Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room

Hail and Farewell

Jeff Cohen

So that was it. We hope you liked it.

This is the 3464th post on HEY THERE'S A DEAD GUY IN THE LIVING ROOM, and unless someone else parachutes in and decides to add some thoughts, it is the last. We've had quite a good run here but it's time to shut off the lights and lock the doors before we stop saying anything anyone wants to hear.

For me DEAD GUY has been any number of things. It started when Deni Dietz and I defected from Murderati a long, long time ago and thought we'd start our own blog, but we didn't want to examine crime fiction strictly from an author's point of view. So we recruited editors, publishers, readers, librarians, reviewers, agents and booksellers, among others, to provide perspective we as writers couldn't offer. 

I'll continue to post blogs every now and again (look next Tuesday for sure) and hope you'll look for those moments, but as for DEAD GUY, this is the end of the line, and that's because we have all agreed it's better to go out while we're still wanted and not overstay our welcome.

But it wasn't all about publishing. The rule among us at DEAD GUY was that there were no rules. If you wanted to post about your section of the crime fiction world, great. If not, go for it. I have personally posted about digitizing my vinyl record collection, interviewed my daughter, had my dog write a guest post, talked about my health issues (ad nauseam), ranted about having to master barre chords, introduced a pseudonym, shamelessly promoted my work, bragged about blurbs, discussed the importance of making attractive letters when filling in a crossword puzzle, mentioned comedians I especially admire and occasionally made dives into such popular subjects as religion and politics. I recall once explaining how to deal with the atheist on your Christmas card list.

This blog has been more than a simple repository for my random thoughts. I've made good friends here. I've managed to blow off steam or express emotional truths when I had to. It served as a steam valve when I needed it. And a couple of times it served to let me write silly song lyrics. 

The most gratifying part of the weekly post was to connect with those who decided to visit us here. Hearing from readers and other writers, among many others, was a great comfort and sometimes an ego stroke when it was most needed. Writers write because we want to communicate something. Knowing that people were taking notice was a very large help at times.

For me the schedule forced me to write whether I had a great idea in mind or not. Some of my favorite posts were those that came when I was backed against a deadline wall. 

Everyone who has ever posted here will tell you that coming up with a post every week could be a trial. It's not easy to keep going and not repeat oneself. There have been nights that I've sat here looking at a blank screen for an hour wondering what would appear on the blog page at 12:00 a.m. that Monday. The closest I've ever come to believing in "Writer's Block" has been related to these posts. But I still don't believe.

The people with whom I've been part of DEAD GUY are amazing, smart, funny, warm and dedicated. I am grateful and honored to have been associated with each and all of them. I won't mention all the names here because I'm certain to forget some and that would bother me deeply even if it wouldn't rankle those I failed to cite. But assume if you've read a post here and it wasn't one of mine that it was written by someone I admire greatly, someone who inspires awe in me. I thank each of them. 

For those who have chosen to check in here every day or every week or once a year, we can't possibly thank you enough. It has been wonderful being part of your lives. Don't mourn the DEAD GUY. We stopped because we didn't want to disappoint you. You deserve our best. We hope we've given it to you. Thanks for everything.

 

 

Oh. And pitchers and catchers report in 44 days.

Writers Talk Money - Jess Lourey and Shannon Baker

Terri Bischoff

 

This week - a guest post by Jess Lourey and Shannon Baker:

 

“I don’t really like talking about money. All I can say is that the Good Lord must have really wanted me to have it.” –Larry Bird

That’s two more things Larry Bird and I don’t have in common. I love talking about money, and the Good Lord has yet to get around to dousing me with it (I await patiently). I know talking about money is supposed to be tacky, and apologies to you if you’re in that camp because that’s exactly what Shannon Baker, author of the latest Kate Fox mystery, Dark Signal, and me, author of the recently-released humorous mystery March of Crime, are here today to talk with you about.  (Shannon here: Yikes! Jess is yanking me so far out of my comfort zone my repression shorts are chafing me.)

  

Shannon, do you remember how much your first advance check was for?

Shannon: It’s like sex, you always remember your first time. You ought to sit down, because this will shock you. My first advance was for Ashes of the Red Heifer, a thriller I published with L&L Dreamspell in 2010.  It was $200. That’s two hundred whole dollars. I went back and asked them to please make it $250 because then I would qualify for the published author’s group for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers.  They graciously did.

Jess: So that stereotype about all writers being rich is obviously true. My first advance was $1500 for May Day, my 2006 inaugural Murder-by-Month mystery, and I tell you what, I would have sold that book for $10, that’s how happy I was to be offered a publishing contract. Why you think writers are so loathe to talk about how much (little) we make? Wouldn’t having that information help us to be better negotiators?

Shannon: It’s like if you ask a rancher how big his ranch is. He’ll likely say, “Big enough to run the cows I have.” Ask how many cows he owns, and he’ll tell you, “Enough to eat the grass I’ve got.”  For writers, it’s probably two-fold: shame, because if pay reflects quality we don’t want people to think we aren’t valued very highly, or, self-preservation, because if you’re making a bunch, everyone expects you to pick up the bar tab.

Then there’s just natural squeamishness. I mean, in polite company, you don’t ask a stranger at a dinner party how much they earn. If they’re a doctor or teacher, you put some clues together and ball park it. With writers, though, there’s no ball park. It’s a vast wilderness.

Jess: That is so dang true. Well said. Can I ask what your biggest writing check to date has been?

Shannon: *Gulp* I just… well. Sorry. I feel comfortable saying my latest contract was five figures.  It is not enough to live on, especially when you factor that a good chunk of that went right back into promotion and conferences.

Jess: Fair enough. I received a $11,517 royalty check in 2012 for my Murder-by-Month mysteries. That was fantastic and unexpected. The highest advance I’ve ever received was $6000 for Salem’s Cipher, and it’s my understanding that that’s a pretty standard advance for midlist authors such as myself. Or am I lowlist? Today, I’m just lowbrow.

Shannon, how much do you think a writer needs to make, and for how long, before they can quit their day job?

Shannon: I never imagined I’d make money from writing. Like you with your first book, Jess, I just wanted someone to offer me a contract. With every book, every contract, I get a little more successful, my expectations rise, and I take the money side of the business more seriously. I am lucky enough to be aged-out of the day job so I can keep writing AND eating.

Jess: Yep, I need a sugar daddy. But I would prefer to be a sugar momma. I refinanced my house in 2013 so I could afford to take a year off and write full-time. Based on that experiment, I’d calculate that I’d need to make $60,000 a year for three years, plus have that much in savings, before I could risk quitting the day job, at least while I still have kids living at home.

How about you, dear readers? Do you see full-time writing in your future, and if so, do you have an income threshold you’d need to meet before you’d be willing to quit your day job?

Please join Shannon and Jessie as they continue their blog tour. They will each be giving away three books this tour, and every comment you leave at a blog stop gets you one chance to win. For another chance to win a book, sign up for Jess and/or Shannon’s newsletters on their websites (links below).

Jess Lourey (rhymes with "dowry") is best known for her critically-acclaimed Murder-by-Month mysteries, which have earned multiple starred reviews from Library Journal and Booklist, the latter calling her writing "a splendid mix of humor and suspense." She is a tenured professor of creative writing and sociology, a regular Psychology Today blogger, a sought-after workshop leader and keynote speaker who delivered the 2016 "Rewrite Your Life" TEDx Talk, and the author of Rewrite Your Life, the only book out there which shows you how to turn your facts into healing, page-turning fiction. You can find out more at www.jessicalourey.com

 

 

 

 

Shannon Baker is the author of the Kate Fox mystery series (Tor/Forge). Set in the isolated cattle country of the Nebraska Sandhills, Kirkus says, “Baker serves up a ballsy heroine, a colorful backdrop, and a surprising ending.” She also writes the Nora Abbott mystery series (Midnight Ink), featuring Hopi Indian mysticism and environmental issues. Shannon makes her home in Tucson where she enjoys cocktails by the pool, breathtaking sunsets, a crazy Weimeraner, and killing people (in the pages of her books). She was voted Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer’s 2014 Writer of the Year. Visit Shannon at www.Shannon-Baker.com

The Joys of Acquisitions

Terri Bischoff

 

As I mentioned previously, I was out of the office for a sales conference. I flew on Thursday night and the conference ran through Sunday afternoon. Since I lost my weekend, I took Monday and Tuesday off and spent it with friends in Denver. I had a great time. I came home to an overloaded inbox and a bunch of tight deadlines which has created a stressful day today. BUT, not all is work. You see, in my inbox there was an email I was quite excited to see. Jeff Cohen and some weirdo named EJ Copperman submitted Samuel Hoenig #5. Oh my goodness. I have been good. All day I have been good. I did the work that needed to be done by tomorrow and Friday. That means that nothing is going to stand in between me and that manuscript tomorrow. And may the good Lord help anyone who tries to interrupt me tomorrow. 

It might seem like I'm being a little silly. Ok, maybe I am a little. But honestly, this is the very best part of my job. Finding manuscripts I want to share with others. Then getting super excited when those new manuscripts come in. I'm a fan and I love what I do. :)

Don't Be Sad... It's Just a Blog

First: Our most fervent hopes that everyone in the path of the recent terrible storms is okay and that life will return to normal soon.

But now a bittersweet announcement: Every day here at DEAD GUY we try to bring you something that can add to your day. Most often that something has to do with crime fiction publishing, as our lineup of bloggers has been constructed to know about that category. And over the past 10 we have done our best to provide every possible viewpoint on the subject.

But, as they say, whoever they are, all good things (and the rotten ones too, truth be known) must come to an end. 

As much as we've all loved being DEAD GUY bloggers, we've agreed it's time to close the proverbial doors around here. Coming up with useful, entertaining content every day has gotten to be a little too much after all this time and we want to go out while we're still at the top of our game. 

So the December 31 post will be the last one here at DEAD GUY. While it's a little sad to think this is coming to a close, we prefer to focus on the idea that we've done good work here, people have enjoyed it, and we've kept it going since January 2007, which ain't bad. 

The cast of characters has changed over the years, but never the mission: To provide perspective on writing, publishing, reading, editing, promoting and enjoying books, mostly in the crime fiction area. We're all still committed to that concept and we'll keep expressing our opinions when we feel they're relevant. Just not here at DEAD GUY after 2017 becomes 2018. 

In the ensuing months, please know we'll keep posting as we have before, so don't tune us out of your daily web scan just yet. And along the way, we'll be hearing from some DEAD GUY alums who have graciously agreed to come back for one more visit before the lights are put out and we group-hug our way to the end of the Mary Tyler Moore Show. 

Keep reading. That's what this has always been about.

What to do, what to do?

Terri Bischoff

 

I almost always have difficulty finding a blog subject but today the reason why is a little different. Today I'm feeling the weight of the terrible things happening in our country. Blogging feels a little silly, you know? In the big picture does it really matter when a writer of literature disses genre fiction? That has been going on forever, so it's not that huge of a deal. Does it really matter that I'm a little bit behind on work? Not really. I somehow manage to fit it all in by the time various deadlines come. These things seem to trivial when our country is unraveling. It just a scary time, plain and simple. So, what to do?

I'm serious in that question. How do we cope with all hate and negative rhetoric that is out there? We can log off of facebook, and all other social media, for a while. We can turn on itunes and read a book. We can color, meditate, and do yoga. Those are all good things. I think they are things we should all do on a regular basis. But at some point we have to join society again. How do we do that? How do we work for peace and equality without becoming overwhelmed with the enormity of the task. I don't know. I feel like I am being a bad citizen yet I'm also feeling sad, and battered, and scared. I can put my head in the sand. I can pretend that all is fine and normal. I'm only a woman and a lesbian after all, I have a certain amount of privilege. That makes me a little sick to my stomach. That I could just float along like a ghost ignoring all the turmoil around me. But I don't have the answer. I don't know what I can do when I am struggling so hard just to get through my own personal battles.

What to do? I mutter this to myself more often than I would like to admit, somehow hoping that somewhere in my brain I have the answers. I know how to set things right in my life and in my world. What to do, what to do? I don't have the answers. But I have always leaned on my family, both biological and chosen, to help me navigate life's twists and turns. What are you doing? I don't ask that as a challenge - I ask it as a sincere question - how are you coping with our current political climate and affairs? What do you do with your worries and concerns? How do you make through the day without feeling weighed down?

What to do, what to do? 

Dog Days of Summer

Terri Bischoff

 

Ok, maybe it's a little early to be calling it, after all, it's only like 85 degrees. With the humidity, it feels like 91. Yuck. It will get worse, I know it will. But in summer the days at the office seem so very looooong and my commute even longer. Sigh. How to combat it? This is how I (try) to do it.

1) Have plenty of fruit on hand. I think you all know about my addiction to blueberries. We have now moved into cherry addiction. Quite delicious. 

2) Stagger manuscript reading schedules so that you always have one to escape into. For real. Today was one of those days where I just couldn't seem to get started on anything productive so I turned to a revision that was just turned in a few days ago. (Also, if you haven't yet read Gwen Florio, I really urge you to do so. I LOVE her books. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them. You should too. Go here to check it out.)

3) When you find yourself sweating at your desk, go take a lap or two around the building. When you come back in, it will feel cold even though it's not. 

4) Bring plenty of change so you can hit the vending machine for ice cold diet coke, chips, and candy bars. Better yet, bring in a 12 pack to put in the fridge. Costs less. But only put in a can at a time and label it so some bastard doesn't steal it from you.

5) Learn how to send fireworks and balloons via imessage. That little adventure brought at least 20 minutes of joy.

6) Do a tarot card reading. Cause why not? I mean, my cards were awesome today!! (I use the Steampunk Tarot.)

7) Forget to eat lunch. Might have been the fault of the all day snacking.

8) Check out recipes on facebook. Pickle sandwiches? For real? YES!!!

9) Answer emails.

10) Get back to reading that manuscript.

11) Hey, it's suddenly time to go home! Sweet. Quick dinner then a night filled sitting in the sun watching lacrosse then soccer. Rock on!! Have a great day, y'all. It's Wednesday! Cruising to the weekend. :)

5 Questions with Kathleen Ernst

Terri Bischoff

Hi everyone! I hope your week is going well. Mine has included a migraine, another bout of acid reflux, watching my oldest play lacrosse, swimming, and working on my sales conference powerpoint. I really need a nap, too. But instead I bring Kathleen Ernst to you. When I started here at Midnight Ink in October of 2009, we were already in the process of acquiring Kathleen's first Chloe Ellefson book, Old World Murder. It was one of the first books I worked on. In October, Kathleen's eighth book, Mining for Justice will hit the shelves. Chloe Ellefson is a curator at Old World Wisconsin in the 1980's.

This is Kathleen (also back in the 80's) when she was an interpreter at Old World Wisconsin.

Throughout the series, Chloe visits other museums and solves current day crimes. Kathleen also weaves into her stories the narratives of immigrants that have settled in Wisconsin. The immigrant stories are connected to the current day museums or artifacts. Both the series and Kathleen hold a special place in my heart. So here we go!

 

1. What is your job title?

 Full-time Author

2. What do you actually do?

Three-quarter-time Marketer, one-quarter-time Author

3. Is your desk messy or clean?

Messy.  I seem to be constantly behind, with files piling up.  Isn’t that the sign of a creative mind…?

4. Have you mastered gluten free baking?

No, but I’m pretty good at historical and ethnic baking. If you need aebleskivers or kuchen or a sourdough starter made from scratch, I’m your girl.

5. If you could travel anywhere in the world right at this moment, where would you go?

Norway.  I had the great good fortune to visit two years ago, and hope to return.  It’s gorgeous, the history is fascinating, and it would make a great setting for a book…

 

Since the books are primarily set in Wisconsin, (Chloe does travel to the Twin Cities to what becomes the Mill City Museum in Tradition of Deceit and follows the path of Laura Ingalls Wilder in Death on the Prairie) Kathleen has enjoyed the support of museums, libraries, and Wisconsin public radio. Here she is during an appearance on the Larry Meiller show:

Thanks to Kathleen for playing along. If you want to learn more about Kathleen, the Chloe Ellefson series, or her YA books, head over to her website here. Have a great week!

 

5 questions with Susanna Calkins!

Terri Bischoff

 

 

Today please welcome Susanna Calkins! Susie is the author of the award-winning Lucy Campion historical mysteries (with Minotaur/St Martins). Her books have been nominated for 7 awards, including the Mary Higgins Clark Award, the Agatha for Best Historical and the Bruce Alexander Historical Mystery Award (Lefty) and she was awarded the Sue Feder Historical Mystery award (Macavity). She lives with her husband and two sons outside Chicago. And she is an all around great person! I love to hang out with Susie at conferences. :) So without delay, here are the five questions she chose to answer:

 

What is your job experience?

 Ha! In addition to this writing thing I do, I’ve sold tickets and candy in a movie theater, been a projectionist (for an ill-fated stint when I managed to let an entire film spool out onto the dusty projection room floor), ran amusement park rides (after just a few hours of training—not recommended!), worked in a Girl Scout camp (and I still know hundreds of truly wacky songs, warped only in the way that scouts can make them); flipped a few burgers, made a few shakes, served as a resident hall counselor, and taught history at the college level for many years. But nothing compares to my time as a pirate in London (I was a living history specialist—tour guide—aboard the Golden Hinde for six months, and ran pirate parties on the weekends for little British kids.)  A lot more exciting than my current job, where I work with faculty to develop their teaching and do research on learning (boy, I almost fell asleep describing my current occupation).

Is your desk messy or clean?

 I cannot abide a desk. Out of necessity, I have one at my ‘day job’, which I do keep pretty neat and organized. But I can’t write there. Not one creative word. That desk is the death of creativity.  So I like to write in coffee shops, spreading out so no one can sit too close to me unless I’m in the mood for eavesdropping.  Then I only use my laptop to draw interesting conversationalists in, because I’m fascinated by the crazy stuff people will talk about when they think no one is listening...

 

What would your autobiography be called?

KNOW WHO THE MURDERER IS—A True Story of Meandering, Indecision, and Confusion

I wrote my first historical mystery, A MURDER AT ROSAMUND’S GATE, over the course of ten years, scene by scene, without any knowing the identity of my murderer, even though as the antagonist he (or she!) was the entire driver behind my story. I was so interested in the impact of the murder of a young 17^th century serving girl on her plague-ridden London community, and the toll it took on a man wrongly accused of her death, that I truly forgot about the “mystery” part of the story. I had to go back and basically learn the craft of mystery writing, so I could shape that stack of 300+ disconnected pages into the novel that it one day became.  And in some ways, the story of that novel is the story of me as an author—how I came to find myself as a writer, and in this wonderful world of books and readers that I’ve happily discovered for myself.

 

What is your perfect murder weapon?

While I appreciate the arcane poison (who doesn’t?), I am drawn to the everyday objects that should not be murder weapons. Studying murder weapons is how I got into this mystery writing thing in the first place. When I was graduate school I began to study the gender patterns of domestic homicide in 17^th century England. My (somewhat simplistic) thesis was that men killed differently than women, but they both used the tools that surrounded them. So for women, the tools came from the home—spinning needles, herbal concoctions, cooking implements, and the easy one, pushing your victim into the hearth. (Think of the kids pushing the old woman into the fire in the gingerbread house—a homicide of convenience). Men tended to use tools of their trade (awls, hammers, nails) or from the field (pikes, hoes etc). I don’t know if our murder weapons are so gendered today, but it is interesting to contemplate!

 

What is your favorite unsolved mystery? I don’t have a famous one, but years ago, my high school ring flew off my finger in my bedroom. I didn’t see it right away, so I looked everywhere! Under my bookcases and desks, through my stacks of clothes etc. And search as I might, I never ever found it. I’m really hoping that this mystery will be solved for me one day, because it truly bugs me. Where did it go? (Of course, when I do find it I’m sure I’ll be struck anew by how hideous the thing was. But still it’s a mystery that I would like to see solved! I imagine that it will be found hundreds of years from now, and people will wonder who in the world this person could have been....).

 

Also, you can head on over to Susie's website to learn more: 

www.susannacalkins.com

Find me on twitter: @scalkins3

[email protected]

A Murder at Rosamund’s Gate (2013)

From the Charred Remains (2014)

The Masque of a Murderer (2015)

A Death Along the River Fleet (2016)

Comings and goings

Terri Bischoff

Yesterday was a great day! My great nephew arrived yesterday afternoon. His name is Grayson and I can't wait to shower him with kisses. He came in at 7lb 3oz and 20 inches long.

But the day also brought some sadness to my family. One of my aunts passed away last night. I don't get to see my extended family much since I live about 5 hours away, but I have very fond memories of my Aunt Kathy. Man that woman could bake! She had a lot of health problems and her body just couldn't make it any longer. But I know she loved and was loved.

So, comings and goings. Two different types of love and both bring tears to my eyes, but love nonetheless. And I celebrate Aunt Kathy's life and the joy of Grayson's arrival in our lives.

Free stuff ramblings

Terri Bischoff

Free stuff. Everyone wants free stuff, right? Or at least discounted stuff. We want the best deal we can get, we shop around and we clip coupons. I admit that I check groupon quite often to see what deals they have going on. But sometimes I wonder what that mentality is doing to us as readers and to publishing.

Let's say that you read two books a month (and let's face it, some of us knock out two books in a day, so that is a very conservative number). If one is a hardcover and one a trade paperback, that is $40 a month or $480 a year. That is a nice chunk of change, isn't it? Let's say you buy four trade paperbacks a month. Approximately $60 a month or $720 a year. I get why people don't want to pay full price for books. I absolutely get it. In fact, I think I get it more than most folks do because before this gig, I worked in bookstores where we got free books and ARCs. In a lot of indie stores the owners allow booksellers to buy books at cost because they want their staff to be well read. Now I wince whenever I have to shell out big bucks for books.

But here is the flip side - if the publisher doesn't make back what it has invested in the series/author, then that series/author is dropped in a heartbeat. The author has to earn back the advance we paid them. That is the first hurdle. The second hurdle is selling enough so that both parties are making a profit. We have to sell A LOT of books to make that happen. It's not a perfect system and there are so many things at play.

Bottom line is - if readers aren't buying books, the author isn't getting paid and neither is the publisher. Quite often in this equation, publishers are made out to the be the bad guys. We are the gatekeepers that reject hundreds of submissions for the few that we actually acquire. We are the ones who no longer support author tours or book signings like we used to. We are the ones supposedly making all the money off the backs of readers and authors. I'm not entirely sure that is the case. Yes, I reject a lot of manuscripts. Author support isn't what it used to be. I'm not actually sure who is making money in this business.

Side note: As a publisher we end up giving away a ton of books. We send out ARCs to reviewers and bookstores. We hope that this investment will pay off over time when it comes to reviews and handselling books. We run contests through goodreads and facebook. I've been known to give books to folks who I know will talk up a book if they love it, even if they aren't a traditional reviewer. I get hit up for books all the time. And I expect it. It is part of the business. I will gladly put books in the hands of those who can reach a larger audience of readers.

Last week I was at a signing at our local mystery bookstore, Once Upon a Crime. There were two authors there that I count as friends. When it came to signing time, I picked up a copy of each of their books to have them sign. I already had an ARC of one of the books. The author asked me, don't you have a copy? And she knew I did because she gave it to me. But I told her, an ARC doesn't help your sales or help the bookstore's sales. So yeah, I shelled out. I love free books just as much as the next guy, but I have come to value books more than I did when I was a bookseller. Now I know how much work an author puts into a book. Most authors write one book a year. ONE BOOK. Countless hours of writing, and editing, and plotting. Usually followed by more editing. I know how much work the publisher puts into a book. I've blogged on the publishing process before and would be happy to again. I know how much work booksellers put into their stores. Man, do I know. It's hard work. So much time and energy is spent by the author.

I guess I don't know what my point is other than this - even if you buy a book at a discount, it still helps the bottom line of the author and the publisher. Hopefully it also helps the bookstore you bought it from. (Call my crazy, but I will sing the praises of indie bookstores til the day I die.) Yes, we all love free. But free is never free. As a consumer, we might not be able to buy all we want. If I'm not distracted, I can easily read four books in a weekend. But I can't financially support that kind of habit. I do get books from the library or friends and I buy what I can. My boys are totally spoiled because I will buy just about any book they ask for. What we shouldn't expect, as readers, is that authors will happily give away copies of their books. 

Maybe my point is this - we need to start valuing what people create. I don't exactly have a plan of how to do that. But I do know that even though I can read a book in a couple hours, my reading pace doesn't negate what it took to create that book. And frankly, my job is to find exceptional books that are commercially viable. If I won several million dollars, I'd buy books and give them away for free because I love to give away books. Sure, I would probably buy them at a discount, but I would make sure that it counted toward the royalties for the authors.

Sorry for the rambling today. It's been that kind of week! And, if you follow the Midnight Ink facebook page and sign up for our newsletter, you will have many opportunities to win free books. :)

A Day in the Life

Terri Bischoff

 

If I had to break down my job, I would say that 50% of it is planned and 50% is putting out fires or unplanned. Today my plan was to read a manuscript. I am acquiring for spring summer 2018 so reading is really the highest priority for the next few days. I also have a rather large to-do list as well. It includes sending out developmental edits to a couple authors, getting to a handful of specific submissions, writing a trip report for the Edgar's and Malice, applying for my passport, etc. My to-do list will never actually be done as more tasks get added daily. But hey, that is my job. I don't complain because my job is way better than most jobs, right? A lot of my to-do list doesn't have hard deadlines, so I am forever adjusting and squeezing things in.

This afternoon I had a meeting scheduled. Which was great. It's a Midnight Ink specific meeting where we determine strategies for upcoming publications. In this case we were talking about the Winter 2018 season. Debut books/authors are always given an A status. Other titles are then given a B or C status. The biggest difference in the three categories is that for A titles, we are going to send our galleys to the printers 2-3 months earlier so we can get out to reviewers sooner. We saw that strategy pan out with Hollywood Homicide. I hope that we will eventually get there with all the MI titles. Great news, right?

It is. But it also came with some unplanned duties because it's not just sending the galley files early. It means that I need the manuscripts earlier. I have to have revisions back sooner. Production has to shuffle their schedules to create the galley. I have to work with marketing on the back cover copy earlier... one little pebble makes a huge ripple.

So did I get to read that manuscript today? Only a little bit of it. I'm disappointed because I like it and I want to keep at it. But my ADHD job keeps pulling me away. Thank goodness we have a long weekend coming up and I will be spending most of it reading. I might also take a little time to plant some flowers.

Have a great day, y'all. I hope the fires that pop up for you are small and manageable. And if all else fails, put on your headphones, close your laptop, and escape into a good book. I will be doing that in just a few minutes. Later tonight I will be seeing a couple author friends at our local mystery bookstore. Yep, today was a good day.

A Day in the Life

Terri Bischoff

 

If I had to break down my job, I would say that 50% of it is planned and 50% is putting out fires or unplanned. Today my plan was to read a manuscript. I am acquiring for spring summer 2018 so reading is really the highest priority for the next few days. I also have a rather large to-do list as well. It includes sending out developmental edits to a couple authors, getting to a handful of specific submissions, writing a trip report for the Edgar's and Malice, applying for my passport, etc. My to-do list will never actually be done as more tasks get added daily. But hey, that is my job. I don't complain because my job is way better than most jobs, right? A lot of my to-do list doesn't have hard deadlines, so I am forever adjusting and squeezing things in.

This afternoon I had a meeting scheduled. Which was great. It's a Midnight Ink specific meeting where we determine strategies for upcoming publications. In this case we were talking about the Winter 2018 season. Debut books/authors are always given an A status. Other titles are then given a B or C status. The biggest difference in the three categories is that for A titles, we are going to send our galleys to the printers 2-3 months earlier so we can get out to reviewers sooner. We saw that strategy pan out with Hollywood Homicide. I hope that we will eventually get there with all the MI titles. Great news, right?

It is. But it also came with some unplanned duties because it's not just sending the galley files early. It means that I need the manuscripts earlier. I have to have revisions back sooner. Production has to shuffle their schedules to create the galley. I have to work with marketing on the back cover copy earlier... one little pebble makes a huge ripple.

So did I get to read that manuscript today? Only a little bit of it. I'm disappointed because I like it and I want to keep at it. But my ADHD job keeps pulling me away. Thank goodness we have a long weekend coming up and I will be spending most of it reading. I might also take a little time to plant some flowers.

Have a great day, y'all. I hope the fires that pop up for you are small and manageable. And if all else fails, put on your headphones, close your laptop, and escape into a good book. I will be doing that in just a few minutes. Later tonight I will be seeing a couple author friends at our local mystery bookstore. Yep, today was a good day.

5 Questions with James Ziskin

Terri Bischoff

Hi everyone -

Continuing with my interviews of crime fiction community. There isn't much rhyme or reason as to who I choose - it's just who pops into my head. I plan to post a few interviews, then do a few posts on publishing, then interviews, then... who knows? I hope you enjoy. Jim Ziskin is a great guy and I love hanging out with him at conferences, and it's not just because has the largest flask I have ever seen! Well, that might be one reason...

 

Is your desk messy or clean?

JWZ: I work exclusively on my iPad. That means wherever I am becomes my desk. I like to escape the house during the day. The change of scenery gives me the feeling of going to a job. And at your job you've got to get work done. The local coffee shop is one of my daytime "offices" (a cliche, I know). But I tell myself that the price of a coffee is my rent and IT budget. I get a seat and Internet for $3.50 per day. When I first arrived in Seattle seven months ago, I was finishing up CAST THE FIRST STONE, the fifth Ellie Stone mystery. I wrote most of it in a Starbuck's located in the same building as Zulily headquarters. As such, all the Zulily employees patronized the place. One day after about two weeks, the barista asked me if I worked upstairs at Zulily. I said, "No, I work here," and pointed to a table near the window. She asked, "You work for Starbuck's?"

And in the evenings, I write at home in a comfortable chair. Comfortable until Tinker decides to sit on my lap, which is always.

Here I am trying work around the cat. So I guess I'd say that my desk is messy.

 

What is your favorite 80’s song?

JWZ: Brahms's second piano concerto.

Oh, wait. Do you mean 1980s? That's a little harder. "Come on Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners? :-D Love the changing beat and the energy and the fact that even if I don't understand the words it doesn't matter. It's a fun song. But in terms of music, the eighties were something of a lost decade for me. I didn't like most of it. But I loved The Who. Still do. Face Dances. "Don't Let Go the Coat" and "Daily Records" are great songs, but not very typical of the eighties.

Any tattoos?

No. Nothing that didn't come with the original package.

What is your perfect murder weapon?

In my books, I'm a fan of the blunt object. It gives me a lot options. After all, there are lots of blunt objects out there, from bricks to baseball bats to automobiles. Yes, cars count as blunt objects. In fact, I write about murders that do not involve guns. Crimes of passion and spur-of-the-moment bad decisions. Little premeditation. That's because I can relate better to regular people than serial killers or hitmen. And if a regular person uses a gun to kill someone, well, the crime looks like murder, doesn't it? I like for there to be some doubt, at least at the outset. Was it an accident? Suicide? Or murder?

Here's a catalogue of deaths in my first five Ellie Stone mysteries. Six male victims, three female. None killed with a gun.

1. Male, electrocuted in bath
2. Male, bludgeoned with blunt object (door stopper)
3. Female, throttled, neck broken (fit of jealous rage)
4. Female, bludgeoned with blunt object (tire iron)
5. Female, strangled in a panic (pervert)
6. Male, run over by car (large, moving blunt object)
7. Male, fall from cliff
8. Male, fall from cliff
9. Male, bludgeoned, followed by fall into deep ravine

What is your favorite unsolved mystery?

JWZ: D. B. Cooper. Hijacked a 727 in 1971 and parachuted somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. Never found.

 

James Ziskin, who goes by Jim in civilian life, is the Edgar-, Anthony-, Barry-, and Lefty-Award nominated author of the Ellie Stone series.

Jim served as director of NYU's Casa Italiana for several years before moving to Los Angeles, where he worked in the Hollywood post-production industry, running major international operations in subtitling and visual effects. He recently transferred to Seattle, where he writes full-time.

HEART OF STONE, book 4 in the Ellie Stone series, is a finalist for the 2017 Edgar for Best Paperback Original. CAST THE FIRST STONE comes out June 6, 2017. Look for A STONE'S THROW in summer 2018.

Two Broads Blogging - AKA Lourey/Baker Double Booked Blog Tour - Agents and Editors edition

This morning I am turning my blog post over to Jessie Lourey and Shannon Baker. Two ladies I absolutely adore!

 

    

Jessie starts us off:

Shannon Baker and I were brought together in life by a mutual love of distasteful humor, a shared dream to write mysteries for a living, and the fact that we both were acquired by Terri Bischoff of Midnight Ink. In honor of the last item, and because we happen to be right in the middle of our Lourey/Baker Double Booked blog tour, we’d like to do a guest post on our experience with agents and editors.

First off, thanks to “Hey, There’s a Dead Guy” for letting us visit today. We mean well, but we don’t always clean up after ourselves, and Shannon likes to steal things that sparkle. Apologies in advance. Second, a big, juicy hug to Shannon Baker, author of the Nora Abbott series as well as the upcoming (and rave reviewed) debut in her Kate Fox series. The first book, Stripped Bare (http://tinyurl.com/jny2rps), is earning heaps of advance praise for its rich setting, character development, and liberal doses of humor.

Coincidentally, Stripped Bare is releasing on September 6, the same date as Salem’s Cipher (http://tinyurl.com/zwzwbjr), the first in my Witch Hunt thriller series. And voila! You have the Double Booked blog tour in support of both our books. I couldn’t ask for a better partner in crime in this venture. Tell me, Shannon, your story of publication with the Nora Abbott series.

  

Shannon: Huh? What? *pulls hand away from the shiny thing on the table* First of all, you know my aversion to hugs, right? You did that on purpose. Now that the personal stuff is out of the way, you asked about the Nora books and publication. I am a long time member of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and we have a conference every September. We like to think we’re a welcoming bunch, so on the first night of the con, a published writer who is a member of RMFW is assigned a banquet table to make sure everyone has someone to talk to and is introduced around. I’d published a thriller with a very small press so I got a table. Terri Bischoff, Midnight Ink acquisitions editor, ended up at my table and we got to know each other. I never pitched my book because, embarrassingly, I didn’t know what MI published and I thought I’d written another thriller. As we were leaving for the airport, I threw off, “I’ll send you my book.”  And—hey, Mikey—she bought it. When she asked me if it was a standalone or a series, my thriller suddenly became the first in a mystery series and I had to figure out where to take Nora next.  How did you get going on Murder by the Month, Jess?

Jess here. After I wrote May Day (http://tinyurl.com/j88qxn9), the first in my Murder by Month series, I was desperate to get it published. I sent out over 400 query letters back when they were actual letters, with stamps I had to lick. I cast spells to land an agent and I wasn’t even a witch. Back then, I would have blown Jesus for a publishing contract (of course I’m referring to Jesus Ramirez, acquisitions editor at Random House at the time). May Day was the second book I had written, the first worth publishing (barely), and I knew I needed to get it out there. I knew it.

Luckily, I landed any agent with my 423^rd query. Would I have given up if I hadn’t? Probably not, I can say with confidence, because that 423^rd query turned out to be a sweetheart cooky-bird who sold healing crystals and hawk training lessons on the side and never landed me a contract. After six months together, we cordially parted ways. A handful of queries later, I signed on with the agent who eventually landed my Murder-by-Month series with Midnight Ink, then a fledgling mystery start-up under the umbrella of Llewellyn Publications.

I was actually signed by Barbara Moore, Midnight Ink acquisitions editor at the time. Terri has since taken over, becoming one of my closest friends and a mover and a shaker in the publishing industry. Ten books later in the series, and I still love to work for her. (I’m not just saying that because she is my editor, and because she has the power to can the series. I’m saying that because I’m at her apartment right now typing this and I’m a little buzzed from the Guinness I pinched from her fridge).

Shannon, you didn’t have an agent when you sold the Nora Abbott series. Do you have one now, and if so, are you happy with her?

I’m so glad you asked because, yes, I love my agent! A lot. Marlene Stringer, who is best known in the SF/Fantasy realm. How could I not? She sold my new series to Forge.  I didn’t have an agent when Terri bought my books but I had a literary attorney go through the contract.  I am so grateful Terri took a chance on me, even without an agent. I know that without the experience and generosity of Midnight Ink, I’d never have grown as a writer, both in craft and business savvy. (Ha, savvy! That’s rich.) What’s your agent story, Jess?

Jess again. I’m on my fourth agent. The first one was the crystal healer. The second, I messed up our relationship. I was so green that I misinterpreted her, “sell all your Murder by Month mysteries to Midnight Ink,” as her giving me permission to do that without her. Apologies and an offer to share the contract I negotiated for the third book did not mend that relationship, and so we parted ways. I took care of the next couple contracts in the series myself, got tired of handling that end of the business, and signed on with a wonderful New York agent. She introduced me to the best grilled octopus I’ve ever eaten in my life (Periyali, near Gramercy Park), wholly supported my writing, but could never sell my books.

We parted ways amicably, and I soon signed on with Jill Marsal, my current agent. The woman is a dream. She edits (multiple rounds), knows everyone in the business, responds to emails within hours every day of the week, and is funny. Pretty sure we’d be friends if she lived closer. She’s amazing.

Shannon, how is your editor at Forge?

I was so lucky to meet Kristin Sevick at Left Coast Crime last winter. I expected an aloof, worldly, black-sheathed Manhattan, chic type.  She edits Hank Phillippi Ryan, for dog’s sake. What I found was a person. A fun, smart, interesting, regular woman with a three year-old kid and a full-time job. She’s acquired an amazing roster of authors, Rachel Howzell Hall, Rebecca Cantrell, among others, and I can’t tell you how daunting and thrilling it is that she picked me, too! 

Jess: Cheers to long writing careers!

Shannon: *clinking the glass and stuffing the shiny thing into my pocket* Here, here!

Shannon and I are both giving away a copy of our new books, , Salem’s Cipher and Stripped Bare. For a chance to win, share your experience with an agent or editor or leave a comment.

But wait! There’s more:

If you order Salem's Cipher before September 6, 2016, you are invited to forward your receipt to [email protected] to receive a Salem short story and to be automatically entered in a drawing to win a 50-book gift basket mailed to the winner's home!

But wait, there's more!

If you order Salem's Cipher before September 6, 2016, you are invited to forward your receipt to [email protected] to receive a short story and to be automatically entered in a drawing to win a 50-book gift basket mailed to the winner's home!

If you order Stripped Bare before September 6, 2016, you are invited to forward your receipt to [email protected] to receive a Kate Fox short story and be entered for a book gift basket mailed to your home.

We’re picking up our bags and traveling on so please join us as the Lourey/Baker Double Booked Tour heads to Women's Fiction Writers (http://womensfictionwriters.com/2016/04/03/the-writing-life/) on Thursday, August 11.

2017 is over!

Terri Bischoff

What do I mean 2017 is coming to an end? It’s only August 3^rd, 2016. I’m talking about my 2017 publishing schedule. It’s full. I have two offers to make, and I am pretty confident I will get a yes from both authors, so yeah, my work is done.

Oh sorry. I hope my insane, maniacal laughter didn’t startle you. Of course my work isn’t done. It never is. And I might still acquire a couple more titles for Fall. But if I wanted to, I could say I have closed the catalog and instead of focusing on acquisitions, I can spend some time on developmental edits, cover research, planning for Halloween, prepping my liver for Bouchercon, etc.

Anyway, here are the current stats:

Right now I am standing at 37 books for 2017. I had 2 books cancelled.

Winter 2017

• 6  dark
• 7  light
• 2 debuts (true debuts)

Spring/Summer 2017

• 4  dark
• 8  soft
• 2  debuts (one true debut, one new to MI)

Fall 2017

• 4  dark
• 9  light
• 4  debuts (2 true debuts, two new to MI)

I do try to balance my catalog between soft and dark. But this year it hasn’t quite turned out that way. I’m not sure why that is. I can still add some darker books to the Fall 2017 and shift a couple lighter ones to Winter 2018. It depends on what I read next and fall in love with. Any agents out there to who happen upon this (hi Josh!) I am looking for some suspense – domestic suspense, romantic suspense, psychological suspense. Personally I don’t like a lot of kids in jeopardy books, but if it’s done well, I can get over that.

If I look ahead to 2018, I have 14 contracted books and I have 13 series that we will have to evaluate to determine if we will continue to publish them. If I stick with 37 books next year, that means that if we continue all our series, I only need 10 new books for 2018. Publishing is such a crazy business!

Another Day in the Life

Terri Bischoff

Today in the Twin Cities, temps were in the low 90's, but with the humidity, it felt around 102. I was glad to learn that my kid's soccer game was cancelled because of the heat. The next two days will see a rise in the temps and humidity. That makes me very, very cranky and I swear it turns my brain into mush. But I will do my vest here! And as I know these temps are spread over much of the eastern half of the country, I hope you all are being safe. Don't forget your furry children too!

First I apologize for missing a couple weeks. We had sales conference which always eats up a lot of time. This season we had a commission sales rep group in attendance. That turned out to be a good deal of fun. It gave me a chance to talk about our entire line for a bit and introduce some of our longer running series.

This week too brought some interesting things for me. First I read two cozy submissions that I really like. Both are direct results of attending conferences which is pretty awesome. Second, just like when a reader sees their favorite author has a new book out - a manuscript hit my inbox this week that I makes me want to push everything aside to read it. I haven't even had a chance to crack it open yet, but I will. Soon. Like maybe tomorrow morning!

This week also brought a meeting where I sat down with sales, marketing, publicity, and my boss the publisher, to talk about the future of Midnight Ink. We discussed what we are doing well and what areas we can do better. It was exciting as everything was on the table. Now I can't give away any secrets, but I do hope that we can put those ideas into play. I'm pretty excited about it.

I'm hoping for a quiet couple of days where I can get some work done. But again, a heat fried brain might not allow that! If so, perhaps I will use the time to clean my cube. :)

 

So what is the deal with distribution and what do you need to know?

Terri Bischoff

A question I often get is “do you have national distribution?” And the answer is yes. Of course I will be using Midnight Ink as an example, but you can extrapolate your questions from what we do when you are talking to a publisher.

First we have internal sales reps that sell to some bookstores and to the big outlets (I will talk about indy bookstores next). Our sales reps go to Barnes and Noble for face to face meetings to present our books. That salesperson also works out co-ops with them. (I will talk promotions in the near future.) We go to Books a Million. Other internal reps sell to:

Amazon

Ingram

Baker & Taylor

Indigo (Canada)

Thorndike (large print)

PGUK (UK)

We also do advertising and co-op with these folks. There are a bunch more places our internal salespeople sell to, but these are the biggies.

Here is the one thing that authors need to know – we can NOT make any of these companies stock books in specific stores or distribution centers. They buy and stock according to their own expectations of sales. They usually stock the stores in the region the book takes place and/or where the author lives. I don’t know how many panicked emails I get from authors reporting to me that the store can’t order books because their Ingram or B&T doesn’t have any in stock. This is why I always suggest that for signings and events, the store should always order directly from us.

So, as you can see, we sell to the large stores and distribution centers. What about indy stores?

We have commission sales rep groups throughout the country. I think we have every area covered except Texas. These various rep groups will visit a store and present our titles (including Llewellyn) to the bookstores. This is a very good thing! Back when I owned my store, I loved meeting with the rep groups. I bought more from the reps who came into the store versus the ones who called or emailed to take my orders. It is simple – by being in the store, talking to me and looking around, they had a better understand of my customer base and what I could sell. I even had sales reps tell me that I wanted to order LESS of some books. And while that may seem crazy, it was a very good business decision. Sales reps don’t just want to sell a ton of books. They also need good sell through. It does the rep no good to sell a store 100 copies and then have 80 returned. Much better to sell them 25 or 30. Better for the publisher, the store, and the rep.

One last thing about distribution… when we receive books into the warehouse (we are all in one big building here) as soon as the books are entered into the system, we beginning the shipping process. B&N has their own distribution warehouses. We ship to one location and they sort and ship to their stores, which is why they are sometimes slower to get on the shelves. Stores are free to start selling the print books as soon as they get them. Quite often that is 3-4 weeks before the publication date. (Ebooks are always released on the pub date.) Even with that lead time, we ask authors not to plan any events right on the pub date as occasionally a snafu occurs.

OK, I think that is it. If I missed anything, let me know!

Developmental edits aka the fun part of my job

Terri Bischoff

One of the fun things of my job that I don’t spend enough time on is the developmental edit. I have decided recently that I needed to spend more time on it. I’m not sure what parts of my job that will eat into, but it’s a very important step and I don’t want to short change it. That being said, some books don’t need much of an edit. My revision requests aren’t a reflection of me, I don’t think. They are requests which I think will make the story stronger. I do my very best to stay out of the story. I hope that make sense.

When a manuscript comes in, I usually read it quickly the first time through. That gives me the plot and any holes or issues will stand out. I make some notes, but not many. The first read is like a gut check – am I sucked into the story, does the mystery hold up, will it sell? At this time I decide if I need to do another read and a developmental edit. I also get notes from the production editor. If our notes match up, I add in anything else I have and then I send those off to the author. But if the book needs more, then I do a second read.

(I want to add in here that if author A gets little or no edits than author B doesn’t mean that author B sucks. It is all a process of continuous learning. Instead of lamenting that you got an editorial letter, instead think, hey, this editor acquired my book because they believe in me and my writing and this editorial letter is going to make my book stronger and tighter.)

So begins the second read. I start with the printed ms, a notepad, and sharpened pencils. As I read through the ms, on my notepad, I record the important information for each chapter, including characters and the info about each one. In the margins of the notebook I also note the day to establish a timeline. If there is something that is really bugging me, I make stars all over it so I when I finish the ms I can easily find them. The notepad notes are the big picture. On the ms itself, I make notes too. Those are usually little things like typos, would a character say that, this sentence doesn’t make sense, etc. The second read can take me a good ten to twelve hours for a 300 page cozy ms where the first read would be two to three hours. The more details the longer it takes.

Once I have completed the second read, I ruminate on the book for a bit. I might step away from it for a day or two. Then I go over my notes. Sometimes it’s very clear on what needs to be done, cleaning up the timeline, adding some red herrings, beefing up a subplot. Sometimes I need to think on it a bit more. Once I’m feeling I have it all sorted in my mind, I type up my notes and send my notes and the production editor’s notes to the author for revision.

I often forget the compliment sandwich. You know:

Hi author!

Just finished your manuscript. You did a great job! I love it XY and Z about it.

I do have some revision requests that I have attached. If you can make those and get your revised ms back to me by XXX, that would be awesome.

Again, I just wanted to tell you how much I love this book. You are awesome!

Thanks!

Terri

 

Once in a while an author will say they don’t want to change something. Then we talk about it. Maybe there are other ways to get around the issue I have. Maybe not. At the end of the day though, the content of the book is the author’s story to tell. If they refuse to make a change, that is ok. I only ask that when I send revision requests, that the author takes a step back and look at the book critically, to determine if what I am asking will make the book stronger or not. Not only do I want our books to be awesomely plotted and written, but I also want it to sell a kajillion copies. Sometimes those things don’t go hand in hand, which sucks, but no one has ever called writing or publishing an easy or fair business.

So there it is – developmental editing.  That is what I have been doing for the last three days. J

Two Quickies

Terri Bischoff

 

I had planned on blogging about... well, I don't remember. Which happens when I get a headache and this one feels like a migraine might be on the horizon. Before that happens, I first wanted to comment on two things that caught my attention today.

I'm reading a manuscript for the third book in a series that I acquired. I was quite a ways into it when I saw the name of one of my other authors. And then my name. It was pretty funny to me. It was like seeing those Disney cookies. Or like in one of the Charlaine Harris books, Sookie runs into Lily Bard from the Shakespeare series. Sort of an inside joke. But my question for you all - is it cool for readers or annoying? Do you notice? Do you care?

Ok, the noggin is hurting a little too much to keep typing. More later my friends.

A Day in the Life

Today isn't any special sort of day, probably rather typical.

First thing I did today was finished a few things on my Launch notes for today's meeting. Usually I send these out the day before the meeting, but I didn't have all I needed yesterday from one of my authors, so I waited until this morning.

Then the launch meeting, for us, is THE MOST IMPORTANT meeting. It is here that we decide the title, reading line, series name, and cover direction. Midnight Ink launched two books today. (And two yesterday and two next week!) It takes me anywhere from an hour to a day to prep for these meetings. Today's meeting didn't run as smoothly as I wanted. One was the second in a series so that was definitely easier. The second book was a debut. It's harder because you want to get it right the first time. I tend to get very frustrated when other departments don't understand what I want or push back from it. I know part of it is just me wanting everything to look like I want it to, but another component is that sometimes I can't convey what it is I want. So today I left the meeting a bit frustrated. Ulitmately, it will be ok though. When the art department starts working on the cover, if it isn't right, we keep working on it. For some reason, some book covers are easy to do. The concept is clear when I am reading the manuscript. Sometimes it worse than pulling teeth. You tug and tug and tug (or think and think and think) and nothing comes.

When I returned to my desk, I had to read and approve some back cover copy routings. Then I needed to email my Fall 2016 authors about back cover copy for their books which I have to hand in next week. I answered a couple emails. Ate lunch. And started a manuscript that will be launched next week. And so far I don't have ideas for those.

Later this afternoon I have my bi-weekly meeting with my boss and then a meeting with the art department about selecting an illustrator for one of our new books.

And where am I falling behind? Sending out revision requests to authors, figuring out my 2017 schedule (which looks like I will only be acquiring a handful of manuscripts,) answering emails, and everything else I have forgotten. I don't know why but it feels like I keep falling further and further behind. I suspect I will never catch up.

Nose back to the manuscript now. I have to remember that I can only do one thing at a time. And my most important job is finding great books to publish for you all.

HARPER LEE, TRUE CRIME, AND ME - Kim Powers

Terri Bischoff

Today I am attending the funeral of Llewellyn/Midnight Ink/Flux chairman, (and heart of the company) Carl Llewellyn Weschcke. Wonderful timing that I had this guest post lined up already. This came to me from our good friend Ben LeRoy. And after reading this, it's a book I am adding to my TBR pile!

 

She called it first. Harper Lee. When Truman Capote asked her to go to Kansas with him, to start the adventure that would become In Cold Blood, she said of his invitation, “It was the deep calling the deep.” Surprisingly, this Southern-friend woman, with what we mistakenly think of as gentle, Magnolia-wafting sensibilities, loved true crime and mystery as much as the next person. Which is a lot of us. (Which was me, at ten years old, trying to check out In Cold Blood and The Boston Strangler from the local library, only to be refused by the librarian; she directed me to “age appropriate” Lois Duncan and Phyllis A. Whitney instead!)  
          So I was amazed that in all the recent press over her “newly-discovered” novel Go Set a Watchman, relatively few reviewers seemed to know of a true crime book she evidently had been working on, starting in the late 1970s, when Lee was in her early 50s. It was to be called The Reverend, and was about an Alabama minister, Willie Maxwell, whose several wives and other family members started dying. Frequently. And mysteriously. But things weren’t so mysterious, once it was discovered that sizable life-insurance policies had been taken out on the victims, five in all. The files of the case, and the idea of the book itself, had been brought to Harper Lee by a lawyer named Tom Radney, who had defended both the suspect and – in a bizarre twist that could only happen in the deep South – the man who shot him dead. Lee reportedly spent months in Alexander City, the Alabama town where the murders had all occurred, doing research and interviewing the locals, much like she and Capote had done for In Cold Blood. The years dragged on and no book resulted, although Lee showed Radney a few early pages and repeatedly told him the book was close to being finished. With such juicy material, and in such poetic hands, one can only imagine the book that might have resulted, and regret that it didn’t. (Last March, an excellent article in The New Yorker, by Casey N. Cep, detailed even more of the twist and turns behind The Reverend, including the mystery of the still-missing files loaned to Harper Lee.)
           Years ago, long before anyone thought Harper Lee would have another best-seller on her hands, I came across the story of The Reverend, while researching my own novel about Harper Lee and Truman Capote, called Capote in Kansas: A Ghost Story. It was considered a “literary novel,” but in my mind, was every bit a “mystery” as much as the newest Deborah Crombie or Louise Penny. (Just consider this: Amazon’s Kindle categorizes To Kill a Mockingbird under “Mysteries and Thrillers.”!) In my “fantasia,” an aging Harper Lee begins receiving mysterious packages in the mail, and has to find out who is sending them, and why. Along the way, I take on the true crime of the Clutter family killing, the mystery of who really wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, why Harper Lee never wrote again, and why she and Capote became such enemies.
           Labeling. Genre. Novel or mystery or thriller. I’m sure it’s a discussion that’s come up in “Dead Guy” many times before, but it’s of interest to me now because it’s a world where I’m about to make my “debut,” despite having published two previous books, the Capote novel and a memoir called The History of Swimming. (That had a mystery, a real one: my twin brother disappeared. What happened to him?)
           My new book is called Dig Two Graves – after the Confucius quote: “When first you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” About the only thing I can safely say is it’s not a cozy. Two fingernails get pulled out in it. Not very cozy. The hero, Ethan Holt, teaches classics at a New England college, something like a Bennington or Williams; in his earlier years, he’d been an Olympic Decathlon winner. One of those Ivy League athlete/scholar types. He’s jokingly nicknamed “Hercules” – and when his 12-year-old daughter is kidnapped, he’s forced to perform modern day versions of the 12 Labors of Hercules, to get her back. He has to ramp up his old super-human muscle memory to perform them, but he has to solve them first: bizarre, rhyming riddles, instead of ransom demands. (A bit like another favorite mystery writer and series, Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse. Just how many crazed criminals are running around Cambridge, at any given time? Evidently, quite a lot.)  
           My agent and I spent a long time deciding how to pitch the book. Of course, “thriller” was immediately sexy. Who doesn’t want to be thrilled? But to quote one of the book’s earliest readers – when it was about 150 pages longer than it is now – it wasn’t “thrilling. Not yet.” Mystery did the trick, but was that distinctive enough? What about that kitchen drawer catch-all “novel of suspense?” Or was that too pretentious, like we just couldn’t decide what it was? Would what it was marketed as make a difference in sales? Our first round of submissions was a bit like Goldilocks and the Three Bears: too literary and not bloody enough for some mystery presses; too genre-based for some “literary” presses.
           Thankfully, it was “just right” for Ben LeRoy and his invaluable Tyrus Books. In our very first phone conversation, he told me he didn’t care about police procedure, because I “got the human condition.” He had me at “human.” That’s what the book was, no matter what label we put on it: about a man who is at the absolute breaking point, who will do whatever it takes – whatever – to get his daughter back. I wanted to put his blood on the page. I wanted to show his heart and soul and brain – on kidnapping.
           My favorite books have always had that inherent element of suspense, whether they were categorized as mysteries or not. The “human condition” is a mystery. I want to know what happens next. I want something to make me turn the page. Who is doing what to whom – and why? Bizarrely, I learned my most valuable lessons as a “suspense” writer during the seven or eight years I was a writer at Good Morning America. One of my jobs there was writing “continuity”: those teasers that come after each segment, to get you to come back after the commercial break. I did it by posing questions: what happens next? How can flossing add 6.4 extra years to your life? (True.) Who gets that final rose – and what really happened inside the “fantasy suite”? Something you had to have the answer to – and you could find it out, on the other side of the commercial break. Perhaps not the most conventional way of learning how to write a mystery, but it’s the way I learned.
           So in a way, as I get ready to enter the world of Bouchercon and Thrillerfest, of Mystery Writers of America, I’m still just writing the way I always have: I’m coming up with a question that needs to be answered. Who is doing what to whom – and why? Another book title comes to mind, Dominick Dunne’s Another City, Not My Own. It’s his fictionalized account, from his alter ego Gus Bailey, of his time in L.A. covering the OJ Simpson trial. I’d like to make the mystery/thriller/suspense world my new city. I’m not done with the characters I introduced in Dig Two Graves yet.
          Maybe I’ll do three graves next.
           Maybe I’ll be the real-life sleuth to track down those missing legal files that lawyer Tom Radney gave Harper Lee, way back when, about “the reverend,” and turn them into a book myself. Only that one will have six graves.

Kim Powers’ novel, Dig Two Graves is available now from Tyrus Books.

Rest in Peace Carl

Carl Llewellyn Weschcke

Publishing Pioneer, Visionary, The Father of New Age

It is with profound sadness we share the news of Carl Llewellyn Weschcke’s passing. He passed peacefully on Saturday, November 7 surrounded by family. He was 85.

Carl Llewellyn Weschcke was Chairman and the driving force behind Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd., the oldest and largest publishers of New Age, Metaphysical, Self-Help, and Spirituality books in the world.

Weschcke was a life-long student of a broad range of Metaphysical, Spiritual and Occult subjects which led him to the purchase of the Llewellyn publishing company in 1961. He relocated the company to his home on Summit Avenue in St. Paul. The mansion was said to be haunted and became the subject of many investigations and news stories through the 1960s and 1970s and remains well-known to this day.

Authors and booksellers referred to Weschcke as "the Father of the New Age" because of his early and aggressive public sponsorship of Astrology, Magic, Metaphysics, Paganism, Parapsychology, Tantra, Wicca and Yoga. Weschcke and Llewellyn contributed to the burgeoning New Age movement in the 1960s and 1970s, sponsoring Gnosticon Festivals, opening an occult school and bookstore, and publishing the occult newspaper Gnostica. He is a former Wiccan High Priest and played a leading role in the rise of Wicca and Paganism during the 1960s and 1970s. In the fall of 1973 Weschcke helped organize the Council of American Witches and became its chairperson.

Carl wasn't involved in the day to day activities of Midnight Ink, yet I felt supported by him. When we received an award or a starred review, he would send me a quick note of congrats. When I shared with him my goal of acquiring a book that would ultimately earn an Edgar award and hit the NYT bestseller list, he loved that I set my goals high and encouraged me to go out and find that book. And when I do, I know he will be out in the universe, smiling down at me and Midnight Ink.

Your Questions Answered

Terri Bischoff

Hey, that header could be a title for a Jeff Cohen/EJ Copperman post! But this isn't about Jeff's series featuring one of my favorite characters Samuel. No, this is where I don't know what to blog about so I resort to answering questions.

This question, or idea, is from The Sharque herself, Janet Reid. She wondered what books I have read lately that I didn't publish. Now, I have to admit that I don't have a lot of free time for reading. AND, it's hard for me to read mysteries when I am doing developmental edits. That means when I do read, it is usually on a plane on the way to or from a conference.

The first one I want to talk about is Missoula by Jon Krakauer. I have enjoyed several of his previous books and I didn't realize he had a new one coming out until one of my authors, Gwen Florio mentioned it. She told me that she was mentioned in it. Was she ever! Krakauer used the town of Missoula as an example of rape culture in a college town. Gwen Florio was a reporter for the Missoulian and did several investigative reports on it. In fact, Krakauer cited 22 of Gwen's articles in the the bibliography. But besides the personal connection, why did did the story resonate with me?

I think because the rape culture should always be examined. In this case, in a rabid college football town, the players were pretty much given a free pass to do whatever they wanted. It was heartbreaking to read the stories of the women who came forward. And when the police or the DA refused to investigate, it felt like these women were raped again. It was difficult reading. We have a problem here in the US and we need to start addressing it. Krakauer's books read much like fiction. The narrative is strong and you almost don't realize the statistics that he is embedding in the story. It's a powerful read and I strong recommend it.

(After reading Missoula, I grabbed another Krakauer book, Under the Banner of Heaven. And wow, it too knocked my socks off. I had no idea that the history of the Mormons was so violent and blood filled!)

For fiction, the best one I have recently was a book given to me by a friend. Land of Shadows by Rachel Howzell Hall. The main character is a homicide detective in Los Angeles. A current case seems to have links to the disappearance and murder of her younger sister twenty five years ago. At the middle of it all is a self made millionaire and detective Elouise "Lou" Norton and isn't going to stop until she finds the truth. A very gritty book. I loved it. And it was refreshing to see an African-American woman detective who is very good at her job.

So go out and buy these two books. You won't be sorry!

 

We're Really Not Kidding. Help!

Josh Getzler

I'm away from my desk today, so I asked Jeff to put up again his post looking for support for our fellow Dead Guy, Erin Mitchell. It's plenty important enough that you can wait a week to hear about why you shouldn't write in the passive voice or curse in middle grade books, or whatever else I was coming up with today. Back next week. Go Mets (Yes, I said that--maybe my next post will be defending my right to say that after having worked with the Yankees for 9 years--or maybe it's obvious from that!)

We here at DEAD GUY are taking today to urge you to donate to what we believe is the worthiest cause on the planet.

Our very own Erin Mitchell.

As she has documented quite eloquently, Erin's been having some pretty serious health issues, and as anyone in the United States knows about such things, it has not been inexpensive. She is self-insured, so the bills are mounting pretty staggeringly. We believe Erin should not have to shoulder the burden alone while she's dealing with so much at the same time.

So there is a grassroots (that is to say, crowdsourcing) movement to try and help, which was set up by Ellen Clair Lamb. Many have contributed (including some on this blog), and if you are able to do so, we'd urge you to send what you can.

Anyone who has read Erin's posts here or encountered her elsewhere know she is an amazing woman, one whose wit and general good humor coexist with strong views and a sense of right and justice. She is being dealt a hand she doesn't deserve, and the overwhelming cost of health care in America should not be something she has to contend with when she's fighting a much more important fight. 

If you can spare a few bucks, we'd appreciate it if you would take a look. If you can't, why not comment below and let Erin know how much you like reading her here on DEAD GUY or elsewhere. In fact, why not do both?

She's already overwhelmed with a situation. Let's overwhelm her with how much people care.

We do. You get well soon, Erin. We want you back here on Fridays.

Fighting the Good Fight?

Terri Bischoff

I really want to give Jeff Cohen a shout out today for his post on the 13^th. In my own life, I have three beautiful boys. My oldest is ten and my twins are eight. My ex and I split five years ago. It was by no means a pleasant split, but wasn’t as bad as some go. Mostly it went ok because I didn’t fight for the things I wanted – namely more time with my boys. I wanted 50/50 time, but our arrangement for the last five years has been more like 35/65. I asked for more time, but my ex always refused. And unfortunately, I have no legal rights. I was not the biological mom. So it doesn’t matter that I was there for every single appointment from the fertility treatments to every doctor appointment until my oldest was three. Didn’t matter that I was a stay at home mom for almost two years and that I paid support when we split. When my ex said she would fight me if I got a lawyer, I believed her and for five years I followed that path of least resistance.

But frankly, I couldn’t keep walking that path. So I retained a lawyer and I am fighting for my rights. And this is the upside. My three boys have two moms who love them more than anything in the world. Two moms who want the best for them. Two moms who want to nourish their minds and their souls and their hearts. Isn’t that amazing? I hope that one day it won’t matter if a kid has parents of the same gender. It will only matter if they are loved.

Thanks for sharing your story Jeff. It means a lot to those of out there who are living those situations every day.

 

And on a lighter note, Bouchercon was awesome as always. It was loud and exhausting and fun. It was missing the presence of Erin, but I can verify she was there in the hearts of many people there, including mine. Looking forward to Left Coast Crime and Malice Domestic. Of course next year’s Bouchercon in New Orleans will be rocking.

One of those days

I try not to whine about my job. I mean, it's a pretty awesome gig. But we all have one of those days. Mine has actually been one of those weeks. Because I had a larger than normal season for Winter 2016, now as I am working on Fall 2016, I find myself behind. (The month I pretty much lost because of my surgery didn't really help that much.) I have to fill four slots for Fall 2016 I need to fill and I need to have those books decided on before I leave for Bouchercon next week. But it's not like reading manuscripts is all I am doing. On Monday I created the materials I needed to present five books to acquisitions this week. Five books! Only one was for Fall 2016. The other four were for 2017. They are series continuations and I always have to be looking ahead. Then today I presented those titles. All five were approved, which is great news. After I find the four titles I need for Fall, I will put together the offers to send to the agents and get those five contacted.

After today's meeting, I started reading manuscripts. I think I have found two, maybe three keepers. All three started off great. Now is the race to get them read before Monday so I can create the materials for next week's acquisitions meeting. A job that is never ending it seems.

I can say this - I do still love my job. I love reading. But right now my eyeballs need a break.

Next week I shall report from Bouchercon. Perhaps even posting from the bar, where all the fun and craziness happens. Be well all! And I will see most of you next week. :)

 

 

Proud moments

This month at Midnight Ink, we celebrate our 10th anniversary. Unfortunately we aren't doing a big splash kind of thing, but we are doing some giveaways and such through our facebook page. Please, go check it out, I will wait for you.

Back? Ok, good. This morning I read through the comments. (Publicity is in charge of the facebook page and Beth alerted me to the fact that we were getting a lot of interaction.) I was, or am, totally blown away by the comments. I feel like such a proud mama, so many people such great things about our books. You see, I often doubt my abilities. But I managed to get by because of things like this. Or sales coming over and saying that this book has surging pre-orders, or we get a starred review, etc. That is as much of a validation to an acquiring editor as it is to the author. I know, I know... I didn't do the heavy work of writing the manuscript. But acquiring editors are supposed to have some sort of foresight, some magic, by which we instinctually know what book is going to sell or what trend is about to break open. And when a book or series doesn't sell, well, it always comes back to the acquiring editor. Not to sales. Not to publicity. Not to marketing. Back to the acq ed. It's a tremendous amount of pressure to try to hit a home run at every single at bat. Sure, a single or a double helps the team, but it's the home run that everyone is looking for. And it's awfully lonely standing in that batter's box, so far away from the rest of your team.

So yeah, I am taking a tremendous amount of pride in the comments section. Because for better or worse, I have made my mark on Midnight Ink. I have a pretty decent batting average and I sure hope it continues that way. Thanks for letting me play, dear readers. :)

And don't forget to leave a comment on the Midnight Ink facebook page so that you will be entered to win a collection of awesome books!

Football is back!

Tonight is the start of the NFL regular season. Color me insanely happy. I love football. It’s my favorite sport to watch. Second is probably college football, followed closely by baseball. I grew up in Wisconsin and my love of the Green Bay Packers has never wavered. I can’t wait for Sunday!

But before then, I have other football to watch on Saturday. Flag football for my twins and tackle for my oldest. I will probably end up missing the UW Badger game. Bummer. But hey, gotta cheer on my guys.

Also before then – life as an acquiring editor continues. Reading submissions to fill my fall catalog. As well as the continued array of meetings and such. Be back with more next week. But for now, I am going to enjoy football tonight and forget about work til tomorrow.

Book shopping/browsing

So I now have a kindle. It's an older version - 3.4, I think. I have actually had it for some time, but I like physical books. I love to go into a bookstore and scan the tables and shelves to see what catches my eye.

I love looking and buying. And at some point I became one of those people that bought a book twice because I forgot I bought it (and sometimes read it) already. The cool thing about a bookstore - there is also an end! You can conceivably look at every book in a bookstore.

But not when you are in the kindle store.

I spent probably more than an hour the other day looking at the kindle store. So much so that my eyes were watery and I started to get a headache*. And I could have kept looking for hours upon hours - because the offerings are seemingly unlimited. So here is where I ask for help - how do you find new authors on Amazon? If you look at bestseller lists, they generally are the names of authors I know. If I search by category, you still are getting the top sellers. And I am scared to buy anything under $5 because... well... most of the covers are god-awful and I assume the writing matches the cover.

To me, part of book buying is physical - the cover catching my eye, the feel and heft of a book. I don't know how to translate that into ebook buying.

I suspect that my kindle usage will go more toward reading manuscripts than buying books. And perhaps grabbing novellas and short stories that I can't get in print form. But if you have some ideas - on how to find the hidden gems on Amazon, please let me know!

 

* for the record, I have had one migraine since my surgery on July 7th. I got it before bedtime on a day where I did most of my work on the computer. While I do believe that my surgery has been a tremendous help in lowering my migraines, I have to remember that I still have to be aware of my triggers.

Conferences

This last weekend I was at a writer's conference. It was fun. I took a bunch of pitches, did a panel on publishing, and then a group sessions with a bunch of writers where the audience could ask anything they wanted.

For the most part, the writers were very well behaved. I took pitches throughout the conference and most people kept their pitches to under five minutes. But then there is always that one guy. That one person who tries to monopolize your time, doesn't take the hint to stop, even when it's coming from the conference folk. I'm glad I asked for a timekeeper, and I had been forewarned about this guy so the timekeeper knew to run interference. What I don't understand though, is when you tell an author you can't help him or her, is why they don't hear that. They continue to pitch you as though their project is so special that you will change genres just for them. UGH.

Don't be that guy. Please. You will be doing both of us a favor.

But again, I want to state, the conference was quite enjoyable and I heard some very good pitches. Just the way it should be. :)

Back to school shopping already?!

I can’t believe it’s already August. My kids start school again in less than a month – right after Labor Day. Which means my kids and I went back to school shopping the other night. I have no idea where the summer yet. I had so much in mind for the summer and so far have accomplished none of it. That makes me terribly sad. On the other hand, I am recovering from surgery nicely and next weekend I am taking my kids to a water park in Wisconsin Dells. Should be a good time.

But back to this back to school shopping thing. My twins are going into second grade. Here is the list for them:

 

 

48 pencils? 48? And sharpened too? What are they going to do with 48 pencils? That is more than one pencil a week. Then I realized something. That is probably making up for the kids who can’t bring in any pencils. Suddenly 48 didn’t seem like a big deal. And then the universe brought a post by our own Ben Leroy. He is offering to buy school supplies for those families that need help. Here is the link – please share it widely. My work is also doing a collection. You better believe that I will head back to Target to buy some supplies for a child in need. We all need a hand now and then and I feel fortunate that I can play a small part in someone’s education.

And while the water park capitol of the world is next weekend, this weekend I am heading to Phoenix, AZ for the SinC Desert Sleuths Chapter’s writing conference. There will be some big names there. Like Sara Paretsky. Super cool. Little ole me will be talking about submission policies, state of publishing, and creating an elevator pitch. All things I can do in my sleep. Which is really great because my flight leaves tomorrow at 5am. Not super cool at all.

I am really looking forward to the conference. While they tend to leave me exhausted, they also tend to get me excited about my job again. Because talking to writers and other industry folk makes sitting in my cube the rest of the time somewhat bearable.

 

When I get back to work, it will be full on acquisitions mode. That fall catalog isn't going ot fill itself!

Since You (Sort Of) Asked...

Jeff Cohen

In response to Terri's post last week, I thought it was just too much fun not to play along, so here are my answers (and we hope you're feeling much better very soon, Terri!). Your mileage may vary:

1. What time did you get up this morning? About 7. Don’t sleep like I used to. 

2. How do you like your steak? Medium well.

3. What was the last movie you saw? The Wrecking Crew (documentary).

4. What is your favorite TV show? The Daily Show with (for the next few weeks) Jon Stewart.

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Maybe the San Diego area. Maybe Oregon. But I love New Jersey except the winters.

6. What did you have for breakfast today? I never eat breakfast.

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Italian. I’m from Jersey.

8. What foods do you dislike? Fish. All fish. Yes, even that one.

9. Favorite Place to Eat? The kitchen. Or Brother Jimmy’s in New Brunswick.

10. Favorite dressing? Isn't that covered under #12, below?

11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? Prius c. Yes, I’m that smug. (51 mpg!)

12. What are your favorite clothes? Jeans, t-shirt, sneakers.

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Paris, Australia, Florence, maybe Japan. I'd drive cross country if I had the time and the money.

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? No. If it's full I'll drink it and if it's empty I'll fill it up.

15. Where would you want to retire? Retire? Writers don’t retire. We keel over at our keyboards.

16. Favorite time of day? When my wife gets home.

17. Where were you born? Newark, NJ.

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? Baseball. Only. 

19. Bird watcher? No. I don't watch anteaters, either. Animals deserve their privacy.

20. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night. It's when I usually write.

21. Do you have any pets? Yes, a beagle named Gizmo.

22. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? More books coming!

23. What did you want to be when you were little? Taller. I still do.

24. What is your best childhood memory? Playing at the swim club with Dad.

25. Are you a cat or dog person? Dog.

26. Are you married? Only for 28 years. So far.

27. Always wear your seat belt? Yes.

28. Been in a car accident? Yes, but not a serious one. Never anyone hurt.

29. Any pet peeves? The dog is a brat.

30. Favorite Pizza Toppings? Peppers, onions, meatballs, garlic.

31. Favorite Flower? The ones on birthday cakes.

32. Favorite ice cream? Chocolate chip cookie from Thomas Sweets in New Brunswick, NJ.

33. Favorite fast food restaurant? Closest I get to fast food is Tastee Sub in Edison, NJ.

34. How many times did you fail your driver's test? Never.

35. From whom did you get your last email? That I actually read? I think Josh.

36. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Ticketmaster.

37. Do anything spontaneous lately? Answered these questions.

38. Like your job? Love my job. Want to keep my job. Buy some books.

39. Broccoli? If with cheese.

40. What was your favorite vacation? Rome.

41. Last person you went out to dinner with? My wife, son, daughter and daughter’s friend.

42. What are you listening to right now? Mr. Dieingly Sad by the Critters (iTunes is on shuffle).

43. What is your favorite color? Blue.

44. How many tattoos do you have? None. I don’t get it.

45. What time did you finish this quiz? 11:10 pm.

46. Coffee Drinker? Decaf iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts. Never hot coffee.

Recovery

I am recovering from a surgery, so short post today. It's getting to know your favorite editor who may or may not be under the influence of pain meds.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7am I think

2. How do you like your steak? medium rare

3. What was the last movie you saw? Mockingjay Part 1

4. What is your favorite TV show? Criminal Minds, House, Agents of Shield

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Here in MN, to be with my boys and because I have a great job and friends here

6. What did you have for breakfast today? oatmeal with blueberries and raspberries

7. What is your favorite cuisine? vietnamese or thai

8. What foods do you dislike? brussel sprouts

9. Favorite Place to Eat? Trieu Chau in St. Paul

10. Favorite dressing? balsamic

11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? a subaru with almost 250,000 miles

12. What are your favorite clothes? jeans, t-shirt, sneakers, baseball hat

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Hawaii, Australia, most of Europe

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? doesn't matter - it's refillable

15. Where would you want to retire? someplace warm, but not hot and not too cold!

16. Favorite time of day? after dinner and everything is done and we are just hanging out before bedtime

17. Where were you born? Fort Atkinson, WI

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? football, baseball, 

19. Who do you think will not tag you back? dunno, not gonna tag anyone, lol

20. Person you expect to tag you back first? dunno

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? everyone

22. Bird watcher? sometimes

23. Are you a morning person or a night person? night

24. Do you have any pets? not at the moment, but I just got a fish tank so fish and a turtle soon

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? my pain meds are lovely

26. What did you want to be when you were little? I don't know...

27. What is your best childhood memory? camping - my sisters

28. Are you a cat or dog person? both

29. Are you married? nope, but awfully damn proud that I can if I choose to

30. Always wear your seat belt? yes

31. Been in a car accident? yep.

32. Any pet peeves? probably

33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? pepperoni, bacon, ham, green peppers, onions

34. Favorite Flower? lilacs?

35. Favorite ice cream? sea salt caramel

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? because I don't do gluten well, I don't do a lot of fast food. If I do, it's usually chipotle

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? zero

38. From whom did you get your last email? not checking my emails :)

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Costco (but they don't take credit cards) because you could get anything and everything - clothes, food, furniture, flat screen TV

40. Do anything spontaneous lately? I walked to the mailbox

41. Like your job? Love my job

42. Broccoli? yes

43. What was your favorite vacation? Boston. been there a couple of times. San Fran is pretty great as well.

44. Last person you went out to dinner with? yesterday my sister, my girlfriend and I went to Trieu Chau for lunch after getting my tubes removed. Food was great, but the trip was exhausting.

45. What are you listening to right now? Ellen is on the TV

46. What is your favorite color? Blue, Purple, Green

47. How many tattoos do you have? six, but one was a cover up, so five.

48. How many are you tagging for this quiz? 0

49. What time did you finish this quiz? 4:30pm

50. Coffee Drinker? Oh, yeah. But decaf. I don't drink caffeine because of my migraines.

so there you go - all you wanted to know and more!! see you all next week.

 

That Voice That Speaks Inside

I will be out of work for a couple weeks, a minor surgery, no worries. But it means that I have so much to do over the next ten days before the surgery. Crazy busy.

So I came to a blank when it came to the blog. What to talk about? About all the books I am so excited to work on? All the meetings I am trying to cram into ten days? I got nothing on Father's Day since my dad was pretty absent for most of my life. The shooting in Charleston and the confederate flag discussions/arguments/mud slinging? So much hatred and vile and misinformation floating around the interwebs. Which brings me to this:

 

Listen to your heart. Make decisions that kind. Comfort and compassion goes a lot further than hatred and repression. As a country we need to start treating each other with respect and love. If it feels wrong, don't do it or don't say it.

Peace out brothers and sisters.

(Also, it feels like I am channeling Ben LeRoy here. Love that guy.)

 

Finding the Right Agent

So I have been asked about agents – specifically how to know if an agent is good or a whack job.

Here’s a stab at it, in no particular order:

• You will never pay a good agent (GA) to represent you. Agents are not paid until they sell your book. That means they take on projects/authors they believe in. (This is the same for publishers. Never sign with a publishing house that requires you buy copies or pay for editing.)
• A GA will give you edits or suggestions on how to strengthen your manuscript.
• A GA will work on your platform/brand.
• A GA will instruct you on the market and the complexities of publishing.
• A GA cultivates relationships with editors at various houses and imprints and then submits manuscripts according to what each editor likes or is looking for. It is not uncommon for me to get an email every now and then asking what I am looking for. And I honestly appreciate that.
• A GA will deal with all the business stuff so that you as an author can maintain a creative and positive relationship with the publishing house and the editor. Furthermore, a GA will negotiate the best possible contract for you.

Ok so that is the basics for a good agent, but wait! There is more!

How do you find this person who is going to sell your manuscript? The person who is going to be your business partner as well as your guide. Well, it takes a bit of work on your end.

First, think about the genre in which you are writing. Make a list of authors whose work you respect and who write in a similar style. Check out their books and read their acknowledgements. Authors always thank their agents. Take that list of agents and hit the interwebs. Every agent I know has a website that lists their clients and lists their submissions requirements.

Second, talk to other authors you know. Ask them who their agent is and what their experience has been. Then do some more research. (If you happen to personally know an editor, they might also share his or her experience with an agent or agency.?

Third, attend writing conferences in your genre. When agents and editors go to writer’s conferences, it is specifically to interact with authors and get pick up new clients. We all do panels where we talk about our agency or publishing house and how we work. Sign up for pitch appointments and tell us about your manuscript. It’s what we are there for.

Fourth, follow the submission rules to the letter. You aren’t going to get points for submitting in some sort of creative way, such as pink scented paper. Not cool. Remember, the agent is working for free until your book sells. Be professional and respect of the agent’s time and energy.

The non-fiction world works a little differently. Generally the “platform” or the “brand” is more important in non-fiction. But the basics are the same: you never pay an agent, the agent is always working on your behalf, and you need a clear and consistent way of communicating.

Good  luck!

From Acquisition to Publication

Why does it take so long to publish a book?

Well, that is not an easy question to answer… So I am going to make a timeline of sorts. I will start with a book with a pub date of January 2016 which falls in our Winter catalog. I can talk more about the facets I am directly involved with… which is almost the entire process.

Acquisition – first, the manuscript is acquired by the editor. To acquire a book, I first read through a boatload of submissions until I find something that speaks to me. Then I research the book and where it fits in the market. Once a week we have an acquisitions meeting, sometimes called editorial board. I have to have all my research done and forms filled out by Tuesday 3pm. Then they get copied and distributed. At our Thursday meeting, I present the title and convince everyone in the room that we want to do it. A few days later, I get a sales estimate from the Sales manager. Based on estimated sales, I can then make an offer. This is roughly 12-18 months before a book is published.

Contracting phase – something this is long, sometimes short. When I have an established relationship with an agency, the contracting is super easy. Contract has to be completed 9 months before pub date.

Vision meeting – at the vision meeting the production editor, production manager, interior designer, and I discuss the manuscript. The PE sends me a list of his or her revision requests and I add my requests to that document. Then I send it to the author with a date that revisions need to be turned in. If the revisions are minor, the PE will take care of those issues at the edit. Vision meetings for the Winter catalog need to be completed 11 months before pub date.

Launch meeting – this meeting is attended by the sales manager, one or two of our interior sales people, publicity, marketing, the publisher, production manager, production editor, art director, cover designer, and myself. Prior to this meeting I discuss with the author what he or she would like to see for title and cover design. I create a set of notes with proposed titles, tag lines, and cover designs. Deadline to finish launch meetings is 10 months before pub date.

Transmittal – this is one date that is somewhat flexible. This is when the author returns the revised manuscript to me and I officially accept it. It is then transmitted to the production department. At this point the author can’t make any more changes. 9-7 months before pub date.

Cover Meeting – a month or so after the Launch meeting, the sales manager, production manager, production editor, art director, cover designer and I all meet to see the mock ups. We choose a cover (or send the cover designer back to make some changes) and then the designer and art director either purchase the photos or contract an illustrator. This is also flexible, but covers have to be done so they are ready to go out on the data feeds and on the galleys. Deadline for covers is 8 months before pub date.

Onix data – Onix data (all the info about the book, page count, trim size, author info, tags, etc. 8 months before pub date.

Back Cover copy/catalog copy – I turn over BCC or catalog copy somewhere in here… usually a few days after I have been told by marketing that the copy is overdue. All copy is routed internally so that publicity, production, sales and I sign off on it.

Galley or ARC design – the interior designer takes the transmitted manuscript and puts it into our interior design program. Galleys are sent to be printed 6-7 months before pub date.

Catalog goes to press – 6 months before pub date.

Galleys sent out – galleys, also called Advanced Reading Copies (ARCs), are sent out by publicity and sales to media outlets and bookstores. 6 months before pub date.

Publicity plan is made – 7-8 months before pub date.

Sales Conference – acquisitions editors present the Winter season to the entire staff. We create one-sheets, which has all the following information – synopsis, author bio, physical book description, setting, audience, silver bullet (or log line), and three comp titles with sales figures and ISBN’s. We also create a power point to go with the presentation. To me, this is one of the most stressful parts of my job. Those in attendance ask all kinds of random questions and I like to be able to answer them all. Publicity will also chime in with any advance praise we have gotten or raves about the previous book. This is about 6 months before pub date.

Production Editor starts – about 6 months before pub date.

Edits are sent to author – about 4 months before pub date.

Edits are due back from author – about 3 months before pub date.

Editor makes changes to our files – 2-3 months before pub date.

Second set of eyes – 2-3 months before pub date.

To the printer – 2 months before pub date.

In the warehouse – 1 month before pub date.

Ok, so that’s the big picture. There are a bunch of little things that happen. For example, back cover copy is routed for the ARC. Then it is given to the art dept who puts the BCC on the back of the galley. Then we route the galley (not the full galley, just what the front and back cover will look like.) This routing might happen up to 3-4 times if we make a lot of tweaks. Tweaks can come from any department – production, art, sales, publicity, marketing, or me. We repeat the process for the final book.

This is why it takes so long to bring a book to market. Sure, all the actual production parts, the editing, the designing, etc, would only take a month or two. But to bring a book to market properly, to ensure that it gets in the hands of reviewers at Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, Kirkus, Library Journal, Boston Globe, NY Times, etc, we need that full year.

I am acquiring 36-40 books per year, so many of these benchmarks overlap. I might have a launch meeting for three books on one day and a vision meeting the next day. My company publishes 135 books/tarot decks per year, plus several calendars and annuals.

And now I need a nap. Wish I had time for that! I just presented three books for acquisition, I need one more for Spring/Summer, and I have five critiques to do for a conference I am attending next week. No rest for this AE!

A Double Edged Sword

Terri Bischoff here.

Being an acquiring editor is a mixed bag. It’s a job I love. I get to do a lot of really cool things. But every job has a downside. Here’s a list of things I don’t like about my job:

• I am overworked all the time. What I am supposed to be doing is really the job of two people. Because of that, things fall through the cracks, and I feel bad about that. For example, I am insanely behind on reading submissions, both from conferences and from agents.
• I have read a lot of bad stuff before I find the good stuff I want to publish.
• I sometimes have to tell an author/agent that we will no longer be continuing a series with him or her. That especially hurts because every book I acquire, in my mind, should succeed.
• When I am at a conference, I have to be on 24/7. Mind you, this isn’t a complaint. I fully expect that when I go to a conference. But it is exhausting. I am an introvert, so the constant small talk, coupled with the question of is this going to be a pitch or is it just someone being friendly? drains me rather quickly.
• In my company, almost everything runs through the acquisitions editor. I have to be on top of all my books all of the time. If I’m not, we end up printing a book that says “Recipes Included!” but we don’t actually include them. True story.
• I hate the phrase “industry standards.” I want to see this book… because frankly, I DON’T know what Penguin or HarperCollins or anyone else is doing. I don’t know what they are paying and how their process works.

 

So yeah, those are some of the things I hate. And this blog idea came up because I have to tell some folks that we will no longer be publishing them. Makes me so sad.

 

Here are some of the things I love:

• I get to offer contracts on books that I fall in love with.
• I get to go to conferences and meet writers and agents and other editors. All the good stuff happens in bar! (This is not to say that programming isn’t important. It is very important for a new author to hone his/her craft. But making connections happens in the social time after the programming is finished.)
• Because everything runs thru me, I can control a lot of what happens in the production of our books.
• And most importantly, I love to get to know my authors. Whether it’s by email or meeting at a conference or a convention, I do my best to take time to get to know my authors. Which makes the task of dropping them a very hard thing to do. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Because I have gotten to know some pretty amazing people.

Happy Mother's Day!

This weekend is Mother’s Day and I am taking this opportunity to thank my mom.

 

Mom –

Happy Mother’s Day! I hope you have a wonderful weekend – going to the cabin and planting your garden.

I know that I owe where I am today to you. You made sure we did our homework, and that we did it well. Whenever I write the word appreciate I can still hear you spelling it out. Pretty awesome to have a grammar geek for a mom! I am sure many of those term papers and reports earned those A’s as a result of your proofreading and edits. I can hear you asking why I included something and what supporting evidence did I have. Did you know you were honing my critical thinking skills?

I have a terrible memory, but for the life of me, I don’t remember seeing you read novels. I can remember magazines that you would sometimes pick up at the store, but not books. Which is strange - I have always known you were a reader. I must have seen it, or perhaps it was just in our DNA and I simply knew it as fact. You have no idea how cool it is that I bring you a box of books when I come home and later you give me your thoughts on those books. And even cooler that both my sisters are avid readers and you all share books.

Besides the homework, and instilling a love of reading, you allowed us to participate in numerous activities and you came to support us. You raised three daughters, mostly on your own, and in our own ways we have flourished. Your daughters are strong, kind, intelligent, and empathetic women. We love and support each other in amazing ways.

Mom -  you did good. Probably because your mom is just as fantastic as you are! Thank you.

 

Now, let’s hear it for all the wonderful moms out there!

The Edgars are almost here...

Having a difficult day juggling job and life so this one will be a short one.

 

Best Paperback Original

The Secret History of Las Vegas by Chris Abani (Penguin Randomhouse – Penguin Books)
Stay With Me by Alison Gaylin (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)
The Barkeep by William Lashner (Amazon Publishing – Thomas and Mercer)
The Day She Died by Catriona McPherson (Llewellyn Worldwide – Midnight Ink)
The Gone Dead Train by Lisa Turner (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)
World of Trouble by Ben H. Winters(Quirk Books)

 

This the final list for the Best Paperback Original category for the Edgar Awards. On that list, amazingly, is a book I acquired, The Day She Died. I am so proud to have landed a book that earned a place on this list. It is my first Edgars banquet. I bought a nice jacket, shirt, and tie. I mean seriously, did any of you think I would wear a dress?!

Next week, if all works out well, I will be travelling from NYC down to DC for Malice Domestic. I hope to have time to blog in between my chauffeuring duties. And perhaps I one of my passengers will be and Edgar Award winning author. Fingers crossed.

What are you reading?

Terri Bischoff

I never know what to write about on my days here. So I thought maybe I would comment on two I have read recently and two that are moving to the top of my to read pile.

 

Behind Closed Doors - Elizabeth Haynes

I loved this one and plan to read more in the series. I got this one in my Left Coast Crime swag bag. The story skips around – from ten years ago to the recent past and to the present. IMO, the transitions were seamless.

Ten years ago, 15-year-old Scarlett Rainsford vanished while on a family holiday in Greece. Was she abducted, or did she run away from her severely dysfunctional family? Lou Smith worked the case as a police constable, and failing to find Scarlett has been one of the biggest regrets of her career. No one is more shocked than Lou to learn that Scarlett has unexpectedly been found during a Special Branch raid of a brothel in Briarstone.

The Two Faces of January – Patricia Highsmith

I love Highsmith. It’s incredible how she gets into the head of a sociopath. If you liked the Ripley books, chances are you will like this one as well. I plan to go back and reread the Ripley books soon.

 

On my to read list:

Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town – Jon Krakauer

Missoula, Montana, is a typical college town, with a highly regarded state university, bucolic surroundings, a lively social scene, and an excellent football team — the Grizzlies — with a rabid fan base.
 
The Department of Justice investigated 350 sexual assaults reported to the Missoula police between January 2008 and May 2012. Few of these assaults were properly handled by either the university or local authorities. In this, Missoula is also typical.

 

Dead Wake – Erik Larson

On May 1, 1915, with WWI entering its tenth month, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were surprisingly at ease, even though Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone. For months, German U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic. But the Lusitania was one of the era’s great transatlantic “Greyhounds”—the fastest liner then in service—and her captain, William Thomas Turner, placed tremendous faith in the gentlemanly strictures of warfare that for a century had kept civilian ships safe from attack. 

Germany, however, was determined to change the rules of the game, and Walther Schwieger, the captain of Unterseeboot-20, was happy to oblige. Meanwhile, an ultra-secret British intelligence unit tracked Schwieger’s U-boat, but told no one. As U-20 and the Lusitania made their way toward Liverpool, an array of forces both grand and achingly small—hubris, a chance fog, a closely guarded secret, and more—all converged to produce one of the great disasters of history.

I recently picked up Thunderstruck by Larson, but will probably set it aside and read Dead Wake first. So many books to read, so little time.

Thoughts on crime fiction series

Today while on Facebook, I mean working, I saw this conversation by two women who are voracious readers. Also two women I hold in very high regard. My favorite parts are in red.

Post by Dru:

I had a smile on my face and a chuckle in my throat while sitting on the subway reading. It is so worth it when Eve Dallas is left alone with Bella. Priceless. She does manage to get through it intact.

Convo that followed:

Judy: Eve or Bella

Judy: Which title are you reading? I know I'm a couple books behind.

Dru: Eve. I'm reading Obsession in Death.

Dru: Actually it could be Bella as well.

Judy: I listen to these on audio. I love the narrator, Susan Ericksen.

Dru: What book are you up to in the series?

Judy: I'm finishing up Thankless

Dru: That was a good book.

Judy: They all are. I never remember the crime, I read for the characters.

Dru: Same here

Dru: I love that point where Eve goes "gotcha" and she's one step closer to her prey.

Judy:  Like Evanovich, her characters tend to do the same things and are put in the same situations, but for some reason I love when it happens in the 'in Death' series.

Dru: Love my Stephanie Plum series and for the same reason.

Judy:  I like the Evanovich's, I love the Robb's.

Dru: I believe these are my two longest running series that I still read. Kate Collins and Margaret Maron follows.

Judy: I have not read Kate. I have several of her books. Love Margaret.

Judy: Evanovich can still make me laugh out loud but she's no longer a 'must read on pub date' author.

Dru: I still like to read Evanovich sooner than later. What are you reading now?

Judy: Reading The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies by Susan Wittig Albert. Listening to Criminal by Karin Slaughter.

Dru: Love Karin Slaughter

At first it made me happy because clearly these two love the written word and I just adore conversations like these. My second thought was yes, I too grew a little tired of Evanovich and the same situations repeating book to book. Unlike Judy and Dru, I stopped reading. (In my case, it had to do with my very limited reading for pleasure time. If I had won the lottery last night, I could read as much as I wanted and Evanovich would make it back on the list.)

This connects well with a book I presented to acquisitions this morning. Book one did very well in both sales and critical reviews, but book two dropped off in both areas. Book three is currently in production. I presented book four because I want to continue with the series. So this is what I am faced with – what keeps readers coming back? How do you develop a series and/or the characters, that the reader puts it in the “must read on pub date” list?

To me it’s a complicated answer. For example, you know exactly what you are getting with Janet Evanovich - light, funny, and plenty of awkward situations for Stephanie Plum. But take Karin Slaugter. In her books, you have no idea what is going to happen to her characters. People get killed – violently and sometimes graphically on the page. In a way, you still know what you are going to get – a story that explores relationships, human nature, and the depths of love and hate.

I think for me, I continue with a series because of characters. I need an emotional connection with the character and the plot is a tool to learn more about them. So what do you think? Are you in it for the plot only? Is it the characters that keep you coming back? Something else?

No Snowmageddom in the Midwest

Here in the Midwest we are having a rather warm winter. Sure, we were below zero around New Years Eve, but it has been very mild over all. I am sure that our weather will return to sub-zero temps soon and when it does, I will be stocked up. And so, I will present you with the best damn lasagna recipe ever! The link is here.

Ingredients:

• 10 ounce box of lasagna noodles
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 whole medium onion
• 6-10 cloves garlic
• 1 whole red bell pepper, diced
• 24 ounces, weight white mushrooms, chopped (I used portobella)
• 2 whole yellow squash, diced
• 2 whole zucchini, diced
• 1 can (28 ounce) whole tomatoes
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Red pepper flakes, cayenne, chili powder, and paprika (to taste)
• 30 ounces of ricotta cheese
• 2 whole eggs
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound thinly sliced mozarella cheese
• Extra parmesan cheese, for sprinkling

Obviously, the first thing you want to do is dice your vegetables. If you have a slap chop or something similar, make it your best friend. You have a lot of stuff to chop, and you want the pieces to be small and roughly the same size.

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Cook your lasagna noodles.

Heat the olive oil in large skillet or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté for a minute. Add the chopped red bell pepper and cook for another minute or so. This helps soften it up before you add the other veggies.

Add the squash, zucchini, and mushrooms, and cook for a few minutes. Pour in the wine and add salt, pepper, and seasonings to taste.

Crush the whole tomatoes with your hands or a fork, and pour the entire can into the skillet. Stir, and simmer for 20 minutes. Taste often to check the seasonings, add more if the taste dissipated when the tomatoes were added. Add chopped parsley.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, eggs, salt, pepper, and parmesan.

To assemble the lasagna, spread a small amount of the sauce on the bottom of a lasagna dish.  Layer 4 noodles on top, and then spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over them. Layer the mozzarella slices over the ricotta, and then top with 1/3 of the vegetable sauce. Repeat twice more, ending with the rest of the sauce and a sprinkling of parmesan.

Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 20 minutes, and then remove the foil and cook for another 10-15. Allow to sit at room temperature for at least 1o minutes before cutting and serving.

We deviated from the recipe slightly, after all, recipes are merely a suggestion. We added some mild Italian sausage and used spaghetti sauce instead of tomatoes. Put a slice of fresh baked bread on the side and it's perfect! Which is what my lunch is today and I am starving. So off I go.

Hope all you New Englanders are faring well!

Terri

Soft-boiled and mainstream categories

Hi gang –

So today we are talking mystery genres. If we are moving down the line, from light books to dark here is how it looks to me:

Traditional/cozy – soft boiled – mainstream/noir – suspense – thriller

I didn’t create a separate category for historical because they can fit under cozy, soft, or mainstream.

Last we talked about cozy, amateur sleuth, and traditional mysteries. You can further break them down into culinary, animal/pet, paranormal, crafting, etc.

Same thing for soft boiled. Soft boiled mysteries take the cozy one step further. Quite often there is a hook, but for me, that isn’t the defining point. To me, in a soft boiled mystery, as the reader you don’t have to suspend disbelief as much as in a cozy. The characters grow from what they have learned, which quite often makes the 12^th book in a series darker and more serious in tone than the first book in the series. One can only stumble over so many bodies without becoming jaded and a better sleuth. Character development is essential to soft boiled series. This is very true for the Murder by Month series by Jess Lourey. Her character, Mira James, stumbles across a few bodies and over the course of series moves from amateur sleuth to a PI in training.

The second defining point for me, and this truly applies for assigning categories to all books, is tone. Soft boiled may have humor, but it’s not a requirement. In response to Josh’s post, I would say that many mysteries that were previously called chick lit fall into the soft boiled category.

Mainstream encompasses a very large part of the mysteries being written. The plot is believable. Quite often there is a professional investigator involved. There is a high amount of tension and the main character is generally put in a perilous situation, or those closest the main character are. When I owned my bookstore, William Kent Kruger did a signing for every new book. At one signing he said something close to this, “you all know Cork (the main character of his series) is going to survive. After all, it’s called the Cork O’Connor series. Because of that, everyone in his life is fair game.” Which is true. Kent has killed off several characters close to Cork and it’s heart-wrenching every single time. Like soft boiled mysteries, character development is key. As a reader, you become attached to characters - if the author and I are doing our jobs correctly.

Wait, you might be thinking, isn’t character development important for all mysteries. For the most part yes. Just like for the most part, mysteries are series. It’s the stand alone books that are often high in suspense or action where character development isn’t always as important. We’ll discuss that next week when we discuss suspense and thrillers.

Hardboiled and noir, to me, are pretty close to mainstream. In general, the protagonist is a private detective and very cynical point of view. The antihero is often fighting against a corrupt legal system. There are some self-destructive characteristic as well.

OK, that is all for today! Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is name your favorite authors and what category you think they fall into.

A Cozy Proposal

Josh Getzler

I was talking to The Redoubtable Danielle this afternoon, not long after she got back to the office after having coffee with an editor from one of the bigger publishers out there. This editor had passed on one of Danielle’s submissions, a cozy mystery where the amateur sleuth is a sommelier, because it was too edgy. Danielle was frustrated—not so much at the editor, who liked the book (with good reason—it’s excellent!); but at the prevailing sense that the ability to sell these kinds of books is more and more difficult, and the requirements more and more specific.

“She told me that the only cozies she can sell are with crafts and knitting and cats and polite murders in book clubs,” she said.

NOTE! Before my successful cozy clients think that we are disparaging them: We are NOT. We love you. We sell you. You succeed. We are talking here about having the ability to expand what’s acceptable to be able to give readers a wider variety of books to read, so the market as a whole grows and there’s a bigger total readership for your books too. (Toni, we really do love you J)

Now mind you, cozies are only one type of crime fiction, as I’ve discussed before, and so have any number of other bloggers here on Hey Dead Guy. Terri Bischoff, whom I love and who publishes at this time four series I represent, just gave a very spot-on description of cozies this weekend, and is talking about other kinds of mysteries this coming week. There are procedurals, historicals, noirs (though, as my former colleague Dan Conaway told me many years ago, “noir will break your heart.”), and novels that don’t quite hit a formula head on.

But there are certain publishers, with particular imprints, that specialize in the cozies (many of which are mass-market paperbacks, and now many of which are e-first), and which, if you look at their New Release shelves at B&N, are indeed publishing one croissant-baker series after another carpentry series after a third driving school series (none of which are necessarily real series, but all plausible). They take place in small towns (a driving school mystery in, say, Boston would be too edgy, but not in Missoula), and they are comfortable.

Much of the time, they are also good. Again, that’s not my issue. My issue is that I think we’re glutting the market, and that cozy readers are going to become, frankly, bored.

So Danielle and I—after bemoaning the pass—started to spitball what would work, and here’s what we came up with.

We think there needs to be a chick lit for cozies—younger, more urban, maybe slightly sexier, maybe at times with greater darkness—aimed at the same market romance publishers were working toward with New Adult. We can call them the Hunger Games/50 Shades On The Subway readers (and yes, while it’s sort of funny to put those two together, they were the dominant books of that market for the past couple of years). It would allow for the post-grad-school sommelier solving a murder in Napa, or the actress in her first Broadway play whose rival falls off the rigging (did the hot stagehand do it?) or the young woman doing teach for America who has to deal with the disappearance of one of her students.

We feel like there is a model here that can work. We’re not trying to reinvent the industry. Just keep it from being wrapped in yarn.

One final word:  Again, please understand that this is NOT a screed against cozies. Far from it. It’s a plea for our creative colleagues on the Buy Side to break out of the box. Not a huge amount—just a little! But it could really make a difference.   

Cozy, Traditional, Amateur Sleuth - what do these tags mean?

Today I was asked if I thought there we substantive differences between cozy, traditional and amateur sleuth mysteries. An interesting question and certainly one to ponder. I think that definitions of sub genres evolve over time. Anyway, here is my answer - what do you think, dear reader?

 

I think that the differences are rather slight. The vast majority of cozy mysteries are amateur sleuth. No professional sleuth cozy comes to mind at all. But you do have professionals, usually privates eyes, in traditional cozies.

But I think the real difference lies in their definitions. A traditional mystery, which cozy has its roots, has certain hallmarks:

• No violence, bad language, or sex on the page
• The cast of characters is limited and include the bad guy from the beginning
• Generally set in a small town or something confining, like a boat or train
• The emphasis of the plot is solving the murder and fair play – the reader has all the clues, plus a few red herrings, to solve the case as well

At one time, the words cozies and traditional mysteries were interchangeable. But at some point along the way, cozies began to evolve. Now cozies general have:

• Little or no violence (the protag might be in some peril, but nothing too dark or scary), no bad language, and there is romance on the page. Usually between the female amateur sleuth and professional investigator/cop
• Generally set in a small town or setting
• There is some hook to the story – the protag is a jewelry maker, coffeehouse owner, scrap booker, auctioneer, pie shop owner, pet daycare owner, quilter, etc. Quite often these books are filled with recipes or designs.
• The emphasis is slightly less on the plot and more on the character relationships

 

Agree? Disagree? Let's hear how you define cozy and traditional! If I remember, maybe next week I will talk about the other end of the spectrum. Or the entire spectrum!

Stay safe and warm out there.

 

Bouchercon, Awards, and Ursula Le Guin

My apologies for not posting last week. I was at Bouchercon and was so caught up in the festivities that I forgot to post. Or it might just be my old age.

I believe that tomorrow Erin will be posting on Bloody Murder, the ad hoc panel that a group of us threw together to celebrate writers on the margins - writers who haven't gotten the exposure or support they deserve. The event itself was amazing. I don't remember how many authors participated, but I know it was over 40. Overall a pretty fantastic event. We should shirts and raised $500 for WriteGirl. MWA graciously provided free Bloody Marys during the event. It sounds like an event like this may become a regular at Bouchercon. This situation was turned into a very positive event and I applaude Bouchercon 2014 and Ingrid Willis for their cooperation and efforts to make it happen.

And then a funny thing happened. Catriona McPherson won the Anthony Award for the Best Paperback Original. I was floored. Of course I loved the book. Catriona's writing is amazing. She absolutely deserved the award. And I can tell you, there are more of these in the pipeline - contemporary suspense stand alones. Two published and three more coming.

For me personally, I suddenly felt legit. Like many authors, I believe a lot of acquiring editors are filled with doubt about our talent. Let's face it, not every book or series we acquire becomes a best seller. Heck, most of us would settle for a good solid seller. We may be acquiring books that we feel are solid and deserve to be published, yet they fail in the marketplace. Winning an Anthony Award is one of those confidence builders that helps to heal the broken heart for those books that didn't commerically succeed. I have to say that I am extremely proud. Of Catriona. Of the Midnight Ink authors who attended the awards and were there to cheer Catriona on. Of the whole Midnight Ink family - our authors, our editors, our sales people, our publicity and marketing departments. Pubbing a book is a group effort. And we all should be basking in glory. I do have the best job in the world. Now if I can only figure out the magical formula to make all my babies succeed.

I am going to wrap this up with a link to the speech Ursula Le Guin made. She was honored for Lifetime Achievement by the National Book Awards. Here is a transcript. Take a quick peek. She is calling out publishers for acting as profiteers rather than creating art. Powerful words by a highly respected pioneer. It's a difficult balancing act - publishing the very best that comes across my desk, yet being constantly aware of the market and the chances for financial success. Ms. Le Guin certainly gives us in the industry something to think about.

Have a great rest of the week y'all.

Wait Till Next Bouchercon

 

Josh Getzler

So I was looking through my Facebook feed this afternoon, and there are all manner of posts mocking me. THIS friend is packing short and tees for Long Beach. THIS one, already there, is posed in front of a film studio in LA. THAT one is saying where she will be at every moment of the next four days (not the bar. At least not ALL the time…).

 

And not me, this year. I’ll be getting ready for Child #2’s Bat Mitzvah, which is the Sunday following the end of the conference. I had no illusions. Last year, when we saw how the dates lined up, it was very clear that the HSG Client Bowl-o-rama against Team Decker would need to wait another year. I’ll miss you guys. Have fun talking about, thinking about, learning about, and listening to people talking about Crime Fiction.

 

 

 

 

 

Boundaries part 2

Josh wrote such a good post about agent/prospective client relationships that I thought I would add my two cents. The editor/prospective author relationship is quite the same. Like Josh, I attend a number of conventions and conferences every year. If I have been invited by a conference to be a guest editor, I usually do some combination of taking pitches, giving critiques, leading workshops, and doing panels. But regardless of that schedule, I make myself available as much as possible to the attendees. That means I hear pitches in the bar or the lobby and I don’t resent that. That is why I have been invited – to take pitches and mingle with the attendees.

But I too have an issue with the perception that editors (and agents) are unapproachable. At least, I don’t think I fall into that category! As Josh noted, we are in this business because we have a passion for it. I want to make offers on books. I want to sign debut authors. I want to sign established authors. I want to publish books that everyone wants to read.

There are two major drawbacks for me when it comes to attending conferences. First, I have to say no to a lot of people. I hate to disappoint, but not every project is for me or for Midnight Ink. Second, the amount of energy it takes to be “on” from 8am to 10pm (ok, usually it’s bar time) is overwhelming. I try to give each person who approaches me my full attention. Because of that, there are times when I need to take a breather, either I go up to my room for a few minutes or retreat to a green room.

Conferences for me are also about meeting other editors and agents. Because I am not in NYC, it’s important for me to cultivate those working relationships. But at the end of the day, I am a book nerd looking to connect with other book nerds and talk about nerdy book things like publishing and writing.

I am excited for Bouchercon. I won’t take too many pitches there because I am somewhat incognito there as opposed to a writer’s conference, but I will be at the bar nonetheless. Talking books, football, and whatever else comes up. Stop by and say hi. I have this Minnesota nice thing going on. 

Finding the one. Or two.

As an acquiring editor, I am like any other reader - I often fall in love with the books I read. Ok, sometimes it's just serious like and not love, but that is ok because it still works. For me to pursue a book deal, I have to feel some passion about the manuscript, otherwise I don’t give it the full attention it deserves.

Today I have two manuscripts sitting on my desk that I love. The problem – I don’t know how to market them. The first project involves some fantasy elements, and isn’t a strong mystery, but I am pretty confident that can be enhanced. The other involves a strong sci-fi element.

My dilemma is much like what Josh talked about earlier this week. It’s not a question of the market being saturated, or a trend ending – it’s all about will the book sell? For Josh, can he sell it to a publisher, and for the publisher, can we sell it to the consumer. I do much of what Josh does - I research the market, looking for comparable titles. We want something unique and original, yet it can’t be too different! The sales department wants to be able to say –“if you love (insert big name author or book here), then you need to read (insert name of debut author and title here).” Or, “this book by (author) is if (big name author) and (another big name author) had a love child.” Even Library Journal and Publishers Weekly will say “this book is for fans of (big name author).”

A few times I have had to pass on a book that I loved because I couldn’t confidently find the market. Or it was a bit too far outside our wheelhouse. To me, that is quite upsetting, because I do love the stories I publish. Yet at the end of the day, publishing is a business, and I have to bring in books I love, but also have the potential for commercial success.

As for the two manuscripts on my desk right now, I am pretty sure I will pursue both. I have more research to do, but my gut feeling is that both could do very well. Now, if I can just get through nine more launch meetings and sales conference before Oct. 28^th! (I bet you all are clamoring for my job right now.)

Have a great week y’all! I hope you all open a book this week and you fall head over heels in love with it.

Cover art and titles

October is a very busy month for me. This month I will have launch meetings for my Fall 2015 books. The launch is a big deal - at this meeting we decide the title and the cover direction of each book. We also discuss what the back cover should look like, decide on a series name if needed, and the "brand" or look we want to create. Super-duper important stuff. And the success of this meeting falls mostly on the shoulders of the acquiring editor. It's an interesting process and more than one person has asked how books are titled or where the covers come from.

My first step is reading the full manuscript or whatever materials I have. There are times when we have to launch a book before the manuscript is completed. In these cases it's imperative that the author and I have a good working relationship. Which leads me to my next step - I ask the author what they want. Most of the time the author and I are on the same page - we have similar ideas for covers and titles. Sometimes we are on opposite ends, though, and in those cases I have to go with my best judgment. (Those are pretty rare occurrence.)

After a conversation with the author, or sometimes concurrently, I start my research. I look for similar works already published - you can judge a book by it's cover in the crime fiction world. Cozies look like cozies. There is some variation, but a reader won't confuse an illustrated cozy cover for a photo-realistic psychological suspense. I create a set of notes that I send out to all those who attend the meeting. That includes - Publisher, Production Manager, Production Editor, Art Director, Cover Designer, Publicist, Sales and Marketing Manager, assorted Sales folks. And here are what my notes looked like for a book we launched yesterday:

I confess - for meeting the description of the novel was a lot longer, but I didn't want to give away too much! What is missing from this set of launch notes are comparable titles published by other houses. Because this is the fourth book we are doing with Catriona, we have a look already established. Our books with her are stand alones, so while we don't have a template, they do have a certain look/feel to them.

At the start of the meeting, we talk about the physical parts - trim size, whether we use an author photo or not, is there a pen name, etc. Then we get into the good stuff. First I give everyone a little more info about the book, a more detailed description, as well as if I am asking the author to make any major revisions or not. I will also add in any note- such as note worthy facts about the author or any previous books published either by us or others. Quite often sales will chime in on feedback they received from buyers. Then I offer the title the author and I have agreed on and we discuss... and discuss... and discuss... Sometimes it's super easy. We launched Jeff Cohen's second Asperger's book on Tuesday. He turned in his manuscript with the title - The Question of the Unfamiliar Husband. Everyone loved it. So we moved one. But for as many easy title decisions, there are just as many difficult discussions. From "I just don't like that" to "can it be a two word title?" There may be truth the rumor that our conference table has dents from me pounding my head a little too often.

The title and the cover design need to meld together. Sometimes it's helpful to table the title discussion and move to the cover design. Every launch meeting is different and has it's own life. There are some books where I ask the art dept to use the exact photo I have provided. There are some books where I give them some elements and I ask them to work them into a design. The latter is often the case for illustrated covers - I don't know why that is, other than the fact that we hire illustrators so it's important that they have some flexibility. It is very important that the cover designer gets what we need into a mocked up concept that we then send to the artist. In the case of Catriona's book, she and I both looked for images of bridges and we ended up with the selection above. Our cover designer builds the cover in house, so he and I can tweak it until we are all happy with the end design.

In all cases, with both title and cover design, the loudest voices in the room tend to be mine and sales. Between my experience as a bookseller and bookstore owner, and the immediate feedback the sales department gets from customers, we hopefully have the pulse on what trends are happening. For example, it was well over a year ago that skulls and crossbones seemed to start dropping off cozy mysteries. Previous to that, they were pretty commonplace on the vast majority of cozy books.

There are times when we need to just stop to the meeting and reschedule. And there are many times where we decide on a title and I am not in love with it. I will let it sit and eventually the author and I come up with a title we love. In those cases, we reschedule a meeting, or meet via email to approve the new title. If we have an issue on cover design, we always have a new meeting.

My role in the cover and title meeting is rather schizophrenic. I am representing the author in that meeting, but I am also representing the line. I may have to convince the author to accept a title or design that he or she doesn't love. I also have to choose my battles. It's unfortunate, but it's true. I would like to say that every book I publish is perfect - that I love the title or design. I can't quite say that, but over the last five years (I believe my five year anniversary at Midnight Ink is next week!) I have gotten a bit more... crankypants, one might say. I work tirelessly to make sure everything is a perfect as I can make it. It serves no one, not the author nor us as the publisher, to put out a book that isn't 100% fantastic.

Thanks for listening to my rambling! I hope this answers a few questions. I purposely left out any horror stories, the ones where I beat my head upon the table, but hey, catch me at a conference and I might just share a few. :) And I apologize for not posting last week. I was home sick. :(

See ya next week, folks! Drop me a line if there is anything about publishing you want answered!