Super Secret ABNA Week

So... on the 24th, the finalists for ABNA will be announced, right? But the rules state that the finalists will actually be NOTIFIED starting YESTERDAY!!! But they aren't allowed to TELL ANYONE!? I know, right? Could they POSSIBLY have any more unrealistic expectations? But you lose your status if you tell... TALK ABOUT TORTURE!!! Sadists! The lot of them!



Now only 6 people will be notified... 94, will NOT... though...



[for the record, as of posting, I have NOT been notified... almost absolutely out this round... but I will hold out hope for a bit yet... more on this]



Okay, see the rules state you have to be able to GET THERE (New York City) and you have to agree to their contract (which I will address in a minute)... so I think... well... that's what I'm here to talk about... what I think...







In Absence of Facts, I Might as Well Make Stuff Up...

I think this lag is because SOME SMALL portion of people may not be able to get here... maybe they live in... say Australia... and they didn't KNOW that their shenanigans have put them on a 'do not fly' list (because Australians are notorious troublemakers) *cough* (waves honorary Australian flag and threatens everyone with drop bears) So then they get notification, begin arrangements and CAN'T... Well there has to be SOME lag to find the NEXT in line (man, can you imagine being 'next in line? Though I guess you only know if they have to then reach YOU... which they would do... say, the 18th because it would take a little while to get to the 'sorry but' answer from the person who SHOULD have made it...)



But anyway... if someone CAN'T they have to have time to find the next one who CAN... or so I see it...





As to the Contract...



Well since by SIGNING UP, you are agreeing to their terms... *rolls eyes* What gets ME, is the people who... at THIS POINT start grumbling it isn't a good enough deal... Are you serious? A $15,000 advance is nothing to sneeze at, but they fail to see what the word ADVANCE means... let's just go over it...



The ADVANCE is the money you get BEFORE the book is out... they are GAMBLING on you and your success, and this is what they are willing to put up front. But HONESTLY, the sky is the limit—if you promote the heck out of your book, you can make a whole bunch MORE money... you just have to wait to see how the sales go (and work your tail off so they go the way you WANT).

I saw somebody grumble about 'translations being included'--what, they want a personal hand in translations? Translations expand their potential audience. Why grumble? Now on the off chance one of these books becomes a MOVIE or something... then the contract might not be the best deal a writer could have gotten... that is a gamble we take. But if somebody thinks they can do BETTER, why the heck did they not just query their book?





Now the Piece of the Rules that could feasibly (read: hopefully) matter to ME...



We are ALSO entering a period where Penguin claims first rights to ALL semi-finalists... if, before June 30, they contact us, we are obliged to negotiate with them... (hello, talk about a problem I want)... but it IS the reason I am really hoping my agent (or actually her YA partner) is on board... I don't want to negotiate without an agent in the loop. And if they contact us and no agreement can be REACHED, they reserve rights to counter-offer (and promise 10% MORE than the negotiated advance)...

I am somehow STILL not seeing a downside here...

Though that Super Secret Week...



Okay, so let's just pretend... because it is my BLOG and therefore my RIGHT... that they contact me today... Tell me I am a finalist... and I can't TELL anyone for 8 days?! How do I DO that!? I'll tell you how... I'd probably have to go underground... I'm a LOUSY liar (even if I didn't object to lying)... then again, misattributing is my superpower, so I suppose I could throw questions in strange directions and tell you OTHER stuff...

But strangely... I don't HAVE TO... I am almost completely offline May 18-21... I could avoid the 22nd easily, too—I never blog on Sunday, and I get home at an ungodly hour anyway... so today and 23rd are the only days I'd need to throw off questions... Coincidence? Or divine intervention? I'll let YOU decide! HAIL DIGRESSION! *cough*



Seriously though, as a contestant, it will be so strange to know that 6 of our number KNOW they have won (well... pretty much...), while the rest of us leer around wondering who the good liars are... I am definitely glad I actually don't have the leeway to obsess.

And FINALLY... former ABNA finalist makes good... You may or may not have read my interview with Harry Dolan after Bad Things Happen came out... and you may or may not have SEEN I get an ARC for this, but SURELY you don't know it came in PERFECT time for my trip!  I have 10 hours on planes and in airports in the next 5 days... and I have a book I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT to read!!!!   It came last night and it's perfect timing!!!