Putting "The Dream" on hold

Right now, my writer mind is pulled in a million directions. Well, a few, anyway. I'm preparing to go back to work after summer break and teach a few dozen 15-16 year-olds about Beowulf and Macbeth. Writing syllabi and lesson plans might seem boring to some, but for me they are actually a much needed respite from my two writing projects. The first project is my option book, which I hope to become my second book, for my current publisher. The second project is my baby. Not my literal baby -- I'm all done with that, thank you very much! :)

No, this baby is THE ONE. It's the manuscript I've always wanted to write. It's the book that has the best storyline and the strongest dialogue. It's the best thing I've ever written, ever. And there's no way it will see the light of day any time soon.

Publishing can be complicated, but one truth is universal: it's slow. Painfully slow. Horribly, mind-numbingly slow. That's just the way it is. The only way to deal with the lag between writing, querying, pitching, selling, signing contracts, etc. is to accept it and move on. Preferably while you're still writing something.

So, my pet project, my "baby", isn't going any where for awhile. And that can be exceptionally frustrating. As a writer, like a lot of writers, I can be pretty self-depricating. I often second guess how good my writing is or whether I can make it. But my "baby" is good. I know it's good. I'm not even embarassed to say it. I'm proud. It's the book that does what I want to do -- it speaks to teenagers with a voice they can relate to. It captures a viewpoint that is raw. I can't wait until this book is on the shelf.

But, first, I owe a book to my publisher. When you are releasing a novel in a certain catagory or genre, you often need to follow it up with a similar book. That eliminates my "baby" from the running -- it's nothing like my first book, TASTE TEST. It's dark and gritty, whereas TASTE TEST is light and funny and romantic.

So, what will I do until my "baby" can enter the world? I'll keep writing it. I'll keep adding and creating and moving mountains to make it better. In the mean time, I'll write my option book and make it the best book I can write. Because, in the end, the best way to honor my "baby" is to establish a reader base with the first few books I have published.

I'm very impatient. If nothing else, this industry has taught me how to relax a little bit and wait for others to move the ball along. The old Kelly would have struggled greatly with the concept that my "baby" book won't be in the public sphere any time soon. Instead, I'm trying to look at it as though I'm setting the stage for the "baby" book. And on days like today, when I just want to share it with the whole world, I remind myself that when you wait for something that matters, it's almost always worth it.

Copy Edits and the Women Who Love Them

I know it doesn't sound like something to love, but copy edits on your manuscript are, in fact, a huge blessing. As an English teacher, I like to think I know a lot about grammar and punctuation. As a YA writer, however, I can see that I don't know diddly. Well, maybe not diddly. Maybe I just don't know squat.

Regardless, getting copy edits back is not something to fear or dread. They are the greatest gift. First of all, they are corrections MADE FOR YOU. You don't have to go through your MS for the thousandth time and find the things you missed the first 999 times. For example, you know what I spelled wrong about a dozen times in my MS -- interview. I left out the second "i." I never caught it. My editor never caught it. Can you imagine the embarassment we'd have felt if a copy editor hadn't seen it?

I've taken some pictures below so that you can see what copy edits look like. My pictures aren't too specific because I don't want to violate any agreement I have with my publisher. I took some close-up shots of different things so you can get an idea of what they look like.

1. The Edited Manuscript

This is what you can expect to receive when you get your MS back -- the MS, obviously, and a letter of some sort explaining the expectations for you, the author. In my case, I needed to go through all changes and either check them off (approve them) or write STET. STET is editor's speak for "keep as is." Authors should never write on the copy edited MS in pen -- this version will go back to the editor for the typesetting and final changes.

2. Editorial Marks

In my case, there were two different copy editors going over the MS -- they used red and green pens so I could tell them apart. My editor also went back through with a couple of comments/requests -- she wrote in pencil.

3. Copy Editor's marks/Author's Response

This is a pretty basic example of how the copy editor will "code" questions to the author -- with an "AU." In this case, it was a suggested word change, which I agreed with.

To be honest, I pretty much agreed with all the changes the copy editors and my editor made. When they asked for options, I put on large, lined sticky notes and listed some different alternatives. I never wrote STET. I didn't need to.

For the most part, I am comfortable knowing that my work is now better for having been edited. I know that isn't everyone's experience. What about you? 

SCBWI MD/DE/WV Conference: An Overview

I spent the day today at the SCBWI MD/DE/WV regional conference. It's actually a two-day event, but I was only able to go to one day. That being said, though, I think I picked the right day to attend. I heard some amazing presentations by some kick-ass authors/agents/editors.

The conference theme was "Kindling the Imagination" and began with a presentation by author, Bobbie Pyron entitled "My Life as a Dog: A Year of Magical Thinking." Bobbie discussed writing her book, A Dog's Way Home, and talked about living as dogs do -- in the moment and through the senses. I think this is excellent advice -- especially for writers like me who sometimes get bogged down with logistics. Your reader does care about accuracy, but they also want to see an immediacy. As Bobbie read excerpts from her book, I really felt the voice of the dog, even though the dog never actually talked. Very cool

I attended three break-out sessions. The first was with Molly Jaffa from Folio Literary Management -- her presentation was about opening pages. More specifically, Molly focused on establishing stakes. You need to be invested in your characters. So do your readers. High Stakes + Caring about Characters = Higher Stakes, according to Molly. She mentioned a few books that she felt exhibited these kind of high stakes - The Fault of Our Stars by John Green, Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt, and AS King's Ask the Passengers. She also warned against beginning with a prologue that "fakes out" the audience and begins them with a scene that doesn't appear until later in the book.

My second session was with Stacey Barney, Editor at Penguin/Putnam . Stacey's session was called "How to Get an Editor to Fall in Love with Your Manuscript." She focused on a variety of different devices writers can employ to make their writing lovable. The biggest/longest discussion seemed to be about voice. She emphasized that a first person narrator needed to be authentic, while a third person narrator required intimacy without intrusion.

The last session was the editor's panel discussion -- the editors included Stacy Barney (above), Mary Kate Castellani (my editor!!!) from Walker/Bloomsbury USA, Rotem Moscovich from Disney/Hyperion, and Christine Peterson from Capstone, a non-fiction publisher. I have to be honest -- the questions that were asked weren't particularly helpful. I mean, we had four successful editors in front of us and people were asking if they should personalize query letters. I just felt that the time could have been better spent -- that kind of question can easily be answered through a google search.

Regardless, though, I am glad I went -- not only was I able to reconnect with some friends from last year, but I learned a great deal from the presenters. It reminded me that, no matter where you are in the publishing process, you can always use some extra tips to polish up that manuscript.

Great Expectations

The lovely ladies (all ladies, right?) at YA Highway are talking about first book sales vs. expectations today. Everyone's experience is different, that goes without saying. Here's mine:

It was late March 2011 when I found out from my agent that we were getting an offer, but it wasn't until June that the offer came through. It was announced on PM, I crowed my good news to the world, established a Twitter (so I could talk about my deal), and lived in a bubble of happy giddiness. I spoke to my editor for the first time on the phone and she was as awesome as I could have hoped.

And then I waited.

September 2011 - I got my first editorial letter. My original pub date was Winter 2013 (January/February/March), but it got bumped for Spring, which was fine with me.

Over the next few months, I worked on the edits. I waited for a contract (and $) until March of 2012. Just this past month, my final MS was accepted and went to copy editing.

I think that my time frame was actually kind of long when looking at other experiences. There were a lot of factors that influenced that. I had some of my own life issues to deal with and Bloomsbury/Walker is a smaller house. There are less of them to do a tremendous amount of work. I know my editor was working as hard as she possibly could to get everything perfect.

So did I mind waiting? Well, I'd be lying if I said that I never questioned or complained about the wait. But, honestly, I know that the time it took to make TASTE TEST what it is was time well spent. It it is far better than its former versions now that it's been looked over and edited and revised and primped and glossed. I'm incredibly proud of what it's become and that is due to the time it took to get it that way.

Publishing takes a long time. But I asked myself this question more than once -- is it worth the wait? OF COURSE IT IS. My book is going to be, like, real. With a cover. And pages. On shelves. Honestly, I think I'd wait forever for that.