Must Love Books

Am I a hoarder?

2010-10-13T00:44:00.007-04:00

In my last post, I wrote an ode to the print book. This post may in fact be proof that I have a problem when it comes to loving print books. /sarcasm.

After a few weeks of not using my ereader, and a few frank conversations, my mother agreed to sell the ereader she bought me and use the money to buy me some bookshelves. They came on Monday and after putting them together, I started to go through and organize all of my books. But not just the ones on the floor. I figured if I had the shelf-space, I might as well arrange all my books in some sort of order again like they used to be (or at least an order that makes sense to me).

I sat down on my floor and started sifting through all of the books. I was particularly proud of myself for setting aside books I want to get rid of (either selling to The Strand or bring to work to throw on the takeshelves). But before I knew it, there were books everywhere. My neat piles had turned into a pit of book-mess. My get-rid-of pile grew to approx. 100+ books and looked like a small mountain. I soon realized that organizing these books would be more stressful than building the bookshelves. I went to bed last night with my office in a shambles.

Here are some before pictures:

These pictures don't even begin to do justice to how much was strewn about.

This is my desk chair. As you can see, it was overflowing.

Even my desk had stacks on it.

After whining to my best friend on the phone about how difficult it was to organize all these books into the perfect sequence, worrying that I still wouldn't have enough shelf-space, and him laughing at me, I finally hung up and powered through. Here is the result:

You can see my collection of orange bears on display at the very top. Also note the big gap where most of my Buffy and Angel DVDs should go. They are currently being loaned out to the aforementioned best friend. He knows what will happen to him if one of them goes missing.

Here are the other two. You can see the rest of my DVD collection, my comics/graphic novels, pictures of my sisters and my other best friend, and my Wizard of Oz nutcrackers (I used to be obsessed with The Wizard of Oz and some of my aunts still send me WoO junk they find at garage sales, despite my protests.)

Afterward, I decided to count my books quickly and see just how many there were. My best friend guessed 400-500. I guessed "I have no freaking clue." Counting the book I'm currently reading and everything on my shelf, and excluding books that are on loan, books that are still in my cubicle at my temp job, comic books, my get-rid-of pile, and a pile of books that are under my desk to reference for the column I'm writing for Lambda Literary*, I have 601 books. That means that combined with everything that was excluded, I own 700+ books. I don't know whether to be extremely proud or really embarrassed. I guess I'm going with proud, since I'm posting this information on a public blog...though I may blame that on shock in the morning.

One of my friends called me a hoarder** though I don't think that's fair, since I'm getting rid of 100+ books and the ones I have are not taking over my living area. Another friend, however, said I was merely "an Enthusiast." I tend to agree with her.

*I am currently writing a monthly column, entitled Booknerds & Queerleaders, for the Lambda Literary Foundation's website.
**Yes, I even have a book about hoarding (or rather, a novel about a girl whose mom is a hoarder) Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu - read it. It's good!

Why I Don't Read E-Books (or, An Ode to Print Books)

2010-09-04T21:00:00.004-04:00

For a few months now, my mother has been asking me about e-readers, what kind I would recommend (the Sony or the nook, but I have a personal one-man boycott against Amazon especially with e-books, so I’m biased), what they’re like to use, and more specifically, what brand I would want if she were to get me one. Every time she asked I would tell her the same thing.

“Honestly mom, I don’t really want or need an e-reader. I wouldn’t use it so please don’t waste your money on buying me one. I could use some bookshelves though.”

Well she bought me one anyway (yes I said thank you) and many of the friends that I’ve told seem shocked that I’m not more excited about my new “toy.” They don’t understand why I’m not buying thousands of e-books and taking it everywhere with me. Many of them have told me “just wait…you’ll get used to it and then you’ll be addicted.” But I know I won’t and here’s why.

I love books. I don’t just mean reading. I love physical books. So much of the pleasure I derive from the reading process comes from the actual physical book. Maybe that’s a comfort thing from growing up as a reader, but so be it. Let’s start with the purchase. While it’s nice to be able to order a book offline and have it shipped, there’s no substitute in my mind for going to the brick-and-mortar bookstore and browsing the shelves. Some people find it soothing to shop for clothes, I shop for books. I love scanning the shelves, pulling out books that look interesting, reading the copy, judging books by their covers, and ultimately walking away with at least a few books to buy. If I go looking for a specific book and it’s not there, I will almost always say no when the clerk asks if I’d like to special order it. It gives me an excuse to go to the next closest bookstore and repeat the whole process again.

E-books, being digital, cannot be bought at a bookstore. All you have to do is go online or on your reader and click a few buttons. It sounds easy but to me, that’s boring. And unlike my fashion-loving friends, who can order something and then get to try it on when it arrives, I don’t even get something solid I can hold in my hands.

Once I’ve bought my books, I love to look at the covers and read the copy again. Covers are very important to me. There have been times when a cover will make or break a book for me. In fact, you could probably hand me my favorite book and if it had a horrible cover, I would probably not enjoy the reading experience as much as I would if it had a cover I loved. I could still enjoy the book, but part of the experience would be ruined for me. And unfortunately e-books don’t really come with covers. Even the companies that include their covers in the e-book can’t duplicate some of their most amazing covers on the grayscale e-readers. I downloaded a free sample of Jennifer Brown’s Hate List (which, you’ll recall, was my first acquisition) just to see what it would look like as an e-book, and while the cover was included, even that cover, which was incredibly beautiful, simple and only two-colors (black and gray-blue) just didn’t do it for me on the e-reader.

Then we get to the reading itself. When I read a book, I love feeling the book in my hands; the feel of the cover whether it’s matte or gloss, the bumpiness of embossing, the texture of the interior paper, the weight of the book in my hands. I love to feel the thickness (or thinness) of the book and to see and feel, as I’m reading, how far I’ve gone and how far I still have to go. And I love the smell of the paper and ink and the differences between the smell of a new book and the smell of an older book that’s started to yellow with age. When I’m reading an e-book, I’m always feeling the same weight under my hands, the same texture (my e-reader case). I’m always on the same page, in a sense, because I haven’t been able to experience the sensation of flipping (a rite of passage I enjoy). And of course, there’s no smell, unless you accidentally spill coffee on your reader’s case (not advised).

To be clear, this is not an anti-e-books blog post. Hell, if it weren’t for e-books, I wouldn’t be making a living right now. And I know a lot of people enjoy their e-readers, either because they are tired of their bookshelves exploding or because they enjoy the anonymity while reading an embarrassing book on the subway, or just because they can carry around one e-reader filled with books instead of carrying one heavy hardcover or taking multiple books on vacation in case the first one turns out to be a snooze. I am just not one of those people. As you can see, the act of reading a book is a very sensual (not to be confused with sexual---I don’t love books that much) experience for me. It’s an experience that is very important to me and has been deeply ingrained since childhood when I first read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with its green cover and full-color illustrations.

So for those who wondered why I wasn’t ignoring the world while downloading the entire contents of my to-be-read list, now you know. And for those who are wondering, yes I probably will use my e-reader occasionally. Once I am back in editorial (yes I’m still holding out) I’ll use my reader to review manuscripts. And in the meantime, I promised my mother I’d buy at least one e-book, though it may take me a while to get to it (my TBR pile takes up most of my office floor at the moment, and it continues to grow), and I have been using it to play Sudoku. Ultimately, though, I’m still wishing I had some new bookshelves. I’d really like to see my office floor again.

Blog Review: Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick

2010-04-15T12:25:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone. So despite my lack of updates, I somehow found the time to guest blog on a friend's blog. Actually she bullied me into writing it for her. :-P

I was supposed to write reviews for a few different books, but as I procrastinated, the subject of my review continued to change. But when I recently read a book that really spoke to me, I decided it was time to just buckle down and do it.

So check out Reading Between the Lines, run by my lovely friend Danielle of Pocket Books, and my 5-star review of Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick.

A blog about not giving up on your creative dreams

2010-02-25T16:08:00.006-05:00

The other day a good friend of mine, an amazingly talented artist, called me up and told me she was thinking about giving up on her dreams of an art career and pursuing nursing instead. I promptly talked her out of that idea; she’s been dreaming of being a professional artist since I met her 13 years ago and she is not the type of person who would be able to do all the things nurses do. But while I was talking her down off the ledge, I realized I had a lot to say on the subject of “pursuing a career in the creative industry” and I thought it was something worth sharing.

I should start by saying that my friend called because she was doubting her abilities. She looked around and saw artists who were “better” than her, she kept hearing how hard it was to make a living being a professional artist, and she saw how miserable her boyfriend, a professional artist, was. As a creative person myself (my medium being the written word) I could really relate to how she was feeling; how a lot of artists (visual, written, etc) must feel while trying to achieve their dreams and work their way to…maybe not even the top, but somewhere safe, comfortable, or stable enough to build a life around. I wanted to put this advice out there for those creative people (to be referred to from here on out under the umbrella term ‘artists’ because that’s what they are, no matter the medium), including my friend, so they have something to think about when they start to doubt themselves. Hell…so that I can have something to think about when I start to doubt myself.

Firstly, there are always going to be artists who are “better” than you. I put better in quotation marks because art is very subjective and one person can love a work of art and another person can hate it just as passionately. The key is to be happy with your own art and be able to find a job or career path that suits your particular brand or style of art. If you work hard enough and you have passion and a willingness to learn and grow, you will have options. And in the meantime, it isn’t going to help you to compare yourself to the competition. Be inspired by them, learn from them, but don’t be intimidated by their presence. Remember that for every artist whose work intimidates you, there may be an artist who is equally intimidated by your work.

I do want to acknowledge that it is hard out there for artists to make a living. That’s a fact and I won’t gloss over that. It takes a lot of persistence, determination, hard work and talent, and (sometimes) a certain amount of luck to become a successful artist. The thing is you can’t just go forward thinking “I want to make a living being an artist.” You have to be smart about it. What are your particular strengths when it comes to your art? If you want to make a living in your art, is there a way to do so without being a starving artist? When I graduated from high school, all I wanted to do was be a writer. I went to college because it was expected of me but I got an English degree (Writing Concentration) because I figured I’d learn for four years and by the time I graduated I’d have a book written, a publishing deal and enough money to live off of. In hindsight and after years of working in publishing, that’s a laughable goal. But when I got to my senior year of undergrad and had nothing worth publishing, I had to think outside the box. Sure I wanted to be a writer but what could I do for a living that was related to my art? At times I just wished I could read for a living. I loved books so much. It was that wish that led me to become an editor. It was a job related to writing, it required me to use my skills as both an avid reader and a writer, and it was something I was passionate about. And the deeper into that career path I got, the more my passion grew. I had found a way to make a living (bupkis at first, sure, but still more than I was making as an unpublished writer) while working with the written word on my terms, even if it wasn’t what I had initially set out to do.

That’s something that happens very often---the path you start off on leads somewhere you never expected it to. But ultimately, the journey is what life is all about, not the destination. I never knew how passionate I would be about editing until I got into it, and I had no idea how passionate I already was about children’s and YA books until I started working on that side of the industry. And ya know? Working in this industry has inspired me in my writing, the original creative venture that led me to becoming an editor. I’m surrounded by book people every day. A lot of my friends, who I met at work or through industry networking, are book lovers. Many of them are writers too. I’m part of two book clubs, I’ve been and am still involved in writing groups, all of which are filled with colleagues from the book business. When I first read a Sara Zarr novel (her debut, Story of a Girl), I was inspired by what she had done; by the artistry of her words and the impact of her story. To then be able to contribute my thoughts while she was revising her next book (my boss was her editor), to see her process and how she worked, was such an honor. It opened doors in my mind that I hadn’t known needed opening. I realized that my love of YA novels extended to my writing and suddenly I was coming up with more YA story ideas than I was adult story ideas. And the ideas meant more to me because of my passion for YA lit.

That's one thing that always bugged me about the musical RENT. As much as I loved that show, I always wanted to strangle the characters and say, "just because you are artists doesn't mean you can't get a job and support yourself! You don't have to abandon your art to make a living!"
Sure, you might not be able to make a living immediately just by creating art, but there are ways to have a career that is related to your art, that will allow you to utilize your artistic talents, and they will inspire you to grow as an artist. And if you are really passionate, you will continue your art on the side, using evenings and weekends and any spare time you can commit. To paraphrase Rainer Maria Rilke, you will create art because you can’t not create art.

And there are always going to be naysayers and people who have a rough time of it. As far as my friend’s boyfriend is concerned, he’s a whiner. I’ve heard countless stories about how he procrastinates, misses his deadlines and has held up production and in general sounds like a real nightmare for any editor who is stuck working with him. He’s obviously not happy doing that type of work, but he signed a contract out of obligation and is now dragging his feet. There are always going to be people like this---self-defeatists who give up and blame other people for their failures, or who blame the industry for how hard they have it when they’re just doing it to themselves. And like I said, any creative industry is going to be hard. The competition is heavy, there are going to be people who try to step on you to get to the top and you will often be told you’re not good enough or not right for the project. But it is possible if you’re smart and you have the right attitude. And ya know, a lot of people are going to give up along the way. They are going to realize this isn’t for them, or they don’t love it enough to stick with it through thick and thin, or maybe they’ll just burn out. But if you love your art enough to be able to hold out longer than everyone else, you’ve won half the battle. Again, being smart and professional is the other half.

I truly believe that if you can’t see yourself anywhere but in the creative industry of your choice, you shouldn’t give up pursuing it. My friend was born to be an artist and would never be happy being a nurse. I was meant to work with books (and hopefully publish some of my own someday) and I would never be happy working for an insurance company (which is what most people do back in my hometown). If you were born to create art, do it. If you can’t support yourself with your art right away, find a way to support yourself while also creating your art on the side. And let your fellow artists inspire you, lift you up and teach you. And most importantly, be open to growth in your art, don’t blame others for your failures, and learn to view mistakes and rejections not as failures but as opportunities for more growth. You can do it…but only if you are willing to put yourself out there and do what it takes. Do you have what it takes? You won’t know until you try.

Why I Didn’t Like the Percy Jackson Movie

2010-02-20T15:49:00.004-05:00

Anyone who knows me fairly well knows that I am a huge fan of the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. I’ve often proclaimed that my love for this series is up there with my love for Harry Potter. So needless to say, I was pretty excited to see the movie adaptation of The Lightning Thief, especially since it was directed by the man behind the first two Harry Potter movies, Chris Columbus. I was also nervous---movies adapted from books rarely live up to their source material and barring most (but not all) of the Harry Potter movies, a few Neil Gaiman movies and Spiderwick, I’ve felt let down by recent book-movies. So I went in with a cautious but open heart and found myself completely let down. Here’s a list of reasons why (Caution: this list contains SPOILERS for both the movie and the book series):

*No Ares (the Cabin or the God) – one of the fun parts of the Percy books is that he encounters each and every Olympian god throughout the series and they’re “modernized.” The scenes with Percy and Ares were intense and exciting and it’s one of the first times Percy encounters one of the gods (aside from Mr. D). His absence was greatly noted and replacing him with Persephone (more to come on her) did nothing to improve the story. I was also annoyed that there was no Clarisse or Ares Cabin. While I get that the producers probably thought they were too reminiscent of Draco/Slytherin and wanted to steer clear of HP similarities, if they had thought ahead to the rest of the series, Clarisse and Ares Cabin play an important role later on, and Clarisse’s pride and stubbornness set up one of the most emotional moments (for me) in the final book. I was also annoyed that Annabeth became the stand-in for Clarisse (see my next point).

*Annabeth was all wrong - I know this is a superficial detail, but my first complaint is that Annabeth is BLONDE. It bothers me that (Buffy aside) we rarely get to see the blonde girl kicking ass and taking names. They’re always the pretty ones while the brunettes are the tough ones. That aside, I also didn’t like the changes her character was given. Book-Annabeth would NOT attack Percy that violently (in the name of training) and almost kill him. Setting her up as the violent warrior woman and then having her flip-flop to become his ally for her own selfish purposes did not make me like her as either a romantic foil OR a Hermione-esque “smart, female friend” for Percy. Again, they may have been trying to avoid HP similarities but they went a bit too far. Part of the fun of The Lightning Thief is that it has the HP skeleton (which JK Rowling didn’t invent, by the way) with its own unique and interesting story, mythology, and character development.

*The way race was handled – I had a BIG problem with Rosario Dawson playing Persephone. Not only was I annoyed that her character (a MAJOR deus ex machine) had replaced Ares, but she was clearly supposed to be the exotic, spicy goddess/wife and they didn’t even try to make her seem Greek. At one point my friend Zoraida, a Latina woman, leans over to me and says, “Why is Persephone Puerto Rican?” I have no idea. She’s supposed to be a GREEK goddess. If they wanted to have diversity in the cast, they had a great opportunity with the demi-god camp-dwellers (since they’re half Greek god and half-any race known to the human species). But they missed that opportunity by only focusing on the main demi-gods (another thing that took away from the greatness of the books – I loved all of the briefly mentioned side characters, just as I did in HP). I was actually really glad they cast a black actor to play Grover, since, ya know, he’s a satyr and they’re nature spirits. He could be any race. But I was extremely disappointed that they then went and changed Grover’s character to make him a stereotype of a black teen. Grover is a nervous, awkward, odd little goat-man and instead they turned him into a “playa” who was often distracted by hotties and speaks like he grew up in “the hood.” There was even one scene where the camera watches Percy and Grover walk up some stairs and you can clearly see Percy’s pants at a normal level and Grover’s are sagging, which doesn’t even make sense since Grover’s pants are supposed to conceal his GOAT LEGS! It just made me sad that they felt they had to completely change the character into a black stereotype rather than keeping the integrity of the character and casting him black. I found it insulting to people of all ethnicities.

(Edited to add this one bullet) *The way they handled the female characters - Annabeth was reduced to the cliche love interest who starts off hating (in this case, almost-killing) the main dude, and slowly learns to love him because he's just so awesome. I was also annoyed that she was a brunette, as if blondes can't be strong fighters and are stuck being the pretty/slutty/dainty girls. And don't even get me started on Medusa and ESPECIALLY Persephone (can you tell I hated this character) who both acted like gross pervs around the teenage leads. I half expected Persephone to start humping Grover's leg. It was really gross and didn't add to the story one bit. Meanwhile, if anyone's going to be acting like a horny teenager (aside from the horny teenagers) why isn't it the GODS. They could never keep it in their pants in the legends!

*No Mist or Oracle – The Mist and The Oracle play a big part in the overarching plot of the series. The Mist is a big part in explaining why normal humans (a) don’t know about the gods, demi-gods and mythological creatures prancing around, and (b) how Percy and company can get away with questing and battling all across America and not cause mass chaos. Also, The Oracle is the big motivation behind the quests Percy and his friends go on and is the reason why there aren’t supposed to be any children by the Big Three. It’s also the main motivation behind Luke’s betrayal (since his mother went crazy trying to take on the mantle of The Oracle) and the lack of an Oracle also doesn’t give me much hope for one of my favorite characters, Rachel Elizabeth Dare (the girl who can see through the Mist and who eventually becomes the new Oracle).

*Hades (the place) was WAY too Christian – I’m sorry but fire, brimstone and suffering is the Christian version of Hell. That’s NOT what Hades is supposed to be. Hades is the underworld and the land of the dead, but it is supposed to be dark and chilling not fiery and frightful. And where the heck is Elysium (the paradise where heroes go after death) amidst this inferno? Also, Charon is supposed to ferry people across the river Styx into the underworld, not through the air right to the palace of Hades. And where the heck was Cerberus (a HUGE part of the Hades myth)? Oh, right, of course. Their horrible depiction of Persephone, played by the highly-paid Rosario Dawson, makes the Cerberus storyline moot. So basically Persephone replaced Ares AND Cerberus all for the sake of…what? They show Hades acting very Lucifer-like and then Persephone just steps in and fixes it? What a total dumbing down (and de-funning) of what really happens in the books.

*The gods are really good, caring parents – A big part of the books is that the gods are just as they’ve always been depicted; selfish, careless, and neglectful. They come to earth, have children with mortal men and woman and then abandon their children because they can’t be bothered. Every so often, when they’re proud or forced to, they’ll claim their children. They may love them but they aren’t very good to them. But in the movie, Poseidon is depicted as this compassionate, caring dad who only left Percy and his mother (after 7 months of raising him) because he was becoming human and Zeus made a law to prevent that from happening. Wait WHAT?! How can a god become a human? And are we supposed to believe ALL the gods are raising ALL of their children when they are born? Because there’s an awful lot of children at Camp Half Blood and only 12 Olympian gods (2 of whom don’t have any demi-god children) plus Hades.

*The Greek gods are…British? - Who on EARTH decided that the Greek gods should all have British accents? And why in creation is Melina Kanakaredes, a GREEK-AMERICAN, portraying Athena with such a HORRENDOUS British accent? The one Greek actor they cast as a Greek god and they couldn’t even let her use her normal voice?

*Percy’s powers – I was annoyed at how they handled Percy’s abilities. I was OK with his showy waterbending the few times he did it. That was fine and I can understand how they needed something theatrical and showy for the movie. But I was annoyed when Percy created the water trident (he shouldn’t have that much control – he has barely had any time to master his abilities) and SUPER annoyed when he healed Annabeth with the pool water (Percy doesn’t have healing powers – he is healed by water because he is THE SON OF POSEIDON!).

*Stripping a lot of the magic from the world – Aside from the lack of Mist, they also left out Luke and Annabeth’s backstory, which may mean no Thalia, Daughter of Zeus. They had the kids communicating with the camp via computer whihc eliminated the Iris messages (which would've looked cool and added to the mythology). They didn’t show or even mention any of the other cabins aside from Hermes, which was far too empty for the cabin that claims unclaimed campers. There was no Mr. D (Dionysus) at all. And the camp was something out of Xena, Warrior Princess. One of the great things about Riordan’s books was that it combined the old-timey Greek myths with the modern day. Camp Half Blood didn’t even look like a modern day camp (barring Luke’s out of control video game system) with an outdoorsy feel. And no big brazier? And then making Grover a Protector (with no “protective powers” whatsoever) instead of a Seeker, thus negting the whole Pan storyline. I’m not seeing much of a set-up for Book 2 AT ALL, with the absence of Clarisse and the Pan storyline, and no set-up of Kronos whatsoever).

*A lot of little stuff – There were also a lot of glaring annoyances that stood out for me. Trying to pass off the daughters of Aphrodite as nymphs and only mentioning them as slutty temptations for Grover (nymphs and children of Aphrodite are two different groups, movie-dudes!). And a Lady Gaga montage in the middle of the Lotus Casino? C’mon! And I love the Gaga. Also, why did they age everyone up? That is another thing that doesn’t bode well for sequels. Hell, the girl who plays Annabeth is in her mid-20’s and is also playing the girlfriend of the 32-year old main character in White Collar. The guy who plays Grover is mid-20’s as well.

Ok, so as much as it sounds like I hated it, I didn’t HATE it…but I didn’t like it all that much either. I felt like the film was stripped of everything that gave it flavor in book form and instead of avoiding the Harry Potter similarities, they ended up creating something that was neither unique nor distinctive enough. There were parts I actually liked. It helped that the guy who plays Percy, 18-year old (yes I checked) Logan Lerman, is very easy on the eyes. But here they are, just to show I didn’t leave the theater entirely miserable:

*Grover’s line to Charon about burning money when we’re in a recession. I burst out laughing.

*The casting - Catherine Keener as Percy’s mom – love her! The actor who played Annabeth was pretty awesome, even if I don’t like what they did with her character. I also enjoyed Jake Abel (the third Winchester brother) as Luke and the aforementioned hotness that is Logan Lerman. Uma Thurman as Medusa was amazing as well, as was her snake-hair.

*Turning Smelly Gabe into stone at the end (I’m glad they kept that little tidbit – I was waiting for it the whole movie).

*The animal-hindquarters looked good on both Grover and Chiron. At least there’s that.

*Just being able to see a visual representation of one of my favorite book series made it worth the ridiculously high price of the ticket.

This isn’t something I’ll be excited to see again or own on DVD; though I’ll probably buy it just to support the series and the author (does he get royalties from DVD sales?). Meanwhile, if ticket sales are high enough to warrant a sequel, I’m going to hope they fix some of the errors and omissions that made it hard for me to enjoy this movie entirely. There’s still hope for them to introduce Clarisse, Grover’s mission to find Pan and even The Mist and The Oracle at the beginning of The Sea of Monsters, so let’s hope they’ll go there if there is a Book 2. And if they don’t plan on doing so, I hope this movie series stays dead in the water and doesn’t ruin any chances of someone picking this up again in a few years and doing a much better reboot.

I'm still alive

2010-01-12T14:29:00.003-05:00

Hey guys and gals. I know I haven't been the best blogger lately. A big part of my absence is that I'm starting to lose interest in the whole blogging thing. Don't get me wrong - I love writing down my thoughts. I'm a writer at heart and since I haven't had much success squeezing the novels in my head out onto paper, blogging helps me release my inner-writer. But lately I've just been so much more comfortable keeping my thoughts private and updating my older, more heavily filtered blog. Not that my life is very juicy at all, but it's nice to be able to write without having to think about the repurcussions of my words. Which, now that I think about it, makes me realize that is why I have such trouble working on my novel. Color me ridiculous.

Anyway, I just thought I'd pop on and let you all know I'm still alive, I'm doing great if a little bored and that I'm still looking for a new editorial position. I've been interviewing, but so far haven't landed anywhere yet. You can be sure I'll update you all on that front as soon as there is news.

As a consolation, I thought I'd direct you to the blog of a friend, Danielle, who also works in publishing (on the adult side, but she loves kidlit). Reading Between the Lines is a great blog that touches on a number of great topics and eventually I'll be contributing something if Danielle can ever manage to pry something out of me (I owe her a review of Hunger Games that still hasn't seen the light of day). So check out her blog, especially this great post about 6-word memoirs. Go read the post and then contribute your own 6-word story.

And bear with me through this hiatus. Hopefully there will be more Junior Editor Spotlights (it's really hard to get Jr. Eds to take time out of their busy schedule of editing their own books and assisting their bosses to do a little old blog interview) and eventually I'll have an opinion that I feel like voicing again. In the meantime, I'm at Twitter and I'm sure you probably all follow me over there, but if not, come and find me. I'm TeeEss.

Big News!

2009-10-28T11:03:00.004-04:00

Hi everybody. I’ve been avoiding writing this post, mostly because it’s a difficult subject to talk about. But I thought I should say something, just so it’s out there and no one has to wonder or ask around.

As of the end of September, I am no longer with Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Yes, I’m sad about it. Yes, I miss everyone I worked with. Yes, I am now looking for work.

So what happened? Well I won’t go into details, but what I will say is that it can be very hard when you and your boss are both promoted out of your current roles. Your needs change, their needs change, and things can potentially get very difficult. I loved my job, but it was time to part ways, and while I was sad to go, I’m looking forward to the future and where I’ll be next. Right now I’m trying to find a way to pay the bills while holding out for another editorial position in children’s books. That’s what I love and that’s where I want to stay, though I’m keeping my mind open should other opportunities present themselves.

I will say this---my time at Little, Brown was an amazing and memorable experience. I learned a lot from my boss and I had the chance to work with some truly remarkable authors. And the LBYR editorial team was really like a family to me. We worked together so closely and with such little competition that it was an exciting day when any of us got a good submission in, or won an auction, or got promoted. They were truly a wonderful team to work with and LB was such a great place to start my editorial career.

So now on to the next venture. I haven’t landed anywhere yet, so if anyone hears of any leads, don’t hesitate to lob them my way. In the meantime, I’ll be stalking the job boards, temp agencies and potential freelance jobs and will be blazing my way through my TBR pile to try and catch up on books I didn’t have the time to read before.

And for those who are curious---yes, I will still be updating this blog (hopefully more often, now that I’ve gotten this one out of the way, and now that I have more time on my hands). Stay tuned!

ETA: For those looking to reach me via email, I'm at tsferguson1 at gmail.

Junior Editor Spotlight - the debut: Molly O'Neill

2009-06-23T22:48:00.004-04:00

So I know you all have been waiting for this, and I've been procrastinating on posting this because of the formatting, but I figured if I didn't do this soon, Molly was going to kick my butt. So at long last I debut my new feature, the Junior Editor Spotlight, where I interview kidlit folks from Associate level all the way down to Editorial Assistant. Since this will be long, I'll jump right in and let the spotlight shine where it's meant to.

Name & Title: Molly O'Neill, Assistant Editor, Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins
Publishing House: HarperCollins Children's Books

What inspired you to go into children’s books, and what were you doing before this?

I graduated from Marquette University with a double major in Elementary Education and Writing-Intensive English (my university's name for the creative writing version of an English major; those of us who majored in it mostly liked that the English Department's abbrevation for us was WINE majors...). I was fortunate to have an amazing mentor who introduced me to the world of children's publishing which then led to a great internship with another great mentor. At the end of the internship, that editor said to me, "I don't think you want to be a teacher; I think you want to work in children's books!" She was totally right.

After I graduated, I spent two years doing full-time, post-graduate volunteer work as a youth minister, with the great bonus of getting to travel all across the US and Canada. Youth ministry and editorial work don't necessarily appear to have much in common, I know, but underneath the surface, they actually do--both are all about forming and building relationships, about seeing the deeper meaning in things, and about inspiring and being inspired.

I moved to NYC after those two years were up, ready to work in children's books, just as my former boss/mentor had predicted I would. I spent about four and a half years on the Marketing side of children's books, first at Clarion Books and then at HarperCollins, and finally achieved my ultimate goal when I moved over to the editorial side of the industry about two years ago.

As junior editors, our primary jobs often involve assisting a more senior editor, but this also gives us the opportunity to work on some great books alongside them. Who do you or have you worked with and what are some notable books you've worked on with them?

When I was at Clarion, I asked for and was granted the privilege of working on a few projects editorially, in addition to my marketing work. The pinnacle for me there (and it may well be a pinnacle of my entire career!) was getting to work alongside the esteemed, wise, and wonderful editor Virginia Buckley on the early drafts of Gary Schmidt's THE WEDNESDAY WARS.

I've worked alongside three editors thus far at HarperCollins. Brenda Bowen gave me my first real chance to prove myself as an editor when she hired me to assist her at the now-defunct Bowen Press. I suspect I'll spend the rest of my career hoping hard that the books I edit will be evidence that she made a good decision in opening up the editorial doors to me. In addition to working with Brenda on the books of publishing royalty (among them, Virginia Euwer Wolff), I learned much from simply watching the person behind the editor that Brenda is--about how vision and insight and creativity come, in large part, from being someone who is passionately engaged with the world--and the many fascinating people in it--in every possible way.

Working alongside Anne Hoppe, I've gotten to see the sheer genius and the invisible-but-brilliant creative force that helps guide and shape the books of Terry Pratchett, Melissa Marr, A.M. Jenkins, and many other books that avid readers count among their favorites. Publishing is an apprenticeship kind of business, in the way that I think few industries in our modern world still are, and I'm lucky to be apprenticed to a true Master Editor. Working with Anne is the equivalent of having that English teacher or professor who grades your papers HARD, because she knows you're eternally capable of MORE. She demands that I become a better, smarter, sharper, wiser, and more sensitive editor with every passing day, and I'm certainly trying to live up to the expectations.

I’ve just recently started working with Katherine Tegen on a new novel by Patricia MacLachlan, which is one of those experiences that makes me pinch myself to be sure that I'm not dreaming. Katherine is wonderfully supportive and encouraging of me as an editor. I know that same support and encouragement is part of what her authors and illustrators love about her, too, and part of what makes them want to continually out-do themselves in creating new masterpieces for her to publish.I look forward to continuing to grow as a part of her imprint.

Talk yourself up. Tell us what you’ve acquired and what you are looking to acquire?

I'm proud to be the editor of Kathryn Fitzmaurice, author of THE YEAR THE SWALLOWS CAME EARLY. We're working now on a companion to her first novel, and it's a book that I already can't wait for all of you to read. Right now I'm also working on a Christmas picture book by Laura Godwin that I think is perfectly wonderful, and I have high hopes that it will be a Christmas favorite, year after year.

I acquire everything from picture books through YA, but right now, most of all, I'm looking for middle grade--a vivid voice and inventive storytelling are the thing I'm hoping for every time I open up a manuscript. In YA, I'm a sucker for a good romance, and for stories about connectivity and the choices that we make and the way they trickle down to affect others--and the person we ultimately become, too. Other sweet spots: ballet/theatre/other artsy, backstage stories; a strong setting and a sense of place that shapes a story; and my inner 10 year old reader wants me to tell you, "Orphans! Anything with orphans!"

I know this is an evil question to ask a book person, but I’m going to do it anyway. What is your favorite classic children's book? What is your favorite contemporary children's book?

Well, if you're going to be that evil, I'm going to cheat and split this into categories. Classic picture book would be BLUEBERRIES FOR SAL. Kerplink, Kerplank, Kerplunk. Classic novel would be A LITTLE PRINCESS. As a child, my mother took away my copy of it, because I read it over and over and insisted on acting like, I, too, was a put-upon princess-in-disguise. ;)

Contemporary (as in, recently-published, not setting) picture book would be a knock-down, drag-out fight between THAT RABBIT BELONGS TO EMILY BROWN (Cressida Cowell & Neal Layton) and DIARY OF A WOMBAT (Jackie French & Bruce Whatley). Contemporary novel would be a three-way battle between LIZZIE BRIGHT AND THE BUCKMINSTER BOY (Gary Schmidt), A NORTHERN LIGHT (Jennifer Donnelly), and a quiet little novella called I HAD SEEN CASTLES (Cynthia Rylant). I re-read all three about once a year to remind myself what good writing looks like and how it makes me feel.

Loving a book cover is very important to me as a reader. If I don’t love a cover, I find it hard to pick up the book and get into it. What are some of your favorite book covers?

Oooh, this is a good question. I was totally suckered in by how haunting the cover of THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH is. In fact, I think that's a good way to describe the YA covers that really resonate with me--there's something haunting to them, a clear story deep beneath the cover image, waiting to be discovered: like the covers of A NORTHERN LIGHT and WHAT I SAW AND HOW I LIED and 13 REASONS WHY.

For middle grade, I love a cover that shouts that there's a story unfolding inside: like the original hardcover jacket for A PRINCESS ACADEMY or THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY or the forthcoming DANI NOIR.

In picture book covers, I like bold, spare, graphic, and utterly lovable. Like DIARY OF A WOMBAT, or I'D REALLY LIKE TO EAT A CHILD, or SPLAT THE CAT, or A GOOD DAY.

Assuming you have a life outside of children’s books (a bold assumption, I know) what are some of your other, non-book-related interests? Be as specific as possible so that we can all stalk you on the weekends. Just kidding (or am I?).

I knit. I drink far more coffee than can possibly be good for me. I spend way too much money shopping on Etsy.com. I wander through Prospect Park. I see plays and go to the ballet and opera as often as possible. I frequent the Greenmarket and love cooking. I people-watch. I avoid cleaning my apartment in every way imaginable. I occasionally manage to read a book that's--gasp!--not for work. I ponder ways to take over the universe that involve making more money than publishing, but I always come back to the fact that I passionately love kids' books and the publishing world, and that it's pretty hard for even a single day to go by without that love weaving into whatever else I do.

What is your favorite movie/song/non-children’s book?

Again, you have asked an impossible question, leaving me no option but to cheat further (or should we call it editing your questions?) You say favorite, and I choose to believe you meant that as the plural variant of the word, rather than the singular. ;) Ergo:

Movies: Ocean's 11. Once. Anne of Green Gables. My Fair Lady. Love, Actually. Newsies. Pan's Labyrinth. Playing By Heart.

Song: Whatever it is at the current moment, it's probably been on repeat for at least a month—when I fall in love with a song, I wear it out! Right now, I'm crushing pretty hard on a band called Fictionist (especially their song “Set Me on Fire,”) which I was introduced to by author Sara Zarr; on an indie artist from Texas named Lee Alexander, whose song “Union Street” gives me chills; and on the song “Blindsided” by Bon Iver, (from the album For Emma, Forever Ago), who I found via my colleague Jordan—it’s the perfect rainy day music.

Non-children's book: I sob openly over THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE, and I love a poetic literary novel called IF NOBODY SPEAKS OF REMARKABLE THINGS, by Jon McGregor, about the ways that the events of a single day connect the residents of a street in England. I also love the deeply ponderous Crosswick Journals of Madeleine L'Engle. And I wouldn't say "favorite," but a non-kids' book that I'm currently reading and fascinated by is called THE WORLD IN SIX SONGS: HOW THE MUSICAL BRAIN CREATED HUMAN NATURE by Daniel Levitin.

What is your favorite part of the job? What is your least favorite? Answer carefully…your boss may read this blog. :-)

Least favorite: Filing! Also, production requests (and other tedious paperwork); reviewing royalty statements and other math-related activities; staring at the pile of manuscripts to-be-read and feeling guilt; saying "no."

Favorites: the split second between opening a manuscript and starting to read, where the possibility that you could be reading something great is 100% alive. Sending the very first copy of a book to an author and imagining their face when they open it up; the moments when you know you have the vision to help guide a book into the direction it needs to go; writing killer flap copy or a kickass [Molly censored herself but I uncensored her --T.S.] acquisitions memo that makes you feel like you've really done justice to an author or artist's work; working with and being inspired on a regular basis by insanely talented, creative people.

Everyone should know I’m a karaoke nut at this point, and it seems like it’s becoming an industry-wide phenomenon (or maybe I’m just more and more aware of it). What is your #1 karaoke song specialty?

(Karaoke? Really? This must be a Little, Brown thing.) In any case, my karaoke specialty is coming up with brilliantly embarrassing song ideas for everyone else to sing while simultaneously managing to make people forget that I haven't gone up to sing anything myself!

And finally, the most important question of all – are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?

Team Jacob!

Anything else you'd like to add?

Thanks for having me as a visitor on your blog, T.S. Getting to know my great colleagues is one of the best parts of the business, not least because they sometimes send me advanced copies of books I'm dying to read. Also, I hereby declare a Secret Bonus Round Question to this interview, where the question-ee gets to ask the question-er one question of her own! So. Ahem. When do we get to see your answers to all these same thought-provoking questions, Editor Ferguson?

Well, to answer Molly's question, I may post my own Spotlight some day (probably some day when I need something to post and I have nothing original to give). In the meantime, Molly's given me a great idea. From now on, I'll be adding one last question to the interview, but it will be the editor's chance to ask me a question of their choosing.

Stay tuned for the next Junior Editor Spotlight, which should be coming down the pipeline shortly, as well as a few actual posts directly from my brain, once I've had the chance to write, re-read, edit and rewrite them. I guess you never really stop being an editor, huh?

My Desk: A Photo Tour

2009-05-11T11:36:00.005-04:00

While you're all waiting patiently for my next blog post, I thought I'd tide you over with a photo tour of my workspace. Or rather, the parts of my workspace that keep me happy during stressful days/weeks/months. Hopefully these pics aren't too big---I'm trying to keep them fairly small but clear but I don't have the right software to resize them without messing with the clarity much. So here goes:

First there is my Zac Efron corner. Zac and I are dating, though he doesn't know it yet. And folks around the office just love to give me pictures of him, especially publicity when they find him in the teen mags they have subscriptions to. And I can't bear to throw him away. So he has his own corner. I should note that there are actually two other pictures of him around my desk. Yes, I'm really that crazy about Zac Efron. He's who I always pictured as Edward Cullen before Twilight was even on the bestseller list, if that puts it in perspective.

And speaking of Edward Cullen, don't you just love my horrendously amazing Edward action-figure? I keep him in the original packaging because on the back is the best typo ever. It says "Special Powers: Ming Reading." Love it!

And completing the Twilight portion of this tour, here is the entrance to my cubicle. In case you can't read what that sign says below Team Jacob, it says "WWJD: What Would Jacob Do?" For a few seconds I had dreams of making that slogan happen, but I never got around to telling anyone about it...aside from coworkers. Maybe this blog will be it's launching point. It's especially timely, what with New Moon coming out...whenever that is. I can never remember movie release dates.

Here is my bookshelf. As you can see, I'm spilling over onto the bookshelf in the cubicle next to me. There used to be an intern there and she let me encroach, and now there's nobody. I'm all alone with my books. :-( Zac Efron, come sit near me so we can fall in love!

Also, if you're curious, the two pics next to my bookshelf are my little sister, Elisabeth, and her boyfriend at their junior and senior prom.

This is the bookshelf that is above my desk and as you can see, I collect String Dolls (aka Voodoo Babies). That's only a portion of my collection. You'll also see one of my LOLcats (love 'em) which also tells of my love for bacon. And there's a picture of me with my sisters, Marissa and Elisabeth (I'm the oldest). There's also a great (and by great I mean HILARIOUS) quote that I photocopied from Eminem's book, The Way I Am.

I also want to pay shoutout to a decoration that didn't make it into either this photo or the one with all the Zac photos. It's a print out of a picture I found on the web and clearly shows (as well as my Jacob love) how much of a werewolf fan I am. This is the pic (stolen from google images):

This is the top of the cabinet in my cube (if you're looking at it from the hallway). You'll see a few of the books I've worked on with my boss, as well as my Popple (you all remember Popples, right?) and some of the many Jo Chen Runaways covers that I've wallpapered my area with. I absolutely LOVE her work AND Runaways and I was in the throes of that series when we moved to this new office a few years ago. Thus the wallpapering.

On the side of my cabinet that faces me, I have more art hanging up. These pictures are Wizard of Oz characters as interpreted by an artist I enjoy named Mike DePetrillo. To the right of that is my "comics that are coming out" schedule that I keep current but can never manage to look at before I go to the comic store every Wednesday (that's New Comics Release Day for you non-comic folk).

And just above that is some art by my BFF and favorite artist, Jessica DeCormier. She did this series of art a few years back while working a really boring office job, where she drew on post-its. The larger one is a print-out of a post-it piece she did with nothing but highlighters. The other two are actual post-its (ORIGINAL ART!!!) I stole from her (with permission) and were done with highlighters and marker. She's amazing and I'm always trying to pimp her out while also encouraging her to finish her portfolio so she can finally go to art school and make the connections she needs to get a job in animation and move away to California (why am I helping her again?).

This completes the photo tour of my desk. There's much more to see, but it's all just work and unorganized mess, and also I'm dreading my phone bill now since those were all taken and sent from my camera phone and I still don't know how much it costs to send pix messages. LOL! Hope you all enjoyed that and that it tides you over until I (a) get the OK that my latest blog post isn't going to get me fired when I post it or (b) get my first Junior Editor Spotlight interview in from the interviewee.

Until then...

The One That Got Away

2009-03-31T00:18:00.003-04:00

I've been wanting to post about this for a while, and I'm not just doing it. Not by any specific event, but really I have been chomping at the bit to update with a Junior Editor Spotlight and am awaiting answers from my first guest (there've been some delays due to vacations and pretty much an insane amount of work at the office right now).

Anyway, I wanted to write about "the one that got away." That is to say, those manuscripts, and every editor has them, that they loved but just couldn't buy for some reason. I wanted to talk about it, both because it is a part of the business that is really sad for us, but also to show those aspiring authors out there that sometimes you're not the only ones who are sad when an editor can't buy your book. And that is something to remember - not all rejections mean the editor didn't like your book. Sometimes we loved it but there are other factors.

Editors of all levels do A LOT of reading and it is a constant struggle to keep up with the seemingly neverending piles of potential published books. Most of them we just won't connect with for some reason - either they need way too much work, or they aren't right for our list or they aren't really a children's novel. So when we find those projects that really call out to us, it is a really exciting (and scary) time for us. I say scary because there are a lot of steps (I won't bore you with the details, since I've described them in previous posts) and at any one of those steps, we could be given a reason why we can't take this book any further.

There have been several times when I've really loved a project and couldn't buy it. Once I brought a project to my weekly editorial meeting to get extra readers. They agreed it was a great story but that it needed a lot of work. So I offered to do a revision. When I got the revision back, we discussed it and decided it still needed too much work to take on as-is, so I offered to do another revision. Unfortunately, at that stage, another editor had made an offer on it and it went somewhere else. Another time, I brought this great project to editorial meeting and my readers had positive feedback but thought it needed work. I did the revision with the author and thought it turned out great, but when I brought it back to edit meeting, my team just didn't think it was working and I had to pass. I've also seen books go all the way up to the Publications Committee meeting, with multiple editors really excited about a book and the Editorial Director's support...and they just don't like it, or get it, or think we can publish it well...and you can't argue with the Pub Comm team. They know they're shit.

It's quite sad when you lose a project, either having to reject it or seeing it go to another house. But those are also the projects that can become your "I toldja so" books. Those books that go somewhere else, do well, and you can forever say, "I toldja so" to your team. I have a few of those, none that have hit the bestseller lists or won major awards yet, but we'll see. And when you lose those books, no matter how they do, it's always great to see how that other publisher handles that book and watch it come to life from an outside perspective.

So for aspiring authors who think every rejection means we don't like your book---just remember, sometimes it hurts us as much as it hurts you and sometimes we really don't want to reject it either. But publishing is a team effort and if the team can't get behind a book, it's better off somewhere that will know how best to support it or that believes in it more. And that editor who had to reject you will be out there, rooting you on as an industry cheerleader, and probably bugging your agent or editor for an ARC when they come in.

Announcements

2009-03-24T15:55:00.007-04:00

Also, I can't believe I didn't post about this when it happened or even the last time I updated, but I got promoted. I mentioned it in in the post below, but I wanted to call it out because it's exciting. I am now an Assistant Editor. YAY!

And in other news, stay tuned for another series of blog posts from me. This series will be called the Junior Editor Spotlight. I wanted to give a shoutout to some editors out there in the kid lit arena who are in the range of Editorial Assistant to Associate Editor, since we're the younguns, the ones who don't necessarily get as much credit or as much recognition, despite doing a lot of work behind the scenes. And mostly because we're all trying to build our careers and build our names and it'll be a fun way to show readers who is out there that you might not have heard about yet. I have the first few interviews already planned, but I also want to mention that if anyone has any suggestions for junior editors they'd like me to interview, feel free to leave their names in the comments section or email me. It's ok if you don't have their contact information - I'm good at tracking people down if I don't already know them. >:-) *evil laugh*

Editor's First Acquisition | Buying the Book

2009-03-24T14:46:00.003-04:00

I think now is a great time to post about the experience of buying my first book. This time next week, it will have been exactly a year since I found out I had won HATE LIST at auction. Before I tell you about how that happened, I want to share the cover, since we're finally able to share it.

What do you think? I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.

As I've mentioned in a previous blog, the events that led up to the agent sending me this manuscript feel like real networking destiny. When I got it, I thought the idea sounded interesting. It was a Friday, so I put it in my e-reader and told myself I would start looking at it over the weekend. The agent, Cori Deyoe from 3 Seas Literary, had sent me 50 pages and told me to let her know if I wanted to see more and I had sent an immediate response and asked her to please send me the full (why not - I have the e-reader, it won't break my back). I started reading Saturday night before bed and Sunday I decided to come into the office for some reason unknown to me. I finished the first 50, walking down the street, as I got to my building and I was really upset that I had hit the end. Luckily, Cori had sent me the full after I had left and it was waiting in my inbox when I got up to my desk. Now again I feel like destiny was in play, because I decided that I did not want to stay at the office and do whatever it was I had decided to come in for...so I went home and kept reading (what, at the time, was called) HERO. I finished it before bed that night, came in the next morning and told my boss "I have to have this book!" Now I think it's interesting because, had I decided to stay and do work, I might not have finished it in one sitting, but had I decided earlier that I didn't want to do work, I might not have come in and picked up the full manuscript either. Destiny people. Proof of destiny.

So once I was in love, it was my job to get others to fall in love, which they did. And that was when I got the call. There were offers on the book. Oh no!! Soon after, there was enough interest to merit an auction. But oh no again! I was about to leave for a library conference in Minneapolis and I hadn't even received approval from the Editorial Director to bring this project to our Acquisitions Committee.

So what did I do? I set up a meeting between my boss, the Paperback Director, and the Editorial Director, prepared all of the memos and materials JUST IN CASE I received approval to bring this to the Acquisitions Committee, and off I went to Minneapolis. Luckily I have a great boss who represented me in my absence and really made sure to express my enthusiasm. And it was unanimous, across the board…yes we have to have this book! Awesome! Of course, the stress didn’t go away just yet...what if someone outbid us? What if they don't outbid us, but the author and agent decide to go with them for some other reason? Getting on my flight back, I knew this: we had a bid on the table and I'd hear back on Monday. Oh weekend, you dirty tyrant!

When I received the call on Monday that they had decided to take our offer, I was like a tightly coiled spring trying not to bounce around like an idiot (too unprofessional). My mother screamed in my ear excitedly when I called her, but my boss was more reserved in her elation. And I still have all of the emails of excitement from the Acquisition folks when I told them the news.

And now it's been a year, a wonderful year, since that day. So much has happened since then---the title has changed, the ARCs are in, my boss is now the Editorial Director, I've acquired a few more books and been promoted, and I should be seeing a proposal and sample chapters for Jennifer's 2nd book soon. I can't believe it's been a year, and I can't believe there's only another half year (short in adult years and in Narnia years) before the book is out. I'm so freaking proud of this book and sometimes it's difficult to control my elation. And because I can't control my elation, thus negating any sort of proper conclusion to this post, I'll leave you with this link, to Jennifer Brown's blog, where you'll find pictures of her receiving her ARCs.

http://www.jennifunny.com/apps/blog/show/648965-omg-it-s-a-book-

Books and Dating

2009-02-17T22:03:00.005-05:00

I have lots of reading to do (as per usual) but I have some time while my turkey burgers are cooking, so you get this lovely blog post to read. It's not any of the blogs I promised, but those are coming. Eventually. For now, you'll have to make do with this little ditty that keeps coming up in my mind.

I was joking with one of my colleagues today about the guy she's dating. Things aren't working out and she wasn't sure what to do. I said, "we write rejection letters every day. Why don't you just write him a letter to tell him you're passing on the relationship." We laughed at the time, but it brought up a thought I've had in the past. The publishing process, from an editorial standpoint, is a lot like dating. So here is a list citing the similarities. It's was meant to be humorous, but it really ended up being not as funny and really very true. It might provide some insight for those looking to go into editorial or maybe even for authors aspiring to be published. And maybe it'll help me gain some perspective on why I seem to be perpetually single (no seriously - put the A.P.B. out. I'm single and ready to mingle, if you'll pardon that old cliche).

Without further ado:

#1 ~ You're going to meet a lot of guys/read a lot of submissions before you find the right one.
-----#1a ~ In the beginning, this is partially because you need to figure out what you're really looking for.
-----#1b ~ It's also because there are just a lot of options and it's part of the experience. Not every guy or project is going to be right for every person and it's all about finding the one that fits the best.

#2 ~ Sometimes you're going to find the guy/author you think is absolutely perfect for you and they're going to think some other guy/editor is a better fit for them. That's life. Just be happy for them, wish them well and move on graciously. You'll find someone else to date/work with and who knows, maybe that other guy/author will come back sometime down the road if things don't work out.

#3 ~ This kinda goes with #2 a bit, but sometimes things just don't work out. There could be many different factors, but in the end it just doesn't happen. It can be sad for one or both parties, but it's just life.

#4 ~ Networking works, whether it be through already established connections, the internet, or other means. For example, I made friends with a woman at a book signing who later became a coworker, who introduced me to an editor she worked with who edited the books I loved to read. She introduced me to the editor who sat next to her, who introduced me to agent she knew when I eventually got my editing job. That agent later suggested me to the agent for my first acquisition. So far internet dating hasn't worked for me (I met one guy and it didn't work out, but we're still friends - but two of my former roommates met their significant others on OKCupid.com and one of those roommates is now married to the guy she met).

#5 ~ There are going to be times when your friends/colleagues don't think this guy/project is the right fit. If you see something they don't, it's OK to keep pushing to try and find a way to make it work, but if they're right and it's not going to work out, it's best to just listen to them and not drag things out.

#6 ~ Sometimes you need to work on things before you're ready to establish a relationship. If the relationship is worth it and the work is reasonable, it's often worth it to put the time in beforehand. It can lead to great things in the future.

#7 ~ Sometimes it takes negotiation and compromise before you can settle into a relationship. The key is to know what you want, what your deal breakers are and what you're willing to sacrifice to establish this relationship. Again, sometimes it doesn't work out, but other times you can come to an agreement that you're both happy with

#8 ~ Once a relationship has been established, it takes a lot of work to maintain. There will be a lot of criticism, a lot of compromising, and probably more negotiating. But this is true throughout more than just dating and editing - the more work you put into the relationship (and the book), the better the outcome.

Stick to the script!

2008-12-07T23:52:00.007-05:00

Memorizing my speech feels a lot like running lines back when I used to do children's theater. Only this time I won't have to wear a blonde wig and facial hair (I was Buffalo Bill in Annie Get Your Gun one year---there's no business like show business).

I'm still ridiculously nervous, but the more I remember of my speech the better I feel about it. It probably doesn't give off the image of unmovable professionalism that I should probably be trying for, but heck...I'd rather be real and honest on here. And hey, I'll still be a basket of raw nerves on Tuesday afternoon, but hopefully I can at least do as well as I did in those musicals. I was always a bit stiff, but I never forgot my lines or blocking.

Oh boy, though. If this is anything like theater, that means the forgotten-lines nightmares are going to make an appearance. Fun is!

I'll leave you with this image: me (tall, brown hair, slightly awkward, baby face) wearing gray face paint, a shiny silver jumpsuit and a funnel on my head. If anyone can guess what that costume was, I'll send them an ARC of something fun.

Editor's First Acquisition: Preparing for Focus

2008-12-06T15:30:00.003-05:00

This weekend I'm preparing myself (both mentally and emotionally) for our Fall 2009 Focus Meeting, which is where we introduce key sales folks to our list. I'll be presenting Hate List, as well as one of my boss's titles, and I am EXTREMELY nervous.

I'm not sure where the nerves come from. I regularly go to karaoke with some of my friends and colleagues and I love to sing. When I have a microphone in my hands, I might get a little nervous, but there is also a confidence. An "I can do this" surge that rushes through me. But giving a speech, even one that's only 1-minute long, is not singing. I think it's mostly a mentality. I was nervous when I first started doing karaoke, but the more and more I did it and saw positive reactions from everyone there, the more confident I got and the better I got. So maybe that's all I need for this---to do it a few times and see that I'm not bad at it, get more confident, and soon I'll be speechifying with the best of them. But for now, it feels like there is fire pumping through my veins and I can't wait until it's over.

I am excited to present Hate List to a wider audience though. Until now, the only folks who have read the manuscript are the people who work directly on the book (the designer, the copyeditor), the people who read it when we were buying it (the publications committee and a few editorial readers) and me. So to be able to share "my first" with more people is just so exciting. Terrifying, but exciting. I'm so proud of this novel and what a great job the author did, and I'm excited for more people to discover her---just like I discovered her---and fall in love with this book.

And they'll get to see the cover too, which I am glad was approved in time to make it into the powerpoint slide. It evokes such a great response and completely matches the gritty, emotional feeling of the book and it'll provide a great visual backup while I'm presenting.

So now, back to my speech. My boss suggested I read it 40 times to myself and then practice 20 times in front of the mirror. On Monday, I'll be practicing in front of her and I want to have this mostly memorized by that point. Wish me luck! And of course, I'll let you all know how it goes once it's over.

An editor's first acquisition - blog series | Cover Approved

2008-12-03T15:11:00.006-05:00

Ya know, it's funny -- I post about not knowing what to blog about and then it occurs to me that I had the perfect opportunity this year to post something really interesting. I acquired my first two books this year and one of them (Hate List by Jennifer Brown) has already finished being edited and is working its way through the design process. How interesting would that have been, if only I had thought about it? An editor's first acquisition, step by step.

Well it's not over yet. We still have to make it to publication. So I'll be sure to come back and update when there are things to share. That'll be my first step toward making this blog something worth reading. I'll also start at the beginning and post a few "blogs from the past" to catch you up.

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But right now, I have the first update. A very exciting day. Today the designer took his cover ideas to our jacket committee meeting. Jacket committee consists of key people in sales, marketing, publicity, design, editorial, and the publisher and they look at the cover ideas, discuss their thoughts, likes, dislikes, etc. and either approve a cover/sketch or give feedback to move forward. My boss and I had met with the designer, the awesome Mr. Dave Caplan, previously and he had shown us three ideas. While they were all amazing, one direction resonated with me more than the rest and I immediately said so. It turned out that it was his favorite as well. Luckily the jacket committee agreed and it was approved.

Now, my boss had told me not to get my hopes up. The folks on the committee are very opiniated and for good reason---they know books and they want to do what is best for each title. But it was too late at that point. I had my hopes WAY up. It didn't help that I had a copy of the concept hanging in my cube to look over at since before Thanksgiving. So now I feel like melting. Adrenaline is rushing through my veins and my head feels light. I'm so excited that another milestone has been passed for my first acquisition. And I can't wait to share the cover with the outside world. I have no idea when that can be, but I'm sure I need to wait until the catalog and ARCs comes in (March). At the very least I have to wait until I share it with the author and agent. But as soon as I'm able, you know it'll be up here.

Now I must get back to work. Title factsheets AND catalog copy are both due by end of day today and there is a Longstockings get-together I don't want to miss. Meanwhile, my heart is going out to anyone who received bad news today. Layoffs suck and while it seems like our company is safe at the moment, to hear about stuff like this happening in an industry that feels more like family than work is disheartening and sad for all of us.

New Years Resolution

2008-11-29T13:29:00.002-05:00

I know it's only a few days after Thanksgiving, but I've been thinking a lot about what I want for this blog in the new year. Things have been very busy lately. My boss has been making some really newsworthy deals, and I've been working with her on projects as well as on my own. And I've made some blog promises that I have not kept. For one, I said that I'd blog about Breaking Dawn and I never did. Not that I didn't want to, but I thought it might be a conflict of interest, since, ya know, I work at the publishing company. And even though I was a fan of Twilight before I got my editorial job, I didn't want to say anything that might get me in trouble.

That's one thing that's plagued me a bit with this blog. I'm used to having a heavily filtered personal blog, where I can write about whatever I want and no one sees it unless I say so. This is a different animal for me and the fear of repurcussions has been a deterrent. So that's one thing I want to figure out for 2009 -- what do I want from this blog and what kind of content do I want to post that people will want to read. I love interacting with the children's lit blog community, but I'm not really contributing at this point. So what I want to do is revamp what I post here so that it gives people a reason to come back and read.

So what I want to ask is for those people who are still reading this to throw out some suggestions on weekly content they'd like to see here. I'll also be picking up the book No One Cares What You Had For Lunch: 100 Ideas For Your Blog, which was suggested to me by lovely agent Kate Schafer Testerman. So for those who are seeing this, don't give up on me yet. I'm still around.

New Book and Video about Name Transitioning

2008-09-15T16:42:00.007-04:00

Well I've been quite lazy/busy/emotionally drained, so I've been procrasting on writing the posts I promised you all. But for now, I wanted to pop on here and share some great news that has recently come up. I acquired my second book at work! Well -- co-acquired. It was a joint acquisition with my wonderful colleague, Julie. Here's the announcement:

Transparent author Cris Beam's J, about a female-to-male transgender teen as he begins to live as a boy and comes to terms with what it means to be trans and Puerto Rican in New York City, to Julie Scheina and T.S. Ferguson at Little, Brown Children's, for publication Spring 2010, by Amy Williams of McCormick & Williams Literary Agency (world).

And since it (sort of) relates and because I just watched it, I wanted to post this video. It's by a trans guy named Meiko Xavier whose videos I really enjoy watching (and who is SUPER cute!). This one is titled Social Difficulties with Name Change, which is something I can really relate to, despite not being trans myself.

Going from "Tom" to "T.S." was a difficult struggle, only made easier by my move to New York (wow, has it really been 5 years since I transitioned to T.S.?) and despite most people referring to me as such, I still have a lot of trouble with family members and a few friends (well, one stubborn friend in particular). So I can strongly relate to the topic in this video.

Enjoy! And stay tuned - I'll try to be diligent about coming back and actually posting one or more of the posts I promised last time...eventually.

My boss

2008-08-06T10:08:00.003-04:00

I've been planning on writing a few posts lately, but unfortunately my energy has been on other things (reading mostly, including Stephenie Meyer's latest, Breaking Dawn). But I am planning the following posts, once I gather my thoughts and shake off the sleep debt I've been accumulating:

*The manuscript that got away (alternate title: passing isn't fun for the editor either)
*Bella Swan: bad role model or is everyone just jaded?
*Breaking Dawn and why I loved it

In the meantime, I wanted to share something special with whoever's out there reading this. My boss, Jennifer Hunt, was featured in Publishers Weekly's 50 under 40 a few weeks ago, so I thought I'd post the link and show off. This woman is an incredible role model for me to be learning under and I find myself feeling lucky almost every single day that I am working for her. I know, I'm a cheesy ball of mush---but that's just how I roll, people. And the best part is, she doesn't read many publishing industry blogs, so I can gush about her without feeling like I'm sucking up. So here's the article:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6579815.html

Spiderwick on DVD

2008-07-22T01:54:00.003-04:00

I haven't updated in a while. Things have been a bit crazy. I've been reading like mad at work, trying to respond to as many submissions as possible while giving each of them the attention and consideration they deserve. I haven't written anything novelly yet either, since I told myself I'd take some time off until I felt I had submission reading under control (and that was a LONG time ago). I should be in bed right now, but I did have one thing I wanted to say.

For those who aren't aware -- The Spiderwick Chronicles is out on DVD. Now that you know, you need to run out and buy or rent this movie. It is, I must say, THE BOMB! And yes, that's my professional evaluation. I am a proud owner of a lovely widescreen edition and just had to spread the love.

Now to collapse into a coma -- until tomorrow, when I shall return to much reading. Goodnight, dear readers.

Heroics

2008-06-22T11:21:00.003-04:00

I saved someone's life last night.

I was at a rooftop party thrown by some of my friends and a mutual friend started to choke on a hamburger. The hostess screamed for someone to give her the heimlich, and then picked me out of the crowd (she told me later it was because I was the biggest guy and so would be strong enough, or at least stronger than her) and screamed for me to help her. I was FREAKING OUT but I gave her the heimlich until that burger was out.

The thing that was going through my mind at the time was mostly worry that I would hurt her. I mean, you're basically punching the person in the stomach from behind. But Fear of Someone Dying Because You Couldn't Save Them completely trumps Fear of Hurting Someone. It was a really scary moment but it all turned out OK. The girl was embarrassed afterward, but recovered nicely. We laughed about it a little later, and then bonded over Degrassi (which only happens to be one of THE BEST teen shows on TV).

So that was my night last night. I got home close to 3AM and crashed. Gotta take it easy today, since this coming week is my birthday week and I have LOTS of fun planned! WOO!

Exclusive Submissions

2008-06-16T22:38:00.002-04:00

I should be reading, but I wanted to pop on here for a minute because I just remembered another piece of advice I wanted to give to any unagented authors out there who are trying to get their book published.

Unless the publisher or the editor's submission guidelines specifically say they will only take exclusive submissions, DO NOT send them your submission exclusively!

Now, I believe this is different for agents, so don't carry it over to the other side of querying, but this is something I saw recently and it shocked me. Sending an editor an exclusive submission when it's not required is unfair to you. It's a major time suck. Why should you sit around waiting for me to get around to reading your project, all the while not sending it to other editors who might read it faster? Especially if you're sending to editors at a company like mine, that works mainly with agented submissions and only takes unagented submissions under special circumstances (see previous posts). Oftentimes, you're going to have to wait for us to get through a decent amount of the agented stuff before we can legitimately get to yours, and why should you wait for us?

In my opinion, only an agent should be sending exclusive submissions. They have a relationship with the editors, so they know who will love what and will give them an exclusive because they want that project with that editor and think they will love the project enough to potentially make a swift and solid offer. They have easy access to that editor for following up, and they know the industry well enough to give a reasonable amount of exclusivity (two weeks, sometimes one).

So if you're sending your project out to publishers and it's not required, don't send exclusively. Because when you get interest or an offer from an editor at one house, that will give you leverage to follow up with the other editors who are taking their time and let them know there is a reason to hurry up and respond, and they may give you a higher offer. They may still decline, but they would've anyway and now you have your answer quicker, as well as interest or an offer from a house that actually got back to you within a reasonable amount of time.

And again, agents are different. Maybe one of them can comment on this post and explain why this is and how submitting to agents in regards to this.

Mass Markets - the red-headed stepchild of the industry?

2008-05-20T13:07:00.005-04:00

Before I start talking about mass markets, I just wanted to plug my last post one more time. Only two people commented, so if you have something (anything) to say about submissions, from an editor/agent or author (published or not) perspective, please comment and/or refer people to the post.

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Now, I wanted to discuss the subject of the mass market format because, from the day I entered my first publishing master's class (all those years ago) I have been given the impression that mass markets are the lowest of the low, red-headed stepchild, underbelly of the publishing industry. This makes me sad because, well, I'm a stepchild who has an appreciation for redheads and, well, I love mass market books. And not just the format itself, but as a reader I tend to go for the type of books (usually dark urban fantasy) that start out in mass market.

I've heard a ton of disparaging remarks. I had a friend once who, when asked why she didn't read mass markets, responded with, "because I like to read books that are well-written." Needless to say, I was incredibly insulted and said so. Where had she gotten this notion that mass markets weren't well-written? So I, in my indignant rage, made her read some of my favorite mass markets. Vintage Anita Blake, Bitten by Kelley Armstrong, one of the first Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris. Within a month, she was hooked and was making her own discoveries -- Sherrilyn Kenyon, MaryJanice Davison -- and cruising on past the more well-known names to discover authors and subgenres that I had never heard of. Now I can't vouch for the quality of the writing in everything she found, but I opened up a whole new world of reading for her. She still loves books by authors like Sarah Dessen (one of her favorites) or Michael Chabon who are published in hardcover, but she can now appreciate the mass market world. In a way, I feel like that was a gift that I gave her (wow what a cheesy and arrogant thing for me to say).

Somewhere else, I saw someone say something along the lines of, "why would you ever want to have your mass markets autographed?" As if it almost wasn't worth meeting the author and having them personalize the book you had loved so much if it wasn't in a "better" format.

Now I'm aware of the realities. Mass markets are not as good in terms of production quality. The paper is not as nice as its larger counterparts, it falls apart easier, it's cheaper and therefore more expendable/replaceable. But mass markets also give publishers the opportunity to give a shot to some authors who they might not otherwise be able to afford. Because mass markets are cheaper, it's a great place to debut an author, especially in a genre like fantasy, and see how they are received on the market. If they sell well and continuously, they will eventually be released in hardcover as well. Many of the authors I've mentioned above have made this transition. This is such a great plan, and I am so glad for it because otherwise, some of our favorite authors may never have been given a chance. So what's with the negative MM vibe in the air? Where did this come from and when will it end?

Clearly there's a lot that could be said about mass markets. In fact, I almost wish I could go back in time to those graduate school days and change my thesis topic to this very subject. But then I would never have written that L. Frank Baum/Wizard of Oz retrospective, which helped me get my job. Oh bother -- too much paradox. But I'd love to get a good discussion going on mass markets and general thoughts on the subject in general. Mass markets -- how do you feel?

And again, feel free to link me and refer others who can contribute to the discussion. I tend to lean toward HUGE posts and that can deter people from reading, so I'm trying not to do that. But if we can get people to contribute in the comments, that would be great.

ETA: I just wanted to throw in a quick edit to add that, in case it wasn't obvious, I love mass markets and think there are MM authors who write just as well as HC/TP authors. I was having a few moments of terror wondering whether I made that clear and hoping I hadn't implied something offensive, since I've been telling people to "go check out my new blog post about MM books." LOL!

My opinion on submissions and The Fear

2008-05-15T12:17:00.004-04:00

I was talking to the lovely Betsy Bird last night (that's Ms. Fuse #8 for those who don't know her secret identity) and my lack of blogging came up. More to the point, I was told to blog. HAHAHA! And if you're smart, you know you must do as The Fuse tells you. ;-)

No, but really the reason I haven't been blogging much lately is what I like to call The Fear. It's subconscious, it's hellish, and it will stunt your growth (as a blogger). The Fear is that feeling of angst that one gets when thinking about blogging, a sense of worry that somehow you will end up fired or missing out on some sort of growth opportunity because you said the wrong thing. Sure you can avoid The Fear by posting smartly, but it still lives inside your head. But I don't want to let The Fear control my blogging and frankly, I'm sick of only vent-blogging over in my super-secret blog, so here I am with an actual topic.

I'm a Watch-and-Comment member over at Fangs, Fur and Fey, a dark, urban fantasy community on LiveJournal (which means I can't start a topic -- that is reserved for the published authors -- but I can read and discuss in the comments section). There is a great crowd over there, a mix of authors (published and not), editors, readers, and other sub-groups I am sure I don't even know about. I usually mostly read and don't comment, but the other day, someone posted a topic that sparked my interest enough to comment, and then it came up in conversation with Ms. Fuse last night, so I thought it would be a good first post to help combat The Fear.

The original post is here - http://community.livejournal.com/fangs_fur_fey/372538.html and I wanted to speak on my own preferences as an editor, when receiving a manuscript for consideration. Obviously I can only speak for myself and what I've heard and experienced from colleagues both in-house and at other companies (so basically trade publishing houses), but I thought it could be helpful. But there are A LOT of rules out there, not all of which matter, so I'm going some things that I'm going to list the things that I DO NOT recommend doing when sending in a submission.

First things first -- most of the rules floating around out there are probably outdated, rumor, or specific to a particular house (or possibly migrated over from some type of lit mag). I'm a strong believer in breaking the rules when there doesn't seem to be a logical reason to follow them and so I say (and keep reading for some exceptions) THROW OUT THE RULES! The exceptions -- the first page of your manuscript should have your full name, the title of your book and your contact information on it. The rest of your pages should be paginated and have your last name and the book title in the header or footer. 1" margins are always good, and it should be obvious that you should check your grammar and spelling and be sending in the cleanest manuscript possible, but other than that, there's nothing else I can think of as a MUST-HAVE (and of course, other editors should feel free to comment below and add anything I might have missed, or that applies to their house). We don't care how far down on the page your first chapter starts, or whether your chapters are named or just numbered. That stuff is unimportant for the first stage.

Overall, the best advice I can give is to check each publisher's submission guidelines. They will give you all the rules you need to apply to that specific house. Not only will they help you put together the best package to submit for our consideration, but if you DON'T follow those rules, it shows us that you are someone who either doesn't take direction well or who doesn't care, and it helps that house single out the writers who can act professional.

Some things you shouldn't do (read: my griping)

*Your font should match your novel. As I said in the comments on Fangs, Fur, and Fey, I would never decline a project based solely on the font. I hate Courier. I think it's ugly and many editors I've spoken with have agreed. And I've probably fallen in love with some manuscripts that were presented in Courier. But it is just another hurdle for the editor to get past while reading, and if they have trouble reading because of the font, they could mistake that as a lack of interest on their part or a pacing issue.

By all means, if Courier fits your project, use it. And if the font that best matches your novel is unreadable and filled with curly, girly lettering, DON'T use it. Readability and presentation are both important. When in doubt, Times New Roman and Arial are both fairly safe to use. They're presentable and readable without being atrociously ugly.

*For the love of god, please paginate your manuscript. It's not detrimental, but it can be a pain in the neck, and if I accidentally drop your manuscript and have to figure out where each page goes by reading the first and last line on every page, I'm not going to be happy and that's not going to help me love your project.

*Don't be sneaky, sketchy or a liar. Because of my company's policies, the editors here usually only see unagented projects from writers who have attended our conference events or who we've sought out on our own. If you didn't attend one of our events, don't send your manuscript in and say that you heard about our event or saw that we had attended the same conference. That's being sneaky. Also being sneaky -- if we say you request queries and you send the first three chapters, or if we request the first three chapters and you send your full. Sure, that makes you stick out in the slush pile, but it makes you stick as out someone who doesn't listen to our request, and that causes disgruntled feelings.

Also, please don't send your full manuscript and say "you requested to see my full manuscript" if we didn't. If I requested your full manuscript, I am going to remember you and if you are not one of those people, I am going to know. That's being a liar.

*It doesn't matter if you use a rubber band or a binder clip or a paper clip or a staple (though that last is a pain in the neck, frankly). That's not important. But please bind your pages together somehow so that when I take them out of the envelope, they aren't flopping all over the place, and so I don't have to go hunting for a paperclip.

*In general, if I haven't requested material from you, it's not in your best interest to send me something. Unsolicited queries and manuscripts get automatically given to the department assistant and/or intern, who will then send your materials back to you with a form letter stating our company policy. That's a waste of postage and why would you want to do that to yourself? And trust me -- nothing you say is going to change our minds because we're not even really reading the cover letter. We're skimming it to see if it says SCBWI or one of the other conferences we've attended, or to see if it is from someone we actually have met. But if that info isn't included, it goes in the pile.

*Likewise, if I have requested something from you or you attended an event I was at, please be sure to write that on the envelope and/or in the cover letter. Preferably in big letters on the envelope. If I don't know that you are sending your stuff to me for a reason, I won't know to hold onto it and read it.

*Be aware of what I'm looking for and don't send me something that I'm not looking for -- even if you attended a conference event that I attended, if you send me something I have no interest in, you're wasting your time. For example, I am not a fan of sports books, non-fiction, or (most) historical fiction. I usually will say that at conferences. If you send me a sports book, it's getting declined. I have a colleague who is very specific about the types of picture books she does and does not like. So if you're sending to her and she has said "I don't like x, y and z" and your picture book falls into that category, you're wasting her time as well as your own time and money. I know it's tempting to say, "well maybe I could just try..." or "maybe once they read it..." but the odds of that happening are slim to none and are more likely that we'll get frustrated that you're sending us something we aren't interested in. There's a reason we said we weren't interested and we're saying it so you won't be misled or confused about what to send us.

With agents it's different because they know us and we can usually pass agented projects to a colleague who would be more appropriate. But that isn't a reality when it comes to unagented projects, no matter how nice you are or how sweet and/or professional you are in your cover letter.

I'm sure there's more, but that's all from me for now. This is not new info. It's all out there already. But if posting this can help one person from wasting postage or missing an obvious error, then it did its job. Please discuss! I want to hear from other editors in the comments section and if there are questions from writers out there, I want to hear those too. Make me interact with my blog more, so I have more reasons to come back and update more often.

And now, I'm off to see a friend who just moved back from being out of state for a few months (I know -- what was she thinking?). We're going (what else) book shopping! WOO!

Next up - a discussion on mass markets and their reputation. Stay tuned.

I bought a book!

2008-04-15T13:15:00.002-04:00

Well, it's been announced and many a friend has emailed to congratulate me, so I suppose it's safe to share this news with all of you now too.

Earlier this month, I made my first acquisition. It's such an exciting thing for me to proclaim and I almost feel a little guilty that I'm still mentioning it (even though I specifically waited to post it until I knew it was out there in the world). The floaty feelings have been coming in and going out every so often (usually when a new person mentions it and asks me about it). As giddy as I've been, I've been trying to maintain a level of professionalism amidst the glee. We mustn't make ourselves unworthy of such an accomplishmen, whilst celebration said accomplishment.

So for those who haven't heard and are interested in what I bought, here is the announcement:

April 9, 2008
Children's: Young Adult
Jennifer Brown's debut HERO, an emotionally charged story of alienation in the aftermath of a tragic school shooting, told from the point of view of the shooter's girlfriend, who is equal parts hero, victim and unwitting accomplice, to T.S. Ferguson at Little, Brown Children's, at auction, by Cori Deyoe at 3 Seas Literary Agency.

It's such an amazing book and I fell instantly in love with it. I am lucky to have such great mentors, especially my wonderful boss, who guided me in the right direction when I came in on a Monday and said, "I just read this and I HAVE to have it!" It's also a testament to networking. I had never met the agent who was representing this project. She was referred to me by another agent who I had met, and who I had developed a connection with. It was such a great combination of good project, good timing, good connections, fast readers, and good advice. And now I get to work on this project that I love so much, and my mind is already wandering to all of the great things I can do for it beyond the editing process. Who can I query for blurbs, what comp titles should I read, what will the cover look like.

It's a great feeling, and of course a little scary. But mostly great. And I wanted to share it all with you, my friends and readers (who should feel free to comment so I know who is out there -- I'm not sure who still reads this now that I've been MIA for a while).

Stay tuned for more coming up. There are a few discussion points I wanted to post about, but haven't had the chance to yet. Those will be coming up and they will encourage commenting, so keep your eyes peeled.

PLA 2008 - Minneapolis

2008-04-07T20:44:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Public Library Association's 2008 Conference in Minneapolis, so I thought I'd share with all of you.

Now, I had been to ALA Midwinter in Philly, so I knew what to expect from the conference, but I have only flown twice before (round trip to Florida to visit my aunt) so I was a little nervous about that. Luckily I was on the same flight as our lovely Library Marketing Manager, Victoria Stapleton (gotta give her a shout-out) and she walked me through the whole security thing and all the scary-new stuff.

Once we were on the plane, we were separated, but that was totally fine because I had brought a book to read. An adult book (ooooooooh) which I knew I would never get to read if I didn't bring it. It was Blind Fall by the wonderful Christopher Rice. I'm such a huge fan of his work and this one did not disappoint. Not my favorite of his four books, but still very good nonetheless.

Once we arrived in Minneapolis, it was a work-extravaganza. I was lifting boxes and moving tables and building pretty stacks of Advance Reader Copies. But ya know what -- I had a blast. Victoria is so sharp and hilarious, which our authors know full well from their times with her, and which I knew as well, but appreciated experiencing on a whole new level.

We were there Tuesday through Friday and it was really wonderful to be able to walk around and see all the books that everyone has coming up. Because I had been to ALA, I recognized a lot of them, but I was still able to get some freebies that I hadn't been able to get in January.

One of the highlights of the conference was making friends with the Hyperion folk in the booth across the way, Angus and Hallie. They helped make the week very memorable, adding to the hilarity that was ever-present in our general booth area and teaching me many things about library shows. And they were hosting a signing with Brian Selznick, which was pretty cool too. I went over and introduced myself and got a book signed. Very exciting. Also exciting was meeting and attending a fantabulous dinner with Victoria, my new Hyperion friends, some exceptional library folk from Penguin, and Jon Scieszka. Who is also hilarious. I suppose I should note that EVERYONE was hilarious at PLA. I mean, seriously, children's book people (and maybe library folk especially) have a GREAT sense of humor. And I was total taken in by it all. Very good times.

It was nice to also find time to hang out with my friend Mike, who is also a library marketing person. We grabbed drinks on Thursday night after all the craziness had died down. And after I had treated myself to some fondue at a nearby restaurant. And let me tell you -- eating alone, outside of New York, at a NORMAL, non-dinery restaurant. It feels WEIRD! But the food more than made up for it.

Anyway, good times all around. This post was somewhat scattered. This is what happens when I wait too long to blog about things I need to blog about...and when I take a break from doing work to blog without letting my brain take a break as well...and when I'd rather be listening to music from Disney's Enchanted. It's great! If you haven't seen it, go rent it right now!

Ok so that's it for my ramble. Stay tuned for more coherent posts and some good news that I'm waiting for the right time to share.

A Rose By Any Other Name

2008-02-18T10:40:00.005-05:00

I've always hated my name. My real name, that is. Ever since I was little boy, I would cook up new names for myself. At one point I wanted to change my name to Trent Archer because I thought that just sounded like the coolest name EVER. It got worse when I got to high school and suddenly I went from Tommy to Tom. I hate being called Tom. Tom is my dad and I am not him. But somewhere around college I realized I couldn't just change my name. I had lived with it for 2 whole decades. Even if I could get everyone to call me something different, it would still feel weird to not be...me.

Then one night I was watching Mallrats in my dorm room and I thought, "I really love the main character's name (T.S.) and I wish I could change my name to that." It took a few seconds before I realized that my first and middle initial were T.S. And then I got REALLY excited. If I could get people to call me T.S. then I could change my name without really changing it. That would be GREAT!

Easier said than done. My closest college friend was STUBBORN! And we were practically attached at the hip. We were TomandShara or SharaandTom. So when she decided she wasn't calling me T.S., the rest of my friends didn't have much motivation. I stopped trying and eventually ended up in New York for grad school. And then one night while I was home for Christmas break, I watched Mallrats again and I realized...I'm in a new city, with new friends, practically a new life. I could be T.S. And thus started the transition. It wasn't easy, since I had already known these new friends for four months already as Tom. But as the second semester started, we made new friends who only knew me as T.S. And teachers called on me in class as T.S. And it just became the only name they heard in reference to me. Thus they were easy slates to clean. It took a little more effort with my older friends. Some of my closest friends have known me for over a decade and it wasn't so easy for them. But with a little tough love and stern repetitions of "that's not my name" they eventually got used to it. Though it was funny to see how visual memory came into play. They would call me T.S. fluently over the phone, but the minute they saw my face they instinctually reverted back to Tom. It took them a LONG time to transition. In fact, Jess still slips up maybe once a year. And Shara...well, she still refuses. But she's always been a stubborn one.
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Anyway, all of that backstory (and I am the king of blathering backstory) is leading up to a point. The point is, I've worked so hard to establish this new name that I never foresaw that it would come with it's own can of worms. They're definitely worth dealing with, but I just think it is amusing that I wanted a more original name, a more memorable name, and it jumbles people up.

The first problem I ran into actually came about via celebrity. A friend from grad school had started an official fan club for Kristen Chenoweth (broadway star, Olive on Pushing Daisies) and I was able to go backstage and present her with a Valentine's Day card to let her know we had raised a ton of money in her name for the BC/EFA charity. She shakes my hand, leans in (and up, since I'm so tall) and says "T.S. how do you spell that?"

My jaw almost HIT THE FLOOR! I didn't know what to say. How did I answer this without making Kristen Chenoweth feel foolish, or without sounding snotty or impertinent. I looked at my friends and got blank stares, so I turned back to her and said, "Um...T period S period?" She laughed! "I thought it was something exotic, like T-i-a-s." She looked to my friends for approval and they just smiled and nodded. It was a good laugh for a while, and we chocked it up to a Cheno blonde moment. But it wasn't just her. A LOT of people have asked me if T.S. is a foreign name, or something exotic. Or they'll say, "wait, say that again" like they don't exactly get it. They're not alone.

I've found a good way of responding to this one after a few years of fumbling. I just say "like T.S. Eliot." If they still don't get it after that, I know I tried my best.

The other thing I get a lot are people calling me by different initials---which I'll say right now, I DO NOT understand. What part of me strikes ANYONE as a T.J.? Especially when T.S. is so distinct and random and (not that I planned it this way, but) literary. The other one I've gotten, which I REALLY don't get, is T.C. How people go to T.C. from T.S. I'll never understand, but it's happened more than once with different people.

And third, I get A LOT of people, especially through work and most especially via email, who seem to think I am being vague and just giving initials to be elusive, or who aren't sure if that is what they should call me (because in all likelihood, I could just be lazy and not want to write out my whole name). Those are the moments I feel most awkward and a little guilty, but I have to remind myself that not only am I signing T.S. to my emails, but my auto-signature says "T.S. Ferguson" in it, and my work email, which is first name.last name uses TS as well.

These are just little bumps in the road, little karmic bird poops for venturing away from my birth name. But they're all totally worth it, because now I love my name. I just think some of these things are amusing, given that I was plain old Tom for most of my life. I could've taken the easier course, but it wouldn't have been as fun.

That actually reminds me of Robert Frost. Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— / I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference. Story of my freaking life.

Good Things Come to an End

2008-02-11T23:14:00.000-05:00

I finished Godless over the weekend and am now moving on to Alex Rider #1, amongst a bevy of submissions that I want to get through this week. But Godless -- I really liked it. I thought the idea of a kid who is questioning his faith, in God and in the adult authority figures in his life, creating a new religion based around the town water tower. I love that it was the water tower. Water towers and underground tunnels and abandoned cabins in the woods always give me this feeling of adventure and parent-less mischief. Maybe because it brings me back to when I was a kid and I would explore all over my town with my friends, going into abandoned water pipes, under waterfalls, through random woods and over train tracks that cross ridiculous high over a very shallow river. So reading about these kids climbing a water tower, opening it up and swimming in it...it brought me back.

I also really loved how each person in the religion took on a different personification. The zealot, the religious separatist, the person who only joined because they wanted to feel included. And then there's the main character, trying to keep order despite his ridiculous, made up rules for his ridiculous, made up religion. And I love how this plot is tied into the concept of faith and teens questioning their faith. This kid thinks religion is a sham, made up and followed by people who are clearly sheep. But then he makes up his own religion and people start following it like sheep, even though they all know it is completely made up. I love the mirroring and the thoughts if provokes.

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In other news, the dating is over (at least with the one guy I was referring to in my most recent posts). He had everything I could've wanted...but there was no romantic spark. Try as I might, I just wasn't feeling it. So I broke it off tonight. It was painful. I know he liked me and he was a genuinely nice guy. I hate thinking that I hurt someone, even just a little bit. He was totally cool but I could hear the disappointment in his voice. It didn't feel good at all. But I know I did the right thing in the end -- it would've been worse if I had ignored it and ended up in a relationship with him, and then said something after months and months of dating. That wouldn't be good AT ALL.

So I'm fresh off of a book and fresh off of a boy. Time to start anew. Next stop Stormbreaker and on the guy front...we shall see.

Updates for the sake of updating

2008-02-06T09:50:00.000-05:00

Reading:
~~Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko~~
~~The Spiderwick Chronicles #1: The Field Guide by Tony DeTerlizzi and Holly Black~~
Godless by Pete Hautman (currently reading)

Watching:
I just saw Juno last night. I was able to borrow a preliminary DVD copy from a friend. I really enjoyed it, mostly for Ellen Page. She's just phenomenal. But then, I knew that when I saw her as Kitty Pryde in the third X-Men movie. Also incredible was Jennifer Garner. I was shocked by how well she was able to portray a fragile and emotionally vulnerable infertile woman with just a look. I really believed she knew what it was like to not be able to conceive.

Some parts were eh. Jason Bateman, pretty as he is, was working with an underdeveloped character. Michael Cera, while good, played the same part he played in Arrested Development and, I'm scared to confirm, probably in Superbad too.

I gave this movie 4 out of 5 stars on Netflix, because I really did like it. There were parts I would've changed or expanded on, and maybe I'm blinded by my awe of Ellen Page, but I genuinely enjoyed watching.

Next from Netflix -- Ben 10, Season 1. Anyone seen? I <3>

Dating:
I've been on two dates with Michael now and we're going on a third this weekend. It's tough dating someone who lives in NJ though, since it limits the time we have with each other. I don't get out of work until a certain time and he has to make sure he's on the last bus so time really matters. But we have fun and we have a lot in common, so things are going well so far. There was a minor bump in the road, which we had to have a conversation about, and yes I'm being vague, mostly out of respect for him and because I doubt people care about the dirty details (ok they're not really dirty but if you really want to know, email me).

Music:
I've been listening to Vanessa Carlton's recently released third CD (called Heroes and Thieves) a lot lately! I'm really enjoying it and there are some songs that are, as my best friend put it, "classic Vanessa." Check her out. If you enjoyed her first CD, you'll most likely enjoy this one.

I also acquired Natasha Bedingfield's new CD (Pocketful of Sunshine) and I have to say, I'm not thrilled with it at the moment. It seems to have a lot more hip-hop-lite (Natasha-style) and the rest of the songs just sound blah to me. I do enjoy Freckles but I'm not compelled to relisten to any of the tracks.

Next on my musical list is Jordin Sparks (from American Idol). My friend gave me a copy of her CD and I like the single (Tattoo). We'll see. She may be overshadowed by my purchase of the new Idina Menzel CD which just came out recently. I'm buying that once payday hits. WOOT!

Writing:
Oh writing. Sometimes I think I have given up on my writing dream in lieu of my editing dream. Pursuing my editing career hasn't been easy, but I really wanted it and I got it. I really want to move my way up the editorial ladder, so I'm working my butt off for it.

Writing is similar. It's something that I want, that I know I'm good at, but it's a lot of hard work. But for some reason, I am blocked. I have story idea after story idea. I have AMAZING first chapters. I have great hooks. And then i just...don't write. Maybe I'm trying to force something that isn't meant to be quite yet. Blogging comes so natural to me. I can write flap copy and catalog copy and factsheet copy. But writing a novel continues to elude me. So maybe I need to take a sabbatical from that dream. Maybe the dream, wanting it so badly, putting all the expectation on myself to be an amazing writer...maybe it's stifling me. Maybe it's holding me back or putting too much pressure on me. So I'm just going to stop pushing so hard and maybe some day, when it's meant to be, it'll come to me. My writing group is not going to be happy. But hey, better that than end up like the Jack Torrance in The Shining.

So that's all for now. I've had some deep thoughts that I may or may not share, but those were the updates that were bugging me to come out, so here they are.

Until...

Once Upon A Time

2008-02-02T01:42:00.000-05:00

Tonight, after karaoke, I bought my first Fables trade paperback and I think I'm love. For those not in the know, Fables is a graphic novel from Vertigo about characters of fairytale and classic fantasy legend (i.e. characters pulled from the public domain) who have been exiled from their Homeland and have created an underground community in New York City, with Old King Cole as their mayor-for-life and a bitchier, more bad-ass version of Snow White as his 2nd in command. Me likee!!

In other news, I'm trying to organize a group from work to go see the Spiderwick movie when it comes out. I'm ridiculously excited to see it. It is going to be AWESOME!

And tomorrow I have another date with Michael, who I mentioned previously. I guess that gives some indication as to how the first date went. I'm not one to kiss and tell, but I guess that says it all. ;-) We were originally going to have our second date this Wednesday, but I fell ill earlier in the week so we pushed it back. And we were actually going to do something during the day tomorrow but now we've pushed it back again, since he wanted to take me to a show his friend will be in. So dinner and a show in Williamsburg. Wish me luck (again) and pray for no rain.

Coffee Date

2008-01-23T17:26:00.001-05:00

Since this blog is supposed to be about books, friendship and dating, I suppose I should blog about something other than books. On that note, I have a date tonight. It's a coffee date and I have to leave for it in a few minutes. I'm excited -- we seem to have a good amount in common. I'm also a little nervous, mostly because I don't date much. But we'll see how it goes. If we click, we click and I'll have more to share (though be forewarned, I will probably be very light on the details, for discretion's sake).

Off to coffee.

A goal list for 2008

2008-01-21T15:03:00.000-05:00

I've been a bad blogger, mostly because I haven't had much to say lately. Well, and the things I've had to say have been kept behind the filter on my other (more private) blog. But every time I have a book nerdy blog idea, I inevitably return here to share it.

I was just reading my LJ friends list and realized I wanted to keep track of the books that are on the top of my list to read. It seems, with all the books flying around in the publishing industry, that it is easy to get sidetracked, and I read a pitiful amount of books in 2007. So here's a goal list. I'll check back throughout the year to see how I've done and I'm positive I'll read books that aren't on this list. But here are the ones that are on the top of my head as "must reads" for 2008 (with commentary).

*Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko -- I'm in the middle of this one right now. We're doing a book club at work for all of the junior members of the kid's department, so we can make sure we are in-the-know about all the hot books on the market lately. This month is Newbery winners and honors. This is my choice and I'm loving it so far.

*Godless by Pete Hautman -- This one is going to be my pick when we do NBA winners and nominees. I've already read a few: Sherman Alexie and Sara Zarr, obviously, Luna by Julie Anne Peters, Inexcusable by Chris Lynch and Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson -- and I love them all. Godless looks REALLY good and I am sure I will enjoy it just as much as all the others.

*Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks -- This is just the type of boy-oriented middle-grade I know I'll love. I can't wait!

*Blind Fall by Christopher Rice -- I've loved all three of this author's previous (bestselling) works and his new one is coming out in March, so I'm really excited.

*Personal Demons by Kelley Armstrong -- one of my all-time favorite dark urban fantasy authors (though I think I hate the cover for this one). This is her latest Women of the Otherworld novel and it also comes out in March. YAY!

*Shadows Return by Lynn Flewelling -- one of my favorite high fantasy authors and she is coming out with the next book in her Nightrunner series, right around my birthday.

*Wheel of Darkness by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child -- Preston and Child are two more of my favorite adult authors and I STILL haven't read their latest release. I feel awful, especially since I am also friends with their editor, but most of all I just want to know what happens before the next one comes out.

*Percy Jackson and the Olympians #4: The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan -- oh you know it!

*The Spiderwick Chronicles #1: The Field Guide by Tony DeTerlizzi and Holly Black -- I adore Holly Black and there is no doubt in my mind that I will be seeing the Spiderwick movie when it comes out, so I have to read the book first.

*Moon Called by Patricia Briggs -- I've been meaning to read the first book in this series for a while and now that a third has come out, I really feel the pressure. This seems very different from what I've seen in the dark urban fantasy genre, and that entices me.

*Kitty and the Silver Bullet by Carrie Vaughn -- The fourth book in the Kitty series, which is definitely a different spin on the typical dark urban fantasy novel. I love that Kitty is not an alpha-werewolf and I really enjoy her voice. Also edited by the same friend who edits Preston and Child.

*Demonata #5: Blood Beast by Darren Shan -- Love this author, love this series. Need to read this one so I can be ready for #6 when it comes out.

*Eighth Grade Bites: The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod by Heather Brewer -- Middle-grade boy fiction + vampire. SO up my alley!

*Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti -- This book got put on my radar when Deb gave a great quote for Sherman Alexie's book (The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian). I've wanted to read HBS ever since. I think 2008 is the time to do so.

*Pendragon #1: The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale -- This was going to be one of my final reads for 2007 but I didn't quite make it before New Year's. Then I lost steam. So this is a must-read for 2008. It also fits into that middle-grade boy-oriented type of stuff I really love.

I'm sure there are more but I didn't think this through before posting. There's a whole pile of books on my shelf at work that will probably need to be added once I'm there to remember them. But for now, that's that.

Books I've Read -- 2007

2008-01-03T10:11:00.000-05:00

Ok, this is a pathetically short list but here are the books I reade in 2007.

I should mention that I only list books if I finish them, and for manuscripts, only if they are done being edited or close enough that they are pretty similar to what they'll be at publication.

I still feel pathetic that it is such a short list though
1. Magic’s Pawn, Mercedes Lackey
2. Magic’s Promise, Mercedes Lackey
3. Magic’s Price, Mercedes Lackey
4. Arrow’s Flight, Mercedes Lackey
5. Arrow’s Fall, Mercedes Lackey
6. Kitty Takes a Holiday, Carrie Vaughn
7. Sweethearts, Sara Zarr
8. Demonata #4: Bec, Darren Shan
9. Grave Surprise, Charlaine Harris
10. Crystal Doors: #3 Sky Realm, Rebecca Moesta & Kevin J. Anderson
11. The Enormous Egg, Oliver Butterworth
12. No Humans Involved, Kelley Armstrong
13. Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson
14. Fanged & Fabulous, Michelle Rowen
15. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling
16. Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer
17. The Golden Compass, Phillip Pullman
18. Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1: The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan
19. Percy Jackson and the Olympians #2: The Sea of Monsters, Rick Riordan
20. Percy Jackson and the Olympians #3: The Titan’s Curse, Rick Riordan
21. Inexcusable, Chris Lynch
22. The Devouring: Sorry Night, (unsure of the author's name at this time)
23. Click Here (to find out how i survived seventh grade), Denise Vega
24. Access Denied (and other eighth grade error messages), Denise Vega
25. Holes, Louis Sachar
26. Gregor the Overlander, Suzanne Collins
27. Fortune’s Magic Farm, Suzanne Selfors
28. From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg

The list is mostly chronological, except where I read books by the same author. In that case, I group them together and the first one is the only one that is chronologically accurate (for instance, I read Percy Jackson #3 and Arrow's Fall over the holiday break, but they are listed higher up. Mixed-up Files was, however, the last book I read in 2007.

Update

2007-11-16T10:09:00.000-05:00

Wow -- I've been a HORRIBLE blogger lately. But I just don't care. Life has been too busy for me to even think about blogging and while I miss it and want to come back to it, I don't have much to update everybody on. Well -- I do, but I'm not sure if it will interest the kidlit crowd.

My roommate, Maranda, got engaged in mid-October and promptly moved out. I had two weeks to find someone new, but luckily she left me with the sweetest apartment I've ever lived in. I met a bunch of people off Craigslist but in the end, the first guy to come by was the best and he is now officially moved in. We're getting along really well so far and I could see us being buddies too, and not just roommates. We've already cooked dinner together (I taught him a Giada deLaurentis recipe that I hadn't had in a while) and discussed our jobs and families and stuff.

Work has been crazy busy (as per usual) but nothing bad. Moments of stress but nothing that could be considered a full-blown event. A lot of rush reading (more than I've ever experienced before) but somehow I've managed to stay cool under pressure. Or cooler than normal. And of course all the good news, with our National Book Award nominations and Sherman Alexie's win. I heard he gave me a shout out in his acceptance speech, which is exciting but also just means a lot. What an amazing honor. Congrats to him and to Sara Zarr, who is not only a finalist with her debut novel, but who is also just an all around shining star. We've become friends and as a reader, she has also become one of my favorite authors, both through her writing and her amazing personality, and I can't wait to see the places she will go. And, of course, congrats to the other three finalists, who are also amazing and who did great jobs at the Finalist Reading on Tuesday.

Thanksgiving and the holiday break are coming and while I am thrilled and know I need the time off, I also am completely annoyed that my work-flow is being interrupted at the moment. I am going to try and take these two breaks to try and read a few adult books, but I have no idea which ones. Christmas is going to be Kavalier and Clay, since I read a ton and was enjoying it, but never finished. I have a huge pile on my bookshelf at home, but I don't know if I should read the next Kitty book by Carrie Vaughn (I have the galley), or read something more substantial, since I know I could read Kitty in a weekend. I'll have to weigh my options and if I can't find another adult book I feel justified in reading over my free time, I may take home a kids book I don't think I'll be able to get to during regularly scheduled programming.

I had been working with my writing group and wrote a great first chapter to my dark urban fantasy novel, but now it seems my muse has other plans. I will be switching to a new middle grade idea that has decided to live inside my brain. Hopefully it will go well. I've shared the concept with a few people so far and they've all had very positive reactions. So here goes nothin'.

I guess that's it with me lately. I'm sorry to all my fellow bloggers who I have been neglecting and not reading or commenting on. I hope you'll forgive me and not stop reading me (when I update). Maybe blogging more will be my New Year's resolution. For now, I should get back to work. It may be Friday, but I have some stuff to take care of before the weekend arrives.

Oh---and I've finally become a Grey's Anatomy fan. All who have been awaiting this moment, please feel free to rejoice. All who are inclined to boo or hiss...well, I can only imagine that you have no idea how great this show is because I had no idea either and now I'm absolutely hooked.

The End (until my next post)

Let's talk about books

2007-09-17T21:18:00.000-04:00

Do we ever talk about anything else?

I am currently in the middle of my "award-winning middle grade" education. I kinda skipped over that area when I was a kid, since, by the time I was old enough to appreciate the award winners and had read all of the Ramonas and Fudges, I was jumping to adult books. I still read YA and middle grade but I really missed out on a big chunk. So I'm going back and reading what I missed. Right now I'm on hiatus as I read a few urgent manuscripts and get through some of the submission pile, but my next venture is The Giver, followed by Holes.

What is everyone else reading? I want to know.

Kidlit Drinks and other miscellany

2007-09-13T00:29:00.000-04:00

I went to my first Kidlit Drinks night tonight. Finally! I've missed a bunch of them, for various reasons (from having other plans, to laziness, to being sick, to just plain forgetting) and I finally made it to one. I had forgotten it was tonight and I had some reading to do for tomorrow's editorial meeting, but Alvina asked if I was going and I said "screw it, I'm not missing another one" and I went.

It was great to see and talk to Betsy Bird, aka the lovely Fuse #8. I also finally got the chance to meet Cheryl Klein in person. We've interacted via our blogs and over email, and we have a few mutual friends, but since I kept missing drink nights, we only just met. She is awesome and very friendly (but I already knew that).

I also re-met Jenny Han, author of Shug, and was introduced to her fellow Longstocking, Siobhan Vivian. They rocked my world with compliments and hilarity and I had a blast. I mean, c'mon, who doesn't love being told they have great skin?! I mentioned the supreme curse that hangs over my head (you know, the heterosexual bubble that holds in all the straight men and unavailable/not-my-type gay men and deters all of the potential loves of my life) and they were SHOCKED. I mean, they were like "hell no, you rock!" And seriously -- who doesn't love compliments? So I gave them a mission: find me a guy. All I gave them in terms of "my type" were "I like a guy with a baby face but it's not a deal-breaker." HAHA! Oh and I also said if they could find Orlando Bloom or Zac Efron, that would be the best thing ever.

I was glad I went tonight. I had some great conversations, had some book-angst validated, and met (and re-met) some groovy chicks. And afterward, I was de-virginized to the Pinkberry experience. And let me just say, YUM! Tastes like vanilla yogurt, looks like fro-yo, comes with fresh fruit and/or cereal toppings. DELISH!! Thanks ladies, for a wonderful evening and for introducing me to such yumminess!

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below this line is me blathering on and on about what types of books I like to read/would like to acquire. You can stop reading at this point if you don't really care.

Later tonight, while I should be reading for work tomorrow, I got to thinking about other things. I have an agent lunch tomorrow (which reminds me, I wanted to post about agent lunches -- well, some other time) and my boss and I were talking about how to pitch to agents the kind of books I am interested in. So now I've been thinking about what I actually AM interested in. I mean, I always had a pretty good idea but I never really went deeper, with examples. So what do I like? Well, I want to work on books that I would enjoy reading if I picked them up in the store. The reason I wanted to be an editor is because I wanted to bring to children what books had brought to me. It's also (one of) the reason I want to eventually have my writing published.

So what do I like? What am I looking for in terms of submissions? Well I think I'm pretty open. I was told when I started my editorial job that I was "the sci-fi/fantasy guy" because I was the only person who really read genre books for pleasure. But going deeper, I don't love all sci-fi/fantasy. I'm open to the lot, but the more hardcore genre stuff can be tricky and its easier to convince the committee to publish something if it has potential to cross over to a non-genre reader. In terms of fantasy, I love dark urban fantasy (DUF) and I think there is a definite audience for that in the YA market. Folks like Holly Black and Stephenie Meyer have proven that. I do love some high fantasy but it definitely depends. A lot of the high fantasy that I've read (aside from classics) have been very special to me, and very random selections. And it seems they are often adult. For instance, Lynn Flewelling's Tamir Triad, or Mercedes Lackey's Last Herald-Mage Trilogy. Though I do love me some Tamora Pierce (Magic Circle/Circle Opens). Sci-fi...that's tougher. I've always had a fear of outer space but books are different -- I guess I prefer more dystopian futuristic stuff than I do space operas, though I still need to figure out what is out there in the children's world. Any book suggestions (aside from Ender's Game which I know I need to read) are greatly appreciated.

The one area I always seem to forget is paranormal/horror. Paranormal can sometimes be covered under DUF, but I always forget horror. I LOVED R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike growing up, and I'm a huge fan of Darren Shan's Demonata series now. Books that really scare you are a real job and I don't think there is much out there. I wonder sometimes if horror has been eaten by the DUF craze, but I don't think it is entirely dead. There's got to be some way to resurrect it.

And literary YA -- ah literary. I never considered myself a literary reader, but it is YA authors like Sara Zarr and Julie Anne Peters who have really opened my eyes to this type of writing. I love books that really cut to the core of humanity and emotions...and I love it when they make me cry. And in the case of Julie Anne Peters -- GLBT literary YA is something that really hits home because it is something I wish I had more of growing up.

And then I get to middle grade and new options just open wide up. One thing's for sure, I love boy-targeted action/adventure/sci-fi/fantasy. Even before I was in editorial, I have been obsessed with MG boy stuff. Not just Harry either. AniMorphs was one of my favorite series and it came out when I was high school (through college -- and I read every single book, including all of the offshoots). Stuff like Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale and Gregor the Overlander really thrill me and I'd love to acquire something like that. And I guess, being the only male editor in the children's dept, they're looking to me to be the guy who knows boy-stuff. That I can do. I'm currently trying to make my way through boy fiction that I have yet to read, just so I know what is out there.

So what do I say to agents when I'm talking about what I like? Well I guess I have my examples. DUF, but I'm not going to shy away from the challenges of a more classic fantasy and sci-fi...if it is worth it, it'll show. Paranormal, horror, literary YA, GLBT YA, middle grade boy-oriented action/adventure with fantasy/sci-fi elements. I don't know why I felt the need to blog about all of this. I guess because it's me, talking about books that I love, so I wanted to share the types of books I love. And my hopes and wishes about what I'd love to acquire. I'm still looking for my first acquisition, and once I find it and it's all official, you know I'm going to have to post about it. When it happens. And in the meantime, I will just keep reading what I love and looking for projects that I will love just as much.

And as I said, if anyone has any suggestions for books I should be reading/have read in these categories, please feel free to let me know. I am frequently shocked by what I should have (but sadly haven't) read and am not afraid to admit that (because I have read a lot in my life and am working to correct my oversights). So suggest away. If I've read it, I'll say so. And maybe one day, if I can figure out how to do a cut tag like they have on LiveJournal, I may share my "Books I've Read" list so others can get a glimpse into T.S.'s reading background. That's right -- I'm a huge nerd and I keep a list of all the books I've read (and finished - partials don't count) in my lifetime (though I'm sure some are missing and I continue to add as I am reminded, as well as when I finish a book).

Ok, back to reading this manuscript. Cola can only keep me awake so long before my body shuts down and I screw over a fellow editor with sloppy feedback, so I better stop procrastinating. G'nite folks!

Percy Jackson and the Signature of Doom

2007-09-02T02:23:00.000-04:00

In my quest to expand my knowledge of the children's book world, I've been trying to read a slew of books that I keep hearing about, that I know I would love, but that I haven't read yet. One of those books was Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1: The Lightning Thief. I'd heard great things about it and when it first came out it had greatly intrigued me -- but I had only ever managed to get my hands on a mangled version of the galley (while I was still working in marketing) which I quickly discarded, assuming I could find someone with the connections to get me a finished copy. It never happened so about three weeks or maybe a month ago, I was at B&N and I impulse bought it.

It is one of those books that I knew I would love and one of the types of books I hope to find and acquire one day. I love boy-oriented action-y, adventure-y middle grade that has a fantasy/sci-fi twist somehow. I read AniMorphs from start to finish when it came out, even though I was in high school and later college, and when I'm in the children's section of the bookstore I gravitate toward books like the Pendragon or Gregor the Overlander series.

(warning, this post may contain spoilers from here on out)

I ended up lending Percy out right away, because I knew I wouldn't have the chance to read it and the person I lent it to was a quick reader. Well she got it back to me post haste, but there was a problem. Quite close to the end there was a signature that repeated. Oh no! She was eager to finish it and I knew it had to be remedied because I had actually paid money for this book. That and I would eventually want to read it myself and I couldn't do so with a mixed up signature. So this Friday was the first chance I had to get down to the B&N in Chelsea and exchange it. And since it was a long weekend, I decided to start reading, figuring I'd get some manuscript reading in on Sunday and Monday and finish whatever was left of Percy on Tuesday.

Well I'm done already and I loved it! I absolutely loved it! There were some parts that seemed SO derivative of Harry Potter, which I will list below, but the story had so many unique, fun elements that it really didn't matter to me. And I suspect that it matters even less to the young readers who are devouring these books like candy. As someone who was obsessed with Greek Mythology when I was a kid, this was a real treat, and I was really glad that Percy ended up being the son of Poseidon and not Zeus. I definitely predicted it WAY before it was confirmed (what do you want? It is a kid's book and I'm a Greek Myth nut) but I am glad they didn't go the obvious "son of the king of the gods" route. I also really enjoyed how Riordan wrote Percy's interactions with Poseidon. I felt a little tingle when the Sea God said "Whatever else you do, know that you are mine." It was such a great way to express that paternal love without showing favoritism (which is forbidden to the gods).

I am a big Percy Jackson supporter now and can't wait to read the next one. The Potter similarities eventually slipped away as Percy's quest unfolded but I will list them so others may comment on them or add more that I might have forgotten or missed:

Harry goes away to Hogwart's
Percy goes away to Half-Blood Hill Summer Camp

Harry's parents are killed and he is raised by the horrible Dursley's
Percy's father is absent and he is raised by his mother and horrible stepfather Smelly Gabe

Hogwart's students are sorted into four houses (representing the four school founders) and Harry is sorted into chivalrous Gryffindor
Half-Blood Hill campers are "sorted" into twelve cabins (representing the twelve Olympians) and Percy is "sorted" (eventually) into one of the "top three" cabins

Hogwart's has a bad house -- Slytherin
Half-Blood Hill has a bad cabin -- Ares

Harry shows great skill at broom-riding and leads his team to victory during a Quidditch match
Percy shows great skill at combat and leads his team to victory during Capture the Flag

Harry has a comedic, somewhat awkward, funny-haired best friend named Ron Weasley
Percy has a comedic, somewhat awkward, funny-haired best friend named Grover

Harry has a female friend who is arrogantly intelligent but means well -- Hermione
Percy has a female friend who is arrogantly intelligent but means well -- Annabeth

Harry has a kind headmaster (Dumbledore) but a grumpy teacher (Snape)
Percy has a grumpy camp director (Dionysus) but a kind teacher (Chiron)

Harry is hunting for the Sorcerer's Stone, which his enemy also seeks.
Percy is hunting for Zeus's Master Bolt, which his enemy has already stolen.

Harry faces a three-headed dog to get his item
Percy faces a three-headed dog to get his item (although, to be fair, Cerberus is part of the Hades mythos so he kinda HAD to be there)

Anyway, despite the fact that I made a list, I highly recommend these books to kids and any readers who enjoy middle grade boy adventure-fantasy. It is obvious that Rick Riordan knows his Greek Mythology, or did a lot of research. How else would he have been able to come up with all of the great ways to blend the legends and the creatures into the modern world? Pick up this book if you haven't already. So very worth it!

It's my bandwagon -- feel free to jump on but don't forget who it belongs to

2007-08-30T22:24:00.000-04:00

So finally I hear that others are starting to agree that Zac Efron would make a great Edward Cullen. Just remember folks, you heard it here first. And by here, I mean with me, not on this blog, cuz I've been saying Zac Efron = Edward since Book 1.

And for those of you who haven't checked out the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer, you should be reading that instead of this. It is SUCH a better reading experience than this blog. :-D As a fan of vampire fiction and dark urban fantasy, I highly recommend the series.

...Team Jacob 4 life!

And yes, I will be writing a real post soon. Lately when I've been writing, I've been working on my novel, so I have a good excuse.

(by the way, speaking of Zac -- go see Hairspray. I am now OBSESSED with that movie/show/soundtrack)

Writing the night away

2007-08-27T22:33:00.000-04:00

Hey dudes and dudettes. Sorry for not updating lately. All of my free time has been spent lately trying to work on my novel. My writing group meets tomorrow and I wanted to have something of substance for them to critique. Before that, I was reading The Golden Compass, and it temporarily took over my Central Nervous System. I will blog about that experience soon, and I also want to write a post about agent lunches (inspired by Alvina's anniversary look-back).

In the meantime, I must return to my writing. I've come to accept that my three main oppositions are:

1 ~ Procrastination: This is the worst because it means I am sitting here, I know I have to write, but I'm not. I'm doing other things because they're easier and that's not cool. Anything in life worth doing is going to involve hard work and the more I write, the more practice I am giving myself and the better I'll get. I know I'm a good writer, but I can only maintain that status if I continue to write.

2 ~ Being busy: This one is a little harder to combat because it means I am being held up by other plans, higher priority work, and I just haven't been able to find the time to sit down at my computer and write. Of course, it doesn't help that on the weekends, when #2 is often not a factor, #1 and #3 kick in.

3 ~ Distractions: This could easily fall under procrastination but I feel it is different. This means that I am trying to write and I am literally sitting at my computer with the Word document wide open, and I have YouTube going, or I'm checking my email, or I'm chatting on AIM. And it's horrid because I know I should just ignore all of that but I don't. It's one of the things I just need to do, and it requires discipline and self-control, but if I want to be a writer, those are two things I am going to have to have.

Anyway, back I go to my writing before it gets too late. Those three things usually mean I am writing everything at the last minute before my writing group meetings and then I stay up way late the night before and am exhausted. That happened last night and I am hoping it won't happen again tonight, so off I go. This blog would be #1 AND #3 but mostly #3 because here I am and the Word doc is staring me in the face. As are the blinking orange AIM windows that I need to say goodbye too.

Off I go.

I'm reading Eclipse

2007-08-11T03:34:00.000-04:00

I don't care what anyone says, Zac Efron IS Edward Cullen to me. I've thought so since Book 1, since before he was famous. And now he's a stud and everyone wants to see shirtless pictures of him. And by everyone I mean all the gay men, of course!

The minute I started reading Eclipse this afternoon, I subconsciously started picturing him as Edward, without even thinking about the fact that he is Mr. Bigshot High School Musical guy now.

He's SO Edward!

The Novelization of My Life

2007-07-30T21:14:00.000-04:00

Writing is HARD!

Yes, I am whining. I am allowing myself just that one moment before I shut the hell up. This marks the moment when I start my novel...finally. I can delay it no longer. I have formed a writing group (I think we're sticking with the name The Midnight Pages) and we are meeting to exchange our work tomorrow. Right now I have a tentative title (something along the lines of "TS Untitled Book One") and a header with pagination. The first line is killing me. I need to get past that hurdle and then it's smooth sailing.

I need to write Chapter One tonight. 10-12 pages minimum and we'll see how it goes from there. But right now, my biggest obstacle is that first line. A good opening line is crucial and while I could write a mediocre line and come back later to edit it into something fantastic, I find that my opening line is just as important to me, the writer, as it will be to the readers. It sets the tone, it gives you a first impression of the narration (and in this case, the main character). And as we all know, first impressions count. So I want to start off right. I'm certainly not doing so by blogging about it, but I thought maybe I'd get the writing juices flowing. Maybe it would inspire me. I have the whole scene in my head -- now to put it onto paper.

God, you authors out there! How do you do it?

The Steam Pipe - Alvina's Story

2007-07-24T13:35:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone, check out Bloomabilities for Alvina's version of the steam pipe explosion. Hers is a much calmer and much-less freaked out version than mine and it also includes a picture (which is really why I am sharing it).

----------------------
By the way, I am extremely covetous of peoples' digicams. If anybody wants to buy me a digital camera for Christmas, I won't object. Better yet, make it a Labor Day present and I'll love you forever. HA! So begins my Christmas list (no I don't usually start making one so early, or at all unless otherwise requested). But since the opportunity is presenting itself, sure why not.

Christmas List (so far):
*Digital camera
*A cute booknerd to cuddle with
*A 13th hour that I can use for sleeping (midnight +1) or reading (noon +1)

I'll just have to remember to come find this list a little later

Harry Potter and the Deathly Spoilers

2007-07-23T08:00:00.001-04:00

Who all read Harry Potter over the weekend?

Let's discuss in the comments so as not to spoil anyone who hasn't.

A hole in the world

2007-07-18T23:11:00.000-04:00

Those of you who have been paying attention to the news are probably sick of hearing about this by now, but I'm blogging about it.

This afternoon (or early evening -- it was after 5:30, as I was well aware I was already staying late) a steam pipe exploded on 41st and Lexington Ave. in Manhattan. That is 4 blocks away from my office. I'm not ashamed to admit that I was absolutely terrified.

I was standing in Alvina's cube when we hear this rumble, like thunder. Only it kept going, lasting far longer than thunder should last. Then the lights started to flicker. I think it wasn't until after the lights started flickering that we noticed the rumble was still going. My overactive imagination had me already panicking a bit. I kept envisioning an airplane flying right toward our windows. I was getting jumpy and my heart was racing. Then the fire alarms sounded and the fire warden came on the loudspeaker. I don't even think I heard what he was saying, I was so busy flipping. I grabbed my bag, threw a book (Stray by Rachel Vincent -- represented by the fabulous Miriam Kriss), my MP3 player and my cell phone into it, and hightailed it to the fire stairs. I was soon joined by most of the people who were still in the office.

The fire warden had said something about a fire on the third floor but we didn't want to wait for instructions because one of our editorial director's is about 8 months pregnant. We were NOT waiting. We started filing down and other floors were doing the same, so we kept heading down. Around the 5th floor, it started feeling hotter. I got freaked and my fellow ed. asst. Lauren had to grab my arm to calm me. She could tell by my face that I was flipping out. I hadn't reached verbal flip-out level yet but I was close. And I was getting frustrated. People were slowing down and just standing in the stairwell. All I could think was that there was a fire on the third floor and that something was going to explode and we had just herded ourselves down to be right near it. I envisioned walls collapsing, I envisioned planes hitting the building and hoping it wouldn't hurt if I was decapitated by debris. My mind screamed, "MOVE PEOPLE!"

Finally we get to the third floor and people are filing off from there as well. We can clearly see there is no fire, so I calm a bit (but not much). We finally make it into the lobby and out of the building and all I can see is smoke rising from beyond Grand Central Station. I looked at Andrea, our editorial director, and said "I'm heading north." She nodded and a bunch of us, including all three editorial directors, our publisher and a few assistants, started walking north on Park Avenue. I was terrified. I kept looking back, looking up, picturing horrific things. I called my mother to see if she had heard anything on the news, but when I finally got through the damn phone traffic, she hadn't heard a thing. Buildings for blocks and blocks were evacuating, people were standing on the streets looking terrified and confused, concerned but curious. Car services had their windows open and their radios turned up as loud as possible so people on the street could hear news. I called my roommate who works at the NY Post in Midtown West and she hadn't heard anything about it. She was shocked when I told her places were evacuating.

Luckily one of our ed. directors is engaged to a firefighter and by the time we had reached the low 50's, we knew it was a steam pipe/transformer explosion. However, a lot of us were still pretty rattled and there was still a lot of confusion. I ended up walking to my friend/coworker, Carolyn's apartment and watching the news for a while. I spoke with numerous family members and friends who might watch the news and freak out, and when we had all heard the same steam pipe story over and over, I started to calm down. Carolyn was kind enough to pump me full of caffeinated soda as we watched TV for updates and flipped through her PostSecret book.

Finally I calmed down enough and had updated enough of my out-of-city loved ones that I started thinking about the coworkers that didn't walk our way when we exited the building. I called Connie (Alvina's assistant and my buddy) and a bunch of our group had migrated to her apt. in Chelsea. I called my boss, who had left shortly before all of this occurred, to make sure she was ok and hadn't been near Grand Central when all of this happened. She texted later to let me know she was ok. At around 8:00, I grabbed my bag and headed to the Q101 to take the bus back to Queens. Thank god someone showed me how to use the bus recently, because I had no desire to go into underground tunnels when an underground pipe had just exploded, spewing hot steam and possibly asbestos. A few of my new bus friends and I had a good vent session as we waited for the bus driver to take a much-needed break (it took him 1 hour to do one round of stops -- he said he can usually do three rounds in that time -- I'm not sure if I believe that but that's what he said). Once I got off in Astoria, I gave a long, loving glance to the oh-so-familiar-and-safe Rite-Aid on the corner and trooped back to my apartment.

If you want to read a news article about the whole thing, go here. Thanks to KTBuffy for the link.

Looking back on this whole thing, I was absolutely terrified. My mind was going to places it never wanted to go, I feared for my life, and I feared for the lives of my coworkers and bosses who looked just as terrified as I did. My heart goes out to those people who were injured or killed, and to their families, but I am so glad this wasn't an attack. I love New York City and I love my job, but I don't know what I would've done if this had been something worse. And that thought alone is enough to send shivers down my spine.

A truly trying day to endure after two days in bed, sick. I'd be happy with never having to go through something like that ever again! For now, I'm off to bed, to console myself with my book and another glass of my roommate's sugar-free fruit punch that I need to replace (it's so good AND SUGAR-FREE, I can't stop drinking it -- I need to order a case off the internet or something). And to leave things on a positive note, since I'd rather not wake up with a cruddy attitude (especially if I have to deal with the train situation tomorrow), I found a new blog to read. Mycrazyroommate.com -- it is HYSTERICAL! Go read it ASAP!!

I've fallen ill

2007-07-17T02:10:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry I've fallen off the face of the planet yet again. I had a few blogs I've been planning, and I was also supposed to be starting my novel, but unfortunately I've fallen ill. Yes, sometime on Saturday I started feeling really crappy. I thought it was just a migraine, and I spent all Sunday in bed feeling rather unproductive. There were a few unpleasant incidences that I won't go into detail about. I woke up ridiculously early today and realized there was absolutely no way I was going to be able to make it to work.

Now I should mention -- I HATE calling out sick. I hate it. I used to LOVE calling out sick because it meant I didn't have to go into work. That was back when I hated my jobs. Now I actually like my job and I'm emotionally invested in the work I do. Staying home sick feels like I am leaving my baby on a subway train or something. I feel like something is happening I should know about, or that I am missing a deadline I can't remember because I don't have my Outlook calendar to remind me, or that someone is mad at me for not being there. I hate this feeling...almost more than actually being sick. If I could've lifted my head off the pillow for longer than it took to call out, I would've gone in. But it wouldn't have been a pretty sight.

Now my sleep schedule is all thrown off because I was in bed all day, and I still feel pretty crappy. I'm about to get in bed, but somehow I feel like I am still not going to feel up to snuff tomorrow. I HATE this! There was a time when I never got sick while I was at work, or at school. I saved my "sick days" for mental health days or for classes I knew I would hate because, somehow, I never got sick. I wouldn't fall ill until I got home for Christmas break. Then, suddenly, I would be bedridden for most of the holiday. I missed a good number of family parties because my body saved up the sickness until I had time off. But now that I actually like my job and don't want to call out sick? It's like my body doesn't remember it's little trick.

I hate this! And I hate it even more because, at least when I would get sick over the holidays I had family to take care of me. I hate being a grown-up and having to take care of myself when I can barely function. I'm lucky I was able to summon up the strength to throw a bedsheet over my bedroom window on Sunday, before I got really sick, so that no excess sunlight comes in and makes me want to die.

Send me get-well vibes. I need to be back in by Wednesday or I am going to pitch a fit! If not from OCD-workaholic syndrome than from sheer boredom. And while my head is slowly starting to feel less and less like an overripe grapefruit, my chest and lungs are beginning to rebel. I feel like I just smoked a carton of cigarettes and then ran a marathon. And my back is starting to kill from laying in bed all day. This is, hands down, the #1 reason why I need to find a doctor who isn't in Manhattan. I am in no shape to haul myself to the kitchen to make some soup, let alone to an appointment in Midtown.

Ok, enough bitching. Off to bed. Pray I wake up and have miraculously healed myself.

You can have a lot of fun in a New York minute

2007-06-30T17:41:00.000-04:00

So, unless you count the presents that my parents will undoubtedly bring when they come to help me move in this weekend, the time for celebrating my birthday is pretty much over. Unless you count the party I may never throw because I've been too busy to think about what I want to do.

I did receive one present that really meant a lot to me this year, and of course I have to blog about it. Recently I've had the honor of working with author Julie Anne Peters, who I had already begun reading and respecting long before I got my editorial job. When Little, Brown agreed to donate some GLBT-themed/friendly books to Live Out Loud to go into a gift basket at their annual Gala, Julie agreed to sign a set of her books for them. I joked that I wanted to steal them for myself. Julie, who has a great sense of humor and is just as fabulous as you might imagine, asked when my birthday was (as in "well maybe I'll send you a signed set of your own").

I thought she was kidding or that we were just having a silly conversation, but a few days before my birthday I received a package. Inside were 4 books, each with a different colored ribbon tied around them, and autographed. They were accompanied by a card that sang Down on the Farm by Tim McGraw and made the entire office look when I opened it.

It was such a great birthday surprise, since I had forgotten about that conversation. To receive a set of signed books from an author I read and respect made me so happy, and the fact that she remembered my birthday when some people didn't (my best friend included*) meant a lot. I've never been more excited to send a thank you note in my entire life. HAHAHA!

Oh and since we're discussing what a fabulous author Julie is, I should tell everyone to check out her latest project, coming out in September. It's called grl2grl and it is a short story collection about lesbian teens (and one FTM transgender) as they mature and begin to explore their sexuality. It's amazingly written and so true to life. There were moments in these stories, as there have been in her other books, where I have been transported back to my own experiences, coming out and dealing with being a gay teen. She's a great author and as you can see here, she's also incredibly thoughtful and giving.

YAY for turning 26** and YAY for Julie Anne Peters!

*I forgave my best friend, since she was in bed, sick, all day.
**read: survived 25

Do you like my new shirt? It was written by Stephen King.

2007-06-29T13:03:00.000-04:00

Packing boxes really makes me realize something that I never realized before...

...I have more books than I do clothes.

Seriously, I never thought about it before but I have two bookshelves and they are both overflowing, not to mention a full half-bookshelf at work that is holding most of my books (I didn't count the shelves that have work-owned books).

Books rule my life! :-D

When do I start vomiting split-pea soup?

2007-06-29T02:26:00.000-04:00

Ya know how, on the day before you take a vacation, you end up staying at work so late it almost seems like the vacation wasn't worth it? Yeah---I was at work until 12:30 tonight. AND I came in this morning at 8:00. That's SIXTEEN HOURS. I was at work for 3/4 of the day! (is that correct math?)

Though I gotta say, I feel like I got some good stuff done. Or at least I got to a place where my desk isn't so spaztastically messy and things won't blow up while I'm gone. I feel bad for Jennifer (my boss) though. She's gonna get into work tomorrow and find a huge pile of stuff on her desk, all with little post-its saying "this is this and that is that and this is what to do with that." That's what I do when I know I'm not gonna be around.

I dunno, I'm weird! I am going to enjoy this vacation A LOT but at the same time I hate being away from work and not knowing what is going down. I think I'm a closet control freak and now that I actually have a job that I love and care about, that side of me is rearing its ugly face. What if something needs to get done while I'm gone? What if something comes in that I need to take a look at? What if my head explodes because I'm neurotic? :-)

No, but I'm seriously going to take the time to enjoy this vacation. I'm moving to a new (better) apartment, my mom is visiting with birthday presents and lots of groceries, I get to read adult books without feeling guilty, and I think my best friend Jess is visiting at the end of the week or next weekend. Aside from that, I plan on laying around like a bum. And speaking of which, I'm gonna go lay down so that I can actually function tomorrow morning when I need to do a katrillion move-errands.

26 feels the same

2007-06-28T00:43:00.000-04:00

Well I made it through my 26th birthday just fine. I worked late like a big dork but that's ok. I'll have some fun next week when I'm on vacation, in my new apartment, which I am moving into on Sunday. WHEE!

To those who wished me a happy birthday, I thank you. To those who didn't, boo hiss! And to those who didn't know...you're forgiven. :-D

Ok, gotta get up early tomorrow so I can prepare for a big meeting with all the intimidatingly important and inspiring people at my imprint. A MEETING THAT I HAVE TO RUN! Then I'll probably be working late again, since I'm not in on Friday. But then vaca! I can't wait to sit on my rump all week. And don't forget, there will be updates on the books if I ever get to read them. Also, I do not have Ender's Game yet, so if someone has it and can lend it to me, please let me know soon or else I'll be forced to read one of the many MANY books I already own and have not read. Kthx!

Why I love Lily Allen

2007-06-24T21:27:00.000-04:00

My posts have been rather boring lately, so here I am with some visual aids. Alvina already posted about the Lily Allen concert in Brooklyn, but here's my go at it.

Let me first say that Lily is freaking amazing! The songs are fun, the lyrics are meaningful and relatable, and her personality is absolutely incredible. She's so in your face and sassy and hysterical and I loooooove her! I met up with Alvina and a few of her friends (including author Meghan McCarthy), as well as my cube-neighbor and fellow editorial asst. Connie (who works with Alvina) and her boyfriend Matt. It was a blast!

So in the spirit of not being boring, here are some videos from the actual concert we were at:

Singing LDN

You can't see much but this is a great intro to the song Not Big

And this isn't from the concert, but this is probably one of my favorite songs that I've heard Lily sing...it's not on her CD but she sang it at the concert. For some reason I thought she was saying "I wish my life was a little red CD" but the line is "I wish my life was a little less seedy." LMAO!

The song is called Cheryl Tweedy

Why am I still awake?

2007-06-23T01:24:00.001-04:00

I am on the brink of forming a writer's group. A few of my friends (who also happen to be agents) also write fantasy, sometimes dark and/or urban, and we all want that extra motivation to actually sit down and write. I think I especially need that extra push, since I'm always giving myself excuses (I'm too tired, I'll do it tomorrow when I have more time, I don't feel inspired right now, etc. etc.) They're all lame so I am going to attempt to crack the whip and start writing.

I've decided to go with my dark urban fantasy novel/series idea because I've been working it over in my head, evolving and adapting it, and getting to know the characters since I was in college. Since then the MC has changed (for the better). She originally started out as a love interest for the former MC, but she was so interesting and powerful in my head that she immediately took over. Since then she's grown so much in my brain and her personality has shifted like the tides. I need to write her story. It's aching to come out.

My biggest problem is that I'm great at beginnings, iffy on middles and not so great with endings. The creative vision just doesn't extend that far. I need to just start writing and let it come to me but for some reason the open-endedness has always turned me off. But like I said, cracking the whip, so maybe this story will finally become reality. Words of encouragement and motivation are welcome and encouraged. :-D

Storytime with Grandpa T.S.

2007-06-23T01:03:00.001-04:00

Kids, grandpa broke his hip! Seriously, I know I'm only 26 (or will be next week -- WOOHOO) but I feel OLD! I am in severe pain.

Yesterday (Thursday) our company had an all-staff outing in Central Park where I participated in double-dutch (yes, I still remember how to do it from the 4th grade) and kickball (I still don't know how to kick anything but pop-ups, after all these years). Despite the energizing desserts from the bake-off and the ridiculous amount of tequila that was pumped into my system from the margarita-happy hour afterward, you'd think I'd be feeling A-OK, but no. Every muscle I can think of is in pain. I even managed to twist my ankle during double-dutch so I've been hobbling a bit.

Then today, after staying a bit late on half-day Friday, I meandered down to Brooklyn Heights for a rooftop karaoke party at the apartment of one of our art directors. I had a total blast but walking there from the subway, standing most of the time (with dancing) and then walking back caused me to add the soles of my feet to the injured list.

Tomorrow I am being picked up by Melissa from Long Island and we are driving to Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx where there will be a BBQ thrown by a bunch of people who are related in some way to our friend Jacinda. Jacinda was a grad student when Melissa and I were undergrads and now she's stupid and lives in Boston. Booray! So we're taking the opportunity to see her while we can, even though we're both wiped out. I think I may die before the end of the weekend.

Somebody call a medic!

The ants go marching

2007-06-17T18:42:00.000-04:00

**Don't read this post if you aren't comfortable reading about insects 'n' stuff.**

A few weekends ago, walking home from dinner with an out-of-town friend, I saw five HUGE cockroaches walking around on the sidewalk like it was the normal thing to do. The weirdest thing is, they were all in different areas on my way home, not close to each other at all, and most of them were in spots were I've never seen roaches before. It was strange and gross but I just shrugged it off. But then...

...last night I decided to walk home from my friend (and future roommate) Maranda's apartment (soon to be known as my new apartment) instead of taking the subway, and I noticed SIX swarms of ants coming from cracks in the sidewalk. And once again, they were all on different blocks, far enough away from each other where they wouldn't be connected. There was no food on the ground for them to be going after, and they didn't even seem to be moving in any type of logical pattern.

These weren't just gross occurrences. They freaked me out. What's with these strange insect activities lately? I don't know if it is the weather or what, but I'm having flashbacks to all of those insect swarm horror movies I was subjected to as a child. Now, I know it's ridiculous warm this summer but its definitely not as hot as it was last summer and we've had some cold spells too. Why are the insects acting weird? Make them stop!

I'm off to google the phrase "strange ant behavior." Maybe they're signalling some sort of natural phenomenon that we should know about. Maybe I'm paranoid. And itchy...yes, thinking about ants definitely makes me itchy. Sorry if this post did the same to any of you.

Oh yeah...

2007-06-17T18:10:00.000-04:00

I absolutely forgot that Kelley Armstrong's next Women of the Otherworld book, No Humans Allowed, is now out. That is definitely going to be one of the three books I read while I'm on vacation. I picked up a copy while I was out book shopping on Friday (I hit more than just Book-Off).

So we have Speak, Women of the No Humans Allowed and possibly Ender's Game. I've been told I should read it by...4 or 5 people now (on and offline) so I think it's the winner by a landslide. By the way, I may need to borrow someone's copy, since I don't seem to have the copy that was living on my desk for the past year or so.

jackpot

2007-06-17T17:46:00.000-04:00

The other day I found myself in Book-Off, the Japanese bookstore right near the NYPL. They have a great American used-books section and I managed to score some really great finds for only $1 each. My finds included the Fear Street Cheerleaders trilogy by RL Stine. This was a very exciting find for me because these were the books that got me hooked on Fear Street when I was in middle school. Love them!

I also found a few classics that I still haven't read that are on my list:

*From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
*The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
*The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

And I picked up The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis-Klaus for only $3 too. I figured I should pick it up, since I loved Blood and Chocolate (also written by her).

Book-Off is great! I'm not sure how I feel about sharing my place. I love it when a place feels like it is your little secret. But hey, I'm sure everyone already knows about it anyway cuz it's so great, and the more people who bring their used books, the more there are for me to find. :-D

Ohmuhgod, I'm opening the floodgates!

2007-06-13T13:37:00.000-04:00

Before I end ye old lunch break (must mention that I am on lunch break -- don't want to get in trouble for blogging at work) I must post this.

I am taking a week off in early July, right after I move into a new apartment. In the time when I am not finishing my unpacking and reorganizing (not to mention feeding the Netflix addiction), I plan on doing some non-work related reading. I think I can probably get through 1-3 books in a week's time, if I don't get distracted and if I really get into the stories. I also think one of those books is going to be Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. I know---I can't believe I haven't read it yet either. It's one of the books on my Children's, YA and (all-age groups) Fantasy/Sci-Fi must-read list.

Any suggestions for the other two? I'm thinking I'll probably want to read at least one adult book...probably something dark fantasy-ish. The third one can be a random. But I'd like to open the floor up to suggestions and then, because we're all booknerds here, I'll post my thoughts on each book when I'm done. Doesn't that sound like fun? Well we'll see.

So...any ideas?

Day Watch

2007-06-11T21:46:00.000-04:00

Guys, I'm really excited. I just found out that Day Watch is finally out in the states. Day Watch is the sequel to the Russian blockbuster Night Watch. They are based on books in a dark urban fantasy trilogy written by Sergey Lukyanenko. The first one was really amazing and I absolutely cannot wait to see this one. Check out the link above to see a trailer and anyone in NYC is interested in seeing it with me, let me know.

Resolution

2007-06-11T21:32:00.001-04:00

I bite my nails. I bite them BAD. So ever since I've had teeth, I've had NO nails. Nubs if you will. I've tried to stop numerous times over the years but it hasn't happened. I always end up declawed. Well I'm trying a new tactic this time around. I'm going at this one finger at a time. Starting with the pinkies (aka Most Likely To Be Overlooked), I'm going to stop biting. I'm going to let myself get used to having a fingernail on each finger until there are no nubs left. This way, I get to keep biting while I break the habit. It's a weaning process. Wish me luck!

Zonked

2007-06-01T21:56:00.000-04:00

I missed KidLit drinks again tonight. That ticks me off something fierce, at myself and circumstances in general. I had planned to nap for a bit after work, since I was exhausted, and wake up in time to go---but when I got back to Queens, I was feeling way too awake. So what does a booknerd do when they have some time to kill...I decided to read. The next thing I know, I'm waking up and it's almost 6:45, I'm dizzy and I have a killer neckache. What I call a "nap-headache." I managed to recover enough to text message Alvina and let her know why I wasn't going to make it and fell back into a half-sleep.

I'm mostly-recovered now, thanks to 2 Tylenol Extra Strength Gel Caps and some sustenance. Hopefully I'll still be able to get to bed at a reasonable hour tonight, despite my recent coma, because I am meeting my boss and one of our authors tomorrow to go to BEA. Gotta stay fresh for all the books 'n' stuff.

Anyway, sorry to everyone I was going to see tonight. I WILL make it to one of these things soon. And if you're going to BEA, give me a call (if you have the #) or if you see me (and know what I look like) flag me down and say hey.

Finding the balance

2007-05-28T00:46:00.001-04:00

Over the past year, I really haven't read as much as I used to. Part of that is because I'm in editorial now. Editors (and their apprentices) don't have the privelege of reading for pleasure as much as your average booknerd. But I've also been neglecting that side of me as well. When you read so much for work, it's hard to make the time for non-work reading. With a lot of my favorite adult authors coming out with books again (it's about that time of year, eh?) I am reminded that I have to give some time to this side of my life. I miss those authors who make me squee with booknerdiness: Kelley Armstrong, Charlaine Harris, Lilith Saintcrow (hi Lili), Tanya Huff, Sharon Shinn, Christopher Rice, and the like.

Now don't get me wrong...I love every single book I have worked on since I started at Little, Brown. I'm very lucky in that sense -- Jen and I have similar (but very broad-ranging) tastes when it comes to books for young readers. But in order to feed the book-loving soul, you have to read some non-work-related stuff, whether that means gory/cheesy true crime novels, Pulitzer prize winning literary fiction or (in my case) dark, urban fantasy. You need to nurture both sides of the fence and not push too much on either side, or things go out of wack. Burnout can happen, or you can fall behind on submissions, or you can miss deadlines. I guess the moral of the story is that you have to make time for the books you really love, because if you don't nurture your passion, it may desert you when you really need it.

Me? I've clearly chosen the workaholic route. My goal going into my second year is to continue working hard, but to not let myself forget about my life outside of work either. I've lost touch with a lot of good friends and a lot of great books because I was so focused and while I want to keep achieving and excelling, I also want to put some life back into my personal life.

I also need to start writing again, but that's a whole 'nother matter entirely...

Happy Job-iversary

2007-05-28T00:42:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I didn't blog about this last week! Well...I'm about to submit another post but before I do that I have to mention this:

Last Tuesday, May 22nd, was my 1 year anniversary working in children's editorial! WOO!

I make reference to that in the post that's coming right after this, so I figured I should fill everyone in. Also, this deserved it's very own post.

Man caught hiding in plain sight at women's media function

2007-05-26T17:00:00.000-04:00

I forgot to mention last night that I will be attending the (takes a deep breath) Women in Children's Media's Children's Book Publishing: Panel and Networking Event on the 31st. Now I know what you're thinking. But T.S. ---you may work in children's media, but you're not a woman." Well yes, this is true, despite what you may have heard, but I was assured by my boss, the lovely Ms. Jennifer Hunt, that I would not be the only male in the room. I also want to go and root for Jennifer and Alvina, who will both be on the panel.

And who might you be?

2007-05-25T22:35:00.000-04:00

You know how sometimes people start seeing a new boyfriend or girlfriend and completely disappear? Yeah, I wish that's been the case with me. Unfortunately, it's not. I've just been busy and/or lazy and/or had nothing to say.

I've been working on some fun projects lately, despite feeling stressed and busy. This was a good week and it ended even better. Today was the first half day of the summer and the kick-off to summer hours. I love half-day Fridays---publishing has such great perks. Anyway, a bunch of us folk from Young Readers hopped on a train and made our way to the South Street Seaport. We sat around chatting, cracking each other up, eating from the food court, looking out at the water and just having a good time. After a while, the few of us who were left decided to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge before we headed our own separate ways. It was one of the best days I've had in a while. I got out, had fun in a comfy environment, and really enjoyed the nice weather. Then I slept the entire subway ride back from Brooklyn. HAHAHA!

Not much else to say for now. Life is good. I'll try not to be a face on a milk carton anymore. Happy looming summer!

Comic-mania

2007-05-06T02:20:00.000-04:00

Living in New York is so great! Where else would you read a quote from a gay man about all the eye candy in a comic book store.

From: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/04/books/04comi.html?8bu&emc=bu
Chuck McKinney, 41, a voice-over actor and Web cartoonist, loves Midtown Comics. “The store is big, clean, well stocked and organized; and everyone gets a discount,” he wrote in an e-mail message. “And best of all there are lots of hot, ethnic straight guys to check out while I’m buying my comics.”

And speaking of gay comic book nerds, I am clearly becoming addicted. It all started with the new Buffy comic, which led to a recent purchase of the first Joss Whedon-penned Runaways comic. This, unsurprisingly, led to the purchase of four (count them, FOUR) Runaways back-issue graphic novels (so that I could catch up on the storyline, of course). And now it's looking like I'm about to pick up the first two issues of Loners, which is a new series inspired by a few issues of Runaways.

I clearly have problems. Are there any gay comic book addict groups I can join to help me with this problem? Hey, maybe I'll meet a cute comic nerd at my 12-step program and we'll fall madly in love and have to live in a series of interconnected cardboard boxes under the Verrazano Bridge because we've spent all our money on comics. Or maybe I could just meet a cute Marvel employee and kill two birds with one stone. Note to self: get on that immediately.

Art and alienation

2007-04-19T14:50:00.000-04:00

Sara Zarr wrote a really great post here about teen alienation and how books can touch those who might otherwise feel alone in the world. I can't help but think how true this is. Books were there for me when I was a nerdy, socially awkward, outcasted child. I felt like I had friends who were always there, as long as I kept flipping the pages. No matter how alone I felt, there was always Harvey from Clive Barker's The Thief of Always, or Ramona Quimby, or the motley citizens of Pier's Anthony's Land of Xanth. Now that I'm a (cough) well-adjusted (cough) adult, I'm proud to be a part of the behind-the-scenes world of books. I can't help but think that, as an editor (or an editorial assistant...whatever), that I can potentially be something of a hero to someone, just like the editors and authors of my favorite books were for me.

Go read the post. It's really good (just like everything Sara writes -- call me a brown-noser all you want, but it's true).

Darren Shan

2007-04-18T11:53:00.000-04:00

We interrupt this regularly scheduled workday to inform you that I met Darren Shan today. Darren is the bestselling author of the Cirque du Freak and Demonata series which we publish and I have been a big fan of his since before I started working here. I was lucky enough to be able to have my copy of Bec (Demonata #4) signed, and Cindy Eagan, his editor here, introduced me as a potential stalker (which I hope Darren found hilarious).

I felt so lame. I was shaking and nervous. I get really nervous when I am meeting someone I really admire. And I love Darren's books. It was a great experience though. He had a blood plastic hand which he posed with, and he read from Demonata #5 (Blood Beast) which sounds just as great as the others. I CAN'T WAIT!

If you haven't picked up Darren's books yet, go do it now. They're gorey and full of action, demons/vampires (depending on series), bugs, and death. My kind of books! I highly recommend these titles -- not only as a member of the Little, Brown Books for Young Readers editorial department, but as someone who was a fan long before I started working here. Go get these books!

Music

2007-04-18T08:02:00.000-04:00

This is cheating a little bit. I posted this in my LiveJournal a little while ago and thought, damn this would've made a great post for my new blog. I wish I had set it up. So now I'm reposting it, since I haven't had the chance to sit down and really write anything worthwhile in the past few weeks.

--------------------------------
It's amazing how music can bring us back to a certain moment or memory. When I hear John Mayer's Clarity, I am once again walking past Macy's to get to my internship at Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group in 2003, my first year in New York City and my first semester in grad school. When I hear anything from Spiceworld by the Spice Girls or the first Backstreet Boys CD, I am back in my bedroom in Connecticut, it's winter of '97/'98, and I am playing Final Fantasy 9. It is the part of the game with the Festival of the Hunt in Lindblum and I can see Freya standing on the streets with her lance held, ready to fight. That was the winter I came out of the closet...to myself, my best friends, and my mother.

It's funny what memories music can invoke. Anyone out there have any music-inspired memories they'd like to share?

Binge and Purge

2007-04-13T17:33:00.000-04:00

Well today was purge day at work. We're moving from the Time & Life building to Park Ave, right next to Grand Central, and so naturally we all have to decide what stays and what goes. This has been extremely hard, as you can imagine, since a lot of "stuff" builds up over the years. Add onto that the fact that T.S. is a packrat and things get wacky.

I am happy to announce that my desk is...slightly less of a landfill than it has been in the past. I've been able to convince my boss to let me throw out or donate things that have been here since before I started (we're both packrats -- it's so bad), I've filed away papers that have been patiently waiting for me to do so, and soon I will be sending out a whole mess of "stuff" that has been piling up. I've also been a bit behind on my decline letters (sorry agents/authors) and that job will be tackled tomorrow. Yes tomorrow. But I won't be alone if I can help it.

Wish me luck and hopefully soon you'll get another real post instead of these strange glimpses into my neuroses (a la orange bear collections and such).

Confession Time

2007-04-08T01:03:00.000-04:00

Starting the summer after I graduated from high school, I have been buying orange teddy bears and giving them to my best friend. It took me until a few months ago to realize that it was really my collection and not his. So I've reclaimed it. I re-counted and I currently have 28 orange bears. This does not include the orange bear slinky that Steve lost at some point in the past 8 years.

The whole thing started because of an inside joke, and I guess I kept it going because it was so weird and because orange bears are just the right amount of rare. You'd never think you would find many orange teddy bears, but there are more than you think too. But green, purple, red teddy bears -- those are really rare. On St. Patrick's Day you might find one or two green bears but they're usually just brown with green t-shirts or hats. Same thing with red bears on V-Day. But orange bears can be found in almost any crane game if you look hard enough, and they are all over the place on Halloween. For some reason, it intrigues me just the right amount.

Heres the collection:

Notable bears include: Laugh-a-lot Carebear, two ghost-bear Beanie Babies (twins), three Puffkins (one regular, one reg. w/ mask and one little), a pencil topper (with bowtie), a Grateful Dead bear, and a Build-a-Bear with a Red Sox t-shirt that I made Steve create.

I know...I'm a strange puppy. But I admit it and it's kinda funny being strange sometimes. :)

Edited to add: Someday soon I NEED to get my hands on the subway bears for the B/D/F/V line. I have no idea why I STILL have not bought these obvious purchases.

Shopaholic

2007-04-05T21:28:00.000-04:00

Work has been keeping me busy lately, partially due to my own newly-formed workaholic habits. Things have been winding down a bit lately, as the seasons begin to change, but I have continued to push myself. This can lead to dire consequences, especially when I stay up late reading and end up a zombie the next day.

Today I needed a real pick me up and decided, as I was walking past FYE on the way back from lunch, that what I needed was some music therapy. I get into musical obsessions where I find new music, listen the crap out of it, memorize it and then eventually get sick of it and stop listening to it for a "recovery period" before adding it back into my musical backlist (gotta love using publishing lingo in other situations).

I wasn't sure what I was going to buy, but the minute I walked in I was confronted with a giant poster of Elliott Yamin, the #3 contestant on American Idol 5. I had heard his first single and really enjoyed it, but had forgotten that I wanted to get his CD. Well I promptly bought it and I must say...it's really good. He's got a great, soulful voice. He's pretty amazing for someone who is 90% deaf in one ear. Some of my favorite songs are Movin' On, Wait For You, and Train Wreck.

After work, I gave myself another treat. Buffy: Season 8: Issue 2 came out yesterday, so I stopped by the comic store that is so conveniently located right off the subway in Astoria and promptly bought that as well. These issues have been great so far, but I gotta say, I don't think I can handle this---ya know, with the shortness and the monthly. I want more, and I want it NOW! And Issue 3's cover looks AMAZING! Willowy-hotness all over the place. How am I going to wait an entire month? I've gotta make friends with someone at Dark Horse!

Tomorrow I will be treating myself to a train ticket home to Connecticut. I have mixed feelings about going home right now, since things aren't exactly going well in my hometown, but the holidays are a time for family (including good friends) and so off I go.

So you want to work in publishing...

2007-04-03T22:05:00.000-04:00

The other day I was asked for some tips on how to get a job in the book publishing industry, and since it seemed like a feat comparable to climbing Mount Everest for me and my friends, I thought I'd post some tips.

These are only observations from my own experiences, and everyone's story differs, but here goes:

First I should say that getting your masters in publishing is not always the answer. You have to decide if it is right for you. My experience with graduate school was frustrating, at times infuriating, and I felt like slamming my head against a brick wall. However, that was mostly due to the program and school I was in, and it wasn't all bad. I did leave with a masters degree to slap onto my resume, I had a basic understanding of the publishing industry and every area I could possibly think to go into (editorial, production, marketing, design, finance) and most important, I had a great group of friends who were in the same boat I was. That support group got me through the job search nightmare and it was always nice to have a bunch of booknerds to talk to and go book shopping with when things got tough. Oh yeah, and I also left with a job lined up, thanks to one teacher who actually cared enough to put in a good word for me.

So you're at the point where you're ready to apply for a job in publishing and you want that extra edge, or you're having trouble getting past the online application process? There are some tricks I've learned in the past (almost) four years. First, you may not want to get your masters degree, but there are plenty of certificate programs or summer institutes to attend that don't cost as much and will still give you the basic knowledge and networking opportunities with actual publishing professionals. NYU has one of these summer institutes, among others, and if you're willing to travel, there's even one in Denver, CO. This site has a great list.

Another good piece of advice is to network. Sure, it's harder for those who aren't yet in the publishing industry, but there are ways. Meet assistants and junior staff on MySpace, craigslist, LiveJournal and other online communities if you don't already know someone in the business. Be creative. Find ways to meet people, have them introduce you to people they know and then have those people introduce you to the people they know. Sooner or later, you're bound to meet someone who knows of a job lead, or who will refer you for an assistant position. Just don't be too pushy, clingy or fake. No one wants to refer someone if they think they are being used to get a job. Be genuine and people will want to help you even more. And even if they can't help you, you've made a new friend in the industry. Remember that support system I mentioned earlier.

If you are in the industry and you just haven't broken into the right area (editorial, most likely), then introduce yourself or have your coworkers introduce you to people in those departments within your own company. If you want to be an editor, find the people who work on the books you like to read and offer to read for them and give feedback. Editors love that, especially since the submission piles can get really intense at times, and it will give you more experience to throw onto your resume. And there is another connection (or two if you count their assistant) that you've just made in the right direction. Also think about joining and attending events with the YPG or Overtime. I was introduced to YPG when I first started in the marketing department of my company 2 years ago and was recently asked to join the Planning Committee. It's been a great experience and I've met a lot of great people in all different areas of publishing, from many different companies.

Other than those networking tips, the best thing I can tell you is to work with books as much as you can. Work at a bookstore, volunteer at your local library or literacy center. If you want to be an editor, do freelance work. There's tons of freelance jobs out there, including tons of writers on Craigslist looking for someone to help them edit their work. If you're still in school and have time, think about applying for summer internships in the city or working on your school's literary journal. Do whatever works best for you, but do as much as you can to fill your resume with experience that shows you are serious about working with books. We're an industry of booknerds and we are eager to hire our own.

After that, it's the same as any job hunt. Make sure your resume is in tip-top shape, practice your interview skills and go get 'em. OH! And the most important piece of advice I could give you. Don't despair! It can be a long, hard road to finding the job you want in this industry and you have to remember that these are big media companies you are applying to. This isn't Best Buy or the local insert-company-here you are applying to. It's a huge industry and there are a lot of people applying. The worst thing you can do is give up because you aren't finding something. I was lucky enough to have (apparently) done everything right, but I also had to work my way through a nightmare job. NOW I'm in a position that makes me truly happy, but there were times when I never thought I'd make it. There were so many days when I thought I should just give up and move back to my hometown. But it's been almost a year now and I've enjoyed it so much that the time has just flown by. If I can get here, so can you.

And for those people reading this -- if I missed anything, feel free to add your own two cents.

A Brand New Venture

2007-04-01T20:19:00.000-04:00

Well, I guess I should go ahead and christen this blog with its first post. For those who are new to my blog, I am a 25-year old editorial assistant working at a dream job in children's book publishing. I've been blogging for 5 years now (god, I can't believe it's been that long now) and I thought it was high time I made the switch from the not-so-private diary format that I'm used to, to a more journalistic, public style of blogging. So here I am, coming out from behing the filters and starting a blog where I have to think before I speak, where I am forced to post intelligently because the whole world is watching. It's an exciting concept and I'm looking forward to it. And of course, I'll always have my old filters to go back to when I need them, but for now I'd like to raise a glass to the start of a brand new blogging adventure.

...now I just need to find myself a glass

...and some champagne