Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers - November 15, 2013 Edition (And, this one's OFFICIAL!)

Here I thought I was toiling alone on Fridays, clearing out my bloggy fridge. But then I learn (why did it take me six years to learn this?) that there's a official day named after this activity -- and, it is today. Yes, today is National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day, started I don't know when by who knows who (though some say it was Whirlpool in 1995.) So let's get those rubber gloves on and get to it!

> The Virginia Quarterly Review has begun a new series, "Writer Dad," the counterbalance perhaps to the mountains of words on how women writers juggle. The first, now up, features Tobias Buckell. 

> I'm a big fan of Roger Rosenblatt's nonfiction, so I loved this PBS interview with Judy Woodruff, in which he discussed the slightly different way in which he views memoir writing and memory (see especially the final 3 minutes).

> When I was a kid, my father gave me tips on how to ask for something from "higher ups" -- make eye contact, shake hands, etc. Today, we writers need to know how to ask for things (blurbs, an agent referral, an introduction to an editor) via email.

> Memoirist Constance Adler -- and her publisher, a reputable university press -- were nearly duped by a scam "book festival awards program". Rather than shrug and move on, Adler went into investigative reporting mode, named names, and emerged with a fine piece of nonfiction narrative, now up at Blackbird.

> From one bloomer boomer to another, thanks Kim Triedman for "Writing Out of Middle Age," over at Beyond the Margins.

> Maybe you've already seen Diane Lockward's post about the specific upside to some of her rejections, as it's been linked to a lot this week, but I think it's worth a little more passing  on. 

> On Small Business Saturday (two days after Thanksgiving), the workforce will grow at more than 100 independent bookstores, when authors will be hand-selling books to customers. The effort began with a challenge from Sherman Alexie in September, and by now, hundreds of authors have signed on. Indiebound has maps, lists, etc; in some stores, a half-dozen authors are volunteering, including a slew of meganames (including Cheryl Strayed, Margot Livesey, Richard Russo, Dave Barry, and Alexie), all interacting and recommending books based on shoppers' interests.

> Canadian author J. Kent Messum has some important words about something wonderful every writer needs:  tough love.

> Finally, in case you're interested in doing the hygiene deed, here are some no-nonsense, no-kidding tips for a healthy fridge cleanse (the real kind).

Have a great weekend.

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers, Jan. 13, 2012 Edition

►Copyblogger recently listed Ten Terrific Creative Writing Blogs.

►On the Los Angeles Times' Jacket Copy blog, 25 authors note New Year's resolutions, some funny, some quite serious, many about finding more time to write and to read.

►Three new blogs I recently discovered that you might like:  Three Guys One Book, The Memoir Project (Marion Roach Smith) and Literary Writers Network.

► Every independent bookstore needs to take this message to its "shoppers" (notice I didn't write "customers". 

►And while on that subject, though I couldn't find a video of a performance, some equally good lyrics, to the John McCutcheon song, Closing the Bookstore Down.

►Duotrope, a highly usefil site that lists literary journals and offers multiple excellent submission stats, tools and tracking systems, is planning to branch out into nonfiction.

►Creative writing teachers (and students too) what do you think?  Is the idea of teaching one writing skill at a time at odds with the workshop approach and does it matter?

►At Terrible Minds, Charles Wendig wrote my favorite kind of writing advice post: the no B.S., no spin, not nicey-nice kind:  25 Things Writers Should Stop Doing. Head over, and brace yourself.

►Finally, I'll be sending out daily Writing Prompts again beginning Friday, January 20, for six weeks. 

Have a great weekend!

Friday Fridge Clean Out – Links for Writers, December 30, 2011 Edition

► Riverteeth Journal has announced its first Nonfiction Conference, May 18-20, 2012. Robert Atwan and Hope Edelman are featured guest speakers. Check out the full schedule and other writers on the agenda (including many friends of this blog) here.

►Tips for writers on using LinkedIn (via Poets & Writers).

► Carol Tice has few – make that 113 -- tips for growing one's freelance writing income.

► Anna Quindlen has called World Book Night (a huge give-away event scheduled for April 23, 2012), "..like Halloween on an intellectual level."

► Speaking of giving away books, I was awed to learn about The Book Thing, a Baltimore book *store* which collects and then gives away books. Free. To Everyone. Really. (hat tip Jenny Rough)

► The January 2012 Mindful Writing/River of Stones challenge is to, quite simply: "1. Notice something properly every day during January. 2. Write it down." Get more info at the Writing Our Way Home blog or Facebook page.

►What do you think about the idea of "paying" for something (ebook, video) with a Twitter message or Facebook update announcing the "purchase"? (via GalleyCat)

►In a wonderful interview at Hippocampus, Beverly Donofrio talks writing process (and so much more): "I print out constantly and edit with a pencil. On the memoir I’m writing now, I rewrite and polish a chapter until I think it is good and it is finished. I pin it to the wall. Write the next chapter till I think it is good and finished, then go back to the previous chapter and sometimes the one or two before that one. Invariably I find that none are good enough or finished. But, by moving on to the next, I’ve gained enough distance to view it with a fresh eye. My first take on situations, my memories, the stories I want to tell is fairly superficial. I hate this about myself: I’m fairly superficial. Only through writing do I go deep, and each draft brings me deeper still. Perhaps if my default weren’t to be so shallow, it would take many less drafts to get to the good stuff: the truth."  Read the full interview here.

►Finally, did Santa strike out this year? Out of Print Clothing has a nifty selection of tees featuring classic book covers. And Rokki Handbags turns actual old books and vintage album covers into cool handbags and totes.

Have a great weekend.

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers, June 17, 2011 Edition

►Like to muck around with metaphor? Head over to The Economist magazine's language blog for some news, and further links. (Who knew The Economist had a Language blog, huh?)

►What are you writing? Do you know what it's going to be, when you first start on a new piece? Short story? Poem? Novel? Personal narrative? Erika Dreifus considers.

►A few times a year, for six weeks or so, I send out daily writing prompts, and while that program is on hiatus for now, I found this great resource where creative writers can get a prompt fix.

►If you haven't already read Dani Shapiro's brilliant essay in n+1 about the intersection of her writing life and internet distraction, then you haven't….well gee, maybe you've been writing and not been sufficiently distracted on the internet.

►I should no longer be shocked by tales told by former web content slaves. But I'm still disturbed, mostly by statements like this, which I think are mostly, and sadly, true: "The Internet has created more readers than ever before in the history of the world. And yet, perversely, the actual writer is more undervalued than ever before. .. In the age of Internet news, Google 'keywords' matter…Regular old words, not so much."

►Let's see if I can write the following sentence without smirking. James Franco is busy doing The Thing. Not that thing. This thing – The Thing – is a sort-of "quarterly publication". Take a look and decide for yourself.

►The Writer Magazine is now available on Nook and via an iPad app.

►Not every author can go this far, but when the last independent bookstore in her area closed, novelist Anne Patchett had enough, and announced plans to open one herself.

►Poetry. Songwriting. One late summer week. The Cotwsolds region of England. Paul Muldoon. The home and gardens of T.S. Elliot. Enticing, no?

►Finally, do some folks take The Onion seriously? Apparently they do, and then post their hilariously inappropriate responses. (hat tip RexBlog)

Have a great weekend!

Writing Tips from Teen Spy Author Anthony Horowitz: Another Night in the NJ Suburbs

Last night my sons and I saw the novelist Anthony Horowitz at a pre-launch event for his book, Scorpia Rising, the last in the British teen spy Alex Rider series, released in the U.S. today. Instead of reading, Horowitz talked about being a writer, peppered with plenty of puns and obvious half-truths, and took questions from the mostly teen and tween audience, answering in a lively prattle. At one point, he noted how much he'd disliked school and that he'd put every one of his teachers in his novels, where they each promptly met with a painful death. (Note: the event took place in a middle school with many teachers in attendance.)

But then Horowitz got serious for a moment, giving advice to the fledging writers in the room. To me though, his tips are just as relevant to writers of any age or experience. Horowitz, who also writes for several British television shows, and is currently working on an adult novel about Sherlock Holmes, told his fans there are five basic things one must do to be a writer (I'm paraphrasing):

First, read. Second, write. Third, go out and have fun, have adventures. (Do something illegal! Don't get caught.) Or else you will have nothing to write about except someone alone in a room typing. Fourth, believe in yourself and what you are doing. There will always be someone telling you that what you are writing won't work. Ignore them. Fifth, never stop. The difference between a successful and unsuccessful writer is the unsuccessful one stopped writing.

Horowitz also talked about the connection between the mental state of the writer and the experience of the reader: "Writing is telepathy. If you are bored and miserable while writing, the reader will be bored and miserable reading."

The kids asked such great questions, and Horowitz gamely answered every one:

- He writes "anywhere and everywhere," but his favorite places are at a secluded vacation house and in his London home office, where he has a view of St. Paul's Cathedral.

- "The best thing about being a writer is thinking of new ideas. The writing itself is not so much fun. Writing is hard."

- Best places/times to work out new ideas are while walking his dogs and while in a hot bathtub. 'Or in a hot bath with the dogs," he joked (I think).

- In teen adventure books, "First chapter: kill all the parents. It's impossible for kids to have adventures with parents around."

- He liked the movie Stormbreaker, based on the first Alex Rider book. But – "No movie is ever as good as the book."

- Don't ever let anyone tell you that reading is passive. It's one of the most creative things you can ever do. Your mind is at work all the time when you are reading.

- Though he'd published many books before the Alex Rider series shot to global success, when he wrote the opening line of the first (of 9) books in that series, he had a strong feeling his life might change.

- He writes first drafts by hand.

- How to get back at movie producers who decide not to greenlight a second film from your series: put them in the next book, with thinly veiled names, and have them roll around in a mud puddle--while on fire.

Horowitz stayed on for more than an hour, signing 100+ books, greeting every kid by name, posing for photos, shaking hands, answering questions at the signing table. Kudos to Watchung Booksellers (my local independent bookstore), for brining Horowitz to Montclair, where he completed a circle of sorts. Ten years ago, the bookstore hosted him when he was only a moderately successful YA author, and immediately after, the Alex Rider series exploded across the globe. Coincidence? Cause? That didn't seem to matter to the large and enthusiastic audience of young readers, parents, teachers and librarians last night. All in all, a pretty terrific way to spend a Monday night in the New Jersey suburbs.

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers, March 4, 2011

►Over at Writers for the Red Cross, all this month you can bid on "publishing-related items and services donated by authors, publicists, agents, and editors."

►Are there really fewer women's bylines on OpEd and other opinion pages simply because women writers don't submit as frequently as men?

►For years, I've heard only good things – raves, actually – about Robert McKee's Story Seminar (late March/early April in New York City). Originally geared to screenwriters, I know many novelists and nonfiction writers who claim their approach to narrative was transformed by attending.

►The New York Times Sunday Magazine has killed the On Language column after 32 years. But there is a Facebook page urging its return.

►If the Borders in your backyard recently closed, there's a list of alternative independent bookstores by location over at Reluctant Habits.

►Plot got you puzzled? Check out The Plot Whisperer.

►I'm wondering what the slush pile is looking like over at Akashic Books since publisher Johnny Temple said in this interview that his company still accepts (welcomes!) non-agented submissions.

►Finally, sometimes I'm actually glad I live in New Jersey. When library cuts loomed, Jersey library supporters took to Twitter with cleverly inspired tweets.

Have a great weekend!

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links Writers May Like. October 22nd Edition

Typically, every Friday I post interesting web links (both obscure and popular) I've found throughout the week – hence the name, Friday Fridge Clean-Out (much the way I feed my family on Friday nights). Lately, I've only been sporadically blogging, so the fridge is now overflowing. Some of them may have already found their way to your screen, though a handful are more current. Either way, enjoy.

►In the LA Times, Mary McNamara offered this Working Mother's Guide to Writing a Novel. Bottom line: difficult but do-able, and a daily decision.

►Manhattan's popular The Strand ("18 miles of new, used, rare & out-of-print books") used to stack small inexpensive books near the register for impulse buys, but lately have found what grocery and convenience stores have known for years. Readers have a sweet tooth.

►Anyone who has done it before and is heading into National Novel Writing Month again this November probably has a list of tips for newbies. This one, serious ("Learn how NOT to edit") and silly ("Lock up all fire arms"), covers a lot of the bases.

►Free public wifi isn't a bargain if it plants a bug on your computer, as NPR explains.

►Is there a writing workshop in your future? Can't hurt to review these tips at MFA In A Box. I especially like: "Don’t ever confuse a writing group with a therapy group." Ah, but doesn't that kill half the fun?

►No matter what they write, I am almost always interested in how and why successful writers created the work they did, sometimes especially when it's outside of my genre and/or skill set, which is why I enjoyed this piece about how Darlene Hunt created and writes scripts for The Big C, a new Showtime TV series.

►My friend Sari Botton, a standout ghostwriter (a Q/A with her ran here last year), recently interviewed Vivian Gornick about the difficulty, in memoir, in writing the truth and also taking care of loved ones on the page. Gornick's first memoir was Fierce Attachments and her craft book, The Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative, is probably on every nonfiction writer's shelf (or should be).

►I had a major crush on Andrew McCarthy from the Brat Pack films (St. Elmo's Fire, etc. – yeah, I'm dating myself) through to his turn in Lipstick Jungle last year. Now he's back on my radar, winning the 2010 Travel Journalist of the Year award in the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition. He's the real deal too, as this brief Washington Post interview notes, with bylines in Travel and Leisure, Afar, Bon Appétit and National Geographic Traveler.

►I have always believed that the creative process is somehow altered (in my opinion, for the better), when we handwrite rather than type our first drafts. Lately, researchers are finding that handwriting delivers all kinds of other benefits too.

►And finally: we writers ARE a strange lot, no? We want to write, crave time to write, complain about not having enough time to write, and yet sometimes….we just don't write. One Page Per Day seems like a workmanlike way to trick yourself into it.

Have a great weekend.

I can write. I can spell. I just can't write, hear, think and speak at the same time.

Lately, I have been one tired, stressed and very pre-occupied writer. Here's how I know.

Preteen son pops his head into my office. I don't even turn in my chair. This is what I hear him asking: "Mom, what are band books?"

Me, staring at screen and cursing the words which are stubbornly resisting my efforts to corral them into place, an activity in which we've been mutually engaged for five hours: "Uh, I don't know. Books about bands?"

Son, sounding perplexed: "So can I read one?"

Me, momentarily grateful this can be solved with a quick click to an online bookseller: "Sure, how about the Beatles?" I finally turn to look at him.

Son, looking at me as if I have lost many thousands of brain cells since breakfast, which I may have: "No, a banned book. B-A-N-N-E-D. I saw a poster at school that said 'Read a banned book this week.' "

I know about the long, sorry lists of banned books and challenged books. I know that this is Banned Books Week. I know I can explain this to my son, an energetic and curious reader. I want to have that conversation. I want to tell him ten or a hundred things about banned books and let him know about libraries and book stores holding events to mark the occasion.

But I'm tired, stressed and pre-occupied. So I give him a two sentence summary and offer a simple link. Then I wonder why, in a school which (thankfully) displays a Banned Books protest poster, he hasn't already heard this from a teacher. Then I yawn and look back at my screen. I once read that creative folks perform better after a nap. Might be a good idea to test that theory.

Friday Fridge Clean Out: Links for Writers – August 6th Edition

August in New Jersey. Does "HHH" mean anything to you? Here, it's shorthand for hazy, hot and humid. Did I say it's hot? And humid, as in 80 percent humidity? Hope it's nicer where you are. Here are this week's links, shorter than usual. Because it's hot. And humid.

►All in one place, links to the Greatest Magazine Articles ever, including Frank Sinatra Has a Cold, Consider the Lobster, and so many other classics of literary journalism (via Dinty Moore).

► Continuing on the theme, Joe Tone gives us six of them, re-imagined for the digital age. Example: "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold. What it Would Look Like Today: @GayTaleseEsq RT @OldBlueEyes: I'm feeling kind of sniffly. Think I may be coming down with something."

► Do you feel like you're always on, as a writer? Linda Sienkiewicz does.

► An indie bookstore in literary Brooklyn might not be the best example of the health of the rest of the industry, but it's still pretty interesting to peer into Greenlight Bookstore's ledgers. And, isn't the place gorgeous?

► Today's the last day to enter for a free copy of the memoir The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry (Kathleen Flinn). Go to last week's Friday Fridge post and leave a comment by midnight tonight.

► Finally, that's one way to create book buzz, or maybe two: (1) Hire folks to make it appear they are loving the experience of reading your book (in public), and then (2) garner coverage for the stunt. I ain't criticizing. Book publicity is hard.

Have a great weekend.

Books in My Bag: Used Bookstore Haul, part II

The other day I posted about a mini-spree at a used bookstore and mentioned the memoirs I had picked up. Today, I'll fill you in on the books about writing that wound up in my bag.

Bookworms: Great Writers and Readers Celebrate Reading, edited by Laura Furnam & Elinore Standard (Carroll & Graf, 1997). Sixty short essays by a wide-ranging and somewhat eclectic collection of noteworthy writers and readers, including: Tobias Wolff, W. H. Auden, Sven Birkets, Charles Lamb, Miep Gies, Jane Kenyon, Alan Cheuse, Wallace Stevens, and Anne Lamott. I opened to a page at random and found this: "Reading while watching baseball on television is especially fine, and given light reading, is easily brought off with the help of the instant replay. Why do one thing at a time when you can do two? And between the two done simultaneously, light reading and watching television, the former almost always wins out." – Joseph Epstein

The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White (Fourth edition, 2000). Yes I already have two copies. So what? This one is in a larger format, in pristine condition; mine are tattered, yellowed and often out on loan. Plus there's a foreword by writer (and White's stepson) Roger Angell, who says, "Writing is hard, even for authors who do it all the time." My favorite Strunk & White admonition? Two: "Don't explain too much," and "Be clear."

The Writer on Her Work, edited by Janet Steinburg (Norton, 1980). Another essay collection, bringing the total of essay collections on my shelf to…oh, you don't want to know! Essays by 17 notable women writers, including so many favorites – Joan Didion, Toni Cade Bambara, Mary Gordon, Honor Moore, Maxine Hong Kingston. Opened at random, I read this: "A writers needs certain conditions in which to work and create art. She needs a piece of time; a peace of mind; a quiet place; and a private life." – Margaret Walker.

Roget A to Z, edited by Robert L. Chapman (Harper Perennial, 1994). Yes, I use an online thesaurus; yes I have a battered old copy of Roget's from college. But, you should see this one. Nearly three inches thick. So beautifully laid out, graphically and visually pleasing. And organized alphabetically. 300,000 words! I especially love the slightly tongue-in-cheek quotes, for example, under the synonyms and other information for the word conservative, you'll read: "the leftover progressive of an earlier generation - Edmund Fuller."

So that's my haul. What did you emerge with the last time you stepped into a bookstore, used or otherwise?

Book Hauls: The Traveling Writer's Souvenirs

Lately I've heard about so-called "haul" videos, in which young women show off the clothing, shoes, and accessories scored on a shopping trip. I wondered what this might light like for those of us whose idea of a fab shopping expedition involved book stores. Talk about judging a book by its cover!

I spent yesterday in a typical college town, and while my son was busy elsewhere, I hunted down the requisite off-campus independent used bookstore. The guidebook said it was "Pennsylvania's largest" which left me salivating – until I arrived to find the air conditioning had broken down the night before. It was 95 and beastly humid. I lasted 15 minutes only because there was a big fan next to the Memoir and the Writing sections.

Instead of a video, I'll just list the title, author, a quickie synopsis, and then open to a random page and quote a few lines. Here are the memoirs. I'll be back tomorrow or the next day with the writing books.

The Exact Same Moon: Fifty Acres and a Family, by Jeanne Marie Laskas (Bantam/Dell 2003). Motherhood, adoption, family, farming. "I sit here staring at her picture, my feet digging into a snoring beagle, and I start calculating. I think about digging to China. I think about getting Billy in here with a backhoe I think of packing myself in a big wooden box and mailing myself to China. I think of the satellite dish on my roof, beaming TV in from outer space. Couldn't I rig it to somehow beam me up and then down to China? I think of Bewitched and Samantha and I Dream of Jeanie and My Favorite Martian and so many of the friends I grew up with who could just click and go. I think of the moon. I wonder if anyone has even shown her the moon. I think of writing her a letter immediately and telling her about the moon."

No More Words: A Journal of my Mother Anne Morrow Lindbergh, by Reeve Lindbergh (Touchstone/S&S 2001). Dementia, silence, mothers, daughters, notoriety, acceptance and loss. "I think she accepts what is offered out of ingrained politeness, but would be perfectly content to sit and stare and do nothing else. The rest of us are not content with this, however. It makes us uncomfortable. We want her to be doing something, thinking something, reading something, participating in some way that we can understand."

The Road Home, by Eliza Thomas (Dell 1997). Solitude, making a home, rural life, unexpected family. "This time, at least I stopped my car. He looked like the same dog, and though he was a bit shy, I coaxed him into my car easily enough. He was skinny and caked with weeks of muck, had on an old green collar but no tags, and was evidently lost. As I'd thought, people at work took it well in stride when I showed up with him; they had dealt with far worse emergencies than my dirty and excitable beagle puppy. I kept him under my desk, where he barked all day, and then took him home"

Have you had a good book haul lately?

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Book Festivals, Book Blogs, Brown Blockbuster to Buoy Bookstores. And, some other stuff.

• Updates on what's new in the world of literary journals, as well as other issues of interest to writers who submit to journals, are posted at the New Pages blog.

• The Poets Forum on Contemporary Poetry is scheduled for October 15-17 in New York City, and discounted passes are available until Sept 15.

• These three are free:
The Brattleboro (VT) Literary Festival runs October 2 – 4.
September 26 is the date for the National Book Festival on the Mall in Washington, D.C.
On the West Coast, the San Diego City College International Book Fair runs Sept. 28 – Oct. 3.

• If you have a favorite book blog, check out the list of nominees and vote here until the end of the day on Sept. 12 (that's tomorrow). Speaking about these blogs, one critic wonders if they have a future.

• He may not be your cup of literary tea, but Dan Brown's new novel, debuting this week, has booksellers nationwide bracing for vigorous activity.

• How do editors at the New York Times Book Review make their selections? Some inside info here.

• I was sad to hear that Garrison Keillor had suffered a minor stroke this week, and hope he recuperates fully.

• You can read some wonderful short memoir pieces, by various writers, at the Authentic Writing Stories blog.



Have a great weekend.

Book Stores, Bozos, and the Best Gifts

I don't claim to know how to run a book store. But I do know, while in a book store, when I am not feeling inclined to stick around. There are lots of reasons – poor lighting, too crowded, insanely loud music, disorganized, no visible human help. And then there's feeling manipulated.

Yesterday I stopped in a large chain bookstore to buy four copies of a friend's humorous book about aging, which I intend to give to relatives at upcoming birthdays. It's a new book and the local author has been featured on national major media. The book was nowhere near the front, so I asked a meandering clerk where I might find it.

He turned wordlessly and sprinted off, losing me after two quick turns in the stacks. He returned with one copy of the book in his hand.

This was wrong on so many counts.
I did not ask him to get it for me; I asked where I could find it.
I had a need (for multiple copies) that this clerk never bothered to learn.
He did not respond to my question verbally, just took off.

I'm sure the marketing gurus have determined that putting a book in a customer's hand makes it more likely to be purchased. And yes, clerks who point in some vague direction and mumble, "over there" do irritate me.

I would not have minded being personally escorted, but someone has to tell employees to walk at a pace designed for adult humans who are not track stars. By bringing me the book, the sales geniuses think they are serving my needs. But what if I wanted to browse the entire section, and maybe buy something in addition to the book I came for originally?

When I said I needed three more copies, he looked surprised and a little annoyed, as if I should have said so in the beginning. Ahem.

Of course, I could have phoned a local independent bookstore, where chances are they would have gladly put copies aside for me. The truth is, I wasn't going to be in that neighborhood for a few days, and the double discount I get at the chain does matter (more in some months than others and this is one of those months).

I do understand the value -- both to a reader and the store -- when a genuinely interested book store worker "hand sells" me a book (by picking one up or pointing it out and telling me good things about the book or author). But that's an entirely different matter. That's communication, interaction, and product knowledge.

Maybe it was just this particular clerk. Even so, I felt manhandled and at the same time, ignored. Or maybe I'm just acting old, in which case, I need to pay more attention to my friends blog (which spawned the book).

I'm still glad to have helped support a fellow writer's efforts by choosing books as gifts. And, I recommend it, no matter where they are purchased.

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Book publicity, indie bookstores, prompts, genre-blurring, funny punctuation and more

A whole lot of links for a lazy, humid Friday afternoon (at least here in Jersey).

> How Larry Smith managed to wrest a Six (not a five!) Word Memoir from the late Frank McCourt for one of the upcoming installments in what has now become a series of Six Word Memoir compilations.

> If you are an author and doing some (or all) of your own book publicity (and who isn't?), then these tips from Maria Schneider, about how to approach book bloggers and a list of 25 worthwhile book blogs, might be useful.

> Writer Mark Fitten, on an extensive (and one assumes, self-financed) tour to promote his new novel, is blogging about the best 100 independent book stores he visits. He's at store number 40, and working his way through the Pacific Northwest right now, providing great photos and commentary on each store, until he reaches the East Coast.

> Does Ben Mezrich's newest nonfiction book, The Accidental Billionaires, belong on the fiction racks? In this Boston Globe interview, he notes, “I see myself as attempting to break ground. I definitely am trying to create my own genre here. . . . I’m attempting to tell stories in a very new and entertaining way. I see myself as an entertainer.’’ Ahem.

> Need writing prompts? Or better yet, curious about how to find dozens of writing prompts by looking around your everyday life? Cameron Chapman can help with both here.

> Find all kinds of inspiring yet realistic writing advice, tips, stories about the writing life, and other good stuff from Barbara Abercrombie over at her blog

> Just for fun: The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks. Just what it says. Enjoy.

Have a great weekend.

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Writers' Stew

• Gerry Marzorati, editor-in-chief of the New York Times Sunday Magazine, spoke last week about long form journalism at an industry conference. I found this excerpt of interest:

"Always, always, it requires a tremendous amount of reporting. Weeks and weeks of reporting. Hanging out with the subject of your piece, hoping some scene will emerge that because of where it is and what the dialogue is, will reveal that subject. Journeying to all sorts of places, hoping the trip will encounter drama, and meaning. Painstakingly re-creating a moment – like the one when the tsunami hit – through hundreds of interviews. It is arduous, all this reporting. The weeks, the months. And all this time, of course, costs money. A typical cover story in the Times Magazine, when you add up what we pay the author and what the expenses for travel are -- and this leaves out the editing and fact-checking costs, the photography, and so on -- the tally is north of $40,000, and often, if a war zone is involved, considerably more. Do we still have the time to report and read such pieces? And will we have the money? If the reader is an on-line reader, paying nothing, who is going to foot the bill?"

You can read the rest here.

• Was glad to read some good news apparently for some smaller independent book stores.

• Author Allison Winn Scotch (novelist, magazine freelancer) regularly answers readers' questions about writing and publishing over on her blog.

• This week, another media outlet asked -- for what, the thousandth time? -- if poetry is dead. Funny, the question keeps being asked, year after year, for decades. And yet, poetry thrives.

• Simple, short advice, on so-called(?) writer's block and first draft phobia, via WriterJenn blog, which also frequently posts interviews with authors of new books –
"Write. Write it well, write it poorly, write it with margin notes and incomplete sentences; just get it down. Write."

•In my writing classes I don't have to "grade" papers, but if I did and it was getting to me, and I thought I needed a proven scientific guide, I might seriously consider this stress-free grading method.

Have a great weekend!

Bookstore Bailout

Received this timely message from the Author's Guild, and although I'm guessing I'm preaching to the choir a bit, I'm still passing it on. The Guild encourages everyone to pass it along, as well, so please join in and post it (with attribution) wherever you think it may do some good.

I've been talking to booksellers lately who report that times are hard. And local booksellers aren't known for vast reserves of capital, so a serious dip in sales can be devastating. Booksellers don't lose enough money, however, to receive congressional attention. A government bailout isn't in the cards.

We don't want bookstores to die. Authors need them, and so do neighborhoods. So let's mount a book-buying splurge. Get your friends together, go to your local bookstore and have a book-buying party.

Buy the rest of your Christmas presents, but that's just for starters. Clear out the mysteries, wrap up the histories, beam up the science fiction! Round up the westerns, go crazy for self-help, say yes to the university press books! Get a load of those coffee-table books, fatten up on slim volumes of verse, and take a chance on romance!There will be birthdays in the next twelve months; books keep well; they're easy to wrap: buy those books now. Buy replacements for any books looking raggedy on your shelves.

Stockpile children's books as gifts for friends who look like they may eventually give birth. Hold off on the flat-screen TV and the GPS (they'll be cheaper after Christmas) and buy many, many books. Then tell the grateful booksellers, who by this time will be hanging onto your legs begging you to stay and live with their cat in the stockroom: "Got to move on, folks. Got some books to write now. You see...we're the Authors Guild."

Enjoy the holidays.

Roy Blount Jr.
President
Authors Guild

Jobs, Novels, NaNoWriMo, Write-a-Thon, Poetry in Jersey, Agents and the Fabulous Nancy Mairs. Phew.

►Yeah, I'm not a big Gawker fan either. But this seemed to pretty accurately sum up the sad state of the journalism/media job market. A more helpful, if not entirely cheerful destination is this site, where all in one spot one can find nearly 100 links to job boards, salary charts, publishing company evaluations by former/current employees, and more on-the-job-hunt resources (resume examples, etc.).

►Anyone out there taking the NaNoWriMo plunge this November? If a month is too much to commit to, check out this Write-a-thon, for just one day, and for a good cause too. (Not that kick-starting a novel isn't a good cause, but this one involves boosting Dzanc Books' nonprofit program putting writers in the schools.)

►I've been exploring the literary landscape around northern New Jersey lately, and while I already knew that my neighboring community of Montclair is heavily populated with authors, journalists, broadcasters, editors and media pros, I was also pleased to find, for example, that a few miles in the other direction, in the grittier cities of Passaic and Paterson, poetry activities are thriving.

►I heard three of those Montclair writer/editors (see above!) talk about memoir writing and getting published at Watchung Booksellers a few weeks ago and had been planning to post some of their good tips. I got sidetracked and though I still plan to pass on some of what I learned that night, in the meantime, here's a quick video of David Henry Sterry speaking as part of another panel at an iconic independent NYC bookstore, on snaring an agent.

►Essayist, memoirist and poet Nancy Mairs, over on her publisher Beacon Press's blog, talks about her writing life, on the occasion of receiving the 2008 Arizona Literary Treasure Award. She titled her piece, "How I Became a Treasure," and it's a great read, tinged with all of her wonderful gifts for understatement, bemusement and simple yet compelling narrative.

Books, Poems, Plaigarism and TV

Another local independent bookstore is closing, which always makes me sad. But I was glad to here of this counter-trend.

I used to subscribe to a poem-a-day email, but when the emails weren't showing up, I discovered this site instead.

In case anyone needs a reminder, check out Jack Shafer at Slate on why plagiarism is a really bad idea.

Need a little bookish entertainment? Try this just launched site, for a video interview with four authors.

Addicted to Books? Here's Help for Your Wallet, Shelf

I have no affiliation or vested interest in it, but my new favorite place on the web is Bookmooch -- simple, “green” and a little bit fun.

You join for free and list the books languishing on your shelf that you are willing to give away. Then you browse for a book you want and when you find it, you “mooch” it from another member who ships it to you, at their cost. When someone requests a book from you, you pay the postage. You can keep a wish list going and when a book you want enters the system, you get notified, usually within minutes.

In two weeks, I’ve received five books and sent off six. The point system is easy: Every 10 books you list earns you one point, good for mooching one book. Every time you send a book out, you earn another one point. Incremental points are earned in various ways, such as leaving feedback and acknowledging transactions.

Now, even though the New York Times recently ran a feature on Bookmooch, and I think it’s a brilliant way for book addicts to collectively enable each other, this won’t replace your patronage of -- and please, for all my writer friends whose livelihoods depend on it, don’t let it – your eclectic and service-rich neighborhood independent book store, or the deep inventory of your favorite online retailer, or even that nifty website where you pick up used books.

However, when faced with a groaning shelf of volumes that, for one reason or another, you doubt you will read again, swapping them for the cost of a media mail package (I paid $2.50 today to mail a heavy hardcover; and $1.15 yesterday to send out a slim paperback) sure beats selling books at a yard sale for 25-cents each--or having your local librarian look at you funny if you walk in with books to donate.

Mooch away and let me know how it goes.

Traveling? Book it !

Some people buy themselves a new outfit or piece of jewelry or a schlocky souvenir on every trip. Me? I buy a book, often a few books. Not so exciting for a writer, huh?


Thing is, I make it a point, on every trip I take, to buy a book from an independent bookstore. Which means I first have to find an independent bookstore, which usually means I need to walk around in whatever new place I find myself (which helps a very little bit to offset the other thing I bring back from every trip -- extra pounds -- but that's another story.).


So -- I ask around, look around, take a walk, and usually always manage to find an independent bookstore no matter where I am. Like last week. Too hot to sit on the beach with my husband and kids, I wandered the little New Jersey shore town of Manasquan and stumbled upon Booktowne. Forty-five minutes later, I left with a memoir-disguised-as-a-novel for me and a Yankees history for my teen son.


'Course I buy books all the time -- a few times a week, at least. But truth told, most of my book purchases are through the B&N website for a couple of reasons. I buy far too many books and earn far too little to pay full retail and my BN membership gets me 10 % percent more off their discounted prices, once I spend the first $250/year (and believe me, that happens real fast). Charge it to the BN Mastercard, and I save another five percent. Second, if I leave my house/office to visit a bricks-and-mortar store (any kind of a store) I invariably spend two, three or 10 times the amount I intended (and can afford). Third, since I live close to the BN warehouse, my books arrive fast -- often in less than 36 hours. Fourth, through the BN site I can get used books for a lot less. And when you are an MFA student, or just an extremely avid (rabid) reader, that's extremely useful.


OK, but this is not an advertisement for the big box/big site book purveyors. Just the opposite. It's a reminder to support the independent bookseller. Huh? Yes, I do that too.


I do patronize the independent bookstores closest to my home, Watchung Booksellers. When I'm out and about, I'll stop in the only other three I know of within 15 miles and if you're wondering if I buy something then too, you haven't been paying attention. So I try to spread my book buying around so that the independent bookshops get some of it. When I attend a reading or other literary event at one of them, I always buy a book while there. Always. Usually two.


But it's when I am out of town, away from my usual routines, that I gravitate exclusively to the independents. I love the challenge of finding the local bookstore, and I have found a bunch of great ones. Last month I discovered Gulf of Maine, which gets my award for cramming in the largest number of really good books and aggressively supporting the local writing community and publishing economy.


Plunk me down in unfamiliar territory and I will find the most comforting place around, the bookstore. I love walking in, the smell, the hush. I browse, get lost in the stacks, and I buy something. Something to read on the beach, something I never would have thought of looking for but there it was, something by a local author. A book. Not lobster earrings, flamingo glasses or a tee shirt with an oddball slogan. And since one or both of my sons are usually with me when I visit a bookstore, chances are we leave with three books instead of one.


As travel rituals go, I highly recommend it.