A.C. Gaughen's Blog, page 17

have books, will hug

My mind is a bit of a jumble and I've been working a lot lately–which is really strange, because for the first time in two months, I have time to think.  And work! And write!  and do things!

Which has actually kind of been working out.  Working and doing things.  Working a lot allows me to focus because where I work, I'm alone all night long in a small room and it kind of leaves you alone with your thoughts.  Or Grey's Anatomy, as the case may be.  I just have been so busy since January 1st, I feel like I haven't been myself.  I haven't had the chance to write, which actually does mean that I haven't been myself.

But cool things have been happening while I've been maintaining radio silence.  Very cool things!  First off, i got to meet my editors in New York, and I got to see the Bloomsbury/Walker office and I managed to somehow–somehow!–convince them I was (am?) a professional writer.  I felt so nervous going into it like it was the biggest interview of my life and as soon as I met them and saw the office and met everyone who is excited about this book it kind of hit me:

this is happening.

did you know that?  I'm getting a book published.  it will have a cover.  it will have pages.  and it already has people.  like this hapless little child it already has people in the world that love it.  people in the world that desperately want it to succeed.  it's become woven into the fabric of something greater than my macbook, than my imagination.

it's real.  this dream, this crazy, far off pipe dream that I've had so long is happening.

when i was a kid, i remember reading and hugging books.  like after I finished them, i'd press them to my chest like i could absorb them.  because i felt this half a second of emotion, of connection, and it was like a whip of lightning reaching out and connecting me to something else.  sometimes i felt like it was the author, but most times i felt like somehow, through this unlikely mirror, I had made a connection to an undiscovered part of myself.  I thought that was the greatest talent, to be that mirror.  to forge that connection.

i have that chance now.  and now i understand it so much more deeply, because each story is a chance for me to uncover that new internal connection, but also to give someone else a chance to go through that journey.  maybe my books won't be earthshattering, or best sellers, or even all that important–but they might give one lonely little kid that feeling that they aren't alone, and give them that mirror to look inside themselves and see something incredible, unexpected, even if it is fleeting.

maybe some kid will hug my book.

then again, maybe not–but a girl can dream.

I'm Back with Book Covers and Video!

No, sadly, the book cover isn't mine.  It is, however, a fellow-former Apocalypsie (she got moved up to 2011 and her book is out in August!!)

POSSESS by Gretchen McNeil

How insanely gorgeous is that?  I'll be lucky if SCARLET gets half as gorgeous a cover!  (Speaking of which, I can't WAIT to see my cover art.  I think it's going to be a while, but still).

For those of you who aren't really privy to the publishing process, we authors (I still can't really get over that I can say "we authors") get little to no say in the cover-art-process.  Which sucks, if you think about it, because common proverbs are all lies–we TOTALLY buy books based on their covers.  Hell, I bought an iPad so I could see book covers again.  (maybe not the primary reason….but it was one of them).

That being said, I'm in a visual mood and I just figured out how to use iMovie, so check out this little teaser trailer for SCARLET: My Name is Scarlet

Why won't this blog let me embed things?  ::pout::

More to come later!

xx

Feminists, Books, Stats, and Links

Lots of stuff going on around the internet lately, and not all of it is good.  Here's my roundup.

First, over on VIDA, the Count is up: a numerical representation of all the women published in major magazines.  Now, as a young adult writer, it's always killed me that women seem to make up all the conferences I go to, the critique groups I belong to, the agencies and publishing houses I deal with.  And yet by far and away, the award winners and the writers reviewed in People are men.  Now I'm not saying People is the arbiter of literary merit by any means, but still.

And the Count is totally depressing.  There is one publication on there (mostly lit mags) that has more than 50% coverage of female writers, and the rest are woefully less.  Seriously?

I cannot explain this trend.  I'm saddened by it, I'll do my part to blaze a trail of literary greatness that earns the kind of awards that young girls can look to, can point to, and say "I want to do that too.  I CAN do that too."

Because I think that's what we have to do–aspire to greatness that, in and of itself, inspires others to achieve the same.  Glass ceilings and such be damned.

Second, I ran across this collection of statistics that, actually quite encouragingly, lead me to believe that the true gatekeepers of children's fiction are not the bestsellers on Amazon or the flashy marketing on the Disney Channel, but rather the librarians that really know their books.  Librarians love books, and frankly, authors love librarians.  And if they are the ones who hand a child a book–a decision not influenced by cash incentives or product placement or cover art but rather by the content between the covers–I'd say that children's literature is in a pretty encouraging place.

Third, there was a big bruhaha over Bitch Magazine's list of feminist books, then caving to reader pressure and removing books from that list, but frankly I'd just be cribbing from this post if I summed it all up here, so you should just go check out JJ's Blog. Read through to the end because I really dig her own "feminist" list.

Fourth, I just read that Angie Frazier's new MG novel is a Kids Indie Next Pick (which essentially means its featured by independent booksellers and gets her a lot of genuinely well deserved publicity, which is AMAZING!!!) and I couldn't be more excited for her!

All in all–I'm a big fan of women finding their own success and their own feminist power.  I love to see other women being AWESOME.  And I'm not saying men can't have their own, but too often I see girls that hold it in, don't say what they mean, don't go after what they want.  In books and in life, I think women should root for each other, support each other, and celebrate their awesomeness.

And as for my two feminist choices, my childhood idol heroine was definitely Alanna from Tamora Pierce's SONG OF THE LIONESS series.

But as a writer and a twentysomething, my choice is the awesomely badass, sexually liberated, so hot it's literally a problem Fire from Kristen Cashore's book of the same name.

And that's all, folks.

xx

SCBWI Rundown

Hello World!  I have made it back from the big bad city and I'm in one solidly suburban piece.  Aren't you impressed?

I even rode the NY subway.  AND SURVIVED.  I don't know how Meg Cabot was so New York for so long and is still so irrepressibly bubbly and pink.

Maybe she didn't ride the subway.  Dark things happen on the subway.

Anyway, I had a qualified great time at the conference.  Yes, Lois Lowry was a starry eyed awe, and yes, Sara Zarr remains one of the best speakers I've seen in terms of perfectly nailing her audience and the wide gamut of listeners.  That was awesome.

And yes, I met some great people there too.  I hung out with a fun and interesting troupe for most of the time (including one novelty canadian) and they were honestly hysterical, and so welcoming to boot!  Another win.

However, I was disappointed by the actual conference.  Me, straight edge, play by the book, don't rock the boat me actually left ten minutes into my final breakout because I was so frustrated.  This conference had nothing to say to someone with any experience in the publishing industry, which was phenomenally sad for me.  Look at, for example, how diverse and dynamic this year at NESCBWI's regional (read: far far smaller) conference programming will be.  Stunning!  And broken down by experience level and illustrator/writer.  Amazing!

Whereas in New York, three editors talked about the exact same thing.  VERBATIM.  And yes, it was cool to be in a room with high level editors (hello, Alessandra Balzar!) but it was downright demoralizing to hear the things people would ask in the q&a's.  I wanted to shout, DONT YOU KNOW WHO THIS IS?! YOU COULD HAVE LOOKED THAT UP ON THE INTERNET AND YOUR WASTING *HER* TIME!?!

One guy asked how to submit his wordless picture book.  He was a writer.  Not an illustrator.  I was impressed by the grace with which the editor handled that question, but I was sitting there feeling very grumpy and very frustrated and very much like I had been woefully cheated out of a LOT of money.

That's the worst part.  This was by far (and by far I mean about $400) the most expensive conference, all told, that I had ever attended.

Balls.

Well, so I won't be going next year, but I will hopefully be keeping in touch with those people and treasuring the wise words of great speakers!

Why My iPad Rocks

So I have about seven blog posts to write, all of which hopefully will come out in the next week, because I have had a ton going on and I want to tell you about absolutely all of it.  First and foremost of which, why I am very impressed with my iPad.

Now, some of you will remember that I've wanted an iPad for a while, and I kind of couldn't justify it for a long time, until I got swamped and discovered all these productivity apps and made a slightly emotional choice to just buy one.

In the past four days (which were nightmarishly, fabulously busy) I've:

1.  Used my iPad as a portable credit card machine.  By virtue of Paypal, we were able to let all attendees of the IGNITE the NITE fundraiser pay for tickets, donations, and silent auction items with their credit cards via my iPad.  Umm, how insanely cool is that?  I'm still impressed with myself for thinking of it.  And I will go ahead and say we got a lot more money because of it.  (More to come on the wild success of the fundraiser at a later date).

2.  Read a book while waiting in line for Lois Lowry to sign my books.  It was ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS, which I loved.  For so many reasons.  Hopefully will put a Goodreads review up soon.

3.  Browsed the web from my hotel room, hotel lobby, and even the streets of New York.

4. Used it to pull up my electronic bus pass that wouldn't come up on my phone

5.  Found a restaurant near my hotel.

6.  Took notes on the editor sessions that I attended and then synced and archived the notes back to my home computer wirelessly.

7.  Live tweeted during the conference.

8.  Played Angry Birds when I got just a wee bit bored.

9.  Watched several episodes of Greys Anatomy from Netflix on the bus ride.

Ummm….that's a pretty groovy four days, if I do say so myself.  So overall?  iPad rocks!  One of the best investments I've made for my personal sanity.

Do I Look Like an Author Yet?

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Not my fave

So, if you haven't been able to tell from recent posts, I'm trying to take pictures of myself for headshots for publicity purposes without having to pay a photographer.  Now, it's not that I don't want to invest the money, it's more like…well, hey, we've got cameras too.  This was my attempt; here's my mom's:

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This is probably my favorite

So still waiting to get my little brother's pictures–he's the one with like a serious camera and actually knows something about photography and possibly even what aperture means.  I'll keep you posted!

xx

Where You Can Find Me

So I've told you life is hectic for me right now, correct?  Let me run you through the sched' with clickable interactivity. Sound like fun?  Bitchin'.  Lets go.

Today through January 26th:  here there and everywhere, I'm making cake balls by the hundreds, packaging up silent auction prizes, and generally spinning like a top to get ready foorrrrr…..

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My cake balls from Christmas. These will be chocolate cake w white chocolate instead.

JANUARY 27th: IGNITE the NITE fundraiser in Boston!  Click the pic to buy tickets, or here to find out more.

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IGNITE the NITE Fundraiser!

Then, for a total change of pace–

January 28th:  Kid Lit Night, at which I hope to meet some of my fellow Apocalypsies for the first time!  This is in New York, where I will also get to see one of my best friends from Scotland who now (fearlessly) has moved to New York.  FEARLESS!  I will be in New York FOR this, because the next day….

Januaray 29th: SCBWI NEW YORK!!!!!!!!!!

As the bold may have alerted you, I'm wicked excited about this conference.  It's my first national conference (I've been attending regional conferences for years now) and it's the first one where I get to introduce my self as an AUTHOR, not just a WRITER.

And yes, OBVIOUSLY I have the business cards to match.  Well, not *have* have them, but I will by like, Wednesday.  Which reminds me, I know Vista Print is a solid standby for business cards, but if you've never found yourself going through 1/3 of those cards, or anticipate having to get new ones when, say, your book cover design comes out, Moo.com is my favorite ever for really cool, noticeable business cards.

So yeah.  That's my life for the foreseeable future (apparently I can't foresee very far…)  I'm pumped!

Now…what do I wear…and when do I pack??!

xx

It's the Fire

The Roots THE FIRE  (I wish I could get this to play in the post, but it's the theme music)

It's been a rough day. It really has.  I had a ton to do, I got very little sleep, and I hit one of those pebbly disappointments–you know, the kind of thing you trip over and the whole world comes crashing down, but when you look back, well, it was just a pebble.

And I started driving home from work sniffling back tears and generally feeling sorry for myself (which, especially when I'm tired, is kind of a favorite private indulgence).

And then I sniffled my last sniffle and my brain started to yell at itself in the vaguely schizophrenic way that it does, and this was roughly the conversation:

ANGRY PUNKY BRAIN: Dude, seriously?  First of all, this is a stupid thing to be getting upset over.  It's very literally insignificant.

MEEEHH BRAIN: Yes, but meeeh.  It's not just that, it's EVERYTHING.  I'm tired.  I'm overwhelmed.  I'm a little bit hungry and I think I'm dehydrated and I may have a papercut.

APB: Rub some dirt in it.  The real question is, why aren't you celebrating?

MB:  Celebrating?

ABP:  You're an obnoxiously happy person most of the time.  And you should be THRILLED right now.

MB: I'm supposed to be happy?  Woe, woe, I can't even do that right!

ABP: Oh shut up, you big baby.  Tell me something: how long have you waited to be this tired?

MB:  Mehhhh?

ABP:  How many nights did you lay awake in bed and plan out novels, run through characters, play out scenes?  How many times did you fall asleep whispering to yourself that if you just got the chance, if you just got the chance, if you just got the chance…

MB:  I think that was mostly you.  I just go meeeehhhh when Annie lets me.

ABP:  The dream was never to get published, Meeh Brain.  The dream was to be given the opportunity to step onto the field–to be given that simple chance to break into the next level and run with it, hell for leather.

You haven't been dreaming of being published.  You've been dreaming of having the chance to do more, try more, expand more.  And life doesn't work on a steady trickle of a timetable.  It's all at once and that's both difficult and amazing.  So you're tired?  That's flipping fantastic.  You're weary?  You're doing something right.  And you think the whole thing's crashing down around your ears?  That just means you're attempting something, going for something, trying something risky.  New.  Possible and impossible and failing is just the byproduct of starting something amazing.

So get to it, baby.  Start failing, get tired, get ridiculously overwhelmed.  Maybe one of these days you will be so infinitely lucky as to burn out.

Just remember: If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds' worth of distance run, yours is the world and everything that's in it, and (which is more) you'll be a man, my son. -Kipling

So go take a break, Meeeehhh Brain.  APB is here to stay for a while.

Pictures!

So….everyone needs a few pictures now and again.  And my little brother (and resident photographer) took these, so i thought I'd share:

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Me Signing My Contract!

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Posing Post (or mid?) Signing

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I'm-So-Proud-Of-Myself Pose

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Oh no wait, that's lucy.

The Eye of the Storm?

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This self shot attempt at a photo leads me to believe I need professional help. Of the photography kind, if not more.

So I've submitted my edits, and while, in consideration of the IGNITE Change contest and IGNITE the NITE fundraiser, my interim "breather" has been more akin to a "gasp", I'm anticipating having a second round of them probably this week.

I suppose I should explain a little bit more about the process and general timeline–I've realized I'm bad at remembering that most people don't know why it takes so long to publish a book, or how the whole thing goes–though to be perfectly honest, it's kind of a day by day learning process at Casa Gaughen as well.

So, as I understand it, my timeline is:

Get offer.  Check!

Sign contract.  Check!

Receive editorial letter, which isn't as scary as you've been led to believe, but is still daunting.  Check!

Receive accompanying manuscript, which has more specific line-by-line edits (generally referred to as, you guessed it, line edits).  Check!

Make edits as requested in letter and manuscript, go through cycle of angst (or wangst, as the Apocalypsies have been referring to it)(which may be a contraction of writerly angst and may just be evidence that writers are a little whacked out), and submit them.  Check!

Typically, writers will receive as few as one and as many as…well…MANY rounds of edits on a novel.  I'm not anticipating doing more than two, because we're running out of time and the manuscript is supposed to be signed, sealed and delivered to copy edits by February 1st. So this should all resolve in the next two weeks.

From there, we have–and I'm not really sure when all of these happen:

Copy edits (another, fine-tooth comb, ultra polishing round of edits by professional nit pickers)

Cover production (can you IMAGINE?!)

Galley production (basically demo books)

Advance reader copy distribution (essentially preview publicity–I used to LOVE getting the ARCs when my mum worked at a bookstore when I was a kid!!)

and then….dum dum da dum…publication!!  WHOO!!

Honestly, I don't know what hand I'll play in the publishing process from here on out.  I know I get consulted on a couple things, but other than that, I don't think I have any significant work to do for the actual book publication.

My job as I see it from here to forever is to essentially get my name out there.  And that should actually be pretty entertaining, because I really want to do things like film a book trailer (maybe I'll totally gratuitously go to the real Nottingham to do it), or maybe see if I can take an archery class or go to a tournament or something like that.  And post all about it here!

Anyone have any great ideas for shameless self promotion?

xx