Sorry to interrupt your Nanoing. Hope it’s going well! Just a little news to share here:

My first novel, Saints and Spies, will be published by Covenant Communications in 2013!!!

The book is about an LDS (Mormon) FBI agent who has to go undercover as a Catholic priest to root out the mob in the parish. Falling for the parish secretary? That’s just the beginning of his problems.

I got the email Friday morning while working away at a writers’ retreat (where I pounded out 27,000 words on a new novel that I’m very excited about, too!). It was fantastic to share that with other writers face to face, especially when those writers are some really good friends.

The burning questions
To clarify, no one has actually asked these things; I’m being snarky to myself.

What’s your advance?
Let me introduce you to the concept of economies of scale if you’re not already familiar with it. I’m being published by a regional publisher, which means smaller print runs, which means higher cost per unit. This, in turn, means that there’s a bigger risk assumed by the publisher in printing the books, and a system which just doesn’t lend itself well to the advance-against-royalties model.

Or, the short answer: in this market, they’re almost exclusively on a royalties-only basis.

Why did you settle for a regional publisher?
First of all, that’s a super-rude way to phrase the question. I actually didn’t settle; this was one of my dream publishers. The book itself has a lot of LDS (Mormon) content because the main character is LDS. I knew I wanted to find this book a home with a regional LDS publisher—and I’m thrilled it did!

Edited to add: as my friend and publisher-buddy Annette Lyon pointed out in the comments, this company is also the top publisher of fiction in the market. It’s a pretty big deal (even if you haven’t heard of them).

Does this mean you’re Mormon?
Yep. Have been all along. You’re just now noticing? Hm.

So, what now?
My book was accepted based on the manuscript and a plan for proposed revisions to be extra extra careful about the interfaith issues. I’ll make those revisions and anything else I need to, and turn it in again. In the mean time, over at my publisher (I just love typing that!), they’ll assign me to an editor. That editor will look over my revised manuscript and make content suggestions on characters, plot lines, scenes, etc. I’ll take those to make the book better. Once we’re satisfied, the book goes to a copy editor who proofreads it. Once we get it thoroughly clean, it’s ready for all the technical stuff: typesetting, . . . um . . . well, I know there’s printing involved.

Somewhere in there I’ll receive, review and sign a contract. And a cover design. And also do some marketing planning and the like.

And when did you say?
They’re still figuring out exactly when, but it should be sometime in 2013.

But that’s so far away!
Yes, but this is the speed publishing moves. Also, in less than two months, I’ll be able to say, “My book will be out next year.”

So, are you excited?
Yes! Absolutely! And I got this news surrounded by some of my closest writer friends, many of whom have directly and indirectly helped me grow as a writer, who were then able to celebrate my success along with me. And also comment on how badly I was shaking. And ask me to do a cartwheel. (I did.)

Can I read it?
Oh yes! But I probably won’t be giving out a whole lot of free copies. Sorry, but I’m sure I’ll only receive a limited number anyway.

No, I meant, can I read it now?
I do have an excerpt of the first chapter of Saints and Spies in its current form available here on my website.

Well, awesome! But . . . I’m kind of running out of questions . . . Uh, how his Nano going?
Fantastic! With the retreat, I’m up to nearly 40,000 words in my novel, and it’s so much fun! It’s not going exactly how I planned–I really thought a certain event would be the first plot point, but then when I got there, a new first plot point came in, and now I’m just about at the midpoint and I’m still working up to that certain event.

Ah well, writing is revision, isn’t it?

If you say so. Where will I be able to buy your book?
LDS bookstores including Seagull Book and Deseret Book will carry it, as well as independent LDS bookstores. It might also be in Utah Barnes & Nobles and other bookstores. And of course, there’s always Amazon and Kindle.

Will non-Mormons be able to “get” your book?
Oh yes. The Internet is a wonderful thing.

The “get” is in quotes.
Gotcha. There are some jokes and references that are geared toward members of the LDS faith, but I’m thinking about how I can make sure my friends of other faiths can understand the references.

Will your blog change? Your Facebook? Your Twitter?
The answer, of course, is yes. Everything changes. I don’t know quite what I want to do to appeal to both writers and my potential readers, but we’ll see.

Are you tired?
YES. I just dozed off while typing my last response.

Why don’t you go to bed?
Just one more blog post.

Then stop writing this one!

Photo by Angela

Happy Halloween! The scary day is upon us! Made all the more scary by two things: the Halloween Scarefest wrapping up (you can add scenes with a character who’s afraid through today!) and what happens tonight at the witching hour:

NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH BEGINS!

Indeed, the time for Nano has come. And they’ve finally gotten the Writing Buddies feature working—feel free to add me as a buddy. You might be able to find me under the enigmatic name of “JordanMcCollum.”

If you’ve spent October preparing, you’re probably like me, champing at the bit (yes, it’s “champing” and not “chomping”) to get started, and maybe a little amazed you’ve been able to wait this long. You might even be planning to stay up until midnight to get a jump start on the month. (Or head to bed early to get a jump start in the morning.)

But even if you’re not participating in Nano this year, there’s sure to come a time when you have to up your productivity: writing for a deadline, a personal goal, a challenge among friends. We can even strive to make the most of our time and our writing efforts outside of Nano (gasp!).

To help with that, throughout November, I’m planning a series on NaNoWriMo success and inspiration: ways to help you get going and keep going, tips for the best Nano ever, and fun ways to reconnect with what inspired you to write this story in the first place.

What do you think? Are you ready for Nano? What areas of Nano do you need the most help with (other than, you know, actually writing the words)?

Photo by Andrew Skudder

UPDATE: THE LINKY WILL BE OPEN THROUGH HALLOWEEN! Add your stories now!

The day is here!

How to participate (and rules)
1. The theme is FEAR. Post a short scene (400 words or less) with a character who is afraid. Scared. Terrified. Petrified.

2. You may write a new scene on the topic, OR you may post a scene from your WIP or book. This includes completed and published works.

3. All scenes should be clean (i.e. no sex, limited violence and language).

4. Post your scene TODAY or any time this weekend, and add it to the Mr. Linky BELOW. Be sure to link your post back to the blogfest here (http://jordanmccollum.com/halloween-scarefest/) so your readers can read other entries, too.

5. Read, enjoy, and comment on other entries!

Want the badge? Copy this and paste it in the HTML of a blog post or your sidebar:

Want it bigger or smaller? Change the number at width="300" to adjust the size.

The Linky!

Use your name (or your name@your blog’s name, or your blog’s name), and the link to your post (i.e. http://myblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/my-post.html) and NOT your blog (i.e. http://myblog.blogspot.com).

Read, comment and share!

Blogfest badge photo by William Warby

If you’ve been in a store in the last six weeks, I’m sure you know Halloween is coming up. And to celebrate, I’m hosting a Halloween blogfest! Yep, here’s your chance to find an automatic topic, and get lots of visitors to your blog—and find great new blogs to read yourself! That’s right, it’s a HALLOWEEN SCAREFEST!

How to participate (and rules)
1. The theme is FEAR. Post a short scene (400 words or less) with a character who is afraid. Scared. Terrified. Petrified.

2. You may write a new scene on the topic, OR you may post a scene from your WIP or book. This includes completed and published works.

3. All scenes should be clean (i.e. no sex, limited violence and language).

4. Post your scene on Friday, October 28, 2011, and add it to the Mr. Linky on my post that day. Be sure to link your post back to the blogfest here (http://jordanmccollum.com/halloween-scarefest/) so your readers can read other entries, too.

5. Read, enjoy, and comment on other entries!

Want to sign up? Just leave a comment on this post if you’re planning to participate (not required, but appreciated!). The official sign up will be posted on here on October 28!

Want the badge? Copy this and paste it in the HTML of a blog post or your sidebar:

Want it bigger or smaller? Change the number at width="300" to adjust the size.

Blogfest badge photo by William Warby

In case you haven’t heard already (I heard it here), Amazon has unveiled a few new Kindles today, and they hit that all-important price point: under $99. And not just a little under: with special offers, there’s a $79 model.

Sort of. DO NOT BE DECEIVED by the “SPECIAL OFFERS.” They make it sound like it’s something you want. It’s advertising delivered to your Kindle. Your book is now a billboard. (Although they say they won’t interrupt the reading experience, and they’d better not.) You can decide if that’s something you want, but it’s definitely not something I want.

Probably the most important technological innovations to me are the Kindle Touch—a touch screen eReader—and the $200 (no special offers, I think) Kindle Fire. It’s a tablet (the color one in the slideshow). Yep, a tablet. Are we approaching the dream eReader that I was searching for last summer?

I was planning to hold out until my “ideal e-reader” became a reality. (In short, it would be a cross between a Kindle and an iPad, with a touchscreen that could be LCD or e-Ink as needed. Don’t look at me that way—I’m not a hardware person! I don’t know/care if that’s impossible!)

Oooor not. While it’s a heck of a lot less than most of its competition, this is still a regular old LCD tablet (though I’ve discovered I’m not alone in the wish for a screen that would switch between eInk and LCD. Still not a hardware person, but just thinking about it doesn’t sound feasible, unless the eInk screen were on top of the LCD screen and could be switched off, but I think that could lead to a lot of problems….).

I actually have last year’s Kindle (now the Kindle Keyboard without Special Offers—affiliate link, I get a small % of any purchase made through that link—amazingly, it’s still $139. Hm.) And if I had to do it again right now, I think I might actually go for the same thing.

Your mileage may definitely vary, but I LOVE physical keyboards—on smartphones (would that my phone were smart), on computers, and I assume on eReaders. I hate typing on touchscreen keyboards (again, YMMV, but I never have success with them and I’ve been touch typing for 15 years. Also, that’s from my experience with the iPad1, so I guess this could be different.). Oh, and advertising to me on my own personal device for possibly the rest of my life costs >$40. Sorry. I’m not that cheap. However, I do kind of like the idea of subsidizing a lifetime of reading to make it affordable for some people.

And Amazon’s new baseline model: a non-touch, keyboard-free Kindle, the smallest size ever, for $79 (it’s the silver one with one square button and four circular ones at the bottom in the pictures above). I’m guessing you’ll have to input text using the 5-way arrow button. Fuuuun. But good if you’re not a note taker (I really, really am one—especially when reading my own manuscripts).

What do you think? Do you have an e-Reader? Will you be buying a new one?