Posted by: Katie B | February 12, 2012

Music To Inspire The Soul

Inspiration comes in many different forms.  As the writing continues, so does the search for new music to encourage it.  Here are some playlist favorites.  If you have any pieces that have gotten you over the hump, share!

This is Why We Fight The Decemberists (anything from The King is Dead)
How Come You Never Go There Feist
Solsbury Hill Peter Gabriel
Taint Nobody’s Business If I Do Black and Blue
You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me Cher
Sigh No More Mumford & Sons
Here’s Where the Story Ends The Sundays
My Love Justin Timberlake
Work it Out Jurassic 5
Changes Butterfly Boucher
Where is the Love Black Eyed Peas

Some suggestions from the past:

Scattered Leaves The Be Good Tanyas
#41 Dave Matthews Band
Say Goodbye Dave Matthews Band, again, and again, and again
Remember This Grey Eye Glances
The Legionnaire’s Lament The Decemberists
Just For Now Imogen Heap
What If You Joshua Radin
Flightless Bird, American Mouth Iron & Wine
Congratulations Blue October & Imogen Heap
The Places You’ll Call Home The Ladybug Transistor
Never Think Robert Patterson
Fear Sarah McLachlan
Lion’s Teeth The Mountain Goats
You or Your Memory The Mountain Goats
Could You Be Loved the Late, Great, Bob Marley
Apologize One Republic
We Walk The Same Line Everything But The Girl
Casey Jones Grateful Dead
The Gulf of Araby Natalie Merchant
Meet Virginia Train
Reservations The Old Ceremony
Billie Jean David Cook’s Version from American Idol
Fidelity Regina Spektor
Here With Me Dido
Troy Sinead O’Connor
Solsbury Hill Peter Gabriel
Many Rivers to Cross Toni Childs
Posted by: Katie B | February 9, 2012

Preparing for the Professional Critique

My last few critiques ended in disappointment.  Why?  I went in with the wrong focus: wanting to get my book published.  I’d gotten my novel to the best I could.  I was ready for the good news.  What I got: what I paid for.  Criticism.  Remember, the professionals are walking in with their singular focus:  to do their job – critique.

Honestly, I thought to myself at the time, what else could be done?  My book is great.  Sure, it needs a few tweaks, what piece doesn’t?  But it’s ready to be adored.  I was going in more to make contact with a professional I admired, and who I thought would admire my book, than to hear criticism.  With that attitude, I shouldn’t have wasted my money.  I should never have attended the critique in the first place.  I wasn’t open to hear what they had to say and to challenge them on ways to make my novel the best it could be.

My advice to you: go in with the assumption that your piece is years away from being published.  Prepare yourself for it.  Go in armed with questions about your work.  Take every piece of criticism anyone else has ever given you and challenge the professional.  Ask them what they think.  Specifically ask them what they think you need to do to make your piece more marketable.  Or publishable.  Question whether they’ve seen something like it before.  Is the theme unique?  Does the first page grab you?  Introduce some of the hard decisions you had to make along the way.  Maybe you cut a character or reworked a scene.  Explain the dilemma you went through and ask them what they would have done.  In short, get your money’s worth.

Then, when the critique is done, walk away.  Get a coffee.  Or something stronger.  Think about your conversation, make sure you have the key points tucked away in your memory but don’t dwell.  Put your notes away and let the ideas simmer.  Take the notes out a day later, weeks later, or even months later and see which of the topics speak to you.  Now you’re ready for the hard part.  The grueling hours needed to implement change.

When you’ve finished making all the revisions, sign up for your next critique and go in with the assumption your piece is years away from being published.  Repeat.  And someday, maybe someday, you’ll get a pleasant surprise.  Just don’t go in expecting it.

Posted by: Katie B | February 2, 2012

Books to Break the February Funk

Impossibility

Want some good escapism from the February Funk?  Check out these latest recommendations.  I promise this will be the last update to the Reading List for a while.  I’ve got a lot of catching up to do…

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Tomorrow River by Lesley Kagen

Whistling in the Dark by Lesley Kagen

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley

The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag by Alan Bradley

The Stuff That Never Happened by Maddie Dawson

Falling Together by Marisa de los Santos

Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos

Belong To Me by Marisa de los Santos

Posted by: Katie B | January 31, 2012

Registration Open for NJ – SCBWI June Conference

The NJ region of the SCBWI has opened registration for their annual June Conference.  You can find details on coordinator Kathy Temean’s website as well as the NJ – SCBWI regional website.

New this year:  you can select a specific editor / agent for your one on one critique instead of  the coordinators choosing one for you and you can indicate which editor / agent you want to lunch with on both days.  More control over your schedule:  fabulous.

Oh – and Kate DiCamillo is the keynote speaker.  Yes, that Kate DiCamillo.  Can you say star power?

Posted by: Katie B | January 29, 2012

The Rejections Continue…

The Gateway

 

I got so much chatter from my last post on rejections, I thought I’d share a few more with you.  They just keep coming.  Sweet and loving, every time.

1.  “I enjoyed the read, but I’m afraid the writing didn’t stand out quite enough for me to want to see more.”

2.  “Your writing is clean, and the voice is compelling.  Going forward, think about what sets this story apart from others in this genre.  There is so much in this vein right now, so you need something that is strikingly different and to focus on that.”

3.  “This story has an intriguing premise, and I can easily imagine many young readers getting caught up in Anna’s world.  However, I’m very sorry to say that based on these sample chapters, I don’t think Birthrite is quite right for us.”

4.  “Although this sounds like an interesting project, I’m afraid it isn’t right for me at this time.”

If you have any rejections of your own that you’d like to share, feel free to “comment” with them included.  I’ll post them, and we can share in our misery together.  Happy writing!

The Metropolitan Museum of Art – an art lover’s guide – in under two hours.  Well, sort of.  I created this pamphlet when my girls and I took a trip to the Met.  None of the other guides seemed to satisfy.  They didn’t include paintings, in particular the masters.  Even in elementary school, my girls have studied Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, and Degas.  Why couldn’t I find a basic guide that took you from highlight to highlight?  I couldn’t have been the only one who wanted this…but, nothing.  So, I created my own.  And I’m sharing it with you.  I selected the pieces based upon what the Met’s website said was being displayed.  As with all things, it wasn’t 100% accurate.  So use this pamphlet for what it is – a guide.  It will take you to the right galleries, but you may find a different master displayed.  It worked for us.  After all, the exciting part is on the journey!

To use:  The pamphlet is organized into two columns, landscape orientation.  Pictures are listed in numerical order by gallery.  Print it out and cut down the middle short ways (not long ways).  This will make sense when you see it!  Collate and staple in the corner.  Plenty of room for making your own sketches.  Enjoy!

Metropolitan Museum of Art – The Master’s Highlights

Posted by: Katie B | January 23, 2012

Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Contest Starts Today!!!

Amazon’s annual Breakthrough Novel Contest starts TODAY, Monday January 23rd, 2012.  Submissions are open from now until February 5th OR until they receive 5000 submissions.

Grand prize:  A PUBLISHING CONTRACT WITH PENGUIN.  Gulp.

 What do you have to lose?  Send them in folks!  More details, check out the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Breakthrough-Novel-Award-Books/b?ie=UTF8&node=332264011

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