The Book You Want to Read

Recently, I've spent WAY too much time analyzing trends, what's been selling, what hasn't been, and trying to apply that to my own books.

That's really freaking stupid.

Okay, it's important to be knowledgeable about the business, sure. But I think I had more success in letting the best-sellers write what they wanted, and just sticking to writing what I wanted.  It was way more fun, too.

That was my one rule when I first started: I would write the kind of book that Teen Me wanted to read. I'm lucky in the fact that Teen Me and Me are actually quite similar, as I still don't consider myself a full-fledged master of adulthood. The book Teen Me wanted to read, coincidentally, is nowhere near what is popular these days, for these reasons:

1. It was somewhat short. I remember finishing up a LONG day of homework, and the first thing I wanted to do was sit down with a book. But I also loved the feeling of satisfaction I got from finishing a book, especially when I could do it in one sitting. I didn't want overly complicated. I didn't want massive subplots. I wanted a nice little story, and  . . .
2. It had a beginning, middle, and definite end.  No cliffhanger endings. No sequels. When it ended, I got to work in my head where it went. I didn't have to wait and agonize for the next part.  And also . . .
3. That ending . . . it was happy. What can I say...  when I was a teen and my life was full of so much trauma, I liked happy. And I liked happy endings. Mostly because
4. I had a very goofy side, and liked to laugh.  My books had to have a little dose of goofy in it. I'm a goofy person. I don't do angst really well. Writing serious scenes is hard for me because I am so tempted to throw in a stupid joke, to lighten the mood. 
5. It wasn't about vampires, or witches, or anything else that's been "done" before.

If you'll notice, loooong, angst-ridden series seem to be in these days. That's what's popular. Or at least, that's what the gatekeepers, the ones who talk to teens and say, "This is what you'd like," would have us think.

But I don't think all teens like that.  I know that Teen Me would have one word for what's popular these days:  Ew.

So I am going to keep focusing on writing the book that I want to read. If it's not popular, that's okay. At least I know that Teen Me would read it, and she would be proud.

Objects in the Mirror . . .

About a decade or so ago, I had a bunch of stressful things happening in my life.  So I a) never ate and b) exercised all the time, which was a really bad combination, probably just as bad as eating too much and never exercising. Anyway, as a result, I was this little twiggy, unhealthy, size-0 thing.

But I can still remember, very clearly, sitting in the passenger seat of my husband's car as we travelled, looking at the reflection on the side window. Of the flesh of my thighs, spreading out across the seat.

And I thought, "Ew. I'm fat."

But I was a size zero.

Now as a healthy and normal size 8, I'll look at pictures of myself back then and think how positively skeletal I was. How sick I was.

This is something I remind myself of when I'm writing. When I read my work back to myself and think, "Wow, this stinks."

We are too close to ourselves, and to anything we create. We can not see it accurately. At least, not without stepping away from it for a few weeks or months.

I know some writers operate without critique partners. I am really not sure how they do it, and I'd love to know.  I will occassionally think something I write is awesome and learn from my trusted friends that it is not. More often, I will think something I wrote is terrible, and learn that it actually isn't so bad. But I really have no idea, most of the time, where my stuff rates on the Suck-o-meter. Even after five books. No idea. I doubt I ever will.

I don't think it helps that writing is so subjective, and that one person's trash is another person's favorite book of all time. Often I'll send a book in after edits, thinking it needs another couple of drafts, only to be horrified that it was accepted and moved on to copyedits. I want to scream, "No, not yet!" hold it to myself as tight as I can, do a takeback. But it's too late. I try to comfort myself, "My editor is a pro, she knows when a book is ready."  But most often I wallow in the thought of all the changes I could've made, that would have made it so much better.

It's so easy to see the flaws in yourself. So easy.

It's impossible to write a book without flaws, at least in someone's eyes.

A decade or so ago, I always had my husband, pulling me from the brink, telling me that I was perfect, just the way I was. Not that I was too thin, or too fat. In his eyes, I was more than my weight. I was perfect.

And now I have critique partners that do the same thing for me. So someone says my books are too short. So someone says my characters are whiners. So someone says that scene was too unbelievable. They tell me my books are more than that one character, or that one scene. And while my books may not be perfect to everyone, they may just be perfect for someone.

And that's enough for me. It should be enough for anyone. I hope it's enough for you.

And I hope you find yourself a wonderful critique partner. They are worth SO much.

XO,
Cyn

Stuff. Yeah, I know that makes this entry sound so compelling, you have to read it.

Some have looked at my rather blank Events page and asked me when my next signing is, and well . . . not for a little while, I guess. I'm speaking to librarians early next month, but after that . . . big black hole of signings!  I had a really nice one with Josh Berk and Elisa Ludwig last weekend, and it was lots of fun. The Exton BAM is great.  Here's a pic (big thanks to Michelle for her pic-taking skills):

 

 



I may have more eventually, and if I do, I'll post my schedule here.

I also wanted to make a mention to certain fans of mine.  Notably, foreign fans. I am getting the NICEST emails from readers outside the US who are interested in seeing my books in their country. Actually, a lot of them. A lot lot lot of them, so many that I'm having a bit of a lag responding to them all. If you are one of those people, I want to thank you so much for your interest, as it means so much to me that my book has captured your attention.  For awhile, I tried to keep up with these requests. Unfortunately, now, my pocket book is so small (I am a writer, after all), and I'm unable to send mail overseas. I really, really, apologize for this, as I welcome all your emails and am so flattered by your interest.  But I also have a family to feed. :) But again, thank you! Right now, you can find some of my books in the US, Canada, Hungary, Germany, and Italy... but I hope that one day my books will be available in your corner of the world, too.

I hope you all are having a lovely September.

XO, Cyn

Bow Down Before Me, Fools!

It has come to my attention that some of the world thinks that I am an egotistical jerk because of my response to the person who contacted me regarding the titling of Dead River.

Why, yes, I am. I am SOOOOOO important, being published by a Big-6 publisher, and you all, if you are not, are nothing.

I've found there is no way for me to say who my publisher is without looking like a big, conceited blow-hard, which is why I deleted part of the post. (Thank goodness for screen shots!) Actually, here's the thing: Being published by a major publisher does not make an author feel better than anyone else-- in fact, usually, it scares the crap out of them.

I know, boo-hoo-hoo, you got paid to write and aw it's so awful. Go shut up now, Cyn. I'll admit, that part is awesome! But:

Firstly, when it happens, you think that you're a fluke. You think that just about anyone in the world, even a few monkeys working in a room round the clock for a year, can ALSO be published by a major publisher, if only the stars aligned correctly.

Secondly, because of the first point, you live in fear that you will never have another book published. You likely got an okay advance, and so your life is devoted to making sure that advance earns out to please the "Big Publisher Gods" that you "work" for.  You become a slave to the numbers, because you want to make this your career and you want your bosses to be happy with you and not think you're a big turd. 

Thirdly, because you are not Suzanne Collins, you did not get as much promotion as you would have expected from a large publisher. In fact, you probably got next to nothing. And so while you are sitting at a signing twiddling your thumbs and watching people snatch your bookmarks away and use them as tissues, you think of all the money that YOU YOURSELF put into those bookmarks, and wonder if you should have spent ALL your advance money on promoting yourself, instead of half of it. You set up a blog and a website and a facebook and twitter account even though you don't like all that crap and are a very private person, just because you know that's what they expect of you. You wrack your head trying to think of things to tell people that are interesting, so they don't forget about you and your books, and meanwhile because you are a social nitwit you make it seem like you are a conceited jerk who hates reviewers and writers and basically anyone who might read your book.

Fourthly, also because you are not Suzanne Collins, when your editor tells you to change this, you change it.  When they tell you to go to this place, you go there. When they tell you to spin around in circles while patting your head and rubbing your belly, you do that, too. Because they know what they're doing... they work for a well-known publisher, after all. And I could be a monkey. I don't pretend for one moment that I have any sparkling knowledge or talent that nobody else has. This isn't about "art", and about how sparkly and wondrous and unique your prose is, and how like murdering baby chipmunks it would be to alter it. It's about business. It's about you-and-your-work-are-not-divine. It's about what will sell. And the team at a publisher works hard to figure that out. So I couldn't change the title of Dead River if I wanted to. It's in my publisher's hands. If they thought it would sell better if it were called Poop River, I'd go with it. Reluctantly.

Those are what I can think of off the top of my head. I know I am hugely fortunate to have been published by a major publisher, and NOT the other way around-- it's a dream I've had since I was a kid. Despite the above, it's still wonderful. And it's one I know that anyone can experience, should they choose, with the right amount of luck and patience.  And maybe a monkey.

The Proper Care and Feeding of Trolls...

I don't have a green thumb at all. Every plant kept in my presence will usually wilt to a stalk. It's not that I possess a Medusa-like ability to just glance at something and make it lifeless... it's just that I'm scattered and usually forget. I ignore.

However, I've learned that while this is a terrible curse with plants and pets, it's actually a gift when it comes to trolls.  Trolls do not like being ignored. When you're not paying attention to them, they die quickly.

The problem is, it's easy to ignore a plant. It's not so easy to ignore something that's going "Look at me! Look at me!  Wanna fight?"

But that's the best thing to do. Because some people just live to get a rise out of people. That's all the exist for. It's a pretty pathetic existence, but perhaps they're used to being ignored in their own lives. This is their attention-grab.

Yesterday I made the mistake of responding to a troll. You see, I get a few emails a day from people I don't know, and I try to respond to all of them. I feel a little guilty when I don't, and I usually enjoy corresponding with readers. If you read yesterday's blog post, you'll see the email. It was slightly rude, insinuating I was unprofessional, but I've been called a lot worse in my life, and his concern was one I'd once had. So I felt I could respond and explain what I'd learned from my experience. I know had I been in that situation, I'd have appreciated the knowledge.

Well, the situation escalated. After I received an argumentative response to my email, I emailed and stated that I would not be responding to further comments.  It was obvious at that point that he was just looking for a fight. As I was moving to block his email, I received a barrage of emails, calling me a rash of insulting names which I can't even repeat here since I only skimmed and then deleted.

That was not my first run-in with a troll, but I felt the same as I had the first time, like that was 20 minutes of my life I'll never get back. A total waste of time. You can't fix stupid, and you can't reason with someone who is looking for a fight simply because they like fighting. The best thing you can do is walk away.  If I'd been smarter, I wouldn't have answered at all and would have referred this person over to my publisher, who would have ignored him. That's what, in hindsight, I should have done.

The proper care and feeding of trolls is simple. Don't. Because if they capture your attention, they'll capture you. They'll win.  So don't let them win. Ignore them, and let them die.

Two Books, One Title...

I received this letter this morning:

RE: The Novel Title "Dead River"

Are you aware that the title of your new novel is the same as another novel published February 2010?http://www.amazon.com/Dead-River-Fredric-M-Ham/dp/1450202713/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345085916&sr=8-1&keywords=Dead+River

Professional courtesy would call for you to change the title of your novel to avoid confusion even though the genres are different.

Most all professional writers do due diligence and check titles of published novels so these conflicts do not occur.

(Name Redacted)

My response was this:

Dear (Name Redacted):

I am aware of this. However, I believe "most all professional writers" are aware that book titles can not be copyrighted. And because there are millions of books on Amazon, with thousands being added every day, it is a very common occurance for books to have the same title. I am actually surprised there are not more books entitled "Dead River", considering there a quite a few Dead Rivers in the United States, and it does make for a very creepy title.

 The book you are referencing came out awhile ago, and it's not the same genre, so there can be little confusion. I would like to point out to you my novel SLEEPLESS, which came out in 2010. If you check it on Amazon, you will see MANY books with that title. Ironically, two of them are the same genre as mine. Yet, I have never once had my titles confused with theirs. Another book of mine, TOUCHED, which came out this month, shares its title with another book in the same genre, coming out later this year. I consider those to be closer matches than what you have provided me, and yet, as I have learned, there is little reason to be concerned.

 I am fortunate to be working with a major publisher who regularly consults the market and makes determinations for me as to what my titles should be. If they have any concerns over conflict, believe me, they would address them.

 Thank you for your concern.

 Cyn Balog

www.cynbalog.com

FAIRY TALE (Delacorte, out now!)

SLEEPLESS (Delacorte, out now!)

STARSTRUCK (Delacorte, out now!)

TOUCHED (Delacorte, out now!)

DEAD RIVER (Delacorte, April 9, 2013)

What are your thoughts about two books having the same title?

UPDATE: The person who contacted me earlier responded. The response is so laughable that I should probably not feed the troll, but sometimes I can't help myself.

Of course titles can not be copyrighted, you missed the point. This is not a legal issue but a professional one.

I already stated below, the genres are not the same, however, there still could be confusion having the same title ...

Your publisher may want to do a better job next time.

Glamorous Release Day

TOUCHED releases today.



I have read so many release day stories, which included book signings, travelling to bookstores, parties with cake and friends and champagne and all those good things.

But me? Today, I'm going to work. I'll eat lunch at my desk. I'll come home and take my daughter for her yearly physical. I will go to bed. I will not have received any congratulations from anyone in my "real" life about the release of my book. All the people that I deal with on a daily basis do not know it's release date for me. They know I'm an author, but they don't read, so they don't really care.


So that's release day. Pretty much just like any other day in my life.

But here's why I'm grateful. I have some really great online critique partners and friends that have helped me with TOUCHED, and I know that the book never would have made it into print without their help. Heather, Teri, Maggie, Mandy, Karen, and Brooke, I'm looking at you! Also, I owe the team at Delacorte and my agent, Jim, a huge debt of gratitude for putting up with my craziness. And I can not forget the bloggers who have taken the time to review TOUCHED and my other books on their blogs. And lastly, but most importantly, to all the readers... thank you. My day may be very ordinary, but I'm still releasing A BOOK, my 4th one, and to me, that's extraordinary, and all because of you.

ETA: I've learned that Barnes & Noble IS carrying TOUCHED!! This has made me so happy. Thank you to everyone for the congratulations, for helping me to spread the word, and most of all, for reading my work. It means so much to me.