is.

Check it out here.