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Answers to your probing inquiries.
I have a few questions for a school report. Can you answer them please? How can I get an autographed copy of your books? What are you working on now? How do you get your ideas? Why is some of the text on the site green? What is Squeetus? No, really, what is Squeetus? Do you do speaking engagements and school visits? Will you donate a book/some books to our library/good cause? I want to be a writer. What should I do? When will your next book come out? Will you write a sequel to princess academy? Will you write another book with Ani/Isi or Enna as the main character? Will you read my manuscript? My paperback goose girl has a printing error on page 167. What should I do? How long does it take you to write a book? Is writing the second book easier than the first? Is it hard to make changes with an editor? Where did you get all the names of people and places? How do you pronounce the names in your books? I didn't understand something in one of your books/something bugged me. Will you explain it to me? Are any of your books going to be made into movies? And can I be in it? What order should I read your books in? Do you have any help for book groups or teachers doing your books? How do I get your newsletter? What's with the pig? I have a few questions for a school report. Can you answer them please? I am so honored that anyone would choose to do me or one of my books as a subject for a school report! This is one of those crazy flattering things that I never would've imagined, and it comes up surprisingly often. I wish I had the time to accomodate everyone who writes to me about this. Please understand that I really truly can't. If I answered all my email and letters, not only would I never have time to write books, but I would have to neglect my family. I have tried to make this site as helpful as possible for you. See School project help. How can I get an autographed copies of Shannon's books?
What are you working on now? rapunzel's revenge, a graphic novel I co-wrote with my hubbie, will be out September 2008. (A graphic novel is basically a book length comic book.) Its sequel, calamity jack is even now being illustrated. I'm working through a fourth Bayern book (working title Forest Born). The main character is Rin, Razo's little sister, and Isi, Enna, Dasha, Razo, Finn, and Geric are all in it. I'm also working on another grown-up book ala austenland. How do you get your ideas? The simple answer to this is: I don’t know. It never occurs to me to wonder where they come from until someone asks. With the goose girl, I studied the original tale and asked myself a lot of questions about it, and the answers came out as I wrote. With the next book, I thought, I like the character of Enna. If she had a book, what would happen? And then I had my answer as I wrote. Where do plots and characters and details come from? I imagine from people I’ve known, things I’ve seen, things I’ve read, and things I imagine, all mixed together. See also goose girl: how it started or enna burning: how it started Why is some of the text on the site green? Green text is used to indicate direct quotes from Shannon herself. What is Squeetus? Squeetus is life. No, really, what is Squeetus? Squeetus is this site, your online source for all things Shannon and her books. The evolution and meaning of this word is a mystery, lost in the purling gray mists of etymology. It may just be fun to say. Do you do speaking engagements and school visits? I have two small children, and I've discovered I can't do nearly as much as I'd like. I am not accepting invitations right now for most anything, I'm sorry to say. When my kids are older I hope to do more outside the home. Will you donate a book/books to our library/good cause? I'm sorry, I'm unable to do so. I know that must sound stingy, so please let me explain. I get so many requests for this, I've been really surprised. If you were the only request, then I'd say, Of course! But I can't say yes to them all. Also, authors do not get an endless supply of our books for free. We get a small number at publication, enough to give to our family members, a few friends, and save a couple for our kids. Then if we want any more books, we have to buy them. Most authors do get a discount, but we still have to pay for them. I give away my free books quickly, so if I donate any, I have to buy them, package them up and mail them off (and I honestly get to the post office about twice a year). If I did so for every request, this would become a part-time job for me, not to mention quite expensive. So, I'm sorry to say no. I want to be a writer. What should I do? There’s no secret on how to be a writer—you write. I highly recommend focusing on your writing and storytelling and not worrying about the publishing part for as long as you can stand it. When you do decide that you must publish or perish, the following items do seem to improve your odds: read a lot, write a lot, seek and accept constructive feedback, rewrite a lot, learn as much as you can about publishing, and develop a tough skin. It also wouldn’t hurt if your favorite aunt is a top editor in a large New York publishing house or a powerhouse literary agent. See also mincemeat: on writing When will the next book come out? In fall '08 we'll have rapunzel's revenge, a graphic novel for young readers, and river secrets, the third Bayern book, in paperback. austenland is now in paper. forest born, the fourth Bayern book, as well as my second book for grownups, will most likely be published sometime in 2009. Will you write a sequel to princess academy? I really don't know. At this point, probably not. I like the book intact, whole, without needing another story to it. I do have ideas about what happens next and so I don't want to say that I never will, but I also have 3 other books that feel more insistent to me to write first. Besides, wouldn't you rather decide yourself what happens next? Will you write another book with Ani/Isi or Enna as the main character? forest born, the fourth Bayern book, stars Razo's little sister Rin, but Isi and Enna are major characters as well. I like to have a new main character in each book. Keeps it fresh and new for me. Will you read my manuscript? Unfortunately, no. Having objective eyes look at your work is a very good idea, but I’m not the person for it. I’m not a professional editor and am in no position to help people get published. And, alas, if I read everything people ask me to, I wouldn't have time to write. Clare Dunkle has a wonderful page on her site explaining why authors can't and shouldn't do this. If it’s good, healthy feedback you’re looking for, I am a big fan of writer workshops. I’ve been a part of workshops in college, online, and with writer friends. Join one in your community or form your own. For further tips, check out the articles at mincemeat: on writing My paperback goose girl has a printing error on page 167. What should I do?
How long does it take you to write a book? I don’t start writing until after I’ve had the story rolling around in my head for about a year, started doing research, taking notes, and making a rough outline. When I’m writing a first draft, I do 1000 words a day, 5 days a week. It takes me 4-5 months to complete a first draft. Rewriting can take me another 9-18 months, depending on how much it needs, if I can work at it fulltime, etc. All told, each book requires about a year and a half of steady work, spread out over 2 years or more. Is writing the second book easier than the first? Virginia Euwer Wolff quoted Ernest Hemingway at a conference recently: "And then I remember that it was always difficult." We like to imagine that no book will ever be as hard to write as the one we're on right now, but they are. Some things do get a bit easier. I know my writing process better now, and that makes it easier. Writing enna burning was a little easier than the goose girl because I already knew many of the characters and the landscape, but with princess academy, my third book, I had to discover that all over again. Truly, the hardest part of writing is doing it every day. The second hardest is finding the story. The third is finding the right words to tell it. For me, with every book, every story, that challenge never gets easier. Is it hard to make changes with an editor? I love my editor and feel so lucky to have the opportunity to work with a professional editor before my books see print. The hardest parts are when she gives me feedback that I know is right but that I don't know how to employ. Figuring out how to, for example, make a character arc more believable or build more tension is always desirable but difficult in actually seeing it through, word by word, sentence by sentence. My editor never makes me make changes that I don't want to. She is wise, and I'm grateful for her wisdom. See also mincemeat: on writing Where did you get all the names of people and places? The only two names actually included in the original tale of "The Goose Girl" are Falada and Conrad. In some versions of the tale, Conrad’s name is Curdken. Interestingly, a friend told me that "falada" means "spoken" in Portuguese. Besides those two, the Kildenrean and Tiran names are born somehow in my head, and I took or adapted the Bayern names from a list of medieval German names, some of which are still in use today. I used a list of Scandanavian names from the middle ages as a jumping off place for princess academy. How do you pronounce the names in your books? Any way you like. I'm pretty stubborn about this point. I hate it when I'm reading a book and pronounce a name one way in my head and then the audio book or author or another reader insists that I have it wrong. Whichever way you like to say it is right. Some of the names, I've been known to pronounce in multiple ways. I didn't understand something in one of your books/something bugged me. Will you explain it to me? Actually, no. I don't like to do that. I have to let the book stand on its own. If you didn't like something or something wasn't clear to you, that's part of your personal reading experience and it wouldn't be right for me to push my way in and explain. I don't want my way of reading the book to be the "one true way." However, when I am put off or confused by something in a book, I like to talk to other people who have read it and get their insight. If you don't know anyone else who has read it, try going to Little Red Reading Hood. It's a friendly forum a fan set up for people to discuss the books. You could ask your questions there and I bet they'd be happy to oblige! Are any of your books going to be made into movies? And can I be in it? Currently, there are no plans for a movie of the goose girl or any of Shannon's books. We here at squeetus think her stories would make stunning movies, but apparently no one cares about our opinion. And unfortunately, when a book is made into a movie, the author has no say in casting it. Even J.K. Rowling must bow to the whims of Hollywood. What order should I read your books in? Any order you want, though for the Bayern books you might want to start with goose girl, then read enna burning, followed by river secrets. My other three, princess academy, austenland, and book of a thousand days are standalone books, so you could read them any time. Like, right now, for instance.(Note that austenland is a book for adults.) Do you have any help for teachers or book groups doing one of your books? Yes!The US paperback of the goose girl and princess academy include reading group guides and author interviews. Download the guides at www.bloomsburyusa.com. The paperback of austenland also has a reading group guide. How do I get your newsletter? Go to The Squeeter Pig and enter your email address. We'll email you the html newsletter as soon as the next issue comes out, anytime in the next six months. You can read the latest volume here. And send in your book reviews for the next issue! (Details in the newsletter) What's with the pig? My publisher asked me for a bio, and I read lots of other writers' bios to get a sense of what people were doing. They all mention their pets. "Why?" I wondered. "Is it a secret writer thing? Without a pet you aren't in the club?" Sadly, my husband and I don't have a pet (that is, until we had our baby, of course). My husband's nickname for me is "pig" (it's affectionate, I promise), and so we have a few small plastic pigs around the house. We picked one of them to be our official pet and I put it in the bio. I thought my publisher would edit that line out of my bio, but no! It even made it into the UK edition bio. I think it's thoroughly delightful to be known for having a pet plastic pig and think all other writers should jump on this bandwagon. E.g., "Mary Scrumptious lives in an 18th century farmhouse in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and their pet, a styrofoam llama." |