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Kevin Sampsell: The Year's 9 Best Books From Small Publishers

2009-12-31T15:38:21Z

Running the small press section at Powell's in Portland and running my own little press has put me in a position to see a lot of cool stuff from authors before anyone else has even heard of them. 2009 was no exception. Here are the highlights from my own personal reading list...

"Some Things That Meant the World To Me" by Joshua Mohr (novel, Two Dollar Radio)

Mohr takes the loser-guy down-on-his-luck story and turns it on its head. This bizarre story of a guy named Rhonda is like a weird Kafka-Murakami-Bukowski smoothie with a lot of chunky bits.

"A Jello Horse" by Matthew Simmons (novella, Publishing Genius)

An odd little road story, complete with surreal roadside attractions and a melancholy tone that will pleasantly haunt you when it's all over.

Gagaku Meat: The Steve Richmond Story by Mike Daily (biography zine)

This is an engaging and meticulously researched biography (in oversized chapbook form) about the enigmatic California poet (who died a few months after it came out). A wonderfully illustrated and revealing look at one mad dude.

"Everything Was Fine Until Whatever" by Chelsea Martin (stories, art, Future Tense Books)

Ok--so I actually published this one on my press, but it's such a weird little stew of stories, lists, meta-poems, and art that I can't keep my mind off of how brilliant and fresh it all is.

"The Collected Fanzines" by Harmony Korine (Drag City)

Published by the fine folks at Drag City record label, this thick tome includes all of Harmony's pre-famous filmmaker zines. And they're just as weird as his movies.

"Big World" by Mary Miller (short stories, Hobart)

Mary Miller writes likes a fine combo of Ray Carver and A.M. Homes. This is one of those books where you just think: Where the hell did this lady come from?!

"Ever" by Blake Butler (novella, Calamari Press)

Blake Butler published two books on great small presses this year and they're both saturated in their own lunatic worlds. Ever, if my brain translated it correctly, is about a woman trapped inside a house that won't let her out. A tormented and highly stylized wonder of a book.

"Scary No Scary" by Zachary Schomburg (poems, Black Ocean)

Schomburg is possibly the man who will save poetry for all of those readers who are about to give up on the genre. Scary No Scary is both funny and ridiculously original. A playful, mournful, and sometimes sweet collection full of fantastic images and odd dialogue.

"Capacity" by Theo Ellsworth (graphic novel, Secret Acres)

Ellsworth's weird little tales sometimes read like acid trips of the future, complete with lonely robots and unknown creatures. But there's also a nice personal story threading through this. I have no idea why this guy isn't considered a comics God yet. Maybe someday he rightfully will be.

10 More Book Publishing Predictions

2009-12-31T12:58:06Z

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

- A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

Decades from now, when we look back at the book business in 2009, it seems likely that we'll see it as a threshold year, one in which all of the signs were there for what followed. It was a year in which sales held steady (Nielsen Bookscan, which covers 75% of the market, reported that overall unit sales through December 20 were 724 million copies, only a 3% drop from last year--and adult hardcover fiction was up an amazing 3%), and a few authors were so successful (Stephanie Meyer, Jeff Kinney) that the fates of entire publishing houses were altered by them; however, it was also a year that saw publishing's profit margins squeezed in perplexing new ways. It was a year in which some of the most highly-respected bestsellers (Audrey Niffenegger's Her Fearful Symmetry; Andre Agassi's Open; Edward M. Kennedy's True Compass) were also apparently the year's biggest money-losers for their publishers, due to their multi-million-dollar advances; at the same time, some of the books with the highest rumored advances (Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol; Sarah Palin's Going Rogue) were likely the most profitable. It was a year in which e-book sales increased exponentially, with the cherry on the sundae being Amazon's announcement that they had sold more e-books on Christmas Day than p-books (though of course this was helped by all the people who got Kindles as presents and spent the day filling them); but it was also a year in which the prices charged for those e-books made them a threat to the health of the p-book retailers on whom publishers continued to rely, and possibly a future threat to publishers' ability to make money on the e-book format itself, in spite of that format's wonderful ability to eliminate the costs of production, distribution, and returns. It was a year in which the largest publishing houses slowed title acquisitions and reduced the number of titles they published, while one company--Author Solutions--increased its annual output to a remarkable 24,000 authors (even more remarkably, these authors were all paying for the privilege). It was a year in which review coverage of new fiction disappeared almost entirely, and yet one first novel (Kathryn Stockett's The Help) sold more than a million hardcover copies thanks to word of mouth alone. It was a year in which publishers continued to spend exorbitant amounts of money on print advertising, in spite of data showing how ineffective such advertising tends to be, but also a year in which some publishers discovered the power of online media to reach niche markets at significantly lower costs.

What does this mean for the future? That for every trend there will be a counter trend. And since this is the time of year for Top Ten lists, here's mine:

1. Trend: The large publishing houses will continue to reduce overhead as profits shrink in the years ahead. Counter trend: Publishers will be looking for mergers and acquisitions to compensate for those shrinking profits. The Big Six could be the Big Three within five years.

2. Trend: These companies will continue to focus more resources on fewer titles, using their strengths as large-scale marketers and distributors to publish brand-names. Title count at the largest houses could drop by as much as fifty percent over the next five years. Counter trend: At the same time, self-publishing (including partnerships like the one announced recently between Author Solutions and Harlequin) will grow exponentially.

3. Trend: Title reduction will be most significant for new talent, with the largest houses entrusting support of new authors to a handful of editorial imprints. The editors at those imprints-editors with proven ability to choose new material successfully-will increase in value. Counter trend: Editors whose job is to handle existing talent will find their roles diminished.

4. Trend: In terms of advances, the amounts paid for brand-names will continue to increase, with seven-figure or eight-figure acquisitions commonplace among authors with established track records. Counter trend: There will be an increase in five-figure acquisitions (perhaps with profit-share arrangements) for less predictable material. The six-figure advance--that dangerous neighborhood inhabited by books with lots of potential but few guarantees--will become a rare species within the decade.

5. Trend: E-book sales will grow exponentially, with the proliferation of new devices and applications for reading on smartphones, etc... Within five years, half of all reading will be done electronically. Counter trend: There will be a resurgence of appreciation for well-designed physical books, as keepsakes, gifts, etc... While e-books will create a downward pressure on pricing, there will be notable exceptions (as seen this year with Carl Jung's The Red Book, in great demand at $195.00, or Thomas Keller's gorgeous Ad Hoc at Home, a bestseller at $50.00).

6. Trend: As more consumers become e-book readers, demand will increase for the availability of e-books simultaneously with p-books. Counter trend: Publishers will try a variety of strategies to meet this demand while not undercutting their p-book sales, such as offering more expensive "enhanced" e-books at publication and plain vanilla, less expensive e-books several months later (the strategy recently announced by Macmillan) or by offering a variety of "bundled" discounts to purchasers of multiple formats (prediction: within five years, it will be common practice to give every p-book purchaser a "free" e-book version of that book at time of purchase, as is already the case in the music business, in which someone who buys a cd can also listen to that cd on other devices in digital form, without paying a separate fee).

7. Trend: Fewer and fewer books will be sold to publishers at "auction," and that practice will disappear completely within five years, as more and more publishers realize that the "winner" in such auctions--the publisher willing to pay more to acquire a book than any of their competitors-is often actually the loser in the end. Sales will be made either by brand-name authors to their previous publishing company or by new authors to carefully chosen editors with strong reputations. Counter trend: Instead of auctions for the highest advance, there will be auctions in which a basic advance is established by the agent, with the auction winner being the publisher who bids the most in marketing committed to the book.

8. Trend: As the initial sale becomes less of the focus for authors, the agent of the future will become more of a business manager who handles every aspect of an author's career, overseeing the author's online presence, developing sources of revenue outside of book sales such as workshops and lecture tours, and acting as the author's publicist in between publications. Counter trend: Publishers will create free-standing departments whose services can be purchased a la carte by authors, whether that author is self-published or published by a competitor who doesn't offer such services.

9. Trend: As the Boomers lose their eyesight and their children become teenagers, demographics will favor books for young adults over books for adults. This is also the generation most likely to embrace a variety of online and offline formats, without feeling the need to choose one over another. Counter trend: While auctions and advances diminish for adult titles, they could heat up for young adult material as publishers bet big in search of the next Stephenie Meyer. (Prediction: publishing houses will soon have entire departments devoted to developing books about the undead.)

10. Trend: Every year for the foreseeable future, books will be purchased between Thanksgiving and Christmas about how to prepare high-calorie foods (a favorite from this year: Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, by Jennifer McLagan). Counter trend: Every January for the foreseeable future, the bestseller lists will be dominated by books about how to lose the weight gained by eating those high-calorie foods. (Not much of a prediction, sorry...but I needed a tenth trend to complete the list!)

More from Bob Miller and HarperStudio

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Liu Xiaobo Imprisonment: Edward Albee, E.L. Doctorow And Other Writers Gather To Protest

2009-12-31T12:19:16Z

Major writers will gather in New York this morning to call for the release of Chinese writer and dissident Liu Xiaobo. On Christmas Day, Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to 11 years in prison last week for his part in creating a document calling for greater freedoms in China.

Penny C. Sansevieri: Social Networking on Blogs

2009-12-31T10:16:19Z

We all know that it's great to hop on social networks like Facebook, Squidoo and Twitter, right? But have you ever considered that a blog is a social network, too? You bet it is, but I'm talking specifically about the comment section within each blog. We all know that it's great to pitch bloggers for your book or product, right? But there's more to it. Really, it's about online networking or cyber-schmoozing. Before you even target a blog for your pitch, you should get to know them first. Here's how.

First, you'll want to get to know the blogs in your market. To do this you'll want to follow them and communicate with them via the comment section on their blogs. You can find these blogs through blog search engines like Google Blog Search and Technorati.com. Once you find the blogs that are top in your market (I suggest going after the top 5-10 to start with) then you'll want to see what they post on and comment on their blog posts. What does this do? Well, it'll help give you a voice on your top blogs and give the bloggers a chance to get to know you. Here are some tips for commenting intelligently on blogs:

Be interesting and thought-provoking. Save the "wow, great blog" comments for when you are really looking to not impress someone.

Watch, then comment. I recommending following the blog for a few weeks before jumping in. You want to get a sense of the tone of the blogger and how he or she responds to comments.

Try commenting on at least five blogs a week, this way you're not spending all of your free time doing this and still you're able to get a voice out there in the blog-o-sphere.

Offer additional insight to the blog post, perhaps you've had a different experience than what the blogger cited. If so, politely and intelligently tell them your viewpoint and invite other ideas.

Be entertaining, engaging, and helpful. Always. Don't push your book, yes you can mention it - but don't push it, that's a big no-no.

Try to build a rapport with the blogger by being consistent, that's why you don't want to follow too many bloggers. You'll be too fragmented this way.

Be inspiring, readers love inspiration. Don't just gush for the sake of gushing.

Commenting on blogs posts is a sort of social networking, even better in fact because blog posts and their associated comments are searchable. Keep in mind that you'll want to always list your URL when you log in (and most blogs require that you do log in and leave your online "footprint").
Once you have spent sufficient time online you'll start to get to know the bloggers that are a significant "voice" in your industry. This type of networking will help when you go back to pitch them your story, book or product. Remember that bloggers, like any other on or offline media, want the scoop. So give them what they want. Here are a few tips for pitching bloggers once you've networked with them:

Know what they like: don't pitch them a book review if they don't review books. Just because you have become commenter-extraordinaire doesn't mean that they'll bend the rules for you. Well, they might, but better to let them suggest it.

If the blogger does review books and/or products check out their submission guidelines before sending them a pitch.

If you're sending them a story idea be sure and tell them if you've pitched this idea to anyone else. If they have an exclusive, tell them and give them a (reasonable) deadline for responding if you're going to shop this around.

Present the unexpected: it's OK to take chances, it really is as long as you stay on topic. Pitch the blogger, you never know what could happen.

Make it easy: if you're pitching them a story don't just pitch them and expect them to do all the work. Make it easy on them by offering to co-interview (when appropriate) or offering them experts you think might work well for the piece.

The key is that as you're getting known online, the Internet is one big networking party. Just because you can hide behind your monitor doesn't mean that you're invisible. Remember that everything is your resume and everything leaves a footprint. The best thing you can do is get out and cyber-schmooze, the worst thing you can do is be unprepared. Do your homework and remember, online networking (when done effectively) can benefit you enormously both in your online footprint as well as the connections you'll make. Don't worry about spending hours on this, it's really about quality not quantity. Get out there and social network on blogs, you'll be glad you did.

Blockbuster Books Of The Decade (PHOTOS, POLL)

2009-12-31T07:30:00Z

Bestsellers are harder to track than you'd think and it's not easy for everyone to agree which are the biggest. Each bestseller list--The New York Times, USA Today, BookScan, local newspapers--is calibrated slightly differently. We decided to partner with Nielsen BookScan to chart the biggest bestsellers of the first decade of the new millennium. Yes, we know that they only started keeping track in 2004, but when we compared our lists--gathered by analysis of a decade of bestseller lists and consensus--to Bookscan's list of the top 20 (fiction, non-fiction, adult, children, hardcover and trade paperback), they were very close. In order of rank, here's the list. Did you read them? Which were your favorites?

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Book Sales Not That Bad? Uh, OK. Sure.

2009-12-30T17:00:59Z

Book sales aren't that bad? Plenty of media outlets have been trying to make hay out of an article that appeared in Crain's on December 29th.

Galleycat, a publishing blog, said "the bookselling business might not be as bad as the gloomy critics say." And they are downright exuberant about this quote from the Crain's story:

"Bottom line, it's really pretty impressive," said Lorraine Shanley, a principal of consulting firm Market Partners International. "When you look at every other medium, and you look at books, and you see they held their own in one of the most difficult years we've had in a generation, that's good news."

Even the Los Angeles Times got in on the act:

Publishing has been hit hard this year: There have been bookstore closings across the country, big layoffs at publishing houses, warnings that the business model can't survive, the looming challenge of e-readers such as the Kindle and e-books. Yet with numbers out that cover book sales for 2009 through Dec. 20, it appears that despite all this bad news, people still like to buy books.

Here's what everybody got excited about: adult hardcover fiction is up, as is trade paperback adult fiction. But mass market is down as well as non-fiction across the board. Unit sales are down overall by 3%, according to Crain's.

Blockbusters like "Going Rogue" and "The Lost Symbol" seemed to save the day. You can't count on that happening every year, and who in book publishing really benefits other than the few people responsible for publishing them? And how many years in a row are overall book sales down?

The news from around the industry has been bad all year. Bookstores are closing and thanks to price wars, the big book chains are having trouble competing:

Things aren't looking good for big booksellers Borders and Barnes & Noble. The AP reports that both chains have posted major losses for this quarter, their sales made worse by the online price wars between Amazon and Walmart that have driven prices on new bestsellers down so much as to make it nearly impossible for bookstores to compete.

So not only are unit sales down, but with the deep discounting, the amount received is going to be down as well. And if that weren't enough, on Christmas eBooks outsold print books, and free eBooks now constitute the majority of eBook bestsellers.

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Book Publishing Predictions For 2010

2009-12-30T13:33:47Z

It is customary for those of us who do crystal-ball gazing to make some calls about the year ahead at around the time the celebrants head for Times Square. I am not a man to flout custom. Here are some of the things I expect we'll see in 2010.

1. At least one major book will have several different enhanced ebook editions. This will result from a combination of circumstances: the different capabilities of ebook hardware and reader platforms, the desire of publishers and authors to justify print-like prices for ebooks, the sheer ability of authors and their fans to do new things electronically, and the dawning awareness that there are at least two distinctly different ebook markets: one just wants to read the print book on an electronic screen and the other wants links and videos and other enhancements that really change the print book experience. (Corrolary prediction: the idea of an enhanced ebook that is only sold "temporarily" in the first window when the book comes out, which has been floated by at least one publisher, will be short-lived. Whatever is made for sale in electronic form will remain available approximately forever. Or, put another way, if you have a product that requires no inventory investment that has a market, you'll keep satisfying it.)

Miranda July's Reading List, From Milk Cartons To Rilke

2009-12-30T11:04:50Z

I read the milk container while drinking orange juice out of the bottle, holding the refrigerator door open with my body. A better thing to read about while drinking orange juice would be oranges, or sunshine, or even lemons. Not milk.

I read my to-do list for the day. First thing on it: "Print out script." Last thing on it: "Dog things." Meaning, buy balls and food for the dog. Not something I ended up doing.

"Mentors, Muses & Monsters" Review: Writers Explore Their Influences

2009-12-30T08:05:45Z

If you are interested in writers, literature and the actual process of writing, this is definitely the book for you. But as long as you are interested in people and how they interrelate, then it still has a lot to offer. How could it not? Thirty articulate, analytical contemporary authors offer up their memories of writers who were special influences on them.

Gina Buonaguro: How to Co-Author a Novel

2009-12-29T14:54:29Z

How do two people write a novel together? It's the first question everyone asks. Our response? "How do people write novels alone?" And we're not being facetious -- we're honestly in awe of anyone who can pull off such an astonishing feat on their own. If you're in awe as well and would like to try but wonder where to find the time and energy to read a novel let alone write one, then maybe coauthoring is the answer for you too.

First, find a coauthor whose vision you share. For us, it is simply the love of a good story with a strong plotline. It doesn't hurt to have a complementary combination of personality traits either. Two procrastinators, no matter how brilliant, will be doubly handicapped when meeting a deadline. Gina encapsulates our working relationship thus: Janice (the perfectionist) makes sure it's right, while Gina (organizer extraordinaire) makes sure it gets finished.

Everything two authors write together is the result of their combined imaginations, knowledge, experience, and energy. It was Gina's trip to Italy's Euganean Hills that launched us into "Ciao Bella", and it was Gina's Italian heritage that helped shape the rather unruly family that populates the book. Janice, in the missing resistance fighter, Ugo, drew on her university years standing in the snow selling "The Socialist Worker". Everything creeps out onto the page and gives what we write something uniquely ours. Not quite Gina's, not quite Janice's - a third voice, in literary speak.

Coauthoring also allows you to split the work (of course you have to split any earnings too) and accomplish something even when far away from your desk. Gina teaches online and freelance edits, while Janice answers phones on a help desk. In addition, we have families and homes, and on occasion we like to go on vacation. It's reassuring to know that when facing a work deadline, in bed with a cold, or sitting on a beach, we can open our email and discover a draft for the next chapter, a new bit of research, or at least some small problem, if only a case of pesky punctuation, magically resolved. And there isn't only writing to share: there are agents and editors, marketing, cover letters, and so on. Everything takes time, but it doesn't have to take all of one person's time.

Then there is the matter of moral support. "Coauthors in sickness and in health," Janice once signed an email after a bad day. Writing is often an onerous task, and either of us on our own would have announced defeat long ago. How many pep talks have we given each other? A rejection letter from a publisher, an uncharitable ("did they even read the bloody thing?!") review, or writer's block that seems as insurmountable as -- well -- as trying to complete this metaphor. Sometimes that day job doesn't seem so bad.

But what about the actual process of getting words on the page? We've heard of coauthoring teams that sit side-by-side at the computer, yet we can't write a letter together. We are good at talking though. Mostly it's over the phone or via email, but we've learned it's essential to meet as often as possible. Over cups of tea and the occasional medicinal bottle of wine, we hash out ideas, plots, and characters, and read every draft aloud over and over. We leave these sessions feeling encouraged and with small projects to work on. Janice might rework some hackneyed dialogue, while Gina might start a new chapter.

Coauthoring requires a few rules too. While writing our first novel, "The Sidewalk Artist", fearful of offending the other, we were diplomatic to a fault. If Janice wrote something Gina didn't like, it was up to Janice to gently convince Gina of its magnificence or out it went. Some of these discussions would last for days and dozens of emails, only to have the winner concede the point on the next read -- through with a sheepish "You were right." In the end, we realized it's not whether the idea or the sentence is one or the other's -- it's whether it's the right one. This epiphany led us to change our approach in "Ciao Bella". Confident in our process and each other, we threw our careful diplomacy to the wind. It was if our individual egos had been subsumed by our collective ego. "This sentence is shit! Who write that?" was much more in keeping with the tone. That we laughed it off shows we'll survive our next book together too.

So give coauthoring a thought at least, if not a try. You may be surprised at the results -- and the rewards.

Hugh Grant Planning To Write A Novel

2009-12-29T12:43:52Z

BERLIN (AFP) -- Actor Hugh Grant said he dreams of running away from Hollywood and publishing a book, in an interview with a German newspaper Sunday.

Stanley Hoig Dead: Oklahoma Historian And Author Dies

2009-12-29T10:57:11Z

Historian, author and journalist Stanley Hoig died Saturday. He was 85.

Hoig was a member of the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame and the Edmond Hall of Fame.

Starbucks Sells A Lifestyle, Says New Book

2009-12-29T10:20:50Z

In the book, the UNC-Chapel Hill graduate explains how Starbucks became a Wall Street favorite by making its customers feel environmentally aware, upwardly mobile, connected and cool by welcoming us, by name, into their clean, urban-chic stores, pumping hip music, and selling us (some) fair-trade coffee in cups made of 60 percent recycled materials.

Worst Celebrity Books Of The Decade (PHOTOS, POLL)

2009-12-29T07:33:30Z

It's as much fun to choose the worst celebrity books of the decade as it is to pick the best books, though the pool is decidedly smaller for this one. They wrote both fiction and non-fiction and each will stand the test of time--or not. See if you remember all of them and let us know your picks.

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Dennis Brutus Dead: South African Poet And Activist Dies

2009-12-28T12:13:05Z

NEW YORK — South African poet and former political prisoner Dennis Brutus, who fought apartheid in words and deeds and remained an activist well after the fall of his country's racist system, has died. He was 85.

Brutus' publisher, Chicago-based Haymarket Books, said the writer died in his sleep at his home in Cape Town on Saturday. He had been battling prostate cancer, according to Patrick Bond, who directs the Center for Civil Society at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, where Brutus was an honorary professor.

Got A Kindle For Christmas? HuffPost Editors' Download Picks (PHOTOS, POLL)

2009-12-25T07:42:30Z

Looking for books to download onto that brand new eReader? So were we. Here's what Huffington Post editors (and one blogger) picked to read first.

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Cell Phone Dangers And Air Pollution Risk Overblown

2009-12-23T11:01:29Z

I would contend that one can't really understand what is going on with the hyping of health risks without considering the social context in which messages about health get disseminated. In addition, as a scientist, I tried to assess what the evidence actually indicated and where certain agency reports or partisan interpretations seemed to be overstating the evidence.

Charles Dickens Biography Gives A Fascinating New Take On Author's Life

2009-12-23T10:23:39Z

[I]f you're looking for just one literary life to give as a gift in this holiday season, you won't go wrong by choosing Michael Slater's " Charles Dickens."

To an American audience these days, any mention of Dickens is likely to conjure more images of public television adaptations of his work than the season does sugar plum fairies. Put that all out of your head. Even if you think you know Dickens, you don't know him in this new and altogether invigorating way.

Joy Preble: Not Lost at All: Texas Pines, Debut Authors, and the World's Largest Gingerbread Man

2009-12-22T18:01:24Z

Just came back from a weekend jaunt to the Texas Hill Country with the husband. Usually around this time of year we find ourselves in desperate need of a getaway and the weekend right as school lets out is usually when we can sneak off for bit. Bastrop, Texas is not exactly Vegas -- where we were last year at this time -- but then what is? Vegas has its own special debauchery and Bastrop has the Lost Pines Resort and either way I was going to get wine on demand and someone else to make the bed and feed me. I'm pretty easy that way.

In any case, here's the thing about the Lost Pines. If you drive through Bastrop State Park, you can see them -- loblolly pines that don't really belong in this region -- they're about 80 miles away from the pines of East Texas -- but somehow are there anyway. There's even an Indian legend about how they got there, although botanists suspect some sort of glacier activity probably spread them. Pick which ever explanation suits you. Personally, I favor the legend - which tells the story how someone brought pine seeds to a homesick girl who had married into a Central Texas tribe. Weepy brides are just more interesting than glaciers. At least to me.

Did some hiking and drinking and eating and relaxing and even got a massage while we were at the resort, although massages are generally a futile activity for me, even more so this year with the whole debut novel adventure tensing up my poor little shoulders since September. I try to be the type of person who can actually lie mostly naked on a little table while a stranger attempts to knead my muscles into submission, but usually it just makes me more tense, which I understand is totally not the point. It's like my body just says, "Screw it. I'll have that third glass of Pinot Grigio if I must, but you are absolutely not going to get me to loosen up by telling me that I need to relax and then digging your fist into my back."

But back those pine trees. They are, I think, simply proof that nature finds a way. (I seem to remember Jeff Goldblum's character saying something like this in Jurassic Park right before he was attacked by the T-Rex. The man-made dinos weren't supposed to be able to breed on their own. Yet there they were, chewing up the accountant while he tried to hide in the bathroom.) Pine trees don't belong in Bastrop Sate Park. But there they were, thriving away in front of my eyes -- at least as much of them as I could see from the passenger seat of husband's Prius this afternoon as we drove through the park on our way to Smithville, a tiny hill country town famous for having created the world's largest gingerbread man. (That last fact doesn't have anything to do with the Lost Pines, but it's the kind of kitschy "giant ball of twine" thing I adore, so I've included it anyway.)

I wasn't supposed to do what I did this fall, either. Find my second act and write a young adult novel that four months later is still on the shelves and finding readers. This was not supposed to happen. Not because I didn't want it to. And not because I'm not a good person most days. Or not a hard worker. I am. But sometimes that's just not enough. You don't always get your dreams. Only this time, I did. Like those pines, you can come up with more than one possible explanation. Maybe it was just time. Maybe I really did work harder than everyone else. Maybe Publicist Paul is just that good. Maybe it was glacier activity. Honestly, we'll never know for sure.

But here's what I think. I think sometimes with people, nature finds a way, too. Maybe that's what miracles are. Something grabs you up by the roots and transplants you somewhere new. And after the shock wears off, you get another surprise. You find that you're thriving there. This new place and this new life -- they fit you. And so you dig in and make it home. Maybe it's not where people expected to find you. But it turns out it's where you belong.

I didn't expect to end this decade as a published author with more books on the horizon. But here I am anyway. Roots tucked into my new terrain. And like those pine trees, not really lost. Just home at last.

Best Forgotten Books: Writers Pick Their Favorites

2009-12-22T13:58:56Z

In 1999, the L.A. Times asked dozens of writers to look back at the prior century and share books they considered lost treasures -- books they loved that had slipped out of sight. Although the authors were formidable -- including Nobel Prize winner Nadine Gordimer, theorist Susan Sontag and popular novelist John Le Carré -- most of their books remain relatively unknown. Not for want of trying: Editor Robert Giroux worked with E.E. Cummings in the 1950s and tried -- but failed -- to acquire the rights to Cummings' book "The Enormous Room" -- it was his selection for this list.

What follows are lost treasures from 25 writers, as they looked back in 1999.

Mitch Albom's "Have A Little Faith" Fixes Hole In Church Roof (VIDEO)

2009-12-22T11:51:09Z

Mitch Albom's newest book, "Have a Little Faith" focuses in part on a struggling Detroit church that didn't have enough money to repair the hole in its roof. Below is the story of the organization Albom founded to help this church and others around the country, and of how he brought strangers from the community and outside of it together to help out and revive the church.

WATCH:

Christmas Parties: Author Weingarten's Horror (AUDIO)

2009-12-22T11:23:17Z

Gene Weingarten, Washington Post columnist and humor writer, hates Christmas parties. They're awkward and require way too much small talk. The only thing worse, he says, is a book party. In an interview on NPR, Weingarten shares tips for making quick getaways.

LISTEN:

Author Calling FBI About Negative Amazon Reviewers?

2009-12-22T10:42:22Z

This year has seen its fair share of authors kicking off about poor reviews, from Alice Hoffman, who called a Boston Globe critic a "moron" on Twitter following a negative review of her novel "The Story Sisters", to Alain de Botton, who posted an excoriating comment on a reviewer's blog after a poor write-up for "The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work" in the New York Times. But the latest upset, played out on the pages of Amazon, is possibly the weirdest.

Boulder Author Stole His Own Book

2009-12-22T10:26:25Z

A recent New York Times article about book thefts has the online community atwitter about one mysterious Boulder author accused of feeling a little too entitled to the fruits of his labor.

In taking a national snapshot of the shoplifting problem, the Times story cut to Boulder, where "one writer was even busted stealing his own books."

Ru Freeman: Facebook Etiquette for Authors

2009-12-21T14:54:11Z

A lot has been written about Facebook's various attempts to mis/manage our online data. In general, I am of the opinion that we can forgo a few minutes of updating our status about, say, whether or not we've brushed our teeth or exactly how many papers we have left to grade, in order to take charge of our own privacy settings. We do not need Mark Zuckerberg to hold our hand or reassure us. Come on, people, aren't we all more grown up than that by now? The real problem is that many of us writers have begun to use Facebook for marketing rather than for networking. This irked me so much that I had to update my status thus:

"I don't buy things from telemarketers or from direct marketing mailings to my address. I won't suddenly think it is a brilliant idea to buy things marketed to me on FB. Which is to say, FB is a place to browse and consider, but rarely to buy. Unless you are far more interesting than your product."

'Tis the season when people who have things to sell - be they Chop-Yer-Own-Fir Farms or Independent booksellers or, indeed, authors - have to give their wares an extra push. I know. But after the zillionth status update in the course of three months about one book or another streaming onto my screen via Facebook's live news feed, I realized that we were all descending, en masse, into a vast swamp of self-promotion that is just not becoming of the writerly class. So, with the blessings of a few good people who happen to be authors, I have come up with ten-step pathway to grace for writers. Here goes:

Rule #1. Share information about the successes of your writer friends more frequently than you share information about your own. Bragging is never pretty but it is particularly tiresome on Facebook. An indication that you are overdoing the self-promotional posts? More 'likes this' checks and few or no comments. There is a lot more exposure for your book when it is talked up on someone else's wall where it is more likely to be seen by people who may have never heard of your existence, than the exposure you might get when it is talked up on yours. So, return the favor.

Rule #2. When responding to a comment left on your wall by a fellow writer, do so on their wall, not yours. When you write a response on your wall, you are kind of talking to yourself. Unless they keep revisiting you in which case they need to learn the lyrics to 'I Can Be Your Facebook Stalker' and broadcast themselves on YouTube. Again, when you write on their wall you expand your FB world. This is what networking is all about.

Rule #3. If you truly just want to talk about yourself and your book, be straight about it and set up a Fan page. Nobody is forced to join your fan page and you can go crazy-mad with self-referential information on it if you truly want to and it's okay. Your fans won't mind and your friends (who wouldn't be fans if they didn't want to support you and who probably already know everything you are talking about), will simply ignore it.

Rule #4. Don't join Facebook because you've heard it is a Good Way To Promote Your Book. It is a good way to promote your book, but it is primarily a - say it with me - Tool for Networking. That's right. It's a bar. It's a soirée, it's a gigantic party, it's a flat out junket, but it is not Ebay, it is not Etsy, it is not LastMinuteDeals, it is notAmazon.com.

Rule #5. When you do - and you should! - post some good news about your book, short story, essay, blog posts etc., keep it light. Learn from these pros:

Jennine Capó Crucet Check it out! HTLH named a Best Book of 2009 on the Latinidad List! (Note: Non-Latinos are welcome to read any of these books as well. We're cool.)

(the Latinidad List)

Marie Mockett In which I explain that, no, I am not a vegetarian (and never have been) and why I think a ghost is scarier than your generic western devil.

(the nervousbreakdown interview)

Antonya Nelson promises never ever to do this again (please don't HIDE me!) but wishes to announce the publication of paperback Nothing Right. Is it fit for holiday gifting? Probably not. Will it make you feel like hanging out with or hugging your family? Doubtful. And yet, I announce its arrival nonetheless. And now I solemnly... renounce any further shameless self-promotion on facebook.

Rule #6. If you are genuinely thrilled about the success enjoyed by a friend - and posted by them on FB - write it, share it, brag on their behalf. The 'likes this' icon should only be clicked if your friend is breaking Rule #1. Or there's a psychopath at your door and you have no time for more than a quick click before you do whatever you have to do at such moments. Otherwise, get serious about getting happy for them. Like in various other situations in our lives, both on and off the page, faking it just kind of fake.

Rule #7. Express gratitude to the magazine editors, bloggers, online reviewers who carry or praise your work. Make that an ongoing expression of gratitude by keeping up with the other artists they carry or praise, and by handing over at least a few of your updates to talking about them.

Rule #8. It's okay to friend people you find interesting judging by their erudite posts on other peoples' walls. All they can say is no. Don't freak out and talk about it on your wall; aren't we all immune to rejection by this time?

Rule #9. It is okay to friend someone who happens to be friends with more than seventy five other writers. Chances are they are one of two things: a writer or a reader and do we really have a beef with either group? And don't we all know that when we get a friend invite from someone it doesn't necessarily mean they want to couch-surf at our place next time they are in town but rather, would like to keep up with whatever it is we are doing or saying for a few minutes each day? Well, maybe more than a few minutes, but still.

Rule #10. Every now and again, throw out something interesting to enliven our web-surf-dead brains. Here are a few favorites:

Alexander Chee is cold as ______________________.
Which generated responses ranging from "Joe Lieberman's conscience" to "an overused simile."

Cheryl Strayed Note to holiday card senders: if two people marry and both keep their names, they are not "Mr. & Mrs. Husband's name" nor are they "The Husband's Name Family." Is that really so hard?

Antonya Nelson Holiday Hostess Hint #3 True or false: Pouring cheap (plastic-bounces-back-to-the-bum's-hand-when-he-drops-the-bottle-type) vodka through a Brita water filter twenty times will result in an elixir of Grey Goose quality. (True.)

Giuseppe Taurino is wondering what happens to people who die at home? The interweb is giving me conflicting info about how you get from a) finding a body to b) getting it to the funeral home.

Meakin Armstrong Oh, the stupid drama of rewriting something on deadline. I should just sell ice cream from a truck. We'd all be happier.
Fave response: "food trucks are really 'in' right now."

Jen De Leon always thought it was 'up and adam' but recently learned it's 'up and at them.'
Response #1: "Pretty sure my mom used to get me out of bed with, 'Up and at 'em, Adam Ant.' Who is Adam Ant?"

Who indeed. Happy networking!