Susan Spann's Blog, page 87

Looking for a Conference? There’s Gold in Colorado this September

Every year, I look forward to September, though not for the reason most parents of children do.

I love September, because it brings me gold – specifically, the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Colorado Gold Conference.

I’ve been to many conferences, from the Maui Writers Conference to RWA writing conferences and smaller, local “cons” but – in my opinion – Colorado Gold outshines them all, both for the high-quality workshops and for the people who make RMFW and its conference the most consistently welcoming conference I’ve ever attended.

And that was as true my first year, when I didn’t know a soul, as it is now that I return to visit with the multitude of friends and fellow authors I’ve met in the years since then.

I’m an introvert and, left to my own devices, often find myself at the back of the room, observing other people’s interactions. Not the case at Colorado Gold.

During my first visit, in 2010, the other attendees – many of them multi-published authors – saw my “first time attendee” ribbon and pulled me into the conversation, including me at their dinner tables and encouraging me to join the social fun at the hospitality suite in the evening hours. Carol Berg invited me to share her breakfast table. Janet Lane made me feel comfortable at a banquet where I didn’t know a soul. Everyone I met made me feel like “one of the cool kids” and “one of the gang” – including my then-unpublished new friends Piper Bayard and Tammy Salyer – both of whom are now published authors and both of whom are still close friends of mine.

I can’t promise that your experience will be the same as mine. Conferences are an individual experience, like books themselves. But if you come to Colorado this September, you’ll find me there – I’m teaching a couple of classes and also individual “confidence pitching” sessions to help writers prepare for meeting with agents and editors. That’s not the only reason I’m going, however.

I’ve attended Colorado Gold each year since 2010, and intend to attend every future year that I can, whether I’m teaching there or not. Because Colorado Gold is more than just a conference – it’s a time to meet with a special, and inclusive, group of people who come together to celebrate each year. It’s a time to see my friends and to make new ones – and to help new writers feel at home, the way the others did for me.

Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers is more than just a group. It’s a family and a tribe that welcomes its members with open arms.

If that sounds good, then come to Colorado this September. Join me … join RMFW … join the tribe. Registration is open now – don’t miss out on the fun!

 

 

Summer Publaw (& a contest): Conference Style!

Summer conference season is upon us, and since it’s time to start a new Wednesday #PubLaw series, I thought I’d take the next few weeks to talk about conference etiquette, pitching novels, and a few of the legal issues that arise during conferences and events. If you have questions about conferences, or legal issues that arise there, please ask them in the comments and I’ll gladly answer them in the coming weeks!

I’m also running a summer #PubLaw contest through the month of June, and giving away two ARCs of Claws of the Cat – more details at the end of this post.

Today, we’ll start with the three of the cardinal lessons of conference etiquette (all of which I discovered the hard way. Please … learn from my fail).

Lesson 1: Don’t pitch (or publish, or promote) until you are certain your work is polished and ready for the world.

My agent, Sandra, was drawn to the polished state of my manuscript for Claws of the Cat. She was the only agent I pitched it to, and she signed me right away.

But this wasn’t my first rodeo. Four other full-length manuscripts lurk on my hard drive (not counting the 80,000-word epic fantasy wonder blunder I wrote in high school), and none of those “trunk novels” will ever see the light of day. The “Books Which No Longer Say Ni” are not failures. They were necessary the training courses where I honed my skills. That said, I queried each of them too early. In the earlier ones, my writing wasn’t ready for publication. In some of the later ones, I queried several drafts too soon.

Patience isn’t a virtue writers have in large supply. Even so, it’s well worth learning. Take your time and hone your skills. Publishing will still be there–and the world will receive you better–if you’re fully ready before you launch the book.

Lesson 2: Homework, Homework, Homework.

Choose your path on the basis of research, knowledge, and an honest understanding of your goals and personal skills. Don’t let anyone persuade you that there’s only one “good” road to published status.

Conferences feel a lot like drinking from a fire hose – so much information, so many stories, so much to learn. Take your time and sort it through. Publish in haste, repent at leisure, as the saying (almost) goes.

Listen to everyone. Evaluate what you hear. Follow the good advice and discard advice that won’t work for you (but don’t disparage anyone – what works for you may not be right for someone else’s needs). Above all–be the master of your ship. Publishing is your business. Treat it as one, and do your homework before you make decisions.

Lesson 3: Don’t be afraid to speak up…but speak politely.

Agents and editors do not bite. Traditionally published authors will not give self-published authors leprosy–or vice versa.  Make as many connections as you can, and don’t discriminate against or disparage anyone. I’ll repeat that for emphasis, in a simpler way:

DON’T BE A JERK.

Meet people. Smile. Ask what they do or what they write. A conference is, first and foremost, a chance to celebrate with your tribe–the tribe of writers. Revel in it. Enjoy it. Learn.

And for those of you who suffer anxiety, remember: Everyone else at a conference puts on their pants the same way you do, except that, hopefully, they use different pants. Because using yours would be creepy.

Have questions or comments about conferences or publishing legal issues? Leave a comment – I would love to hear from you!

Also, if you leave a comment on a #PubLaw Wednesday post (meaning any post tagged as #PubLaw and dated from now until June 30) I will enter you in a drawing to win a signed ARC of my upcoming shinobi mystery novel, Claws of the Cat!

And, of course, the legalese: To be eligible to win, you must be at least 18 years old, leave a valid name and email address in the comments and and live or have a mailing address in the US or Canada. No purchase necessary to win. Odds of winning vary with entries received. One entry per household. One winner will be drawn at random from eligible comments.

 

A Chalice of a Less-Medieval Kind

Over the weekend I acquired a new coral specimen for the reef.

The blue, knobbly coral center at frame is a type of chalice (Family Pectiniidae), a colonial stony coral that grows in flat, plate-like shapes. Pectiniid corals grow well in reef aquariums. Most require moderate light and water flow, and although they benefit from “target feeding” of the individual heads (each of the lighter, almost yellow-colored, dots is a separate colony mouth) many can survive and thrive without such special care.

Mine, of course, is in the process of “retraining” to eat in daylight rather than at night, and so far it’s less intelligent than most in this regard. Still, perseverance leads to success, and I’m confident I’ll have it eating out of my hand (in this case, literally) within a month or so.

Pectiniids do have stinging “sweeper tentacles” which they extend at night in search of food, so it’s important to place chalices in open areas. Otherwise, the neighboring corals may end up stung. The photos make it look as though this one sits directly on top of the faviid to its left and a cluster of green zoanthids on the right, but that’s a trick of the eye. In reality, this specimen sits several inches away from any others. I’ve never seen it extend its sweepers (they often don’t, if they’ve been fed) but there’s no point taking unnecessary risks.

I have a second Pectiniid, of a different species, on the opposite side of the tank, though that one looks quite different. It’s Latin name is Echinophyllia sp. – but I normally refer to it by its trade name (which is based on color): Miami Hurricane:

Do you prefer the bumpy blue with yellow spots or the colorful green with orange? If you have a reef (or if you’d like one) would you keep chalices in it?

 

Announcing the Events page … and More!

I’m pleased to announce that the website now has an Events page listing all of my upcoming book and blog tour appearances!

You can find it on the left sidebar of the website home page (it’s the link labeled “Events”) and also at the top of every page.

In the weeks to come, we’ll be rolling out all kinds of extra features, including a Readers’ and Book Club guide for Claws of the Cat, a glossary of Japanese terms, and a page dedicated to the weapons of the shinobi and samurai.

I’m also getting ready to announce some contests and giveaways, both here and on my Twitter and Facebook pages. Stay tuned for more details!

 

Aquarium-Keeping as Arts and Crafts

During my years as a reef aquarium keeper, I’ve learned a few interesting things about arts and crafts … as well as what happens when you forget that corals are animals (not plants…). I’m sharing those adventures today at The Debutante Ball.

Don’t disappoint Emperor Max by not clicking through and reading it.

Where Are the Things? Literary Estate Documentation

Once you have chosen an executor and written (and signed!) your will or trust, your estate planning job isn’t finished.

An author usually knows where his or her work is located and/or sold, and who controls the publishing rights.

But do your heirs know?

If “the bus of destiny” ran over you tomorrow, would the people responsible for your estate know who to call or where to find your works?

Would they even be able to access your unread email?

Authors must have an estate plan, but they also need A List Of All The Things: the names, contact information and passwords which will grant an executor access to the author’s works and also the relevant websites, blogs, and social media accounts. If that information isn’t available, it may take months for your estate to take control of your assets – assuming your heirs can even find them all.

The list should be created and kept in a very secure location – fireproof safes and safe deposit boxes are good choices - because it contains private, sensitive information.

The list should contain four sections:

1. Publishers and other important contacts. This list contains the names and contact information (at a minimum, telephone and/or email) of any or all of the following which are relevant to the author’s situation:  publishers (or printer/distributors) with rights to the author’s works, agents (literary and film, foreign and domestic), publicists, editors (independent and/or affiliated with a publisher), critique group partners and the contacts for any third-party websites where the author guest blogs on a regular basis.

The contact list should also include anyone and everyone with a business need to know if the author passes away. Notifying these individuals of your passing becomes much more difficult if your heirs don’t have a detailed list to follow. And remember: the list should also describe, if briefly, what each of these people does on your behalf.

2. Passwords and account information. In an author’s estate plan, this means more than bank accounts and PINs: your heirs will need access to all of your social media, websites, blogs, and every other account-based service you use as part of your writing life. That means everything from Facebook and Twitter to Amazon. Keep the information SECURE – but leave a note that tells your heirs where to find it when you’re gone.

3. Status and location of works. Who publishes your work in Argentina? Is your work for sale on Amazon Japan? You may know, but your family probably doesn’t. Make a list and keep it up to date.

4. Intellectual Property documentation. This includes everything from contracts and license agreements to copyright and trademark registrations. If you use photocopies here, make sure to include a note disclosing the location of the originals.

There may be other items you want to add – and the list can change to meet an author’s individual needs and situation. The important thing is having a thorough list. Your heirs – and your executor – will thank you for saving them lots of time and trouble.

Have questions about this or any other publishing legal issues? Please feel free to ask in the comments or tweet me @SusanSpann, using the #PubLaw hashtag!

Change is a Constant … in Life and on the Reef

Four decades of life has taught me many lessons. Among them: I don’t like change.

Not a good position for a debut author, but there it is.

Over the last eighteen months, I’ve learned to embrace change, and even to enjoy it a little. Ironically, my reef aquarium has helped the process along.

On the reef, as in life, change is the only constant. But on the reef, change occurs on a day to day – and sometimes minute-to-minute basis.

Some changes, like the conversion from bare rock

to living reef

take years to accomplish.

Other changes occur more quickly. Sometimes on their own, and sometimes due to choices I have made. Case in point: last weekend’s loss … and gain … of a sun.

The yellow, fuzzy-looking coral front and center in the reef above is a sun coral spawned and raised right here on my reef.

It’s a distinct genetic individual, spawned from a parent coral I brought home from the reef store over two years ago. The coral is ten months old, and trained to be diurnal (in the wild, most sun corals exhibit nocturnal tendencies).

It’s also no longer mine.

Last weekend, the reef store owner showed me a lovely orange sun coral he had just received from Hawaii. Sustainably farmed Hawaiian sun corals are rare, and this one presented an opportunity  I didn’t want to miss.

On the other hand, I had no room in the reef to highlight such an important new specimen.

If I wanted it, choices – and changes – would have to be made.

I didn’t have an easy time deciding to give up my little tank-raised sun. If I kept it, I could assure it received the proper treatment and expensive foods it might not get in another person’s reef.

On the other hand, the Hawaiian sun could use a good home, too, and if my corals continue spawning at current rates, the suns will overwhelm my little tank.

It was time to embrace a change.

I packed up the little yellow sun and took it down to the store, where the owner traded it for the orange Hawaiian beauty. I haven’t yet persuaded the new sun coral to emerge in the light, but it’s eating well and the rest will come in time.

For now, I’m happy to have it — and happy that, in little ways at least, I am learning to live with change.

What do you use to help you embrace the changes in your life?

An Interview with Erika Robuck

Please welcome Erika Robuck, author of the newly released CALL ME ZELDA (NAL/Penguin, May 2013), a novel of Zelda Fitzgerald.

Erika Robuck self-published her first novel, RECEIVE ME FALLING. Her novel, HEMINGWAY’S GIRL (NAL/Penguin), was a Target Emerging Author Pick, a Vero Beach Bestseller, and has been sold in two foreign markets to date. Her latest novel, CALL ME ZELDA (NAL/Penguin), was just released, and begins in the years “after the party” for Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Erika writes about and reviews historical fiction at her blog, Muse, and is a contributor to fiction blog, Writer Unboxed. She is also a member of the Historical Novel Society and the Hemingway Society.

From New York to Paris, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald reigned as king and queen of the Jazz Age, seeming to float on champagne bubbles above the mundane cares of the world. But to those who truly knew them, the endless parties were only a distraction from their inner turmoil, and from a love that united them with a scorching intensity. When Zelda is committed to a Baltimore psychiatric clinic in 1932, vacillating between lucidity and madness in her struggle to forge an identity separate from her husband, the famous writer, she finds a sympathetic friend in her nurse, Anna Howard. Held captive by her own tragic past, Anna is increasingly drawn into the Fitzgeralds’ tumultuous relationship. As she becomes privy to Zelda’s most intimate confessions, written in a secret memoir meant only for her, Anna begins to wonder which Fitzgerald is the true genius. But in taking ever greater emotional risks to save Zelda, Anna may end up paying a far higher price than she intended….

I met Erika last year, around the release of HEMINGWAY’S GIRL, when I interviewed her for The Debutante Ball blog. She’s a wonderful person as well as an extremely talented author, and I’m delighted she’s joining us today for an interview about CALL ME ZELDA.

And so, with no further ado, on with the questions!

Where did you grow up? Will you share a favorite story from your childhood?

I grew up in Annapolis, Maryland, which is a great setting for the mingling of past and present. Rather than tell you a story, I’ll tell you my first memory of loving books and understanding their power.

My father worked for a freight forwarding company, and used to find little treasures in boxes all the time. One night he brought home an old book for me with the cover torn off. It was JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH, and it began my lifelong fascination with the power of stories to transport. I always felt that book wanted to come home to me, and I still get that way when searching for new reads in bookstores.

Your new novel, CALL ME ZELDA, focuses on the turbulent life of Zelda Fitzgerald and her relationship with Anna Howard, a fictitious nurse Zelda meets at a psychiatric clinic in 1932. What inspired you to tell Zelda’s story, and in particular to focus on the relationship between Zelda and her nurse?

Reading over and over again about a nurse living with Zelda on an outpatient basis, a nurse sedating Zelda on a train back to a psychiatric clinic, a nurse who accompanied Zelda during her travels to Alabama drew my attention to those on the periphery of the Fitzgeralds’ lives, and provided me with a reliable narrator to tell their story. I didn’t think a reader could trust Zelda or Scott to tell their own story, so I attacked the novel from the perspective of an observer with her own set of tragedies and triumphs. Scott’s short story “One Interne” further informed my character, because he wrote about a dark haired nurse who lived with Baltimore art students. Anna grew from these shadowy figures.

If you could go back in time and share one writing lesson with “new writer you” before starting your first manuscript … what would that be?

I would tell my young writer self not to fear or shy away from the emotional heart of the novel. Real truths revealed through fiction are sometimes difficult to unearth, but they make all the difference in how readers connect to the text. True writing is worth the trouble associated with the task.

During your research for CALL ME ZELDA, did you discover anything unexpected or surprising about the relationship between Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald?

I found it surprising that Zelda accused Scott of having an affair with Ernest Hemingway. I know why she thought they may have dallied with one another, though I do not believe it was true. It was a real tipping point in Zelda and Scott’s relationship.

Do you have a favorite author or book? If so, who (or what) is it, and why?

POSSESSION by A. S. Byatt is the most perfectly constructed, told, and presented novel I’ve ever read. It takes place in two time periods, holds multiple points of view, and two distinct poet voices, and every ounce of it is fiction written by one woman. It is a tour de force.

What did you find most challenging about writing CALL ME ZELDA? How do you push yourself past difficult moments in writing and editing?

I found writing from Zelda’s point of view to be most challenging. She had such a unique style and outlook, that to capture her voice in the short essays she “writes” for her nurse meant I had to immerse myself in her writings—fiction and non-fiction—for weeks before I could attempt it. Though there are very few sections entirely in Zelda’s point of view, they were exhausting to craft. I hope I did her justice.

What is the last book you read, and why did you choose it?

I just finished Simon Van Booy’s short story collection THE SECRET LIVES OF PEOPLE IN LOVE. I chose it because I am contributing a short story to a forthcoming anthology from Penguin centered on Grand Central Terminal after World War II has ended, and I’m studying the form. Van Booy is one of my favorite contemporary writers.

Do you have a favorite scene in CALL ME ZELDA? If so, what makes it stand out for you?

My favorite scene in CALL ME ZELDA takes place in Bermuda in 1933, when Scott and Zelda took a trip to try to reconnect. In the scene, my fictional nurse Anna is awoken by Zelda in the middle of the night because Scott’s pleurisy, among other things, is driving her mad. The nurse encourages Zelda to go outside for a walk to calm her nerves, but Zelda ends up naked in the sea. Anna feels that she must follow her, and because she is not a good swimmer, and the current is so strong, Zelda ends up having to save her. When they get back to the beach, Zelda points to the water and tells Anna that the panic Anna has just endured is the way Zelda always feels. It represents a role reversal, and the dawning of true understanding and empathy on the nurse’s part.

Do you have any upcoming signings or readings?

I do. I’ll be at The Ivy in Baltimore on May 21st, Bethany Beach Books in Delaware on May 26th, and many more wonderful bookstores you may find on my website events page:

http://www.erikarobuck.com/EventsandPress.html . 

And now, the speed round:

Plotter or pantser?

Plantser.

Coffee, tea, or bourbon?

Yes.

Socks or no socks?

Fuzzy, cozy socks.

Cats, dogs, or reptiles?

Dogs!

For dinner: Italian, Mexican, Burgers or Thai?

Italian.

Thank you, Erika, for joining me today! I wish you and CALL ME ZELDA great success!

CALL ME ZELDA is currently available in print, ebook and audiobook formats. If you’d like to know more about Erika or her novels, please visit Erika’s website – where you can also read an excerpt from CALL ME ZELDA!

Hanging Out With the Noren

Noren are traditional Japanese doorway hangings. Most noren are made of fabric panels, with a slit cut up the center to permit passage through the door.

Japanese businesses traditionally hang a noren in the entrance during business hours. The presence of the noren indicates the shop is open for business. The lack of a noren in the doorway means the shop is closed.

During the medieval period, many noren were made from indigo-colored cloth. White characters on the noren announced the shop’s name and, sometimes, the type of business conducted.  Commercial houses often had a shop name ending in -ya (meaning “house of”), and the use of the name on the noren represented an early form of business advertising.

Modern Japanese businesses continue to use the noren, as the image above* demonstrates. The photograph shows a fabric shop in Nara, Japan, with a noren displayed at the entrance. Customers walk between the hanging panels to enter the shop.

Have you ever visited a business which displayed a noren, or seen one hanging in a doorway? Did you know the noren represented an early form of advertising, as well as a signal that the shop was open for business?

*(image credit: Amagase; image obtained through Wikipedia Commons, and licensed for re-publication under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license)

 

PubLaw Goes Visiting!

I’m out of the office and away from the computer today, so our regular #PubLaw feature is taking a one-week hiatus. That doesn’t mean you have no #PubLaw today, however!

This summer, friend and fellow author Heather Webb, whose debut novel BECOMING JOSEPHINE will release in Winter 2014 from Plume, is hosting ASK #PUBLAW every Wednesday!

Ask #Publaw features authors’ questions (and answers) about anything and everything publishing and intellectual property related. This week’s feature answers the question “How do I register a trademark?” and you can find my answer over at Heather’s blog, BETWEEN THE SHEETS!

The regular summer series on estate planning for authors will resume next week, right here at Spann of Time!