Highs and Lows from Bologna!
HIGH: Meeting my wondeful foreign publishers.
LOW: Realizing just how big the foreign market is and how--if a person wanted to--they could literally work themselves to death trying to please every reader in every market.
HIGH: Hanging out with fab writers like Sarah Rees Brennan, Holly Black, Cassie Clare, Maureen Johnson, and Kristin Cashore.
LOW: Saying goodbye to fab writers like Sarah Rees Brennan, Holly Black, Cassie Clare, Maureen Johnson, and Kristin Cashore.
HIGH: So much FOOD!
LOW: Diet.
HIGH: Talking about books, writing, writers, and publishing with some of the savviest minds in the business.
LOW: Realizing just how much about this crazy business is just...crazy.
HIGH: Seeing Italy.
LOW: Leaving Italy.
HIGH: Awesome school visit set up by my wonderful Italian publisher.
LOW: Realizing that the reason there are no hot men left in America is because all the hot American men are teaching at schools in Italy! (Seriously, even my agent's husband agreed.)
HIGH: Shopping.
LOW: Well, I'm not gonna lie, losing my luggage twice wasn't all that fun.
HIGH: Coming home is always a good feeling (even without your luggage.)
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-Ally
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Home from Bologna!
Hi everybody!
It was wonderful spending last week in ITALY for the Bologna Children's Book Fair. It's one of the largest events in the world for children's publishing, and I had a blast.
WHAT IT IS: The Bologna Children's Book Fair is where publishers and agents from around the world converge on beautiful Bologna Italy to discuss the books that they represent and publish in hopes of selling/buying the rights to publish more books in foreign territories.
HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN HAPPENING: for more than 40 years.
WHY I WENT: my wonderful agent, Kristin Nelson, suggested that this would be a great opportunity to meet some of my foreign publishers, and boy was she right!
It's one thing to know that the books are on shelves in Poland, Japan, Brazil, Italy, etc. It's another thing to meet the wonderful people who made that possible and talk to them about the series and the future.
WHAT I DID: Well, the work part was a lot of fun--the meeting with foreign publishers and talking about current and future books and hearing what they have planned for the series. But it was also fun just to walk around the fair and look at the booths from publishers all over the world.
You could see what covers were big in Japan and what genres were very popular in South America. You could see some foreign covers and immediately recognize the image as being "hey, that's Twilight...in Portuguese" or "wow, I would have never recognized that as being written by Meg Cabot."
Plus, it was an excellent way to realize just how global the publishing industry is and how foreign markets can really be significant in an author's career.
WHERE I WENT: Now, of course, the official purpose of the trip was the fair, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to take full advantage of my first trip to Italy!
I flew in a couple of days early and took a train up to Venice with Kristin (my agent) where we met Kristin's client (and general, all-around awesome person) Sarah Rees Brennan and her lovely friend Natasha. Kristin had arranged for a guide for half the day, and that was something I'd highly recommend to anyone who travels to Venice in the future because Venice is lovely and cool but also crowded and VERY confusing, so a private guide was more like having a friend who lived there show you the city.
While walking around we ran into Cassie Clare and her fiance and they joined us for lunch. Then we went on a gondola ride, walked around a bit more, and Kristin and I finally made our way back to the train station and on to Bologna.
I had Sunday free, so on a lark I jumped on another train and went to Florence.
People I trust tell me that Florence is one of the greatest cities in the world. I had a great time, but I wish I'd been better prepared because you really need to reserve tickets to the museums days or weeks in advance (and since I didn't know I was going until that morning, that wasn't possible).
Still, it was great to just walk around and shop at the booming street markets, eat gelato (Florence is supposed to have the best in all of Italy) and just see the city.
I also had some time to wander the streets of Bologna.
And eat.
Trust me, the real reason to visit Bologna is the eating.
WOULD I GO BACK: To Italy? In a heartbeat. To the fair? Absolutely. I don't think it will become an annual trip for me, but in a few years I'm sure I'll feel the itch again. Plus, hopefully by then I'll have lots of new books to talk about, so I would definitely hope that this was not my last Bologna!
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I have lots of pictures and lots more stories to tell, but sadly the airline lost my luggage...again (both coming and going this time--this is why I NEVER check a bag on tour!) and my camera cord is in my suitcase, so that might just have to wait for the time being.
In short, I guess I'm really glad I went.
But I'm also really glad to be home.
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Take care, everybody!
-Ally
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Bologna, baby!
Hey everybody!
Two VERY big items of note this morning:
1. Late last night I finished the FINAL "final" draft of ONLY THE GOOD SPY YOUNG! This was the draft that will actually go into production--no more passes. No more chances to tweak, correct, or just in general change. My part of this book is officially over.
Now, I know what you're thinking: but it's March! The book isn't scheduled to be out until June 15th. Maybe this means the book can come out early!?!?
As sound as that idea is in theory, I'm afraid it just doesn't work in practice, because even though I'm finished with MY job, dozens--or hundreds--of other people still have to do their jobs. Like the people who input my final changes, the people who print the books. Or ship the books. Or put the jackets on the books. Or...you get the drift.
Plus, publishers have to reserve each book a place in stores months in advance. And June 15th is the place they've reserved for me.
2. In other news, I'm absolutely thrilled to be leaving today for my first trip to Italy and the Bologna Children's Book Fair!
I've wanted to attend Bologna (as we call this fair in the biz) ever since my very first editor mentioned it to me way back when we were working on LYKY. It's a very big deal. Thousands of international publishers, agents, and authors converge on the city, and I'm thrilled to be one of them!
So I'll be traveling for the next week or so. I'm going to try to keep the blog updated and, of course, twitter.
In the meantime, I'm going to turn comments off because I've been getting A LOT of spam comments and until we can get that fixed I just don't have time to wade through them all, picking out the comments from REAL people!
Have a great week, everybody!
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-Ally
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Editor Jen
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Hi everyone!
I come to you today with some big news. As many of you know, for the last two years I've had the extreme pleasure of working with one of the premiere editors in publishing, Jennifer Besser.
Jen is the powerhouse editor behind such series as Percy Jackson and Blue Bloods. So...yeah...she's awesome. So awesome, in fact, that Putnum has snapped her up and made her their leader. (Or...well...vice president and publisher, but you get the drift.)
So congratulations, Jen! And congratulations, Penguin Putnam--you're getting one of the good ones.
-Ally
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ps: I know many of you are probably wondering what this means for me and the Gallagher Girls. It will be a change, for sure. But I've had two editors in my time with Disney-Hyperion, and both have been the best in the business. I have every confidence that they will go to the ends of the earth to find yet another wonderful editor. Because that's what they do.
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Mini blog: mini excerpts!
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Today (Sunday) I am live tweeting mini-excerpts from GG4--ONLY THE GOOD SPY YOUNG!
Check it out: www.twitter.com/officiallyally. (you don't need a twitter account to view tweets)
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-Ally
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What I'm doing now
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Since one of the most frequently asked questions on tour what "what is a typical day" I thought I'd tell you guys what I'm doing today. But watch out--it's far too exciting for mere mortals to take. (I joke)
8:45 Electrician arrived to install a new light in my bedroom because I had NO light in my bedroom (a fairly large problem for someone who likes to read in bed)
9:00 Start a load of laundry (see, the glamour...it's really too much for most people to comprehend)
9:05-9:45 Curse at laptop for running really slowly/weirdly and being just in general annoying
10:00 Start replying to interview questions that various magazines, blogs, etc. have sent me regarding Heist Society
12:00 Say goodbye to electrician and rejoice in having light in the bedroom!
12:30 Eat lunch and write this blog
1:00 Go back to work on the copyedits for ONLY THE GOOD SPY YOUNG
5:00 Wrap up copyedits for the day and run to the grocery store
6:00 Have nieces over for a slumber party (they're 5 and 3 and this is the first time they've spent the night with me. Should be fun. Or terrifying. Really, I'm prepared for either extreme.)
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Have a great weekend, everyone!
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Ally
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Mini blog: I'm in Publisher's Weekly!
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Hey everybody!
Thought you might be interested in this Q&A I did this week with the awesome Sally Lodge at Publisher's Weekly. If you're interested to know more about me, the books, and especially Heist Society--check it out!
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-Ally
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Mini blog: technical issues
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Hi everybody,
Even though the blog appears to be working normally we're having some technical difficulties with the main homepage, www.allycarter.com, these days. This is also messing up my email, so if messages to me are bouncing back that is likely why.
We know what is wrong and the tech teams are working on fixing it.
Thanks for your patience!
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Ally
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Frequently Asked Questions (The Tour Edition, Part 2)
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WHAT IS YOUR WRITING ROUTINE?
Well...I don't really have one. And I sort of hate that.
When I first started writing full-time I had grand plans of being at my desk every day by nine, writing intently until quitting time and then having long, leisurely evenings doing whatever I want. Sadly, I don't seem to have the discipline to make that happen.
As it is, I tend to spend a lot of the workday running errands, working out, and...sleeping. When I'm on deadline I find that I write better at night. When other people are going home from the office, I am usually just getting started.
That's not because I work harder than other people. I just work differently.
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WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR IDEAS?
Ideas are a part of a writer's business--no doubt about it. But they aren't everything. Not even close. I've told the full story of the origins of each of my books under the "story behind the story" tabs for each of the books.
But the question of "ideas" is not complete without a link to this great post by Diana Peterfreund, because, as Diana wisely points out, the idea might be where writing starts, but to presume that's where it ends is downright wrong.
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WILL YOU EVER DO A CROSS-OVER WITH KAT AND THE GALLAGHER GIRLS?
I don't have any plans to do that now, but nothing is ever set in stone. So maybe. But not probably.
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WHAT ADVICE DO YOU GIVE TO YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN WRITING?
Read as much as you can. Write as much as you can. And remember that "wanting to be a writer" isn't important. Writing is what really matters.
Frequently Asked Questions! (The tour edition. Part 1)
Hey everybody!
It's always interesting on tour to see the questions that I hear multiple times--and there are always the same questions. I find it sort of amazing that people in a blizzard in Chicago want to know the same things as the people who strolled in off the beach in Miami, but that always happens, and I always find it really interesting to see what questions are common all over the country.
So for the next couple of days I'm going to tackle exactly that: frequently asked questions--the tour edition.
Here goes--the most commonly asked questions on the Heist Society tour (part 1):
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WHERE DO YOU GET THE NAMES FOR YOUR CHARACTERS?
This is a question that I think I got at every tour stop. Every single one! So I'll try to go through the answer here.
Cammie: I knew I wanted a "C" name that could also be a last name, and Cameron is the first one that came to me and it just stuck.
Macey: Was always just Macey--don't know why.
Bex: I'd heard Bex as a nickname for Rebecca once and I really liked it. This seemed like a good time to use it.
Liz: A family friend was named Liz and it seemed like a good name to round out the group.
Rachel: has always been my favorite name.
Abby: I have a cousin Abby. (Hi, Abby!)
Morgan: Morgan was the last name of some people who were very, very dear to me. I gave Cammie their last name to honor them.
Joe: This was my father's nickname when he was in the army.
Solomon: King Solomon asked God for wisdom and is synonymous with that ability, so it seemed a really fitting name for Cammie's wisest teacher.
Kat: the whole book started with "Kat the Burglar"
Bishop: Kat's last name is an homage to probably my favorite heist movie ever, Sneakers.
Hale: I wanted a last name that could easily be used as a first name, and when I saw that on a plaque on a wall it just clicked.
Zach: No idea. Zach was just Zach.
Josh: Josh was just Josh.
Bobby Bishop: I like alliteration (obviously). Plus, I wanted a first name that is a common nickname so that Uncle Eddie could call him "Robert" when he's in trouble.
Uncle Eddie: Edward is a name that exists in some form in a lot of languages, and Uncle Eddie is a resident of the world. Plus, it just always felt right.
Angus and Hamish: I wanted two names that sounded very British. And I got them.
Simon: Was always just Simon.
Gabrielle: Perhaps my favorite character on TV is Fiona from Burn Notice. When I was planning Heist Society I knew Kat would be surrounded almost entirely by boys, so it was important to make the other girl in the story the ultimate girl. So I thought about Fiona--how she's as tough as the guys but she's also incredibly graceful and beautiful and feminine. So I named Kat's cousin Gabrielle after the actress who plays Fiona, Gabrielle Anwar.
WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR TITLES?
So far in my career, I've been the person who has come up with all the titles of my books. This is actually sort of unusual since titles are so incredibly important, and the ability to write a good book and to title a book are sort of different skill sets. I fully anticipate there will eventually be a book that someone (a friend, my agent, my editor--someone) will have to title for me, but so far that hasn't been the case.
As to where my titles come from, that's a different beast altogether. I like to say the Title Fairy drops them off and that's really not far from the truth.
I'd Tell You I Love You but Then I'd Have to Kill You was the title for that book almost from the second the idea for the book dropped into my head. Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy was a little bit harder. Eventually, I started making a list of common sayings and phrases and playing around with them. When I hit upon "cross my heart and hope to die" it was pretty obvious where we needed to go next.
Don't Judge a Girl By Her Cover was the title for GG3 just as soon as I wrote about Macey with her parents and I realized that she was living a cover that was very different from who she really is.
Only The Good Spy Young was much harder--probably the hardest GG book to date. Again, I spent a lot of time looking up/thinking about common phrases and sayings and once you've read the final book I think you'll agree this one fits GG4 quite nicely.
Heist Society was probably my hardest book to title so far. Well, actually, the "coming up" wasn't the problem. The title Heist Society occurred to me very early in the writing process, but my editor and agent and I kept telling ourselves that we could do better. But no matter how many ideas we came up with (and, believe me, we came up with A LOT) none of them sounded right. Turns out that was because we'd had the right title all along.
DID YOU ALWAYS KNOW YOU WANTED TO BE A WRITER?
The first time I ever thought seriously about being a writer was when I read the book The Outsiders. As soon my father told me that SE Hinton was a sixteen year old girl who was living near where I lived when she wrote that book, that was the first time it ever occurred to me that real people write books. Not only that, I realized that real people who were like me wrote books.
And that was good enough for me.
Tune back in tomorrow when we'll do part 2!
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