I Quit!

Question of the day: I'm an English teacher who woke up one day and realized she has to go after her dream of becoming a writer now or go broke. I want to pursue writing novels and short stories and possibly articles. I was wondering how can I break into the business and earn enough that I can quit my job? I know it's going to probably take a long time but I'm willing to give it a shot. Also, can one look for a mentor in the writing business and how?

I think I've addressed the first question before (search the archives for a header called "Ditching the Day Job"), but I'm happy to answer it again, though I'm not sure that you'll be happy with the answer, which is this: it is likely that it will be a very, very long time until you can quit your day job. Bummer, I know. Actually, let me caveat that: it all depends on what sort of income you deem acceptable to live on. I live in NYC: my requirements for living/earning are a lot higher than someone who lives in the plains of Kansas. In other words: 50k in NYC is not the same thing as 50k in the plains of Kansas.

So, with that caveat out of the way, here are some additional thoughts. Several surveys have recently been conducted on what freelancers earn, including this ASJA one, and most freelancers (according to the ASJA poll, nearly 70%) earn less than 50k. (And according to that same poll, it took 4-5 years to establish themselves.) If I recall correctly, another survey I read about pegged that salary at closer to 40k. So - again, your 40k might not be my 40k, but it's a good barometer for what you might expect to earn after years of breaking in. This is not a career for those who aspire to lives of luxury.

Is it possible to earn more? Sure. Of course. I'm an example of it. I've worked my tail off and been lucky enough to make a healthy living as a freelancer, but I don't know that you should count on it. I really do believe that timing and luck (and yes, perseverance and chemistry with editors and personality) play into a writer's success, and I'd be foolish to think that I hadn't reaped the benefits of both of these.

I think it also depends on what sort of writing you do. I know far more full-time magazine writers than I do novelists. The average fiction advance is pitifully small (less than 10k), and you simply (obviously) can't survive on this if you're expected to contribute to the household income in any significant way. Magazine writing can be more lucrative (ergo that 40-50k annual earning), but much of this is feast or famine: you might have months-long dry spells and then be so busy that you can't keep your deadlines straight. So...one more thing to be aware of when and if you quit. I know several best-selling novelists who have yet to quit their day jobs. Seriously. Maybe this is a case of being overly-cautious (who am I to judge? I don't have access to their financial statements), but it can also be prudent: an advance is a one-time thing and if you don't keep selling new books to a publisher or earn royalties, well, that's all you're earning from this book.

Okay. I feel like I've been really discouraging. I don't mean to. Because it is fully possible to make a living as a freelancer. Just as me! (Er, you already did!) And plenty of my friends. But it is a process - and it can be a long one. I was lucky: due to a variety of circumstances, I was contracted to write a book nearly as soon as I left PR, and from there, national magazines followed. But I still continued to supplement my income with PR work until it was clear that I could literally afford to drop it. So I guess what I'm saying here is dig into the trenches and be prepared to walk uphill. If you're a teacher, find time to pitch smaller magazines, local publications or websites (all of which will be easier to break into) in the afternoon when school is out. (Again, check the archives for breaking in - there's a lot of good info on how to do it. You can also search for "FOB.") But don't march into the Principal's office and yell, "I quit," just yet. Eventually, maybe, probably even. But not until you have your ducks in a row and feel certain that there are clients and editors out there waiting for you to write for them.

As far as your mentoring question, I'll answer it tomorrow! I've been long-winded enough today as it is. :)

So readers, when did you quit your day job? How did you know that it was the right time? And if you haven't, when do you plan to?

GCC Presents Amy Wallen and Moonpies and Movie Stars

Yes! I know! I have questions to answer from you guys! (And keep sending 'em!) But I'm still also doing my GCC tours, so today, I'm thrilled to present Amy Wallen (a new member of the GCC!) and her book, Moonpies and Movie Stars, which is newly out in paperback. Not only should you pick up this book because the Los Angeles Times calls it, "spirited and honest," but you should also pick it up because there is a major plot involving The Price is Right! (If you've read The Department, you know why I love this!) Here's some more scoop on the book, along with Amy's answers to a few of my questions. (I particularly appreciate her answers to the first and on why she doesn't "write what she knows.) Check it out. And have a safe and happy holiday!

Ruby Kincaid has her hands full these days. In addition to running the bowling alley after the death of her husband, Rascal, she has the daunting task of caring for her two boisterous grandchildren, since her daughter Violet disappeared without a trace four years earlier. It’s 1976 and Ruby and her nearest and dearest in Devine, Texas are watching their favorite soap opera at the bowling alley when they see Violet in a Buttermaid commercial. Expecting it will only take a little motherly guilt to rein in her wayward daughter, Ruby loads up the Winnebago and heads for Hollywood to try and bring Violet back to the Lone Star State.

Along for the ride are Imogene, Violet’s over-bearing and pretentious mother-in-law (who’s ready to assume the title of “celebrity-in-law”), and Loralva, Ruby’s wild sister who is itching to visit Tinsel Town because it’s where all the game shows are taped – and nothing’s going to stop her from making it to her favorite, The Price Is Right. Rounding out the group are Ruby’s grandchildren Bunny and Bubbie who are confused, sad, and excited at the prospect of finding their mother. They give Ruby the courage she needs to track Violet down and try to make things right.

1) What’s the backstory behind your book? Also, 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?

My main character is a woman named Ruby who is in her 50s, lives in a small town in Texas called Devine, and she owns a six-lane bowling alley. None of which I can say I have ever done. Although I’m working my way to my 50s, but I was only 34 when I started the book (I’m 44 now). I believe that there are at least 3 kinds of writing: autobiography (fact), just straight made up stories (fiction) and a combination of the two. I believe I am the 2nd kind. I make stuff up. Ruby did stem from my grandmother who lives in a small town in Texas, and is an entrepreneur owning many different kinds of businesses, but never a bowling alley. I had to research that—spending many hours learning to bowl (badly) and eating fried cheese, drinking Coors Light and wearing goofy shoes. I used to go to writing workshops and take early drafts of my novel. The others in the workshop would read my work and then look at me and say, “You’re not the person that wrote this.” Well, I am. I don’t believe in the expression, “write what you know.” I think the best creativity comes when you write what you don’t know. When you explore, dig around, delve into the stuff that intrigues you. Something about my grandmother’s go-getter personality interested me, I guess. But another major character, Loralva, Ruby’s sister is also based on my grandmother. My grandmother is such a big personality that she had to be two characters in my book. But the story, the plot line, none of that really happened to my grandmother. She used to always ask me, “How come you live out in California and you ain’t never been on one of them game shows.” So I put a Price is Right scene in the book, just for her. But she never was on one, but she dreamed of it. Maybe writing is my way of giving her that.

2) A lot of my blog readers are aspiring or new authors. How did you land your first book deal?My agent gets credit for that. She knew immediately where to send my book. I signed with her, Meg Ruley at the Jane Rotrosen Agency in NYC, one April and by Memorial Day I was deciding between two different publishing houses. This was a good example of why it’s so important to look for an agent who really loves and knows your work. If they represent other work similar to yours, then they have a good idea of where to send it.

3) 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?

Procrastination. I think what I’m doing right now could be considered procrastination. On the other hand, it’s important to keep the publicity side going too. It’s a tough call balancing all the things we have to do in life. You can’t just put your kids out on the front porch like I can my cats when they are bothering me. But sometimes, cleaning the refrigerator out can sound like a whole lot more fun than writing. I try to approach writing like a regular 9-5 job and sit down at my desk and turn off my email and go at it as long as I can. Inevitably something interrupts me, a cat wanting out, a Fedex guy bringing me the stuff I ordered from catalogs last week when I was procrastinating, or a nagging feeling that I should really organize the shoes in my closet Some days, the 9-5 thing works though.

4) 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?

You know, I should subscribe to People magazine because I don’t know diddly about celebrities past 1982. But a few people have told me they think Kathy Bates could be a great Ruby Kincaid. And I think I would die a happy person if Jessica Lange would play Loralva. I interviewed Valerie Bertinelli at the Los Angeles Times Book Festival at the end of April and she told me on the golf cart riding over to our stage that she was reading MoonPies and Movie Stars wanted to play Ruby in the movie. I think she would be the best Ruby I can think of. She’s even somewhat how I pictured Ruby—medium length dark hair, loveliest disposition and smile. I think her personality is not too far away from what I see Ruby being, so I think it could be an easy role for her. But I haven’t heard anything else from her. If anyone knows her and can stick a reminder in her ear, I’d pass on a free case of MoonPies.

5) What's your favorite part of writing? Starting something new? Revising what you've already got drafted? Developing characters? The plot? Something else all together?

When I’m creating something new, I feel like that’s the best part. Until it hits a road block. Then it’s hard and I think I should get a job at Home Depot in the tile department (I just retiled my bathroom, so I’m expert now). When I’m editing or rewriting, I feel like that’s the best part. So, I think that I love the whole process. None of it is ever boring. (If it is then I need to rewrite that section!) Overall, I believe in just moving forward and making sure I’m enjoying whatever I’m doing because life is too short, and my cats are sure to interrupt at some point.

Summer Reading Rec

Just popping in to recommend a great book: All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Janelle Brown. I don't know Janelle (though I plan to send her an email and tell her how much I loved it!), don't know her publicists, don't know anyone connected with the book, so this isn't gratuitous pimpage. In fact, I just thought the book was so spellbindingly good that I wanted to support it and her. She manages to construct fully flawed yet entirely likable characters, spin a fast-moving plot, and whip it into a solid 400 pages that I read in two days.

Check it out and see if it's up your alley. If you like smart commercial fiction, I highly recommend it.

Mommyhood and Guilt

Question of the day: I wonder if you ever have any guilt that you should put your career on the back burner to spend more time with you kids? Sometimes I feel like I have my whole life to build my career, but my kids will only be young for a short time and I should "put them first" and just work as much as I need to for us to pay the bills. But this feeling quickly dissipates after about three consecutive hours alone with them! Also, I sort of feel like I've been waiting my whole life to write, or at least seriously attempt to write, a novel and I don't want to put it off forever. Just wondering if you ever have this struggle...

What a great question for the blog. Thanks for sending it in.

You know, I posted this because I think it is the struggle that marks so many of our lives, but I have to offer a full disclaimer before we launch into this discussion. I seem to have been born without a guilty gene. What I mean is that guilt trips rarely work on me (just ask my husband who caves at the first sign of a guilt trip and is both perplexed/amazed at my immunity to one) and I truly believe that guilt is often wasted energy. If I feel badly about something, I amend my behavior, and move on. Period. Done. I wash it of my mind. And yes, I DO sometimes feel guilty over being rude to my parents or whatever (yes, it happens!), but I'm just one of those people who is rarely affected by the emotion because it's often so easily fixable by actionable behavior.

BUT, that said, I certainly know what you're talking about, and I do feel that tug of emotion - but for me, I'm not sure if it's guilt, more really, of a longing - when my nanny takes the kids out the door, and I wonder if I shouldn't be spending more time with them. I think it is truly rare that you'll meet a 2008 mom who doesn't have this sort of conflict...in fact, it is one of the underlying themes of Time of My Life: how do you sustain yourself, how do you not give too much of your self, how do you find that balance between motherhood and the rest of your life?

For me, I find that balance in a couple of ways: I truly try to give my kids my complete attention when I'm not working - I give them breakfast every morning, dinner every night, take my son to school/camp nearly every day (occasionally my husband wants to do it...and I'm certainly not going to stop him!), and I put one of them, sometimes both if my husband isn't yet home, to bed each night. These are our rituals, and these are the ways that they know that I am there for them. When I have more time to give, I do. But when I don't, I don't spend a lot of time worrying about it because that's even more of a drain on my energy, and God knows that I don't have much in reserves.

Being a writer is nearly as much a part of me as being a mother. NOT as much, and there is NO DOUBT that I'd sacrifice everything - including, quite obviously, my career for my kids - but it is one of the most important pieces of who I am. I love being able to show my kids my byline or my books in our bookshelf or walking into a bookstore and hearing my son say, "Mommy, remember when you signed books here?" It's empowering to me, and thus, I know that I pass that empowerment on to them. What we get to do - put words on a page and (hopefully) get paid for them - is a pretty cool thing: it's creative and independent and intelligent all at once, and I really believe that my kids see that. For me, that's far better than spending 24/7 with them, which, like you, only makes me crazy. I love them more than anything on the planet - you know what kind of love I'm talking about - but that doesn't mean that I have to lose myself to motherhood.

So...I guess...to answer your question in a very long-winded way: I know that in doing this, I'm not only doing what's best for me, but I'm doing what's best for my kids. Yes, sometimes I feel those pangs of wishing I could whisk them out the door, but I also know that big picture, we'll all come out okay, more than okay, we'll all come out pretty great.

Working mommies out there - want to chime in on how you deal with guilt and motherhood?

Summer at Ask Allison - Ask Questions!

So, because I'm a little tired of all of my navel-gazing and because I can only think of so many subjects on which to write, I'm turning over the blog to you, dear readers.

Starting this week, we're returning to the Q/A format of the blog for the summer months. I'd love to hear what YOU GUYS want to talk about, what YOU GUYS want thoughts on, rather than just blabbing on and on about whatever is on my mind.

Send any questions you might have on any aspect of the biz to me, and I'll answer them and get them up on the blog. If no one asks, I'll just chill out and won't post. :) But I know, given the amount of questions I got the first year of this blog, that there are a lot of inquisitive minds out there who are just looking for answers, so send your thoughts - or even just discussion topics if you don't have a specific question - my way, and we'll get this party started.

I will, of course, occasionally pepper the blog with updates on Time of My Life, and good stuff like that...

So - send away: allison@allisonwinn.com! I'll try to get them on the blog in a timely manner.

Interview with Julie Buxbaum

Today, I'm over on Writer Unboxed with an interview with debut author, Julie Buxbaum. Did you know that Julie's first novel sold in a two-book deal for seven figures? Um, yeah. You might want to check out the interview.... :)

Your Dream Magazine

So the other day, I flew into a panic because I couldn't find my latest issue of Entertainment Weekly. (Yes, I subscribe.) I turned the house virtually upside-down and nothing. So, despite the fact that the issue had most definitely arrived the previous Friday, and that it was somewhere burrowed in a room in my house, I actually went out and bought another copy.

That is how much I love this magazine.

Which got me to thinking: if I could work for, full-time or freelance, any magazine on the planet, EW would surely be it. As I've said here before, I love pop culture, and I also love a hearty dose of both snark and smarts, and this magazine has all in spades. Not that I don't love plenty of other magazines (from my clogged mailbox, you can tell that I do!), but I had to avow myself to just one, it would be EW.

What about you guys? What magazine would you actually shell out twice for? And which would be your dream to write for or work for?

Beating Brain-Deadedness

Yes, I think I just made up a word, so you don't have to email me to tell me.

But a funny thing happened as soon as I put up the last post about having absolutely zero motivation to accomplish anything ever. I had, as I noted, a long list of to-dos, and obviously, they weren't going to get done on their own. (Including sending in my estimated taxes, which, oops, I was so brain-dead that I flaked on. So, er, yeah, this whole procrastination thing was definitely taking its (literal) toll...and let's hope I'm not penalized by the nice folks at the IRS!)

But anyway, after posting, I did something new-to-me, which was, as soon as I thought about a task, I did it. Like, that moment. So, I thought about paying my AmEx bill and even though I really wanted to click on Facebook, I instead clicked on my banking page. Then, I thought about those damn taxes and instead of clicking on People, I wrote a check. And as soon as I started doing this crap, it got easier...and really, didn't take up too much more time or energy.

And then, I actually started focusing on work. It all started snowballing - something flashes in my brainscan and rather than waste the energy of thinking of when I could do it another time, I just did it! I wrote three blog posts, I started going through my proof pages, and best of all, I actually sat down - right when the impulse struck - and drafted the first scene for my new book.

It was so energizing! I can't recommend this more. Normally, I'm a list-maker - I jot everything down and axe it as I go. But right now, it seems like the only way for me to accomplish stuff is to seize the moment. Try it! It might work for you!

Being Your Own Advocate

So recently, I was chatting with a friend who was about to receive an offer of representation from an agent with a good reputation. She and I were emailing about what she wanted to ask this agent and what she felt she could ask this agent. I was detailing my relationship with my own (fabulous) agent to her and saying that everything she was talking to me about, she should be talking to her potential agent about.

And it got me thinking: why we're so hesitant to speak up, pipe up and stick up for ourselves when it comes to agents. As I noted, fortunately, I'm not in this position. My agent and I have an open door policy - nothing is off-limits, and if I have a question, as annoying or ridiculous as it might be, I raise it with her. Not all agents are like this: I recall that Miss Snark was decidedly more autonomous and didn't like to be bugged. Which is totally cool IF you, as her client, are okay with it. If you're not, you either need to be aware of her (and I'm speaking universally here) policies or opt for a different agent.

The important thing is to determine as much of this as possible upfront. Which is why I was urging my friend to pose all of her questions to her potential agent. An agent shouldn't be offended by your due diligence; if anything, it should demonstrate to him or her that you take your career seriously and are looking out for number one. Which is exactly what you need to do to get ahead in this business. No one, not even the best of agents, cares about your career more than you do, and one of the surest ways to get ahead - or give yourself a chance to get ahead - is to surround yourself with people whom you trust. And if you don't feel comfortable asking critical questions from the get-go, you've set yourself up for not asking more critical questions (or getting critical answers) down the road.

All of this is a very long-winded way of saying that you hold some of the power here! If an agent wants to rep you, he or she wants to rep you! Regardless of if you ask some probing questions. Don't forget that. I've never heard of an offer being rescinded because an author ask what was on his or her mind, but I have heard of authors making informed decisions (either way) based on the answers they were given.

I'm Brain-Dead

Is anyone else?

I am having SUCH a hard time motivating to do anything these days. Why? What is going on? Anyone else feeling this way? Is it an epidemic or just me?

It's not that I don't have a lot to do - I do. Right now, I'm reviewing my FINAL proof pages of TOML, which means that this is my very, very last chance to catch any typos and axe those horrid sentences that I can't believe I ever wrote, much less committed to paper, and as I've mentioned, I'm also trying to jump start book#3. I'm also working on a few celeb interviews and doing a bit of publicity for the TOML release, which, egad, is less than four months out, but...I swear...it's all I can do to log off of Facebook or PerezHilton or the JCrew sale and actually get something done. I'm even putting off writing my blog posts to the very last minute! (No offense.)

I'd like to blame the warm weather and summer blahs, but...I dunno. I'm already planning on taking August off to spend time with my kids, so I need to get my ass in gear asap. It's not like I'm missing deadlines, but there really is this overall cloud of dread and procrastination when it comes to my work, any work, and it's such a strange place to be. Like, I want to snap out of it...but that will mean I actually have to snap out of it to do my work! Ha! Which isn't exactly enticing. :)

Anyone else out there suffering from the summer blahs? What do you do to shake 'em off?

Abandon Ship!

So, as I mentioned last week, I'm trying to pin down the plot of book #3, and as I also mentioned, I thought I'd revisit the book that I wrote in between The Department and Time of My Life, a book that was actually a spin-off of the book I wrote before The Department, the very book that didn't sell.

Phew. Still with me? Good.

So I took a spin through that manuscript, thinking I'd still be interested in the characters and the themes that the book touched upon...and guess what? I wasn't. Well, maybe not entirely, but not enough to devote the next three months of my life living and breathing these characters and their lives. (Three months is about how long it takes me to write my first draft.) So, sadly, I'm putting these two incarnations to bed. For good. (Well, that's not entirely true: there are tiny snippets of these characters that I'm carrying over to book #3, but mostly, 98% of the book is being abandoned.)

It's a tough question that I know many of us have wrestled with - when to hang on to a book for dear life and when to jump ship, and I don't know if I have all the answers. I can only say that for me, the writing process has to be both inspired and seamless. I have to sit down at my computer and spit out scene after scene; I have to be so infatuated with these characters and their lives and their nuance that they literally wake me up at night. I've learned that sludging through a manuscript just for the sake of sludging through means that I'll end up with a weaker end product...and so, when I reread these scenes that I now felt so disconnected to, I knew that I just couldn't - in every sense of that word - let these characters back into my life. I didn't want to. And so, that's that. These manuscripts will stay tucked in my hard drive, reminders of who I was a few years ago when the themes of these books compelled me to write about them, but that's all they'll be for now. And I feel okay with that.

Once I released myself from rehashing those old characters, I woke up with a fresh (and exciting to me) idea. Seriously, I just woke up a few mornings ago and thought, "Well, AHA! This is the idea." And now, I'm working out the details in my head and hope to start writing in the next few weeks. Not looking back at the abandoned ms because I know that this one is truly the one that is much more reflective of who I am now and the writer I've become.

So readers, how do you decide to abandon a ms? Have you ever returned to one to perform CPR on it, in hopes of reviving it?

Getting a Second Opinion

Question of the day: Before you were published, did you work with a book doctor or independent editor? If yes, what was your experience like? If no, why not? For my first manuscript, I worked with a well-established editor and learned a lot. For my second manuscript, I didn't, but I'm wondering if I should let another set of eyes take a look, other than my agent. So what is your experience or opinion on book doctors/editors?

This is a tough question because you'll find people in the industry who roll their eyes at the thought of book doctors, but I'm not one of them. To answer the first part of your question: I didn't use one for my ms that went unsold, (the one I wrote before The Department), but I did use one (partially) for The Department. To clarify: I happen to have a friend (who reads this blog - hey, Trish!) who is a professional book editor. After getting burned with my initial ms, in that it got repped by an agent but didn't sell, I was skittish - as it sounds like you are - about going through the whole rigmarole again and ending up with the same result, when, conceivably, someone could have helped me with some obvious problems and smoothed them over.

So, anyway, my friend offered to take a look at the ms, but because this is her JOB, I insisted on paying her, albeit at her suggested very, very generous discount. We started with the first half of the ms, and when it became clear that the ms was already in good shape, I didn't waste her time (or, I guess, my money...not that it was a waste...at all, I'm just speaking casually and don't have a better word) on the second half.

But, even though she didn't have any major changes, she did smooth over a few odd transitions, suggest a few tweaks/changes here and there, and such, but more generally, she gave me peace of mind that I wasn't nuts - that, in fact, this book was strong enough to sell. In an industry where it's easy to constantly second-guess yourself (or have a false sense of your skills/talent), this was invaluable to me.

So where does this lead you? I think it depends on if you have the disposable income to spend, first of all. Book editors and doctors don't come cheap...and if they do, you better do an AMPLE background check on them to figure out why they're so cheap. Maybe they're just trying to build their credentials, which is totally understandable, but you do want to be sure that, conversely, you have someone who knows what he or she is doing. Of course, this can also be considered a career investment, so, in that sense, it's of course money well-spent...but it's still an unknown quantity: will you ultimately sell your book...and if not, is it really money well-spent?
You also, of course, need to consider not only your potential editor's credentials but whether he or she meshes with your style of writing. I'm sure that there are some top notch editors out there who would be as horrified by my writing as I was by their editing. Like all things in life, chemistry is key.

So, in sum, if you find someone who you trust and you can afford it, I don't see what you have to lose. But, of course, it's critical to remember that these editors and doctors don't a) rewrite the book for you - they might suggest weak spots, but it's up to you to fix them and b) they certainly don't guarantee a sale. That is all up to you (and a dandy agent).

Readers - weigh in on the pros and cons of book doctors. Anyone else ever used one?

Getting the Hook

So...wow...I'm 35 years old today. And I'm having a weird reaction to it. Like, I know that I've accomplished so much in these 35 years, but man, doesn't that sound old? Geez. I still think that I'm 21! How did this happen? Hmmm, fodder for my next book. :)

Anyway, in addition to being geriatric, I'm also over at Writer Unboxed today, talking all about what I believe is critical to a book's success: the big hook.

Check it out. And in the meantime, I'll be stocking up on iron pills and prune juice.

GCC Presents: Melissa Senate and Questions to Ask Before Marrying

As if you need a better reason to pick up best-seller Melissa Senate's newest book, Questions to Ask Before Marrying, the title alone should sell you. Seriously, I love this title because, well, because of a lot of things, but mostly because it's simultaneously funny, serious, intimate and probing. And if the title of a book can raise all sorts of questions before I've even cracked the spine, I'm guessing the book itself will do much the same. Thus, I'm super-thrilled to host Melissa Senate and her new book on the blog today. You might know her from See Jane Date or Theadora's Twist, her first YA book. The Boston Globe, among others, raves about her, and honestly, this is a great pick for your beach bag this summer.

Here's a little overview:

A very popular New York Times article lists fifteen questions couples should ask (or wish they had) before marrying. Ruby Miller and her fiancé, Tom Truby, have questions 1 to 14 almost covered. It's question 15 that has the Maine schoolteacher stumped: Is their relationship strong enough to withstand challenges?

Challenges like…Ruby's twin sister, Stella. The professional muse, flirt and face reader thinks Ruby is playing it safe. And that the future Mrs. Ruby Truby will die of boredom before her first anniversary or her thirtieth birthday, whichever comes first.

Challenges like…sexy maverick teacher Nick McDermott, Ruby's secret longtime crush, who confesses his feelings for her at her own engagement party.

But before Ruby can plan the wedding that may never be, Stella announces she's pregnant by a one-night stand whose name might be Jake (or James? Maybe Jason?) and who lives somewhere under the glittering lights of Las Vegas. Ruby and Stella hit the road to find him—with a lot more than fifteen questions.

And after three thousand miles, a stowaway relative and hitchhiking teen lovebirds bound for an Elvis wedding chapel, the Miller sisters might get some answers.

And now, Melissa stops by to answer my usual questions:

1) What’s the backstory behind your book?: I admit it—I saw the movie Sideways (which I loved) and HAD to write a road-trip book. I couldn’t get the idea out of my head, but I had no idea who would be in that car. Then, estranged twin sisters started forming—one, Ruby, a conservative Maine school teacher about to marry her “good guy” fiance when she’s in love with someone else, and the other, Stella, a professional muse and face reader, pregnant from a one-night stand with a guy whose first name she can’t quite recall. She does remember him saying he lives in Las Vegas, so off the two go in search. The closer the engaged twin gets to those quickie wedding chapels, the more she questions what she really wants.

In the middle of writing, I came across a New York Times article, the most popular of 2006, which was just a list of 15 questions couples should ask before marrying—or wish they had. This article gave me my title and really honed the the theme of the novel for me, which is that you need to ask important questions, practical questions, crazy questions—even if you don’t like the answers, even if you don’t know the answers. The list tests quite a few of the characters in the novel. The question that struck me as the most important was the last one, number 15: Is the bond between you strong enough to withstand challenges? How can you know? That’s what my main character, Ruby, is about to find out. Because she’s facing some big challenges. Such as a serious crush on someone else who announces he wants a chance. Such as a twin sister who thinks she’s making the biggest mistake of her life by marrying her fiance.

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?: All my novels are autobiographical in spirit, if that makes any sense. All the emotional core issues, what the characters are struggling to understand, are always based on questions, issues, of my own. Sometimes I sneak them in in ways only I can identify, but they’re always there. This relates to what I love most about writing fiction: that I can fix whatever I want in my own life through my characters. A big component of Questions To Ask Before Marrying is taken from my own life, but I’ve never done (and never will) what the sisters decide to do. So I had them do it to see how it would turn out.

3) A lot of my blog readers are aspiring or new authors. How did you land your first book deal?: I still marvel at this. The Friday before Memorial Day weekend in the year 2000, a former colleague at Harlequin called me and said something like: “We’re starting an imprint dedicated to “chick lit” novels, and I’ll bet you have a story in you.” I loved the book Bridget Jones’ Diary and shows like Ally McBeal and was basically a walking, breathing chick lit cliché at the time: single, living in Manhattan, working in publishing, a serial dater, etc. I wrote See Jane Date that summer, which is to me a book about loneliness and breaking free of that within yourself, and I turned it in and waited. Red Dress Ink bought it and launched the imprint with it, which gave me invaluable free publicity. What I marvel at is that I actually sat my tush down and wrote a book when I never though I could. Yes, it definitely helped having an editor encouraging me, but writing The End on the last page of See Jane Date was up there with the greatest moments of my life. I wrote a novel—and one I was very proud of.

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?:
Procrastination is my biggest weakness. I hate, hate, hate that I do it. I’ve learned that I have to psych myself up for sitting down to write. I have to get emotionally involved with the story, the characters, where I left off, or how to begin, before I turn on the computer. If I don’t, I’ll stare at the screen, then check my email, surf, watch a repeat of Law & Order that I’ve seen 10 times, wash the dishes… If I just take a walk or sit quietly and think about the characters and their situation, let it really get inside me (and I mean for a good hour or so), I will get a burst of fresh energy to hit the keyboard.

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 wish! For conservative school teacher Ruby, who is engaged to a nice guy but in love with someone else: my beloved Mary Louise Parker. I just LOVE her. For flitter, professional muse and face reader Stella: I see Kristin Bell, from Veronica Mars. She’s tough, but looks like an angel. For Ruby’s nice guy fiance: Patrick Dempsey nerdied up. And for her crush: the hot actor who plays Prince Caspian. Cute, cute, cute!

And, Finally, Variety!

So it doesn't say too, too much new stuff re: the film deal, but it's still pretty cool to be on the top stories of today's Variety.

This is my last post about this, I promise! (Other than updates as to what is going on, progress, casting, etc, if things move ahead as hoped.)

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117987102.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

And, in back to reality news, I'm getting cracking on the next book today. Yikes. I've been feeling a bit paralyzed with my writing: Time of My Life has been so well-received that I've been struggling to come up with that "great hook" that everyone has been singing about in TOML. It might sound weird, but it sort of has me frozen - feeling like I might not be able to top this book. Not in terms of writing quality, because I'll always push myself to be better, but in concept...because I've learned that concept is king when it comes to enthusiasm from your publisher, reviewers, booksellers, etc.

But my agent suggested that I revisit the book that I wrote in between TOML and TDLF - that there were some really good ideas there and some good writing, even if it wasn't super-high concept, so I'm going to start rereading today and see what I can pluck out of there and make it a little more hooky. (Is hooky a word? Does it sound like my book is prostituting itself? Hmmm, must rethink that.) :) It's sort of like remodeling a house: I'll pull what I like, ditch what I don't, and hopefully come out with a much better product. But it also might turn into a never-ending remodeling project that ends with my head exploding. We'll see.

So that's where I am. We'll see how it goes. I'm a little distracted with all this other stuff, but do need to get cracking. I'd like to have my next book nearly done by the time TOML comes out in October. I'll keep you posted on my progress and maybe we'll do a little writing challenge with blog readers.

Anyone else out there working on a work-in-progress?

Official Press Release for TOML Film Announcement!

Whoohoo! More info should be coming tomorrow or Monday in the papers. I'll update the blog accordingly. There is also another blog post below this one, so keep scrolling. (Two posts in one day!)

THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY ACQUIRES FILM RIGHTS TO ALLISON WINN SCOTCH'S SECOND NOVEL"TIME OF MY LIFE"

Project to Serve as First Collaboration between TWC and Producer Meryl Poster

NEW YORK, NY (June 3, 2008) -- The Weinstein Company announced today it has acquired the worldwide film rights to Allison Winn Scotch's second novel TIME OF MY LIFE. Book was brought to TWC by Meryl Poster of Superb Entertainment. Poster, former president of production at Miramax, has a long-standing relationship with the Weinsteins having played a key role in classic adaptations such as "Emma," "Cider House Rules," " Chocolat" and "Cold Mountain." This project marks their first collaboration with TWC since Poster's Superb Entertainment struck a first look deal with NBC Universal in 2005. Superb Entertainment's head of development, Kate Schumaecker, brought the project to Meryl Poster who passed it on to Kelly Carmichael, svp production and casting at TWC. The announcement was made today by Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of The Weinstein Company.

TIME OF MY LIFE is the story of a thirty-something housewife who is at an emotional crossroad in her marriage and gets the chance to go back in time to squelch those tiny, lingering doubts that send women googling old friends and exes or wistfully pulling out pictures of days gone by.

"We are thrilled to be finally working again with Meryl and thankful she has brought us this incredible project," stated Harvey Weinstein, "Scotch's writing is both outright honest and at the same time comically engaging. She provides a strong female voice with characters that easily relate to the screen. Considering our strong track record with Meryl, we are very excited to begin moving this project forward. There is no finer film executive that can single out talent and maximize theatrical potential."

Meryl Poster added, "What struck me about this project is that it speaks to women who have reached a very specific and self-reflective moment in their lives. The material is both relatable and romantic with a fabulous starring role for an actress."

"I am honored to be working with Meryl on this project as she is known for her passionate, hands-on approach to filmmaking," stated Allison Winn Scotch. "I am thrilled at the prospect of TIME OF MY LIFE joining her incredible resume. What more could an author ask for? I feel like I died and went to Hollywood adaptation heaven."

Allison Winn Scotch's first book, THE DEPARTMENT OF LOST AND FOUND, was published by Harper Collins in 2007 and received widespread positive reviews. Her second novel, TIME OF MY LIFE, is being published by Random House and will be released in October 2008. Allison Winn Scotch is a frequent contributor to numerous consumer magazines, including Glamour, InStyle, Lifetime Television, Self, Shape, Woman's Day, USA Weekend, Men's Health and Women's Health. Scotch is also a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors.

Today's announcement comes on the heels of news from the 2008 Cannes Film Festival that TWC will be adapting Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist. Other projects being adapted for the screen by TWC include best-selling novels, such as "The Reader," "The Road," "Youth in Revolt" and "Wolf Boy."

Kelly Carmichael and Renee Witt, svp of production and development will be overseeing on behalf of TWC. Laine Kline, svp business and legal affairs negotiated the deal on behalf of TWC Sarah Self at Gersh represented the film rights.

Knowing My Strengths

Question of the week: Did you ever consider writing the screenplay yourself? I've been in similar shoes and instead of selling the rights to a production (albeit MUCH smaller than yours), I asked to take a stab at the screenplay myself. I've submitted one draft, received feedback and am now on round three or four. And yes, there are many days when I kick myself for not just selling the rights!

I didn't, not for one second, consider writing the screenplay myself. Which, I guess, might seem a little crazy. As my wise friend Laura Dave once said to me, "We really need to figure out how to write screenplays because that's where the money is!" Ha! And she's right, of course. You'll earn a lot more money on the deal terms if you adapt your own book, not to mention probably have a truer version (in most cases) of the adaptation.

But, eh, you know what? I just don't have any idea how to write a screenplay, and learning seems...daunting. I'm sure that I could read a few books and probably eke one out, but in many ways, I think I'm better off handing this over to someone who really rocks at creating a cinematic vision rather than pull together a scrappy version of what I might come up with. Another concern is that in some ways, I might be too close to this material. Obviously, not all aspects of a book can be included in the movie version, and what if I wanted to include certain aspects that are close to my heart but might not translate well on-screen? I'm not sure that I could toe that line. And since I've already written the best dialogue that I know how to come out of these characters' mouths, I also imagine I might have a hard time coming up with fresher, more movie-worthy chatter.

I dunno. It just seems hard. Writing a book is hard enough! Do I really need that challenge? :) One thing that I would certainly be open to is co-writing the screenplay alongside a pro, but since no one asked me, I guess that's not in the cards! Ha!

You know, maybe this sounds trite, but I'm really okay with passing it off to someone. I truly trust the producers on this project so much that I know that they'll put the material in good hands. Qualified hands. Which is more than I think I would be.

But readers, chime in - would you rather have a pro take a crack at your adaptation or do it yourself? Any personal experience with this?

Casting Call

Hee - I love how so many Ask Allison readers think exactly like I do: namely, they can't wait to cast their own novels and can't wait to hear how I'd like cast mine!

I should preface this post by saying that frankly, I'd be thrilled if anyone whose name I'd ever heard of would agree to be in an adaptation of my book. And I mean that. I also fully recognize that once you sign the rights away to your book and cash the check, you really lose all say. As I mentioned, I'm fortunate enough that the producers asked my opinion, and we were all on the same page, but still...if someone I never imagined as a character is cast...well, really, I won't complain. It falls under the category of "high class problem." And I try not to worry too much about those. I'm also not a casting director, who can see things in actors that I certainly can't.

But that doesn't mean I won't try!

So...answering your questions about how I would cast the movie is a little difficult because everything about this movie hinges around Jillian, the protagonist - different actresses would need different supporting players, and oddly enough, when I was writing the book, I never even pictured whom these actors would be. With The Department, I definitely did, but ironically enough, with this one...nope.

That said, as you guys know, I'm a devout Felicity fanatic, so I would absolutely squee to high heaven if we landed Keri Russell. In fact, I thought her final six episodes of the series, in which she goes back in time, were sheer perfection: her acting didn't get better than that, and she will forever have my girl-love for that (and the four seasons before that).

But certainly, there are other fabulous choices. The tricky part of this character is that she has to be both 27 and 34, and while that doesn't seem like THAT big a difference, it can be...and some wonderful actresses who can play 34 wouldn't be believable as 27, and vice versa. Jillian is this superficially perfect, desperately unhappy housewife who transforms herself into a breezier but still haunted 27 year old when she flashes backward. A few who I think could do it? Anne Hathaway, Kate Hudson, Jennifer Garner, Amy Adams, Rachel McAdams, Reese Witherspoon...who else? Chime in.

The other roles, as I said, all revolve around Jillian. Jack, her boyfriend in 2000, is that guy who so many of us dated at some point in our 20s: so close to what we think we need, sexy, kind, but maybe lacking that quality that we don't even realize we need. In the book, he's her escape (literally), and he's a good guy who doesn't quite have his world figured out, but who is good-looking enough (and sexy enough) to dupe others into ignoring that fact. If it weren't a full-out Felicity reunion, I'd be delighted with Scott Speedman. :) Robert Buckley, who is a hot piece of eye-candy on Lipstick Jungle would work. Ah, if only Timothy Olyphant were a bit younger, he'd be perfect because that man is the embodiment of sexy. (Though if they went with a slightly older actress, maybe he could work.) This is a toughie. Suggestions? This is why I'm not a casting director: I would just cast everyone from Felicity over and over again.

Henry, Jillian's husband when she's 34, is a classically handsome, straighter-laced kind of guy who has a quiet confidence about him that comforts and supports her. He's both her calming influence and also what undoes her: he's linear and rational, and gives her what she needs while simultaneously ignoring what she needs entirely. Again, casting the guys is so tough and so different for each potential-Jillian. But, I dunno, James Marsden? Patrick Wilson? Mark Ruffalo? Ben Affleck? Michael Vartan? Again, suggestions?

Jillian's boss is a 39-year old who has devoted her life to her work at the peril of her family (and because she has to be the primary bread-winner), and is sharply funny and sadly regretful. I'd love to see Catherine Keener, Laura Linney...anyone in that vein who can bring both snark and pathos to a character. There are SO MANY good actresses out there for this part.

Ditto Jillian's mom, who at about 55, has led a life of regret but also lived life to its fullest - leaving behind her family to find what she thinks is her true self. This role is entirely based on Jillian, so I can't even speculate.

Finally, the only person in the entire book about whom I DO have a clear vision is Jillian's dad, who has a gentle humor and a tender, wistful air about him, and for that, I think Jeff Bridges would be perfect.

But, as you can see, I'm game for just about any and every variation. As I said, I would be so flattered that any actor would even consider lending his or her time to this project that I really don't care so much!

But play along with me: which actors or actresses spring to mind when I describe the above roles? Jillian? Sexy, fun-loving Jack? Hard-working, but kind Henry? Lemme know!

The Next Steps

So more on film talk, since I got a lot of emails with questions and comments about the deal...which I think will be mentioned today or tomorrow in the trades. I'll post when/if I see some info.

A lot of people, I think, don't realize that while getting your film optioned is AMAZING, it is definitely NOT a guarantee that it will get made. What happens is this: a studio or production company buys the "option" to pursue the opportunity to develop your book for a designated amount of time, usually, in the case of film, 18 months. The very large majority of these options go nowhere. And I absolutely must and do keep this in mind. Someone on Backspace posted that she thought the percentage that actually get made is somewhere between 1% (if it's optioned by a production company that isn't attached to a studio) and 5% (if it's optioned with a studio deal). So, those are pretty sobering statistics.

That said, I have all sorts of reasons for being optimistic about this particular project moving ahead, not least that they are very, very actively looking to attach actors, writers, etc. Thus, they are moving forward, and hey, sometimes these projects do get made, and why shouldn't it be mine? This, coupled with a few other factors, has me feeling pretty good about where things stand right now.

But even so, even if it never gets made, I won't be disappointed. Here's why: in my opinion, this is a win-win situation. Not only do I get a very nice-sized check for doing absolutely nothing other than writing a book that I'd already written (and been paid for), but this announcement helps generate more buzz for the yet-to-be-released novel, which means that the sales teams, the foreign rights team, the marketing team, the PR team, the magazines who are reading galleys, etc, all take a little more interest in the book and might, just might, give it more promotion/review space/attention/bigger print run. I really can't lose, here.

So yes, I am feeling good about the chances of eventually seeing Time of My Life with a big old bucket of popcorn on my lap, but even if I don't, I can't say that I won't have won.

Tomorrow: we'll talk casting. :) (For all of you who have written to ask about my dream cast!)

The Big, BIG News: Part Two

Okay, so picking up where we left off:

Production companies and studios were interested but...THE STRIKE. Also, I'd met with the wonderful Meryl Poster (and fortunately had googled her enough to know about her projects but not TOO much so I knew about what a VIP she is, or else I really would have freaked out...that googling came after the meeting - fortuitous, really), but regardless, everything in Hollywood was on hold.

So when the strike finally came to an end (hurrah!), my agent and I got on the horn with our film agent and said, "What now?" She decided to take the project back to the main parties who expressed the most interest pre-strike. She also sent me a note and asked if I'd go back in and chat with Meryl again. Um. Of course!

So I whisked off my sweat pants and put on something slightly more acceptable and headed down for another fab and fun pow-wow with Meryl and her (wonderful!) #2, Kate. We gabbed about my dream cast, what came next and all of that. We were concerned that since the studios had stocked up on scripts pre-strike, that they might not take another look at this unless we attached an actress and/or a screen-writer. (FYI: when I say "attach," that's really just H-wood speak for someone who signs on to the project. I.e. if Reese Witherspoon "attaches" herself to an adaptation, it gives the studio a lot more confidence that the project will actually get done, as opposed to flopping around in development and going nowhere.)

The next day or so, my film agent calls me and says, "We can do a few things: 1) we can keep shopping it around to folks who might be interested or 2) Meryl and her team have asked for an exclusive for two months to see if they can get this done. It's your call."

I thought about it for about five minutes and made the obvious decision: here was a producer who had taken the time to LISTEN to me and my ideas, who I genuinely liked and who really had a deep, deep understanding of the book and its themes. Why wouldn't I entrust her with this for a few months, give her the shot to demonstrate how much she's invested in the project and ultimately, also prove to her how much I trust her?

So we gave them two months. About a month later, I get a call from my lit-agent saying, really, more squeeing, that we're expecting an offer from The Weinstein Company! This was huge news because, beyond the obvious, Meryl was once Harvey Weinstein's right-hand gal, and the fact that they were reteaming on something meant they really wanted to get this done.

So I squeeed and squeeed and waited by my email for more details...and waited....and waited....and finally, like a week and a half later or something, we got the offer. I jumped up and down and squeeed some more and would have immediately accepted (because I am a writer, not an agent) but my agent is savvier than I am and prepared a counter-offer. (See, this is why agents are good things. Very good things. Because I would have squeeed forever and happily cashed whatever sum of money they shoved at me and called it a day.)

We counter-offered. And then...radio-silence. For-evah. Like, for weeks. I was dying. Agonizing. Every day between the hours of 1-5pm (the cross-over hours between my agent in LA and The Weinstein Co in NYC), I'd have to madly distract myself from hoping for an email or a phone call. Eventually, it got to the point where even that proved boring, and I frankly forgot about it. In the way that you can forget about these things: and by that I mean, I resigned myself to the fact that obsessing over my email for four hours a day couldn't be healthy since God knows when I was finally going to hear.

But...eventually...hear I did! We got their counter! By this point, the galleys were out in the world, and I knew that this announcement could really help bolster the pre-buzz and press coverage of the book. My agent said that we could counter again, but I had to weigh what was more important: adding a bit to my bank account or doing what was best for the book - getting this news out so that people really took an interest in it four months before the release. Because waiting another month for more negotiations could be detrimental to the books success.

So I said, "Please, let's be done! Let's be happy with this incredible good fortune and now go sell the hell out of this book." So we did. And I'm thrilled. After such a long process, I'd grown a little numb to the excitement of what's actually happening, but now, with this news out in the world and the excitement that you guys and everyone else is sending back to me, well, damn if I'm not on top of the world again! Just like the day I first heard the news.

So - one last time: SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Next week: the official press release and more film stuff. This is a great time to post film questions since we're on the subject, and I'll do my best to answer them. I should also say that this is solely my experience - I'm sure that other film deals have varied wildly and this isn't necessarily representative of what always goes down. Just as a disclaimer...

At Long Last - the Big, BIG News!

So, it's been many, many months in coming but I am THRILLED to finally be able to announce the film deal for TIME OF MY LIFE! I cannot express how excited I am by this, not just because of the sale, but because I've been personally involved in the process and feel confident and comfortable with the team behind it.

First, here are some details: the book has been sold to The Weinstein Company, on behalf of Meryl Poster, the former co-president of Miramax, who has produced, among others, Chicago, Chocolat and The Cider House Rules. (Not bad company to keep!) At one point along the way, I was even told that "Harvey loves it." Squeee! My husband and I did a total double-take at each other when we read that email because...uh...like...how is that even possible???

Okay, so, I know that there is a lot of curiosity about how books get made into films, so I'm going to break down the process and what happened as much as I can remember. This has been in the pipeline for about seven months, so I'm sure that I'm forgetting a few details.

The first thing that happened: as soon as we sold the book to Shaye Areheart Books/Random House, my literary agent sent it to my now-film agent. Getting a film agent involves much the same process as getting a lit agent: he or she has to fall in love with the book and believe that it can SELL. So my now film-agent believed in it, and after I'd finished polishing the draft, she went out to the production companies/studios that she thought were the best fit. Again, this is much like your lit agent goes out to the best editors/pub houses that would work best for your book.

We had some interest. Strong interest from more than one production company. BUT. The strike loomed large. What happens when there isn't a strike is this: the production company often (but not always) has a deal with a studio. So, XYZ Films might want to option a manuscript but if they don't want to front their own money, they take the manuscript to, say, Paramount (if that's who their deal is with) and attempt to get them to pay for it. So...several weeks before (or a week before, I can't really remember) the strike deadline, these production companies take it to the studios, all of whom firmly aren't buying. Not because of the material - this is emphasized - but because, they're not buying squat a week before their writers are set to strike.

Oh, I forgot: I need to back up. When these production companies were interested, my agent called and asked if I'd take a meeting with one who was here in NYC. "Of course!" I said, figuring that my agent would go with me and hold my hand through the process. When she told me that I was going alone, I freaked. But I must have freaked internally because evidently, that producer is now my producer - Meryl Poster. The meeting was AMAZING. We talked about who we envisioned in the parts, we talked about the themes of the book and why they resonated with all of us...basically, we talked for two hours or so, and all involved felt like, "Wow, this could really be something great if it could get done." And it was truly incredible how much our visions meshed. I understood, of course, that once you sell the film rights, for all intents and purposes, you also relinquish your involvement/control, but I never once felt that Meryl wouldn't be interested in hearing from me. And so, I left her office feeling like a pretty lucky girl.

Only. Yes. The strike. No one was buying, and so, despite all of this momentum and enthusiasm, I was back to square one. No one was buying, and any plans/excitement/relationship-building was put on hold.

Tomorrow....more details. (Yes, I'm a tease, but to be honest, I'm also exhausted and can't type anymore!! Despite this glamorous news, my son failed to get the memo about his mommy and was up all last night puking...proving that truly, life goes on!) So check back tomorrow for more...

Defining A Genre

I pulled Suzanne's comment from over the weekend and brought it to the main board because I thought it was good discussion fodder. Here's what she asked:

After reading a review of Emily Griffin's latest book and then thinking of yours, I have a question. How would you define the genre of 'chick lit?' When I think of chick lit, I think of happy-go-lucky twenty-something romances. But when I think of your books, I would classify them as post-chick-lit, something more grown-up and mature. What are your thoughts? Do you consider yourself writing for a specific genre when you are writing your novels?

My books are generally classified as "women's fiction" or "commercial fiction," while, you're right, Emily Giffin is generally classified as "chick lit." These are fluid categories, however, and some books don't fall into one easily. I think, in general, "chick lit" is thought of as less literary (whether or not this is the case - I'm just passing along the stereotypes), and generally tackles less weighty subjects than "women's fiction," which, obviously, is targeted at women (as is chick lit - the markets aren't too different, though CL might skew younger) but maybe at women who like their prose to be meatier. (Again, I'm not passing judgments - Emily Giffin, for example, is a great writer who knows her audience, and yes, our new books cover remarkably similar themes!)

These days, as you can see from all of my caveats above, "chick lit" often has a derogatory connotation, and I don't mean it to be so by my comments. CL has a HUGE market - I guess I think of CL books as classic "beach reads," but after an enormous push for CL books on the heels of the success of books like The Devil Wears Prada (actually, the push started long before this, I think), the quality of these reads deteriorated faster than you can say "single girl in her twenties looking for love in a fab pair of shoes," and now, many authors don't wear the CL badge with much pride. Which is silly. Because if you do it well, as Giffin proves you can, you can crank out a book that's both smart and relatively easy-to-read. No shame in that as all.

As far as all of these categories, well, I'm not the one who categorizes my book in the first place. That's up to the publicists and marketers at my publishers, and they were the ones who deemed me "women's fiction," or "commercial fiction." I try to write the best book I know how, one that I'd pick up in a store, one that I wouldn't roll my eyes at or, conversely, find too dense (and I mean weighty, not dumb) to really get into. I do constantly go back and fiddle with sentence that I think are overly simplistic or amateurish, and I don't think that will ever stop, regardless of how many books I write or what catagory I fall into. I want to be proud of every word that goes onto my pages.

In the end, do these labels matter? Maybe when the sales team is shopping around the book to stores whose buyers are wary of buying "chick lit," but really, I'm not so sure that readers care all that much about the categorization, as long as the book appeals to their personal sensibilities. I know if I pick up a book that is waaaaay too chick lit-y for me, I'll put it back down, but not because the cover or whatever says it's "chick lit," but because I read 1000000 of those books in my 20s and just don't enjoy most of them as much anymore. (Generally speaking, of course, as I buy Giffin and others with frequency.) But on the other end, I'll do the same with a heavily literary book or any book that doesn't appeal to me: CL is just an easy classification that doesn't mean too much to me as a buyer.

But what about you guys: do you agree with these classifications and will you buy/not buy a book based on them? And who do you think of as classic (and good!) chick lit?

This Really Is the Time Of My Life

So has anyone been following American Idol? (Why, oh why am I publicly admitting to this???) I got sucked in this year thanks to the strike (nothing else to watch), despite not having watched in three or four seasons, and beyond the fact that I am slightly obsessed with David Cook, I am so tickled that the coronation song (chock full of those requisite "rainbows," etc) is called Time of My Life.

I was listening to it on virtual repeat on iTunes yesterday when I had what might have been the best professional day of my life: I got news from so many fronts that my head was nearly literally spinning - I still can't wrap my brain around everything, and I can't reveal all of the news (I know, I'm a tease - next week, for sure), but one thing that I can announce is that Random House sold the rights to Time of My Life in Australia, Spain and Germany, and beyond being awesome for a variety of reasons, these deals ensured that even before the book hits stores, I've sold out my advance. Which is so big, I can't even explain it.

But let me backtrack and try.

When you get an offer for your book, what you're getting is a lump sum of money upfront that is yours and yours to keep. You then spend the rest of your time trying to earn that money back for the publisher, and until you do (and there's a statistic out there which says that something like 4 out of 5 books - or a really high number like that - never will), you're not going to see another dime. Sure, royalties sound great, but for many writers, they're theoretical.

I'm not sure why the publishing industry is set up this way. Basically, when you're offered your advance, the sales and marketing team has done some research quantifying how many books they expect you to sell, how valued your book will be overseas, etc, but really, it's a crap shoot. This is why huge advances can be daunting: there is a very good risk that you'll never earn it back, but small advances can bring a different type of death knell: they mean tiny print runs and no exposure. I know that HarperCollins, for example, is exploring a different way of paying authors: no advance, higher royalties, and of course, a lot of authors aren't thrilled about this because it only benefits us (at least in the short-term) to get more money than we might have earned on royalties alone. But the publishing industry loses a lot of money, and really, objectively, it's easy to see why.

But I've digressed. My point here is that these foreign sales were so juicy that I've already earned out my advance. And I didn't realize it, but this is the biggest relief I could ever dream of. The pressure you feel once your book is out there in the world is enormous. But it's ever-present, so it's almost like you're unaware of it until you realize that there could be an absence of this pressure, that, in fact, I could sell nary a copy of this book and my publisher would still make money on it. And wow, knowing that? What a different experience this time around is going to be. I want to enjoy it, savor it now that there are no financial expectations to live up to. You forget about that when you're going through this process - really, you think the goal is just to sell your book to a publisher and have people read it, but that can't just be the goal. The goal, like it or not, has to be to be profitable. Or else your next advance will falter or worse, you won't get the chance to be published again.

Anyway, what can I say? I am flipping out. With relief. Relief from tension that I didn't even realize I felt. And I plan to continue to listen to David Cook's coronation song, cheesiness and all, the entire weekend, because really, this is the time of my life.

(And yes, more big news hopefully next week!)

GCC Presents: Maggie Marr and Secrets of The Hollywood Girls Club

Today's GCC pick is The Secrets of The Hollywood Girls Club, which, as a closet US Weekly reader, is so up my alley! Seriously, this is the perfect beach book: well-written (just ask Booklist or Publishers Weekly), juicy, gossip-packed, faced-paced...need I say more? Probably not, so I'll just let Maggie Marr, the author, speak on the book's behalf. But before she does, here's a little more scoop on the book.

Maggie Marr’s first novel, Hollywood Girls Club, introduced us to four fabulous Hollywood heavyweights and best friends - Jessica, Celeste, Lydia, and Mary Anne. Now, in SECRETS OF THE HOLLYWOOD GIRLS CLUB, these high-powered women take on a new challenge-the Hollywood rumor mill. Those who fell in love with Marr’s witty writing and fast-paced plot will be eager to dive into this sequel which delves even deeper into the glamorous, treacherous Hollywood lifestyle.

Although she is one of the hottest actresses in Hollywood, Celeste is wondering how long she can maintain her success. With age creeping up and body parts sagging down, how will she maintain her “It Girl” status? Mary Anne, recently back in LA after a breakup in London, is helping to write Lydia’s latest movie called The Sexual Being. Of course, her bigger challenge will be avoiding her old flame, Holden Humphrey, who happens to be starring in it.

Lydia has recently started receiving mysterious notes that seem to be hinting toward a secret she’s kept buried for years. Not only that, Jessica, uber-agent to the stars and recent new mom, has just told Lydia that somebody has gotten their hands on a very compromising DVD that Celeste made with her ex-husband—how will she protect her friend (and the top earner for her production company)? Meanwhile, publicist Kiki Dee has gotten her hands on some of these secrets and is willing to do almost anything to keep her spot at the top of the Hollywood PR machine. Will the Hollywood Girls Club discover the source of the threats? Will Celeste give in to the Hollywood machine and undergo plastic surgery? Will Mary Anne and Holden find happiness with each other? And with so much going on, will Lydia’s latest movie ever be completed?

1) What’s the backstory behind your book?
Prior to becoming a full time writer, I was a motion picture agent for ICM. I worked full time repping writers and directors. So Hollywood is my home. I started hearing a character voice in my head and late at night when I couldn’t sleep or on the weekends, I would write down the story I was told. This story became the first draft of my first book Hollywood Girls Club. Secrets of The Hollywood Girls Club is the second book in the series and a continuation of the lives of these four fabulous women who live and work in Hollywood.

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 think my unconscious took a huge amount of my day to day life in entertainment and fictionalized it. As I write and then read the book, I see so many similarities to things I’ve seen, stories I’ve heard and people I know. But it wasn’t conscious.

3) A lot of my blog readers are aspiring or new authors. How did you land your first book deal?
As I said, I’d been writing for fun, in my spare time. It was my husband who convinced me to give four chapters to my friend and colleague (and now agent) at ICM. I gave her four chapters without my name on them, guessing she’d pass and then I could go on about my life repping my screenplay writer and directing clients. But instead she loved it. I finished the manuscript and when she took it out, there were two houses that wanted the book…so I ended up going with Crown. And suddenly, I was a writer.

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?
Let’s see. I love the mornings. I love to be at my computer by 7:30 or 8 am to get started. I have a goal of one chapter a day which for me is about 10 pages. Some days I make it, other days I don’t. But when I’m working on the first draft, whizzing along, I try for ten pages. I work in the morning until noonish and then I take a break and have lunch with my girls. I put them down for nap and write another two hours, from two to four. Usually I’m pretty shot by four pm. I might read or edit in the evening once the girls are in bed, but I don’t usually get much writing accomplished.

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?
Celeste could be played by Jessica Biehl…or an older version of Jessica Biehl
Lydia hmm…Jada Pinkett Smith
Jessica would be played by Carla Gugino
Mary Anne Meyers would be played by Bridget Moynihan

Complete and Total Pimpage of Laura Dave

I am so super-excited to be hosting a Q/A today with bestselling author Laura Dave who penned London is the Best City in America and whose follow-up novel, The Divorce Party, is hitting stores today! Full disclosure: Laura is one of my favorite people in the world, outside my immediate family, but when we met, I was only a fan of her writing, not her person. But I can happily report that they are both of excellent quality.

Here's what happened: a few years ago, I read London, then read Laura's bio (complete with blond, beautiful pic) and noticed that we went to the same college. I was slightly intimidated by her pic and her writing acumen, but I sent her a note anyway, and she immediately wrote me back and said, "Hey, we should meet up." So we went out for coffee. Turns out that not only did we go to the same university, we were in the same sorority (I graduated just before she arrived - I'm old), and had a slew of things and friends in common. From there, she promptly endeared herself to me with her support, her kindness and her intelligence, and now, as I said, I am among her biggest fans.

Case in point - and this really demonstrates her level of generosity, both as a friend and a writer: when she heard about the premise of Time of My Life, she immediately emailed me and asked me for an early copy. I told her it was littered with typos and snafus, but she didn't care - she'd been dying to write or read a "what if" novel, so she wanted it and wanted it now! She printed up the 300 pages herself, read it on a plane ride, and emailed me to gush. (That's not the best part! Ha!) When we met up soon thereafter and she heard that my epigraph had fallen through (lyric rights didn't pan out), she offered me - insisted, really - that I use her favorite quote, one that she'd used in her very first (doomed - see below) novel. I hemmed and hedged because I didn't want to use a quote that she said, "changed her life!," but she is so generous and wonderful that she passed it over to me without a second thought, and now, there it is, on the first page of my book. And the book is the better for. So for that, I have Laura to thank.

And that story pretty much sums up the awesomeness that is Laura Dave. So please, rush out and support this fabulous author and person by picking up your own copy of The Divorce Party. And if you're in NYC, join her for her first reading tonight at the Barnes and Noble at Lincoln Center at 7:30! I'll be there with bells on.

And now, with no further introduction, Laura stops by to answer some of my questions:
1) You have one of the WORST writing-disaster stories I've ever heard - losing the first 200 pages of your first novel for good. Can you spill what happened and how you found the stomach to start over?
Spill is an apt word, sadly. I ordered a tall glass of ice water at a local coffee shop---and dropped the water right onto the keyboard, destroying my motherboard. For a while it looked like everything was lost—including my 200 page novel-in-progress. I had just moved back to New York, post graduate school, and was devastated. But, during that time, I went to the beach to watch fireworks with friends. I thought: the book is actually supposed to start here--with a brother and sister watching fireworks together. I began again. The first three pages of "London..." are the only carry-over from that first novel.

2) Before I knew you, I read your book and was so impressed by how precocious I thought your writing was. Can you tell us a bit more about your path to publication? Did you always set out to be a novelist?
I like being called precocious—thanks! Though, now, I am having a bad memory of my 1st grade teacher calling me precocious, and she wasn't trying to be nice, like you...Let's see. My path to publication was both very long and, at the same time, relatively easy. I always wanted to write, and was writing in some capacity since I was a very little girl. I majored in English at The University of Pennsylvania, where I wrote MANY bad short stories. Then, after college, I began following writing fellowships around the country: I lived in several small towns in my early twenties. I wrote and taught writing, and eventually went to grad school at the University of Virginia, where I wrote my ill-fated first book. Then I wrote "London..." A month after I finished, I went to a writers conference in Tennessee. I met my lovely agent there, and she sent out the book. Less than a week after, we had an offer.

3) I know that you have your MFA, and we've discussed on this blog whether or not getting an MFA is critical to furthering your writing career. Can you chime in on the debate?
It is definitely not critical. What is critical, I believe, is doing something to prove to yourself that you take your writing seriously. The more that you do that—the more that you make your writing a habitual part of your life—the better chance that you have of keeping at it. For some people, that commitment involves graduate school, for others it is getting up at 5 AM two days a week while your family sleeps. The key is finding a writing habit that works for you, and sticking to it.

4) This is your second time around…how is it different from your debut experience?
I am much more zen this time around. With a first book, the unknown is so overwhelming: no one warns you about that! While it is supposed to be so exciting, you are also at the whim of every single thing (good and bad) that happens over the course of publication. Or, at least, that was how I felt. This time around, I am rolling with it more, and enjoying it. I am most excited to head out on tour and see friends and readers around the country. That is the greatest.

5) How did you come up with the idea for The Divorce Party?
"The Divorce Party" started with a conversation I had with a friend about the hurricane of 1938, which ravaged Montauk, New York. Only a few houses survived. I began wondering about those houses—and what would be happening there today. That got me thinking about the parallel between physically building a home with someone and building a life with them. The novel focuses on two women: Maggie Mackenzie, and her future mother-in-law, Gwyn, who find themselves meeting for the first time the weekend that Gwyn and her husband announce they are divorcing after 35 years of marriage. Not the ideal time to meet your future in-laws, right? But it ends up being an exercise for both women in asking the question: when and how do you fight for your family?

6) I know that you researched a lot for the book, interviewing dozens of newly divorced women and such – did this change where you expected the book to go? How influenced were you by your findings?
Research is always crucial for me. I feel like if you are writing about a dentist, let's say, and you know two things about a dentist, you feel compelled to include both factoids. But if you know a hundred things, you only include what informs the novel—So with "The Divorce Party," I ended up doing a ton of research on the hurricane of 1938 (even though it only takes up 10 pages of the book), just to make sure that I knew far too much about the history infusing the book. In a similar way, I have two narrators: a commitment-shy 30 year old, and a 58-year-old in the process of ending a 35 year marriage. The first is more familiar territory to me than the second, so I spoke to many women who found themselves starting a new life after the end of a many decade-long relationship. The goal is that it helps me create a world, which feels whole and deep. I recently met an older woman, in a situation similar to my narrator's, who read an advance copy of the book. And she couldn't believe I was thirty. That felt like the best compliment.

7) What's the best part of being a published, full-time author? Now what's the worst?
I think the answer is actually one and the same. I have a lot of time to write, and I have a lot of time to write. There is no one to blame but myself when I sit down to watch "Friday Night Lights" and try to convince myself that it is "research" because it is so well-written.The good news is that fear is a HUGE motivator for me, especially because I remember all too clearly having 13 JOBS when I was working on "London..." I need only conjure up what a day during that period of time felt like, and I am racing toward my Mac.

8) Both of your books have been options for movies…what's the status of their development?
"The Divorce Party" was just optioned last month by Universal Studios and Echo Films, Jennifer Aniston and Kristin Hahn's new production company. I'm very excited about this. Everything seems to be moving along, and Gwyn Lurie--who also adapted my first book---is in the middle of writing the screenplay. She calls me and reads me scenes, which literally have me laughing out loud. As far as London, I don't know what is happening, beyond the fact that "London..." was re-optioned by Universal Studios last year, and Gwyn wrote a great screenplay. I hope we have good news on that front!