January 2007 – Tanita S. Davis

A Profusion of Prizes

January 26, 2007

6:04 pm

On Writing, Web Wanderings, Writing Daze

I can’t keep up.

This is thought that is mostly rambling and unfinished, but it’s something I think about often: Those of us in Children’s lit kvetch about the small amount of notice children and young adult literature gets from the outside media (unless it’s a Potter book), but it still seems to me that there are so many awards given out that I can’t keep up. I know about the Scott O’dell, because I’ve seen the stickers on books, and I know that award goes to an historical fiction novel like Island of the Blue Dolphins, the work of historical fiction by Scott O’Dell. I know the ALA has an award for a work by a person of Latin ancestry, the Pura Belpré, although I’ve yet to see that as a sticker on a book. (And that could just be what books I read).

Since grad school, my awareness of awards has increased. Or, it seems the list of awards has grown… A Whitbread (now Costa) Book Award. The Bank Street Books. The Boston Globe- Horn Book Award, umpteen-hundred regional book awards, and now the Waterstone Children’s Book Prize, which is meant to recognize new authors and alert young people to new books.

Um. Aren’t all awards meant to do that?

In all likelihood, I’ve never heard of the Waterstone’s ‘s because it’s a UK award, as is the Nestlé Children’s Book Prize. Probably me having heard of it isn’t the point anyway — As long as it’s an award and someone can win a bit of recognition from their peers… (at Nestlé?), maybe that’s all that matters. Certainly writers can’t be looking for actual deep meaning in winning an award… or, rather I should say, no deep meaning other than “these six people really loved your book.” As I learned so well doing the Cybils, awards are based on the opinion of ONE group of people, not the value of your work as decided by all people. (I know I said that badly, but I’m sick of trying to parse that sentence correctly. Moving on.) The nominations we received were wildly varying — from books that I felt had little or no value, to multiple books having so much value that it was well nigh impossible to narrow the list down and say “THIS ONE is best.” (And again, good luck with that, Cybils Judges! Feb. 14th is approaching at a fast clip!) Perhaps in the end it comes down to the old argument about myriad award stickers on a book that makes it a worthy read to someone else… Sticker = Shiny Gold Seal of Approval (from someone, anyway) = more readers. Understand I have nothing but positive feelings toward book award winners, but I do think that win or lose, the awards are based on the opinions of a just one group. It’s impossible to determine absolute value of one’s writing from an award…

Via Cynsations, read a piece by Institute of Children’s Lit writer Jan Fields on how to maintain tension in a story, and not write in a way that can be described as “slight.” That’s not a criticism I’ve ever heard, but if you find that you or your character is avoiding conflict, the word ‘slight’ can be very apt!

I’ve just discovered Wordy Girls, the blog of four women, one of whose award-winning book, Hugging the Rock is sitting on my bedside table. It’s nice to discover the blogs of writers and to know that often, all of us waste time most shockingly. (Not referring to Wordy Girls in particular at all, please note.) So, I close with the writing blogger’s creed du jour:

“As a writer, I need an enormous amount of time alone. Writing is 90 percent procrastination: reading magazines, eating cereal out of the box, watching infomercials. It’s a matter of doing everything you can to avoid writing, until it is about four in the morning and you reach the point where you have to write. Having anybody watching that or attempting to share it with me would be grisly.”
~ Paul Rudnick

Back to staring at my keyboard.

That One Question, Finally Asked

by Tanita S. Davis

January 26, 2007

4:15 pm

3 Comments on That One Question, Finally Asked

On Writing, Writing Daze

Last night, a person whom I always think of as a “merry auld grig” (One of my fave Dickensonian words) asked me The Question that nobody has asked — not my mother, not my father, not my curious siblings, not my writing group.

The question? “So, how much was your advance?”

I had a good giggle that he was the one who asked me. I mean, that came entirely out of left field. I had a little mental pool going about who would ask first that didn’t even include him. I assumed it would be a family member, someone like my father, who has never thought that I had a real job (Of course, like many people, he’s also got quite a short attention span, so I haven’t actually bothered to tell him that I’ve sold a book… I’ll show it to him, in 2008, when he can hold it in his hand, and that will be enough notice for him. And then he’ll ask, “How much…?”), or my eldest sister, who is, well… forthright. (Otherwise known as nosy). But I’m glad someone asked, actually.

Not that the dollar amount is the point. The reality is that no matter how much your agent negotiates for, your advance is an advance amount on money that YOU are going to earn. It’s a payment against anticipated royalties, and, in a way, it’s a statement of faith, which explains why JK Rowling received an amount roughly equivalent to $4,000 U.S. (£1500 – £3000 are the amounts I found with some judicious searching), and the gentle suggestion that she keep her day job. Her editors at Bloomsbury UK weren’t convinced she could make a living from writing books. Of course, that explanation doesn’t always work… because it begs the question of what it means that Kaavya Viswanathan received $500K for a pair of books she hadn’t yet written. Little, Brown, & Co. apparently either believed that Kaavya was going to be writing bestsellers forever, or that she was a one-time flash in the pan, and that they’d best pay her off and be done with her.

Anyway. I hadn’t ever really given advances much thought, and I smile now to think how much time S.A.M. spent earnestly trying to elucidate to me the vagaries of royalties (“Okay – you get half the money after contracts, and the other half after you do exactly what she wants in the editorial letter, all right?”) and what it means to receive money. He was disappointed that my advance wasn’t bigger, but I’m okay with what I have… because again, to what do I have to compare the amount? Nada. Maybe I’ll get snotty about it later, but I really can’t see that happening. If you’re trying to write for a living? Honey, just about ANY amount is good.

So to answer The Question? Thanks for asking, the amount is … just enough for me.

MidWeek Blog Bites

by Tanita S. Davis

January 24, 2007

6:57 pm

Scribbling

by Tanita S. Davis

January 24, 2007

12:45 am

2 Comments on Scribbling

On Writing, Writing Daze

This morning I found that I didn’t know how to sign my own name.

That’s always a disconcerting discovery, no? Lo, these many years of flinging off my breezy (and thoroughly indecipherable) signature, now I find it takes… thought. I was squinting over the swoops, and studying the loops.

It was … alarming.

Normally, you never look at your signature, unless you’re buying something and you’ve got one of those clerks who scrutinize the back of your debit card to make sure you’re you (I seem to get that a lot), or you have a particularly scary librarian (as I also used to get a lot) who doesn’t believe you live where you live, when you’ve just moved and you’re dying to just FIND A BOOK TO READ to make all the evil of boxes and moving vans and unpacked linen closets GO AWAY for just awhile…!

Ahem.

But I digress..
I am only obsessing over my signature because I was required to sign four separate book contracts for RH. And initial in various places. And sign my full name. Oh — and read the whole thing. There is nothing like starting your day by reading lawyer-ese. It’s pretty much enough to ruin your appetite. For a minute or two, anyway.
As of this morning, I loathe my signature, I really do. Maybe it was the pen… but something wasn’t right. And it’s not like a cheque, you can’t just — rip it up and say VOID and start over again. That’s a surefire way to start things off on completely the wrong foot with the lawyers at a publishing house, tearing up the contracts they’ve been fiddling with since OCTOBER (and which were delayed at the last minute on Friday because Secret Agent Man emailed to say he’d found errors. There are a lot of things crossed out on this contract [which is apparently common], which give the contracts an air of being a skirmishing ground, where a war of words was fought with black ink. Go, S.A.M.!). I think not only would the lawyers be skeeved out, my agent would be ready to hang me out to dry, too. We’ve both been waiting so long for this whole thing to come together.

On the whole, I am pleased with my contract. (It’s not like I have much to compare it to — duh!) I find that I have retained rights I never knew I had (Thanks to S.A.M., who really does do his job); should I decide my novel needs licensed stationery sold with it, or calendars… well, should I actually do that, somebody find me and smack me (I’m talking to you, a. fortis), but hey, options, people. That’s what agents and contracts are all about.

Should anyone need me, I’ll be scribbling with a black crayon, practicing my book-signing moves.

Not.

BlogBites

by Tanita S. Davis

January 23, 2007

11:44 pm

1 Comment on BlogBites

Book News, On Writing

Surely you must hear my not-so-silent screams… The Book Standard reports that JENNA BUSH is shopping a YA book.

Oh, please, God. Please. Make it STOP.

Meanwhile, high congratulations to Sharon Draper for winning the Coretta Scott King Award with Copper Sun, which I haven’t yet read, but at least I’ve seen and heard of, unlike the Newbery winner…

Every once in awhile I pop over to Dooce, the website of Heather B. Armstrong, the woman who blogged a bit too freely (in a completely anonymous way) about her work life, and ended up… fired. Writer’s Digest spoke recently about the same thing, as a reminder to savvy writers — Your blog is not your home, and there are ears — eyes — who walk freely through your doors, and — as you hope, read your words. This might give you pause as you chat about your agent, your editor, your hopes for a work being published. Especially about someone else’s work, it’s sometimes a positive thing to err on the side of caution… I’ve been pleasantly (thus far) surprised by the number of author comments I’ve gotten when reviewing books. Even the great Jane Yolen does what she calls “ego-scanning” and finds out what people are saying about her — and cares what they say.

I guess everybody really does want to be liked.

Silver Lining

by Tanita S. Davis

January 23, 2007

1:36 am

12 Comments on Silver Lining

Book News, On Writing, Writing Daze

Whoa.
Just was jolted out of my whining, sneezing, wheezing state by opening the mail.

Some karmic comebacks going on here. After such an awful weekend, today I just felt like I wanted to be able to limit my drug intake (to one per four hours per drug), and stop cursing all blooming trees (Junipers? I’m talking to you.) and maybe clear the cotton out of my brain and perhaps still the tremors in my hands long enough to write. Instead, I hear not just good news, but great news — many of the books I loved were voted on and honored — Hattie and Rules and The Book Thief were Newbery Honors, and a Printz Award went to American Born Chinese! — which raises the bar for not only graphic novels, but cultural awareness in novels in general, and promotes being who you are in a funny, thoughtful and really well-drawn way. A further honor went to John Green’s stylishly jacketed An Abundance of Katherines, which is a book I really liked a whole lot. It’s indescribable, and if you haven’t read it yet, do. (I can’t wait to dig into the works of the other honorees and winners, some of which I had never heard of previously!)

Though I was quite pleased for the success of these books, it was a busy weekend filled with unpleasant hives and equally unpleasant people, so my Monday has been spent avoiding sharp edges and loud words. When I picked up my mail, I was a little nonplussed. A big envelope… what now? And then I opened it and read the words:

Random House Children’s Books

AGREEMENT made this___ day of ____2007, between TadMack (“Author”) and Random House Children’s Books, a Division of Random House (“Publisher”); The parties to this Agreement wish to publish and have published a certain work (the “Work”) provisionally entitled…

And then suddenly, my evening sort of took a turn for the better.

Books Bounding Forward

by Tanita S. Davis

January 17, 2007

6:11 pm

Leave a comment on Books Bounding Forward

Literary Life Observations, On Writing

A huge thank-you to Book Moot for aiming me toward a really fascinating new thing —
digital storytelling. I KNEW I was not being unreasonable when I had a huge argument with my agent about digital rights. Many publishing companies are not leaving them with the author, but instead of capitalizing on them, they’re sitting on them. Perhaps e-Books aren’t huge news for children’s and YA fiction (which is what I was told — “Nobody is doing anything with ePublishing in children’s books.”), but there’s definitely something there… potential, I believe it’s called. Anyway, do check out inanimate alice, an online serial children’s/YA story told with interactive media (Alice ages a bit each episode, and she’ll end at age 20). It’s a fast-paced, mysterious story, and the pictures and sounds support the text. It’s thoroughly absorbing, as good as having your own little movie, or, since it’s interactive, your own little game.

Want to get a fix on what digital books can do for beginning or non-readers? See Jean Gralley’s Books Unbound, which capitalizes on the possibilities for picture books, and read her thoughts that were first published in Horn Book Magazine this month last year. I’m a bibliophile and I love the texture and smells of paper, but I am eager to see where this new medium takes us.

What's Wrong With This Picture, II

by Tanita S. Davis

January 16, 2007

11:36 pm

Leave a comment on What's Wrong With This Picture, II

Literary Life Observations, On Writing

Thanks to sharp-eyed Sara for sparking these thoughts…

Our Cybils team scrutinized and dissected novel covers more than I usually do, and since on average I don’t spend time judging books by their covers (but I do judge them by their flyleaf copy — and if it’s too detailed or too flippant and tries to strike a stylistic tone — ugh, I put it down, which is unfair of me, I know) unless their covers really stand out, so it was a new thought to me how much cover art can really make a difference to who you get as readers. Our team additionally found that covers in the YA world tend to be pretty similar, (as did Fuse#8), and to follow trends. But using the same model, to me, seem to be a bit… much. Surely we’re not all out of cover ideas — or models — this early in the millennium?! Fortunately, though this same model was used on the Review Copy cover of Angel’s Choice that I received, I understand that the powers that be changed the cover for the actual publication copy that went out to readers. Since both novels may actually appeal to the same group of readers, this was a smarter move, I think.

Since I tend to find my books in smaller bookstores (and usually head straight for whatever I’m looking for), the display copies are sort of …well, invisible to me. (As I say this I realize I’m a bookseller’s worst nightmare – a focused shopper. Aaargh!) The books I actually notice displayed for YA readers have a definite… well, slant to them. They’re either in candy (or is it CUPCAKE or POPSICLE) shades, like the ubiquitous “chick lit” and they look like they’re all written for girls.

I wonder, sometimes, why… Good books like Nothing But the Truth (and a few white lies) or An Abundance of Katherines are likely overlooked because of their covers. I absolutely love the cover Gail Gautier’s Happy Kid, and I think the cover of Kiki Strike is awesome – just random enough to leave out a hook for anyone, but artistically relevant. Both of those books are geared to the middle grade set(correct me if I’m wrong on Happy Kid.) – so maybe that’s where the breakdown in covers occurs? People often talk about young adult boys not reading… I’m not sure if anyone is actually marketing books in their general direction… the girls are already reading, so why skew everything their way?

As my publication experience grows, I look forward to seeing just how hard or aggravating it is for authors to deal with the novel cover selection process. One of my MFA profs said told that we as newly fledged authors would have no say in how our covers appeared, for at least our first several novels. He had at that point three in print, and only had gotten his say because he’d a.) taken a business course and b.) presented his professional opinion after begging to sit in on a publication meeting. They listened to him, he said, because he’d gone the extra mile to prepare something. And to humor him. YA/Children’s Lit might be different. Here’s hoping… If they’re open to it, when I am famous, I’m going to bug A.Fortis into designing my cover for me. (A.F., you have lots and lots of time to prepare.)

And now for something on the more random side of life: if you’re really keen to get into the marketing nuts and bolts of your novel, you can start by building your ideal male (an amusing promo for Anatomy of a Boyfriend), or just design a cover for that steamy romance novel you’ve been dying to write.

Oh, stop, you know you have one stashed somewhere. Cheers!

What’s Wrong With This Picture, II

by Tanita S. Davis

January 16, 2007

11:36 pm

8 Comments on What’s Wrong With This Picture, II

Literary Life Observations, On Writing

Thanks to sharp-eyed Sara for sparking these thoughts…

Oh, stop, you know you have one stashed somewhere. Cheers!

Peering Into the Winner's Circle

by Tanita S. Davis

January 16, 2007

9:27 pm

Leave a comment on Peering Into the Winner's Circle

Ethnicity and YA Literature, On Writing

This just in: the newest Edge of the Forest is up and out, and features a great piece on cover art… since finding out that the cover art for the Little House series is in transit, and after finding how cover art really impacts my assumptions about YA fiction, I found this especially interesting. Also great is the round-up of historical fiction, and the realization that for once, I’ve read most of the books everyone is talking about! (Yay, Cybils!) Head on over and enjoy!

***********************************************************************************
After serving on the Cybils YA team, I have thought more and more about the process whereby we come up with “winners” in children’s books, and whether the process is really inclusive and reflective of all of the best books out there.

To be quite blunt, I’ve never thought that the major ALA awards did the majority of books justice. One of the reasons for this is that in grad school, many of the books we studied were award winners, and there was a marked lack of … diversity in these books. Even books about characters of certain ethnicities were generally written by Caucasian authors. In the end, it was an overall combination of my contempt for my professor’s YA lit choices (sorry, KR), and generalized contempt for the awards themselves. Serving on the Cybils team gave me a great new compassion for award committees… I still believe that some really deserving books are being overlooked, but I got a glimpse of some of what committee panels are up against. (And for a bit more strife, check out the UK’s Commission for Racial Equality’s pending suit against an ethnic book award – [thanks to Read Roger]).

During the lovely Blogger Brunch last weekend, one of the things we discussed, amid the detritus of half-empty plates and far too many cups of tea, was the issue of ethnicity in Children’s literature. Tockla’s PhD work is regarding the editorial process that has affected books written by non-white authors in the UK since the 1970s, and how the process of publishing, which in children’s lit is mostly white and female (until the upper echelons, and then it’s largely white and male), has changed a work from one thing into another more ‘acceptable’ thing. A.F. and I have been working with depicting characters struggling with various Typical Young Adult situations who happen to be ethnic minorities, and we’ve both had some seriously odd experiences with editors and other in-charge types asking for various manipulations of characters to better reflect their ideals of what a character of a particular ethnicity would do. We both found it revealing to talk with Tockla about the various experiences her interviews with authors have given her, and the phenomenon that sometimes authors are asked to peel away things their characters were and did, in order to make them ‘acceptable’ to mainstream publishing. We discussed the question as to how literature then changes to become shined up for a mythical ‘everykid’ who does not, in fact, exist.

These thoughts led to us wincing laughter over the funny story of an agent seeking out every African American editor they knew in order to more successfully pitch a novel … despite the fact that the character was biracial and the storyline wasn’t particularly ethnic. And, when it was strongly suggested that the author remove the bi-racial character’s other race, and just make the character “plain old black, like you,” it was, well, shocking.

I wished then, as I often do, that I could have expressed why the whole thing is so troubling to me — funny on one level, but on myriad others, upsetting. (I, sadly, will forever be one of those people who can only think of a comeback exactly twenty-five minutes later, which is why I write… and try not to talk!) As the weekend went on, I tucked our brunch conversation away in my mind, then just happened over to Mitali’s Fire Escape, and was relieved to find her usual articulate discussion on ethnicity and literature. Her thoughts touch on mine, and though she was talking mostly about ethnicity based children’s book awards, she put it beautifully:

“Winning the Super Asian Writer Children’s Book Award could reinforce your vocation as an “ethnic” writer, which in turn might relegate you and your book to a (short) list of obligatory “multicultural” reads in a book-buyer’s blackberry. Your stories will then be forced on kids by adults like some sort of necessary vitamin pill for the soul. Yum.”

(Vitamin Pills for the Beleagured Soul. I believe Mitali could give the Chicken Soup people a run for their money!!)

You know, I can imagine NOBODY who wants to be put in a corner and generalized as a writer of a particular ethnicity that is only of interest to those who are OF or interested in that particular ethnicity, or those who have that ethnicity thrust upon them by well meaning teachers one few days a year (one in January and perhaps a few days a month in February, along with a class video of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and couple of Phyllis Wheatley poems or a few by Langston Hughes). Part of diversity must be defined by integration — both integration of peoples and their cultures, and the books about them. In the great Someday, our best world would be one where I could go and grab a novel about a Pakistani girl and just read it and appreciate the commonalities of our lives without particularly feeling like I was reading a South Asian Novel, but as we continue to grapple with the Now, that isn’t maybe as realistic. While I personally don’t want to be relegated to the portion of the bookstore for African American books (nor shunted off to African American editors), at the same time, I understand that some people’s minds are segregated like that, and maybe that’s what will create success for minority writers and their books. Maybe that’s just the way it has to be, in the here and now.

Seems a pity…