Interested in getting Published?

You could do worse than to read THIS blog post by the Most Excellent Blogging Agent Nathan Bransford. A lovely glossary of all terms publishing-related.

In fact, if you are REALLY interested, or in the industry already, you should have Bransford's blog on your RSS feed. The guy uniformly posts excellent material. He, Janet Reid and Kristin Nelson are my must-reads for agent bloggers.

All truly excellent. Know any other excellently-blogging agents? List 'em in the comments!

In a somewhat tangentially related thought, when my newly vamped website is ready for public consumption, it will have an all-things-writing-related blog attached. Hoping for a September launch...

A bit of contest news -- it's three weeks until the deadline of the SIWC writing contest. Have you sent in your entry yet? Find out more HERE. With $4000 up for grabs in prizes, it's a no-brainer.

And speaking of contests, nip on over RIGHT NOW to Darby Speaks. You'll be just in time to get your name in to win an Aphra Connelly contest pack!

Hurry...run!

~kc

Top 8 of '08, with Guest Blogger Janet Reid

Staying with our international theme, now we're off from the left coast to the right with an entry from agent Janet Reid. Janet is an agent with the FinePrint Literary Agency in New York City, where she specializes in mysteries and off-beat literary fiction. She is also an avid blogger and tweeter and generous sharer of advice regarding all things literary. Need to know how to send a query? How to format a manuscript page? Janet's blog has it all.


Now, let's have a quick peek at her list, shall we?


8 Things I Loved in '08.


1. My spiffy new Kindle leads the list. Are you sick of reading my gushing posts about the Kindle? I've yapped enough about it here previously that I'll just say this now:

I wouldn't have bought one as soon without Kristin Nelson leading the way. Kristin has been a friend, colleague and sounding board for years. When she bought one, and showed it to me, and told me how much she valued it, I got one for myself. Thanks Kristin!


2. Google reader. I subscribe to 144 blogs. I follow all my clients, and as many of the trade oriented blogs I can find like bookstores, editors, other agents, and interesting observers of the scene. The ONLY way I can do that efficiently is by using Google reader. I know it's helped me help my clients. If you're not on Google reader, I encourage you to do so.

3. Twitter. I use Twitter for a very specific purpose. I stay in touch with my clients by a gossamer thread. It helps me know what's happening in their lives that's important (things like the death of a dog, death of a close friend, two bombs, and a lot of snow!) without them having to email me.

It's also been invaluable for early news. I don't use it to market myself, or do much actual business, but it's been extremely useful for what I want it for.

I started using Twitter because I read a post on DorothyL from someone who was excoriating all the new fangled things they thought were a waste of time. I realized I didn't want to dismiss something as useless unless I'd actually tried it. Twitter turned to be very useful. I tried a couple other things that weren't, but the key was I tried them first. Sort of the like Spinach Principle: how do you know you'll loathe it unless you've tried it.

Want to read more? The rest can be found, along with a ton of great advice for writers looking to be published, HERE on Janet's blog. Or check out her website HERE. Both are must-reads.

Thanks for joining in, Janet!

~kc

I'm Blushing...

Blushing, I tell you.

Here's what I received this morning from Books On The Nightstand...

Our Grand Prize winner is KC Dyer and her mapped-out nightstand. Michael and I loved the annotations and the Powell's Map on the top of the stack! KC will receive an autographed ARC of Blindspot by Jane Kamensky and Jill Lepore, a book that I loved. It comes out in December and I can't wait to tell you all about it!

Yes, yes...it's true. GRAND prize winner -- no less.

Apparently no one has a nightstand quite so ...so... special as this one:



In my candid and simpering acceptance speech [televised last night, right after the Emmys] I promised to remember the little people -- and by little people I mean every one of you out there who suffers under the burden of a _tidy_ bedside table, books replaced in bookcases -- perhaps even --dare I say it? -- DUSTED upon occasion. I know one look at the photo above leads you to clutch a handkerchief to your bosom, longingly dreaming of the day when YOUR bedside table can look like this one.

Yes, yes -- it is not a pipe-dream. If I can attain this pinnacle, this... this epitome of teetering literary merit, well, anyone can. [ I am typing this like I almost mean it, I swear.]

My dear friend A Novel Woman may have won the Bulwer Lytton contest more times than I can count, but now she is forced to allow me to join her vaulted ranks. For this Grand Prize...is the Bulwer Lytton of Book Ownership.

And for bestowing upon me this esteemed and deserved award, I humbly thank Ann Kingman and Michael Kindness of Books on the Nightstand, and also a certain owner of the pink Octopus (whom, I might add, is a bridesmaid to my triumph, having been selected in the far less esteemed category as one of the four random winners. There, there Janet dear. There must surely be a next time. )

And now, dear friends and earnest also-rans, I must hie off to my mailbox to await my Grand Prize.

I have the perfect pile of books to add it to....


~kc

On the Road Again

Blogging from Calgary here, on a quick stop en route to take my loin-spawn (credit the hilarious Janet Reid for _that_ one ) off to university. It will be a circuitous journey, involving a trip to New York and Toronto before we alight in the land of Parent-Free-Post-Secondary. She's celebrating, I'm not yet openly weepy, so all is well. I'm hoping to connect with the aforementioned clever and talented Janet when I hit the big city, as well as jamming in enough touristy endeavours to last me until my next visit. No sleep for four days!

I heart New York.

But in a quick look home, I thought I might post a few pix that my son, He-Who-Is-Revelling-In-The-Absence-Of-His-Sister, found last night when researching the possible heritage of our youngest canine family member. I can't see any resemblence myself...

The bad dog.

The BC Black Wolf.

The BC Black Wolf in winter.

The BC Black Wolf eats his wading pool.

No resemblance at all....

~kc

One thing at a time...

I'm actually so tired that I just typed 'One thong at a time' for my title, and then had to pause a moment to think about how just one letter made such a difference -- AND a better blog entry title. Perhaps another day...

Really, the title is a reference to my little over-commitment problem, but instead of harping, I think I'll just get down to it.

Friday the 13th turned out to be a pretty auspicious night this month, as we had our 'pass the baton' party for CWILL BC.


James McCann and I bid our respective positions as Prez and VP of CWILL good-bye, and we welcomed the new leadership in the form of Pam Withers and Crystal Stranaghan. A good time was had by all.





After the official event, a few of us hied off to a local establishment to finish off the evening in style. Lee Fodi, Kirsti Wakelin, Crystal Stranaghan, James McCann and self joined Kari-Lynn Winters (who took this shot) for some girding of the loins in preparation for Spring Book Hatching, 2008, which was to begin bright and early the following morning.








SBH 2008 took place on an uncharacteristically sunny Vancouver day, but the weather, somehow, didn't keep the crowds from out of the downtown branch of the Vancouver Public Library.








The place was packed, and as befit the setting, was filled with all kinds of wild and wonderful creatures,











including a crazed fairy in drag, (aka Dan Bar-El, author of SUCH A PRINCE).











With the SPCA in attendance as a sponsor, even the dogs wanted to come and be a part of the celebration. (Please note: This is a GOOD dog, who came to the event, behaved like an angel and was a total asset to the procedings. This public service announcement is intended as a break from all the usual BAD dog posts you'll find around this joint.)



And we didn't stop there for animal kingdom contributions -- we also had a couple of cute chicks on hand to help direct the crowds...












All in all it was a huge success, and a happy way for James and me to hand over the reins of CWILL to Pam and Crystal. That incredibly organized duo will spearhead the Fall Book Harvest sometime in September. As always, keep an eye on this space -- you'll read all about it here first.

Enough for tonight, I think, except to say...


Make sure to check out the latest SiWC blog post here -- a big shout-out to the dear and delightful Janet Reid, who said some mighty fine things in her blog this weekend.

Creative Writing Weekend

As a most excellent way to end last week, I got to spend a couple of days with a bunch of really creative minds -- the kids of CWC -- Creative Writing for Children. This group, run by the esteemed Joon Park, regularly meet to practice their creative writing skills. Twice a year they get together for an intensive camp, with writers and drama teachers to help add a spark to the process. I joined the group last summer in Abbotsford, and last week we met again, this time at Simon Fraser University. My groups spent two days learning how to flesh out a character and how to become 'setting magicians', finding a way to work setting into a story so it advances the plot and enhances the reading experience. I had a wonderful time.

In other news -- I just heard from the inimitable Janet Reid of the FinePrint Agency in New York (one of the pre-eminent agents who attended the Surrey International Writers' Conference this year) that she has signed a new client from among the 2007 SiWC conference attendees. Janet's blog can be found here: http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/ (Always a great read -- Janet is one of the wittiest bloggers I know...)

The writer she signed is Susan Adrian. You can check out HER blog at http://writers-tale.blogspot.com

I'm sending my fond wishes to both for a writer-agent marriage made in heaven!

And speaking of Surrey...

Now that the new year is here, things are stirring on the SiWC front. More on that soon.

~kc