Sarah Allen's Blog, page 54

C is for Children's Books

So I had a never-happened-before experience last night. I fell asleep quickly (also sort of a first) and woke up from a dream at just before three in the morning. All I remember from the dream is a sparsely illustrated page of a children's book, blue lines and sort of in the style of Amos: The Story of an Old Dog and His Couch. (A fabulous book). Anyway, I remember the words being read "So this could never be a story about hunger". Though I suppose that isn't much to go on, I wrote it down in the notebook by my bed and had basically filled in the rest of the story in my head before I'd fallen back asleep. As Stephanie Meyer as it sounds, a book has come to me via dream.

And now, being me, of course I have to be all gung-ho find a publisher NOW about it. I mentioned a while ago how my sister and I were working on a children's book together. That's still happening, it's just that she has school and, you know, a wedding to deal with right now. But yeah, I want to take this new idea and do something with it, i.e. send it to the people one is supposed to send picture book ideas too. I'm still not as informed with the whole children's book business as I (hopefully) am with adult and young adult publishing, and so...advice?

Anyone know anything about where to send this thing? I do know that publishers like to match writers with publishers-choice illustrators, so I'm planning on just submitting my story and letting that happen. But where? In the research I've done so far, basically going down lists of picture book publishers, most of them don't accept unsolicited submissions, though some do. So should I just submit to the ones that will let me myself? Is it best to submit to agents first? What will that do when I'm ready to submit the novel to agents? I've even heard that the "no unsolicited submissions" statement doesn't really mean anything, that they'll read it anyway. Is that true? What's the best next step for this?

Sarah Allen
(Last year: C is for Cliche)

B is for Blog Incest

I love blogging. I think we all at least kind of like it, or we wouldn't do it. It has some great advantages. I love the knowledge and information that spreads around the blogosphere, and feel like I've learned a ton. There are so many awesome people to meet and interact with and learn from.

But here's the thing. As awesome as blogging is, when you really look at it, the blogging community is a bit incestuous. We join a group and basically blog for each other. Only certain people read blogs (usually other bloggers) and unless your some mega celeb blogger or something, you don't get huge numbers of visitors outside that circle.

There's nothing necessarily wrong with that, either, unless you're trying to use your blog to market a book. Sure you reach your blog niche of awesome people, but even if every single blog follower bought your book, most of us couldn't live on that. So what do you do? How do you break out of the awesome but incestuous blog circle?

Social Media: While the whole incestuous problem can sort of be applied to social media as well, its a larger incestuous circle and can still help. Especially the big sites like Facebook and Twitter and Google+ and now Pinterest. It's a good option, because it's fun and free, but still, only a small percentage of book sales actually come from social media sites, so try using other sources too.Magazine ads: Relevant magazines, of course, Writers Digest or New York Times. Go specific too, like Elle for romance or maybe tech magazines for sci-fi.Publicists: No reason to go crazy on this, but a wisely chosen smart publicist can help get you interviews and spotlight time. Could end up being exactly the boost you need.Unique to Your Book: If your book is set in a zoo, find zoo or wildlife communities online, take out adds in zoo magazines, see if zoo's will carry your book in their gift shops. Find what is unique to your book and form a marketing campaign around those special things. Shoulders of Giants: If possible, getting some big-time sponsorship can definitely help. If someone big reads and likes your book, even a casual mention on one of their big-time social media presences can have big results. What do you think? Any other ways to take your book and blog to a broader audience than the niche blogging community?
Sarah Allen(Last year: B is for Bowie)

A is for Amazon

First, a shameless plug:

Without Amazon, I would not be able to announce the release of my new book, XO: From Turner Syndrome and Me. It's a short collection of thoughts about growing up with Turner Syndrome. People sometimes ask me questions, like how I feel about not being able to have kids, or what XO instead of XX even means, and now I can say, go buy my book.

I am very grateful to Amazon for making this possible. Sometimes there are just small, simple but important things you want to put out there, fiction, non-fiction, art, poetry, whatever, and Amazon is one way of doing it.

There's so much drama in the battle of indie vs traditional and the Big Six are going to die and Amazon is going to take over and rule the world and we're all going to be flooded with useless, illiterate garbage and blah blah blah. The thing is, I don't think you can really compare indie vs traditional, or say one is going to overpower the other, because they are two totally separate things.

I mean, obviously they're separate, but here's what I mean: sometimes, like I said, a story or piece is just meant for self-publishing on the Kindle, and some people sometimes like going to the Kindle store and buying them. Other times those some people like to walk into Barnes and Noble and pick out something, or authors like what comes with the whole agent, traditional publisher process. They can both exist at the same time, for both writers and readers. It's just another medium to use.

So yeah, for this, I just wanted to get it out there, for anyone who is interested or curious. Not many people have even heard of Turners Syndrome. For the short story collection I'm working on, I want to publish it myself on Amazon too, as a sort of fiction hors d'ouevre, if you will. But the novel I'm working on is going to be submitted to agents and publishers and all the other traditional places. I like that, thanks to Amazon, we can do it that way.

Sarah Allen
(Last year: A is for Application)

For Your Writing Room Walls

So many good things on the interwebs! I've found lots of cool writing posters on Pinterest and here are the best of them:
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Awesome, huh?

Sarah Allen

A-Z challenge and a guest post request

[image error] It's that time of year again. April just around the corner.

Anybody else doing the A-Z challenge?

I definitely am. Really I consider last years A-Z challenge as the major start of my blogging career. I've been blogging since 2009, but that's when things got serious, when I started getting in touch with some really awesome bloggy people. So yeah, I recommend the A-Z challenge.

Although many people are doing a theme, we're just going to stick with the regular (totally random crap) writing stuff around here. Are any of you doing a theme? Or have you started prepping, any ideas so far?

So there's that. Now for guest posts.

Something really sudden and random and exciting is coming up. Stay tuned for more info, but basically it involves me not being at my computer for a couple weeks and needing other peeps to fill in with guest posts. Anyone interested? I'm pretty open to ideas and suggestions, just shoot me a message (my email is in the contacts tab up there) and we'll work something out.

Oh, another thing I wanted to mention to look forward to is a book coming up. Not the short story collection yet. (Gah!!) This is one I've been working on sort of secretly, a short little non-fiction piece about having Turner Syndrome, what the real deal is with that. I have a terrible habit of talking about plans for the future here before things are solidified and then they change and I feel flakey, but really going to try to get this one out soon, as in hopefully within the next week. I'm going to upload it on the Kindle, and maybe try out CreateSpace as well. (Anyone have suggestions on that?) So yeah, like I said, just a very short little something for anyone curious. Mostly so when people ask me questions I can say "Go buy my book."

And here we go.

Sarah Allen

TED Talks for Writers

Ok, so I know these are long. I really was going to come up with my own thoughts based on these three talks, but they're just too good not to pass on. If you have to wait till your boss isn't looking, or even till you're home later tonight, so be it. But watch. You won't regret it.

Andrew Stanton: Writer for Pixar

Amy Tan

Elizabeth Gilbert

Anyone else have some good TED talk recommendations, or just know of some good writerly vids?

Sarah Allen

Since I'm short on answers

What is the difference between a raven and a writing desk?
If your house was burning down and you could save one book what would it be?
How does one keep financial I-must-eat-and-pay-rent pressures from encroaching on the creative what I really want to be doing things?
How do Marilynne Robinson and Wallace Stegner write the books they do? Seriously, how?
Why can't someone just pay me a salary for being awesome?
What will the purpose of art be in Heaven?
Will my book be accepted by agents and editors any time soon? Will people like it?
What in the bleepin bleep should I write about for the next one?
Why, no matter how hard I try, can I never resist a good bread pudding?
When will J.K. Rowling's new book come out?
How do I manage the agent thing when I want to write in multiple genres?
Can I write a short story collection set at Disneyland without having copyright bombs dropped on me?
When is Rumbelle going to come back?
When is it all going to pay off?
Why can't I write faster?
It's what o'clock? How did this happen?
If you could meet one author living or dead who would you choose?
9, 10, or 11?
Where should I live in the fall? Where oh where oh where oh where should I work?
How do I finagle a meet with Meryl Streep?
Where do I submit a screenplay once I've got one?
What should I write about for the A-Z Challenge this year?
Is there any possible way to start making money off writing within a month?
Where do I meet cute guys who think I'm cute too?
Why do people even read this when I'm so whiny sometimes?
Is this real life?

How to stop yourself from dying your hair blue

[image error] So I don't know about you, but I'm pretty much one of the most impatient people ever. I get really, really antsy and stir-crazy when I know how I want something and it's...not that way. Combined with an Amazon sized stubborn streak, this leads to some pretty single-minded, bull-headed plowing forward.

However. Sometimes there's just nothing you can do but wait. When you're waiting to hear back from grad school, jobs, beta readers, agents, there's simply nothing you can do to speed up that process. I feel like I'm waiting on all the things right now, and sometimes it drives me crazy. Grad school, beta readers, jobs, the final spark for the next novel. All of it's up in the air, and sometimes I feel like pounding the desk and screaming "I need some instant gratification right now! Or at least some kind of win." I haven't even been waiting that long, really, for most of these things (except job...*le sigh*), but like I said. Impatient to the max.

But yeah, since there's really nothing we can do to make someone else go faster, we can only manage things on our end. This pent up ball of crazy wibbly wobbly waiting energy has been interesting...it's led to a spontaneous haircut (thought of dying my hair blue...but I'm blond...so green...yeah...) and a spontaneous $80 spree on art books and colored pencils and markers and a sketch book. I'm still working on finishing up edits for novel #1, and brainstorming/outlining novel #2, which is the next big project. But I've got to do something while I wait or I will go mad. So here are some ideas for side projects that I've come up with. Any of them sound interesting to you?

Video: Oh the things YouTube has made possible. Everything from vlogging to interactive stories. Or audio-visual poetry and children's picture books. All things I've thought about and wondered if I'm crazy.Art: Anyone who's cracked open my sketch book can tell you I'm definitely no artist, but it's actually been super fun to just see what we can come up with. It's a very interesting mental exercise to use your hands in that way. Carpentry, sketching, painting, clothes-designing. I highly recommend it for the antsy pants.Photography: In a way a blend of the above, but also cool. Photoshop might be a worthwhile investment, and you could do some cool stuff with that plus superimposed poetry. Music: This is the one I've dabbled in the least. I guess I'm more intimidated. I think trying my hand at lyrics would be awesome, but I wouldn't even know where to start with the music part. I can read music, but that's about it. So much for those 8 years of piano. But yeah, maybe this is one of your secret talents/passions that you can unleash for a little while.Mini writing projects: Still working on putting together that short story collection. Really that means waiting on the magazines to reject the rest of them, because I might as well give them a shot. More waiting, right? But still, this kind of project. Amazon and the Kindle has opened all sorts of options. If you have something you just really want to get out there, you can. I've actually considered starting work on a non-fiction book. (about having Turners Syndrome...we'll see).Real life cool things: Like auditioning for plays or volunteering at the local aquarium or animal shelter. Or visiting national parks or museums in the area.Gardening: Because it's spring and it's beautiful outside.Anyway, these have got to tide us over, and really I think they could turn into some pretty cool things. What do you think? Do you need mini-projects too, and what are some other project ideas?
Sarah Allen(Image Source)

Movie Review: The Hunger Games

No spoilers, don't worry.

So it's three in the morning and I just got back, so these thoughts are preliminary, scattered, and written on a very empty angry stomach, but I need to get my thoughts out.

Because guys, it was awesome. Really, really well done. Totally enthralling, and I literally jumped higher and screamed louder than I have ever in a movie before. You'll know which part I'm talking about.

YA dystopia is definitely an acquired taste for me, meaning it took prolonged exposure and conversation with friends (i.e. my roommates) who consider it their favorite genre, to convert me. I think it has something to do with my frequent difficulty in relating to the heroine in a lot of YA books, something to do with their being way awesomer and, to be honest, a little stupider than me. And given my propensity for older, slightly weathered, damaged men (see Aragorn; Snape; Edward Fairfax Rochester), it's probably not surprising that I don't usually find the teenage love interests, well, interesting. Hence my incredible difficulty in writing YA love interests, which actually only makes me want to give it a serious go at some point. But really, give me Mr. Darcy or Arthur Clennam any day.

Having said all that, I do legitimately love YA literature, and like I said, plan to try my hand at some point. And I really liked this movie. Yes, I'm coming back to it. Some slight awkward moments, (me and teenage romance...hmmmm), but also kind of hilarious. But mostly terrifying and scary. Not something to bring you're six year old to, obviously. Some fantastic acting (Stanley Tucci anyone?), good pacing, great graphics. Mostly I appreciated how well they kept to the source material. Actually one of the closest I've seen. It was fabulous to be sucked in like that, and we all were, let me tell you. This is why I love midnight showings. The crowd energy is tangible.

Anyone else go? Planning to? Once you see it let me know what you think.

Sarah Allen

Dear Utah: A Letter

Oh Utah. Where do I begin?

So many things to love. I love having the mountains at my back. And not just mountains, but Mountains. I love love love the Shakespeare Festival and chocolate milk from the BYU creamery. I love knowing my way around, knowing where to go for bank and car and doctor and food stuff. I love the HFAC tunnel and remembering how I used to get treats in the vending machines there while my mom was rehearsing for shows. I love driving down University Parkway.

Mostly, though, I have my family here. I love being able to spend time with my siblings. They make me laugh and do things like pronounce fudge 'fud-guh'. And having my mom and dad. They help me when I need it, which mostly involves me being like 'Dad what do I do with my life I need help finding a job' and 'Mom boys and life are dumb right now and I just need to talk to someone who understands things.' I'm becoming more and more okay with the fact that I need this. One might say I can have that wherever I am, but it's not the same thing. Sometimes I feel very twenty-three.

What I'm saying here, Utah, is that despite the large part of me that is desperate to leave, this is why it doesn't make sense for me to do so, at least not right now. It would be too much like running away. I've tried that before. It didn't work. When I have my family and things are going fairly well it doesn't make logical or emotional sense to up and leave for no other reason than just to leave.

Except sometimes leaving sounds so nice. I hate the white-wash. I hate that I get defensive of the white-wash when other people bash it. I hate that you are not New York or Los Angeles or even Las Vegas. I hate that I don't fit the look and personality of the girls that do well here. I hate that I sometimes want to. I hate the weird pressure to be married mixed with boys never asking girls out (unless you're one of the type of girls who do well here) dating thing going on here. I hate the Utah stereotypes. I hate when I fit them. I hate when I don't. I hate that I feel self-conscious and lame and unexciting here, though there's no real reason I should. People are looking and judging way less than I sometimes think they are, I know, but it's still hard not to think it.

And so I'm happy and depressed to be here, and enjoy the time with my family and friends and plan for graduate school somewhere else and try not to feel too terrified about that or frustrated that it is at least a year and a half away and anxious about how to be financially okay and productive and not-lame in the meantime.

I realize that in order to be happy I need to live where and how I live for my own reasons, no matter what other people might think or what I think they might think. That means, at least in part, whatever is most conducive to writing, which is why I'm trying to keep things level for now while I get this book out. One step at a time, I have to tell myself, which is very hard for me. I'm the kind who likes knowing not just the next ten steps, but all the steps. Impossible, of course, but one step at a time is still hard. And the fact that you, Utah, are the most solid and sensible step for right now is an extremely agonizing and frustrating relief.

Sarah Allen