This week in the publishing.
Not as many links this week! We can savor the few we have. Ahhh….
First off, there’s an ongoing charity auction benefiting author Bridget Zinn, who at just 31 was diagnosed with stage four cancer. Please check that out and bid if you can.
In friend-of-the-blog news, a major congratulations is in order to Aprilynne Pike, whose debut novel, WINGS, landed at #6 on the NY Times bestseller list! Congratulations, Aprilynne!
And in other friend-of-the-blog news, have you ever wanted to see your name in the acknowledgments section of a book? Check out Anne & May’s new contest, and you too could see your name in print.
The New York Times recently published and article about growing e-book piracy concerns in the new Kindle/Sony Reader era. Kassia Krozser at Booksquare was not impressed.
Meanwhile, the French unsurrendered their fight against Internet piracy and passed a law that cuts off Internet access to people who repeatedly pirate copyrighted material, and creates a government agnecy to enforce the rule. Tres interessant.
Sarah Palin got a book deal. No word on the advance, but I’m guessing it could buy a whole lot of moose meat.
My awesome client Jennifer Hubbard recently posited a really fascinating question about children’s book writing. Click over to see what it is.
And finally, in case you need proof that I have strange interests, behold this engrossing video that models all of the world’s plane flights in twenty four hours.
Have a great weekend! See some of you in Washington!
Nathan –
As for your “strange” interests, I can relate.
I just went to a reading for Aprilynne Pike and Wings last night. (see my blog if you want pics and such) I was seriously surprised at how few people showed up, considering her placement on the NY Times list. The event was well-advertized, and the bookstore has hosted huge crowds for both Stephenie Meyers and Alexander McCall Smith in the past.
Perhaps Pike just isn’t famous enough yet. But, seriously, there were 30 people there tops, and most of them appeared to be her relatives and neighbors.
Oh well. Wings is quite a fresh take on fairies, and it’s a very nice debut book.
So, you’re gonna be in Washington, eh? Sorry, can’t make it but that invite to come on out to Missourah (or is it Misery?) is still open.
Thanks for all you do. Have a good weekend.
PC – Bullseyes or Venn Diagrams? – that concentration around New Zealand worries me – that’s where one of those super volcanoes is supposed to exist (and will likely explode in 2012 when the world comes to an end – don’t mess with the Mayans)
Nathan, how should one categorize one’s story (toward agents) if it kind of fits into two realms (in my case, I could call it fantasy or literary horror)?
I’m not actually defining it in the query, but I like defining the genre in the subject line. Is it better to go w/ a 1 genre descriptor or is it alright to slash it (e.g., fantasy/horror)?
Thanks for any help/insight you can provide (as you can probably tell, I enjoys slashes :).
I loved the LOST finale, but then that was to be expected. They can do no wrong in my eyes. (Except maybe for Faraday, my fave character, but I’m sure he’ll be back in one way or another next season anyway). It wasn’t as good as Season 3 finale, which is probably my all time favourite episode of any show ever. It’s like, I had an inkling of what was going on, but when they did the big reveal I was so beside myself that I cried for like 2 hours afterwards due to the sheer brilliance of it.
Anyhow, Well done to Aprilynne!
I don’t have much to say about writing today…. I’m off to watch that air traffic vid again. That was all different kinds of awesomeness!
PS has anyone checked out Wolfram Alpha? Excellent search engine tool, wonderful if you’re in the researching stage of anything (I always seem to be in the research stage!).
It’s at http://www.wolframalpha.com
I tried posting a link but it went awry and I’m too in need of a chocolate break to worry about fixing it!
Bane,
Mmmmm, Kool-Aid…
And thanks for The Road linkage. I’ve been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for it…
My best,
Bryan
Purple Clover,
That earthquake link was as interesting as Nathan’s flight simulation. Did you see there was already a 6.7 today in the Melanesian islands? 6.7 is getting sort of significant. And a few 4.5s in Sichuan, China. Makes you a little nervous…
My best,
Bryan
Sarah Palin doesn’t need to BUY moose meat. She can use the funding to launch her campaign for the presidency in 2012.
The prospects of a Sarah Palin book are amusingly promising – what if she embarrasses herself in print as stupendously as she did on live TV? Seems less likely, but truth is stranger than fiction.
Who is this Sarah Palin of whom you all speak so disparagingly?
Having my name mentioned in other writers’ acknowledgments is the closest I’ve come to being published. Can we mention these in query letters?
Just kidding.
My heart goes out to Bridget. I had stage 2 cancer at age 30. Didn’t see that coming.
PC,
I’m with you, none of my family likes Jack “the hero”. Sawyer is awesome. But I definitely saw the connectiones to the bible. I have thought it was purgatory from the beginning. Faraday will come back, I think.
Jo
Anon 6:47,
I missed Sarah embarrassing herself. What did she do? I guess I see things differently than most people.
Anon 8:23,
Palin embarassed herself in every non-scripted interview she had to give. That is, whenever she had to answer questions that she didn’t know beforehand (and thus have time to memorize scripted answers) she failed to answer them intelligently or competently. Sometimes, laughingly so. It was kind of hard to watch, really. McCain really had to smile through some of her answers. Felt a little bad for her, truth be told, but there was no ignoring that away from canned speeches (and she can deliver a speech) she looked woefully out of her depth.
And I’m Canadian, so not speaking from any particular point of view on American politics. Non-partisan! We’re soon going to invade and take over, anyway, so… oops, wasn’t supposed to leak that. Ignore. Non-partisan, yeah. Just your friendly neighbourhood Canuck here, eh?
Bryan Russell
Bryan, when you invade, could you please bring Terence and Philip with you?
And what’s up with all the Jack hate? What sort of pressure has Sawyer had to deal with in his life? Oh well, I always liked Luke Skywalker a little more than Han, too (b/c if I were gonna emulate one of them, it’d be the “hero”)
But you ladies like your reformed bad boys, eh? (j/j, sort of 🙂
And the prevailing theory I’m seeing nowadays is some sort of Jacob/Esau parallel.
Bane,
They infiltrated ages ago.
Nathan,
I enjoyed the planes- I was surprised they had so many more flights in Europe…until the sun went down on Paris, and came up in LA, and then the US was glowing. It gave me that same ‘wow. there’s a lot of people on this planet’ feeling I always get when I fly. I love that.
B of A, I don’t get the Jack hate either. I always loved Sawyer in the first couple of seasons, but then I thought Jack became a much more interesting character when he started to really fall apart, and Sawyer became less so when he started getting his act together.
The compelling characters are always my favourites, hence Faraday and Ben being at the top of my list.
Man, I seriously need to get another power cord asap! I’m missing great convo’s!
Bane – I really LOVE venn diagrams but I’m very anal and like all things feng shui so I’d take a bullseye over a venn. They just seem so…contained. Is that what you were asking?
Whoa – Skywalker? The winiest of the winer babies! lol. I’m a total Han-ie. Plus I’m a total Harrison Ford-ie. He can do no wrong. So maybe some of us girls like the reformed bad-boys? So what? Just eye candy…we know who to settle down with in the long run! hehe. KIDDING! sorta… 😉
And yeah, the earthquakes in NZ worry me. I’m sure we are in for a rude awakening at some point. It’s so addictive (and scary!) to watch those things!
Ink – scary indeed! You wonder if some of them are so far down they don’t feel them all the time? I mean it just registered some large ones recently in southern Cali (how often do Californians feel earthquakes really?? – Just curious for any that want to answer? Mira? Nathan? Who else?? haha)
Jo – I forgot about the purgatory thing! I’m not Catholic so that is probably why I forgot but thanks for the reminder! How could I forget that??! I was thinking that in the beginning but it slipped my mind…stinkin’ writers strike. Oh wait…I’m a writer. I mean, I mean…stinkin people that pay the writers. 😉
So Sarah Palin’s embarrassment comes from the interview with Dianne Walters?
I saw her in person, and thought she did an excellant job with her speeches, and speaking to the press afterwards. Every politician has their awkward moments on tv. The less experience you have at it, the harder it is. Even our new president has screwed up several times.
Hate is a strong word. The Jack dislike comes from his self-importance. I can’t stand that in people. Fastest way to earn my dislike is to think your opinion is more important than everyone elses.
With their flapping heads and beady little eyes.
Crystal Posey – yes, I agree. Kids are a good second choice.
Stalkers are a bit better, though. It’s those darn child labor laws.
But there’s nothing in the law that says you can’t enslave somone who thinks their world revolves around you.
I checked.
P.C.
Small earthquakes provide us with entertainment. We all compare notes, and talk about where we were when that small earthquake happened, and how crazy we are to live in California. Then we admit that it’s nice not to have to worry about blizzards, hurricanes, tornados, volcanos and locust.
It’s also fun to tease people who are new to California. They tend to be a bit jittery.
Big earthquakes (and I’ve been in 3) are awful.
But like all natural disasters, you just go on with your life.
Personally, I’m much more worried about the Canadian invasion. I’ve always suspected those Canadian were up to something – they’re so peaceful. Nothing says “imminent invasion’ like a nation of nice people who are all minding their own business.
Ink, when are you invading? It would help if I had some hard data.
Mira,
The Canadians can invade all they want as long as they bring beer.
Laurel,
Excellent point.
Thanks for the links Nathan. I’m so excited about Aprilynne! The book looks fantastic, and what do you know? She’s from Utah! Maybe there’s something in the water that will help me with my story :0)
Have a good weekend!
You know, I’ve been going through old posts from previous months. I collected some of my old clips to see if I could make them into something bigger sometime.
The fun part was reading posts by people who I now know well. At the time, I didn’t know them from Adam. But now it’s like – oh, look! There’s Ink, there’s Wanda, there’s Laurel, there’s P.C., Jen C, Bane, Jil, SS@S, Alex, Rick D., Marilyn and so many more. It’s totally fun to see how I’ve gotten to know other writers here.
Oh, and then there’s that guy Nathan. I see him alot too. He has some good things to say. Worth reading.
Ink, Purple,
I made love to my wife this morning in the Melanesian Islands, (an off-off the strip motel in Vegas)… she gave my performance a 6.7!
Haste yee back 😉
It seems to me that the only books selling these days are simple teenage romance novels and novels about simple-minded moose and wolf puppy slayers. Ggggs…gimme a break will yuh.
We Canadians are all around you, watch out!
Jil…Oops…I was under the impression that Alaska was one of the states. Canada…now a state? Huh? I shake in my rattlesnake cowboy boots.
Starduster, I was replying to Mira’s post.No, Canada is definitely not a state but we do bring beer so all’s well.
Jil – you’re Canadian?
That makes sense because: You’re so nice.
This just gets more and more suspicious.
Aw, shucks, Mira…
Heh, heh!
Mira,
The invasion’s on Thursday.
And we figured Weapons of Mass Destruction are out, and beer distraction in. Every Canadian soldier will have two full cases of Canadian beer for deployment. Considering the higher alcohol content, we figure our troops will be walking through unresisting meadows full of inebriated Americans. We call it Operation Molson Horse.
And, you know, resistance is futile. It’s beer. Your Achilles Heel has finally been discovered.
Mira – I see your point. I find I’d rather be in a hurricane (as I’ve been through at least 3 myself) than in an earthquake, tornado, volcano, etc. Funny how wherever you live has some effect on your feelings towards the natural disasters that plague the area.
Everyone else – as a wife of a Canadian and mother to two CanAms, I’d say they infiltrated a long long time ago. They know our weaknesses. Mine – Molson and Tim Hortons coffee…and hockey players. 😉 YUM!
Mira-
Child labor laws? Hahaha. Oh no, not in my house.
I’ve been in 2 little earthquakes here in Melbourne in the past few months, my first ever. They were quite exciting, but the second one I freaked out a little bit because I was at work, on the top floor of a high-rise in the city and I kept imagining the building falling down! I’d rather no natural disasters at all, thanks!
Mira,
It must have been fun going back through all of the comments! I love the comment section of this blog.
Word Veri – Hicks. I think they mean you…
Crystal Posey,
Lol. 🙂
Jen C.
It was! I liked reading everyone’s comments, now that I knew who they were. Totally different perspective.
P.C.
Yes, I agree. It’s all what you’re familiar with. Frankly, a hurricane would terrify me.
Ink
You’re right.
You win.
Thank God. We can all have health care now.
But I learned something today. I didn’t know that Canadian beer has a higher alcohol content. Well. No wonder you guys are so nice.
Mira-
Uh oh. Nathan’s stalkers just took it to a whole new level. He has his own hashtag! #iheartbransford
LOL! So funny.
It was a pleasure to meet you after your Q&A session at the Seattle conference. You deserve a medal for doing so many in a month! Thanks again for making the effort to help writers everywhere realize their dreams.
YAY Aprilynne! She’s totally deserving