Melanie is another example of a book blogger I’ve known since my first blog tour, which was for Jumpstart the World. She hosted a guest post by me, then did a lovely review. We kept in touch on Twitter, which has a surprising way of making you feel like people have been hanging around your house or bumping elbows with you on a daily basis.
Later we actually met in person, because we were both in New York, Melanie for BEA and me for the Lambda Literary Awards. So we sat down and had a cup of tea. Well, I had tea. I think. Not sure what Melanie had. Talk about digressing.
I think one of the reasons Melanie and I get along so well is that we both maintain a big space in our lives for our dogs. And, in case you don’t know this, Melanie, I am also reclusive. (You probably knew.)
Now here goes with the interview stuff.
Me: Melanie, first things first. Tell my readers, please, about Wiki the Weimaraner, the dog who holds as big a place in your heart as Ella does in mine. Anything goes. Funny stories, bragging, overall expressions of love. I wave The Flag of No Shame over your head. Go.
Melanie: Oh my goodness. You should never give a dog person permission to go on and on about their dog. I grew up in a zoo. I mean, not literally, but my house was always packed with animals. My parents had an aviary in the backyard, bred dogs, and kept a rotating cast of cats, snakes, geckos, chameleons, fish, frogs, hamsters, etc. I developed a love for all creatures great and small
Nikki with James MarstersNikki-ann is a great example of how a book review can start a good friendship. I believe it began with her review of my novel Second Hand Heart. Then I noticed that she stayed close to my blog, and often left comments. And I appreciate that. But I appreciated it most when I was having a serious (and unfortunately public) problem with an estranged relative, and Nikki-ann left a comment saying she was having similar family troubles. It’s amazing how comforting that kind of support can be. Reminds us that we are not alone, and our problems are not unique.
Now we follow each other on Twitter and Facebook, and if I had more money I’d be on a hiking vacation in Wales right now, and we’d have a cup of tea face-to-face. This can still happen.
So. On to the interview.
Nikki-ann, I just happen to know that today, June 13th, is your birthday. So let me start by saying happy birthday to you!
Now, I notice on your blog, Notes of Life, you have categories for a couple of Transworld Reading Challenges. And, of course, Transworld is my UK publisher. Can you tell us more about these challenges? I know you explain them on your blog, but maybe you can say a bit for my readers. Am I right to think this is how you first found one of my books? What made you select it? (This answer does not need to be an advertisement for the book. I’m more interested in how you choose, or what catches your attention as a reviewer.)
Yesterday my dog Ella brought the roof down in that way she does when the UPS person is up on the porch. Only...I hadn't ordered anything. I brought the unexpected box inside and found 8 copies of a brand new edition of Pay It Forward in Simplified Chinese.
Now, I agree that this news, all on its own, does not a Pay It Forward resurgence make. But it comes on the heels of a letter I received from Simon & Schuster about three months back, telling me they had just sold translation rights to a Hungarian publisher.
The novel Pay It Forward is more than 12 years old. Just the fact that it's still in print is a publishing miracle. The new trade paperback edition put out by S&S in 2010 shows they understand the book is not going away anytime soon. In 2000 and 2001 the book was in print in about 30 different countries. But then, of course, it went out of print in those countries. This is normal in my business. Now it's coming back into print outside the US. This is not normal in my business, to put it in as understated a way as possible.
Lauren and I go way back. Seriously. To give you some idea, when I met Lauren, the biggest thing in social networking was…wait for it…MySpace. Yeah. It was, like, 2008.
It started when I saw a call for submissions for Shooting Stars Mag. I think it turned up in my email inbox, but I don’t know exactly how. I just remember that it was for an upcoming LGBT issue. So I offered something having to do with Becoming Chloe, but I can’t remember if it was a review copy or some kind of related content. Yeah, it was a while ago. And I’m old.
Here’s what I remember very well. My agent was encouraging me to get out on MySpace, but I had no social networking experience, and I just wasn’t quite sure where or how to jump into that pool. So Lauren made a MySpace page for me. And hooked me up with initial friend requests to other writers and book people. Not for money. Just to be helpful and nice. Then I got the hang of it, and expanded it on my own, and moved on to Facebook. (And later Twitter, which didn’t even exist at the time, that I know of.) And now social networking feels like breathing. But none of that is the point. The point is that Lauren is a very caring and giving person, who has reached out to me—and many others—again and again.
Let me segue from there straight into a first question.
Me: You do so much giving on the Internet. You held those auctions to benefit First Book. And you did those fundraisers for two young people with medical needs. And the Living Beyond Tolerance Scholarship. And I expect this is part of a bigger pattern, but I don’t know every instance. Will you please tell me, and my readers, what all you have done that is not for profit? Also, what does it bring into your life that makes it worthwhile?
I confess I had not discovered Adam’s blog, Roof Beam Reader, until I found a review he’d written for my book Jumpstart the World. Then I was so blown away by the thoughtfulness, balance, and detail that I had to learn more. I have a great deal of respect for a number of book bloggers, but I personally do not know anyone who takes his or her responsibility to reviewing more seriously.
I promise you, the more you read his blog, the more words like “respect” will fill your head.
So. Adam. Thanks for visiting my blog for this interview.
Adam: My pleasure! Thank you for having me.
Me: Until I began writing these interview questions, I had read only your reviews. But I just read your post Book Blogging: a Breakdown (The Empathetic Reader and the Effective Reviewer). I think the world would be a better place if everyone read this post in its entirety before reviewing a book. And I don’t just mean bloggers. I feel a lot of old-fashioned print reviewers have dropped the ball. Do you get the sense that this piece has been widely read? I would think it would be a link worth passing around. What kind of feedback have you gotten? Can you describe the moment when you felt compelled to write and post it? I can only imagine the observations you hoped to address, and I’d like to hear your thoughts on that.
I first met Danielle (though not immediately in person) when I signed up for my initial blog tour. The book was Jumpstart the World, and Danielle was one of the bloggers who signed on to host a tour stop. I made it a point to follow all the tour bloggers on Twitter. That’s how I learned “the big coincidence,” though I don’t remember when, or how it first came out. In the international setting of the online book world, Danielle lives less than 45 minutes from me, a couple of towns down the road. So she joined me in one of my workshops, and we’ve met a couple of times to exchange information, books, etc.
When it comes to helping get the word out about my novels and other news, or even standing up for me online when I faced opposition, I couldn’t ask for a more supportive friend.
Her blog There’s a Book has won awards and garnered a great deal of respect. If you’re not familiar with it, this is your chance.
Now. Danielle. Your blog is devoted to juvenile literature, but that’s a wide field. You review books that are appropriate for your own pre-schoolers, and also books like Jumpstart, that are geared toward the mature high school age—or older—reader. Is it ever hard to bridge this gap? Do you ever have doubts or fears that a cutting edge YA review might seem discordant to someone who came to the site to read about picture books? Or do your readers seem able to appreciate the full range?
My first experience with Brent was a simple one. He sent me an email, asking if he could review my forthcoming (at the time) Young Adult novel Jumpstart the World for his blog, The Naughty Book Kitties. I contacted my Knopf publicist, had a copy mailed to him, and that was that.
Except it wasn’t.
Just days later, a Facebook friend left a post on my wall. It was about a teen book blogger who’d gone viral with his criticism of school and public librarians and their handling of LGBT literature. For those who haven’t read the post, I’ll offer the short version. When Bent was in middle school, he asked his school librarian where all the LGBT titles were hiding. She told him: “This is a school library. If you are looking to read inappropriate titles, go to a book store.”
(Or better yet, read the whole post HERE.)
Two incredible bloggers (and by that I mean they have great blogs and are great people, both), Adam of Roof Beam Reader and Lauren of Shooting Stars Mag, are holding a giveaway and a blog hop for bloggers.
According to the announcements on Adam's and Lauren's blog, these events are inspired by, and intended to celebrate the work of...me.
This kind of blows me away, to put it mildly. They are giving away prize packs, at least
Photo by Marco van Hylckama VliegAmazing how much I think of Pam—creator of the popular Bookalicious blog—as a friend, considering we’ve never met face to face. But we’re only three hours apart by car, so I expect this will happen eventually. Meanwhile, when I needed more exposure for my books, and Pam put together a scavenger hunt giveaway on four popular books blogs, that sure was being a good friend. (By the way, the link was just so you can see how cool it was. Sorry, the contest is over.) This to me is a great example of how helpful bloggers can be to authors, and why authors are wise to hold them in high regard and treat them with respect.
Hell, with a following like Pam’s, even a retweet on Twitter can be a great boon. Which is not to suggest that I only love bloggers for their retweets. More that I like the fact that those of us in the book business really can be a community and help each other out.
So. Pam. A few questions to help my readers get to know you better.
Me: Will you start by briefly explaining the difference between Bookalicio.us and Bookalicious.org?
My horse, Union RagsAnybody remember The Bet from last year? It started with my Twitter bud Brian Farrey musing on the Stephen King article in the Atlantic, in which King reveals that the short story "Herman Wouk is Still Alive" was written to satisfy a bet.
Apparently that's all you have to tell four crazy writers. Brian (With or Without You), Kimberly Pauley (Sucks to be Me), Andrew Smith (Stick, The Marbury Lens) and I went crazy and created The Bet, which shall heretofore (how's that for a fun word) be known as The Bet #1. We each chose a horse in the Kentucky Derby. For the purposes of The Bet, our horses were only running against each other, not the field as a whole. In other words, it didn't matter if my horse won. He won if he came in ahead of their horses.
Here we go again. I'm guessing this will not be getting tedious for my readers, as, if I'm going to keep repeating myself, the repetition should be something along the lines of, "I've got more free stuff for you."
The US ebook of my novel SECOND HAND HEART just went on a 5-day free promotion. (Sorry UK readers, UK editions belong to Transworld/Random House Group--love them, but can't give their stuff away.)
If you're in the US, just go get one. Easy. And everyone who wants one can have one.
But while we're at it, I want to do another $25 Amazon gift card giveaway for reviewers. This is fairly simple as well. Grab a free copy of the
When I last blogged about the ebook edition of my novel WHEN I FOUND YOU, it was just about to go on a 5-day free promotion on Amazon.
I'm pleased to say that promotion went well. Amazingly well. I mean...you could have knocked me over with a feather. That well.
It hit #1 in Kindle Free, with over 81,000 copies downloaded. When the promotion ended, it climbed up to #12 in Kindle Paid. The combination of the free downloads and actual sales numbers created a “popularity” rating of #3 in the Kindle store as a whole, #5 on all of Amazon books. I was hovering between two Hunger Games books on the Kindle main page. It was a heady experience.
Somewhere in the neighborhood of 100,000 people have downloaded the WHEN I FOUND YOU ebook.
My mom passed away on Wednesday the 21st. Just last week. Needless to say, it's been a very rough few days. But I wasn't planning to say much about the situation on my blog.
But today the obituary I wrote for her, with the photo I sent, came out in our local paper. Not the way I wanted it to. The photo was supposed to be my mom on shipboard in the Mediterranean Sea. It went along with the text depicting her as a woman who remained hugely adventurous well into her 80s. They cropped it down to nothing but a head shot. With no advance warning that they planned to do so.
And I'm...upset.
I usually try not to share too much upset on my blog, but when you mess up someone's mother's obituary, even in a small way, there's just no do-over on that. Everybody only gets one. And besides, I'm sure you understand that anything involving my mom is likely to pull big emotional strings right now.
What can I do? Well. This. I'm creating my own do-over. Here's how it was supposed to look:
I first learned about Swati and her fabulous young adult novel SPLIT when her editor at Knopf (we share the same YA publisher) asked me if I’d consider reading it with an eye for writing a blurb. It was her debut novel, and I know how important the launch of that first book can feel. And be. Which doesn’t mean I would blurb any book if I didn’t love it.
In the case of SPLIT, no problem. I loved it.
Funny how often an author and I will go on to be friends (or at least good Twitter/Facebook/email acquaintances) after a bonding experience like that one.
So, Swati…thanks for visiting my blog, and here goes:
Swati: Thanks Catherine. It has been a privilege to get to know you and, as I’ve been a fan of yours for a long time, it is particularly meaningful to have your name on the back of SPLIT.
Me: Let’s start with getting your name right. Easy enough in print, but let’s get it right in the readers’ minds, too.
Swati: I appreciate that. Phonetic pronunciation is: SWA-thee Of-US-thee. It’s an imperfect rhyme. The only other perfect rhymes are with other Hindi words, like “chapati” and “hati”. Hmm… maybe that’s why I like bread and elephants.
Barry Eisler and I have a common denominator, a reason our paths keep crossing. That commonality is the amazing and talented Laura Rennert—my agent, Barry’s wife. That makes Laura almost as important to Barry as she is to me. So…Barry and I have shared a few conferences of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency variety, at that hideout lodge in the redwoods of Big Sur. And I definitely knew he was a writer, but I have to admit this: at first I was walking around with my head up my ass and not getting that he was this sort of…Mega-Writer…this legend in the industry. Probably just as well, because now he knows how I’d be treating him if he weren’t. The same. Basically.
I remember my first impression of Barry, as shared with Laura. I said, “He’s funny.” She said, “Yeah. He is funny.”
But somehow this has to morph into an interview, so I’d better start to pressure it in that direction.
Me: Barry, I still remember the day I read that initial conversation between you and Joe Konrath (which you later titled Be the Monkey, and made available for free download). It was shortly after you’d walked away from all that money at St. Martin’s, an event I still refer to as “The Shot Heard Round the World.” I read the whole thing, every word, then closed the web page and thought, “I’m saved. Everything is going to be all right after all.” I was in that classic author’s bind—I had the name, but not the right sales numbers in the right order, and the US publishers (I’m doing fine in the UK) weren’t wanting to take a chance, no matter how much they loved the books, and the industry was falling apart, and goddamn it this is how I pay my mortgage. I was in a box I thought I might never break out of. I wouldn’t have thought of Indie, because of its stigma. But you erased the stigma in one act. In one day. You leveled the playing field, making Indie an option for those who seek it, not just for those who have no other choice. Wow. Listen to me running off at the mouth, and I haven’t even found a question yet.
Here’s the question: I know you took, and continue to take, a lot of crap for the decision to go Indie—and the subsequent decision to go Amazon—with The Detachment. In fact, you seem to take a lot of crap in general, which I interpret to mean you’re flying high enough to draw some anti-aircraft fire. But do you also get sincere appreciation from authors (other than me) for changing the landscape in which they live and work?
Barry:
We have to do an interview? I was so enjoying all the nice things you were saying about me!
At least let me return the favor: when I first met you, all I knew was that you were the writer whose manuscripts Laura devoured in a sitting or two; the ones where she had to make a second pass wearing her editor’s hat because the first time she was completely seduced by the story; the ones where, when I heard her crying over a manuscript, I’d say, “Ah, that must be Catherine’s new one,” the ones she would hand me tearfully saying, “You have to read this passage. It’s gorgeous.” And she was right. And I knew you’d written something like 18 books, and that one, Pay It Forward, had been made into a big movie, so I think I was semi-expecting a diva, and instead you were totally down to earth and funny and fun to hang out with.
Jeez, this is making me miss the Big Sur Writer’s Conference. We need to get back there.
But okay, your question… yes, I’ve taken a certain amount of criticism for some of my business decisions, and I think the reactions are interesting on several levels. First, I think it’s fair to say that my moves haven’t been welcomed in the legacy publishing world, but the reasons for that are pretty easy to understand. The more options authors have, the more competitive companies will have to become if they want to remain viable publishers. When every legacy publisher offers authors the same 17.5% of the retail price of a digital book, authors have to take it. When authors can make double that or more being published by Amazon, when they can make a whopping 70% per unit self-publishing, it puts pressure on legacy publishers to adapt and up their game. And, because they’re composed of humans, and because humans are inherently lazy, legacy publishers would prefer to avoid real competition and instead go on subsisting on monopoly rents.
