Your questions and comments were all terrific, which meant picking a winner for our IWBYJR competition was difficult. So Stephanie turned to her trusty random number generator for help. The winner of our IWBYJR comp is...
...softindierocker, aka Lucy D!
Congrats! You've won a prize pack which includes a copy of I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE by Stephanie Kuehnert and chocolates from Australia (which have absolutely nothing to do with the book, but are delicious nonetheless).
Softindierocker, please email your details to me at ness @ vanessa barneveld . com (close the spaces) and we'll send you the bounty asap.
Thanks to all who dropped by to talk to Stephanie, and an extra special thanks to the girl herself!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Stephanie Kuehnert is in the Building
I'm so happy to host one of the smartest debut authors around--Stephanie Kuehnert. Her MTV Books release, I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE, is finally out and I couldn't be more excited. It's a vivid, compelling story centered around punk goddess Emily. She's tough as a pair of old Doc Martens on the outside, but there's vulnerability just below the surface that even she doesn't want to admit to.
As part of her week-long blog tour, Stephanie takes the mic and shares her thoughts about the writing process. She'll also be on hand to answer your questions and pick a winner for our book giveaway (details below).
Describe IWBYJR in a classic, three-sentence elevator pitch.
Ahh, I suck at this! I always use the back cover copy because they are so much better at this than I am! Okay, deep breaths….
Music is in Emily Black’s blood. According to her father, her mother Louisa abandoned them when Emily was an infant in order to follow the punk rock scene. As a teenager, Emily finds solace in making music herself and forms the band She Laughs. In a way, she is using her music to search for Louisa because if Louisa is really following the music, shouldn’t she follow it back to Emily?
Okay, I think I cribbed some stuff from their summary, but really, they do a better job than me!
Emily Black's first love--the Fender Mustang.
Hey, you don't suck at all! The depth of Emily's raw and realistic emotions is one of many reasons why I couldn't put your book down. I really felt every high and low. When you sat down to write each day, what helped you get into Emily's head space?
I don’t listen to music when I write, but I listen before I write. I also tend to read over what I’d just written a bit if I am not ready to dive into the character’s head space. And I allow myself to suck at first. I look at the first fifteen or thirty minutes of writing time as warm-up. If it comes out good, it stays, but if not, I trust that I will write myself into the place I need to be.
If IWBYJR were being cast for a movie, who would you choose to portray Emily and Louisa, or any other characters?
Hmm, I have a hard time picking an actress for Emily. My agent once said she thought of Zooey Deschanel, but I think she might be too old. I’d actually love to hear what other people think because I’m not as familiar with teen actresses. One I did think of was the girl who plays the daughter in Sweeney Todd, Jayne Wisener, because she can really sing and she’d look cool with black hair.
As for Louisa, I know a lot of people have had mixed feelings about her as an actress and a person in general, but Courtney Love. She was so amazing in People Vs. Larry Flynt and if she brought that power and emotion to the role, wow! Plus she’s got Louisa’s bleached blonde look and she’s a rock star so she’d get the whole rock thing. Um, and I just love her.
Oh, and Johnny Depp play Michael, please????? The wavy brown hair, the soft-spoken thing, it’s perfect.
Zooey and Courtney as Emily and Louisa?
When did the writing bug first hook its fangs into you?
Soon after I learned to read. I started keeping a journal and writing short stories at eight. I even went to Young Author conferences! But I didn’t consider myself a serious writer until high school when I wrote a lot of bad poetry and some good feminist zines.
What's your writing routine like? Do you need total silence or could you write in the middle of a grand parade?
I mostly need silence. Sometimes the occasion calls for music, which I usually listen to on headphones. My biggest distraction is my cats who seem to love to climb everywhere in my office. Eventually I get frustrated and banish them. For some reason I seem to do first draft stuff in my office and revisions at my dining room table. This may be because it allows me more space to spread out paper, but more likely just a weird quirk.
We all love to hear stories about The Call, when an agent or publisher rings to say they want to represent you/publish your book. Tell us about your Call story.
Mine was an email actually. My agent forwarded me the offer and said, “Call me as soon as you can and let’s talk.” I was at work, hence the email, but I immediately dropped everything and went to use an empty office to call her. We’d had an offer almost a few weeks ago, so I thought this was what they would like to offer me if everything was approved by higher-ups or something. But no, my agent told me, I could accept or deny this, it was in my hands now. Of course I accepted. Then she told me, “Call your mom, you’re a published author!” LOL!
Steph, you’re one of my amazing CPs. And that not only stands for "critique partner" but also for "cat person." Here’s a vid of Stephanie and her cat signing the publishing contract:
Are there any publishing myths you've busted or confirmed since selling your first book?
Well, I’m not up on all the publishing myths, so I’m not entirely sure, but when I was in school for writing, one of the myths discussed was that editors nowadays don’t really work with writers the way they used to. They don’t put their heart or much thought into guiding the author. It’s all about mass production now. This is so not true, at least not with my editor, Jen Heddle. Jen is insanely busy and has a ton of various projects, yes, but her revisions letter to me was as thoughtful as the revisions I would get from my thesis advisor in grad school, a man I admired very much. So I was thrilled to work with Jen. She posed great questions about the story, allowed me to bounce ideas off of her. A good editor is still a writer’s best friend and they still exist… At least at MTV Books!
Music is at the heart of IWBYJR, so I have to ask--who is your rock'n'roll hero/ine and did you ever want to be a rock goddess yourself?
I have lots of heroes and heroines. My top two heroes are Kurt Cobain and Mike Ness. My heroines are Courtney Love, Mia Zapata, and Brody Dalle. And I totally wanted to be a rock goddess, but I wasn’t instantly good at it and was too undisciplined to practice. The only thing I’ve ever been disciplined with is writing.
Congratulations, Stephanie! IWBYJR is really gonna strike a chord (geddit?). Thanks so much for being here.
Now, for your chance to win your very own copy of I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE, all you have to do is post a comment. Tell us who your rock'n'roll hero is, ask Stephanie a question, or maybe suggest actors who could do the character of Emily Black justice. And being the hostess, I'll throw in some iconic Australian chocolates as a rider. We'll announce the winner on July 8.
Sleater-Kinney play I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone, the song that inspired the title of Steph's novel.
As part of her week-long blog tour, Stephanie takes the mic and shares her thoughts about the writing process. She'll also be on hand to answer your questions and pick a winner for our book giveaway (details below).
Describe IWBYJR in a classic, three-sentence elevator pitch.
Ahh, I suck at this! I always use the back cover copy because they are so much better at this than I am! Okay, deep breaths….
Music is in Emily Black’s blood. According to her father, her mother Louisa abandoned them when Emily was an infant in order to follow the punk rock scene. As a teenager, Emily finds solace in making music herself and forms the band She Laughs. In a way, she is using her music to search for Louisa because if Louisa is really following the music, shouldn’t she follow it back to Emily?
Okay, I think I cribbed some stuff from their summary, but really, they do a better job than me!
Emily Black's first love--the Fender Mustang.Hey, you don't suck at all! The depth of Emily's raw and realistic emotions is one of many reasons why I couldn't put your book down. I really felt every high and low. When you sat down to write each day, what helped you get into Emily's head space?
I don’t listen to music when I write, but I listen before I write. I also tend to read over what I’d just written a bit if I am not ready to dive into the character’s head space. And I allow myself to suck at first. I look at the first fifteen or thirty minutes of writing time as warm-up. If it comes out good, it stays, but if not, I trust that I will write myself into the place I need to be.
If IWBYJR were being cast for a movie, who would you choose to portray Emily and Louisa, or any other characters?
Hmm, I have a hard time picking an actress for Emily. My agent once said she thought of Zooey Deschanel, but I think she might be too old. I’d actually love to hear what other people think because I’m not as familiar with teen actresses. One I did think of was the girl who plays the daughter in Sweeney Todd, Jayne Wisener, because she can really sing and she’d look cool with black hair.
As for Louisa, I know a lot of people have had mixed feelings about her as an actress and a person in general, but Courtney Love. She was so amazing in People Vs. Larry Flynt and if she brought that power and emotion to the role, wow! Plus she’s got Louisa’s bleached blonde look and she’s a rock star so she’d get the whole rock thing. Um, and I just love her.
Oh, and Johnny Depp play Michael, please????? The wavy brown hair, the soft-spoken thing, it’s perfect.
Zooey and Courtney as Emily and Louisa?
When did the writing bug first hook its fangs into you?
Soon after I learned to read. I started keeping a journal and writing short stories at eight. I even went to Young Author conferences! But I didn’t consider myself a serious writer until high school when I wrote a lot of bad poetry and some good feminist zines.
What's your writing routine like? Do you need total silence or could you write in the middle of a grand parade?
I mostly need silence. Sometimes the occasion calls for music, which I usually listen to on headphones. My biggest distraction is my cats who seem to love to climb everywhere in my office. Eventually I get frustrated and banish them. For some reason I seem to do first draft stuff in my office and revisions at my dining room table. This may be because it allows me more space to spread out paper, but more likely just a weird quirk.
We all love to hear stories about The Call, when an agent or publisher rings to say they want to represent you/publish your book. Tell us about your Call story.
Mine was an email actually. My agent forwarded me the offer and said, “Call me as soon as you can and let’s talk.” I was at work, hence the email, but I immediately dropped everything and went to use an empty office to call her. We’d had an offer almost a few weeks ago, so I thought this was what they would like to offer me if everything was approved by higher-ups or something. But no, my agent told me, I could accept or deny this, it was in my hands now. Of course I accepted. Then she told me, “Call your mom, you’re a published author!” LOL!
Steph, you’re one of my amazing CPs. And that not only stands for "critique partner" but also for "cat person." Here’s a vid of Stephanie and her cat signing the publishing contract:
Are there any publishing myths you've busted or confirmed since selling your first book?
Well, I’m not up on all the publishing myths, so I’m not entirely sure, but when I was in school for writing, one of the myths discussed was that editors nowadays don’t really work with writers the way they used to. They don’t put their heart or much thought into guiding the author. It’s all about mass production now. This is so not true, at least not with my editor, Jen Heddle. Jen is insanely busy and has a ton of various projects, yes, but her revisions letter to me was as thoughtful as the revisions I would get from my thesis advisor in grad school, a man I admired very much. So I was thrilled to work with Jen. She posed great questions about the story, allowed me to bounce ideas off of her. A good editor is still a writer’s best friend and they still exist… At least at MTV Books!
Music is at the heart of IWBYJR, so I have to ask--who is your rock'n'roll hero/ine and did you ever want to be a rock goddess yourself?
I have lots of heroes and heroines. My top two heroes are Kurt Cobain and Mike Ness. My heroines are Courtney Love, Mia Zapata, and Brody Dalle. And I totally wanted to be a rock goddess, but I wasn’t instantly good at it and was too undisciplined to practice. The only thing I’ve ever been disciplined with is writing.
Congratulations, Stephanie! IWBYJR is really gonna strike a chord (geddit?). Thanks so much for being here.
Now, for your chance to win your very own copy of I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE, all you have to do is post a comment. Tell us who your rock'n'roll hero is, ask Stephanie a question, or maybe suggest actors who could do the character of Emily Black justice. And being the hostess, I'll throw in some iconic Australian chocolates as a rider. We'll announce the winner on July 8.
Sleater-Kinney play I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone, the song that inspired the title of Steph's novel.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Long Time No Blog
Sad family news has kept me overseas in America and away from posting. And so there are masses of cobwebs and dust bunnies in my little corner of Blogger.com. Domestic chores aren't high on my list of priorities right now.
What I will focus on is some fantastic sale news from my CP Stephanie Kuehnert. She has just sold her second novel, Ballads of Suburbia, to MTV Books. You can read the first chapter here. I'll be interviewing Stephanie in an upcoming post to celebrate her debut book's release this July.
Before I go, a little tribute to someone special--someone who adored ladybugs, who long ago introduced me to pistachio nuts and showed me how to be a domestic goddess--my stepmom. (Iris, if you're listening, I promise I'll get started on those cobwebs ASAP).
What I will focus on is some fantastic sale news from my CP Stephanie Kuehnert. She has just sold her second novel, Ballads of Suburbia, to MTV Books. You can read the first chapter here. I'll be interviewing Stephanie in an upcoming post to celebrate her debut book's release this July.
Before I go, a little tribute to someone special--someone who adored ladybugs, who long ago introduced me to pistachio nuts and showed me how to be a domestic goddess--my stepmom. (Iris, if you're listening, I promise I'll get started on those cobwebs ASAP).
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Princess Mary and Me
For once, I know exactly what it feels like to be in Princess Mary of Denmark's satin shoes. The Australian-born crown princess's husband, Frederik, reportedly lost his wedding ring during a scuba trip off the Florida coast. The ring was forged from the first gold nugget ever found in Greenland. A search party has been scouring the ocean floor since January, plus (attention, treasure hunters) there's a reward for whoever finds the ring.
What does Fred's lapse have to do with me? Mr. Authorness also lost his wedding band in January. Our search party was called off long ago. It's either still buried under several million grains of sand at our local beach or in a hock shop. When he lost it, the first thing I thought of was Apollo 13. (I didn't think to throttle Mr. Authorness first, 'cause that's just not in me.)
Marilyn Lovell, wife of astronaut Jim, accidentally dropped her wedding ring down the shower drain the day the doomed ship was launched. Bad omen? Yup. Fortunately, the crew returned safely after their harrowing ordeal. And since Mr. Authorness isn't due to orbit the earth any time soon, I think it's best not to worry about superstitions. At least I know what to buy him for our anniversary on April 1st.
So, Mary, if you're reading, don't stress about the ring. It's the marriage that's important, not the symbol.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Writing Challenges...
...and Why Blogging Is Great for Your Productivity.
A lot of people, especially Mr. Authorness, thought I'd transformed into a crazy cat lady over the past 12 or so days. Exhibit A: The Secret (Nine) Lives of Us blog I started for my neighbours' kitties (see previous post). Every move those cats made was fodder for the blog. The result was an anthromorphosised view of what I think cats talk about, but I soon realised the blog was an interesting writing exercise.
One of the big challenges for me was to try to make every post a mini-sitcom. Each one needed a story arc, defined characters, and most of all it had to be memorable for my target audience--in this case, the cats' owners.
Formatting it like a play tested my ability to write dialogue without tags or descriptions, something I often get bogged down with. What I've learned from that is when I write first drafts for novels, I can just run long streams of dialogue and fill in the narrative details later. So next time, if I'm stuck for words, I'll try to get into the heads of my characters and write down what they say. Just keep moving and dig deep, no matter how silly or lame your internal editor thinks the story is. Dig long enough and you'll hit gold eventually.
What kinds of writing challenges do you set for yourself?
A lot of people, especially Mr. Authorness, thought I'd transformed into a crazy cat lady over the past 12 or so days. Exhibit A: The Secret (Nine) Lives of Us blog I started for my neighbours' kitties (see previous post). Every move those cats made was fodder for the blog. The result was an anthromorphosised view of what I think cats talk about, but I soon realised the blog was an interesting writing exercise.
One of the big challenges for me was to try to make every post a mini-sitcom. Each one needed a story arc, defined characters, and most of all it had to be memorable for my target audience--in this case, the cats' owners.
Formatting it like a play tested my ability to write dialogue without tags or descriptions, something I often get bogged down with. What I've learned from that is when I write first drafts for novels, I can just run long streams of dialogue and fill in the narrative details later. So next time, if I'm stuck for words, I'll try to get into the heads of my characters and write down what they say. Just keep moving and dig deep, no matter how silly or lame your internal editor thinks the story is. Dig long enough and you'll hit gold eventually.
What kinds of writing challenges do you set for yourself?
Friday, February 29, 2008
If These Cats Could Talk...
I'm babysitting two very adorable cats, Lily and BJ. Being such intelligent creatures, they've created their own blog so their parents, who are currently in New Zealand and about to enter into wedded bliss, can keep an eye on them. Please head over to The Secret Nine Lives of Us to say hello and cyber pat the cats.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Baby, You're a Star
The results came through for the SpacecoasT Authors of Romance 2007 Launching a Star contest yesterday. I'm happy to report a YA author, Susan Sipal, won overall (there were several categories). Hooray for Susan! As part of her prize, she'll have a star named in her honour.
Here are the results for the YA section, judged by Allison Brandau of Berkley/Jove and Elaine Spencer of The Knight Agency:
Winner
Southern Fried Wiccan Susan Sipal
Finalists
Denise Jaden
Vanessa Barneveld (Hey, that's me! Yay!)
Kimberly Duffy
Tanya T. Holmes
Congratulations to all the fabulous winners and finalists. And a special thank you to the judges.
The full list of winners will soon be posted here.
Here are the results for the YA section, judged by Allison Brandau of Berkley/Jove and Elaine Spencer of The Knight Agency:
Winner
Southern Fried Wiccan Susan Sipal
Finalists
Denise Jaden
Vanessa Barneveld (Hey, that's me! Yay!)
Kimberly Duffy
Tanya T. Holmes
Congratulations to all the fabulous winners and finalists. And a special thank you to the judges.
The full list of winners will soon be posted here.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Q Tips
Several people I know are ready to submit their squeaky-clean, polished mss to an agent. In about 99.99% of cases, agents initially require just a one-page query letter that describes the project and relevant info about the author. If the agent likes the premise, they might ask to see a partial (the first three chapters or 50 pages) or the full manuscript. Sounds easy, doesn't it?
Well, if you browse around the many forums, blogs and loops, it's clear just how many other writers are agent hunting. How do you make sure you don't shoot yourself in the foot?
Write a sharp, well-targeted query, of course.
* A polite, clean, spellchecked, grammar-checked and straightforward letter says more than scented stationery or flowery fonts.
* Indicate which genre the book falls in and the word count.
* Never say you've written only the first three chapters and you're just "testing the waters." Write the book, the whole book, revise it properly and then query agents.
* Mention any of the book's contest wins or finals. If you're lucky enough to have a long list of these, choose a couple of the more recent and/or more prestigious competitions.
* Don't talk about how much your greengrocer/grandmother/daughter/pet bird liked the book.
* Be modest--never say you've written the best novel in publishing history or that it's a surefire bestseller.
* At the other end of the scale, don't tell the agent your book has been rejected by dozens of agents and you're querying them because they're your last hope.
* Pitch one book at a time. If you've created a series, talk about book 1 and mention it's part of a series but hold off on describing books 2 to 17 or whatever.
* Don't be a smart alec or be too familiar, even if you read the agent's entertaining blog every day and feel as though you're BFF.
* Follow the agent's guidelines (eg. send a SSAE; don't submit to multiple agents at the same agency at the same time, etc).
* Most importantly, write a compelling paragraph (or two) about the project. Try to infuse the same tone/voice used in the manuscript. It's the plot and the writing that captures the agent, not necessarily your qualifications. Unless of course you're writing non-fiction; a credible platform could bolster your chances.
When formulating my own queries or elevator pitches, I analysed several published back-cover blurbs to get an idea of what constitutes a hook, something to grab attention. Have you ever looked at a blurb and thought, "That sounds brilliant! I have to read this"? I felt that reaction when I read Amazon's editoral description of Jennifer Lynn Barnes's upcoming YA series, The Squad: Perfect Cover:
Bayport High’s Varsity cheer squad is made up of the hottest of the hot. But this A-list is dangerous in more ways than one. The Squad is actually a cover for the most highly trained group of underage government operatives the United States has ever assembled. They have the perfect cover, because, beyond herkeys and highlights, no one expects anything from a cheerleader."
Those four sentences tell me the essentials: who, what, where and why. (If you're like me and find this sort of plot irresistible, you can pre-order Jennifer Lynn Barnes's book here.)
For more resources on query letters, check out:
Call My Agent, a blog by an anonymous Australian agent.
Agent Query's article on formatting the letter.
Agent Nathan Bransford's blog post on the anatomy of a query letter.
Well, if you browse around the many forums, blogs and loops, it's clear just how many other writers are agent hunting. How do you make sure you don't shoot yourself in the foot?
Write a sharp, well-targeted query, of course.
* A polite, clean, spellchecked, grammar-checked and straightforward letter says more than scented stationery or flowery fonts.
* Indicate which genre the book falls in and the word count.
* Never say you've written only the first three chapters and you're just "testing the waters." Write the book, the whole book, revise it properly and then query agents.
* Mention any of the book's contest wins or finals. If you're lucky enough to have a long list of these, choose a couple of the more recent and/or more prestigious competitions.
* Don't talk about how much your greengrocer/grandmother/daughter/pet bird liked the book.
* Be modest--never say you've written the best novel in publishing history or that it's a surefire bestseller.
* At the other end of the scale, don't tell the agent your book has been rejected by dozens of agents and you're querying them because they're your last hope.
* Pitch one book at a time. If you've created a series, talk about book 1 and mention it's part of a series but hold off on describing books 2 to 17 or whatever.
* Don't be a smart alec or be too familiar, even if you read the agent's entertaining blog every day and feel as though you're BFF.
* Follow the agent's guidelines (eg. send a SSAE; don't submit to multiple agents at the same agency at the same time, etc).
* Most importantly, write a compelling paragraph (or two) about the project. Try to infuse the same tone/voice used in the manuscript. It's the plot and the writing that captures the agent, not necessarily your qualifications. Unless of course you're writing non-fiction; a credible platform could bolster your chances.
When formulating my own queries or elevator pitches, I analysed several published back-cover blurbs to get an idea of what constitutes a hook, something to grab attention. Have you ever looked at a blurb and thought, "That sounds brilliant! I have to read this"? I felt that reaction when I read Amazon's editoral description of Jennifer Lynn Barnes's upcoming YA series, The Squad: Perfect Cover:
Bayport High’s Varsity cheer squad is made up of the hottest of the hot. But this A-list is dangerous in more ways than one. The Squad is actually a cover for the most highly trained group of underage government operatives the United States has ever assembled. They have the perfect cover, because, beyond herkeys and highlights, no one expects anything from a cheerleader."
Those four sentences tell me the essentials: who, what, where and why. (If you're like me and find this sort of plot irresistible, you can pre-order Jennifer Lynn Barnes's book here.)
For more resources on query letters, check out:
Call My Agent, a blog by an anonymous Australian agent.
Agent Query's article on formatting the letter.
Agent Nathan Bransford's blog post on the anatomy of a query letter.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Are You Going to San Francisco?
I'm already preparing for the Romance Writers of America annual national conference in July/August. This time it'll be held in gorgeous San Francisco, which means many of us in Romance Writers of Australia can afford the slightly cheaper airfares to the West Coast. One way to offset the cost is to apply for a scholarship awarded by the lovely ladies at Romantic Inks.
On offer to RWAmerica members is a scholarship to attend the 2008 national conference in July/Aug. If you haven't already paid the registration fee (US$425), you can give it a shot. All you have to do is write a 1,000-word essay on what makes you a deserving recipient and upload it here.
Full details are available through the link above. The rules in a nutshell: You must be a financial member or RWAmerica, be able to cover your own hotel, travel and meal expenses, have a polished full ms ready to go, and not be published in trade or mass-market paperback in the last five years. The deadline is midnight Feb 10, EST. Winners will be announced on the RI blog.
Good luck!
On offer to RWAmerica members is a scholarship to attend the 2008 national conference in July/Aug. If you haven't already paid the registration fee (US$425), you can give it a shot. All you have to do is write a 1,000-word essay on what makes you a deserving recipient and upload it here.
Full details are available through the link above. The rules in a nutshell: You must be a financial member or RWAmerica, be able to cover your own hotel, travel and meal expenses, have a polished full ms ready to go, and not be published in trade or mass-market paperback in the last five years. The deadline is midnight Feb 10, EST. Winners will be announced on the RI blog.
Good luck!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Recycle or Retire?
My list of gadgets to covet now includes Apple's new ultra-svelte MacBook Air. So, what'll happen to my old iBook if I do get a new laptop? I'll recycle, of course. One Apple customer has converted their iMac from this:
To this:
moar funny pictures
To this:
moar funny pictures
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