Laura Lee Anderson's Blog, page 2

Pre-Order Song of Summer, get 1st pg critique FREE!

As you may or may not know, my debut YA contemporary novel, Song of Summer, is being published on July 7th by Bloomsbury Spark. YAY! I am so thankful to everyone who buys my book; especially writer types. I was without writer friends for so long, and I’m so grateful you’ve accepted me into your ranks!

When I was brainstorming preorder thank-yous for Song of Summer, I thought: What’s the one thing my writer friends value more than swag, more than giveaways, even more than *gasp* free books? Honest feedback! So I’m going to offer a free 250-word critique to every single writer who pre-orders the book. As an added bonus, I asked Uwe if he was willing to throw in a query critique and he said, “Of course!” (Reason number 203483462 why he’s a great agent)

In short:

Every single person who preorders Song of Summer will get a FREE 250-word (first page) critique from me and be entered in a drawing to win a free query critique by my agent, Uwe Stender at TriadaUS!

Here’s how it works:

1) Pre-order Song of Summer before July 7th, 2015. (here for Kindle) (here for Nook) (Here for Kobo)

2) Send your proof of purchase with an attached Word doc of your first page (approx. 250 words) to: lauralee.edits @ gmail.com

3) Await your critique!

4) Obsessively check Twitter/email on July 7th, the launch date for Song of Summer, to see who wins the query critique from Uwe!

The earlier you do this, the faster I’ll have your 250 words done.

*Cracks knuckles* Bring it on, folks. Bring. It. On.

If you want to learn more about Song of Summer, check out this page!

From Final Draft to Publication- A Timeline

The other day, somebody DMed (Direct Messaged, for you non-Twitter folks) me asking, “I was just curious, once you felt like you had your finished manuscript (or as finished as possible), how long did getting an agent take for you? And then from agent to publishing deal? Everyone always just says “it depends” but I’m curious about someone’s actual experience.”

I answered her and thanked her for a great blog post idea, so here we go!

(Just a warning: My timeline is pretty fast. Most people’s debut timelines do not go this quickly!)

November 2012: First draft of Song of Summer (then called Yellow Bike) is completed during Nanowrimo.

May 2013: Second draft is pitched and sent to Uwe Stender at the Pennwriters conference.

June 2013: I meet with Uwe and he offers me a Revise and Resubmit.

August 2013: Third draft is sent to Uwe.

September 2013: Uwe offers me representation, we sign the contract, and he starts pitching the book. (Get the full “How I Got My Agent” story here)

June 2014: I get an offer from Bloomsbury Spark. Uwe negotiates the contract.

July 2014: I sign the contract with Bloomsbury Spark.

July 2015: Song of Summer is released by Bloomsbury Spark!

Total amount of time from first draft to publication: 2 years, 8 months.

Here are a couple of reasons my timeline moved so quickly!

1) I didn’t query Song of Summer. At all. I pitched Uwe before I started querying and he asked for the full. It’s not great form to query other agents while someone has the full, so I didn’t. Then we worked so well together during the R and R I didn’t feel it was necessary.

2) It miraculously only took three drafts.

3) I went with digital-first publishing, which moves much faster (about a year faster) than traditional print publishing.

(If you want to see the cover and enter a contest to win a full ms critique or a beach read kit, click here!)

(If you want to pre-order the book, click here!)

Song of Summer- Cover Reveal!

Robin hears only music.
Carter hears only silence.
Together they find their song.

Coming to you July 7th, 2015…

Gorgeous cover designed by Jenny Zemanek

The thirteen qualities of Robin’s Perfect Man range from the mildly important “Handsome” to the all-important “Great taste in music.” After all, Westfield’s best high school folk musician can’t go out with some shmuck who only listens to top 40 crap. When hot Carter Paulson walks in the door of Robin’s diner, it looks like the list may have come to life. It’s not until the end of the meal that she realizes he’s profoundly deaf.

Carter isn’t looking for a girlfriend. Especially not a hearing one. Not that he has anything against hearing girls, they just don’t speak the same language. But when the cute waitress at Grape Country Dairy makes an effort to talk with him, he takes her out on his yellow Ducati motorcycle.

Music, language, and culture sing back-up as love writes the melody, but just how long can a summer song last?

To pre-order this book on Amazon, click here!

To pre-order this book on Barnes and Noble, click here!

For added fun, see the links for cool giveaways as a thank you for checking out my cover. You can enter both! Giveaways end 5/22/2015

Giveaway for Writers

Giveaway for Readers

This is the part of the cover reveal where either A) You’ve stopped reading or B) You want to see a fun interview with the blog host and the author. Since I’m hosting my own reveal, I’ve asked my friend Carrie Ann to interview me! (Check her out on Twitter @Writer_Carrie or at her blog, here)

Carrie: First of all, I love your cover. Tell me a little bit about how this idea came to you.

Me: It came to me in a dream sounds cliché, but it’s true. I dreamed about a situation that occurred all the time in the coffee shop where I worked: A deaf person came in to order, and all I could say in sign language was “Thank you.”

Carrie: So is Westfield, the quaint small town in your book, a real place?

Me: Yes I grew up there! Many of the places mentioned- Midway Park, Chautauqua Institution, the Arts and Crafts Festival- are real places and I hope I did them justice.

Carrie: Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Me: No, actually! When I was a kid, I wanted to be a veterinarian, and then when I was a teen I wanted to be an actor. I still am an actor, but I started writing because I like the process of creating a story as much as interpreting one.

Carrie: Has being an actor given you any unique insights into the writing world?

Me: Many! I understand storytelling and strong verb choices very well. I know what it’s like to be in a character’s head, which is why first person present with alternating points of view works so well for me- I take a turn in Robin’s head, then Carter’s, then Robin’s, etc.

Carrie: So, without any spoilers, Carter is deaf, correct? What research did you have to do to best understand him?

Me: I did a lot of research! I started with blogs, mostly, and articles from The Limping Chicken, which compiles Deaf news and blogs from all over the UK. I also took two semesters of ASL (American Sign Language) classes at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, which was wonderful because they endeavor to teach not only ASL, but also about Deaf culture.

Carrie: Why would you recommend readers putting this book at the top of their To Be Read pile?

Me: You get to see a unique, sweet, fun couple falling in love from both of their perspectives. It’s a perfect summer read.

Carrie: Thank you so much for the interview! I can’t wait to visit Carter, Robin, and the town of Westfield again!

How to Nurture Diversity in One Easy Step.

Exclusion is never the path to diversity.

Never ever.

Even if it’s excluding the majority.

Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up. ;)

Some of you know that, in the summers, my husband and I do professional-level Shakespeare with urban teens. Check it out:

2013’s production of Much Ado

 

Notice something about this picture? It’s diverse. Now, it’s obviously diverse in a couple of ways: ethnically and age-wise (youngest 13, oldest 24, mode age 16). But it’s diverse in SO MANY other ways because each student is a person. Each has gifts and hang-ups and each is quirky or insightful or sweet or sassy or bouncy or weird. Some have been to rehab and some have been in honors programs (or done both). Some have straight A’s and some have processing disorders (or have both!). It is this diversity that makes our program awesome. We rely on these beautiful, flawed individuals to come together and create something wonderful, and they always do.

So here’s a story: My husband (the straight white Christian male who created this program) was recently casting the group. We don’t hold auditions like most theatre companies. Instead, students apply to be in the program and we hand-select them based on many factors– their leadership potential, special skill sets, the student’s potential to benefit from the group, and, yes, we consider ethnic/economic diversity as well. After we have our group, we hold auditions among the cast to assign roles. For you theatre folks, we’re ensemble-based.

My husband was going through the students who were viable candidates. We had a lot apply this year, so a few were on the chopping block who might not normally be there– they were  good leaders, skilled, and would have good symbiosis with the program. The problem? They were white girls and our “white girl” quotient was already a little high. He sat. He thought. He prayed. And we ended up with our largest cast ever- 15 people.

Now theatre people know that larger casts are harder, especially in Shakespeare. There are more actors with small parts, more costumes, less space, more things that could go wrong. So he took a hit. But he wasn’t willing to sacrifice those girls just so he could have an easier cast with fewer white girls. Instead, he’s determined to turn our large cast into an asset, as we have more diversity. Because we are ALL diverse. Each of us is an individual who is different from every single other individual. If more than one person is in a room, it is a diverse room.

Diversity should always be about INCLUSION and never about EXCLUSION.

If you exclude someone because of their majority label, you’re just as bad as the people who are excluding you because of your minority label.

Isn’t the point of We Need Diverse Books to create… diversity? Not just separate homogenies? It’s a little silly, I think, so put all the “diverse” folks on one side and all of the straight white neurotypical middle-class Christian guys (and gals) on the other side. And don’t say this doesn’t happen, or that it’s all “the other side” who’s drawing the line- I’ve seen “un-diverse” people excluded and put down multiple times over the past few weeks.

In short, we should never put others down in order to build ourselves up. Even if those others have been putting us down. Even if the others are the majority and “can take it.” Even if they’ve been benefitting from privilege their whole lives and never realized it. Those are no excuses to exclude them. Those are reasons to invite them in and show them that things can be different.

So here’s your one easy step to nurturing diversity: Include Everyone.

What do you think?

Ebook Myths Debunked

As a soon-to-be published E-book first author, I’ve heard a lot of reasons why people haven’t picked up an ebook. Here are five of those… debunked. :)

1) “I don’t have a Kindle/Nook/E-reader.”

You don’t need one! There are e-reading apps available for your phone or tablet in every app store. Just search “e-reader” and you’ll be able to download one for free.

2) “All those books are self-published. I don’t want to read vanity press.”

Well, for one thing, self-publishing of today is not the vanity press of yesterday. Many of today’s indie authors are investing (money as well as blood, sweat, and tears) in freelance editors, formatters, and cover designers to give you a fantastic reading experience.

Also, every book that is being printed on paper is also being published in ebook today. Even by the Big 5 publishers. ESPECIALLY by the Big 5 publishers!

3) “I do most of my reading at the library.”

Libraries have thousands of titles on ebook. And they’re often easier to procure and return (no trips to the library involved- just download it from your computer!). Your librarian would be happy to help you check out your first ebook.

4) “I don’t even know how to buy an ebook!”

Once you’ve downloaded your e-reading app, use it to browse through the corresponding store (Amazon, Nook, iBook, etc). You’ll see pictures of the cover and be able to read blurbs from the back of the book, and sometimes the first few pages! Just like if you were sitting at your own local bookstore.

5) “I prefer to shop locally.”

And then there was the Kobo. :) Some local bookstores have a deal with Kobo e-readers- you buy the e-reader from their store and they get half of the profits from every single book you buy! You can shop locally and still read an ebook.

What ebook myths have you debunked recently?

Diverse Books We Need (and don’t need)

“Why haven’t you been more active in the #WeNeedDiverseBooks movement?” a friend of mine asked. “You wrote a diverse book!”

I sighed. “Yeah… I guess I did,” I said.

Here’s the thing, folks. We need diverse books. We really do. This became more apparent when little ol’ rural me moved to inner-city Pittsburgh to work with urban teens. They are in the library ALL THE TIME (thank you Carnegie Library for being such a welcoming space!) Yet so few of the book covers that surround them, look like them.

So what’s my problem with #WeNeedDiverseBooks? I guess I shouldn’t really have one.

But, for one thing, I don’t like mass movements. They don’t allow much room for discussion and they often only preach to the choir. I witnessed a Twitter conversation yesterday between a couple of #WNDB folks that was beautiful- respectful, humble, sweet. Both people were changed by it. I even popped in to say, “This is a wonderful conversation!” because I loved it so much. But I also have muted people in the movement because all they do is rant about it.

So here are three kinds of Diverse Books we need… and three we don’t.

WE NEED: Well-written books by authors from varying backgrounds writing what they know, as well as well-written books by authors writing what they have researched like crazy.

WE DON’T NEED: White straight middle-class neuro-typical folks (like me) who decide they need to write a diverse book, so they throw a couple of gay/bi/Black/Asian/disabled characters in the supporting cast. I can’t tell you how much I feel like a poser because Carter, one of my book’s main characters, is Deaf and I am not, even though I put in hundreds of hours of research, took two semesters of ASL classes at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, and had deaf beta-readers correct my mistakes. I am still unworthy to represent this culture to the world and need to lean on the experience of others.

Takeaway: If you are writing “diversely,” please let it be from a place of respect and admiration that serves the story, not just because you feel you should be writing diversely. Also, please research THE HECK out of it, and please know people from that culture who you can point curious readers toward, because you will never be an authority. If you are a “diverse” (again, I hate labels) author and are on the fence about writing from your own experience, please do! I’d love to read it.

WE NEED: Books about cultures other than white, middle-class suburbia.

WE DON’T NEED: Books that POSE as cultures other than white, middle-class suburbia but are really just suburbia disguised as “diverse.” My book is set in my hometown of Westfield, NY, population 3,161. Needless to say, it is very rural. Two years ago, a big-name NYC agent read my first page and said, “I would pass. I don’t understand why a 50 year old woman is trying to set up a teen girl with some guy!” My (silent) reply: “You obviously weren’t raised in a small town!” Just because something doesn’t happen in your world, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen at all.

Takeaway: The gatekeepers of American publishing (who tend to be white middle-class folk) need to be open to books that do not reflect their own culture and/or views. (There also needs to be more diversity among gatekeepers. Hm…)

WE NEED: Books that fully realize diverse characters as main characters with meaning and nuance and splendid story arc, who are unique individuals.

WE DON’T NEED: Books that use diverse characters to be “edgy” or trendy (or get a debut published in this #WNDB-movement era). We also don’t need a “diverse” character to represent AN ENTIRE CULTURE.

Takeaway: A character is a person, not a tool to make your book more marketable. Also, a character is ONE person, not a representation of their culture. To look at a character as a tool or as a representation of their culture is to objectify them, defeating the purpose of your “diverse” character to begin with.

In conclusion:

I guess I am part of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks movement. And I hope my book is a positive contribution and enriches the lives of those who read it, Deaf, deaf, HOH, or hearing. I hope it adds to the conversation about diversity in literature, and I hope it offers a window into a culture that hearing people don’t often consider.

Will I tweet more #WNDB things? Maybe. Probably. I like the people I’ve interacted with personally, and I’m excited to have or witness more conversations like the one I saw yesterday. So if you have any questions about my book or Deaf culture, email or tweet at me: @LLAWrites. Just a warning: I may send you to somebody who knows more than I do. :)

The Power of Positive Feedback

One of my many acting jobs is pretending to be a patient for medical students. I get a case, memorize it, and become that character. The medical student pretends to be a doctor and interviews me. Because of this, I have had countless hours of training on how to give feedback. And, surprisingly, people learn best from positive feedback.

Imagine the scene:

Five medical students surround me and their classmate, Justine, who just interviewed me. She’s being judged on her interviewing skills- listening, responding, saying things like, “Wow, that sounds hard.” This is the scariest thing she’s done since applying to medical school. Probably scarier. A million bad things are running through her head. She screwed up so bad. She forgot to shake hands, her voice shook the whole time. And worst, she called the patient by the wrong name.

The moderator turns to her. “What question would you like to ask your patient?”

Justine looks at me, sweating. “How did you feel when I called you by the wrong name?”

I smile as I answer. “When you called me by the wrong name, I was a little surprised. But after I corrected you, you apologized and never did it again. That showed me you were listening to me.”

The student relaxes. Next week she’s worlds better. Her listening shows through- she repeats symptoms back to me and remembers my job and spouse’s name.

Positive feedback endows confidence and helps people to shine in the areas in which they excel.

“You’re funny,” I tell a writer. And her writing gets funnier. Because she trusts her instinct.

“You have great voice,” I tell a writer. And his voice gets stronger. Because he trusts the voice he’s developed.

“This is a wonderful idea,” I tell a writer. And she comes up with more wonderful ideas because she trusts that her ideas can be wonderful.

But here’s the thing: Positive feedback only works if you NEVER LIE. You can never give false compliments. Ever. Nobody likes being patronized.

That honesty has to transcend into the rest of your critique. I have doubted sub-plots, murdered extraneous characters, corrected confusing structure, and insisted on more active verbs, darnit! But those sorts of things only shape a book. Positive feedback shapes a writer.

If you want to help your CPs be better writers, look for what they’re doing right, not only what they’re doing wrong. Our strengths are what give us individuality. Think of how you describe your favorite author: She’s heart-warming, or funny, or heart-wrenching, or makes you think, or action-packed, or knows how to say what everyone’s thinking, or really gets this generation or… the list goes on. The thing you love is the thing she’s best at. Somewhere along her writing journey, somebody encouraged that thing and now she’s your favorite author.

So when is the best time for positive feedback? During the first draft. The story is SO malleable! It’s still a baby! This is the time to encourage the things that will make this story, this writing, the best it can be. In fact, we have a rule in our writing group: If an author is still writing her first draft, you can only say good things about it. ONLY. When the draft is complete and the author gives the go-ahead, it’s open season for constructive criticism. But when the first draft is still being formed, the only doubts involved in its writing should come from the mind of its creator.

So don’t go “find something nice to say” about your critique partners. Notice! Open your eyes! What are they best at? What will make them into somebody’s favorite author?

Query Letter: Your Book’s Audition

Most actors hate auditions. I don’t know why. I love them.

An audition is your chance to show yourself at your best. You’ve spent years honing your craft. You’ve spent days polishing each detail. You’ve spent hours preparing the material. Now all of those years of work are focused into three perfect minutes. It is not a necessary evil. It’s the culmination of everything you’ve worked for and the gateway to the thing you want most.

Now go back to the first paragraph and replace the word “audition” with “query letter.” Do it. It will be eye-opening, I promise.

Most actors think that their job is acting in plays. Wrong! Their job is auditioning. The fruit of their labor is a part in a play. It’s the same with authors. Your job is not writing a book. Yes, in order to query a book you need to have written one, and a good one at that. But you will never see traditional publication without a good query letter. Sure, there is the occasional in-person pitch or contest win, just as in acting sometimes an actor knows the director or is “discovered” waiting tables. But the vast majority of publishing contracts are obtained because of a query letter.

Here are the components of a good audition:

1) Confidence.

2) Approachable, professional, friendly demeanor.

3) Appropriate, professional clothes.

4) Knowledge of yourself- your type, range, and skill set.

5) Knowledge of the company/show for which you’re auditioning.

6) A kick-ass monologue or song that shows off what you do best.

Here are the components of a good query letter:

1) Confidence

2) Approachable, professional, friendly demeanor. (Notice a theme?)

3) Appropriate, professional formatting.

4) Knowledge of your book- genre, plot, and voice.

5) Knowledge of the agent/editor to whom you sent the letter.

6) A kick-ass book that shows off what you do best.

Yes, your book is probably amazing. Yes, your book is probably what the world needs to read right now. But none of this matters if your query letter doesn’t show it off. An actor will never get the part if they cannot audition well.

So what does it take to audition well?

1) A love of baring your soul- to show anybody and everybody your best work.

2) Hours and hours and hours of rehearsal- to insure that the work is your best.

3) A deep, deep desire for the role.

4) A voracious appetite for approval and a thick skin for rejection- this balance gives you the ability to try, fail, and try again. Which is the only way to get work.

5) Help from experienced professionals- directors, coaches, peers.

Only then are you ready to begin your audition process. It confounds me whenever I work with acting students who hate it when people watch them act. Isn’t that why you’re an actor? So people will watch you act?

And what does it take to write a fantastic query letter?

1) A love of baring your soul- to show anybody and everybody your best work.

2) Hours and hours and hours of writing- to insure that the work is your best.

3) A deep, deep desire for publication.

4) A voracious appetite for approval and a thick skin for rejection- this balance gives you the ability to try, fail, and try again. Which is the only way to get published.

5) Help from experienced professionals- writers, editors, peers.

Are you ready? Do you have what it takes? Then let’s get going. Write that letter.

Six Steps to Dealing With Rejection

I’m a professional actor and I’ve learned a thing or two about rejection- from my first stage kiss when the guy ran off stage yelling, “I hate myself I hate myself!” (no it was not in the script) to finding out I lost a role while I was working- I served dinner to a familiar-looking guy who turned to his wife and said, “This girl just auditioned for me. And you know what? She almost got the part.”

So when you’re rejected by the latest agent/editor/whoever, here are some ways to cope:

1) Drink a latte and call your mom. She thinks you’re great. She’ll be happy for the call even if she’s sad to hear the news. And sometimes making other people happy will help you feel happy too.

2) Think this happy little thought: Everybody fails. Every. Single. Person. You are not alone, even if all your Twitter buddies are getting million-dollar advances or whatever. They have all been in your shoes. And you know what? You will fail WAY more than you succeed! Why? Because it only takes one success and then you stop trying, right? It takes a bajillion failures to get that one success- that agent, that contract, that whatever (and then you start trying for something else). Although it’s sad, failure is a perfectly normal place to be!

3) Think this vengeful little thought: They might regret this. It might make you feel a little better. And who knows? Maybe they will! I can think of two specific instances when I was called back for a role and they gave it to someone else who was TERRIBLE. “Ha!” I thought to myself when I read the reviews/heard the horror stories. “Bet they’re wishing they’d picked me now!”

4) Consider this: You may have missed it by only two inches. I once lost a role to a girl because she was two inches taller than me. I’m not joking. The director had praised my audition to the heavens saying (and this is a direct quote), “That’s perfect! That’s exactly what I want!” and he gave it to this other girl. It was college and he said we could ask him about his casting decisions, so I did. It was because she was two inches taller. Two. Inches. Taller. I can’t tell you how many writing rejections I’ve gotten that said something along the lines of, “I loved it but the team didn’t,” or, “It’s just too quiet to break out in this market.” (I have a pretty good list of direct quotes from editors here) Two inches. That’s it. Yeah, it’s sucky, but you were close. And you know what? Maybe next time you’ll get the role because you’re two inches shorter.

5) Now: Change your way of thinking. They are not rejecting YOU. They are not even rejecting your book baby. They are simply looking for something specific and your book wasn’t it. Which is okay. Here’s the thing: I will never play Cinderella in Into the Woods. Ever. Because they would have to find a Little Red that’s shorter than me and, well, good luck with that. Here are more roles I will never play: Marius in Les Mis (he’s a boy), Adelaide in Guys and Dolls (she’s a dancer), Sarah in Ragtime (she’s black)… the list goes on. And you know what? That’s OKAY! There are plenty of roles I can play that those people can’t! Little Red Riding Hood, Peter Pan, Lydia Bennett, Amy March, Hermia… the list goes on! Even against people of my own type, a director might cast someone else because he or she envisions the character a little heavier, a little scrawnier, with blonde ringlets, with a snubby nose, with no freckles, a higher voice, etc, etc. Your book is great! They are not rejecting your book! It is simply not what they’re looking for. And guess what? Someone else may be looking for your book.

6) Finally, be a little sad, but try again. Yes, there is a time to give up and you’ll feel it if it comes. But don’t make any hasty decisions. Give it another shot. As Amy March said, “You only need one. If he’s the right one.”

PS- At least writers actually receive rejections! Actors usually hear from the company only when we get the part- not when we don’t. It’s just an indeterminate wait until you hear that one of your friends was cast or rehearsals start and you aren’t invited. It was sweet, sweet relief when a rejection email first landed in my inbox.

How do you deal with rejection?