Finding Friends and Followers

I had the chance to add more than 1,000 followers to my Twitter account last week. It was tempting. I mean let’s be honest – who doesn’t want to believe that there are thousands of people who want to hear what you think about books and writing and more?

The only thing that held me back? The cost.

And I don’t mean the $25 charge for adding their Twitter handles to my account.

One of the things I love about Twitter – about the internet in general – is the way it allows us to connect with other people. Last week Andrew Smith favorited and retweeted one of my tweets. And yes, I had a major fangirl moment ☺ I live in a tiny town in California with a population of less than a thousand people. And yet, I shared mini conversations with people in Canada, Florida, New England – even a guy in Africa. How cool is that?

I wouldn’t have had these conversations with people I bought from a list, people who may not even know their name was on the list. We had these conversations because we share a common interest. And finding those people to connect with – people who like books and reading, writing and publishing, movies and music – that’s half the fun. Finding and making those connections. Not buying them.

I may not have as many followers as some of the people who’ve been doing it longer. But I’m content to find those people over time. So that when we do find and follow each other, we’ll share a real connection. Maybe even have a memorable conversation.

That’s worth more to me. That’s priceless.

Author Spotlight on: Indie Author Susan Kaye Quinn

I interviewed Susan Kaye Quinn three years ago after the release of her first novel, LIFE, LIBERTY & PURSUIT. (You can read that interview here.) So much about her life and her writing has changed since then that I thought it was time for us to have another chat.

First of all can I just say that you're the most intrepid of any writer I know. Releasing two books in two weeks right before Christmas?! Yikes!
Oh… I like that word, intrepid! Most of the publishing choices I make are part of my Grand Evil Plan, but really they fall out of the freedom that comes from being indie. That manifests itself in many ways.

After the huge release party for THIRD DAUGHTER, you kind of flew under the radar with FAERY SWAP. Why'd you decide not to make a big splash with your first MG release?
First off, I consider the releases of both THIRD DAUGHTER and FAERY SWAP to be “soft launches” – meaning release first, market later. This is an indie strategy, and pretty much the polar opposite of trad-pub launches, where there’s a lot of pre-launch buildup and an attempt to squeeze all the sales into that first launch-period. The difference is really a philosophical one, driven on the trad-pub side by physical shelf space – there’s a limited amount of it, and your book will get pulled if you don’t move enough copies in those first few months. There’s also a drive to get on the big bestseller lists by compacting sales in that first week. By contrast, indie titles aren’t on the physical shelves, and the main way indie titles are discovered is word-of-mouth – which takes time. It’s a slow build, but one that can be long-sustaining. Indie authors have forever to promote their books, and the attention span to do so (whereas publishers are necessarily onto the next “new release” title).

So both titles were “soft releases” for me – besides, right before Christmas is a lousy time to market (everyone is busy and lots of books are on sale). And yet it’s a great time to release an indie book (because you can catch that post-Christmas rise in ebook sales that comes with all those new ereaders being opened). The reason THIRD DAUGHTER's launch was bigger (I planned prizes, held a Facebook party, etc.) was because the book was much-anticipated by my readers, and I wanted to throw a party in celebration of it for them. It was more about letting the people who had been waiting for it know and having fun with it, than serious marketing (which will come after the first of the year). With FAERY SWAP, I’m pleasantly surprised with the attention it’s getting, even with minimal announcements, but again, the marketing will come later, and over time.
 
Ah, of course, the Grand Evil Plan :)

You tend to write pretty fast but this one has been kicking around for a lot longer. Did you go back and revise it after you gained more experience as a writer?
It worked out that way, but that wasn’t my intention. I first drafted FAERY SWAP over two years ago, thinking I would submit it to traditional publishers. Shortly after, I indie published and my understanding of the industry (and the direction of my career) took a sharp turn. It became difficult to justify spending months revising that first draft of a story that I knew I couldn’t publish indie (especially when I had other titles that I knew would sell). After a while, I realized I had to finish for me – and worry about how to publish it afterward. Still, I struggled to find time to do it in between other projects. It was only when a publisher (Skyscape) came along with a nudge (they were interested in several of my works), that I finally did it. My experience as a writer at that point definitely helped with revisions, but it also meant I had to rewrite big chunks of the story. Which was fine – I’m very pleased with how it came out. In the end, Skyscape’s editor loved it but they had to pass on it. I decided the time was finally right for indie middle grade – or at least right enough. I’m savvier about how the market works now, and I’m hoping my readers will take a chance on FAERY SWAP for the kids in their lives.

FAERY SWAP

You've covered just about every age range and a multitude of genres with your writing, including your non-fiction how-to guide on indie publishing, which probably would have been frowned upon by a traditional publisher. What do you think has been your biggest takeaway so far from these experiences? Which age range do you find it easiest to write for?
Indie freedom FTW! :) I love that I can write the stories I want to write and know people will have a chance to read them – whether it’s just a few readers, trickling in over time, or a bunch, only time will tell. And I have time (see above). Indies live in the long tail.

As for the writing itself, I’ve always thought middle grade is the hardest to write for – getting the voice and the humor and the pacing all just right is a challenge. You don’t have the luxury of a lot of interior thoughts, exposition, or plot-driving sexiness and violence. You have to dig deeper – I think of it as a purer form of storytelling. That being said, I think THIRD DAUGHTER was one of my more technically challenging works, because I had to blend two different aesthetics (steampunk and east-indian) as well as two different genres (romance and action-adventure). Then there’s my 9-part serial, DEBT COLLECTOR, which is for adults, but was challenging just because of the format – again very condensed, fast-paced storytelling. I guess I like challenging work! I write across a range of ages primarily because I go where the story takes me.

As I mentioned, intrepid!

You've shared peeks inside that brain of yours and it's brimming with amazing story ideas. How do you select which one you're going to work on next?

This, actually, is one of my biggest challenges. The flip side of the freedom to publish is the agony of deciding which stories to write. DEBT COLLECTOR is a great example of a story that swooped in and forced me to write it – I literally couldn’t get the words out fast enough on that one. For 2014, I’m trying to force myself to be a bit more strategic about which stories I write next, because now I’ve got THREE series going at once (DEBT COLLECTOR, THE DHARIAN AFFAIRS, and a new one… SINGULARITY… that hasn’t published yet). I don’t want readers to have to wait too long between books/seasons.

So when will we see another MG book from you?
My 2014 schedule says I’m supposed to write/release two novels (SECOND DAUGHTER and LEGACY-SINGULARITY#1) as well as a nine-part serial (DEBT COLLECTOR Season Two) as well as three novellas. I tell my schedule that it’s crazy, but it refuses to listen. As for MG… FAERY SWAP is a stand alone, and I don’t expect to publish another middle grade novel in the foreseeable future. I do have another middle grade novel that I’ve shelved – a space opera that I could revise and publish, and maybe I will, if FAERY SWAP really takes off. But my expectation is that won’t happen, at least not right away.

You've challenged yourself by making the Mindjack video, and then writing the serial. I have no doubt you'll be boldly going where no other writers have gone in the near future. How do you plan to challenge yourself in the coming year?

I really only challenge myself in the craft and in productivity – the other things (the video, the serial, translating OPEN MINDS to German) are really more opportunities that I accept as they come along rather than challenges I set for myself. But my 2014 schedule is definitely a challenge! And I’m taking a screenwriting class that is a definite craft challenge. Just last night, I was telling my instructor, “Um, I’m not sure if I can finish this script in the nine months we have for class.” She encouraged me to just rough draft it, get the story out using my strengths as a writer, and worry about coming back and filling in the weaknesses later. Great advice, and exactly why I’m taking the class from her. Because she’ll say, “You can do this, Sue,” and I want to prove her right. I’m really like Hermoine, that girl who lives in the library and always has her hand in the air in class. I need to rein that in a little! :) But my joy has always been in taking on challenges and mastering them… or failing spectacularly and moving on to the next one.

I don't think failure is in the cards for you. Thanks for stopping by, Sue!
Thanks for having me!

Faery Swap by Susan Kaye Quinn

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, print Goodreads

Warrior faery princes can be very stubborn. Especially when they possess your body.

Fourteen-year-old Finn just wants to keep his little sister out of Child Protective Services—an epic challenge with their parentally-missing-in-action dad moving them to England, near the famous Stonehenge rocks.

Warrior faery Prince Zaneyr just wants to escape his father’s reckless plan to repair the Rift—a catastrophe that ripped the faery realm from Earth 4,000 years ago and set it adrift in an alternate, timeless dimension.

When Zaneyr tricks Finn into swapping places, Finn becomes bodiless soul stuck in the Otherworld, fighting spriggans with sharp teeth and rival faery Houses. Back on Earth, Zaneyr uses Finn’s body to fight off his father’s seekers and keep the king’s greatest weapon—himself—out of his hands. Between them, they have two souls and only one body… and both worlds to save before the dimensional window between them slams shut. 

Faery Swap is an action and druid-magic filled portal fantasy, told by both a runaway faery prince and the boy he’s tricked into taking his place.

This Prince and the Pauper meets Warrior Faeries tale is suitable for all ages.

Includes 4 interior illustrations.

  

Click here to read the first chapter.

Full Print Cover

Author Spotlight on: Samuel Park

Today I have a treat here on the blog – best selling author Samuel Park. I “met” Sam through blogging, shared his excitement when his book sold, gave my opinion when he chose his author photo. It's so much fun to see blogging friends do well!

His novel, This Burns my Heart, was recently released in paperback and he has generously offered to give away a copy to one lucky blog reader. Isn’t it a gorgeous new cover? Even more evocative than the original.

Sam, I’m so happy to have you here!

Thank you so much for having me on your blog. I remember when my book became an Amazon Best of the Month, you were one of the first people to email me and congratulate me, and I really loved that.

Oh, well, I’m kinda nerdy that way. I get ridiculously excited when I see press about people I know. (See my blog post on Friday for proof!)

I don’t read a lot of books for grownups, but I have to tell you that I loved This Burns my Heart. There was one scene near the end, where they’re in the park listening to street musicians – omigosh, the longing, the covert thing with the hands – I don’t want to give away too much, but it was so beautifully written. Did it take a long time, getting the prose just the way you wanted it?

I think it's a tricky balance. On the one hand, you have to hold the reader's attention through beautiful language, almost like poetry. And I think this is particularly true nowadays, with all the competition from other mediums, and the availability of so much other (often free) entertainment--beautiful language is the only thing fiction can offer that other mediums can't. But I also believe that in order for the reading to become an immersive experience, the reader shouldn't even notice the language, and just become engulfed by the story.

I suppose in a way I just described the difference between literary and commercial fiction. The goal for me, then, is to find scenes where it feels organic to pause and engage in some beautiful language. Like the scene you're talking about--the descriptions of the musicians and the song involve lyrical language, but they're also embedded within the plot, since that's what the characters are listening to in that very moment. You look for moments where those two things can overlap, or where the fast moving plot can discreetly cede way, for a moment, for a beautiful reflection, or a metaphor.

English is not your native language, and yet you have a doctorate and you’re a professor of English. I know you decided as soon as you could read that you wanted to be a writer. What made you want to be a teacher?

I think it started when I was six years old and I would put mine and my sister's teddy bears and dolls in front of me and pretend that I was giving them a lecture. I don't remember what I would teach them, but it must've been pretty engrossing, since they would never move. Also, growing up, I always loved teachers. I was a classic teacher's pet, you know, the one the teacher would put in charge while she stepped out? In college, I would go to my professors' office hours and plant myself there. They could not get rid of me. I always liked teachers, partly because my first teacher, in many ways, was my mother, and I liked *her* a lot, too.

Have you had to autograph books after class? Do you have students asking for novel critiques and/or advice on being an author?

My students are starting to now, but for the most part they're much more interested in getting an extension for their papers, or figuring out how many points I take off for a late midterm. I teach art students, and they're very cagey, not at all the way I was back in college. (See answer above.)

Ah, the tunnel vision of youth :-)

You’ve also made a short film and then developed a novella based on that screenplay. Tell me how that came about.

Well, I was living in L.A. at that time, and when you live in L.A., you're practically obligated to write a screenplay. They won't give you a driver's license, unless you show proof of WGA copyright. So I wrote a screenplay based on a play and then a short film based on the screenplay and then a novella based on all that. And if you were able to follow that, you deserve an award. The novella was basically the screenplay, plus what I like to call "stage directions," which is what I call all that stuff that is not between quotations. It's very short, about 50,000 words.

Um, you're talking to someone who writes books for kids. 50K is an average sized novel around here!

Now that This Burns my Heart has been out for eight months, how has the experience of being a debut novelist changed from how you thought it would be?

Signing books at Vroman's in Los Angeles

The thing that surprised me, in a really good way, was to find out that in this age of movies and video games and Internet, people are still very passionate about books. In spite of all the bad news that we all know, with newspaper circulations declining and people reading less than ever, there is still a passionate core group of readers, journalists, reviewers, booksellers, and book lovers who are out there, all over the country, championing books. And that was really wonderful to see, and be a part of, 'cos I got to meet in person a lot of people doing events, and I saw that there's a huge community out there of people involved in book festivals, radio shows, etc, whose lives revolve around keeping literary culture alive.

There's a lot of doom and gloom out there so this is nice to hear.

I’ve heard people say that aside from editing, they have very little input once they turn their novel over to a publisher. Was that the case for you or did you have any involvement with the cover or the marketing?

 You know, I had some input, yes, but here's what I'm gonna say about that: I don't think authors should have any input on book covers. You're just too close to the book, and you're too distracted by your own projections about what this Platonic ideal of this thing that you created should look like. You really need someone more objective, someone who actually saw what you created, rather than what you think you created, and can express that visually. I'm a big believer in expertise, so if an expert art designer thinks that this is what I should go with, then I'm happy to sign off. Having said that, I'm not shy about forwarding them suggestions before they come up with a cover and saying, "This is what I think might be a nice inspiration. This is what I imagine the world of the book to be." For the paperback of This Burns my Heart, I really wanted the book to have a very soft, feminine quality, and I was really happy with what the designers came up with.

How much support did you get from Simon & Schuster and what things did you have to do on your own?

They were/are incredible. I literally could not ask for more. What I admired about their handling of the book was that they always knew what was right for it, and at what point. They're incredibly smart about how to market books. They know how the business works, and knew who I should meet, and where our energies should go toward. And their focus was to just get the book in people's hands. They really thought that the book was going to sell itself, and they were right. The weird thing is that up to that point I was very much used to having to do things on my own. So I thought with the book, I'd have to do my own marketing, but instead they did everything for me. And they did it a thousand times better than I could, because they knew things that I, and most authors, don't know.

It had to be pretty surreal having one of the morning hosts talking about your book on the Today Show. And being chosen by Amazon and Kirkus as one of the best books of 2011. Were you surprised by how much praise your novel received?

That day I learned about the incredible power of television. And the way it unfolded was pretty surreal. I didn't know the endorsement was coming. I just noticed that day that my Amazon ranking (which I have to confess, I check way more than I should!) had shot up to #90 or something crazy like that. I thought, "Huh, something must've happened." And I went online and googled the book and found nothing unusual, or new. But then I noticed on twitter somebody thanking Hoda Kotb of the Today Show for her recommending This Burns my Heart. This light bulb went off on my head that said, "Oh wow, maybe she mentioned it on the show."

By then, I had already missed that morning's show, but fortunately, they put up clips of it right away on the Today show website. So lo and behold, I saw the clip from the show, and I found out that Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford have a segment called "Favorite Things." The book was Hoda's "Favorite Thing" for that week. And she gave it an amazing review, which I'm so thankful for. The book's sales really shot up--apparently it had gone up to #2 on Amazon that day. People tend to associate Oprah with endorsing books, but I think Hoda has an incredible fan base and an amazing ability to be a tastemaker.

Wow. I can't even imagine how amazing that must have been!

And you know, I wish I were cool enough to say "Oh, yeah, I totally expected all those best of 2011 picks!" But the truth is that I was totally surprised. That's kind of my personality: every time something good happens, it takes me completely by surprise and I'm totally grateful for. I didn't think I was going to get any of those shout-outs at the end of the year. I mean, this is the year so many incredible people had books out: Eugenides, Oondatje, Murakami, Tea Obreht, Geraldine Brooks, etc. So no, I wasn't expecting any of it--but once I did, I loved it!

I’ve heard rumors that you’re working on a novel based on mother-daughter relationships. What stage are you at with that? Do you feel like you’ll have as much time to develop it as you did with TBMH or are you feeling pressure to get it finished and turned in to your editor?

I'm going to plead the fifth on that one, before I get into trouble! I'm very superstitious about discussing books in progress. Actually, there's a really fascinating story about how this new book is coming together, but I'm going to wait to tell that story when the actual book eventually comes out. I have a tendency to spill the beans, and I need to hold myself back!

But to answer your question, I think everyone wants to know that you have something in the pipeline, but they'd rather you take longer and produce something great, than rush with a not-so-great book.

Okay, I'll accept that. For now :P

Anyway, thanks so much for having me on your blog! It's been a pleasure!

Thank YOU, Sam! And let me know when you're ready to talk about that new novel. I'm eager to see what you come up with next!

You can read more about Sam and This Burns my Heart by visiting his blog and website:
 http://samuelpark.com

Watch his book trailer on YouTube.

If you'd like to win a copy of This Burns my Heart, let me know in the comments. This contest is only open to U.S. residents. Leave your comment before 9pm Pacific time on Tuesday, March 27. I'll announce the winner on Wednesday, March 28.

The Inspiring Katie Anderson

I can’t even begin to tell you how happy it made me to read this yesterday in Publisher’s Weekly.

Because I remember back in 2009, when Katie was depressed after the SCBWI conference. She thought she had finished writing a fabulous book, but editors and agents didn’t. They liked the concept but thought it needed major reworking.

I remember reading the first five chapters after she started revising and thinking, holy crap, if this book doesn’t make it big, then something’s wrong with the world.

I remember how excited she was when she had multiple agents trying to sign her, how sad she was when her book made it to acquisitions, only to be turned down. I can hear her voice in my head right now, encouraging me as we both went through Submissionitis.

Katie worked for YEARS revising and submitting and revising some more. She thought this book was dead. She even wrote a post, almost exactly one year ago, called "The Death of a Book." To have it come back to life, and in such a big way, it’s karma people. Good things have come to the woman who wrote and revised. And waited.

I am so proud of you Katie, so thrilled that the world is going to get to read your book, see your movie and wear your lip gloss! YES! It couldn’t have happened to a nicer person.

Read the Publisher's Weekly story then go congratulate her @katiedanderson

CONGRATULATIONS, KATIE!!!

What I Want to Become

A very wise author gave me some advice last year.

"Surround yourself by what you want to become," she told me.

I wasn't really sure how I was supposed to do that. Stalk other children's writers? Randomly call them up and introduce myself?

She recommended that I join SCBWI, so I did. I also started to blog and took a writing class. I finished editing my novel, started querying and found an editor in New York who requested the full manuscript. I attended critiquenics and writer's day events. I entered a contest and won third place.

And now I realize that I've done it. I've surrounded myself by an amazing group of people I didn't know a year ago. I've met some wonderful authors, both in person and through the internet. And I've pushed myself closer to my goal, so close that I can smell the ink on the presses!

I may not have a published book yet, but I honestly believe it's only a matter of time.

Thank you, Mary. I'll keep you posted :^)