WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

Will ebooks kill the old publishing model? Is the novel you're working on any good? Will you receive another contract? Why aren't you getting more foreign rights deals? Does your agent really have your best interests at heart? Are your sales growing? Will the rotten review you received last weekend toss your career off a cliff? And on and on and on. We all know the drill. We all have many of the same thoughts circling around in our minds.

Here's today's burning question: In the midst of today's publishing chaos--and your own professional stresses and strains--how do you stay focused on writing?

Who in the WORLD is Molly Weston?

Molly Weston
Meritorious Mysteries
Editor, inSinc

You're probably wondering why I'm a guest blogger—but if you've ever been charged with finding someone to write for free every week for a year, you know what Ellen's up against! Probably the first reason she asked me to write is that I'm the new editor of Sisters in Crime's newsletter, inSinc. She wanted me to introduce myself to you.

I'm a long-time member of SinC even though I don't write mysteries. I read them—lots and lots of them. More than 20 years ago I began reviewing them for a local independent bookstore, then another. FInding that I really liked writing reviews, I started a review publication, "Meritorious Mysteries," which I mailed free of charge to local bookstores and libraries that had agreed to duplicate them for their patrons. After the internet made its way into people's homes, I developed a website for my reviews, still called "Meritorious Mysteries."

In the meantime, I got a job at the FPG Child Development Center at UNC-Chapel Hil as editor of an in-state magazine aimed toward the early childhood profession. The position required a lot of traveling and involved providing training, so I wasn't able to write as many reviews. I let Meritorious Mysteries fall by the wayside—but I never stopped reading mysteries—usually around 250 a year.

After providing workshops and training in my work, I realized I could do the same for mysteries—and I began giving lectures at libraries and other events. I'd pick a topic and talk about 20-25 authors whose work fell somewhere under that umbrella. I found that readers loved to see photographs of these authors and to hear personal stories about how I had met them.

I attended mystery conferences every chance I got—and everywhere I went, I met authors, always adding photos and stories to my repertoire.

Once when my husband and I were going to Tunica, Mississippi, I told Noel, "I'm going to call the librarian there and see if she wants me to do a program for them."

Noel, who goes to Tunica to gamble, said scornfully," They don't have any libraries in Tunica!"

Totally determined now to give a mystery talk SOMEWHERE in Tunica, I searched the internet. Of course, there was a library there—and it was beautiful. When I spoke with the librarian, she said, "I'd love you to give a talk. You have made my day. No, you've made my WEEK!"

Surprisingly enough, she chose the topic, "Sweet Tea and Murder," and we had a delightful event, with the Friends of the Library bringing in a tea party spread to die for.

This year, I've begun having guest bloggers on Meritorious Mystery (http://mysteryheel.blogspost.com) — all mystery writers. I'm giving monthly programs at the Cary Public Library, and teaching a six-week mystery course at the Encoré Program at NC State University. I'm looking forward to hosting July Hyzy, Karen Olson, and Hank Phillippi Ryan at the end of this month. Then, in June, Rosemary Harris, Meredith Cole, Donna Andrews, and Elaine Viets will roll into North Carolina for a mini tour.

So, you can see why I was overwhelmed to be chosen to edit your newsletter. Thanks for allowing me to have an opportunity to work with more of you in SinC. I look forward to meeting and renewing friendships with you at Malice and Bouchercon!

In the meantime, keep on writing!

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

M.D. Lake, author of the Peggy O'Neill mystery series, once began a talk to young writers by giving them what he considered his most important writing tip: "Beware of writers bearing tips." He was being funny, of course. Everyone laughed. But he was also being his usual ironic self. Someone once said--was it Raymond Chandler, Tony Hillerman--that there were three universal rules of writing, but nobody could agree on what they were. We've all learned how to write by writing. And along the way, we've all discovered ideas or habits that help us become better writers.

Thus, the burning question for today is: What is your most valuable writing tip?

Just what DO Librarians Want?

Sheila Connolly
Vice-President/Library Liaison
Sisters in Crime–New England

In November 2009 Sisters in Crime-New England and New England Mystery Writers of America for the first time included a librarians panel in their jointly-sponsored New England Crime Bake conference. The panel brought together three New England librarians: Jennifer C. Harris from the Plymouth (MA) Public Library; Kathy Meeker, director of the Scituate (MA) Town Library; and Jane Murphy of the Westport (CT) Public Library. The audience included equal numbers of librarians and writers, all looking for ways to help each other promote mysteries and attract readers.

The librarians (who together represented nearly a century of experience) agreed that mysteries are among the most popular books in their libraries, which should be good news for mystery writers. The focus of the panel was how to get the librarians and the writers together, and emphasized two main issues:

–how librarians can utilize writers for library programs, and
–how writers should approach libraries to make themselves known.

The resulting panel discussion, and the questions that followed, were stimulating and in some cases surprising.

One point that the librarians on the panel raised more than once: writers, use your librarians! Don't wait until you're published or nearly there–they can help you with:

–research for your books
–information on the publishing community
–information on how to find an agent or a local writers group.

The bonus is, if you do this you have already established a relationship with your local library when your book comes out.

What should a writer do once the book is published?

–If your local Sisters in Crime chapter has Speakers Bureau (which matches libraries, bookstores, and other organizations with local writers), use it!
–If you have no local chapter, or your chapter doesn't have a speaker coordinator, how do you get your books in front of the right people in a library? It's easier than you think. Libraries love programs that are affordable and don't require a lot of planning on their part; in return, they can publicize your appearance and your book to their patrons and to the local community, through newsletters and the press. Contact your local library and ask if they're interested.
–Find out if there is a Friends of the Library group or a mystery readers group associated with a particular library. They may even manage the programming opportunities for the library.

How can you make sure libraries buy your books? Libraries rely on the major review sources such as Library Journal and Publishers Weekly, and the catalogs that publishers send out or make available on line. Since reviewers pay little attention to original mass-market books, a paperback writer has to make a greater effort to capture librarians' attention. You should:

–Send a short letter or email describing your book and offering to speak at the library.
–If you use snail-mail, include a few bookmarks.
–Do not swamp the library with frequent updates or long appeals–simply let them know when you have a new book coming out, and that you're interested in talking to the library's patrons.

If you haven't discussed audio book options with your agent and publisher, you should. These have become increasingly popular with library patrons.

The bottom line is: Librarians can be valuable resources in spreading the word about your books, and you as a writer need to make the most of the opportunities that libraries present. Get to know your local libraries–not just the one in your town, but those in surrounding towns or even the state. Stop by, introduce yourself, leave a few bookmarks. If your budget permits, give them a book. Use your libraries wisely, and everybody wins!

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

Except for perhaps the first book in a series, writers don't write in a vacuum. We all have an audience, and we all get emails from that audience. How much do you listen to those emails? Do they affect the stories you write? Do you find fan's voices in your head as you move through your novel? Do you write to a specific audience?

Rhys Bowen on Thrillers v. Mysteries, Noir v. Cozy

I was speaking at a bookstore the other day and a member of the audience asked me what the difference was between a mystery and a thriller. My flippant reply was, “About eight hundred thousand dollars.” This surprised my audience who tend to think that all published authors make millions of dollars (Sisters, you are allowed a gentle chuckle here). They couldn’t believe that mysteries were less highly regarded than thrillers.

“But thrillers are all about plot,” one person said. “And my favorite Rhys Bowen mysteries are wonderful character studies.”

Right. But as we all know, good books do not necessarily translate into bestselling books. When I’ve been in an airport or on a beach, I’ve been dismayed to observe that everyone is reading Dan Brown or James Patterson. Does that really mean that most people find them more enjoyable or that they are so ubiquitous that the average person can’t help stumbling upon them in the big box stores or at the airport newsagents?

The sad thing is that these people will think that this is the gold standard of mystery/thriller fiction. We’ve all heard the comment, “Oh, I never read genre fiction” by those who consider themselves cultured and educated. I always point out to these people that they have probably read no genre fiction other than the piles at the big box stores and thus can’t really judge. I ask if they have they ever read Nancy Pickard or Laura Lippman or Louise Penny or any number of distinguished women writers whose books are full of wonderfully complex characters, finely drawn settings, moral dilemmas and who write to touch the soul?

I suspect, unfortunately, that most people don’t want their souls touched. They don’t want to be involved with the books they read. They just want entertaining and titillating in the same way that they watch their TV programs. I don’t know about you, but when I read a good book, I am so involved that I am not conscious of words on the page. I am in that place and time—feeling the hot dry wind in my face with Tony Hillerman, shivering in the icy cold of Quebec with Louise Penny. I also strive for this when I write my own books. I want my reader to experience the sights, sounds and smells of New York City with my heroine Molly Murphy. The experience of the setting is as important to me as the plot. So is getting to know the characters. I come to regard series characters as old friends, to be revisited with anticipation each time a new book comes out. I know my fans feel this way, because they talk about Evan and Molly and Lady Georgie as if they are real people—which they are to me, of course.

Which brings me to a second gripe: that noir mystery fiction, usually written by men, is somehow more valid and more literary than traditional mysteries written by women. You only have to look at the Edgars or best books of the year lists to see that we women are lucky if we get a mention. Would somebody please tell me why an alcoholic and troubled loner sleuth is considered more interesting and relevant than an ordinary, likeable person trying to see that justice is done? We writers of the traditional mystery (no, I won’t use the word cozy) are used to being patted on the head, as if we are the maiden aunt who should sit quietly in the corner, knitting. Well, I’m sorry but I find the stories in traditional mysteries more shocking in many ways. If I am on the mean streets of the city, among gangs and drug dealers, I expect to find crime and violence. How much more disturbing is it if violent crime strikes the kind of place where I live and involves people that I know?

I guess I’m biased. I don’t like violence. I don’t like graphic violence on the page. I like to read a book in which justice somehow prevails and order is restored to the universe by the end of the story. I guess I really am cozy by nature.

When I first started writing I complained to my editor that all my reviews called my books “charming and delightful.” I wanted to be taken seriously, not to be charming and delightful. So I told my editor that my next book would contain Satanism, cannibalism and strewn body parts. She smiled sweetly and said, “Yes, and I bet they’ll be charming and delightful body parts too.”

So that’s it: cozy and noir are in our natures as writers and we can’t write well outside our nature however well we try. So I promise no cannibalism or strewn body parts in my next Molly and Georgie books!

Rhys Bowen writes the Agatha, Anthony and MacAvity winning Molly Murphy mysteries set in 1903 New York City and the bestselling Royal Spyness mysteries featuring a minor royal in 1930s London. The Last Illusion, her ninth Molly Murphy mystery, will be in stores on Marsh 2nd. She also looks forward to being toastmaster at this year’s Malice Domestic convention.

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

I remember the first time I was asked this questions: Does it bother you that you're writing about murder as entertainment? It was at a Barnes & Noble and I choked. I'm sure I eventually said something coherent, but I remember going home with the thought that this was something I needed to consider. In fact, this question ultimately helped me form my philosophy about what I do as a writer.

So this time, the question is for you:

Does it bother you that you're writing about murder as entertainment?

Reviews Today: It’s the Wild West out there

by Libby Hellmann

The holidays are over, and now that we’ve packed up all our peace and good will until next year, it's time to turn our attention to something not so kind and gentle.

Reviews.

You know the story. It used to be you’d write a book. Your publisher would send out ARCs to major trade publications and newspapers. While you probably wouldn’t get reviewed in the New York Times, you could count on Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Booklist, and Library Journal. And your local newspapers. Those reviews, for which we sat on pins and needles weeks in advance, helped create buzz. Good reviews could make or break library sales, bookstore interest, even word of mouth.

Not any more. First to go was review space in big city newspapers. All of us can point to a paper that no longer exists or, if it does, has pared reviews to the bone. Closer to home was the demise of Drood Review and Mystery News. Then, just a few weeks ago, the death of Kirkus. Say what you want about their last line zingers, a good Kirkus review was cause for celebration. Even worse, there seems to have been a decline in the number of reviews from Library Journal and Booklist. I could usually count on reviews from them for my books. Not this time.

At the same time, we’re seeing an explosion of what’s being called “citizen reviews,” most of them online, all of them written by “readers” as opposed to professionals. I probably first noticed them on lists like Dorothy L, but over the years they’ve picked up steam on Amazon (‘fess up.. how many of us have asked a friend to write a favorable review?) to the point that they’ve been institutionalized with the Amazon Vine program. Reader-oriented websites, like GoodReads and Library Thing encourage them. And that doesn’t even include the proliferation of book review blogs and websites. There are literally hundreds of citizen reviews these days. I know, because I’ve tried to keep lists of them.

Which is the point of my rant. Citizen reviews are filling an important void. Many of these reviewers are professional, thoughtful, and take their responsibilities seriously. I’ve been the beneficiary of their work, and I’m grateful for it.

Then there are others.

I was the recent target of a citizen review that has to be the most savage review I’ve ever received. Bar none. (If you’re into hate, go ahead and click on the link) Clearly, anyone has the right to say they hated a book and why, but this individual went above and beyond by inferring the type of person I must be because of the subject of the book. He also threw in several racist comments, which were gratuitous... and hurtful.

I don’t care how many good reviews you get -- it’s the bad one we obsess over. And I did. I waited a week to say anything – I didn’t want to be impulsive -- but eventually I took it up with the organization’s managers. They maintained the review didn’t violate their “terms of service.” Which made me wonder what would.

But the most offensive (at least to me) part was the discovery of a sub-group of citizen reviewers on the same website, some of whom consider it a badge of honor to write clever but snarky reviews. “Writing scathing reviews is fun,” the person who critiqued my book said. Someone else agreed, saying “savaging bad writing is fun, and often necessary.” To be fair, I should point out that others in the group challenged those remarks.

I deleted my page from the organization, but it brings up an issue I believe all of us need to grapple with. On one hand, the dearth of traditional reviews is filling up with new voices. That’s good. And necessary. On the other hand, how far can a review go and still be considered useful? Citizen reviews will undoubtedly be a permanent part of the literary landscape, but at what price? And how should an author handle reviews that they believe are over the top? Should we do what author Niteflyr-one did on Amazon, ostensibly to her regret, since it seems to have backfired? Or should we just crack open a bottle of wine and let it pass?

The absence of parameters – good or bad -- has catapulted the act of reviewing into an online version of the wild, wooly West. And yeah, I know the bromide about any publicity being good publicity. Still, I wonder.

What do you think?

Wednesday's Burning Question

Ellen Hart Writes:

Okay, so we all have our pet peeves in mysteries. I dislike endings wherein the culprit spills his or her guts at the last minute--while holding a gun on the protagonist--talking endlessly about what happened and why. I did this in a few books myself until I gained the skill to reveal more as I went along and save the ending for the final thrilling trust. It's hard to get much thrill when you stop the forward movement for five minutes to do an information dump.

That's one of my mystery pet peeves. What are yours? What do you think is overused? What's cliche? What might have worked once but doesn't anymore?

Writing longhand: Goodbye to an old friend?

By William Kent Krueger

One of the questions I’m often asked during any event Q & A is how I do my writing. More specifically, do I compose directly to a computer or do I write longhand? The funny thing is it’s one of the questions I almost always ask of other writers. I love to know about process.

In my own case, the answer used to be simple. For nearly three decades I wrote everything in longhand first, then transcribed to the typewriter or—much later—the computer. The reason isn’t complicated. I’ve always done my creative writing in coffee shops, and when I began that process there were no laptops. A notebook and pen or pencil was the only option. Oh, how I grew to love the feel of writing, which was not just a cerebral process but physical as well. I swear I can sense the energy of the story shooting from my brain down my arm into my fingers and finally through the pen onto the page. In a way, I’ve always regarded it not only as process but as ritual, something that’s necessary in order to make the magic of writing happen.

The benefits have been many. I’ve always appreciated the freedom of writing longhand because I can compose anywhere, anytime, so long as I have paper and a writing utensil. (I’ve even used crayons on occasion.) The process helps me to look at my work in different ways. First, there is the mess of the initial composition, all scrawled and scratched out and with margin notes and addendums and arrowed lines showing where changes need to be inserted. Transcribing to the computer is my first edit. On the screen the structure is neatly organized with clean sentences and formal paragraphs and text that is easily read. I’m able to see the story as it will appear in manuscript form and I look at it differently, from a more considered perspective than the creative frenzy of scribbling on paper allows.

For most of the thirty years I’ve been writing, nothing has been more exciting to me than sitting in the booth of a coffee shop and opening a new notebook because all I see in those empty pages is promise.

Lately, however, things have become a bit muddled. I just completed the next novel in my Cork O’Connor mystery series, a book titled Vermilion Drift. Because I was a little late in beginning the manuscript and because deadline was looming, I was forced to streamline my normal creative process. The book was written with a hybrid approach that involved some longhand on paper and some composition directly to computer. It felt awkward at first, but as I went along, I became more comfortable with my fingers on the keyboard channeling immediately what went on in my brain. During this period, I began work on another novel as well, not in the series, which has been written entirely to computer. Just between you and me, I think it’s a wonderful manuscript.

So, these days when I’m asked about my process my answer tends to be much more complicated than before. I don’t know if I’ve given up longhand for good. In a way, I hope not. It would be like saying goodbye to my best friend. But as the song goes, sometimes even the best of friends must part.

I’ll keep you posted.

Wednesday's Burning Question

Ellen Hart writes:

As both a writer and a writing teacher, I make sure my students understand POV (Point Of View). Simply put, you can't head hop in a scene. You can't be in two character's minds in the same chapter/section. And then, of course, one smart-aleck student will always go out, find a British mystery, bring it back and point out that the British do it all the time. So there. What's a poor writing teacher supposed to say?

Which leads us to Sandra Parshall's Burning Question for today:

"British authors often "head-hop"--switching from one character's POV to another within a scene. American writers generally regard this as a forbidden practice. How do you feel about it, as a writer or as a reader?"

How Women Writers Brought me to Bookselling

By Robin Agnew

My path to bookselling was a long and circuitous one – graduating from college during the last big recession (1982) my husband and I took whatever jobs we could find. Wanting to be Mary Tyler Moore (or I did at least) we ended up loading up our VW Rabbit with wedding presents and driving to Minneapolis, where we lived for six years. While my husband worked a variety of jobs and attended graduate school at the Univesity of Minnesota, I simply worked a variety of jobs: bridal consultant, salesclerk, hotel reservations and catering assistant. Along that way my reading journey, of course, was never interrupted.

I had always read mysteries and had a mother who raised me on the classics – Agatha, Margery and Dorothy (thanks, Mom). When I married I discovered that my father in law was also an avid mystery reader. He introduced me to some authors who really, in the end, changed my life, but the two that really blew the roof off my head were Lillian O’Donnell and Sara Paretsky.

These two women expanded the parameters of what I thought mystery writing was. O’Donnell, maddeningly difficult to find today (and though we carry loads of used books at our store, in the neighborhood of 20,000 volumes) the copies we have of her books are mostly in the hard cover book club editions. I’m constantly pressing them on people anyway though the sequence of the series is hard to follow.

At the time, my father in law was in fact sharing his own book club hardcovers with me, and I tore through the saga of O’Donnell’s homicide cop Norah Mulcahaney, who along with rising through the ranks of the NYPD suffers the loss of a child and the loss of a husband along the way. Meanwhile O’Donnell also delivers crisp and straight forward police procedurals, a subgenre I’ve always been partial to.

Sara Paretsky is not really big news anymore, but back in 1982 when she was first breaking the boundaries of what women were supposed to be and how they should behave – well, V.I. gave me someone to live up to in every sense of the word. She’s so independent, smart, and brave – well, I think all of us wish we had a little bit of V.I in us.

The other thing that Minneapolis introduced me to was the mystery bookstore – one of the oldest in the country, Uncle Edgar’s, still thrives there. I loved the mix of new and used books, the passionate recommendations and even the kids in the playpen at the store.

We eventually moved to Michigan to be near family, but that Uncle Edgar’s model stuck in my head. Some of my happiest hours in Minneapolis had been spent browsing those shelves. Arriving in Michigan babies started to arrive, and with them the desire for a flexible something to do that would allow us to both be part of the kid’s lives.

Meanwhile, my husband was working at Borders. At some point books, my love of mysteries, and our desire to work for ourselves (which still sometimes feels monumentally foolish) and the idea of sharing my love of mystery writers, women mystery writers especially, took over and Aunt Agatha's was born almost 18 years ago. Along with the store came the baby swing, just like at Uncle Edgar’s.

Sara Paretsky and Lillian O’Donnell are still steady sellers for us, and our passion for books has never waned. Along the way my husband became a mystery fan (he wasn’t when we opened) – his favorite woman writer: Margery Allingham, though he’s also awfully fond of Megan Abbott.

Bookselling, like life, takes lots of strange twists and turns but my love of reading and wonderful writing has never changed. And that is thanks, in big part, to O’Donnell and Parestsky.

Wednesday's Burning Question

First, a preface. Many years ago, while at Jim Huang's wonderful bookstore--The Mystery Company, in Carmel Indiana--I was asked a question that not only elicited a response from me, but one from Jim. He said that he felt that series mysteries tended to become darker as they went along. While that's not the case for all series mysteries, it is for many, and that includes mine. So here's the question:

As a reader, do you like it when the characters grow and change, or do you prefer them to remain the same? Put another way, do you want the series to always have the same tone, or do you mind a slide in a little darker direction? (As someone once said, some characters grow, and some characters grow orchids. Nero Wolfe never changed. The city changed around him, but he never grew older, never went on a diet, never met a woman and fell in love.)

Thoughts?

That's it.

Thanks so much!

~Ellen

Relaunching our Blog

By Ellen Hart

Sisters In Crime, Public Relations

Sometimes I feel as if I’m the only person in the world who hasn’t written a blog. If I am the last holdout, don’t tell me. I’m already feeling a bit like a dinosaur. Did you say 2010??? Yikes!!!

I’m beginning to suspect that there might be a hierarchy of experience out there in the big wide world. First steps. First bike. First grade. First rock concert. First love. First kiss. First taste of Champagne. First reading glasses. First grandchild. First gray hair. Ah, yes, I’ve experienced them all. And now, I’ve finally clawed my way to the pinnacle of modern life--my first blog. I’m feeling very pumped, ready to take on a challenge--which is good because I’ve been tasked with the job of bringing some new energy and interest to the SinC blog.

Now, just because I’ve never written one doesn’t mean I don’t read them. There are a few blogs I read religiously--Nathan Bransford’s, for one. I love hearing about the publishing industry, about books people are reading, about the process of writing and promotion, about what’s hot and what’s not (and hopefully, why). When you sit in a room by yourself all day, as writers do, you sometimes crave what so many other people have -- a water cooler, a place to gather with other adult s to chat and chew over events and ideas of common interest. I think blogs are our modern day water coolers.

So welcome to the new, improved, one-hundred percent organic and natural, totally green, radically innovative, doctor-prescribed, wrinkle resistant, and as a bonus, potentially cholesterol reducing SinC blog!

Here’s the down and dirty--the way it’s going to work. Every Monday a new blog will be posted from a member of SinC. This is equal opportunity. If you’ve got an idea, email me and let’s kick it around, run it up the flag poll and see if it holds water. (Yes, I realize I mixed a metaphor. Glad to know you’re still with me.) Email me at ellenhart@earthlink.net. I’m the one who will be delegating the Monday blogs, and you can believe I will be on the lookout for something informative, lively, and even provocative.

On Wednesday, we will post the Burning Question of the Week. I assume some questions will be more burning than others, but I’m hoping that many of you will weigh in with your thoughts. Engaging conversation is one of the true delights of life, and that’s what I’m hoping to promote here. If you have ideas for the Burning Question, again, please email me.

Our first blogger will be Robin Agnew, co-owner of Aunt Agatha’s Mystery Bookstore, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Robin is a long-time (and very vocal) supporter of women’s mysteries. The third week of the month, multi-award winning crime writer, William Kent Krueger, will be taking the internet lectern.

Please tell all your Sister’s in Crime buddies to check in every week to see what’s going on. I can’t do this alone. A water cooler with only one person standing by it is a deeply lonely place. That’s why the Official Sisters In Crime Blog needs you!

Freezing in Minnesota, I remain,

Ellen Hart

Write Like A Man?

Is the key to literary success to be or write like a man? That's the subject of a recent article in the Washington Post by Julianna Baggot. Check it out here.

Let us know what YOU think.

We Love Libraries

Sisters in Crime is pleased to announce the first "We Love Libraries" lottery. Monthly grants of $1,000 will be awarded from January through December 2010. At the end of each month, a winner will be drawn from entries received at our website at www.sistersincrime.org. Only U.S. libraries may enter the drawing.

To enter, simply complete the entry form and upload a photo of one or more of your staff with three books in your collection by Sisters in Crime members. You can find a list of members on the website here.

After the random drawing on the last business day of the month, the winning library will be contacted and announced. All branches within a larger system may enter; however, once a library in the system has won, no other libraries within that system can win the grant. Those not successful in one month will automatically be entered for subsequent drawings. Grants must be used to purchase books and may not be used for general operating expenses. Book purchases are NOT restricted to the mystery genre nor to those by Sisters in Crime members. There is no cost or obligation other than allowing us to post winners' photos on our website.

All libraries are welcome to enter. If you have Sisters in Crime author mysteries in your collection we would love for you to enter this money giveaway.

We at Sisters in Crime LOVE our libraries and want to see them thrive. Enter for your library's chance to win beginning January 1, 2010 at www.sistersincrime.org.

Click here for the entry form.

If you have any questions please contact Beth Wasson.

Dorothy Gilman. The best. Ever.

There is a shelf in my office dedicated to Dorothy Gilman. I have a copy of every one of her books. This collection began with “The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax” and continues through the entire Mrs. Pollifax series, adding other stand-alone books along the way, such as “A Nun in the Closet,” “The Clairvoyant Countess,” and “Girl in Buckskin.”

The Mrs. Pollifax copies are especially well-used, having endured multiple readings. Each time I begin with anticipation, having forgotten some of the details, and the read is always comforting and satisfying – as if I’m being reacquainted with old friends. Mrs. Pollifax meets the most interesting people, she finds deep courage within herself in every situation, and her friends are long-lasting and true. Her adventures are both entertaining and educational; how is it that a retired woman can go from contemplating the edge of her rooftop while watering her geraniums to running around the Albanian countryside? Or disguising herself as a Chinese grandmother? Or surviving torture in Hong Kong? Mrs. Pollifax can do it all, with love in her heart and steel in her backbone.

Dorothy Gilman has served as an unknowing mentor and friend for me all these years. When I need a break from writing, I read her books. When I need inspiration, or a reminder of what it feels like to get lost in great writing, I read her books. When I want to see again how she creates characters which are both lovable and complex, I delve into her books. It seems whatever trait I need to study, I find them in her writings.

Mystery Writers of America has granted Dorothy Gilman Grandmaster status, which I heartily applaud. Gilman has done so much for our genre, and has shown that a female mystery author can and did achieve success with books that appeal to both genders (my father was also a Mrs. Pollifax fan!). She began her career back in the sixties, long before Sisters in Crime existed -- long before most of our now-lauded female crime writers took the stage. She wrote what she wanted to write, not following a trend of any kind, and was wildly successful. Her books are still in print, after over forty years of being on the shelves. Would that we all could be so fortunate!

Congratulations to Ms. Gilman for writing such wonderful books, for continuing to entertain and challenge us, and for this award. She deserves every accolade heaped upon her.


Sincerely,

Judy Clemens
Fan Girl

Have you paid your dues?

Sisters in Crime Renewal Notice – Deadline: January 31, 2010

This notice is only being sent to members who are due for renewal in the SinC data base. Please Remove this line as you don't know if the member has renewed or not. Replace it with...we disregard this message if you have renewed.

Sisters in Crime is looking forward to an exciting new year and we want to make sure all of our members have renewed their membership for 2010. Renewals can be handled on the web site at www.sistersincrime.org.

As a member you have a username and password. You must be logged in to renew your membership. Dues remain $40 for all US and Canadian members. Add $5 for all other countries.

1. Click here to go directly to the SinC home page - www.sistersincrime.org

2. Click on grey box which says, Join Now, under the pictures. There will be a pull down menu which says, Renew – click on Renew and enter your username and password. This will take you to your membership profile where you renew your SinC membership

3. You may also Renew by clicking on Renew on the right side under Quick Links.

4. Pick regular member and view your membership profile – make updates and hit the Submit button at the bottom of the page

5. Next a payment screen will come up and you can choose to pay by MC/Visa or by check. If you pick the check option you will need to print a copy of your invoice to send with your check. Once we receive the check you will receive a receipt by e-mail

Want to renew by mail? Please send Beth Wasson an e-mail and she will send you a membership form to fill out and send back in the mail with your $40 check. Add $5 for all countries except Canada. E-mail Beth at sistersincrime@juno.com

Need your username and password? Contact Beth at sistersincrime@juno.com, who would be happy to take your phone call on weekdays, between 10 AM – 3 PM CST at 785-842-1325. I can help you Login to the Sisters in Crime web site. Don’t hesitate to call; it will only take a few minutes.

Sisters in Crime, PO Box 442124, Lawrence, KS 66044, sistersincrime@juno.com, 785-842-1325

SinC into a Good Mystery!

The mission of Sisters in Crime is to promote the professional development and advancement of women crime writers to achieve equality in the industry.

SinC's Position on Harlequin Horizons

by Marcia Talley
President, Sisters in Crime

The mission of Sisters in Crime, Inc. is to support the professional advancement of our members, and not to comment on business decisions made by publishers. Nevertheless, the Sisters in Crime board feels obliged to let our membership know how we stand on the recent decision by Harlequin to partner with Author Solutions, a subsidy/vanity press, and to promote these services to aspiring authors via links on its website.

It is our job to educate our members, to make sure that they enter into publishing agreements of whatever kind with their eyes wide open. Harlequin Horizons, by whatever name, is a vanity press, and like all vanity presses, provides editorial, marketing and publishing services to authors for a fee. As such, it relies upon payments and income from aspiring writers to earn profits, rather than sales of books to actual readers.

After researching the market and taking her goals into consideration, a Sisters in Crime member may make an informed decision to self publish, but should also be aware of the consequences.

Presently, self-published writers do not enjoy the same benefits as traditionally published authors in Romance Writers of America (RWA), Mystery Writers of America (MWA) or Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA), nor will they qualify for literary awards sponsored by those organizations. More than likely, self-published writers will not be assigned to author panels by conference coordinators. Self-published books are generally not carried in brick and mortar stores.

If those benefits are not a concern, then self-publishing may be the right choice for a writer seeking a creative outlet. If so, there are dozens of subsidy/vanity presses which can provide the same services as Harlequin Horizons, some at considerably less cost.

We urge members to research those companies carefully, comparing services, quality and price before making a decision. Do not assume that because Harlequin Horizons is affiliated with Harlequin that choosing Harlequin Horizons to print your self-published novel will improve your chances of being published by Harlequin's more traditional advance and royalty paying divisions.

Read the official RWA, MWA and SFWA statements here: http://tinyurl.com/yz5n6cb

BEST BOOKS? SAYS WHO?

By Marcia Talley
President, Sisters in Crime

There’s been a lot said in the news and in the blogosphere lately about Publisher’s Weekly annual Top 10 and Top 100 books of the year.

Here's the article: http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6704595.html

Shockingly, there are no, I repeat, no women in the top ten. In the "fiction section," the only female mystery writers who made the list were Gillian Flynn and Sarah Waters, and of the seven titles selected in the "mystery" category, only two are by women. Sisters in Crime finds this deeply discouraging. For the past twenty-three years, our organization has been working to raise awareness and “promote the professional development and advancement of women crime writers to achieve equality in the industry.” When a lop-sided list like this comes out from a respected and influential industry publication, it seems that in spite of our best efforts, it’s "one step forward, two steps back."

The heart of what Sisters in Crime is all about is our Review Monitoring Project: giving women authors equity in the business of writing. Our monitors check newspapers, magazines, and on-line review sites to take note of how the numbers are adding up. Julianne Balmain heads up this effort, and has just complied the third quarter results for 2009. The news is bad.

Three quarters of the numbers are in for our Sisters In Crime Monitoring Project, she says, and the results are not particularly encouraging. Of fifty publications, only two have reviewed more mystery novels written by women than those written by men. One is the Bay Area’s Contra Costa Times at approximately 63% books by women, the other is Romantic Times at just under 78%.

Of the other 48 publications, many of the percentages as of the end of September were worrisome. Several large publications reviewing many mystery novels were heavily weighted in favor of books written by men. Among them are Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine at nearly 81% male, the Los Angeles Times at more than 85% male, the Detroit Free Press at 100% male, the Dallas Morning News at nearly 79% male, NPR Radio at more than 80% male, and the Washington Post at more than 79% male. We still have a full quarter of numbers to report, so these statistics will change. However, what appears to be a downward trend of review coverage for books written by women is certainly a cause for concern.

But the problem goes well beyond being ignored by reviewers. It's also clear that publishers don't take traditional mysteries seriously. Why? Because traditional mysteries are usually women's stories. How do we know that publishers don't take them seriously? In presenting the advanced reading copy of a new novel by one of our members, a bookseller received this notice: "This is not cozy time -- this is bestseller time." Can there be a more clear statement of a publisher's expectations?

And yet, there's a great track record of traditional mystery writers selling well -- the classic British women, of course, the ubiquitous Andrew McCall Smith, and even Lillian Jackson Braun, author of the popular “Cat Who …” books, hits the New York Times bestseller list every time. On the Oct. 7 Bookscan mystery chart, Joanne Fluke is #3 (right behind Michael Connelly at #2), Louise Penny is at #7, #20, #24, #43 and #45. M.C. Beaton is at #12 and #48. And there are more.

Think of how much better mysteries written by women would sell if they didn't have to fight the low expectations of the very people who publish them!

How does this inequality develop? Editorial policies vary, but reviewers generally review
books they like. Are their choices unconsciously affected by preconception?


Several years ago I served as a judge for a popular mystery anthology series, one that had, in previous years, featured primarily male authors. That year, the first to require blind submissions, the judges were gratified to discover that the stories we chose were roughly equal, male/female, and unpublished author/previously published author.

That certainly was an eyeopener for me.

Clearly, women writers are fighting against perception as well as reality. Women writers must continue to advocate for equality of advances, promotional money, reviews, interviews, and awards. And the fact that Sisters in Crime keeps track of these issues and tries to draw wider attention to them is critical.

Other voices weighing in on this issue include:

http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2009/11/05/pw_10_best/index.html?source=rss&aim=/books/feature

https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:CampaignPublic/id:1401285.6538197727/rid:f4307671de2e7e663602c933ec776dfa