Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Publishing a Children's Book: The Large and Small of it


Friends, today we have a guest post by Michelle Houts--one of my agency sisters. As with all of our publishing paths, hers is unique. She's here to share her own experiences with large and small publishers. 

Publishing a Children’s Book: The LARGE and small of it
Seven years ago, when I finished my first attempt at contemporary middle-grade fiction, I entered The Beef Princess of Practical County in a major publisher’s contest for unpublished authors. I didn’t win. So, I entered it in another: the Delacorte Dell (Random House) Middle Grade Fiction Contest.. Again, I didn’t win. No one did, actually. It was one of the years they didn’t choose a winner. But shortly after, I got a call saying I was a finalist. And, would I be willing to do some work on the novel and resubmit it?  Uh, sure? Of course! So, Beef Princess was sold to a Random House imprint without an agent on a second try. Not your typical “how I got published” story, I’ll admit.

The Beef Princess of Practical County won a 2010 International Reading Association Children’s Book Award for Intermediate Fiction. It was Nebraska Farm Bureau’s Children’s Agricultural Book of the Year in 2011. Sales were in the tens of thousands. So, it enjoyed reasonable success, right? 

Soon, Beef Princess fans began asking for more. (But my editor didn’t.) Young readers said, “You should write another Practical County story!” (Hmm, my editor didn’t.)  School teachers said, “Frannie surely has her own tale to tell!” (But my editor wasn’t asking for Frannie’s tale.) So, I wrote it. And much to my shock and chagrin, guess who wasn’t all that interested? You got it. Random House was not going to publish the sequel. (I know, I know. I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed sometimes.) 

After Beef Princess, I landed a fantastic agent, who sold my next middle-grade novel about Danish gnomes at Christmastime (a bit of a leap from cattle farming) to Candlewick Press. That is Winterfrost – due to release 9/9/14. But what about that sequel?  My wonderful agent was determined to sell The Practical County Drama Queen.  But we were met time and time again with this:  It just doesn’t make sense for us to publish a sequel to something we didn’t publish in the first place.

Enter SCBWI – The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, an organization I had belonged to for ten years. Their magazine had a story last year on E-First Publishers. These publishers put books out in electronic format first. Then, they may or may not offer a print edition. My agent submitted, and MuseItUp, a small Canadian publisher, offered an electronic AND print contract right away. Frannie’s tale would be told!

The Practical County Drama Queen was released January 31, 2014 in electronic formats. In the spring, it will be released in paperback. So, what’s the difference between publishing with a large, well-known publisher and a tiny upstart? There are several, but first let me say that both fall within the realm of TRADITIONAL publishers. Both are royalty-paying publishers in which the author pays nothing. From there, things can go in different directions.  For example, my advance with a large publisher was many, many times that of a small publisher. My royalty rates, however, are larger with the small publisher, and guess what? There’s no giant advance to earn back before royalties kick in! With a large publisher, I dealt with many “faces” (most of which I’ve never met) in many departments, doing many jobs on my behalf. With a small publisher, there are just a couple of folks who do it all. I got to know them well, and rapport developed quickly. But this also means that without a marketing person and a publicist assigned to my book, I’ll be fronting more of the responsibility.

It’s too early to compare sales, awards, successes. I imagine this title will be a little more obscure in the big book world than its predecessor was. But, it’s published. And, now, when a 4th grader emails to beg for another Practical County tale, I can tell them it’s done! 

Thanks, Michelle! It's fascinating to hear about the winding paths of our fellow writers.

Friends, have you written or published a sequel? Was the sequel written in response to reader requests? Have you ever published a sequel with a different publisher than the first title? Please share!

Michelle Houts lives and plays on a family farm in Ohio with her three children, the famer of her dreams, some cattle, hogs, a whole lot of barn cats, a few goats and a dog named Hercules. She enjoys reading, cooking and hiking any place that has hills because it is very flat where she lives. An eternal student, Michelle has degrees in special education and speech-language pathology. For more about Michelle Houts and her writing journey, visit www.michellehouts.com.

If you'd like more information about small publishers, check out the guest post by Alex J. Cavanaugh: In the Middle--The Small Publisher Debate.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Harry Potter--The Science Behind the Magic



Friends, be sure and stop by Crystal Collier's blog. I'm hanging out over there, sharing two truths, one lie, and other fun information.

Today we're doing something a little different. Super nice and super smart Stephen Tremp is here to share the science of Harry Potter using E=Mc2. I should mention that science was always my worst subject. I've only had one C on my report card. Guess which subject? Yep. Science.

Just for fun, let's hear how an epic duel between Dumbledor and Voldemort could've really happened. Take it away, Stephen!

The Science of Harry Potter using E=Mc2
My “thing” is to converge science and the supernatural, using Einstein’s famous equation E=Mc2. This will help make sense of our universe. According to me, at least. 
In the Harry Potter series, there is much magic that allows for spectacular settings and scenes, both in the books and the movies. But can there really be any science behind the magic? Let’s take the epic duel in Order of the Phoenix between Professor Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort in the atrium of the Ministry of Magic.
Albus Dumbledore: "It was foolish to come here tonight, Tom. The Aurors are on their way —
Voldemort: "By which time I shall be gone, and you dead!
— Dumbledore and Voldemort taunt each other briefly prior to the duel

So how can these duelers make fireballs of death and water prisons out of small insignificant sources of fuel? 
Enter =Mc2: Einstein’s iconic equation. The equal sign means just that. Equal. One side equals the other. So energy is the same as matter times the speed of light squared. That’s a lot of energy if you take a moment to think about it. 
Okay, but what does that mean? Think of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Both bombs released less than two percent of their total potential energy. And just think of the mass destruction they caused. That being said, what if the bombs released one hundred percent of their energy?
Your Assignment: Google “Mass To Energy Calculator” and try it out. For example, 100 pounds of mass, should it be able to release all of its energy, would be the equivalent of close to 1,000 megatons of TNT!
Here is one such link: CLICK HERE and scroll down to the Energy To Mass Calculator and give it a try.

So perhaps Dumbledore and Voldemort weren’t just waving wands and magically making things out of nothing. They could simply be using the potential energy of nearby objects such as fire and water to make awesome weapons by converting mass to energy and energy to mass.

Thanks, Stephen! 

See what I mean about smart? Stephen even makes me think science is fun.

Tell me, friends, are you fascinated by science? Or were you like me and got a C and never wanted to take that class again? Have you ever wondered how story scenes could've possibly happened for realz? Please share!
Stephen Tremp is the author of the Breakthrough series. Together, Breakthrough, Opening, and Escalation follow the lives of the unlikely participants from innocence to a coming of age through sacrifice, betrayal, passion, lust, unconditional love, and hope. Escalation will appeal to fans of modern-day science fiction, action, horror, and even romance.

Stop by Stephen’s Blog for more information on the Breakthrough series. To download Escalation: The Adventures of Chase Manhattan CLICK HERE

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Indie Roundup #indielife





Before I get to the indie roundup, I wanted to let you know that I'm giving away print copies of The Boy Who Loved Fire over at Goodreads. See that link on the sidebar? Clicky clicky and enter for your chance to win a signed copy :)

When I released my YA novel, The Boy Who Loved Fire, I was fortunate enough to guest post on some amazing blogs. I posted those links on my author Facebook page, but not here. Today, as my contribution to IndieLife, I'll remedy that.

If you're on the fence about indie publishing, if you think it's too intimidating, or if you want to know how a complete newbie like me could pull it off, I hope you'll find these posts helpful.

Self Publishing



Writing Advice



Inspiration



Interviews and Features


If you stopped by any of these blogs, thank you! If you've read some amazing posts recently, please share them in the comments.

Have you indie published? If you've released a book, did you do a blog tour? What lessons did you learn?




Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Grateful for the Long Road #IWSG



Hello, friends! Today I'm participating in Alex J. Cavanaugh's brilliant brainchild, Insecure Writer's Support Groupand Sheri Larsen's It's All About Gratitude blog hop.

I'm also featured at The Artist Unleashed on Jessica Bell's blog. Stop by and chat about how we mature as writers. Cuz I'm mature :)

Is it possible to be insecure and grateful? Sure! Let me explain.

On Valentine's Day, Super Supportive Hubby and I took a romantic ride in a horse-drawn carriage on a moonlit night. He gazed lovingly at me as I cradled long-stemmed roses in my arms.

Just kidding. That is soooo not us!

Instead, we spent the day hiking the jagged peaks of Vasquez Rocks--cool rock formations near our home (seen in Roswell, The Flinstones, and Star Trek: The Next Generation). We've hiked there several times before. Hubby wanted to branch out on a new trail. I was game.

We took a long, meandering trail shaded by overhanging trees. We were like the So Cal Lewis and Clark, exploring new surroundings. I loved it. By the time we reached our destination, we were hungry, hot, and tired. We'd planned lunch at the local Mexican restaurant. I was having visions of mango margaritas. Forget Lewis and Clark. We needed to get back to our car, stat.

Hubby's solution? A shortcut! Less distance, less time. Brilliant. True, the distance was shorter, but the climb was straight up. Hard work when you're seeing mirages of mango margaritas. Hubby had to push and pull me in certain places. I didn't care about the beautiful surroundings. I just wanted to get to the end.

What did I learn? I like long, meandering roads much better, where I'm focused on the view and not the destination.

Same with my writing road. I'm grateful my journey has not been rushed. I'm grateful I didn't get what I wanted when I wanted it. I'm grateful I've had time to learn and grow along the way. I'm still insecure about each fork on the trail, but I'm grateful for the long road. I can walk, run, take detours, stumble, and fall. Things have a way of working out the way they should.

What else did I learn?
  1. Mango margaritas are worth the wait.
  2. We must choose the right paths for ourselves.
  3. Beware the man who says, "Let's take a shortcut."
If you're a hiker, do you like long roads or shortcuts? How about with your writing life? Please share!