I lead a teen writer's workshop every summer at the local library. I love doing it because...well, because I wish I could've attended such a thing when I was a teen/preteen. (But then when I told the kids that today I realized that sounded awfully stupid...maybe even a little conceited: I'm doing this for you because I wish someone had done it for me? But it's the truth...when I was a kid one of the things I wanted most was to meet a real, live author. I took a paper route because it was the closest I could get to people who wrote for a living.)

I also love doing this because I love being with writers of any age...but I especially enjoy hanging out with kids who write. Several of these kids are repeat customers. Several of them are writing novels. I have a feeling I am working with kids who will one day be published authors and that's really exciting to think about.

I've got a really quiet group this year. I try not to talk very much because I want THEM to talk, but this group is probably the quietest I've ever had. Many writers ARE quiet, so I'm not surprised...and today was the first week of the workshop. It usually does take them a couple of weeks to get comfortable with each other and open up.

Today we talked about ideas. I had several activities to help them come up with story ideas. One of the activities involved making a list of problems they've solved in their lives. I told them they should take their worksheets home with them...that these activities were for THEM, not me...and that they could refer to them when they have trouble coming up with ideas. But one of the kids left their papers at their seat. I have to admit I read the sheets...I enjoyed reading them, too (it's like a window into the soul of a character...or a window into the soul of my target reader...)...until I got to the activity on problems. This person hadn't listed any problems he/she had solved; instead he/she wrote at the top of the sheet: "I am a terrible problem solver. Every problem I have ever tried to solve has ended up blown to bits in my face. Yippee." Definitely a window into a soul...but it about broke my heart to read that. And the fact that the person not only didn't take it home, but then wrote this note at the top makes me wonder if they left it for me on purpose?

Here we are! sarah_prineas and me (actually, that's me on the left and Sarah on the right) standing outside Prairie Lights...and our books are in the window (in the top row)! If you write for grown-ups and you do a reading at Prairie Lights, they will absolutely put your books in the window...not necessarily if you write for children. So we had to document this moment.



Sarah and I had our joint launch party last Thursday night (yeah, I'm a little behind...it was a crazy week last week what with my husband being out of town, a radio interview, kid getting braces, kid having one problem after another with the braces, and college graduation to get ready for!). The party was FABULOUS! Between the two of us, Sarah and I had enough friends to fill the whole upstairs at Prairie Lights (yeah, they even let us do our thing upstairs...usually they put the children's writers in the basement for their events). It is even remotely possible there were people there that neither of us knew.

What a difference from the signing I did at Barnes & Noble a number of years ago where nobody came! (Okay, TWO people came, but that was it...just two people.) Of course, I didn't actually tell anyone I was doing that event at B & N...it's only been recently that I've started doing that. I just don't like people to feel obligated to come. But people came this time. My life is so compartmentalized that it was really fun to look out in the audience and see my writer friends (and of course they're all Sarah's friends, too), Toastmaster friends, book club friends, Friends of the library friends and music friends all together in one place. (Some of them even bought books!) Even my younger son was there. I don't normally make my family go to these things...and I didn't make Andy come; he ASKED if he could come (it is possible he was trying to get out of some work that needed to get done before the extended family came for the graduation...but I warned him he was going to have to do it when we got home and he still wanted to come). And my older son was there briefly, too...I had marked up (i.e. rewritten) the scene I wanted to read in one of my copies of the book, but then I forgot the book (and this fan letter that I wanted to bring along and read during my presentation) at home. Ben didn't even complain when I had Andy call him and tell him to drop everything and drive that book and letter to Prairie Lights NOW.

I don't normally get nervous at these things, but when I got up to speak I was a little nervous this time...I think because I knew so many of the people there. Any other person is probably less nervous speaking to people they know...I get MORE nervous. It's actually easier for me to speak to complete strangers. But I'm glad there were people I knew there...and the whole event was really fun.

Sarah and I have very different books and we've had very different publishing experiences, so our presentations really complemented each other. We got interesting questions from the audience...Andy told me afterward that every time we both answered a question, Sarah adjusted the microphone for me, then she adjusted it for herself...I hadn't even noticed (microphone? what microphone?). Andy said, "Wow, you're a lot shorter than she is!" Hey, I'm shorter than just about everyone. I'm used to it.

I should think about doing future bookstore events with friends...if they all went like this one, I'd probably do more of them.

My family spent way too much money on me at Mother’s Day. They bought me a Kindle 2! My first thought was they should return it because it cost too much money, but while my head was thinking that, my hands were already opening the package. The two people in my family who have Kindles have the original Kindle; this is a Kindle 2. I’d never actually seen a Kindle 2. Hey, I just realized we have more Kindles in our home than we have television sets!

Anyway…I expected to like the Kindle; I did not expect to love it. I LOVE IT!!!!

The thing is I review children’s/YA books for a variety of sources, so much of what I read is ARC’s and review copies of new and upcoming middle grade and YA novels. I also use the library A LOT. Really, the only time I’m likely to use a Kindle is when I’m away from home…because then I don’t have to lug so many books. So I couldn’t justify the cost of one. I’m also one of those people who enjoys the smell of books and the physical sensation of holding a book and turning the pages. If you had asked me last week whether e-books will ever replace physical books, I’d have said, “Not in my lifetime.” Now I’m not so sure…I love this thing! And if I can be converted, so can anyone.

It's a lot more comfortable to hold/use than I expected it to be...and it's much easier on the eyes than I expected it to be, too. I like that I can change the font size, the line spacing (you can't do that with a regular book)...I like that I can make notes on a book. That'll come in handy for my two book clubs (I would NEVER write in a regular book!). I like the search feature...and the fact that I can download a sample of a book before I decide whether or not to purchase it. I can even go online and check my e-mail! You can't do that with a regular book, either.

I haven’t even had my Kindle a week and already I'm wishing I could read EVERYTHING on it. Especially that stack of ARC's I lugged back from IRA last week. Too bad I couldn't have just put them all on my Kindle rather than schlepped them back to the train. And then I got to thinking, why CAN’T publishers make their ARCs and/or review copies available to reviewers electronically??? We had an editor from HarperCollins at our SCBWI conference a couple weeks ago…she has a Sony e-book reader and she told us she uploads manuscripts that she’s reading to her Sony and reads them that way. (I’m actually reading/critiquing a friend’s manuscript on my Kindle right now, too! I can even make notes on it right there in the Kindle.) If you can upload a manuscript, a publisher could certainly send a reviewer an electronic file of the book rather than an ARC or a finished book. In fact, they could give reviewers the electronic file for free for a certain period of time and then make the reviewer go buy the book if they want to own it later. It’s a win-win situation!

So…how does one woman go about changing the publishing industry???

As promised, I blogged about IRA at Kidlit_Central today…

I may have gotten a little carried away at IRA...what do you think? My dog (the black blob in the upper right) thinks I definitely got carried away...



I had a great time and will blog about the whole IRA experience tomorrow at kidlit_central. Today I'm going to write about everything except IRA.

Anyone who knows me knows that going to IRA was really just an excuse to go visit a bunch of people.

I've lived in Iowa for 14 1/2 years now, so I guess that sort of makes me an Iowan. But still...my heart always skips a couple beats whenever I drive past this sign (I grew up in a small town nine miles north of this sign):



I may be an Iowan, but Minnesota will always be home. And this particular visit to Minnesota really was a homecoming of sorts.

Any children's author who struggles with emotion in their writing should do what I did: 1) don't go back to your hometown very often...and 2) then when you do go back, put the music you listened to when you were a kid on your music player and take a walk around town. If you're like me, not only will all these memories come flooding back...so will the raw emotion attached to each memory. (I won't go into all that....)

I visited my dad both on my way up and on my way home (he was having a pretty good day yesterday):



And my brand new niece (only five days old on this picture...she may very well be the third most adorable baby I've ever seen in my life):



And my BFF (that's me on the left):



Just for fun, here's a picture of us in 11th grade (look at that HAIR!!! Yes, I was in high school during the big hair craze...and here's the proof that I really did wear make-up at one point in my life...I don't even own any make-up now):



I wish I could've found a picture of us in 6th grade...that's when we met. The first day of 6th grade. But all those pictures must be at my mom's. Paula and I became instant best friends because we still liked to play Barbies in 6th grade and all the other girls were into BOYS. We didn't play Barbies to dress them up...we played to act out our stories.

Paula moved away partway into our junior year. Her leaving was among the worst things that had ever happened to me. Her moving BACK six months later was almost as bad because we had both changed quite a bit during those six months apart. But we did manage to find our way back to each other. The older I get, the more I value this particular friendship. Paula and I have been friends for 32 years. That's not an insignificant amount of time! I'm not sure even my husband knows me as deeply as she does.

And here I am with my college roommate...I stayed with her in the Twin Cities:



While Paula and I are a lot alike, Julie and I are total opposites. In terms of politics and religion, we couldn't be further apart. And I'll never forget the day I moved into her room. One of the first things she said to me was, "I don't really like to read." It was like sticking a knife into my gut. I could deal with her politics and her religion, but I honestly wasn't sure I could live with someone who didn't like to read!!! And here we are 26 years later. She is among my oldest and dearest friends.

WHY??? I think what I most appreciate about Julie is 1) Her honesty. There's never any question where you stand with her--she will always tell you. Whether you want to hear it or not. 2) Despite the fact she has these strong religious and political views, she can accept the fact that other people have different views and she is okay with that. 3) She really tries hard to be a good person. All the time. Not just on Sundays.

When I was in high school, I didn't have a lot of friends in my own grade. During my freshman and sophomore years, with the exception of Paula (and 4-5 others), my friends were the juniors and seniors who were on the newspaper staff. But then they graduated...and Paula moved away...and I felt like I was all alone. I had people to eat lunch with, but nobody I was really close to.

Enter "the freshmen." Jennie and Denise. They joined the newspaper staff...and they became my closest friends. Until there was a falling out between the two of them my senior year. They both came to my wedding, but I have not seen either of them since. And if it wasn't for Jennie, I never would've even met my husband. I still have no idea where Jennie is today, but Denise and I have reconnected via Facebook...and we met for lunch yesterday:



I also went in here yesterday:



This is the library where I worked all through high school. It was my home away from home. It was so important to me (as important as becoming an author) that on my last day there, the day before I left for college, I vowed I would not go back in there until I was a published author. And while I've been a published author for a while now, I haven't been back in that library...not until yesterday. I don't go back to my hometown real often and when I do go back, it tends to be when the library isn't open.

But look...they have some of my books:



(And when I got there, that Hermit Thrush Sings book was sandwiched in the middle of MY books...ever the librarian, I moved it where it belonged...)

I also met my brother at the Mall of America for dinner

but unfortunately, I forgot to get out my camera once I actually found him in this huge place (at one point we waved to each other across this amusement park...and I was able to call home and talk to my family for a few minutes during the time it took me to walk all the way over to where he was...yes, I sort of hate the Mall of America).

In case you hadn't guessed, I got a new camera right before my trip and have been having a little too much fun with it.

I’m home today. This is noteworthy because I’ve only been home two out of the last eight days. And I’m heading out again tomorrow…for IRA in Minneapolis (and lots of visiting along the way: visiting family…hopefully visiting my brand new niece…visiting my college roommate, my best friend from 6th-12th grade, and another high school friend I just recently reconnected with via Facebook…she and I haven’t seen each other since my wedding day).

And since I’m home, I am, of course, at the coffee shop with my friends. But I feel a little like the black sheep of the group today because everyone else is WRITING and I am updating my blog. I am going to try and write chapter one of book two in my series this morning, though. Emphasis on try.

So…highlights of the last couple weeks:

1) SCBWI conference. I’m going to sound really bad if I say the highlight of that was hanging out in the bar, but well…it sort of was because I was with some of my favorite people (outside my own family, of course!). And I learned important things that night...like tilapia are mouth breeders. (I guess you probably had to be there…)

2) Lasagna/chat at kelcrocker’s house

3) Great school visits that remind me how lucky I am to have never had a truly “bad” school visit experience. I did one young authors conference years ago where they didn’t have a check ready on the day of the conference…and then the person who invited me quit her job, so it took FOREVER for anyone there to even realize who I was and why I wanted to be paid. But the actual speaking part of that event was fine. I’ve also done one school visit where the school didn’t have a single one of my books in their library and the kids had no clue who I was or why I was there…but considering they had no clue who I was or why I was there, they were extremely attentive and asked good questions. But the vast majority of my school visit experiences have been like the ones I’ve had this year – well organized, great kids, great staff, and everyone has an obvious appreciation for literature.

So yesterday at lunch, somebody asked sarah_prineas and me whether we were going to have book launch parties to celebrate our new books.

sarah_prineas’s and my reaction:

(Can you feel the resounding silence???)

I had a “book launch party” in 2005 when I had three books come out at once. There were no book stores involved. My husband cleaned the house, made appetizers and invited all my friends…it was very nice. I’d like to do that kind of book launch party again next year when my chapter book series comes out. (I'll probably even clean the house and make the food myself!)

But I don’t get real excited about a book launch party that is really a book store signing in disguise. I've just never found book store signings to be all that successful. I do them when I'm asked, but I don't ever seek them out.

But then yesterday sarah_prineas turned to me and said, “why don’t we do a book launch party together?”

Hmm.

I like it. First of all, it’s not just a random book signing…it’s two local friends CELEBRATING THE RELEASE OF BOOK TWO IN THEIR RESPECTIVE SERIES. That’s cool! It’s cool enough that Prairie Lights may even advertise that angle. (PL treats you GREAT if you write for adults…if you write for kids? Well, let’s just say I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the childrens department is down in the basement!)

We could make it an event…we could both talk a little bit about the challenges of writing multiple books about the same characters.

And well…who wouldn’t want to do a signing with sarah_prineas ?

Of course, it is still entirely possible that no one will come other than our Monday/Friday/every-third-Saturday/whenever-else-we-feel-like-getting-together-group…but as long as a few them showed up, well…that’s the kind of launch party I could get behind!

I think we’re probably going to do it!

Here is what I should be doing:

1) finishing my final edits for P is for Police...because they're supposed to be turned in tomorrow (I'm having some trouble with the word "final.")
2) working on book 1 of my series...because it's supposed to be turned in on Monday

Here is what I'm actually doing:

1) IMing and e-mailing people
2) blogging about my very sweet neighbor boy...he e-mailed me a couple weeks ago and asked me to come to school and be his reading project. Since I have known this boy since before he started school, I am, of course, happy to go to his school (which was my own son's school for 6 years) and be his reading project. So he just stopped over and asked me if I was "ready for next Thursday." (Hmm...does he know something about next Thursday that I don't? I thought all I had to do was show up and talk...) But get this...HE BROUGHT ME FLOWERS!!! (Okay, his mom probably put him up to it...but still, it was very sweet.)

I love being an author!

I have my critique group friends...and I have my write-in friends. These are not the same people. Not that there couldn't be some overlap. Well, the critique group is closed (we've all known each other for quite a few years and no matter how wonderful somebody is, we don't want to upset the balance of our group by bringing new people in). But the write-in group is a newer group...and we're open to anyone who wants to come. On any given Monday or Friday, there are 4-8 of us who show up. You really don't even have to be a writer to join us...you just have to be engaged in some sort of creative activity. (Well, we might frown on singing...just because that would be distracting...but if you want to sit and KNIT with us, I don't think anyone would object.) What I get from the write-in group is a whole lot of positive energy. We don't critique there...we just write. And talk (mostly at lunch...AFTER we write). And share our lives. It's very supportive.

My critique group is supportive, too...but in a different way. We support each other in our efforts to become better writers. My critique group met last night...and it was great, as always. There was a lot they liked about book 1 of my series, but they also gave me some concrete things to work on in the next few days before I turn it in. So I'm excited to get back to work.

After we discussed manuscripts, one of our members pulled out a letter she'd gotten from an editor. WHY CAN'T AN EDITOR SAY WHAT SHE MEANS???? We are four reasonably intelligent women. We all know the story in question. But even with our combined intelligence, combing through that letter line by line, analyzing this group of words and that group of words, searching for clues in what was said as well as what WASN'T said, we just couldn't figure out what the editor was getting at. Finally, I pointed out that the editor said, "feel free to get in touch if you decide to tweak...." (yeah, we spent a lot of time discussing the meaning of the word TWEAK, too!) So...I thought my friend should pick up the phone (or e-mail the editor) and tell her she's decided to tweak, so she's "getting in touch." Then ASK HER what she means.

I've been thinking a lot about written communicating vs. oral communication lately...how different they are...how we perceive something we read vs. hear from a friend, an editor, a trusted critique partner. And once I get my thoughts together, I will likely blog about it...

But for now I just ache for this friend because while she has received illustration assignments from major children's magazines, she has yet to publish a book. And she is SO close to doing it. She's so talented...as a writer AND an illustrator. In fact, I would LOVE to have her illustrate my series. Well, maybe that wouldn't be such a great idea...since she IS a friend, I might feel like I could call her up and say, "So...how's it coming? Do you have sketches yet? Can I see? Hmm...that's really nice, but I picture Kaden more like this...and well, can you do Ella more like that...oh, and here are some pictures you can use to help you with Buddy, Mouse and the mystery cat." Which I would NEVER do to an illustrator who was not my friend...because it would be very inappropriate. Publishers keep authors and illustrators separate on purpose...

I almost didn’t come to my write-in this morning. I didn’t sleep well last night and it’s just a crappy, crappy day. But I decided the day wasn’t going to look any less crappy at my house, so I came. And the funny thing is, a couple of the people who are here today said the same thing. They almost didn’t come either…because it’s such a crappy day. But here we all are…

Things started looking up the second I walked in here. I saw sarah_prineas’s bright smiling face in our usual corner. And she wasn’t alone. So my mood shifted a little bit right from the start. I am so fortunate to have these wonderful people in my life.

And then I ordered my tea and it came in a little blue tea pot. My favorite color. That has to be another sign that the day is looking up.

Plus I have a finished draft of book 1 of my series. Yes, I typed “the end” this weekend. And I don’t have to turn it in for another week. That’s also positive. My critique group meets tomorrow night so I’ll see what they have to say…and then I’ll push hard on the manuscript again come Wednesday.

It’s only a crappy day if I decide it is, right? It is within my power to make it NOT a crappy day…

The line between my writing life and my personal life is very thin. Because I write fiction, I take what I learn about life and apply it to my writing. I also take what I learn about writing and apply it to life.

For instance, in fiction everyone has a point of view. A villain is the hero in his own story, right? There is no absolute truth. Not in fiction; not in life. There is only point of view. This is a theme I have explored in fiction before...and will likely explore again.

Right around my anniversary, a younger friend said to me, “Wow, 23 years.” (As though 23 years is really all that long. It doesn’t feel so long to me anymore.) “What’s your secret?” At the time I shrugged and said, “I don’t know.” But I spent nine hours on the road yesterday…and I realized I not only know the secret to a happy marriage; I believe I also know the secret to a happy life. And that is to be willing to meet each person you meet halfway.You can’t just SAY you’ll meet someone halfway; you have to actually do it. Even when you know for a fact that you are right and they are wrong.

If you know without a doubt that it was 6:30 when your spouse got home (because you looked at the clock) and your spouse says, “No, it was 6:15,”…in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter what time he got home? You need to recognize that your spouse has a point of view, too. He wouldn’t say he got home at 6:15 if he didn’t believe it for some reason. The truth probably lies somewhere in between. It was probably 6:22 ½ when he got home. And if you can let go of your need to make him come around to your line of thinking and just meet him halfway, you’re going to have a much happier marriage than you are if you can’t do that.

I think my husband and I do this. Most of the time. And I believe the ability to do this is not only the secret to a happy marriage, it’s also the secret to a happy life.

Granted, that was a pretty sad example of a disagreement. But I really do believe that any disagreement can be resolved if both parties are willing to meet each other halfway.

Unfortunately, not everyone believes that. Someone who has been pretty close to me is having a hard time on several fronts right now. She doesn't need trouble with me, too. But she believes “there is no in between.” I feel scared for her when I hear her say this. I think someone who truly believes this is in for a sad and lonely life because they're going to alienate anyone who is close to them.

There’s ALWAYS middle ground…isn’t there?

This is so fundamental to how I want to live my life that I have a hard time dealing with people who feel otherwise. It’s who I am/who I want to be. My religious views are in the middle…so are my political views. If you are my friend and you tell me about a conflict you’re having, I am very likely to play devil’s advocate and at least THINK about the situation from the other person’s point of view…and if we’re really good friends, I may very well come right out and tell you the other point of view. (My husband is that way, too…there have been times I have not appreciated that quality in him, but when I think about it, his ability to see the other side is probably one of the things that attracted me to him in the first place.)

I even write this way. I was thinking about this on my long drive yesterday, too. Most of my books do not resolve with the character getting exactly what he/she wanted from the beginning. Instead the character gets some sort of compromise…which actually turns out to be better for him than what he/she wanted in the first place.

Is this a bad thing? I like to think not.

Or am I wrong? Are there situations/conflicts where there is no middle ground?

1. For the second week in a row, I came directly to the coffee shop after dropping High School Kid off at jazz band...which means I arrived at 7:05 a.m. I have staked out our corner.

2. Even though they play some bizarre music in here, I really like this coffee shop because I can go up to the counter and tell the guy, "I don't like coffee. But I don't feel like having tea today. I really like chocolate...and caramel...but I don't want to get fat again. Can you make me something low-cal, that doesn't taste like coffee, but still tastes good?" and he will make me something that IS really good.

3. I'm excited that we Iowa Citians have writer friends who are willing to drive 30 minutes, 75 minutes...and today we even have someone who is going to drive more than two hours one way just to write with us. We're good, but are we THAT good? Would I spend four hours on the road to write with these people? Well, yeah...I might...once in a while. I love writer friends!

4. There are other things in my life besides writing and coffee shops...my new dog! (Though he's not all that new anymore.) I LOVE having a big dog...more than I thought I would. (But I do get a little offended when people give me and my very-well-behaved-on-the-trail-dog such a wide berth. He's NOT going to attack you, people!!! Unless you threaten me...then MAYBE he will attack.)

5. I'm getting to work now. Really, I am.

How many times can I title a post "long time no blog?" As many times as it makes sense, I guess.

So guess what? One of my editors DOES read my blog. (Never say something online that you wouldn't say to someone's face...didn't I write a book about that once???) Actually, I think her reading that post was a good thing. I was glad she got to hear what was going on from my perspective. She e-mailed me very soon after that post went up...and the issue was dealt with two days later. I got that extra percent! Just like that.

So that's over...

But in the meantime, something else has happened...I've got a new contract pending with this same publisher. My agent and I had an agreement right from the start that I would continue to deal with this publisher on my own. (I'd never really had a problem with them before, so I didn't see any reason to bring her in.) I was the one who initiated that agreement, so it never occurred to me that if I changed my mind and wanted her to deal with one of these contracts in the future that she would say no. But that's exactly what she did. She said no. If I'd just had one or two contracts with this publisher, that would be one thing, but because I've been working with this publisher on my own for so long, she didn't think it was a good idea for her to get involved now. No matter how badly I wanted her to!

This sent me into a bit of a panic...why would she say no??? She's my agent...isn't that her job??? (More important, WHO is going to deal with this contract person for me if my agent won't???) I knew she was unhappy that I'd given this series to this publisher rather than given her a chance to sell it elsewhere, but I thought we'd worked that out. (She didn't realize that I'd been talking through this series with editors there right from the start as I developed it...it wouldn't have been right to take what we talked about and give it to my agent to sell somewhere else.) Was she DUMPING ME now???

But the agent and I had a good talk. She understood why I wanted someone else to handle this contract...and I came to understand why she didn't want to be that someone. She said that if I really felt I couldn't handle it on my own that I should use the Author's Guild or a literary attorney...so I hired a literary attorney I used a few years ago. SHE actually told me something interesting...she said I had a "sensible" agent. She said that having an agent come in like gangbusters (the way some do) could jeopardize my future relationship with this publisher in ways I couldn't even imagine. So...I'm feeling much better now. I'm happy...my agent is happy...this attorney is happy...and I think even the publisher is happy. That's what it's all about, right? Finding a solution where everybody wins?

I've learned quite a bit about agents in the last few months. First of all, I really see the value in having an agent now...the idea that I can just write and maintain a positive relationship with my editors while someone else worries about those nasty contract issues is worth quite a bit!

Second, this agent took me on because she thought I wanted to break into a larger house (and she thought she could help me do that). NOT because I already have relationships with four smaller publishers. While she has handled contracts with two of these publishers for me, this isn't what she signed on for. She wants to help me break into a larger house. And part of me wants to break in to a larger house; but another part of me wonders whether that's really what I want/need? I'd have to write a complete manuscript in order to break in to a larger house. (Are the larger houses really so wonderful?) These publishers I've been working with will make a commitment on the basis of a proposal. Why should I write a full manuscript on spec when someone I already have a relationship with is willing to commit to a proposal? The advance maybe isn't as high as it would be at a larger house, but the royalties are just as good. To go with a larger house or stick with the smaller ones...this isn't something my agent can decide for me; it's something I have to decide on my own. (And of course, every time I accept a contract on the basis of a proposal (and DON'T finish this other manuscript) IS a decision...)

SO now I know why I had such a hard time finding an agent a few years ago. I thought the fact that I had these relationships with four different publishers would make an agent want to snap me up...the reality is an agent is more likely to snap you up if you send in a fabulous manuscript AND you don't already have relationships with several houses. Not that I regret having these relationships...I certainly don't. There are a lot of different ways to build a career as a children's book author...lots of different paths to the same goal...and lots of different goals, too. Every aspiring children's book author has to find his/her own path...

I’ve been trying to decide whether or not to blog about this. I know some of my editors have read my blog in the past…what if an editor at this publishing house reads my post? Then I thought, “what if they do???” I’m not going to name the publisher. And it’s not like my issue is with the editors…my editors are great. It’s the new contract guy I’m not sure what to make of.

This particular publisher publishes in hardcover to start with and then sometimes they’ll do a paperback edition a year or two later. They don’t address the paperback edition in their original contract. When they decide to do a paperback edition, they send a one-page amendment to the original contract. That amendment specifies advance, royalties and author copies.

About six months ago PUBLISHER told me they were going to release a paperback edition of BOOK C. But I still haven’t seen an amendment. I was beginning to wonder if they’d changed their minds. This publisher can be slow to send contracts, so I decided to check Amazon and see if the book was listed…and if it was, did they list a pub date yet?

Guess what I found out?

Not only was the book listed on Amazon…it’s already FOR SALE! The book is out! It was published without a publishing agreement. You can order a copy for yourself and have it tomorrow (if you pay extra for shipping).

So I e-mailed one of the editors I’ve worked with there, who passed my e-mail on to the contracts guy. It took a whole week, but eventually I got an e-mail from him. He was sorry about the “delay in sending the amendment” (though apparently not sorry for publishing the book without an amendment) and the amendment was attached to the e-mail. Apparently PUBLISHER started including the paperback edition in the original contracts back in 2007, but for some reason my contract (which came in June 2007) didn’t include that.

You may not be able to tell from this post, but I really am a pretty reasonable person. I can accept that a mistake was made without making a big deal about it. Except I took a look at this amendment and discovered that PUBLISHER wants to pay me a whole percentage point LESS on all royalties than they’ve paid on previous paperback sales! They also want to give me 10 author copies rather than the 25 they’ve given me in the past. On a book they went and published without an agreement!

What the heck???? Why would they not send me an amendment with the same terms they’ve given me before?

So I thought about it for an hour or so, then e-mailed back and politely asked for TWO percentage points higher than they were offering (one more than I’ve gotten in the past). I also asked for 25 author copies, since that’s what I’ve gotten before. (I left the advance alone since it was the same advance they’ve offered me in the past…but maybe I should have asked for more there, too, given the hardcover more than earned out in the first royalty period?)

This time Contract Guy got back to me the same day. He claimed the last paperback amendment I received was for BOOK A (which was wrong…my last paperback amendment was actually for BOOK B, but that’s not really important). He listed the royalty rates that I receive for BOOK A and asked “why are you suggesting more?”

Funny, he didn’t offer an explanation as to why HE suggested LESS!!! He didn’t even acknowledge the fact that he had.

But I could actually justify it without saying, “because you really ticked me off when you published this book without an agreement and then had the nerve to offer me LESS than you’ve ever given me before.” I mentioned the history I’ve had with this publisher…we’ve done 8 books together. (If you’re a profitable author, shouldn’t they be offering you MORE rather than LESS??? I'm not saying I'm a huge author...I'm certainly not. But I am profitable.) I pointed out that BOOK C has sold more than twice as many copies as BOOK A sold when they made the decision to bring out a paperback edition of that book. And then I asked him straight out why he offered me less for this book?

It’s been another full week...that book continues to sell copies on Amazon and who knows where else...and there’s been no response from Contract Guy.

I am not a happy camper.

While my agent has been kind enough to advise me, I can’t really get her involved because she didn’t handle the original contract. That was probably a mistake on my part.

All along I’ve thought I had this really positive relationship with this publisher. I love the people I work with…I’ve even met a lot of them in person (and now they probably think I’m this greedy, difficult author...they probably don’t even know that I was offered less than I’ve ever been offered before). It never occurred to me that anyone there would try and take advantage of me. So I haven’t seen any reason to bring my agent in on new contracts with them (she looked at one of my contracts with them a while back and told me she didn’t think she could do any better on it than I’d already done for myself…so the plan is for her to help me break into a larger house…once I actually give her something to take to a larger house).

But now I don’t know what to think. I don’t know if Contract Guy is simply lazy and/or careless or whether he plays dirty. I’m sure publishing without an amendment really was just a mistake… maybe they’re offering their new authors that lower royalty rate to see if they can get away with it? Maybe Contract Guy actually meant to send me the other amendment, but he simply didn’t pay attention to what he sent me? But if that’s the case, why let me stew about it for more than a week? Why not e-mail me back right away and say, “I screwed up…I’m sorry.” The more time that goes by, the more I wonder if this is how things are going to be at PUBLISHER now. Maybe this guy actually thinks that because they have already published this book they have me over a barrel and I’ll have to settle for this lower royalty rate. No way. This isn’t MY mistake.

I could have made this post Friends Only, but I’m really curious whether anyone else has experienced anything like this before. You can e-mail me privately if you don’t want to post your story for the whole world to see.

So I've discovered Facebook. I've known of its existence for several years. I think one of the teens in the summer writing class I teach told me about it three summers ago. But I've resisted signing up all this time. I didn't really see the point. I have a website...I blog (though not as religiously as I once did). What do I need with Facebook?

Well, it's kind of sad that we found out about my husband's grandmother's death via my sister-in-law, who read about it on her cousin's Facebook page. (Okay, it's not as bad as it sounds...my husband's uncle would have called us, if he could've found Grandma's address book in their apartment. But it didn't matter...we probably found out about it faster via Facebook.) I decided Facebook may have its advantages, so I signed up. And I've sort of been enjoying it (more than I expected to!). I chatted with my college roommate for quite a while yesterday morning. And in just three days on Facebook, I've touched base with people I haven't had contact with in years. I have a feeling I'm going to be posting more there than here...

So, what have I been doing in the last couple of weeks besides attending my husband's grandmother's funeral? I finished outlines of my series books, so I'm waiting to hear what the editors have to say about them. Also waiting for a contract issue to get resolved with this publisher. Fortunately, I'm a patient person...and I have a science fiction mystery to be working on.

I've had a sick kid, who, so far, has been kind enough NOT to share his crud with the rest of us (I'm truly amazed...) And then there's the usual yoga, Toastmasters, walking/jogging with the dog, training the dog...and guess what? Yes, I Know the Monkey Man came out!!! Well, my author copies arrived today...I don't know if that means it's officially out or not. I wasn't expecting it to be out for close to another month yet. It looks great! On the outside, anyway...I don't intend to actually READ it because then I'll see everything that's wrong with it.

My husband's grandmother passed away this morning. We found out about it through my sister-in-law, who read about it on her cousin's Facebook page. I've been reluctant to set up a Facebook account...but gee, if my sister-in-law didn't have a Facebook page (and didn't check it regularly), we still wouldn't know about Grandma Butler. It does provide a means for staying in touch...

I think my husband is pretty lucky to still have grandparents in his 40s...I was 11 when my first grandparent died and I was in my 20s when my last two grandparents died.

I remember when I first met Grandma Butler. I was 17 years old and my husband (then boyfriend) wanted me to meet his grandparents and all his aunts, uncles and cousins. So they had this big get-together over Thanksgiving weekend and we drove over. I come from a very small family...I have one sibling who is almost nine years younger than I am and both my parents are only children, so I've never had aunts, uncles and cousins.

I was really nervous about meeting all these people. What if they didn't like me? But I ended up having the time of my life that day. Everyone was so nice to me! Especially my husband's grandmother. She was about my height and she came and shook my hand and told me how happy she was to meet me. She put me right at ease (even though we got there just as everyone was getting ready to eat). She talked to me...and she seemed genuinely interested in getting to know me.

I remember my husband and I went outside and pulled all his cousins around on the sled and I told him I thought he was lucky to have such a big family.

I remember thinking Grandma Butler's stuffing was the best stuffing I'd ever had in my life...and then I found out it had oysters in it. I don't like oysters.

I also remember thinking Grandma Butler's pumpkin pie (they called it pumpkin pie) was the best pumpkin pie I'd ever had...and then I found out it wasn't pumpkin pie at all; it was squash pie. I don't like squash.

When it was time to leave, Grandpa Butler told my husband to bring me back again. And on the way back to my house, I told my husband to bring me back again.

And he did! He brought me back often...I remember picking strawberries in their garden...and Grandma Butler's canned green beans (again, the best green beans I'd ever had...but I actually liked green beans!)...and many, many trips to their little lake home in northern Minnesota. I remember the Lady's Slipper that grew along the drive of that lake home. I'll never forget the HUGE gardens Grandpa Butler planted (even now...he still has a garden at the little apartment complex he lives in).

I noticed Grandma Butler wasn't looking so good last summer...and she didn't send a letter this Christmas like she always used to...so it's not a surprise. But I actually knew her (and Grandpa Butler) for more years than I knew any of my own grandparents...she will be missed.

Wow. Have I really not blogged in two and a half weeks? Apparently not...LJ doesn't lie about things like that.

I've been outlining like crazy this month. It is important to me that I produce a new manuscript that my agent can shop around. I've been saying this for two or three (three, I think!) years, but then I get busy with contracted manuscripts and don't ever come back to this other manuscript (which I actually have a draft of...I just need to revise!).

Albert Whitman wants to publish all three chapter books in this new series of mine next spring...which means I need to have them all done this summer...which means it would be pretty easy to not make more progress on this other book.

But they're CHAPTER BOOKS. When I have a solid outline of a Boxcar book, I can write the actual book in two weeks. These chapter books will be even shorter than the Boxcar books. Even with school visits, IRA, my older son's college graduation etc. I should be able to write each of these books in a month...and still have time to write 10 pages per week on the other manuscript. Which should translate to forward progress on the other manuscript.

So...I've been outlining these last couple of weeks...and training my dog (he's finishing up the Canine Good Citizen class this weekend)...and playing my mandolin...that's about it.

I can't be too upset with my family for poking holes in my science fiction mystery last week...I've spent the last week brainstorming, plotting and outlining and the story I've got now is far better than it's ever been! It's also a very DIFFERENT story than the one I wrote three years ago. But different is good. What's really cool is this is the story I read to a sixth grade classroom while I was writing it (which was an interesting exercise in and of itself)...and even though it's evolved into a very different story from the one I started out writing, I can still salvage all the basic elements the kids liked in that first draft. (I lost a lot of those elements in the version I was writing a week ago...)

I still have a few details to work out, but I'm writing up a pretty detailed outline. This is strange for me...I've never been an outliner. In high school, when I had to turn in an outline for a research paper, I always wrote the research paper first, THEN the outline.

But I learned to follow an outline when I wrote for the Sweet Valley Twins series...and I learned to write an outline when I started writing Boxcar Children books...and when I wanted to start selling books on a proposal.

And now I'm finding that it's helping to outline this science fiction mystery.

Maybe I'm an outliner after all? I can certainly write a book faster (and with much more confidence) if I'm writing from a solid outline.

By the end of February I will have solid outlines for books two and three in my new series and I will also have an outline of my science fiction mystery. If I'm working from outlines, I'm hoping I can be working on both projects this spring.

My husband really irritated me yesterday. I was trying to talk to my kids about my science fiction mystery when he walked into the room. He wasn’t around the last time I’d talked to my kids about this story, so he knew nothing about where the story was going now, but yet he felt compelled to interrupt me and poke holes in my plan…which really bugged me because 1) I hate being interrupted! And 2) everything he said was absolutely right. Sigh.

Then my younger son started poking holes in my story, too…and the whole thing started to sound really stupid.

I was really bummed because I was so sure I was on the right track this time…I had addressed absolutely every issue my boys had brought up the last time we talked about it. But apparently not well enough.

I started to think I should just give up on this book. It’s so different from anything else I’ve ever written…maybe I should go back to what I know???

Then my older son said he thought I was approaching this story all wrong. He said I was looking at it from the top down (which, once he pointed it out, I realized was true…I'd been going from flaw to flaw, trying to fix each one individually). He wanted to know why I wasn’t building this particular story from the foundation up, like I do with any other story I write?

What’s different about THIS story? Well…it’s science fiction. Science fiction is not my normal genre…and yes, I’m a little nervous about that. But the fact that it’s science fiction shouldn’t change anything…it certainly shouldn’t change the basic way I approach novel writing.

Then he said something that actually gave me goose bumps. He said, “time travel is a vehicle, not a theme.” He’s absolutely right…it’s NOT a theme…and I was trying to turn it into one. That’s exactly why I’ve been having so much trouble with this new draft. That, and the fact that my protagonist wasn’t “protagging” (to which my son replied, “maybe she’s not protagging because your antagonist isn’t “antagging???” A good point!)

So I took a step back today. My son asked me what I want to write about…what is it about this story that excites me? I thought about that all last night. And when I met with my writer friends this morning, I opened a brand new document, typed the words TIME TRAVEL IS A VEHICLE, NOT A THEME at the top…and then I started fresh. Again.

I asked myself, what is the basic premise of this story. Then I started building…from the bottom up…the way I would a contemporary novel. I let go of absolutely everything I’ve ever thought about or written on this story so that I would be free to explore new ideas…and something strange happened. A STORY emerged…a story that is more than its genre….a story with a protagonist who must “protag” because the antagonist is “antagging.” We’ll see if it still looks as good to me at the end of the week…

I don't normally exercise in the afternoon...but I had someone coming to clean my fireplace this morning, so I didn't get around to exercising until afternoon. And when I'm exercising, I don't normally stop to answer the phone. I figure anyone who really wants to talk to me will leave a message.

But today, for some reason, when the phone rang while I was riding the exercise bike, I decided to get off the bike and see who it was. I almost NEVER do that. But I must've had some sort of sixth sense about this phone call because it was definitely worth interrupting my exercise for! It was the person from Albert Whitman & Co. who makes the GOOD NEWS phone calls...she was calling to tell me they're going forward with my series!!!!

I am so psyched!!!! I have always wanted my own series! Always! And I really, really LIKE this series idea...

It's a chapter book series...they're doing three books to start with...and they need all three by mid-July! Yes, of THIS year.

So Anna Winkler goes back on hold...for now. But that's okay! It's worth it to have my own series.

I'm a little bit nervous about whether or not I can really do three books by mid-July...but like I said, they're chapter books. And I've been looking for things to throw myself into right now to keep my mind off the fact my oldest is moving halfway across the country...what better thing to throw myself into than my own series? I'm going to be too busy to mope in June!

I'll feel better about making that deadline once I have solid outlines for all three books. If I know exactly where the books are going, I can write them fairly quickly. And that's going to be the first step...I already have a detailed outline of book one, so now they want me to do the same thing for books two and three...before I finish writing book one.

Hey, once I have those outlines, maybe I'll feel positive enough about making that deadline that I'll be able to work part-time on the series books and part-time on Anna? I don't have any other job besides WRITER and MOM...other people manage to write books while holding down a fulltime job. There's no reason I shouldn't be able to at least do the chapter books by mid-July...

I AM SO PSYCHED!!!!!

BTW, Albert Whitman & Co. publishes the Boxcar Children series...they published the first one in the 1940s and they've never done any other series (I asked...in case there was one I didn't know about!). So one could say they have a pretty good track record when it comes to series books!

(Ha! I should be so lucky to have come up with the next "Boxcar Children" series...but why not? If you're going to dream, why not dream BIG???)