Janet Fox's Blog, page 27
November 11, 2013
FOR THE GOOD OF MANKIND: An interview with Vicki Wittenstein
I'm delighted to be back on the blog to highlight this amazing non-fiction book by Vicki Wittenstein, FOR THE GOOD OF MANKIND. It's a book that's scary, enlightening, and rich with detail. Here's Vicki:
Congratulations on the publication of FOR THE GOOD OF MANKIND? Please give us a brief description of the book.
Thanks, Janet. Writing the book was a difficult and often emotional experience, and I’m thrilled that so many people are interested in the topic. The book traces the history of human medical experimentation from ancient times to the present through some of the greatest medical advances—but also its most horrifying medical atrocities. Doctors performed thousands of experiments on orphans, prisoners, the mentally ill, and others with little power or voice, without consent. The subjects often suffered excruciating pain and humiliation, and some even died. And, as horrible as these experiments were, they were not comparable to the Nazi doctors’ torture and inhumane experimentation of concentration camp victims during World War II. Despite the laws and regulations in place today, problems continue with clinical trials, the pharmaceutical industry, genetic therapies, stem cell research, and DNA sequencing. The book raises many ethical questions, but primarily asks the reader how to fairly balance the rights of the individual versus the need for medical advancement. What price should we pay for medical knowledge and how can we learn from our mistakes in the past?
I was pretty horrified as I read, learning about the number of experiments in which the subjects were uninformed. Was this a surprise to you as you did your research?
Absolutely. The U.S. government’s secret radiation experiments during the Cold War shocked me. I kept imagining how I would feel if I had been one of the 18 random hospital patients that doctors secretly injected with plutonium, or one of the 829 pregnant women at a Vanderbilt University clinic who drank a supposedly healthy drink doctors laced with radiation.
How much were you able to use primary sources? Did you meet many of the subjects and/or clinicians?
I used many primary sources, including articles written by a noted antivivisectionist in the early 1900s, material from the United States Memorial Holocaust Museum, the final report on human radiation experiments from the U.S. Department of Energy hearings, newspaper clippings about various experiments, and the laws and regulations promulgated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Office for Human Research Protection (OHRP). I also interviewed several experts and bioethicists in the field, including Jerry Menikoff, M.D., Director of the OHRP.
One of the most difficult interviews was with Eva Mozes Kor, a twin and survivor of Dr. Joseph Mengele’s experiments on twins at Auschwitz. I was nervous. I had never spoken to a Holocaust survivor before, let alone someone who had been a victim of brutal experimentation. But Eva quickly put me at ease. Her story of survival is remarkable, and her honest voice provided an authentic way for me to discuss painful and inhumane experiments with young adults.
I also spoke to Joshua Shaw, the brother of Simeon Shaw, a four-year-old boy who was flown to the U.S. from Australia for treatment, but instead was injected with plutonium. Joshua Shaw told me that his family never recovered from what happened to Simeon.
It’s clear that without some of these experiments we would not have made medical advancements, and you clearly felt torn at times between what is ethical and what is beneficial. Can you discuss?
I think people are uncomfortable with human medical experimentation. In general, we don’t like the idea of using people as guinea pigs. Yet, without a doubt, new medical discoveries and technologies require human experimentation. Although laws and regulations now govern appropriate human experimentation and the horrifying examples from the past would not occur today, violations still occur and people are injured. The difficult challenge lies in balancing the individual’s risk of injury with the needs of society.
Do you feel there is a line that should not be crossed, regardless of the results?
Definitely. The Common Law mandates three ethical principles: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. These standards basically mean that all subjects must give voluntary and informed consent; the harm to subjects must be limited; and subjects must represent a diverse group of people, regardless of race, economic class and ethnicity. Every researcher must strive to follow these laws.
I think we must never let the ends (scientific advancement) justify the means. As Eva Kor wrote in a personal account of the Nazi experiments, “The scientists of the world must remember that the research is being done for the sake of mankind and not for the sake of science: scientists must never detach themselves from the humans they serve.”
Much of this is also the domain of science fiction and horror. I’m playing with that kind of scenario now in a work in progress. Can you talk to fiction writers about addressing these issues?
When you write about horror, whether truth or fiction, a close first person account can help draw the reader into your story. The brutal facts and emotions speak for themselves, and there isn’t much need for descriptive details. It’s ‘show don’t tell’ with a chilling and creepy effect. Good luck on your project!
Thanks so much!
Thanks for hosting me, and for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts.
VICKI ORANSKY WITTENSTEIN has always been curious about new ideas, people, and places. That curiosity has taken her life in many different directions. So far, she has been a student, a criminal prosecutor, a writer, and an advocate for children and families. She is the author of a number of science and history articles for young readers, as well as the book Planet Hunter: Geoff Marcy and the Search for Other Earths, which won the 2013 Science Communication Award from the American Institute of Physics. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York. For more information, and for a free discussion guide, visit http://vickiwittenstein.com/.
Follow her blog tour!
dateblogblog URLMon, Nov 4proseandkahnhttp://proseandkahn.blogspot.com/Tues, Nov 5The Prosen Peoplehttp://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/_blog/The_ProsenPeople/Thurs, Nov 7The Nonfiction Detectiveshttp://www.nonfictiondetectives.com/Fri, Nov 8Growing with Sciencehttp://blog.growingwithscience.com/Mon, Nov 11Ms. Yingling Readshttp://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/Tues, Nov 12Through the Wardrobehttp://kidswriterjfox.blogspot.com/Wed, Nov 13Kid Lit Frenzyhttp://www.kidlitfrenzy.com/Thurs, Nov 14GreenBeanTeenQueenhttp://www.greenbeanteenqueen.com/Fri, Nov 15The Fourth Musketeerwww.fourthmusketeer.blogspot.com
Congratulations on the publication of FOR THE GOOD OF MANKIND? Please give us a brief description of the book.
Thanks, Janet. Writing the book was a difficult and often emotional experience, and I’m thrilled that so many people are interested in the topic. The book traces the history of human medical experimentation from ancient times to the present through some of the greatest medical advances—but also its most horrifying medical atrocities. Doctors performed thousands of experiments on orphans, prisoners, the mentally ill, and others with little power or voice, without consent. The subjects often suffered excruciating pain and humiliation, and some even died. And, as horrible as these experiments were, they were not comparable to the Nazi doctors’ torture and inhumane experimentation of concentration camp victims during World War II. Despite the laws and regulations in place today, problems continue with clinical trials, the pharmaceutical industry, genetic therapies, stem cell research, and DNA sequencing. The book raises many ethical questions, but primarily asks the reader how to fairly balance the rights of the individual versus the need for medical advancement. What price should we pay for medical knowledge and how can we learn from our mistakes in the past?
I was pretty horrified as I read, learning about the number of experiments in which the subjects were uninformed. Was this a surprise to you as you did your research?
Absolutely. The U.S. government’s secret radiation experiments during the Cold War shocked me. I kept imagining how I would feel if I had been one of the 18 random hospital patients that doctors secretly injected with plutonium, or one of the 829 pregnant women at a Vanderbilt University clinic who drank a supposedly healthy drink doctors laced with radiation.
How much were you able to use primary sources? Did you meet many of the subjects and/or clinicians?
I used many primary sources, including articles written by a noted antivivisectionist in the early 1900s, material from the United States Memorial Holocaust Museum, the final report on human radiation experiments from the U.S. Department of Energy hearings, newspaper clippings about various experiments, and the laws and regulations promulgated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Office for Human Research Protection (OHRP). I also interviewed several experts and bioethicists in the field, including Jerry Menikoff, M.D., Director of the OHRP. One of the most difficult interviews was with Eva Mozes Kor, a twin and survivor of Dr. Joseph Mengele’s experiments on twins at Auschwitz. I was nervous. I had never spoken to a Holocaust survivor before, let alone someone who had been a victim of brutal experimentation. But Eva quickly put me at ease. Her story of survival is remarkable, and her honest voice provided an authentic way for me to discuss painful and inhumane experiments with young adults.
I also spoke to Joshua Shaw, the brother of Simeon Shaw, a four-year-old boy who was flown to the U.S. from Australia for treatment, but instead was injected with plutonium. Joshua Shaw told me that his family never recovered from what happened to Simeon.
It’s clear that without some of these experiments we would not have made medical advancements, and you clearly felt torn at times between what is ethical and what is beneficial. Can you discuss?
I think people are uncomfortable with human medical experimentation. In general, we don’t like the idea of using people as guinea pigs. Yet, without a doubt, new medical discoveries and technologies require human experimentation. Although laws and regulations now govern appropriate human experimentation and the horrifying examples from the past would not occur today, violations still occur and people are injured. The difficult challenge lies in balancing the individual’s risk of injury with the needs of society.
Do you feel there is a line that should not be crossed, regardless of the results?
Definitely. The Common Law mandates three ethical principles: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. These standards basically mean that all subjects must give voluntary and informed consent; the harm to subjects must be limited; and subjects must represent a diverse group of people, regardless of race, economic class and ethnicity. Every researcher must strive to follow these laws.
I think we must never let the ends (scientific advancement) justify the means. As Eva Kor wrote in a personal account of the Nazi experiments, “The scientists of the world must remember that the research is being done for the sake of mankind and not for the sake of science: scientists must never detach themselves from the humans they serve.”
Much of this is also the domain of science fiction and horror. I’m playing with that kind of scenario now in a work in progress. Can you talk to fiction writers about addressing these issues?
When you write about horror, whether truth or fiction, a close first person account can help draw the reader into your story. The brutal facts and emotions speak for themselves, and there isn’t much need for descriptive details. It’s ‘show don’t tell’ with a chilling and creepy effect. Good luck on your project!
Thanks so much!
Thanks for hosting me, and for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts.
VICKI ORANSKY WITTENSTEIN has always been curious about new ideas, people, and places. That curiosity has taken her life in many different directions. So far, she has been a student, a criminal prosecutor, a writer, and an advocate for children and families. She is the author of a number of science and history articles for young readers, as well as the book Planet Hunter: Geoff Marcy and the Search for Other Earths, which won the 2013 Science Communication Award from the American Institute of Physics. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York. For more information, and for a free discussion guide, visit http://vickiwittenstein.com/.
Follow her blog tour!
dateblogblog URLMon, Nov 4proseandkahnhttp://proseandkahn.blogspot.com/Tues, Nov 5The Prosen Peoplehttp://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/_blog/The_ProsenPeople/Thurs, Nov 7The Nonfiction Detectiveshttp://www.nonfictiondetectives.com/Fri, Nov 8Growing with Sciencehttp://blog.growingwithscience.com/Mon, Nov 11Ms. Yingling Readshttp://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/Tues, Nov 12Through the Wardrobehttp://kidswriterjfox.blogspot.com/Wed, Nov 13Kid Lit Frenzyhttp://www.kidlitfrenzy.com/Thurs, Nov 14GreenBeanTeenQueenhttp://www.greenbeanteenqueen.com/Fri, Nov 15The Fourth Musketeerwww.fourthmusketeer.blogspot.com
October 16, 2013
Busy, Busy, And Then Some
I love October. My very first published piece - a poem - was published in October. I was 8, and my poem ("October") appeared in the local newspaper. It wouldn't win me any awards, but I remember as if it was yesterday the joy I felt at seeing my name in print.
my "first" publication
Plus, October is visually a gorgeous month, and I love those first fires in the fireplace, those crisp cool nights, the first brush of snow on the peaks, the golden aspen and deep red cherry trees.
This October is crazy-busy. I have a ton of appearances. But I want to reflect a moment on what it means to be so busy.
It means I do connect with readers of all stripes. It means I might even make a deeper connection - encourage a young writer to continue, or pass on a piece of knowledge that helps a listener. It also means I don't have as much time as usual to write.
October snow with aspenYesterday at a school visit I was asked by a 7th grade student about my daily writing goals, and I answered, truthfully, that I try to aim for 2000 words or 10 pages each day. Under normal circumstances, that's no sweat for me. I write fast - I'm a "fat" writer in the jargon of one of my former teachers, Ellen Howard - and then I go back and edit like crazy. But this October it's proving to be difficult for me to reach any goals at all.
Now perhaps I should add that I have an additional distraction: my husband and I have a new puppy in the house, which is rather like having a toddler running around. Both a joy and a headache, and thank heavens he's cute.
And then there are some personal/professional distractions, the kind that call my dedication to my profession into question. No details here and now, but I have to square my shoulders and soldier on.
That's the key to being a professional author. Yes, I aim to create a steady stream of prose, some of it good and some not, but there are times when the distractions beyond my control. Those are the times when I revisit my dedication to and love for writing.
my new office assistant
For it all comes back to that: the writing. The stories. I must tell stories, and I will be writing until they have to pry the pen from my clenched fingers. Some days, some months, are better than others, but I know I'll be back in the mode of 2000 words/ten pages before much longer.
If you are having trouble with distractions - first weeks of school, kids, sports, preparations for the holidays (gah!) - I feel your pain. Don't lose heart; come back to the storytelling. That's what it's all about.
If you are in Helena, Montana, I'll be there October 24 as part of their Big Read this fall. Their book is THE GREAT GATSBY, and I'll be discussing "SIRENS In the Time of GATSBY" at the Lewis and Clark Library from 7-8:30PM.
On November 2, I'll be on a panel and giving a lecture at the Bozeman Children's Festival of the Book at the Bozeman Public Library.
Both will be fun events, and I hope to see you there.
my "first" publicationPlus, October is visually a gorgeous month, and I love those first fires in the fireplace, those crisp cool nights, the first brush of snow on the peaks, the golden aspen and deep red cherry trees.
This October is crazy-busy. I have a ton of appearances. But I want to reflect a moment on what it means to be so busy.
It means I do connect with readers of all stripes. It means I might even make a deeper connection - encourage a young writer to continue, or pass on a piece of knowledge that helps a listener. It also means I don't have as much time as usual to write.
October snow with aspenYesterday at a school visit I was asked by a 7th grade student about my daily writing goals, and I answered, truthfully, that I try to aim for 2000 words or 10 pages each day. Under normal circumstances, that's no sweat for me. I write fast - I'm a "fat" writer in the jargon of one of my former teachers, Ellen Howard - and then I go back and edit like crazy. But this October it's proving to be difficult for me to reach any goals at all.Now perhaps I should add that I have an additional distraction: my husband and I have a new puppy in the house, which is rather like having a toddler running around. Both a joy and a headache, and thank heavens he's cute.
And then there are some personal/professional distractions, the kind that call my dedication to my profession into question. No details here and now, but I have to square my shoulders and soldier on.
That's the key to being a professional author. Yes, I aim to create a steady stream of prose, some of it good and some not, but there are times when the distractions beyond my control. Those are the times when I revisit my dedication to and love for writing.
my new office assistantFor it all comes back to that: the writing. The stories. I must tell stories, and I will be writing until they have to pry the pen from my clenched fingers. Some days, some months, are better than others, but I know I'll be back in the mode of 2000 words/ten pages before much longer.
If you are having trouble with distractions - first weeks of school, kids, sports, preparations for the holidays (gah!) - I feel your pain. Don't lose heart; come back to the storytelling. That's what it's all about.
If you are in Helena, Montana, I'll be there October 24 as part of their Big Read this fall. Their book is THE GREAT GATSBY, and I'll be discussing "SIRENS In the Time of GATSBY" at the Lewis and Clark Library from 7-8:30PM.
On November 2, I'll be on a panel and giving a lecture at the Bozeman Children's Festival of the Book at the Bozeman Public Library.
Both will be fun events, and I hope to see you there.
October 3, 2013
Montgomery County Writer's Workshop Fundraiser
Last year I participated in a terrific event in Texas: the
Montgomery County Book Festival
. I met many fabulous authors but more importantly met many, many tween and teen fans who loved the opportunity to meet their writer heroes up close and hear us talk about our books. What a fabulous way to bring readers closer to writers!
This year, in order to host the Festival again, the librarians who sponsor it are offering a Writer’s Workshop Fundraiser, with bestselling authors providing a day of outstanding content (and donating their time!) for the low, low fee of $100.
Believe me, if I lived close by, I’d be there.
Just check out the offerings! Whether you live in the Houston area or anywhere within range, please consider the great content – plus, you’ll be raising funds for an awesome event.
The Writer’s Workshop is being held on Saturday, November 16, all day; and registration ends on November 10.
This year, in order to host the Festival again, the librarians who sponsor it are offering a Writer’s Workshop Fundraiser, with bestselling authors providing a day of outstanding content (and donating their time!) for the low, low fee of $100. Believe me, if I lived close by, I’d be there.
Just check out the offerings! Whether you live in the Houston area or anywhere within range, please consider the great content – plus, you’ll be raising funds for an awesome event.
The Writer’s Workshop is being held on Saturday, November 16, all day; and registration ends on November 10.
September 25, 2013
Mindy McGinnis' Debut Novel: NOT A DROP TO DRINK
Today I'm delighted to welcome Mindy McGinnis, who has written a dramatic story: "a survival tale set in a world with very little fresh water." A fabulous concept and I fear all too possible. Here's Mindy:
Congratulations on the publication of your novel, NOT A DROP TO DRINK. As a student of science, I'm fascinated by your topic, and think you may be prescient. Can you tell us a bit about the story and what inspired it?
Unfortunately, I think I might be too! A lot of people have asked me about the inspiration for the book, and the truth is that it came from a dream. But the scary truth behind it is that the dream occurred after I watched a documentary called BLUEGOLD, which is about the very real possibility of a freshwater shortage.
How long have you been writing for children/teens? Have you written other books or is this your first effort?
I actually began by writing for adults, and I wrote three books that weren't publishable. Serendipity landed me in a job as a YA librarian, after which I realized that I was surrounded by my audience and immersed in the market -- -why not write YA?
Can you describe your path to the publication of NOT A DROP TO DRINK?
It was a ten year path, but mostly because I was starting in the wrong place. I landed my agent, Adriann Ranta, only after I realized I needed to do research and that just having talent wasn't the key. Even after having an agent, I was on submission for six months. Patience is key, in everything.
Do you have any advice for beginning writers?
Do your homework. Don't be afraid of the business side. You need to know what you're doing before you jump into this crazy game.
Can you tell us something about your personal life – inspirations, plans for the future, goals, etc.?
I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a writer, but I also knew better than to hang a shingle on it. So I found a day job that I knew I could be happy in first. I think that's key to being a happy person, regardless of whether you land the pie-in-the-sky writer gig.
Do you have any new writing ventures underway?
I recently signed another two book deal with Katerine Tegen books for two YA books to be released in 2015 and 2016.
Do you have a website where readers can learn more about NOT A DROP TO DRINK?
Yes! My site is www.mindymcginnis.com and I blog at www.wrtierwriterpantsonfire.blogspot.com
Congratulations on the publication of your novel, NOT A DROP TO DRINK. As a student of science, I'm fascinated by your topic, and think you may be prescient. Can you tell us a bit about the story and what inspired it?
Unfortunately, I think I might be too! A lot of people have asked me about the inspiration for the book, and the truth is that it came from a dream. But the scary truth behind it is that the dream occurred after I watched a documentary called BLUEGOLD, which is about the very real possibility of a freshwater shortage.
How long have you been writing for children/teens? Have you written other books or is this your first effort?
I actually began by writing for adults, and I wrote three books that weren't publishable. Serendipity landed me in a job as a YA librarian, after which I realized that I was surrounded by my audience and immersed in the market -- -why not write YA?
Can you describe your path to the publication of NOT A DROP TO DRINK?
It was a ten year path, but mostly because I was starting in the wrong place. I landed my agent, Adriann Ranta, only after I realized I needed to do research and that just having talent wasn't the key. Even after having an agent, I was on submission for six months. Patience is key, in everything.
Do you have any advice for beginning writers?
Do your homework. Don't be afraid of the business side. You need to know what you're doing before you jump into this crazy game.
Can you tell us something about your personal life – inspirations, plans for the future, goals, etc.?
I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a writer, but I also knew better than to hang a shingle on it. So I found a day job that I knew I could be happy in first. I think that's key to being a happy person, regardless of whether you land the pie-in-the-sky writer gig.
Do you have any new writing ventures underway?
I recently signed another two book deal with Katerine Tegen books for two YA books to be released in 2015 and 2016.
Do you have a website where readers can learn more about NOT A DROP TO DRINK?
Yes! My site is www.mindymcginnis.com and I blog at www.wrtierwriterpantsonfire.blogspot.com
September 17, 2013
Kathi Appelt and THE TRUE BLUE SCOUTS OF SUGAR MAN SWAMP
I am a lucky person. Lucky, lucky, lucky. First, I have the honor and privilege of calling Kathi Appelt my mentor and my friend. Second, I've had the pleasure of reading her latest book THE TRUE BLUE SCOUTS OF SUGAR MAN SWAMP, which is one of the sweetest, funniest, most delightful reads I've had in many a year. Third, I've been able to snag her to appear here.
I've known Kathi for many years, ever since my husband and I landed in Texas for what turned into a 17 year stay. Kathi was instrumental in nurturing my nascent passion for writing, and then twisted my arm until I went to Vermont College of Fine Arts. Now I'm thrilled to host her here in the very week that TRUE BLUE SCOUTS has been accorded the honor of being on the National Book Award longlist in Young People's Literature - which to anyone who has had the experience of reading this charming novel comes as no surprise.
And if you are a student of literature, Kathi's answer to the second question is a fabulous and thoughtful essay.
Here's my sweet friend Kathi:
Right from page one of TRUE BLUE SCOUTS I’m convinced that I’m in the depths of an original “tall tale.” How did tall tales influence this story?
I think that tall tales as a genre are deeply rooted in regions. I’ve also always been fascinated by the stories surrounding Big Foot. He’s an icon of the American south, particularly those areas that are swampy and hard to navigate. So called photos of him always make him look like he’s made up of bits and pieces of the swamp with his mossy coat and huge feet and hands. So, it made sense to me to build a story around a creature who might actually arise from the landscape itself.
I know you feel strongly that there is an American mythology to be tapped/written – could you please explain what you mean?
Well, I love literature that has an element of magic to it, and of course fantasy by its very nature deals with some aspect of the magical. But when we think of fantasy as a genre, we immediately think of what I call the “European Model.” That is, a fantasy that is based upon a monarchical governing structure. There’s usually a “chosen one” at the heart of these tales, chosen not only because of lineage, but also because of some magical power, a power that has to be harnessed or granted or learned. The notion that a monarch is magical comes directly from the notion that they are direct descendants of God. It’s that whole Divine Right of Kings thing—it hardly gets more magical than that. And so, in a lot of modern fantasy, the basic structure begins with the notion that a chosen one will rise to power and become the leader of his or her people, as ordained by a higher power. (That’s generic, for sure, and overly broad, but it’s useful as a way to understand the basic underpinnings of fantasy as we think of it). An American fantasy doesn’t have that underlying structure. In a democracy, we don’t have leaders who are pre-ordained. Instead we the people choose our leaders. So, the notion that a person can, via some magical power, become the ruler or leader of his or her people doesn’t work in a democracy. Thus, when American writers turn to fantasy, it often has a distinctly European flavor. Or at least I think it does. Americans still love princes and princesses. We really do love the notion of a chosen one. How great would it be, after all, if God chose our governmental leaders, or if the president rose to power because he harnessed the magic of a sword and conquered the opposing forces? Democracy is so messy in comparison.
So, the challenge, to me at least, is to figure out what a distinctly American fantasy would look like if you stripped it of the notion of kings and queens. I do think that tall tales are good examples—they tap into the idea of America being bigger and better than everyone else, and they’re largely designed to have, at their heart, a character who arises from a “regular” family—one who is not necessarily high-born or well-bred. They reflect, in many ways, the American dream: that anyone can achieve great things by being themselves and working hard. Mostly, I think that American fantasy goes deeper than that, or it has the potential of going deeper in that it comes from the peculiarities of regions. I want to encourage writers of fantasy to find the magic in their locales. Unlike fantasy that is largely based upon the Divine Right of Kings, American fantasy comes out of the landscape, out of the flora and fauna and the sensibilities of a particular place. It also comes directly out of the people who live there, and have lived there. It’s to tap into the ancient stories that the region has offered up, too. In this regard, Native American stories should be acknowledged as part of the literary tradition of a place and time. Just as modern Eurocentric fantasy owes an incredible debt to the Arthurian legends, so does American fantasy owe a debt to Native American tales, many of which form the basis for tall tales—especially trickster tales. The challenge is to discover them, to acknowledge them, and to weave them into the fabric of tales to come. I’m no expert on Native American literature(s), but what I do know about it tells me that it arose from the experience of living close to the natural world, that the elements themselves offered up forms of magic that were incorporated into distinct stories. So the task for the modern American fantasist is to look at the ancient stories of his or her setting, to at least try to see the magic in the local landscape that has been recognized for centuries, and to go from there. Likewise, legends and tales that have been imported to our country offer up distinct possibilities for a deeply American form of magic. If you think of the stories of Toni Morrison and Virginia Hamilton, for example, they tap into the vein of tradition that came from Africa via slave ships, and then blend those tales with the politics and landscape of their time, merging them into contemporary tales that illuminate more fully what it is to be not only African American, but fully American. In The Underneath, I studied every story I could find about hummingbirds. It’s surprising how many folk tales and legends I found about such a tiny bird. I tried to understand where the magic arose and tapped into that vein. Does it have to do with the bird’s quickness, her tiny size, her shape? What is it about the hummingbird that defies science and offers up the possibility of magic?
When I was writing Scouts, I kept asking, what would a creature who rose right up out of the swamp look like? What would he care about? What would matter to him? What experiences might he have had through the course of history? Just as a Djinn might rise up out of the dust of the Arabian desert, or a selkie might show up on the Isle of Man, maybe a swamp man might rise up out of the east Texas canebrake.
You plant some wonderful seeds in the narrative. I’m thinking especially of the threat, “I’ll need a boatload of cash,” and the saying, “when pigs fly.” (And how literally Chap takes these – so kid-friendly!) How much of this comes to you organically and how much comes with revision?
I would say that one percent comes organically and ninety-nine comes from revision.
And a related question: are you a pantser or a plotter?
I think I start out as a pantser, but once I get my characters established, I turn into an avid plotter. I confess to being a believer in outlines. Oh yes, I do believe in outlines.
And yet another related question: I love the asides that are little information grabs – DeSotos, hogs – and that tie so many things together. Did this story unfold in a linear way? Did you know from the beginning you’d be weaving these pieces through the story?
A lot of those little asides were happy accidents. For example, I had already decided that I would use a DeSoto for the car, largely because of the hood ornament. I also knew that I would have a rampaging batch of hogs—my Bonnie and Clyde figures—but when I sat down to do a little research on hogs, I almost fell on the floor when I discovered that the first feral hogs came to this continent on boats under the command of, yep, DeSoto. I had a lot of happy accidents like that. It’s one of the joys of writing.
THE UNDERNEATHand KEEPER are gorgeous stories with serious tone – both made me cry like a baby. TRUE BLUE SCOUTS made me cry, too, but in an entirely different way, with tears of laughter. What was it like to “write something funny” for a change?
By now you know that it was Cynthia Leitich Smith who encouraged me to write something funny. At first, I didn’t really understand why she would send me a note telling me that. But it arrived at the end of a very difficult year for me, and as a friend, she sensed that I needed to take myself and my whole life a little less seriously. That is a good friend, who has the wherewithal to tell you something you may not be ready to hear. So, I’ll be forever grateful to Cyn for her honesty.
And it was exactly what I needed to do.
I have to say that I’m a believer in writing what you have to write. That’s not always an easy thing to do. Sometimes it’s painful; sometimes it’s egoistic; often it’s downright stupid. But often, it’s what your soul requires. Cyn is intuitive, and she could see what I couldn’t. I hope that I can be that person for my friends in return.
Is there a recipe for sugar pie, and if so can I have it?
You’ll have to ask Chap or his mother. But if you can talk them out of it, you have to eat it with a cup of Community Coffee.
Anything else you would like to share?
Only a big thank you for inviting me to sit down with you!
Kathi Appelt is the author of the Newbery Honor-winning, National Book Award finalist, PEN USA Literary Award-winning, and bestselling The Underneath as well as the highly acclaimed novels Keeper and The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp, and many picture books. She is a member of the faculty at Vermont College’s Master of Fine Arts program. She has two grown children and lives in Texas with her husband. For more information, visit her website at http://www.kathiappelt.com/.
And if I ever find the recipe for sugar pie, I'll share with my devoted readers. Oh, and with Chef Armend Latifi, too.
I've known Kathi for many years, ever since my husband and I landed in Texas for what turned into a 17 year stay. Kathi was instrumental in nurturing my nascent passion for writing, and then twisted my arm until I went to Vermont College of Fine Arts. Now I'm thrilled to host her here in the very week that TRUE BLUE SCOUTS has been accorded the honor of being on the National Book Award longlist in Young People's Literature - which to anyone who has had the experience of reading this charming novel comes as no surprise.
And if you are a student of literature, Kathi's answer to the second question is a fabulous and thoughtful essay.
Here's my sweet friend Kathi:
Right from page one of TRUE BLUE SCOUTS I’m convinced that I’m in the depths of an original “tall tale.” How did tall tales influence this story?
I think that tall tales as a genre are deeply rooted in regions. I’ve also always been fascinated by the stories surrounding Big Foot. He’s an icon of the American south, particularly those areas that are swampy and hard to navigate. So called photos of him always make him look like he’s made up of bits and pieces of the swamp with his mossy coat and huge feet and hands. So, it made sense to me to build a story around a creature who might actually arise from the landscape itself.
I know you feel strongly that there is an American mythology to be tapped/written – could you please explain what you mean?
Well, I love literature that has an element of magic to it, and of course fantasy by its very nature deals with some aspect of the magical. But when we think of fantasy as a genre, we immediately think of what I call the “European Model.” That is, a fantasy that is based upon a monarchical governing structure. There’s usually a “chosen one” at the heart of these tales, chosen not only because of lineage, but also because of some magical power, a power that has to be harnessed or granted or learned. The notion that a monarch is magical comes directly from the notion that they are direct descendants of God. It’s that whole Divine Right of Kings thing—it hardly gets more magical than that. And so, in a lot of modern fantasy, the basic structure begins with the notion that a chosen one will rise to power and become the leader of his or her people, as ordained by a higher power. (That’s generic, for sure, and overly broad, but it’s useful as a way to understand the basic underpinnings of fantasy as we think of it). An American fantasy doesn’t have that underlying structure. In a democracy, we don’t have leaders who are pre-ordained. Instead we the people choose our leaders. So, the notion that a person can, via some magical power, become the ruler or leader of his or her people doesn’t work in a democracy. Thus, when American writers turn to fantasy, it often has a distinctly European flavor. Or at least I think it does. Americans still love princes and princesses. We really do love the notion of a chosen one. How great would it be, after all, if God chose our governmental leaders, or if the president rose to power because he harnessed the magic of a sword and conquered the opposing forces? Democracy is so messy in comparison.
So, the challenge, to me at least, is to figure out what a distinctly American fantasy would look like if you stripped it of the notion of kings and queens. I do think that tall tales are good examples—they tap into the idea of America being bigger and better than everyone else, and they’re largely designed to have, at their heart, a character who arises from a “regular” family—one who is not necessarily high-born or well-bred. They reflect, in many ways, the American dream: that anyone can achieve great things by being themselves and working hard. Mostly, I think that American fantasy goes deeper than that, or it has the potential of going deeper in that it comes from the peculiarities of regions. I want to encourage writers of fantasy to find the magic in their locales. Unlike fantasy that is largely based upon the Divine Right of Kings, American fantasy comes out of the landscape, out of the flora and fauna and the sensibilities of a particular place. It also comes directly out of the people who live there, and have lived there. It’s to tap into the ancient stories that the region has offered up, too. In this regard, Native American stories should be acknowledged as part of the literary tradition of a place and time. Just as modern Eurocentric fantasy owes an incredible debt to the Arthurian legends, so does American fantasy owe a debt to Native American tales, many of which form the basis for tall tales—especially trickster tales. The challenge is to discover them, to acknowledge them, and to weave them into the fabric of tales to come. I’m no expert on Native American literature(s), but what I do know about it tells me that it arose from the experience of living close to the natural world, that the elements themselves offered up forms of magic that were incorporated into distinct stories. So the task for the modern American fantasist is to look at the ancient stories of his or her setting, to at least try to see the magic in the local landscape that has been recognized for centuries, and to go from there. Likewise, legends and tales that have been imported to our country offer up distinct possibilities for a deeply American form of magic. If you think of the stories of Toni Morrison and Virginia Hamilton, for example, they tap into the vein of tradition that came from Africa via slave ships, and then blend those tales with the politics and landscape of their time, merging them into contemporary tales that illuminate more fully what it is to be not only African American, but fully American. In The Underneath, I studied every story I could find about hummingbirds. It’s surprising how many folk tales and legends I found about such a tiny bird. I tried to understand where the magic arose and tapped into that vein. Does it have to do with the bird’s quickness, her tiny size, her shape? What is it about the hummingbird that defies science and offers up the possibility of magic?
When I was writing Scouts, I kept asking, what would a creature who rose right up out of the swamp look like? What would he care about? What would matter to him? What experiences might he have had through the course of history? Just as a Djinn might rise up out of the dust of the Arabian desert, or a selkie might show up on the Isle of Man, maybe a swamp man might rise up out of the east Texas canebrake.
You plant some wonderful seeds in the narrative. I’m thinking especially of the threat, “I’ll need a boatload of cash,” and the saying, “when pigs fly.” (And how literally Chap takes these – so kid-friendly!) How much of this comes to you organically and how much comes with revision?
I would say that one percent comes organically and ninety-nine comes from revision.
And a related question: are you a pantser or a plotter?
I think I start out as a pantser, but once I get my characters established, I turn into an avid plotter. I confess to being a believer in outlines. Oh yes, I do believe in outlines.
And yet another related question: I love the asides that are little information grabs – DeSotos, hogs – and that tie so many things together. Did this story unfold in a linear way? Did you know from the beginning you’d be weaving these pieces through the story?
A lot of those little asides were happy accidents. For example, I had already decided that I would use a DeSoto for the car, largely because of the hood ornament. I also knew that I would have a rampaging batch of hogs—my Bonnie and Clyde figures—but when I sat down to do a little research on hogs, I almost fell on the floor when I discovered that the first feral hogs came to this continent on boats under the command of, yep, DeSoto. I had a lot of happy accidents like that. It’s one of the joys of writing.
THE UNDERNEATHand KEEPER are gorgeous stories with serious tone – both made me cry like a baby. TRUE BLUE SCOUTS made me cry, too, but in an entirely different way, with tears of laughter. What was it like to “write something funny” for a change?
By now you know that it was Cynthia Leitich Smith who encouraged me to write something funny. At first, I didn’t really understand why she would send me a note telling me that. But it arrived at the end of a very difficult year for me, and as a friend, she sensed that I needed to take myself and my whole life a little less seriously. That is a good friend, who has the wherewithal to tell you something you may not be ready to hear. So, I’ll be forever grateful to Cyn for her honesty.
And it was exactly what I needed to do.
I have to say that I’m a believer in writing what you have to write. That’s not always an easy thing to do. Sometimes it’s painful; sometimes it’s egoistic; often it’s downright stupid. But often, it’s what your soul requires. Cyn is intuitive, and she could see what I couldn’t. I hope that I can be that person for my friends in return.
Is there a recipe for sugar pie, and if so can I have it?
You’ll have to ask Chap or his mother. But if you can talk them out of it, you have to eat it with a cup of Community Coffee.
Anything else you would like to share?
Only a big thank you for inviting me to sit down with you!
Kathi Appelt is the author of the Newbery Honor-winning, National Book Award finalist, PEN USA Literary Award-winning, and bestselling The Underneath as well as the highly acclaimed novels Keeper and The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp, and many picture books. She is a member of the faculty at Vermont College’s Master of Fine Arts program. She has two grown children and lives in Texas with her husband. For more information, visit her website at http://www.kathiappelt.com/.
And if I ever find the recipe for sugar pie, I'll share with my devoted readers. Oh, and with Chef Armend Latifi, too.
September 9, 2013
Rosanne Parry's WRITTEN IN STONE, Plus a Gatsby Party in Portland!
This coming Saturday I'll have the privilege of sitting on a panel with four other authors: Cat Winter (IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS), Susan Hill Long (WHISTLE IN THE DARK), Teri Brown (BORN OF ILLUSION), and my good friend Rosanne Parry (WRITTEN IN STONE). What do these excellent novels have in common with SIRENS? All our books are set in the 1920s. I'm truly looking forward to this event, and if you live in the Portland area, won't you stop by? We'll be at A Children's Place at 2PM, Saturday, September 14.
In anticipation, I've invited Rosanne to the blog today to talk about her novel and the writing life, and I think you'll agree that she is one smart and interesting lady, in addition to being a fabulous author.
Congratulations on the publication of your third novel, Written in Stone. Please give us a brief synopsis.
Pearl had always dreamed of hunting whales, just like her father. Of taking to the sea in their eight-man canoe, standing in the prow with a harpoon, and waiting for the whale to lift his barnacle-speckled head as it offers his life for the tribe.
But now that can never be. Pearl’s father was lost on the last hunt, and the whales hide from the great steam-powered ships carrying harpoon cannons which harvest not one but dozens of whales from the ocean. Pearl’s people, the Makah, struggle to survive as Pearl searches for ways to preserve their stories and skills.
As someone who has written about a very different cultural expression of the 1920’s, I’m curious to know why you chose that era as your time period.
When I decided to write about the tribes of the Olympic Peninsula I initially thought I’d write about the resumption of whale hunting which occurred in 1999. But as I learned more about the history of whaling and what the resumption of the hunt really meant to the Makah it occurred to me that the more interesting story was that they voluntarily gave up whaling in the early 1920s in response to a catastrophic drop in the whale population due to industrial whaling. How do you survive economically, culturally, spiritually, and socially when something that has been at the core of your identity so abruptly disappears? That’s a question that intrigues me, and cultural survival is an issue that I think will resonate with many people beyond the tribes in the story.
Beyond that I think the twenties are fascinating in terms of the shift from rural to urban living that occurred at this time and the changing role of women in the workplace and the fallout from the devastation of the First World War and subsequent influenza epidemic. Written in Stone touches briefly on all three of those issues. I chose 1923 specifically because Native Americans were not granted citizenship in the United States and the right to vote until 1924 long after thousands of them fought and died for their country in World War I. Everyone thinks of the Twenties in terms of women’s suffrage but there were many groups besides women who were still struggling to gain the right to vote for many years after the famous 19th amendment.
What kind of research did you do in order to capture the Makah culture of that period?
I was very fortunate to have the help and support of some of the women I taught with while I lived on the Quinault Reservation. They were great about answering my questions and giving me access to unpublished doctoral research about the tribe. I’ve been to the Makah Cultural Research Center many times and heard the chairman of the Makah Whaling commission speak about the role of whaling in his tribe’s history and their hopes for a whaling future.
Although I read quite a bit and there are many interesting books on the subject of Native American history, my favorite part of research is meeting people and hearing their stories. I love listening to an artist talk about carving in the workshop as the chips of cedar are flying. I loved to see the looks in my students faces as they were doing their traditional dances or watch the grandmother who came in to teach my student’s basket making. She brought in armfuls of sweet grass and raffia. With fewer than three sentences of instruction, but much encouragement to gather close and watch her hands, and a lively running conversation about the merits of various professional wrestlers, she had my students deeply engrossed in a craft in which they had just a few moments before loudly professed their lack of interest. Being fresh out of college myself I have to say her teaching technique was a revelation to me. And I’ll never forget how proud my students were of the baskets they eventually finished.
You write very deep and character-driven novels. Can you share techniques that you use to capture your characters? What about the character of Pearl, in particular?
I’m a great collector of writing tips and techniques and I love to try different things. For Pearl the key to getting at the heart of that girl was not so much a particular technique but a willingness to spill great quantities of ink in getting to know her. I finished the first draft of this story when my oldest girl was in the third grade. That girl graduated from college this year! In many ways Written in Stone is the book that made me a writer. I’ve written more drafts of this one than any other. It was in third person initially. I wrote several drafts in blank verse. I tried giving Pearl a more direct and contemporary voice, and an even more formalized storyteller’s voice than she has now. I think there is much to be gained, from rewriting a story many times from many different angles.
The heart of the matter, for me, came down to voice. I think Sherman Alexie does a great job of capturing a contemporary Native American voice. I think Graham Salisbury does excellent work with contemporary Hawaiian turn of phrase. When trying to write as I heard my Quinault and Makah neighbors speak, I couldn’t quite get the sound of the voice right. I was maybe 90% there but just as a violin a little bit out of tune is worse than one that’s miles out of key, I wasn’t willing to settle for almost right. So I gave the story a contemporary frame of a grandmother sharing her recollections with her granddaughter. This allowed me to use a slightly more formal tone and a storyteller’s turn of phrase, which suits my present talents better.
So that’s not very helpful in terms of concrete technique. How about this: if you love a story, don’t give up until you’re satisfied with it. :) How do you find the ideas for your stories – which are quite varied?
I was just talking to some students about this. Although my stories are quite different from each other, one thing they have in common is the coming-of-age theme. The thing that’s so exciting and also terrifying about being young is that the whole world is possible and its up to you to make choices that in the end will narrow your life considerably. So how do you know what your talents are and what you ought to do with your life because of those talents? That’s a great question to think about and I hope for families and students and teachers to talk about as they read the books.
I also think one of the great pleasures of fiction is that it takes you to someplace new and different every time. Heart of a Shepherd is set on a contemporary cattle and sheep ranch in Eastern Oregon one of the most starkly beautiful and empty places in the world. Second Fiddle is set in Berlin and Paris in 1990. I lived in Germany at that time, the fascinating and unsettled year when the Berlin Wall came down and the Soviet Union, the lifelong enemy of the Unites States, disappeared completely. It was a fascinating time to live abroad and great fun to revisit two of the most interesting and artistically vibrant capitols of Europe. Written in Stone is set in the only temperate rainforest in North America. The Quinaults maintain the only stretch of wilderness beach on the west coast. Yes, it rains about 15 feet a year, but the Twilight books got this setting entirely wrong. It’s not dark or depressing on the Olympic Peninsula. After the morning mists roll away there are as many clear days as cloudy and there is nothing to compare with the abundance of the rainforest. I’ve got some pictures from the Olympic Peninsula over at my Pinterest page. Take a look for yourself. http://pinterest.com/rosanneparry/written-in-stone/
What are you working on now?
I am so excited about my newest project. It’s a series for younger readers and it has magic in it, both of which are new ground for me. The first book is called Jamie and the Dark. It’s a friendship story about a boy who makes friends with the Dark—a kid much like Jamie, but only a foot tall, who lives in the closet and has pockets full of stories. It has been such fun to write something funny and light-hearted that has a really interesting story-within-the-story element.
I also wrote a graphic novel script for the book, which was a fascinating process. I love thinking about a story in new ways and it was fun to think about the pacing of the story in a much more visual way.I don’t have a publication date for Jamie and the Dark quite yet but I hope to have that all worked out sometime this fall. Where can readers find out more about you and your books?
My website www.rosanneparry.com is the place to go for information about author visits and lots more goodies like a recipe for each book. I’m also on Goodreads and you can follow me on Twitter @RosanneParry.
If you are lucky enough to live in Portland Oregon, I’ll be at A Children’s Place bookstore with Janet and 3 other MG and YA authors who also have books out this year set in the 1920s. We are going to have a Great Gatsby party and lots of lively conversation about historical fiction. That event will be Saturday September 14that 2pm. I hope to see you there.
My other project for the fall is Wordstock, Portland’s book festival. I’ll be doing a writer’s workshop on Saturday October 5th at 3pm. My reading and book signing will follow that at 5:30pm, and I’ll be moderating a panel discussion on creating multicultural characters Sunday October 6th at 5pm. All the events are at the Oregon Convention Center.
Thanks Janet for sharing your blog space with me. I’m so looking forward to spending some time with you next month.
So am I!!
In anticipation, I've invited Rosanne to the blog today to talk about her novel and the writing life, and I think you'll agree that she is one smart and interesting lady, in addition to being a fabulous author.
Congratulations on the publication of your third novel, Written in Stone. Please give us a brief synopsis.
Pearl had always dreamed of hunting whales, just like her father. Of taking to the sea in their eight-man canoe, standing in the prow with a harpoon, and waiting for the whale to lift his barnacle-speckled head as it offers his life for the tribe.
But now that can never be. Pearl’s father was lost on the last hunt, and the whales hide from the great steam-powered ships carrying harpoon cannons which harvest not one but dozens of whales from the ocean. Pearl’s people, the Makah, struggle to survive as Pearl searches for ways to preserve their stories and skills.
As someone who has written about a very different cultural expression of the 1920’s, I’m curious to know why you chose that era as your time period.
When I decided to write about the tribes of the Olympic Peninsula I initially thought I’d write about the resumption of whale hunting which occurred in 1999. But as I learned more about the history of whaling and what the resumption of the hunt really meant to the Makah it occurred to me that the more interesting story was that they voluntarily gave up whaling in the early 1920s in response to a catastrophic drop in the whale population due to industrial whaling. How do you survive economically, culturally, spiritually, and socially when something that has been at the core of your identity so abruptly disappears? That’s a question that intrigues me, and cultural survival is an issue that I think will resonate with many people beyond the tribes in the story.
Beyond that I think the twenties are fascinating in terms of the shift from rural to urban living that occurred at this time and the changing role of women in the workplace and the fallout from the devastation of the First World War and subsequent influenza epidemic. Written in Stone touches briefly on all three of those issues. I chose 1923 specifically because Native Americans were not granted citizenship in the United States and the right to vote until 1924 long after thousands of them fought and died for their country in World War I. Everyone thinks of the Twenties in terms of women’s suffrage but there were many groups besides women who were still struggling to gain the right to vote for many years after the famous 19th amendment.
What kind of research did you do in order to capture the Makah culture of that period?
I was very fortunate to have the help and support of some of the women I taught with while I lived on the Quinault Reservation. They were great about answering my questions and giving me access to unpublished doctoral research about the tribe. I’ve been to the Makah Cultural Research Center many times and heard the chairman of the Makah Whaling commission speak about the role of whaling in his tribe’s history and their hopes for a whaling future.
Although I read quite a bit and there are many interesting books on the subject of Native American history, my favorite part of research is meeting people and hearing their stories. I love listening to an artist talk about carving in the workshop as the chips of cedar are flying. I loved to see the looks in my students faces as they were doing their traditional dances or watch the grandmother who came in to teach my student’s basket making. She brought in armfuls of sweet grass and raffia. With fewer than three sentences of instruction, but much encouragement to gather close and watch her hands, and a lively running conversation about the merits of various professional wrestlers, she had my students deeply engrossed in a craft in which they had just a few moments before loudly professed their lack of interest. Being fresh out of college myself I have to say her teaching technique was a revelation to me. And I’ll never forget how proud my students were of the baskets they eventually finished.
You write very deep and character-driven novels. Can you share techniques that you use to capture your characters? What about the character of Pearl, in particular?
I’m a great collector of writing tips and techniques and I love to try different things. For Pearl the key to getting at the heart of that girl was not so much a particular technique but a willingness to spill great quantities of ink in getting to know her. I finished the first draft of this story when my oldest girl was in the third grade. That girl graduated from college this year! In many ways Written in Stone is the book that made me a writer. I’ve written more drafts of this one than any other. It was in third person initially. I wrote several drafts in blank verse. I tried giving Pearl a more direct and contemporary voice, and an even more formalized storyteller’s voice than she has now. I think there is much to be gained, from rewriting a story many times from many different angles. The heart of the matter, for me, came down to voice. I think Sherman Alexie does a great job of capturing a contemporary Native American voice. I think Graham Salisbury does excellent work with contemporary Hawaiian turn of phrase. When trying to write as I heard my Quinault and Makah neighbors speak, I couldn’t quite get the sound of the voice right. I was maybe 90% there but just as a violin a little bit out of tune is worse than one that’s miles out of key, I wasn’t willing to settle for almost right. So I gave the story a contemporary frame of a grandmother sharing her recollections with her granddaughter. This allowed me to use a slightly more formal tone and a storyteller’s turn of phrase, which suits my present talents better.
So that’s not very helpful in terms of concrete technique. How about this: if you love a story, don’t give up until you’re satisfied with it. :) How do you find the ideas for your stories – which are quite varied?
I was just talking to some students about this. Although my stories are quite different from each other, one thing they have in common is the coming-of-age theme. The thing that’s so exciting and also terrifying about being young is that the whole world is possible and its up to you to make choices that in the end will narrow your life considerably. So how do you know what your talents are and what you ought to do with your life because of those talents? That’s a great question to think about and I hope for families and students and teachers to talk about as they read the books.
I also think one of the great pleasures of fiction is that it takes you to someplace new and different every time. Heart of a Shepherd is set on a contemporary cattle and sheep ranch in Eastern Oregon one of the most starkly beautiful and empty places in the world. Second Fiddle is set in Berlin and Paris in 1990. I lived in Germany at that time, the fascinating and unsettled year when the Berlin Wall came down and the Soviet Union, the lifelong enemy of the Unites States, disappeared completely. It was a fascinating time to live abroad and great fun to revisit two of the most interesting and artistically vibrant capitols of Europe. Written in Stone is set in the only temperate rainforest in North America. The Quinaults maintain the only stretch of wilderness beach on the west coast. Yes, it rains about 15 feet a year, but the Twilight books got this setting entirely wrong. It’s not dark or depressing on the Olympic Peninsula. After the morning mists roll away there are as many clear days as cloudy and there is nothing to compare with the abundance of the rainforest. I’ve got some pictures from the Olympic Peninsula over at my Pinterest page. Take a look for yourself. http://pinterest.com/rosanneparry/written-in-stone/
What are you working on now?
I am so excited about my newest project. It’s a series for younger readers and it has magic in it, both of which are new ground for me. The first book is called Jamie and the Dark. It’s a friendship story about a boy who makes friends with the Dark—a kid much like Jamie, but only a foot tall, who lives in the closet and has pockets full of stories. It has been such fun to write something funny and light-hearted that has a really interesting story-within-the-story element.
I also wrote a graphic novel script for the book, which was a fascinating process. I love thinking about a story in new ways and it was fun to think about the pacing of the story in a much more visual way.I don’t have a publication date for Jamie and the Dark quite yet but I hope to have that all worked out sometime this fall. Where can readers find out more about you and your books?
My website www.rosanneparry.com is the place to go for information about author visits and lots more goodies like a recipe for each book. I’m also on Goodreads and you can follow me on Twitter @RosanneParry.
If you are lucky enough to live in Portland Oregon, I’ll be at A Children’s Place bookstore with Janet and 3 other MG and YA authors who also have books out this year set in the 1920s. We are going to have a Great Gatsby party and lots of lively conversation about historical fiction. That event will be Saturday September 14that 2pm. I hope to see you there.
My other project for the fall is Wordstock, Portland’s book festival. I’ll be doing a writer’s workshop on Saturday October 5th at 3pm. My reading and book signing will follow that at 5:30pm, and I’ll be moderating a panel discussion on creating multicultural characters Sunday October 6th at 5pm. All the events are at the Oregon Convention Center.
Thanks Janet for sharing your blog space with me. I’m so looking forward to spending some time with you next month.
So am I!!
September 2, 2013
Scrivener and Me: A Love Story
As many of you know (if you’ve followed my blog or my work) I’m a pantser. An organic writer. Every time in the past that I’ve tried to create an outline I’ve felt it killed my work, and inhibited me from the freedom of discovery that I believe is a key element to my personal creative process.
No one could get me to plan a novel and, believe me, they tried.
Enter Scrivener. (Before I go any further, this is not an endorsement except of the most personal kind. Oh, and I’m a Mac user, and Scrivener was initially made for the Mac although there is now a PC version. But I can’t account for that one – so please sing out about it if you use it.)
But let’s take a step back, to the novel I’ve just finished as draft number 7.
This novel is a middle grade fantasy. The idea for it popped into my mind from the clear blue, and I wrote the first draft fast – so fast it was a blur. It’s a complex fantasy involving two points of view and two separate timelines that converge midway through the novel. When I was drafting, the POV was in fact omniscient with digressions into a closer third. I had multiple mini-chapters, and resorted to the old cut and scotch-tape in order to move one bit here and another there, to see if it made any better sense.
In other words, this document was a knotty, tangled mess.
It still has issues, and I only wish I’d discovered Scrivener before now.
I had just put this draft 7 aside for a rest when a new idea arrived (I love my muse - mwah!!). And I’d just finally bought myself a new computer, and while upgrading my software I thought, well, what about Scrivener? I’d had it for years and never tried it, so, what about it?
I decided that if I was ever going to play with new software why not at the beginning of a new project on a new computer, when I’m a bit in transition mode anyway.
Scrivener had eluded me in the past because it didn’t seem completely intuitive and easy, and I still think that’s true. But once I got started – even a little bit into it – I was hooked.
screen shot of the Literature and Latte site explaining Scrivener
Scrivener is like the ultimate virtual Trapper-Keeper. I do a ton of research for each of my books: I collect photographs and maps; I collect links within links; I draw and mind-map. All of these pieces of information can be stored within a single Scrivener document to be retrieved instantly while I’m working. No more closing one window to open another, no more logging on and off line to get back to something that I’m hoping I can find again, no more digging through that pile of print-outs to find the one picture or map or tidbit of information that I know is somewhere in there.
Furthermore, Scrivener’s corkboard tool is awesome. I have several whiteboards and corkboards – all awkwardly huge and cumbersome – and they were my mind-map places, with sticky notes or index cards that inevitably fell off or became jumbled. In Scrivener, I can create a virtual corkboard that goes wherever my computer goes. I can move and replace and add; I can annotate and highlight and transfer. I can color-code; I can change the size of the index cards so that more fit on my corkboard, or fewer. I can even use an outline feature – but, no, that will never happen.
One of my friends said that Scrivener is a program made for writers by writers. In other words, it’s the perfect left brain meets right brain tool.
screen shot of my corkboard
Here are several hints if you decide you want to try Scrivener.
1. Try it for free. The folks at Literature and Latte are really awesome and you can give it a test drive. And really, it’s not that expensive if you are willing to take a chance.2. The written tutorials are good, but in my case my eyes glaze over with all that technical stuff. I just want to get on the road. So I watched the two introductory video tutorials, one short and one long (links in the Scrivener help menu), and they are terrific starters. I had to watch them twice but during the second run-through I had set up a practice manuscript, and I just paused the tutorial and practiced for a minute in the practice ms until I understood where to go and what to do.3. Don’t make the mistake I did of filling in the template sheets without doing a save as first. I had to reconstruct the template sheets after I realized that mistake. (You don’t need the templates – but I thought they were rather nice.)4. Figure out through practice how to toggle between the corkboard and your manuscript, and between showing the image and showing the synopsis in the sidebar. I thought I was going crazy – importing images that seemed to vanish – until I realized that they were waiting for me in the image mode.5. Compiling seems to be one of the places people complain about. Compiling is transferring your manuscript to another platform, such as Word. I haven’t reached that stage; but I have copied and pasted a number of chapters of my new novel into Word without a single hitch or change in formatting (unlike what I’ve experienced in using Pages on my iPad, but don’t get me started on that.)
In essence, this confirmed pantser has become a kind-of plotter, thanks to Scrivener. The bottom line? I’m writing more words per day, more efficiently, and yet I’ve retained the creative flexibility that I cherish.
Now I need to go back to the fantasy and see if Scrivener will help me untangle those knots!
No one could get me to plan a novel and, believe me, they tried.
Enter Scrivener. (Before I go any further, this is not an endorsement except of the most personal kind. Oh, and I’m a Mac user, and Scrivener was initially made for the Mac although there is now a PC version. But I can’t account for that one – so please sing out about it if you use it.)
But let’s take a step back, to the novel I’ve just finished as draft number 7.
This novel is a middle grade fantasy. The idea for it popped into my mind from the clear blue, and I wrote the first draft fast – so fast it was a blur. It’s a complex fantasy involving two points of view and two separate timelines that converge midway through the novel. When I was drafting, the POV was in fact omniscient with digressions into a closer third. I had multiple mini-chapters, and resorted to the old cut and scotch-tape in order to move one bit here and another there, to see if it made any better sense.
In other words, this document was a knotty, tangled mess.
It still has issues, and I only wish I’d discovered Scrivener before now.
I had just put this draft 7 aside for a rest when a new idea arrived (I love my muse - mwah!!). And I’d just finally bought myself a new computer, and while upgrading my software I thought, well, what about Scrivener? I’d had it for years and never tried it, so, what about it?
I decided that if I was ever going to play with new software why not at the beginning of a new project on a new computer, when I’m a bit in transition mode anyway.
Scrivener had eluded me in the past because it didn’t seem completely intuitive and easy, and I still think that’s true. But once I got started – even a little bit into it – I was hooked.
screen shot of the Literature and Latte site explaining ScrivenerScrivener is like the ultimate virtual Trapper-Keeper. I do a ton of research for each of my books: I collect photographs and maps; I collect links within links; I draw and mind-map. All of these pieces of information can be stored within a single Scrivener document to be retrieved instantly while I’m working. No more closing one window to open another, no more logging on and off line to get back to something that I’m hoping I can find again, no more digging through that pile of print-outs to find the one picture or map or tidbit of information that I know is somewhere in there.
Furthermore, Scrivener’s corkboard tool is awesome. I have several whiteboards and corkboards – all awkwardly huge and cumbersome – and they were my mind-map places, with sticky notes or index cards that inevitably fell off or became jumbled. In Scrivener, I can create a virtual corkboard that goes wherever my computer goes. I can move and replace and add; I can annotate and highlight and transfer. I can color-code; I can change the size of the index cards so that more fit on my corkboard, or fewer. I can even use an outline feature – but, no, that will never happen.
One of my friends said that Scrivener is a program made for writers by writers. In other words, it’s the perfect left brain meets right brain tool.
screen shot of my corkboardHere are several hints if you decide you want to try Scrivener.
1. Try it for free. The folks at Literature and Latte are really awesome and you can give it a test drive. And really, it’s not that expensive if you are willing to take a chance.2. The written tutorials are good, but in my case my eyes glaze over with all that technical stuff. I just want to get on the road. So I watched the two introductory video tutorials, one short and one long (links in the Scrivener help menu), and they are terrific starters. I had to watch them twice but during the second run-through I had set up a practice manuscript, and I just paused the tutorial and practiced for a minute in the practice ms until I understood where to go and what to do.3. Don’t make the mistake I did of filling in the template sheets without doing a save as first. I had to reconstruct the template sheets after I realized that mistake. (You don’t need the templates – but I thought they were rather nice.)4. Figure out through practice how to toggle between the corkboard and your manuscript, and between showing the image and showing the synopsis in the sidebar. I thought I was going crazy – importing images that seemed to vanish – until I realized that they were waiting for me in the image mode.5. Compiling seems to be one of the places people complain about. Compiling is transferring your manuscript to another platform, such as Word. I haven’t reached that stage; but I have copied and pasted a number of chapters of my new novel into Word without a single hitch or change in formatting (unlike what I’ve experienced in using Pages on my iPad, but don’t get me started on that.)
In essence, this confirmed pantser has become a kind-of plotter, thanks to Scrivener. The bottom line? I’m writing more words per day, more efficiently, and yet I’ve retained the creative flexibility that I cherish.
Now I need to go back to the fantasy and see if Scrivener will help me untangle those knots!
August 27, 2013
Uma Krishnaswami's THE PROBLEM WITH BEING SLIGHTLY HEROIC: Interview & Giveaway
Uma Krishnaswami is one of my favorite people, not to mention one of my favorite authors, not to mention a true talent, crafting delightful middle grade books. Like her newest - The Problem With Being Slightly Heroic, a sequel to her charming The Grand Plan to Fix Everything - rich with humor, cultural interest, and fabulous characters. (Full disclosure: Uma was my advisor at Vermont College of Fine Arts during my critical thesis semester, and she Made. It. Happen.)
At my urging (okay, I had to beg...okay, I had to promise the Chef my own grandmother's secret granache recipe) Uma was able to persuade the one and only Chef Armend Latifi (yes, people, "Cooking With the Stars" Chef Armend!) to join me on the blog for an interview.
But before we go too far, we do have a giveaway!! There's a giveaway copy of The Problem With Being Slightly Heroic (U.S. addresses, please), so check out the Rafflecopter at the bottom!
Now, here we go into the Chef's inner sanctum...
Chef Armend, please forgive the intrusion into your busy schedule. I hope you don’t mind my stepping into your kitchen to ask you a few questions.
WHO are you? Blogs? What is a blog? Never heard of you. Young lady, listen to me. If your business is not haute cuisine, I have no time for it.
Um—can we talk…[looks around for inspiration] pastry crust? [Steps inside the door]. Please. Pretty please?
Whatwhat? You’re interested in pastry crust? Why didn’t you say so? Sit. Here. Take a look at that. Fine, yes? Look at that surface, that texture! That is a divine crust, you hear, divine. It is a symphony made with flour and butter and a delicate sprinkling of sea salt. [Stands there for a moment, lost in admiration of his own handiwork].
[Interviewer happens to think her pastry crust is pretty darn good, thank you very much...um, sorry.] Chef, what is your opinion of rose petal milk shakes? Of rose petal chocolate cake? Of rose petals in general?
Rose petals? Rose petals? [Kisses his fingertips.] I am a connoisseur of rose petals. There are rumors flying around that I used to be allergic to them. [Mutters] That is all nonsense. You be sure and tell your readers—all fabrication and lies. I am a sensitive soul, that’s all, and roses are a vital part of my family history. As for rose petal chocolate cake, let me tell you that MY cake is to be entered in the next Great British Bake-off. They’re taking bets on it, I’m told—what do you think about that?
Most impressive, Chef. On another subject, how do you feel about your first meeting with Dolly Singh?
Whowhowho? Oh, Dolly. We have a good working relationship now, don’t get me wrong. But she—she’s a bit touchy. [Shudders.] All that jewelry she throws around. Touchy and unpredictable, and we will not even talk about that first meeting, nonoNO. [Slams hand down on counter, then shrugs.] Well what do you expect? From a movie star? Hey, they’re all like that. Try this dressing for my six-fruit compote. Is that a wondrous flavor? Tastetastetaste!
[Yum. Yumyumyum. Wipes lips.] I know you were very fond of your grandmother. Can you tell us a bit about her?
My Nona? My NONA! [Wipes eyes.] She was a SAINT. A saint, but could anyone win an argument with her? ANYONE? NO, I tell you, no. My Nona was the cleverest woman in the world and the bravest and the kindest, the sweetest, the best. She used to read poetry to me—about love, suffering, solitude, death. The thorns that plague all rose bushes. Beautiful, simply beautiful! Do you have a grandmother? DO you? Grandmothers. They are all saints!
[See intro re ganache, which recipe interviewer politely and slyly slides across the table...] Maybe you could give me some culinary advice. I have this recipe for chocolate-cucumber-mint….
Cucumber? Chocolate-cucumber-mint? [Shakes head violently.] In a word…NO! And now thank you very much but I have work to do, WORK! Unlike some people who spend their time writing in blogs. Ha! [Takes notes as interviewer leaves and can be heard murmuring]. Chocolate. Cucumber. Huh. Mint? Hmmm.
Want more from the Chef? I do!! Here you go:
Uma Krishnaswami is the author of several books for children, including the first story featuring Dini, Maddie, and Dolly, The Grand Plan to Fix Everything. She is also on the faculty of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Ms. Krishnaswami was born in New Delhi, India, and now lives in Aztec, New Mexico. To learn more, visit her website: http://www.umakrishnaswami.com/.
Watch the book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zuWPm5vWZ8
Follow all of the unforgettable characters from The Problem with Being Slightly Heroic on Uma Krishnaswami’s blog tour!
Mon, Aug 19 GreenBeanTeenQueen http://www.greenbeanteenqueen.com/ Dini Tues, Aug 20 There's a Book http://www.theresabook.com/ Maddie Wed, Aug 21 Once Upon a Story http://www.novalibrarymom.com/ Soli Dustup Thurs, Aug 22 The Compulsive Reader http://www.thecompulsivereader.com/ Dini's father Fri, Aug 23 Sharpread http://sharpread.wordpress.com/ Chickoo Uncle Sat, Aug 24 Booking Mama http://www.bookingmama.net/ review Mon, Aug 26 Read Now, Sleep later http://www.readnowsleeplater.com/ Mini Tues, Aug 27 I Read Banned Books http://www.jenbigheart.com/ Dolly Wed, Aug 28 Through the Wardrobe http://kidswriterjfox.blogspot.com/ Chef Armend Latifi Thurs, Aug 29 The Book Monsters http://www.thebookmonsters.com/ Ollie Fri, Aug 30 The Brain Lair http://www.thebrainlair.com/ Alana
a Rafflecopter giveaway
At my urging (okay, I had to beg...okay, I had to promise the Chef my own grandmother's secret granache recipe) Uma was able to persuade the one and only Chef Armend Latifi (yes, people, "Cooking With the Stars" Chef Armend!) to join me on the blog for an interview.
But before we go too far, we do have a giveaway!! There's a giveaway copy of The Problem With Being Slightly Heroic (U.S. addresses, please), so check out the Rafflecopter at the bottom!
Now, here we go into the Chef's inner sanctum...
Chef Armend, please forgive the intrusion into your busy schedule. I hope you don’t mind my stepping into your kitchen to ask you a few questions.
WHO are you? Blogs? What is a blog? Never heard of you. Young lady, listen to me. If your business is not haute cuisine, I have no time for it.
Um—can we talk…[looks around for inspiration] pastry crust? [Steps inside the door]. Please. Pretty please?
Whatwhat? You’re interested in pastry crust? Why didn’t you say so? Sit. Here. Take a look at that. Fine, yes? Look at that surface, that texture! That is a divine crust, you hear, divine. It is a symphony made with flour and butter and a delicate sprinkling of sea salt. [Stands there for a moment, lost in admiration of his own handiwork].
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[Interviewer happens to think her pastry crust is pretty darn good, thank you very much...um, sorry.] Chef, what is your opinion of rose petal milk shakes? Of rose petal chocolate cake? Of rose petals in general?Rose petals? Rose petals? [Kisses his fingertips.] I am a connoisseur of rose petals. There are rumors flying around that I used to be allergic to them. [Mutters] That is all nonsense. You be sure and tell your readers—all fabrication and lies. I am a sensitive soul, that’s all, and roses are a vital part of my family history. As for rose petal chocolate cake, let me tell you that MY cake is to be entered in the next Great British Bake-off. They’re taking bets on it, I’m told—what do you think about that?
Most impressive, Chef. On another subject, how do you feel about your first meeting with Dolly Singh?
Whowhowho? Oh, Dolly. We have a good working relationship now, don’t get me wrong. But she—she’s a bit touchy. [Shudders.] All that jewelry she throws around. Touchy and unpredictable, and we will not even talk about that first meeting, nonoNO. [Slams hand down on counter, then shrugs.] Well what do you expect? From a movie star? Hey, they’re all like that. Try this dressing for my six-fruit compote. Is that a wondrous flavor? Tastetastetaste!
[Yum. Yumyumyum. Wipes lips.] I know you were very fond of your grandmother. Can you tell us a bit about her?
My Nona? My NONA! [Wipes eyes.] She was a SAINT. A saint, but could anyone win an argument with her? ANYONE? NO, I tell you, no. My Nona was the cleverest woman in the world and the bravest and the kindest, the sweetest, the best. She used to read poetry to me—about love, suffering, solitude, death. The thorns that plague all rose bushes. Beautiful, simply beautiful! Do you have a grandmother? DO you? Grandmothers. They are all saints!
[See intro re ganache, which recipe interviewer politely and slyly slides across the table...] Maybe you could give me some culinary advice. I have this recipe for chocolate-cucumber-mint….
Cucumber? Chocolate-cucumber-mint? [Shakes head violently.] In a word…NO! And now thank you very much but I have work to do, WORK! Unlike some people who spend their time writing in blogs. Ha! [Takes notes as interviewer leaves and can be heard murmuring]. Chocolate. Cucumber. Huh. Mint? Hmmm.
Want more from the Chef? I do!! Here you go:
Uma Krishnaswami is the author of several books for children, including the first story featuring Dini, Maddie, and Dolly, The Grand Plan to Fix Everything. She is also on the faculty of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Ms. Krishnaswami was born in New Delhi, India, and now lives in Aztec, New Mexico. To learn more, visit her website: http://www.umakrishnaswami.com/.
Watch the book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zuWPm5vWZ8
Follow all of the unforgettable characters from The Problem with Being Slightly Heroic on Uma Krishnaswami’s blog tour!
Mon, Aug 19 GreenBeanTeenQueen http://www.greenbeanteenqueen.com/ Dini Tues, Aug 20 There's a Book http://www.theresabook.com/ Maddie Wed, Aug 21 Once Upon a Story http://www.novalibrarymom.com/ Soli Dustup Thurs, Aug 22 The Compulsive Reader http://www.thecompulsivereader.com/ Dini's father Fri, Aug 23 Sharpread http://sharpread.wordpress.com/ Chickoo Uncle Sat, Aug 24 Booking Mama http://www.bookingmama.net/ review Mon, Aug 26 Read Now, Sleep later http://www.readnowsleeplater.com/ Mini Tues, Aug 27 I Read Banned Books http://www.jenbigheart.com/ Dolly Wed, Aug 28 Through the Wardrobe http://kidswriterjfox.blogspot.com/ Chef Armend Latifi Thurs, Aug 29 The Book Monsters http://www.thebookmonsters.com/ Ollie Fri, Aug 30 The Brain Lair http://www.thebrainlair.com/ Alana
a Rafflecopter giveaway
August 23, 2013
Creating Little Videos
I've been taking Katie Davis's Video Idiot Boot Camp and learning a ton of fun stuff about making videos. The lessons are comprehensive and I've only begun to scratch the surface, but here's my first little creation, made through an awesome app called Powtoon:
The plan is I'll put it somewhere on my website, perhaps as part of a larger piece. Stay tuned!! (Or Tooned......)
The plan is I'll put it somewhere on my website, perhaps as part of a larger piece. Stay tuned!! (Or Tooned......)
August 3, 2013
Publishing the E-Book: Ten Things to Think About If You Are Thinking About Going Independent
In the past three years we’ve all watched the e-book market move from non-existent to a significant percentage of sales. That revolution has resulted in a change in publishing that I would never have imagined when I started writing for children over ten years ago.
Authors are moving to independent electronic publishing with astonishing results.
No longer is independent publishing “self-publishing” or “vanity publishing” with negative connotations. It’s a little hard for a traditionally-pubbed author to feel superior to someone who sells 5000 e-book copies a month, reaches the Times bestseller lists, and/or makes over a million dollars a year.
Yes, I’ve met or corresponded with more than one of these successful authors.
After listening to any number of tales from trenches, I’ve got a few thoughts on the new world order. If you are considering taking the plunge into publishing your book electronically, here are some things to ponder.
Write a great story. Regardless of anything else I say, this is the only way to be truly successful. That means writing a story that captivates the reader with worthy characters and a strong plot, a story that doesn’t bewilder or bore, a story with an arc and a satisfying ending. And the writing needs to be grammatically correct and error-free.Consider your readership. Some genres are more successful as e-books than others. Romance, in particular, has a vast audience of readers willing to read quickly and often, who are used to purchasing an inexpensive book every few days, and are loyal to authors and sub-genres. Mystery readers are right behind romance readers in appetite. Science fiction and fantasy for YA and older is good. Literary fiction? Middle grade? Not quite there yet. Resources: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5NRfjnOAu8Hire an editor. Even if you think your book is perfect it pays to hire a freelance editor to give you holistic plot advice, and/or to copyedit your text for grammar, punctuation, etc. Resources: http://www.the-efa.org/ , http://www.free-expressions.com/service-overview/Create a fabulous cover. Most of us are visual, and most readers choose their reads based in large part upon the cover. For your book to find an audience, it must have an attractive cover and one that translates to thumbnail size. If you’re not an artist, or are not facile with Photoshop, pay someone to make you the perfect cover. Resources: http://www.bookcoverpro.com/, http://www.earthlycharms.com/home.htmHire a formatter. For books to be uploaded onto Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or any of the other e-book vendors it must be formatted correctly. Yes, you can do it yourself, but unless you are gifted in formatting I suggest hiring someone to do that bit for you. Resources: https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A2MB3WT2D0PTNK, http://mcwriting.com/MC/eBooks_ePubs.htmlConsider these costs. Editing costs range from the hundreds to the thousands. If you are already a strong writer, you could hire a grad student from your regional college to copyedit. Cover costs run in the mid to high hundreds. Formatting costs in the few hundreds of dollars. The writers I’ve heard from have paid between $500 and $1000 to get their books ready to market. Resources: http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2013/05/the-real-costs-of-self-publishing-book(I do think the numbers in this article are on the high side, based on personal feedback I’ve had with successful authors.)Tag for your audience. Metatags for your book should be correct and targeted. That’s the only way for readers to find your book among the millions of e-books. Consider genre, sub-genre, regional flavor, age range, and character hobbies among other things. Be truthful, or you’ll turn readers away. You should check your “subject keywords” as you upload content. Amazon only allows for two categories per book. Resources: https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/help?ie=UTF8&topicID=201231280Consider a low starting price. One best-selling author I’ve met launched her first e-book on Amazon for $0.99, with a royalty rate of 35%. Within a couple of months she was selling 5000 copies a month. A year later, when she launched her second book, she’d gained enough of an audience to give book two a $2.99 price point and still sell at the same rate. With an Amazon author royalty rate of 70% for books priced between $2.99 and $9.99, you do the math. Caveat: the vast majority of authors don’t even make back their expenses. Resources: http://www.authorems.com/money-matters/tracking-sale/ Grow your audience. The best way to grow your audience is by writing your next book. The second-best way is to participate in social media. That means having a website, Facebook author page, and a Twitter account, at the very least. And keep it all current without driving yourself insane. http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2013/02/guy-kawasakis-10-social-media-tips-for-authors045Keep up with changes. The publishing industry is experiencing a revolution. What I say today (except for the part about writing a great book!) won’t be relevant tomorrow. Be aware of industry developments. Join a group like Romance Writers of America, SCBWI, or Mystery Writers of America.
If you decide to go for independent publishing, please share your experiences, and if I can I’ll feature you in a follow-up post.
Authors are moving to independent electronic publishing with astonishing results.
No longer is independent publishing “self-publishing” or “vanity publishing” with negative connotations. It’s a little hard for a traditionally-pubbed author to feel superior to someone who sells 5000 e-book copies a month, reaches the Times bestseller lists, and/or makes over a million dollars a year.Yes, I’ve met or corresponded with more than one of these successful authors.
After listening to any number of tales from trenches, I’ve got a few thoughts on the new world order. If you are considering taking the plunge into publishing your book electronically, here are some things to ponder.
Write a great story. Regardless of anything else I say, this is the only way to be truly successful. That means writing a story that captivates the reader with worthy characters and a strong plot, a story that doesn’t bewilder or bore, a story with an arc and a satisfying ending. And the writing needs to be grammatically correct and error-free.Consider your readership. Some genres are more successful as e-books than others. Romance, in particular, has a vast audience of readers willing to read quickly and often, who are used to purchasing an inexpensive book every few days, and are loyal to authors and sub-genres. Mystery readers are right behind romance readers in appetite. Science fiction and fantasy for YA and older is good. Literary fiction? Middle grade? Not quite there yet. Resources: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5NRfjnOAu8Hire an editor. Even if you think your book is perfect it pays to hire a freelance editor to give you holistic plot advice, and/or to copyedit your text for grammar, punctuation, etc. Resources: http://www.the-efa.org/ , http://www.free-expressions.com/service-overview/Create a fabulous cover. Most of us are visual, and most readers choose their reads based in large part upon the cover. For your book to find an audience, it must have an attractive cover and one that translates to thumbnail size. If you’re not an artist, or are not facile with Photoshop, pay someone to make you the perfect cover. Resources: http://www.bookcoverpro.com/, http://www.earthlycharms.com/home.htmHire a formatter. For books to be uploaded onto Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or any of the other e-book vendors it must be formatted correctly. Yes, you can do it yourself, but unless you are gifted in formatting I suggest hiring someone to do that bit for you. Resources: https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A2MB3WT2D0PTNK, http://mcwriting.com/MC/eBooks_ePubs.htmlConsider these costs. Editing costs range from the hundreds to the thousands. If you are already a strong writer, you could hire a grad student from your regional college to copyedit. Cover costs run in the mid to high hundreds. Formatting costs in the few hundreds of dollars. The writers I’ve heard from have paid between $500 and $1000 to get their books ready to market. Resources: http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2013/05/the-real-costs-of-self-publishing-book(I do think the numbers in this article are on the high side, based on personal feedback I’ve had with successful authors.)Tag for your audience. Metatags for your book should be correct and targeted. That’s the only way for readers to find your book among the millions of e-books. Consider genre, sub-genre, regional flavor, age range, and character hobbies among other things. Be truthful, or you’ll turn readers away. You should check your “subject keywords” as you upload content. Amazon only allows for two categories per book. Resources: https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/help?ie=UTF8&topicID=201231280Consider a low starting price. One best-selling author I’ve met launched her first e-book on Amazon for $0.99, with a royalty rate of 35%. Within a couple of months she was selling 5000 copies a month. A year later, when she launched her second book, she’d gained enough of an audience to give book two a $2.99 price point and still sell at the same rate. With an Amazon author royalty rate of 70% for books priced between $2.99 and $9.99, you do the math. Caveat: the vast majority of authors don’t even make back their expenses. Resources: http://www.authorems.com/money-matters/tracking-sale/ Grow your audience. The best way to grow your audience is by writing your next book. The second-best way is to participate in social media. That means having a website, Facebook author page, and a Twitter account, at the very least. And keep it all current without driving yourself insane. http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2013/02/guy-kawasakis-10-social-media-tips-for-authors045Keep up with changes. The publishing industry is experiencing a revolution. What I say today (except for the part about writing a great book!) won’t be relevant tomorrow. Be aware of industry developments. Join a group like Romance Writers of America, SCBWI, or Mystery Writers of America.
If you decide to go for independent publishing, please share your experiences, and if I can I’ll feature you in a follow-up post.
