Publishing Industry and their Quirks

The weeks pass by so fast I'm left catching my breath. I've spent quite a bit of time visiting my favorite blogs this past week (when not revising my work) and got some interesting tidbits to share.

The Next Hot Thing in YA:

Since I write YA about fallen angels/nephilim, I was thrilled to read that they're hitting the shelves running (hope mine will too when it reaches an editor's desk). One reporter says that flawed angels elbowing vampires aside. Monika Bartyzel thinks they are the next supernatural romance .
We'll see.

Contraversial topics:

What do you do as an author when the cover art doesn't reflect the characters in your book? I'm not talking about hair color or size, folks. I'm talking about skin color. Do you shrug it off, ask the publisher to change it or hope that readers/bloggers will notice and cause a stink.

I stumbled on this blogger on twitter and was amazed by her entries. Why would a publishers whitewash the characters on the cover art when the character is a person of color in the description and the illustrations in the book? Is it the fear of losing mainstream/white readers? Or is true that mainstream readers shun books with people of color on the cover and publishers are just pandering to their prejudices? I don't know,. You tell me.

If you find this habit diplorable, stop by Bookshelves of Doom and read about Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey and the other books.


LIAR is another interesting book with cover contraversy. Below are the two different covers.


in the back is the cover released in Australia by Allen and Unwin.




the front old cover...released in the US by Bloomsbury.

The two new covers are the ones with large red writings, no image and the one with the brown-skin girl. Read Justine's blog, it's very interesting.

MAGIC UNDER GLASS is another book cover Bloomsbury changed after public outcry.
Hmm, food for thought, isnt it?

On a different note, checkout one of kids' fav author, Jacquiline Woodson ...my girls love Maizon's books/series).

Better go back to my writing.

Ready, Set....GO!!

Last year, I didn't keep tabs on my resolutions and ended up accomplishing, uh, 30% of my goals. This year, I promise to do things differently (or try to seeing how some, like getting a contract, depends on those-who-shall-not-be-named). Anyhew, I'll post each accomplished resolution and check them off.

Publishing News:
Digital piracy hit e-book publishers and now some are delaying releasing e-book versions of hardcover books. Guess who loses? The authors. Read more here and here.


Writing and Queries: My first resolution.....

SUBMIT my YA to editors...

It's ongoing, but that's a start.

Now the waiting begins. In this business, you must be patient and develop a thick skin. The waiting can suck all your creative juices and rejections hurt worse than chocolate withdrawal (cold turkey), but you don't let them break you. Some will reject your work without reading it because they've already acquired similar books or the book is not original enough for them. All based on the query...eyeroll.

Some will read it and not like your style, think your writing is not compelling enough, or they don't care about your characters...you nursed those babies from infancy, darn it.

Like I said, the waiting begins. Promise to keep you posted because we've been chasing this elusive dream together for so long.

On a diff note, I'm actually plotting. Yes, moi. Really. I'm not kidding. It's unbelievable. A breakthrough in my chaotic life. So far, I'm liking it. I hope when I start writing, I'll hit the ground running.


Entertainment: Haven't gone to watch a movie lately. My two teenager wants to see The Lovely Bones. I'll probably take them next weekend.





Books:

A friend of mine just released a book-Storms in a Shotglass by Nolwynn Ardennes. The reviews are pouring in, so don't feel guilty if you decide to run to the nearest store and order it. Here's the cover. Congrats, Z.

Happy New Year

Another decade come and gone and I'm still here. Happy New Year to all. My New Year resolutions are going to be very simple and do-able (I hope).

#1. Submit my YA story (The Awakening) to editors and see whether that genre is a fit for me.


#2. Write the fourth installment in the Satchel family line of stories by writing 1000 words a day (4 pages) five days a week. Finish book two in my YA series and continue to add to my Kenyan WIP.


#3. Submit Slow Burn, my first Satchel story, to editors

#4. Limit my time on Facebook unless I absolutely must be there.


#5. Take an online class to improve my craft.


#6. Try and connect with local writers (or writer), again.


Closer to home goals:


#7. Do 500 crunches a day to firm my tummy.


#8. Continue to hit the gym 3 days a week.


#9. Make another family quilt, but with pictures of my entire family. The last one I did was for last millenium to usher in 21st century. Some of my babies weren't born yet.

#10. Move all family video recordings from those pesky disks to DVD and make five copies for each of my munchkins (I dread this the most, but it must be done).

So there it is peeps, my ten goals. What do you think?

Wonderful News!!!

Ladies, I have fabulous news to share and can't wait until I get to queries and writing section of my blog. I just signed with my dream agent...there, I said it. All the t(s) crossed and i(s) dotted and my sloppy John Hancock scribbled where it belongs. Now I've my fingers crossed and hope sharing this news won't jinx me. There's more below.

In the News:

If you don't have a fan page on FB, get one. From there, you can target readers of your genre within the 300 million FB-community by pay per click (PPC) campaign ads. Don't know how much it costs, but it sounds cool. Read more at Publishing Trends.

Writing and Queries:

So I was busy wrapping up Slow Burn when I got an e-mail from the agent that we need to set up an interview. I blew an interview four years ago with one of those top agents whose name is prominent in this business and I never forgot. I was so afraid I'd do it again. It took her three days to read my manuscript...three painful, stressful days when I snapped at my poor DH and hapless children (someday I'll make them worth their while).

So I set the time, but forgot she was an hour ahead. My baby picked up the phone as I hurried out the door to start the car to drive them to school. The time I needed to drop my babies off and get back to my place was the slowest fifteen minutes of my life, but talking to her eased my worries some. She was so approachable and enthusiastic about my work I was sure I was in la-la land. For 45 minutes we talked shop, covered everything from what I expect from her and what she expects from me, market trends, other projects....

It took me a day to go through the contract with a fine-tooth comb, talked to DH about it, signed and faxed it back to her. I now have I have a copy sitting at the bottom of a locked drawer where my innately curious munchkins will never doodle on it, lol. So that's my news.

Entertainment:

I celebrated with my best friend, went to a local pizzeria for oven-roasted pasta and caught the movie Invictus. "...I'm the master of my fate. I'm the captain of my soul..." Powerful words we should al live by. I want to know who wrote that poem.






The movie was great. Morgan Freeman and Clint Eastwood tend to create great movies, but throw in my favorite spy Jason Bourne, uh, I mean Matt Damon, and it's a slam dunk. He totally buffed up for the movie and did a bang up job. I grew up watching rugby so watching the game was a rare treat.


I read about online rumors of Freeman messing around with his step granddaughter (eew), but I ignored it in order to enjoy this gem of a movie. He's an exceptional actor and was incredible as Nelson Mandela.

Few more days to Christmas. Are you guys ready?

Princesses and Vampires

One more week of school, then the holidays...yahoo. I can't wait.

In the News:

Have you ladies heard about a website for Twilight fans called MLIT...My Life is Twilight (LOL, catchy title, isn't it), where fans of the series post their Twilight-like encounters. Obsessed much? I keep asking. As I read about it, I kept thinking, will they outgrow this? Is the series giving them unrealistic view of men and relationships? Will they learn to seperate fantasy from reality? Oh, and what do their parents think? Then I recalled reading about a mother who asked Taylor Lautner, the kid who played Jacob, if she could remove her panties and have him sign them. Her panties? Eew! Double eew.

Anyhew, these kids want their own Edward or Jacob, and imagine seeing them wherever they go. Some even make their boyfriends put ice on their lips before kissing them so they can imagine they're kissing Edward. Was there a craze like this when we were growing up? Or should we be happy because the series is creating another generation of romance readers, you know, those categories with millionaire heroes...you know the ones I'm talking about.

Writing and Queries:

Wrapping up Slow Burn. I have a chapter to go...score!!
The agent I'm dying to work with e-mailed me to keep me updated. A first from my experience with agents. She started reading my YA, she said. I hope she likes it.


Entertainment:
Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog.



I took my five munchkins to watch The Princess and the Frog. They had seen the trailers on Youtube and loved the songs and the storyline. DH wanted us to go today, on Saturday. The kids wouldn't have it, so we went to the 7:00 o'clock show last night. The weather was crappy (sub-zero temperatures), but the theater was packed with parents and their little princes and princesses. Some even wore tiaras. When the show ended, the theater broke into applause. No spoliers, but I have to say that Disney outdid itself. Here's the trailer.





Family:

The kiddos had piano recital on Monday, my baby's first one and she aced it. All she asked me to do was show her the G-key for her left hand. The recital hall uses baby grands, which are different from what we own. I'll see if I can post her performance next time. Anyhew, looking forward to the holidays this season. Don't know why, just am.

December News

Wow, November flew by and yikes, I just realized I didn't post much. I swear, my kids, book reports, projects, and piano recitals are back-to-back this time of the year and priorities change for little old me...sigh. Anyhew, I'll try to be on top of things from now on.

Writing-Queries and Marketing:

I put my women fiction WIP on hold while I polish Light His Fire, which I think I will give a new title (Slow Burn). I'll start querying agents in a week or so. It's funny how different a story reads after you've shelved a it for a while. LHF has been taking up space in my RAM for two years, give or take a few months, and I cringe when I read some of the things I wrote. Am I doing some major revisions now? You betcha.

For my YA fantasy, I got a request for a full by an agent I'd die to work with. She's the kind that actually e-mails you when she receives what you sent and tells you when to expect to hear from her. Heck, she even keeps you updated on the trend in your genre, so you know what's hot and what's not and how she feels your story would fit in). A writer I know, whom she represents, gets updates from her once or twice a month with copies of letters from the editors she already subbed to . I want to work with her so much I can taste it. Here's hoping.

A friend convinced me to post my YA at http://textnovel.com/ to generate a buzz. Part of the deal is people stop by, read your story and leave comments, so if you have time to kill, ladies, stop by and sign in and leave me a comment. The book is The Nephilim: The Awakening.

Entertainment:


DH and I had a date night and watched The Blindside. Ever since The Net, I watch anything with Sandra Bullock in it. Spoiler Alert below!!!!



At first I was wary of watching this movie because I thought it was formulaic-wealthy white family save a poor black child from a life of despair-and it was...LOL, but it turned out to be deeper than that. The young man was smart, had integrity and pride. I liked that the first family that took him in (a black family) convinced the coach to give him a chance, the second family weren't judgmental and treated him with respect (the red-head who acted as his little brother was a hoot-the imp stole the show), liked that he learned something from his birth mother (protective instinct that made him become such a wonderful person and athlete). Life is too short and we must give kudos to people who open their hearts to children who need love.

Family:

We're getting ready for the holidays, keeping busy and staying healthy. It started snowing heavily, which means driving in the snow...I hate it, hate it, hate it.
Off to bed.

Book Trailer 1

So I finally got my book trailer right when GP said they'd re-release my book, One Day at a Time (November 2009) with a new cover. Now they say they're not re-releasing it few more months, possibly because they're still selling the first edition with the old cover, which a few people recently purchased and were kind enough to let me know.

S...i...g...h.

Since I had already paid for this baby, I might as well put it out here and enjoy it.