A Writer’s Early Thanksgiving Thankfulness by Wendy Nelson Tokunaga

Why am I craving a juicy turkey wing right about now? I guess it’s because Thanksgiving should be tomorrow. But it’s late this year, landing on November 28 (just in case you need a reminder to get your stuffing in order). Yet that doesn’t mean I can’t be thinking about the little things I’m thankful for in my writer’s life.

Word Games – I don’t know about you, but my writing seems to improve when I’ve spent time playing word games like Scrabble and Jumble. And I seem to unscramble Jumbles quicker and attain higher Scrabble scores if I’ve been especially busy writing. These are robust workouts for my brain and exercise that I actually enjoy doing.

Social Networks – Writing is a solitary profession, but there’s no excuse these days not to connect with other writers via Facebook or Twitter or whatever. And, if you keep your addiction under control, you can limit these interactions to times when they’re most convenient. These replace the old workplace water cooler, but it’s much easier to use them on your own terms and participate just when you feel the need to.

Google – I don’t know what writers did before Google—I guess they spent long hours at the library (and that can still come in handy at times, of course). But how great that with a few keystrokes I can check meanings and synonyms of words on the fly, specific spellings (was Lassie’s best friend Timmie or Timmy?) and trivia (what span of years was The Donny and Marie Show on?) that can add tasty (and accurate) little details to my novel.

YouTube – I’ve never been one of those writers who thinks it imperative that you must visit every setting that you depict in your novels. But with the plethora of YouTube videos that can take you around the world in eighty seconds, there’s no excuse for not “visiting” your main character’s hometown or university or favorite hangout.

My New Ergo Stool – For years I’ve been using a series of traditional chairs at my writing desk but am now in love with my new Ergo Stool. I automatically sit up straight and have cured myself of the bad habit of tucking my right foot under my left thigh. And, not to mention, I can move around and actually get a little exercise while keeping my BIC (Butt-in-Chair or, uh, stool).

Girlfriends Book Club – What a lovely bunch of writers and bloggers we have at the GBC! And they have some great books that would make lovely gifts for the holidays. Check them out HERE.

Happy (Early) Thanksgiving!

Wendy Nelson Tokunaga is the author of the novels, "Midori by Moonlight" and "Love in Translation" (both published by St. Martin's Press), and the e-book novels, "Falling Uphill" and "His Wife and Daughters," and e-book short story, “The Girl in the Tapestry.” She's also the author of the nonfiction e-book, "Marriage in Translation: Foreign Wife, Japanese Husband."  Wendy holds an MFA in Creative Writing from University of San Francisco and teaches for Stanford University's Online Writer's Studio Novel Writing Certificate Program. She also does private manuscript consulting for novels and memoirs. Follow her on Twitter at @Wendy_Tokunaga, friend her on Facebook and visit her website at: www.WendyTokunaga.com

My Idea Bank

by Maria Geraci

The other day I went out to lunch with a good friend of mine (names changed to protect the innocent).

Friend: We're joining my friend, Annie, who loves your books!
Me: Awesome!
Friend: Yeah, she has some really great ideas for your next book!
Me: Awesome! (not)

So we went to lunch and had a perfectly lovely time. And yes, Annie did pitch her ideas to me, which I politely listened to.

Me: Those all sound great. You know, you should write your own book.
Annie: Me?
Me: Sure! Why not?

I really hope Annie doesn't take offense when none of her ideas show up in any of my books. Not that her ideas weren't funny or cute or whatever. They just weren't my ideas. And for me to spend a year of my life (between writing, rewriting, editing, revising, etc....) on a book, the idea has to be personal.

People always ask writers where they get their ideas from (probably the most cliched interview question ever) but it's still a great question because most likely, no two writers will answer it the same.

On average, all my books have stemmed from ideas that I've been spinning away in my head for at least a year. I believe the original thought comes from some place in my subconscious (yes, I'm going to get all woo-woo here). It's brought out to my conscious self by a seemingly innocent conversation, a newspaper story, an image, or something that all of a sudden makes me sit up and take notice. I then store it away and try not to think about it anymore. But... then I can't stop thinking about it. It marinates in my brain and keeps popping back to me until I feel really passionate about that idea and feel that I have to write about it.

The idea from my third published novel, The Boyfriend of the Month Club, actually came from the visual of a really tacky Florida gift shop. I envisioned that gift shop over and over in my head until it seemed that it was actually real. Then I thought about the manager of that gift shop and how she hated working there, but it was a family business and she was caught up in it, and well... you get the drift. That gift shop became the backdrop to the boyfriend club meetings and although it was a location, it seemed more like a real character.

The idea for my upcoming novel, A Girl Like You, came from a thirty second conversation on Real Housewives of Orange County (at least that's what I think the show is called because I'd never seen it before or since). I was flipping the channels and came across two women talking and one mentioned to the other that she'd just dropped her daughter off at college and how all the women in the dorm (or sorority house) were gorgeous and how was her daughter ever going to shine without an ugly friend next to her?

I immediately thought, "oh, no. What if you found out you were the ugly friend?"

I laughed, then put the idea out of my head. Only it wouldn't go away. It kept resurfacing until I saw my main character, saw her friends, saw the bar scene in which she overhears herself referred to as the "ugly friend." Those scenes wouldn't go away as well and I began to feel passionate about them. Until I felt enough passion to sit down at my computer and start to write.

So that's where my ideas come from. From my own personal idea bank where thoughts get deposited and sit and sit until I have to take them out because I can't allow them to just sit there any longer. My ideas become part of who I am as a writer, blending with my voice and my own personal themes. Because in the end, that's what its all about. You must feel passionate about your stories. You must love your story and love your characters. Because if you don't then no one else will.

How do you get your ideas? How do you flesh them out and create them into stories?

Maria Geraci was born in Havana, Cuba, and raised on Florida’s Space Coast. Her love of books started with the classic, Little Women (a book she read so often growing up, she could probably quote). She writes contemporary romance and women’s fiction with a happy ending. The Portland Book Review called her novel, The Boyfriend of the Month Club, “immensely sexy, immensely satisfying and humorous.” Her fourth novel, A Girl Like You, will be released August, 2012 by Berkley, Penguin USA. For more information, please visit her website at www.mariageraci.com

How to Write a Better Book

by Maria Geraci

No writer wants to be a one book wonder. But maybe worse than being a one book wonder is the writer who peaks with their first book. I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t want to be the M. Night Shyamalan of literature. (I don’t think you’d find too many film buffs who would disagree with me when I say that he hit the ball out of the park with his first film, The Sixth Sense, and has yet to direct a better movie).

But how do we do write a book that's better than the one we've just written? How do we continue to grow as writers and improve our craft? Just like the protagonists we write about, growth occurs through conflict and struggle.

First, let's talk about the struggle.

It's no secret to anyone who writes that writing is hard work. If you're familiar with Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hour rule, then you know what I'm getting at. In his best-selling book, Outliers, Gladwell theorizes that natural talent has less to do with success than the power of sheer hard work. The rule is that it takes about 10,000 hours for an artist to hone their craft. In other words, if you do something long enough, you're going to get better at it. So the first key to writing a better book is to simply write consistently. The old adage practice makes perfect has been around a long time because it's true.

Then, there's the conflict.

Again, unless you happen to hit one out of the park (and do so consistently with each book) your writing career will be filled with ups and downs. It's those "downs" and how we react to them that teach us the things we need to learn to be better writers.

"Downs" come in many forms- rejections, bad reviews, etc... I know there are a number of people out there who will disagree with me on this, but I happen to believe that reviews can be a writer's best friend. I read every single review written about my books. Yes, every single one I can get my hands on--this includes reviews from Amazon and Goodreads.

Now, lest you think I'm a sadist (trust me, I'm not) I can tell you that I've learned a lot from reviews. I also read and study reviews for books I've read not written by me (I've found this to be one of the best teaching tools out there.)

Most of the time, I discount 5 and 1 star reviews. Loving (or hating) a book is usually a visceral reaction. It's the 3 star reviews that interest me most. Many times, those reviews hold a tiny nugget of something that reverberates with me. That teaches me something I don't get from the reader who loves my work (or hates my protagonist). The hard part about this isn't reading that someone thinks your work sucks (because believe me, someone will always think that), it's knowing what to take away from those reviews. Over time, however, I'm come to trust my instincts and to know what criticisms feels right and what feels wrong and I think my work has become better as a result.

Conflict and struggle. It works for our characters, and it will work for us as writers.

Maria Geraci writes contemporary romance and women’s fiction with a happy ending. The Portland Book Review called her novel, The Boyfriend of the Month Club, “immensely sexy, immensely satisfying and humorous.” Her fourth novel, A Girl Like You, will be released August, 2012 by Berkley, Penguin USA. You can visit her website here.

My future in publishing and a giveaway!

THE RANDOM GENERATOR HAS SPOKEN. THE WINNER OF AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF THE BOYFRIEND OF THE MONTH CLUB IS: JEANNENE WALKER. PLEASE EMAIL ME AT mariageraci1@gmail.com with your address so I can put your copy in the mail. Congratulations!



My Future in Publishing
by Maria Geraci

Today, my third baby goes out into the world. My third novel, that is. You’d think by now I’d be a pro. Or at least a semi-pro. And although I’m a bit more savvy about publishing than I was eighteen months ago, in a lot of ways I still feel like an amateur.

A few months ago I attended the first day of the Novelists, Inc, conference in St. Petersburg, Florida. It was a day of forum workshops led by some of the biggest names in the publishing industry- agents, editors, attorneys, publicists, New York Times best selling authors. The topic was the future of publishing. I was surprised (or maybe I shouldn’t have been) to discover that a lot of those people are as clueless as I am. Okay, maybe not as clueless, but the bottom line was that nobody really knows what’s going on in publishing today. The advent of e-publishing is changing what we refer to as “the book” in much the same way as the invention of Gutenberg’s printing press did almost 600 years ago. Book stores are going out of business, print runs are declining, self-publishing is on the rise, and Google and Amazon are plotting to take over the world. If it’s confusing seasoned pros, how’s a newbie like myself going to survive in this rapidly evolving world of publishing?

I’ll never forget the moment when one author in the audience raised her hand to ask this question, “What can an author do to help promote her books if she has a relatively low print run, like say, 20,000?”

There was a pause. You know that pause. When everyone in the panel turned and looked at each other with the expression that said, “who’s going to answer that one?”

And then one brave soul (I wish I could remember who said it) looked the audience straight in the eyes and said, “Absolutely nothing.”

No one gasped. No one shook their heads in disbelief. Instead it was met with a lot of knowing smirks and nods. Because the truth is, in a lot of ways, that answer is correct. There’s a lot in publishing that as an author, is completely out of our control. Like print runs. And co-ops. And bad covers.

But there’s one thing that is completely within our control. And that’s writing the best book that we can. We heard that advice a lot from the panel. And while there was still some smirking in the audience (I mean, who doesn’t set out to write the best book they can?) the panel was right on about that. A good book plus lots of positive word of mouth is still the recipe for a successful novel.

And the new word of mouth is, dare I say it? Social networking. It’s the promotion mantra of the new millennium. And while a part of me is sick to death of hearing about it, there’s the other part of me that thinks social networking, while sometimes overrated, is good. Print runs may be down, but people are still reading. They’re just using a different medium (the internet). And that same medium offers authors like myself (those of us who don’t have big print runs) a chance to expand our fan base with electronic word of mouth.

So how’s my future in publishing looking these days? Well, I wrote the best book I could, and I’m promoting it the best way I know how. The rest is up to the cosmos. The one thing I do know is that I’ll keep writing books and somehow they’ll get published (even if I have to do the self-publishing thing) because my future relies solely on me. And that, at least, is something that I can control.

That all said, I’ll happy, proud and just down right tickled to announce that my third novel, The Boyfriend of the Month Club is out in bookstores everywhere today! It’s a romantic comedy about a woman who turns her dysfunctional book club into a boyfriend club where members critique the men they’ve dated, comparing them to classic literary heroes and villains.

At thirty, Grace O’Bryan has dated every loser that Daytona Beach has to offer. After the ultimate date-from-hell, Grace decides to take matters into her own hands and turns her dwindling book club into a boyfriend of the month Club, where women can come together to discuss the eligible men in their community. Where are the real live twenty-first century versions of literary heroes such as Heathcliff and Mr. Darcy?

Could it be successful and handsome Brandon Farrell, who is willing to overlook his disastrous first date with Grace and offers financial help for her parents’ failing Florida gift shop? Or maybe sexy dentist Joe Rosenblum, who’s great with a smile but not so great at commitment? Unfortunately, just like books, men cannot always be judged by their covers…

"Romance readers will revel in the Austen-perfect happy ending and the warm friendships among members of the club." Publishers Weekly

Leave a comment and I’ll randomly select one person to win an autographed copy! US and Canada only, please. I’ll announce the winner on top of this post Wednesday morning. Good luck!

Maria Geraci writes fun, romantic women's fiction. You can learn more about her books at her website http://www.mariageraci.com/ or her Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/MariaGeraciBooks

Book Girl Power (aka Gushing Over the Girlfriends Book Club)

by Susan McBride

Writing is such a weird business. I always think of my friends who don’t write as “civilians,” because—while I love them dearly—they don’t always get me like my author pals do. When it comes to dealing with the insanity of the publishing world, there’s nothing like having people around you who’ve experienced that insanity, too.

That’s why I adore the idea behind the Girlfriends Book Club. I’m all for girl power and women supporting each other. Maybe because I moved around so often as a kid (my dad worked for IBM = I’ve Been Moved), I deeply value the friendships I’ve made in my adulthood. In fact, I wouldn’t be on this blog without a little help from a fab friend named Marilyn Brant.

When I think of how Marilyn and I met, it’s so fluky, as some of the best things in life often are. Late last year, I ran a contest on my web site. Marilyn entered, and I thought her name seemed familiar. (Cue light bulb.) I quickly realized she was the author of ACCORDING TO JANE (which I read and loved). I promptly begged her to donate a signed copy for a fundraiser I was doing for the local chapter of Susan G. Komen. She generously replied, “Of course!” Emails about the fundraiser led to more emails about everything under the sun, including Tales of Glee and Woe from the Publishing Front.

Even after a decade as a published author, I still experience Pub Date Panic. I would’ve been a basket case (okay, even more of a basket case) without Marilyn and my trusted writer pals when THE COUGAR CLUB debuted earlier this year, particularly when I realized not everyone finds the C-word as amusing as I do (FYI, I married a younger guy who chased me; so when folks call me “Cougar,” I laugh and tell them I’m an ‘accidental’ Cougar”). Marilyn talked me down on several occasions, like when I stumbled upon a Tweet by the fiction editor of a major publishing trade journal stating: Do I really have to assign a book called THE COUGAR CLUB? (Well, apparently she didn’t, because nothing ever ran despite them giving my publisher a review date. I guess I should've been relieved.)

And when I found rabid online rants about COUGAR on my city paper’s web site a week before the book came out, I freaked. It was clear the ranters were reacting to the title without knowing the contents, but it still got my goat seeing my baby called—among other things—“filth” and “trash.” At its heart, THE COUGAR CLUB is about three 45-year-old lifelong chums supporting each other as they deal with mid-life crises in their work and relationships. But the trash-talkers would have to crack the spine to find that out, so they probably never will.

Besides dissuading me from going back on the newspaper web site to comment “MEAN PEOPLE SUCK,” Marilyn did me the favor of playing fairy godmother and introducing me to the Girlfriends Book Club. I did a happy dance the day Karin emailed to say, “Welcome!” I feel like I’m a part of an incredible sorority that's way funnier and more interesting than the one I joined in college.

It's because of the GBC that I came face to face with yet another cool chick, Judy Merrill Larsen, who serendipitously lives in my neck of the woods. I had a laughter-filled lunch with Judy not long ago, and I instantly felt like I’d known her forever. We talked families and books and growing up, and I often found myself nodding and saying, “Yep, I know just what you mean!”

There’s just something magical about connecting with other women who write. There’s an instant empathy and understanding, like we’re all sisters from another mother. And the support goes far beyond our books.  I've had my hands held by my publishing pals and civilian pals alike during some rough stuff.  True friends are very much like human life preservers.  They keep us afloat.

Every morning when I get up and head to the computer to begin my day, I make sure to check out the newest post on the GBC. It’s so much fun learning about each woman in her own voice and seeing what topics are being broached. Inevitably, I find myself nodding and thinking—as I did at lunch with Judy—“Yep, I know just what you mean!” It feels good to be with a group of literary ladies who celebrate the quirkiness of life and who understand the ups and downs of this writing thing I’m so passionate about.

So thanks to my fellow Girlfriends on this blog and everywhere!  We're like a merry band of modern-day Musketeers...all for one and one for all!  Well, you know what I mean.  :-) 

***
P.S.  My latest reading addiction: Australian author Kate Morton’s books, including THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN and THE HOUSE AT RIVERTON. I’m looking very much forward to her next one, THE DISTANT HOURS, which comes out in November.
***

Susan McBride is the author of THE COUGAR CLUB (HarperCollins, 02/10), her debut in women’s fiction about three friends who learn you’re never too old to follow your heart. COUGAR was named a Bookmarked Breakout Title by Target stores, was a Midwest Booksellers Association Midwest Connections Pick, and made MORE Magazine’s list of “February Books We’re Buzzing About.” Susan has also penned five award-winning Debutante Dropout Mysteries for HarperCollins/Avon, including BLUE BLOOD and TOO PRETTY TO DIE, as well as three young adult DEBS novels for Random House. She is currently at work on another women’s fic title about two sisters, a daughter, and a magical LITTLE BLACK DRESS that changes the course of their lives (HarperCollins, fall of 2011), and she’s signed for another after that. She’ll also be writing a young adult thriller for Random House in 2011. Susan is a breast cancer survivor and frequently speaks on the subject of "books and boobs." For more scoop, visit http://susanmcbride.com/.