Holiday Weekend for Partying, Picnicing, or Sneaking in Work?

On the eve of Memorial Day Weekend, I find myself busily preparing for my teaching gig at the Philadelphia Writers’ Conference (here), in between packing my son for an overseas trip, and packing for this long weekend away. Phew! No wonder I feel scattered, though I really do want to post. In all my busywork, I miss the blog community.

First of all, I want to belatedly thank the gracious C. Lee McKenzie for giving me a Stylish Blog Award! Go take a peek at her awesome TheWriteGame here and check out her interview on CBS Bay Sunday!

Secondly, as I put a final polish my longish 96K manuscript draft, and try to cut extraneous words, I can report that there is no such thing as exact word count! My draft in Garamond comes out to a different count than in Courier, than in Times New Roman. In doing subsequent research online, I discovered that many authors have this experience, and their counts vary as much as 10,000 words! Just a heads up for anyone freaking over his or her word count. Have you experienced this discrepancy? Which font provides the most accurate count?

Today, in preparing for the hot weather, I planted my portulacas and fed my climbing yellow roses and my hubby's okra seedlings. I've got a rocking chair and a table with an umbrella. An inner-city deck sure takes the edge off of the big city.

So, I wish you all a fun and restful holiday weekend. Anyone traveling to an exciting location? Sneaking in some work time? Throwing a party? Heading to the beach before the crowds set in? How do you take the edge off? Dish here!

Digital Books for Kids & Kids do Reviews!

I’ve been hearing more and more about new digital directions for the children’s market, including apps for the iPad.

In addition, more and more kids are blogging, and writing their own book reviews, which is very cool.

Here are two fun, cutting edge links. One is called KidsWriteReviews.com, where I just got a five star review for my choose-your-own adventure book, A Girl’s Best Friend. Thanks to my reviewer, KK!

The second is a link to an article a friend turned me onto called The Future of Print: 21 Interesting E-Books for Kids, by Scott McLeod. Scott hosts this site called Dangerously Irrelevant, which is dedicated to exploring the technological and educational needs of schools. The amazing array of apps and eBooks cited in his article will expand your thinking about what is possible for the children’s market going forward. He provides examples of everything from 3D interactive online pop-up books, to science apps. Take a look here.

Finally, take a peek at Tumble Books, a site that many libraries use, where trade books are transformed to digital talking books. Boy, I would have loved this as a kid.

On a different but just as important note, I want to thank Krista M for awarding me the Stylish Blog Award! I encourage you all to visit her thoughtful blog, The Jelly Beans of Writing. As far as me citing seven more blogs, I’ve recently awarded two big batches of them, so I will sit this round out, as I don’t want to bore you by being redundant. But I promise, in time, I will be recognizing more great blogs as I discover them.

What do you think of the move toward eBooks and apps for kids? Have you seen any great sites that you would add to my list? Do you have kids, and if so, do they have any favorite apps? How about blogs written by kids?

Fun When the Manuscript Draft is Done

I finally finished a draft of my YA urban fantasy, clocking in at nine months (almost a real baby!), and a wordy 93K, or about 350 pages. Decided not to show it to my agent until it’s been combed-through by a professional editor, which is a first for me, and quite a luxury.

I have also just finished teaching the spring lit semester, so I suddenly have some real time to play around with new story ideas, to clean up the piles of books and paper on my desk, my shelves, and well, everywhere. Oh, and I have some time for FUN.

The first thing I did, was to go to the auto show at the Javits Center in NYC. This has turned into a yearly ritual for me. There is something about climbing into the latest model Mustang, or BMW and imagining tearing down the highway in it that really appeals to me. Of late, I most love to check out the latest hybrids, from the Nissan Leaf, which runs totally on electric, to the Chevy Volt, which runs on a combination of gas and electric, and boasts a total mileage of around 350 miles! (See image above)

This was the first year you could climb into a Volt; there were two on-site. I sorta, kinda fell in love with it. It looks like a sexy sedan with a tinge of racing car in it, but not too hot rod that a “grown-*ss woman” couldn’t own one without looking ridiculous.
BTW, the Chevy Cruz boasts a MPG of 40, but still, it’s all gas. And the Nissan Leaf needs to up its battery-span to at least 160 miles before it's a realistic choice. Right now, it's 100 tops.

But then… in the Volkswagen section, I found… drum roll… the BULLI.
What the heck is a Bulli, you ask? It’s a super-compact crazy-good reinvention of the old Volkswagen van. Think what one of those old buses would look like cut in half, and then smoothed out to a futuristic cube-y shape a la the Nissan Cube, and then run through a smokin’ design studio to add two-tone color reminiscent of a surfer van. You know the ones with the wood panels? Check out the Bulli above, and on this website.

The catch? It’s still only a concept car! That means that Volkswagen folks may never actually manufacture it to sell. In the meantime, I may have to buy another Subaru, a car that has lasted me an incredible 15 years.

So, tell me, what do you do for fun after you’ve finished a novel draft, or a teaching gig, or simply need a long break from your computer? And what’s your dream car?

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."