GUEST POST: "Tie Your Camel and Trust in Allah" by Kurtis Scaletta

Are you there, Esteemed Reader? Ninja here. I've been ignoring this blog since my two-part post Swimming With Sharks in which I warned readers that some publishing professionals are not to be trusted. Traffic since that post has exploded and I've found it easier to stay offline and  focus on my upcoming release rather than engaging Esteemed Readers in a debate over this issue.

But one of those Esteemed Readers who came to the post and had some thoughts of his own was our old friend Kurtis Scaletta, author of Mudville, Mamba Pointe, The Tanglewood Terror, and The Winter of the Robots. Kurtis has generously made time to compile those thoughts and share them with us.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Esteemed Readers, please welcome Mr. Kurtis Scaletta:

“Tie your camel and trust in Allah,” is one of my favorite proverbs. So it goes with publishing: it’s all well and good to put your hope in God, or the fervency of your dreams, or the ideological premise that good things happen to good people, but what will best keep the camel from wandering off is a strong rope and a good knot. 

If you’re in the market to pay for editorial services, you are taking care of fundamentals. You are tying your camel, not making a sacrifice to Allah in the hope that His magnificent benevolence will reward you with a book deal. It’s not a secret handshake. It’s just about putting yourself in the best position when you hit the submission trail. 

Unfortunately, the camel-tying business is one without credentialing, so it’s hard to know if you’re investing wisely. What can you do to make sure you’re spending your money wisely?

First, reputable editorial services will be clear about what you get: a critique of your manuscript with comments on its strengths and weaknesses, with attention to voice, structure and plotting, character development and so forth. They’ll be upfront the scope of their comments, the turnaround time, and the cost. You are paying for a knowledgeable opinion of the manuscript, suggestions on how to improve it, and perhaps—not always— tips on how to place it. You are not buying a space on an editor’s desk, a fast path through the slush pile, or an introduction to an agent. If the service suggests anything like that, you should be wary. 

It should also be clear that unless they specifically say so, few professional editors are copyeditors or fact checkers – that is, they are not going to check all your commas or look up whether or not you’re right when you say passingly that Fargo is the capitol of North Dakota. They may highlight a few howlers that they can’t help but notice, but copyediting is a final phase of editing that comes separately – one you don’t need to do for submitting your manuscript (though it doesn’t hurt), but should do if you are self publishing, unless you have a sharp-eyed and knowledgeable beta reader. 

Second, look for the credentials of the person doing the listing. They should have industry experience, e.g., be published authors, experienced editors, and/or former agents. They should have helped usher books into the world, and they should be able to list the titles of those books and the names of people they have worked with. 

Third, look for referrals. If you’re spending hundreds of dollars, you should be able to find a couple happy clients. 

Finally, know that what you are paying for is a person’s time. It is that simple. If you’re struck by the cost attached to it, remember that someone is taking ten hours or more out of their own writing life to help you with yours. The time they’ve taken should be evident in their response. 

A more difficult question might be whether you need an editor at all, and it’s not one I can answer for you. If you’ve been through multiple revisions, exhausted your friendly and honest readers, and have hit the slush pile with nothing but silence and form rejections, it might be time to take this step. You can get the feedback agents and editors won’t take the time to give because they are moving on to the next manuscript. But it is a big investment, and there’s no promise that it will be the critical step towards publication. I know writers who do credit their freelance editor for finally selling a manuscript, but it’s no guarantee. 

As a final note, you might buy the rope and take a knots-tying course, but it’s still your job to tie the camel.  An editorial letter is a big homework assignment, and often a daunting one. If you’ve gotten a good one, you probably feel sick to your stomach after reading it, because the flaws of the manuscript are suddenly so obvious, and the path to fixing them so arduous. If you feel that way, it’s probably money well spent. 

www.kurtisscaletta.com

7 Questions For: Author Kurtis Scaletta

Kurtis Scaletta is the author of Mudville, Mamba Point (click here to read my review), and the upcoming Wake Me, all published by Knopf Books. Mr. Scaletta has lived in Louisiana, New Mexico, England, North Dakota, Liberia, Virginia, Brazil, North Dakota (again), Kansas, Maine, and Minnesota. From the bio section of his website: "When I came back to writing, I decided to focus on stories for children and young adults. I especially wanted to write “middle grade” books, the novels that for me (and for many people) represent a golden age of reading: middle grade is where you’ll find Charlotte and Wilber, Beezus and Ramona, and the earlier adventures of Harry, Hermione and Ron."

Mr. Scaletta has launched a new book this week and is expecting a new baby, but somehow he has still found time to come visit us and face the 7 Questions:

Question Seven: What are your top three favorite books?

Sticking to kids books, I'll say Charlotte's Web; The Midnight Fox; and Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars. I might give a different three books if you ask again tomorrow.

Question Six: How much time do you spend each week writing? Reading?

I spend probably an average of forty hours a week writing and revising, less time some weeks and more other weeks. I have a day job so that's a second full time job for me. I don't get to read as much as I'd like to, but I read about 20 books a year, often in spurts when I'm on a hiaitus from writing.

Question Five: What was the path that led you to publication?

My story is pretty typical -- I wrote a manuscript, got critiques, revised it a lot, wrote a bang-up query letter with the help of a very kindhearted friend who was already published, sent it to eight or nine agents, and got an offer of representation from Tina Wexler after two or three rounds of revisions and a couple of long telephone conversations. She sold the book pretty quickly after she thought it was ready. From conception to publication was a five-year process.

BTW, publication is a departure point, not a destination.

Question Four: Do you believe writers are born, taught or both? Which was true for you?

It's mostly learned but only partly taught. I mean that writers set out to learn and they can learn from everything, not just teachers --reading other books, listening to the way people talk, asking questions, writing and revising, meeting other writers. Almost everything is instructive.

Question Three: What is your favorite thing about writing? What is your least favorite thing?

I think my favorite part and my least favorite part are the same thing -- all of the revisions and hard work that goes into turning a manuscript in a book. Ideas are fun and finished books are fun; everything in between is drudgery, but the drudgery is the part that makes all the difference and gives me the most satisfaction and pride.

Question Two: What one bit of wisdom would you impart to an aspiring writer? (feel free to include as many other bits of wisdom as you like)

Stop aspiring and start perspiring.

Question One: If you could have lunch with any writer, living or dead, who would it be? Why?

I usually say P.G. Wodehouse, James Thurber, Kurt Vonnegut, or Daniel Pinkwater. I'm not just looking for brilliant writers, but ones I know will be fun to talk to. Now I might say bright, funny writers I know online and through their books but have never met in person --Michael Northrop, Josh Berk, James Preller, and Laurel Snyder are the first names that come to mind. There are dozens more.

www.kurtisscaletta.com

Book of the Week: MAMBA POINT by Kurtis Scaletta

This week is going to be tremendous! We are going to be joined by middle grade author Kurtis Scaletta himself on Thursday and today we are going to discuss his newest book, Mamba Point, which comes out today! That’s right, the ninja got himself an exclusive advanced reader copy and I have been enjoying Mamba Point ahead of everyone else (and what a lot of gloating I’ve done in this post!). So is the book any good?
Good, Esteemed Reader? Good doesn’t quite cover it. How about fantastic? How about wonderful? How about it’s the greatest middle grade book about mambas and American children living in Africa in the 1980s I have ever read! Mamba Point is a new favorite of mine (although I love all of the books on this blog) and I cannot recommend it strongly enough.

In fact, it’s too good! I’m going to have to write a shorter review than usual because I don’t want to ruin the experience of reading it for you. Mamba Point is a tightly wound tale that will make you laugh, hold you in suspense, and have you checking underneath your bed to make sure there aren’t any mambas slithering about. I had not one, but two dreams about mambas while reading it.

So here’s my review: two thumbs way up, five out of four stars, on a scale of 10, it’s an eleven, insert your own hyperbole. The thing to do now is to order Mamba Point and read it without letting me tell you anything further. Have I ever steered you wrong before, Esteemed Reader? Don’t bother reading the rest of this post, just buy your copy: Mamba Point.

The thing is, the less you know about Mamba Point going into it, the better. I’m going to try not to spoil the book for you , but inevitably I probably will give some of it away and I’m sure a few of you Esteemed Readers are still reading without having first bought and read it (shame on you). I had the good fortune to read this book without knowing anything going in other than Kurtis Scaletta is a very nice man who gave me a signed copy of his book, and that is the way to experience Mamba Point, because it knocked for a loop (mostly because some jerk blogger didn’t tell me all about it beforehand).

All right, I gave you a whole paragraph to stop reading and now I’m starting the summary. This is the first line of Mamba Point: My brother changed his name on the plane ride to Africa. What a great opening line, yeah? It’s exciting, it’s provocative, and it sets up the story at once. It’s 1982 and Larry, now Law, Tuttle and his brother Linus (there are plenty of blanket and Snoopy jokes) are on a plane to Africa where they will be living near the US embassy in a place called Mamba Point. But not to worry. There aren’t really any mambas there, or so Linus’s parents tell him, and the local inhabitants tell him. But as soon as the boys step off the plane, they are attacked by a mamba, which makes for an exciting opening. Not anymore though. I just ruined it. Told you not to read.

Linus is hoping to make a new start for himself in Africa. He doesn’t want to be the same Linus he was back home in Dayton, Ohio. He tells us constantly (the book is written in the first person) that he is becoming a new Linus. This is a wonderfully universal experience shared by most children who have moved and it resonates. But the problem is everywhere Linus goes, he sees another Mamba. He’s not supposed to be seeing them because there aren't supposed to be any mambas around, but he does. Early in the book, Scaletta drops this information:

"Mom wanted Darryl to shut up because she didn’t want to exacerbate your condition,” he said… When my parents took me to see that shrink after my panic attack at school, he talked to me for a while by myself.

Is interesting, no? Here we have a boy who might just have a mental issue who keeps seeing black mambas everywhere, usually while no one else is around. And the black mambas’ behavior gets stranger and stranger. Linus is able to pet them and they slither around his leg and never hurt them, and he is so not a parselltoungue. A black mamba follows him around, becomes his friend, and even lives in his laundry hamper. At this point, I began to suspect the mamba’s real name was Tyler Durden and Linus and he would start their own Fight Club. How fun is it to suspect something like that in a middle grade novel? It’s a lot of fun and now you won’t have it because I told you about it beforehand.

Is Linus crazy? Maybe. But his new friend Gambeh has a different theory. The rural religions believe some people have a special connection to animals called Kaseng. So those are your options: Linus is crazy and has delusional fantasies, which would make for an awesome story. Or, Linus has a special connection to actual, physically real black mambas and he can hang out with them and convince them to do things without ever being hurt, which would also make for an awesome story. I’m not going to tell you which it is because I’ve already spoiled enough. But either way, what follows is an awesome story and you're going to love it.

I said this was going to be a short review, but I’ve lied about that before (every week). Don’t worry. I’m not going to ruin anything else. But I’ve honestly never read a book quite like Mamba Point and I really, really liked it. It’s a boy book through and through, though girls will like it too, and the thing that makes it really special is the characters. I cared about Linus and Law and even Matt, the nerdy kid who lives across the hall. I knew a couple of Matt’s growing up.

I identified with these characters. Reading the banter of the brothers reminded me of being their age and horsing around with my own brother. And the boys are very funny. Even if a single black mamba had never shown up, I still would have enjoyed reading about them and that’s the hallmark of great characterization. These boys don’t need a strong plot to make them interesting, they make the plot they’re in interesting. And because the boys are so believable in all other situations, from playing video games to meeting girls, we believe them in some of the more fantastic situations.

Mamba Point is a love letter to youth, I think. Today’s kids will love the book, but if you grew up in the last thirty years, this book will be extra special to you. I was a boy in the 1980s and I remember Indiana Jones when he was fresh and new and decades away from the Crystal Skull. I remember how amazing Atari was at the time and how it was to dream of owning Pac-Man or Space Invaders. Back then, I could never have conceived of a Red Dead Redemption and Scaletta’s description of Pac-Man is like poetry. I haven’t played that game in forever, but I broke out my copy of Pac-Man after reading this book. Scaletta also presents us with the age old argument of Marvel vs DC and who has the better superheroes. He picks Marvel, which is just ridiculous and nearly ruined the book:) But later, he makes positive mention of Stephen King, so we'll call it even. Nice save, Scaletta.

Mamba Point is a time machine for adults of a certain age and even though I’ve never been to Africa or seen a black mamba, I felt transported to a time when I had. It was a wonderful experience and worth having. So go buy the book already and don’t forget to come back on Thursday to see Kurtis Scaletta face the 7 Questions or on Saturday to find out the identity of our mystery literary agent.

STANDARD DISCLAIMER: Book of the Week is simply the best book I happened to read in a given week. There are likely other books as good or better that I just didn’t happen to read that week. Also, all reviews here will be written to highlight a book’s positive qualities. It is my policy that if I don’t have something nice to say online, I won’t say anything at all (usually). I’ll leave you to discover the negative qualities of each week’s book on your own.