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I’m blogging at Books & Such today. Here’s a preview:

Is your book too long? Does it feel a bit wordy, perhaps slightly bloated?

Or . . . does it feel perfect but it’s a little high in word count?

There comes a time in every writer’s life when the need arises to shorten a manuscript. Ack! Not my precious words! Even if your word count is fine, most writers would benefit from tightening up their manuscripts before submission. (I, for one, would appreciate it.) But how do you do this?

(For example, in the previous sentence, I’d cut the words “simply” and “anyway,” and I might even cut “significantly.” The writing is cleaner and I’m down by three words.)

If you cut 12 words per page in a 350-page manuscript, you’ve already shortened it by 4,200 (unnecessary) words. Easy peasy.

So how do we do this? Here’s a checklist of things to consider cutting.

Click HERE to read the post at Books & Such.

The post How to Tighten Your Manuscript appeared first on Rachelle Gardner.

“Sometimes, I feel as if loving you is the single greatest and scariest thing I’ve ever done.” ~Tony (Ending ELE)

The government took her people and now they are looking for her too. Running seems to be all that Willow and her friends do these days. Not only must Willow stay out of the reach of the soldiers who took her friends, but now she finds herself hunted by a more sinister threat. An evil group of men that are looking to finish what Hastings’ had started.

This time Willow’s friends won’t let her run off to be the sacrificial hero, especially not the man who loves her. Will Willow and her friends find a way to save her people and take down the bad guys once and for all? And in the end, can Willow and Tony find their happily ever after in a post Project ELE world?

From the authors of Project ELE comes ENDING ELE. The fifth book in an all-new apocalyptic series with a paranormal twist: The ELE Series.

Get it today by clicking on one of these links:

Amazon  * Smashwords

Barnes and Noble  *  iBookStore

“I am surrounded by people but I’ve never felt so alone. Every minute, every hour that Tony is being used by Zack, is torture to me. Can they not see that I die a little more each day that we’re apart?” ~Willow Mosby, Surviving ELE

In the aftermath of Project ELE, Willow’s life has become a series of one traumatic moment after another. It spins around her in a cyclone of fury, ripping and ravaging her heart. She can’t help but wonder: will the pain and heartache ever end?

Willow Mosby is not one to sit back and accept defeat. When Zack turns Tony against her, she decides that it’s time to stop Zack once and for all. With the help of her friends and the occupants of Camp Cheley, she begins methodically hunting down the man who has caused her so much torment. What she doesn’t realize is that she may not be the hunter, she might just be the prey.

Willow’s time is running out and the man she loves is coming after her with a vengeance that can’t be satisfied. Will Willow be able to save Tony? Or will she be forced to take down the man she loves?

From the authors of Project ELE comes Surviving ELE. The fourth book in an all-new apocalyptic series with a paranormal twist: The ELE Series.

Get it today by clicking on one of these links:

Amazon  * Smashwords

Barnes and Noble  *  iBookStore

“I honestly wish I could believe that things will end perfectly, with one big bright happy ending. But these last few days have taught me that life isn’t made up of shiny moments. Life is hard; it’s gritty. One day you are filled with joy and the next you are crawling through the muddy trenches with no inkling of when you might be able to climb your way back up again.” ~Willow Mosby, Exposing ELE

Can Willow expose Project ELE for what it really is?

Just when Willow Mosby thought that her life might return to normal, her parents and Tony are ruthlessly abducted, along with many other victims from the shelter. In an effort to save them, Willow has to take a stand against the darkness brought forth by the masterminds of Project ELE.

In the midst of all of the chaos, Willow is faced with some impossible choices. Is Willow strong enough to make these decisions? How can she decide between the man she first loved and the man who has sworn to protect her?

When certain events are set in motion, Willow finds herself caught in the center of an even darker, more diabolical scheme than she could have ever imagined. With her abilities rapidly growing, Willow finds herself more powerful than ever before. What she hadn’t realized is that someone else has noticed her power, and they will stop at nothing to get it.

From the authors of Project ELE and Finding ELE comes Exposing ELE. The third book in an all-new apocalyptic series with a paranormal twist: The ELE Series.

Get it today by clicking on one of these links:

Amazon  * Smashwords

Barnes and Noble  *  iBookStore

Many parents, guardians, and extended family members cannot leave work to attend writing celebrations. Here are some ideas to bring your next publishing party into the community where you teach OR to make them virtual celebrations.

I’m blogging at Books & Such today. Here’s a preview:

When you’re a debut author trying to break in to traditional publishing, one of the most important things to remember is this:

Minimize the obstacles.

You already know it’s not going to be easy to break in, so you want to avoid making it even more difficult on yourself. This is why agents give so much advice on their blogs. Not every piece of advice applies across the board to every author, but we’re trying to help you have the best chance of attracting an agent and publisher.

Assuming you’ve written a terrific book…

What are some possible obstacles to finding an agent and publisher?

Read the post at Books & Such to find out. Click Here.

The post Minimize the Obstacles appeared first on Rachelle Gardner.

Penguin Classics editorial director Elda Rotor fielded questions from readers on reddit today, sharing advice for aspiring publishing professionals.

Here’s a particularly useful tip about finding a publishing job:

make sure you tell everyone you know your interest in book publishing, you’ll be surprised who hears about a job. See if a favorite professor or your college alumni network can help out with recommendations of people to meet. Have a resume ready always. If you can, try to get an internship. They are not mandatory but they help, mostly because of editors hearing from one another about good interns and when jobs become available the interview process sometimes goes quickly. It’s not mandatory to be in NY but if you can be here to set up informational interviews that should be time well spent. Some people prefer in-person interviews, others don’t mind having phone interviews.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

I seriously debated posting this, since it’s a subject not often discussed. But heck, I’m known for my honestly, so let’s giddy-up…

How do authors handle being asked to donate individual book(s) to worthy causes? Honestly, they’re all worthy, but let’s shed some light on an aspect of publishing most people don’t realize: authors DO NOT get their books for free.

Oh yes, we receive author copies, but a very limited number which are for our own collection or have already been promised to family and close friends. My author copies for THE MONSTORE were gone the week they arrived. I don’t have any more. If I want my book, I have to buy it. This holds true for all authors. While we did write the book, the publisher edited it, printed it, warehoused it, marketed it and distributed it. And that costs money. Someone has to pay for it!

Authors do receive a discount off the retail price, but it’s not a staggering discount. And, the copies we order this way are recorded as “author copies” and don’t count toward our sales figures. And if you ask any author, if the Publishing Fairy could grant their most favoritest wish, it would be for higher sales figures.

So if we’re going to buy our own books, we tend to buy them like any  other consumer would—online or at a book store, wherever we might get the best price.

Now let’s circle back to donations. When someone asks an author to donate their book to a school fundraiser, church tricky-tray or Elk’s basket auction, it’s not free to that author. True, the author might ask their publisher to donate the book on their behalf if it’s a really well-known cause, but otherwise, a small, local organization’s fundraiser is not going to sway the publisher. So then the author must decide if they can spend about $15 to donate their book to the cause (the cost of a picture book, plus shipping, plus any SWAG).

Imagine an author gets about five of these requests a month. That’s not an unreasonable number, especially if they have multiple books in print. If the author generously says “yes” to all requests, that’s $75 a month. Multiply by 12 months and it’s $900. That’s not an insignificant amount of money. In fact, that’s more than some book advances!

Now, if an author says “no” to a donation request, this does not make them a bad person who does not understand the worthiness of the cause. It simply means they cannot afford to do so. They cannot honor every request. While they probably *want* to donate to someone’s school or house of worship, they do have their own schools and houses of worship to support as well. So it’s more likely that they’ll donate to their local organizations than to a stranger’s cause.

Please know that the last thing authors want to do is hurt anyone’s feelings. Authors write books to make people feel good, to entertain, to bring smiles to faces. We love our readers. We don’t want to disappoint them. It’s difficult for us to say “no”. But sometimes our own wallets force the decision.

I haven’t been asked to donate much, so I’ve tried to oblige when I can. But the simple fact is that I have not logged any income as a writer this year, only expenses. Shocking? Not really. My first book was just released and I haven’t made a new book sale in 2013 yet—and even if I do, it’s so close to the end of the year, by the time the contracts are signed and a check is cut, it will probably be 2014. I’m not the only author spending this year in the red.

If you really LOVE an author’s work and want to share it with others, why not ask your local bookseller for a donation instead? They may donate if they’re a neighbor who supports the same school, the same church, the same Rotary Club. They’ll receive advertising out of the donation and can probably expect locals to visit the store as a result, especially if they include a coupon or gift card to redeem. And if they unfortunately say “no”, it probably means they can’t afford to do so, either.

But it never hurts to ask, right? We can all ask, but we can also understand the reasons behind the answer.

Do you have any thoughts on this? It’s a subject that ‘s tricky to discuss…

I’m blogging at Books & Such today. Here’s a preview:

I have a lot of conversations with clients about their writing careers. Often they tell me, “I want to be in this for the long haul.” It’s given me the opportunity to have some great discussions about what helps a writer accomplish this goal – and what can sabotage their efforts.

It’s an important topic for consideration, because sometimes we have to make difficult decisions on a day-to-day basis, and we don’t always know which way to go. But if we’re always looking at those decisions in light of the long haul, it’s easier to know what to do.

This doesn’t just apply to writers, it can be a good way for anyone to look at their situation. I want to be in publishing for the duration, so I came up with a bunch of questions and answers to help me stay focused on a long-term approach to my work. I’ll share just a few of them:

What can I do to increase my chances of being in this for the long haul?

→ Establish and maintain a good reputation in the industry.
→ Keep a positive attitude despite the constantly changing and challenging business environment.
→ Always be looking ahead to new ways of doing business and new technologies, and be open to changing my business model as needed.

Click HERE to read the rest of the post at Books & Such.

The post The Long Haul appeared first on Rachelle Gardner.

Beth Moore offers a collection of ten publishing party ideas you can use to celebrate your students' writing.

Kara Taylor is not your typical 23-year-old. While many young adults are struggling to find a job, Taylor has had the kind of early success most young writers only dream of. At 23, she has already released her debut novel, Prep School Confidential and is currently the co-executive producer and writer for the new CW show, The Revengers, created by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack.

Taylor recently spoke to Mediabistro about the pressure to churn out books, what her typical day is like (spoiler alert — she writes morning, noon and night) and how she broke into the world of TV writing:

What tips do you have for other writers who want to break into TV?
I think the most important thing — and this is hard advice because it’s not something that you can really learn — [is to] just have a voice and a point of view and focus on branding yourself, whether it’s [with] humor or whatever. Just be unique and be yourself, and write as much as you can. I obviously broke into it in a strange way because it was actually the novel writing that helped me break into TV. So I think it’s good to keep in mind that there’s not one clear path or way to break into the industry. You have to put yourself out there in all mediums and all aspects and not write anything off, and [don't] get discouraged, obviously. I was writing books for two years before I found an agent, and I heard a lot of nos. I must have been rejected by over a hundred literary agents with my first book. So if you’re expecting instant results, it’s not going to be the career for you. You just have to be patient and be in it for the long run.

To hear more about her incredible rise to success, read Hey, How’d You Become a Published Author and TV Writer at 23, Kara Taylor?

– Aneya Fernando

The full version of this article is exclusively available to Mediabistro AvantGuild subscribers. If you’re not a member yet, register now for as little as $55 a year for access to hundreds of articles like this one, discounts on Mediabistro seminars and workshops, and all sorts of other bonuses.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Today I’m ranting a little, but I figure you know me well enough by now, you can take it.
 
Here’s the deal: I don’t like the fact that you have to “build a platform” these days, any more than you do. But I get weary of writers complaining about it. I get frustrated by hearing that publishers are “abandoning writers” and “bringing nothing to the table.” I know it’s hard to market your books — I feel your pain — and yet I dislike it that people saying that publishers are shirking their duties by “leaving it all up to the author.”
 
REALITY CHECK:
 
Publishers did not create this brave new techno-world we live in.
 
It is not the publishing industry that has created this society of ubiquitous electronics, Internet noise, YouTube, X-Box, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine, and the decline of reading. It is not the publishing industry who put a computer in more than half of all American households, allowing millions of folks just like yourself to write books they want to sell.
 
It is not the publishers who brought our society to a place where it’s no longer possible to “market” books the old-fashioned way. It’s not the publishers’ fault that average human beings everywhere are being bombarded with literally thousands of pieces of information every day, making it more challenging than ever to draw a person’s attention to one little book.
 
The fact is, publishers are doing everything they can dream up, and everything they can afford, when it comes to marketing books. They have the same limitations you do: Time and Money. But they’re coming up with new ideas and innovations all the time.
 
Publishing is an “old world” industry, figuring out, day by day, how to thrive in this “new world.” We all face these challenges together. We all have to figure out how to get people to want to read our words… to want to PAY to read our words. We all have to figure out how to get our books to rise above the “clutter” and get the attention of readers who are willing to pay for them.
 
Those of you who find yourself bemoaning that “writers are expected to do everything” and concluding “we might as well self-publish” — perhaps the self-publishing route will work out better for you. For certain kinds of books and certain authors, it’s working out great. Give it a try!
 
But I want to point out that publishers are still in business because of the value they bring to the table — not just in marketing but in every aspect of the editing, production, and selling of books. It is harder these days to sell books than ever before, yes, but publishers are more than just a business selling widgets, they’re entities who take seriously the responsibility of preserving and disseminating the written word. And so publishing persists, despite the challenges, despite our changing world.
 
Part of the value publishers bring is a sense of history, a sense of tradition and permanence. Many authors still want to be a part of that. It’s about great stories and important thoughts. It’s about legacy. It’s about a dream. People in publishing still see this dream as worth it. They’re willing to swim against the tide because publishing isn’t just a business, it’s a life, it’s a calling, it’s a passion.
 
To all writers who believe in the dream, who have the passion, who feel called to the legacy — I’m right there with you, and so is everyone else who has staked their livelihood on this crazy, unpredictable, totally unrealistic business called publishing. Thanks for being here, and hanging on for the ride. To those who are frustrated by the ways it seems publishing can’t meet your expectations, I commiserate with you and I apologize that things aren’t the way we wish they could be.
 
To each and every author, I sincerely wish the very best for you as you seek your own way of getting your book to its intended audience. I am doing my best to be a positive and helpful part of this process.
 
Are you in it for the legacy? Or something else?

Comment below or by clicking: HERE.

TWEETABLES

Publishing is an old world industry, figuring out how to thrive in this new world. Click to Tweet.
 
Publishing isn’t just a business, it’s a life, it’s a calling, it’s a passion. Click to Tweet.
 
To all writers who believe in the dream, the passion, the legacy – I’m with you.  Click to Tweet.

The post The Brave New World of Publishing appeared first on Rachelle Gardner.

I’m blogging at Books & Such today. Here’s a preview:

The business of publishing gives us frequent opportunities to feel like a success or … not a success. At every step of the journey, we receive feedback and results that tell us whether our efforts are working. It’s an uncertain path riddled with possibilities for disappointment.

→ We pitch our book at a conference and nobody seems to want what we’ve written.

→ We search for an agent, to no avail.

→ Our book is being submitted to publishers, but none are biting.

→ Our book is available for sale, but the numbers aren’t good.

→ We arrange a booksigning event at a bookstore, and nobody shows up.

When things happen that don’t make us feel exactly like a “success,” the instinct is to brand our efforts a “failure.”

I’ve been thinking a lot about this, and I no longer believe the opposite of success is failure. Instead…

Click HERE to read the entire post at Books & Such.

The post What is the Opposite of Success? appeared first on Rachelle Gardner.

Last Sunday, my local newspaper wrote a story about me...and my writing...and stuff. Those of you who have followed my blog for a while know that I used to be very, very secretive about writing. I never talked about it. So this week was WEIRD and awkward and generally hard for me, but on the bright side, I FINALLY get to write this post! I've always wanted to. :)

The fabulous Lori M. Lee tagged me for this one! I'm going to cheat a bit and tell you about both my about-to-be-published book and my WIP, because ERMAHGERD, guys, I'm so excited for both of them. Okay? Okay.

(Side note: those of you who have added my book on Goodreads, THANK YOU, but that isn't the official Goodreads page. My publisher didn't make it. And whoever did mixed me up with another author, so...yeah. Not me. I'll let you guys know when there's a book to add--it'll be around the time that I get to share my title with all of you!)

by Stacy Whitman, Publisher of Tu Books

I had two Korean roommates in college. Ever since then, I’ve said, “Someday I will learn Korean and visit Hyun Mi in Korea.” Last year, when I made new Korean friends here in New York City, I decided that “someday” needed to finally be today. I started to learn Korean from a book and a podcast, got addicted to Korean dramas, and this May, finally made that trip to Korea I’ve been meaning to make for over a decade.

On my way to Korea, I had a 7-hour layover in London, another place I’ve never seen in person before. I got to meet Cat Girl’s Day Off author Kimberly Pauley, who showed me 221B Baker St. and the whole area around Parliament—Big Ben, the London Eye, and Westminster Cathedral, for example (the outside—no time for the inside), and then we finished off our whirlwind tour with a full English breakfast.

(center) Kimberly Pauley and Stacy Whitman at Paddington Station with Paddington Bear; other sights in London

A subway entrance in Busan, South Korea

I didn’t get to visit my old roommate, but I did visit my new friend from New York, who had moved back to Seoul. I stayed with her and her family in Mokdong, a suburb of Seoul, which I loved not only because I was visiting my friend, but also because I got to experience Korean culture from a closer point of view, not as a tourist in a hotel but as a guest. I got to do normal everyday things with my friend, like going to the grocery store and post office, to the bookstore and to the repair booth on the corner run by the ajussi who might know how to fix my purse (sadly, he didn’t have a good solution). I was greatly impressed with the public transportation system, which got me everywhere I needed to be, and often had malls in the stations!

I also met up with the Talk to Me in Korean crew (from whom I’m learning Korean), who happened to have a meetup when I was in Korea. Here I am with Hyunwoo Sun, the founder of Talk to Me in Korean, and his wife, Mi Kyung. A few of us went out for a kind of fusion chicken, the name of which I’ve forgotten, and then patbingsoo—sweet red beans over shaved ice—after the meetup of over a hundred TTMIK listeners.

Meet-up with Talk to Me in Korean teachers and students

I love Korean dramas, which are often historical, so of course I wanted to see places like National Treasure #1, the Namdaemung Gate (officially known as Sungnyemun), which burned down in 2008 and was just recently restored and reopened, and Gyeongbokgung Palace in the heart of Seoul. The folk museum was fascinating, letting me see Korean history in person—for example, they had a living replica of a Korean street that brought you forward in time from the Joseon era to the 1990s.

Gyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul, South Korea

A tour guide at Gyeongbokgung Palace wearing a hanbok, a traditional Korean dress

Outside the National Children’s Library in Gangnam, Seoul, South Korea

I also went to the Namdaemun Market, across from the gate, and had my first real Korean market experience, and found a stylish purse. I rode a bike along the Han River (and saw cleverly disguised trash/recycling cans), discovered the national children’s library in Gangnam, watched the changing of the guards at Gyeongbokgung Palace, stopped off for a chocobanana smoothie at Starbucks for a quick wifi fix, wandered around in a park filled with fortune teller booths, got makeup samples in Myeongdong, and found bargains in an underground shopping mall at the subway entrance. What I didn’t do was stalk a Korean drama star, though that was tempting.

Cleverly disguised recycling

Cheonggyecheon River, Seoul, South Korea

Not too far from the palace was the Cheonggyecheon River, which is a reclaimed river that has been turned into a recreational area. It was my favorite area of Seoul—I loved to walk along it and returned three times while on my way to other places. The first time I discovered it (on the recommendation of Korean American library educator and friend Sarah Park Dahlen), it was decorated for Buddha’s Birthday, a national holiday in Korea. The next day, on Buddha’s Birthday, my Korean host and I went to the local Buddhist temple to discover how the holiday was celebrated among Buddhists, which neither of us are. That night, the Cheonggyecheon was all lit up in celebration.

Stacy Whitman at the Buddhist temple in Mokdong, South Korea

Cheonggyecheon River, Seoul, South Korea

Beomosa Temple, Busan, South Korea

I spent a total of two weeks exploring Korea, the second week of which was spent climbing a mountain on Jeju Island, discovering a Buddhist temple and a famous beach and fish market in Busan, and staying in a hanok (traditional Korean house) in Jeonju—where I also happened upon a famous Joseon picnic spot (Omokdae Terrace, famous for a king having once picnicked there), a famous royal shrine, and a Confucian school where one of my favorite dramas was filmed, and where I saw a delightful sight, a class full of toddlers in hanbok, learning about their country’s history. Jeonju also is the home of a traditional Korean paper (hanji) museum, where they have a hands-on room where I made a sheet of hanji! Later I met the driver of a truck full of garlic, who insisted I take a picture of his truck.

Schoolkids at Jeonjuhyanggyo Confucian School in Jeonju, South Korea

Truck full of garlic in Jeonju, South Korea

Then I rounded out the experience with my friend’s one-year-old’s birthday party in Seoul. (The first birthday is very important in Korean culture, a momentous occasion for which my friend and her husband rented hanbok to wear for family pictures, which I took for them.) However, I didn’t get to the top of 9 km-high Hallasan, the big mountain in Jeju (though I made it 7.5 km!), as I didn’t start early enough in the morning. I’ll just have to go back. Oh darn! (I did, however, get the rare opportunity to see a native deer.)

I ate loads of delicious Korean food, most of which was homemade by my host family, but I also discovered new foods like Jeju’s famous gogiguksu, a pork noodle dish very similar to good ramen. I also had the chance to try Koreans’ interpretation of Italian food, which is very popular—and was very tasty.

(clockwise from upper left) Korean street food in Busan, kimbap in Seoul, pizza in a cone & smoothie in Jeonju, Italian food in Jeonju

And I took a break from my vacation one day to work, because you can’t publish diverse books and travel halfway around the world and not take the opportunity to meet publishers in the country you’re so interested in. An agent at the Eric Yang Agency was happy to introduce me to several Korean publishers, who were happy to introduce me to their books and to learn about mine. Here’s a picture of the mural in their lobby, a testament to the love of reading in Korean culture and a great riff on the famous photo.

Lunch atop a Skyscraper, now with books!

It was interesting to see how similar and yet different the two country’s publishing styles were—often, we publish similar books, yet we market them completely differently because Korean parents/readers and American parents/readers are looking for different marketing messages in the books they buy. Young adult literature as a category is still relatively new in Korea, particularly in fantasy (though the age category’s storytelling is strong in dramas and manhwa, the Korean form of manga)—the emphasis in Korean children’s book sections of the bookstore is very much on educational supplements. I look forward to someday bringing Korean YA and middle grade voices to a US audience looking for diversity and new stories.

* And it was a bear trying to pare down my pictures. If you’d like to see more, follow me on Tumblr, where I will eventually be posting more pictures a few at a time.

The great accomplishment of this past week—during which the family has been sick with a crazy, no-fun, icky, yucky virus—has been to create a book trailer for All Hallow’s ABC. What is a book trailer? Well, it’s basically a television... Read the rest of this post

A number of publishers announced new hires and promotions this week.

Tracy Behar has been promoted to executive editor and VP at Little, Brown and Company. She has been with this imprint for eight years.

Lania Adler now holds the title of vice president and senior director of marketing at HarperOne.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Brooklyn-based publisher Melville House will open a British publishing company in London called Melville House UK.

Founders Dennis Johnson and Valerie Merians announced the news, hiring 4th Estate marketing executive Zeljka Marosevic as director of marketing. The company will begin with the publisher’s U.S. books, but should be acquiring new books by the end of the year. Here’s more from Johnson:

Our classics line, The Art of the Novella, has always done well in Britain, but sales of our other U.S. titles have grown explosively there over the last few years, some of the best writing we’ve published lately has been by British writers, such as Lars Iyer and Lee Rourke; we’re winning British book awards, I hear more and more from British booksellers and media about our books … And so rather than simply expand our US company’s operations here, we wanted to form a distinctly British company that would respond more particularly to that kind of welcome. It’s not a branch, nor an office. It’s a distinct, British company.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The European Commission has approved the merger of Penguin and Random.

The Commission ruled that they were not concerned with unfair competition, “because the merged entity will continue to face several strong competitors.” This was one of the major hurdles facing the merger of the publishing companies owned by Bertelsmann and Pearson. Here’s more from the release: 

The Commission assessed the impact of the transaction on the upstream markets for the acquisition of authors’ rights for English language books in the European Economic Area (EEA) and worldwide, and on the downstream markets for the sale of English language books to dealers in the EEA, in particular in the UK and Ireland. The Commission found that on both types of markets the new entity Penguin Random House will continue to face competition from several large and numerous small and medium sized publishers. As regards the sale of English language books, the merged entity will furthermore face a concentrated retail base, such as supermarkets for print books and large online retailers for e-books, like Amazon. In addition, the Commission’s investigation revealed no evidence that the transaction would lead to risks of coordination among publishers in relation to the acquisition of authors’ rights and the sale of English language books to dealers.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

we’ve shared with you before one of our artists Priscilla Burris’s wonderful truly heart felt young characters and their special worlds.  Well one of them Heidi Heckelbeck is a most popular little girl as it turns out!

Heidi won 1st place for fiction series at the New York Book Show!!!
They announced it last night at the event. Exciting!  WAY TUGEAU (ooops To Go!) Little Simon and Priscilla!  wow and wow!

Author, actress and freelance journalist, Giovanna Fletcher is married to Tom Fletcher from McFly. She grew up in Essex with her Italian dad Mario, mum Kim, big sister Giorgina and little brother Mario, and spent most of her childhood talking to herself (it seems no one wanted to listen) or reading books. Giovanna is a firm believer in the power of magpies and positive energy. To find out more about Giovanna, view her blog or follow her on Twitter.

Her debut novel, Billy and Me, is out this Thursday (23rd May 2013).

Anyway, over to Giovanna as she tells us about a day in her life...

Every day varies, but my writing days are a fairly consistent array of distractions that I struggle to knock on the head before getting on with the pressing task of writing.

I get up at a respectable eight o'clock (I'm conveniently forgetting the times I struggle to get out of bed before ten - they’re rare!), and potter around having breakfast with the hubby, showering, getting into a fresh pair of PJs or comfies, and then pottering around for an hour or so. I then like to watch the beginning of This Morning for their quick round up of the news. Now, this can sometimes work against me as occasionally there'll be someone being interviewed that I think will be interesting to watch. But, let's say this is a day I prise myself away from the telly . . .

I then go to the office and sit at my desk in front of my laptop. First task? Checking my Twitter, Facebook and the Mail Online (I like the pictures), and then, before I know it, it's one o'clock and its time for lunch. Not that I've earned the break, of course!

After lunch (usually soup in case you're wondering), I start reading what I'd worked on the previous day to get my mind focused . . . Occasionally I feel tired and have a nap at this point (let's blame the Italian in me - I love a siesta), although I've tried to stop myself from doing that - grabbing a quick cuppa is much more time effective. I'm then ready to write for the rest of the day and late into the evening, usually getting a solid six hours distraction-free-writing in the bag. 

Yes, reading back over this, my working day is pretty disgusting really. I promise to rid myself of a few distractions and leap over obstacles with speed so that I can get to work a little quicker in the future . . . This is said from my PJs while I nurse yet another cuppa. I guess with writing it's all about finding a way that works for you and gets the creative juices flowing.

Hope. Dream. (See attached necklaces.)

When people find out I’m a children’s author, I typically get this response:

“Oh, wow! You know, my sister/cousin/neighbor/son’s teacher wrote a children’s book a while back. You could probably help her/him to get it published.”

This is so common. You know the saying “everyone has a book in them”? That’s incorrect. “Everyone has a children’s book in them” is far more accurate!

In the early days, I was naive. I said, “Of course!” I gave the person my contact info, then I spent hours with their acquaintance critiquing their manuscript, teaching them about picture book structure, and ultimately causing this person great disappointment when they realized the tale they whipped out on a rainy afternoon wasn’t publishable exactly as they had written it.

It made me feel awful. It made them feel awful. It was not worth it.

Then I realized—these casual writers think having a published book would be “neat”. And it’s not neat. It’s hard work.

So now, I take a very honest approach. Instead of offering my assistance right away, I say this instead: “If they have a passion for children’s books, by all means, send them my way and I’ll do all I can to help. But if this person wrote a story on impulse and they don’t have any desire to have a career in children’s literature, they’ll find it extremely difficult to get published and end up being very frustrated and disappointed.”

This is usually followed by an “Oh. Gotcha.”

They understand. (I hope.)

I don’t know why being a children’s author is perceived as such a simple skill as opposed to something like playing in the NHL or becoming a doctor or lawyer. You never hear someone say, “You know, my sister/cousin/neighbor/son’s teacher wrapped an ace bandage around a kid’s ankle a while back. You could probably help him/her to become a doctor.” OK, I realize you don’t need a degree to become an author, but you do need several years of concentrated study and practice. You need to be dedicated. Passion for your craft is essential.

So now I let people know this. Publishing is not something to enter into partway. The industry is full of criticism, rejection and waiting…more waiting than the DMV times a thousand. It’s frustrating. It’s challenging. If you don’t love it, you won’t live through it.

So hope and dream. And work hard.

The kids deserve it.

I’m blogging at Books & Such today.
 
The publication journey isn’t easy, no matter how you approach it. I’m always encouraging people to be patient, persevere through the obstacles, and doggedly pursue their dream. For some people, this means persistence through years or decades.
 
But… is there a time when you should give up? Maybe so. I could be wrong but I think there are a few signs the publishing journey is not for you.
 
You may want to stop pursuing publication if…
 
Click HERE to read the post at Books & Such.

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