Lara Zielin

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: This version of Europe’s “The Final Countdown” is epic. My thanks to Rob for finding it.

I’m super excited because tonight I’m doing a leetle presentation on networking for the Ann Arbor District Library. You may be asking yourself, Lara, why are you talking about networking? Omg, that’s a great question! Let me answer it!

You may not know that in 2003, I published a book called MAKE THINGS HAPPEN: THE KEY TO NETWORKING FOR TEENS. Well, okay, I didn’t publish it, Lobster Press did. But still. It’s out there.

And the great thing is, seven years later, my little book is still in print AND it’s selling well enough that I actually get royalty checks.

The reason I’m telling you this is because I think it reflects how an activity like networking never goes out of style. Why? Because networking involves people and relationships, and those two things are a giant part of the fabric we all use to stitch our lives together. (How’s THAT for a sewing metaphor?)

I am not the world’s best networker. Not by a long shot. But I AM passionate about building good relationships with people for the right reasons. I believe that when people find what they’re good at and pursue things that make them happy, it opens giant doors of opportunity. I think it’s hard to have a meaningful life without other people.

Plugging into those ideas is all part of networking. It’s a much bigger part, I think, than passing out business cards and schmoozing over rubbery chicken at some fancy dinner.

If you want to hear more about this, I’ll be at the Ann Arbor District Library (Pittsfield branch) tonight from 7-8. Click here for the deets. Hope to see you!!

Okay, today’s not really that dramatic. I just really wanted a post that began with “People of Earth…”

But I do have some news.  And even though it’s not world-changing, I think it’s pretty cool.

I started a new business. Don’t worry, I’m still writing YA books and working full-time at my great job. But on the side (and by side I mean from the hours of midnight until 4:00 a.m., approximately), I will be working on Help for Writers, my new company that helps authors polish their manuscripts and query letters to better aid representation and publication.

Can I just say? I’m super excited about this.

The new website is up, and you can also follow @help4writers on Twitter.

Need help with a manuscript or query letter? I’d love to chat with you. The prices are reasonable and the turnaround times are fast. If you’re interested, you can email me at lara [at] help4writers [dot] com.

And in the meantime, if you have general publication questions, feel free to submit them as I’d like to answer publishing FAQ’s on the Help for Writers blog.

Thanks!

FAVE LINKEY POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: Without a doubt, it’s Allee Willis’ Kitsch of the Day. I want one of everything in this woman’s home.

So, I don’t know if you guys heard, but The Novel Formerly Known as PROMGATE has a new name. That’s right! It’s now called ….

[drumroll]

THE IMPLOSION OF AGGIE WINCHESTER

Wahoo! I’m actually super excited about the change. And I can’t wait to see the cover. Will let you know when I have a comp to share! In the meantime, please change your pre-order on Amazon.com to TIoAW. Kthnx.

A long, long time ago on a web page far, far away, a group of people wondered what it would be like to help promote awesome young-adult books that didn’t get much love or visibility when they were published. Nerds Heart YA was born and young-adult authors and readers everywhere did a dance of happiness (see also: Snoopy).

Currently, Nerds Heart YA is hosting their second annual contest, which works a lot like the March Madness brackets for college basketball. Out of the thousands of books published books in 2009, they chose 32 finalists and created brackets for each. Now, they’re hosting a read-off of sorts where they pick which books advance. They’ll keep whittling down the list until there’s only one book left.

Last year’s winner was Steve Kluger’s book, My Most Excellent Year.

I am proud as punch that, this year, Donut Days made it into the finalists list and — be still my heart! — made it through the first round of eliminations. If there is an American Idol for books, this is it. (Except the judges are really super nice. No Simons here. Or loopy Paulas for that matter.)

No matter the winner, this effort to support underrepresented YA literature deserves props. And links and web hits and RT’s. So for those who RT or promote the contest (@NerdsHeartYA), I’m offering two prizes to winners who will be chosen at random. Just leave me a comment and let me know what you did (tell me if you RT’d or linked to the contest or blogged about it or something else) and I’ll throw your name into the prize pool. I’m giving away a $15 Barnes and Noble gift card, as well as a signed copy of DONUT DAYS.

Thanks for the support, and goooooo books! 

You. Guys. Rule. Thank you all so much for your title ideas over the past two days! There were a lot there to choose from, and even though I can only crown three winners (get it? crown?!), I think many of the titles will be in contention for a while here. I promise, cross my heart, that as soon as we figure something out, I’ll post the new title here first.

The title finalists today are:

Evan for TRIALS, TRIBULATIONS, AND TIARAS

Shelli for just about all of hers but more specifically RIGGED; SCHOOLED; and DIRTY BALLOTS

And Angela for THE SCARLET TIARA

I’ll get your $10 B&N gift cards out to you shortly. And thank you all again for the amazing ideas. Whatever this darn book is called, with support like that, it’s going to rule.

You guys! My publisher is changing the title of PROMGATE and I need your help figuring out what the new title should be!

Since PROMGATE doesn’t really encompass everything the book is about (it’s about more than a dance!), we need something a bit less…literal. The thing is, my editor, agent and I are kinda stumped. We haven’t been able to find a title that fits. So, I’m opening it up to all of you, because I know there are some awesome brains out there!

And there are prizes! The three title finalists will get a $10 Barnes and Noble gift card. And your title could wind up being the name of my new book! Aaaaa!

So, okay, here’s how it works:

• Post your title suggestions in the comments. You can submit as many titles as you want, but you’ll only be entered for the prize once.
• While they’re open to having “Prom” in the title, they’d love to see options that don’t feature it.
• I will work with my editor and agent to pick the finalists.
• The book’s plot/synopsis is pasted below to spark great title ideas. I’m also going to list titles that have a similar sound/feel to what we’re going for.
• You can email me at new [dot] zielind [at] gmail [dot] com with questions. K? K.

Synopsis for the Book Formerly Known as PROMGATE:

Is Aggie’s high school ready for a pregnant Goth Prom Queen?

 Sixteen year-old Aggie Winchester couldn’t care less about who’s elected prom queen—even if it’s her pregnant Goth-girl best friend, Sylvia Ness. Aggie’s got bigger things to worry about, like whether or not her ex-boyfriend wants to get back together and whether her mom will survive cancer.

But like it or not, Aggie, soon finds herself in the middle of an unfolding prom scandal, largely because her mom, who is the school’s principal, is rumored to have burned prom ballots so Sylvia won’t be elected queen. Compelled to investigate, Aggie finds out more than she bargained for and wonders if the election could be dirty on both sides.

* * *

Other things to note about PROMGATE:

The main character, Aggie, isn’t so sure she loves being Goth. She does it because her best friend Sylvia is Goth and looking dark and menacing has helped her out of a few scrapes. But at the end of the day, Aggie is really trying to figure out who she is. Aggie also loves bass fishing, which her dad forced her to do, initially, but now she kind of digs it. Not that she would ever tell anyone that. She pretends to hate it so no one knows the truth.

Please also note, I’m not sure the publishers are digging the word “Goth” in the title. Not that we can’t consider titles with that word, it’s just that they don’t seem to be jumping for joy when they read it.

Here are some other titles we dig, which might help inspire you:

WINTERGIRLS

FEAR OF FALLING

THE SIX RULES OF MAYBE

THE FORTUNES OF INDIGO SKYE

THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN

AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES

LOVE AND OTHER FOUR-LETTER WORDS

STORY OF A GIRL

ONCE WAS LOST

Thank you, GOOD LUCK and I am already pumped about all your ideas!! xoxox

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: Okay, you know how I love Lolcats, right? Well, my friend Margaret sent me this link showing the creation of the universe in Lolspeak. From the Lolcat Bible! I die!

These days, I’m doing some digging into the topic of happiness for an article I’m writing for work. And it turns out, optimism is a big component of happiness. No huge shockers there, but here’s what I found interesting. The researchers I’m talking to gave undergrads a survey at the start of the semester, and they asked them what they thought their grades would be at the end of the semester. Those who answered saying they thought would have good grades at the end of the semester actually had good grades. And these weren’t just the smart kids. They were just the kids who thought they could have a role in their GPA.

The researchers said that, overwhelmingly, the kids who thought they could get good grades came to class. They figured they needed to learn in order to up their  GPA. Those who didn’t think they could get good grades didn’t show up because they thought it didn’t matter anyway.

I thought about this vis-a-vis writing and I realized optimism goes a long way. If you think you can get published, you can get published. You’ll send out more query letters, you’ll keep revising, you’ll hang in there with your manuscript. If you think, ah, screw it, the game’s rigged, then your publishing career is over before it started.

If you are an unpublished writer, this morning, tape a message to your bathroom mirror that says, “I’m only one ‘yes’ away from a published manuscript.” I know it’s cheesy, but the research says it works!

Happy National Donut Day, everyone! And no, it’s not a made-up holiday. It’s really real. The Salvation Army started it. So put that in your cruller and eat it.

As you may recall, I made a video last year to celebrate this momentous day. I’m revisiting the vid because, a year later, it still makes me snort with laughter.

So, without further ado, I give you the great oxymoron that is “Glamorous Donut.”

Happy National Donut Day!

Dear NASA,

While it’s true that I would rather watch Sex and the City than The Right Stuff, I have recently been made aware of some facts that you, too, probably ought to know:

1.) BP is run by monkeys
2.) We’ve let these monkeys fu*k up the planet

Because I know many of you are concerned with big ideas like string theory, whether or not the universe is being pushed together or pulled apart, and where that Mars rover got off to a few years back, you may not have read the papers recently. You may not know that there is an oil spill the size of Delaware—and growing—in the Gulf of Mexico.

How we let ourselves get to this place is a whole different topic that I won’t go into right now. But the thing is, we are here. And BP can’t seem to fix their epic fail.

Not that they haven’t tried, if you can call nuking the Gulf with enough toxic Oil-b-Gone to kill every last sea turtle ever, trying. Their most recent fix had to do with underwater robots and some diamond saws or something. Which, I don’t know about you, but I’m just waiting for them to announce that, next, they propose sharks with laser beams on their heads.

So, here’s my point. I’ve seen Apollo Thirteen. I know that when a spacecraft is breaking down IN OUTER SPACE, you can fix it in real time and bring everyone on board home safely. Not even Bill Paxton could keep that lesson from coming through loud and clear. I know the whole Apollo Thirteen thing happened a while ago but, as far as I know, you’re still flying rockets and taking pictures of exploding stars and repairing space stations.

In sum: you guys know how to get sh*t done.

So, like, could you maybe help BP out and find a solution to all that oil gushing into the water?

I bet you could. I mean, you guys are the ones who can never really say, “Well, it’s not like it’s rocket science,” because guess what? To you, it’s rocket science.

I know it’s really easy to think that it’s not a NASA thing, to plug a gushing hole deep underwater. You guys usually tilt your heads and look up, not down.

But if I ever have kids—and, again, that’s a whole different topic I won’t go into right now—I’d like them to be able to see a brown pelican. And watch dolphins swim. And eat fish that won’t kill them. Even if I don’t have kids, I want that stuff for my nieces and nephews, and, okay, even the brats with bad manners at the supermarket. Even them. Because this sh*t’s real. And we need big brainpower—I mean BIG—to find a solution.

Anyway, thanks for reading and, if you see him, please tell Buzz Aldrin I liked him on 30 Rock.

Sincerely,

Lara Zielin