Versatile Blog Awards! And Angst over a Crashed Harddrive

Hi all! I am relieved to say that I am back online after dealing with a hard-drive crash (new hard drive installed, covered by the warranty-phew!). This mishap was followed by spending some time in the Catskills with a downed Internet. Wahhhh!

Anyhoo, I was awarded a versatile blog award by the fabulous T.G. Ayer, otherwise known as Tee. I thank her and urge you all to check out her blog. As part of paying it forward, I want to give out Versatile Blog Awards too! But first, the rules stipulate that I reveal 7 things about myself, so here goes:

1. I've seen James Brown in person five times, and John McLaughlin four. Hear, hear to soul and rock fusion.

2. I had a serious painting career before getting published in children's fiction. See one of my oils above. The one with the hedgehogs. It's called NECTAR. Don't ask me why! Can you figure it out?

3. I am rather obsessed with birds. I've painted at least 25 bird paintings. Thinking about designing a bird calendar for 2012. Maybe sell on my website? Stay posted.

4. I stabbed a mouse that was stalking my apartment with a giant screwdriver. I know, I know, very gross! And disturbingly impulsive. But it was even more disturbing that it was setting up house and terrorizing me every night.

5. I love to line edit. And fold laundry. Hey, if you are in the market for a good line edit or manuscript evaluation, I am probably less expensive than most, so shoot me an email describing your project. No, you can't hire me to fold your laundry.

6. I despise squishy food like custard, cream pies, and soft breads--yeeeccchhhh. Give me something really crunchy, even scorched toast.

7. I love the outdoors. Could spend all of my time outside if it never snowed, hailed, rained or thundered.

And now, DRUMROLL, please!!!

I grant the next seven Versatile Blog Awards to...

1) The amazing illustrating blogger, Lynne Chapman's An Illustrated Life for Me.

2) The Book Rat, because I love the reviews, the topic of YA spec, her Fairytale Fortenight, and let's face it, hers has got to be the coolest banner around! Check it out here.

3) Alison DeLuca's Fresh Pot of Tea, because indie authors rock too. Take a look.

4) From Sarah with Joy, because she's another cool indie author with brave posts.

5) Helen Mallon's thoughtful blog WritingNurture. She is also a kick-butt author of literary fiction. Welcome her into the blogosphere as she redesigns and builds her world.

6) Moving on to PK Hrezo's Fiction Addiction with major swag and sass. She will not disappoint.

7) Miriam Forster's Dancing with Dragons is Hard on Your Feet. I mean, the title alone is worth an award!

8) Love this one too: YA Authors You've Never Heard Of. There is power in numbers for these small press YA authors. Though they may have to change their title to Authors You Have Heard Of, if they keep up the good work.

And there you have it! Come back and drop a line, tell us what you think.

Too Many Books, Too Little Time-or the Summer Reading Race Starts Soon

I teach literature to freshmen college students, and we just finished our last novel of the semester, Dr. Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe. Before that, it was The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer. and before that... too many to mention.

I teach these books every year, but I have to at least skim them closely each time in prep, for after a 4 to 6 month hiatus, I get foggy over themes and plot elements. I love the characters that populate these books: the lusty Wife of Bath, the irreverent friars and crafty Mephostophilis, but these re-reads don’t leave me much time to devour other material.

Now, I’m suddenly free to read exactly what I please until next September. Happy Day! During the school year, I compile multiple novels on my kindle, and on my nightstand. I’m about 20 or 30 pages into at least ten things, and now I need to figure out which novel I’ll pile through first. HELLLLP!!! Here’s the list. (Interesting to see where I purchased the novels, and hey, a shout-out to the indie bookstores I frequent, and every other one in the country!):

Amanda Hocking’s eBook, Switched, from her Trylle trilogy (Bought on amazon)

The Demon Trapper’s Daughter Jana Oliver (Picked this up at my local B & N)

Dust by Arthur Slade (Bought online via Arthur’s blog)

Altar of Bones by Phillip Carter (A giveaway ARC at awesome indie Greenpoint, Brooklyn Bookstore WORD.

Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest (From Forbidden Planet, a great scifi and graphic novel bookstore in Manhattan)

Black Hole Sun by David Gill (From my local B & N)

Noodle Maker by Ma Jin (from ultra-cool Manhattan indie bookstore McNally-Jackson)

Faking It by Elisa Lorello (Bought on amazon, for my kindle)

A Thousand Years of Good Prayers by Yiyun Lee (Bought on amazon for my kindle)

On top of this, I’m looking forward to reading and critiquing a colleague’s 400-page first draft YA novel.

EEEPPP! What should I read first?

What’s on your summer reading list, and where did you buy your copies from? What’s on your kindle, your nook, your kobo reader, or your iPad? What’s on your night table? Your coffee table? Your kitchen table? What will you cart to the beach? And how many books do you think you’ll actually get through before September rolls around?

The Benefits and Perils of Using a Penname

Ever thought about using a penname? Say you’re writing early chapter books and you also wrote a racy adult potboiler. You don’t want those third grade nippers googling you and reading about your loose ladies who work the graveyard shift at a sleazy nightclub. Say your cursed with the last name Meany (Real name!) or Pugh. Or suppose your name already has an infamous double, say Michael Jackson or R. Nixon.

Maybe you just love the mystique—the idea that you could be known as Alexandra Sahara for your erotica and also as Xander Smart for your boys' middle-grade fantasy series. Consider Benjamin Franklin. He was so into pseudonyms that he made up entire personas to go along with them. Many were comical, such as Silence Dogood, Harry Meanwell, Alice Addertongue and Timothy Turnstone.

He also used a pseudonym for more serious business. While in England, Franklin penned letters under the name of Benevolus. These letters to various newspapers attempted to answer the nefarious assertions made by the British press about the American colonists.

The popular author of the Animorphs series for kids, K. A. Applegate writes many books under pen names. For her Harlequin romances, she used the name Katherine Kendall. For her Disney Aladdin series she’s known as A. R. Plumb. Sometimes publishers themselves use pen names in their work for hire projects. For instance, Carolyn Keene, so-called author of the original Nancy Drew series, didn't even exist!

If you’re worrying about whether you need to use your penname to sign your contract, stop fretting. You would sign it using your real name, and then state that you are (real name) writing as (penname). Your public appearances could be a little sticky though. In that case, best to stick to phone interviews and blog tours or wear dark glasses and a wig in your Skype author chats.

But let’s get real. There are drawbacks to publishing under a penname. If your fans are looking eagerly for your next novel, or other back titles they won’t see your whole output, because you’ll need separate websites to support all of your personalities. You can’t really show off your true range because everything is so compartmentalized. And in ten years you may outgrow your penname, but you’re stuck with it. Your readers have come to know you only by that name. Think of it as being stuck with a raunchy tattoo that you’d love to raze off your flesh, but it’s in a sensitive area. Ouch.
Still not convinced? Perhaps you should read Kristen Lamb’s great blog post about why pen names suck.

Have you ever considered using a penname? If so, why? Have you already used one? More than one? If so, tell us about your experience with that! What would your fantasy pseudonym be, and for what genre of fiction?

A Big Gun Walks Away from a Huge Trade Deal to Indie ePub & Other Explosions from Publishing’s Front Lines

Yes, it’s true, successful thriller author Barry Eisler just walked away from a hefty 500K deal with Minotaur Books in a decision to self-publish his next novel, The Detachment. He had apparently been talking heatedly with self-pubbing guru, and fellow thriller writer, Joe Konrath, in order to learn all the digital angles before he took the plunge. In Eisler’s words: "it wasn't just that the 17.5% ebook royalty publishers are offering was looking less and less attractive compared to the 70% I can make on my own. It was that, combined with the way I saw the industry changing, along with my growing understanding of the overall longterm value of a legacy publishing deal vs the overall longterm value of going it alone."

Makes horrible sense. Publishers Weekly reported that there’s been a definitive rise in eBook sales. Bookstores can’t seem to sell enough books to stay out of financial trouble, and more and more folks are buying kindles, iPads and the like. I feel the burn too. In the Catskills, where I often go to escape the frenzy of NYC, the last great indie bookstore, Hamish & Henry is closing shop. I can’t find even a cruddy bookstore within a 50 or 60-mile radius. This lovely bookstore was the lifeblood of the western Catskill community. They hosted readings and talks and all kinds of fun parties. No holding back “progress” I guess. Ebooks are a sensible answer to the many, many people who love to read, and happen to live in places lacking a decent bookstore.

I’m a person who sees the glass half full, though. I see the revolts in the Middle East as exciting (not the bloodshed, but the overthrow of the 30 and 40-year stranglehold on the people)—a true reformation of the people, by the people. I also see this revolution in the book industry as potentially exciting, albeit scary.

Trade publishers are handing out less contracts as their budgets shrink. Smaller advances too. Bookstore chains are suffering. And forget about the smaller mom & pops. If amazon offers a 70 percent royalty on indie eBooks, why would an author be so incredibly excited about a much lower eBook royalty from a trade publisher? This phenom is similar to what happened in the music industry. You can’t find a good CD store anymore. If you want to buy an album (an old term already!), you head on over to iTunes and download one for half the price. The musicians still get paid (mainly earning their keep from touring anyway), and without all the middlemen.

On the flip side, self-pubbed superstar, Amanda Hocking is headed in the exact opposite direction. Grass is always greener, right? Word has it that she’s shopped around her new series to trade publishers. To quote the New York Times article: “On the same day Barry Eisler turned down half a million dollars from Minotaur to self-publish, news emerged publicly that Amanda Hocking appears to be doing the exact opposite. Yesterday afternoon we finally caught wind of what many in the industry have known about for weeks now, which is that agent Steve Axelrod is shopping her new four-book series to publishers, attracting bids of well over $1 million for world English rights."

Lastly, read the link about another self-pubbed book, Faking It by Elisa Lorello, that has caught fire.

Still, it’s a serious leap of faith for anyone who has struggled and sweated to finally land a book contract, or two, or three… and get published the traditional way, to even think about going rogue. As of now, I’m just a very interested bystander. Print will be around for a long time. Or, in Amanda Hocking's own words, "I'm going to let you guys in on a little secret: This isn't an either/or situation (print vs digital). You guys are both on the same team - Team Writer."

Catherine Stine teaches at the Philadelphia Writers’ Conference June 3rd, 4th & 5th. Also, contest and manuscript critique details!

Anyone near the Philadelphia area, who needs an expert critique of his or her manuscript? Want to try your hand at writing for kids or teens? Learn more about plotting and characterization? Smooth out those kinks in your story plot? Find out how to land a great agent? If so, this workshop is perfect for you!

Catherine's Writing Children's Fiction Workshop, 3:00 to 4:15, all three days

Plus an ongoing wealth of other talks, info sessions and panels

Combining discussion of the craft of writing with fun free-writes, Stine helps guide students to evoke vivid stories and the seeds of possible novels for kids and teens. In addition to discussing elements such as character, plotting and popular genres and trends in children’s fiction, students learn ways to seek a great agent and about marketing techniques. Plenty of time for Q & A. We meet every day at 3 pm.

In addition, writers are also invited to send a bonus submission of a one-page synopsis and up to a 2,500 word-count chapter for critique.

Manuscript submissions must be sent (postmarked) by April 8^th!!!

Three contest winners will be chosen from the submissions. First prize is free entry into the Philadelphia Writer’s Conference for spring 2012! Second & third places win small cash prizes. Must enter by April 8^th.

Catherine will read and comment on submissions prior to class and pass them back during the workshop.

***Note: Students can sign up for the workshop after April 8^th, but will not have a manuscript critique.

Conference links: Registration Form

Downloadable Workshop Schedule

More Workshop Details

Manuscript Critique & Contest Submission Details

Room Reservations at the Holiday Inn

STUDENT RECOMMENDATIONS:

"Catherine gives creative exercises, smart critiques, exposure to different genres, and nuts-and-bolts instruction on the mechanics of plotting a novel. I began the class with a three-sentence story idea, and within a few months, I had a book contract. I can't recommend her class highly enough."

-Holly Kowitt, author of the middle grade novel, The Sweetheart Deal (Scholastic)

"Catherine's workshops motivated me to write consistently and provided me with literary tools and techniques that enhanced my work. I especially benefited from her insightful critiques. I highly recommend her class to both aspiring and established writers. She's also resourceful about the business of writing and publishing."

–Renee Watson, author of the picture book A Place Where Hurricanes Happen (Random House) and a novel, What Momma Left Me (Bloomsbury)

"I highly recommend Catherine's course. She provides a useful overview of the various categories of children's books, and the elements of storytelling. She also gives detailed feedback on your writing, and is particularly helpful with plot development. I enjoyed every class we had."

-Julie Sternberg, whose delightful early chapter book, My Bibi, is forthcoming with Amulet Books

ePubbing: Tips from Trade Authors & other Bold Explorers

Gone are the days where publishing one’s own stories as eBooks was a questionable career move, akin to being published with a vanity press. With the advent of kindle, iPads and apps, and with less people buying traditional hardcovers (who has the cash to shell out $24 for a book?), bookstores and the publishing world have been in an uproar. Authors and readers are quite open now to new publishing delivery systems.

It seems almost every week, I hear word of another indie or ePublisher opening up for business. Dragonfly for fantasy and sci-fi comes to mind, as does Muse it Up in Canada. I hear more and more authors' incredible success stories about self-ePubbing with createspace, often selling so many copies that a traditional publisher comes calling after the fact.

A couple of weeks ago, on an online chat, a well-regarded children’s writer, Arthur Slade, revealed that he had formed his own publishing company to reissue his out-of-print books, such as Draugr, depicted above. He even named it after his grandmom! Mind you, this author sells via the traditional system quite well.

His admission prompted a blizzard of comments from other successful writers who loved the idea of publishing their own out of print books, or self-publishing manuscripts that their editors had turned down. And this produced a flurry of questions about the actual process: did anyone know of a great book cover artist, who worked freelance? What was the best program to format one’s manuscript for uploading to smashwords or create space? And what were the best sites to publicize eBooks? The kindle boards were highly recommended as a place that really helped get this part of the job done, while joining a vibrant online community.

This is truly an exciting time! Authors can pick and choose. They can have some of their books published with traditional publishers, and others, including more experimental work, or their out of print titles, can sell as eBooks. The author can take control over his or her book cover formatting, interior illustrations, even pricing. As Arthur Slade puts it: “One basic reason is that Amazon pays 70% of the cover price and that I can also publish my books in other countries without much effort. I'm a bit of a techie, so the process of turning books into eBooks wasn't too painful. I can get a book ready for Amazon in about two hours now. You can go through smashwords. That means you only have to do the book once and they send it to Amazon, B&N and iBooks. They take a small percentage. And, most importantly to me, I maintain control of my book over the long term!”

There are others joining in the conversation. Take a look at Joe Konrath’s blog post Ebooks Ain’t a Bubble and eisforbook, where a bunch of authors are posting about getting their books ready as eBooks, or Rob Sider’s site, 52 novels, where he helps convert your Word files to a kindle-friendly eBook text!

The stigma is gone, and the fearless tread on open, untrammeled ground. Please let us know about any really cool ePublishers, book cover artists, and blogs that cover this. Also, fill us in on any tips for DIY newbies. Check out Arthur Slade’s great blog on this topic while you’re at it! http://arthurslade.blogspot.com/ and his website, where you can buy one of his newly released eBooks Draugr and Dust: http://arthurslade.com/frontpage/

Dr. Seuss Day, Fun With Kids!

In honor of Dr. Seuss Day, March 2^nd, I drove out to a school in Lodi, NJ and did a booktalk and readathon with the fourth grade kids. Every time I do a school visit, I am so very clear why I write for kids. Kids are amazing and fun and so pumped to read good stories!

To backtrack a little, the journey to Lodi was not an easy one. I was nervous about driving my Subaru, as it has some mysterious issue that makes it sound like a cross between a race car and an ancient jalopy. And it’s not the muffler—I had that checked already. Any minute the thing could’ve stopped in its tracks on the highway. To complicate matters, there was a detour on the route I was supposed to drive in on, and no signage whatsoever as to which alternate streets to take.

After a couple of pit stops to ask two very kind folks the way to the school, I chugged in five minutes before I was supposed to appear in the library.

Talk about sweating it!

But as soon as the kids filed in and I saw their eager faces, I breathed a deep sigh of relief and all of my angst dissolved.

I showed them my books, A Girl's Best Friend, Be Careful What You Wish For (I have a short story in this anthology) and Refugees. Then I played a “What if” game with them, where I had them imagine scenarios and characters, and build a story together, based on their brainstorming. They were great at naming the characters and thinking up contraptions for the main guy, who’s an amateur inventor. They understood that each of the three main kids had to have a distinct personality (rather than being too similar). They understood the need for conflict and action. I illustrated this by saying, "Wouldn't it be boring if Harry Potter and his friends sat around drinking juice and chatting instead of actively pursuing a quest? The kids thought this image was pretty funny. Indeed, they were very story savvy.

I think they appreciated having the story structure demystified. I explained that when I was in fourth grade I had plans to write a long book, with chapters. I would always get to around the third chapter and then lose steam, because despite my enthusiasm, I had no idea how to keep it going. In other words, I could've benefited from someone showing me how to construct a rudimentary story roadmap. Characters, plot, challenge, action, struggle, apparent defeat, resolve--you know the drill.

Anyway, the above photo is from my time at the Dr. Seuss Day. What fun!!!!

What do you do to celebrate reading on Dr. Seuss Day? On any day?

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss.