Thursday's Pre-Publication Post: Get Ready for the Launch!

It has been a crazy week, my friends, but if all goes according to plan, the new website will launch this evening. By this time tomorrow, you should be able to find Practicing Writing over at its new home on www.erikadreifus.com. (Please click here to go directly to the relocated Practicing Writing.)

As I've mentioned before, the forthcoming publication of my story collection, Quiet Americans, seemed to present an opportune moment to move ahead with the consolidation of my multi-sited online presence into one brand-new hub. I'm excited, because I think that the new site is beautiful, well-organized, and informative (what a trifecta!). But I'm also a little nervous.

I hope that you'll bear with me as I work with the web designer to adjust the blogs' feeds (both of my blogs will be transferred from Blogger to their new pages on the Wordpress-based site) and do everything else that's necessary to make the transition happen. I thank you in advance for your patience!

Thursday's Pre-Publication Post: Read an Excerpt from Quiet Americans!

So, as I continue preparing the new website for its debut, I've been trying to figure out the best way to present there an excerpt from my forthcoming story collection, Quiet Americans. To that end, this week, I've been experimenting with some free services provided by BookBuzzr.com.

It was easy enough to paste code into a blog post to share the above "widget" with you, and as the book begins to appear on more distribution channels, I can embed relevant purchase info. (Right now, pre-orders are available only via BN.com.)

What's most exciting, though, is that this techno-gizmo gives you a glimpse into the actual book. Including the entire opening story.

At least, it provides the entire opening story for now. I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps the excerpt should be more limited. Like maybe...to the story's opening page?

What do you think? Would (much) less be more? Or in this case, would it be far too little?

Thursday's Pre-Publication Post: E-books, Or When Seeing Your Work In Print Is Only Part of the Story

For a long time, the dream was relatively simple. And focused. It involved seeing my story collection, Quiet Americans, in print. As in: a book. With pages one could turn.

But, as you may have heard, there's a new kid on the publishing block: the e-book. Actually, he's not just one kid. He's got multiple platforms.

If I haven't been linking here on Practicing Writing to lots of articles about e-books--how to publish them, how to read them, how popular they're becoming--maybe a little bit of that is due to my not-so-subconscious desire not to have to deal with them insofar as my own work is concerned.

You see, I already have a full-time job, and getting my story collection into print has quickly become almost equally consuming. Getting the collection ready for e-publication that is far more sophisticated than the simple downloadable pdfs used for my old market directories seems to be one layer of responsibility too many.

But it will happen. My publisher seems to be pretty comfortable with the Kindle platform, so that may well be the first vehicle we turn to for Quiet Americans once the print version is complete. (In fact, literally just yesterday, my publisher blogged about the recent royalty-related developments affecting books published via Amazon/Kindle.)

But how many of you rely on the Kindle? How many use other systems?

And for those of you with experience transforming your words from docs on your screen to paid-for content on others': How did you do it? Let's leave aside those of you working with big publishers who can easily handle the task for you. Have you used Smashwords? Have you required the services of a freelancer to format and prepare your text? What do you wish you'd known then that you can share now? I'd love to learn from your experiences.

Thursday's Pre-Publication Post: Anticipating the Worst

"Anticipating the Worst" may not be the most uplifting or optimistic phrase I've used in any of these pre-publication posts to date. Overall, it's been a joy and a blessing simply to know that my story collection, Quiet Americans, is going to be published.

But this weekend, as I sat with a printout of the designed book interior, reading through the entire book (aloud) to catch any last glitches (yes, there's a professional proofer at work as well), I became a bit queasy. What if these stories aren't quite as good as I'd hoped they were? What if people begin reading and dislike the writing intensely? What if the reviews are uniformly negative?

Admittedly, some of this newfound nervousness may be due to two concomitant factors: this week's focus on negative reviews in Janice Harayda's #bkrev tweets, and my visiting a number of book bloggers' sites and reading their review policies, many of which warn (fairly and honestly) about the possibility of negative opinions.

Then, too, I'm sure it's natural that as a publication date approaches one simply becomes a little fearful about the book's reception. Right? Right? Totally normal.

It may be normal, but it's also nerve-wracking. I'd love some tips from other authors about managing this kind of pre-pub anxiety. Please share--and thank you in advance.

Thursday's Pre-Publication Post: Behind the Screens

Thanks so much to all of you who took the time to comment last week when I presented the cover of my forthcoming story collection, Quiet Americans. I'm so glad that you agree with me: The cover designer has done an wonderful job.

Since last week, lots of behind-the-scenes (or, should I say, behind-the-screens) work has been taking place to build up my brand-new website. I've mentioned before that the impending book publication has motivated me to try to consolidate my various online locations/projects/identities. A couple of days ago, the talented web designer I'm working with unveiled a mockup of the homepage. All I'll reveal for now is this: If you like the book cover, you'll love the homepage!

The cover is also appearing on the Facebook page I've just created to help share information about the book (and hold contests/giveaways). I hope that you'll "like" that page, too--in all respects! (But please forgive me in advance if I keep my personal Facebook goings-on more or less limited to family members and those of you I've met/worked with/studied with/etc. in "real life." For now, at least.)

Thanks again for the enthusiasm about the cover. It really means a lot to me!

Thursday's Pre-Publication Post: Uncovering the Cover

I am proud to present to you:


I hope that you all like the cover! I sure do!

Thursday's Pre-Publication Post: Giving Thanks

This week's post will be relatively short and sweet. The crux of the message is simple: THANK YOU!

You have all been wonderfully receptive and supportive since I began tracking the pre-publication life of my story collection, Quiet Americans, earlier this year. You've read these posts. You've commented. You've opined.

I'm so grateful for all of that. I'm also grateful to those of you who have taken the time to send me messages privately. Some of you have written incredibly comprehensive messages packed with advice from your own experience and expertise. And since I've sometimes been on the giving end of the advice spectrum, I know how much time that can take. So here's a special, public thank-you to you (and what really amazes and humbles me is that among you are both people I know in "real-life" and practicing writers I didn't even know read this blog until I received their messages).

Whether you've offered me sage advice, the names of contacts for potential reviews or readings, or, in one case plucked from this week's correspondence, an actual venue where I can sign copies of Quiet Americans next year, your generosity means more to me than you can imagine. So I'll say it one last time (for now): THANK YOU.

Thursday's Pre-Publication Post: "Real-Life" Characters in Fiction

One of my favorite themes in writing-about-writing resurfaced this week: real-life characters in fiction. A big thank you goes to the Hayden's Ferry Review blog for leading me to Meg Rosoff's blog post for the Guardian's Books Blog, "Tackling real-life characters in fiction is fine - as long as you do it well."

Most of the writing on creating fictional characters from real-life personages focuses on recognizable people: historical figures, celebrities, and so on. (The tour guide who appears in my story "The Quiet American, Or How to Be a Good Guest," may well be based on an actual tour guide, but I did not give too much thought to the implications of creating a fictional döppelganger in that case.) And it's this traditional emphasis that continues in the Guardian post as well.

If that focus isn't necessarily relevant in the context of the tour guide character, it's much more applicable when viewed in the context of some other stories in Quiet Americans. "For Services Rendered," which opens the book, includes as key characters Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring and his second wife, Emmy. (For some background on what inspired this story, and the research that went into it, you can read the essay I wrote for the Scribblers on the Roof website awhile back.)

"Real-life characters" (not to mention events) appear elsewhere in Quiet Americans. For instance, Golda Meir makes a cameo in a story titled "Homecomings." (Admittedly, one of the MFA classmates who critiqued an early version thought I'd invented Mrs. Meir. But the first female prime minister of Israel was, in fact, a "real-life" person.)

And anyone who reads "Floating" and recalls the brouhaha concerning a certain state poet laureate and a 9/11 poem will be able to identify the real-life inspiration behind a certain sub-plot, even without the use of the poet's name. I'm still not certain why I chose not to name the poet in that story. One may be this major difference between the other characters and the poet: The poet is still alive.

As I continued to think about my stories this week in the context of the Guardian article, I realized something else: In a way that's quite different from the situation with "For Services Rendered," where everything that Hermann and Emmy Göring say and do has major repercussions on the rest of the story, the real-life characters within "Homecomings" and "Floating" are minor players, presences that help illuminate aspects other, major characters and events in each piece.

Or at least, that's what I think. Come January, we'll see if you agree.

Thursday's Pre-Publication Post: On Attending (and Arranging) Readings

Living in New York City, one could easily attend a literary reading (make that multiple readings) every day. The city presents a true embarrassment of riches in that respect.

If you have the time and energy, that is.

Alas, time and energy are precious commodities for this practicing writer. Between a full-time office job, family life and friends, a revitalized commitment to visiting the gym at least a few days each week, and, lest we forget, a bit of writing (and reading, and blogging) here and there, boarding a subway or bus to attend a reading too often falls off my to-do list. Especially when it's really hot outside. Or really cold.

This week, however, I persevered. After an especially intense workday and facing the oppressive heat and humidity that is also oh-so-characteristic of this lovely city (this time of year, anyway), I rallied. I was determined to attend what Ron Hogan had billed as "An Evening of All-American Fiction" midtown at the Center for Fiction, featuring the following authors and new books:

• Pearl Abraham, American Taliban
• David Goodwillie, American Subversive
• Jane Mendelsohn, American Music
• Hilary Thayer Hamann, Anthropology of an American Girl

American fiction. Get it?

Well, how could anyone with a forthcoming story collection titled Quiet Americans resist?

I sure couldn't. And I'm very glad I went, not only because it is always good for me to get out and go to these events, see authors and hear new work read. But the event also got me thinking about readings in another respect.

Right now, I shouldn't simply be attending readings. I should be arranging them, too.

I've already explained that Last Light Books, the publisher of Quiet Americans, is a small, new press. There is no money for me to go "touring" around the country, although a virtual book tour is definitely on the agenda.

So here I am, trying to figure out how to arrange readings in the New York area, Boston, and D.C. (I expect to be in D.C. in early February for the 2011 AWP conference, and I'm planning to get to Boston a few months later.)

And here are some of the questions I have:

• Which reading series/venues do you go to? For my current purposes, the NYC-Washington corridor is most relevant, but why don't we hear recommendations for other locations, so everyone can benefit from the comments? If there are links available for your favorite venues/series, please share those, too!
• For those of you who have arranged your own readings (or for any publicists who have arranged readings for others), what's the magic formula? How far in advance do you try to arrange a reading? What are the basic how-tos to arrange a reading? It strikes me as something a bit like inviting yourself to someone else's house. Not exactly comfortable or intuitive. How does this whole thing work?
• What else should I be thinking about (readings-wise) at this time, a little more than six months before Quiet Americans: Stories meets the world?

As always, thank you in advance for your comments and advice!

Thursday's Pre-Publication Post: Come On Get Happy!

Earlier this week, the Fiction Writers Review blog spotlighted an essay by author Aryn Kyle. Titled "'This Book Made Me Want To Die' And Other Thoughts From Readers," the essay engages with comments/reviews Kyle has received with a decided point of view: that maybe, she should try to write something a little "happier":

"Mostly," Kyle writes, "what I learned about my book is that it’s depressing. Not just depressing, but 'pointlessly depressing'; 'brutal'; 'disturbing'; 'unrelentingly bleak'; and 'appalling'—just to touch on the tip of the critical iceberg. One reader claimed to be so disturbed by [Kyle's novel] The God of Animals that, upon finishing it, she had to medicate herself with sleeping pills."

But when people tell Kyle to write something "happy," she can't quite understand. "Happy like Anna Karenina? Happy like The Grapes of Wrath? Happy like Lolita or Catch-22 or Revolutionary Road? Happy like Hamlet?"

You get the idea.

Because the publication of my story collection, Quiet Americans, is still several months away, I don't yet have access to a comparable trove of reader reaction. But that doesn't mean that I can't already identify with the essay and the points Kyle has raised.

In fact, while I was reading, I couldn't help but recall one AWP conference, at which I finally met one of the TriQuarterly editors who had helped bring my story, "Matrilineal Descent," to the reading public. I'd gone over to the journal's Bookfair table to introduce myself. "Ah, yes," the editor said. "Your story. It was a laugh a minute." To which I responded—how else?—by laughing. (Attention, lucky readers! You, too, can enjoy the utter comedy that is "Matrilineal Descent" when the story reappears in Quiet Americans this winter.)

But Kyle's essay also sent me straight to the shelf where the Purple Binder (pictured) rests.

The Purple Binder, my friends, contains all the many rejection letters and e-mail messages that I received from agents and publishers who considered my collection, in one variant or another, over a five-year period. (It should not be confused with the far thicker Red Binder, which contains rejections received for individual short stories.)

I was certain that I'd find some echoes of the comments that have come Kyle's way within the Purple Binder's pages. And guess what? My memory was right.

Dear Erika Dreifus,

Thank you for giving us a look at four stories from your collection, Former Title, which [Big-Time Agent] asked me to review. I'm sorry about the delay in getting back to you, and I wish I had better news. I very much admire your writing and found all four stories very strong, but I'm afraid that this collection would be difficult to sell. The cumulative effect of your stories, with themes ranging from the Holocaust, to fetal defects to racism, is too downbeat for the editors we deal with.

Nonetheless, I think you are a talented writer. If you are not too put off by these remarks and you begin a novel, we'd love to see the first 50 pages.

Regretfully,
Associate at Big-Time Agent's Agency

P.S. Let me know if you'd like me to return your pages.

Now, a few comments:

• I've worked on the collection so long that it's really not surprising that not all of the stories that went out to this agency--supposedly my "best" stories at the time--have ended up in the final book. Among the now-excluded stories is one that was, for a long time, intended to be the title story. Hence, the need for a new title. So if you're thinking that you'll actually find the Holocaust, fetal defects, and racism prominently displayed throughout the book, well, don't get too excited, because not every happy theme I've ever dealt with in fiction has made the cut into the final collection.


• Similarly, I've been working on these stories so long that this particular correspondence dates from George W. Bush's first term, an era when it was still very common to send work via postal mail. Hence, the offer to return my pages. I guess I hadn't included a SASE.


• Here's what may be most interesting. I hadn't approached Big-Time Agent. Rather, Big-Time Agent had contacted me, based on a story that had appeared in a literary journal. And frankly, that story didn't exactly present a thousand points of light. Admittedly, it did not feature fetal defects or racism. But, in a mere 2500 words, it did manage to encompass parental death, post-9/11 anthrax attacks, incapacitating depression, divorce, and—I know you're waiting for this one—the Holocaust. Hence, my surprise that "downbeat" might present a problem for this particular agency.
  

(By the way, that part of the message about welcoming a novel didn't surprise you short-story writers, did it?)

In truth, I'm trying not to think too much just yet about what people will say about Quiet Americans once it has been published (assuming that it receives any attention at all). But if the book is faulted for not being "happy" enough, at least I'll be prepared. And in good company.

Thursday's Pre-Publication Post: Permissions Phase Ends; New Focus Begins

Two weeks ago, I gave you an update on my permissions quest. I am delighted to report that that particular phase of the journey seems to have ended at last: The Big Publishing House charged half again (150%) of the original fee I was quoted to use an epigraph in the print edition of Quiet Americans so that I can include said seven-word excerpt in the e-version, too. Just in case you were wondering! The agreement has been signed, sealed, and mailed back. And I'm glad to check that particular task off the to-do list!

So we move on. As the summer progresses, I expect to be focusing much more time on the redesign/consolidation of my Web presence (something else I've mentioned before in these pre-publication posts). Many of you offered helpful comments when I first brought this up. Now, I'm going to ask for your advice once again.

I've noticed that some author websites feature Q&A material that might best be described as a "self-interview." Interestingly, "self-interviews" have shown up lately as topics on various book marketing sites/feeds I follow, too (for example, this one).

The self-interviews labeled as such tend to have at least a bit of humor attached. That is to say, they are very self-consciously self-interviews, and they tend to revel a bit in the inherent oddity/awkwardness of the form. On the other hand, an author can also create a Q&A that is completely serious and doesn't necessarily present itself as something s/he wrote on his own (and maybe it was, in fact, guided by a publicist or other PR professional). At this point, I'm still considering both approaches.

Here's what I'm hoping you'll tell me: What kinds of topics/questions do you think should appear in an author's self-interview? Are there any such interviews you've found especially interesting? What made them so engaging? What are you hoping to learn about authors—and, more importantly, their books—when you read these features?

What's your take on the more humorous approach (for an example, see a self-interview on Stephen King's website--look for the entry dated September 4, 2008) compared with something that may be more, well, somewhat more nuts-and-bolts-and-business-like (again, just for an example, see Mark H. Zanger's "Behind the Scenes" feature for The American Ethnic Cookbook for Students).

And if you're an author who has written one of these interviews yourself, what suggestions would you offer? Whether they're your own or others', please point me toward author website Q&As that you think I should be sure to see as I formulate something along similar lines to help introduce Quiet Americans and its author--moi!

Thanks very much in advance for your comments, you wonderful people!

Thursday's Pre-Publication Post: Torn Between Two Covers

This week's major pre-publication development is this: Over the Memorial Day holiday, I e-mailed the wonderful cover designer who has been drafting designs for the Quiet Americans cover, and I told him that I'd chosen a design to go with.

In the end, I'd narrowed the options to two designs. I can't show them to you (truly, I can't--I don't have them in a format I can upload to the blog without some serious interventions). But I can tell you that they present two very different images. Opposite images, in fact. So I was, indeed, "torn between two covers."

It's a real relief to have put an end to the indecision. (The cover designer congratulated me on this victory!) Now we just have some tweaking to do (I've asked for some additional options for the byline font, for instance). Then, at least, the front cover will be done. Not all the info is yet available to complete the spine and back.

Speaking of covers...Last Light Studio, my book's publisher, has recently launched a blog. And about two weeks ago, that blog featured a post about the cover design process behind the company's first release: Armand Inezian's Bringing Ararat (which is now available!). Check it out!

Thursday's Pre-Publication Post: Permissions Update

So, back in April I told you about my quest to procure permission to use certain words penned in a book that was released by a Big Publishing House, because I want to use these words as an epigraph to my forthcoming story collection, Quiet Americans. Then, last week, I mentioned how incredibly helpful it was for me to simply pick up the phone after weeks of apparent non-response to check in on the process. (Apparently, not all of my e-mails had made it through.)

All of which led to my receipt of a hard-copy agreement a few days ago. The good news: The fee the Big Publishing House is requiring is manageable, if exponentially more than anything I've ever earned per word. There are seven words in this particular excerpt--two sentences and seven words.

But (you knew this was coming, right?) here's the not-so-good news: I neglected to realize that my request would cover only the print format of the book. So on Monday, I had to bother my very kind and patient contact at the Big Publishing House to ask for an amendment to cover an electronic version, too. I believe that a revised agreement is on the way. In fact, I was hoping it might have arrived yesterday, in time for me to write this post.

Alas, I'm still waiting. Which means I'm waiting to see how much more they're going to charge me. Double? Less than double? How much less? What's your guess?

Thursday's Pre-Publication Post: The Week in Review

First, THANK YOU all for the amazing response to last week's post, in which I solicited your feedback on author photo possibilities. You're a terrific group!

I've now gone ahead and asked the photographer to retouch two photos (as I said, one retouched photo is part of the package I signed up for; I'm going to kick in the extra bucks for a second one). In the meantime, I want to share with you a useful post on author photos that I found. I've sent it along to the photographer, too, to explain my request for images with different resolutions.

Other pre-publication activities this past week have included going through a copy-edited version of my manuscript (and if you're wondering about the use of the hyphen with "copy-edited," you have a sense of some dilemmas I've been facing). I've also been following up with the Big Publishing House from which I have been awaiting a permissions response. Important (relearned) lesson here: Sometimes, you really have to pick up the phone. And progress toward a cover design, about which I've heretofore said little, continues.

So, that's what's been happening with Quiet Americans this week. Thank you all so much, again, for your interest!

Thursday's Pre-Publication Post: Please Advise Me On My Author Photo!

So, when we last left our heroine (moi), Author Photo Shoot Day was approaching. It came and it went...well! I have so much admiration for photographer Lisa Hancock, who did some really nice work (I think so, at least!).

You've seen some of that work with my new profile picture right here on the blog (if you haven't noticed it yet, take a look on the right sidebar). But here's the deal: The photo shoot package includes one complimentary "retouching," which means I can ask Lisa to retouch one of the 200+ shots at no extra cost. Presumably, that's the shot I'll use for the book jacket (and maybe elsewhere, though it's kind of fun to have a choice of photos to post as a blog profile, Twitter thumbnail, etc.).

I've received some good advice from people close to me, but now I'd like to hear what YOU have to say. Here are a few more photos for you to peruse. Which do you suggest I ask Lisa to retouch and use for Quiet Americans? (Or do you think I should go with the one I'm currently using for my blog profile?) Thanks for chiming in--I look forward to your comments!

Thursday's Pre-Publication Post, or What I Have in Common with the Real Housewives of New Jersey

Time for a shift in these pre-publication posts. Up to this point, we've been spending a lot of time on things like subject matter, permissions, and author websites. Serious stuff.

Readers, it's time to talk about eyebrows. Mine, specifically.

Earlier this week, I went for my very first "brow sculpting." What does this have to do with my book? Well, the publication of my short story collection, Quiet Americans, is an occasion for a proper author photo.

And that photo will be taken on Saturday.

Even my mom - who is so d.i.y. she not only colors her own hair but cuts it, too (I love you, Mom!) - thought that a visit to the "brow sculptor" my sister has visited from time to time was in order. So after work on Tuesday I hopped on the subway and trekked downtown for the "procedure." It wasn't quite as painful as I'd feared, and I was very interested to learn that the sculptor is also a practicing writer (and sculptor to the Real Housewives of New Jersey!).

The bigger issue, of course, is that I've never been particularly comfortable having my photo taken, and I have to say that this entire part of the pre-publication process is something I'll be relieved to have finished. Any of you have tips to share on how you survived your first author photo shoot?

Thursday's Pre-Publication Post: Thank You, Deborah Eisenberg

If you've been following my pre-publication posts, you already know that the material in my forthcoming story collection, Quiet Americans, has a great deal to do with my grandparents' identities and experiences as Jews who escaped Nazi Germany in the late 1930s. And while only three of the seven stories in the book were written during the time I was an MFA student, suffice to say that more than just a few of the pieces in my thesis were similarly inspired.

This didn't seem to worry two of my three thesis readers. But the third did express a reservation: "Too much grandparents and too much Holocaust."

My faith in Henry James notwithstanding (recall the Jamesian dictum to allow the writer his/her donnée and criticize only what is made of it), that reader's comment lingered (obviously!), and its impact wasn't fully assuaged even when other, equally wise authority figures told me otherwise. During the past several days, however, the old warning has finally lost some of its sting. And for that, I am grateful to author Deborah Eisenberg.

Eisenberg, who has earned a mention here on the blog before, has a volume of collected stories out now. The release has prompted a profile on Tablet magazine, which begins as follows:

“I believe that people are what happened to their grandparents,” Deborah Eisenberg says.... “I’m not sure I can articulate this,” she continues, “but I’m in the generation that was brought up close enough to the war, the Holocaust, the camps, and yet was protected, to a degree that is amazing to think about now, in a world of synthetic safety. And I would say there was a current of anxiety that any child would have picked up on, probably continuing for several generations, underneath the very, very, very tense kind of perfect world in which I grew up.”

Thank you, Deborah Eisenberg, for somehow--in a way I'm not sure I can articulate--validating my book, and the path that brought me to it.

Thursday's Pre-Publication Post: Meet My Grandparents (and the Rabbi Who Married Them)

As I've mentioned before, the animating spirits behind my forthcoming story collection, Quiet Americans, are my paternal grandparents, Jews who left Germany in the late 1930s. What seems to surprise some people is that rather than having immigrated to the United States together, my grandparents met and married here in New York. This photograph was taken at their wedding in January 1941. The bridal couple is toward the right side of the photo: Grandma is wearing a corsage and Grandpa is touching her shoulders.

I'm not sure when I started to imagine some of the emotions of that wedding day. Given the engagements and weddings I've seen in my lifetime, and given our own family's closeness, it was, and remains, very hard for me to envision a wedding where not only are no parents of the bridal couple present, but none have even met or spoken with their child's spouse.

But that was my grandparents' situation. My grandmother had left her parents behind in Germany; they were eventually able to immigrate to South America and join her brother there. My grandfather's biological parents were both long dead by the time my grandfather reached adulthood, and the woman he called mother was trapped in Europe (soon after this photo was taken, however, she did manage to get to New York, where she moved in with the newlyweds).

Not all of this has made its way into the book (some of it, frankly, seems more apparent in my abandoned novel). But now that you are sharing this pre-publication journey with me, I wanted to introduce you a little more fully to two of the "real" people behind Quiet Americans.

P.S. On the far left side of the photo you will see Rabbi Herbert Parzen, who officiated at the wedding (he also performed my parents' wedding ceremony 25 years later). Rabbi Parzen was himself married to one of my grandmother's American-born cousins--Sylvia--who was instrumental in helping to arrange my grandmother's immigration. Part of "Uncle Herbert"'s rabbinic life was dedicated to serving as a chaplain for Jewish prisoners in New York. Which may be why this call for Judaica items from Jewish Prisoner Services International, which I discovered via the Association of Jewish Libraries just last week, has resonated with me. My family and I will be checking our own collections to see what we can donate. Perhaps some of you can, too.

Thursday's Pre-Publication Post: Consolidation Time

The Practicing Writer Web site is now approaching its sixth birthday. So much in my writing life has changed since it was launched in the summer of 2004. I've moved to a new city; shifted from freelancing and teaching to a full-time (albeit writing-and-editing-intensive) office job; added poetry-writing to my personal practice; established the Practicing Writing and My Machberet blogs; started a Twitter feed; expanded the subscriber list for The Practicing Writer newsletter from 400 to more than 3,200 readers; and, oh yes, finally found a home for my short story collection, Quiet Americans.

I don't believe that the original site has kept up with the times. I've often thought that if I were re-starting my online presence, I'd do it through a blog-based platform (Wordpress seems to be a common choice). And I've often wished for a single, easily-edited and super-flexible space in which I could base myself, my writing (of all kinds), and my services for writers. Consolidation seems most appealing!

I've also thought that it's probably time for me to add some kind of direct merchandising/sales capacity to my site; those of you who haven't been completely satisfied by Lulu's handling of the e-book sales will probably agree.

Now that Quiet Americans is on its way, it seems to be the perfect time to take a good, solid look at what my primary Web presence should be--and work to create it. So I've been reaching out to designers for ideas about their processes, products, and prices. I'm learning a lot, but I'd love to glean the benefits of YOUR experiences and insights.

Which author sites do you particularly admire? Why? Based on your own experiences as an author (or as a reader), what advice can you offer me as I pursue this? What do you wish someone had told you before you (or your designer) built (or rebuilt) YOUR main site? And are there any designers out there whom you'd recommend?

I am really looking forward to your comments. I say it often, but it can't be overemphasized: I am tech-challenged! I will appreciate all the help that you can offer!

Thursday's Pre-Publication Post: Permissions, Continued

So, last week I told you about my initial foray into the world of permissions. I'm glad to tell you that there's already an update to share.

Briefly: I have, indeed, heard back from the Big Publishing House I mentioned last Thursday. They e-mailed me with a request for further information. And here's what they asked for:

--the page number in the book where the excerpt appears
--anticipated number of book copies to be published
--whether the book is a trade volume, a textbook, or a scholarly work
--estimated price of the book
--the book's market (U.S., Canada, worldwide)
--whether the book will be published in hardcover or paperback (or both)
--scheduled date of publication
--daytime phone number
--desired term of license

After some consultation with my publisher, I sent off an e-mail with the replies. Now it's back to waiting. I really hope the Big Publishing House comes back with something generous (or at least, reasonable). Think good thoughts for me, please!