I’ve got few working brain particles right now, between my lingering illness and my deadlines, so I’m taking a page from the Dystel & Goderich blog and opening the floor to questions. Ask in the comments, I’ll answer in posts. Craft, industry, my books, golden monkeys, whatever.
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19 Responses to “Questions, anyone?”Leave a Reply |
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July 24th, 2007 at 8:30 am
I’m curious about what level of promotion you did for SSG. With a four-book series, did you hire a publicist or handle everything yourself with the help of your publisher? I’m trying to figure out the best approach for me, so I’d love to hear what worked (or what didn’t) for you.
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July 24th, 2007 at 8:42 am
Jessica asked my question, so I’ll try another: Has Hollywood come knocking yet? I think SSC is ripe for adaptation.
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July 24th, 2007 at 8:56 am
Ooh, Hollywood! Good question, Shelley!
Mine has to do with Harry Potter, which you apparently stayed up into the wee hours to finish reading.
Question one: did you see the NY Times review that appeared earlier in the week of publication? (The reviewer found the book being sold openly in a bookstore before the official release date, so he felt it was fair game to buy one and write about it.) I was intrigued by the reviewer’s mention of all Rowling’s literary sources and antecedents, some of which I’d caught and some of which I hadn’t. The reviewer seemed to treat her writing as “literature”.
So my real question (query two, et seq.) is, Do you think of Rowling’s Harry Potter cycle as “literature”? What do you like about it? And what (if anything) don’t you like?
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July 24th, 2007 at 9:11 am
I am trying to do the seventy days of sweat with sven, but I have just hit a wall…I have not written in about 3 days. What do you do to get back in the saddle? Besides “just write”?
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July 24th, 2007 at 11:29 am
Do you normally write everyday or most days until you hit the end before you edit? Or do you pick one day each week to go back and edit what you’ve written?
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July 24th, 2007 at 11:36 am
I meant SSG, not SSC
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July 24th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
How did you become a Cover Model? Have you done other modeling?
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July 24th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
In the days before the call, how did you keep your spirits up with the rejections? Did you have your agent before the contract? I know you had a blog presence prior to publication and I love your When Good Advice Goes Bad series. How important do you think those craft posts are to establishing an online presence?
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July 24th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
Did it have to be a chicken’s egg? Or do you believe that it could be a dinosaur egg or fish egg?
A better question is that does Amoebic cellular splitting count?
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July 24th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
As I am feeling rather inquisitive today, I have several questions to ask:
1) Is there such a thing as querying too soon?
2) Although I expect that it’s something one just “knows” instinctively, are there a set of guidelines to follow?
3) When did you know you were ready to start querying?
4) What sort of writing had you done up until that point?
I’m Sweating With Sven as well, and I’m wondering if I should even bother sending out queries for this project once it’s completed. I don’t think I’m ready, but I tend to be my harshest critic. While I want to trust my gut and wait until the next project, I don’t want to “wait until the next project” for the rest of my life.
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July 25th, 2007 at 9:08 am
*Eh-hem* Suppose I’m writing a series (which I hope to be), however I have other stories niggling around in my head. (I’m sweating with Sven, as well – my he’s popular.) I have finished Book 1 of said series, and now have a fabulous idea for Book 2, BUT Book 1 is on submission and is likely to be tied up for a while in that stage… What the heck do I write next? The proposal for Book 2 or the Book I promised Sven?
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July 25th, 2007 at 10:41 am
Celeste – Can book 2 stand alone without book 1?
If not, then it is a risk. But really, the decision is which one can’t you get out of your way.
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July 25th, 2007 at 5:44 pm
I’m assuming that since it has been over a year since the first publication that you have seen some sort of royalty statement(The statement, maybe or maybe not money)
Does the statement give much information? If so, has SSG done better or worse than you expected?
And how much credit do you give to My Cover Photo for UTR?
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July 25th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
okay, so this isnt a question its more of a comment. I’m in college and I spent my summer looking for a good book to read, I read 20 so far and I’ve read many series. I thought it sucked that there wasn’t a book series out there that was kind of directed towards college students… then I came upon SSG. OH my goodness, I couldnt put it down. I read the first one and went out in search of book two, both were amazing. I wanted to thank you for writing books for people who are in college, join these societies, and love a good mystery.
thanks again!
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July 25th, 2007 at 11:59 pm
thank you so much, Ashley! Your comment made my day!
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July 31st, 2007 at 11:30 am
First off I want to say I really enjoyed SSG and Under the Rose, both books I got so into it, that I ended up staying up really late to finish them. I look forward to next summer, I can’t wait to see what direction next book goes in, I bet it will be great.
As I was reading I took an instant liking to Amy, and when I got farther into Under the Rose, I started becoming a fan of Poe (Jamie) and decided they’re my two favorite characters. Do you have a favorite character other than Amy?
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July 31st, 2007 at 12:21 pm
Belated Correction:
On my 2) question, I’m referring to knowing when to query, not how the querying process works (I read Miss Snark when she blogged, so I understand how the system is supposed to work). Oops…
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August 2nd, 2007 at 8:43 pm
I’m glad I made your day. I had to let you know that the best parts in the books are with Amy and George. (my opinion only). The things that she puts in her lists, have me rolling. I’ve said many of the same things she has to a few guys like george. I can’t wait for next summer, because I’ve already reread the first two books twice.
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August 4th, 2007 at 8:39 am
What’s the difference between a foreward and a preface?
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