Last week on Twitter, Bonnie Adamson decided to recommend writers and illustrators from North and South Carolina as people to follow. Some of us were having a tough time keeping up, so she graciously shared her list. I've added to it, and it's a whopper. There are kidlit writers, freelancers, romance tweeps, science fiction creators, bloggers, etc. If you know of any other North or South Carolina writers that would like to be added, please leave their Twitter name and actual name in the comment section.
@Koppelmom (Donna Koppelman)
@johnclaudebemis (John Claude Bemis)
@GrannyGretchen (Gretchen Griffith)
@nikiofware (Niki Schoenfeldt)
@mdiffee (Marie Wright)
@quirkywriter (Laura Renegar)
@stephenmesser (Stephen Messer)
@bethrevis (Beth Revis)
@katiehines (Katie Hines)
@moyergirl (Joyce Hostetter)
@carrieryan (Carrie Ryan)
@Constaur (Constance Lombardo)
@NCWriterMom (Maggie Moe)
@catesfolly (Florence Gardner)
@Alan_Gratz (Alan Gratz)
@claycarmichael (Clay Carmichael)
@Georgia_McBride (Georgia McBride)
@CREvers (Christy Evers)
@marybrebner (Mary Brebner)
@kate_reilly (Kate Reilly)
@ncwriterchick (Bernie Hearne)--protects her tweets
@LaurieJEdwards (Laurie Edwards)
@bonniedoerr (Bonnie Doerr)
@ashleymc1477 (Ashley McCollum)
@BonnieAdamson (Bonnie Adamson)
@alijwalker (Alicia Walker)
@katmagendie (Kathryn Magendie)
@AmyClipston (Amy Clipston)
@MollyFyde (Hugh Howey)
@joliehale (Jolie Hale)
@annieteich (Annie Teich)
@shellyyarbrough (Shelly Yarbrough)--protects her tweets
@ElizabethSCraig (Elizabeth S. Craig)
@BergersBookRev (Alice Berger)
@LydiaBreakfast (Lydia Dishman)
@ncyankee719 (Robin Constantine)
@louisehawes (Louise Hawes)
@thunderchikin (David Macinnis Gill)
@ItsDorothy (Dorothy Ray)
@LadyLoriSC (Lori Norman)
@authorann (Ann Eisenstein)
@acfeagan (Alice Feagan)--raised & educated in NC, though currently elsewhere
@authorswrite (Robyn Campbell)
@tadhgceitinn (Tim Keeton)
@chewchewpoopee (Susan LaBarre)
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
And the winner is...
Janet was picked from the hat and is the winner of the Sweet Repeats Contest. Congratulations!
A big thanks goes out to everyone who participated. I was blown away by the awesome response. Some fabulous books were mentioned. Happy reading!
A big thanks goes out to everyone who participated. I was blown away by the awesome response. Some fabulous books were mentioned. Happy reading!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sweet Repeats Contest
A good book is a good book, no matter how many times you read it. It isn’t just words. It’s an experience. During my teaching years, ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHIN always brought me to tears. SPOILER ALERT (If you haven’t read the book, skip to the next paragraph). Scott O’Dell’s story made me feel like I was the girl left on the island. When I read “oh Rontu!” after feeling the last heartbeats of my dog, my heart broke too.
So here’s where this post takes a turn for the happy. I want to know one kids' book you love and have read many times. Tell about it in the comment section. On Friday, September 4, we will put the names in the hat and pick one winner. The winner will receive a $5 gift card to Barnes & Noble to help purchase another book to be read and reread.
Please make sure I have a way to contact you (email address, twitter name, Bat Signal). If I can’t get up with you, I’ll have to pick another winner. Good luck and thanks for sharing.
So here’s where this post takes a turn for the happy. I want to know one kids' book you love and have read many times. Tell about it in the comment section. On Friday, September 4, we will put the names in the hat and pick one winner. The winner will receive a $5 gift card to Barnes & Noble to help purchase another book to be read and reread.
Please make sure I have a way to contact you (email address, twitter name, Bat Signal). If I can’t get up with you, I’ll have to pick another winner. Good luck and thanks for sharing.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Responding to Rejections
The other day, a friend of a friend tweeted in response to receiving a submission rejection letter. A few of his followers copied his message, added encouraging words, and sent it back into the twitter universe. Now people who have never met this writer know two things about him.
1. Somebody just rejected his writing.
2. He is sulking about it.
Neither of these occurrences is uncommon for writers. Almost everyone actively pursuing publication collects form rejections. And they sting. You send your “babies” out with high hopes and big dreams. Let yourself mourn, for a minute or two, and then get back to work. But be careful who you invite to your pity party. Do you really want an agent or editor who might be checking out your work with hesitation to see your announcement that others are quickly dismissing it? You can whine, but do it offline and to someone who loves you more than your virtual friends.
Posting your writer rejections on the internet is like drunk dialing after a breakup. It might seem harmless at the time, but when you look at the after effects, it ain’t pretty.
And followers: send your kind thoughts, but don’t spread the word about someone else’s rejection. Respond without repeating it. Otherwise, you are the buddy who watches your friend in his moment of weakness and takes his picture.
1. Somebody just rejected his writing.
2. He is sulking about it.
Neither of these occurrences is uncommon for writers. Almost everyone actively pursuing publication collects form rejections. And they sting. You send your “babies” out with high hopes and big dreams. Let yourself mourn, for a minute or two, and then get back to work. But be careful who you invite to your pity party. Do you really want an agent or editor who might be checking out your work with hesitation to see your announcement that others are quickly dismissing it? You can whine, but do it offline and to someone who loves you more than your virtual friends.
Posting your writer rejections on the internet is like drunk dialing after a breakup. It might seem harmless at the time, but when you look at the after effects, it ain’t pretty.
And followers: send your kind thoughts, but don’t spread the word about someone else’s rejection. Respond without repeating it. Otherwise, you are the buddy who watches your friend in his moment of weakness and takes his picture.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Back to School and Submission Stress
It’s that time again. Before August even arrives, back to school ads fill the newspapers. We wonder why we haven’t received a supply list from our kids’ new teachers (who probably haven’t even received their rosters). Unable to risk missing out on six glue sticks for a dollar, we go to the school website and print off the generic grade level list. The one that says you need a 64 pack of Crayolas with a sharpener, when the real teacher will insist on 16 Twistables. The list frenzy walks hand in hand with the jitters. The same sort of jitters I get when submitting a manuscript to an agent or publisher.
The more I think about it, the more I realize the two have a lot in common. So here they are (in no particular order): The parallel stressful questions we face when sending a kid or submission out into the unknown.
1. What if she’s not ready?
What if it needs more revisions, but I blow my one chance by sending it now?
2. What if she doesn’t have the right materials?
What if I leave out some detail of the guidelines inspiring an evil “Bwa
Ha Ha!” followed by a quick delete from the agent or editor?
3. What if she doesn’t make friends?
What if the agent or editor I love doesn’t love my writing?
4. What if people pick on her?
What if hints of my submission show up on twitter’s #queryfail,slush
realizations or as a #pubtip turn-off?
5. What if she gets a mean teacher?
What if I end up signing a contract to work with someone and we don’t get along?
6. What if she buddies up with a trouble maker?
What if I end up signing with someone who isn’t legit or respected?
7. What if she comes home and decides she never wants to go back?
What if a form rejection snuffs out my dream, and I never get up the nerve to
send out another submission?
The questions swirl through our minds as we pack backpacks and SASEs. Still, we let go. We must, because we’ve done our best, and it’s time. Good luck everybody. Here’s to taking chances. Who wants to go first?
Monday, July 20, 2009
How to Interact with Agents at Conferences or How Not to Get on Writers Gone Wild
Ginger Clark is a literary agent from Curtis Brown LTD. Today she shared on Twitter many tips on how to interact with agents at writers’ conferences. She graciously gave me permission to use her tips on my blog, so in case you missed her tweets today, here they are (sparsely edited).
View your pitch session as a business meeting. You want to get into business with an agent. Behave accordingly.
That means: dress neatly. Make eye contact. Have a firm handshake. Don’t shake with anxiety. Know all major facts about MS. No crying.
There’s no crying in baseball, and there’s no crying in business.
Know the word count and page count of book; what other books is it similar to, and different from; what’s the market; if it’s a kids’ book…
Is it YA? MG? Know the differences. If you don’t know an answer to a question, say “I don’t know.”
Do not pitch a book that has not yet been written and revised thoroughly to an agent. (There are non-fiction exceptions to this).
Pay attention to body language when you consider pitching agents in non-pitch session settings. Are they at the bar and seem approachable?
Or are they sitting with an editor, deep in conversation? Are they at a party, standing alone? Or are they mid conversation with someone?
Here are times not to pitch an agent: Swimming or working out; wheeling their suitcase or luggage somewhere; while they are in the bathroom.
I know that last one is obvious to all of you, but it still happens.
Dress appropriately. Guys, I do not need to see that much chest hair.
Oh, I’m not anti-chest hair! I just don’t want to see that much in a meeting with someone I don’t know.
To reiterate: Don’t be so nervous you are shaking. Because it makes me get nervous, too, and then our meeting becomes all tense and stuff.
Please don’t ask me if I remember getting your query—I’m afraid I probably don’t.
Wait until the “Q&A” time to ask a question. Don’t interrupt people when they are on panels, or giving a talk.
Don’t begin a question by doing the following, “I think you’re really young, so maybe you don’t get what older people want.”
Because, I admit, this is something I find frustrating. I know what the market wants, and I don’t have to be your age to know it.
Authors, if I am wearing sweatpants, DO NOT APPROACH.
Authors, don’t stalk me. I will notice you doing so, eventually. Also, don’t call my room or leave anything on my pillow.
Yes. Everything I have listed as a “Don’t” has happened to me, or someone I know. These are all true examples.
Authors: Don’t broadcast arrogance. Don’t declare you intend to make a lot of money publishing, or that you will be a bestseller in a year.
Publicly take the attitude of “I’m here to learn.” I am there to learn, too. I learn things from other agents and editors often.
I go to conferences to meet potential new clients—and meet editors and agents I normally would not. I’m learning too!
So if you hear things you find frustrating, or you are angry—don’t take it out on the messengers.
Get together with your friends and vent privately. It’s really awkward when an author gets mad during a panel, or pitch session.
Authors, if you don’t know exactly what genre/age group your book falls in, start off by saying that and asking for agent’s advice.
Authors: don’t badmouth other writers to an agent. They might represent those authors.
But if you have read a book by one of my clients, and you liked it, feel free to tell me. Don’t pretend if you have not.
*For more of Ginger Clark's tweets, follow her on twitter (@Ginger_Clark).
View your pitch session as a business meeting. You want to get into business with an agent. Behave accordingly.
That means: dress neatly. Make eye contact. Have a firm handshake. Don’t shake with anxiety. Know all major facts about MS. No crying.
There’s no crying in baseball, and there’s no crying in business.
Know the word count and page count of book; what other books is it similar to, and different from; what’s the market; if it’s a kids’ book…
Is it YA? MG? Know the differences. If you don’t know an answer to a question, say “I don’t know.”
Do not pitch a book that has not yet been written and revised thoroughly to an agent. (There are non-fiction exceptions to this).
Pay attention to body language when you consider pitching agents in non-pitch session settings. Are they at the bar and seem approachable?
Or are they sitting with an editor, deep in conversation? Are they at a party, standing alone? Or are they mid conversation with someone?
Here are times not to pitch an agent: Swimming or working out; wheeling their suitcase or luggage somewhere; while they are in the bathroom.
I know that last one is obvious to all of you, but it still happens.
Dress appropriately. Guys, I do not need to see that much chest hair.
Oh, I’m not anti-chest hair! I just don’t want to see that much in a meeting with someone I don’t know.
To reiterate: Don’t be so nervous you are shaking. Because it makes me get nervous, too, and then our meeting becomes all tense and stuff.
Please don’t ask me if I remember getting your query—I’m afraid I probably don’t.
Wait until the “Q&A” time to ask a question. Don’t interrupt people when they are on panels, or giving a talk.
Don’t begin a question by doing the following, “I think you’re really young, so maybe you don’t get what older people want.”
Because, I admit, this is something I find frustrating. I know what the market wants, and I don’t have to be your age to know it.
Authors, if I am wearing sweatpants, DO NOT APPROACH.
Authors, don’t stalk me. I will notice you doing so, eventually. Also, don’t call my room or leave anything on my pillow.
Yes. Everything I have listed as a “Don’t” has happened to me, or someone I know. These are all true examples.
Authors: Don’t broadcast arrogance. Don’t declare you intend to make a lot of money publishing, or that you will be a bestseller in a year.
Publicly take the attitude of “I’m here to learn.” I am there to learn, too. I learn things from other agents and editors often.
I go to conferences to meet potential new clients—and meet editors and agents I normally would not. I’m learning too!
So if you hear things you find frustrating, or you are angry—don’t take it out on the messengers.
Get together with your friends and vent privately. It’s really awkward when an author gets mad during a panel, or pitch session.
Authors, if you don’t know exactly what genre/age group your book falls in, start off by saying that and asking for agent’s advice.
Authors: don’t badmouth other writers to an agent. They might represent those authors.
But if you have read a book by one of my clients, and you liked it, feel free to tell me. Don’t pretend if you have not.
*For more of Ginger Clark's tweets, follow her on twitter (@Ginger_Clark).
Monday, June 29, 2009
Confessions of an Exclamation Mark Abuser
Hi. I’m Laura. I have a punctuation problem. A month ago, I didn’t even know the danger in its overuse. Now, I’m taking steps to work through my addiction.
I’m not sure when my love of the exclamation mark began. School House Rock might have lit the spark. Who could resist the catchy interjections video? I am a proud owner of the Grammar Rock video. The warning on the back says nothing about the overuse of exclamation points.
If Grammar Rock was where it began, I’m sure middle school fueled it. Heaven help me if my 7th grade boyfriend should ever decide to go public with the book of love notes and poems I gave him. I can only imagine the number of exclamation marks included in that collection.
Last month on Twitter, someone I follow and respect started tweeting about their hate for the exclamation point. I gasped. Then I saw it retweeted over and over again by agents and editors. It began to sink in. Exclamation marks don’t make writing exciting. Vivid verbs and powerful word choice do.
How bad of an offender was I? My search found 116 exclamation marks in the first draft of the chapter book I’d written. Yikes. Almost all of them are gone now. There are a few times when no other mark will do.
I believe, and I think Oprah would back me on this one, that we can use the ugliness from our past to help others. So check your writing, folks. Don’t let an addiction to the exclamation mark get in the way of a beautiful writing career.
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