amaliehoward.com

I haven’t really written much in weeks, probably a couple thousand words at the most for a new story that hasn’t really gone anywhere other than a few intro pages. It’s not that I don’t have inspiration, I do. I have a ton of cool story ideas from post-apocalyptic to magical fantasy to horror. The problem is that I find myself in a strange place after having written my last book, which was based on a completely different and unique idea. Now I am worrying whether it was too different.

Too different from what, you ask? Well, the market, or what agents and editors say is hot in the market (especially for debut authors). So here is the dilemma – agents and editors claim to want fresh but it’s fresh with a caveat. They want fresh but not so fresh that it’s not completely identical to everything else selling in the market. Does that sound like a contradiction of terms to you? That’s because it is. How do you find an idea that’s like everything else but still fresh?

I am starting to think that this doesn’t really exist unless I copy what one other young adult author revealed was her secret strategy – to take any (non-original) story and switch up the gender of the characters, giving publishers what they want but being “different” enough. But that doesn’t make it fresh to me, underneath it’s just the same old thing. Wouldn’t readers see right through that? Interestingly, it has worked for her – she’s a best selling author of two young adult books. So is that what agents and editors want, a mash-up of already done, already “proven” ideas? Sounds like it but I don’t think that that’s what readers want, at least I’d like to hope so. I’m a voracious reader myself and when I come upon a new book with an interesting unique different idea, I’m intrigued. Simply put, the world is a diverse place, we need diverse material. Pick any book from the Hugo Awards list and you’ll see some of the diversity I’m talking about.

Anyway, that’s only a snippet of my creative dilemma as I’m sure there are other implications tied in to this like the economic climate (editors not willing to risk their jobs for unknown authors or publishers looking for tried and true), the changing landscape of the publishing industry and the digital ebook revolution, or simple economics of the cost to produce versus sales return. More than likely it’s going to be the Indies (Independent Publishers) that are going to be the ones to find the new stuff or take a chance on niche markets/ideas, but still, that’s but a sliver of the whole. It’s an undeniably daunting prospect for any unconnected unknown writer. The odds are simply not in their favor.

That said, I’m debating whether to do a test project and write the book that fits the mold. Is that selling out? Not entirely sure…but if it means selling something, I don’t have anything to lose. What’s the alternative? To do it yourself and own the onus? That’s certainly an option but that’s a very complicated discussion meant for another time.

Just a quick post to say that the queries are out. Typically, every agency has rules but you know what, I’m a sales person at heart and I want to sell my product. So I’m out there trying to sell it, hard core. If this isn’t viewed as a business, then that agent is never going to be successful selling your book. They have to passionate about your work, as much as you are, and they have to have sales savvy. Plus of course have lots of contacts, and not the eye kind.

So you probably know by now from my extensive posts on querying agents (shame if you don’t), my query process basically means that I have a researched list of anyone looking for new clients in my category/genre, and then it’s “Hi yo, Silver, away!” That’s the Lone Ranger for you young’uns. Why the list, you ask? Well it’s such a subjective process. So go for anyone who would be a good fit for you and your book.  Seriously, what if you get someone on a bad day, and then you’re screwed from the whole agency? Come on. At the end of the day, they’re human  too, so make sure you cover your bases.

Repeat slowly – it is a business, and again. It. Is. A. Business. A business to make money.

Everyone in the entire publishing industry views it that way, so why shouldn’t you? I’m not saying don’t respect the rules, but bend them if you have to. I mean this is your dream, is it not? As my Aussie friends say, harden up. Push the limits. And remember, it’s the law of numbers – a rule I learned in Sales 101. The more you send out, the more responses you’ll get, and the greater chance for an offer, or maybe fifteen. I got 8 offers the last time so there’s something to be said for that law. And of course having stellar writing which comes in a close second. Or first. Seriously, that’s first.

Response has been fantastic so far. Lots of interest, so fingers crossed that it will just be about me connecting with the person who’s going to take me to the next level. My Mr. or Ms. Right-Agent. I can’t wait. Wow, this could be like an episode of the Literary Bachelorette or something. *Caution – too much query excitement can cause random delirium and some serious verbal vomit. Thank goodness it’s here and not in el query or el novel.

Stay tuned for more…

No kidding. It feels like everything is coming to boiling point. Writing a new book, a literary one mind you…no urban fantasy here, just evil masquerading as nice, normal individuals. Seriously, you don’t need to be a vampire or a werewolf to be inhuman. Strip away those top layers and sometimes you will be disgusted to see what you find in the very people around you. That’s not to say you don’t find good things too, but more often than not, there’s darkness lurking. It’s the human condition.

But I digress.

So between writing my third book, publishing the first one (hoping fervently that it will take off like a rocket), and getting a new literary agent for the second book (new series), it feels like my world is entering hyper-drive! But I’m not complaining! Don’t get me wrong…it’s just overwhelming. But oh so good!

If you’re interested on learning how to query an agent, check back to my links on that subject. I’ll keep you posted on progress of all three. Query-city next week!!

So on this past weekend’s trip to the romantic oasis of Lugano nestled in the south of Switzerland in the Swiss Alps, I got hit with a hot bolt of inspiration – I am going to write Lena’s story.

Lena is one of the supporting characters from my novel Bloodspell, and she is an intriguing bit of work, especially since she was my main male character’s first love back in the eighteenth century. In Bloodspell, Lena is standoffish and powerful, but she came from somewhere…she was a vulnerable girl once. I want to write about that. At the very least, I’ll jot down some notes, but I’m definitely feeling it.

Although it is now known as the Monte Carlo of Switzerland because of its range of jet-set visitors, Lugano (resting on the shores of the magnificent Lake Lugano) has been populated since the Stone Age, and has been claimed by the Italians, the Swiss, and the French all at some point during its long history, making it great food for thought…and writing this story!

Had a drink at one of the most legendary cafés in Zurich. Circa 1911, the Odeon has been patronized by such figures as Einstein, Lenin, Mata Hari, Mussolini, Puccini, and James Joyce, along with countless other famous artists, poets, musicians, and writers. A Bohemian landmark, the Café Odeon is located on the open Limmatquai plaza in Old Town, and is one of the most centrally-located spots in the city.

I’m hoping that a little bit of creative genius dusted off on me as I stepped through the doorway of this historic café.

So I am flying to Switzerland and open up the Delta Sky magazine, and what do I see? You got it (or at least you should have from the title of this post). Yes, yet another article on the unstoppable James Patterson. I wrote a post about him a while back after I read MAX – A Maximum Ride Novel (his Young Adult bird-themed novel), and following the article in the NY Times Magazine.

James Patterson is the largest selling author in the world, having sold 170 million copies of 65 books. The article aptly said that the “record-breaking statistics have piled up faster than the dead bodies in his tautly written crime thrillers.” He has had 54 New York Times bestsellers, more than any other writer, and 37 of them were number 1 on the list. Sales of his books have reportedly generated over $500 million for his publisher, Little, Brown & Co.

What more can I say? The man is a machine. I suspect that part of his secret is that he treats writing like a business – from engineering the product (in some cases taking on co-authors for his projects) to marketing and selling it. The NY Times Magazine article estimates that James Patterson sells one out of every seventeen books sold in the United States. Now there’s a staggering number, 1 out of every 17!

Would that we were all so lucky (or savvy).

swiss cheese, swiss chocolates, swatches, swiss knives and of course Roger Federer…so if I slack off a couple days, be patient with me.

A European trip of any kind requires meticulous planning, not to mention complete pre-immersion in said trip. Luckily, I speak French so I won’t be completely lost in the land with four official languages (German, French, Italian, and Rumantsch). English is the unofficial fifth language.

Looking for some inspiration for a new story! Woo-hoo!!

Someone once told me if you want something, you have to go after it hard. You have to give it everything inside of you, otherwise, it’s not something you really want. Ok, I just made the last part up. But the first part’s true. The problem is that it’s no cake-walk.

I ask myself, why isn’t it happening like those stories you read about? Instant success! 7-figure advance! 3-book deal! Well, after a lot of research and internal soul-searching, I have come up with a few answers, some lame and some that actually make sense. The most logical (and written-about) one is that the publishing industry is still recovering from the economic fallout and publishers just aren’t signing like they used to. They just can’t afford to take the risk so they go with tried and true, and books/authors that will sell. And well, 7-figure advances only come if you’re famous. Um…skydiving off the Empire State Building anyone? That would be 5 minutes of fame that may get me in the door. Kidding (but not really)! Another answer is that everyone and their mother (and father’s sister’s uncle’s cousin) is writing about the genre I am in – urban fantasy/paranormal. Including traditionally adult authors who want to cash in on the hot YA industry – the only area still growing like wildfire, which makes it incredibly competitive. The other (lame) answer is that maybe my books just aren’t good enough – but of course, that’s crap. If you ever get to read my books, you’ll know they are the farthest thing from crap. *dusts shoulder off*

It’s funny because I actually had one editor come back to me and use specific language that I have used in this blog to review one of the books she published. Sadly, it was not a great review, and yes, I paid the price when I saw her lovely rejection letter. I really didn’t like that book though, and still stand by what I wrote. There’s going to be a publisher out there who loves what I have done as much as I do.

So what’s the point of this blog post, you ask? I guess maybe it’s a bit of a self-pep talk, a pull-yourself-together talk. Despite all of the adversity, I have to pull some gumption from somewhere, and keep persevering. Most writers know that Stephen King was supposedly rejected tons of times before he sold his first novel. But did you know Gone With The Wind was rejected by 38 publishers before it was printed? Or Dune by Frank Herbert was rejected by 23 publishers? John Grisham was rejected by 16 publishers for A Time To Kill. There’s a great blog post from blogger Rachel Zurakowski from Books & Such, Why Are Great Projects Rejected? Interesting read.

Check out this great link for some more inspiration, 50 Iconic Writers Who Were Repeatedly Rejected.

You are not alone, and it will happen for you. All you need is one person to believe in you, as much as you do. So go after it hard. You can falter, that’s human…but as the singer Aaliyah said, dust yourself off and try again. Don’t give up. And remember, you can’t wait for opportunity to come to you, you have to chase it, put your back into it. Make it a life goal, and make the changes necessary to commit to your dream. It’s your dream.

It’s my dream.

I am guilty of not writing. I blog, I read, I’m even reading the Book Review in the New York Times. But I so have not been writing, and I really need to get back in the saddle. I think it’s because the new novel I am writing is more in the literary vein than it is fantasy so 1) it’s harder, 2) it’s not as exciting as urban fantasy is, and 3) I’m probably just lazy. I do know that I need to push through it because it’s an interesting story (or will be). I’m about 13,000 words in so it’s something and it’s really starting to take shape. I do need to get my arms around what I want to accomplish with it in terms of overall theme/message, and for the first time, I think I am going to need an outline. Stay tuned, I’ll keep you posted on progress.

On my two completed novels, we are still out to submission with Bloodspell, and I’ve sent a 3 page synopsis of the latest novel (a new series!) to my agent, Marly Rusoff. I am hanging in there! But writing is the best cure for waiting, so giddy-up!

The new novel went out to its first test reader after weeks of self-editing. As most of you would-be writers already know, this is very arduous task that can go against every emotional bone in your body because you are, after all, editing yourself. It’s as if you were a plastic surgeon staring at yourself in a mirror and making black markings all over your body for “trimming.” Terrifying image? You bet. Well, it’s just about the same. And you have to be as meticulous as you are merciless. If it doesn’t contribute in some way – plot development, scene description, character back-story, iambic pentameter (kidding!) – then it has to go. Brutal. My favorite book to assist in this process is Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King. It is a key tool in getting rid of some of your most adored (and more-likely crippling) writing habits. You’ll cringe to hit the delete button, but your work will be better for it.

That said and done, I am now awaiting the initial test-reader feedback with bated breath, and of course a “tiny” bit of anxiety.

Next step – jacket-flap/query outline for my agent. Here’s a teaser – it’s all about hell.

Spent most of the weekend editing the new novel, doing some fat -trimming, some word-thinning, and some plot-tightening. Fun. I’m planning to get it out to the first group of test readers in the next week or so. This is my fourth editing iteration so I’m hoping that it’s starting to look a little more sleek. As my agent says, think shark through water. So that’s what I’m going for. Tiger shark – hoorah!

Stay tuned for feedback.

Hooray! New novel finished! At this point as per my last post, it’s still in Anne Lamott‘s words a “shitty first draft” but at least it is done. Now for the hard part…as in editing the “crap” out. At 107,000 words, it’s pretty lean as far as YA novels go these days, but that means I can tweak without worrying about having way too many words.

Rule of thumb for YA novels is about 100,000 words for you would-be YA writers, or so I’ve been told by a slew of agents my first go-around.

So what’s this novel about? Yeah…I think it’s time for a hint. It’s about the apocalypse. Not 2012 style, more Lord-of-the-Rings-in-hell style. Pretty cool stuff – I’m excited!!

Angels are back. Ok, well maybe they never left but they are certainly becoming more popular these days. In fact, people are going as far as to say that angels are the new vampires. Metaphorically speaking, of course. The last two books I reviewed were about angels or fallen angels to be precise, Hush Hush and Fallen.

In the Sunday New York Times this week, there’s a book review of Danielle Trussoni’s Angelology. She writes about fallen angels, called the Nephilim – children of fallen angels who took mortal wives. This idea is not by any means new. It appears in the bible – Genesis 6 says “The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.” This single line is the source of many books – for authors searching for that next tragically damned hero. (Yes, I am totally one of them.) The idea is to take something old or known and develop a fresh slant on it – making it unique and fresh. The hero searching for redemption who ‘changes his stars’ will always be appealing, only now, darker is better.

According to the article, Trussoni’s version of the Nephilim or “Famous Ones” are “nasty, selfish creatures who live in opulent apartments. Gorgeous, sensuous and wealthy, they are jealous of humans and vindictive toward God, cold to one an­other and rude to their servants, who belong to lesser angelic orders.” Very intriguing concept. In Fallen, the war is between ‘good’ fallen angels and ‘bad’ fallen angels. In Hush Hush, the fallen are doomed to walk the earth in bodies that can’t feel except for two weeks out of every year.

No doubt there’s going to be a slew of books on the market of this ilk. It’s a paranormal tsunami. Still, I don’t see anyone complaining about the deluge – bring it on. People just seem to want more.

According to Publisher’s Weekly, Angelology is the first of a series.

Although NaNoWriMo finished last November when my cumulative word total  was a mere 36,880, I wanted to post an update. Just because NaNoWriMo finished in 30 days didn’t mean that I stopped writing (nor should you if you did try the 30 day challenge). Plus writing something else definitely helps with the waiting (see my previous post on that subject).

At a current tally of 76,230 words, the new manuscript is shaping up to be something pretty cool, but then again I am biased. It’s still just a “shitty first draft” in Anne Lamott‘s eloquent words in Bird by Bird. That’s not to say that I’m not self-editing as I go. I find that writing this novel given what I’ve learned from the whole process of the first novel (still ongoing) is a lot different.

One, I am more aware of my target readership – have to keep in mind they’re young adults, and in my opinion, sophisticated young adults. As Krista Marino, Senior Editor of Knopf Doubleday Dell, says in an SCBWI article – Secrets of Voice and Plot: A Panel on YA Novels with Editors Krista Marino and Lexa Hillyer, “teens are not simple, and authors shouldn’t make teen characters simple.”

Two, I am more rigid with managing the number of points of view (learned that most publishers for young adult only like one or two).

Three, I am more aware of making sure my “world” has structure and believability which is critical for any reader, regardless of age.

Four, I am careful to build the action smartly and more aware of pacing.

So what’s this novel about? Well if I told you, I’d have to kill you. But when I get a little more confident, I’ll post a tidbit or two about it. Right now, it’s pretty much word vomit, although not the smelly kind which is a good thing.

I find the most stressful part of writing, although some may argue that sometimes it’s the writing itself, is the waiting. Waiting to hear back from an agent, waiting to hear back from an editor, waiting to hear back from a publisher…it’s excruciating. And then of course, probably even worse after all that waiting, is the dreaded no…the ugly kiss of rejection. Ok, so it’s more like a kick than a kiss, but that’s just semantics.

In my “day” job, I once had a boss who said – it’s a numbers game. The more cold calls you make, the greater your chance of getting an appointment, and ultimately getting a sale. Let’s apply: if you make 10 phone calls, you may get 2 appointments, and 1 second meeting (although 50% odds is aggressive). The chances that you will make a sale on that single second appointment is slim to none. Now, if you made say 100 calls, you may get 40 appointments, then 20 second meetings, then 5 VP level “buying” meetings, and 1 0r 2 actual, honest-to-goodness SALES.

This methodology can apply to getting an agent but it doesn’t really help in getting a publisher because you’re depending on someone else to make that sale for you, which means it’s out of your hands…hence the waiting game that you have zero control over. If you’re a control freak like me, that’s worse than torture. So you pretty much have to trust in the knowledge that the agent you selected you chose for a reason – because they are expert at what they do.

On American Idol last night, Ellen DeGeneres told one of the girls who begged to stay on after she’d been cut that “no” hurts now but it’s not the end of the world. Someday you’ll look back and say, that was just one no. She’s right. In almost any walk of life, rejection is unavoidable. But the silver lining in that is that at one point, if you don’t give up, it will just be your time.

Final round of edits completed, and we are off to the races! My agent likes the changes we have made and is happy with the final result. Now we are going to go back to publishers after months of very hard work and see if we can get this book sold! Stay tuned for more updates and keep your fingers crossed for me!

Rumors abound! Those Apple reps sure know how to keep a secret – not even a leak…for the highly anticipated mystery “product launch” of the Apple Tablet (iPad?) on January 27th, 2010. We are waiting with bated breath to see if the Apple Tablet does indeed sweep away the competition, the Kindles and the Nooks and all fifteen of the Sony Editions. Or will it fall short, being “unfashionably” late to the party as it were, and out-dressed by all its counterparts? See my last post on whether the Kindle is the new black.

All shall be revealed on Wednesday as to whether traditional white may be the new black after all. Stay tuned hopefuls.

In the NY Times today, there was another interesting article, “On Kindle’s List, the Best Sellers Don’t Necessarily Need to Sell.” This time it was about best-selling books on the Kindle, only the kicker was that these books are free. Yes, you read that right – they are free. According to the article, “more than half of the best-selling e-books for the Kindle are available at no charge.”

The thinking behind this stems from more unknown authors who want to create some buzz about their work – offer the e-book Kindle version for free a month before hard-copy release or perhaps create a fan-base for secondary title releases. The goal is to get readers to try out new authors, and get them hooked for future publications (that aren’t free).

Although the CEO of Hachette disagrees – “it is illogical to give away books for free.” Then again, his clients include James Patterson and Stephenie Meyer who only have a to sneeze into a book and people will buy it. Not so much for other less familiar writers who need to drum up some interest against such incredible competition. Trust me, I’m one of them.

Let’s be realistic though. Not every new author wants to give away free books. After all, it’s their blood, sweat and tears. But if something like this in a promotional vein means generating buzz…then it starts to develop a little bit of a silver lining. Word-of-mouth these days, especially with the internet and the flux of social media like Facebook and Twitter, has become viral. So why not leverage the visibility? I would.

On the personal front, one of the literary agents I had the pleasure of meeting was Richard Curtis, founder of E-Reads. Well-known and highly respected in the fields of literary agenting and publishing, Mr. Curtis had it down pat. The world of books is evolving and he’s right there with it.

According to the NY Times article, e-books represent about 5% of the book market. And that is a growing number. Just ask Amazon who refuses to release actual sales figures for Kindle sales (theory is they’re going for market share and not for profit). Either way, it’s an upticking trend. Take a look at an article about their projected earnings from MarketWatch for the fourth quarter – not too shabby!

The trick is to stay ahead of the curve. With handheld gadgets like the iPhone or iPod Touch or the PSP becoming more popular, this is where the curve is heading. I’d predict that more and more people, myself included, will capitulate at some point and pick up a Kindle. I haven’t yet – I’ve always been a big fan of actually touching the pages of a book and reading actual print. But I’m on a PC every single day so maybe in the not-too-distant future, I’ll be a convert.

See this article in the Larchmont Loop.

Back to editing (see my last post on Slice and Dice Time). My new question is how and when do I know that enough is enough? Do I err on the side of caution or on the side of just-delete-it? I am finding myself in a curious spot, and my question is, can one actually over-edit?

Self-editing sucks because it’s like staring at yourself in the mirror and deciding which pieces of yourself to cut off or erase. So you start with the relatively painless things like a couple finger-nails, maybe an eyelash or two. But what about when you get to more major amputation? Like an ear or a knee, or even worse, an actual limb? I repeat. It sucks.

For the ‘literalists,’ my example above is an analogy. I’m not really cutting parts of myself. But that’s what editing feels like to me. Shakespeare knew what he was talking about in Hamlet, or in my case, the pain of editing versus the uncertainty of selling to a publisher. So I guess the moral of this post is, editing may be bad, but not getting published would be far worse.

That “slice and dice” title doesn’t mean me or someone else, thank goodness. But it does mean that I have finally heard back from my agent after about four weeks on the manuscript (see last post – Nonstop Manuscript Editing). So basically what we are looking at is another round of editing before we go out for final submission. My agent calls it “literary liposuction” – trimming the fat.

I must admit that editing is probably one of the hardest parts of this whole process, after writing the novel of course. I mean you’ve gotten to this point after enormous amounts of self-editing and professional editing and all-other-kinds of editing, and guess what, it still doesn’t end. I keep telling myself that it’s for the good of the book even despite the tiny little question niggling around in my head – am I selling out? If you don’t know what I mean by that, check out my post on Teen Fiction for Dummies.

A friend of mine says what I am going through is the classic Ben Affleck/Matt Damon conundrum (except with books not movies) – it’s the difference between making a movie that you want to make (the art film) and making the movie that everybody else wants you to make (the safe commercial film).

Excerpt from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back:-

Ben Affleck: You’re like a child. What’ve I been telling you? You gotta do the safe picture. Then you can do the art picture. But then sometimes you gotta do the payback picture because your friend says you owe him.
[They both take a beat and look at the camera]
Ben Affleck: And sometimes, you have to go back to the well.
Matt Damon: And sometimes, you do Reindeer Games.

So the moral of the story is if you don’t want Reindeer Games, at the end of the day especially for a first time author, you have to do the “safe” picture – which metaphorically-speaking means, “do whatever the heck they tell you.” When you’re John Grisham, you can write the alphabet for all anyone cares.

Lesson learned. I’m off to edit.