Conferences for Writers

I just received a pamphlet in the mail entitled The Writer’s Summer for the Southampton Writers Conference sponsored by the Stony Brook Southampton MFA program in Writing and Literature. This reminded me that summer will be here soon and now is the time to start looking into writers conferences. Of course, there are conferences all year round and a great resource for finding them by location and month is the Shaw Guides. Poets & Writers magazine is also another good source for conferences.

How can a writers conference be helpful to an aspiring novelist? There are as many answers to that question as there are types of conferences. There are those that focus on hands-on workshops where you can get direct feedback on your writing, and others that emphasize the business side; meeting agents and editors and even having them read excerpts of your work. It is also valuable to network with other writers as well as to meet published authors and learn about their experience on the road to publication.

A writers conference that I found very helpful was the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, which I attended in 2001 and 2002. This conference, now in its 39th year, takes place every August in Northern California and includes workshops, lectures, panels, readings, and individual meetings with agents and editors. What I especially liked was that it required a writing sample as part of the application so the fact of getting accepted equalled encouragement of my writing goals. I felt that the price of the conference, including accommodations and some meals, was quite reasonable. I treasure the writer friends I met at Squaw through workshopping, socializing, and the shared housing.

Another conference I enjoyed was the San Diego State University Writers Conference, which is held every January. This is a more business-focused conference, though they do have some informal workshopping. What I liked was the opportunity to have agents and editors read an excerpt of my novel ahead of time and then be able to meet with them one-on-one for feedback. There were also interesting panels about all aspects of the publishing industry, from securing an agent to book contracts to royalties, with many to choose from.

Writing can make for a lonely existence and it’s great to be able to take some time out to network face-to-face with other writers. You can share your war stories and make some great friendships while getting valuable input on your writing career.

SLEEPING WITH WARD CLEAVER - by Jenny Gardiner

SLEEPING WITH WARD CLEAVER. It’s a great, eye-catching title, right? So it’s not surprising that my guest today, as part of the Girlfriends' Cyber Circuit lit blog tour is Jenny Gardiner, won the American Title contest and in turn had her debut novel published by Dorchester Publishing, the oldest independent mass market publisher in the United States. SWWC has been called sharp and witty, and tells the the tale of mother-of-five Claire Doolittle, who seems to have lost her way, and realizes her husband Jack has turned into a modern-day version of Ward Cleaver, the stuff-shirted father from the Leave it to Beaver sitcom. Things become complicated when a former fiance suddenly re-enters her life, and Claire must figure out who she is and who she really wants to be, and decide whether her sagging marriage is worth saving.

Jenny was kind enough to stop by and answer a few questions.

Name three songs that would be perfect for the soundtrack of your book.

The Way You Look Tonight, sung by Rod Stewart
Let's Fall in Love, sung by Rod Stewart
Someone to Watch Over Me, sung by Rod Stewart

How do you approach writing your novel? Do you outline the plot? Start with a character or...?

I totally write by the seat of my pants. With SLEEPING WITH WARD CLEAVER I started out with a title and had to come up with an actual story. I tend to follow my nose as I write and am often so surprised when things lead back to other things and help to tie up loose ends. I'm a very organic writer, and probably organic in most all I do. I have a brother who has a list of life plans he follows. I am SO far removed from that level of organization it's not even funny! It's hard enough to make day plans for me LOL

Who are the top three writers who have influenced your writing style?

In the "big picture" I'd say J.D. Salinger and James Joyce. I love that first person narrative and the stream-of-conscious writing styles ever since first reading them years and years ago. I can't think of a specific third author but I will say I am really motivated by beautiful prose. I'll read a book with gorgeous writing and it inspires me to step up my own writing.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Slave over a hot stove. No, really, I spend a lot of time with my family. I also do a LOT of driving, as my kids have a ton of activities that require that of me--sports, extracurricular things, etc. I love to cook but don't find the time much these days. I had been studying Italian and really love it, but I was regressing and got too busy with my book launch so had to put it on hold. I love to travel and we travel as much as we can (or as much as our credit card bill will allow us). I love to go out to dinner with friends, and we like to go to the movies a lot.

What and where is your favorite restaurant and why is it your favorite?

There's this really fun little Asian tapas martini bar in my town called Bang. The upstairs has a bunch of beat-up old couches that leave you at somewhat awkward angles to the coffee tables you eat at, but it's a really convivial place and there's always great music, great food, great drinks and great company. Love to go there with our best friends and catch up and just enjoy each others company.

Thanks Wendy for allowing me to visit!

Thanks for coming by, Jenny, and best of luck to you with SLEEPING WITH WARD CLEAVER!

Be sure and check out Jenny’s Web site.

EARTHLY PLEASURES - by Karen Neches

Karen Neches is the author of the just released novel, EARTHLY PLEASURES. Amazingly prolific, she also writes under the name Karin Gillespie and is the nationally bestselling author of The Sweet Potato Queen’s First Big-Ass Novel with Jill Conner Browne and three novels in the critically acclaimed Bottom Dollar Girl series. She’s the founder of the virtual tour The Girlfriend Circuit as well as the grog for Southern authors A Good Blog is Hard to Find. She is a former lifestyle columnist for the Augusta Chronicle.

EARTHLY PLEASURES has been chosen as a Booksense Notable for February and snagged a wonderful review from Publishers’ Weekly. I love the cover and am looking forward to reading this very intriguing-sounding book! (Gotta love that pitch: The Lovely Bones meets Bridget Jones!). Karen was kind enough to answer some questions for me.

What was the inspiration behind the writing of EARTHLY PLEASURES?

I had this sudden thought: Lovely Bones meets Bridget Jones. I was so excited, I felt like I’d discovered how to turn rocks into gold. Then I spoke with a publicist who said, “What a horrific notion.” Too late. I was already 70,000 words in. My agent hated it. My editor wanted to use it for kindling. I almost gave up on it. I cursed the novel many times but now it’s my favorite.

What is the elevator pitch for EARTHLY PLEASURES?

Skye Sebring is a greeter in Heaven who falls hard for a mortal on Earth, named Ryan. She ends up following him to Earth and learning all of my life lessons through five Beatle songs

What is one thing you’ve learned about the publishing industry since
getting your first book deal?

The most important thing to a book's success is house enthusiasm. An author needs to do everything he or she can to generate excitement well before the book is published.

Who are the top three writers who have influenced your writing style?

Donna Tartt (she’s a genius. I can barely type her name without wanting to burn incense in homage). Anne Tyler (I would faint if I met her) and Anne Lamott (I’m thinking of getting an Anne Lamott tattoo I adore her so much.)

What are you reading now?

I just finished THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE by Julie Buxbaum. Read it now. Thank me later.

Be sure and check out Karen's Web site. I wish her a big success with EARTHLY PLEASURES!

Brit Brit vs. Xtina

In the late 1990s when I worked as a producer for some children’s Web sites, I was put in charge of the entertainment areas. Not having any kids myself, I was out of the loop when it came to tween music, but I soon found out that the major question of the day was: Britney or Christina? If you liked Britney Spears, who debuted with “...Baby One More Time” in 1998 when she was seventeen, it was because she was America’s sweetheart. More coquettish than sexy, and more about dancing and entertaining than singing. She was a little bit naughty, but downright nice. If your preference was Christina Aquilera, who burst upon the scene a year after Britney with “Genie in a Bottle,” it was because you appreciated someone a little earthier, a little more real, and a girl who could really sing. Although the two had both been on “The New Mickey Mouse Club Show” in their earlier years and were purported to be good friends back in the day, their images couldn’t have been more different.

Several years later the two were still wildly popular, but Christina had somehow found her inner slut. Her videos were often criticized for being close to pornographic and it was as if she couldn’t wait to be taken seriously as an adult star, leaving behind her teen idol days as quickly as possible. She was fond of dressing like a prostitute and changed the spelling of her name to Xtina. I had the chance to write a short biography on Christina for a children’s book publisher and when I told people the subject matter of my project, many often went ballistic. “That girl is a total sleaze!” they’d say, veins bulging from foreheads. “She’s such a horrible influence on young girls!” It reminded me of what people used to say about Madonna. Britney, now in a relationship with another squeaky clean teen idol and former Mickey Mouse Club alum, Justin Timberlake, still seemed to hang on to her unoffensive, Gidget/Barbie doll image.

As I did research on Christina Aguilera I could see more differences between her and Britney. While Christina was obviously influenced by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, she also held singers like Aretha Franklin and Etta James in great esteem. Even at a young age Christina had a feel for what her style should be and honed her skills as a vocalist, feeling a real affinity for blues and soul music from decades earlier. I get the impression that Britney was the type who just wanted attention, and a way to get that was to be an entertainer. She doesn’t seem to have any particular musical influences and, although there are old videos of her as a youngster belting out songs with a surprisingly powerful voice, it has never been evident on any of her recordings, which rely on cutesy or breathy vocals. Britney liked to dance and sing and act, but didn’t seem to take any of it too seriously. It seemed what she really wanted was to be a star.

Fast forward to today and we now see these two women occupying very different places that I doubt anyone would have predicted. Christina, now 27, seems to be happily married to a record executive and just gave birth to her first child. At age 26 Britney’s life seems to be in shambles and it’s not necessary to go into the details of all her trials and tribulations, which everyone must know by now unless they’ve been living in a cave for the past year. Ms. Spears seems to be in desperate need of help and it’s a sad spectacle to see people making fun of and exploiting someone who so obviously is having a serious mental breakdown. We can only hope that she gets the help she needs and can get through this and into a more stable life such as that of her old pal and former slut Xtina.

Is 2008 the Year You'll Get Published?

Akemashite omedeto gozaimasu is one way to say “Happy New Year” in Japanese. Literally it means something like, “Congratulations on the opening of the new year,” and I like to think that at this time we’re all open to new possibilities. For those who want 2008 to be the year they get their novel published, here is some info and resources I hope you’ll find helpful.

Before you send out your queries to agents, you should make sure that your manuscript is ready. In an illuminating series of articles in the latest issue of Poets & Writers magazine (Jan/Feb 2008) one agent says that the biggest mistake a writer can make is submitting a manuscript too soon. Do you have trusted readers who can critique your novel who will give you honest, constructive feedback? Have you considered hiring a manuscript consultant to look at your work? A good place to start might be researching writing teachers at your local colleges and universities who may offer such a service. And, you never know, some of your favorite authors may also do manuscript consultations on the side--check out their Web sites. If plot is one of your weak points, you may want to look into Blockbuster Plots.

As far as finding an agent, there are a couple of sites I recommend. One is AgentQuery.com, which offers loads of useful information on the process of querying agents. Another feature is the ability to search for agents who represent particular genres and styles of novels.

Publishers Marketplace is another great site. The first thing to do is to sign up for their Publisher’s Lunch and Deal Lunch e-mail newsletters. These are free and will give you industry news that is useful in finding what types of novels agents are selling. A paid subscription to the Web site will give you even more features, including your own Web page and the ability to search on agents and what they’ve sold over the last several years.

Good luck!

Culture Shock: Japan Discovery Challenge

A new Web TV reality show starts on Sunday, December 16 at e-bukatsu.net. It's called Culture Shock: Japan Discovery Challenge and has Japanese and American high school students teaming up in groups (two Japanese and two Americans)and competing to produce short films about Japan. Each team has a bilingual leader and from the trailer that you can watch on the site I could garner that the typical communication and cultural problems arise with people from two disparate cultures have to work together who don't know each others' language. Looks like it's going to be quite an interesting show and already there are snippets you can watch that have some great location shots of Akihabara, Asakusa, and Shibuya, which are districts in Tokyo. Twenty-four segments will be shown weekly from December 16 through February 17. By the way, "bukatsu" means extra-curricular activity and many Japanese school children are often saddled with bukatsu as well as "juku" (study schools outside of regular school). Taihen desu ne (that's tough!).

Karaoke Kichigai (Crazy for Karaoke)

Karaoke (singing popular songs to pre-recorded backing tracks) was invented in Japan. It means “empty orchestra” and is pronounced as kah-rah-okay, not karey-okie, as has been adopted in the United States.

I first discovered karaoke in Japantown (Nihonmachi) in San Francisco in the late 1970s. I was a frustrated vocalist who had performed for peanuts (and less) in a number of bands. And I was also a rabid Japanophile who couldn’t get enough of studying Nihongo (the Japanese language). So I jumped at the chance to be able to learn Japanese pop songs (J-pop) and perform them without the need for backup musicians who were often either too messed up to play or plain just didn’t even show up for a gig. Singing in Japanese was easier than speaking it, and it was fun to pretend to be fluent for the duration of a song. I honed my skills at karaoke bars in Japantown and even briefly worked at one as a singing bar hostess. Soon I was performing in Japanese karaoke recitals and contests, usually the lone female Caucasian in the group, and racked up a few trophies and prizes.

At that time I was singing songs by the pop idols of the day—Akina Nakamori and Seiko Matsuda. I also tried my hand at learning enka, a more traditional type of singing and did songs by Masako Mori and Sayuri Ishikawa. When I moved to Tokyo I appeared on a wacky television show that was a karaoke contest for foreigners (gaijin) (see picture). I even had my own backup dancers, way before Gwen Stefani and her Harajuku Girls.

I continued singing in Japanese and when I returned to California I eventually even got my own home laser-disc karaoke set. But laser discs fell out of favor and died along with eight-tracks, Betamax, and the Apple Newton. Now there were “karaoke boxes,” establishments that supplied small rooms rented by the hour where you could sing your heart out, choosing from thousands of songs; there was no need to buy your own.

In 2002 I auditioned for NHK TV’s “Nodo Jiman” (“Brag Your Throat”) program when it came to San Francisco. I was one of the twelve finalists and performed Teresa Teng’s “Kuu-koo” (“Airport”), broadcast live by satellite all over the world from Bill Graham Auditorium.

Now, promoting my debut novel, MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT, I am still singing in Japanese. My heroine in the book, Midori Saito, ends up working at a karaoke lounge in Japantown and we want to give readers the opportunity to hear some Japanese music. So at some of my book events my husband, Manabu “Stokemaster” Tokunaga backs me up on electronic keyboard and I perform “Shura no Hana,” a Japanese song made popular in the Quentin Tarantino film, “Kill Bill,” and sung by Mieko Kaji, as well as other Japanese favorites.

Otanoshimi!