Podcasts - My New Favorite Diversion, er, Research Tool

I'd heard of podcasts, even watched a few when forced (some lady tech guru on Sundays), but always decided they were a silly diversion and waste of writing/reading time. Not any more.

Lucky me, I’ve just discovered Maud Newton’s blog. I added it to my Google reader, and the last few months’ posts appeared. I scanned through the entries—so many fascinating topics!—and landed on gold. On November 17, there was a blurb on free Oxford Podcasts. Tolkien! Medieval English! Particle Physics! It also linked to a Bodleian video tour. My writing buddies (and family members) must be ready to lock me inside the Bodleian, I gab about it so much. But seeing a video, no matter how short, made my day. Heck, my year.

Bonus: the recent post links to an NPR story on Authors' voices. If you've ever wondered what Arthur Conan Doyle or Virginia Woolf sounded like, here's your chance.

Happy watching and listening!

I'm Not All That

My name is Joan Mora. I am not a male sculptor from Spain. But if I were, I’d have an above average web presence.

Yesterday, J.A. Konrath blogged about becoming cyber-effective. Yes, I’ve still got to hire an agent and get a book deal, but when that happens, unless I’m featured on a talk show, selling lots of books will come down to publicity budget (hee hee) and word of mouth (or word of internet).

I’m slowly trying to build my presence, with my blog and Facebook. It’s fun reading others’ blogs and I learn all about publishing, writing, book deals, and cocktails. Sometimes I get the nerve to comment. And when my 2009 resolutions work (sending queries results in hiring an agent, entering contests results in snagging an editor’s attention, writing 1,500 words a day results in more books to sell), I’ll be ready for launch.

Konrath mentioned marketleap.com, a free site that allows you to check your search engine saturation, and how many other sites link to you. I already knew in a Google search, my name showed up 1st and 3rd. But I never suspected my search engine saturation would be 1,305 (whatever that means) and that in a link popularity check I’d have an above average presence (7,356).

I bragged to Pamela about it. When she did the test, her number was a lot lower than mine. But why? She’d been blogging longer and more frequently. I was feeling quite smug. Until she said, “When I put your name in, I only get 47.”
“Huh?” She must be doing it wrong, of course. After all, I’m an accountant. I know numbers.
“Joanmorawrites.blogspot.com, right?”
“Uh.” That’s when I realized. That sculptor had stolen my web presence. I’m not all that.

But with hard work and perseverance, one day, I will be. That Konrath guy sure fuels me.

Happy New Year!

While getting ready to make those resolutions, I stumbled upon my favorite list. Each year J.A. Konrath, author of the Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels thrillers and blogger of the no-nonsense A Newbie's Guide to Publishing, adds to a list he started in 2006. As soon as you read it, you'll jump off the internet and get back to writing the book or story you put down before the holidays. I'm not the only one, right?

I've been reading like mad, at least keeping up with part of my job. Several books on London showed up under the tree because, alas, a research trip in 2009 is out of the question. London: A Biography by the masterful Peter Ackroyd is chockful of details, 772 pages worth to be exact, 12 of which are an essay on sources! A shorter read is Walking Haunted London by Richard Jones. London has more ghosts than any other city and reading about them fuels my imagination.

So I'll procrastinate no longer. As J.A. Konrath says, "Now quit reading blogs and get some writing done."

Happy New Year all!

Ghost Writer

As someone who can't stop writing about ghosts, it was inevitable that I would eventually be visited by one of my own.

While writing my new manuscript a few nights ago, I frantically typed, trying to get my ideas on the page before I forgot them. I'd written a few pages when all of a sudden my cursor started dancing across the screen. I'd try to anchor the dang thing, but no go. Then letters appeared. But not letters I'd typed.

I debated telling my son, who was doing homework at his desk behind me. Nah, he'll just laugh and question my sanity. Again.

That's it, I thought. I've finally raised my own ghost. My skin tingled, a breeze blew by my neck, and I looked around for loose change. Then, a crash sounded behind me.

It was my son. He'd tossed his mouse on his desk in frustration because it wasn't working. "Look, nothing happens," he said, rolling his mouse on his desk. I turned around and saw a cursor looping across my screen. His mouse was controlling my computer. We called tech support (husband) for advice, and he'd never seen this problem before. Leave it to Joan, I'm sure he was thinking. But then he figured it out. He tossed aside my Bluetooth mouse and wired up the old one. The words I typed were my own.

I was kind of let down that it wasn't an apparition after all. I'd already made plans to bring her to critique with me on Thursday night. Ghost writer, indeed.

WIth Advice Like This

Since my mini-retreat at the library, I've been reading a few more how-to books. A few I will buy and keep within reach. Some were published over twenty years ago. Most of the advice holds true. I take general notes, hoping someday I'll find the time to reread them. But I also jot down ideas for my WIP characters or plot. Yesterday I finally put it all together and wrote about 3,000 words. A good day for me.

I'm still waiting to hear from a few agents reading full or partial manuscripts of The Bodley Boys and Center Court Seats and a Pair of Jimmy Choos. Pamela and I received excellent comments from Moonrat on CCS after Pamela won us a partial review and we're working on tweaking the manuscript. Moonrat said she believed someone would snap it up!

It's been over a month, so I'm not sure if I should query the next few agents on my Bodley wish-list. I thought I'd read up on the etiquette.

One particular book was published about ten years ago. Not so old. The book focused mostly on proposals and finding an agent. So far, so good. I started feeling squirmy after seeing the word entitled. As in "the book was entitled." In the U.K., acceptable. In the U.S., not so much. But hey, it could be a style thing, right?

Then halfway through I realized the advice was a little off. No, a lot off! If I followed it, I wouldn't receive the amazing rejection I received last week (so close!) or even kind "I'm passing on it" rejections, I'd be starring in all those agent blogs titled "How to Piss Off an Agent." I'm clearly exaggerating for dramatic effect, right? (The all-cap SNL references are mine.) You tell me:


1. Query one agent at a time. Offer them a six-week exclusive. REALLY!?

2. If you haven't heard from that agent, call after three weeks. OMG, YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!

3. If you receive a confusing rejection, call the agency and ask to speak to the agent for clarification. NOW YOU'RE JUST TALKING NONSENSE!

I don't know about you, but I'm going to pass on it. Any agents reading my blog want to comment on that advice?!

Buy the Book

I read this article in Publisher's Weekly (further link to Editorial Ass a.k.a. Moonrat). She suggests, "Buy a book this weekend. Just buy one."

Most everyone's heard about how the economic crisis has affected the publishing industry. Many people will be reining in their spending habits and chopping gift budgets. But if you're buying gifts, why not make it a book? I typically buy the little kids books anyway. I love to share some of the titles my son asked for over and over (A Fly Went By, The Fraggle books, Go Dog Go, The BFG and one with the line, "Cheese it, the cops!"). If anyone remembers it, let me know!

Normally, unless it's an author I love to read, or a writing buddy, I check out books from the library. Or frequent Half-Price Books. Or Amazon used. I know, I shouldn't admit it. But if I bought all the books I read, I'd be serving paperbacks for dinner. (When you do go to the library, save a clerk's job and avoid the self-checkout kiosks!)

However, this year, everyone on my gift list is receiving books. I love B&N and Borders, but consider giving some of your business to an independent. Legacy Books has just opened in Plano. It's a huge store with a comfortable environment and knowledgeable booksellers. Hopefully everyone knows about Powell's Books in Portland, the largest independent in the country.

And if we all encourage our friends and colleagues to do the same, maybe we can make a difference. Push a publishing house into acquiring a new author's book. It might just be yours. Or mine.

How A Lizard Sent a City Girl on a Writers’ Retreat

A 3-inch green lizard skulked in the corner of my bathroom this morning. It scared the pants off me (a horrible cliché that I promise will make sense later). My husband wouldn't turn around on the tollway and head back home, so I closed the door and shoved a towel in the gap, so he could catch the little guy later and take him to a nice place in the woods a few blocks away. I threw on some clothes, stuffed my files in my bag, and ran out the door. I was so scared, I forgot to brush my teeth and chomped on gum and mints all day long like a teenager.

If anyone in Plano doesn’t know, Haggard Library has a terrific writers’ reference section. I curled up in a chair and for 6 hours soaked in the wisdom of Elizabeth George (Write Away), Noah Lukeman (The Plot Thickens) and Orson Scott Card (Characters and Viewpoint). I had my own little spontaneous writers’ retreat. Now I’m rejuvenated and ready to apply what I’ve learned to make my WIP characters multi-dimensional and unforgettable.

I called Pamela and she asked, “You won’t pick up a lizard?”

I should have called one of my east-coast city-girl friends who could appreciate my plight.

On the way home, I called my husband and asked if he’d caught my lizard. He said, “You scared the tail off him.”

“Oh, ha ha, you’re so funny,” I said.

“No really. When lizards get scared they drop their tail. I found a lizard running around the bathroom—without a tail. His tail was on the other side of the room.”

Oops. “Poor little guy.”

“It’ll grow back,” my husband assured me.

Whew. As long as it grows back on someone else’s bathroom floor.