A Renaissance

For those of you who are still following my blog after all this time (or, for those of you who scroll down to see the date of my last post... eek!) you'll know that I've been quiet for a while. A little too quiet. What could be percolating in that brain of hers, you might ask? What grand scheme has been a-brewing over these past few months?

Here's my story, in a nutshell:

More Interview Recap on Community Fridays

Here are some more great interviews you might have missed.

Marvin Wilson, who some would call a "spiritual rogue," opens up about writing, spirituality, and how he manages to preserve his positive outlook and generous, big-hearted nature through good times and bad.

Even if you're writing a fantasy story, you need some basis in reality to engage your readers. So it's a good thing that research is one of Resa Nelson's favorite parts of writing. In fact, she delved so deeply into research that she joined a real-life sword guild!

Curious about book signings? Jacquelyn Sylvan has some great stories, including how to survive the signing that doesn't go according to plan. She also shares her one super-secret tip to getting published.

Katie Hines talks about her soon-to-be-released middle-grade fantasy book, Guardian, and how she met her publisher.

Interview Recap on Community Fridays

Missed some of the previous Community Friday interviews? Check them out today!

Edmund Schubert, author of Dreaming Creek and editor of the science fiction literary magazine Orson Scott Card's InterGalactic Medicine Show, gives perspectives on the writing industry from both the author's side and the editor's side.

Author of the recently released The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing, (in addition to a slew of other books) Mayra Calvani, shares tips on reviewing books and what it's like to work in a variety of different genres.

Jean Henry Mead, author of the mystery novel A Village Shattered, provides an interesting interview about her writing process. Sheriff Grayson, the sheriff in her novel who needs as much help as he can get, also makes an appearance.

Interview with Katie Hines on Community Fridays

Welcome to Community Fridays!

During Community Fridays, I interview authors, editors, publishers, and pretty much anyone else who I can get my hands on from the writing and publishing community. Hope you enjoy, and feel free to suggest new participants. Check out current and past interviews here. Only have a minute? Click here for interviews at a glance.

Today's guest is Katie Hines, author of the upcoming middle-grade fantasy Guardian.

Your middle-grade urban fantasy, Guardian, is scheduled to come out in May, 2009. I'm curious to learn more about what happens between the time a book is accepted for publication and the actual publication date. Approximately how long ago was your book accepted? What are the stages you've gone through since that time? (i.e., edits, negotiations, etc.)?

I signed a contract with 4RV Publishing November 1, 2008. I have to admit, I was sure flying high at that point. The happy dance? Let me tell you, my whole house was rockin’ that day!

As far as what happens between then and the publication date? Tons of stuff. More than tons, if that is possible. Since this is my first published book, I was almost totally unprepared for what I needed to do beyond signing the contract. I received an email from the publisher. They wanted a synopsis for the illustrator (which I had, but was thrilled to find I had an illustrator!), a nice picture of moi (which I didn’t have), a marketing and promotion plan (which I didn’t have), and a few other things.

The thing that is taking the most amount of time is the marketing and promotion plan. I discovered I could cover my local area pretty well with book signings, school visits, and library visits. But, I was clueless as to how to reach the broader market.

I have ended up creating a blog, re-upping my domain name (which is currently tied to an almost useless website), I’m learning about blog tours, social networking, talkradio, and so forth. I have joined a yahoo group that is dedicated to blog tours (learn more about it here), and that is helpful. I feel like I’m on another huge learning curve and struggling to keep up.

To date, the manuscript edits are the easy part!

On my blog, I've been discussing recently how authors link up with publishers. Did you meet your publisher through a conference, agent, or organization? Or did you send out a query that was accepted?

Getting a contract happened in a round-about way. I sent out three query letters. The first publisher sent me a nice, polite rejection. The second one I got a response back saying they didn’t feel comfortable editing a middle grade story, but would pass on my manuscript to another publisher they knew—4RV Publishing.

That was cool. After a short time, I received a letter from the publisher indicating she found the book “interesting,” but wanted to see some changes before she considered it further. Fair enough. I put the book aside for a couple weeks or so, working on some other stuff.

About a month later, I got an email from the publisher, responding to something unrelated to my book that I had asked them about. At the end of her response was, “By the way, we have your book on the schedule for summer, 2009.” By the way? What on earth had changed?

Turns out she had left the manuscript lying about her house, and her grandson, a vociferous reader, picked it up, read it, loved it, and voilà! a contract was offered.

You must have had a good query letter or pitch to net your publisher or agent. Do you have any query/pitch tips you'd like to share?

The acceptance of my book for publication didn’t really rest on a query letter because I never sent this publisher one. However, I constantly try to upgrade my knowledge, and I had several example query letters saved on my computer. Even so, I spent a lot of time crafting my query letter, and asking for, and receiving, critiques of same.

There's been talk recently of upcoming shakeups to the publishing industry. Have you noticed any changes? For example, moving to alternate formats (softcover instead of hardcover, ebooks) or increased encouragement of author participation in marketing?

I have been watching the publishing community closely because of the economic downturn. A lot of houses are paring down staff and consolidating imprints. So far, children’s books haven’t been affected too badly. But I know that book store buyers are being more careful of their selections, and choosing authors they believe will sell. As such, I feel that puts us newer authors at a disadvantage. But, we shall see.

Would you like to tell us a little about Guardian to whet our appetites for the book release?

Sure. I think my blurb says it quite well: Imagine you have made a secret promise that can lead you to the discovery of an incredible treasure and an ancient power. But in order to fulfill that promise, you must defeat an age-old sect that is determined to claim the treasure and power themselves.

This is a story about a real-to-life treasure story. It is about a boy who struggles with guilt and a personal destiny, and it is a story about family, love and making commitments beyond yourself. The cast is replete with four teens, a professorial grandfather, a wacky grandmother and a mysterious knight, whose very life is dedicated to ensuring the safety of not just one, but two treasures.

Now that your first book is in the process of being published, do you have other projects you're working on or thinking about?

Absolutely. I have several chapter books that I’m working on, as well as a Christian, adult novel. I am also about 40 pages into a manuscript using one of my characters from Guardian. I’m very excited about that last book, and am trying to figure out when I have time to do the research I need.

Lastly, because this feature is about establishing bonds within the writing and publishing industries, can you name one author, editor, publisher, organization etc. who's doing great things right now, and why?

Most instrumental was Nancy Lamb, a children’s author. She answered my questions, gave encouragement, and my book would not have been completed if not for her book, “The Writer’s Guide to Crafting Stories for Children.”

Thanks so much, Emma, for allowing me to share about my book on your blog!

About the Author

Learn more about Katie Hines at her blog.

© Emma Larkins and Katie Hines

Interview with Jacquelyn Sylvan on Community Fridays

Welcome to Community Fridays!

During Community Fridays, I interview authors, editors, publishers, and pretty much anyone else who I can get my hands on from the writing and publishing community. Hope you enjoy, and feel free to suggest new participants. Check out current and past interviews here. Only have a minute? Click here for interviews at a glance.

Today's guest is Jacquelyn Sylvan, author of the book Surviving Serendipity.

I was reading a blog post you wrote about a book signing you had back in June. It sounded like a great experience - lots of interesting people to talk to, and you even managed to sell out all of your books! Do you have any fun signing stories to tell? Advice for authors who are worried about their first signing?

Ha…I have a lot of great stories to tell, and I haven’t even done that many events yet! One rather interesting signing was in the Waldenbooks in Stroud Mall, Stroudsburg, PA. After giving one woman my bookmark, she looked at me, smiled, hit me with it, and then walked away. That same day, I also traded a bookmark to a gentleman for an orange golf ball, which I still have.

My advice to authors… just remember, there’s going to be at least one, if not more, signings where you’re going to tank. No books sold, one or two books sold, etc. There are going to be days where people just aren’t buying anything. But when you’re at a signing and you’re not doing well, pay attention. Try a number of different opening lines. (You are approaching people and talking to them, rather than waiting for them to come up to you, RIGHT?) If one particular opening line seems to get people’s attention more than others, play around with it. Tweak it. Don’t be a robot. And be very, very nice to the bookstore staff. Buy them chocolate and stuff. Make them remember you, so that when someone asks them for a book recommendation, yours will be the one they pluck off the shelf and hand to the customer.

Just please, please remember this… at least once, your event is going to suck. Do not take this as a sign that you should give up and go back to your day job. If you resign yourself to the fact that this is going to happen at least once, then, when it does, you’ll take it in stride. And just think…when you’re so famous people start writing books about you, it’ll make a very dramatic and heart-wrenching scene in your biography.

Would you like to tell us a little about your novel, Surviving Serendipity?

Well, since you twisted my arm... :) Surviving Serendipity is the first book I’ve written. I’ve always loved the epic fantasy genre, but was disappointed by the lack of strong female leads in that genre. So, I wrote one myself!

The story goes like this: June is an ordinary young woman, or so she thinks, until one night a stranger shows up in her empty apartment and abducts her to a world halfway across the universe, Thallafrith… a world she’s soon told is her homeland. But Thallafrith is in trouble, and June is the only one who can save it. Despite her reluctance to rise to the role of hero and accept this new reality, June uses her newly-discovered talents to guide herself and her companions through the kingdom of Prendawr. But all is not what it seems, and June has to learn the truth about her own origins as she struggles to keep her friends alive. In the end, she must make a devastating decision that begs the question—how much can one heart take?

The main character in Surviving Serendipity, June, is very much a fish out of water. In fact, she eventually realizes that her entire known life has been a sham. What made you want to write about a person gaining self-knowledge and using that to overcome obstacles?

I think that one reason we all find disaster situations, like the tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, so fascinating is because they are the few situations where we can find out what people are really made of. So much of us is what we’re surrounded by; our homes, our families and friends, our things. When you strip all of that away, you find the true nature of the person. And as we sit in our comfortable living rooms watching ordinary people rise to heroism, I think we all wonder—what would I do? And so I wrote June’s story, the story of a very average girl (she thinks, anyway), who, when she finds herself in such a situation, does what we all hope we’d do.

In addition to writing, you have an interesting occupation that you've described as "professional vampire." Has this affected your writing at all, and if so, in what way?

To clarify, I’m a phlebotomist—most people don’t know what that is, though, so professional vampire seems to clear things up nicely. And, actually my job has had a pretty big impact on my writing, but not in the way you’d think. Before I was a phlebotomist, I was a veterinary technician, which translates to “animal nurse who sprints for twelve hours a day.” I didn’t exactly have a lot of free time, physical or mental, to spend with my imagination.

Then I became a phlebotomist, which translates to “woman who sits and reads library books all day, waiting for people who need their blood drawn.” Suddenly, I had a lot of free time, and my brain gave me something to do with it.

Another way my careers have influenced my writing is in my characters. Most of them end up in some profession related to either the medical or animal fields. It gives me a way to feel closer to my characters…and saves me a lot of tedious research, my least-favorite thing about writing.

What's it like to be a first-time published author? Do you have any special projects in the works that you'd like to tell us about?

Being a first-time author, or an author on any level, is a lot of work. And not just the fun kind of work. You have to be a marketer and a salesperson, too, and those things don’t exactly come naturally to me. You have to commit to changing yourself, though… the industry is what it is; adapt or die.

I do have a project I’m working on now, which is a werewolf thriller trilogy. I have an agent, who is working on her end to get the first book, Immortal Moon, sold, and I’m working to get the second one polished and the third one written. I’m very excited about it, not only because it’s a great supernatural story, but also because this is my first foray into sequels. Honestly, Immortal Moon was supposed to be a stand-alone, but when my agent told me that if I made it into a trilogy she could probably get it sold, I did.

Another back-burner project I’m working on is one I’m really excited about. I still don’t have a title; I’ve been referring to it as The Ghost Story, just to make it easier for discussion. It’s a YA supernatural romance, the idea for which came to me in a dream. My subconscious is so cool sometimes.

What is your one super-secret tip to getting published?

Faith. If you don’t believe that your book is going to not only get published, but go to the top, then a prospective publisher isn’t going to believe it, either. And if you don’t believe your book is the absolute best book out there, you’re not going to convince anyone to buy it. Come up with your best work, and believe in it.

Lastly, because this feature is about establishing bonds within the writing and publishing industries, can you name one author, editor, publisher, organization etc. who's doing great things right now, and why?

There are so many people out there doing great things it’s impossible to pick just one. Karen Syed, my editor at Quake, is one of many editors of independent publishing houses fighting to gain recognition, and doing a pretty good job. For the bigger publishers, it’s not such a big deal to invest in a new author, but for the smaller houses, they’re putting a significant amount of their total resources into each and every author. The little guys have to put so much more of themselves into their authors, and they can never stop fighting… they don’t get a break.
Another thing I want to mention has to do with some of the bigger houses. I’ve seen a trend lately that I think is absolutely fantastic—the marriage of pop culture with books. I’m sure the first one that springs to your mind is Twilight, but there are so many other authors out there who are making reading cool again; Lisa McMann, author of Wake and the upcoming Fade, is another. The world is changing, and some of the savvier authors are making sure they change with it. And any author who gets a child who “doesn’t read” to pick up a book is a hero to me.

About the Author

For more information, check out Jacquelyn's website.

Beware the sound of crying children, watch out for the barmaids, and whatever you do, don't let the Pegasus spit on you.



© Emma Larkins and Jacquelyn Sylvan