Words of Wisdom

Today’s interesting tidbit comes from wise writers on a variety of subjects:

On inspiration by Sarah Zarr

Why you should never sell ARCs by CJ Redwine

How we should deal with multicultural book covers by Mitali Perkins

Were you inspired? Did you learn something? Enjoying musing on these ideas and more over the weekend!

The Game of Writing

Who knew there was a way to combine two things I love (writing and board games)? This is pretty awesome. I want to play! 

Share the Love

Hey, fellow book lovers, this seems like a great idea: Book Crossing. Normally, when I don’t want a book I sell it on Amazon, which is a great way to share books with book lovers. But what if, like at Book Crossing, sharing books becomes an adventure between book lovers and their novels. So much fun! I’ll be sending my first book out into the ether soon!

Writers Writing about Writing

I won’t lie—this week has been way too busy for me to come up with something thrilling to post today. Luckily, there are a lot of brilliant peoples—authors, to be exact—who have lots to say on the subject of writing that is definitely worth sharing. Here are two of my favorites that I’ve wandered across lately:

Maggie Stiefvater on Using Novels as Textbooks

Justine Larbalestier on Using Scrivener

Happy weekend!

Fashionable Books

There’s plenty of talk about the slow death of books: publishing houses not being as profitable; the rising preference of ebooks over physical ones; bookstores closing; children (and adults) preferring tv and video games over reading; etc. But I think books are fashionable—as an accessory, that is! Check out these fantastic dresses, shoes, and purses and there’s plenty more out there. And who says books aren’t trendy?

Going West

I’m heading on vacation for the next week and a half—and since this is my only big trip of the year, I’m going to put blog posts on hold. That isn’t, of course, to say I won’t be doing book-related things. I’ll definitely be reading and I’m looking forward to my first visit to Powell’s Books in Portland, Oregon. You can make any vacation into a bookish one. :-)

Childhood Books

Fact: The books you read as a child affect who you become as an adult.

While I could take the poignant route in writing about that sentence (and I have before), instead I’ll direct you to the irreverent article that explains what your favorite books as a child say about you now. According to the article, family is important to me…up to a certain point (Little Women), I secretly like that everyone goes to me to solve their problems (Harry Potter), I wear colorful clothing (The Giver), and I always need a house with the possibility of a magical wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia). Not entirely accurate, but still amusing. What do the books you loved say about you?

The Query Letter

Sorry for my absence on Wednesday. This has been a busy week—I have started querying agents about my manuscript The Rose of Coracus! And part of that process is writing the dreaded query letter. How do you sum up years of hard work and revision and a 75k+ manuscript in 200 or so words? I don’t have answers. I don’t know if my query letter will get me an agent or not. I do know (excuse the cheesiness) that I’ve done my best and I’m trying hard and will keep trying hard until it works out. After all, “A published author is an amateur who didn’t quit.”* So, drum roll, here’s the letter that will hopefully set me down the path to publication:

Dear [agent],

Shayna won’t let anyone—from her parents to King Morader himself—tell her she can’t explore the city of Coracus just because she is Hilla, part of the hated ethnic group. She has been snubbed by merchants and even assaulted, but could always dance away her anger as the most admired performer in the bustling market square.

Growing up Prince Johnathan had obeyed when told never go near the Hilla. But the desire to know all of his future subjects leads him to see beyond the capital’s walls.

The passion in her dancing catches his eye; his chivalry helps her to trust him. Soon Johnathan is escaping the palace to dance with Shayna in smoky taverns and show her the world she couldn’t know as a Hilla. Even if those who see them disapprove—verbally and violently. They weren’t supposed to meet, let alone fall in love.

But when Shayna leads a Hilla rebellion demanding equal treatment and Johnathan joins her, the couple must choose: sacrifice their relationship so Johnathan maintains the crown and can one day secure rights for the Hilla, or stay together in an increasingly dangerous world.

The Rose of Coracus is a stand-alone 77k high fantasy young adult novel in the vein of Tamora Pierce and Kristin Cashore. It is envisioned as part of a non-sequential series with recurring characters.

By night I write and by day I’m an editorial assistant at Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins Publishers, so I am surrounded by children’s books nearly 24/7 and couldn’t be happier. [Sentence about why I’m querying particular agent.]

Thank you for your time and consideration. 

Sincerely,

Laurel Symonds

[contact information]

And thanks to lovely author Jodi Meadows (Incarnate, Jan. 2012) for giving me feedback on the letter!

*Author and Lit. Agent Mandy Hubbard

Best Places to Write

For this upcoming long weekend I’m heading up to my aunt’s house which is on an island on a lake. You can only reach it by boat. The house is really old. It’s surrounded by old forest and blueberry bushes and the sunlight seems to dance been the shadows. Shared between the other ‘camps’ on the island there’s a historic boat house, a Wishing Bridge, an outdoor chapel, and a dock where the Mail Boat visits once a day. It is, very simply, one of my favorite places on Earth. It’s quiet and comfortable but also exciting.

I’m gushing all about this place not to brag, but because it’s always been one of my favorite places to read a good book. Do I lie in the hammock, dangle my feet in the water on the dock, or catch some last rays on Sunset Deck? I’ve realized now that I have a tiny Mac that can travel more easily than my clunky old Dell laptop that this is also the perfect place to write. I’m not sure if I will take my computer with me on the zippy fifteen minute boat ride from marina to island this trip (I really plan on doing nothing!), but it’s made me ponder what a good place to write is…

Before I moved to NYC I loved the window seat in the sunroom at home in CT and there’s nothing like a sturdy desk that you can always return to. Sometimes I write in bed…but that more often than not turns into nap time. I’ve never tried writing in a coffee shop, but there’s a café in my neighborhood that ‘all the serious writers go to.’ All in all, I’m on the lookout for a good place here in New York for me to write—somewhere in my apartment or somewhere in the wider world. What are your favorite writing places? How did you discover them?

Happy long weekend! I hope it’s full of fun and relaxation. 

Books at a Bookstore

Tomorrow is Save Bookstores day. A very worthy event that I will be taking part in, and I hope you do, too! What book(s) will you purchase? 

Editing

This is what I’m doing today.

The Power of Books

I don’t have much to say about what I’m sharing today other than wow and yes.

Summer Fridays

Today is the first official summer Friday.  For many who work in the publishing industry this means Friday afternoons off. I am looking forward to soaking up sunshine in the park, writing, and long weekends away from the city. So far, my afternoon has been delightful: lunch with my boyfriend, reading, napping. I’m about to work on my WIP before heading to dinner and a dance performance with some of my Harper colleagues. Perfection.

Here’s what one publishing insider says about the policy, and I couldn’t agree more. Yay for Fridays!

BEA by the Numbers

My FIRST time attending Book Expo America, a publishing tradeshow:

1 day at BEA (it runs for 3-4 days)

7 hours spent at BEA

5 hours spent overwhelmed but excited

2 hours spent at lunch

My bounty:

14 ARCs (including Forever and Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvator, and Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos)

1 F&G (Grandpa Green by Lane Smith)

2 books (including The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall)

1 chapter sampler (Modelland by Tyra Banks)

6 of which are signed

2 posters

1 pen

Various postcards, broadsheets and bookmarks

6 times I was told a variation of “it’s obvious it’s your first time at BEA because no one in their right mind carries around that many books all day!”

1 panel attended (YA Buzz- exciting books pubbing soon!)

1 celebrities encountered (Tyra)

15+ authors encountered

3 awkward encounters (I know you! You do? Ah, yes. You are? Didn’t we? No. Oh.)

100s of books I now want to read!

The Science Behind Literature

I never thought my boyfriend’s chemistry-grad-student-ness and my bookishness would ever have anything common. Now, they do.

Pretty Cakes

Fact: Children’s Books are Awesome.

Fact: Cake is Delicious.

Fact: Some Fridays You Need Something to Get You Through the Day.

Fact x 3: Cakes Based on Children’s Books are the Awesomest Thing Ever That Will Keep You Smiling All Day.

Enjoy! 

Children's Book Week

Remember that post a while ago about the books nominated for Children’s Book Week? Well, now the time is here to find out the winners…and do lots of other fun things to celebrate the week! No matter where you are, there is an amazing event happening in your area. I’m hoping to go hear Katherine Paterson speak this weekend! Go out and read some great children’s books this week!

Pointless Reasons Why I Love My Job

If you’ve ever read this blog it’s a very clear fact that I love what I’m doing.

There are the big reasons why I love my job: fun books, challenging writing, smart people from whom I can learn a lot.

And there is THE BIG reason: Aiding in the publication of books that will get and keep kids reading.

But then there are the trivial little things that don’t really matter but still contribute to my overall satisfaction at the end of the day.

-       Clothes. I have to dress up at work. And when I say “dress up” for me that really means “wear a dress.” Having presentable, fitted, cute dresses for work gives me the perfect excuse to hit up the spring dress sales that were going on last week. I was so happy with my elegant purchases that I came home beaming. I can’t wait to wear them to work!

-       School supplies. Not only are ‘school’ aka office supplies useful in my job, they’re also a requirement. On a daily basis I use neon-colored post-it notes and flags as well as colored pencils. And I just bought some amazing gel pens. It’s like being in school without, ya know, classes or exams or essays.

-       Baked goods. Somehow on a regular basis cupcakes and cookies appear in the floor’s kitchenette. Sometimes they’re homemade (yes, I’ll admit, often by me or the other assistant on my team) and sometimes they’re from Crumbs, but all the time they’re delicious. No one can resist a little sugar rush in the afternoon!

-       Shared interests. Obviously everyone who works in children’s publishing is interested in children’s books, but the shared interests among the staff are amazing. Nearly everyone seems to be crafty in some way (baking, sewing, knitting) and/or interested in the arts. Very rarely can you find a group of people that when one girl says she went to the ballet several others have gone or are interested in her opinion of the performance. It’s much more fun to work with like-minded people.

There you have it: my job as an editorial assistant is really a perfect fit for me! 

Take a Break

My goodness, this week has been busy for me. As you can tell, I missed my Wednesday post. Sorry about that! Next week doesn’t seem to be any less hectic, but I’m filling my weekend and non-work hours with the best of things: birthdays, anniversaries, visitors, and lots of baking in preparation to all of those things…so I have no complaints.

It actually works out well that my evenings have been so stressful, because what I wanted to share today is exactly what I like to do when I get overwhelmed and busy…coloring! I love to color or draw whenever I’m stressed out or watching tv or listening to an audiobook or just because. I’m not an artist and don’t do anything super fancy, but it’s so much fun! Below is my ‘entry’* to a contest that author Heather Dixon is having. The page is based on her book that just came out, Entwined.

I haven’t yet read Entwined, but it’s a retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses, a story I adore. And I know I’ll read it soon; a book club that I just joined (mostly because they were discussing this book) has selected Entwined for May. I’ll let you know how it is! And in the meantime, check out Heather’s contest (you can enter for another week) and happy coloring!

* I’m not actually entering the contest; it doesn’t seem fair when Heather Dixon is a Harper author and I have relatively easy access to Harper books. But I just couldn’t resist coloring a fake entry anyways.

You Are What You Read

Scholastic’s created this awesome website: You Are What You Read. And it might just be a gimmick: celebrities as well as us normal people can list the five books you’ve read that have made you who you are. Kind of like the way parents always say, “you are what you eat (so don’t eat all those donuts).” It’s pretty interesting to think of, though. We’re not talking your five favorite books, but rather the five books that have impacted or changed the way your life has turned out. Pretty powerful stuff, but that’s books for you! You can submit your five books on the website, but I’m just going to share here. I’ve already talked about many of these books, so my explanations are Twitter-style. Here is my Bookprint:

                                                                   

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott: A family read aloud book. Jo March was the great and realistic role model I needed as a kid. I’m more of a Meg these days but still a writer!

The Abominable Snowman by R.A. Montgomery: Changed me from a reluctant reader to book lover in 3^rd grade. Wouldn’t be where I am today if not for teacher (Mrs. Moore) giving me this inspiring book.

Alana: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce: 6^th grade introduction to fantasy, which I have devoured (and imitated in writing) ever since. Plus, Alana is a great example for grrrrl power.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling: I grew up on this series, literally aging with the Hogwarts gang. The world is so real and vivid to me. (PS. Look at that 10th anniversary cover!)

Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy: First classic novel I picked up on my own (9^th grade) and adored. Set me down the road of Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë worshipping and English majoring.

What five books have impacted your life?