The Tenth Circle

Fuchsia Groan · Oct 4, 2014

Girl Friday said:
I have to say I think it's a gendered thing. How many men do you hear saying 'I got lucky'...? Women are used to minimising their accomplishments. So maybe we should just start saying 'Hell yeah I did it cos I'm awesome!'

So true. I was raised to worry about "bragging" and "showing off" — both my parents had considerable achievements that they downplayed, and my dad even made it a point of pride not to put a sticker from my fancy college on his car. (Maybe that's a Midwestern reverse-snobbery thing.) Anyway, now I struggle to find ways to acknowledge achievement that won't be perceived as flaunting it.

Girl Friday · Oct 5, 2014

I think the best way round it, so that you're neither bragging nor downplaying your accomplishments, is just to say 'Yeah, I'm so excited about it all!' It's hard to get annoyed with someone who's just enthusiastic and smily. (Although there'll always be some jealous grouches, but f*** 'em

)

Fuchsia Groan · Oct 6, 2014

Good point, GF! Happy excitement tends to be contagious.

Calla Lily · Oct 19, 2014

I can be slow on the uptake.

Proof: Nearly 2 years ago I got this angry fan mail (paraphrased): "I want you to know that I hate to read! And you made me finish all three of your books in 48 hours. Where's the next one?"

When I finished laughing I thanked her but did not apologize.

She told me of her co-worker who also read my books and that they discussed them over lunch at work. I had no new contract at the time, so I couldn't say when I'd have a new book out. Her response was to blatantly ask for characters to be named after both of them.

You gotta love the direct approach.

When I got a new book deal and I named characters after them. As I'm sitting here today yelling at the Buffalo Bills for stinking up the joint, I got a :lightbulb:. I have a box of ARCs. I signed two and wrapped them up to mail out tomorrow.

These fans don't blog or review or anything, but few readers ever deserved ARCs more.

Calla Lily · Oct 19, 2014

Also: Sighing with relief over here. Got one good blurb and another blurber messaged me that she liked the book ad will send a blurb tomorrow. *whew*

This is stressing me almost as much as asking people to blurb. :e2drunk:

Fuchsia Groan · Oct 19, 2014

Yay for good blurbs, Lily! :snoopy:

And giving those die-hard fans ARCs is the coolest. That's who we ultimately write for.

I'm waiting, drafting, waiting... Someone just pointed out a logistical issue in my book (teens can't rent cars; my characters do). Oops! Now I'm wondering how many more goofs I made as I await the editorial letter.

Calla Lily · Oct 19, 2014

Fuchsia, fake driver's licenses?

Girl Friday · Oct 19, 2014

Aww, that's a nice thing to do, Lily

I'm a bit sad as I'm not getting ARCs, the pub is only doing e-ARCs. Which means I can't do GR giveaways which sucks a bit.

I'm also thinking about blurbs, cos it looks like my pub isn't doing anything about them. So - Lily and anyone else - how do you ask someone for a blurb? Like, literally, what do you say? Presuming I at least know the person a tiny bit from Twitter or something? Thanks.

I still don't have a finalised cover or title, either, or illustrations. In fact, everything feels like it's so far behind, gah. May be panicking a bit.

At least my sequel is moving along, albeit slowly...

Calla Lily · Oct 19, 2014

GF, I only asked writers I knew personally, and even then I felt like Oliver Twist, empty bowl in hand, saying, "Please sir...?" :Chair

This was my boilerplate, tweaked for each person I asked: "[name], may I ask you to blurb my new book, [title]? I know you're busy, so please feel free to say no."

2 people asked what the deadline was. One person said they might be a little late, and one refused because of commitments but said to ask him for the next book. 2 said they'd read but only blurb if they liked it, to which I instantly replied "of course". 4 said yes outright.

It's nerve-wracking. Also, and I may be wrong, but I think we all have to wrangle our own blurbs till we get famous.

Tasmin21 · Oct 19, 2014

I've never asked for blurbs. Of course, the only blurbs I have were for the first book, and we've just kept recycling them for the subsequent ones. *sigh*

Girl Friday · Oct 20, 2014

Thanks so much Lily, that's really helpful. And makes me feel better that a lot of people wrangle their own blurbs. I know my CP, also a debut author, did have her pub get her some blurbs, so I guess it depends. But yeah, talking to other writers, seems to be more usual to get your own. Mostly am just worrying I'm going to be too late in getting them for them to be put on the cover (if I actually get any, of course...)

midazolam · Oct 20, 2014

I don't know any writers personally (with the exception of AW, of course!), so I had no idea who to ask for blurbs. I don't even have critique partners (not for lack of trying, however).

I ended up searching my alumni network database for anyone who had listed his or her occupation as "writer," and I found a mega-bestseller-household-name that writes in my genre. A total long-shot (so much so that my publisher tried to dissuade me from trying), but he read the book and gave me a very nice blurb.

That said, writing that email was so stressful that I'm not sure I can do it again.

Fuchsia Groan · Oct 20, 2014

Calla Lily said:
Fuchsia, fake driver's licenses?

Yeah, I'm thinking either that or some shady Craigslist arrangement. Would a B&B owner ever loan a vehicle to a very clean-cut teenager whose parent he knew, for the ostensible purpose of sightseeing, or is that just silly?

Sounds like a killer blurb, midazolam! I went to college with a bunch of people who are now pretty famous writers, but not one writes YA, durnit. And I know some YA writers, but none write dark stuff like me. So I may have to reach out to strangers...

Calla Lily · Oct 21, 2014

Fuchsia, if the kid got into an accident, the b&b would get sued. So no I do 't think they would.

Tasmin21 · Oct 21, 2014

Today I remind myself that while I haven't heard anything about the book on sub, I have also not received any rejections.

Calla Lily · Oct 21, 2014

Tas, I'm in the exact same place. :e2shrug:

Girl Friday · Oct 21, 2014

Midazolam, that seems really weird that yr pub wd try to dissuade you from trying to get a blurb from a big name?? Anyway congrats on getting it!

It's tricky, I do have quite a lot of writer friends now, but it's no use getting a blurb from someone who doesn't write MG, and even within MG, a quiet literary contemp author wouldn't work for my book either. Does really narrow down the potential candidates...

I'm just waiting to hear back from my ed about when e-ARCs will be available. If it's ages away will just bite the bullet and request blurbs with the ms, wish me luck!

Fuchsia Groan · Oct 23, 2014

I ... have ... a contract! Slightly thrilled and terrified.

I remember some people in this thread saying they ran theirs by a lawyer after the agent had done his/her part, but I live in Podunksville and wouldn't know where to start finding the right specialist. How important do folks think that is?

Calla Lily · Oct 23, 2014

Fuchsia, I left it up to my agent. Before he was an agent on his own, he used to negotiate subrights and such, so he has the negotiation chops.

erinbee · Oct 23, 2014

Congrats, Fuschia! I, too, left it up to my agent, who was very experienced.

Update: Chapter delivered to agents and acknowledged and in the process of being (slowly?) read (?) so I am turning my attention toward my Big Novel Project that I am TERRIFIED of. The time is right, schedule-wise and other reason-wise, and I am just plain scared. It's time to do it, though, and exorcise this book from me and do something I'm really proud of.

Tasmin21 · Oct 24, 2014

Well, had my very first editor pass (that I've seen) today. Wasn't nearly as bad as I'd feared, and they actually said some really good things about my writing and the story. Just wasn't their cuppa, in the end.

So, nothing that needs fixing, we just soldier on.

Mr Flibble · Oct 24, 2014

I have a missed deadline*, a daughter with ME, a new job and loads of stuff conspiring to stop me writing, oh and edit notes for book two.

Meep!

*Luckily my editor was very cool about it and gave me a new one. Which I might make.

Fuchsia Groan · Oct 30, 2014

Yikes! Good luck (belatedly expressed), Mr Flibble!

Sorry about the pass, but yay for good comments, Tas!

Good luck w/the novel project, Erin!

I'm recovering from my own couple weeks of extreme, incessant work while my boss was away. I miss when I was able to spend Saturday writing, at least.

But I finally got time to go over the contract and parse the wording. Time to sign that baby and send it off!

Calla Lily · Oct 30, 2014

Good luck, Mr, Flibble!

Fuchsia, chill that champagne!

erinbee · Nov 2, 2014

Thanks. Got some feedback from the agents that I'm pretty het up about (in a ... way), hoping it gets resolved this week. Totally falling down on the novel thing. It might be time to Impose Discipline. Oh noes!

The Tenth Circle

Becoming a laptop-human hybrid

Word Wrangler

Becoming a laptop-human hybrid

On hiatus

On hiatus

Becoming a laptop-human hybrid

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Word Wrangler

On hiatus

They will come from below...

Word Wrangler

Becoming a laptop-human hybrid

On hiatus

They will come from below...

On hiatus

Word Wrangler

Becoming a laptop-human hybrid

On hiatus

slanted and enchanted

They will come from below...

They've been very bad, Mr Flibble

Becoming a laptop-human hybrid

On hiatus

slanted and enchanted