The Thursday Blinterview: Lynda Rutledge

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Amy Einhorn, antiques, BookPeople, debut novels, Faith Bass Darling's Last Garage Sale, Lynda Rutledge, Natalia Sylvester, Texas authors, writing

Lynda Rutledge with her book display at BookPeople

Even though Lynda Rutledge’s book launch party for Faith Bass Darling’s Last Garage Sale (Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam) was on April 30 at BookPeople, I’m declaring her my author of the month for May. If you haven’t had a chance to visit Bass, Texas, yet, get thee to your nearest bookstore and snag a copy. Lynda’s debut novel is a gem –– or as author Jenny Wingfield says, “It knocked my socks off!” Indeed. (And if you’re looking for the perfect Mother’s Day present, well now…)

Lynda graciously answered some questions about Faith Bass Darling’s Last Garage Sale, writing, inspiration, and Antiques Roadshow. Here is Part I of our blog interview (should we call that a “blinterview”?!) –– tune in next Thursday for Part II.

Faith Bass Darling has been with you for a long time. What was the inspiration for the book, and how did it evolve over time?

I had this idea years and years go…and had to grow into it. My mom, who had a rambling old two-story house full to busting with stuff that five kids left behind, started having garage sales a few years after I finished college. I found this out, living thousands of miles away by that time, when she called to tell me she’d sold my long-forgotten stash of comic books yellowing in the back of one of the house’s old closets for a dime apiece (my dad owned a drugstore so I had hundreds). It was an inexplicably sad moment. Then I remember laughing at myself, surprised by my hurt feelings. Why was I so attached to those old things? But I was.

About that same time I heard that the first Superman comic book went for a million dollars and that, as you might imagine, had me feeling really sad — sad I didn’t have THAT comic book. Then I began watching PBS’ series Antiques

Yours Truly on Finding an Agent

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Author Learning Center, author resources, author videos, finding an agent, literary agents, writer resources, writing resources

At the 2011 Writers’ League of Texas Agents Conference, the Author Learning Center taped interviews with conference agents, editors, authors, and publishing consultants. I had the pleasure of talking about how writers can find an agent.

A couple of more clips will be posted soon!

Meanwhile, check out the resources at the Author Learning Center: it’s jam-packed with videos, webinars, resources, and much more. Recent author videos posted include Elmore Leonard on learning to write and Mitch Albom on writer’s block.

An annual membership of $149 is a bargain. But you can test-drive it with a three-day trial or visit the Author Learning Center on Facebook.

Give it a whirl, and let me know what you think!

A Literary Ramble with Agent Laura Rennert

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Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Casey McCormick, children's books, children's books blogs, children's publishing, Laura Rennert, literary agents, Literary Rambles, Natalie Aguiree, P.J. Hoover

I’m a fan of the blog Literary Rambles, a go-to site for all things related to children’s books and publishing from Casey McCormick and Natalie Aguirre. So what a nice surprise it was to zip through my Feeddler feed today to see the L.R. Agent Spotlight shining on Laura Rennert of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency!

Laura is simply one of the best agents around (and yes, she reps Austin’s very own P.J. Hoover!), and I was delighted that she came to the 2011 Writers’ League of Texas Agents Conference as one of the featured agents. What a treat it was to have her at the conference! And we had a nice long chat over dinner — how fun was that!

Anyway, read all about her at Literary Rambles — and if you want to know more about children’s books, agents, and publishing, be sure to follow L.R.!

The Perfect Book PR Class for Authors

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Bethany Hegedus, book PR, book publicity, Jennifer Hill Robenalt, literary publicity, Robin Hill Media, The Writing Barn

Every author wrestles with striking a balance between writing and promotion. If you need a PR kick in the you-know-what, do NOT miss Jennifer Hill Robenalt’s upcoming workshop, “An Author’s Guide to Book PR,” on April 14 in Austin.

In this four-hour class, Jennifer will share some of the most practical tips ever about how writers can promote their work, including:

• How a great PR plan can help you land an agent or a publishing deal
• Social media trends, as well as do’s and don’t’s
• Creating a media room on your website that will make a journalist’s job easy
• How to set up a book tour (and decide if you really need one)

Hint: You don’t have to wait until your book is published — in fact, the earlier you learn about book publicity, the better!

Plus, you’ll get a one-on-one phone consultation with Jennifer after the class — that alone would be well worth it!

As a bonus, the class will be at the Writing Barn, a spectacular South Austin space for writers and writing, created by author Bethany Hegedus.

The class is only $99, and a few slots remain, so don’t delay — sign up TODAY!

 

Words of Wisdom From the Agent Savant

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agents, Laurie McLean, Writers' League of Texas Agents Conference, writing, YA Rebels

Love this YA Rebels interview with the wonderful agent (savant) Laurie McLean of Larsen-Pomada Literary. Laurie is one of the smartest people I know and one of the most astute players in publishing.

And no, Laurie doesn’t QUITE look like that!

P.S. Laurie will be in Austin June 22-24 for the Writers’ League of Texas Agents Conference. And somebody else will be presenting a pre-conference workshop and doing query critiques (her initials are C.H.!). Check it out!

A Writerly Weekend in Houston

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Brazos Bookstores, Karleen Koen, novel writing, publishing, writing, writing advice

Author Karleen Koen

Big weekend in Houston. Started off with my “The Path to Publishing” class at Rice University’s Glasscock School on Saturday. Excellent group of students with lots of great energy, promising book ideas, and thoughtful questions. Sometimes I wonder if I get more out of the class than my students do — I always walk away reenergized and optimistic about writing, books, and publishing.

Afterward, I stopped at Brazos Bookstore, one of the best indie stores in the country and bumped into former Austinite and fellow “bookie” Jeremy Ellis, who’s now the manager at Brazos. What a coup for Brazos! Jeremy is an old-fashioned bookseller with stellar instincts.

Before leaving on Sunday, I met up with one of my favorite writer friends, the wise and wonderful Karleen Koen. In the midst of our catching up, we were discussing the “mushy middle” problem that novelists encounter (I’m raising my hands, folks!), and Karleen put it in perspective: “Writing scenes is a ballsy act,” adding something along the lines that you just have to go for it and not hold back.

So I’m taking all of that with me and definitely will be going for it later this week when I get back to working on Chapter 16, the point of my novel where things are rather wonky.

Love you, Houston! Be back soon!

Another $64,000 Publishing Question

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book publicity, literary publicity, Meghan Ward, selling books, T. J. Stiles, Writerland

Meghan Ward (right) at Writerland posed a question that I’ve been mulling over for a long time: “If Publicity Doesn’t Sell Books, What Does?” Several authors from the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto weigh in on what worked — and what didn’t. Among the what didn’ts:

• Excerpt in O magazine
• Peoplereview
• Coverage in major newspapers like the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, etc.

What did:

• Paid speaking gigs
• Coverage in a blog with a big reach
• Finding your niche and working it

The answer? I’m with Pulitzer Prize-winning author T. J. Stiles (The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt): “Everyone’s in the dark—not when it comes to what makes a good book, but what makes a commercially successful one. So many great books don’t make money. … as William Goldman said about Hollywood, ‘Nobody knows anything.’”

Amen!

 

My New Writing Mantra

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Jennifer Hill Robenalt, Kidlit.com, Mary Kole, writing

Leave it to agent Mary Kole at KidLit.com to write one sentence that immediately claimed writing-mantra status for me: ” ‘Can’t’ ” is a four-letter word in fiction, when uttered by both character and writer.” (Boy, those quotes and apostrophe look WEIRD in blogtype!)

I don’t know how many times I’ve said, “I CAN’T” when it comes to my writing career. My friend Jennifer Hill Robenalt will probably tell you I said that at least two dozen times during our writing session on Sunday.

So thanks to Mary, I’m going to flip it around: “I CAN!”

See, it works: I just wrote a blog post!

P.S. Mary’s post at KidLit.com called “Bad Obstacles” is definitely worth a read, as is her entire blog.

Coming March 3: The Path to Publishing

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authors, books, breaking into publishing, getting publishing, publishing, publishing classes, Rice Glasscock School, self-publishing, Writers' League of Texas, writing

Look out, Houston! ‘m going to be teaching “The Path to Publishing” at Rice University’s Glasscock School on Saturday, March 3. Here’s a quick preview on the school’s blog:

We asked Cyndi a few questions about what she sees happening among would-be authors these days:

What are the common misunderstandings people have about the publishing process?
I would say that the most common misunderstandings are:

• Writing is EASY! Anyone can do it.
• Writing a book is all you have to do; you don’t need to know anything about the business of publishing.
• Once I get an agent, my book will magically appear and hit the best-seller lists.
• If a writer gets a book published, he or she can quit her day job and write full time.

What are errors that people tend to make in the process?

So many writers don’t know what they need to know about writing and the business of getting published that they don’t make informed decisions. I cringe whenever I get call from a writer saying something like “Well, I just received my 500 self-published books. How do I get reviewed in Publishers’ Weekly?”  or “I just finished my book, and I don’t have time to find an agent, Give me some names of agents I can contact.” The business just doesn’t work that way, and many writers do not take the time to learn about publishing.

Read the rest of my forecast for would-be authors.

Registration is still open! And Writers’ League of Texas members get 10 percent off the registration price.

Hope to see you in HOUSTON!