Feeling The Librarian Love

People always ask me how my life has changed since becoming published. And the honest answer is- not a whole lot. I still work the 40/wk, my dog still poops on the floor next to my bed occasionally, and I get flat tires just like everyone else. I've never really felt like things were different... until this past weekend.

I had the opportunity to visit Henderson Library in Jefferson, Ohio on Saturday. I've done a ton of presentations across the state, and I always enjoy meeting fellow librarians as well as talking face to face with fans. Reaching new readers is a plus too, and I'm not lying when I say I don't mind driving three hours to "go do a thing," as the boyfriend calls it.

But what happened in Jefferson this weekend was different. I told the ladies involved in planning the event that I think they put more effort into it than I did into writing the book.

For starters - they made Lynn's basement. Yes, they did. I honestly think Lynn could've walked into
that presentation room and said, "Yeah, I could live here." Why?

1) Her bed was in a strategic position so that she could see both entrances to the room.
2) There was water, canned food, and a lantern within reaching distance.
3) They said they wanted to include a rifle, but decided against it given... you know... the law.

But they didn't stop there-- Stebbs was well represented too. Just to make sure the old guy felt welcome they put red bandanas all over, and even included his ladder (in one piece) so that he could climb up or down to his secret water source whenever he needed.

Granted, Mother might have been a bit nervous when she saw that there were coyotes leaping all over the walls, but there was a border of roof tiles across the top so that she had a semblance of safety. Mother also would have found comfort in the fact that there were raindrops hanging from the ceiling (complete with book covers) and next door there was - get this - a water bar. Yep. Name your poison. Just make sure it's water.

I was so flattered. Just walking into the room was an amazing experience, and then they knocked me flat by sharing a Mindy McGinnis Mix CD. These girls did their research (they are librarians, after all). They found my playlists for both NOT A DROP TO DRINK & IN A HANDFUL OF DUST and played the songs while the audience filtered in.

And that's when things got surreal for this farm girl. Most of the people who came to see me were already fans. I'm not stupid. I know I have fans, but when they are getting so many tickets in advance that we ended up scheduling two presentation times to accommodate them, it kind of blows my mind. And they had questions - real questions that showed they'd read my books, contemplated them, and got them.

My blog even got some love. A college student told me that one of her assignments had been to find a blog and do a paper on it. She found Writer, Writer, Pants On Fire while cruising for an appropriate subject and chose it. This really floored me. Like, Mindy Is On The Ground Now. Most of you are probably aware that blogging takes a lot of time, a lot of dedication, and is completely non-monetary. I don't make a dime off this blog, and there's been more than once that I thought maybe I should hang it up and concentrate on novels. It never fails that when this happens I get an email from an aspiring writer, telling me that they use it as a constant reference from the query trenches, or a fellow writer going through submission hell who says that the SHIT interview is what kept them sucking air while waiting for a reply.

All that being said, I'm still me. I own more Carharrts than purses, and I just spotted a little bit of breakfast on my cheek before I sat down to write this. So, has my life changed since becoming published? No, not really. But after this weekend, I think maybe me being published has affected other people's lives.

And that's way cooler.

Louise Galveston on Second Novel Blues

Welcome to the SNOB - Second Novel Ominipresent Blues. Whether you’re under contract or trying to snag another deal, you’re a professional now, with the pressures of a published novelist compounded with the still-present nagging self-doubt of the noobie. How to deal?

Today's guest is Louise Galveston, who grew up on horseback in the Midwest. The only thing that could pull her out of the saddle was a great book or a game of Star Wars. The lone girl in her neighborhood, she always got to play Princess Leia.

Is it hard to leave behind the first novel and focus on the second?

In my case it wasn’t, because IN TODD WE TRUST is the sequel to BY THE GRACE OF TODD. There was, however, a lot of looking back to little details and rereading to make sure I nailed the characters’ voices. There are a LOT of characters in these books.

At what point do you start diverting your energies from promoting your debut and writing / polishing / editing your second?

My launch for book one overlapped final edits for book two. So I was piggy-backing promotion and editing. And I wasn’t sleeping much. It was tough. But I’m not going to whine. This was what I’d dreamed of and worked toward for years-only it was like having twins instead of just one book baby! Also, constantly having to focus on the sequel helped distract me from the impending launch, which had my nerves in a knot.

Your first book landed an agent and an editor, and hopefully some fans. Who are you writing the second one for? Them, or yourself?

I think I always kind of write for myself (especially since I mostly write humor) and hope that if it entertains me, it will put a smile on readers’ faces as well. But you’ve got to make the editor smile before it can get to them. ☺

Is there a new balance of time management to address once you’re a professional author? 

Time management? Balance? Let me laugh hysterically for a moment. **clears throat** Okay, I’m back. Just pretend you’re the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, and you’re running behind…in everything. Seriously, though, I had to sacrifice sleep. With ten kids at home (eleven total) I’m used to less shut-eye than most people, but during crunch time, I got pretty bleary-eyed. (As in, I could hardly read during my launch party because my eyes were so tired.) Now that I’m not under so much pressure, I try to write for a couple of hours later in the evening or before breakfast. My husband takes over on Saturdays, and I cram as much drafting/editing in as I can. 

There’s also the issue of not having time (due to deadlines) to run things past a crit partner or even my husband (my first reader). Having the security net yanked out from under you like that makes you really rely on your gut. I still try to read a manuscript aloud, but there’s not always somebody around to listen at 1:30 a.m.

What did you do differently the second time around, with the perspective of a published author?

My second revision notes from my editor were much lighter than in my first book, because the characters’ personalities were well established and I understood what to do as far as details (such as formatting, use of italics, etc.) Also, I had a few good reviews under my belt, and I knew what material connected with kids when I did school visits. So with all of that in my arsenal, I was definitely more confident in my writing. But being published also means that you know for certain some people just aren’t going to get or like your book. And you learn to be okay with it. That knowledge was liberating, and let me write the book as it came to me.

I tried not to allow myself to procrastinate. (One of my worst habits.) If I got stumped on a scene, I’d force myself to muscle through it, even if I knew it was going to be mostly trashed later. I also had to break the habit of editing as I go. The perfectionist in me had to surrender to the deadline. I learned how to fast draft and found I was a lot funnier when I didn’t overthink things but wrote off the cuff.

Thursday Thoughts

Thoughts lately...

1) Cut my finger on a can the other day and realized that getting stabbed is probably just awful.

2) When you do the, "My name is AIIEEEEEEEEEE....." reference from Splash and nobody gets it, it's incredibly awkward for everyone.

3) I have no idea what it's like to live in a non-writer brain. The other day I was having a normal conversation with an acquaintance who had read an ARC of IN A HANDFUL OF DUST and in the middle of the convo she stops and says, "I'm sorry. I just can't help but wonder what you're actually thinking about right now. I feel like it's probably just awful."

Well... sometimes it is, yeah.