Proof that I'm mad, bad and dangerous to know (for your mind, anyway)

Mingle² - Online Dating

And here I thought it would be my use of infrequent curse words, but noooo. It's because of all the death and porn of which I speak:

This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:

• death (9x)
• hell (3x)
• porn (2x)
• dead (1x)

Rumor has it that they're checking IDs at the door, so watch out all y'all under 17 and have your adult handy.

Internet Ad Space and What It Has Done For You

One of my assignments for the Institute is to collect different examples of book ads from newspapers and magazines and explain why they did or did not work for me. While this is all well and fine (and I've got a backlog of old NY Times Book Reviews to harvest from), it got me thinking about internet book ads and whether or not people click.

Now I've ordered many a book from book ads I've found in papers (although I've found that articles written by the authors or reviews about the book to be more affective) and I've seen corresponding sales of those books. Whether those sales resulted from people seeing the same ad, or simply because we chose to hand sell the pretty, pretty new novel/memoir/whatever, I don't know, but I've never ordered a book through an online ad.

Now partially this is because we had absolutely no internet access that would have proved useful in the store, and partially because the creation and execution of good internet advertising (where books are concerned) are still in their infancy. Also, I'm a browser by nature, and while having a bookstore allowed me to turn this into orders, being on my own and rather poor has made me a rather choosy purchaser. I've been known to go back to the same book two or three times on different visits before making a purchase, or to avoid bookstores at all if I don't have a pre-shopping list.

But I'm not necessarily the norm, so here's what I want to know:

Those of you who are authors who've done internet ads, did you consider them successful? Where did you post them? How did you make them and what would you do differently next time (if there is a next time)?

Those of you who are readers who regularly blog/site hope, have you ever been attracted to an internet ad or trailer for a book? Why or why not? Did you click or just take note of the title? Have you ever bought a book through the ad?

(On a side note, I would love to see book trailers really get sophisticated and not in the cheesy Manny way, but more like this version of Pulp Fiction as Typography.)

What are your thoughts?

Making the Rounds (A Linkalicious Monday)

So I’ve been reading, working on a marketing ad thingie (I’m all sorts of good with the technical type wording, yup), and trying to find book bindery that will let me tour their facilities and ask all sorts of nosy questions (pesky kid!). I’ve got all sorts of interesting (in my mind anyway), half-finished columns on each of these topics, but that doesn’t do anyone any good for the here in now, so instead go follow some links and some news.

Chris! You've won a copy of Stephanie Gayle's novel, so please email me your address at the email to the right of this post.

John Lustig of Last Kiss fame became Unshelved enough to contribute to their Sunday bookclub with Summer Moonshine by P.G. Wodehouse gone comic retro. Someone alert Bully!

Ms. Marta Acosta interviews Ms. HelenKay Dimon (whose Paperback Reader I’m an infrequent contributor to, and to whom I owe one review of Bad Kitty), divorce lawyer who writes romance. Marta, it should be noted, will be hosting a bad classic book trailer contest where the top price will be a copy of Adobe Creative Suite 3. Unfortunately being a judge precludes me from entering.

Kassia Krozser of Booksquare (and Paperback Reader as well) posted a column entitled, “Virtual Worlds for Fun and Writers, Or How to Make the Most Out of Second Life,” on Romancing the Blog about the use of Second Life in helping to build a believable world for your novel. I’ve never played in Second Life, nor (gasp) read Neal Stephenson, but the whole concept sounds worth checking out. Again, this is one of columns that could apply to any writing that requires world building, not just romance.

Are book clubs ruining the reading experience? I certainly heard a lot of people complain about their book club’s choices back when I was a bookseller, but I had just as many people gush madly. To avoid the homogeneity that the Guardian alleges, my friends and I had our own way of doing book club. Specifically everyone brought one or two books that they thought someone else should read. We would then sit around in a circle and “hand sell” the book to the group. After everyone took their turn we’d then trade, so there would be at least one other person in the group that you could discuss the book with next time. This also meant that a lot of different types of books got introduced.

Meanwhile Bookselling This Week offers up its own thoughts on the keys to book club success.

New blog Novelish had a great post a ways back on the dangers of Cover Deja-vu. I know that there are a lot more duplicate covers out there, and if you can think of any let me know in the comments and I’ll put together a complimentary post. See Fuse#8 for some examples.

From Bookshelves of Doom, an author was beat up by his neighbors because his novel hit a little too close to home in his community in France. Truth, it is stranger than fiction more often than not.

Back when I was a bookseller, we would often hang little “if you liked X, then check out W, Y, and Z,” lists in the appropriate sections to get people to branch out from the big names and investigate similar new and up and coming authors. These lists not only helped the customer but also booksellers who wound up in sections they were unfamiliar with. If I still had a bookstore, rest assured that I would have kept this list of books that cover Tough Issues for Teens by Little Willow behind the counter and used it to order for the section. Not only does it come with age appropriate ratings, but it is broken down by subject. A must have for anyone trying to build a comprehensive Young Adult section.

Finally, a big, huge, fantastic Congratulations to Ms. Written Nerd who managed to not only do BEA and plan various events in the last month, but she did it all while doing the final planning for her wedding that takes place this week. Happy Wedding and Honeymoon!

Oh and before I forget (as I've been forgetting this for awhile now), here's the final version of The Machine is Us/ing Us by Michael Wesch.

Summer Reads, Death Penalty Cases and Kittens: an Interview with Stephanie Gayle

As a follow up to Monday’s guest blog, author Stephanie Gayle agreed to answer some questions had by myself and a couple of other readers. If you have any further questions please leave them in the comments below. Also if you have any interest in winning a copy of Stephanie’s book, comment as well. I will draw a winner on Saturday.*

Linsey: Your female protagonist and narrator in My Summer of Southern Discomfort shares a name with Natalie Goldberg, the writer, was that a coincidence? (Or just something you’re tired of people pointing out?)

Stephanie Gayle: This was semi-intentional. I had named her Natalie but she needed a last name. Goldberg met the Jewish requirement and paid homage to the woman who wrote Writing Down the Bones (a fabulous book for writers). Some writers suggested I change the name because of the coincidence, but I refused. I’m obstinate that way.

Linsey: You did a lot of research on the legal system for your novel both on the justice system and on Georgia. Did you have to guard against just dumping in all the info you found or did the infusion of knowledge into the narrative happen naturally?

Stephanie: Sometimes a situation within the narrative would lend itself to this information and sometimes a bit of set up was required, but I tried to work the legalese in organically rather than insert it as exposition to show what I learned about today in law.

Linsey: Natalie prosecutes a death penalty case despite her liberal Yankee background and her father’s civil rights work. What made you decide use the death penalty in her story?

Stephanie: It seemed like the biggest, toughest issue I could put on her plate. I wanted to give her a truly big conflict (because moving thousands of miles away and alienating family and friends and starting her career from scratch was minor conflict, really). Plus the state where she practices, Georgia, has been at the forefront of death penalty decisions.

Linsey: Did your personal research change your own opinions the subject?

Stephanie: No, quite the opposite. Having read about the death penalty’s application and enforcement, I am more convinced that the United States should abandon the death penalty as a punishment. Unlike Natalie, who was always opposed to it, I think I represented the ‘pro’ side in a debate on the death penalty in seventh grade.

The things you do when you’re twelve.

Linsey: I think I was involved in that exact same debate, except it was in Social Studies my freshman year of high school. Oh, the universal school experience. Would you recommend writing programs like that of Harvard’s to other budding novelists? Why?

Stephanie: I only took a few writing classes at Harvard. Both the novel class and the advanced fiction class were excellent. I know people from both classes who went on to get an MLA from the Harvard Extension School in Creative Writing. (They were willing to write a thesis, unlike me.) I think the class’s efficacy is dependent on the instructor and the students in your class. For me, the novel class was invaluable for motivation, critique and making connections with other writers. Aside from cost, I can’t think of a reason not to recommend it.

Linsey: Had you been involved in any other writing programs before the Harvard one?

Stephanie: I took a memoir writing class at Smith College and writing workshops through Grub Street, Inc.

Linsey: Speaking of Grub Street, Inc, I noticed it was mentioned on your bio as well; what is it?

Stephanie: Grub Street is a Boston-based writing center that offers classes taught by amazing writers. Grub also hosts readings, is involved in community-writing projects and holds an annual event called The Muse & The Marketplace where writers, editors, and agents all convene to talk the business of writing. I recently took a Master Fiction class through Grub Street taught by Ellen Litman, which was fantastic. Go Grub!

Linsey: What else are you (and your publisher) doing to help launch My Summer of Southern Discomfort?

Stephanie: Pony rides and free ice cream cones with the purchase of a book! (Kidding). We’ve been setting up local readings, getting the word out to the press (my novel just got listed as a best summer read in this month’s Redbook-bless the person at HC who did that!) I’ve been working locally with Haley Booksellers who are hosting my launch party on Monday. June 25th. They’ve also worked to get my name in local papers (BostonNOW and the Globe) and they’ve papered local neighborhoods with launch party fliers. I’ve been guest blogging here and gotten better about approaching bookstore staff (in a respectful manner, Linsey!) and asking about possible reading or signing opportunities.

Linsey: Regarding your next novel, 1000 Fluffy Kittens, do you know if this cat will be your cover cat or perhaps this one? Just kidding. What are you working on next?

Stephanie: Oh the kitties! Sadly, I didn’t follow my dream of 1,000 Fluffy Kittens. Instead I chose to begin a second novel, set in 1978, about a young woman who takes her parents to court after they have her kidnapped from a community they deem a cult. So I get to read lots about cults and kidnapping and deprogrammers. Next month I’ll begin editing the first draft. That’s the plan anyway.

Linsey: Wow, I think I would rather read about a possible former cult member suing her family than kitties anyway. What novels would you recommend to my readers to check out for their summer reading (after they’ve picked up yours, of course)?

Stephanie: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (How did I come to the David Mitchell party so late? He’s a genius.)

Any of the Peter Wimsey-Harriet Vane mysteries by Dorothy Sayers. (Strong Poison / Have His Carcass / Gaudy Night/Busman’s Honeymoon)

The Lady and the Panda: The True Adventures of the First American Explorer to Bring Back China's Most Exotic Animal by Vicki Croke

This is terrible, because I know I have more recommendations but I’m not at the computer with my ‘books read spreadsheet.’ Yes, I have a spreadsheet. Yes, I’m just that geeky. It also helps because I have a terrible memory and am prone to picking up (or buying) books that I’ve read before.

Linsey: I wish that I was organized enough for a spreadsheet. Currently I rely on my brain, faulty thing that it is. Probably why I needed y’all to help me come up with interview questions. Stephanie actually answered (with great speed) all of the questions posed on her original column, but I’ve copied and pasted them below for those of you don’t necessarily always read the comments.

Chris asked, “Have you ever lived in Georgia or did you just imagine what it would be like?”

Stephanie: I never lived in Georgia. I chose it for legal purposes (and because it has Piggly Wiggly stores). In part, I wanted a place where Natalie would be out of her element and a place with which I didn't have so much familiarity that I couldn't imagine it. I'm afraid if I set it where I live(d) I would have been tied to facts and what I know. This way, I was a bit freer to creatively imagine Nat's habitat. Though I also did a fair amount of research so that I had authentic details.

Miri asked, “How was the Harvard writing class formatted? What kinds of things did you do, exactly? And how many agents did you query before you found the one for you?”

Stephanie: The Harvard writing class was structured like most workshop classes. We'd read chapters submitted by our peers and then discuss them at the next class. We submitted 3 chapters per cycle as I recall. Our instructor, Stratis Haviaris, would also lecture briefly about novel structure, point of view, and tips on writing and publishing. The caliber of writers in that class was astonishing, and represents some of the best work in progress I've read. Stratis also insisted we get an agent, which leads me to question #2.

How many agents? You know, I have a spreadsheet somewhere. I think it was around 40 or so. I'd gotten some requests for full manuscripts in the very early query stages, but they all came back as "no"s. In the end, I think I have the right agent, so I'm glad I didn't get the first agent I asked.

Linsey: Thanks again, Stephanie, for taking the time to both interview and guest blog. I can always tell when a guest blog has been successful when my friends make mention of it while surreptitiously glancing around my apartment in search of the ARC to steal. You've garnered more than one comment and I've had to hide the ARC away for safe-keeping so I'll still have something to give away!

If you're interested in picking up Stephanie’s book, My Summer of Southern Discomfort, it will be available Tuesday of next week (according to the neat little widget below).

Get this widget!

(The widget is currently experiencing technically difficulties, but if you click on it will take you to an actual working version. Why it is not working here is probably a question for a greater being and the answer would probably be something like 42. This is what happens when I try to get technical.)

*Chris, you’ve already been entered, and Miri you’ve been excluded as requested.

Marketing Thrills and Chills with MJ Rose

I had first learned about Shelf Awareness and Author Buzz when a reader brought it to my attention in early 2006. I’d already been a fan of MJ Rose’s blog Buzz, Balls & Hype (even guest blogging on it in early March the same year) for some time, but had not put together the very obvious clues that she was also responsible for Author Buzz and other marketing tools to help authors reach a wide selection of booksellers, librarians and book clubs.

Around September, Ms. Rose asked if I would like to be part of an informal focus group of booksellers for her novel The Reincarnationist. Due to time constraints I was unable to follow up on the project, but the idea of book focus groups seemed so perfect for the publishing world that it stayed in the back of mind. Last month I contacted Ms. Rose to find out how the focus groups had gone, only to discover that she was now involved with putting together Thrillerfest as well as marketing class for authors to be taught at the event. Never one to miss an opportunity to pester someone about marketing, I shot off an email full of questions on all things Thrillerfest, marketing, focus groups, and why authors need to get their names out there in an efficient manner.

The following interview resulted from that email exchange.

Linsey (aka Bookseller Chick): You're involved with the Thrillerfest (July 12th-15th in Manhattan) along with James Patterson, Lisa Gardner, Clive Cussler, James Rollins and others, which is billed as "a four-day annual celebration of the fiction world's most popular genre." How are you involved?

MJ Rose: I'm on the board of ITW as well as being a founding member. I became involved after the first meeting in the fall of 2004 --excited at the idea of an organization whose goals including building readership. Strangely enough, we're the only writer's organization that has that goal.

Linsey: What makes it fictions most popular genre? What is it about the Thriller that appeals to readers world wide?

MJ: Since the beginning of storytelling, "then what happens" has been what’s kept people transfixed and that's the essence of our genre.

Linsey: What opportunities does Thrillerfest offer readers? Writers?

MJ: We're not an organization that helps writers get published , find agents or get legal advice. Those orgs already existed.

We are here to celebrate the genre. To get more attention via innovative and creative ways for our authors and their books with the press and with readers.

We're the first writers' organization that has a reader's newsletter. And we set up our convention, ThrillerFest, to bring readers and writers together with more than 85% of the panels aimed at readers. Our anthology, Thriller, is one of the best selling anthologies ever published and had met its goal of getting an enormous amount of attention for our authors. Our big name authors wind up introducing readers to our not yet big name authors. Its a great example of the generosity of our membership. And there's lots more to come.

Linsey: Your class at Craftfest (the writer orientated portion of Thrillerfest) is a bonus session focused on creating book buzz--your area of expertise--will you be focusing on internet buzz, reaching booksellers, reaching readers or all of the above?

MJ: All of the above.

Linsey: How can one go about defining the audience they are trying to reach with their book and then reaching them?

MJ: This is really complicated and part of the problem our industry is facing since publishers don’t do much research and don’t know a lot about our users – in other words - readers. It’s not an industry that spends as much time innovating as it does producing and in this overcrowded marketplace, that’s a problem for everyone, including every one of us.

I think if you are a writer you need to read a lot - both in your category and out of it and evaluate your work in light of what you read. That will help you get a sense of how to identify your own work.

Then your main goal should to identify the niche markets your book can reach, find them, and then connect to them, get to know them and help them to get to know you.

You can sell a lot of books by starting with identifiable groups and working outwards.

It doesn't help to say my book is for all readers everywhere. There's no way to reach them with a limited budget. But if you can say my book is for women who love mysteries and like to knit ... then we're getting somewhere. Or my book is for athletic men who like to scuba dive.

Knowing the niches you can start searching out listservs, blogs, sites, newspapers, magazines, venues where your target audience lives.

Linsey: How does Author Buzz--your marketing service--help simplify this process?

MJ: It's enormously time intensive to market your own book. It can take months and months of work. I found that I was teaching authors how to do it in my online class only to discover they'd come up with great ideas of how to market their books but when it came time to do the work, they didn't want to execute their plans.

And rightly so, we're writers. We want to write the next book! If we wanted to be marketers we'd be in advertising. (I know since I left advertising to be a novelist only to discover I had to stay in advertising to stay alive as a writer.)

I saw so much of this problem, and lived it myself, that I though up the idea of a one stop marketing solution for authors. Buy the program and reach readers and leaders of 7500 bookclubs, over 350,000 readers, 10,000 librarians and 3000 booksellers. Add another one of the programs and do a book blog tour or run ads on the top 1o blogs that cater to your audience.

It's four hours at the most of the author's time instead of four moths. So we can do what we wanted to do all along - write.

Linsey: For your book, The Reincarnationist, you used a focus group of booksellers. Why? What information did that group provide and would you do it in the future?

MJ: Back when I was in advertising I did a lot of focus groups and found that if used correctly the information was invaluable.

Objectivity is hard to come by for authors, editors, agents. Yes, there's expertise and it counts for a lot, but my agent and editor and I had all read my book three or four times each and I wanted to know what booksellers were going to say. What the overall impression of the book was going to be. I wanted to know early on, if the book met the goals I set for it.

I didn't do formal focus groups-though I would have loved to - the cost would have been prohibitive. But I did manage to get enough booksellers to read the book that I was able to get an early read on the manuscript that did provide the information I was hoping it would.

Not only would I do it again, I'd do it bigger.

I don't why people in our industry are so afraid of the words marketing or focus groups or research.

I wouldn't ask a group to tell me how to end a book or to judge a concept before it was written, but to take a finished book or a finished cover to a group of readers and/or booksellers and find out it the book meets your expectations -- why not? After all, you don't have to listen to what the group says.

Linsey: And since this is a bookselling blog, what thriller novels should readers check out right now?


MJ: I'm going on vacation and taking Lee Child's Bad Luck and Trouble & Barry Eisler's Requiem for an Assassin.

Thank you so much, MJ, for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk with us today.

For your enjoyment--and because I'm strangely addicted to book trailers--here's the festival trailer for Thrillerfest. If you have any questions for MJ that you would like for me to follow up with her, please leave them in the comments section below or email them to me at the Bookseller Chick email address in the side bar.

Guest Blogger Stephanie Gayle on Writing a Novel on Southern Discomfort

Way back in May, Stephanie Gayle was kind enough to drop me an email regarding her first book, My Summer of Southern Discomfort, and ask about the possibility of guest blogging. As I do with all possible guest bloggers, my first question was about the topic of the book:

Today is Monday. The calls do not come as before. Weeks elapse between them, and when I answer the phone there is no overlap of voices, only my mother's. She spends much of the conversation avoiding mention of the pink elephant trumpeting in the middle of the room.

The pink elephant would be my defection to Georgia. When I telephoned with the news of my imminent relocation my father asked, "Georgia, as in the Republic of Georgia by the Black Sea, or Georgia as in the Peach State?" He hoped I meant the former because that Georgia promised unique opportunities to advance the democratic cause of justice. What could Georgia, former land of the Confederacy, offer?

Convicting arsonists and thieves in Macon, Georgia, was never Harvard Law grad Natalie Goldberg's dream. The pay is abysmal, the work is exhausting, and the humidity is hell for a woman with curly hair. But when a steamy romance with her high-powered New York boss went bad, Natalie jumped at the first job offered, packed her bags, and headed south.

Natalie's leftist Yankee background brands her a conspicuous outsider in this insular community. Her father, a famous civil rights lawyer, refuses to accept her career change—or talk to her. Her best friend begs her to come back home, and Natalie keeps thinking she sees her former lover everywhere.

But Natalie's not completely alone. There are a garden-obsessed neighbor, a former beauty queen–turned–defense attorney, and a handsome colleague who has a nervous tic whenever she gets near. And then there's a capital case that has her eating antacids by the truckload.

Yep, it's going to be one heckuva long, hot summer. . . .

Oh my, I thought, this should be good. A thought obviously echoed by Booklist who called Stephanie's novel a "finely crafted debut novel, Gayle evinces a superb mastery of character development, rendering Natalie's various crises of faith with empathic authenticity, endearing humor, and enviable grace."

Needless to say, I took Stephanie up on her guest blogging offer as well as the opportunity to let y'all (and myself) ask her questions about the novel and her Harvard novel writing class for a chance to win an Advanced Reader Copy of My Summer of Southern Discomfort before it is released next week.

Thank you for joining us today, Stephanie.

***

Linsey has invited me to tell you a story about how I wrote my first book, My Summer of Southern Discomfort.

Actually, to be super specific it's my second book. I wrote my first book in college. It lives in my closet because it's not fit for anyone to read but my mother (who still asks me when I'm going to publish it. "Never, Mom. Never.")

I began writing My Summer of Southern Discomfort for a class I was taking at Harvard called "Writing the Novel." That sounds like a joke, but it isn't. Most people in the class were a lot further along in writing their novel, whereas I hadn't begun mine until just before class began. That led to me begging to go last for chapter submissions.

Writing the first part in a workshop setting proved helpful.

I began the narrative with Natalie Goldberg, an order obsessed overachiever whose life has undergone radical changes lately. When I told my classmates I intended it as a three-person narrative they said, "Don't do it. We like Natalie. Stick with Natalie." I listened. Good thing.

I knew Natalie would be a lawyer. I love law, but never wanted to, you know, go to law school and practice. I got to practice through Natalie, who prosecutes a capital case. In writing the book I read a lot about Georgia criminal law and the death penalty. It was fascinating, depressing stuff. After one tough week of looking at bullet injury photos and reading descriptions of how the electric chair kills you (precisely) I resolved to title my next novel 1000 Fuzzy Kittens. That sounded like happier subject material.

My writing instructor urged us to create plot outlines, maps, guides to our books. I may have created one, but I didn't follow it. My writing is always running after my characters.

I love tension and conflict. Poor Natalie. Just when she's start having a good day I'd rain down more troubles on her. That said, some of the easiest, best writing (I think) comes in the conversations she has with people she's feuding with: her partner, Ben, or her father.

It took my nine months to complete the first draft. I kept a KitchenAid timer on my desk. I get restless in my room. I'll stop typing, stretch, or go into my closet and sort clothes, or dance around. I realized this "time" was not "writing time." So I put an hour on the timer and every time I stopped writing I hit pause. When I began writing again I'd hit start. An honest hour of writing was often two hours real time. I spent another few months working on the second and third drafts. Between drafts the manuscript sat in my closet. All told it was three years between beginning the manuscript and selling it.

The best part of selling the book? Only two people had read my completed first draft. So hearing my agent, and editor, who had read the final version say, "I love Natalie" was wonderful. Not that getting paid wasn't nice. My best friend immediately asked, "Can you quit your job?" I thought for a second and said, "Nope. Health insurance. I need health insurance." Practical-minded Natalie would have been so proud of me.

Have I fallen off the face of the Earth?

Nope, but I do have one hell of a sinus infection, which has led (in the last day or so) to the discovery of a drug allergy as well.

Joy.

We'll return with our regularly scheduled blogging on Monday if not before. Until then what are your favorite rereads or the books that you pull out when you're sick because you need to get lost in the comfort of a familiar book?

Link it to me: the more bang for your buck edition

So I’m sitting in my cubicle the other day, just surfing away on the internet when my phone rings. “Thank you for calling X, this is Linsey. May I have your name and account number please?”

“Oh, thank goodness. I got the right number,” an elderly gentleman says on the other end of the line.

“Sir?”

“I called Y racetrack to get the number for your service and they gave me 1-800-XXX-XXXX. Have you ever called the 1-800 version of your number?”

“No, sir. I haven’t. What happened?”

“Well, this woman’s voice came on the line and she said if I was interested in a hot call I should enter in my credit card number for just $0.61 a minute. And I didn’t want a hot call! I wanted a hot horse!”

…And that, my friends, is when I learned to control my immediate impulse to laugh and where you get your bang for you buck. Or in this case your phone sex for $0.61.

Oh dear.

Now in book news, the NY Times highlighted different computer programs to help you keep track of your characters and motivations when writing your book. Interestingly enough, they didn’t highlight any Apple programs that do the same thing (and I’m pretty sure they’re out there). Part of me feels that the article read more like an extended advertisement for Microsoft than comparative journalism, but that didn’t stop me from coveting the Microsoft Project program despite not being a writer. What can I say, I’m weak. I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts on it.

The Times also launched its own book blog this week, run by Dwight Garner, a senior editor of the Book Review. Does this mean that the NY Times Book Review now supports the idea of lit bloggers or not?

The always entertaining Ms. Weinman of Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind linked to this article. It appears that the ten-year-old real life mystery that Tony Hillerman used as a plot base in a recent novel may actually have been solved, though probably not as Tony solved it. We can compare and contrast real life and fiction if anyone knows the book I’m talking about.

Frequent commenter on this blog, Marta Acosta, has blogged over at Fresh Fiction with some thoughtful ideas on being part of the paranormal fiction pack and why it appeals to readers. I have nothing to add really other than the following image from I can has cheezburger might represent the next wave of paranormal fiction: vampire cats.

Don’t tell me that Stephen King has done it already, I refuse to listen.

In honor of my first regular blog post over at Romancing the Blog, I give you Bully’s Ten of a Kind representation of romance comic book covers. It seemed only appropriate since most of the women on these covers look seriously put out with their male counterparts.

I found Ironic Sans through an article on Galleycat on the topic of covers that look alike (we’ve all groaned and/or worried over the topic a time or two). Be sure to read the comments for an enlightening look at the cover art process.

The Written Nerd has her BEA recap post up to go with the pictures she posted last week. If you are not BEA-ed out, you might want to take a look.

Now, if those weren’t enough links to keep you busy, please check out this post that’s chock full of more links at The Inkwell Bookstore Blog.

Otherwise have a lovely day. I’m off to do homework in the sunshine.

Tele-Commute Blogging

Hey all, I've got a guest blog called "Bookstore Breakup"* up over at Romancing the Blog. It's the first of what will be a monthly commitment. For those of you have no love for the Romance section, worry not, this post applies to anyone who has ever had to breakup with their bookstore.

I'll be back later with an actual column for this blog as well.

Enjoy.


*Now with a link that actually works! I really need to remember not to post before coffee.

Un-Book(i)ed

I’m no longer Mistress of the Ponies, Queen of the Pick Sixes, or Proprietress of the Superfectas. I’ve had to let Giovanni and Paulo go to break knees for others, and I’ve erased all the names in my book (good news for all y’all who didn’t think to the bet on someone other than the filly in the Belmont Stakes).

In other words, my reign as a Bookie is over, and my time in homework land has begun. Also, it means I have no excuse to clean my house.

Darn.

I had a dream last night that one of the regulars called, a very sweet older man who bets with a partner, and I was reading off his regular requests: morning line odds, weights of the jockeys and the distance of the race in furlongs. In the middle of reading the list, I realized that the track had something like twenty horses running, something unusual for an American track—but not for a British or Japanese race—and I almost commented that this didn’t seem like his sort of race. Instead I just converted furlongs to miles* for him and sent him on his way, turning to my cubicle mate after I hung up to crack a joke about one of the horse’s names.

I woke up to the realization that I’d absorbed way more horse racing knowledge than I’d previously thought, and I was going to miss most of those guys and gals.

In honor of my former profession, it seems only right to compile a list of books that revolve gambling of some sort. Off the top of my head I can think of two nonfiction titles—Positively Fifth Street and Bringing Down the House—and one fiction title—Get Shorty had gambling elements didn’t it?—but none of them revolve around horse racing.

Luckily I know some readers.

So know any books with gambling as a theme or element (horse racing as either wins you double points)? If so put them in the comments below.**

*Eight furlongs equal a mile.

**Or comment other sundry gambling related entertainment (movies! Songs!). Just build a list people. I’d hate to have to rehire Giovanni and Paulo to force compliance. Although they could probably use the work.

Free books for Teens

I'm deep in pony-land (the land of people who do not listen and get angry about for no reason--not to be confused with My Little Pony Land, the place of sparkles and giggles), but I thought I'd post this news while I have a chance.

Kris Reisz posted on his site that Simon Pulse is offering ARCs and free novels to teens in return for getting their opinion. If you know a teen who might be interested they can download the application form here. Unfortunately it does not look like adults who like to read YA novels are allowed to apply.

Phooey.

Back to pony land I go.

School Reads You Actually Liked

So the other day we were chatting away in our cubicles in a lull between calls, and a coworker chose that moment to reveal that she’s reading the first Bartimaeus book. Since I practically beat her over her head with that suggestion daily for about a week, I wasn’t that surprised, but I squealed in delight anyway because I love spreading the Bartimaeus love. My cubicle mate (a mother of two ten year olds) wanted to know what the coworker and I found so interesting about Stroud’s trilogy, and five minutes of incoherent fangirl babbling ensued. Though properly informed by the incident about my book rabidness, she nevertheless mentioned that she was reading a really great book too. “I saw A Wrinkle in Time series the other day at Costco and I just had to buy the whole set. I loved that book when I was in school!”

The mention of reading “in school” brought about the topic of books we all liked to read in school vs. the books we slogged through all the while silently calling our teachers evil Lit pigs unable to assign a book we’d be actually interested in.

The list went as follows:

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle

Hatchet by Gary Paulson

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (Hey, I enjoyed it.)

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

There were a lot of other titles suggested, but for the life of me I can only remember the overlap. But it made me want to ask y’all, what books do you remember actually liking despite their designation as required reading?

What books did you despise?

The Post BEA (Sausage) Links Edition

My involvement in the wild and weird world of horse racing precluded me from going to BEA this year, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t do some book related activities this weekend. Nope, I spend quite a bit of time clicking away at work on different book websites trying to collect the best and most interesting list of book news. Of course, just as I’m about to copy and paste said list into a tidy little column file I get a call from an angry customer who dislikes the hair of one of our main announcers and wishes to lodge a complaint, causing me to forget everything I’ve just learned. In an attempt to avoid this repeated forgetfulness, I’ve just started keeping a running link list. There’s no guarantee that I’ll look at the link later and remember why I saved it, but it gives a bit of a clue, at least.

There are two new book advertising/compilation sites on the ‘net these days: Early Ink and Romantic Advances.

Early Ink is a website open to all genres (fiction and nonfiction) that allows authors/publishers to buy space for their upcoming titles as well as excerpts and links to various sites. Readers can then leave their comments on the upcoming titles as well as link back to the page from their own sites. Information on how to register your book and the price of a monthly preview can be found here.

Romantic Advances (still in Beta) is for upcoming Romance novels (or books with romantic elements) run by several romance bloggers. There is currently no price to submit your information to the website, but they may be offering advertising space in the future. The site is currently a work and progress and more features may be added at a later date.

Both sites offer you a chance to learn about new books that will be hitting the shelves soon as well as another arena to promote your book and up your presence on the internet (something I feel is important).

We have a new (relatively speaking as she’s been around since March) bookseller on the blog block in Jenn Brissett’s A Bookseller’s Tale. I particularly enjoyed her insights and additions in this post to Melissa Lion’s “Bookselling this Week” article “How to Talk to a Bookseller: A 10-Step Guide for Authors,” but she also does a great job highlighting books and other book news that I would not have heard of otherwise.

Oh, and after you’re done checking Jenn’s blog out, skip on over to The Stealth Geek, the blog of an anonymous scifi/fantasy publishing type. For those of you who don’t know what a Steath Geek is, here is a handy definition from The Stealth Geek FAQ sheet* that I found via google: A Stealth Geek (SG) is a person who has many of the internal qualities of geekiness yet who does not look or act like the stereotypical geek. Publishing commentary with a large dose of sarcasm, just like I like it.

Speaking of blogs, why did it take me so long to learn about the Rap Sheet? Formerly a column in January Magazine, the Rap Sheet is now a blog devoted to “information about new and forthcoming books, special author projects, genre innovations, and distinctive crime-fiction-related Web sites.”

Since we just focused on a thriller/crime-related blog, it seems only right to point you towards this article from 2004 by Lee Child called “Thriller Sidekicks.” Should someone tell Mr. Child that in movies at least, sidekicks have a high mortality rate for this very reason? You can’t have someone who outshines your star.

Let’s trade this thriller geekery, for something a little more scientific, shall we? Some of you already know that I have a degree in Biology, and while I realize long ago that I wasn’t cut out to be a doctor (I require a certain amount of sleep to resist giving in to my day to day homicidal tendencies) science in general is really damn interesting. So when I find something that celebrates not only science, but women scientists, I’ve got to spread the word. She’s Such a Geek is the companion blog for the book She’s Such a Geek: Women Write About Science, Technology and Other Nerdy Stuff edited by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Anders*. It’s filled all sorts of good nerdy (and girl nerdy) stuff for people who loves strange facts and interesting science figures.

Katherine Taylor, author of The Rules for Saying Goodbye and the woman who almost stumped me with her Lit Nerd list of books on the Monster Recommendations list, is the author/blogger in residence over at the Elegant Variation this week. Go check her out for Lit recs and Lit news as well as thoughts on the everyday.

Now because I’ve traded emails with Betsy Bird of Fuse #8 fame, every once in awhile she pops up in my Gmail chat friends list. Normally her messages have to do with work, but the other day there was a link to the blog “Children’s Music that Rocks” by fellow NY librarian Warren Truitt. I’m like Dennis the Menace with a button, give me a link and I have to follow it, often to my own detriment, but this time I was pleasantly surprised. If you’re a parent looking for children’s music “doesn’t make adults want to rip their hair out” this is the blog for you. It also includes recommendations of rock and roll themed or based books for children.

Finally, my nomination for best BEA blogging (noting, of course, that I wasn’t there so my opinion means nada) goes to Bully Says: Comics Ought to be Fun. Any blog narrated by—and involving cute pictures of—a cute little stuffed animal bull in costume has my vote. Not only does Bully have some nice thoughts on different comic booths, but he seems to mingle well with others. I hope that Norton knows what a little goldmine they have and they make him the publisher mascot. If publisher’s even have mascots that is…

That’s enough links from me, I think. How about you? Have any links you feel like passing along?

*Now updated with the new (and up to date) link!

**Charlie, I'm so sorry. I have no idea why I typed Charles instead of Charlie, other than my own inability to think in the morning. Thanks for the heads up on the name typo and many many sorries.

Playing at Being Ginger Rogers*

Kristin Nelson had a great post up at Pubrants covering Michael Cader’s keynote speech for the Backspace conference called, “Things No one Understands About Publishing, and the Internet, Featuring the Most Important Thing No One Ever Tells Authors, and the Most Important Thing Publishers Don’t Know.”

Along with advising authors to campaign like they’re self-published even if they have a big house behind them and know your audience he had some great advice about using bloggers and the internet (bullets five and six) that bear (bare?) further discussion.

In bullet five Kristin summarizes Cader’s remarks on bloggers and how they know when they’re being marketed to, and it’s true. I get emails all the time from publishers (and authors) hawking this book or that, most of which I’m not interested in. The quickest way to turn me off is to just blitz me with a mass email with no personalization or originality. Great, you’ve got a book out that relates in no way to anything I’ve ever discussed on this blog. Why would I want to read that?

Answer: I don’t. You didn’t give me a reason to so I’m probably going to ignore the email.

But what if I’m a tiny bit interested? What if there is something there that makes me think, “Hmm, I want to learn more about this”?

I may not immediately shoot off an email saying “send me the goods.” Nope, I’ll probably do some research first, and almost every time I get this feeling I find absolutely nothing out there (except for a blurb about the sale at Publisher’s Marketplace).

Which leads me to Cade’s (as summarized by Kristin) bullet point six: “Publishing often has it backwards. They keep a big book a secret until the release day and then there is a big publicity push…The internet values what’s old, what can be found in a search, what is repeated over time.” If I go out there looking for information about your book not provided in the publicity release (and let me tell you, a lot of things are not included in the publicity release), I need to find more than that Publisher’s Marketplace blurb and an almost nothing Amazon page acting as a placeholder. Does the author already have a website I can look at? Is there some excerpt out there that I can read to give me some idea of this person’s writing? How can I create buzz for you if I have nothing to link to?

The internet, and buzz by bloggers, is built through those interconnected links.

As soon as you start putting out those emails or sending out those ARCs you should have something in place with more information than your publicity release. You should have something set up so that other lit bloggers can contact you to get on your list or find out more about your product. Say I read about something on someone else’s lit blog and think, “wow, I love this. This is totally up my readership’s alley,” only to find out I need a company letterhead and $0.41 in postage to try and get your attention (yes, Minotaur, I’m talking about you). It’s not like I can’t rise above the adversity that is my relationship with the US Postal Service, but if you are trying to build buzz—especially internet buzz—you should pander to the format used by bloggers: electronic.

The fastest way for me to tell 150 to 200 people about your book (and how excited I am by it) is not to send out a newsletter and pay $61.50 to $82.00 in postage but to hit post on blogger and tell them for free.

And the fraction of that readership that are interested in the title as well? They’re going to do their own readership. They’re going to see what other bloggers are saying and take a look at the web pages the author and publisher have provided. They are going to spin the great Google algorithm and see what they can find.

I fear that this is coming across muddled because I’m suffering the duel affects of too little sleep and mondo allergies, or that I’m perhaps asking too much, but the truth is as soon as those publicity emails go out, you need to have something in place for people online to learn about your book(s). Word of mouth can spread farther and faster in the electronic realm, but it needs something already established to feed off of or link back to. A lit blogger’s casual mention (with or without an accompanying snapshot) of an ARC or publicity statement they received is enough to spur more than a few people to go looking for information on your book.

Give it to them.

Throw up a simple website or make use of a free Blogger page to get started while you’re building the finished product. Set up some way for lit bloggers to email you about getting more info on the title or about receiving an ARC. If you’re afraid that they’re trying to scam you, require bloggers to submit a site address and have an intern check their content out. I don’t mind a publishing company asking me my daily traffic or who comprises my reading audience—that’s good business and hopefully it will help them specialize what publicity emails they send my way in the future.

What are your thoughts?

What’s the first thing you do on the internet when you hear about a book you might be interested in?

*And doing everything backwards while in heels

Meme, Meme, Meme (Part the Two)

(Follow up to "Meme, Meme, Meme (Part the One)")

The memes I was tagged with by Robin, web and Mary Warner of the Bedroom Reader, were all pretty similar so I decided to smash them all together. Below you’ll fine a combo of the 8 interesting facts/habits meme:

“Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.”

As well as:

“My new meme is called ‘4 New x 2′. You have to share four things that were new to you in the past four years. I mean four things you learned or experienced or explored for the first time in the past four years. New house, new school, new hobby, new spouse, new baby, whatever. Then you have to say four things you want to try new in the next four years.”

1. I love being barefoot. Love it. Comes from a childhood of hippity-hopping across hot cement to get down to the (hot) sand along the river we would visit almost daily during the summer.

2. Despite my love of being barefoot, I also love/adore/obsess over shoes and socks and own far too many pairs of each. Shoes with heels, especially high heels are a weakness although I’ve recently discovered the joy of smart looking flats.

3. I have the same inseam length as my little brother who is 6’5” (for the record, I’m 5’9”) and would regularly steal his jeans when I was 19/20 because they fit perfectly. Then he discovered the joy of sagging pants and it was all over. The last time I stole a pair of his jeans I couldn’t keep them on my hips.

4. I’m a failed model. I got scouted one day by a local modeling agency while I was running around on Portland’s NW 23rd. I blame it on the fact that I was wearing four inch wedges and shorts—the legs have been known to blind—that the girl approached me. I heard someone behind me saying “Excuse me, miss” and I turned around to see…no one. Until I looked down, that is (the woman doing the scouting was 5’1” maybe). Anyway she gave me a card and told me to call the number to make an appointment. I looked the agency up online to make sure it wasn’t the modeling equivilent of those agents who want you to pay up front for their services. When they turned out to be legit I figured what the hell. Why turn down a possibly (legit) money making endeavor.

I showed up at their office after work with a list of questions, thinking I would have some time to discuss with someone what the company did, only to have a piece of paper shoved in my hands to fill out. Basic measurements, hair and eye color, ethnicity. As I was filling out the form a family (everyone: mother, father, and brother) came in with their California blond 13 year old daughter who had also been scouted.

I turned in my paper to the guy, he snapped a few pictures and that was it. Done. No convo. Nothing more than a “we’ll call you within two weeks to let you know if you’re what our company needs.”

Fine, no big. I went about my life and a little over two weeks later I got a phone call while I was driving to Bend. A little chirpy voice said, “Hi, this is the X Modeling agency.”

“Hi,” I said or some sort of similar salutation--I was laughing pretty hard over some comment the Druggie (also in the car) had made.

“I’m just calling to tell you that your look isn’t right for our company at this time.”

“That’s cool.” Aw, really? No second date? Well, at least you called with the brush off.

“Excuse me?” Now Miss Chirpy sounded confused and I had to wonder if I was still laughing too hard to be understood. I sobered up.

“That’s fine, I said.”

“Oh…um, oh. Okay. If you have any questions…?”

“I don’t. Have a great day.”

“Um, you too.”

Apparently being cheerful when someone tells you that “your look isn’t right” is not the reaction they’re used to getting. Makes for a good story though, and I’m still looking for a way to sneak it into job applications. Can’t you see it?

Failed Model July 2005
Job duties included lowering self-esteem, extreme height to weight ratio, and the ability to identify ethnic type. Failed at two of the three job requirements and was not hired on by the company.

5. I have discovered that--thanks to this job--when I get pissed off I develop a Southern accent. I’m pretty sure this is because my aggravation lies with people who have pretty heavy Southern accents of their own, but I still find it pretty amusing that I’ll coo “thank yew” and “y’all have a nice day.” Amusing after I get over the need to strangle them, that is. Also amusing as I've never lived anywhere else but Oregon and only used y'all before because of my mother.

6. I’m related to Monet in some way. Not enough to receive a chunk of his estate (if he has one) or a painting, but some sort of blood relation nonetheless. For the record, I didn’t inherit his ability to paint.

7. I alternate between two different voice octaves. One makes me sound like Minnie Mouse and the other like a phone sex operator. Both are present in any given conversation.

8. I cannot touch my toes, and haven’t been able to in years. Probably a sign I should start those yoga classes back up.

Four things in the future:

1. I would like to be a screamer in a horror movie. I think my scream is good enough--or shrill and piercing enough--to earn me such a coveted spot in a horror film. Only not as the girl who runs around flashing her breasts before she dies in a horrible fashion, but just as the random girl who is collateral damage to up the gore count.

2. I would like to go back to Spain. I went when I was sixteen and just fell in love.

3. I would love to take a photography class. I have this beautiful camera and no idea how to use it to the full extent of its abilities. Sometime in the next two years maybe.

4. My dream/goal is to own a house with a backyard so I can have a dog. What type of dog that is changes daily, but the main goal remains the same: house, yard, dog. Someday they will all be mine.

Tag, anyone who wants to be is it!

Meme, Meme, Meme (Part the One)

There have been a lot of memes going around lately, or maybe it just seems that way to me because I’ve been tagged with a lot of memes after a long meme dry spell. Instead of answering those memes when I received the tag, however, I’ve slacked off to do actually work, spend time in the sun or just read a book. (Also I tend to over-think memes leading to the process taking far longer than it should, and proceeded to do so these last few days outside.)

Well, the slacking (and over-thinking) is over, and I’ve decided to bundle all the memes into one post. If you haven’t answered any of these memes (from Kate or Robin or web or Mary Warner of the Bedroom Reader) feel free to view this as an open invitation to do. I’m horrible at tagging people.

First, Kate’s “Sort of Obscure Books” meme, which was created by the lovely Jennie of Jennie’s B(ook)log.

The rules:

List and describe three of your favorite books that other people might not be familiar with. Then tag five people. See, easy!

My three “not really that obscure, at least I don’t think so” books were hard to come up with because I have a habit of shouting my love of certain titles and authors (Christopher Moore! Lamb! Jonathan Stroud! Bartimaeus!) on this blog with all the fervor and conviction of a newly converted reader. Then, having shouted about them loud and long, I just assume everyone then reads these titles taking them from the realm of obscure to mainstream. Or maybe they were mainstream to begin with and I just missed it somehow because I’m less than observant sometimes. I mean, I looked at this list of “The Best Novels You’ve Never Read” and it is true. I’ve never read any of them. Sold a lot of them, but never read them.

Obviously I am a book failure.

Anyway, here are some books you might not have heard of:

The China Garden by Liz Berry. I picked up a copy of the China Garden many, many years ago (around age 14 or 15) at Powell’s not really knowing anything about it. I don’t know if I just had money to spend or it just looked interesting or what, but I must have picked it up and put it down three or four times. Even after I finally decided to buy it, I think it took me a couple of days to get around to reading it. When I did, however, I was blown away. Here was a really well-written young adult novel with strong world building and mythology. Clare was a strong heroine, and Berry expects her readers to keep up with Clare adventures into a world that draws heavily on old mythology. When I was looking to find a cover to post with this blurb, I ran across the School Library Journal review of this book on Amazon which says (among other much nicer things):

“Ordinary teens will find The China Garden overwhelming, if not incomprehensible. It is very British, full of unfamiliar words and phrases. It is laden with historical, mythological, architectural, and religious references that would baffle many adults.”

The Britishness? Didn’t bother me at all. The unfamiliar words and phrases? It is called a dictionary, my friends. And the “historical, mythological, architectural, and religious references that would baffle many adults” made me think and do research.

Oh, my gawd, Becky! A book that makes you want to go out and learn more. Oh Noooooes, not a book that forces you to think!

I really hate it when people view that as a detraction. More books should try to make their readers think and The China Garden managed to do it without being incomprehensible, in my opinion. It just requires a close reading.

And speaking of books that make you think, if for some reason you haven’t read Katherine Neville’s The Eight yet, you’re missing out. Not only does it make chess interesting, but it made me want to learn about Charlemagne and the 1790s the time period in which one of the storylines takes place). This is a thinking person’s Indiana Jones, or what the Da Vinci Code could have been in very skilled hands. Neville manages to follow two separate stories (taking place in 1972 and 1790 respectively) and wind them around a mythical chess set owned by Charlemagne purported to give the winning player immortality (or at the very least, invincibility).

According to everything I’ve read, The Eight is considered a cult classic, having been reprinted several times since its 1988 release. I known that it frequently pops up on favorite lists of people I follow, and it got quite a boost as a “If you liked the DaVinci Code, then you might like…” book (given that it is slightly more accessible to most than The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, it was a book that I would often suggest). I first learned about it in England when I picked it up at a bookstore in London. I find it far superior to the other novels I’ve read by Neville (or perhaps I was just soured by The Magic Circle) and I hear that she is contemplating writing a sequel. An intriguing, but unnecessary thing, as The Eight is strong enough to stand on its own.

The Idiot Girls Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life by Laurie Notaro (picture forthcoming), ranks up there with Sedaris for me. She tells it like it is--all of life's foibles and our own inability to avoid them--while making you laugh out loud. Oh, and we share the same lack of filter between our brains and our mouths that keep us from saying stupid/offensive/ill-thought out things.

And that concludes the end of part one of "Meme, Meme, Meme" for the moment because the phones are ringing off the hook here at work. I'll hopefully be back to answer the rest of these later.