Newsletter # 1 — Only Some Books Are Novels
January 12, 2021
Newsletter # 1 — Only Some Books Are Novels
Events — Normally I have three or four events scheduled, but due to the pandemic I have only one scheduled. It's a big one, though — the publication of my first YA Novel, The F Words, on September 1, 2021, by City of Light Publishing.
What's Happening This Month — In January 2021, I'm waiting for two things, and I don't know in which order they'll occur. (1) The arrival of the edited manuscript of The F Words. My job will be to look this over Very. Carefully. in order to catch and correct any errors. What I send back to my editor will be what's published. (2) The arrival of the cover for The F Words. I already received several cover concepts in December, made my comments and suggestions, and am now waiting for the final version. Fired up!
Reviews — Well, hey — there are no reviews of The F Words yet, although there probably will be reviews even before the book is published. Of course I'll put the reviews in the newsletter.
If you're really hungry for a review, though, here's one of my favorites for Jack and Larry: Jack Graney and Larry, the Cleveland Baseball Dog.
The whole book is written in a very simple, free verse poem form that feels like a baseball historian is having a very relaxing conversation with the reader.
It's a great book for baseball fans, fans of novels written in verse, and history buffs. The best part is that it tells an unknown piece of baseball history in a very unique way. . . . I highly recommend this one.
— McLiterature: 6th Grade Literature with Mr. Curtis
Good to Know — The English word novel comes from the French word nouvelle, which means new. As an adjective, novel means new in English. But as a noun, novel means a fictional story in English.
Until recently English speakers understood that when they were reading a novel, they were reading fiction. But somehow people have become confused and think that a novel is simply a book, be it fiction or nonfiction. Maybe this confusion is why American publishers have started to put the words "A Novel" on the front cover of many books, right after the title of the book — perhaps they want to keep the word novel from being completely misunderstood by always attaching it to a work of fiction and never attaching it to a work of nonfiction.
Some of the first cover possibilities for The F Words had "A Novel" underneath the title, and some did not. I don't know what the final decision will be, but I'm fine with it either way.
Something About Me — One of the very first things I remember writing was a four-line poem when I was eleven years old. I titled the poem, "I Want a Horse," because I did want a horse. I never got the horse. But I did continue to write about things I believe in.