Guess What Happens This Year?

My book comes out. That's what happens this year.

Gasp!

I know - I can hardly believe it myself. But it's the first thing I thought when midnight struck on December 31 and the New Year rolled in.

Every time people ask me when my book comes out, I still say, "Fall of next year," almost on automatic. Then I have to correct myself: "No, no, I mean September. It comes out in September." Then my eyes bug out, and I have to take deep breaths. Because that means, months. I will get to hold my book in my hand in MONTHS. Other people will get to read it even sooner than that. 

I'm trying not to think about it too much.

*resists the impulse to go to goodreads.com and see if Always Neverland is up there yet*

Besides, it's not like I don't have plenty of stuff to do before then. Plenty of book-marketing related stuff. Though it is about that time of year, these are not New Year's resolutions. They are goals, and I will now share them with you: :-)

1. Blog more regularly. (Yes, I know that I've been neglectful in the past few months. *hangs head bashfully*) Goal = once a week, or four times a month.
   
2. Create other pages besides just these posts, so it feels like a real website, not just a blog. (Must write a bio...must write a real bio and not just blab about myself to my editor's assistant over the phone, which is what happened last fall...)
   
3. Join either Twitter or Tumblr. I know everybody's on "the Twitter" as Betty White calls it in You Again. But how about Tumblr? I hear good things. I see pretty things, like pretty pretty pics and cool quotes. That may be the place for me.
   
4. Try not to bite my nails every time I think about what the cover will look.....Ahem, okay, maybe this doesn't need to be on the list, but it's a good reminder. :-)

There we go: quality tasks that will do their part to distract me from the upcoming EVENT. And now that I've posted them, I'm three times as likely to actually accomplish them. Hurray!

Guess what??

Guess. Go on - guess.

Ashley in Neverland is in copy-editing!!! 

Which means that after 6+ months of revising, the manuscript is out of my hands. Whew.

(Actually, I wasn't really expecting it. I sent the lastest revision off on Friday, completely sure that Monday would bring a bunch of last-minute fixes.)

My editor Barbara - well, probably her assistant Alex, to be more accurate - will send the ms document to Managing Editorial, who will send it to one of their copyeditors. That copyeditor will either check the ms for grammar, spelling, consistency problems, etc. - or the copyeditor may send it out to a freelancer, who will check the same things.

Then Managing Editorial will route it back to Editorial, and Barbara will look over it and ask Alex to mail it to me. (Or email it if it's done digitally.)

But that'll probably take weeks and weeks.

For now, I have some time. I think I'll do a happy dance and go to Pinkberry to celebrate!

Update! GASP!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!

My editor sent me a cover sketch* for Ashley in Neverland today!

I'm so sorry - I can't share it.

I know I'm being mean by dangling it in front of you, but I was just so excited! I'm actually in DC now, visiting a couple of my oldest friends. I couldn't really see it on my phone, so I had to stop the day's excitement and find a computer with internet.

It's so adorable! The drawing is expressive and fun and happy-looking, and I don't know how I'm going to wait until I see the next stage. When it has color. And lettering!

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

*Cover Sketch = the preliminary drawing that the cover artist makes to show the publishing house what they have in mind. This one was a pencil drawing.

Update!!

Guess what?

It took some time. It took a ton of brainstorming and many emails between me and my editor (and between my editor and the Sales department and other HarperCollins powers-that-be that need to approve things). But we finally FINALLY have a title.

Ready for it?

Ready?

Ashley in Neverland

By Zoe Barton

Coming to stores near you in Fall 2011

Wow, it looks so beautiful. And official. 

I'm not totally sure if I'm allowed to mention this, but you might be curious about the previous incarnations:

When I started the project last year, the placeholder title was Return to Neverland. It was perfect...except for just one important thing: it was already taken. By a Disney sequel.

This spring, my editor and I agreed on Peter Pan & Me, which was rejected, because it sounded too young. (There's also a song by the same name.)

But I'm very happy with this new title. It's so pretty. I can't wait to see it in type. :-P

Let's look at it just one more time:

Ashley in Neverland

Happy sigh.

I Got to Talk to My Editor Today :-)

When I woke up this morning, I discovered an email that my editor had sent fifteen minutes before. She wanted me to call her. Generally, she thought the manuscript was terrific, but she wanted to chat.

I emailed her back, saying I would call in an hour, and I set about a rushed version my morning routine - the coffee, the shower, the gathering of writing materials (mainly manuscript, notes, and pen and paper for more notes).

I also fretted. I bit my nails. I considered calling earlier to get it over with. I know this woman. She's wonderful, but the word "generally" tipped me off that something big was wrong.

There was. I called and found out it was too short.

Apparently, there was a miscommunication between my wonderful editor and me. I followed the contract, which said 30K, but in her mind, she was thinking it would be longer, maybe 45-50K.

And so basically, my editor said, Good stuff, but we want more.

As far as significant revisions go, this is the best news ever.

When I received the contract, I knew how slender it would make the book - probably just as slender as The Spiderwick Chronicles once were. I knew that this would severely limit the amount of description the book would need, and when you're writing a middle-grade fantasy with a lot of plot, some description is necessary.

Also, since this is an IP project, the plot was already mapped out. With only 30K, I struggled to find room for slower, character-building scenes to balance out the action scenes. Without those scenes, I worried that the novel would come across as flat and ultimately forgettable, which is not what I want for my first novel.

I am so thrilled that I can expand this manuscript into a fuller story. The story can have all the room it deserves to have.

And then we can line-edit out the excess, of course. :-P

(The funny thing is that when I worked in editorial, we were forever struggling to get writers to cut their description. It's strange to be told that I have the opposite problem.)

Adventures in Un-Decorating

I know it's a little late for Christmas decorations. When I realized how fast February was coming, I figured it was probably time to take them down.

I had a reason for my sluggishness! I promise! One of my novels takes place just before Christmas and features prominently in the story. My mother wanted to take the decorations down multiple times, but I said, No! I need it! I must keep in the Christmas spirit while editing! My mother was very supportive, like she always is. (I may have also inflicted Christmas carols on my family for several weeks too long, but only my little brother complained.)

Of course, this excuse can't be used anymore since I sent in that manuscript on Thursday. :-/

Also, the tree was looking a little dry.


We had to unplug the tree for fire-hazard reasons a few weeks ago. :-(

I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it say, the un-decorating was also an adventure.

There were mishaps. :-o


And when I took the tree outside (the plan is to let it dry out until the snow disappears and then chop it up for kindling), the snow proved more treacherous than expected.


It's hard to tell from this picture, but I sank in the snow! All the way up to my waist! Instead of slogging further, I threw the tree as far as I could (see picture) and spent five minutes trying to dig myself out.

Sadly, now that the tree is gone, and the stockings, the cabin looks a little bare and a little empty.

Whoops! Looking around at the cabin just now, dreaming up new decorating possibilities, I just noticed I missed the mistletoe. There might be a reason for that.

Points to those who can find it!

Off now to find a ladder....

Here Comes the Sun...

Today looked like this:


After a week of snow (which was much needed on ski slopes), seeing the sun again was glorious.
I played hooky for a whole two and a half hours.

Then, I tore myself away from the sunshine and got some very important items off my plate:

1. Went to the post-office and mailed the signed contract for the IP project I have been working on. Hurrah! (I actually got this email on Monday, but after all the car trouble, I was waiting for a day when the roads would be clear. No mishaps today.)
2. Finished reading my manuscript outloud. For those who don't remember that post, it's the last step in my step-by-step self-revision process. And to be honest, it was a lot of fun! I did voices for the different characters. I got into the emotions of each scene. I giggled at my own jokes (again). I made notes on all the things I wasn't sure about, but all in all, I recognized that the manuscript was as good as I could get it by myself. So, I....
3. Sent manuscript off to my editor and her assistant! Double hurrah!! :D There's a part of me that's nervous, and there's another part of me that feels like this is a very solid draft. There will be things wrong with it, of course, but nothing that can't be fixed. I'm reasonably good at revision. (The more problematic thing is if I don't match the vision that my editor had in mind. That's the trouble with IP projects. Even with the plot in front of you, you never know what you're going to get.) Mainly, I feel like I've accomplished something significant this week. I totally deserve the upcoming weekend.

Here's hoping that tomorrow is like today:

Revision 101, According to Zoe

I can usually tell which sections of the manuscript need the most revising. It's a simple technique.

(Please keep in mind - This works best for me when I'm revising, but every author has their own method.)

The scenes that I've gotten right feel a lot like running once you've found your stride. My eyes just race over the page. It's almost like I can't wait to find out what happens next, even though I was the one who wrote it. (Actually, these sections are the parts most likely to have typos, because I read them too fast. That's why I make myself read out loud to make sure that I slow down.)

Unfortunately, this doesn't happen with every chapter.

Sometimes, I find myself stumbling over words. That usually means that sections has whole sentences that don't need to be there. So, I delete them and continue on my merry way.

Sometimes, characters say or do something, and I find myself wondering why on earth they would do/say such a thing. That's a real problem. If I think that, then a reader definitely will. Usually, this means that I need to re-imagine a scene. That can take days, weeks, or even months. Or it comes to me when I'm trying to do something completely different - like sleeping or washing dishes or making coffee.

Anyway, I'm halfway through revising this other manuscript. Since I read through it a couple days ago, I realized that the first half of the manuscript is in much better shape. The second half needs me to re-imagine at least three scenes.

My goal is to turn in as clean a manuscript as possible so that my editor(s) don't have too many glaring structural problems to bother with. I don't want to be one of those authors who has to go through eight revisions to get it right, so the poor overworked editor is quietly pulling her hair out in her office/cubicle. I have seen this happen. It's frustrating for everyone. (Sometimes, editors even blog about it.)

Back to tackle scarily clunky scenes...

It's Official!!!

This morning, I received a very special package from my publisher....my fully-executed contract!

Well, to be more specific, my parents recieved my very special package. The remote cabin that I've been using to write is so remote that UPS has trouble finding it. So, I have continued to list my parents' address for all official business. Thus, this morning, my parents had a knock on their morning, and I got a phone call and a fax.

Isn't it beautiful?

Since I used to be the go-to girl for contracts on my publishing team, I saw so very many of these while I was in New York. So, looking over this one was kind of unreal, especially the page where the publisher's signature stands right next to mine.

Here's the best part: I can receive this fully-executed contract without any trace of guilt, 'cause I finished the manuscript two days ago!!

Emerging from the Vortex

That's what Louisa May Alcott called it: The writing "vortex" - a time of little food, little sleep, and much much writing.

I did a project on her in eighth grade and made a four-foot tall portrait of her created from a cardboard cut out and colored paper. She wore a yellow dress, and I made her 3D by curling two skinny strips at brown paper at her temples to match the hairstyles of the times. Or rather the hairstyles from the awesome movie.


I remember only a couple things from the actual biography I read. One was that her father was a writer too. The other was that she wrote the first part of Little Women between May and July. That's over 88K in six weeks. Throughout her life, she would enter periods of intense workdom like these, where her writing basically took over her life and wouldn't let her do anything else.

I totally understand that right now.

I think that I've been eating fairly normally, but I don't actually remember... Yikes.

I noticed the insomnia starting a few days after I arrived. I tried to ignore it, pretending that it was just the time change that was bothering my sleep pattern, but my thoughts moved quickly as I tossed and turned. This character will think this but say this; I need to plant this plot thread here; did this emotion come across too strong, ie. hit you over the head like a garbage truck/cliché?

Following the writing progress was easiest. (There's this handy little tool in Word called "Word Count"...) And thus, I'm happy to announce: I have written 20K in the last week. That's right - one week. Just to remind you: I wrote 11K in the month previous.

I'm even happier to announce that this means that just this very evening, I have finished the first draft of the novel I was working on, ie. the manuscript for which I signed a contract less than two weeks ago.

I'm 2K over the approximate word count. If I go by the rule that you should generally cut 10% of your first draft, and if I add a scene that I'm pretty sure I shouldn't have skipped, I'm guess that'll get me right to the target of 30K. :-P

Revisions shall commence next month. I want a few week's distance. It makes it easier to kill all those darlings that Mr. Faulkner once mentioned.

P.S. I thought about waiting until the morning to post this. You know, when I might actually be coherent. I couldn't wait. Excitement abounds!

The First Week

The bad news: in the six days since I've arrived, I've only left the cabin once. I know. It's shocking. Especially since I didn't actually count the days until a few sentences ago. :-/


In my defense, it's been ridiculously cold! The mountain temperature hasn't gotten up to zero in days. Yesterday, I brushed the snow off my car yesterday and drove down to the grocery store. The temperature read negative eight at the cabin. I lost feeling in my fingertips, even though I wore gloves and had the heat blasting. To make sure I kept all of them, I bought some handwarmers at the grocery store before driving up.


The good news: I've written 13.2K!! That another third - over another third. I think that's worth locking myself inside for a week.

I'm a couple chapters away from the climax. I'm crossing my fingers on being able to finish the first draft by the end of the month. That'll give me a few months to get some good revising done before my March deadline. Hurrah!

The First Day

Today is the first of a writing retreat up in Montana, and it has been devoted to altitude sickness.

Which basically means that I gave myself permission to be lazy on my first day up the mountain. And I kept a glass of water next to me at all times. I lost count of how many I drank.

I don't mean that I haven't done anything with my day. I unpacked. I typed up all the manuscript scribblings that I have. I added two new scenes. I did a little yoga. I called my sister twice, because it's her birthday. I received a bunch of calls - from my father, my uncle, my ex-roommate, and my mother - all of them worried that I might be lonely.

I wasn't lonely. It was just too quiet. Cars rarely travel this far up the mountain, and the snow muffles sound. Luckily, it's easy to fill up the silence. I watched two movies. While I unpacked, I turned up my iTunes and sang along as loud as possible.

This is where I'm hanging out.

My view. I know - it's a hard life.

My writing nest. Usually, the blanket goes over my lap.

The cold is a bit intense (see right).

But overall, I'm relieved to be here, where writing is the whole point. My dad called this the first day of my new life, and I think he's right. This is where I can get really serious about my writing career and put that seriousness into action.

That said, I have discovered that I am just over a third of the way through my manuscript. 11K words in a month may seem like a lot to some, but I started with 3K. And a few years ago, when I was a full-time student, I averaged about 24.7K a month. I feel woefully behind. Sigh.

On the bright side, I've gotten Ashley to the right spot, and it's basically all adventure and fun stuff for the next 20K. Woo-hoo!!

I Forgot to Mention that...

...my contract arrived today! Definitely a historic moment. :-)

I was incredibly surprised and delighted. My mother had sent me on a reconnaissance mission right before I found it on my email, so I read through my first contract while I was waiting to get a mani-pedi at a nail spa that opened up a quarter mile away. This made me laugh, because it makes me sound a lot more girly than I really am.

But Contract is ready for signature (! I think), and the mission was successful: my sister and her friends have nail appointments for her debutante party on Friday.

Now, I really must get to bed. I've got sous-chef duty for tomorrow's Thanksgiving feast. Mom is getting up before dawn to put the turkey in the oven.

These are the flowers my dad gave me (in congratulations).



These are the questions that have been occupying my mind:

1) What does flying feel like? (I mean, the magical kind of flying.)

2) How do I get a website? And is it possible to create one myself? (Afterthought: Please don't tell me I'll have to learn HTML.)

3) How long will it take to write a 30K manuscript?

Question #1 deals with the third chapter of my new work-in-progress. Said WIP is currently top secret, but flying is involved (at least, in chapter 3).

When I was working for that publishing house in New York, the higher-ups were making a big push for looking for web-savvy authors and for teaching established authors how to promote themselves online. Hence, question #2. Having a website can only help me - granted that it's all nice and professional-looking. If I plan to make a career out of this (and I do), a website is probably essential.

I'm really not sure on Question #3. Writing always varies. This is especially true from writer to writer, but the pace of writing can vary sometimes when the same writer is involved - depending on the project and what's going on in the writer's personal life.

Now, I was working on a manuscript up until Wednesday - you know, the first novel in that five-book series I was busy dreaming up. It has 28.5K words. That's seven weeks of work. (It's also a very rough draft, and probably only half of the book.)

Also, I have a lot scheduled in the coming weeks:

October 30 - November 2: Trip to DC
November 5 - 9: Another Trip

November 26: Thanksgiving
November 27-8: My sister's Debutante weekend
December 2: Trip to Montana

So.....

I'll keep you updated on my progress.

In other news, my mother took me out of P.F. Chang's for a celebratory lunch. (Over the years, P.F. Chang's has hosted many celebratory lunches in my family.) After we ate, our waiter asked us what had planned for the rest of the day:

"I'm going to the library," I said.
"Are you in school?"
"No." (With some heat, because the idea of grad school still frightens me.)
"What do you do?"
"I'm a writer. For children's books."

!!!!

First time that I said it out loud to a stranger. It made me both happy and uneasy, like I was worried that I would jinx it.

Later, my fortune cookie was this:

Soon, you will be sitting on top of the world.

:) That describes my mood pretty well.

This is how it happens.

Your phone rings when you're doing something completely different. You think it's someone you know, but you don't recognize the number. You answer politely, the same way you taught yourself to do when you had to play receptionist back in those other jobs. The caller introduces themselves. Depending on how well you know them, you chit-chat for a while. Then, the caller says the magic words, "I'm please to make you an offer on [insert title or description of work here]."

Your heart stops. You kind of can't believe it, but your mouth keeps talking, lining out the finer points of the deal. Then it starts to sink in. You start talking about how excited you are. The caller, ie. the editor, is pleased for you. You can hear it in her voice when she tells you when you'll be able to expect a contract. Finally, she says that she has to go, and you say your goodbyes, possibly mentioning again how excited you are. Then, after you've hung up, you go tell everyone you know.

That's how it happened for me at least. Yesterday morning.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was filing order reports at my dad's office where I've been helping out twice a week. When I heard my phone, I thought it was my dad. It was not. It was an editor I knew very well from my time in a publishing house in New York.

I called my parents first. Then I emailed my friends at said publishing house. And told my uncle in passing. Then his wife. Emailed my siblings. BBMed my ex-roommate, whom I have known since 8th grade and with whom I roomed in New York. G-chatted another friend, whom I have known for just as long and with whom I used to exchange drafts of stories while in high school. Called my grandmother, my great-grandmother. Really, there's not too many people who don't know at this point.

Now, the aforementioned editor made me an offer on the basis of some sample chapters I did, for this proposal that I worked on before I left the City. Which basically means that I have a whole 'nother manuscript to get started on...

And I couldn't be more excited.