is getting longer and more winding.
By now, everyone interested in the publishing industry has heard the bad news. Even the big publishing houses, such as Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Thomas Nelson, and Random House are not immune.
What are we, unpublished writers, to do? If you're inclined to see the sky falling, you may find some comfort in one editor's take on the situation. Mark Tavani, a senior editor at Random House, talked about it at Notes from the Handbasket, a blog by author Laura Benedict.
He doesn't offer a no-worries-things-will-be-back-to-the-good-old-days-you-just-wait. What he does offer is this:
But on the bright side, maybe fewer books will mean better books. Maybe, over time, books will regain an elite status that I sense they once had. Maybe, in the end, books won’t qualify precisely as mass entertainment, but entertainment for a sizable if select audience.Not exactly unqualified confidence in the industry, but a reasonable and achievable state. In the mean time, those of us who love the written word, who love stories, who simply have to write will do just that: write. Focus on getting better in craft and more savvy in the profession. Doing the same thing we've already been doing.
Ocean breeze, white sandy beaches, gorgeous views plus no housework, no email, no phone calls for a week: a writer's dream. I brought my college-ruled notebook, three pens, and wrote new passages of a new YA novel while watching my children play all day. The notebook has gotten fatter and floppier from water and some of the words have sme
ared into pretty blue patches, which may partially explain the increased weight of our luggage despite not having bought a single thing.
I'm back now, ready to dive into writing again. But where is the guy with the pineapple drinks and the ones with the dry towels? How am I supposed to write without the sounds of the waves and the wind in my hair ?
I wasn't going to make it to the Poetry Friday Roundup today but while chauffeuring my kids around, I heard an interview on NPR with a guy who wrote poems on the 2008 election. Anyone who says he was inspired to write poetry by John Sununu is worth a read, don't you think?
Anyway, here is a taste of Deciding the Next Decider by Calvin Trillin':On a Clear Day, I See Vladivostok(The Barbra Streisand standard as sung by Sarah Palin)On a clear dayI see Vladivostok,So I know world affairs.
(For the rest of the poem, follow the above link.)
More poetry over at Mommy's Favorite Children's Books.
If you've been thinking about getting published, you would have heard of the term "platform."
My understanding of a platform: that which gives you the authority and draws people to your book. It used to be that platform reigns supreme in non-fiction. After all, who wants to read a book about the migration patterns of miniature vampire bats if the author isn't someone who knows a thing or two about it. (Please don't google "migration patterns of miniature vampire bats" because there may not be such things. See, I don't know the first thing about bats or migration patterns or vampires, so you wouldn't want to buy a book on the subject even if I wrote one.)
Fiction these days needs platforms as well, I am told. What constitutes a platform gets slightly fuzzy in my mind. One example I can think of is the author Jeff Stone, who wrote the international best-selling series on five young monks schooled in kung-fu. Jeff Stone is a highly trained martial arts practitioner as well and can talk authoritatively on the subject. I can also imagine him performing some cool monkey-styled kung-fu moves in school visits.
What else? How do unpublished authors build their platforms? (Please don't say plank by plank, you clever and cheeky ones.)
Have no fear, there is a book out, titled Getting Known Before the Book Deal, in which one writer, a successful one, discusses platform-building. You can read an interview with the author and get the links to the book and her website at Writer Unboxed.
Know a not-yet published author? Need to get him/her a gift?
(Hint: I'm not published and I haven't read the book yet either. : D)
Are you panicking yet about buying gifts this holiday season? You are buying books, I know that much,
but you may want to ideas about which books to buy. Here are just a few ideas:The New York Times lists their most notable books of 2008.
Don't like the Times' taste? Here is the list compiled by the publishing industry's insider, the Publishers Weekly.
Or maybe you're a fan of NPR like I am, they weigh in on the subject as well. They have lists for best foreign fiction, cookbooks, and graphic novels.
You want a more democratic list? The Modern Library lists the board's and the readers' choices side by side.
Then there is, of course, the biggest store in the universe, Amazon, which has lists by both editors and readers in more categories than you know what to do with. (C'mon you don't need a link.)
It can be done. The publishing industry will be saved. (and gifts will be purchased on time and appreciated and enjoyed for years.)
Writing is re-writing.
I agree completely. I have no problems with revising my work as many times as necessary. After all, I've been doing it for six years now, since the idea of this book came to me when my first grader was an infant. (Just what is it about being sleep-deprived and living from hour to hour that makes it conducive for ideas, such as ideas that I would write a book, seem reasonable?)
I've submitted my manuscript to my critique group, entered contests, read portions aloud to an editor, submitted to agents, and re-written it after wards. You'd think I'm getting the feel for it by now.
But I am still surprised by the process. In my current revision, among other things, I'm switching from a third person point-of-view written in past tense (Edie played the timpani) to a first-person present tense (I stare at her.) Changing pronouns and tenses: doesn't sound too bad, but I am learning that even this seemingly benign change requires much more mind juice than I anticipated, probably not unlike people undertaking house renovations to end up spending much more money and time than they budget for.
I do believe this change is for the better, despite the hurdles. And as always, the process of writing itself is teaching me lots about the craft.Back to rewriting.
Since becoming a writer, I've noticed a lot more about the writing in the books I read. Often, the writing functions well in telling a story. Occasionally some writing draws too much attention to itself. And then there are those incredible voices, which liven up story, dig deep into emotions, and create memorable moments, all the while staying un-intrusive.Recently I came across two such writers: Jennifer Allison and Laura Ruby. Their genres are different from what I write, but the writing will definitely go under my microscope to detect patterns and principles that will help polish my writing.
Do you have authors like that? Let me know so I can steal, I mean learn, from them.
I've been re-reading several middle grade novels lately, driven by questions I haven't thought of before or questions whose answers I don't remember. The first book is Chasing Vemeer, debut novel of Blue Balliett. I picked it up again for two reasons. My middle-grade novel has some mystery elements but doesn't fit into the same mold as standard mysteries (think Nancy Drew.) I knew Chasing Vermeer, a non-standard mystery, won the Edgar Award for best juvenile mystery in 2005, so I wanted to re-read it.At the same time, Balliett's newest novel, Calder's Game, was released. I love Alexander Calder's works, and I admire the thinking of John Dewey, an educator associated with the Lab School at the University of Chicago, where the protagonists of these novels attend. I picked up Calder's Game with anticipation.
About thirty pages into it,I realized I had to keep telling myself to focus. One of the things that distracted me was the frequent shifts in point-of-view. It distracted me so much I had to find out if the author did the same thing in her first book, which I had enjoyed. So I put aside Calder's Game and re-read Chasing Vermeer. Question #1: Did Balliett use shifting p.o.v in Chasing Vermeer? If so, was it distracting?The omniscient p.o.v in chapter 1 set the stage perfectly for a Twilight Zone vibe. Chapter 2 was primarily in Calder Pillay's p.o.v, except for the few paragraphs in Petra Andalee's. These shifts were clearly marked, creating no confusion In subsequent chapters, the p.o.v switched frequently, but never in an unclear or intrusive way. The author was very skillful in making those shifts seamless and almost transparent. Answer to #1: Yes. No.Question #2: what makes this book successful?
- It provokes thinking, by asking questions and exploring ideas, such as what is art? What is the best from of communication? Is art a lie, but a lie that tells the truth, as Picasso stated? Is all of life about rearranging a few simple ideas? What if thoughts don't have to be broken into words. Thoughtful young readers will no doubt have considered these very same issues.
- The characters and their friendships are authentic and not at all cliched. There is a scene that describes the awkward and tentative gestures between Calder and Petra early in their friendship that is unique but believable and touching.
- Mysteries are typically plot-driven, and some don't emphasize language use, but Chasing Vermeer isn't one of them. Here is an example of an imaginative use of language: Petra looking a pictures that "made her feel as if she could leave everything predictable behind."
- A lot of the action takes place within the heads of the characters. Depending on the reader, this can be a plus or a minus. I happen to like knowing how characters think and react to their situations, especially when it is handled skillfully.
Answer to #2: Excellent writing, believable and complex characters, thoughtful and engaging.
Question #3: Is it a mystery?Unknown perpetrator? Check. Red herrings? Check. Multiple suspects? Check. Unexpected turn of events? Check. Protagonists solving the mystery by sheer logic and deduction? Um.
Calder and Petra receive information from a character in a painting and come to conclusions from coincidences that are more unlikely than usual. I've read interviews given by Blue Balliett and know that she intentionally includes mystical/paranormal elements in the book but I do feel let down in this aspect. Answer to #3: Yes, but it leads to other questions, including: Question #4: Where is the balance between having a book considered on its own criteria and submitting it to expectations within a genre?
I'll need to shelf this question to read more and think further. Do you think this is a reasonable question to ask? Do you have opinions on this? I'd appreciate your thoughts.
