Monday Mullings

Wow.  Has it really been almost a month since I last posted?  Life sure has been interesting at Clan Souders.  Between revisions, sicknesses, ARCs, and my TBR pile, I haven't really had much time for this here blog. But since things are calming down a little, I've decided to get back into blogging.  And I figured I'd start with something that has recently become quite controversial:  whether or not authors (aspiring and otherwise) should write book reviews.

As you know, or should know, I do write book reviews, but only for the books I really, really enjoyed.  But others have told me, that I shouldn't do that.  I should post reviews of all the books I read.  Whether or not I enjoyed them.  However, last week on twitter, agents and authors were talking about how authors shouldn't post bad reviews because it could lead to professional problems in the future.

Which, as I thought about it, made sense.  Say I write a bad review for a book.  Let's use Across the Universe because it's HUGE right now and will emphasize my point better (No, I have NOT read it yet, but it's sitting on my dresser waiting to be read, and I LOVED the 1st chapter, so I'm not saying that I didn't like the book).  Now, my agent is going to be subbing MY story out there soon, and it's in a similar vein.  The editors go and research my name and then stumble upon my review of ATU.  They LOVED that book.  Do you think they're going to want to read mine now?  Especially since I've basically told them we don't have the same taste in books by my review?  Nope, probably not.  They're going to send a polite rejection and move to the next on the list.

Let's go even further and say I get lucky and an editor purchases my story. Now I need blurbs, right?  So, since ATU is so big and is similar, I ask Beth Revis to read and blurb my story.  Do you really think she's going to want to read my story and do me any favors after I just trashed her book to all my blog readers, essentially telling them not to read it?  Nope.  I wouldn't if I was her.  Not because I'm vindictive, but because, well, I'm probably just not that nice.


So, that leaves me with what I'm doing.  Writing reviews on books I really enjoy.  Some people say this is dishonest reviewing.  That I'm not really providing my audience with the full spectrum.  That I HAVE to review the good books along with the bad (IMO), so my readers can trust my opinion.

I can see their point, too.  So, that leaves me with NOT reviewing books I'm extremely passionate about.  That I can't write reviews for books I've read and pass along the word that I think my readers will enjoy them, too.  To share how excited I am about these books,  all because it's not honest.  But by putting honest reviews of all the books I read up, I could be stabbing myself in the foot. And that brings me to the crux of my problem.

Do I continue what I'm doing and keep reviewing books I enjoy, even though some consider it dishonest?  Or do I throw the baby out with the bathwater and do away with reviews all together?

So...what do you think?  Should authors also be book reviewers?  Or just be authors?

Contest winner announced

Just a quick note before I go to my conference, but the winner of my last contest of last year is JPMsull with Lament by Maggie Steifvater.  Congrats!  Email me your address and I'll send that off ASAP.  :D

Last official post of 2010

And so now we've come to the last official post of my first full year blogging! I had so much fun doing this and I hope that you guys did too and that maybe you learned something you didn't know before.

I met two of the three goals I had for 2010 and I think that's pretty darned good!  In case you were wondering, my goals were to write 2 books, acquire an agent, and to have a publishing contract.  Well, I wrote 2 books, started 2 others, finished a short story, and, of course, found my perfect agent.  Came pretty darned close to having a publishing contract, so...I guess it's really 2 1/2 out of 3 goals.  :D

This year I have some more writerly goals and I've decided to share them in the hopes it'll help me get them in the coming year!

1)  I want to write 3 books (finishing books from last year is fine) and 2 short stories

2)  I want to have one short story accepted somewhere

3)  I want to have a publishing contract

4)  I want to attend at least 1 writer's conference.

As you can see, I've upped the ante a bit there from what I accomplished this year.  I think it can be done.  Though, arguably 2 of those goals are out of my hands. So, those are the ones that I'm most worried about.

So, let's hear it.  What are your goals this year?

And to sweeten the pot, I'm holding one last contest.  But, I'm doing it different.  As always!  YOU get to pick the prize.  Sorta.  It's a book prize, not like a car or something.  :D  Just comment below with a goal and what book you want and I'll choose a random winner.  It is open internationally.  And, yes, you do need to be a follower of the blog, but that's easy.  Just click over to the left and become a follower.  :)

That being said, I hope you have a very happy new year!!

ETA:  Comments are moderated (can't figure out how to turn off moderation.  :)  Just be patient, all comments will be approved.  )

Tip Thursday: Advice: Sorting the wheat from the chaff

 

Normally I'm all about providing you with tips that helped me on my journey to get published (even if I'm not quite there yet), then I stumbled across a blog today that got my hackles up.  I won't post a link to the blog, or give specifics, but here was this person, spreading his "advice" like it was gospel around the interwebs and from my experience at least three-quarters of it was wrong.

Then it got me thinking, don't I spew advice every week and isn't my experience different from everyone else's.  Who's to say my advice is better than any one else's.  And to honestly answer that question, I'd have to say no, it's not.  But, and this is the theme for today's writing, I only post advice that has worked for me, or other (smarter than me) people have said.

So, since the Internet is so large and any monkey with a keyboard (including myself.  :) ) can blog, how do we determine what's good advice and what isn't in regards to publishing?  Here are my "rules" to what advice I take and what I don't.

1.  Money flows TO the author:  If a blog or person suggests anything that will COST you money (beside postage or paper or something), then you need to tread with caution.  For instance, the blog I ran into actually suggested hiring a freelance editor before sending your work to agents/publishers.  While not necessarily a to-don't it's definetely not a hard and fast rule that you have to or even that you should.  In fact, in my opinion,   while an editor can be helpful, it's necessary to know how to edit your own work. Agent,  Rachel Gardner, says:

Many agents and editors are uncomfortable with writers having too much outside editorial help prior to being contracted, because it can mask a writer's true abilities. I'd hate to get you a 3-book contract with a publisher based on that stellar first book, only to find out that you had a ton of help with it and are not able to deliver that quality of book a second time.

2.  Always check credentials:  Take in mind who and where that person is in publishing.  Advice from an editor at one of the big 5 is going to be different than a free lance editor who edits for aspiring authors.  Agent advice is going to be different than an author.  And a veteran author's advice is going to be different than a newbie.  While each of these people can have great advice, personally I'd listen to those "in the know" before someone who doesn't have the experience yet.  (And yes, I'm including myself in this.  If you read an article by say my agent, disagreeing with everything I'm saying, than please, feel free to ignore me.  :)  However, most of my advice comes from hearing it over and over again from those professionals, so I'm pretty sure I'm safe in saying she won't disagree with me.  :D  Which brings me to my next point. )

3.  Where have I heard this before?  How many times have you heard/seen this advice?  If you've never heard it before, chances are you can disregard it if you disagree.  If you've heard it a LOT, then you probably want to do some more research on why they've said it, then chose at that point to disregard or not.  Who the advice giver is important here because sometimes you have herd mentality, where one person says something and a lot of yes men will agree. It doesn't mean it's the truth.

4.  Beware the agenda.  Be sure to read between the lines and see why a person is saying a particular thing.  If a person is saying all aspiring authors should hire a freelance editor and they're a freelance editor, then you might want to check in a few other places to make sure.

5.  What time is it anyway?  Make sure to check when something was said.  For such a slow industry, the rules change quickly.  Something said ten years ago may not be relevant today.

And lastly because this post could really go on forever, beware anyone tells you to "lower your expectations."  Publishing is hard enough to keep your motivation up without someone telling you that.  Granted you need to make sure your expectations are realistic, not everyone is like Stephenie Meyer.  (See my post here.)  But there's no reason not to shoot for the stars.  Publishing is one of those quirky businesses where anything is possible.

 Anyway, there's a ton more things, but if you take all advice with a grain of salt and use common sense,  you should be all right.

Writer's Wednesday: Results and guest post

First, I wanted to let you know that I'm guest posting over at Adventures in Children's Publishing about what it's like after you have an agent and it doesn't happen like Stephenie Meyer.   I hope you read and comment over there. 

No book review today, I'm afraid.  I'll get one out for next week, but due to the holidays and revisions for my agent, I'm slacking.  :)

And now, as promised, the result of last week's contest.  The winner of The Preacher's Pride by Jody Hedlund is Sheri Larsen!  Congrats, Sheri!  I'll get that book right out to you.  I hope you enjoy it. 

Music Monday: The Game Has Changed

My newest music obsession.  This one is from TRON: Legacy.  I'm as much in love with the movie as I am the soundtrack so I couldn't not post it. 

Fun Friday: Writing Assingment

This funny interlude brought to by 2pep.

Tip Thursday: Tips and Tricks for Beginning Writers

When I was first beginning to write, I honestly had no clue what I was doing.  I figured, since I loved reading, writing would come naturally.  Which, for the most part it did, but not all of it, and when I hit a block, I didn't know how to fix it.  So, here's a few tips I found that have been beneficial to me, so I'm passing them along.  The original and full post can be found here.  

Tips and tricks for beginners

• Do some short exercises to stretch your writing muscles – if you’re short of ideas, read the Daily Writing Tips article on “Writing Bursts”. Many new creative writers find that doing the washing up or weeding the garden suddenly looks appealing, compared to the effort of sitting down and putting words onto the page. Force yourself to get through these early doubts, and it really will get easier. Try to get into the habit of writing every day, even if it’s just for ten minutes.

• If you’re stuck for ideas, carry a notebook everywhere and write down your observations. You’ll get some great lines of dialogue by keeping your ears open on the bus or in cafes, and an unusual phrase may be prompted by something you see or smell.

• Work out the time of day when you’re at your most creative. For many writers, this is first thing in the morning – before all the demands of the day jostle for attention. Others write well late at night, after the rest of the family have gone to bed. Don’t be afraid to experiment!

• Don’t agonize over getting it right. All writers have to revise and edit their work – it’s rare that a story, scene or even a sentence comes out perfectly the first time. Once you’ve completed the initial draft, leave the piece for a few days – then come back to it fresh, with a red pen in hand. If you know there are problems with your story but can’t pinpoint them, ask a fellow writer to read through it and give feedback.

• HAVE FUN! Sometimes, we writers can end up feeling that our writing is a chore, something that “must” be done, or something to procrastinate over for as long as possible. If your plot seems wildly far-fetched, your characters bore you to tears and you’re convinced that a five-year old with a crayon could write better prose … take a break. Start a completely new project, something which is purely for fun. Write a poem or a 60-word “mini saga”. Just completing a small finished piece can help if you’re bogged down in a longer story.

Writer's Wednesday: Book Review Preacher's Bride

The Preacher’s Bride by Jody Hedlund
Publisher: Bethany House (October 1, 2010)
Paperback: 379 pages
Reading Level: Adult
Rating: 5 of 5 feathers
Source: Publisher

In 1650s England, a young Puritan maiden is on a mission to save the baby of her newly widowed preacher—whether her assistance is wanted or not.
Always ready to help those in need, Elizabeth ignores John’s protests of her aid. She’s even willing to risk her lone marriage prospect to help the little family.
Yet Elizabeth’s new role as housekeeper takes a dangerous turn when John’s boldness from the pulpit makes him a target of political and religious leaders. As the preacher’s enemies become desperate to silence him, they draw Elizabeth into a deadly web of deception. Finding herself in more danger than she ever bargained for, she’s more determined than ever to save the child—and man—she’s come to love.

REVIEW: I’m a little late on getting this review out. Unfortunately. I originally read it when it first came out, but never got around to reviewing it.

I feel like I'm repeating myself over and over again. This was another book that I loved. I read it for 4 hours straight today. I'm not generally a reader of Christian fiction, but this blew away every thought I had about the genre and I really can't wait to own my next Jody Hedlund. And to find out that the story was based on a true one, made it even better.

It starts with the main character, Elizabeth, hearing a baby cry as the town, including the child’s father, tried to help the mother of the babe as she died. It bothers Elizabeth and she tries repeadetly to care for it, but an elder woman (an important figure head of the town) refuses to let her. Elizabeth decides to take things into her own hands and goes to the poor section to go get a nursemaid for him, even though she knows she’ll get in trouble for it, which of course makes the other woman incredibly angry and will come back to haunt Elizabeth later.

Because of this she ends up becoming the housekeeper for the now widowed, John—a radical but highly regarded preacher in this town--and cares for his house and his three other children, including the eldest, a blind child named Mary.

Almost right away we’re tossed into a political and religious war when an enemy of John’s threatens to spread lies about John and Elizabeth, which quickly escalates into brutal beatings and vicious murders.



CHARACTERS: Ms. Hedlund's characterizations were superb and I truly felt I was apart of the story and felt for the characters, especially for poor Elizabeth and everything she endures during the course of this story. Elizabeth is an extremely likeable character with her quiet strength, confidence, and ability to adapt to any situation. Even when she made choices I wouldn’t have, I couldn’t help but see why she chose that path. John, was another good character. Even if there were times he wasn’t very likeable, it was always very obvious why he made those choices.

COVER: I think it’s perfect for this book. It gives the perfect hint that it’s historical and shows that quiet strength that Elizabeth embodies for the entire story.

This is truly a book you can't put down once you start reading it and I will be suggesting this book to every one I know.

Find Jody Hedlund
Blog / Twitter / Facebook

Purchase Preacher’s Bride
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository

Since this is Christmas Week, I'm giving away a copy of The Preacher's Bride.  What do you have to do?  Just fill out the form below and then comment (not necessarily required, but helpful.  :) )and tell me your Christmas Wish (well, your wish for what you want to see more of on my blog in the next year.  :)  )  Open Internationally.

Agents: Gatekeepers or Champions?

Agents always get a bad rap when it comes to writers, especially those of us who’ve suffered through a butt load of rejections. Agents are too picky…They only want bestsellers…they’re only out for money…

And, well, it’s more than likely true. It IS their JOB after all. They only make money when their author’s make money, so it pays to be picky who they pick up, and if the author turns out to be a bestseller, even better! But there’s no guarantee that the book an agent signs will sell, let only become a bestseller, so…yeah…not really a valid argument to not have an agent…

Anyway, that’s not really why I decided to write a post.

It’s actually because of this. I’m not going to go into details, but if you read the post, you’ll get an eyeful.

The reason I’m writing, is that this is a classic example why getting an agent or having a literary attorney look over your contract before you sign it is a good idea.

Agents are more than gatekeepers. They’re your champion. They’ll make sure your book finds the perfect home. Which publishers are looking for your kind of book, which editors you’ll work well with, and what publishers to avoid. They’ll negotiate a contract that’s in YOUR best interest and if the worst happens and something happens with your publisher, they’ll help you figure a way out of the mess. They’ve “got your back” so to speak. Because they want you, generally, for your entire career. Again that whole if-you-don’t-make-money-neither-do-they thing.

If you absolutely don’t want an agent, you absolutely NEED to hire a literary attorney to look over those contracts. Just because a “publisher” claims their contract is author friendly, doesn’t mean it is. In fact, it may be downright predatory. And a literary attorney is going to be able to spot the nuances that a normal contracts attorney isn’t going to be able to see.

Now, I’m not saying the most commercial publishers are bad. If you’ve done your research, then chances are you’re not going to run into a vanity press in disguise, but there are enough scam publishers out there, that you really need to be careful.

So, in my opinion, it’s just easier to find an agent who will walk with you through every step of the process. Who will listen to your gripes, help you brainstorm new book ideas and generally help guide your career down the path you want to take.