Friday Five

One
Justin's birthday was on Wednesday! Since he is in Afghanistan, we decided to celebrate his big day when he got home. And so, I've been planning a little trip for us to the Shenandoah Valley and I also bought him this shirt, which I hope he likes since he's SUCH a big fan of The Hangover. Gotta love Zach Galifianakis!

Two

While I was browsing around for the right shirt, I also came across this one, which brought me back to my elementary school days. Damn you, Oregon Trail!

Justin downloaded the game onto his iPhone awhile ago--and has promptly beaten it on all levels--but I can't bring myself to play it again. I have many, many wonderful memories of sitting in my school's computer lab and playing Oregon Trail (I always chose to be a banker so I'd have more money) but I have been traumatized by fording across rivers. So many good oxen have been lost! Woe is me!

Three
I was lucky enough to borrow my friend Ellen's copy of LEGEND! (Thanks, Ellen!) Here's the UK/Australian cover. Isn't it cool?

I really enjoyed LEGEND! It was fast-paced, rich in detail, and the heroine was superbly kick ass. I also enjoyed the world-building---it was fleshed-out and felt very full. With a lot of dystopians these days, I kind of feel like the world-building is given short thrift. I'm always left with a ton of questions: why is the world this way? What happened to make this setting possible? Hmm, why doesn't this world make any sense?! But I didn't feel that way with LEGEND. Props to Marie Lu for that!

Four
WIP Update... I'm nearly done with my re-write of Revolutionary! (It's my YA alternate history.) I have about 20 single-spaced pages left to re-write and then I'll tackle two more rounds of revision before sending it off to my beta readers. I'm so close to the finish line yet I still feel so far! The ending of my book is mostly a jumble of scenes, and so I have a lot of fleshing out to do. Le sigh. Still...progress has been made!

Five
I'm afraid I might be MIA from the blog next week. Due to a family emergency, I'll be in Seattle until next Thursday, helping to take care of my mother-in-law who just had surgery. Good news is: I get to spend time with my three-year-old niece Rowan who I haven't seen in over six months! Even better news: Rowan is now potty-trained! So no more diaper-changing for Auntie Caroline. (Although it was kind of cute whenever Rowan would ask me to change her diaper. I felt honored in a strange way!)

So what are y'all up to this weekend? Escaping the heat? Writing? Hunkering down in your revision cave?

After The Call: Editorial Rejections -- To Read or Not To Read?

"After the Call" is a regular feature on my blog! It chronicles what happens after an agent offers you representation: how to choose the right agent, how to communicate with your new agent, what the revision process is like, etc. For previous posts in this series, please see the "After The Call" sidebar to the right.

Here on the "After The Call" series, I have a tendency to write about subjects on a more general scale. How to Fight Envy! How to Persevere! How to Pick an Agent who Doesn't Suck Ass! (<-- Hmm, not sure I've written about that last one yet.)

So today, I thought I'd talk about one of the more "technical" aspects of going on submission. It is a subject of much debate: Should you or shouldn't you read your editorial rejections? 

Okay, a bit of background information first... 

Before you go on submission, your agent will probably email or call you to give you a rundown of the publishers he plans to send your book to. Your agent might also ask if you'd like him to forward any editorial rejections to you. This is something you'll need to think about--do want to be kept in the loop or do you prefer to live in blissful ignorance? (Ignorance! Ignorance!) You have a few options to choose from:

Option A: You must know everything!

Some writers want to read all of the editorial feedback they receive, the good, the bad, and the ugly. In many ways, this is a good strategy. It keeps you abreast of what's going on and it gives you the opportunity to see why editors aren't connecting with your work. 

Before I went on submission, I thought I wanted to be one of these writers. After all, I had steely skin and an iron stomach! I could take any rejection thrown my way! But I was wrong. I am a delicate flower, apparently, and I wilt at the sight of rejection. (Ah, ignorance. So snuggly.) 

BUT! Not all writers are delicate flowers like me. And so, if you want to read all of your rejections, then make sure to discuss it with your agent. Some agents don't pass on rejections unless you specifically ask them for it. 

Option B: You must know some things!

Perhaps you have some delicate flower tendencies and don't want to read all of your rejections. At the same time, you'd like to know what the editors are saying, especially if they have any constructive criticism. 

If this sounds like you, then ask your agent to pass on any rejections with helpful feedback. This way, you get the best of both worlds: you don't have to wade through all of those sad rejections to get to the good bits.

Option C: You must know only good things!

Ah, this is also known as the Blissful Ignorance option. I like this option. Delicate flower thy name is Caroline!

The perks about Option C: you only hear good news! You don't get sweaty palms whenever you receive an email from your agent---you know that she won't be contacting you unless something good has happened. 

The downsides of Option C: well, you're kind of out of the loop. You have no idea how many editors have passed on your work and why they are passing. Still, that's kind of the point of this option, right? BLISSFUL IGNORANCE! 

So, this is just food for thought before you go on submission. And, to be honest, you might change your mind once your book finally goes out into the exciting/terrified world of publishing. Maybe you're like me and you think you want to know everything but then you decide you don't. Or maybe you think Blissful Ignorance sounds rather nice but then you decide it's not nice at all and you're developing weird tics because you have no idea what's going on. And so, give yourself the freedom to change your mind! 

Questions? Comments? Advice? Please leave them in the comments and I'll respond as soon as I can!

The Growing Number of YA Major Deals

As a creature of habit, I tend to check the same websites in the morning. I start out with the HuffPo, meander over to EW.com (I need my entertainment fix!), read some writing blogs, and then check out the latest publishing deals on Publisher's Marketplace.

In the past few months, I've noticed an interesting trend in YA deals. First, there are a lot more of them--lots and lots of YA novels are getting bought left and right. And second, there has been a big spike in the number of YA major deals. ("Major deal" = $500,000 and up.) It seems like every other week, I see another YA major deal crop up on Publisher's Marketplace. Which made me wonder...

How many YA major deals have sold in previous years? So I did a quick search on PM, counted up the deals, and then made a nifty graph on ChartGo.com. Here are the results:

Fascinating, right?*

Aside from a dip in 2009, the number of YA major deals has steadily increased since 2004. We're only midway through 2011 and there have already been fifteen major deals! We are well on our way to shattering last year's total of twenty-two deals.

This uptick in big deals has gotten me thinking. Why the spike in numbers? Why the interest in YA? A few random thoughts:

#1
The YA market is growing at a fast rate. More readers. More books. More interest. Not only are teens gobbling down these books, adults are too. And so, it makes sense for publishers to want to find the next big thing. The next big Twilight. The next big Hunger Games.

#2
Building on the last point, I've read on a few blogs (forgive me, I can't remember where) that the children's publishing market is one of the few genres making money these days. Thus, I can understand why publishers are pouring more money into the YA market. If YA books are bringing you money, then you have money to spend on more YA books.

So what do you think about this trend in "big" YA novels? Do you see it lasting into the future? Or pittering out? And why do you think we're seeing such a spike in these major deals?

*Not all deals are announced on Publisher's Marketplace, which means my numbers are not wholly representative of all YA major deals.

After The Call: Don't Ignore Your Gut

About a month ago, a literary agent—who represented numerous YA writers—left the business quite abruptly. Indeed, she left so quickly that she didn't alert her clients about her exit. Some of them had to learn about her departure via a status change on Facebook.

As the story unraveled, things got worse. Clients discovered that their books had never gone on submission, despite assurances that they had. One client even had interest from a publisher she had queried on her own, but the agent never sent the manuscript.

Scary, huh?

After the dust settled, a few of the clients stepped forward to shed further light on the situation. (You can read them here, here, and here.) Turns out, there had been a few red flags that had led to the agent's sudden departure: phone calls left unanswered, emails that received no reply. The agent would disappear for weeks or months at a time, only to call out of the blue.

As I read these clients' stories, my heart ached for them and I noticed a pattern in their posts:

"I had a few concerns about her at first."
"This agent gave me that strange feeling and I ignored it."
"My gut told me to wait, but I didn't."

My heart ached some more. Because I know this feeling very well.

Before my agent offered me representation, I was lucky enough to receive two other offers of rep. For a few days, I went back and forth between Agent #1 and Agent #2, reading over old interviews and replaying our phone calls in my head. I had a few reservations about Agent #2 due to a few things I had seen online, but our conversation went well so I decided to ignore the alarm bells in my gut.

But those alarm bells kept ringing. Agent #2 promised to refer me to a couple of her clients, but the referrals never came. I emailed her a few times, only to be met with silence. I figured she was busy—I know that agents are often swamped with manuscripts and contracts—but my gut kept nagging at me. What if this lack of communication was a sign of things to come?

In the end, I lucked out. Agent Jim offered me representation on the last day of my week-long decision process, and I knew right away that he was the right agent for me. When I finished speaking with him on the phone, both my gut and my heart told me the same thing, "SIGN WITH HIM RIGHT NOW!" My feelings were only cemented when he sent me a follow-up email shortly after our call, referring me to a couple of his clients even though I hadn't asked for a referral. (I was too excited that I had forgot to ask!)

And so, I'm a strong believer of following your gut in this roller-coaster world of writing. Whether you're signing with an agent or choosing a beta reader, don't underestimate what your gut is telling you. If it's nagging at you, then listen to it. Ask yourself why your gut is trying to get your attention. Re-evaluate what's going on. Then, make your decision.

You know, I have no idea what my "gut" really is. Intuition, maybe? A sixth sense? A weird pit in the middle of my stomach? Whatever it is, I'm really grateful for it. It really has been invaluable as I've navigated this thing called publishing.

So what about you? Have you had any gut feelings on your own writing path? How has it helped you as you move toward getting published?

SCBWI Conference Wrap-Up

On Saturday, I went to the SCBWI MD/DE/WV Summer Conference with a bunch of awesome writerly friends! Erin Bowman flew down from New Hampshire while Kathleen Foucart drove up from central Virginia. Along the way, I picked up DC residents Jessica Spotswood and Robin Talley, and we headed to the lovely town of Buckeystown, Maryland. (We saw so many cows on the drive there!)

Erin Bowman, Me, Kathleen Foucart, Jessica Spotswood

Robin Talley, Me, Kathleen Foucart, Jessica Spotswood

I attended the Spring Conference in March, but the organizers decided to mix things up for the summer event. Instead of a generalized conference where everyone sat in the same room and listened to the same lectures, the attendees at this event divided into 25-person workshops based on their chosen genre (YA, MG, PB, non-fiction). All five of us signed up for the YA track, which was led by YA author Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen and Children's Editor Liz Szabla (Feiwel & Friends).

Our track was an interesting mix of craft workshops, Q&A sessions, and general information lectures concerning the author/editor relationship. On Day 2 of the conference, there was also a "First Pages" session where attendees could read their first pages and get feedback from Stephanie and Liz. Since I couldn't attend all of the sessions due to some family stuff, I asked the other participants to offer what they took away from the conference: 

Kathleen: I think my "conference-going" advice would be for people not to be afraid to participate in things like the critiques or first page readings-- only 20 people did the first page but there were about 25 people there that day. It was nice having the wiggle-room time-wise, but I think those people missed out on a good opportunity.

Robin: Order business cards well in advance of the conference and remember to bring them with you! Twice now I have forgotten to do this and both times I super regretted it. It is distressing to meet someone you want to keep talking to and to not have an easy way of doing so. 

Jessica: I think new writers get too caught up in dos and don'ts: word count differences between YA and MG, age of your characters, can we use curse words, how far is too far with regard to sex scenes, can vampire stories or dystopian still sell, etc. It's tempting to want hard-and-fast rules in this business where so much is up in the air--but the thing is, there aren't any. Write the story you need to tell. Make sure your choices serve that story. We heard that again and again from the editor and authors this weekend, and I thought it as great advice.

Erin: I completely agree with Jess. I think that was the main take-away. We heard the same types of questions in Stephanie's original talk, the Q&A with her and Liz, and then even the giant open Q&A in the afternoon. And the answer was always the same: it depends. If it's right for YOUR story, then it's right. Period.

And a few thoughts from me...

1. Getting published is hard---which is why you have to push yourself even harder.

During Stephanie's first talk, she told us how tough it was to get her first YA novel, The Compound, published. (She uses the pen name S.A. Bodeen.) Before she wrote The Compound, she had sent four YA manuscripts to her agent...and he had turned down each one. 

This was very discouraging, of course! Stephanie admitted that she stopped writing for a couple months after hearing her agent's feedback. But then she decided to participate in NaNoWriMo, which led to the first draft of a book that would end up being The Compound. Pretty cool, huh? 

2. During one of the Q&A sessions, a woman raised her hand and asked a question about whether or not she needed an agent and where she could go about looking for one. She also admitted that she was just starting out as a writer and didn't have a rough draft completed yet. 

My first reaction: Good for her for thinking ahead! It's never too early to learn the ropes of the business. 

My second reaction: Don't be afraid to take your time! Right now, the most important thing for this writer to do is to hone her craft and to read, read, read. Of course, she should also educate herself on stuff like agents and queries but that sort of thing will come later. 

All in all, I thought this was a fun conference and I had a great time with a fabulous group of writers! 

Friday Five

One

I'm kind of kicking myself for forgetting my camera when Justin and I visited Winchester, VA earlier this week. During our trip, I headed to the Handley Library to do some writing and---HOLY TOLEDO!---I was utterly and wholly blown away. The building was simply gorgeous, and the YA section was full of comfy chairs and lovely period details, like a spiral staircase that doubled as a bookshelf and the old mahogany floorboards that would creak in certain places. Basically, I could have moved in and felt right at home. 

The Library's exterior

The Library's atrium

Photo courtesy of taberandrew via Flickr

Two

My sister and I went peach-picking yesterday and I discovered this crazy-looking peach with an odd growth on it...a growth that looked kind like a nose! And so, obviously, I decided to name the fruit "Sherman" and I drew him a proper face when we got him. Hmm, he looks like more of a Luigi, huh?

"Eh, Mario, let's make a pizza pie!"

Three

Since we now have an abundance of peaches in the house, I decided to whip up a quick salad for last night's dinner: Tomato & Peach Salad! Yeah, it sounds kind of weird but it was surprisingly yummy! Light, savory, and very, very summery. Approve!

Four

My friend Erin Bowman is coming to DC this weekend! HUZZAH! We've been planning her trip for months and I just can't wait to pick her up from the airport tonight!

Five
Wow, can you guys seriously believe that is is Friday already?! This week has flown by so quickly and I'm lamenting the fact that Justin has to fly back to Kabul on Monday. *Sigh* I'm really grateful that we've been able to spend the last week and a half together but parting is such sweet sorrow! *Insert sad face* As cheesy as it sounds, he is my best friend and my heart feels hollow every time he leaves. At least he'll only be gone for two months--that's nothin' compared to the deployment he had in the Army. Gotta look on the bright side!

Writing Update: Still plugging away on my WIP! I'm a little over halfway done and I hope to finish this revision by the end of the month. Fingers crossed!

So what are you guys up to this weekend? Watching the HP movie? If so, what did you think? I'm going to watch it on Monday!

Dreaming of the Beach

Ughhhh...

That's the sound I make every time I go outside. Justin and I are in Winchester, Virginia for a few days (he has work-related training) and the temperatures have soared into the upper 90s. Once you tack in the humidity, it starts to feel like I'm swimming in a huge bowl of sweaty soup. Kind of gross, eh?

I really should do some sightseeing today since Winchester is pretty darn cute (as seen in the picture below) but, due to the heat, I'm tempted to stay cocooned in my hotel room where air conditioning is a plenty.

If I had a transporter though, I would totally transport myself to the beach today, preferably this beach in Bora Bora. Ahhhhhh! Doesn't it look sublime?

Last night, Justin and I were talking about going to Bora Bora when he gets back from Kabul in September. A sort of "Let's Celebrate Your Return From a War Zone!" trip. And so, I decided to do a little research this morning about hotel prices in French Polynesia...

...and my eyeballs fell out of their sockets. I had to catch them in my bare hands and pop them back in.

A THOUSAND DOLLARS PER NIGHT! Holy crap! That's more than some people pay for their mortgage per month!

But, I suppose, that sort of money would be worth it if you were 1.) a Trust Fund Kid, or 2.) a Saudi Prince, or 3.) Mark Zuckerberg. I mean, look at these awesome bungalows! They're built right over the water and some of them have "windows" on the floors so you can watch manta rays swim by or wave to your creepy neighbor who's peeking into your bedroom.

Pretty cool, right? And only for a thousand bucks (or more) a night! Quite a steal, quite a steal.

Until I find myself a transporter, however, I'll just be sitting in my hotel, working on my book, fanning myself with a piece of paper, and dreaming about the beach.

Friday Five

One
So...the last film in the Harry Potter franchise opens next week. I always thought that I'd be depressed when this moment rolled around but I'm not. You know why?

BECAUSE I AM IN DENIAL.

Yep, my brain has convinced me that, surely, this won't be the last film! Surely, there will be more! Surely, J.K. Rowling has a few more HP books up her sleeve!

Surely, surely, surely.

Yep, in denial.

Two
Holy cow, have you guys seen the evolution of Neville Longbottom?! When the Harry Potter movies first started out, he looked like this:

But now he looks like this!

Isn't he dashing? And that suit! Gotta love that suit. Tailored to perfection.

Three
I'm still working on my YA alternate history, switching the 1st person voice to 3rd person past. It has been kind of tedious but I'm really liking the result so far! I feel the 3rd person voice allows me to delve a bit deeper into the world and to get a little more imaginative with the descriptions. A snippet from Chapter Two:

Zara nodded. For the past ten years, the Fuhrer had delivered a monthly speech on Channel Seven—mostly boasting about his conquests in South America or condemning the Soviets who dared oppose Nazi rule—but the broadcasts had stopped abruptly after Christmas. Zara secretly hoped that he had suffered a debilitating accident or caught an awful disease. Preferably of the flesh-eating variety. 

Four 
A couple weeks ago, I booked a rental house for Justin, me, and his family. I can't wait to go to the Florida Keys for vacation!

But...uh...we're not going until December. Haha. At least I have something to look forward to, right?

Five
Hope you guys all have a fabulous weekend! Anything fun planned?

It's 3AM! Why am I awake?! Oh, have you read this article?

Good Lord!

It's 3:30 in the morning . Usually, I'm curled up in bed and dreaming about literary greatness but right now I'm awake. (And curled up in my bed with my laptop!)

Good news is: Justin has returned home for two weeks from Afghanistan!
Bad news is: He has jet lag! Which means I tend to wake up when he does!

Haha. That isn't exactly funny but it's 3AM. Everything seems pretty hilarious to me this early in the morning.

Anyway, have you guys read this piece in the Huffington Post about "The 15 Most Overrated American Contemporary Writers"? Good Lord! My jaw seriously dropped open when I read it. In the article, a literary fiction author blasts American writers who he finds utterly and wholly undeserving of their acclaim. Yep, such writers include:

Jhumpa Lahiri (What?! She completely deserves her Pulitzer!)
Junot Diaz (And he has a Pulitzer too!)
Billy Collins (One of my most beloved poets!)

And the kicker:

Amy Tan (Chinese-American author of "The Joy Luck Club")

Blasphemy!

Amy Tan writes to my soul. I really mean that. I read "The Joy Luck Club" in high school and it was the very first book that made me go, "Now, this, THIS, I can relate to." As much as I loved Scout Finch and Tess Durbeyfield and other literary heroines, I could only admire their stories at arms-length. But with Tan's book? Man. She got me. She nailed my life as a Chinese-American girl raised by Chinese-Chinese parents. Even now, nearly 15 years later, this book still speaks to me in ways that no others can.

So yeah. Me not happy with the author of the HuffPo article. I mean, literary criticism is one thing. It's quite an important thing too. But what this guy is doing isn't literary criticism. He's basically ripping apart his fellow authors, saying that they are "shtick peddlers" and have "no clue about the rhythm of language." At one point, I kid you not, he even calls out one writer as "perhaps our greatest example of mediocrity ascending to the very top."

Whoa, dude! Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Look, he passed the line between criticism and shit-throwing. As an author, it's okay to review books. (Although it may not be the best idea professionally. Burning bridges and all that.) But it is decidedly not okay to label another author as a "shtick peddler" or "dull craftswoman" or "court jester." That's unprofessional. It's rude. And it's kind of douche-y.

I'm interested to see how this all plays out. Will this writer receive any fallback from publishers over this article? Or is all PR good PR?

Either way, I think we can learn an important lesson here: Don't be a douche bag, yo!

And with that, I'm going back to sleep.