Some great writing advice from author Caroline Leavitt

"One of the biggest mistakes I see from novel writers is that they are trying to write for an audience, for an agent, for an editor or for the market. Uh uh uh. The job of a writer is to put truth--your particular truth--onto the page. You want to put the blood on the page, you want to dig deep into your soul and in a sense, the only person you should be writing for is you. Write the book you want to read. Make your novel a question that obsesses you personally and in writing it, dig deep and find the answer. When you concentrate so deeply on what is important to you, it will become universal--and then it will be important to others." -- Author Caroline Leavitt

Caroline Leavitt teaches, as I do, at the UCLA Extension Writers Program, and I found this quote from her under the "Writers Tips" section of the program's website. I haven't read her books, but I'm going to start with Girls in Trouble.

I think what this author says is very true, and I also think it's partly why it's so hard to move on to the next thing. You pour your heart and soul into something and when you're done, you feel drained. It's like, I don't know what else I have to give. What more do you want from me?

But I know I do have something else in me. It's just a matter of getting the strength up to figure it out, face it, and put it on the page.

I don't think blogging is my calling.

That pretty much says it all.

Library Journal Review of Love

The Library Journal Review of Love or Something Like It is in and it's nice. My last pre-pub review. Relief.

Shaw, Deirdre. Love or Something Like It. Random. Apr. 2009. c.256p. ISBN 978-1-4000-6770-1. $22. F

Lacey, a newspaper reporter in her late twenties, meets stand-up comic/TV writer Toby and moves from New York to Los Angeles to be with him. Things go downhill quickly after the two get married and Toby loses his job. Toby, who can't find work, becomes a perpetual couch potato and starts to question their marriage. Soon, Lacey is divorced and left to wonder what she is doing in L.A. She decides to stay and, in the process, has some success as a screenwriter and dates anyone and everyone in an attempt to forget Toby. She also examines how her relationships with her parents and brother may have contributed to the hasty demise of her marriage. It's not until Lacey decides to move back to New York that she meets someone in Los Angeles who gives her a chance at a more mature love than she had with Toby. This debut novel reads at times like connected short stories. The strong main character and vivid depictions of Hollywood life combine to create a worthwhile reading experience. Recommended for all public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 12/08.]—Karen Core, Detroit P.L.

Brazos Bookstore

Jay and I went to Houston this weekend to visit my dad. We stopped in at Brazos Books because I'll be reading there on May 12. It's a gorgeous bookstore - wide aisles and good light and antique rugs, with so many great books everywhere you look. They don't just stock the regular old bestsellers. They have a whole range of funky and quirky titles. And they are so nice there, too. Here's a photo of my dad and me outside the store. (I am not pregnant - I had blouse issues.)

Seeing Stars

I can't tell you how nervous I was to get my "pre-pub" reviews. You get pre-publication reviews from three major places -- Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and Booklist. And I suppose Library Journal, too, though for some reason that seems less impoprtant. Your pre-pub reviews can't make or break your book, but they can definitely have an impact. If you get poor reviews before publication, then libraries are less likely to order your book, and booksellers are less likely to pay attention to it, and less likely to order it. But if you get a good review, everyone will likely give you a bit more attention. They'll at least consider ordering you. And if you get a starred review-- that's saying something. They don't give starred reviews to everyone - that's the whole point. Essentially, everyone likes to feel that there is a consensus that the book is decent. It makes them feel comfortable saying THEY think the book is decent. Also, it's easier for people to like something, to get behind something, if others have already gotten behind it. Human nature.

My first pre-pub review was from Publishers Weekly (11/03/08). The waiting was hideous. All this work, and who knew what the world was going to think of it. They could trash it, say it was so so, say it was boring, not well written, that I had no idea what I was doing and I should pack it in right now. I knew the review was coming out on Monday morning in November so that Sunday night I went online to see if I could find it. I couldn't see it without registering for a free trial. I did that and clicked on fiction reviews. My heart was beating fast as I waited for the page to load. And there it was -- I saw my author photo, which was a nice surprise, and the opening words "Bright and promising...." and then I nearly passed out. The words were swimming. At the end if it said: "Shaw’s first novel unfolds easily, with well-crafted prose and vivid detail... a great young-in-L.A. novel." All I felt was huge relief. If Publishers Weekly thought it was okay, then at least my agent and my editor and I weren't crazy.

A few months later, we got the Kirkus review (1/15/09). It was also pretty nice, though not as nice as PW. It summed it up this way: "Rises above the downbeat first half to offer a believable, honest and observant portrait of a woman who gets what she wants only after giving up what she thought she needed." I felt okay about it. At least they hadn't trashed it. My publicist said that Kirkus is known to be "cranky" so I got the feeling it could have been much worse and I had escaped something.

Then today came the Booklist review (03/01/09), which was the best of the bunch. It was a starred review, which was pretty thrilling:

"Shaw’s piercingly insightful first novel depicts a woman in her thirties redefining her life....Shaw’s graceful prose and razor-sharp observations—at one point, Lacey observes her brother is “like a house burning down before our eyes”—make this absorbing debut a true standout."

At this point, I am glad the pre-pub process is pretty much over. I feel relieved. Now on to the real reviews which will come out - if anyone decides to review me - in April, when the book comes out, or a few weeks or months afterward. I may sound relatively calm and pulled together now, but talk to me when those come out.