Meet Michele Robbins Acquisitions Editor at Familius

See that gorgeous woman on the right? She's my sister (and mother of 9! children). I'll let you guess who's older. I convinced her to be my first interview. So, let's get started.

If you could create your own ice cream flavor what would it be? 
I would mimic my favorite chocolate bar: Lindt dark chocolate with Black currant and almond slivers.

What's harder, mother of nine or Mater Familius?
Mother of nine. I can shut off the computer, but there is no shut down button on any of my children.

How do you, as the Acquisitions Editor work, with your writers? 
Once we have a writer contracted we get an outline and we start working through the chapters. There is a lot of collaboration and it is wonderful to learn new things all the time. We have authors around the world and across the country, so I love to use technology. Google chat is a great tool. I can work with an author in a far off city and make sure we have the concept just right; we share computer screens and and see each other's edits as we go. One author even sat on her bed in PJ's as we ironed out a few points. Technology really helps me as a working, stay at home Mom.

Can you tell us briefly about a project they're asking for submissions on called Lessons From My Parents? 
I wanted to combine the wisdom of parents into a book that could be used as a reference for ideas on how to parent as well as a feel good read for anyone. I know there are tons of research driven books on parenting out there (some published by Familius), but when children share things their parents taught them through word or example, that is real life evidence.

It has been so fun to read submissions from many states and, so far, 4 countries. Something magical happens when people take time to reflect on family, write about it, and share it with others. Family connections are stregthened and love grows. I am really excited to see this book come together and to share it with you. Here's the link to submit or to share with your friends.

http://www.familius.com/1lessons-from-my-parents

If we have a brilliant nonfiction idea how do we submit to Familius and what is your response time?

You can send send it through snail mail to PO Box 204 Huntsville, Ut 84317 or submit via email to bookideas@familius.com Please know we are looking at fiction too. Families who read fun books together are happy! We have two children's picture books coming out.

Our response time is about 1 week. It obviously takes more time to explore the idea and contract books that fit our mission.

Stranded on an island and could only bring one book, what would it be?
Such a hard one, perhaps it should be a long one, a really long one, something that has it all: humor, love, friendship, tragedy. Would my complete works of Shakespeare count? If not I'll go with The Guernsey Literary and Potatoe Peel Pie Society that pretty much has it all too.

Thank you, Michele! To learn more about Michele Robbins or Familius your can find their website at www.familius.com or follow her on twitter @materfamilius. They just published their first two books: Muddling Through: Perspectives on Parenting by national storyteller Bil Lepp and Glad to be Dad: A Call to Fatherhood by Tim Meyers

Questions about digital publishing companies? Leave them in the comments and I'll see if I can get Michele to answer them. 

WriteOnCon is here

Are you attending the awesome, two day, FREE WriteOnCon? I am.

Register here if you haven't already.

 This is my first year participating and I think my CP's are all breathing a sigh of relief that I'm bothering somebody else with all my new query versions and reworking my 1st page for the 4,364th time. I even entered Gennifer Albin's 1st 100 words crit. contest. I only have a 1 in 10 chance of being picked but still I'm all giddy with excitement.  My first 5 pages-they're way better (if I do say so myself) and I've read so many queries for books I WANT to read.

Tomorrow and Wednesday all the big stuff happens. Here's is rundown of where I'll be tomorrow. I'm trying to suck it up and deal with the times being EDT. But sorry guys, I'm not getting up at 3am for the Keynote Address.


(9am-Interview with agent Daniel Lazar -if I can wake up)

10 am (my 7): Live pitching event with agent Peter Knapp. I'm submitting my query for it. Random org is picking all the 30, so I'm not that hopeful.

12:30 pm Middle Grade Rules

1:00 pm Hooks and Killer First Lines with Lissa Price

2:00 pm Author/Agent Relationship  Denise Jaden and Michelle Humphrey

3:00 pm MARISSA MEYER!!!!

3:30 Voice with Jennifer Nielsen

9:00 pm Live Panel of Professionals-Mollie Glick, Cheryl Pientka, Emily Keyes, and Sarah Barley



After typing this up I realized I'm planning on attending everything MG and YA that isn't crazy early, so I won't do this write up for Wednesday. But here's the link to the full schedule.

Let me know if you're attending and I'll read your stuff.

WriteOnCon has been incredible and the "Events" haven't even started yet.

What Was Your Childhood Monster? Bloghop

During this month's IWSG I discovered Christine Rains and instantly wanted to be her best friend. I mean the subheading for her blog reads, My toddler has too much energy. So does my protagonist. I need more sleep.  I SO get that.
So I couldn't resist joining her bloghop this week in honor of her book Fearless coming out today.

My biggest childhood fear comes from a repeated dream. I'm kidnapped by this giant Big Bad Wolf. He throws me in a bag, dumps me in a boat on a lake, rows us across, makes a Robin sandwich (yup, that would be me between two enormous slices of white bread), and eats me. The moment his huge jaws lean in to take that first bite I always woke up.

A little too much of The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, and The Gingerbread Boy at my house perhaps?

 I really hope it's not the way I go, as some giant wolf's meal. After watching City of Ember this week with all their giant moths and that giant star mole (eww) I really hope it's not a possibility. Animals aren't getting bigger, are they???

At least I've never seen an oven large enough to make bread my size, though I did see boats made out of bread in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs...

Did you join the bloghop? What's your biggest childhood fear? Does it still haunt you?

And thanks to David P. King for his links to safe public domain pictures. I found this one on wikimedia (click picture for link)

Reaching for the GOLD-IWSG

It's the First Wednesday again. Hello IWSG:)

As Olympians reach for the Gold

Hit their targets,

Nail their routines,

And in general look really hot doing it.

I'm getting ready to enter the world of writer competitions and querying. That's right, soon Lovesense will be out there showing the (agenting) world what I can do.

I'm still afraid of the lions (see this post here), but I'm inspired by all these great people and their wonderful news:
Newly Agented Cassie Mae
Liesl Shurtliff's Cover Reveal Guys, there's something about the first book you read pre-published and seeing it (albeit through the internet) as a real live book that makes me feel like I could do anything.
Super Wonderful Newly Agented Ilima Todd. My CP is so inspiring guys. Great cheerleader, great feedback, and her writing, sucks me in every time. I'm so, so happy for her.
Although that means I won't be joining her in the world of online competitions and querying blahs. She's already gotten her medal. But that's okay. She remembers what it was like to be there in the trenches.

While I'm expecting plenty of form rejections and no responses at all, the next step is here. I can't help but dream and work towards one day having my gold medal dream realized.

All those contests (MSFV and Cupid's Literary Connection) that remind us "you shouldn't be entering this contest, much less reading these guidelines unless you have a finished manuscript ready to query" well guys, I do.

Meet Miss Spelling

And I don't mean Tori.

Miss Spelling READS the Dictionary every morning with her cup of peppermint tea. She can spell Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious backwards without even closing her eyes. She's calm under pressure, looks good in green, doesn't spell check her tweets, and never needed the assistance of Mr. Spell Check.

poor overworked guy! 

I, on the other hand, dread pulling out the dictionary, can't even spell supercalif . . . forwards, even with my eyes closed. I rely heavily on Mr. Spell Check.

Not that I'll ever be as together as Miss Spelling, or become a pocket protector wearing Mr. Spell Check, but I'm making an effort to be more like her and use Mr. Spell Check less. Doesn't he look overworked?

 To the end, as I write if I type a word and the red squiggly line attacks it, or if I pause in typing, not sure whether to use bare or bear, I do what my teachers always told me. I look it up.
And then I go a step further. I write the correct spelling and any notes I need on index cards (that I cut in half).

I thought I'd share some of my recent misspelled* words **.

renege
embarrassed
equipment
calendar
definite
recommend
deterrent
innuendo
acquiesced
suspicion

*I had to look up misspelled just to be sure for this post*
**If you're curious, I found the 100 most often misspelled words here.

IWSG-something's gotta go.

It's that time again: Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by the amazing Alex J. Cavanaugh where we share our doubts and fears in this challenging and wonderful world of writing.
Where was I in June you ask? At WIFYR and visiting family of course. But don't worry, I'm sticking around for the rest of the summer and looking forward to catching up on your blogs.

 

To write we have to give something up and I haven't found a comfortable balance. I'm always worrying that I'm spreading myself too thin, giving too much to my writing, too little to my family, not sleeping enough so I'm on the verge of a cold, and possibly heading to a mental breakdown. Writing is hard. Determining to write, and make the time for it, is even harder.

At the Writers and Illustrators for Young Readers conference this past month Mette Ivie Harrison gave a talk entitled "Finding Time To Write." The entire talk reminded me of the father in Cheaper by the Dozen. Mette finds the most efficient ways to workout (down to the individual steps), quickest way to unload her dishwasher (she can do it in 30 sec), and she no longer cleans her house or does any yard work (she showed us pictures as proof). She told us this great story of a Kirby salesman coming to her house and she had him clean her bedroom carpet and realized that it hadn't been vacuumed in the 18 months they'd lived in that house. Yikes!

While I haven't gone to her extremes, here is a list of the big things I've let go for writing. In the end I hope it's worth it. 

1. Exercise time
Running in the early morning (because this is my one undivided writing time)

2. Sleep
I write best from 5 to 7 in the morning.

3. Money
Couponing. It can run your life, tracking down deals, organizing coupons, and rebates.

My savings towards my dream trip to Alaska. I spent half of it to attend WIFYR in 2011

4. Cleanliness
My house doesn't get the attention it once did.

Showering? Getting dressed? Totally optional.

A Kirby salesman actually came to my house yesterday and while in the past I'd let him come and make some portion of my house spotless, I sent him packing, plaid shirt and all. No way could I get writing done while he's here trying to sell me a ridiculously expensive vacuum.

5. Driving my kiddos to school
 Hello bus, I know you're awful and where I learned all about S-E-X and cuss words, but here are my children.

6. Time with my husband
One night a week he watches the kids so I can have 3 hrs of kid free writing time.

7. Time with other adults
Story time at the library and playgroup with my church

What have you given up? And is it worth it? Have you found a balance?

IWSG-My 1st book baby

When I had my first child, I couldn't imagine that any other child could ever be loved as much as I loved him. He was perfect and he was mine.

Writing Mara, first book baby, the gestation period lasted over 1.5 years. It was hard work, with lots of back tracking, rewriting, and having NO CLUE what I was doing. I loved my book with a fierceness to rival any Mama Bear, overlooking any and all flaws.

Then I started reading about favorite writers and following author stories. All these great writers didn't publish their first books. (Kiersten White, Natalie Whipple, Beth Revis, and Carrie Ryan, to name a few).

Not me, I vowed. I would not be able to live if my first book baby wasn't published.

I finished Mara, and even Mama Bear me could see its enormous, cannot be fixed, flaws. Talk about bottom of the barrel, if-I-drank-I-would, depressed. I'd wasted twenty months of my life, and I had nothing to show for it.

But then I started writing a new story, and I fell in love all over again (as I have with each subsequent child). And my writing this time around (while still flawed) was getting better. My story arced, my characters had somewhat realistic dialogue. I don't mind that book baby Mara is on the back shelf, possibly permanently. I've realized that the time and love I gave that manuscript, it wasn't wasted, it shaped me into the writer I am now.

So if you're working on your first book baby and the fear of it not being published is looming large, know that no writing you do will be wasted. Take it as a giant, learning experience. Allow yourself to move on and write better because of it.