Writers and Superstitions

I used to believe in all sorts of superstitions when I was a kid. I threw salt over my shoulder if I spilled it, I avoided cracks in the sidewalk and walking under ladders, and a black cat anywhere in my vicinity made me nervous. I've outgrown all of those fears, but there are still some odd little rituals I follow. For instance, when an e-mail I've been waiting for finally pops into my inbox, I usually will open one or two other e-mails first, both to prepare myself for whatever news it contains and to try to psych out the universe: "See? It's not that important. I don't even care! It can wait until after I look at today's deals on geeky T-shirts."

Then there are some of my writer's quirks: I need a particular pen for taking notes and editing by hand (Uniball Vision Elite, blue-black ink, fine tip). I save and backup my work obsessively—but that's really just a good idea, for everyone. And, because of my novels, if I come across a U.S. quarter featuring Puerto Rico, I have to keep it. Can't spend it, nope. I have three or four of them now; in fact, I wear a silver proof of the PR territories quarter on a chain; it doesn't have any talismanic properties like Uncle Scrooge's Number 1 dime or anything, but I wanted to mark my first published novel in a special way, and I wasn't ready to commit to a tattoo.

Since today is Friday the 13th, I decided it would be fun to ask thirteen other authors about the superstitions and rituals they follow in their writing and personal lives. Some of their answers may surprise you!

	Beth Revis, Shades of Earth (Across the Universe #3): This one's weird, but... I think spiders are good luck. When I was a little girl, I heard the story of how Robert the Bruce saw a spider spinning a web and, despite the fact that it kept being torn down, the spider kept trying, and that inspired the Bruce to not give up. Ever since then, I've really liked spiders, and if I'm worrying about something, spiders are my sign to not give up, or to attempt something that feels impossible.
	Lydia Kang, Control: Sometimes I'll tie on a string bracelet with a charm to symbolize the book I'm working on. When the string finally wears down and breaks, I know that many months have gone by and usually, that first draft has been finished! If you ever meet me, you might see me wearing several bracelets for different books in different stages.
	Mindy McGinnis, Not a Drop to Drink: The computer that I wrote Not a Drop to Drink on had to be retired, but I popped some of the keys off and kept them. My fingers had worn away the lettering on most of them, and there were grooves in quite a few of the keys where my fingers fit. I resisted updating my laptop for a long time because I didn't want to be separated from those keys that had typed the novel that landed me.
	Lissa Price, Enders (Starters #2): I wear a dzi bead on a bracelet that helps me focus on my current writing goals.
	Bethany Hagen, Landry Park: I tend to be superstitious about titles—I'm worried that if I give the book a real title before it's finished that it will curse it somehow. Or maybe that's just because I'm terrible at coming up with titles!
	Lenore Appelhans, The Memory of After: I don't have writerly superstitions, but I will not look in a mirror in a dark room because of Bloody Mary. I'm a bit freaked out now for thinking about it at all. *shivers*
	Peggy Eddleman, Sky Jumpers: I don't write at my desktop computer. I answer emails, blog, edit, pay bills, and a million other little things, but I can't write there. Words don't come, and if they do, they end up being deleted. Sometimes I tell myself it's the lack of natural light or the fact that my desk faces a blank wall. Mostly, though, it's because me and my laptop have a special writing connection. When my fingers are on that keyboard—no matter where in the world I happen to be—my brain knows to kick out words that are keepers.
	K.D. McEntire, Lightbringer series: I don't have much in the way of superstitions when it comes to writing. I feel thankful whenever I have time to work, so I tend to jump right in. That said, there is a period of time each year (football season) when I'm given a weekly 4–5 hours at a stretch to work. Bless the man who invented Sunday Football, for my husband and sons go to Grandpa's house to watch the Chiefs, leaving me to get work done for a change. I like to buy a Panera chicken salad sandwich, a diet Dr Pepper, and I sit in the same spot with the same throw blanket. Then I crank. I am very cranky when robbed of those Sundays during the fall. I also refuse to buy lottery tickets unless I'm having a "good kid day." If I've yelled at the small ones I won't buy a ticket. No bad karma on lottery ticket days. ;-D
	Diana Peterfreund, For Darkness Shows the Stars: I have a tough time starting a book until I have a title I love. For me it informs so much—the tone, the overarching theme, etc. I guess this ties in with my naming obsession in general.
	Alethea Kontis, Hero: Okay, so here's my only writerly superstition. I got this from Sherrilyn Kenyon, and I hesitate to even mention it because I was raised by a Greek and a Catholic to whom superstition is ritual and just How We Live Our Lives. To speak something aloud—good or bad—is to tempt Fate...thus all the spitting, which is like knocking wood for good luck. Sherri says that "A writer on deadline never dies." When I told my mom this, she freaked out and spat...a lot. But I do believe this, despite knowing that deadlines exist everywhere and writers are immune to death no more than any other person on this earth...but when Sherri originally told me this, it rang with that certain air of truth I've never forgotten. Maybe that's why I didn't finish my manuscript before Dragon Con? Who knows...perhaps if I had, that fall would have been a lot worse...
	Jenn Reese, Mirage (Above World #2): I love to buy myself a little something for each new novel—usually an inexpensive piece of jewelry from Etsy—but I can't buy the item until I'm halfway through writing the book. The jewelry is both a reward for making it that far and a promise to finish. When the draft is done, it becomes a talisman. I'll put it on again when it's time for revisions, copyedits, and proofs to help me get back to the right emotional place for the book.
	Christian Schoon, Zenn Scarlet: So, we've got lotsa cats in our house. My wife has instructed me not to state the number publicly, lest we attract the attention of authorities. Vague clue: seven lg. litter boxes in service at all times, barely enuf. Anyway, if I get a cat lying on my lap during writing sessions (see above re: # of cats and thus high likelihood of cat-to-lap occurrence), I can't gently urge it to go lie someplace else (i.e., stand up or toss it to floor) until I finish the chapter I'm writing/editing/staring at vacantly w/ fingers poised. What'll happen if I violate the cat-overheating-waggly-bits area? I shudder to think. Anyway, that's my irrational fear and I'm stickin with it. (The thuggish cat currently on my lap looks up and gives me the "damn straight, skippy" look.)
	Janet Edwards, Earth Girl: I’m not sure if I’m the only author who suffers from this, or if there are whole armies of us out there with the same secret fear, but at first I was a bit worried about telling people I was getting a book published. It seemed a bit unbelievable, and I had a weird idea that someone would suddenly leap out from behind me and say it was all a practical joke. Despite the fact the joke would now involve multiple publishers and a global internet conspiracy, I still tend to give a furtive look round for the practical joker before I risk telling people I’m an author.

Do you have any superstitions or rituals? Tell us about them in the comments!

Guest Post: Marissa Meyer's Top 10 Cyborg Upgrades

Today we've got a special guest post from Marissa Meyer, author of CINDER.

The Top 10 Cyborg Upgrades

By Marissa Meyer

There was a time when fictional cyborgs were a rather wimpy bunch—observe the Tin Man from Oz. But over the years, writers and artists have latched onto the awesome potential of combining man and machines. From classic villains, like Darth Vader and the Borg, to modern-day heroes, like Inspector Gadget, cyborgs have developed some seriously envy-worthy upgrades over the years.

Here are my top ten.

1. Long Battery Life. Who needs sleep and food when you can keep chugging along like the Energizer Bunny? In Terminator 2 we learn that the futuristic assassin can run for 120 years on a single power cell. How’s that for stamina?

2. Hive Brain. Sure, the Borg from Star Trek are supremely eerie, but there’s something admirable about how they tirelessly strive to assimilate all knowledge into a single shared brain. It’d be kind of like having constant access to Wikipedia.

3. Steady Supply of Useful Gadgets. Growing up, I was in awe of Inspector Gadget for solely this reason. Whether you’re in need of a can opener, a screwdriver, or a grappling hook, your resident cyborg is bound to have just what you need, just when you need it.

4. Photographic Memory. Never experience blank-mind syndrome again. With a photographic memory, you’ll ace every exam, recall every name at a cocktail party, and always know exactly where you put your keys.

5. Volume Control. The great thing about a lot of cyborg abilities is that they’re adjustable. Super sensitive hearing is great and all, but gosh, wouldn’t it be great to turn the noise down sometimes? No more blaring rock music from your siblings or screaming arguments from the neighbors. Pure serenity.

6. Concealed Weaponry. Fancy weapons are a staple in the cyborg genre, and with good reason, as cyborgs have a knack for getting into loads of trouble. Whether it’s an arm that transforms into a machine gun or something as simple as a retractable knife in the finger, every cyborg should have a trick or two up their metaphorical sleeve.

7. Superhuman Strength. Despite his survivor guilt, even Detective Del Spooner from I, Robot (yes, even Will Smith is in the cyborg club) would have to admit that having a bionic arm is pretty sweet. At least, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have survived all those superhuman-robot attacks without it.

8. Bionic Eye. Superhuman strength aside, the Six Million Dollar Man would have been a bumbling bulldozer without his bionic eye. It had night and infrared heat vision, was a targeting device, a zoom lens, a camera, and it could see objects that were moving too fast for a human eye. Heck, it probably had X-Ray vision too, he just didn’t want the ladies finding out about that.

9. Mechanical Skills. Cyborgs and mechanics go hand in hand, so it’s no surprise that we see plenty of cyborgs who take pride in fixing the  unfixable, such as Jet Black who’s always tinkering with his spaceship in “Cowboy Bebop.” Never having to make another appointment for an unexpected car repair? Priceless.

10. Programmable Dexterity. Some cyborg limbs are seen as cumbersome and unwieldy, but sometimes there’s an elegance to how these bionic parts function, with perfect coordination, agility, and grace. With your brain telling your limbs precisely what to do—and the limbs responding—who’s to say you couldn’t learn tap dancing overnight, or scale mountains, or break an egg with one hand like they do on the Food Network? Okay, maybe no one else shares my egg-cracking envy, but still, the possibilities are endless.

Of course, being cyborg could have its downfalls, too. Say, going through metal detectors. Or swimming. But for the most part, fiction and science combined are well on their way toward making bionic human limbs with some jaw-droppingly awesome abilities.

What would you want upgraded if the technology were available?

Marissa Meyer is the author of The Lunar Chronicles, in which Cinderella is re-envisioned as a teenage cyborg! (Did you see that coming?) Follow Marissa on Twitter (@marissa_meyer) or her blog (http://www.marissameyer.com/blog).

Interview with Trisha Leigh, Author of THE HISTORIANS

Today we have a special treat: a guest interview between Leigh Ann Kopans, author of ONE, and Trisha Leigh, author of THE HISTORIANS!

Leigh: Hi, Trisha. Congratulations on THE HISTORIANS, the beginning of your second YA series! What a huge accomplishment. Can you tell us a bit about the first book?

Trisha: Of course, and thank you! It’s set in a Firefly-type future, where a system of seven planets have been terraformed to support the humans who abandoned an Earth no longer capable of sustaining life. Time travel has been invented, and one of the side effects is the ability to predict molecular compatibility between people – one true loves. While Kaia, the main character, is wrapped up in the decision of whether or not to use her status as a time traveling Historian to meet her true love, others are altering the past in ways that might have disastrous effects on the present.

Leigh: Writing sci-fi can be tough, and time travel is mind-bending craziness! What is the biggest joy and the biggest challenge you find, writing in this genre?

Trisha: The biggest joy, for me, is getting to pinpoint and highlight moments in history that I love. I’m a huge history nerd. The biggest challenge is that, even more so than in a regular book, every single decision causes an endless cascade of potential changes.

Leigh: In THE HISTORIANS, Kaia travels back to ancient Egypt. Why did you choose to write about that time period?

Trisha: My historical specialty is Ancient Rome, and the time period Kaia travels to is set during the Roman era, so I felt comfortable with it, for one. For another, I’ve always been fascinated by the people whose stories have never—and will never, unless time travel exists one day—be told. Caesarion is one of those people. We remember his name because he died, not because he lived, but know very little about him.

Leigh: Take a paragraph or two to tell us your absolute most favorite thing about the book – could be a character, scene, setting, plot point – anything!

Trisha: My favorite thing about the book is the relationship between Kaia and Caesarion. She’s very impulsive and dramatic, and also selfish on occasion. She’s a rule breaker and someone always looking to find a way to make things work out the way she wants.

Caesarion (as I imagine him) is calm and level-headed, accepting of the things in life that are fated and unchangeable, and helps Kaia really learn how to relax and enjoy the moments she has, as opposed to constantly worrying about the ones she might be missing.

Leigh: What’s your favorite part of the publishing process?

Trisha: Getting a cover? Seriously, that’s a pretty good one, but by actual favorite part is getting the book into the hands of my readers. It’s only half-finished until then.

Now, some quick-answer questions:

Apocalyptic or Post Apocalyptic?

Apocalyptic

Star Trek or Star Wars?

Star Wars

Dystopian or Utopian?

Dystopian

Marvel or DC?

Marvel

What’s your superpower?

Being able to fall soundly asleep absolutely anywhere.

Outer Space or Earthbound?

Outer Space, of course!

Favorite writing munchies?

Hershey’s Kisses, Cheezits, Skittles

Favorite Sci-Fi Movie or TV show?

Ah! Too hard to pick, especially for movies. I’m going with FRINGE, with FIREFLY running neck-and-neck.

Thanks for chatting with us, Trisha! Can’t wait for your book. Congratulations and best of luck!

Trisha Leigh is the author of the YA series THE HISTORIANS and more. Find out more here. 

Leigh Ann Kopans is the author of the YA super-power series ONE. Find or more here.

Resources - or how you'll find more information than you'll ever need

When I was still an unpublished and unagented writer, I had a list of websites that I visited frequently, especially to “stalk” agents.

-       Literary Rambles

Casey McCormick who’s the blogger of Literary Rambles has created a wonderful selection of agent spotlights. You can find information about agents, their agencies, their latest sales, what they are looking for, as well as links to interviews. I loved to read the spotlights (in addition to the agency’s websites) when I was trying to figure out who to query.

-       Query Tracker

Once I started querying, I spent a crazy amount of time checking response times on query tracker. It was great finding out what kind of projects agents requested and how they worded their rejections. The comments were always a good place to find information you didn’t really need, but desperately wanted to have.

-        Absolute Write 

      This was the place I first went to when I started writing. It’s a great place to get your queries or first pages critiqued by other writers. In addition there are many forums where you can share experiences with other aspiring writers, ask questions about any part of the industry, and most importantly find other people in the same situation. I found my beta readers there, so it was definitely worth it!

-       WriteOnCon

      This is an online conference taking place once per year where you can get your queries and first pages critiqued by fellow writers, and anonymous agents. Many writers get requests from agents there. I was already agented when the first WriteOnCon took place, so I never participated, which makes me kind of sad.

     Once I was agented but not yet published, my focus shifted slightly. Especially when I was on submission I spent way too much time on Publishers Marketplace, obsessing over deals, checking on editors and publishers.

      Now that I’m no longer looking for an agent and have a publisher, the only place I use for writing purposes is pretty much Pinterest – which I use for inspiration and to procrastinate… 

Shiny, happy ideas and miserable writers

This weekend at the Decatur Book Festival, which was fabulous btw (thanks for asking), my panel was asked a lot of questions about ideas and writing and how to make an idea into a book.  When someone asks me where I get my ideas, I try to keep my eyes from rolling back in my head and give them a good answer.  But here's the truth, and it's something other writers know all too well:

I get ideas everywhere.

And I mean everywhere.  Vacuuming my house, on the highway, in the middle of a movie, talking with a friend, eating lentil soup, cleaning the wax from my ears.

I am under a constant barrage of ideas.  Writers don't see and hear things the same way nonwriters do.  All it takes is the right turn of phrase or casual dissemination of info and our minds start whirring, grinding out a plethora of what-ifs.

This might sound great, and most of the time when that Shiny, Happy Idea comes (SHI - ooh, that's a close one) along, I flirt with it, imagine who the characters are, what the cover will look like.  This honeymoon phase lasts anywhere from seconds to days until I think of my last SHI or another SHI pops into my head.

The best SHIs get a page of notes in a file titled backburner, some even have their own notebooks.  I'm always convinced my SHIs are marinating while I work on books that are under contract or deadline.  I'm positive I can write them all THIS YEAR and then I sit down to work on them and some of the shininess and happiness fades away, replaced with lots of questions.

Who are these characters?
What happens to them?
Most often—what was I thinking?

Sometimes that marinating time doesn't work it turns out.  Sometimes a SHI is just like all those shiny, happy objects that sparkle and catch our fancy in life but turn out to be pieces of junk.  It can be a miserable feeling when you sent down with your folder full of SHIs and come away feeling deflated.

What to do?

Pick a SHI and explore it.  Look for inspirational pics on Pinterest, find one and free write for 15 minutes.  Name your characters.  The problem with Shiny, Happy Ideas is that that's all they are–ideas. Books need a lot more than ideas.  They need bones and muscle and tissue, teeth and marrow.  Books need flesh and blood.  Wannabe writers create Shiny, Happy Ideas.  Writers create books.

So when you pull that Shiny, Happy Idea out and discover it's a little tarnished, decide if you want to chuck it back in the drawer or polish it up and remember, an idea kept in a drawer never becomes a book.

Need an Agent? Look at Publisher’s Marketplace

Have you met a nice agent at a conference but have no clue about their professional history? What have they sold, when and for how much? Choosing the agent to represent you is key to your career. You’ve spent months or years writing the manuscript, so it’s well worth the time spent on research to find the perfect agent for you.

When you are ready, one of the best things you can do is to sign up for Publisher’s Marketplace. This is a source that is used by just about everyone in publishing. It costs around $20 a month, but is worth every penny when you need agent information. It lists the current sales of manuscripts, shows which editor acquired the property, which agent sold it, and often mentions a rough estimate of the price.

The search function in the deals category is extremely powerful. You can find how many sales an agent has reported in the last year or two or more. I’ve heard agents say that not all sales are reported, but why withhold this publicity opportunity for you, them and the book? You can also search for a category or a specific keyword. Say you are thinking of writing a book about puffins. You can see if anyone has sold a manuscript recently about puffins. It doesn’t mean you won’t still write your concept, it just gives you more information. You can also search more broadly, say for a category like middle grade or a genre like fantasy, to see how many of those have sold in the last week or month.

You can create your own page there if you like. This is particularly helpful to writers who also have a side business like editing.

A great timesaver function is the ability to set up alerts to track certain editors or agents (that sounds dangerously like stalking, but it’s not). If you’re considering five agents, you can put them on your tracking list so whenever they report deals, it will automatically show in your tracking area. There will be days when you’re too busy to read all the deals, and this is a perfect shortcut. But every so often, scan all the deals to give you a sense of what is now selling – and what is not.

And of course the site lists job opportunities and publishing insider news. You can start with the free Publisher’s Lunch, and get the news sent to your email. It’s a shortened version of the one sent to subscribers, but it’s free.

If you want to be a published author, the key is writing the great book. But it also helps to know what those in the business know. It’s all just waiting for you.

Subscribe to Publisher's Marketplace
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Publisher's Marketplace Facebook

Paperback Launch of THE MEMORY OF AFTER by Lenore Appelhans!

Hey all! Today is the release of the paperback of THE MEMORY OF AFTER! I'm so excited to chat about this (I was lucky enough to read an ARC of this when it was known as LEVEL 2), but first some details:

In this gripping exploration of a futuristic afterlife, a teen discovers that death is just the beginning.

Since her untimely death, Felicia Ward has been trapped in Level 2, a stark white afterlife located between our world and the next. Along with her fellow drones, Felicia passes the endless hours reliving memories of her time on Earth and mourning what she’s lost—family, friends, and Neil, the boy she loved.

Then a girl in a neighboring chamber is found dead, and nobody but Felicia recalls that she existed in the first place. When Julian—a dangerously charming guy Felicia knew in life—appears to offer Felicia a way out, Felicia learns the truth: if she joins the rebellion to overthrow the Morati, the angel guardians of Level 2, she can be with Neil again.

Suspended between Heaven and Earth, Felicia finds herself at the center of an age-old struggle between good and evil. As memories from her life come back to haunt her, and as the Morati hunt her down, Felicia will discover it’s not just her own redemption at stake…but the salvation of all mankind.

Here's some buzz on why this is such a fantastic book:

“Appelhans brings the afterlife to a whole new level. . . . A high-voltage thrill ride through love, death, and memory that will leave you breathless.” (Jess Rothenberg, author of The Catastrophic History of You and Me)

“Absolutely gripping. My heart pounded on nearly every page. You won't be able to put it down.” (Mary E. Pearson, award-winning author of the Jenna Fox Chronicles)

...and some fantastic reviews!

“This imaginative debut brings conflict to the afterlife....An absorbing, sensitive read.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“Appelhans’ storytelling is well paced, tantalizing the reader with hints, and the compelling theme of the necessity of facing the wrongs of the past in order to move forward into the future will appeal to teens.” (Booklist)

So...I loved this book. 

I thought that Appelhans did a fantastically original job of envisioning this life in the "after" and how memories were accessed--with no small commentary on how lives on social media today are accessed by anybody and everybody. All the while, we as readers are doing the very same by plugging into Felicia's past and piecing together why she's here, and what led her to this place. 

The core of any good story worth its words is the everlasting why--why is the main character in this situation, and moreover, what is she going to do with that knowledge once she understands it? Ultimately, The Memory of After is a mystery, a story of self, and a story of unfolding redemption. It truly is a page turner, in every sense of the word.

If you haven't had a chance to read it, now you can own it in all its paperback glory. :)

The paperback of THE MEMORY OF AFTER is available on Amazon, IndieBound, Book Depository, Barnes and Noble.  Check out The Memory Chronicles Pinterest board for quoteables from the novel all this week! 

(Yeah. I'm going to have to buy this now just so I can own that gorgeous new cover!)