Ephemeral

This weekend, local sailors participated in a race around the Farallones, islands off the coast north of San Francisco. This water is known to be difficult - windy with large swells. On Saturday, one boat did not make it - three people were rescued, one was found dead, and four are missing. The Coast Guard called off their search Sunday night, saying the window of survivability had closed.

One of those missing is my co-worker. He sits in a cube catty-corner from mine. I do not know him well, other than to smile or say hi as we pass, but he is close with others here. His cube remains with his belongings strewn about, just as he left it, although someone has laid flowers at his keyboard. It is hard to comprehend that he will not be returning; that we will not hear his Irish brogue.

I think it is the suddenness that is baffling. I have been lucky enough to not have been touched my too many deaths in my life, particularly unexpected ones. In college, a friend went on a solo-backpacking trip in Zion and was found dead. It was hard to comprehend that I would not see him at the next party or adventure.

These two young men were doing things they loved - enjoying the outdoors. One could say, "Life is short, do what you love," but that context seems perplexing here. Perhaps you would not choose to do what you love if you knew it would be your last time to do anything at all.

Obviously we accept risk in many of our daily activities. I have to constantly remind myself that driving is more dangerous than most things I do. It is probably more dangerous than sailing or backpacking. And still most of us choose to drive on a regular basis, primarily for the convenience. Here, the risk is accepted; why not in the other areas of our lives too? Are the rewards for driving greater than the rewards for things we love?

Perhaps the aphorism that applies more appropriately here is, "Life is short, love hard."

Pictures

Someone said a picture paints a thousand words and they were right. Sometimes God speaks to people through pictures. He probally is the greatest picture maker of all time...move over Warner Brothers! He certainly speaks to me in pictures. He famously spoke to William Booth founder of the Salvation Army on one of his many train journeys. He called it the vision of the lost. In it lost people are drowning in the sea sorrounding an island in which saved people were engaged in various activities, none evangelical! The central message of the vision was God saves people to save people. Last night while counting sheep I saw a great sea with many ships on it, ships of all shapes and sizes. Close by was a safe harbour. Coming out from the safe harbour was a radio call for all ships to return. All the ships received the message but the majority looked around, saw the calm sea, the blue sky and decided to ignore it. A few decided to take head of the warning and enter the safe harbour. The safe harbour is of course Our Lord Jesus Christ, the boats unsaved people and the radio call the Gospel Message. That unfortunatly has been my experience...the majority ignore it. Heres another picture that got me...Its a qoute from a Rabbi.."If a man shot an arrow how far would it travel? One or two feilds? However repentance is so powerful when released it reaches the very throne of God." I can picture the arrow flying through the sky. Release yours and see how far it will travel. You might be suprised!

And So We Say Good-Bye

In 2006 I had the idea to start a blog. Not a lot of thought went into this idea other than the fact that blogs were the hot new medium for marketing and it could help not only build our agency but our clients as well. At the same time I was cutting back on my conference speaking schedule and missed the interaction with authors and the ability to teach what I know. The blog seemed the perfect way to continue this.

It's been five years and a terrific ride, but after much thought and deliberation I've decided that it's time to say good-bye to the blog (obviously my work with BookEnds and the agency will continue). And while I can't promise I'll stay away forever (watch for the occasional blog post to pop up) I also can't promise those posts will pop up.

It doesn't seem like blogs have as much "power" as they used to, especially with the ease and speed of sources like Twitter and Facebook. Most important, however, I don't have the passion for the blog that I once did. While I will surely miss hearing from the authors I've learned so much from, I think I will find other ways to interact.

The blog and all posts will remain up indefinitely for those who are still learning or want to refer to previous posts and you can always fine all of the BookEnds agents on Twitter if you have questions or want to know what we're up to.

I can't thank you enough for all I've learned from you. Because of feedback and comments I've grown as an agent and changed a number of BookEnds policies. Because of you I've stayed connected with the writers and, hopefully, gained a better understanding of what this business is like from your end.

I'm going to miss the blog and all of you. I feel like I should have something grand and profound to say, but all I can come up with is a slight bow, a wave, and a heartfelt thank-you for joining me in this journey.

Jessica

Publishers Taking Risks

We've heard so often the complaint that publishers never take risks, that agents never take risks, and of course there are some who will say those are the reasons we're seeing the "downfall of publishing" today. I don't necessarily believe that. I think given how many new authors are published each year and how many of those succeed as well as how many fail shows that publishers take risks every day. Every book is a risk, whether it's a debut or not. No matter how much experience we all have we're never quite sure what's going to grab the attention of the reader.

That being said, recently when I heard that lament it made me think back to a publisher I once worked for, and by publisher I mean the individual, not the company. This particular publisher was a dreamer and a believer in all the good ways. The publisher loved the business and was enthusiastic about all the things about it, especially the books. One of the things this publisher charged was that each editor was allowed to buy one "book of the heart" each year. What that meant was that even if everyone in-house had doubts about whether the book would sell or could sell, the editor was given the ability to make a modest go of it, meaning the editor couldn't spend a million dollars for a book no one thought the house could do justice, but the editor could take a chance on something everyone else felt a little on the fence about.

For a young editor like me this was a really exciting opportunity, and while I never was able to buy my "book of the heart" before the publisher went another way, I held that feeling of excitement and carry it with me as an agent today.

I can't begin to tell you how often I've offered representation to an author for a book that I honestly thought would be a challenge to sell, but one I was excited about. And before all of my clients get worried, upon making the offer I've always been up front with the author about my belief that the book might be a long shot, but one that I thought was worth the risk. Some have sold, others have not, but either way I've never regretted taking the chance.

One caveat to all of this is that, as a writer, if you have an agent or publisher taking a chance on your book you still want to make sure it's a place that has some knowledge of where they're taking the chance to. In other words, you probably don't want me to take a chance on your illustrated children's book since that's so outside of my knowledge base that it just wouldn't be a smart move. I wouldn't even begin to know where to sell it to. You probably wouldn't want a business publisher taking a chance on your romance novel. Again, do they have the sales force available to even talk to the right buyers?


Jessica

The Great Abandon (Part II)

It has now come tothe time of hanging, stagnant heat. Approaching mid April, the temperatures are surpassing 90 degrees, butthe air conditioning in our apartment is not yet on.  The screen door gapes, all three windows areopen, and two fans spin languidly.  Todayis the first day a pleasant breeze has not been blowing.  So the heat settles.  Mid-afternoon was like a long summer day inthe Midwest; it seemed noise had stopped.  The stillness surrounding me was surreal, andthe heat drew me into a restless sleep on my bed, waking only to the phone, apierce to the not-quite-summer day. 

It is past six o’clock now and the sun stillhangs in the sky like a child refusing bed. Birds cheep-cheep, children laugh and chase outside, cars rumble downthe road.  The world has awakened fromthe oppression.  It is only earlyApril. 

The heat of thedesert is sometimes agreeable, like being wrapped in a warm blanket with a cupof hot cocoa.  Spending a summer in thehigh desert of Utah accustomed me to 85 degree days and30 degree nights, but a trip to St. George brought back the pleasantries ofhome.

            “Thatthermometer just said it is 108 degrees. This is stifling.”

            “Ilove it; it isn’t too hot yet.”

            “Let’sget back into the car and the air conditioning; my feet are sticking to theasphalt.”

I could not putinto words how the heat made me feel alive again, the sun testing my skin tosee if it still functioned properly. Somehow, for that moment, I was happily hot.  A few days now and I have had enough.  But every so often, it feels just right.

Interns

There's been a lot of discussion in small business circles about whether or not interns need to be paid for the work they are doing. The concern is that companies are "hiring" unpaid interns to do work that should be done by paid assistants. That an unpaid internship should be a learning experience. And I agree. I agree with much of what's being said. What I have concerns about, however, is what's defined as "learning."

When one gets a job in publishing you usually start out as an assistant of some kind, whether an agent assistant, an editorial assistant, publicity, etc. As an assistant you aren't expected to know the ins and outs of publishing, although some knowledge can be to your credit, but you are expected to do a whole bunch of menial tasks. As an editorial assistant I was in charge of all the filing. Lots and lots of filing, and my boss didn't check the files. It was my job to find a paper for her whenever she needed it, and quickly. I was also in charge of the Science Fiction library, which meant lugging boxes of books in and out of a small windowless room every month to stack, sort and rearrange, to make sure we had enough copies of each author and to find the space for them on the ever-crowded shelves. I spent a great deal of time faxing, collecting faxes, making photocopies, fixing the copy machine and sometimes, yes sometimes, I had to do things like run out for a cup of coffee or clean out the disgusting office refrigerator. Was it glamorous? No. Was it a job I loved? Absolutely. I also got to read and edit yet-to-be published books, meet famous authors, get autographed books for Christmas presents, and I got to read and discover new authors. It was my dream job, or would be once I jumped through the hoops.

These are exactly the kinds of jobs (minus running for coffee and cleaning out the fridge) I ask both my assistant and my interns to do. Because what I've sadly discovered is that learning how to file is something that a lot of interns need. I'm amazed at the number of people who have come through the BookEnds doors who don't seem to have a basic grasp of how to file or how to fax (or figure out for themselves how to fax) or even how to mail a package. I wonder if doing these tasks would be considered learning, because in my mind they should be.

I remember Kim telling me once about her own internship at Berkley and how one of her tasks was cleaning out and reorganizing all of the files of a huge NYT bestselling author. She said she loved it. She got to read revision letters and contracts and correspondence between the author and her editor. She learned a ton about the process of publishing. And that's something I've noticed with my interns. Filing is a huge part of this job and some of them will pull up a chair and spend the day filing and reading the files and papers and, yes, learning. Others just seem to chuck the files in any folder (and yes, this has caused us many a headache) and not bothered to use the experience to learn.

Another job I often give the interns is reading. We ask the interns to do a great deal of reading and write readers reports, and I think all of us make an effort to give feedback on the reports and show the intern how to write a stronger and better report (something they'll need to do when applying for any editorial job). What they do with that is up to them. They can learn from the feedback we give them or ignore it. Again, I'm amazed by how many ignore it.

I also ask interns to review contracts for me. These are typically contracts I've already reviewed and negotiated, but now I want a second set of eyes to compare it to the one I negotiated and make sure every "i" is dotted, "t" is crossed, and comma is in its place. Let's face it, for any of you who have ever read a publishing contract, there is a lot of "stuff" in that stack of papers, and yet I'm amazed by how few interns have ever asked me questions about the contract, even when I ask if they have any questions. Isn't this a huge opportunity to learn?

An internship is not like school. No matter whether you're paid or not you're not going to get written assignments, papers and tests. You're going to be given tasks that will help the agency or business move forward. How you decide to learn from these tasks is up to you. In my mind, it's a first step to adulthood and a career outside of school. If you want success in this world you have to be bold enough to take the steps to find it and to participate in it. That's how you're going to learn. Two of the assistants I've had were interns. They were the kind who read the files, asked the questions and made themselves invaluable in their short time here. In fact, the interns who learned the most were always the ones who spoke up and showed a desire to learn more. We were always happy to give them more to learn from.

Jessica

The Great Abandon (Part I)

I think I have figured it out. That is, the reason Phoenix holds no place in my heart. I always feel I am a stranger here, though I’ve been a resident for four years. I love the Sonoran Desert; I am attracted to this land. The desert lies naked, quivering with heat, calling to me. The wide, embracing skies and rocky mountain walls stand testament. To something. I am drawn to the starkness, the great abandon. I cannot take water for granted, but rather search it out, pleadingly. A tinaja hidden among the rocks. A spring daring to rise above ground, filtering quickly back into the land. I felt it for a moment, just now, the reason I love the desert.

Tucson was my home for eight years, my middle childhood, played out in the foothills of the Santa Catalinas. I sprawled outside on our concrete pool deck/backyard and watched the monsoon roll in over the mountaintop nearly every summer afternoon around four. I transferred to the front porch to watch the lightning show from under the relative safety of an overhang. The rain came down and turned our perfectly landscaped yard into verdant fields of Texas Ranger, bougainvillea, birds of paradise. The natural desert portion of our land heaved with saguaro, palo verde, mesquite, cholla, prickly pear. If only the lightning came and the rain forgot to make an appearance, I watched the side of the mountain turn orange with flame, slithering like a snake, while the Forest Service decided whether or not to let it burn.


The mountains near Phoenix are far off in the distance; here I can never watch the storm come rolling in. The Valley of the Sun is not like the Old Pueblo, filled with native plants and visibly surrounded on all sides by mountain ranges, though development there is spilling out the passes, striving, always striving to become a second Phoenix. The desert here hides at the edge of town and sulks somewhere beyond the grass and shade trees. Here the desert is the enemy. Native cacti are ousted by plants from around the world, a usurpation of the native ecosystem, known as the ASU Arboretum. Snowbirds and displaced Midwesterners plant the vegetation of their childhood. Green grass is good memories brought to life again. Phoenix is not the Sonoran desert.

Tom's Race

This past Sunday, two of my TNT XC Ski teammates and I headed up to Bear Valley to participate in Tom's Race, a 10k striding-only event. Four of our other teammates head up as well, but they just skied for fun, partly because the race involved a rather crazy hill.

This race was totally low key and showcased everything that is great about Bear Valley. There were only 30 participants, yet the course was amazingly groomed and marked with care. After the first loop and at the finish, the race organizers cheered all the skiers by name. They didn't care how slow we were, and I managed not to finish last! At the awards lunch, they provided us with a free drink (beer!), food, and door prizes enough for everyone. Erin and I won matching hats filled with Clif product, and Ron won a great Mountain Hardwear backpack. Paul, the proprietor, even thought to mention our adventures in Anchorage and our fundraising for blood cancer. There he is handing out hot buttered bread:

In an interesting ski race phenomenon, Erin and I finished first and second in our division - because we were the only two people in it. Most of the participants were middle-aged men. I managed to fall on my butt twice - on the same steep hill on both loops of the course. But the butt-fall choice worked out better than our other teammate who fell on his face on the same hill and knocked some teeth loose...

We skied in 50 degree temperatures and drove home through the even hotter places where we actually had to turn on the air conditioning. Next weekend will be the last weekend of the ski season for Bear Valley and most other XC venues. We had an amazing experience with Bear Valley this season. The first time we went up, Paul found a softball field with enough snow on it for us to learn how to ski. Another time when it rained over night and prevented grooming the trails, he worked with the Sheriff's Department to groom a town parking lot for us. And when we finally got to ski on trails, they were busy grooming and pumping out water to try to make the best of a not so good situation. Have I mentioned there was hardly any snow this winter?

If you're in California and looking for places to XC Ski next year, I highly recommend visiting Paul at Bear Valley.

[Photos courtesy of Peggy. Thanks!]

Submissions

Those of you who follow us on Twitter have probably seen the news already. All BookEnds agents have new email addresses that should be used for future submissions and queries.

All changes have been made accordingly to our website Submissions and About Us pages. And, in addition to telling you about our email addresses, we thought we'd use this opportunity to let you know what we're looking for these days.

Jessica


Jessica Faust
JFsubmissions@bookends-inc.com

Jessica is currently accepting queries via referral only. There is an office rumor that she might open for a month or so at a time later in the year. If that occurs she'll be looking for cozy mysteries, contemporary romance, historical romance, steampunk (romance and otherwise), and a very limited amount of paranormal romance. She's also looking for women's fiction. In nonfiction Jessica is looking for business books only.


Kim Lionetti
KLsubmissions@bookends-inc.com

Kim is currently closed to submissions. Please check the Submissions page of the BookEnds website periodically for an announcement about when she's open to queries again.


Jessica Alvarez
JAsubmissions@bookends-inc.com

Not too much has changed in what I’m looking for since this post in September. I still have a fairly narrow focus—romance, women’s fiction, and female-focused erotica—but I’ve decided to add cozy mysteries to the mix. In terms of romance, I’m looking for all types of adult romance (in other words, not YA). I had some success in 2011 with historical and inspirational romance, and would like plenty more of those, but I’d like to see contemporaries and books with high sensuality too. With my editorial background at Harlequin, I am open to category romance submissions. I will warn you now that I have been very tough on my romantic suspense and paranormal submissions. I’m still looking for books in both areas, but they have to be phenomenal to keep my attention. Please note that I’m not looking for fantasy, sci-fi, YA, novellas, or nonfiction.


Lauren Ruth
submissions@bookends-inc.com

In fiction, Lauren is looking for: romance—all genres; literary fiction; commercial fiction, especially up-market urban fantasy with romantic elements; middle-grade—all subgenres; young adult—all subgenres; mystery, with a strong focus on cozies; women's fiction on the literary side; and smart chick lit, a la The Devil Wears Prada. On the nonfiction side, she's looking for memoir, parenting and family, relationships, food and lifestyle, business, popular science, popular culture, and popular psychology.

Mexican Vignettes

It was easy to go to Mexico, to the big flowery city, to the Orozcos, to the beaches where an ocean view costschange.  It was easy to love from thebeginning.  

It was the frogs on the curvy mountain road in the midst of the storm.  Itwas La Ciudad de Dios, mini-Rio,where El Cristo Rey and los apostolicos watch over Ejutla.  It was seduction in Spanish, becauseeverything sounds better in a language that is not your own.  It was the late night, the rain, and the fuzzin my head.  It was the songs in thestreetlight and the supportive adobe wall. It was okay to say nothing inthe morning. 

It was riding in the back of a truck, jostling out of townonto the cobblestones of Puerte in the obscurity of 1 am.  Itwas drunkenness off good tequila that remembered me in the morning.  It was the mariachi sitting next to me,picking la guitarra.  It was the low slung brick house and the night-time serenade.  

I emailed no one, called no one, missed no one.  Perhaps you would say I did not loveenough.  But it was only that I loved Mexicotoo much.

Mother

My mother stands in front of a mirror and says,

“I hate to look at my face.”

It’s the wrinkles she fears – those subtle

            lines ofwisdom, experience, life itself

Fifty-five, looking barely forty-six

Her worries are needless

Yet she compares her face to mine

            And I amgreen in the world, young in life

            My facelike a baby’s – two eyes peering out unknowing

            Innocent

            Brash

My face is my mother’s a few years ago

But she faces the mirror and says,

“I look so old.”

She does not understand she looks like life treated well

            I want toage like her

            An imprintof a good life to show the world

            Lines ofage, but mostly beauty

Grandma

We were sitting in the lobby of the optometrist, arguingabout some hangers. 

After she was called into the office, a gentleman near meleaned over and said, "She sure is a firecracker!"

When was it that the firestarted ebbing? 

When was it finally gone? 

Like a “fierce green fire dying inher eyes,” we let it, she let it, slip away.

“I’ll see you later,” I said, knowing there was no later. 

Icouldn’t bring myself to say goodbye. 

I wish I’d known her when I was older and she was younger. 

Ithink I would have learned more, understood more. 

Maybe I wouldn’t have givenher up so easily.

Bryce Canyon Collection (Part II)

II

I walk over rocks;

I walk through time,

through space, through beauty,

through true amazement.

My shoes grow white, and orange, and yellow;

dust coats my pants; eroded limestone.

I am part of the landscape, of the rock, of the spell of thehoodoos.

The wind blows as I traverse the ridge,

trying to conquer my harsh environment

while it threatens to conquer me.

Just pick me up and toss me off like a feather in the wind.

But I will still be with the land and it will be with me

as I fade into purple and pink and red,

the color of hoodoo in the setting sun.

You cannot separate me from this place,

for it is a part of us all.

The Legend People watch over me, serene in their eternalbeauty;

inviting almost to join them as they cast their spell.

I walk through trees, a part of therocks,

an inspiration in their survival in a land

of streams without water.

I walk through history

and the fears and happiness and awe and power

that are extracted from all who pass by.

I am a Fremont, a Paiute, a Mormon, a geologist.

I am everyone who has gone before and all who will followme.

I was history,

I am history,

I make history

with every step I take in this awesome place

and every breath that takes in the dust of the hoodoos

and the scent of the ponderosa pine.

I walk through would-be camera snapshots

but I have left my camera;

it will not tell the story that my mind can tell

of the hoodoos’ color in the cloudy light when shadows

fell through the Amphitheater

and each minute was a different picture

and story within itself.

I walk like a cloud,

a hoodoo,

an ever-changing shape

for no emotion is ever the same, nor I’m sure is the look onmy face.

I walk through people who are utterly impressed

slowly seeing the beauty which passes so fast

and can’t be described with words.

I walk in the rocks

and the dust

and the years

and I become a legend as well.

Updating Your Website

Websites for published authors are becoming more and more important, not just for your readers but for the future of your career. I can't tell you how many times I go to an author's website to check out not just the author's books and career but for quotes and reviews. Which is why it's important to keep your site updated as much as possible. If you have a section for reviews but nothing is there, it looks like you've gotten no good reviews.

I know how hard it is to keep up a website, I know that there are plenty of things I've missed when I don't update enough, which is why, over time, I've simply removed those sections from my site. If you find you can't blog regularly or haven't blogged in months, then simply take down your blog. I think it looks better not to have one than to have a neglected one. The same holds true of reviews. If you can't remember to get in there once a month and update those sections, then simply remove them.

Jessica

Bryce Canyon Collection

Once I wanted to be a writer. Once I even got paid to write. I started digging through old writing, looking for something. I might as well self-publish on my blog. Beware: a series of writing from my early twenties.


I

Limestone:

soft rock, crumbly to the touch,

completely unfit for climbing,

but rather good at falling.

Prime substance for erosion,

ice-wedging, geological processes

before my very eyes.

Limestone welcomes; it lets the water into its pores

in the warmth,

but the water remains indebted to no one

and will freeze as the day turns to night,

popping apart its host

slowly

but surely

until suddenly

the rock falls.

Two hundred nights a year,

freeze thaw freeze thaw.

Fin, window, arch, hoodoo.

(Like holding up your hand

and slowly splitting the fingers apart.)

Hoodoo?

Pinnacle like voodoo.

To cast a spell.

Hoodoo, like a cloud ever changing

and not looking the same to two people with eyes

side by side but different minds to process.

Like a cloud, no two hoodoos look the same.

Hoodoo, like a cloud, changing,

the limestone does not stop welcoming.

Is it voodoo?

Coyotethe demigod once welcomed,

but hisguests were rude and raucous at hisparty, 

all of them,

snake,prairie dog, mountain lion,

sometimeslooking like people

but allrude and now stone. 

Theywore out the welcome and

Coyoteturned them into stone. 

ThePaiute’s Legend People of thelimestone,

lurkingin the Amphitheater. 

Reflections on 40 Days of Writing

It feels weird to be done with 40 days of something before Easter. For someone reason Lent really lasts more than 40 days because Sundays don't count. Anyway...

I don't think I fully committed to this project, and for that reason, it rang a little hollow. I did not set aside time for writing. It was often an afterthought, a burden when I really wanted to go to sleep. Some days I had exciting things I wanted to write about; some days I eked out a half-a**ed poem or some boring prose. I only posted things I actually liked on Facebook, and that did not amount to very many of the 40 days.

I do hope that the project gave me the impetus to actually write blogs when I have something interesting to say. I had been slacking on my blog before this project with the exception of posting photos from trips and adventures. So I hope to get to a place where I am not writing boring posts but I am writing worthwhile posts. And I truly appreciate all of you who came with me on this journey.

Bitter or Misunderstood?

I've just had a disappointing experience. I'd joined a big writers' network in my state, hoping to find some community but also because they offer a critiquing service. "The Network’s roster of critiquers is selected in accordance with the highest standards of excellence, including publication requirements and extensive mentoring and editing experience."

Yeah.

Well, I chose my critiquer and also began following her on Facebook. (She has an author's page.) Hours before I was going to send the manuscript to the administrator, who would then forward the Word doc. on to the critiquer, I needed a break from reading my novel for the 77th time and went on Facebook. A post from my chosen critiquer just happened to pop into my news feed: New ms for me to critique coming from the ... Writer's Network. Oh boy. My favorite job.
about an hour ago · Like · [Comment]

I did not hit "Like." That's my ms she's complaining about! Now, I know a lot of this work is f@#%ing tiresome. I'm not a professional writer, but I've taken a LOT of classes and reading bad writing is painful. But, then again, I SIGNED up for the class. If the woman, a published author, a teacher (for Gawd's sakes) doesn't want to participate in the critiquing service, why in blazes is she doing it? Why is this industry filled with so many damn bitter people? And I've read plenty of agents' and writers' blogs to know it to be true. (Not Bookends, of course.)

I guess my question, after the whinefest, is how does an unpublished author find someone to edit or critique their manuscript who will approach it with the best intentions, not already pissed off that they HAVE to read another novice's manuscript? How do we find someone who can help us improve? Who will not make us feel as though we're some stray dog showing up at the backdoor, begging for scraps.

I could sign up for another class, but, for one thing, I want my entire novel read, not just the first thirty pages. Also, I'd rather have a one-on-one with someone with skills, not, this time, participate in a big class.



I think this is one of the big problems with social networking. We all think every Tweet could be or is about us and we all read Tweets, blogs, statuses, etc., with our own anxieties in place. In other words, I can't even begin to tell you how many times a blog I've written has been misinterpreted by someone who came to it with their own experience and interpreted what I said in their own way, and in a way I never intended.

I'm sure everyone will have their own impression, but I did not read this in the same way you did. I read this as the status from someone who is enthusiastic about the critique she's about to be doing. I didn't see it as complaining at all.

I suppose it's easy to say that this industry is filled with bitter people, but I guess that also depends on how you see things. When I read the blogs, websites, Tweets and statuses of my colleagues I mostly see enthusiasm and excitement. Of course I'm in the mix too so I know that often the complaints aren't necessarily bitterness, just something to talk about since, honestly, most of us feel that about 80% of our actual day can't be talked about. I can't Tweet when I'm in the middle of contract negotiations. I can't Tweet about the specifics of phone calls I'm having daily with authors and editors, I can't Tweet about the painful revisions I just sent back to a client, etc. I think, based on the comments I see on my own blog, there's bitterness everywhere and, trust me, I know, it's easy for the negative to overpower the positive, but when I take a step back and really look at what people are saying I'll quickly realize that most people are happy and positive.

If you don't feel the person critiquing your book did a good job you can certainly look for someone new, and I suspect the best way to do that is to ask others who they've used or to form a group of your own. Honestly, I think some of the best learning experiences come not from the critiques we receive on our own work, but on what we see or don't see in the work of others. I would skip the classes and find a critique group and/or some beta readers.

Jessica

Agent Contract Expiration

If you sign with a literary agent and have no success placing your novel over the course of a year, what are your options after the official contract runs out? Can you search for a different agent and try again after some serious re-writes and editing? Is self-publishing worth considering? Is it time to give up, even if you believe the novel has potential?


Well, that depends on the contract. We don't have a contract that automatically expires so I'm not sure I'm the best one to answer this question. Our contract, in all jest, is for the rest of your life. What I mean by that is while we have a very easy termination clause, we hope to take on a client for a career and we don't want to be limited by time, either on our behalf or yours.

So I guess what I would ask you is what does that contract say. Does the expiration date mean automatic cancellation or does the expiration date only mean that you are now allowed to terminate? Once a contract is terminated, however that happens, you are allowed to do whatever you want. You are allowed to search for another agent, self-publish, or even quit and do something different. You know, you are also allowed to take a new project to your agent and continue with that. Many of my clients were signed with one project and first sold with another. Just because you sign with a project doesn't mean that's the one you're going to sell. Signing that contract should be a commitment on both sides to venture forth and build a career together, not just sell a book.

What I would say is that if the book has already been around, and a year has passed, I would hope that you have something new and fresh to take back to your old agent or to new agents. It never does a writer any good to spend a career focusing on just one book.

Jessica

Permissions for Quotes

I am revising the draft of my first novel, and part of it takes place in a school setting, where can see different inscriptions/quotes above doors and in various other places. These quotes are from works by well-known science fiction writers like Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov (such as "Violence is the last refuse of the incompetent" from Asimov's Foundation series). I am curious whether or not I need to approach these writers' estates and ask permission to use them, or if that falls under a caveat in copyright law.


Quotes are probably okay, but don't quote me on that. Whenever you use any material from other sources--quotes, song lyrics, poems, etc.--it is your responsibility as the author to obtain permission for use in whatever format the book will be published. That means use in print, ebook, possible audio, in the U.S. and probably around the world. It is also your responsibility to pay for those permissions should any fees be required.

I can't tell you specifically which quotes you will need permission for and which you won't. I can't say that without knowing exact details and I'm not going to give advice here for fear I might be wrong. That being said, what I can tell you is that you don't need to get the permissions prior to submitting the material. The publisher will require all necessary permissions prior to publication, but for submissions you'll be fine.

What I can also say is when in doubt, ask. In other words, there are definitely copyright laws and then there is the protectiveness of an estate, which can be two separate things. If you have concerns it never hurts to contact the estate to ask.

Jessica

April Showers Bring Gorgeous Bike Rides (Day 40)

Yesterday it poured sideways. Today I stepped outside early in the morning to hang my laundry and found a beautiful day in the garden. My landlady was outside too, and she noted that it is always gorgeous after the rain.

I headed to Marin to meet two friends for a bike ride, and not surprisingly we were greeted by strong winds but gorgeous sunshine. I set out with a vest, arm warmers, and leg warmers, and I never took them off. We headed out from San Rafael over to Point Reyes Station, along beautiful cycling roads and lovely scenery with green hills and churning water in creeks, reservoirs, and even water falls.

We stopped at Bovine Bakery, along with about 40 other cyclists, all outside enjoying pastries in the sunshine amidst a hodgepodge of bikes. Since we started so late in the day, we were starved, and actually had pizza while there. Although it was from a bakery, it did not disappoint in the least. While in line, a man behind me asked if there was a bike event going on. No, I responded, cyclists just like to hang out here.

The way back was gorgeous and with no head wind. A few times I was by myself with no cars passing, and the soft whirring of my bike in the beautiful scenery just made me happy. We did 43 miles with 2000 feet of climbing, which I figure is not bad for my first time on a bike (outside of a trainer) since December. And we had a lovely time.

On my way home I stopped at the bike shop to have my new saddle put on, so between that and my upcoming duathlon and metric century, I better get out riding more. (I have 30 days to decide if I like the saddle.)

I am looking forward to more rides with my cycle buddies from last season, and I am already looking forward to the upcoming season. It will be a double header - Moab Century Ride followed by the Gran Fondo the following week. I am also contemplating the Tour de Tucson if I can get any Arizona people interested. (And pending me figuring out how much it costs to ship a bike...) I am not often motivated to ride by myself because of how much effort it takes to get ready, but I love having people to hold me accountable. Yet another benefit of the Team! Now if it would just warm up a touch.