need_to_write

Great News!

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:07:17 GMT

My agent sold my YA novel!

Details here: http://www.joelleanthony.com

Ask an agent a question live today!

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:49:08 GMT

Hi, Everyone,
Thanks to those of you who stopped by with questions for the agent Elana Roth last week. The Q&A is now posted on my website and if you want to know more about her or agenting in general, stop by and have a look. Also, today, Tuesday, from 3-5pm EASTERN you can ask a comment in the comment section and Elana will do her best to answer it. I hope you'll stop by!

cheers,
Joelle
http://www.joelleanthony.com

A Q&A with new agent, Elana Roth

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 23:01:51 GMT

Please feel free to share this info and post it elsewhere! Thanks.

^Q^&^A

This is very big and very exciting! Elana Roth, a new agent at Firebrand Literary has agreed to answer your burning questions. Well, okay, only the ones pertaining to writing, the writing business, publishing, agenting, query letters, etc. If you’re in the market for an agent, this is an excellent opportunity to find out more about Elana and see if she might be a good match for you.

Here’s how it works. You go to my contact page and send me your question (if you have more than one, there will probably be time to ask it live later on, so just send the one you want answered the most). I am accepting questions until 5pm Eastern time on Friday, March 21st. Elana will do her best to answer them all and I will post her answers right here on Tuesday, March 25th. On Tuesday, during a dedicated time period (to be determined), you can post additional questions in the comments section and Elana will do her best to answer those too.

Here’s a little about Elana Roth:
Elana is graduate of Barnard College and the Jewish Theological Seminary, and is nearly at her 10 year mark in New York City. She started her career at Nickelodeon Magazine, researching wacky and even gross stories. Most recently, she just finished a 5 year stint as an editor at Parachute Publishing, where she worked on R.L. Stine’s Rotten School and many other series for kids of all ages. She has recently joined Firebrand Literary and if you’re interested in querying her, please follow their guidelines.

Again, please use my contact page to help me keep everything straight. Thanks! You can also go to http://www.joelleanthony.com and click on the contact page there.

Author interview - Kathy Erskine

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:58:13 GMT

Hi, All.
Today I'm interviewing author, Kathy Erskine on my website. Drop on by and check it out! Also, Anne Marie Pace is giving away Kathy's new book, QUAKING. There's a link on my site to take you to her contest.

cheers,
Joelle

http://www.joelleanthony.com

Author Interview with Art Slade

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 16:23:27 GMT

Hi, Everyone. Today I am interviewing the MG and YA award winning author, Arthur Slade, on my website. Drop by and see what he has to say.

And as always, don't forget to enter to win books!

cheers,

Joelle

Drop by my website at http://www.joelleanthony.com for author interviews, tips on writing, book recommendations, and to win free books!

Most Excellent News!!!

Tue, 15 May 2007 14:55:14 GMT

I have fabulous news at my website!!!!

http://www.joelleanthony.com

Win free books from my stash!

Mon, 14 May 2007 14:56:02 GMT

Hiya. This week I'm giving you a choice from several books in my stash. Don't forget to stop by my website, www.joelleanthony.com and enter to win. Also, you can expect BIG NEWS from me tomorrow, an interesting teen doing medical research on Wednesday, and a great author interview on Friday. So drop on in!

cheers,
Joelle

www.joelleanthony.com

Anne Marie Pace

Fri, 11 May 2007 14:04:41 GMT

Today I'm interviewing writer Anne Marie Pace on my website. Stop by and see what she has to say.

Joelle
www.joelleanthony.com

Win a free book!

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 00:02:29 GMT

Hi, All.

Just a reminder that on Mondays I'm giving away free books, starting this Monday. My plan is to give away gently read or new YAs, however, since right now I have mostly adult readers and I'm still trying to drum up the kid visitors, I have a couple of craft books I'll be giving away this week and next, so now's your chance before I have too many kids entering and I have to cut the adults off. :-)

This week I'm giving away THE FIRST FIVE PAGES.

Don't forget, I'm looking for authors to interview too for the Friday Five.

www.joelleanthony.com

Send me your teen readers/writers

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 01:13:30 GMT

Hi, Everyone.

Agent, Nadia Cornier said on her blog that if you're not a published writer yet (I think it was her, it could've been Miss Snark) that you should create a website that will get your audience interested in you NOW so that they're waiting for your book. And then your next book. And the one after that. So, with that in mind, I have created a website for teens interested in writing and/or reading. There will be author interviews every Friday, free books on Mondays, and lots of stuff in between.

So send your teens my way! Or let your friends who know teens know. And if you're an author looking to be interviewd (it will be a five question interview), I'm taking names via the contact page on my website.

Thanks in advance,

Joelle Anthony

Visit my website at www.joelleanthony.com

It's time for a party!

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 13:06:08 GMT

Hi, Everyone! Guess what? It's time for a party! No, not a birthday party, although today IS my birthday. The party I'm talking about is my Writer's Website Launch Party. Please stop on by and send me a comment telling me what you think! Have a great day. Need_to_read has moved to my website, while need_to_write will stay as a live journal.

www.joelleanthony.com

cheers,

Joelle Anthony

Tough Love

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 00:01:04 GMT

My SCBWI bulletin always arrives about 7-10 after everyone else. It is my understanding this is because it's sent bulk mail and they have to wait until they have enough mail out in CA with my zip code here in the middle of nowhere to justify sending it on its way (or something like that). Anyway, I can't verify it, but I have heard from a very reliable source that my article, Tough Love, is in the new bulletin. If you see it, let me know if it helped in any way or gave you something to think about!

I am writing, writing, writing, thus the lack of regular posts.

cheers,
Joelle

Thinking is so underrated

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 13:40:08 GMT

I'm supposed to be revising a manuscript. This is not a major revision, mostly a line edit with a few plot fixes and some character building. I have written very little this week because I've been thinking. Yesterday, I was feeling badly that I hadn't written. Especially since someone is waiting for this revision. However, I got a small idea to fix a bigger problem in the morning, then later I researched it, and even later I realized how well it would work. If I had forced myself to sit in the chair yesterday, I believe that I might not have ever gotten this idea at all because my mind would've been busy. And even if I'd somehow gotten it last night, but I'd written all day, I'd have to go back and revise all that I'd done. As it is, by letting the manuscript sit all week and allowing my brain to mull it over, I pretty much know how to fix it now. Instead of having to make myself do it, I'm excited to do it. THINKING is way underrated in the hurry to get words on the page.

Yippee! Yay! Yahoo!

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 22:26:52 GMT

Great news for us YA writers!

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/books/306531_teenlit08.html

new manuscript and a revision

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 22:46:32 GMT

I haven't posted much mostly because I've been writing and doing a little marketing too. I finished my latest YA last week and I did the hook and synopsis on Thursday and Friday. This took me two days because I just think it's the hardest part of writing! Luckily my critique group kept me on task and helped me with the final versions. All done! Now I can start querying this one.

Now I'm back to the previous manuscript that I thought was done! Heehee! Are they ever done? I have some requested revisions from a person who shall remain anonymous for now. This person has given me line edits and I started working diligently this morning. I think it's going to go relatively smoothly and I'm pretty excited about the changes.

But the real and exciting news is that today we purchased a 1958 Shasta trailer that will be my new writing studio! We are also going to use it for occasional camping trips, but primarily it's all mine to write in. I'm very excited about it even though I won't get to use it right away because it's more than halfway across the country from me now. We'll be having it stored for a bit and pick it up later this summer. Yay! That's it in the picture.

Reading Deprivation

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 03:01:27 GMT

Seven or eight years ago I picked up The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. Great book. Changed my life. One of the exercises she has you do is called reading deprivation. It's a week of no reading. That means no books, no newspapers, blogs, backs of cereal boxes, magazines...you get the idea. Oh, and no other fillers like TV, computer games, surfing and shopping online (although the book was written before computers were a big deal, but I'm assuming if she wrote it now she'd include those as no-nos).

Anyway, the idea is that artists tend to hide/avoid life/their art by reading and that we need some quiet non-reading time. Well, if you read this blog you'll see that the other day I was having trouble committing to a book. My brain is just too full of words to take in any more. I decided it was time for a reading deprivation cleansing week. Guess what? I hate it. I'm grumpy and moody and you'd think my house would be cleaner or something because of all the free time I have, but nope. So why stick with it? Well, I can't remember exactly what the great epiphany or feeling was last time, but I know it was good, so I'm going to stick it out. Until Sunday night...blech.

One thing Julia Cameron does tell you to do is to journal if you fall off the wagon. What'd you read? Why? Yeah, it's kinda like therapy. I keep a journal in the morning, but I thought it might be good to make my observations on this blog instead. So, yes...I fell off the wagon. Very briefly. I just zipped through Rachel Vater's blog. I didn't read all the hooks she's posting, but I did read the stuff she wrote.

I have done very well otherwise. I haven't gone to my favorite blog even once(www.eileencook.com) but I'm pretty sure that Eileen's not being too funny this week becuse she feels sorry for me depriving myself like this. Notice how she didn't join me though???? In fact, she's probably reading extra books this week. Oh, and I guess maybe reading the comics online might count as reading...I only read 5 so it only takes a minute or two...

Other than that, I've done pretty well. Especially considering I received a box of books, yes a box of books in the mail on Monday!

I have caught up on my email and some friends have gotten a lot more emails in the last few days than usual. I've written some letters, made granola, cleaned out a drawer or two, done laundry, worked out 3 days instead of 2 already plus went for a walk, and I've also done a bunch of revising which is cool, but I don't think reading would've stopped me from doing that anyway.

I'm sure you're all dying to know what I learn from this (and if my husband's still speaking to me), so I'll keep you posted. And whatever you do, don't send me anything to read!

Absent

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 02:13:44 GMT

Hi, All.

I know a fair amount of people read my need to read page because they're looking for good books, but I don't know if anyone reads this. Anyway, if there are any of you out there, I've been absent because I've been in "the writer's groove". You know. When you have to time your breaks not to make sure you go back to work on time, but to make sure you actually take them! I've been writing for 5,6,7 even 10 hours a day this week and today I finished my WIP. I have to do one more pass through before I hand it off to my critique group, although my husband's getting it tonight because I can hardly wait for him to read it. This book (which I only ever submitted once) was 354 pages. It is now....237!!!!! Yay me!

Hope you're writing well. Two days off this week for me. Just try and stop me! Then the pass through and then a new project...wohoo! And then of course I'll have to revise once I hear from my readers. But revising is my favorite thing, so bring it on!

cheers,

Joelle

A writer's tool

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 01:48:55 GMT

I just bought a Dell 1710 laser printer and I'm in love. True, I haven't used it much yet, but Consumer Reports gave it a good rating and it's a designated printer (not an all in one) so it's perfect for me. I just printed 129 pages in LESS THAN SIX MINUTES!!!!!

Erase your footprint

Sun, 18 Feb 2007 01:18:38 GMT

Nope! This is not the name of a new writing project for me, but if you are environmentally aware/conscious and want to erase some of the effects using energy in the home and driving your car has on the environment, I urge you to go to this website and have a look.

http://www.terrapass.com/

Writing is a killer

Sat, 10 Feb 2007 02:39:27 GMT

While it sounds like I'm goofing off, reading comics and ranting, I've actually had a very good writing week. After months off, yes, months, due to travel and family and friends needing me for various tasks, I'm back and soooo happy to be writing. I did a lot of agent querying and other business during that time, not to mention reading to keep my hand in, but writing is where it's at, baby!

To be fair, I was in dire need of a break since I worked hard from last spring until mid-October, writing every day and having to force myself to take breaks let alone days off. Talk about a groove! I'm ready though for another stint like that. Let's go!

I've been working on my WIP, cutting massive amounts (like the first 60, yeah...60 pages!). My goal is to get it down from 354 to 250 pages. I'm about a quarter of the way through and I'm feeling really good about it. I have a brand new ending and I'll have to rework some of the middle to set it up, but it's pretty well defined in my brain, so I think it will just be fun. As my friend Eileen Cook told me today (after reading my notes on her WIP), "Now if I could only find people to make all the changes and let me take all the credit then things would be perfect." She also said, " It is a darn good thing that we like writing-
otherwise the process would be a killer."

Huh? It's not killer???? Yeah, okay. She's right. For me the fun part is the revision anyway. The first draft is what kills me.

What parts do you love most about writing?

THIS IS TOO MUCH!!!

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 16:53:51 GMT

See previous post!

THIS IS TOO MUCH! Now the book is coming out in NEXT fall???????????? I must stop reading this comic strip for a while!!!!

I obviously take my comic strips too seriously

Sat, 03 Feb 2007 18:09:38 GMT

Okay. This is a total rant, but really, it must be said. I have read the comic strip For Better or For Worse since I was a teen and the kids in it were kids. Now Michael is a grown-up and a writer. When he first started having immediate successes with writing, I was kind of skeptical, but I decided he must be a genius writer. But now? Oh, my gosh. You've got to be kidding me!

So a few weeks ago, he finishes his FIRST book and sends it out, NOT to an agent, but to a PUBLISHER. And what amounts to only a few weeks later in the comic strip, he gets a letter (not a phone call, by the way) from an editor, along with a $25K advance and what can only be described as a love letter about his book. I MEAN COME ON! I seriously can hardly read the strip this week and I'm usually a big fan. I stuck through it when Farley died, when Lawrence came out of the closet and newspapers across the country stopped printing it, and when Elizabeth's boyfriend cheated on her a few weeks ago I actually told my husband (like he cared!) about it, I was so appalled. What is Lynn Johnston thinking?????? I am just totally insulted. This is why everyone keeps asking me when my book's going to be published! GRRRRRRR!!!!!

What things do you take too seriously?

What I did...

Sun, 14 Jan 2007 16:36:56 GMT

I just got a great tip from Self magazine. Instead of writing a To Do list at the beginning of the day, write a What I Did list at the end of the day. You focus on the positive and feel more accomplished. This is my new approach.

writing again

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 03:02:08 GMT

Well, I'm back to writing again after a way too long haitus. I did read an awful lot of good books and do some traveling, so I guess it wasn't too long, just long.

I am doing 40 minute sessions. I do that for a couple of reasons. One they seem manageable and the other is it protects me from spending too much time on the computer and making my eyes go all wobbly like they were at the end of last summer when I realized I hadn't had a day off in two months. The other thing I've noticed is forty minutes is just about how long it takes me to write a scene.

I got the idea from Canadian author, Arthur Slade. However, I think he does 40 minutes and then takes a 20 minute break and then another segment and he does this four times straight. I look at my day and say, "Well, today I have nothing to do, so I should do four segments." Or two if I'm busy, or five if I'm feeling really excited. Sometimes I write the "goal" segments and then do more. Other times it kills me to meet the goal for the day. Sometimes I write like Art does (well, not like him or I'd be a published award winning author too) and other days my segments are all spread out. Like today I did one, then just as I was about to start the second one we had an amazing bald eagle experience right outside our doorstep that lasted for the better part of an hour. And then we went to town for groceries. And then I did two when we got home instead of making dinner. It's all good!

Happy writing everyone.
cheers,
Joelle

What I'm writing...

Fri, 29 Dec 2006 15:55:40 GMT

What I'm writing is not very much, but I have started on my YA WIP again...yay.

Today I wrote my list of my Fave Fifteen Reads for 2006. You can check them out and chime in http://need_to_read.livejournal.com/

Back to work!

cheers and happy new year,
Joelle