book a brac

Google eBooks

2010-12-13T12:57:00.000-08:00

Google eBooks is all about choice, so you can use just about any device you own to read any book, anywhere.

Books for Africa

2010-11-30T12:31:00.000-08:00

Books for Africa is the largest shipper of donated text and library books to the African continent.

When it began, in 1988, Books for Africa had a simple name and a simple mission: to collect, sort, ship, and distribute books to children in Africa. The goal was to end the book famine in the continent. Since its inception, Books for Africa has shipped more than 23 million books to 45 countries across Africa. In 2009, they shipped approximately 1.6 million books to 20 African countries.

To add to that phenomenal number, children's book publisher Capstone, donated $5 million worth of books to the effort. Nearly 300,000 overstock books have been shipped from the publisher's warehouse in Mankato, MN, to the Books for Africa offices in St. Paul, MN. The books are now being sorted and packaged for shipment to Africa. It is the largest donation ever received, and will supply hundreds of school libraries across Africa, helping to increase levels of education and literacy across the continent. In 2009, the publisher donated more than 37,000 books to the organization.

Diamond in the Slush

2010-11-19T22:46:00.000-08:00

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS was released on July 21, 2007, and sold 11 million copies on the first day of its release, breaking Rowling's earlier records for the fastest selling book of all time.

The Deathly Hallows, Part One, hit the movie theaters as of midnight last night. As I plan my night out to see it, I can't help but remember that J.K. Rowling had to deal with a lot of rejection before Alice came into her life. Who is Alice? She was Bloomsbury Publishing's chief-executive, Nigel Newton, eight-year-old daughter, who read the manuscript and convinced her father of its brilliance.It was Alice who saw the diamond in the slush pile, which led her father to eventually acquire the book, sending J.K. Rowling £2,500. Not a bad investment since the Potter series went on to sell 400 million copies.

Such gems are often lost in slush piles and most writers slog through to find their route to publication. When Stephen King submitted his first book he was told: "We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell." His novel CARRIE went on to sell more than one million copies and established his career. George Orwell's ANIMAL FARM was rejected as a cute kids' fairy tale and was told by an publisher that "It is impossible to sell animal stories in the USA.'' James Joyce's collection of short stories Dubliners was turned down by 22 publishers before it was published by Grant Richards. THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK was dismissed when a publisher noted: "The girl doesn't, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift the book above the curiosity level.'' When William Golding tried to publish LORD OF THE FLIES, a reader from Faber & Faber famously branded it as "an absurd and uninteresting fantasy which was rubbish and dull".

Many of today's best known authors have had to persevere in order to get to where they are today. I'm sad to see Harry Potter coming to its end, but am hopeful other diamonds will be pulled out the slush for our enjoyment!

One Billion and Counting...

2010-11-09T22:47:00.000-08:00

In 1993 Zahur Klemath Zapata developed the first software to read digital books. Digital Book v.1 and the first digital book is published ON MURDER CONSIDERED AS ONE OF THE FINE ARTS, by Thomas De Quincey

The latest report out by Forrester Research predicts that ebook sales will reach$966 million in 2010 and that by 2011, the amount will be $1 billion. In 2009, ebook sales were $169.5 million, a small portion of the $35Billion publishing industry. Forrester reports that as people get the hang of reading ebooks, they shift their book-buying from hardcover or paperback to ebooks.

James McQuivey of Forrester states that "the average eBook reader already consumes 41% of books in digital form." Those who've taken the plunge and gotten a Kindle or other ereader have an even higher percentage: 2 out of 3 books they read are ebooks. Amazon illustrated this in their announcement that in its spring quarter it sold 143 for every 100 hardcover books. Forrester found that only 7% of online adults who read books read ebooks, highlighting that there is room for growth.

The question for publishing is whether ebook sales will simply cannibalize current hardcover and paperback sales, or whether there might be a windfall of converting formats. If people who have the paperback edition of "Twilight" buy it again as an ebook, publishing will profit. But if they skip it, and instead choose to buy Stephenie Meyer's next novel as an ebook instead of getting the hardcover, the bottom line shrinks and that billion looks less promising...

Adults Who Love Kids Books

2010-11-06T23:40:00.000-07:00

In 1919, the Macmillan Publishing Company hired the first children's book editor in the United States.

Martha Parravano and Roger Sutton of Horn Book Magazine have released a wonderful new resource: A FAMILY OF READERS: THE BOOK LOVER'S GUIDE TO CHILDREN'S AND YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE. The books is filled with essays and reviews on multiple genres of books, which is separated into four sections;

1. Reading to Them - Choosing and sharing board books and picture books with babies and very young children.

2. Reading With Them - Launching the new reader with easy readers and chapter books

3. Reading on Their Own - Exploring what children read — and how they read — by genre and gender.Respecting the reading privacy of the young adult.

4. Leaving Them Alone - Respecting the reading privacy of the young adult.

From MOTHER GOOSE and ELMO to THE CATCHER IN THE RYE, there is a wide range of books for all types of readers. It's an amazing resource for adults to share their favorite books and love of reading to the children in their lives.

On Line Writing Groups

2010-10-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

How many screenwriters does it take to change a light bulb?
Answer: Ten.
1st draft. Hero changes light bulb.
2nd draft. Villain changes light bulb.
3rd draft. Hero stops villain from changing light bulb. Villain falls to death.
4th draft. Lose the light bulb.
5th draft. Light bulb back in. Fluorescent instead of tungsten.
6th draft. Villain breaks bulb, uses it to kill hero's mentor.
7th draft. Fluorescent not working. Back to tungsten.
8th draft. Hero forces villain to eat light bulb.
9th draft. Hero laments loss of light bulb. Doesn't change it.
10th draft. Hero changes light bulb.

I am a big proponent of finding a writers or critique group -- it has a two fold benefit. First, it is key in helping the craft of writing - there is nothing better than having supportive colleagues review your work and provide constructing criticism. Second a writers group also provides a wonderful place to be with other writers who understand, emotionally, the writing process. My own critique group is invaluable -- I credit them with helping me hone my writing skills and getting me to where I am today.Writers groups can meet in the real world, as mine did, or can be virtual as well. I've also worked with writers, exchanging manuscripts via email, and that to can be very helpful.

Two months ago, a new online writing community, based in the UK, was launched. Called Quillant, its aims, as shared by found Chris is to -

"recreate the classic writing group over the web. It is a different type of site for writers; it is about developing your work-in-progress with like-minded others and working together towards your aims."

"You create a profile in which you state the type of writer you are -– novelist, poet, playwright,
etc. -– and the genres that you work in. Quilliant.com matches you with similar writers and you form a writing group together. You work collaboratively, exchanging feedback on your work line by line.

I'm all for collaboration, and with technology, perhaps we can do more of it!

Old Truths are Todays Truths

2010-10-20T22:36:00.000-07:00

St. Francis de Sales is the patron saint of writers.

Prayer for Writers (taken from Saintly Support: A Prayer for Every Problem)

May the Lord guide me and all those who write for a living. Through your prayers, St. Frances de Sales, I ask for your intercession as I attempt to bring the written word to the world. Let us pray that God takes me in the palm of His hand and inspires my creativity and inspires my success. St. Francis de Sales, you understand the dedication required in this profession. Pray for God to inspire and allow ideas to flow. In His name, let my words reflect my faith for others to read. Amen.

We writers can be our own worst critic - we worry ad nauseum about our writing style, our characters, our plotting technique (or lack thereof); we wonder what our agent thinks of the current manuscript on his/her desk, we worry about getting that first or subsequent book published... the concerns are endless, especially these days, in tough economic times. Success seems harder and harder to attain, obstacle seem insurmountable -- but that's human nature I guess. Then you think back to the good old days when things seemed easier... or did they?

Reading an article by Jennie Nash, in the Huffington Post put things in perspective. In her article, The Making of a Novel: 8 Enduring Truths About Publishing, she talks about a book she's been reading, DEAR GENIUS: THE LETTERS OF URSULA NORDTROM, Nordstom being he children's book editor at Harper's in the 50's & 60's, responsible for some of the world's most enduring children's books -- think the LITTLE BEAR books, Maurice Sendak's masterpieces, Louise Fitzhugh's HARRIET THE SPY and many others. In it she sees 8 Truths that were evident then, as they are today:

The creative process takes time. Nordstrom's authors started books and stopped them, came up with ideas and abandoned them, turned one idea into another as they searched for the best stories to tell and the best shape for their stories. There are not overnight successes.
Writers need critics. It's hard to imagine that a book like WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE was ever anything less than perfect, but Nordstrom picked apart all her writers' stories, questioning every word of the story and every line of art. She was ruthless. And it worked.
Deadlines loom. Nordstrom is forever writing her authors to ask, "Where are your pages?"
The sales people matter. Nordstrom travels to Boston and Los Angeles, among other places, to attend sales conferences and pitch the books she's working on. She talks about what illustrations to put in the catalog to capture the sales' people's attention, and how to present the stories in the best light.
The competition is at your heels. We think of today's marketplace as being wildly competitive, but it wasn't so different back in the day. Nordstrom would go to great lengths to prevent her writers or illustrators taking a contract from a competitive house, and she seemed to hate it when a competitive house came out with a book she considered great.
It's good to win awards. Nordstrom had many Newbrry and Caldecott winners, and there was always much rejoicing because awards almost always mean bigger sales. Nordstrom often spoke about wanting to help her writers and illustrators make enough money to stop doing their day jobs.
Books need champions. Nordstrom helped usher a book to publication that included the first-ever homeoerotic scene between teenage boys. (She was a staunch believer that books should never speak down to children -- it's very inspiring.) She wrote several letters to leading psychologists in order to get a quote that would lend the book credibility.
Making books is satisfying work. What comes through Nordstrom letters is, above all, a sense of absolute joy. She obviously loved her work in a very profound way -- and that love is still the only good reason to do it.

eBook Evolution Continues

2010-10-18T11:20:00.000-07:00

NuroMedia released the first handheld ebook reader, the Rocket, which allowed ebooks to be downloaded from a PC via a serial cable.

According to the technology gurus at GigaOm, the line between what we call a "book" and something that's just a really long chunk of published text—what you might call the "not quite a book" category—continues to blur in the electronic publishing world.

Borders has released, right on the heels of the Kindles Singles program, a service that allows bloggers or anyone else with an idea to publish what is effectively an e-book and get it distributed through all the major e-book platforms. They are doing this in partnership with Bookbrewer, a subsidiary of Boulder, Colo.-based startup FeedBrewer, Inc., which creates multi-platform publishing solutions for mobile devices.

The service allows writers to upload their content, then publish an e-book in the open ePub format that can be downloaded for the iPad, the Kindle, the Kobo, or any other e-reader. The service has two tiers. One costs $89.99 and gives authors an ISBN, the universal book-tracking number used in the publishing industry. The advanced, $199.99 package also gives authors a master ePub file they can share or upload wherever they wish. Aaah, the changing landscape of publishing continues to morph...

Salman Rushdie's Inner Child

2010-10-14T22:10:00.000-07:00

Salman Rushdie was awarded the British knighthood in 2007 for his services to literature.

I love Salman Rushdie's earlier works, especially the THE MOORS LAST SIGH. I can't help but envy the way he concocts sentences, each lush with imagery, touching all the senses, transporting you within the pages of his stories. But after SATANIC VERSES, something happened. Well, of course having a fatwa hanging over your head can wreak havoc with any writers creativity... THE GROUND BENEATH HER FEET, FURY, and SHALIMAR THE CLOWN didn't quite light up the page as his other works did.

This month Sir Salman comes out with his second book for children, twenty years after his first. He wrote LUKA AND THE FIRE OF LIFE for Milan, his 13-year-old son by his third wife Elizabeth West. The book is a companion volume to HAROUN AND THE SEA OF STORIES, written in the dark early days of the fatwa – for Zafar, the son he had with his first wife Clarissa Luard. The book (according the the Guardian) follows the formula of an old-fashioned quest, the young hero must complete a dangerous journey and has all sorts of adventures on the way. I haven't read it yet, but my fingers are crossed the old Salman is back...

HUGE Debut Book Giveaway!

2010-10-11T12:11:00.000-07:00

Five book clubs around the country can win a prize pack of three to six sets of books written by the authors from the Class of 2K10. Each pack includes TEN copies of each book, and in some packs one of the books will be signed by the author. The contest is open to all book clubs associated with a nonprofit institution, a school, or a library. To enter, just comment on this entry, specifying which of the prize packs you are interested in and which nonprofit you are affiliated with. The giveaway will end on November 11, 2010.

MID-GRADE FANTASY PACK:

The Carnival of Lost Souls by Laura Quimby
Under the Green Hill by Laura L. Sullivan
The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams by Rhonda Hayter

MID-GRADE CONTEMPORARY PACK:

Fairview Felines: A Newspaper Mystery by Michele Corriel
Island Sting by Bonnie J. Doerr
Leaving Gee's Bend by Irene Latham
The Reinvention of Edison Thomas by Jacqueline Houtman
Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai

YA FANTASY/PARANORMAL PACK

13 To Life by Shannon Delany
Freaksville by Kitty Keswick
Mistwood by Leah Cypess
Past Midnight by Mara Purnhagen
Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready
Under My Skin by Judith Graves

YA CONTEMPORARY PACK 1

Change of Heart by Shari Maurer
Faithful by Janet Fox
Losing Faith by Denise Jaden
The Tension of Opposites by Kristina McBride

YA CONTEMPORARY PACK 2

Of All the Stupid Things by Alexandra Diaz
Party by Tom Leveen
Three Rivers Rising by Jame Richards
The Secret Year by Jennifer R. Hubbard
Split by Swati Avasthi

Rules:

You must be a book club affiliated with a nonprofit, school, or library, and located in the continental United States.
To enter, leave a comment to this entry (http://community.livejournal.com/classof2k10/27411.html). Specify which of the prize packs you are interested in – you may choose from only one, to all five, as we will be holding 5 separate drawings. (However, no club will win more than one prize pack.)
Leave an email address where you can be reached should you win.
If the email address is a not an institution address, please specify which nonprofit, school, or library you are affiliated with.
If you are not sure whether you qualify, just leave the relevant information in the comment.

If there are any additional questions, please contact Leah Cypess at LCypess@gmail.com.

San Francisco Litquake

2010-10-10T21:24:00.000-07:00

Litquake (October 1-9, 2010), San Francisco’s literary festival showcases hundreds of Bay Area writers for a week of readings, discussions, films, cross-media happenings and more

I spent an amazing hour with authors and poets in front of 250 awesome middle grade students earlier this week, at the San Francisco Main Library. I was asked to present at Kidquake, which is a part of San Francisco's annual Literary Festival called Litquake. Kidquake is festival-within-a-festival and was launched in 2004 as organizers decided theyneeded more of a children’s component to the event.

Along with me was a talented husband wife team, Jon Voelkel and Pamela Craik Voelkel who gave an exciting and informative look at their hot new book MIDDLEWORLD, a fast paced adventure story about archaeology and Mayan mythology. The three students from the Creative Writing Department at the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts (SOTA) were unbelievably talented -- just 15-17 years old, their poetry was moving, smart and deeply insightful. They went on to give poetry workshops to many of the students. It reminded me that I loved writing poetry in middle school -- it's wonderful way to have kids connect with themselves by putting thought to paper.

The kids asked amazing questions and were fun to meet!

Cybils are Now Open!

2010-10-04T22:59:00.000-07:00

The Cybils Awards, or Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards, are a series of book awards given by children's and young adult book bloggers. Co-founded by Kelly Herold and Anne Boles Levy in 2006, the awards were created to address an apparent gap between children's book awards perceived as too elitist and other awards that did not seem selective enough.

Books are nominated by the public in nine genres of children's and young adult literature: Easy Readers & Short Chapter Books, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Fiction Picture Books, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade Novels, Non-Fiction Middle Grade/Young Adult Books, Non-Fiction Picture Books, Poetry, and Young Adult Novels. Nominees go through two rounds of panel-based judging before a winner is announced in each category. Finalists and winners are selected on the basis of literary merit and kid appeal.

Panelists are volunteers and must be active bloggers with extensive experience in children's or young adult literature, either as readers and enthusiasts or as authors, librarians, booksellers, teachers, or others with verifiable investment in the world of children's literature. Anyone can submit a book, just follow the simple rules:

* Anybody may nominate a children's or young adult book published October 16 of the preceding year - October 15 of the contest year.

* Books must be written in English or they may be bilingual.

* Only one book may be nominated per person, per category.

* Nominations open October 1 and close October 15 of the contest year.

* Books should exemplify award criteria of literary merit and "kid appeal."

* Audiobooks currently are not part of the awards.

(Yes, SHOOTING KABUL was nominated by Amanda Snow)

Grazie Italia!

2010-09-30T16:05:00.000-07:00

It may be said that book printing, after its birth in medieval Germany, was carried to maturity in humanistic Italy. The printing press reached Italy very early (1462–63), via the Benedictine monastery of Subiaco, near Rome, which had strong German connections and a famous scriptorium - Encyclopædia Britannica

I just heard that Italian rights for SHOOTING KABUL have been acquired! Another excuse for another trip (as if you need an excuse...)

Some Darn Good Books

2010-09-29T22:52:00.000-07:00

Cynthia Liu, author (PARIS PAN and THE GREAT CALL OF CHINA) and frequent guest speaker recently put a call out to fellow writers to name what she titled "Contemporary Children’s and Teen Fiction Books Featuring People of Color Recommended by Authors of Contemporary Children’s and Teen Fiction Books Featuring People of Color." Quite a mouthful, but quite a list to! As she says in her blog, she presented at the Chicago Teacher-Librarians Association Breakfast about “Diversity within Diversity,” emphasizing the importance of seeking out books that feature contemporary kids and teens of color that don’t focus solely on race, cultural, or ethnic heritage. These books may also deal with other issues that today’s children and teens face, ranging from the serious to the light-hearted."

The list includes books for young readers, like ROSES IN MY CARPET by Rukhsana Khan & JACKSON JONES AND MISSION GREENTOP by Mary Quattlebaum; Middle Grade includes THE GREAT WALL OF LUCY WU by Wendy Shang & RICKSHAW GIRL by Mitali Perkins; and for older readers DOES MY HEAD LOOK BIG IN THIS? by Randel Abdul Fattah & HATERS by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez.

This list is being updated regularly, and you can provide your input to. Here are her guidelines:

Books must feature a person of color (POC) as a main character.
These books are not solely about racial, cultural and ethnic heritage. These books may also deal with other issues that today’s children and teens face, ranging from the serious to the light-hearted.
Books must have been first published in 2000 or later.
Books are set in current day times, or even in the future, so long as the character is from current day times (i.e. contemporary main character).
Books do not have to be award-winners or well-known. They just have to be winning books to the authors who recommended them.
Books must be published by a trade publisher listed in the CWIM or CBC.
If you are an author of a contemporary fiction children’s and teen book featuring a person of color and would like to recommend qualifying books for this list, please complete the form at http://www.cynthealiu.com/

Happy Reading!

Market Checkup

2010-09-23T10:35:00.000-07:00

AAP's mandate covers both the general and the specific — broad issues important to all publishers as well as issues of specific concern to particular segments of the industry. The Association's "core" programs deal with matters of general interest:intellectual property; new technology and digital issues of concern to publishers; Freedom to read, censorship and libel; international freedom to publish; funding for education and libraries; postal rates and regulations; tax and trade policy; international copyright enforcement. Directed by standing committees of the Association, these programs, along with a host of membership services including government affairs, a broad-based statistical program, public information and press relations, are the "core" activities of the Association.

The Association of American Publishers (AAP), the national trade association for US book publishing industry, reported children's book sales results for July, and the numbers are down from last year. Hardcover Children’s/YA sales are down 19.1 percent for the month with sales of $45.1 million in July, and year-to-date sales are down by 16 percent. Children’s/YA Paperback sales decreased 1.7 percent in July with sales totaling $50.0 million; sales fell 5.9 percent for the year to date.

In comparison, Adult Hardcover category was down 15.2 percent in July with sales of $74.1 million, although sales for the year-to-date are up by 10.2 percent. Adult Paperback sales decreased 10.1 percent for the month ($111.1 million) but increased by 8.6 percent for the year. Adult Mass Market sales decreased 11.0 percent for July with sales totaling $60.6 million; sales were down by 13.1 percent year to date.

E-book sales continue to grow, with a 150.2 percent increase over July 2009 ($40.8 million); year-to-date E-book sales are up 191.0 percent. Downloaded Audio Books also saw an increase of 38.4 percent over last year, with sales of $6.6 million this July; and the category was also up 35.3 percent year-to-date. Physical Audio Book sales decreased 35.6 percent in July with sales totaling $8.7 million; sales for the year to date are down 0.6 percent.

Higher Education publishing sales increased 0.2 percent for the month ($926.4 million) and increased 13.5 percent for the year. Finally, the K-12 elementary/high school category posted total net sales of $729.9 million, up 4.2 percent over the prior year, and year-to-date sales of $2.2 billion, a 13.5 percent increase over 2009.

Obamafiction

2010-09-19T21:54:00.000-07:00

Regardless of your opinions on politics, right or left leaning, it is a fact that we've never had quite such a literary President. His first book, DREAMS FROM MY FATHER: A STORY OF RACE AND INHERITANCE, was followed by the AUDACITY OF HOPE: THOUGHTS ON RECLAIMING THE AMERICAN DREAM. His most recent work is due in November and is a children's book, OF THEE I SING: A LETTER TO MY DAUGHTERS. Not only does President Obama write, he is heavily written about in children's literature as well.

Philip Nel, professor in English and director of K-State’s program in Children’s Literature, presented the idea of "Obamafiction" in a lecture with the same title. He posited that books carry hope for youth and create a hero for children in the U.S.

"To write this piece, I pursued four main areas of inquiry,” Nel said. “I read some of the 57 children’s books about Obama — all of the picture books and comic books, plus a few of the others. I also did some work to situate my argument within the fields of children’s literature in general, and African-American children’s literature in particular.”

He stated that children’s literature is the critical because people read it before their ideas about the world are fully formed. And because of this, children's literature is inherently political. Supply and demand for these kinds of books plays a role -- the U.S. tends to idealize presidents as a hero and a role model, blurring the line between actuality and what people want. Surprisingly, few of these books were created for former president George W. Bush. At the end of the day, we know that literature has a powerful influence on young minds.

Hint of the Future

2010-09-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

Technology... is a queer thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other - C.P. SNOW, New York Times, 15 March 1971

Reading publishers weekly today, I was struck by two pieces of similar news, dealing with the collision course of publishing and technology. Rick Richter, former president and publisher of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, is now heading Ruckus Media, a company that specializes in creating high-definition animation apps for children aimed at the mobile computing market. The next piece of news was about Random House Children's Books entering into a partnership with digital developer Smashing Ideas. The company creates book-based children's apps for mobile devices. Perhaps its a premonition of things to come down the road...

Been Out a Bit...

2010-07-27T22:10:00.000-07:00

I apologize for having disappeared... After the launch of SHOOTING KABUL I took some down-time, hung out with family and took a breather. But having SK out has been awesome, fingers crossed the reviews have been great and some wonderful authors and Bloggers have been chatting about the book. Here are two posts that came out, one one Mitali Perkin's blog, Mitali's Fire Escape, and the other on Cynthia Leitich Smith's Blog, Cynstations

Book Birthday!

2010-06-22T23:39:00.000-07:00

Shooting Kabul officially released today and can be found at your local independent bookseller, Borders, Barnes & Noble, and on-line. The path to publishing has taken two years of hard work, with many people involved - my agent, editor, cover artist, marketing & sales personnel and host of others. Needless to say, I'm beyond excited!

The Book that Killed a Tree

2010-06-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface; now they cover a mere 6% and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years - www.rain-tree.com

According to a new study released by the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), a large percentage of children's books sold in the U.S. are made from paper that includes "fiber linked to the clearing and conversion of Indonesia's rainforests." 90 percent of the world's acacia pulp is produced in Indonesia, according to RAN, where dedicated plantations are fast replacing virgin rainforest and wreaking havoc on the local ecology. Even worse, laboratory testing apparently found such fibers in at least one children's book about the destruction of rain forests.

Sadly, the children's book publishing industry is no exception to the fierce economics of globalization. RAN reports that U.S. publishers, relentlessly seeking to lower production costs, have aggressively offshored printing responsibilities to China. From 2000-2008, "Chinese sales of children's picture books to the U.S. ballooned by more than 290 percent, averaging an increase of more than 35 percent a year." China in turn, sources 18 percent of its pulp imports to Indonesia, where a pair of companies with two of the worst environmental reputations in the world, Asia Pulp and Paper and Asia Pacific Resources International, dominate the industry.

Rankingly Obsessed

2010-05-28T23:46:00.000-07:00

Amazon has sold more than 7.5 million unique titles at this point, and rankings indicate a title must sell at least one copy a year to remain above a rank of two million - Morris Rosenthal, Foner Books

Getting your book published is a exciting, awesome journey, but once it hits the shelves, you might think that writers relax and wait for the royalty checks to arrive in the mail... alas, it's not true. I'd say the majority of the writers I know start obsessing (at least a little) about sales. The first place they look is at their Amazon sales rankings. Your Amazon sales rank is a number that says how many other titles sold more than your book. The smaller the number, the better the sales. The number is re-computed daily (for obsessors who need to know)

For example, a major publisher tracked 25 titles over a six month period, correlating the weekly Amazon sales rank with actual reported sales from Amazon. Here is what they found correlating Amazon Sales Rank with real sales:

Amazon Actual
Sale Rank              Books Sold per week
--------------------- -------------------------------
75-100                  250-275/wk
100-200                225-249/wk
200-300                150-200/wk
450-750    75-100/wk
750-3,000             40-75/wk
3,000-9,000          15-20/wk
10,000+                1-5/wk

Source: Rampant Techpress

There are fluctuations in Amazon sales rank when the book is first released - When the initial backorder is filled, the sales rank plummets (sometimes below 1,000) for a brief period. Thee there may be a large drops in rank when there is a bulk order. Not all books are treated equally -- the top 1,000 are recalculated hourly, the next chunk (up to 100,000 (estimated)) weekly, while the rest, monthly.

Also available to obsessed writers are helpful Internet sites which track you sales for you, like Novelrank.com. NovelRank uses Amazon sales data, and is a free website for authors to track their Amazon Sales Rank on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk (United Kingdom), Amazon.ca (Canada), Amazon.fr (France), Amazon.de (Germany), and Amazon.co.jp (Japan).

So, feel free to go forth and obsess, but not too much!

Glimmer of Hope for Indies

2010-05-24T22:49:00.000-07:00

March retail sales at bookstores were up by 1.6 percent, compared with March 2009, according to preliminary figures recently released by the Bureau of the Census - American Booksellers Association

Oren Teicher, chief executive of the American Booksellers Association (ABA), which represents independent stores, reported some good news the other day - membership is up from last years 1,401 to 1,410! But sadly, that is still it low from nearly 3,000 at the height of Independent Book Store ownership.

Independent stores have been struggling with the onslaught of change in the industry:

The spread of superstore chains, like Barnes & Nobles and Borders.
The emergence of Amazon.com and other online retailers.
The rise of the e-book platform, with many versions entering - Kindle, Nook, iPad etc. e-books now account for nearly 8% of sales for some major publishers.

Teicher credits last year’s turnaround mostly to the smarts of the independent community and a willingness to experiment, such as the literary day camp at BookPeople in Austin, Texas, or the clothing store in the Northshire Bookstore in Vermont. ABA president Michael Tucker, co-owner of Books Inc. in San Francisco, says the economy may have helped some stores, making it less costly to find retail space in downtown locations.

As the industry continues to face upheaval, fingers crossed that the Indies keep marching on.

Revisionist Social Studies

2010-05-20T22:35:00.000-07:00

Texas is the country's second-largest textbook buyer, behind California, which has more than 6.2 million public school students in grades K-12.

I love Texas, don't get me wrong -- especially the BBQ. But ever since I heard that the Texas Board of Education approved a revised social studies curriculum to include adding language saying the country's Founding Fathers were guided by Christian principles and a new section on "the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s," I got a little frightened. The revisions also include positive references to the Moral Majority, the National Rifle Association and the Contract with America, the congressional GOP manifesto from the 1990s.

Critics say if the changes are incorporated into textbooks, they will be historically inaccurate and dismissive of the contributions of minorities. The Texas recommendations face a final vote by the Republican-dominated board on May 21. The amendments to the state's curriculum standards also minimize Thomas Jefferson's role in world and U.S. history because he advocated the separation of church and state, and require that students learn about "the unintended consequences" of affirmative action and Title IX, the landmark federal law that bans gender discrimination in education programs and activities.

California may soon take a stand against proposed changes to social studies textbook sas a way to prevent them from being incorporated in California texts. Legislation by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, seeks to protect the nation's largest public school population. "While some Texas politicians may want to set their educational standards back 50 years, California should not be subject to their backward curriculum changes," Yee said (Amen)

Lots of Launches

2010-05-17T20:26:00.000-07:00

The following fellow 2K10 authors have launched their debut novels!

Janet Fox's debut novel, FAITHFUL, released from Puffin last week. FAITHFUL, the story of 16-year old Maggie Bennet, is a tale of romance and mystery set in 1904 in spectacular Yellowstone National Park.

Jeri Smith-Ready also launched with SHADE - In Shade, Aura Salvatore is a 16 year-old girl on a quest to uncover why everyone her age and younger can see ghosts, while coping with her boyfriend's own death and ghosthood.

Tom Leveen's debut novel, PARTY, released April 29th from Random House. In PARTY, dovetailing perspectives unite 11 wildly different students at a graduation party in Santa Barbara in ways they never expected.

THREE RIVERS RISING, a young-adult verse novel that combines tragedy, romance, and hope in Jame Richard's debut. Imagine a city under water—not Atlantis—but somewhere in the middle of the very real continental U.S., more than a hundred years before Hurricane Katrina. That city was Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and the year was 1889.

Research Ready

2010-05-11T23:25:00.000-07:00

Book publishing -- The term publishing means, in the broadest sense, making something publicly known. Usually it refers to the issuing of printed materials, such as books, magazines, periodicals, and the like. There is, however, great latitude of meaning, because publishing has never emerged, and cannot emerge, as a profession completely separate from printing on the one hand and the retailing of printed matter on the other - Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

At my day job I do a lot of research into different markets and industries in order to understand a product or technology I'm reviewing. I need to establish where the product fits into the marketplace, what its competitors are and who's talking about it. I ran across this report, BOOK PUBLISHERS, by Research and Markets and I had to share since it addresses the publishing industry. As I've mentioned in previous blogs, as a writer you can't just "write" anymore -- you need to be the CEO of your writing career and know how the publishing industry works -- marketing, PR and even finances (ugh your taxes). You need to know where you fit into the publishing industry so that you can sell yourself and your book.

The US book publishing industry consists of about 2,600 companies with combined annual revenue of about $27 billion. Major companies include John Wiley & Sons, McGraw-Hill, Pearson, and Scholastic, as well as publishing units of large media companies such as HarperCollins (owned by News Corp); Random House (owned by Bertelsmann); and Simon & Schuster (owned by CBS). The industry is highly concentrated: the top 50 companies generate about 80 percent of revenue.

Demand for books is driven by demographics and is largely resistant to economic cycles. The profitability of individual companies depends on product development and marketing. Large publishers have an advantage in bidding for new manuscripts or authors. Small and midsized publishers can succeed if they focus on a specific subject or market.

Publishers produce books for general reading (adult "trade" books); text, professional, technical, children's, and reference books. Trade books account for 25 percent of the market, textbooks 25 percent, and professional books 20 percent.

About 150,000 new books are published in the US every year; however, most are low-volume products. The number of books produced by major trade publishers and university presses is closer to 40,000.

Agently Advice

2010-05-04T01:37:00.000-07:00

My money goes to my agent, then to my accountant and from him to the tax man - Glenda Jackson

Over the past few years dozens of agents have put out their Blog shingle and have shared valuable insights with aspiring authors. They've discussed topics such as how to write that killer query letter, tips on writing, insights into publisher contracts, foreign right sales and trends in the industry. I've learned a great deal and their advice helped has me improve as a writer and eventually land an agent. Recently, Writers Digest announced The Best Agent Blogs of 2010 (one of which I'm proud to say represents me)

1. Chip MacGregor
2. Dystel & Goderich Literary Management
3. KidLit
4. Nathan Bransford
5. Rachelle Gardner

I'd have to add the following as well:
1. The Greenhouse Literary Agency Blog
2. Pubrants
3. Jennifer represents....

You can find all of them on my blog, under "Agently Advice"

Kirkused

2010-05-02T23:30:00.000-07:00

If we're growing, we're always going to be out of our comfort zone - John Maxwell

Well, back in December I'd had a series of posts on Kirkus, the venerable American book-review journal, and how it may be going under. First I mentioned its demise, then a possible resurrection, and then its saving from the chopping block. My agent also spoke about the situation on his blog post - "Farewell Dear Kirkus" - how his emotions were mixed on the journal's sad end. I think he said it well "I don’t think any other publication can make an author cry the same way that Kirkus did." I myself remarked that I was sad that I wouldn't be going through the fiery initiation of a Kirkus review, then bit my tongue :). Well, I got my wish, the review is in, and I breath a huge sigh of relief!

"Debut novelist Senzai crafts a wrenching tale, based on her husband’s Soviet-era experience, putting a human face on the war in Afghanistan... it’s an ambitious story with much to offer: a likable protagonist in Fadi, an original and engaging plot and a lens through which readers will learn much about the current conflict."

Shooting Kabul

2010-04-29T22:35:00.000-07:00

There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer - Ansel Adams

Photographs, like nothing else, strike a chord with the viewer, and that's why I think organizations that teach kids photography to journal their lives, are so important. They allow children to show others what their lives truly encompass, like the kids in Calcutta portrayed in the documentary, BORN INTO BROTHELS.

Between November and December 2002 a group of young Afghan girls took to the streets of Kabul armed with cameras. Their task was to document life in Afghanistan on the streets where some 37,000 children work and beg to earn a living. The group was encouraged to use the camera as a tool through which they share their experiences of growing up in Afghanistan, to document the every day experiences of life on the streets where they themselves work. he results of the project, named Bibin (the Dari word for look), which was shown at the Spitz Gallery in London, in 2003. Their photography is truly arresting, providing us a glimpse into their lives at that time.

The warnings are painted on the walls to tell people to take care of mines.This is good as it means people can live more safely. My neighbour used to collect steel and he thought a mine was steel he could recycle, and took it. He now cannot walk - he has lost a foot and a hand. © Nabiela / Bibin / PhotoVoice

These children are making flowers to sell on the street. These kinds of decorations are traditional in Afghanistan. © Rabia / Bibin / PhotoVoice

I think someone has drawn a gun because this is the reason our country is in ruins. I took this picture in the ruins. I think a boy visiting the ruins drew this. This picture should be cleaned away and there should be a picture of a pen in its place. Instead of guns now the Afghan people should be using pens, they should be studying.' © Zakia / Bibin / PhotoVoice Shooting Kabul.

One of the project's young participants.

What NOT to do!

2010-04-28T22:54:00.000-07:00

A writer died and was given the option of going to heaven or hell.

She decided to check out each place first. As the writer descended into the fiery pits, she saw row upon row of writers chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop. As they worked, they were repeatedly whipped with thorny lashes.

"Oh my," said the writer. "Let me see heaven now."

A few moments later, as she ascended into heaven, she saw rows of writers, chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop. As they worked, they, too, were whipped with thorny lashes.

"Wait a minute," said the writer. "This is just as bad as hell!"

"Oh no, it's not," replied an unseen voice. "Here, your work gets published."

There is a great deal of information on the web regarding what to do to improve the odds of getting published -- write the best book you can, network with other writers, how to query an agent, how to behave at a writers conference when talking to editors, etc.

Then I saw Penny C. Sansevieri's excellent article in the Huffington Post called Why (Some) Authors Fail and realized that she had excellent suggestions on what NOT to do so you don't sabotage your writing career.

Not learning enough about the industry -- get to know the market you are in. Learn about who the publishers are, what are they publishing, is the genre your writing hot or fading?
Not Accepting Feedback -- Get feedback on your work. Getting other people input on your writing (critique partner, editor etc) is a crucial part to any writer's career.
Not Surrounding Yourself with Enough Professionals -- you need professionals for advice, wisdom, and direction.
Not Doing Their Research -- refer back to one.
Not Understanding How New York Publishing Works -- Understand how the publishing industry works, what they are looking for and when.
Playing the Blame Game - If something goes wrong, own it ( Unless it's really not your fault) and learn from the experience and do better next time.
Believing in the Unbelievable -- There are no guarantees. No one can promise book sales, fame, or Oprah. Period. End of story. If someone is promising you these things, run, or if the offer seems too good to be true it likely is.

Success is not about hard work alone. It's also about making smart, savvy choices, being relentless, and believing in your work and your mission. But you also need to be objective, realistic, and humble.

Child Slavery

2010-04-25T23:41:00.000-07:00

"No one shall be held in slavery or servitude: slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.”-United Nations: Universal Declaration of Human Rights

I came across two books that disturbed me deeply -- both deal with childhood slavery in South Asia, India and Pakistan. It's sad that in this day in age, such a things exists. There's a lot of work to be done...

The first, is BOYS WITHOUT NAMES, by Kashmira Seth. Set in contemporary Mumbai tells a harrowing story of child slavery. Indebted to ruthless moneylenders, 11-year-old Gopal’s family flees to Mumbai, where they hope to find work. On the way, Gopal’s father goes missing, and Gopal guides his mother and siblings to an uncle’s house, where they worry and wait for Baba to find them. Eager to help his family earn money, Gopal follows a local boy to what he thinks will be a day’s work at a factory. Instead, he is pulled into a sweatshop—a single room where five boys are held against their will and forced to produce decorative items with toxic materials. As Gopal dreams of escape, he builds tenuous friendships with his fellow workers. Those wary bonds form a dramatic counterpoint to the children’s daily misery, described in moving, palpable detail, and skillfully steer the story away from docu-novel territory to its hopeful conclusion.

The second book is Susan Kuklin's IQBAL MASIH AND THE CRUSADES AGAINST CHILD SLAVERY. She tells the story of Iqbal, Iqbal, a charismatic Pakistani boy sold into slavery at age four. He was freed six years later by a human rights group and became an activist speaker in Pakistan and Europe and came to the U.S. in 1994. On his return home, at age 12, he was murdered. Readers will relate to Kuklin's outrage about Iqbal and also about the suffering of bonded children everywhere and the global markets that benefit from family poverty and illiteracy. Dramatic black-and-white photos show the Iqbal speaking out in Pakistan and Boston; many pictures from several countries document small children doing forced labor, even chained to machines. A long final section describes what human rights groups and particular U.S. schools are doing to organize boycotts and protests.

Writing Good

2010-04-20T15:08:00.000-07:00

How many publishers does it take to screw in a light bulb? Three. One to screw it in. Two to hold down the author.

This is an oldie, but hilarious...

How to Write Good
by Frank L.Visco and originally published in the June 1986 issue of Writers' digest.

Avoid Alliteration. Always.
Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
Avoid cliches like the plague. (They’re old hat.)
Employ the vernacular.
Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
Contractions aren’t necessary.
Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
One should never generalize.
Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”
Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
Don’t be redundant; don’t use more words than necessary; it’s highly superfluous.
Profanity sucks.
Be more or less specific.
Understatement is always best.
Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
One word sentences? Eliminate.
Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
The passive voice is to be avoided.
Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
Who needs rhetorical questions?

Numbers are Up!

2010-04-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

If you're child says they're bored, hand them a book.

Source: Parent Magazine

No doubt about it, publishing sales, along with the rest of the economy are in a slump --- that is, except for children's books. R.R. Boker reported that the number of children's books produced in the U.S. rose 8% in 2009 to 32,348 - traditional books fell by half a percentage point to 288,355 titles. We're still below 2004 when 37,976 children's titles were produced, and 2003, with 33,469 titles, was the second biggest year.But hey, third best is nothing to complain about, so keep reading.

Kids Otter Read Day

2010-04-14T12:25:00.000-07:00

Americas most literate Cities (per 10,000 population) -- 1. Seattle, WA, 2. San Francisco, CA, 3.5 Minneapolis, MN, 3.5 Cincinnati, OH, 5. St. Louis, MO , 6. Portland, OR, 7. Pittsburgh, PA, 8. St. Paul, MN, 9. Cleveland, OH, 10. Washington, DC - Central Connecticut State University, 2007

Mark your calendars! Come celebrate the San Francisco Bay Area’s rich children’s book community with your local independent bookstore on May 1, 2010 from 1 – 3pm.

The Northern California Children’s Bookseller’s Association (NCCBA) will hold its second annual Kids Otter Read Day Around the Bay, a celebration of the San Francisco Bay Area’s thriving children’s book community. Hosted by independent children’s booksellers, with appearances by more than 50 local children’s authors and illustrators, this is a not-to-be-missed event for readers of all ages. I will be at Books Inc., Palo Alto, looking forward to seeing you there!

More information: http://kidsotterread.wordpress.com

Spring Break

2010-04-03T00:42:00.000-07:00

Gone East for Spring Break. Will be back in a week!

Darkly Delicious

2010-04-02T14:11:00.000-07:00

“Sometimes his (Roald Dahl's) work was a little too strong for grown-ups. It was scary and messy, but children understood that this was only because lots of adults were not very nice themselves, beastly even.” --Yorkshire Post

My favorite author growing up (well one of my many favorites) was Roald Dahl. I read his books over and over again (and still do!). Two of my favorites were FANTASTIC MR. FOX and THE WITCHES (JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH is a close third). The element of his books that I adored was the dark, morbid, sometimes violent things that happened to the characters. Mr. Fox get's his tail shot off as his family faces starvation while the orphan boy in THE WITCHES is turned into a mouse and nearly stomped to death by witches.

Kids love the macabre, the horror of fearsome things -- things that happen to characters in books. And these books sell really well, beginning from the Grimm Fairy tales to Neil Gaiman's fantastically scary books like CORALINE and THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. Horror has always become integral to children’s fiction, and it seems to have intensified -- In case you hadn't noticed, there's a big streak of the darkly supernatural running through a lot of children's fiction these days. Ghosts, vampires and zombies are a recurring motif. There are alternative universes, resplendent with witches, demons, evil fairies and a growing number of fallen angels.

Such books allow children to explore the fears in a sort of safe, confined way. That’s perhaps why post apocalyptical fiction is taking off in a big way. It’s reflective of the current mood around the world -- of financial meltdowns, economic troubles, environmental disasters and social unrest. Kids are reaching for books that mirror their darker moods, and perhaps fiction can teach kids how to survive in the real world

Another 2K10 Debut

2010-03-29T13:27:00.000-07:00

March was an awesome month for readers as this is the fourth fellow 2K10 author's debut. Judith Grave's skin must have goosepimples as her YA, UNDER MY SKIN comes out.

All her parents wanted was for Eryn to live a normal life...
Redgrave had its share of monsters before Eryn moved to town. Mauled pets, missing children. The Delacroix family is taking the blame, but Eryn knows the truth. Something stalks the night. Wade, the police chief's son and Redgrave High's resident hottie, warns her the Delacroix are dangerous. But then so is Eryn--in fact, she's lethal. But she can't help falling for one of the Delacroix boys, dark, brooding--human Alec. And then her world falls apart.

A normal life? Now that's the real fairytale.

Preview just in...

2010-03-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

There are an estimated 122,356 libraries of all kinds in the United States today American Library Association

Elizabeth Bird, children's librarian at the Children's Center at 42nd Street of the New York Public Library and blogger @Fuse 8 Productions, just blogged about her preview session with Simon & Schuster where editors presented upcoming books to librarians. This is what Elizabeth had to say -

"Alexandra Penfold was up and talking about Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai when I came in. The book has a plot that has haunted me since the moment I heard about it, and the cover image too for that matter. In Kabul, Fadi lets go of his six-year-old sister's hand when they're climbing into the truck to take them away. He loses her when she drops her Barbie doll and goes back for it, effectively separating herself from her family. Now they're in America and she's still in Afghanistan. The cover image shows the moment right before the separation. It just kills me, and I haven't even read the book yet."

Photo: Just One More Book Blog

Future of Children's Books

2010-03-22T14:43:00.000-07:00

Nielsen BookScan reported that sales of juvenile books were the strongest of any category in 2008, rising 6 percent from 2007. In 2009, Nielsen reported, sales held mostly even. By contrast, last year adult hardcover and mass market paperbacks both declined nearly 4 percent, and trade paperbacks fell 2 percent - Washington Post

I never like such encompassing titles of articles as The Future of Children's Books. Its sounds so penultimate, as if the writer had a crystal ball and was making definite predictions. But, the Washington Post, with the aforementioned title, does have some interesting revelations about combing technology and literature.

The fact that Jeff Kinney worked full-time for a decade designing popular kid-friendly Web games before writing his best-selling series, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, originally published online, was a revelation. The online, free online version regularly gets 70,000 hits a day. What this thankfull illustrates that teens and tweens on the internet, with access to content online, will still go out and buy his book. 28 million copes of DIARY OF A WIMPY KID are in print in the United States, according publisher Abrams.

So Publisher are now playing an expensive balancing game, getting kids to read books by offering companion Web sites that are graphic-rich and able to plunge young readers into the story. Along with the tale on the page, kids can dip into online videos and games, win prizes, create Internet identities and get into social networking.

Several publishers are getting into the fray Scholastic launched a 10-book international mystery series called THE 39 CLUES in the fall of 2008. Much of the action takes place online, however, where kids amass hundreds of collectible cards and compete for prizes. According to Scholastic, they have 760,000 registered users. Disney recently started an online book subscription Web site, Disney Digital Book, with hundreds of titles available, in hopes it will cast a spell over kids and their parents. You use a "magic pen" to turn each digital page. Last fall, HarperCollins published a missing-girl mystery, THE AMANDA PROJECT with a major online social networking component. And Simon & Schuster is getting into the game this June with its multimedia venture SPACEHEADZ Written by Jon Scieszka, author of THE STINKY CHEESE MAN.

The question remains whether all these multimedia add-ons to the reading experience will pay off... we shall see.

Hiding with Harry

2010-03-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, dragon blood is revealed to be an effective oven cleaner (I just cleaned my oven and wished I had some)

I, like countless millions, loved the Harry Potter series and one of my favorite magical objects was his Cloak of Invisibility. The cloak had the power to shield the wearer from sight, and could not be worn out by time or spells. Invisibility cloaks are not a new concept and have appeared in literature since the days of Brothers Grimm.

When I read about it, I wanted to go out and get one for myself and now it looks like they may be within our grasp! Scientists have taken a small but important new step toward making it into reality. Researchers at Germany's Karlsruhe Institute of Technology were able to cloak a tiny bump in a layer of gold, preventing its detection at nearly visible infrared frequencies. The cloak is a structure of crystals with air spaces in between, sort of like a woodpile, that bends light, hiding the bump in the gold. In this case, the bump was tiny, a mere 0.00004 inch high and 0.0005 inch across, so that a magnifying lens was needed to see it.

In principle, the cloak design is completely scalable; there is no limit to it, a researcher stated. But, he added, developing a cloak to hide something takes a long time, so cloaking larger items with that technology is not really feasible. DARN. But I'll keep hoping.

Another March Launch!

2010-03-16T22:12:00.000-07:00

Fellow 2k10er Jacqueline Houtman's THE REINVENTION OF EDISON THOMAS has just been released.

Eddy Thomas copes with the noise and crowds of Drayton Middle School by reciting the periodic table of elements, memorizing Morse code, and jumping on the trampoline in the gym teacher’s office. His mind stores thousands of facts and the scientific names of animals and plants, but cannot decode the meaning of the expressions on faces or the definition of a friend. When the local school crossing guard is laid off, Eddy can’t stop thinking about the dangerous intersection and the possibility that someone could get hurt there. Marshalling his talents as a scientist and inventor, he builds a traffic – calming device out of his collection of old machines. Could Eddy’s invention help with more than just the safety situation?

Golden not Dark

2010-03-14T14:53:00.000-07:00

Dark Ages -- a. The period in Europe from the fall of Rome in the fifth century a.d. to the restoration of relative political stability around the year 1000; the early part of the Middle Ages. b. The entire Middle Ages, especially when viewed as a troubled period marked by the loss of classical learning. No longer in use by historians -

The following clip has a few of my favorite things... history, a library and Sir Ben Kingsley. It also addresses what mainstream history has taught to be the Dark Ages -- it was for some, but for others it was quite Golden.

Kids With Cameras

2010-03-13T00:28:00.000-08:00

1.2 million prostituted children are believed to be currently enslaved throughout India, that's roughly the entire population of Dallas - Indian Government statistic, 2009

Born into Brothels is a documentary that follows the lives of several unforgettable children who live in the red light district of Calcutta, where their mothers are part of the over 10,000 women and girls who live and work as prostitutes. In the documentary, Zana Briski, a New York-based photographer, gives each of the children a camera and teaches them to look at the world with new eyes.

Her program, called Kids with Cameras was based on the belief that photography was an effective tool for igniting children's imagination and building self-esteem. The children's photographs were seen around the world and sold, allowing many to go to school and leave the brothels behind.
Kids with Cameras has supported the education of several children from the original photography workshop. One of the children completed his secondary schooling in Utah and is now studying film at NYU Tisch School for the Arts. Another arrived in the USA one year ago to finish her secondary schooling and expects to graduate from a private boarding school in 2011. Many of the other children are excelling in private schools in India.

I watched the documentary when it first came out in 2005 and it had a lasting impression on me -- how terrible and beautiful life could be for children trapped in situation beyond their control. It went onto to win a well deserved academy award that year. Kids with Cameras believes that education provides a way for children to leave the red-light district ad are currently raising funds to develop Hope House, a safe haven specifically for the children of prostitutes to provide an opportunity for them to learn, thrive and lead future generations.

SPLIT Launched!

2010-03-10T14:28:00.000-08:00

Compatriot Class of 2K10er, Swati Avashti's debut YA, SPLIT released yesterday - Go grab a copy!

16-year-old Jace Witherspoon arrives at the doorstep of his estranged brother Christian with a re-landscaped face (courtesy of his father's fist), $3.84, and a secret. It is about what happens after. After you've said enough, after you've run, after you've made the split - how do you begin to live again?

TAGGED Launched!

2010-03-08T15:13:00.000-08:00

Fellow Class of 2k10 Author Mara Purnhagen's debut young adult novel, TAGGED (Harlequin Teen), just released. Go out and get your copy!

Kate Morgan is just as confused as the rest of her classmates when she arrives at Cleary High to find six life-size gorillas spray painted on the side of a building. Could the culprit be one of her friends or classmates? And is the kind-of-amazing creation really vandalism, or a work of art? She's tempted to stay out of it, mostly because, as the police chief’s daughter, she's always accused of being a snitch. But when gorillas start appearing throughout the state, her investigative instincts kick in. Now Eli, Kate’s favorite co-worker at the local coffee shop, is MIA. With her best friend, Lan, preoccupied with her own boy troubles, Kate needs to figure out some things on her own. Like why she can’t stop thinking about Eli. And what she will do when all clues about the graffiti point to someone she knows...

Guten Tag Deutschland!

2010-03-05T22:37:00.000-08:00

In Germany books on travel and the great outdoors are most popular, but they also win the prize for the driest bestseller. In eighth place is the country’s Civil Code - The Telegraph Newspaper

SHOOTING KABUL will be available in Germany soon! Simon & Schuster sold German rights to Verlagsgruppe Random House after the Frankfurt Book Fair, this past October.

Once an author sells their book to a publisher (let's assume an American one, since we're here), there is the chance that the book may be sold in other, 'foreign' territories'. This can either be done by the agent, if the US publisher only acquired North American rights (granting them to publish in North America) or the publisher, if they acquired world rights. The publisher can then go sell the book to foreign publishers. There are two kinds of foreign rights sales: those where the acquirer will translate the work into another language and second where the foreign publisher will provide marketing and distribution for an English title.

The next big fair is in Bologna, Italy where the publishers, editors, agents and others are getting together to network and chat up all things literary. I'd just like to be there to eat the gelato - another foreign right sales would be nice to!

Afghan Friends Network

2010-03-04T12:22:00.000-08:00

Even though, student enrollment in Afghanistan increased 500% (from 900,000 to over 6.4 million) since 2002, still more than half of the school-age children are still out of school and majority of them are girls - School is Open

Yesterday I volunteered at a fundraising event for a wonderful organization called the Afghan Friends Network (AFN). We had wonderful Afghan food, an auction and guest speaker, author Tamim Ansary. AFN, founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2002, is a nonprofit that facilitates humanitarian, economic and educational collaborations between Americans and Afghans and delivers programs in two primary categories: education and cultural/community awareness. Their work is primarily focused in the province of Ghazni, the second largest province in Afghanistan located sixty miles southwest of Kabul.

At first they focused on women and girls, but their latest project focuses on boys. The President of AFN is a good friend and has been telling me about the wonderful work the organization does. And trully, after meeting the founder, other volunteers and supporters, I was impressed by their dedication and committment to improving the lives of children in Ghazni.

First Review, Oh my

2010-03-01T15:04:00.000-08:00

The nerve wracking, gut wrenching day has arrived... my first review of SHOOTING KABUL...

Here is a snippet:

"The news recently has been full of war stories happening in Afghanistan. For many young people the part of the world is unfamiliar. Unfortunately stories out of this country will make headlines and news probably for many years to come. To fill in the gaps for young readers I would highly recommend SHOOTING KABUL by N.H. Senzai ... The particular importance of this book to me was in the blending of the coming of age of Fadi and the history of Afghanistan. At no time does the author ever interrupt the narrative to give the reader a history lesson. Instead history is brought out naturally as the characters talk, react to each other, and generally go about their daily living. Concerns over Osama, the Taliban, President Karzai all surface especially after the terror attack in New York and Washington...The story is captivating and will hold any readers’ interest." Full review is here.

The review was written by Frank Hodge, owner of Hodge-Podge Books in Albany, NY, a locally beloved and nationally recognized supporter of children’s literature. Over the years Frank has been awarded the Celebrate Literacy Award of the International Reading Association,The Friend to Reading Award by the New York State Reading Association; The Fellows Award of the New York State English Council, and his bookstore was nominated for the Bookseller of the Year Award presented by the American Booksellers Association.

Sadly, Hodge Podge Books closed this past year, after 27 years in operation -- a victim of tough economic times. But Frank is running the store on-line and reviewing books. Over the years Frank introduced his passion for books to generations of children and knew the authors of almost every book he was asked about, as in "knew them personally." He considers many of them good friends and he's brought them into local schools and introduced them, or their work to thousands of Capital Region kids, and continues to do so.

Celebristory Update

2010-02-25T15:31:00.000-08:00

John Grisham's first novel, A Time to Kill, was inspired by the actual testimony of a twelve year old rape victim at the De Soto County Courthouse. The novel was rejected by a number of publishers before finally being picked up for a modest advance. The film rights for A Time to Kill eventually sold for a reported six million dollars.

John Grisham has now joined the ranks of children's author. Penguin Young Readers Group in the U.S. and Hodder & Stoughton in the U.K. announced today that they will be publishing a middle-grade series that focus on 13-year-old Theodore Boone, a legal whiz kid. In the first book, THEODORE BOONE: KID LAWYER. Theo gets caught up in a high-profile murder trial in his town. Personally, I've really enjoyed Grisham's stories, though I found that his later work tended to beome a little formulaic. I hope his children's books are not the same, with just the protagonist's age being changed to 13 instead of 40.

Theo is scheduled to be released by Dutton Children's Books on May 25, and on June 10 by Hodder in the U.K. The second book, as yet untitled, is scheduled for release in 2011.

Protect your IP

2010-02-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

E-mail is copyrighted as soon as it is sent or saved.

All the talk of Google and copyright infringement got me thinking about a worry many writers have -- Will our work be stolen? As an intellectual property (IP) consultant, we usually don't do a lot of copyright work -- mainly patents and trademarks. As an author, who's created a piece of IP in the form of a book, I knew that my work was protected once I wrote it down. So copyright protection for a work begins when the work is fixed in some sort of "tangible form." This included writing, typing to paper, and saving it on a computer, but here it is in detail, courtesy of SFWA:

According to the Berne Convention (the international source for copyright law), an original expression is protected by copyright as soon as it is fixed in tangible form. In other words, the moment the words leave your brain and land on paper or the computer screen, you’re protected, and no further action–including registration–is required. The term of copyright guaranteed by Berne is the lifetime of the creator plus 50 years.

Specific copyright laws vary among the more than 90 countries that are signatory to Berne. In the USA, for instance, copyright applies to economic rights only, and the moral rights provisions enacted in other nations, intended to help protect the personality and reputation of the author, don’t exist. Many countries have also extended the term of copyright–in the USA and much of Europe, the term is the creator’s lifetime plus 70 years.

Berne ensures copyright protection without requiring any formalities (such as copyright registration) as a prerequisite to bringing an infringement suit. As a result, most countries have no formal copyright registration process. If you’re a US or Canadian writer, do you need to register? If you’re submitting book-length work to literary agents or publishers, the answer is no. Registration confers no additional copyright protection; all it does is give you legal standing to sue for infringement. But infringement is not something you need to worry about at the submission stage. Theft of unpublished work is so rare as to be functionally nonexistent.

In the USA, there are a number of online services that will register copyright for you with the US Copyright Office, for a fee. You can even purchase software that provides you with addresses and copyright forms. Don’t waste your money–it isn’t difficult to register copyright yourself, and it will cost you a good deal less than the services (currently, registration costs between $35 and $65, depending on whether you register online or on paper). For freelancers and others wanting to register more than one piece, the US Copyright Office offers a multiple-registration option.
So don't worry... your work in protected!

Celebristories

2010-02-22T23:58:00.000-08:00

The latest celebrily entrant into children's writing is Tori Spelling with PRESENTING TALLULAH. She is the latest addition to a string of celebrities turning their hand to writing - From Madonna to Kylie, John Travolta, Bill Cosby, Julie Andrews, Jay Leno and Whoopi Goldberg, A-list actors, comics and singers are reinventing themselves as children's authors.

Celebs writing children's book is in itself not new. Shirley Temple wrote a series of books1930s, and Elizabeth Taylor wrote NIBBLES AND ME in her teens about a pet squirrel. In the 50s, Broadway star Kay Thompson wrote ELOISE, about a little girl who lives in New York's Plaza hotel. Even politicians like President Jimmy Carter wrote THE LITTLE BABY SNOOGLE-FLEEJER, a story about a disabled boy who is befriended by a monster known as, yes, a snoogle-fleejer.

Some efforts are quite good, but others... not so much. As Anita Silvey, author of 100 BEST BOOKS FOR CHILDREN puts it: "Celebrity books are one of the great negative features of children's publishing in the 21st century. If I were still a publisher, as I used to be, none of these manuscripts would make it past my slush pile." Okay, maybe that's a bit harsh, but many children's authors, those who've burned the midnight oil, put in endless hours and struggled through the traumas of getting published, feel a tad bit resentful that celebrities get glittering book deals based seemingly on their name alone. Esteemed writer, Jane Yolen bemoans the fact that celebrity children's books command large advances, get lots of publicity and generally muscle the smaller authors out of bookshelf space at your local shop.It seems as if being famous can give you the leg up for anything, even getting a lucrative book contract.

Well, can we blame publishers? At the end of the day they are in the business of selling books to make the bottom line, keep their jobs and their shareholders happy. If they have a product by a well known name, they are guaranteed sales (for the most part). Madonna's THE ENGLISH ROSES instantly became the biggest and fastest selling book ever by a first-time children's author. The book debuted at number one on the New York Times Bestsellers List for children's picture books in 2003 and remained there for eighteen weeks. Combined, Madonna's first three children's books have sold over one and a half million copies worldwide.

So maybe we shouldn't blame the celebrities or the publishers but consumers - they're the ones buying them.

Judge Chin Put Off

2010-02-19T10:39:00.000-08:00

The Google search engine receives about a billion search requests per day

Over the past few months I've been watching the Google Books brouhaha over their digital book settlement to create the world's largest on-line library. At the center of the fray sits U.S.District Judge Denny Chin, who said during Thursday's hearing, that he did not know when he would issue a ruling on the proposed settlement, which has already been revised once to satisfy concerns raised by the Justice Department. Chin said he had received volumes of comments from the public that merited careful consideration.

As an writer with a published work coming out soon, and a someone who's grown up in Silicon Valley and reviews technology and innovation for a living, I'm stuck in the middle -- I believe an author's works should be protected, while I love the fact that books live on via technologocial advances, like Google Books, on-line.

During a marathon hearing before Judge Chin, lawyers representing the Justice Department, children's book authors, privacy advocates and business competitors said Google's agreement with some authors and publishers should be rejected because it would violate copyright laws. The opponents also argued that the $125 million settlement -- which would allow Google to scan and publish millions of out-of-print titles -- could give the company an unfair edge over other online publishers in the nascent but exploding market for digital books.

While Judge Chin did not offer clear guidance into his thinking during the hearing, several lawyers said subtle clues could be drawn from his questions. The sometimes impatient judge took many notes and asked lawyers for Google and its settlement partners -- the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers -- about a controversial portion of the settlement that would automatically include the holders of rights to titles unless they voluntarily opt out of the program.

The judge also asked about so-called orphan works, whose authors and rights holders can't be found. Google and its critics have sparred over how many books fall into that category, with estimates from a few million to tens of millions of titles. Google has said it would try to find rights holders of these works, but critics say the deal is designed to give Google exclusive rights to these works and protect it from lawsuits from rights holders.

So, now we wait and see what judge Chin has to say...

Donkbrary

2010-02-16T14:58:00.000-08:00

The smallest member of the horse family, donkeys have become the "all-terrain vehicle" of the horse kingdom.

For the past ten years, Luis Soriano, a teacher in the small town of La Gloria, Colombia, has been following the same ritual. Every week-end, he gathers his donkey in front of his house, straps on the “Biblioburro” pouches to its back, and loads them with a selection of books from the eclectic collection he has acquired over the years. Soriano began loaning books from a stash of 70; now his collection consists of more than 4,800 titles. “This began as a necessity; then it became an obligation; and after that a custom,” he explained in an interview with The New York Times. “Now, it is an institution.”

Off on his mobile library, he travels into the hills and through the fields to the villages beyond where children await his visits impatiently. He firmly believes that bringing books to people who don’t have access to them can improve the country and open up possibilities for the future generation of Colombia.

Kirkus - Alive and Well

2010-02-11T10:26:00.000-08:00

Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome - Jimi Hendrix

Herb Simon, Chairman emeritus of Simon Property Group, owner of the Indiana Pacers and a co-owner of Tecolote Books in Montecito, CA, has purchased Kirkus Reviews. Chief executive of Calendar Holdings and the other partner in that bookstore (as well as former Barnes & Noble employee) Marc Winkelman will be ceo of the new Kirkus Media and hold a small stake in the operation, with Elaine Szewczyk and Eric Liebetrau remaining in their leadership roles. He indicated to the NYT that "the company would continue to publish Kirkus as a print magazine while beefing up its digital offerings. He said he planned no immediate changes to the print edition, but hoped to make improvements over time.

MobiStories

2010-02-09T21:30:00.000-08:00

In 1919, the Macmillan Publishing Company hired the first children's book editor in the United States - eHow

Move over ebooks, enter Mobi Stories by Still Motion Media. They take existing children's picture books and repurpose them for the digital screen. Their books are professionally narrated, have sound effects and original music, kind of like a a mashup of eBooks and audio books with a dash of cartoons to create children's picture books. It is viewable on iPhones, iPods, computers or other digital devices that play audio or video.

Feel the Love

2010-02-07T23:21:00.000-08:00

In honor of Valentines Day, the Class of 2k10 is giving away signed copies of THE SECRET YEAR by Jennifer R. Hubbard, LEAVING GEE’S BEND by Irene Latham and ISLAND STING by Bonnie J. Doerr and other good stuff.

To enter, give a shout-out to someone you love – maybe the librarian who first showed you where to find the good books, a teacher who encouraged you to write, or a fictional character who got your through a tough time.Contest ends midnight February 14. Open to US/CANADA residents only. Must be at least 13 years old to enter. Winner announced February 15. Good Luck!

To enter go to:

http://community.livejournal.com/classof2k10/6516.html

Unwanted Phone Call

2010-02-05T00:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I picked up the phone and got news you never want to hear. I learned that my good friend Victor had passed away. I had known him nearly two decades and he was like a brother to me. He was there through good times, tough times, birthdays, graduations and my wedding. Although we weren’t in touch as much as I’d like over the last few years, he was often in my thoughts. He was one of the smartest guys I knew – after college he went on to be Vice President of one of the most esteemed financial institutions in the country, one of the youngest to ever hold such a position. But he won’t be remembered for his academic and professional successes - it may sound like a cliché, but he had a heart of gold. No matter how busy he was, if you needed him, he would be on the first flight over. Victor left behind a network of friends that extends across the globe – we remember him for his humbleness, generosity, sense of humor, humanity, charitable giving and that funny laugh that no matter how bad the joke, got everyone laughing.

If you have a friend, someone you think of and haven't talked to in a while, pick up the phone, schedule lunch, have a drink. Catch up, laugh, enjoy each others company. Victor, you will be missed.

At every instant and from every side, resounds the call of Love:

We are going to sky, who wants to come with us?

We have gone to heaven, we have been the friends of the angels,

And now we will go back there, for there is our country.

We are higher than heaven, more noble than the angels:

Why not go beyond them? Our goal is the Supreme Majesty.

What has the fine pearl to do with the world of dust?

Why have you come down here? Take your baggage back. What is this place?

Luck is with us, to us is the sacrifice!...

Like the birds of the sea, men come from the ocean--the ocean of the soul.

How could this bird, born from that sea, make his dwelling here?

No, we are the pearls from the bosom of the sea, it is there that we dwell:

Otherwise how could the wave succeed to the wave that comes from the soul?

The wave named 'Am I not your Lord' has come, it has broken the vessel of the body;

And when the vessel is broken, the vision comes back, and the union with Him.

-- Rumi

Keep Your Day Job

2010-02-02T23:35:00.000-08:00

Writing is the hardest way of earning a living, with the possible exception of wrestling alligators - Monica Ali

A friend of mine teaches middle school and one of her students, an aspiring author, wanted to interview a writer for a paper. Of course, I said yes… moments later I had thoughts of… Egad… she wants ADVICE? From me? I don’t even know what a dangling participle or a preposition is (really, my critique group had to tell me)

Well she rang me a few days later and we sat down to chat. We covered the usual things – where did I grow up (San Francisco, Saudi Arabia, London), when did I want to be a writer (age eleven), who were my literary influences (innumerable), so on and so forth. Then she asked me what I had studied in college. I told her accounting. She paused, a bit confused. (I could tell she was expecting me to say English, creative writing or literature)

Uh, why? Didn’t you want to be a writer?

I told her yes, I did, but I was also passionate about new technologies and products, and the reality of it was that a job in the business field actually gave you a dependable paycheck. On the end of the line I heard dead silence… I could hear dreams shattering. I felt terrible. I softened my approach and told her the realities of becoming a published author – the statistics on actually finishing a novel (a novel that is well written and the material is hot for the current market), landing an agent, AND getting a deal with the publisher are pretty miniscule. AND, if you do all that, as a debut author you will probably not make enough to pay your bills.

Sad… but true. There are very few JK Rowling, Stephanie Meyers and other overnight phenomenas out there – many of these writers, we later learn, also paid their dues and built successful writing careers, one book at a time, over many years. So, I told her, you could one day become an amazing, successful author who does manage to do it for a living, but it will take time – so get a day job in something else you feel passionate about. This is what Tamora Pierce told me - it took her a couple of years before she gave up her day job and wrote full time.

I told the student that her day job could still be in the field of writing – she could go into publishing, technical writing, or maybe even become a librarian. But honestly, I told her go to college and pursue a career in something else. I don’t know if I convinced her or not, but she said that that made sense. I told her that the majority of writers I know have a day job. Some make a decision that writing is all they will do, and that’s okay, but usually there is a spouse working or a trust fund involved. Writing, first and foremost (for me anyway) is about personal fulfillment. If it turns out that you become published and your book does well, that is the icing on the cake. And then, if you can write full time, that is truly awesome.

Hearing Books

2010-01-30T17:48:00.000-08:00

The UNESCO Convention for the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage was adopted in Paris on November 16, 1972. By signing the Convention, 187 nations pledged to protect World Heritage Sites and their own national heritage.

Twenty-eight audio books for visually impaired children were released by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) office in Beirut and Al-Hadi Foundation for Audio, Visual, and Language and Communication Disorders. The project was part of the Beirut World Book Capital 2009 and consisted of children’s stories registered on CDs and accompanied by sound effects. It is the second of its kind, as last year about 50 similar books were published all over Lebanon.

The representative of UNESCO, Suleiman Suleiman, stressed the importance of book stores in spreading information and added that UNESCO has always been ready to support member states in developing cultural programs. The project was especially important because not only did it provide information to the visually impaired but also helped them get integrated in their society.

Inkpop

2010-01-27T00:05:00.000-08:00

Since its soft launch in 4th quarter 2009, inkpop already has more than 10,000 members and nearly 11,000 submissions, including novels, poems, essays, and short stories. The visitors are teens ages 13 and older, from 109 different countries and territories.

Boy, I wish I had this when I was a teen...

I started my first novel in Mrs. Cochran's Novel Writing Club, back in middle school. The only resources we had at our disposal (remember, we were living out in the middle of the desert in Saudi Arabia) was Strunk & Whites ELEMENTS OF STYLE, a prodigous school library, our teachers and our imagination for ideas. Now look at the resources available to young writers fingertips...

Inkpop, from HarperCollins Publisher's teen publishing unit, is a platform aimed at young readers and writers. It's a a combination of community publishing features, user-generated content, and social networking elements. There are thousands of young writers out there (Christopher Paolini wrote Eragon at fifteen) who now have the opportunity to showcase their work.

The launch of inkpop continues Harper Collins overall digital strategy designed to build and expand its direct-to-consumer business. Inkpop will be the anchor of HarperCollins's ongoing teen strategy, enabling the company to have a continuous dialogue directly with its audience to determine what the community cares about, as well as an unfiltered look at what's in and what's out.

Finding Community

2010-01-25T00:22:00.000-08:00

The writing profession is reeking with this loneliness. All our lives we spend in discoursing with ourselves. . . . The loneliest people in the world we writers are. Except that, while we are conversing and laughing with ourselves, we manage to shed our loneliness . . . to scatter it as we go along - Fred Hobson

When I got serious about writing, that I was going to sit down and complete an entire book, no matter how painful, I realized that I needed, no craved, the company of other writers. I wanted to know how they had scrapped together their determination, got serious and well, written a book. The first thing I did was go to Google – always dependable, honest, and factual. On-line I found an amazing array of resources for writers. In particular I found Verla Kay’s Blue Board, an amazing waterhole for writers at all stages of their careers. It’s a place where people share information, commiserate, talk about publishers, agents, the writing process, good news and bad. There are many sites that offer this sense of community – She Writes, Goodreads, Jacketflap, SCBWI, Redroom and others. The information I’ve learned over the years from other writers has been invaluable – it’s guided me in choosing my agent, researching publishers, understanding contracts and innumerable other things. So if you’re feeling a little lonely, writing away in your corner, jump on the information super highway and find some friends.

Publishing A'mazoning

2010-01-22T13:29:00.000-08:00

Kindle Currently has 90% of ebook Market - TBI Research

Amazon is launching a new "70% royalty option" for the Kindle. Under this option, Amazon will pay authors and publishers a royalty of 70% of the list price of Kindle books, which is a far higher per-copy royalty than most authors receive on physical book sales (including the standard Kindle book royalties).

This new plan will encourage more authors to "go direct" to Amazon (or at least force their publishers to sell ebooks at a substantial discount). This, in turn, will increase the pressure on traditional publishers to cut prices on wholesale Kindle books. And that, in turn, will transform the Kindle business from a big money-loser into a very profitable business for Amazon.

The traditional publishing industry feels that cuts in ebook prices will wipe out what little margin the publishers have left, thus preventing publishers from paying authors big advances and, thus result in fewer good books being published. But, as ebook prices drop, unit velocity will increase, leading to higher revenues. So this is where the book industry is headed, whether traditional publishers want it to or not. Amazon's new plan should help shorten the time it takes to get there. The plan should also solidify Amazon's already tremendous dominance of the ebook business.

Publishers with Heart

2010-01-20T10:20:00.000-08:00

Just in from Publishers Lunch: Publishers Donate to Haiti

On Friday Random House, Inc. announced a $100,000 corporate contribution to be shared by the American Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund and Haitian health-care provider Partners in Health (led by Paul Farmer, the subject of Tracy Kidder's MOUNTAINS BEYOND MOUNTAINS). The publisher told employees they will match their donations, dollar for dollar up to $1,000, to any tax-qualifying Haitian earthquake relief organization until June 1.

Parent company Bertelsmann has also announced a 100,000-euro donation to children's relief organization Plan International.

In a different type of relief effort, Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur division is providing free downloads of their Haitian Creole language program, in cooperation with major resellers, through March 31, "in an effort to support volunteers aiding the millions of people affected" by the earthquake.

Bibliotherapy

2010-01-19T23:41:00.000-08:00

Main Entry: bib•lio•ther•a•py
Pronunciation: \ˌbi-blē-ə-ˈther-ə-pē, -ˈthe-rə-\
Function: noun
Date: 1919
: the use of reading materials for help in solving personal problems or for psychiatric therapy; also : the reading materials so used
Merriam-Webster Dictionary

How do you take a child away from a life disrupted by war, civil disorder or natural disaster? Physically, it may be impossible, but you can transport their mind to another destination, another world filled with adventure, drama, security and hope. The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) sends books to such children – their fund promotes the therapeutic use of books and storytelling in the form of bibliotherapy, and the creation or replacement of collections of selected books that are appropriate to the situation. Their hope is that they not only provide immediate support and help, but also make a long term impact in the communities. IBBY’s goal is to give every child the Right to Become a Reader. Hear Hear.

Global Peace & Civil Rights

2010-01-18T10:48:00.000-08:00

The bombs in Vietnam explode at home; they destroy the hopes and possibilities for a decent America - Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967

Martin Luther King Jr. brought visionary change to our country and his extraordinary efforts and sacrifices helped lead us to a day when we see an accomplished, educated and charismatic African-American president elected to the White House.

However, few people remember that Dr. King was in staunch opposition to the war in Vietnam, which was waged in the “national interest,” as are the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan today. For him, peace and civil rights went hand in hand. People asked why he was raising the ire of the US goverment by oppossing the Vietnam war and how that could derail his efforts for civil rights -- but for him it was a moral obligaion to fight injustive everywhere he saw it. In his own words, spoken April 4, 1967 "Beyond Vietnam: A time to Break Silence".

"Over the past two years, as I have moved to break the betrayal of my own silences and to speak from the burnings of my own heart, as I have called for radical departures from the destruction of Vietnam, many persons have questioned me about the wisdom of my path. At the heart of their concerns this query has often loomed large and loud: Why are you speaking about war, Dr. King? Why are you joining the voices of dissent? Peace and civil rights don't mix, they say. Aren't you hurting the cause of your people, they ask? And when I hear them, though I often understand the source of their concern, I am nevertheless greatly saddened, for such questions mean that the inquirers have not really known me, my commitment or my calling. Indeed, their questions suggest that they do not know the world in which they live."

Help Haiti

2010-01-14T11:31:00.000-08:00

On October 17, 1989, I was frantically calling San Francisco from London. For twenty-four hours I dialed my parent's number and couldn't get through -- The Loma Prieta earthquake, 6.9 on the richter scale, had hit, and telephone lines were down, or jammed. Those hours were distressing beyond belief -- and now, as I watch the destruction in Haiti I can empathize, at least a tiny bit. San Francisco was built to withstand the next 'great one'. Haiti, poor and improvished, is facing the full brunt of the catastrophe. I'm sure you've seen calls for help, so let me chime in. Help if you can!

Partners in Health
In an urgent email from Port-au-Prince, Louise Ivers, Partners in Health clinical director in Haiti, appealed for assistance from her colleagues in the Central Plateau: "Port-au-Prince is devastated, lot of deaths. SOS. SOS... Temporary field hospital by us at UNDP needs supplies, pain meds, bandages. Please help us."

Founded by Dr. Paul Farmer, this nonprofit health delivery program has served Haiti’s poor since 1987. To donate for earthquake relief, go to:

https://donate.pih.org/page/contribute/haiti_earthquake?source=earthquake&subsource=homepage

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
Doctors Without Borders was working in Haiti prior to the quake with a staff of 800. Here is a report on January 13, 2009 with a link to their donation page.

http://doctorswithoutborders.org/news/article.cfm?id=4148&cat=field-news

Haiti Action
Haiti’s grassroots movement – including labor unions, women’s groups, educators, human rights activists, support committees for prisoners and agricultural cooperatives – will attempt to funnel needed aid to those most hit by the earthquake. Grassroots organizers are doing what they can with the most limited of funds to make a difference.

http://www.haitiaction.net/About/HERF/1_1210.html

Grassroots International
Long time Food First partner Grassroots International has a long history of working with organizations on the ground in Haiti. Grassroots has committed to the extent possible to, “provide cash to our partners to make local purchases of the items they most need and to obtain food from farmers not hit by the disaster.”

http://www.grassrootsonline.org/news/blog/all-hands-responding-haiti-emergency

Survival of the Fittest

2010-01-13T23:43:00.000-08:00

It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change – Charles Darwin

When talking of changing publishing paradigms I mentioned independent booksellers and how the rapidly morphing publishing industry is affecting their business. I ran across a very interesting article, Evolve or Die: Why Reinvent Independent Bookstores? by Praveen Madan and Christin Evans, proprietors of the Booksmith in San Francisco. He relays some sobering statistics:

In 1993, the American Booksellers Association (ABA) had 4,700 member stores. By the start of 2009, the number had fallen to 1,600. We are seeing an average of about 200 independent bookstores close every year.

In order to compete in the new age of publishing, Indies need to evolve, as Darwin states, to survive with the times, or go extinct. Indies must struggle with key questions as they look to the future -- What business are they in? Who are their customers? and What are they competing for? Many indies are stuck in a time warp – quaint, dusty, technologically stagnant shops that haven’t changed much in decades (many, sadly to say have not utilized the internet wisely). While Indies have become frozen in time, consumer tastes, market realities and the competition have been marching on at warp speed.

Praveen and Christin are hopeful though – they feel that this is this is a time of great opportunity for Indies, in five key areas: Building literary communities and providing author services for writers; Enhancing the browsing experience of customers; Making print on demand books available; and by Tapping into new markets since only ½ of adult Americans read, that’s half the market left! So for Indies, Carpe Diem – do or die!

Changing Publishing Paradigms

2010-01-11T00:24:00.000-08:00

U.S. publishers had net sales of $24.3 billion in 2008, down from $25.0 billion in 2007, representing a 2.8% decrease. Association of American Publishers (AAP)

I tend to keep my “other” work life separate from my writing life, but increasingly, I’ve find the two coming together. I live and work in Silicon Valley, surrounded by technology. During the day I look at patents, inventions and technologies covering a huge array of industries – Increasingly I’m watching how technological innovation is bumping up against traditional publishing.

Ten years ago, there was no Google, no iPod, Kindle, Fastpencil or Smashwords -- Amazon had only been in business for 5 years. A lot has happened in the last decade that is compelling the publishing industry to take a look at traditional ways of doing business in an increasingly digital age.

Technology today, more than ever, has a disruptive impact on publishing. The Internet, print-on-demand and ebooks are some drivers for change. They impact multiple points of the publishing value chain—from the way books are published (authors can go direct to the reader), distributed (electronic marketplaces), sold (e-tailers) and read (ebooks). This is an interesting trend where technology is enabling increased number of books, but fewer bookstores – Independent Booksellers are in trouble, as are the big guys (Borders closing UK stores)

There have been massive lay-offs at major publishing houses, including my own, Simon & Schuster. S&S recently reduced its sales force, and I was sad to see our field rep in California, to Independent Booksellers, let go. Even book reviewers are facing extinction, such as Kirkus, which nearly hit the chopping block. But this is the world we live in – change is needed for survival. Many have prophesized the end of the printed book, but I don’t know – I own a kindle, but I still love to pick up a paper book, crack it open and inhale the fresh paper smell. Let’s see what the future brings…

More Debuts

2010-01-07T23:01:00.000-08:00

Three other debut novels are coming out this week from fellow 2k10 authors.

ISLAND STING, by Bonnie J. Doerr
Kenzie didn't realize her first summer in the Florida Keys would be murder.Cute guys, awesome boats, endangered species, gun-toting thugs. Angelo's wild world rocked hers.

THE SECRET YEAR by Jennifer R. Hubbard

After his secret girlfriend’s death, seventeen-year-old Colt finds the notebook she left behind, but he is unprepared for the truths he discovers about their intense relationship.

LEAVING GEE'S BEND by Irene Latham

Leaving Gee’s Bend is historical midgrade in which a ten year old girl during the Great Depression sets out to save her sick mother and records her adventures in quilt pieces.

Kirkus LIVES (well, maybe)

2010-01-06T20:30:00.000-08:00

Death is a very dull, dreary affair, and my advice to you is to have nothing whatsoever to do with it -- W. Somerset Maugham

Kirkus's death may have been greatly exaggerated as the latest news comes in...

At the end of 2009 it was annouced that Nielsen Business Media would shut down the venerable Kirkus Reviews. Just a few days into 2010, the news is much more positive -- Kirkus Reviews will continue publication for the foreseeable future.

According to an internal memo obtained by DailyFinance, Kirkus managing editor Eric Liebetrau says "there is a buyer in the works" and until the deal closes by the end of this month, the magazine will "resume business as usual under the Nielsen umbrella."

So let's see if the reviewers at Kirkus keeps authors awake at night...!

FREAKSVILLE Launches!

2010-01-05T10:55:00.000-08:00

Fellow debut author Kitty Keswick's book, FREAKSVILLE, comes out this week.

Here's a little blurb about the book:

A group of teenagers, trapped in a haunted theater on the night of a full moon, find out that ghosts are the least of their worries…

Every woman in the Maxwell family has the gift of sight. A talent sixteen-year-old Kasey would gladly give up. All she wants is a nrmal life. Shopping and talking about boys with her best friend and long-time sidekick, Gillie Godshall, consume her days. Until Kasey has a vision about Josh Johnstone, the foreign exchange student from England. The vision leads her into new realms, a lead in a play, a haunted theater ... and into the arms of Josh. Yet, both Kasey and Josh have secrets lurking in dark corners. Can Kasey’s new romance survive FREAKSVILLE?

If you enjoy awesome paranormal books, check it out!

Happy Holidays and 2010

2009-12-27T10:39:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays to everyone -- I hope you recieved what you wanted, both in goods, well wishes, inspiration, good will and love. Here's to a bright 2010, which brings to all good health, success and a healthy measure of fun.

Books for Charity

2009-12-21T22:22:00.000-08:00

In August of 2009, 86% of fundraisers at charitable organizations surveyed said that the economy was having a negative or very negative impact on their fundraising abilities.

It's the holiday season! Think of giving.... books of course... charities that giveaway books? Even better.

I stumbled across this ad for the the The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation. The organization was established to address the underfunding of Canadian school libraries and the literacy crisis. Love of Reading provides grants for the purchase of new books and education resources to high-needs elementary schools.

And boy, the ad is REALLY cute.

Burka Barbie

2009-12-18T15:11:00.000-08:00

Barbie has had more than 80 careers -- everything from a rock star to a paleontologist to a presidential candidate.

A friend forwarded me a recent article – Muslim Wold: Barbie’s 50th Anniversary Islamic Makeover. According to the article:

“Wearing the traditional Islamic dress with a mesh eyehole, she went under the hammer along with 500 other Barbie dolls dressed in unique outfits at an auction in Florence, Italy, at the renowned auction house Sotheby’s to raise funds for Save the Children. The auction, held in late November, was part of the celebrations put on for Barbie this year as she celebrated her 50th anniversary. In her new look, Barbie also appeared in a line of stylish turquoise, lime-green, orange-colored burkas and regular head-covering Muslim veil, known as hijab. The set of multicultural Barbies, including the burka-clad one, was dressed by the Italian designer Eliana Lorena in a project backed by Barbie's owner, Mattel.“

I paused to collect my thoughts – so many were running through my brain – both about Barbies and Burkas. Barbie is actually a central character in my novel, SHOOTING KABUL. She is the beloved doll of Mariam, my protagonist, Fadi’s, younger sister. Mariam, like me, grew up playing with Barbie, impervious to all the body image controversies she is associated with. Part of the fun was dressing her up. Now the burka -- The whole subject of women covering is a loaded issue – it is seen as a sign of oppression, especially by those in the west. (Though on the counter side, Naomi Wolf would argue that women in the West are oppressed by body images as well – it isn’t easy being told you need to be a size zero and in a bikini.) But for me, at the end of the day, it is about CHOICE. Plain and simple. Women should have a choice to do what they want with their bodies – cover it up or wear a bikini. If Barbie wants to wear a bikini, she should, and if she feels the need to conserve her modesty, the burka should be her choice of fashion.

Of course, the auction drew controversy – sigh, wasn’t that expected?

Pro: Fan Angela Ellis, who has a collection of more than 250 Barbie dolls, thought it was a good idea to introduce a veiled Barbie. That way, children living in conservative Islamic countries would have a doll they could identify with. “Bring it on, Burka Barbie," Britain’s the Sun newspaper quoted her as saying. "This is really important for girls, wherever they are from, they should have the opportunity to play with a Barbie that they feel represents them.”

Con: Critics such as Barbara Kay in Canada slammed Barbie’s Muslim dress as a “symbol of oppression” and ripped Ellis’ commentary in an article recently published in Canada’s the National Post newspaper.

Barbie’s choice is at issue, and at the end of the day, she should be able to wear whatever she wants to…. Oh, and Happy Birthday.

Final Week of 2K9 Grad Contest!

2009-12-15T15:20:00.000-08:00

It’s the Final Week to Celebrate the Graduation of the Class of 2K9!
(And the final chance for you to win one of their great books in the 2K10 giveaway!)

WATERSMEET by Ellen Jensen Abbott
SHRINKING VIOLET by Danielle Joseph
CRASH INTO ME by Albert Borris
INITIATION by Susan Fine
GIVE UP THE GHOST by Megan Crewe
MY INVENTED LIFE by Lauren Bjorkman
NOTHING LIKE YOU by Lauren Strasnic
DREAMING ANASTASIA by Joy Preble

Contest Rules: For a chance to win one of the featured books, post a comment at the end of this blog:
http://community.livejournal.com/classof2k10/2516.html

(please include an email address so we can contact you for a mailing address, or check back next week for winners). To enter multiple times, simply tweet, blog, or Facebook about this post, and include a link in your comment. Winners will be chosen at random. You must be at least 13 to enter. The contest will be open until midnight Saturday. Winners will be announced one week from today.

Good luck!

Pencil to Paper

2009-12-14T14:59:00.000-08:00

Pencils didn't have erasers on them until 100 years ago because teachers felt they would encourage children to make mistakes.

Ask a writer when they started writing and most will pause a moment, slightly confused and cross eyed. You can see their mind whir and churn, travelling back to the moment they were compelled to pick up a pencil and put it to paper– it could have been a poem, an essay, a story, or diary entry. For the most part, most writers have, well, written, since they were kids. Once my elementary school librarian, Mrs. Hackworth, introduced me to reading, I was addicted to the written word, and soon after I was also writing shorts stories and poetry. We were lucky to have a writing competition at our school, Jubail Academy, and over the years I won quite a few of the prizes. In the 9th grade, our language arts teachers, Mrs. Cochrane started a novel writing club and six eager students (including moi) struggled with our literary masterpieces. It taught us that if we were organized and perseverant, we could actually write a book.

Many writers have a folded stapled sheaf of dog-eared pages – their first book, lying around somewhere. I wrote mine in the 3rd grade and it is titled “The Home Work Machine”, accompanied by crayon illustrations. Thankfully, I realized early on that drawing was not my strong suite. So the writing bug catches early, and for many it is an affliction of a lifetime. Unfortunately (or fortunately) there is no known cure…

Bell Tolls for Kirkus

2009-12-10T14:22:00.000-08:00

Asking a writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamp post how it feels about dogs - Ann Landers

Reviews... the word sends a chill down an author's spine (okay, I exaggerate a little) We authors, no matter how nonchalant, can't help but notice what others are saying about our book. You can ignore most, but it's hard to ignore professional reviews that appear in the media -- they have the power to affect book sales and perhaps, even your career as a writer. Interestingly, a paper titled "Is Any Publicity Good Publicity? A Note On the Impact of Book Reviews", by Alan T. Sorensen, a business school professor at Stanford university, shed some light on the topic.

The paper used detailed weekly data on sales of hardcover fiction books to evaluate the impact of New York Times book reviews on sales. In order to weigh the relative propensity of reviews to inform and to persuade, the analysis utilized a measure of review opinion obtained through a systematic reading of each review. The estimates indicated that in the case of bookreviews, any publicity is good publicity: even negative reviews lead to increases in sales.These findings were interpreted as evidence that book reviews serve largely to inform consumers about books’ content and characteristics (including the books’ existence). However, positive reviews can have a larger impact on sales than negative reviews, suggesting that reviews also have a persuasive effect.

So, there we have it -- reviews, good or bad can help boost sales! So it is with great sadness that I note that one of the venerable reviewers in the book industry, Kikus, is shutting down. Founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus, it is currently scheduled to cease publication at the end of calendar year 2009. Both, Editor & Publisher and Kirkus Reviews, two venerable chronicles of the newspaper and book publishing industries, are closing as their owner, Nielsen Business Media, gets out of the trade publication business.

Contest Continues!

2009-12-08T21:45:00.000-08:00

The Class of 2K10 continues it graduation party for the Class of 2K9 by givng away another round of books:

OPERATION REDWOOD by S. Terrell French
WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS by Fran Cannon Slayton
ROAD TO TATER HILL by Edith M. Hemingway
HAVEN by Beverly Patt
FREAKED by J.T. Dutton
MY BIG NOSE AND OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS by Sydney Salter
BREATHING by Cheryl Renée Herbsman

The contest will be open until midnight Saturday, December 12 and winners will be announced about one week from today. For a chance to win one of the featured books, post a comment at the the 2K10 Blog --

http://community.livejournal.com/classof2k10/.

Please include an email address so we can contact you for a mailing address. To enter multiple times, simply tweet, blog, or Facebook about this post, and include a link in your comment. Winners will be chosen at random. You must be at least 13 to enter. The contest will be open until midnight Saturday, December 12. Winners will be announced about one week from today.

ARCs Have Landed

2009-12-05T23:47:00.000-08:00

The largest publisher in the United States is The U. S. Government Printing Office.

Yesterday was a momentous day for me -- my ARCs, or advance reader copies, of SHOOTING KABUL showed up in the mail. With my heart hammerring in the vicinity of my throat, I opened the box and pulled out a copy. Words really can't describe how amazing it is to see your mss in book format... so I won't used any. I'll let a picture show instead.

Making Librarians Cry

2009-12-02T15:43:00.000-08:00

Library, Here is where people, One frequently finds, Lower their voices, And raise their minds — Light Armour McGraw-Hill, 1954, Richard Armour

Souce: Cartoonspeedbump.com

I confess – in the last few months, I've made my school librarians cry. But let me back up and explain -- the back-story, so to speak.

Growing up in Saudi Arabia, part of an international expat community, our school, Jubail Academy was the center of our childhood universe. It was more than just a school – it was where we had our boy/girl scout meetings, sporting events, photo-club meetings, reading challenges, knowledge bowl sessions…. You get the picture. It was a beehive of activity, one supported and encouraged by the wonderful teachers and staff. A hub within the school was the two libraries, one serving the elementary school, the other junior high (the more racy stuff was on the junior high side – sweet valley high anyone?)

I, as Neil Gaiman said in his Newberry acceptance speech, was also a “feral child raised among the stacks.” I lived in the library, before and after school and during lunch. Although libraries are not child care facilities (and Neil says) our librarians were nurturing beings – always there with a smile, encouragement and good advice. Mrs. Hackworth, the librarian on the elementary side, taught me the mysteries of the Dewey Decimal system and let me help catalog books. It was here I discovered Roald Dahl, Beverley Cleary and Judy Blume. Mrs. Murray manned the junior high section and introduced me to books I would never have picked up on my own. She helped me do research for projects and questioned me when I needed questioning. Both embedded in me the passion for the written word and set me on the path to becoming a writer.

I met Mrs. Murray again at our Jubail Academy reunion, held this past summer in San Francisco. Her husband had been my algebra teacher and when I told them I’d written a children’s book and dedicated it to her, she cried. I didn’t mean for her to, it just happened. I later emailed Mrs. Hackworth a copy of the manuscript and told her she too was in my dedication. These past few days she read the book out loud to her husband, who was my reading teacher in the 5th grade. Her email mentioned how she took “emotion breaks” while reading – one of the greatest compliments a writer can receive. So thank you both for being the best librarians we could have.

Librarians are amazing – go hug yours today.

Contestants, Rev Your Engines

2009-11-30T15:21:00.000-08:00

The Class of 2k10 has posted its first contest –

Grad Party Giveaway!
This month the Class of 2k10 is hosting a graduation party to honor the Class of 2k9 and celebrate their debut year. They're having a HUGE party on their blog and giving away a copy of ALL of the Class of 2k9 debut books! This week's list of books being given away are:

HEART OF A SHEPERT by Rosanne Parry
THE YEAR THE SWALLOWS CAME EARLY by Kathryn Fitzmaurice
BULL RIDER by Suzanne Morgan Williams
JANE IN BLOOM by Deborah Lytton
MY LIFE IN PINK & GREEN by Lisa Greenwald
ALSO KNOWN AS HARPER by Ann Haywood Leal
SECRETS OF THE CHEESE SYNDICATE by Donna St. Cyr

It's easy to enter - just stop by a little later at Class 2K10's blog for details --http://community.livejournal.com/classof2k10/1843.html

Live 2k10

2009-11-30T01:10:00.000-08:00

Euclid is the most successful textbook writer of all time. His Elements, written around 300 B.C., has gone through more than 1,000 editions since the invention of printing

The Class of 2k10 (debut authors with books coming out in 2010, of which I'm one) just launched their website. The group includes 23 authors with fantastic Young Adult and Middle Grade books, covering a gamut of genres -- mystery, paranormal, fantasy, romance, contemporary... The Class of 2K was founded by Greg Fishbone in 2007 with the idea that debut authors could band together to make their publication journey easier. This years group hopes to continue in footsteps of our predecessors. Check out titles that will be appearing in your local bookstore soon.

Giving Thanks

2009-11-25T14:22:00.000-08:00

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." ~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy (on Thanksgiving)

Thanksgiving is the quintessential American holiday, one which my family loves -- it’s a time to gather with friends, family and loved ones we haven’t seen in a while. All the political ramifications of Plymouth rock, Pilgrims, Native Americans and history aside, I admit, it’s so much about the food!.

Wherever we were in the world at the time – Oxford, Kuala Lumpur (we didn’t’ roast a bird that year but did find a place that served it!), Paris, even Cairo, we've celebrated Thanksgiving. In Cairo I somehow roasted a huge turkey in our tiny gas stove. We had all the fixings - mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, gravy, caramelized sweet potatoes, rolls and corn) except cranberry sauce. Nowhere in Egypt, alas could it be found. Luckily we had a friend visiting from San Francisco and the only thing we told her to bring was cranberry sauce. We invited all our friends – Americans, Canadians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Germans, the Scott and the Russian – and had a great time. Despite the tough times these days, let Thanksgiving be a day for celebrating what is important, giving thanks for what we have, and working towards a better tomorrow.

Green Ham, the Lorax and Bald Boys

2009-11-22T13:27:00.000-08:00

Dr. Seuss wrote the book “Green Eggs and Ham” on a dare made by his publisher Bennet Cerf who bet him $50 that he could not write a children’s story using ONLY 50 words; 49 of which were one syllable words. He succeeded.

Okay, raise your hand – who hasn’t read CAT IN A HAT by Dr. Seuss? I’m sure most hands went up – I don’t think you can escape childhood without reading such classics as GREEN EGGS & HAM, THE BUTTER BATTLE BOOK, THE LORAX or HORTON HEARS A WHO.

Dr. Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel, passed away in 1991 from cancer and I found it an interesting coincidence when I heard of Umm Yousuf’s story – she has a four year old son who is undergoing chemotherapy for leukemia. While at the bookstore she’d been looking for fun, cheery books for her little boy and picked up a Dr Seuss title called MY BOOK ABOUT ME.
It has an unusual interactive twist -- you make it up as you go along. On each page there's something new to complete, from "I weigh ___ pounds" to "My teeth. I counted them. I have ___ up top. I have ___ downstairs." It gets children to name their home country, to recognize and draw in the color of their own eyes, learn their telephone number and address, to name favorite clothes, foods, and colors, and more. Umm Yousuf paused at the page with the bald boy. Her son had lost his hair while going through chemo, and she thought it was a shame that, of all the kids, it was the bald one who had a sad face. So she wrote the publishing company a letter: Dr Seuss style letter of course!

Beyond the Grinches, the Hortons and Who’s,
Came a page in a book that I wouldn’t choose.
Strolling in the book store I came across my favorite section,
I looked up and down, of the rack, of this Dr,’s collection.

There was a book I hadn’t seen before, I grabbed it right off that shelf,
It was called, “A Book About Me” By Me Myself!
I thought this would be nice for my son, age four,
I opened the book and began to read more.

It looked fun and exciting, another masterpiece of his,
As we have many of his books because of the whiz that he is!
Flipping the pages I came to page four,
And what to my surprise I dropped the book on the floor!

That book, “A book About Me” By Me Myself,
I put that book right back on that shelf!
There is a part of this page I wish I could go and delete,
For I’m afraid we don’t even see on Mulberry street!

A kid picks their hair color, length and their style,
But there is one little boy who hasn’t a smile.
All but one is smiling, and by this I am appalled,
All of the kids look happy except the one who is bald!

Usually getting another Dr. Suess book is a best buy,
I just left that book and started to cry.'
My son who has cancer would be sad to know,
The boy who is sad has hair he can’t grow.

So I am asking the author or the one with authority,
To make one little sick boy their priority.
Just as the red, the purple and the long hair,
Please put a smile, on the one bald, and be fair!

I was happy to hear that Random House sent back a gracious letter saying they plan to "change the boy's rumpled grimace into a nice bright smile". A great ending to this story.

Amazoned

2009-11-19T23:33:00.000-08:00

The volume of water in the Amazon river is greater than the next eight largest rivers in the world combined and three times the flow of all rivers in the United States.

Writing and completing a novel is phenomenally fulfilling, personally. Having your agent sell your book is exhilarating and numbing at the same time -- someone loves your book as much as you do -- loves it enough to acquire it. Seeing a galley of your novel on its way to becoming a finished product is an emotional rollercoaster -- it seems like it was only months before it had been a figment of your imagination. But being Amazoned, that took me by surprise -- Seeing what once inside your head now listed for pre-order is indescribable -- its a little like standing in your underwear in public. You are fully exposed -- but in a good sort of way.

Class of 2K10 Book Trailor

2009-11-16T15:36:00.000-08:00

Bestselling books that got rejected - a lot - before they made history: Dune by Frank Herbert, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrice Potter

2K10, a group of debut novelists with Young Adult and Middle Grade Books coming out in 2010, just launched their book trailor. So many great reads!

An Evening with Greg Mortenson

2009-11-11T14:07:00.000-08:00

The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family -- Balti Proverb

This past weekend I attended the San Francisco Gala event of DIL – Developments in Literacy. DIL is dedicated to providing quality education to disadvantaged children, especially girls, by establishing and operating schools in the underdeveloped regions of Pakistan. It has a strong focus on gender equality and community participation. Since its inception in 1997, the organization now operates and manages 150 schools, with an enrollment of nearly 15,000 students.

The key note speaker was Dr. Adil Najam, a professor at Boston University and a senior fellow at the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Dr. Najam served as a Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), work for which the IPCC was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize along with Al Gore. His talk focused on the urgency to uplift the millions of poor in Pakistan by allowing them a chance to improve their lives through education. As I’ve mentioned before, he stressed the critical importance of educating girls, for when you educate a girl you improve not only her life, but that of her children and the community.

The special guest of honor at the event was Greg Mortenson, whose NYT bestselling book, THREE CUPS OF TEA, illuminates the importance of overcoming cultural divides and stresses that education is the solution to poverty. Greg's book has had a tremendous impact on me and my husband, who uses Greg's example in his class. We were looking forward to hearing him speak, but unfortunately, Greg was out sick. In his place stepped in Professor Abdul Jabbar, Board Chairman of Greg’s organization, the Central Asia Institute.
Professor Jabbar spoke candidly about Greg’s amazing work in building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He also shared a poem with us – a poem that was sent to Greg by an American soldier stationed in Afghanistan. In it, the solider, who’d just read THREE CUPS OF TEA, explains how he sits for hours behind a wall, listening to kids playing on the other side. As he marvels at their innocence, he ponders whether his gun is the answer to why he is there. He believes the only way to overcome ignorance is education. This soldier helped organize a fundraiser in Alabama to raise money for schools in Afghanistan.

It’s amazing how a book can spark so much change, little and large

Book Galley

2009-11-03T22:49:00.000-08:00

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” – Maya Angelou

I got this in the mail today ---

I opened with eager anticipation and wasn't dissapointed... many long months ago, the words to SHOOTING KABUL formed in my mind and landed in a word document on my laptop. After a round of edits, here it is, a book galley, close to final book format, copyedited and typeset. Galleys are put together for multiple reasons -- they are given to sales and marketing folks, sent to reviewers, and to solicit reviews from magazines, newspapers and bloggers. They are not the finished copy of the book, and can still be tweaked.

It's been an amazing journey so far, the road to publishing, with lots more to come. I'll leave you with the first page of the novel.

Un-Seuss-Tainable

2009-11-02T00:50:00.000-08:00

The average American uses seven trees a year in paper, wood, and other products made from trees --this amounts to about 2,000,000,000 trees per year

Photo: gravlax/Flickr

Sad to say, when I open a book and turn the page, I never really think about the page itself – just the words printed on it. In the back of my mind, I know where the paper came from -- wood pulp, which is primarily from trees, which grow in forests. So when I saw a report by the World Wildlife Fund, I was horrified, as would be the Lorax.

The report reveals that a significant amount of deforestation in Asia's tropical forests is caused by the production of children’s books. Nearly a third of all of these books contains paper that was illegally logged in China and Indonesia. Paper analysis indicated that much of the pulp came from cleared areas of tropical forest that was home to endangered species like tigers, elephants and rhinoceros. To compound the problem, it is a known fact that the Asian paper industry seriously violates human rights contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.

In Indonesia, some of the companies involved include Gold East Paper, Yalong Paper Products and Asia Pulp and Paper. They are leveling tropical rain forests at a rate that could make them disappear within 10 years. Another recent investigation by Greenpeace revealed that 88% of logging in Indonesia is illegal in some way.

Although only German children's books were tested, the investigation should raise red flags about book production worldwide, as paper is increasingly sourced from China. In response to the investigation, WWF Germany is calling on publishing houses to use paper certified as coming from sustainable sources or from recycled paper, and to give priority to paper bleached without the use of chlorine products. This call should go out to all publishing houses internationally. This may be another reason to seriously look at eBooks -- Kindles, Nooks and others could reduce the demand for paper -- illegal and otherwise.

One of the tested books had an environmental theme, and contained the prophetic words: "We are writing this in the year 2805. The human race has left the planet earth … nothing grows here anymore …"

Next time you open and book and turn the page, think about where that paper came from.

Hunger to Learn

2009-10-29T00:16:00.000-07:00

As many as 115 million children of primary school age are not enrolled in school.

Millions of children around the world don’t have access to education because their families are too poor to afford to send them to school. In most cases, these children would do anything to learn, for they know it’s the only way to better yourself and climb out of their desperate way of life.

In Bengal, India, one schoolboy is trying to change that. I saw Babar Ali for the first time in BBC's Hunger to Learn series. He is first one in his family to get a formal education -- he travels over an hour each way to school and on his return, presides over a school he put together for children in his economically deprived village. Today, he holds classes for over 800 students who don’t have access to any form of education. His amazing project is transforming their lives.

Read the full BBC story and watch a short video about Babar Ali and his school here: The Youngest Headmaster in the World

Source: BBC

Writer Connections

2009-10-26T23:01:00.000-07:00

There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. -W. Somerset Maugham

Writing is a lonely pursuit and you can spend years, staring at your computer, creating imaginary worlds in your mind, translating them onto paper. When you’re brave enough, you venture out and meet other writers, the only other souls who understand what it is exactly that you do (and why you aren’t on the NYT best seller list YET) One of the best organizations for connecting and networking with writers is the SCBWI -- the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Our local chapter is headed by the amazing duo of Margaret Speaker Yuan and Colette Weil. I met them at a writer’s retreat they put together four years ago and their support and advice over the years has been incalculable.

This past Saturday a group of 100 plus authors came together at the SCBWI Fall Conference hosted at Mills College in Oakland. The keynote speaker, Stephen Mooser, is President and co-founder of SCBWI. His talk, Getting Young Readers to Laugh, was a practical approach to writing for young readers and he outlined ways to inject humor into your work – which has helped him get the attention of boy readers and kept them reading.

Kelly Sonnack, a literary agent from Andrea Brown Literary Agency, spoke about Capturing a Child’s Voice. She brought great samples of how to get into a child’s head and write from their perspective – voice is one of the toughest things to nail down – it’s like riding a bike, difficult to figure it out, but once you do, it’s like you always knew how. Voice is what gives your writing it authentic fingerprint; it animates your characters with a unique personality that is an extension of your point of view. It grabs the reader’s attention hooks them into your story.

Sarah Shumway, Senior Editor at Harper Collins highlighted the importance of First Pages: Tips and Techniques. She discounted common convention that your book needs to jump right into action, or meat of the story; slower starts are okay as long as they hook the reader in and keep them reading. She read and critiqued a group of pages turned in by conference attendees. Grammatical mistakes are a sure fire way to get Sarah to stop reading – if you can’t use spell check she’s not going to waste time on your manuscript.

Luan Stauss, owner of Laurel Bookstore, provided awesome insight on how to work with local booksellers to promote your books. As writers, our job is to write great books, and in turn a booksellers job is to sell your books, which benefits both. According to Luan, Indies can support authors through hosting author events and handselling your book. Book an appointment with your local bookstore so that they know about you, their local author – it’s a win-win situation!

Barbara Fisch and Sarah Shealy have twenty years experience in the publishing industry and launched Blue Slip Media in March 2009. They gave great tips through their talks -- Niche Publicity and Marketing — How to Tap Unusual Markets and What to expect when you’re expecting . . . a Book: How to Partner with Your Publisher in Marketing Your "Baby". At a time when publishers are stretched thin and have limited resources to spend on marketing campaigns, it falls on authors to get creative – They spoke about effective press releases, targeted mailing lists, niche and local market outreach, and event planning. They stressed the importance of pursuing online media (Facebook, blogs, twitter, etc.) and tapping into personal networks. One of the best pieces of advice they gave was to act professional and Be Nice – it’s easier to catch flies with honey rather than vinegar!

So if you’re a writer, lurking at the back at your local café, isolated, alone, I urge you to join a writers group, such as the your local chapter of SCBWI. You’ll meet great people and have the opportunity to attend interesting, informative events.

Eyebrows & Chocolate

2009-10-23T23:19:00.000-07:00

The word "chocolate" comes from the Aztec word "xocolatl", which means "bitter water"

I grew up eating Cadburys and it's delectably good chocolate. In order to portray a hipper image (since sales were slacking, dunno why) the company launched a new series of television ads, which are brilliant. These kids remind me of when I was ten... and just as geeky :)

Nook n’ Kindle

2009-10-22T01:06:00.000-07:00

The first eBook readers, Rocket eBook and Softbook, were launched in 1998

Sounds like a picture book about kittens! But no, it is the latest salvo into the eBook wars!

Competition has heated up with Barnes and Nobles Nookish entry! (The business side of me wonders if they whether the folks cooked up the name internally or hired a naming firm). More the better I say; the publishing industry is changing by starts, leaps, fits and bounds and eBooks are not only an environmentally friendly option (less dead trees), but they allow a new channel for book delivery (the author in me likes that).

My husband got me a Kindle, from Amazon, for my last birthday – I was sucked in by its aesthetics, ease of use and the fact that I could download a book in less than sixty seconds… like getting your reading fix instantaneously. (I will say that holding a real, dead tree utilized book is psychologically comforting, reminiscent of childhood and good reads.) The new Nook has similar features to the Kindle with a couple of additions – it has a color LCD mini touch screen (Kindle is black and white) and a unique feature called LendMe which allows the purchaser of a BN eBook to share that file with someone else. There’s no limit on how many times an eBook can be lent--only that you can lend an eBook to one person at a time, and just for up to 14 days. It's priced to match Kindle at $259, but unfortunately will not ship until November 30, cutting it close to the holidays.

A Thousand Words

2009-10-20T01:33:00.000-07:00

The word photography derives from the Greek words ‘photos’ - meaning light and ‘graphien’ - to draw

Source: Steve McCurry

I remember seeing this cover of National Geographic in 1985, while visiting Pakistan. As I read the story, I realized that the Pukhtun girl with the haunting green eyes, was just north of me on the Afghan border, in a refugee camp. Afghanistan had been invaded by the Soviet Union and the country was a war zone. Her face wasn’t the only thing that troubled me – it was the fact that she was the same age as me, and she had lost everything. A picture does truly paint a thousand words, and with a glance she told us the story of war, death, fear, hunger and loss. It was this picture, taken by the talented photo journalist Steve McCurry, which got me interested in photography. Steve is widely recognized as one of the best photographers of our time, known for his ability to capture the human spirit on camera, and his evocative, color photography -- this picture was chosen as National Geographic’s 100 Best. When I got back to school I joined Mr. Yurkovich’s Photo Club and immersed myself in the world of cameras, lenses, film and the darkroom.

I, along with thousands of others rejoiced when Steve McCurry found Sharbat again, 17 years later – they verified it was truly her by obtaining verification through iris-scanning technology and face-recognition techniques used by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Over the years thousands of people wanted to adopt her, send her money or help her in some way. Although I was glad she’d been found, I was saddened. She was my age, yet she looked a decade older. When Steve saw her again, he showed her the picture for the first time. She had never seen the picture, nor know that her face had become an icon. Sharbat and her family where given financial assistance, and she returned to a remote region of Afghanistan with her husband and three daughters. She used part of the money to educate her daughters, so that they have a better future.

Although I did not pursue photography professionally, I still love taking pictures and photography plays a key role in my novel, SHOOTING KABUL.

Politechnics

2009-10-16T23:59:00.000-07:00

The ancestry of all 44 presidents is limited to the following heritages, or some combination thereof: Dutch, English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Swiss, German, and Africian

I had the opportunity to hear Barack Hussein Obama speak last night, while he was in San Francisco. It was a chance to see a man who’s beaten many odds to become President, and it was too good to pass up. President Obama is a lot of firsts - the first African-American President, first from the state of Hawaii, the first with a Muslim middle name, and a Nobel Prize winner to boot. Regardless of his politics, whether you agree or disagree, he is an impressive orator. Plus we got to hear Tracy Chapman, whose soulful voice and lone, throbbing guitar got everyone going.

Although I follow politics pretty closely (hey I have a husband who teaches the subject), I’m pretty much a voyeur and not that politically active (though I did run as my class vice president in high school, and won). Usually, when it comes to voting, I on focus on issues that are important to me and don’t tow a party or representative line - I’ve voted for both republicans and democrats at a national and local level (I voted for one of the Bushes… guess which one?)

I’ve always thought the best leaders, of any party, were those who could empathize with others– politicians who’ve seen their parents use food stamps are more likely to address poverty; those who’ve struggled for an education know its importance for changing a child’s future; those who’ve travelled know that people around the world want the same things for themselves and their children as we do at home.

Although I enjoyed President Obama’s twenty five minute speech, it was his last sentence that struck me the most – like most politicians he stated that he wanted to leave this world a better place for children in America, but where he differed was when he added that he wanted to leave a world a better place for children around the globe. It really struck me how his unique upbringing (having lived in other countries and having a diverse extended family) allows him to expand his vision of America’s place in the global sphere – we are a superpower, and our actions affect not only Main Street and Wall Street but Any Street around the world. Although I may not agree with all of President Obama’s initiatives, as our Commander in Chief, I have the hope he will leave us, and the world, a better place than how he found it.

PS. This is an excerpt from the Nobel Prize Committee as to why he was chosen:

…through his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples ... Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position ... Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts ... Obama [has] captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future.

The Two Ms. Pierces'

2009-10-14T22:57:00.000-07:00

Studies have shown that American children who learn to read by the third grade are less likely to end up in prison, drop out of school, or take drugs

There’s an open secret in the publishing world that to get boys to read, the protagonist should be a boy. Historically, children's books abound with male protagonists who have adventures, save the world and accomplish mighty feats and reap the glories, whether they are Peter Pan, Charlie Bucket, Harry Potter or Percy Jackson. Although I this is a blanket statement and I don’t agree with if fully (I’ve met lots of boys, and grown men, who love Ramona and Laura Ingalls Wilder) there is a tinge of truth to the sentiment. In WordHustler’s interview with Ben Barnhart, Young Readers Editor at Milkweed Editions, he states --

“Girls make up, by a wide margin, the larger audience of readers, and there’s a lot of debate about whether boys simply don’t read or whether they don’t read because publishers are only publishing books for girls. There’s also a rule of thumb that says girls will read books about both boy and girl protagonists, whereas boys will only read books about boy protagonists.”

Although girls are omnivores of the reading world, they need to have access to books that have nuanced female protagonists. These characters should reflect a host of personality types, face adversity, succeed and fail at whatever they strive for. At the end of the day, the key for an author is to create characters who resonate with the reader – readers, whether they are boys or girls, need to believe in the protagonists journey and take away something from having read the book.

I encountered Alanna when I was elementary school, and I was hooked. Here was a girl after my own heart – a girl who defies convention and becomes a knight. She has successes and failures, yet prevails through it all. Tamora Pierce wrote ALANNA: THE FIRST ADVENTURE in 1983 and it was a ground breaking series of novels. Within a year I stumbled across Meredith Ann Pierce's DARK ANGEL trilogy, about a young slave girl, Aeriel, who defeats vampires and saves the world. These are books both boys and girls should read – the character of the protagonists transcends sex, and their accomplishments are universal.

The two Ms. Pierces’ introduced readers to tough minded, multi dimentional characters who went for what they wanted, stumbled, failed and succeeded, but perhaps not in ways they thought they would, or should. They got me love reading and planted the seeds to write – so thank you!

Indian to Indian

2009-10-12T15:49:00.000-07:00

One in every 130 people living in the United States today is Native American.

Last night, my nieces reminded me that today was Columbus Day. I got to thinking about Christopher -- a monumental, yet controversial figure. After five centuries, he has been variously described as one of the greatest maritime navigators, a visionary genius, a mystic, a national hero, a failed administrator, a naive entrepreneur, and a ruthless and greedy imperialist.

Soon it triggered a memory of when I was a twelve. While visiting my sister, who was a college student, we hopped on a bus and headed across Oakland towards UC Berkeley. One of the regulars on the bus, a dapper old lady – a social butterfly and self proclaimed bus monitor, looked at us and asked where we were from. We said we were Indian. She paused a moment, analyzed our appearance and asked, “From which tribe?” My sister and I looked at each other and it dawned on us that she thought we were Native American. “No,” replied my sister. “We’re not that kind of Indian,” we’re from India. “Oh,” she said, and wandered off.

Photo 1: White Shield, an Indian Chief, 1908 by Edward S. Curtis. Photo 2: Maharaja of Patiala’, Bhupinder Singh, source unknown.

So, I’m the kind of Indian Columbus was actually looking for when he set sail from Spain, hoping to hit the Indies. His charter was to establish a foothold for Spain in the lucrative spice trade, which at the time was controlled by the Arabs and the Italians. And he would have found us if he’d followed common convention and gone east, over land, instead of west, across the sea. But instead, he had the idea that crossing the Atlantic was faster – he believed that earth's circumference was smaller than commonly agreed upon, thus the route would be quicker. I wonder what would have happened if he’d found us, instead of the Americas, and not set forth the domino effect of exploration, imperialism, colonization, exploitation and the eradication of native peoples.

I just reread Sherman Alexie’s THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN. When I read it, years ago, they were simply words on a page – powerful and impactful for sure, but it wasn’t’ till I saw him speak at SCBWI LA, that the words transformed into a living reality of what the repercussions of Columbus travel plans were – so here was the other Indian that Columbus had mistakenly found. The reality sank into my bones and hit me viscerally. So we are connected, the two Indians, in an odd tenuous way -- and for what is worth, I’m very, truly sorry Columbus didn’t go east instead of west.

Saudi Sojourn

2009-10-08T23:41:00.000-07:00

Camels have a reputation for spitting but they don't, it would be a waste of water. What they are actually doing is vomiting on you.

Whenever people find out that I grew up in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, they ask if I went to school on a camel. And sometimes… they’re serious. So for the record – we did not travel via camel to school. We actually had a school bus, the same bright orange one with the green seats that bounced when you went over a speed bump. The next question people ask is what I was doing in Saudi Arabia, camel, or no camel. Well, I moved to Jubail when my father, a civil engineer, was transferred there for work, when I was four. So, in the mid 1970’s, my family packed up our house in San Francisco bay area and moved to the Arabian peninsula, a newly industrializing country, flush with oil wealth.

Overall, there were pros and cons growing up in the Middle East, but the pros heavily outweighed the cons, and my memories are of an idyllic childhood -- we lived on compounds next to a long stretch of turquoise beach, where my girl-scout troop camped out. For kids it was wonderful – we had our own commissaries (with local and imported goods), swimming pools, tennis courts and dozens of playgrounds. We kids ran around like banshees from sun up to sun down, with school slotted in the middle. Our school, Jubail Academy, which I attended from Kindergarten to ninth grade, had the latest equipment (we were programming on an Apple IIe in the sixth grade), bright, motivated teachers and a library full of books (something I’ll have to talk about some other time). It was a very safe place, no one ever locked their doors – so it was kind of like Mayfield, USA – Leave it to Beaver right the middle of the desert. My best friend from the first grade is still my best friend, and we recently had an elementary school reunion, her in San Francisco, which over 130 students and faculty in attendance.

There were cons, of course – the ruling family of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ran the country with a firm hand – especially since it was undergoing modernization and changing at supersonic speed. The Saudis have a culturally rich, and proud history and the rapid development of the 60’s onward was advantageous and traumatic at the same time. Taking a largely Bedouin society into the 21st century overnight was fraught with complications – we used to see Bedouin tents decked out with satellite dishes and range rovers parked next to them. Gas was 50cents a gallon and the highways were littered with broken down, luxury cars. Sadly, the expat community was segregated from the local population, though we did get to make friends with some locals who lived in our compounds. There were many rules and regulations, especially pertaining to women – you heard true, women could (and still cannot) drive. But in the end, it was an experience I would never trade in.

Writerology

2009-10-07T15:02:00.000-07:00

The Hawaiian alphabet has only 12 letters

There really is one universal rule for writing that all writers agree to: BIC = Butt In Chair. At the end of the day, in order to produce your literary work of genius, you must actually sit and DO it.

Now, how you DO it, according to standard writerly belief, falls into two camps – either you are a Panster or a Plotter. The first group, the Pansters, sit down, crack their knuckles, and let it rip -- they allow their creative juices to roar forth, spilling onto the page. The characters in their head come alive and lead them down a merry path, unfolding the story as they go along. The second group, the Plotters, sit down and well, plot. They make outlines, bar graphs, charts, do character studies and perform extensive research.
Personally, I don’t think it’s that black and white – successful author are shades of gray in-between, lying either towards the Panster or Plotter part of the bell curve. You kind of need to have both in some degree - allow yourself to think freely, come up with amazing ideas… then create some form of structure that allows you get from beginning to end without falling off the deep end. Let me tell you, many a book has begun then wandered off into the dark woods, never to be heard of again.

I fall on Plotter end of the spectrum. Ideas percolate in my head all the time, and I take notes. I have random interest in various topics and I find that these ideas sneak into a story or character idea. But then, okay, so I’m a bit anal (it’s the accountant in me) I make dozens of spreadsheets outline chapters, develop character types, generate subplots and jot down critical elements. One of my favorite things to do is research. I love finding out the history, back-story and details of what I’m writing about, and although I may only use 5% of it in my book, the journey of discovering new information is immensely satisfying. BUT I’m always open to change, so if my character decides he is now a girl instead of a boy, or the plot needs a radical twist, I accommodate it into my outlines.

All writers have their strengths and weaknesses. Some create haunting, beautiful scenes – ones you literally fall into when you open their book. Others create passionate, multifaceted characters you love, hate, admire, love and related to. Some can’t plot to save their lives, others can plot but can’t find their voice (oh that mysterious thing that I still can’t figure out either.) My strength may be organization and plot development, but my greatest weakness, alas, is my grammar. I was an Accounting and Business major in college and took, like, one comparative writing class. I still don’t know what a dangling participle is. But the good news is that I have an excellent critique group with two English majors who sort me out. Plus my amazing editor of course (poor her). So the trick is to know what your good at, work hard at what you aren’t, and find a great critique group, or partner, who can point out your genius as well as your inadequacies.

Geographically Challenged

2009-10-06T00:36:00.000-07:00

Antarctica is actually a desert, receiving the same amount of rain as the Sahara Desert

My husband teaches political science and one of his classes covers the politics of a particular region of the world. So, on the first day of class he hands out a map to his class – a group of accomplished college coeds. For the most part, they are a smart bunch, having worked hard to get into this esteemed institution. The map is blank, besides the outlines of a series of countries, and the students have fifteen minutes to fill out the country names. At the end he collects them, and that night we sit at home, having tea, looking them over.

Approximately 10% of the kids do pretty well, the remainder either sends us into gales of laughter (no, Spain is not in South America…) or into horrified silence. It reinforces the fact that we Americans are woefully geographically challenged – it’s a sad fact that Jay Leno got away with doing a hilarious segment where he asked people on the street answer simple geography questions, and lord I was embarrassed for the contestants. Most didn’t know which states bordered their own. But it’s not JUST embarrassing – it’s a national crisis – kids are unprepared for an increasingly global future. Fewer than 3 in 10 think it important to know the locations of countries that appear in the news, and just 14% believe speaking another language is a necessary skill. The National Geographic-Roper Public Affairs Geographic Literacy Study, done a few years ago, paints a dismal picture of the geographic knowledge of the most recent graduates of the U.S. education system.

-- Even through Hurricane Katrina had recently swept through the south, causing death and destruction, 33% of respondents couldn't pinpoint Louisiana on a map.

-- Two-thirds didn't know that the earthquake that killed 70,000 people in October 2005 occurred in Pakistan.

-- 6 in 10 could not find Iraq on a map of the Middle East – and HOW long have we been at war there?

-- 47% could not find the Indian subcontinent on a map of Asia (It’s the most prominent bit, sticking out)

-- 75% were unable to locate Israel on a map of the Middle East. (Okay, granted it’s pretty tiny, while flying over it George W. Bush stated that his driveway in Texas was bigger…)

Do we not care because most of the world lies at the end of two huge oceans – the Atlantic and the Pacific? Maybe the rest of the world doesn’t seem that relevant - the nightly news no longer covers the rest of the world since Brittany’s latest meltdown and Farmer Buford's ginormous pumpkin are far more important. But, how are we to understand, work and play with others if we don’t know where they are and what language they speak? It really is something to ponder… As the world shrinks before us, how will we continue to grow and prosper when we lack even the most basic skills for navigating the international economy or understanding the relationships among people and places that provide critical context for world events? Time to open an atlas...

One Girl at a Time

2009-10-02T23:36:00.000-07:00

There are more than 2700 languages in the world

I’ve taken the ability to read and write for granted -- the benefits it affords me are immeasurable… but in the back of my mind lurks a number – 33%. Nearly one out of every three girls and women in the world cannot read and write. After hearing Tererai Trent’s phenomenal story, I was again reminded of the number. As a girl living in Zimbabwe, Tererai was denied an education and married off at 11 – sadly not an uncommon fate. But Terarai had a passionate desire to pursue an education, and she wrote her dreams of attaining a PhD on a piece of paper and buried it in a tin box. And in the end she did. Her story has been told in the book HALF THE SKY: TURNING OPPRESSION INTO OPPORTUNITY FOR WOMEN WORLDWIDE by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.

I’ve always know that when you educate girls, you improve the prospects of an entire community – fertility rates drop and women have fewer, healthier children; infant mortality rates decline as knowledgeable women have better healthcare practices; maternal mortality rates are reduced as women have fewer children and pursue pre and post natal care; increased participation in the labor force yields benefits for the society at large; educated women are more likely to send their children to school; education is also protection against HIV/AIDS infection. So education is not only the key to a brighter future, it is also a key to survival.

Sadly, we have a lot to do to increase educational opportunities for boys, and especially girls. Although the worldwide number of children not in school has declined from about 100 million to 75 million, girls still constitute 55% of all out-of-school children. Worldwide, for every 100 boys out-of-school there are 122 girls. In some countries the gender gap is much wider. For example, for every 100 boys out of school in Yemen there are 270 girls, in Iraq 316 girls, in India 426 girls, and in Benin 257 girls (UNESCO GMR, 2007).

So, when you educate a girl, the benefits are passed forward and multiplied to the nth degree – let us all hope for millions of Terarais in the future. Check out Half the Sky Movement.