Well, she did . . . and then some! In fact, she gave a blurb for the cover: “No glittery teen novel here, thank heavens. Five Flavors of Dumb is raw, fresh, funny, and authentic. Piper is my hero.” I’d comment on this if there was anything to add, but really, how do you top that?

What’s more, Kristin Smith, cover designer extraordinaire, has finalized the jacket. And because it is 100% certifiably awesome, I’ve decided to show the whole thing:

I know, I know. Normally authors just reproduce the cover, because that’s what everyone cares about the most, right? (And maybe because that’s all that’ll fit onto a blog without spilling over the edges!) But IMHO, this whole jacket is about as close to perfect as you can get. And I can totally get away with saying that because I had nothing to do with it. Seriously. That author bio? Written by the good folks at Penguin HQ (and more to-the-point than I can ever be). That flap copy? Not a word of it was written by me (but believe me, I wish I’d come up with a summary half as enticing). And Kristin’s cover? Oh, man, that cover . . .

I’ve been noticing several bloggers including DUMB on their “Waiting for Wednesday” posts (where YA fans discuss the releases they’re most looking forward to), and at this point, I think 99% of that has to do with the cover. Don’t believe me? Look here, and here, and here. When the comments say things like “how cool is that cover?” and “the cover looks more like a movie poster than a book cover” and “the cover of the book is gorgeous, I love her boots and sunglasses” well, any self-respecting author should admit that it might have rather more to do with the cover than the contents.

So far, anyway!

©2010 Antony John. All Rights Reserved.

“Read it aloud to yourself because that’s the only way to be sure the rhythms of the sentences are OK (prose rhythms are too complex and subtle to be thought out – they can be got right only by ear)” — Diana Athill

“Finish the day’s writing when you still want to continue.” — Helen Dunmore

There’s tons more, too.

As an interesting contrast, here’s Mandy Hubbard’s take on Nine Rules to Break. It’s a super cool list, and is very freeing (unlike the Guardian’s line-up of literary heavyweights, which is likely to have you throwing up your arms in surrender).

So what do I think? Well, it’s like this . . .

In a former life, I taught undergraduate music theory, including the really hardcore stuff that has its own terminology, set of symbols, and looks suspiciously like it wants to be quantum physics, only it’s not. So anyway, one day, I had everyone in my class analyze a particularly gnarly Bach chorale, and someone found hidden octaves. I know, I know! You’re thinking: “Bach had hidden octaves!? What a LOSER!” And I’d agree with you, really I would, only I couldn’t for the life of me HEAR the darn things. And the lesson of the, um . . . lesson, was that CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING.

Seriously, kill your darlings, or don’t kill your darlings. I really don’t mind. You made them up, after all, so you should be allowed to determine the precise, grisly details of their demise.

Yes, overuse of adverbs is grating after a while. So is routine avoidance of “said” in favor of “hissed” and “whispered” and “cried.” But there’s a place for all these things, and it has everything to do with context.

What Bach taught me, and what I’d have said if the Guardian had asked me to write some rules, is that rules are frequently not rules at all: they are successful techniques that have been used often enough in the past that we would be wise to take note of them now. But if Bach can break them, then I sure as heck intend to. And so should you.

Well, except for hidden octaves. You have to draw the line somewhere.

©2010 Antony John. All Rights Reserved.

It’s a good question, too. I’ve never had trouble working on two projects simultaneously — it’s a necessity for authors, after all — but switching gears from YA to fantasy is a different matter entirely. Suddenly the characters and the plot aren’t the only things that change. The mood and the voice (heck, even the WORLD) changes in fantasy, and sometimes it’s kind of hard to get my head around it all. But I think I’ve managed it, even if I wasn’t aware of HOW I managed it.

Well, about ten minutes ago I moved from my YA project to my fantasy one. Instinctively I changed my iPod mix from “rock” to “classical,” and it hit me that (yet again) music is the way I access certain moods and states of mind. I’ve always been amazed at how music acts as a trigger for all sorts of things, and it’s so cool to be reminded yet again that even though I’m no longer making a living as a musician, music continues to impact everything I do.

Now I should get back to writing again, before the mix ends!

©2010 Antony John. All Rights Reserved.

I think Mandy’s list is great, and almost identical to what I would have written. (I’m not quite as overcome with envy, to be honest, but I know that most authors are.) But there are a couple of other things I’ve noticed that she doesn’t mention, and because it’s an interesting topic, I thought I’d weigh in.

SELF-CRITIQUING

Talking about writing, Mandy says “I’m no longer to the point where I would even consider sending a first draft to critique partners, I’ve become increasingly aware of things I need to revise on my own first.” Ditto that. In fact, after FIVE FLAVORS OF DUMB sold, I didn’t show anyone a single page until it was finished and thoroughly edited. There was no point in inviting criticism when I was still aware of a gazillion things that needed fixing. (Having said that, my readers still pulled it to pieces even after I’d fixed those gazillion problems, but that’s why I have readers, right?)

But I’ve noticed the same thing happening with my reading. I’m quickly able to pick up on details that I would have overlooked once. Things like: the organization of a complicated opening chapter so that it reads easily; the rhythm of sentences; techniques for sustaining tension in lengthy passages, etc. What’s funny is that I’ve had the ability to do that with music for years, but it’s taken longer (and more practice) with writing and reading.

OPPORTUNITIES

Mandy’s right. Opportunities abound for published writers. Only, it goes beyond librarians, teachers, conference talks, booksellers calling, etc. In fact, I’d add a whole subheading called “Research Help,” because once you’re published, experts from every field seem willing to spend time talking about their work. During my background work on FIVE FLAVORS OF DUMB, I’ve:

* been invited to sit in on American Sign Language classes

* corresponded with an audiologist at St. Louis Children’s Hospital

* had a lawyer explain contract law as it applies to minors

* been given a personal tour of our local NBC station by the producer of a live TV show

* received a tutorial on “skewering” from a chess expert

* been educated on the finer points of hair dyeing

* gained insights into Jimi Hendrix’s early life from a rock music historian

* been given total access to Seattle’s famed Showbox theater

This doesn’t even include all the people who have generously read the ENTIRE novel to check for inaccuracies relating to their field of expertise. Now, I’m not saying that these wonderful people aren’t prepared to assist unpublished writers too–it’s just that announcing the book is scheduled for a fall 2010 release makes everything feel a little more certain and urgent.

By the way, if you don’t already read Mandy’s blog, now’s the time to start. She posts frequently about the experience of being a published author (and the world of writing and publishing in general), and her posts are really interesting, honest, and straightforward. And if you haven’t read PRADA AND PREJUDICE yet, well . . . shame on you!

©2010 Antony John. All Rights Reserved.

Yes, indeed, writing really is the most ridiculously gratifying career. In what other job can you justify taking time off to read biographies of Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix, or obsessively (re)watch YouTube footage of the aforementioned artists (pre-suicide/overdose, of course)?

All of which is to say that things are going well on the book front . . . I finished the first draft of Five Flavors of Dumb (to be released by Dial Press in 2010) earlier this year, and got wonderful feedback from my awesome editor, Liz Waniewski. Seriously, there’s nothing better than getting that first revision letter and realizing (a) your editor loves your book, and (b) has precisely the same vision for it as you.

Anyhoo, the second draft has now been finished as well, and I can already confidently declare that this novel is everything I hoped it would be. In fact, it’s MORE than I hoped it would be: about 15000 words more, in fact. But that’s what editing is all about, right?

©2010 Antony John. All Rights Reserved.

Trouble is, even with the most specific search terms imaginable (”antony john busted confessions flux”) I was flooded with links to all sorts of news items I’d rather not think about. As of today, Google connects my precious little novel with:

* John Edwards busted for adultery

* Carmelo Anthony busted for marijuana possession

* CNN reporter Richard Quest busted for drugs

Sensing a theme here? I sure am, and so I’ve decided to learn from my mistakes. In future, my book titles will only comprise various combinations of the following words: cute, cuddly, happy, fairy, kindness, patience, sharing, twinkly, baubles.

Oh yeah, baby. You may as well start engraving my name on the Pulitzer Prize right now.

©2010 Antony John. All Rights Reserved.

One of the peculiarly masochistic pleasures of having a book release date is seeing who you’re up against. In my case, October 1 sees the release of at least 15 other YA books (or books with YA appeal) including those by Tamora Pierce (Melting Stones), Cornelia Funke (Inkdeath), and Terry Pratchett (Nation).

Oh crap.

Just think about that for a moment. It means that if the planets align and your local bookseller has (a) lots of free time, (b) an inexplicable inclination to create a TODAY’S YA RELEASES shelf that didn’t previously exist, and (c) overdosed on Red Bull, Busted would still be in a group of 16 books, some of which even I might be inclined to buy before my own. It’s enough to make me wonder about waving a white flag, although with Uberwriters Pierce, Funke, and Pratchett as competition, that might be a tad redundant.

But then it occurs to me what an honor it is to share my release date with such luminaries. And when I look at the books being released in the weeks before, I see familiar names whose earlier books inspired me to write Busted in the first place: David Yoo (Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before), Barry Lyga (Hero-Type), Nancy Werlin (Impossible), Frank Portman (Andromeda Klein), and Gordon Korman (The Juvie Three), just to name a few.

And that’s when it hits me: With the release of Busted, I’m actually one of them. A published author. Someone whose book appears alongside authors whose work I admire so much, and even better, without an asterisk to remind readers that I’m not even close to their league yet.

So go ahead, booksellers, create that new shelf. Just be sure to set aside signed copies of everyone else’s books if you have them, because, well . . . I’m still just a fan at heart.

©2010 Antony John. All Rights Reserved.

Agent extraordinaire Ted began pitching Busted to publishers in June 2007, and shortly after, Andrew Karre at Flux called me to chat about the book. I was completely wowed by his vision, as well as his remarks on how it could be improved. (And yeah, he was dead right, by the way.)

Once I’d signed on with Flux, we began the process of editing (again) and reediting. And sometimes, just for fun, we’d edit some more. In fact, from September to December 2007 the word count ballooned from 47000 to 56000 through the addition of some much-needed back story and clarifying scenes. Andrew was a delight to work with the whole time—full of great ideas, and supportive of any way I chose to interpret them. If it weren’t for the constraints of those pesky deadlines and release date, I’d still be revising the book with him today, and loving every minute of it too, to be honest.

Between January and March 2008, things were quiet at my end, while Gavin Duffy at Flux conceived the cover art, and began producing an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy, to be used for publicity purposes). In April, Sandy Sullivan (another editor) took over, sending me comments on matters of consistency, timelines, etc. These I completed by mid May, just as the ARC was coming out. Of course, the ARC revealed some more issues that needed resolving, hence another round of edits which were completed, um . . . kind of at the last minute.

But as of this moment, Busted is at the printers, and I am eagerly awaiting the October 1 release date. And to be honest, I couldn’t be happier with how everything has worked out, from start to almost-finish.

Still, there’s a long way to go before October 1, and that’s where this blog comes in . . . I’ll use it to keep you posted on promotional matters, appearances, and the countdown to publication. Toddler-nap permitting, it’ll be the place where I fill you in on everything that goes down in the weeks leading up to the release date.

Something tells me it could be a fairly chaotic ride!

©2010 Antony John. All Rights Reserved.

©2010 Antony John. All Rights Reserved.

My novel, Busted, was written in the spring of 2006. My wife had given birth to our first child a few months before, and as a new stay-at-home dad, I was looking for a creative outlet to take the place of music composition (which required too much collaboration for my new lifestyle). Writing each evening from ten to midnight, I planned the novel pretty thoroughly for one month and wrote it in under two. Then I showed it to some friends I knew were prepared to be critical (thanks Audrey, Robyn, Simon, and Nick) and waited for the onslaught. To my surprise and delight, their criticism (which was, frankly, voluminous) was tempered with genuine enthusiasm, and I began to believe that Busted might one day find a home on the shelves of your friendly neighborhood bookstore.

All the same, I knew better than to get too excited. See, I’d experienced this particular misapprehension / delusion the previous year, when I’d written a book (let’s call it Dogpile) that was utterly unpublishable for reasons too numerous to list here. The highly reputable agents I queried about the Dogpile needed only three chapters to assure me that they weren’t right for the project, which was really generous of them considering the book was terrible and there isn’t an agent in the world who is right for it. But it wasn’t a complete waste of time. I pretty quickly realized what was wrong with the Dogpile, and vowed not to make the same mistakes again. I also committed to reading more YA novels, to understand the genre better, and now read one or two a week. And most of all, I discovered that even though my book stunk, I wrote a query letter enticing enough to coerce poor, unwitting agents into reading my work.

And as you’ll see in Part 2, that turned out to be a pretty useful skill.

©2010 Antony John. All Rights Reserved.