Dust of 100 Dogs–Book Review

I met A.S. King at the Backspace Writers Conference in May 2010. She is one of the most down-to-earth, approachable author I’ve ever met. Her first book, The Dust of 100 Dogs, sold out at the conference.

At the time, I was struggling with my manuscript’s genre–marketing college age characters as YA. She advised me to change them to high school age if I wanted to sell it as YA and confided that she had written a couple books set in college. But they just take up room in a drawer. The market doesn’t seem to have a place for them.

I followed her advice and it has led to multiple requests for my manuscript, to which I am eternally grateful to her. Sometimes, you need someone to give you perspective on the industry and she did that for me.

That alone made me want to buy her books. She was a genuine person,who took time to help me deal with one of the biggest stumbling blocks in my manuscript.

So I bought both her books–signed copy from Aaron’s Books.

I read Please Ignore Vera Dietz, which is an Edgar-nominated YA novel, back in December and reviewed it. It still lingers in the back of my mind. It’s the kind of book you can’t walk away and forget. And you don’t want to.

So I pushed aside all the other books on my to-read list and grabbed The Dust of 100 Dogs. A.S. King’s first book was as mind-blowingly good and haunting as her second book had been. I’m chomping at the bit for her third due out this year.

But onto the review…

The Dust of 100 Dogs is an amazing tapestry of converging events. Emer Morrisey is a famed teenage pirate who was cursed with the dust of 100 dogs and forced to reincarnate 100 times as a dog before she can return to a human body with her memories intact. There is a short prologue of Emer’s last moments and then we enter the story via Saffron (Emer’s assuming human form again).

Pirate+curse+reincarnation+snarky teenager with knowledge of former pirate queen.

I was hooked by page 4.

The book flashes from Saffron growing up to Emer’s life story to a dog’s life. In a quirky twist, it also includes training tips for dogs. The story draws you deeper into all their lives until they converge on a beach in the Caribbean.

Wow. I never saw it coming. Intricately crafted plot. Beautifully written protagonist, allowing teen angst to combine with bloodthirsty pirate. Three dimensional characters. I teared up as I read all that Emer had to endure. And rooted for Saffron to somehow avenge Emer.

The Dust of 100 Dogs is likely to be my favorite YA read of 2011. Though A.S. King’s third book is coming out soon…

It’s been a week since I finished it and the story still rolls around in my mind. Ms. King painted such a vivid picture of her characters, they become a part of you.

If you’re searching for a spellbinding adventure and an unintentional emotional journey, check this book out.

WD Conference–Successfully Promoting Your Book

On Sunday at the Writer’s Digest Conference, I attended an informative panel on how to promote your book. Kevin Smokler, Brent Sampson, Kate Travers, and Kate Rados helped the audience navigate the maze of possibilities.

Promotional  Tools

It is never too early to start promoting. Build your author brand, know your reader, and get beyond the computer. Readers buy things they are familiar with.

There are a variety of Amazon tools available. Check out the Amazon Author Central and create your profile there even if you are unpublished. Link your blog to this profile. Upload videos. The key is to put the tools in place so when you switch from active promoting to passive promoting, the tools still work for you.

Author Central has real time book sales via Book Scan.

You can populate your book tour information on Author Central page.

Events

For public events, figure out who your groups/friends are. You need to be able to bring in book buyers and provide sweets and drinks. Try to do book tours/events where you can crash on a friend’s couch.
Think outside the box. Author events can be anywhere–church, YMCA, friend’s house, etc.

Once you’ve scheduled an event, figure out a way to make it an evening out for attendees. Provide a performance if relevant to book. Engage the reader. If it’s a historical work, bring in a local professor to talk with you.

If possible use visuals such as Powerpoint. Talk about what book is about. Don’t just read an excerpt. Make it fun.

People want compelling, live entertainment.

Social Media

When it comes to social media, don’t engage because you have to, but because you are drawn to the subject matter. Don’t be blatant about self-promotion.

The author platform: can be a blog, website, Facebook, and/or Twitter.

Create a foundation by focusing on one thing at a time and add on as you get better at it.

You have to attract readers to you as a person. Be interested in them and be a supporter of them. Provide something they want/need.

Building a mailing list and exchanging business cards is a start.

Engage a community and support them. Usually they will support you back.

Be aware that when you sound boring to people, you need to stop promoting.

Be good company online–entertaining/polite/gracious. Don’t be another disgruntled author.

Virtual blog tours can be a great and cheap way to market. Even when the event is over, it’s there online forever archived on the internet.

Bookbloggers are all the rage–very passionate about books. Read their blogs. See their tone and genres. Check out how they want to be pitched before you pitch them.

 

Publicist Hiring

Hiring a publicist depends on what your publishing and when. Figure out what they can do that you cannot.  Research their client list.

 

Bottom Line: There are lots of ways to promote your book and you should get started before publication. A blog or a website is a good way to begin. Expand from there. Facebook and Twitter have a learning curve so pick one and start sticking your foot in the pool.

WD Conference–Revision: Learn How to Love It

Sunday at the Writer’s Digest Conference, James Scott Bell gave another riveting presentation on learning how to love revision.

His argument is that if you know what you are doing and have enough tools to do it, revision can be fun and creative. After hearing him speak, I’m a believer. I purchased his book on Revision and Self-Editing.

He takes a systematic approach to revision (in a similar way to his approach to plotting). Much like war, strategy is an important part of winning the battle with revisions.

He has three rules:

1. Write
2. Finish the novel
3. Learn the craft

He believes that the act of completing the novel teaches the writer so much. But then the writer must revise in order to learn how to revise.

His rules are:

• Write hot and revise cool (write like a Hawaiian shirt and edit like skinny jeans)
  • The first draft should be passionate and dance out of your mind
  • So let it out. Push the limits, knowing you can scale back later
  • You can revise as you write, but try to keep it to a quick edit of the past day’s work and then moving forward to the next day’s writing
  • At the 20K word count, step back and ask:
    • Is the main character sympathetic or possesses connectability?
    • Are the stakes high enough?
    • Is the confrontation element fully justified?
• Take a break from the manuscript. At least 2 weeks-1 month.
• And comes back as a reader. Pretend to pick it up for the first time. Do a first read through with minimal notes. Read like a reader NOT an editor. Get through the entire novel in 1-4 sessions, making minimal marks in the manuscript as you read.
  • Checkmarks indicate that the story is dragging
  • Parentheses mean the sentence doesn’t work
  • Circles in margin for where material needs to be added
  • Question marks to denote confusion
• When finished reading, asks if the story makes sense.
  • Not just in terms of the plot threads tying up, but do the characters behave as people should act?
  • Look at scenes from the viewpoint of each character and have them make the best move for himself because each character has his own agenda
  • Any coincidences that help out the plot are removed. Readers want a character to solve a problem with her own ingenuity
  • Examine if the stakes are high enough. Looking for death of some sort (physical, professional, emotional). Examine the protagonist’s inner tension in scenes
  • Does your main character jump off the page. Readers want characters they haven’t seen before in subtle ways. Readers want a protagonist they can follow through death struggle. Someone they can worry about

In the drafting and editing process, create off-page scenes, playing out how a character will react to certain things. This allows you to get to know your characters and understand their inner workings. To find their emotional depths.

Then outline book with a scene breakdown of what is written to use during editing. Revise the outline multiple times to account for any changes that should be made to the draft after your reading. This outline will be the basis of the second draft.

Work on the outline with the goal of making the story breathe and move. To create an emotional experience for the reader.

Dialogue is the fastest way to improve a manuscript. It is a compression and an extension of action. Keep in mind the agenda of the speaker.

Characters with different agendas = constant friction

Then move onto the polishing

• Scenes openings should be reviewed. Depending on pacing, you may open with action, dialogue, or setting scene
  • Make sure opening scene has a hook
• Look at chapter endings–usually a paragraph can be cut to “snip at the tail” and give the story forward momentum
• Compress dialogue

Thank you Mr. Bell for another stellar craft lecture.

WD Conference–Building the Perfect Plot

James Scott Bell gave an awesome craft presentation on building the perfect plot on Saturday at the Writer’s Digest Conference. He’s an electrifying speaker, who engages the listener with real world examples and walks you through his process for building plot.

The LOCK system

• Lead–main character
  • Readers enter the story via the main character–they must bond with him
  • Fastest bond is created via vibrancy of plot–jeopardy/trouble
  • Don’t open with Happyland, where everything is going well. It bores the reader and turns them off
    • Reader needs to know there is something at stake for main character
      • Jeopardy
      • Hardship (not of character’s own making)
      • Inner conflict
      • Think High Noon with Grace Kelly or Rose Matter by Stephen King
      • Morality and vulnerability can make a character likeable
      • You want the reader to worry about your character
      • Readers care about characters that care about other people
        • “Pet the dog” or “Save the cat” axiom–the hero is in a vulnerable position  and chooses to care for someone weaker than himself
          • Think Dirty Harry or the Fugitive
          • Then have it lead to further trouble
  • The main character cannot be a wimp

• Objective–main character must have one
  • Death at stake
    • Physical, professional or psychological
  • The objective can be something the main character is trying to get or get away from
• Confrontation
  • Justify the opposition character
    • Best villain has some sympathy to them. All characters think they are justified
  • 2 dogs and 1 bone is a good plot
  • Requires a character that is stronger than main character
• Knockout–the end of the story
  • Last chapter sells the next book
  • Need a satisfying ending
    • Inner and outer aspect to final battle
    • Inner=moral–character decide to do the right thing
    • Outer=conflict with other characters
  • Character gains something at a cost–there is a sacrifice made
    • May give up something they believe in
    • But after sacrifice there must be some reward
  • The ending must: satisfy the reader, not be predictable, answer questions, and leave reader going “Ah”
  • There is no one formula to build toward the ending
    • When he gets to the end, he will stew (take a walk and mull it over), brew (get a cup of coffee and think about next step), and do (go home and type it up)

The Three Acts

• Readers have a three act story expectation
  • Always think about what the objective of the next scene is
  • Make sure there is a natural progression.
  • Usually the middle act is longer than Act I and Act II
• Act I–Disturbance–something happens and the novel begins
  • In Act I, the characters are in an ordinary world and happy to stay there. They don’t want major change
• Between Act I and II there is the first doorway of no return.  Something forces the main character into trouble of Act II and the door slams behind them
• Act II is the main part of the story
• Between Act II and Act III, there is a second doorway which enables the main character to get into the final battle/crisis/discovery/major setback

He closed with this important point: Formulas exist for a reason. THEY WORK. He gave this example: You wouldn’t want to make an omelette with a watermelon. To find out more about plotting, check out his book: Plot and Structure.

WD Conference–Putting Fire in Your Fiction

Donald Maass’ gave a killer presentation at the Writer’s Digest Conference. As useful as the Empire State Building in navigating New York.  Definitely improved my craft toolbox.

For more details, check out his book, The Fire in Fiction. He’s written a couple books on writing and this March a compilation of all his books is coming out entitled The Breakout Novelist.

He talked about how as a reader, we give up on writers who stop writing great fiction. But he believes everyone can write and keep writing books where readers fall in love with the main character from page one and stay around for the next 300 or so pages.

But how do writers make readers care about their main character?

You start with three kinds of protagonists:

• Everyman–ordinary guy/girl but extraordinary stuff happens to him
  • He suggested taking a person you consider to be a hero and figuring out what they said or did to become a hero to you
  • Focus on the details of that moment (location, time of year, your state of mind, your reaction, etc.)
  • Think about what makes that moment come alive for you
  • Now find a way to give that quality to your protagonist
  • Think of a way for the reader to experience this quality in the first five pages of your manuscript
• Hero/Heroine–may have high-risk job or something special that sets that apart from the rest (the everymen)
  • Think about one way that you as a person are human/fallible
  • Give that human quality to your protagonist
  • Figure out how to have him experience it within first five pages
• Dark protagonist–wounded, down and out, self-hating, the anti-hero
  • Think of one thing this character wants to be able to do. It can be something common/ordinary that they cannot do
  • Consider how your character would like to be more human
  • How can the reader experience the dark protagonist longing for change?
  • What represents who they want to be?
  • Have it come though in the first five pages

Readers need to see something that shows strength of character in everyman, humanity/fallibility of hero, and possibility of redemption in dark protagonist. This will make the reader connect with the main character.

Key Point: In the first five pages, the reader needs a reason to care about the character for them to continue reading onward

What about the antagonist?

The antagonist is the secret enemy of the protagonist.

• Find five ways for the protagonist and antagonist to be together face-to-face
• Think about the antagonist’s opinion of protagonist–how does he see the protagonist?
  • What does he despise and admire about the protagonist?
  • How does the antagonist believe the protagonist can help him?
  • Figure out 2-3 ways that your antagonist is likeable. This will create nuances of character
    • Now show this in the manuscript
  • Consider why your antagonist is justified or right in his actions

Key Point: Create a sympathetic antagonist. Have him live by some set of principle/have something altruistic or selfless about him to make him more real to the reader

This will infuse your story with passion and fire.

How to tackle a flat scene in your book

• Figure out what the POV character wants in the scene. What does he feel most strongly in that moment?
  • Once you identify the emotion, think about a time in your life you felt that way
  • Delve into the details of the period in your life, time of year, people around you, etc.
    • What provoked that feeling in you?
    • What made the feeling more acute to you?
    • What would you change about that moment?
  • Now give all that emotion to your POV character in that flat scene

Key Point: Draw on your life experiences to enrich your character and give them depth

If you have a story where most of the conflict is internal to the POV character, create a person who represents part of the POV character’s inner conflict. Now you can dramatize outwardly.

A huge thank you to Mr. Maass for sharing his insight and conducting his session as more of a writing workshop where we actually worked on our manuscripts.

WD Conference–How to Pitch

First day of the Writer’s Digest conference, Chuck Sambuchino gave a world-rocking presentation on how to pitch agents.

If you ever have the opportunity to participate in a conference where he is speaking–GO!

He started off with an overview of how the  WD Pitch Slam works. Each person had 3 minutes with the agent. 60-90 seconds to pitch and then 90 or so seconds for agent to ask questions and request your full or partial manuscript. Then a bell goes off and you move to your next line.

In 2008, 4 people got signed as a result of the conference and 2 received 6-figure deals.

So what happens after you get through your pitch?

The agent will say one of three things:

• It interests me, please send something (partial or full with query and synopsis usually) and gives you their card telling you how they want it delivered
• I’m not sure it’s for me. Just signed a similar project. Not representing that anymore
• Asks you questions about your writing history/novel

The pitch is similar to speaking your query out loud. However, You SHOULD NOT read your query letter to the agent.

When you speak to an agent, you need to set the stage and have a conversation.

A bell rings, you sit down, introduce self and shake hands. Then start your pitch.

The pitch is:

• The back of the DVD box without the pictures
  • Use your words to create scenes and pictures in the agent’s head
  • Be specific
  • Try to work in character arc in pitch if possible
  • Use as few proper names as possible–it confuses the listener
    • Refer to secondary characters as: the professor, the bully, the boyfriend, etc.
  • Focus on protagonist in pitch
• Should be 6-10 sentences about the book

Here are the key parts of your pitch:

• Start with the details of the work
  • Genre/Category
  • Title
  • Wordcount (as long as it’s appropriate. Don’t say it’s a 130,000 word YA paranormal)
• Logline–1 sentence description of the work. Give gist of it before they hear more
• Pitch itself–quickly introduce protagonist because agents hear tons of pitches
• Inciting incident–what propels the story forward into motion.
  • Focus on conflict–what is the problem/creates tension in story?
  • Bring antagonist in if important to main plot

When you finish the pitch you can say something relevant to the topic/subject matter, talk about previous publications, or mention membership in national writing organizations like MWA, SCBWI, MWA, or RWA.

For non-fiction, Chuck mentioned you have to also include:

• What makes the book worth publishing
• Who are you and what ability do you have to sell the book. This is considered your platform.

Of vital important in a fiction pitch: DO NOT GIVE AWAY THE ENDING. You want to peak their interest.

What kills pitches?

• Generalities
  • Life turned upside down
  • Many highs in lows
• Synopsis-style pitches. Be succinct
• Talking about subplots that involve secondary characters
• Using more than 2-3 proper names
• Talking about how long it took you to write it (unless relevant to research)
• Singing your pitch
• Talking about movie adaptation
• Handing agent your business card/query/manuscript

When choosing who to pitch:

• Do your research and make sure they rep your genre
• Don’t pitch anyone who rejected you in the past
• Realize there is a time limit and a long line may mean less pitches

Generally, you should only pitch a finished novel. Pitching an unfinished novel has two downsides:

1. You have to finish it and can’t send it in a timely manner
2. You don’t revise enough and it’s not your best work

When you get a request, send it in a timely manner. Agents tend to remember top and bottom pitches. The rest blur together.

Try to stay calm. These are the gatekeepers, but they are human beings.  If there is an awkward moment ask if they have any questions.

This was one of the best pitch overviews I’ve ever heard. Many thanks to Chuck for helping a room full of aspiring authors take one more step toward their dreams of publication.

If I Stay–Book Review

If I Stay is a poignant, heart-wrenching story as told through the eyes of a 17-year-old girl who survived a car crash that left her an orphan.

However, the twist is that she is in a deep coma with critical injuries. Somehow, her spirit/soul is outside her body and observing everything from the moment after the fatal collision.

She has to decide whether or not to stay here or give up and join her parents in death. Ms. Forman has captured the voice of her protagonist and we feel every second of Mia’s emotional pain and the weight of this decision.

We root for her to stay, but we are 100% on her side about why she has every right to go.

The book was a super-fast read at 237 pages. I started in Friday and finished it on the train ride into NYC Sunday.

Although the book was told in first person present tense, Ms. Forman used flashbacks to show the relationships Mia built with all the people in her life and why each had a hold on her heart and how they all complicated her choice.

What would you do if you had the choice?

I don’t know. I can’t imagine my world without my parents at 17. I also can’t imagine having a deep meaningful relationship with a guy at 17 (which Mia has with her Adam).

But I think I would stay because leaving is way more permanent. You can’t un-leave.

If you like YA paranormals that make you think and feel –this is a definite to-read for 2011.

Dining Out with Friends

So the past two nights I had two delicious dinners with two good friends.

Tuesday night, I went out with Ant (my friend since I was 11). We were doing a belated b-day celebration. So he took me to one of my fav NYC restaurants–Wallse.

I love Austrian cuisine, love quiet restaurants where you can linger over dessert and laugh over shared memories.

We both got the wiener schnitzel and he got the streudel while I opted for the Salzburg nockerl (it’s like an egg soufle pastry).

We told silly stories and laughed for 2 hours. Our waiter was so personable. It was like we were welcomed back to our favorite haunt but this was our first time there together.

Tonight I met Zach ( we’ve been friends 5 yrs) for dinner at Gyu-Kaku, a Japanese BBQ restaurant. You cook your own food at the table. We split the $80 meal which include, a yummy salad, miso soup, edamame, tuna tartare, japanese rice bowl, 4 cuts of steak, shrimp and mushrooms.

We talked and cooked for 2 hours in our booth. Then dessert was smores and green tea ice cream.

I had two lychee tini and Zach had 2 beers. Nicest of all, he offered to pay since I’m unemployed. We hadn’t seen each other since May so it was great to catch up in person.

I’ll definitely go for Japanese BBQ again too.

I got my haircut today and visited my old apartment building to say hi to my doormen. It was weird. I almost chickened out not wanting to walk down my old street when it wasn’t mine anymore. But I went and I was proud that I didn’t get all sentimental and cry.

I reminded myself I chose to leave. And it was the best decision under the circumstances.

Tomorrow I go to Verizon because my phone has been overheating again. I am on my third new phone in 6 months. Damn you Droid Incredible. You are neither incredible nor a smart phone.

Holey Cream

What a concept…This is why I love NYC.

Decisions Decisions….

Brett and I come away very happy with our respective choices. Me red velvet ice cream on a vanilla iced with purple sprinkles donut. Diet? What diet? This is NYC. I gotta take advantage of the food possibilities.

I hit Jacques Torres for thank you gifts for my friend for putting me up for the week. I also hit Book Off in midtown and found a new book to read. For $1?!

On the way to chocolate heaven, I stopped a Uniqlo and got a good price on decent cashmere, $59 a sweater marked down from $99. This winter has been rough on my 3 cashmere sweaters. I’ve been exhausting them. So I figured a couple more for Italy was a necessity.

Living here was tough but visiting–man I love visiting NYC.

Update on NYE Resolutions

Resolution #1: Lose 35 lbs in 2011 and keep it off.

Progress: Dropped 1 more lb.

Resolution #2: Finish drafting my second novel by May 2011.

Plan: Finish manuscript in March and begin revising in April because my teacher has offered to look at it for me.

Resolution #3: Send out queries until someone falls in love with my YA novel.

Progress: Sent out batch of queries this week with new revised manuscript ready to go.

Resolution #4: Meditate and play with Emerson more.

Progress: Meditate before bed most nights. Snuggle with and petting Emerson. Haven’t been playing with him enough.

Resolution #5: Speak my mind  when asked.

Progress: Disagreed with two people. Politely. And said No when I didn’t want to do something.

 

How are you going on yours? If you had a rough start, Chinese New Year is coming up, so get focused because you get a do-over!