Can I just say that making up National Days is my new favorite past time (because I think it is!)

First, there was National Make a Librarian Snickerdoodles Day (which was a big hit if I do say so myself.) Then there was National Finish GG4, You Slacker Month (which wasn't as popular or successful but certainly did help.)

But I'm perhaps most proud of today, National DON'T Read Like a Pirate Day! Internet pirate, that is.

You see, folks, like I said in this post a few months ago, when you find a book online for free download, unless it's coming from the author or the publisher, chances are VERY good that that book was put up there without the author's permission.

The author and publisher will receive absolutely no compensation for you downloading the book. They'll have no record that the book has been downloaded (and therefore the publisher will not know that, for example, there are readers eager to see a sequel to the book.)

Downloading books illegally isn't cheap or fun or a victim-less crime--and, oh yeah, I said crime. It's like seeing a twenty dollar bill sticking out of my purse and taking it. Except maybe this is worse, because you're taking from my editor, my publisher, my local book seller, and a whole host of other people, too.

And--worse yet--you're taking from all the books that might not be published in the future.

You see, publishers decide what books they're going to publish two years from now based, largely, on the sales of books right now--today! And if you and all your friends are illegally downloading a book from your favorite author instead of buying the book from a bookstore or downloading an e-book (for a fee) from a reputable company, or borrowing it from a library...

If you're doing those things instead then the publisher has absolutely no reason to publish the next book by that author.

I hope you all know that. And, if not, I hope you take it very, very seriously now.

I firmly believe that most people who download these books illegally do it without fully realizing how damaging, hurtful, and just bad for books it really is.

Ask yourself this question: would you shoplift a book from Barnes and Noble? For the vast majority of you I'm sure the answer is no. Sitting alone in your room in front of a computer and clicking on a download button may not seem like stealing, but it is the exact same thing. Exactly.

So help me celebrate National DON'T Read Like a Pirate Day by spreading the word, won't you?

Future books and future writers need all the help we can get.

Thanks!
Ally

ps...if you want to read a very personal account of how stealing books makes an author feel, then go read this post by the incredibly talented Sarah Rees Brennan.

pps...if you want to help make up for stupid/greedy people who steal books, you can go buy or check out Sarah Rees Brennan's AMAZING book, The Demon's Lexicon which is fabulous for older teens and adults who enjoy very riveting stories with fantasy elements.

One of the most frequent questions I get asked is how writers make money. And, of course, do writers make money?

Today I'm going to let YA author Barry Lyga answer it for me. Take it away, Barry.

(I'm gonna go write.)

-Ally

Hey everyone!

I'm thiiiiiiis close to finishing the FIRST first draft of GG4 (yes, Gallagher Girls FOUR!!!) but I wanted to take a second to answer some of the questions I've been hearing a lot regarding the release of DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER and the upcoming international (I heart you, Canada) tour.

So here we go, Frequently Asked Questions--The GG3/tour edition!

WHEN WILL GG3 BE RELEASED IN COUNTRIES BESIDES THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA?

Well, that's a very good question and, unfortunately, one that's almost impossible for me to answer. You see, my wonderful publisher, Disney-Hyperion, publishes the books in the U.S. and Canada but in every other country the books are published by whatever publisher bought the rights to publish the book there.

Some countries have already snapped up rights to GG3 and are planning releases in the future. Some countries haven't had a publisher buy the rights at all. Really it varies immensely, and I'm afraid all I can do is advise you to check with a local bookstore to see if there are release dates scheduled for where you live.

The only thing I know for certain is that it is already out in Australia and has been for a couple of weeks.

IS GG3 GOING TO BE IN HARDBACK OR PAPERBACK?

Hardback for now. I suspect the paperback will follow in about a year.

I CAN'T MAKE IT TO ONE OF YOUR SIGNINGS, SO WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE FOR ME TO SEND YOU A BOOK TO AUTOGRAPH?

I'm afraid I'm not really set up to accommodate that at this time. I'm sorry.

IS ZACH IN GG3?

You will know the answer to that question very, very soon now.

ARE YOU NERVOUS?

Yeah. Crazy, insanely nervous if you want to know the truth.

WHY?

Because worrying is one of the three things I do well. (And as soon as I finish GG4 this afternoon I will commence with the other two--baking and sleeping.)

WILL DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER BE ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST JUST LIKE LYKY AND CROSS MY HEART?

Um...it's sort of...complicated.

First of all, it's impossible for anyone to know whether a book will be a bestseller before the book is released. Despite many rampant rumors to the contrary, the list is based on sales--actual sales. Spots on the list aren't purchased by publishers or manipulated by large advance pre-orders or anything like that. People have to buy the book. (Here's a great article on the subject for anyone who wants to read more.)

The second thing that makes this complex is that the Times list is sort of weird because once upon a time there were these little books called Harry Potter. And for a while there the the NY Times Children's bestseller lists were so dominated by Harry Potter that Harry Potter was pretty much all there was on there.

So that's why a few years ago the NY Times started a new section of the list. Now children's bestsellers come in four categories: Picture books (like for little kids), Chapter books (which include hardback versions of anything older than a picture book but younger than an adult book), Paperback books (the paperback version of the chapter books list), and the relatively new Series list.

A book that is the first in a series goes on the Chapter or Paperback lists (depending, of course, on whether it's a hardback or paperback.) The second book in the series--or the sequel--also goes on the Chapter or Paperback lists.

These lists are where LYKY and Cross My Heart were fortunate enough to reside in the past.

But when book three comes out the entire series will be picked up and hauled over to the Series list and dumped there among the major, earth-shatteringly-huge, heavyweights of our business.

Twilight.
Percy Jackson.
House of Night.
Wimpy Kid.
Mortal Instruments.
Etc. Etc. Etc.

From this point on no single GG book will hit the Times list--it will be the series as a whole or not at all. Come June 9th the Gallagher Girls are going to be in the big leagues and, to be perfectly honest, it would take something of a miracle to run in that company for long.

And that's okay. Really it is. Being on "the list" is an amazing feeling, but honestly it's not the best part of this job. Not even close.

As long as you guys are reading and enjoying the books then that's all that really matters to me.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO PUT THE SERIES ON THE TIMES LIST?

Buy books, my friends. Buy lots and lots of books.

DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO WAIT FOR GG4?

Short answer: no.

Long answer: it probably depends on how the rewrites go. As you guys know, it takes A LOT of drafts to get a book right and I'm just now finishing the very first draft. I'm personally hoping that GG4 will be in stores sometime in 2010. I will, of course, keep you posted if/when an official release date is announced.

WHY AREN'T YOU DOING ANY EVENTS ON THE EAST COAST?

I guess it just didn't work out this time. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the future, though.

I'M COMING TO SEE YOU ON TOUR. WILL I BE ABLE TO BRING MY BOOKS FROM HOME TO HAVE YOU SIGN THEM TOO?

It's my understanding that the individual stores that are hosting the events will all have different policies on this. My advice is to check with the store you're going to be visiting to see what their specific policies might be.

CAN WE TAKE PICTURES AT THE SIGNING?

As far as I'm concerned, yes! (So long as you promise to immediately delete any pictures where I look like a doofus.)

That being said, however, it's probably a good idea to teach your mom/dad/friend/teacher/neighbor, etc. to use your camera ahead of time just in case there's a long line and we need to keep things moving.

I WON'T BE ABLE TO GO TO THE STORE UNTIL WEDNESDAY--WHAT IF THEY'RE SOLD OUT?!?!?!

Well, I really don't think that will be a problem, but if you're really, truly worried about it you can always contact your local store and have them pre-order or reserve a copy for you. Most stores are more than willing to do this.

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER MIGHT BE ON SOME SHELVES BEFORE NEXT TUESDAY?

Yes. It is possible. June 9th is the official release date, but sometimes stores get their shipments early and sometimes those shipments find their way onto shelves.

Really stores are only worried about what we in the business call a "hard lay-down date" when the book is mega-huge like Harry Potter or Twilight. So it's very possible some of you might find GG3 early, but it is in no way guaranteed.

WILL YOU BE BLOGGING WHILE YOU'RE ON TOUR?

Yes. I am certainly going to try. It might be tough some days, though. Luckily, it's pretty easy to update my Twitter from my phone, so check there for the latest news.

WILL DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER
BE OUT ON AUDIOBOOK SOON?

Yes! I'm thrilled to tell you that Brilliance Audio is planning on releasing the audiobook versions on Tuesday, June 9th as well!

WHAT ABOUT KINDLE?

Yes! The Gallagher Girl books will all be available on Kindle in the very near future. (Maybe not June 9th, but soon.)

DON'T YOU HAVE TO GO FINISH THE FIRST FIRST DRAFT OF GG4 NOW?

Yeah, I really do.

-Ally

ps...remember to check here to see if I'm coming on tour to a store near you!

http://downloads.thespringbox.com/web/wrapper.php?file=Countdown.sbw

Mini hint: the very last word in DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER is "thaw".

Mini excerpt: Mom turned to Professor Buckingham. "We have alumni in Switzerland?" "Of course" was Buckingham's reply.

Mini update: Progress on the first first draft of Gallagher Girls 4...

Mini status report: This morning I woke up to the sound of the overnight delivery guy bringing me the galley pages for the new heist/kat book (to find out more about heist/kat please use the search bar at the top of the page). Galley pages are flat pieces of paper that look like a real book. (Except for being flat pieces of paper.) This is always very exciting.

Mini favor: I'm going to turn the comments back on. As always, please be respectful when commenting.

And now I have to get back to a very non-mini day of work!

-Ally

http://downloads.thespringbox.com/web/wrapper.php?file=Countdown.sbw

Edited to add:
Many have asked why the comments section was turned off. That's something I have to do from time to time when the negative/hurtful comments start outweighing the positive/productive ones.

Hopefully this will not happen anymore, but if it does I'm afraid we will have no choice but to disable the comments feature indefinitely.

Hey gang,

I'm 46,000 words into Gallagher Girls 4 (yes, four!) Or, well, the FIRST first draft of book 4, and I'm building some momentum, so it's mini-blog time!

Lately it seems like one of the most frequent questions I've heard from readers revolves around ARCs--what they are, what the A the R and the C stand for, what purpose they serve in the industry, how to get them, etc. etc.

So that's one of the many reasons why I'm glad uber librarian Liz Burns is answering those questions on her blog. So if you've got questions about ARCs please go read this. It'll be worth your time.

-Ally