Reading, Writing, and Publishing Links: 2/13/13

Hey folks! Happy almost-Valentine's day. I have lots of links for you today--it was a good news week. (Actually, these are more than a week old, because I'm way behind on my reading. I'm trying to catch up though!

While you read, please enjoy Efterklang's "Mirador." It's beautiful, isn't it?

I love weird videos.

1. "Shocker: B&N to cut a third of stores over next decade -- WSJ." Writeup by Shara Tibken of cnet. Apparently Barnes & Noble denies it's doing anything differently at all, but in light of this article from a few weeks ago I'm not sure I believe them. I do know that my regular B&N has cut its operating hours by five a week. Something to keep track of, I guess.

2. "Self-Publishing and Traditional Publishing: Enjoy the Best of Both Worlds." Jane Friedman interviews CJ Lyons, who has some interesting things to say.

3. "Secret Ingredient for Success." Opinion piece by Camille Sweeney and Josh Gosfield, of The New York Times, on the importance of self-awareness. Not specifically written word-related, but relevant to anyone trying to make their own career.

4. "Pulp-O-Mizer: The Customizable Pulp Magazine Cover Generator" (by Thrilling Tales of the Downright Unusual." Thanks To Steve Turnbull of the Google+ Speculative Fiction Writers community for passing along this wonderful toy. Here's mine:

Why do they have ray-guns? A better question would be, WHY DIDN'T THEY BEFORE?

5. "Hell is my own book tour," by Adam Mansbach at Salon. This post basically had me at the first sentence. However, the second and third are pretty great, too:

The publishing industry stopped having new ideas out of respect for the untimely death of Ernest Hemingway in 1961, and has been doing everything the same way ever since. Usually without adjusting for inflation.

Fantastic. However, I must point out that Bonobos aren't monkeys.

6. "Buying is a hard thing for bookstores to do effectively, and that becomes an increasingly important reality for publishers." By Mike Shatzkin of The Idea Logical Company.

7. "This is a Post about Plagiarism." Sarah of Clear Eyes, Full Shelves explains why she takes a hard line.

8. Miriam Forster, author of the upcoming City of a Thousand Dolls, shows us some lovely promo swag. I hadn't thought about quote cards, but they'd be easy to do, and would work for self- or traditional publishing.

9. "Best Business Advice for Writers: January 2013." Good links from Jane Friedman.

10. Via the above: "5 Ways Authors Can Get the Most Out of Goodreads," by Brian A. Klerns of Writer's Digest. A little chirpy, but does have some good ideas. I decided after my manifesto a few weeks back that I wasn't comfortable leaving negative reviews of books by people I might encounter socially (seriously, there are a lot of authors around here). However, an "Inspirations" shelf is a great idea, and I've been meaning to set up a proper author page.

11. Also via #9: "The complete and unabridged guide to GoodReads for authors: Account set-up, customization, and widgets, lots of widgets." Guest post by John Corwin at Novel Publicity & Co. Seems to be part one of a series.

12. "A Stake Through the Heart."  Patricia Wrede on character motivation. Helped me clarify a problem I was having conceptualizing the sequel to WOODS.

13. "State of the Digital World 2013."Janet Kobobel Grant of Books & Such sums up some of the key points from this year's Digital Book World Conference.

14. "Have You Planned For Success?" Lynn Price of Behler Blog lists things authors should think about before they make it to the "publication" stage. She raises some good points, but I'm not sure an author who's only gotten one offer of publication is going to turn down that offer just because s/he's not happy with the editors or distribution at that house.

15. On Galleycat, via Cuddlebuggery: "Tor UK Now Accepts Direct Submissions from Writers." So there's that.

16. Also via Cuddlebuggery: "Tamora Pierce wince 2013 Edwards Award for Song of the Lioness series and Protector of the Small quartet." Congratulations, Ms. Pierce! The Song of the Lioness quartet was really important to me when I was in elementary and middle school. Alanna was one of the first books I picked up off the YA paperback shelf at the library when I moved to North Carolina. (Two others were The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword.)  I was nine at that point, and I think these books had a lot of influence on what heroes, and stories, I looked for after that. So thank you very much, Ms. Pierce, and please keep writing. : )

And I think that's enough for right now, don't you? Have a great day!

Reading, Writing, and Publishing Links: 2/6/13

All right, technically it's the seventh now. Sorry! Have some Queen while you read.

 Queen, "We Are The Champions"

1. "The writing career and all the moneys," or, why it's especially impressive that J.K. Rowling lives in a castle. By Mur Lafferty; via Rebekkah Niles. (I think some of these others are from her, too, but can't remember which. Sorry, Becky! -_-)

2. "The Business Rusch: Editorial Revisions." In a response to this blog post by editor Lynn Price, Kristine Kathryn Rusch is starting a new blog series on the relationship between editors and authors. Very informative.

3. "President of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management Jane Dystel: Agents Unwilling to Adapt Won't Last." Interesting interview with the agent who first represented Barack Obama, and who now represents WOOL author Hugh Howey. Via dbw.

4. "Why online book discovery is broken (and how to fix it)." By Laura Hazard Owen, via paidContent. A short but interesting read that's been going around this week.

5. And, via the above: "Liability vs. leverage: How writers lose when 'piracy' gets harder." By Cory Doctorow, via TOC. Quick, and worth reading.

6. "Are you watching the Lizzie Bennet Diaries?" Well, are you? I haven't checked them out yet, but Ana of things mean a lot seems to have excellent taste, so I  might give them a try.

7. "7 rules for writing historical fiction," by Elizabeth Crook for Writer Magazine. An old piece (2006), but good advice (though I think I agree with Fraser Sherman, who posted the link, that the first-person thing is mostly a matter of taste).

8. "David Rintoul: The Best, Yet Least-Loved, Mr. Darcy." Another for P&P fans. (I'm not an Austen fanatic, per se--I just really like that particular book.) Shari Perkins of DramaticImpulse argues that Rintoul's stiff, awkward, formal portrayal of Darcy is actually much closer to the book than any of the others--and, when you think about it, she's right. Book!Darcy can be a huge asshole. : ) I actually was not a huge fan of the 1980 BBC Pride and Prejudice when I first saw it, but I like it more every time I watch it.

Et c'est tout. How are you?

XOXO,
Kate

Illogicon 2: Day 2

Before I begin, let me say that I think I was unfair in my last post. In my Friday writeup, I suggested that the all-male panels I'd seen had been the result of some negligence on the part of the con's organizers. Yesterday, Margaret McGraw told me that the panels were actually self-selected--that the guests had chosen whatever panels sounded interesting. There was still a gender imbalance among the guests themselves, but if this is one of those cons where you have to apply to be a guest, then the organizers really can't be blamed for that. Sorry I implied it was their fault!

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Day 2
(Click here for Day 1, or here for Day 3)

Reading, Writing, and Publishing Links: 1/9/13

Here are this week's links! While you read, check out this song, which has really been in my head this week:

Flogging Molly: "Paddy's Lament"

1. "Writing Like It's 2009." Kristine Kathryn Rusch discusses how the epublishing world has changed over the last few years.

2. Via the above link: Bill Bryson is suing his former agent for "misconduct and profound neglect of his duties." You'd think, with a client as big as BB, the agent would have been a bit more scrupulous.

3. "Le Tarzan Napoleon," Part I and Part II. Not strictly a writing link, but still funny: Horror/fantasy author Lilith Saintcrow tells the story of an enterprising squirrel, a squirrelproof birdfeeder, and several baffled domestic animals.

4. "All new & revised: On wordcounts and novel length." Colleen Lindsay of The Swivet provides a very specific, and very handy guide to what length publishers are looking for in each genre. Link from KellaKnits.

5. "Smugglivus 2012: The Airing of Grievances." If you missed any of the book-and-publishing-related drama this year, The Book Smugglers have a good roundup here.

6. "Giving Mom's Book Five Stars? Amazon May Cull Your Review." By David Streitfeld at The New York Times.

7. "Show Me the Money!" Brenda Hiatt is maintaining a Glassdoor-style list of average publisher advances in the romance and YA genres. Note the enormous range! I'm really interested in data like this--does anyone have any other good links?

My own updates for this week: Five of my stories are now available as an ebook on Smashwords, titled Five Stories for the Dark Months. Also, I've made my Goodreads account public (and here's why).

And that's all, folks. Happy Wednesday!  

Year-End Book Recommendations: 2012

Happy New Year, all! I hope you had a great night last night. Here are the best books I read in 2012--in chronological order, since I couldn't begin to rank them by quality. Well, except for the last one, which was probably the best I've read in a long, long time.
 
I put off posting this list for several days, because I started reading Lindsey Barraclough's Long Lankin and suspected it might earn a place here if I finished it in time. As it turned out, I didn't even get halfway through before the end of the year, but expect to see Long Lankin on the 2013 list if it keeps going as well as it started.

Note: When I say that these were "the best books I read," I mean that they're the reading experiences I enjoyed the most. Different books on this list serve different purposes, and I try to keep that in mind when I read. That's why Suzanne Collins is next to Dostoevsky. : ) 

Drumroll, please:

Reading, Writing, and Publishing Links: 12/26/12

Since all the cool kids have been doing it, I thought I'd put together a little Wednesday links post every week. I'll keep it short, since the big news roundups tend to cover the major stuff. These are just favorite posts I've come across in my day-to-day surfing.

While you're reading, here's a song I revisited last week. Isn't it lovely?

"Soul Meets Body"--Death Cab For Cutie

1) Brilliant author/blogger Foz Meadows wrote a guest post for The Book Smugglers, which is one of my favorite book blogs.  The post is about literary bad boys, and astutely explains the difference between the "Classic Bad Boy" (the literary equivalent of Danny from Grease and Johnny from Dirty Dancing) and the more problematic kind that's become popular lately. This type--which Meadows describes as the "New Abuser"--includes specimens like Edward Cullen and his spinoff, who are bad not because they reject the status quo, but because they're actively dangerous for the (usually female) protagonist. Here's a snip:

And by abusive behaviour, I mean behavioural patterns which are listed by domestic abuse authorities as warning signs that you’re in a toxic or dangerous relationship. These are all clear indicators that something is seriously wrong, especially when they appear in confluence; and yet these are exactly the same characteristics which, time and again, I see being displayed by the male love interests in YA, PNR and urban fantasy novels, as though aggressive behaviour somehow becomes sweet and acceptable when the abuser loves their victim, or vice versa.

For those who are interested in trends and patterns in YA literature, this is definitely worth a read.

2) In a post called "Ladders," accomplished fantasy author Patricia Wrede reminds us that publication is not the end of a writer's journey.


3) In a brief post called "What's Not Working," agent and blogger Wendy Lawton considers whether several popular marketing techniques are really effective.  

4) China Miéville rants brilliantly against Belgium's reaction to the blatantly racist Tintin in the Congo. This post is from February, but still worth reading. I got it from a year-end link roundup on a great blog I recently started following, Things Mean A Lot. 

5) "Stories Are Genderless," another post by Foz Meadows, is another one from the link roundup in #4. It's from April, but an excellent read. It deals with the oft-cited conceit that boys won't or can't enjoy books by female authors. 

And that's it for right now! I had a wonderful holiday--quiet, at home, with family--and, hope you all did, too. New Year's is coming up! I have a "Favorite Books of 2012" list almost ready to post (that's read, not published, in 2012), and am working slowly on my winter story. I hope you have a safe and happy New Year!

XOXO
Kate

How Can You Tell if a Series Has Jumped the Shark?

Eyyy!

There's a certain series of books I've been reading for about six years now. They're terrific, usually-- exciting, touching, fascinating. The protagonist is smart and literate, and the fictional world gets better with every book. I usually hold this series up to friends as an example of its subgenre Really Done Right.

However, I read the latest book in this series last night, and it's... really not good.

Maybe the author's just had a rough season. It happens sometimes, and I know s/he's prolific, so maybe s/he just got really busy. The book felt underdone, as if not enough time had been applied to it: it needed to be rewritten and then spend a couple of months marinating in a drawer, in my not-so-humble opinion.

The thing is that until now, these books have been an auto-buy for me. I am by no means able to buy all the books I plan to read, but I do try to support my favorite authors with royalties when I can. Unfortunately, after the disappointment that this book was, I'm thinking of kicking the series off the auto-buy list.

That's why I'm wondering: when can you tell if a series has really jumped the shark?

RTW #119: Best Book of February

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link - or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments.

This Week's Topic:What was the best book you read in February?Road Trip Song of the Week:


I'm glad YA Highway and Suze Reese are doing these blog carnivals, since I rarely seem to post unless someone gives me a prompt to write on. This one turned out to be easy, since as it happens I finished seven books in February. Not that I read them all in the course of the month, of course: I usually have about four books going, and finish them whenever I finish them. The ones I finished this month, in chronological order, were:

1. The Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy: 2010 (ed. Rich Horton).
2. Death Comes to Pemberley, by P.D. James
3. The Stranger Beside Me, by Ann Rule
4. Sinful in Satin, by Madeline Hunter
5. Pirate King, by Laurie R. King
6. Anna Dressed in Blood, by Kendare Blake
7. The Hinge Factor, by Eric Durschmied

Most of these were really good, so the decision is a bit harder than it was last month. In the end, I'd call it a toss-up between Anna Dressed in Blood and The Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy.

RTW #116: Stolen Ideas, and Why They're Okay

This is a post for YA Highway's Road Trip Wednesday. I am posting it late because I am a lazy ass and didn't get out of bed until *mumble* o'clock this afternoon. However, there's still time: if you're interested in the topic and want to have your own say, then write your own post and post the results here.

This Week's Topic:

What SNI [shiny new idea] were you psyched to work on, but discovered it was too close to something already done?

Let me start with a story: When I was in middle school, I fell in love with Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles. If you don't know them-- and you should!-- they're a delightful quartet of YA novels set in and around the mythical Enchanted Forest. They're full of fractured fairy tales, but the characters are smart and sympathetic and have real, perilous adventures-- and, also, they teach you that you can melt a wizard in soapy water with a little bit of lemon juice.

RTW #115: Best Book of January

(Mandatory plug: Check out my new short story!)

Two posts in one day? Surely the world is turning on its head. It's Road Trip Wednesday, though, and I actually have something to say about today's prompt, which is: "What is the best book you read in January?"

There's not much of a choice: I only finished three books in January. One was a romance novel, which was okay but only just. One was Gavin de Becker's The Gift of Fear, a very informative book that I definitely recommend. The third was Robert Penn Warren's All The King's Men. Not surprisingly, the third one won hands-down.

Dangerous confidence

I went to a book signing tonight. Marissa Meyer was at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, promoting her novel Cinder.  I unfortunately missed the reading, due partly to my propensity for tardiness and partly to a wrong turn at Albuquerque, but it seemed to have been a very nice reading, and the bookstore was lovely. The author herself was sweet and charming and well-spoken, and her signature message is adorable: "May the glass slipper always fit." (The book is now on my shelf, trying to cut in front of the other books on my to-read list. I think it's about to get into a fistfight with my copy of Anna Dressed In Blood.)

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Seeing people promote their books-- hearing authors talk about their careers-- inevitably makes me desperate to be one of them. I feel like telling people, I'm like you! I'm an author, too! You can't see it, but I'm almost done, and soon my book will be published and it will be on the shelf like yours! Even though it's not finished yet. But it's almost there, and it makes me crazy with anticipation sometimes. And ambition, as well. 

The thing about writing is that until you are published-- until you have an actual, physical, beautifully-bound book with your name on the cover-- authorial ambitions are generally seen as empty daydreams. "Yes, dear, you want to write a book, just like everybody else. Maybe you'd better do something else in the meantime-- you can always write in your spare time!" 

And I want to say, No! Not me. I can do this. Other people might give up, but I'm going to make a career as a writer. Someday I'll have a whole row of books on the shelf, each more beautiful than the last, and people will see them in the bookstores and point them out to their friends. And then their friends will pick up one or two of them and take them to the register, and maybe read them and fall in love with them and point them out to their friends, later. And all the while I'll be writing more.

And on that note: