Bad Form, Etsy

I've been asked several times whether I'll be selling copies of Spookygirl in my Etsy shop. The unfortunate answer is no, at least not on its own. Here's why.

When I'm not writing, I'm usually wrangling monsters. In other words, I design and hand-sew collectible stuffed monsters and other artisan plush, and I sell my work through my Etsy shop, Mint Conspiracy. I've been a member of Etsy since 2005, and my shop has been active since 2006. I've sold over 3500 items. I have tons of amazing customers, many of whom supported me fiercely during Spookygirl's journey through the 2011 ABNA contest.

As an indie artist, I've always appreciated Etsy's support of artists, craftspeople, and the general concept of handmade. With the exception of the vintage and supplies categories, anything sold on Etsy must be handmade, hand-assembled, or hand-altered by the seller or a defined collective (although production assistance is allowable in certain circumstances). Items that don't fit this definition are supposed to be dealt with by Etsy's Marketplace Integrity team.

I'd love to sell autographed copies of Spookygirl in my shop. I'd even planned on hand-altering them further with some simple artwork and/or including some exclusive handmade swag. Unfortunately, according to Eliza, a member of the Marketplace Integrity team, authors can't sell their books on Etsy unless those books are self-published or craft books. Eliza and I went back and forth on this a few times last week. I argued that selling copies of my own book is comparable to a painter selling commercially-created prints of a painting, which is totally Etsy-legal and cited in the site's rules under production assistance:

A third-party vendor may be used for intermediary tasks in some crafts. Acceptable examples include, but are not limited to: printing the seller's original artwork, metal casting from the seller's original mold, or kiln firing the seller's handcrafted ceramic work.

Eliza was unable (or unwilling) to clarify why having a publisher print copies of a book wouldn't count as production assistance. Yes, the book is technically being mass-produced -- but there's no clarification in the production assistance guidelines as to how many copies of a work can be created.

Keep in mind that Etsy considers a commercially-made pendant strung on a commercially-made chain to be a "hand-assembled necklace." That's Etsy-legal. Spookygirl isn't. I'm not trying to bash sellers of hand-assembled necklaces -- I design a lot of my own jewelry, so I know what goes into the assembly process. But I can't see how the time and effort I've put into writing, rewriting, and revising Spookygirl over more than four years makes it any less hand-crafted than a beaded necklace or a knitted scarf or an oil painting. I'm just very, very lucky in that I have some snazzy production assistance.

There are ways around this rule, including a solution suggested by one of my brilliant customers that I'll most likely be implementing. However, I shouldn't have to do that. I shouldn't have to search for loopholes. Writing is very much a craft, and seeing it disrespected by a site that claims to support craftspeople and artists (a site that I've supported for years with my listing and selling fees) is disappointing.

A Monster of a Manuscript

I'll continue my series about ABNA and Spookygirl as soon as I have more news! Meanwhile...

Why is it that a brilliant editing brainstorm is always bound to hit right after you've submitted a manuscript? You can pick at a project for weeks, but as soon as you send it off somewhere, BAM, that's when you realize how you can make it even better.

Or maybe that's just me. I sent off the current draft of Underbed to my agent, and minutes later the ideas began to hit -- a way to restructure and strengthen the climax, a detail that will tighten Jeremy Serpent's connection to one of his enemies, etc.. Oh well. I'll be revising again soon enough; those things can happen then.

I'm not sure how I feel about Underbed. The concept's been lurking in my head since last year; I originally meant to write it during last year's NaNoWriMo, but November was taken up by Spookygirl revisions and holiday monster sales. So I took the idea -- a teenage girl revisits the childhood nightmares that still lurk under her bed -- and filed it away for later.

I finally wrote the first Underbed draft during the last three weeks in January. I revised it while I was out of town in February. That's the fastest I've ever churned out a revised draft, and it's still too fresh in my mind for me to be objective. I always go through an UGH IT'S TERRIBLE TAKE IT AWAY phase with new projects, and I'm still there with this one. Still, some of its details make me smile, and at least I finally found a story for Serpent. (He's been waiting for six or eight years. He's shown extraordinary patience for a monster.) So maybe there's so merit in the mess. We'll see.

Now it's time to let it simmer, wait for feedback, and tackle more of my own monsters in the meantime.

Eight-Legged Company

I've been visiting friends in Georgia for several weeks, and tomorrow I'm heading home to Florida. While I've been here, I've been working on a new manuscript, known for now as the Underbed project. I'm currently revising the (very) rough draft. I've been describing it as Alice in Wonderland meets How to Train Your Dragon, but it's evolved a bit beyond that concept. More on Underbed soon.

One of my Underbed characters, Sling, is a girl with an...affinity for spiders. It seems fitting that my friend's tarantulas, Tiny and Slippers, have been my writing buddies while I've been here. That's Tiny in the pic.

Tiny and Slippers also kept me company (always from the safe confines of their cages) while I was revising Spookygirl here last summer. Should Spookygirl become a series, I have plans for a Tiny cameo in a future installment.

And now I need to pack. And pout. I like it here. Not at all ready to go.

Between Insanity and Eccentricity

Unless you're troubled by a little language (like my family that time I yelled at the neighbors after a hurricane because they'd set up their generator too near my window and I was tired of the fumes), this post over at Terrible Minds may amuse you: 25 Reasons that Writers are Bug-F*ck Nuts.

Authors have a lot of leeway when it comes to wacky behavior. Sometimes the only divider between insanity and eccentricity is a publishing contract, and I think I'm going to enjoy finally being over here on the eccentric side. Talking out loud to my characters is now a legitimate creative exercise instead of just another reason to consider medication. Sweet.

Take a Moment, Thank a Muse

I should really be blogging less and revising the new project more, but I can't let today go by without getting a little mushy about muses. It is, after all, Muse Appreciation Day, an international event founded by yours truly and celebrated by at least three other people in the world. Major stuff.

The original Muses, of course, were the goddesses in Greek mythology who inspired artistic creativity. However, I use the term in a broader sense.

Wherever your creative inspiration comes from, take a moment to acknowledge it today. Do your characters babble incessantly in your head, keeping you up at night until you put down their stories on paper?

Or maybe you define the idea of a muse on a more abstract level. If approached in certain ways, writing and other forms of creative expression can take on a spiritual aspect. When a story simply must be written, you'll feel it all the way through to your soul. Where do those ideas, those sparks come from?

However you define the idea of a muse, if you have one, thank it today. Give it a big metaphorical hug. Or an actual hug, if you prefer. Let it know how much you love it.

(And to my own muse: Happy 10th Muse-iversary, you big Irish brute. You're the best muse a writer-girl could ask for. Thank you for your patience; someday I'll show your story to the world.)

NaNoWriMo Gets Spooky

If you're a writer, you've probably heard of National Novel Writing Month. Maybe you've even participated -- posted on the forums, gone to local write-ins, and written an entire 50,000-word book in thirty days.

I love NaNoWriMo. Why? Without it, Spookygirl might not exist. Spookygirl was my 2008 NaNo project. Or was it 2007? Yep, just checked my records. I've been giving out the wrong year all this time. When you've NaNo'd as many times as I have, sometimes the years get a little fuzzy. I wrote my first NaNo novel in 2003, and I've participated every November since then. I even have my very own mascot -- remind me to post a pic of NaNoMonKey sometime. The only year I didn't reach my goal was 2010, and that's only because I landed in the hospital for a week with appendicitis. Yeah, yeah. Excuses.

NaNoWriMo is a fantastic program, especially if you have a story in your head but lack the compulsive determination to get it down on paper. Check out the site for all the details -- and if you haven't given it a try in the past, consider joining in the fun this November. Hey, if I can finish 50K words while also keeping up with the monsters during one of the busiest months of the retail year, so can you! I already have this year's story brewing in my brain...

Big ABNA News!

I'm a finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition! The winner in each of the two categories will be decided by popular vote, so please go to the ABNA page and vote for Spookygirl by Jill Baguchinsky in the Young Adult Fiction category. Violet and I would both appreciate your support!

(I found out on the 16th. Do you know how hard it is to keep a secret like that for over a week?? I thought I'd burst before the official announcement!)

Also, Violet's new domain, RileyIslandParanormal.com, is up and running. It'll be some time before the site has real content, but feel free to visit if you're curious.

Spooky is the New Normal

Spookygirl is in the ABNA semifinals! It received a Publishers Weekly review as part of the contest, and I am totally wowed by the reviewer's take:

Sparkling with a light and humorous touch, this paranormal YA novel skillfully balances entertainment and substance. Violet Addison has just moved in with her dad above his funeral home in Florida. While some think it's freaky, it doesn't bother her -- she's comfortable with the dead. So comfortable, in fact, that she's perfectly happy to have conversations with the ghosts that hang around the house. What does bother her, however, is starting at a new school for her sophomore year and knowing that rumors will soon surface about her dad killing her mom during their last paranormal investigation. Violet knows that can't be true, even though she's never had a chance to ask her mom's ghost herself. But once school starts there's a bigger issue: a possible hellgate in the girls' locker room. "I couldn't very well explain that I needed to transfer out of gym because the locker room is full of vile, dripping evil," Violet notes. As she digs through her mom's old ghost-hunting equipment so she can investigate the malevolent force in the showers, Violet finds the unfinished report on her mom's fatal investigation. Hoping for answers and maybe some closure, Violet decides to finish her mom's write-up, never realizing how much danger she's about to uncover. Written in a clean and natural style, this novel manages to be both poignant and fun. Solid pacing and well-developed characters support a fresh take on this genre that will appeal on many levels.

Violet herself isn't too sure what to make of the word "sparkling" -- no self-respecting spookygirl wants to be sparkly. I'm trying to convince her it's a compliment.

Amazon.com Editorial Reviews: Spookygirl

The Amazon editorial reviews that got Spookygirl into the ABNA quarter-finals:

This is an extremely polished and professional piece of writing! Even without being remotely interested in the paranormal, and not being a big YA fan, I want to read more. The author has captured the voice of the narrator, has a knack for a dialog, a strong sense of humor (that never becomes ponderous) and the ability to shift from witty (controlling [Buster]) to poignant (her dread of school and the cliques) almost effortlessly. In fact, I'm astonished that the author hasn't been published yet, based on the caliber of this excerpt. Oh yeah, and it ended with a GREAT hook. If I don't get to read the rest of this, I will be tremendously disappointed! 

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I really, really, really loved it. I would kill to have the rest of this manuscript in my hands. I am dying to know more about Violet and her life. In a time when Paranormal YA books are plenty, it is so easy to read similarities between them This one stands out as original and refreshingly different. I thought the writing was engaging and I was into this story from the very start. My only regret is not knowing what happens next!! This looks to be a fun book and I can see it turning into a terrific series! 

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Thank you, Amazon editors and Vine reviewers! I appreciate your comments, and I'm glad you enjoyed getting to know Violet. :D 

Spookygirl: The Basics

Get the first chapter of Spookygirl as a free Kindle download on Amazon.

The populars at Palmetto High call sophomore Violet Addison "Spookygirl," and it's not hard to see why. As if living with her funeral director father in a tiny apartment above his mortuary weren't enough to make her a social outcast, there's a rumor going around that Violet can talk to the dead. Unfortunately, that rumor's true. Violet's not interested in crossing anyone over; she's as cool and impatient with the deceased as she is with the living. The dead can be incredible pests, though, and despite her reluctance to help the spirits who seek her out, soon she's reuniting a ghost jock with his goth girlfriend and investigating a hellgate in the girls' locker room. Each experience puts her closer to discovering the truth behind the paranormal investigation that resulted in her mother's death.

Along the way, Violet begins to recognize that real people with interesting secrets hide behind the high school stereotypes she assigns her classmates and teachers. She needs all the allies she can find -- after all, surviving high school is tough enough without a bunch of dead people spooking around.

Ghostbusters meets a gothed-up Glee in this mix of high school drama and supernatural snark. Although Violet deals with heavy issues -- the difficulty of being different and not fitting in among one's peers, the reality of death, the loss of a family member -- she does so with a sharp, dark sense of humor that keeps her narrative engaging and relatable for young readers.

Spookygirl is a 53,000-word young adult novel. Although it is slated as the first volume of the Riley Island Paranormal series, it stands on its own as a complete story.

Looking for more info on Spookygirl? Contact me at mintconspiracy (at) gmail-dot-com.