The big story in publishing last week was Harlequin announcing it was launching a self-publishing side. Many authors and organizations (including RWA) are not too happy about it.

I have no problem with self-publishing provided that (1) the author has a platform—a sure way to sell the books, and (2) the author really, really, truly understands what he/she is getting into. The majority of the time, an author doesn’t meet both those criteria and things end up going a way they didn’t expect.

Times have been changing, especially with the economy and the Internet, so I think we need to know that these publishing companies are going to be changing as well. We can fight against it all we want (and we should to an extent), but it will still change. As for the companies, I feel they would be better off doing separate names, websites, etc… This would probably help the authors, editors, and the rest of the publishing community not get so upset. I think I did hear that Harlequin was considering changing the name of the new self-publishing imprint.

Book Reviews

“Story of a Girl” by Sara Zarr
2008
Little, Brown

I’m sorry to say that I have just now read my first Sara Zarr book. I have wanted to for awhile. “Story of a Girl” is a poignant tale of a girl who gets caught (by her dad!) having sex with an older guy when she was thirteen. Now, a few years later, she struggles through the pain and those who won’t forgive her (and the fact that she can’t forgive herself). A very fast read with a complex character. I look forward to reading more of Zarr’s books.

“When You Reach Me” by Rebecca Stead
2009
Random House

I hardly ever read Middle Grade. Actually, come to think of it, I never read MG. But I had heard good things about this one, so I thought I’d check it out. The story takes place in the 70s, and shows a girl dealing with her game show obsessed mom and the loss of her best friend. Along the way strange things are happening, and she starts getting notes from someone. I really enjoyed the mystery in this. It kept the pages turning for me. Compelling book with some good character development and interactions. I can’t tell much about it without giving the plot away. It’s gotten great reviews, and I suspect it will do well.

I prefer contemporary teen fiction and television to paranormal and fantasy (I know, don’t hate me), which is probably one reason I liked “Twilight” so much. “Vampire Diaries” claims to be “darker” and more “edgier” than “Twilight,” but at this point I’m not seeing how that is (the bad vampires bite and kill people, the high school scene is much the same, etc…).

I like the characters, especially the tension between the two brothers (good vampire vs. bad vampire). I also like the high school drama as it’s portrayed (the main character deals with her parent’s death and her brother has drug problems).

There are still a lot of unknowns (who is “Katherine,” and why is Stefan obsessed with Elena? It’s a little creepy that he keeps showing up, catching her off guard, and that his parents are gone too and that he lives with his uncle—Elena’s parents are gone and she lives with her aunt). This tension is good; it keeps us glued to the TV. I have to hand it to the CW…they know how to reach their audience.

 It’s worth tuning into, at least to give it a shot (or bite, ha ha ).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8m7Sk81PIk]

I like Beyonce’s song and video too (“Single Ladies” (Put a Ring on It)”), but that was just plain rude and wrong. The poor girl was giving her acceptance speech. She was, however, somewhat vindicated—West was booed by the audience and told to leave the building. Later, when Beyonce won video of the year, she invited Swift up to finish giving her speech (plus, a couple of singers tweeted some choice words about West). He did, though, apologize on his blog today.

The VMAs are known for their controversy (think last year and Brand’s rude comment about the Jonas Brothers purity rings), and their crazy antics (this year Lady Gaga speared herself in fake blood as a testimony of the Paparazzi and what they did to Princess Diana). So, if nothing else, it’s some strange, yet interesting entertainment.

Photo credit: AP | Singer Kanye West takes the microphone from singer Taylor Swift as she accepts the "Best Female Video" award during the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009 in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

I have to say the “New Moon” clip was awesome. The movie looks better than the first one and I can’t wait.

And, one of the best parts, there will be a preview of “New Moon.” Yippee!

I just finished “Lock and Key,” which, as usual, I enjoyed and couldn’t put down. However, one thing that bothered me was that there were numerous typos. I’m not just talking one or two commas that no one would notice—I’m talking glaring errors that made me stop and re-read the sentence numerous times so I could figure out what it was supposed to say.

I recently read an Editor’s Unleashed blog called “Is Editing Worth It?” in which the blogger discussed how many errors there were in the “Twilight” books, especially the later ones.

It got me thinking…what is going on with editing in publishing? Are the authors writing so quickly (because the publishers want to make money) that they aren’t editing their own work? Are publishers trying to spin out books so quickly that they aren’t having them edited as well? What role does editing play as an author before you are published and then later on when you are popping out numerous books?

For me, I would rather do my best to find every error I can find before it gets to any agent or editor’s desk. But still…I wonder if you get to that point where you don’t care as much, and does it even matter? Does the author lose credibility with these errors?

Just some thoughts today on editing

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My friend Kimberly reminded me of the up-to-date news information you can find at Publisher’s Weekly. You can subscribe to their newsletter for free and one of their options is children’s books (and there is a newsletter for religious books for all my CBA friends): http://www.publishersweekly.com/enewsletter/CA6672758/2788.html

This week PW had a cool article on the expansion of the teen section at Borders: http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6672662.html?nid=2788&source=title&rid=1920529184

One thing that drives me crazy about searching through the YA section on Barnes and Noble online is that the majority of the books they promote are vampire novels. I’m so sick of these that I won’t even look at them! (But don’t worry Bella and Edward…I’ll never leave you!). So I was thankful for this funny comic strip my friend Michelle sent to me today:

She got it off of a hilarious website that I’m just now learning about called Inkygirl.com and WillWriteForChocolate.com.

Happy writing!

So I was one of the first in line to go see the movie. Of course it can never measure up to what’s in your mind—that’s true of most books-turned-movies. But it was great, and I can’t wait to see the second one, New Moon, this fall. Here’s the trailer:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ9afRgToxE]