Spring Break = Enforced Vacation

By Kim

Photo by Deborah Downes

It’s spring break for the kiddos this week, which means I’m lucky if I get anything at all done – hence the short post today. I’m not even trying to deal with queries or putting together submissions. Instead I listen to my seven-year-old daughter prattle on about Star Wars – her recent obsession – and watch my eleven-year-old daughter construct an enormous Lego battle scene from Lord of the Rings.

This week is an enforced vacation of sorts, and a welcome one, despite the occasional bickering. I’ve even managed to get out of the city, which is always a welcome prospect. A couple of days ago my parents and I took the kiddos out to Mineral Wells, west of Fort Worth, where there is a park littered with fossils that are over 300 million years old – back when this area was part of the ocean. It’s free and, even better, you get to keep whatever you find.

The kiddos and I - Photo by Deborah Downes

The search reminded me a bit of the agent hunt – there are a lot of agents out there, but it takes time, persistence, and a bit of risk to find one that is a perfect match. And luck, of course. The longer I’ve been writing, and the more authors I meet, the more I think composing the right book at the right time and getting it on the right desk is a prime factor. I’m not sure whether to be encouraged or depressed about this.

In hindsight, perhaps the fossil hunt is a better illustration of how the agent feels. Everywhere they go, they see segments of crinoid stalks. Some are ordinary, some are beautiful, but there’s so many of them that everything begins to look alike. It would be easy for them to overlook the primitive shark tooth they seek. Everyone wants those shark teeth. Unfortunately, they can appear like an ordinary rock unless you look closely enough and who has time to examine every rock?

I’m sure that every time a book becomes a runaway bestseller, a whole bunch of agents check past submissions and think to themselves, “Please tell me I didn’t let that one slip by.”

Fifty-nine of them did just that to The Help.

A Review of Kathleen Grissom’s The Kitchen House

By Kim

Synopsis (from the book jacket):

Orphaned during her passage from Ireland, young, white Lavinia arrives on the steps of the kitchen house and is placed, as an indentured servant, under the care of Belle, the master’s illegitimate slave daughter. Lavinia learns to cook, clean, and serve food, while guided by the quiet strength and love of her new family.

In time, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, caring for the master’s opium-addicted wife and befriending his dangerous yet protective son. She attempts to straddle the worlds of the kitchen and big house, but her skin color will forever set her apart from Belle and the other slaves.

Through the unique eyes of Lavinia and Belle, Kathleen Grissom’s debut novel unfolds in a heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful story of class, race, dignity, deep-buried secrets, and familial bonds.

About Kathleen Grissom (from Simon & Schuster’s website):

Kathleen Grissom was born and raised in Saskatchewan, Canada, and is now happily rooted in south-side Virginia, where she and her husband live in the plantation tavern they renovated. The Kitchen House is her first novel.

Review:

I happened upon this novel at a bookstore a few weeks ago and bought it based on nothing but the quote on the cover where Alice Walker said, “This novel, like The Help, does important work.”

We live in a time where preconceived notions of race and family are blurred. Though The Kitchen House is set two centuries in the past, Grissom shows characters struggling with the very same issues. Lavinia is white, yet, for all intents and purposes, a slave. Belle is the illegitimate daughter of the master, seemingly his favorite child, yet her skin color bars her from being accepted in the big house, much less in society. Both young women are trapped between two worlds into which they can never fully fit. Both are raised by families that aren’t their own and from whom they are forced to separate. Both are victims of the same shattered man. I desperately wanted to hate that man, but Grissom gave me just enough insight into his childhood to keep one sliver of my sympathy alive.

The prose is gorgeous, the characters complex, and the story engrossing. It does, as Alice Walker said, “important work.”

Have you read The Kitchen House? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Our Best Reads of 2011

By Kim

All of us at What Women Write are compulsive readers as well as writers. As 2011 comes to a close we thought it may be fun to share the books we loved most this year. As you will see, our taste is varied. There are only two books we have all agreed on. The first was The Help by Kathryn Stockett, and the second is a book that won't hit the bookstores until sometime in 2013 - namely Calling Me Home by our very own Julie Kibler!

Have you read any of the books we mention below? We’d love to hear your thoughts! Inspired to run to your nearest bookstore and pick one up? We’d love to hear that, too.

Susan Poulos

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett- (probably one of the best books I have ever read.)
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obrecht
Bent Road by Lori Roy
The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano
The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman

I would classify all of them as literary fiction, although Lori's is probably considered a literary thriller. I also think that all except for State of Wonder are debuts... imagine that!!

Kim Bullock

The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley - I devoured this historical mystery in two days!

Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland – I picked this one up because I love everything by Susan Vreeland, and this one happens to take place in NYC in the same year my great-grandfather was there. He even knew Mr. Tiffany. Clara was unforgettable – very ahead of her time.

Next to Love by Ellen Feldman – This was a beautiful novel about three WWII soldiers and their wives.

The Truth About Delilah Blue by Tish Cohen – I love books with artist protagonists, and there are so many Canadian authors who are neglected in US markets.

The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin - I challenge anyone to forget Vinnie! What an incredible life.

Bloodroot by Amy Greene - Very unique voice, and a haunting narrative.

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton – The woman is a genius. Any of her books are wonderful.

Elizabeth Lynd

Sally Gunning! She has three, The Widow’s War; Bound; and The Rebellion of Jane Clarke (which I think came out in 2011). All are absolutely perfect.

Joan Mora

The Language of Flowers, by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
22 Britannia Road, by Amanda Hodgkinson
Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel
The Persimmon Tree, by Bryce Courtenay
Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley
Caleb’s Crossing, by Geraldine Brooks (1/2 way finished!)

What do all these books have in common? Stellar character and voice!

Pamela Hammonds

My reading choices tend to be all over the place--humor, memoir, women's fiction and more. But my most memorable reads for this year are:

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller
Unplanned by Abby Johnson
Stop Dressing Your Six-year-old Like a Skank by Celia Rivenbark
Another Man's War by Sam Childers
Best Kept Secret by Amy Hatvany
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

But I'll have to say, my greatest source of reading pleasure this past year came from my fellow What Women Writers. I read Julie's manuscript in early 2011, just finished Susan's and will soon finish Joan's. Next year, I plan to read Kim's and Elizabeth's completed manuscripts. And hopefully they will be reading mine before too long as well.

Julie Kibler

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson - Each time I read a book set in England, I want to go back. Immediately. This was a quiet book with a big message.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - I waited too long to read this. Loved it/hated it. Was sucked in and could barely climb out when finished, but have somehow managed to not read the second and third in the series yet. I can't wait for the movie.

Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum - I believe we will read holocaust stories forever and never comprehend the horror of all that happened.

Empire Falls by Richard Russo - I wonder, when I read a book like this, what took me so long to pick it up.

Mudbound by Hilary Jordan - Like my novel, this explores pushing racial boundaries to the point of danger. Another one I waited too long to read.

How to Be An American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway - I loved this even more due to getting to know Margaret in person beforehand and recognizing the bits and pieces of her heart that are hidden in this story.

Before I Forget by Leonard Pitts, Jr. - I read this based on Carleen Brice's recommendation while researching point of view for my manuscript, and I couldn't put it down. A heartrending father/son story.

Falling Under by Danielle Younge-Ullman - My fellow Backspacer reissued this digitally after the rights reverted back to her. It's not for the faint of heart, and if you are a child of divorce, you will recognize your own heart on every single page.

How to Bake a Perfect Life by Barbara O'Neal- Because I read Barbara's new stories every single year and love them every single year.

Barbara's was the only one on this list originally published in 2011! Many I've listed have stood the test of time—they aren't newly published, but they've stayed on the shelves and gone back for printing after printing and appear on many lists. The reasons are obvious when you read them. But when I consider my books-read list, I see many 2011 books I loved, too! It's hard to choose "favorites."


What are your favorite books of 2011? We'd love to hear from you!

Lessons on Writing from Kathryn Stockett

By Pamela

One of the perks of living near a big city is taking advantage of the cultural offerings. I always reach for the entertainment section the Sunday Dallas Morning News first. Book reviews, movie listings, plays, musicals—all sorts of goodies to read about. Three weeks ago, I happened to see a tiny blip on the calendar featuring The Help's author Kathryn Stockett’s stop in Dallas, sponsored by the Dallas Museum of Art | Arts & Letters program.

I quickly emailed my co-bloggers and only Susan had the night free. On Friday, she recapped our adventure. But I wanted to share today, some of the writing advice Kathryn shared during her talk.

While I own a shelf full of writing books—some by agents, others by authors, a few by editors—and each book shares a unique angle on writing, for some reason, hearing nuggets straight from the mouth of an author who once obsessed over her query letter the same way we do, just makes the end goal seem that much more obtainable.

Here’s what we learned from Kathryn Stockett…

on writing: One of the first things Kathryn said from the lectern, as she began her talk, was that she wanted to address the writers in the room. And several times, throughout the 90 minutes she talked and answered questions, she made specific references to the task of writing. “Reading a lot makes for a good writer,” she said. “You learn the turn of a phrase and, if you read it enough, you can rip it off.” She good-naturedly continued to downplay her success, assuring us that everyone can learn the craft as she has. “There are those who are truly gifted—Hemingway, Steinbeck—but really, I’m just makin’ shit up.”

on editing: “When you write you spend a lot of time editing; a lot of time revising; a lot of time rockin’ in the corner; a lot of time on Prozac.”

on persistence: When she started sending out The Help to agents, she said her first rejection letter was pretty exciting. “It showed me someone had read it.” With the second one, she still felt it was pretty cool to think someone out there was responding. “After number 15, I started to get a little depressed. After 35, I thought about sticking my head in the oven. Number 60 just about put me under the bed. But all along, I kept writing and refining.” (Minny started out in third person.) “And at number 61, Susan Ramer took pity on me. What if I had given up after 60? You just never know.”

In response to a question from an audience member as to whether or not she’s had any contact with the agents who rejected her, to give a little nanner-nanner, Kathryn said, “You know, if I did meet one, I’d need to thank her. Every ‘no’ made me go back to the story and make it better.” (To give you an idea how much I think those rejections affected her, though, she brought some of the letters with her and read some excerpts.)


on choosing cover art: The first cover option for The Help was a B&W photo of a black woman’s hand holding the hand of a white child. She loved it, thought it was perfect but the editor was concerned that “people might think it’s about race.” Three months and 50 covers later, Kathryn said, “I don’t care a rat’s ass what you put on the cover, as long as it’s not purple and yellow. I went to the University of Alabama and we don’t care much for LSU. Of course, it’s a perfect cover because it has absolutely nothing to do with the book.”

Since The Help’s United States printing, its foreign rights have been sold 39 times. First version was the UK. The UK publisher sent Kathryn a photo of the cover they were going to use, featuring a photo of a white child with two black maids. (The publisher had found it in the US Library of Congress and it had a city and state on it—small town in Mississippi.) Kathryn sent a copy of it to a woman she knew there and that woman identified the little girl as a child whose family owned the local newspaper. “They had so much money, they had two maids,” the woman told Kathryn. To that, Kathryn added, laughing, “This just perpetuates the notion that the South is just one small town where everyone knows everybody.”

on the evolution of book-into-movie: “When I found out I was going on my first book tour, I asked my good friend Octavia Spencer to come along with me,” she said. “I didn’t feel comfortable reading in front of people in a black voice.” Octavia then read for the audio book (“She told me she’d never do that again!”) and was later cast in the movie as Minny.

Tate Taylor, screenwriter and director, went to kindergarten with Kathryn. When they were 14, they stole his daddy’s car and drove it to New Orleans, ate at Brennan's, drank champagne, and slept it off before driving it back. “I knew when we got home, we’d be in trouble but we didn’t care. It was worth it.” Later they moved to New York together and were roommates before he left for LA. Tate was one of her first readers. He asked for the movie rights and at first she said, No. Then she worried who might end up buying them … “possibly even someone from Canada!” So, she gave Tate the movie rights and he spent about a year writing the screenplay. Then he shopped it around and got nowhere until, one day, Steven Spielberg called him and said he wanted to make the movie.

Along with Octavia, the movie features Emma Stone as Skeeter and Viola Davis as Aibileen. Bryce Dallas Howard (Ron Howard’s daughter) plays Hilly. “She’s never wanted for anything,” Kathryn said, and Kathryn’s daughter plays young Skeeter in a scene with Cicely Tyson as Constantine. “My daughter has no lines but, as soon as we got on set, she asked me, ‘Where’s my trailer?’”) Kathryn has a cameo and even dons a beehive hairdo. From the stills, I noticed she’s wearing purple!

on writing her second book: She didn’t say when we can expect it to hit shelves but shared that it takes place in the 1920s and ‘30s in Oxford, Mississippi. “Y’all, I’m so bummed I missed the depression,” she said. “It was such a defining moment for women.” In the story, the women “really didn’t have a skill set, but they come up with a unique idea to make money.”

She shared that the problem with writing the second book is: “Y’all are all the room with me. It takes me a while to clear everyone out of the way so I can write.”

on writing every day: Kathryn used the analogy of her granddaddy having a leather strap with all these keys on it. “When one would fill up, he’d just add another strap.” And, even though he knew what they opened, she never did. If she doesn’t write every day, it’s like “standing at a door with that strap of keys in my hand, trying to figure out which one to use.”

An Evening with Kathryn Stockett

By Susan

On January 2, 2010, I wrote here about a great debut novel by an unknown Southern writer, Kathryn Stockett. On Tuesday night, in the middle of a week full of work, kids, and general busy-ness, I attended her book signing in Dallas with my good friend and co-blogger Pamela and her delightful mom. It was a full circle, of sorts, for me and my journey as a writer.

By now, everyone knows Kathryn Stockett, the author of The Help. It's been translated into 39 languages, has been on bestseller lists for something close to 100 weeks, and sent a shock wave through the South in its dissection of race, class and women. It broke rules. It shed light on our own failures as a society in 1960s America. And it kept me committed to my own work-in-progress when I truly had no idea what I was doing.

The First Presbyterian Church of Dallas was packed on Tuesday night, women in groups huddled together with Coach purses and perfectly coiffed hair. I swear an aging Miss Hilly--one of the characters in The Help--was sitting two rows behind us. I shifted in my seat before the author began speaking. I was here as a writer, not just as a fan. What would she have to say to this group, who in many ways looked like the characters she had created?

She did not disappoint. She told us of her own journey as a writer. She talked about rejection (60 agents declined The Help before the 61st said 'yes'.) She talked about that crazy tenacity that a writer must have to continue working on a novel just because you love it--because it speaks to you, because it made you homesick for the voices of your childhood.

And she was irreverent, poking fun at her home state of Mississippi, her characters, and herself as a writer. ("Me?" she said at one point. "I'm no expert. I'm just makin' shit up.") She talked about her childhood dreams to become a writer, about the love she had for Demetrie, her grandmother's black maid, and her time in New York during the September 11, 2001, attacks.

She took questions from the audience. A blind women articulately implored us all to listen to the audio version. A fellow-Mississippian extolled the virtues of their state, and at least one African-American woman praised her for telling the story. She answered all of the questions with humor, truthfulness, and an endearing transparency that felt like friendship. By the end of the evening, Pamela and I just knew that she would love to hang out with us, of course, if just given the chance. She made you feel like a friend.

Once we were in line for the book signing itself, they let us know she would not be personalizing the copies due to time constraints. Pamela's mother, who had just flown in from Indiana that day, found a chair while Pamela and I entertained ourselves in line, declaring this the best book signing ever. Once we got face to face with her ("Dang, she's tiny!" I said to Pamela. "Tee-tiny," Pamela answered.) Pamela's mother joined us with her copy of The Help, and we all said our thank yous as the author lifted her Sharpie, ready to sign the next one.

As we walked away, we were quickly called back. "Ms. Stockett wants you to come back," the rep from the Dallas Museum of Art said. And we returned, as giddy as though we had an audience with The Queen. "I'd like to personalize your copy," Kathryn said, not to me or Pamela, mind you, but to Marianne Tooley, Pamela's mother.

We three left in giggles. I was too excited to even get a photograph of Marianne beaming at the author as she asked her name and personalized her copy.

On my drive home, I turned the radio off and drove in silence, thinking about The Help. I thought about my own novel, which I just completed last week--all 99,910 words of it. When I read Stockett's novel, I was consumed with perfection and lost in my own plot line. I wanted it to be right. I wanted it to follow a pattern, I wanted it to have order. After falling in love with The Help, I decided to stop listening to the voices around me that were 'showing me the ropes.' Sure, I didn't know what I was doing. I was writing for the love of it, for the story itself. It was then that I decided not to worry about things that I could not predict or even foresee--things like agents and query letters and the scary and dejecting world of publishing. I decided then and there that I was just going to continue writing.

"Keep writing," she'd said at the beginning of her speech--not to the Miss Hilly's in the audience, I think, but to me. "Keep perfecting it. Make yourself better. Don't give up." I left the First Presbyterian Church inspired--not just by Kathryn Stockett's novel, but by her journey, her tenacity, her humor, and her kindness.

On August 12, 2011, The Help will be released by Dreamworks, and I'll be there, watching it unfold on the big screen. Where will my own manuscript be by then? Will I be brave enough to submit it to agents? Because beyond there be dragons.

I have a feeling I will. What have I got to lose?

Amy Einhorn stops in for a chat

By Pamela

I'll confess to being a big fan of the acknowledgements pages of books. Even before I called myself a writer, it was typically the first thing I read when starting a new book.

When I read The Help last year, I noticed the name Amy Einhorn in Kathryn Stockett's acknowledgement and also on the spine of the book. The name sounded familiar to me, so I did a little research and found that, over the past 20 years, Ms. Einhorn's career included editorial posts at formidable publishing houses. Her latest venture is an eponymous imprint at G.P. Putnam’s Sons. The Help was her first title as publisher.

I thought it would be fun to find out what she had coming up, so I contacted one of her helpful assistants, and he put me in touch with Ms. Einhorn.

AMY: My latest venture, my eponymous imprint, is definitely my most exciting publishing position to date. What I wanted to do was establish an imprint that hit that sweet spot between literary and commercial books – because that’s the place I as a reader find myself. And I think it’s a place where a lot of other readers reside as well. I wanted the imprint to be fairly small in the number of titles we publish (between 8-12 a year) because it was important to me that if my name was going to be on the books that they all be books worthy of my name being on there (in our business your reputation is everything) – so they had to be books I loved.

Luckily I’m in a position where I can only publish books I love – I don’t have to fill slots, like so many editors or publishers have to do these days. And lastly I wanted it to be a mix of both fiction and nonfiction. Setting Amy Einhorn Books up at a place like G.P. Putnam’s Sons gave me the best of both worlds – the publishing might of the most successful publisher in the business while allowing me the benefits that come from having a small imprint.


PAMELA: Your imprint is described as ‘intelligent writing with a strong narrative, always with great storytelling at its core.’ What other characteristics distinguish your imprint from others at Penguin? What sets you apart from competing publishers?

AMY: I think what distinguishes my imprint from others is that Amy Einhorn Books aims to hit that sweet spot between literary and commercial. And I think we’ve done this quite successfully. Having the benefit of the most successful publisher’s sales, marketing and publicity departments coupled with the exposure of being on a small list is fairly unique. But what I think sets my imprint apart from others, let’s face it, is me. And what I bring to the picture is a publisher/editor who is incredibly hands on – about everything – covers, flap copy, securing quotes, soliciting booksellers, the list goes on and on. And lastly, a major difference is probably that I edit everything I publish. And I really edit. (which never ceases to amaze some agents, I should add)


PAMELA: Since you publish books that blend literary elements with commercial appeal, how do you know a book is both?

AMY: That’s a great question. I think I know a book literary but with commercial potential is when I personally like it. The only thing I’ve said I won’t publish at the imprint is precious MFA navel-gazing novels – where the writing is gorgeous but there’s no story. In my early 20s I could get through them, but now that I’m older and have more going on and less time I get impatient for a story to happen.


PAMELA: I think that's true of most of us. You certainly chose a winning novel when you published The Help as your debut title. Did you anticipate the reception it has garnered?

AMY: I don’t think anyone could have predicted that the book would sell over a million copies and counting in hardcover. But I knew when I read it that it was something special. It was the first novel I bought at the imprint. I had been here for a few months and hadn’t bought any fiction. For a while I started to think perhaps I was being too critical of my submissions but then I read THE HELP. I always say it was kind of like when I was single and I would go on a string of bad dates and I’d start to doubt myself, thinking perhaps I was being too picky, but then when I met my husband I thought, “oh, that’s what it’s supposed to be like.” That’s what it was like when I read THE HELP – I knew.


PAMELA: For me, the magic of Kathryn Stockett’s novel was in the voice and the way she flawlessly weaved Aibileen’s, Minny’s and Skeeter’s stories, blending in spot-on secondary characters with both humor and tragedy. Did you worry at all about the length for a debut novel?

AMY: One review recently said “it’s too long by 50 pages and readers won’t want it to end” or something like that. And I think they’re right. I did think it was long. But not too long (if that doesn’t sound like I’m parsing my words). I tried to cut it, but try and try as I did to cut, there wasn’t any fat, there weren’t any scenes we could do away with. In the end I think the book’s length and heft ended up helping us – when you look at the book, at over 450+ pages, it looks like a great value – especially when you keep in mind that we published this in February 2009 when the bottom was free falling out of the economy. So this looked like a book you could spend a lot of time with and was worth the cover price.


PAMELA: I remember forcing myself to slow down as I approached the closing chapters. I didn't want it to end either! And next you have Sarah Blake’s The Postmistress due out in February. The premise sounds fascinating. Can you tell us about your role in choosing it?

AMY: This is actually a funny story. Originally I rejected it. It had a different title, the main character didn’t appear until page 150. I knew by page 90 that I was going to reject it because the storyline was a mess, but I loved the writing so I read the entire thing. Editors never read entire manuscripts if we know we’re going to reject them – we simply don’t have the time.

So then I wrote a rather lengthy rejection letter saying she’s a wonderful writer but the story’s a mess and I thought that was it. On to the next thing. But I couldn’t get the story – mess and all – out of my head. So a month later I called the agent, who hadn’t sold it (again, messy story), talked to the author on the phone to make sure she’d be on board with my editorial changes, and bought it – and then sent her a 17 page editorial letter. We ended up doing four major revises on the book – it’s completely different than when I first bought it. And I’m so glad I persevered. It’s a wonderful, wonderful novel.


PAMELA: That sounds like a great overcoming-the-obstacles story for an author. What other upcoming Amy Einhorn titles can we look forward to?

AMY: Lots. Well there’s THE POSTMISTRESS by Sarah Blake (Feb. 2010) a wonderful, sweeping story of three women in 1940, when America is on the verge of entering into WWII.

Then something completely different is THE HOUSE OF TOMORROW by Peter Bognanni (March 2010) that’s in the spirit of What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, a very quirky, funny novel.

THIS IS NOT THE STORY YOU THINK IT IS: A SEASON OF UNLIKELY HAPPINESS by Laura Munson (April 2010) is a memoir that hopefully you’ll be hearing a lot about in the upcoming months. There’s a buzz starting to happen surrounding this title and with good reason. A portion of it appeared in the Modern Love column of the New York Times and created a firestorm. The memoir is about how the author committed herself to an end of suffering and stopped basing her happiness on things outside of her control during a period of time after her father had died and her husband questioned their marriage. It’s a powerful, wise book that I think so many people will relate to and find helpful.

And lastly there’s THE LOST SUMMER OF LOUISA MAY ALCOTT by Kelly O’Connor McNees that’s for anyone who loved LITTLE WOMEN (is there anyone who didn’t love LITTLE WOMEN?).


PAMELA: So you are also considering narrative nonfiction and memoir.

AMY: Absolutely, see above THIS IS NOT THE STORY YOU THINK IT IS. I also just bought a book called NEXT STOP by Glen Finland that’s about the summer the author spent travelling the Washington, DC, train system with her 21 year old autistic son with the hope of his learning to navigate it himself and be the first step toward his independence.

Or WHERE’S MY WAND: ONE BOY’S MAGICAL TRIUMPH OVER ALIENATION AND SHAG CARPETING by Eric Poole (June 2010)– “Set in the Midwest of the 1970s, this memoir evokes that idyllic old-school time before computers and cell phones, when people were horrible to one another face-to-face.” It’s hysterical.


PAMELA: It sounds like we have a lot to look forward to reading. Those of us endeavoring to break through to publication love hearing stories about authors being discovered out of the slush or over the transom. Do you have one you can share?

AMY: Unfortunately I don’t – but I do think Kathryn Stockett’s story of having THE HELP rejected by 60+ agents should give any aspiring writer hope. It only takes one yes.


PAMELA: A lot of agents blog with sage advice to writers. I think they hope we pay attention and query according to what they ask in terms of guidelines. And we can learn a lot about how they spend their days. What do you wish agents knew about your job?

AMY: I think most agents are fairly knowledgeable about what we as publishers do. I do wish people would realize how much time and energy editors spend on editing – the authors see the work that happens, but other than that, the work is really invisible to the rest of the world (as it should be, I realize)– but that doesn’t make it any less important or vital to a book’s success.


PAMELA: Well, readers, you can see that Amy Einhorn Books has a lot planned for our reading pleasure in the upcoming months. Be sure to watch for these titles' releases, and thanks, Amy, for taking time to talk with us.

Required Reading

By Pamela

Some time ago I read Stephen King's essay: What Stephen King Does for Love. King explores the concept of why English teachers continue requiring students to read certain books. Is there any benefit behind forcing literature on students that might ultimately morph them into kids who dislike reading? King lists some of the novels forced on him and admits to not really reading them all--and then later re-visiting them as an adult. Some he still detested; others he discovered a new-found appreciation for.

Like King, I suffered through some books I was forced to read (and others I read Cliff Notes on), while I was also allowed to choose some personal selections. Ironically, some were written by King! And I revisited The Scarlet Letter a few years ago and still couldn't get through it.

After watching my two teenagers struggle through required reading lists, I'll admit to having mixed feelings about their assignments. I think some titles are important for kids to experience and deserve a place on The List of Books All Kids Should Read. But I'm in favor of mixing in some current titles along with a few classics and then letting kids choose titles of their own liking as well.

When I asked one of my sons, of the books he had to read for English, which ones did he enjoy, the only title he liked was To Kill a Mockingbird. (I bought him two books for Christmas and when he opened them he said, "You know I don't like to read." I'm still hoping...) I'm not sure if having to read titles has made him a reluctant reader. Or if he got to choose what he wanted to read if he might be a more ambitious reader.

Here's my list of books I'd have my English students read:


To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Both books explore the treatment of blacks by whites. Lee's classic remains an entertaining lesson in humanity, and Stockett's would make an excellent companion piece, further exploring the treatment of blacks in the segregated Deep South.

Interesting discussions could focus on the settings: Lee's Alabama in the '30s vs. Stockett's Mississippi in the '60s. Just how different were the times and how have they changed? And is there a new set of prejudices brewing toward other races today?


The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

When it comes to teaching kids POV, Stein's story--told from the family dog's point of view--is a perfect choice. Many novels feature one or two viewpoints, others manage to weave in a handful. But Stein chose to show the unraveling of a young family as observed by the insightful, intelligent, race car-loving dog. The story is captivating and funny as well as heartbreaking and a new favorite of mine.

Another unique POV angle is Sebold's novel told by recently murdered Susie Salmon. Susie watches her family and friends deal with the aftermath of her killing--an interesting and seldom seen approach to a story.


Beach Music by Pat Conroy
East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Teaching kids about literary devices--foreshadowing, metaphors, imagery, and more--can be achieved by these two amazing authors. I chose these two titles because they are the ones I re-read and enjoy each time. I even began flagging all the lovely phrasing and word choices in Beach Music the last time I read it--and gave up after about chapter two because I felt bad for wasting all my boys' Post-It flags. Conroy is also one of a handful of authors who can simultaneously inspire and deflate me. As a writer, how do you even hope to write as eloquently as he does?


Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
The Devil in the White City by Eric Larson
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

My least favorite subject in school was probably history. As an adult, I was pleasantly surprised to discover historical fiction. Here was a way for me to learn about history without having to memorize dates and boring facts. Year of Wonders captivated me by the story of fictional characters who lived and died during England's 1666 plague.

The Devil in the White City follows a serial killer who caused mayhem during the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and also profiles the architect behind the fair. Larson's Isaac's Storm (about the deadly hurricane in Galveston in 1900) would also be a good choice.

Gregory is an historian and writer who deftly weaves a story of greed and lust about the sisters who clamoured for the attention of King Henry VIII. While authors take some liberties with details, since they must add in the dialog and details to help weave their stories, historical fiction should be approached as fiction based on history without spending too much time debating facts and timelines. This is an English class, not history. These titles were chosen for the quality of the story telling--not necessarily because they are the most accurate in retelling history.

I'm going to stop now and not delve into fantasy, memoirs and other categories as this post would run too long. But this would be the starting point for my students. I chose books I've read and loved and, since I am always discovering new treasures, I'd encourage my students to introduce me to books they also have enjoyed. Because that's what literature is about, right? Falling in love with a story that creates a desire to read more and more and more...

How to Write a Great First Novel

By Susan


Two months ago I picked up a book at Barnes & Noble recommended by Pamela. "You must read this," she had emailed me. I had it for a few days before I started it on a Thursday night. Unable to sleep, I picked it up at 10:00 pm and finished it completely 8 hours later at 6:00 am. I passed it on to others with the similar effect: my mother-in-law devoured it. My sisters fought over the one copy I brought home at Christmas. Everyone I recommended it to seemed to love it as much as I did.


What was the novel? It was The Help, by first-time novelist Kathryn Stockett. For me, reading it unraveled every rule of novel-writing that I have ever learned. And it was completely delightful.


I'm not really a rule follower by nature, but up until 2009, I was writing away in an ignorant bliss, not even knowing which rules I was breaking. I knew none of the guidelines to writing a novel; I'd been trained as a journalist. This year, in getting serious about my manuscript (which includes, by the way, actually calling it a manuscript), I joined writing groups, started blogging, and went to workshops. I realized that there are hundreds of books written on the rules of writing a book (I had no idea!). I learned a lot about query letters and agents and publishing. I also learned a lot of rules and formulas. I learned the rules, and they made me squirm.


I started stressing about things like point of view and word count and sentence length. It seemed that the more I wrote, the more I read about writing, which then forced me to go back and rewrite everything I'd written. I started doubting myself (which, the books told me, was normal). I started thinking it was all crap (also, they say: normal). Long story short, I spent more time agonizing than I did actually writing. But I learned the rules.


Then I read The Help. Kathryn Stockett broke every rule that I had spent the past year learning. More than that, somehow she gave me permission to write the way I have wanted to write all along. And so, at the beginning of 2010, I have learned some new rules for writing:

1) It's OK to write a really long first novel...


2) It's OK to mix up points-of-view...


3) It's OK to use vernacular, slang, and stereotypical language...


4) It's OK to go over-the-top without being kitschy...


5) Basically, it's OK to break all the rules of writing...


HOWEVER...

None of the above are OK unless you are a really, really, really good writer.


Kathryn Stockett is that very talented writer. Yet I can't help but wonder what kinds of doubts and roadblocks greeted her in the journey to complete The Help. I think about well-meaning writing groups or former professors who could have advised her to shorten the length, or pick one voice, or to just choose ONE point of view. How many books are lining her shelves on "How to Write a Novel"? And then I wonder: what would have become of The Help if she had listened to them?


Stockett did what so many writers aspire to do with every submission: She wrote the Great First Novel and while doing so she broke most, if not all, of the rules. Does that mean that I can do it too? Aren't rules just made for breaking? If she did it, does that mean that you can do it too? Of course not. It only mean this: Someone with the talent, the story, and the tenacity to see it through can do it. It can be done.


And that gives me hope that all of my labor is not in vain. I don't know what will become of my manuscript. I'm not just breaking all the rules in a wild stab at becoming the latest and greatest new thing, but I am picking and choosing to whom I listen. The year 2009, for me, was an education in the rules. For 2010, my only resolution is to complete my novel by my rules, not everyone else's. After all, you've got to know the rules in order to break them.