Karen L. Cole

Sam Hiyate made my day!

karencole — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:49:44 +0000

Yesterday I was dragging myself around with the residue of a chest cough cum flu and trying to get motivated to attend Sam Hiyate’s workshop on getting an agent. Once there, I immediately became on high alert. Sam is a relaxed, yet lively, knowledgeable speaker. I read a lot of books and see tons of films, but Sam could run circles around me. He told us the stories of a few books which he’d worked with; every one was a learning experience. I was taking notes like mad. He explained in detail the work of an agent. Some writers and others in the field say you don’t really need an agent to be published in Canada, and that’s true, but now I think I’m ready to go that route. But first, I need to work on some things to make Southern Exposure more marketworthy. He also said that women make up 70% of the reading public and that romance is the best selling genre in the world. So why am I thinking I can’t get this book published?? I think I can, I think I can! He listened to some of our query letters (of course, mine was the first hand up). There were things to fix – I’ve just been working on that, but now I’m off to improve my manuscript. Wish me luck!

Hillary McMahon at WCDR

karencole — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:51:17 +0000

Hillary McMahon,a leading agent in Canada, spoke to our breakfast meeting on Sat. I’ve heard her both at WCDR and at OWC conferences and in fact, I’m doing one of my workshops with her at 2012 OWC. She’s a vivacious speaker, but as she warned us, there’s plenty of bad news in the publishing industry. Of course we all know that; McClelland and Stewart were swallowed up by Random House Canada last week, so another independent publisher bites the dust. Despite assurances that neither their authors nor their readers would notice the difference (there will still be an MS imprint from Random), it means that more and more of the publishing power in centered in a few hands. And Hillary admits that she only has 90 writers in “her stable.” Her words, not mine. She gets queries from up to five hundred writers a year, and perhaps 1% of those find a publisher. Sigh. How discouraging. The big publishers (that’s about all she contacts) are looking for a book that will sell 20, 000 copies.

She admits that the occasional writer will make good from a small press (Nino Ricci, for example, or look at self-published Terry Fallis), but recommends trying to find an agent. So I’m going to go that route. On Sunday I’m attending an all-day workshop with Sam Hiyatte, another agent who will teach us how to refine our queries and first 20 pp. to attract an agent. Meanwhile, a couple of my friends who have agents aren’t very happy with them. Agents only get paid when they get a contract, so naturally they put their greatest effort into those most likely to succeed. Very discouraging, but I’m now going to turn my attention to the homework for that workshop: upgrading my query letter and the first 20 pp. of Southern Exposure. Pick yourself up. . . etc.

Keeping the Faith – and Hope!

karencole — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:57:05 +0000

It’s the season of all the virtues, especially faith, hope and charity. I’ve been trying hard to keep faith in my writing despite two rejections of Southern Exposure in the past couple of months. I keep hoping I’ll find the right match for the book. Lately, I’ve been thinking I’d give up on trying and just wait till I had loads of money (from where, I’m not sure) and self-publish it. However, last night I read a review in the New York Times Book Review section of P.D. James’ new novel, a sort of sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. In it I learned a very encouraging fact: it took Austen 16 years to get that book published. I’ve only been trying for two or three with this one, but obviously, there’s still hope. Not that I’m suggesting my writing is on a par with Austen’s. Maybe someone in a couple of centuries will think so, though. One can only hope.

Meanwhile, since I probably won’t post again till after Christmas, may all the joys of this beautiful Christmas season be yours, and may you and your loved ones stay healthy. See you in 2012!

Wayson Choy at WCDR Breakfast

karencole — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:33:27 +0000

Once again WCDR invited an excellent speaker to inspire us. I’ve heard Wayson Choy on a number of occasions, but he’s such a gracious man and usually has something inspirational to offer. He’s been a teacher for a long time, so he knows how to talk to an audience.

During the break, I chatted briefly with him, since he’s the patron of the Ontario Writers’ Conference, and when I was the program coordinator for the 2010 conference, all of the committee had our photo taken with him. I mentioned that he’s sitting on my desk and explained. He got a chuckle out of that.

Wayson has won a number of awards over the years with his books. Even so, he admits there’s always some fear when he faces the blank page. It’s a great leveler among writers – being daunted about our ideas and our ability to express them. Right now he’s doing a lot of research about China several centuries ago, and he’s excited about what he’s learning. So when he finished the first 100 pp., he showed them to his editor. The editor replied, “All very interesting, but where’s the story?” I’ve had the same problem in writing Letters to Louise, but fortunately, my WIP critique group keeps asking me the same question. It helps to keep us on track.

Meanwhile, my sometime editor and writing mentor, Ruth Walker, is finally getting her novel, Living Underground, published by Seraphim Editions. Seraphim showed an interest in Lifting the Veil in ’05, but they’re a very small house and didn’t get the needed grant that year to publish all they wanted. Anyway, way to go, Ruth. Well deserved and long overdue.

Book club in Georgetown

karencole — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:08:21 +0000

I haven’t got around to reporting on my visit to the book club in Georgetown. Despite the fact that we had a longish drive in the pelting rain, it was a fun evening. After dinner with the hosts, Marilyn and Dominic, we headed to their coffee shop, almost next door, where the event was held. The group turned out to be a couple of dozen, and some of them had many questions. Possibly because they were all member of the same church (United), they were particularly interested in why I’m no longer a practising Catholic. There are only so many ways I can answer that. But one of the most interesting questions to me was how my siblings viewed my going into the convent and then my leaving. Each one was different, because by the time I left, only my older brother Jim was still a devout Catholic. Also, some were raising their families and didn’t have time to focus on my state of mind. It took a while to answer because I have (or had then) five siblings.

Jessica Westhead – WCDR Breakfast; Esi Edugyan, Giller Winner

karencole — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 14:46:58 +0000

Once again WCDR treated us to not only a superb breakfast based on favourite foods of our speaker, but also an opportunity to reconnect with so many writer friends. I can’t imagine being a writer without a supportive group such as WCDR is; it must be very lonely out there. Our speaker proved to be a treat as well. Jessica Westhead is young, in fact, the daughter of someone who taught English at TDSB as I did, from Whitby, and a successful short story writer and novelist. I wasn’t excited in advance about her topic of short story writing, since it’s not a genre I feel very skilled at. But Jessica made the topic approachable and exciting, and many of her points could be applied to other writing as well. I especially liked her concrete examples of finding snippets of life as the basis of her stories. As always, I came away inspired.

Earlier in the week, a young novelist from Calgary, Esi Edugyan (of Ghanian background) won the Giller for her second novel, Half-Blood Blues, about a black jazz musician in Paris. My husband, sweetie that he is, picked up a copy for me the day after it won. So itll be waiting for me when I finish Margaret Atwood’s amazing The Year of the Flood, and read the library book I checked out (recommended by my sister Maureen), Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, a memoir of Kenya by Alexandra Fuller. So much to read, so little time.

Tonight I’m off to Georgetown to speak to a book club and people from the United Church who have read Lifting the Veil. It should be fun, apparently about 30 people. I’ll update you as to how it goes.

What Disturbs Our Blood

karencole — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:46:57 +0000

Today I simply want to recommend highly the book I’m reading and have nearly finished. What Disturbs Our Blood by James Fitzgerald is first a family memoir exploring the mental demons that seemed to run in the family. But more than that, it is a chronicle of early 20th century health care in Toronto and across Canada. As happens today, Canadians frequently headed to the U.S. for study or for health care, if they believed America offered superior service.

But the book accents the development of insulin, right here in Toronto, and produced in good supply by the Connaught Laboratories, begun and run by his grandfather. They also immunized soldiers against diphtheria before they headed off to fight in WWI. Later Fitzgerald’s father would mass produce allergy treatments.

The brilliance of the Fitzgeralds is interwoven with their troubled lives. This is a most compelling story, and I thank my friend Kevin for loaning me the book before he even had a chance to read it.

IFOA – Shilpi Gowda – Secret Daughter

karencole — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:16:37 +0000

The International Festival of Authors (IFOA) began at Harbourfront in Toronto 32 yrs. ago. I’ve previously heard such fine writers as Margaret Atwood, Robertson Davies, Frank McCourt, John Irving, Nino Ricci, Salman Rushdie, Michael Ondaatje and many more at IFOA events. Five years ago, IFOA decided to take their show on the road. On Saturday, nearby Uxbridge was the venue for an interview by Paula Todd with Shilpi Somaya Gowda, whose first novel, Secret Daughter, has already sold over five million books and has been translated into several languages. Gowda was born in Scarborough, ON, but studied in the States. Curiously, her subject was economics, though she always loved writing. She credits her high school English teacher in North York with encouraging her. After working on Wall Street, etc. Gowda and her husband moved to CA, where she worked and began raising her first daughter.

Growing up, Gowda’s parents frequently took her back to visit family in India, mostly in Bombay. She worked at an orphanage one summer, and the idea for her book began percolating. Later, when she was pregnant with their second daughter, her husband got a fantastic job offer in Dallas. He encouraged her to begin writing the book, which she calls her third child (it was conceived and born in Dallas). She was lucky to find an agent after returning to CA, and the book received great reviews and audience excitement. Gowda is presently writing her second novel, also about India.

She was very down-to-earth and asked those of us who got our books signed to share our email addresses. It’s a good idea, so we can be among the first to know when her new book comes out. John has suggested that, but of course, I never really did it. The only disappointment of the event was that Paula Todd did a poor job of presenting the intro. Her interview was better: a highlight was bringing up Shilpi’s dad to speak about his daughter and about the cultural issue of destroying daughters in India and elsewhere. But Todd spoke too much about her own books, and I’m never impressed with interviewers do that. If you haven’t read Secret Daughter, I highly recommend it.

Canada Reads

karencole — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:28:18 +0000

If you’re from Canada, you probably know about Canada Reads, but if not, here’s a brief summary: every February a panel of celebs debates the merits of five short-listed books. Each day they vote to eliminate one; eventually one is selected as the book recommended for all Canadians to read. Usually, it’s fiction and selected by well-known writers, etc. This year they decided to choose a non-fiction book, and the public could make the recommendations. Many of my connections recommended Lifting the Veil (my publisher, Richard Grove was the first to nominate me). Last Thurs. I made the website as one of the recommended books. I don’t know Thelma, whose name follows the quote, but she may be connected to one of John’s dragonboat teams. As a result, I sold three more books. After two years since publication, that book still has legs. Here’s the website, in case you want to see it:

http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/2011/10/reader-recommendation-round-up-october-12.html

Thanksgiving

karencole — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 13:08:35 +0000

We’ve been celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving this past weekend with family, friends and feast. Oh, and the most fabulous Indian summer weather, with brilliant colours starting to dazzle across the countryside.

My sister spent a few days here from Minnesota, which was very nice, because my family has never been able to celebrate this, my favourite holiday with us. She returned safely home yesterday, taking with her three more copies of Lifting the Veil which her daughter ordered as Christmas gifts.

I sold a few more, thanks to my publisher nominating my book for Canada Reads. In 2012, the non-fiction book will be selected from suggestions by ordinary readers, not top authors. I’ve gotten some nice feedback over that, so thanks, Tai (publisher).

I am realistic enough to know that the competition for great Canadian non-fiction is fierce, since I read quite a lot of it myself. But why not enjoy the run?