squeetus

sorry...a little flame fanning...

Many of you are aware of the controversy surrounding this year's Newbery medalist, The Higher Power of Lucky, by Susan Patron. I didn't bother to add my voice to the hubbub because I felt like it was a tempest in a teapot and that my opinion on the matter was irrelevant. And even though I thought the opposition to the word "scrotum" (an anatomically correct word used in a non-vulgar context) was silly, I think any parent or reader has every right to avoid any book they don't think is up their alley. But I just read an article about it in a local paper that made me want to respond. So I appologize for fanning the flames, but I yearn to make one point.

Here's what I can't shrug off--the idea that some think Patron included the word in her book for "shock value." Wha....?! I don't know Patron, so I can only think about it from my own perspective as a writer. What a huge waste it would be to put a word in a book that didn't fit character or story just for shock value. I can't imagine any writer worth her salt stooping to such silliness. The only tools we have to tell a story are letters, punctuation, and spaces--odd abstract symbols. No voice inflection, no gestures. Just words. That's a tall order. Why would we waste a single one just to shock and risk ruining the story? Much of the labor of rewriting for me is trying out every single word, checking to see if it's the best one, changing them again and again until I get it just right. The writers I know consider words magical, sacred, powerful. I feel a reverence for the written words that are a storyteller's tools and try not to ever use them lightly.

It's risky to ever assume what a person's intent was behind their action. I think assuming some hidden sordid intent will often end in error, and what's the point? Here's Patron's response to the controversy. Really, controversies are so silly. All they do is generate more publicity for a book, make more sales, get more kids to read it. I'd include some shocking, pot-stirring word in my next book just for the free publicity...only, I wouldn't want to waste a single word.

New reads

Because I don't know when I'll be getting around to do another Squeeter Pig newsletter, I wanted to list some of my favorite recent reads, since I think that's the most important part of the newsletter.

Reaching for Sun, Tracie Vaughn Zimmer
A year in the life of a middle school student, told in first person poems. I used to cringe at the idea of a novel in poetry but I've done a 180. When done well (as Tracie has), this kind of poetry is so accessible to young readers. Reluctant readers will feel so much pride at how quickly they're turning pages. The writing is gorgeous without being heavy handed, and readers can easily empathize with this story of a girl with cerebral palsy.

I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith
Written in the 1930s, this book is the journal of a clever, lively 17-year-old girl, telling the story of her family and their home in a decaying English castle. It's my personal policy not to say anything negative about books by living authors. There are too many good books to waste my time with the negativity. But since Dodie Smith is deceased, I feel okay saying, this book broke my heart. I absolutely adored it and was preparing to recommend it at the top of my lungs to everyone I know...until the last chapter. Then the ending was so heartbreakingly disappointing that I recommend it now with real reservations. I think it's still worth reading, but just be warned. Anyway, you may completely disagree with me about the ending. Jessica Day George does. And Speaking of...

Dragon Slippers, by Jessica Day George
A girl befriends a dragon and moves to the big city to pursue her dream of being a dressmaker, unknowingly wearing a pair of enchanted slippers that could bring on a war. This is fun, clever, quality adventure, great for ages 10-14 especially or anyone who appreciates Patricia C. Wrede and Diana Wynne Jones.

The Astonishing X-Men, by Joss Whedon
Joss is king. I just read the latest installment of his X-Men story arc and it's so freakin' brilliant. Best suited for those who already have some knowledge of the X-Men characters and relationships.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick
This book is all the talk in the book community, and rightly so. Selznick, a brilliant illustrator, creates a gorgeous novel with hundreds of full sized illustrations. It reads like a cross between a movie and a novel, and tells the story of an orphan in 1930s Paris uncovering a mystery. Great for reluctant and eager readers alike, ages 10 and up. It's hard to explain without seeing it. Next time you're in a bookstore, pick it up and flip through a few pages.

Al Capone Does My Shirts, by Gennifer Choldenko 
Super! The story of a boy who lives on Alcatraz, where his father is a prison guard. I read this almost straight through, and the ending made me grin madly.

Stiff, by Mary Roach
Fascinating, hysterical, and often gross (but not too gross), journalist Mary Roach details the lives of human corpses, from medical school experimentation to forensics studies. Great for non-fiction fans.

Self-publish or die

In my ongoing quest to answer emailed questions...

"Why don't you self-publish?"

On the surface, it would seem a great idea to self publish. Because I publish through a traditional publisher, I make between 6-12% of the cover price for each book sold (and far less on book fair editions and the like). Making 25 cents off an eight dollar book seems like I'm getting scammed, doesn't it? If I self-published, I could make everything after cost, over fifty percent at least. Now that I'm established and have readership, why don't I take advantage of that?

Because it would be a living nightmare.

When working with a publisher like Bloomsbury, my part is just writing the book. They take care of copy editing, printing, proofing, jacket art, marketing, publicity, not to mention distribution. If I had to do all of that, I would never have time to write. Some writers are natural salespersons and may enjoy it, but I wouldn't. Besides, many book stores only buy from the large book distributors so they can return unsold books. Self-published books rarely make it into bookstores or libraries or get reviews from the major reviewers. And one of the advantages of working with a publisher like Bloomsbury is I get to work with a professional editor who helps me make my books the best possible. I would never give that up.

Self-publishing is a great way to go if you want to write a story to share with your family and friends, or if you love hitting the road and trying to sell books out of the trunk of your car. Some self-published books do well and get the attention of a major publisher, crossing over to mainstream publishing, but it's literally one out of hundreds of thousands. And for most people whose primary goal is to write stories, this just isn't a good option.

Flailing

I'm flailing. I can't seem to keep my thoughts focused on any book, my efforts to engage in rewriting are pathetic and painfully slow. Is it post-baby squishy brains? I'd panic, but I remember going through the same thing after Max and fearing that I'd never be able to write another book. But then I did (princess academy, river secrets, rapunzel's revenge, book of a thousand days). I think it's not just the baby-having and sleep-losing and crazy hormones, but that awful between-ness that regularly hits. I guess about once a year I finish one project and need to move on to the next, and not having a clear enough concept of what I want to do, I flail. What I should be doing is a rewrite of jack, the rapunzel sequel. We have a pretty solid first draft (actually, it's about fourth draft now), but it just ain't workin', and we're scrapping entire scenes and sections and trying to re-conceptualize the sucker.

Did I mention the flailing?

I'm glad I've been down this road before so I know that if I keep at it, the words will come. They better come, and before May. I've got another Bayern book a'waiting.

An entire month of sassitude

It's women's history month, and I'd like to highly recommend viewing the Ken Burns documentary, "Not For Ourselves Alone," about Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. It's fascinating and beautifully done. The only exposure to the suffrage movement I had as a child was the song "Sister Suffragette" in Mary Poppins, which really ridiculed them. I hope history text books have been updated since, but we never studied it in school.

I'm just back from California. Maggie went with me on a brief, overnight adventure to a teachers conference. It was GLORIOUS to be out in that wonderful weather--trees and ocean and authors and booksellers and teachers--what a combination. Maggie was, of course, a huge hit. All she had to do was smile and coo, and everyone melted. I wasn't going to travel anywhere in her first six months, but the timing was really nice to get out of the house and be together, the two of us. She's pretty wonderful.

On the ride to the San Jose airport, we passed a huge sign off the freeway that said, "HAPPINESS IS SUBMISSION TO COD ALONE," and my mind was tumbling, trying to make sense of it. Why cod? What's wrong with halibut or a little salmon? Am I ignorant to some deep truth about sea fish? It was several seconds before my brain caught up with me and I realized that the "C" must have actually been a "G." Ah. I was a little sorry to realize my mistake. I would've liked there to be some mysterious organization promoting submission to cod.

Mild spoiling

Okay, okay, I will reveal a little more about upcoming projects. I hesitate because my titles tend to change, and I'm sure I have fans out there waiting for City of Rivers, Ostensibly Jane, or Diary of a Lady's Maid to come out, and they'll be waiting a long time (the titles changed to river secrets, austenland, and book of a thousand days respectively).

Bayern 4 so far is titled forest born, and the main character is Rin, Razo's little sister, who we met very briefly in river secrets. The title could change, the story could change, even the main character could change, so that's why I haven't said much about that.

I recently finished a first draft of a new mainstream book, and that working title is the actor and the housewife. I won't say what it's about because, who knows what it's about? And who knows what'll be about by the time I finish rewriting? But the working title should give you some idea (no, it's not smutty).

Just heard some fun news--Nathan Hale just sold movie rights to his fabulous picture book, The Devil You Know. Nate's the artist illustrating rapunzel's revenge, and that picture book was how Dean and I first discovered him and wanted him for that project. It already has a screenplay and a director (the same who did Night at the Museum) so it might really come to fruition for him. Congrats, Nate!

[SPOILER WARNING: the comments for this post are chalk-full of spoilers about the Bayern books--naughty, naughty commentors...]