I've heard some women say writing from a boy's perspective is difficult. For me, it comes naturally. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I was always a tomboy who preferred boy books to girl books as a kid. Maybe because I spent so much time hanging out with guys when I was racing stock cars. I actually prefer to write from a boy's POV and think it's far easier than it would be to write from the POV of a girly-girl.
Why do I think it's so much fun to tackle a guy's perspective? For one thing I love playing with subtext, and boys have this elaborate dance when it comes to expressing their feelings. Girls can come right out and say what they mean, but guys have to beat around the bush. They communicate their emotions through their actions, which are often gruff, crass, and sometimes flat-out disgusting. They speak in opposites to get a point across. By the end of a scene in which two guys show they care about each other, the reader feels as if she's really worked to get that emotional connection, silently urging them on the whole time.
From a writing standpoint, YA boy books are awesome. But from a marketing standpoint YA boy books are a tough sell, something I find ironic, since I've recently seen so many book bloggers talking about how much they like the male perspective and are looking for something fresh. And it's not just book bloggers. Teachers, librarians, and parents are always on the hunt for good boy books.
With all this boy book love, you'd think they'd be a fairly easy sell. So why is it so difficult for these stories to find an audience? New York will try to convince you it's because boys in high school don't read, and if they do, they stick to adult sci-fi and fantasy. But the question is whether those boys are in that position because they don't want to read, or because there aren't enough YA boy books out there for them. It's a vicious circle. One I think the traditional publishing industry has created. With no YA books for these boys to buy, they find other genres to read. New York sees them reading other genres and says they're not interested in YA, so they don't acquire YA boy books.
On one level, this opinion is just a hunch, but this hunch played out when I spoke to the owner of Cover to Cover Books in Vancouver, WA. She said she'd be happy to stock my titles due to the distinct lack of books for older teen boys. Mothers bring their sons into her store for reading material, and once they outgrow Louis Sachar and Rick Riordan they have nowhere to turn but to the science fiction and fantasy shelves. She used to feel comfortable directing them there, but in recent years the upswing in sexual content in these books has left her hesitant to suggest them to boys in their early teens.
So what can be done about this? I'm not really sure, but one step we can take is for the teachers, librarians, and parents who are trying to promote reading to team up with the authors who want to write books for this audience. The fact that people like John Green and Jay Asher have achieved popularity writing YA boy books proves there's a market, but a book needs to get visibility to succeed, and that doesn't happen easily for small press and indie authors.
I've researched blogs that promote reading for boys, but only a handful exist, and half of those don't supply contact information for submitting book review requests or offering giveaways. I've done searches for various boy-centric Twitter hashtags, and there's little activity. An opportunity exists for these groups to work with authors-especially indie authors who have the freedom to do giveaways and other promotions-but so far I don't see that happening.
The answer I've come up with as a writer is to put together a promotional group, similar to the Indelibles, for authors of YA boy books. If you write in this sub-genre, please contact me at webfootracer AT Comcast DOT net. If you're a blogger, teacher, librarian, or parent concerned with promoting reading among boys, or if you know of organizations that might like to get involved, I'd love to hear from you, too. Let's try to forge a symbiotic relationship that's a win-win for all parties.
~ Lisa
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In addition to being a YA author, Lisa is a retired amateur stock car racer, an accomplished cat whisperer, and a professional smartass. She writes coming-of-age books about kids in hard luck situations who learn to appreciate their own value after finding mentors who love them for who they are. You can connect with her though her blog, The Tao or Webfoot, or buy her book, Running Wide Open, at any major online retailer.
THE MAGIC WITHIN AND THE LITTLE BOOK THAT COULD
That's what I've been calling The Book of Lost Souls, the book that started my path to publication. I’ve always loved to write. I’ve always loved the way imagination and words blend on a page, the way they transport a reader to faraway worlds, or right next door, where witches live. From the time I was very young, books were an amazing world to me. There was no greater joy than going to the library with my mother whose love of books knew no measure. When I was very young, my mother read to me every night. As I grew older, we’d talk about the books we were reading.
Even as a young child, I knew I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. But, writing wasn’t what paid the bills. I got a regular job and life went on, although I still dreamed of writing. My father always told me to believe in myself and to never give up on what I firmly believed in. A few years after his death, I took up writing again. My mother, who was now ill and who had moved in with my husband and me, was happy to read what I wrote, or to set the table in order to give me a few more minutes of writing time.
And so I wrote and edited and revised. Just before the book was ready to send to agents, my mother died. I set the book aside. Writing was too painful, too full of memories.
But, the stories in my head wouldn’t let up, and so after a few years I started writing again. This time, I wrote about a teen witch named Ivy and her life in a small town, and I quickly fell in love with the story and the eclectic group of characters. I think of it as Buffy meets Harry Potter. When I typed the last line, I actually felt a pang of sorrow—I didn't want to say goodbye. Ivy and her story became The Book of Lost Souls, and after polishing it up, I sent it off to agents. Plenty were interested and requested the full manuscript. Unfortunately, most of them thought the book was too light. Too cute. Too Disney. They offered to read whatever else I had, as long as it was darker. Darker sells! Or so they said.
So, after two revisions for two separate agents that eventually didn't pan out (they said the book still had a lighthearted feel to it that wouldn't appeal to publishing houses), I set The Book of Lost Souls aside and started working on an outline for a much darker book.
It was around this time that the economy began to collapse—hard—and I was given the pink slip on Friday the 13th, right after I had completed a project that saved the company $400,000 annually. Say goodbye to eighteen years of loyal service! Suddenly, writing a darker, more dystopian book about the afterlife on top of losing my job seemed too much to take. Still, I recalled my father’s wisdom of believing in myself even when no one else did. I wrote and finished the next book, Don’t Fear the Reaper, in about seven months.
Still unemployed despite literally hundreds of applications, I began to worry we would lose our home or deplete our savings before I found a job. My career in IT was gone—off shored as they call it. I also wondered if I’d ever see any of my books published. I was so close to getting an agent so many times. Agents wrote back: You’re a strong writer. Or, The Book of Lost Souls is a great story and is well-written, but it’s not for me.
Nearly every morning, my inbox was filled with rejection letters from jobs and agents, yet I tried to stay positive. I kept repeating my father’s words to believe, to never give up. For every rejection, I sent out twice as many applications, twice as many query letters. I just tried harder.
I had been querying Reaper for about three months when I got an editorial letter from one of New York’s biggest literary agencies who'd had The Book of Lost Souls for nearly a year. A year! But, the letter was so enthusiastic about the story and my writing that I sat down and made every last revision they suggested. I turned it in and waited. Months went by. In the end, they rejected the story—not because they didn't love it, but because in the year and change they’d had the manuscript, another client had submitted a proposal for a story about a teen witch. Conflict of interest, they called it.
And that was that. My novel, the book that was finished, was dumped for someone else’s book that hadn't yet been written. Somewhat angry and depressed, I set The Book of Lost Souls aside. Again. By now, I was at the end of my rope. I was still unemployed and out of unemployment benefits. The only work I could find was the occasional short-term computer job, some tech writing gigs, or dog-sitting. Nothing full-time, and certainly nothing we could count on.
If the near-miss with Super Agency wasn’t enough, I found myself running into similar situations with Don't Fear the Reaper. Now, agents were saying, Too dark! But, you're a talented writer and we'd love to see other work. Or, You’re capable of incredibly incisive scenes—the opener is still one of the best things I read all year. And, my personal favorite, In this economy...
It was then that I learned about self-published authors such as Karen McQuestion and Amanda Hocking. I decided to go indie as well, starting with The Book of Lost Souls. What did I have to lose? A lot if I didn’t figure out a way for our household to stop hemorrhaging money. The only problem? I had no idea where to start. I sent an email to Ms. McQuestion, in the hopes she could point me in the right direction. She was so incredibly kind! Not only did she reply, she sent me a wealth of information on self-publishing. Today, she shares all that information on her blog. I’m incredibly grateful to her.
I got a cover I could afford with the help of another indie, Sam Torode. Two editor friends went over my work. Finally, I formatted the book and the rest is history. I uploaded The Book of Lost Souls in early March, and it’s been getting consistently great reviews ever since. As for being too lighthearted? I receive emails all the time from people who love that the book is funny, upbeat, and clean.
Within my first five weeks of self-publishing, I hit three best seller lists on Amazon. Me. An indie author without a publicist or a big agency or publisher behind them. Just me, my computer, my loving husband, and the devotion of two dogs at my feet.
And the other, darker book? After some revisions, Don't Fear the Reaper debuted in late September 2011. On its first day, the book reached lucky #13 on Amazon’s Hot New Releases, Children’s Fiction, Spine-Tingling Horror.
I’m only sorry that my parents aren’t here to see this. I took my father’s advice and my mother’s faith and reinvented myself. I still dog-sit and take on small computer jobs and tech writing gigs to help keep us afloat financially. But one day, I hope that my hard work will pay even more of the bills. Until then, I’m at peace with the way things are.
Henry Ford once said, “If you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.” Great advice. And so, The Book of Lost Souls, the book that nearly wasn’t, became the little book that could. I’m a firm believer that hopes and dreams are something to hold onto and fight for. Believe in the magic that is you. Keep your dreams close, and set your imagination free.
I’d like to dedicate my section of this anthology to readers everywhere—words alone cannot express how much I appreciate you believing in me. You’re every bit as much a part of the magic as Ivy herself.
So, thank you, Dear Reader. Sincerely. Because, every author with a story to tell writes with you in mind.
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| Share price development of leading sequencing companies on Friday, February 17th, when Oxford Nanopore introduced their new sequencers. Complete Genomics, Illumina, Pacific Biosciences, Life Technologies. For comparison, Nasdaq and Dow Jones. |
However, last week I received not 1 but 4 pieces of hate mail. Now, I've deduced that these emails are related since, well, they all showed up in my inbox on the same day and they all made reference to a positive review of Various Positions that I had posted to Amazon that morning. 
I always indicate in my reviews when books include themes that may be considered offensive or inappropriate, i.e. swearing, sex, drinking, violence, abuse. These women however didn't think this was enough. They kindly (*cough* *laugh*) demanded that I remove my review. They couldn't understand how any decent person, especially a 30 year old woman who no doubt had children of her own, could laud a YA novel filled with what they called perverse themes. They went so far as to accuse me of promoting underage sex. They claimed that people like me and sites like mine were the problem. That I lured in a young adult audience and presented them with pornographic material. They even insulted my as-yet-unreleased debut novel, Breathe, which addresses dark themes all its own.
I will never reject dark themes. I will never relent to bullying. I will never change the stories I write regardless of the number of hate-filled emails I receive. I can't because you can't tell me that there's not a confused teenager that can't be helped by the issues addressed in books like Various Positions or books by Laurie Halse Anderson, Kelley York, Cheryl Rainfield, Ilsa J. Bick, or Margie Gelbwasser. You can't tell me that there won't be someone helped by my books.
The rules of contract interpretation are settled. We are to read the contract as a whole and give it meaning that makes sense. A contract is unambiguous if there is only one reasonable interpretation. It is not enough to demonstrate that there are two different interpretations; rather, both must be within the 'zone of reasonableness.' Ambiguities will be construed against the government as the drafter under the doctrine of contra proferentem, so long as the contractor relied upon its interpretation during bid preparation. An ambiguity is patent if it contains glaring errors or patently obvious conflicts. A party must seek clarification of a patent ambiguity or be barred from recovery. (Citations omitted.)
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| Number of DNA sequencing machines for each $1bn spent on R&D |
