squeetus

Two! (count 'em--two) Contests!

I feel so noticed! The fabulous John Green (author of Looking for Alaska, etc.) blogged about my August 21 post, and then did anyone catch that Roger Sutton commented on the last post? He's the editor of Horn Book magazine. As professional reviewers both, I was fascinated with their point-of-view. And I think Roger's right--what qualifies as a "spoiler" can be different for everyone. And you need to be able to talk about the book's plot to some degree in a review. I have had professional reviews (as well as casual reviews) that revealed the ending of the book, such as including naming the murderer in a murder mystery, unmasking characters in disguise, and declaring late-book deaths. There may not be easy rules with regards to spoilers, but in my opinion, if an event takes place in the second half of the book or is a mystery the story revolves around, it's best not to reveal it.

Okay, so here's the subject-promised contest number 1:

the actor and the housewife in a bookclub near you! Read the actor and the housewife with your bookclub and then report the experience. I'll select the account that interests me the most (I know! Vague criteria!) and the winner will get a big ol' box of books, filled with my titles (signed) as well as others. Remember how exciting it was to go to school the day book orders came in? And getting that new stack of books? That's how it'll be. But even cooler. No real guidelines for this. You can write me an account, send me a link where you've posted photos, or make a video, or do any combination of the three. However you want. Shorter seems better, i.e. a 3000 word commentary or a 15 minute video can get boring. Email me the account (or link to it, if you post a video or a blog with photos), with the subject line "Actor and the Housewife contest" to squeetus (at) gmail (dot) com. Please no attachments. Contest runs through January 2010.

And on to contest number 2:

 Rapunzel takes her revenge! Create a book trailer for rapunzel's revenge, post it on youtube, and send me the link. Please put "Rapunzel Revenge contest" in the subject line and send to: squeetus (at) gmail (dot) com. No rules, but again, shorter is better (I recommend under 2 minutes), and of course, keep it clean. Contest runs through January 2010, the month the sequel, calamity jack, will be released! I announced this contest earlier, so let me clarify something: Marcus Aurelius made this fabulous trailer, but it is not entered into the contest, so don't worry that you're competing against his awesomness. The winner for this contest will be selected by popular vote. In January, I'll post links to all the entries. Again, the winner gets an amazing array of books, including many of my titles, all signed.

Have fun with these! I can't wait to see the entries.

Also, one more link--this is a blog kept by an illustrator father and his four kids. For their third anniversary, professional illustrators chose a drawing made by one of the kids and redid it in their own style. I love how the profressional illustrations celebrate rather than "correct." Really lovely. What great kiddos!

Commenting on comments, reviewing reviews

Great discussion from the last post! Many of you in your comments noted how people will just glance at a rated review to see how many stars it got without reading the whole thing. There were of mixed reviews of sites like goodreads. Some found it crippled their reading. Others love it. It can be a dangerous place to be as an author, as people tend to be more brutal than they might be on their blogs or amazon. But I found commenter Cara's note interesting: "By the way I saw some people say they hated goodreads. I love it. My to-read list is soooooooo long now. For awhile there I thought there weren't even good books around anymore. I was so wrong." Hooray! Reading will never die!

Mixed reviews about rating reviews vs. not rating. Some who do rate their reviews noted that they don't pay attention to other reviewers' ratings anymore because they've learned first hand how arbitrary it is. This fascinates me--how the process of reviewing and rating changes you as a reader. Not the same for everyone, of course, but it's become a phenomenon in only the past few years and I find the discussion of it helpful.

Commenter Margie wrote, "I love to talk about what I have read just after I have read it, but I hate the stars. I have done them, mostly because I know how much it means to an author to get them." This made me realize I needed to clarify! There are two very different kinds of "starred reviews":

1. Individuals who write reviews on goodreads, amazon, B&N.com, etc., might give a book 1-5 stars based on their personal experience reading.

2. Professional review publications sometimes give a single star to a book review, indicating that they consider the book a standout title. (e.g. Kirkus, Publisher's Weekly, Horn Book, and Booklist)

In the case of professional reviews, the star isn't considered a rating, just a stronger recommendation. These "starred reviews" are very important to authors. Librarians with limited budgets and booksellers with limited shelf space sometimes only buy the books that get multiple starred reviews. Yes, we writers celebrate with big whooping the receiving of such stars. It's a sweet kiss to for our book baby, a happy thing.

However, I don't know any authors who love the first kind of stars, the 1-5 rating system. The stars on amazon, etc., are stressful to me. I avoid them as much as I can. It can feel like every day is the end of term, every day I'm opening up a new report card. And I have hundreds of teachers who I've never met. And many of them seem to hate my work. And some seem to hate me personally. And some find creative metaphors to express how much they hate my work, me, and anything that smells like me. Anyhoo...writers don't usually love having their books summed up in 1-5 stars, in my opinion. But I don't review books, so I have been curious about how that process affects readers and reviewers. Thanks for all your thoughtful comments!

[EDIT: I should also restate here that I don't think reviews are intended for the authors (as we discussed last year). I don't mean to be prescriptive and tell everyone how they should review and if they should use stars, etc. I just find the discussion interesting and hopefully valuable.]

Commenter Sally asks, "How do we discuss the books without giving spoilers?" Good question, and as I'm not a reviewer, maybe I'm not the best person to answer, and others of you will have better ideas. But as a reader I know I DESPISE spoilers when I haven't read the book, and LOVE to discuss all the details after. This was one reason why I asked the reviewers out there, why do you review? What's the motivation to post them? I wish we could have two classes of "reviews": one intended for those who have read them and one for those who haven't. They're all mixed together as it is. I do think there are some reviewers who can manage to appeal to both sets of people. As an author, I'm so grateful to those reviewers who will review my upcoming book in such a way as to give the premise and the idea of the story without disclosing (or hinting at) the spoiler details. Tricky to do, I think.

A reminder: On Wednesday I'll be at the Orem, Utah Barnes & Noble at 7 pm  and on Saturday at the 2nd Annual Writing for Charity in Ogden, Utah. Also, I put up the complete Yellowbelly interview on my site.

How to be a reader: book evaluation vs. self-evaluation

One of my favorite things to do, besides reading books, is talking about books, especially with others who have read the same ones. But lately I've noticed a tendency to ask the same question:

"Did you like it?"

I question that question. I question it with perhaps a questionable reason, but question it all the same. "Did you like it?" Is that the only reason to read a book? To like it or not like it? Is that the most important part of reading?

This has been on my mind lately also as I've been musing on the prevalence of review sites and blogs. On most reviews (not professional ones, but reader reviews) it's commonplace to rate the book. The  frequent measurement is 1-5 stars. This is so normal, it's only recently I've begun to question that too.

Let me jump back a moment. Years ago, when I started subscribing to the New Yorker, I was disappointed in the movie review section. The reviewer didn't rate the movies! He just talked about them for a page or two, discussing the choices the director, actors, and screenwriters made, analyzing the pieces, opining on what worked and what didn't, and comparing that movie to others and to current happenings in the world. But he didn't give me any evaluative starrage! A thumb up or down! A quick and easy way to sum up the quality of the film and therefore decide for me if it was worth my time and money! I resented that. For a while.

But after a year or so of reading his reviews, he became my favorite movie reviewer out there. How much I would rather sit inside his discussion of the movie, his observations, even when I disagreed, then have the whole flick discarded as a number. I find it enlightening, fascinating, thought-provoking. But he is a rarity. As are book reviews online that discuss and observe rather than rate. I wonder how the focus on rating is affecting, even transforming, our individual reading experience and attitude toward books.

In my opinion, there are more interesting questions to ask myself after reading a book than what I would rate it. What was the author trying to do? Did she succeed or fail for me? What devices did she use to create her tone, to reveal characterization, to paint a world? And not to say that evaluative questions are all wrong either. For example:

I loved this book so much. What was it that resonated? Would I have loved this book as much ten years ago? Five years ago? Will I keep loving it in the future? Where am I in my life that this is the story I wanted and needed?

I reacted negatively to this book. Why? What is it about this story or characters or style that hit me so strongly? What does that say about me?

This is starting to sound overly psychoanalytical, and that's not what I intended. Personally, I don't like reading self help. At all. (Hmm...what does that say about me? Interesting...) And I definitely DO NOT thinking reading fiction should be confined to self-evaluatory exercise. But I think that can be part of it. As I've said elsewhere, I believe a story is 50% the book's role + 50% the reader's. I like to read to learn about other kinds of people, go far away, experience things I would never know or see. But I also like to read to see my own reality more clearly, understand my own world and own self better. By limiting a reading experience to "how awesome the author is" or "how lame the author is" I'm denying myself a full reading experience. I'm shutting out possibilities of how I personally grow and change after reading a story. I'm denying my essential role as reader in the storytelling experience.

Even "bad" books, even books I just couldn't love, or even like, can be fascinating to me. They change the way I see the world too. Just like the old adage--what you dislike most in other people is what you dislike the most in yourself--I believe that what I dislike most in books highlights some of my own fears, insecurities, worries, and prejudices. I'm thinking of a couple of books I read this summer that I did NOT like. Honestly, I'm still glad I read them. I've stewed over them more than some of the books I breezed through and loved, and I think they've improved me as a writer, as I keep growing in understanding of what I want and need from a story, and how I can deliver that in my own books.

So, I wonder if book evaluation is trumping self-evaluation. I wonder if we get so caught up in gushing or bashing, shining up those stars or taking them away, that the reading experience is weighed too heavily on the side of the book itself and not enough on the reader. After all, reader is more important than book. Reader is the one who changes from reading, not the book. Reader is the one who lives the magic of storytelling.

Some things to discuss for those of you who review books on blogs, amazon, goodreads, etc.:
1. Do you find that the anticipation of reviewing the book has changed your reading experience?
2. Are you rating the book even as you read? Or do you wait until the end to sum it all up?
3. Does knowing you'll be reviewing it (or rating it) publicly affect which books you pick up in the first place?
4. Does the process of writing the review itself change how you felt about the book?
5. What is your motivation to assign a rating to a book and declare it to the world?
6. If you review a book but don't rate, why not? What do you feel is your role as reviewer?
I'm very curious about all this and hope you feel free to speak freely (and kindly and respectfully, of course) even if you disagree with me.

No jackwads allowed

My agent, Barry Goldblatt, holds a retreat every year for all his clients. I understand this is unique among agents. Some told him apparently that he would regret it. He never has. Instead of jealousy and fighting and cliques, imagine a room full of supportive creative people, sharing ideas on the craft and the business, cheering for each others successes, laughing and teasing and eating bucketloads of candy. That was my weekend. How did I ever get so fortunate as to not only have my dream job, but be surrounded by kind, passionate, giving authors? The theme from the weekend was:

1. Write a really good book
2. Don't be a jackwad

("Jackwad" is my replacement word for another, slightly harsher, but more descriptive word. They have the same number of letters. You can probably guess...)

I'm involved in the Exquisite Corpse Adventure. Read about the details here, since I should be working on my episode now, not blogging about it. But let me just say that, as a book geek, I've had a few minor heart attacks recently upon opening my email and seeing my inbox full of email from such people as Katherine Paterson, Kate DiCamillo, Daniel Handler, Susan Cooper...(book geek HEAVEN)

I put up a small section for forest born on my site. Not much there now, but I do have the first chapter. Just a month away now!

The coolest cabbie around

This week (and probably into next) I'm being interviewed on The Yellowbelly Show. Nathan Hale (no relation) does his fabulous weekday webcomics, and this week Yellowbelly has his own show. The cartoon version of me really is saying the lines I gave him. I have to say, it's not easy to respond to Yellowbelly's questions. The stutters and pauses are quite real. (And the "poo" line is a nod to Dean and my appearance on The Today Show.) Nate continues to astound. We got high res proffs of calamity jack this week and they are GORGEOUS! He is an artist to be reckoned with.

I have new events up on my events page. The tour dates and locations are missing times--more info to come. Two upcoming events I want to pimp: Writing for Charity, round 2! Those who went last year can attest, it was pretty cool. And we've learned stuff from last year's, so it should be smoother. Northern Utahns rejoice, it will be in Ogden this year at the Treehouse Museum. Come for a halfday writing workshop with some pretty amazing authors, and know your money all goes to the Treehouse Museum's awesome community outreach and literacy programs. Register here.

Also, I'll be at the Orem B&N on August 26, 7pm. Come throw breadcrumbs at me and laugh. Okay, I have to go to the airport now and pick up Holly Black, Cassandra Clare, Robin Wasserman, and Jo Knowles. Was there a reason to say that? No, just wanted you to think I'm cool.

Bare naked author souls

Every writer goes through the anxiety of expressing uncomfortable ideas and POVs through a character. I once saw a video of Amy Tan talking about writing, and she admitted her great fear that readers would assume that her characters were her, their strengths and weaknesses were hers, their way of seeing the world was hers. They'd be wrong...but they would still assume. I felt so relieved--Amy Tan worried about that too! And Amy Tan wrote anyway.

I've done this as a reader. I'm guilty. I read a book, especially realistic contemporary fiction, and I wonder if the author is channeling herself through her main character. Sometimes it's probably true. But as a writer I've learned, that's not a valid assumption I can ever make as a reader.

There's no way to hide in your writing. You, the writer, are vulnerable, present in every word. It is frightening, exposing yourself that way. But not always for the reason a reader may think. It's never universally true that an character is the author. But it's always true that the author is fascinated by the character. (maybe there are some exceptions, but I feel too lazy right now to think about them. I have a ton of laundry to do)

A writer writes what interests her, what fascinates her, what challenges her, what engages and motivates and even what frightens her. That's the goal, anyway. Feel free to assume away--that I'm fascinated by the idea of fire-speaking, or vacationing in an immersive Austen resort, of being a princess, of being betrayed, and loved, and hunted, and alone. I'm curious about male/female relationships, and the idea of falling-in-friendship. I find it very easy to follow my proposed motto of write what fascinates you, because what else would I write?

All my books are revealing about my character, though none of the characters are me. I wouldn't always do what my characters do, though I always understand why they do it. I sympathize with all of my characters, even the so-called villains. I find myself constantly allowing them room for redemption, chances to change. Many of them don't, and that fascinates me too. It's fun, this career of exploring what fascinates me, and working that into stories, and reworking those stories word-by-word. It's fun. And hard too. And it makes me completely vulnerable to my readers.

But it also makes me empathetic to other authors. I love the ways being a writer changes me as a reader. Because really, that's what I'll always be at my root.