More Good News!

Y'all have heard me mention it before, but Trisha Leaver was my ORIGINAL critique partner.  I owe so much to her, her sharp mind, and her ability to smooth out the rough patches in a story.  A few weeks ago, she and Lindsay Currie announced their first co-authored MS had sold.  And now...

May 21, 2013
		Children's: Young Adult		Trisha Leaver's SECRETS SISTERS KEEP, where a teenage girl assumes her identical twin's identity after a freak accident leaves her sister dead, only to find that her sister's supposedly perfect life was full of secrets that were destroying her, to Janine O'Malley at Farrar, Straus Children's, for publication in Winter 2015, by Kevan Lyon at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency (World)

WAHOOOO!!!  I'm thrilled for her and for this story.  I've had the privilege of reading it and may have even helped give it a title ;)  If you like contemporary with attitude, a few shades of darkness, and mystery, then you'll love SECRETS SISTERS KEEP. 

Go congratulate Trisha! 

Magnificent Monday!

Five quick things that have started this Monday off on the right foot:

1. I got an email from my editor this morning!  I know, I know...it was just to check in.  But I had (another) realization that I have an editor!  This is worth celebrating every day. 
2. My bathroom remodeling projects should be done today!  This means I won't have to trek down two flights of stairs to go potty in the middle of the night.  An accessible bathroom is a must for any pregnant lady (grouchy or not).
3. I'm almost done with my first round of revisions!  This is is cheer-worthy for so many obvious reasons.
4. I booked my parents flights for their late-July visit!  Both my mom and dad will be here when Wee Wallace No. 4 makes her appearance.  Since my husband had to lay on the floor during my last C-section, we're both really excited my mom will be in the operating room this time around and my dad will be watching my other three kids. 
5. My strawberries are blooming!  I didn't do much garden prep this year (due to my enormous belly) and yet my little strawberry plants are thriving.  I can't wait for garden fresh berries! 

I hope you can find something awesome to make your Monday magnificent instead of miserable.  Have a great week!

Memos From A (Slightly Less) Grouchy Pregnant Lady

Dear Super Modest Baby: 

We had to wait ten extra weeks, but now we can say with 80 percent confidence (that's all the ultrasound tech could muster) that you are a girl.  This is good news, as I can now shop for clothes to cover your tiny body.  So, thanks for sort of participating with the ultrasound today.  Your fetal photo is only a little creepy.

 

Love,

 

Your Mother (who will probably remain slightly less grouchy for a short period of time)



Monday Magic: Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake Cupcakes

Yay for recurring blog features!  I've decided to devote Mondays to something magical that discovered over the weekend. It could be anything -- a favorite song, a great quote, a delicious recipe, a fantastic book -- as long as that thing gives us a little break from the monotony of Mondays. 

This week's Monday Magic is Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake Cupcakes.  Today is my friend Stacy's birthday and she loves lemony things, so I gave these a shot.  And they are springy and light and wonderful!  If you're interested in trying them for yourself, the recipe is below:



Lemon Cupcakes
1 box white cake mix
4 Egg Whites
1/3 c. oil
3/4 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. lemon juice
1 T and 1 tsp. lemon zest

Cheesecake Filling
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1 T. lemon juice

Raspberry Buttercream
1/2 c. Butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese
3-4 T. raspberry puree
4-5 c. powdered sugar
Fresh raspberries for decoration

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners
2. Sift cake mix into a small bowl, set aside
3. In a large bowl, combine egg whites, oil, buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
4. Add cake mix, stir until smooth
5. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full
6. For Cheesecake filling: Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon juice; beat until smooth. Place a 1-1/2 tsp dollop in the center of each mound of batter. Use a toothpick to push the filling a little bit into the batter.
7. Bake for 17-22 minutes (mine took 18) or until a knife inserted toward the side comes out clean. (The filling at the center may still be gooey).
8. For Raspberry buttercream: Beat butter and cream cheese. Add 2 T. raspberry puree (process fresh raspberries in a blender; press through sieve to remove seeds). Slowly add powdered sugar until the buttercream reaches desired consistency. If the buttercream gets too thick, add a little raspberry puree.
9. Pipe buttercream onto cooled cupcakes and top with fresh raspberries.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

The original version of this recipe is from Your Cup of Cake by Lizzy Early, but I always make adjustments as I bake.  So I added lemon juice to the filling, which was fantastic and I ate enough to fill like ten cupcakes.  I also didn't press the puree through a sieve because I didn't have one and it still turned out awesome!

If you can't bake your own cupcakes, I hope you find something else that will make your Monday magnificent! 

How Long Is This Going to Take: My Experience with the Publishing Industry

The journey from writer to author is different for everyone.  For some people the road is relatively short -- Sara Megibow represents an author who went from querier to first pub offer in a matter of hours.  And for others the trail is like a Peter Jackson film complete with disasters, sidetracks, and  a few orcs along the way. 

My experience was somewhere in the middle. I think. Maybe?  For those of you who are just starting on this journey, this post might give you an idea of the steps involved and the amount of time you may have to devote if you want to be traditionally published. 

January 2010 - I have an idea that sounds like it might be a good story.  I crank out 13,000 words in one weekend and am fairly certain I'm a genius.  Then my husband brings home GRACELING for Valentine's Day and I realize someone else has already written my idea.   I am no longer a genius. I don't write again for six months. 

July 2010 - I have another idea!  I goof around for a couple of months, writing in the evenings and when I'm not swamped with house chores.  I write 30,000 words "for fun."

November 2010 - I participate in NaNoWriMo. The beginning of my story got some good feedback from a writer friend, and I search for another beta who is willing to read for me.  I meet Trisha Leaver through Absolute Write, and with her encouragement I write about 25,000 words in the month of November.  She expects three chapters a day and I deliver. 

January 2011 - I finish my first manuscript.  Trisha hooks me up with several other writers and I spend the next two months sending ms to strangers and incorporating their feedback into the revision.

March 2011 - I begin querying.  I send out 40 queries in batches of 10 to 15.  I receive ten rejections on the first batch, rewrite my query letter, and start to get some bites on the second batch. 

May 2011 - I sign with Jennifer Laughran.  I actually have the audacity to think that since I was able to get an agent relatively quickly that a book deal is just waiting for me. I am an idiot. 

May 26, 2011 - I have a baby.

July 2011 - My first ms goes on submission.  I begin writing another book.

September 2011 - Jenn and I decide my first story is not going to sell.  The paranormal market is maxed out.

March 2012 - My second ms goes on submission.  We get some positive feedback; a few houses say it's a near miss.  I think about rewriting it. I don't. 

July 2012 to October 2012 - I write a bunch of crap.  Seriously.  It's all crap.

November 2012 - I decide to participate in NaNoWriMo.  I work on a story that's been floating around in my head for two years.  I'm afraid to write it because I love the concept, but worry that I will only produce more crap.  I write 40,000 words. 

December 2012 - I find out I'm pregnant.  Again.  I spend several weeks worshipping at the throne of the porcelain goddess.  I do not write.

January 2013 - I break a couple ribs.  I spend part of January very, very high (it was prescription, I swear!)  I dream about my characters and hope to get back to them as soon as I can function. 

February 2013 - I finish THE KEEPER'S PRINCESS.  I send my story out to my critique partners, rewrite and revise.

March 18, 2013 - THE KEEPER'S PRINCESS goes on sub to a very small, select list of editors.

April 10, 2013 - The first editor wants to speak to me!  I hyperventilate at dinner with my neighbor, and then I have a pregnant lady dance party. It's appalling. 

April 15, 2013 - Another editor wants to talk to me!  There is more dancing.  My kids join in.  My husband stares at us like we're insane.  He's probably right. 

April 18, 2013 - Jenn calls me about the offer from Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry.  It's a pre-empt. I sort of know what that means, but my very brilliant agent is patient and explains it all. We decide to accept the offer. 

April 19, 2013 - The announcement of my deal appears in Publisher's Marketplace.  I laugh, cry, and dance some more.  I'm fairly certain a miracle has occurred. 

So, as you can see I've been writing as more than a hobby (after NaNoWriMo 2010 it became an obsession) for about two-and-a-half years. I write every single day. Most days my word count is somewhere between 500 and 1500.  On the rare occasion, I crank out 3,000 words in a day.  There is usually Dr. Pepper involved on those days.

I mention daily writing because I believe that if you want to be published, you have to devote a healthy portion of your life to it.  I don't watch TV unless I'm folding laundry.  I don't go out very often.  On some writing-focused weeks we eat a lot of take out or grilled cheese sandwiches. 

Writers don't become authors by accident.  I don't feel like I "suffer" for my art, but I definitely sacrifice for it.  After two-plus years that sacrifice has finally paid off.  And you know what?  I think this is just the beginning. 

My BIG, BIG News!!

Yesterday while I was driving through the forest (because to get anywhere from my house you pretty much have to drive through the forest), Agent Jenn called. 

I'd sort of been expecting this call as I knew some things were in the works, but it sounded like this:

"Becky, Simon and Schuster *crackle, crackle* deal.  One hour *hiss* *buzz*  pre-empt."

Then I got the chime that alerted me the call had been dropped.  I immediately turned into this:

trying to get to a break in the trees so I could call Jenn back. 

When I did, she sounded a bit like this: 

And I could, but my brain went like this: 

So she explained again, and we both did a little of this:

Here's what she was trying to tell me: 

	April 18, 2013
	Children's: Young Adult		Becky Wallace's debut THE KEEPER'S PRINCESS, a magical adventure in which a case of mistaken identity exposes a young performer to a danger she could have never imagined and a secret her father died to protect, to Dani Young at Simon & Schuster Children's, in a two-book deal, in a pre-empt, by Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency

 

Since then I've been alternating between this:

 

(It's a lot funnier if you imagine it with my big, pregnant belly) 

 

And this:

 

YOU GUYS!!! I have a book deal!!  It's a real, literal dream come true (see...now I'm doing the feelings again).  It's been a crazy road made possible by so many wonderful writing and publishing industry people.  Thank you all! 

 

More later with specifics.  I've got to go dab my face before I cry out my contacts. 

 

 

What Costco Samples and Book Marketing Have in Common

I shop at Costco a lot and plan my trips to coincide with when I know they'll offer samples.  The samples -- and not just the eclairs -- make my trips better because I use them to bribe my kids to stay in the cart.  Kids in the cart = good shopping trip.

Most of the people who offer samples are smiley, little blue-hairs, who say things like, "If you like sharp cheese, you'll love this Vermont White Cheddar."  I get sucked in (who doesn't love good cheese?) and try the cheddar.  Sometimes I buy what I've sampled, sometimes I don't.  The sample people don't chase me down and act offended if I don't choose the product they offered. 

Good book marketing is a lot like Costco samples.  The product, in this case a book, is positioned in a place that's highly visible -- web sites I frequent, blogs and tweeps I follow, etc.  Often books are compared to other books/tv shows/movies I already like and it lures me in to take a little bite.   Smart marketers give me a taste of their product with good cover copy or sample chapters, before I buy.  And if I don't like the product, most authors/publishers just shrug it off and move on to the next customer. 

A couple of weeks ago, I had a bad sampling experience.  The entire Wallace Clan visited our local Costco.  We had two carts (one for kids, one for goods) and made our way through the store sampling as we went.  On the laundry detergent aisle, a lady was stumping a new organic laundry detergent.  I already had my regular detergent and fabric softener in my cart (for which I had coupons), and she stepped in front of my cart so I couldn't get down the aisle. 

"You're not really going to buy that are you?" She asked, waving to my detergent. 

"I was planning on it."

"You want to buy this instead.  It's organic and it's good for sensitive skin." 

I took the sample pack.  "Thanks.  I'll try it out."

"WAIT!!" she screeched, holding her arms wide and blocking traffic in either direction.  "You don't need fabric softener if you use this."

My big, burly husband growled under his breath and gave me the get-moving-before-one-of-these-kids-climb-out look. 

I offered the lady a smile.  "Like I said, I'll try it, but I really like my fabric softener.  It smells good and makes my clothes soft." 

"So what you're saying, is that you want to spend the money on two products that can do the job of this one?"  She shook her bouffanted head.  "That's just plain stupid.  Why do you want to throw your money away?"

Then she shoved a cup of liquid detergent under my nose.  "See!  This smells good too--"

Burly Husband was getting angrier by the second (maybe because our baby was throwing things out of the cart), and chose that moment to step in.  "My wife said no.  Now, could you please step out of the way so we can get by?"

Sample lady rolled her eyes.  "I can't believe you're going to just throw your money away."

"It's none of your business how we spend our money."  Burly Husband rolled his cart closer to her, looking menacing.  "Please move so we can finish our shopping."

With an annoyed huff she finally walked away, mumbling about foolish shoppers.

People: this Costco sample lady did not make me want her product.  She made me hate her product. 

Bad book marketing is a lot like this sample lady.  There's an appropriate limit of tweets an author can devote to their book everyday.  I'm thinking it's like...five (I'm making this up on the fly). Once an author exceeds their limit of promotion-related tweets, I'm probably going to unfollow them.  AND, if they're irritating enough I'll never, ever buy their book. 

If an author calls me (or any other reviewer) stupid because we didn't like or purchase their book, then I'm going to dislike them -- and by extension their book and anything else they've ever written 

Don't be irritating with your book news and daily marketing.  Give your readers a taste and let them decide for themselves.  Don't shove your book in my face and then complain when I don't love it. 

Please don't be the laundry detergent lady.  I want to like you.  Don't give me reasons not to.