KBB is a good group.  They provide the books for my RWA chapter's after-meeting signings, and there always seem to be plenty of books by member authors, as well as a nice selection by outside authors.  A couple of the ladies there are big urban fantasy fans, and were squeeing about the chance to meet Jim next week!

I need to add a "plus 1" to my rsvp. 

I knew I'd wind up getting rejected on my first try, and I sort of looked forward to the letter as a milestone.  "Aw see honey, my very first rejection letter!"  I thought about framing it.  But then, I have a warped sense of humor.   

I've always planned to wall paper my bathroom with them.   

I'm blue moon over there, too.  I scanned through the Writing Groups and Clubs section, and discovered that we don't have a thread.  So I started one!  We can yammer to our hearts' content over there, and easily track everyone's progress.  Here's the link:

http://www.nanowrimo.org/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=7220&start=0#forumpost116915

Best seller calculations are one of the great mysteries of the modern age.  The weirdest thing is- they don't seem to be based on actual sales.  At least not completely.  It also depends on where you buy the book.  Certain stores are "reporting" stores- their numbers count.  Last I heard, Wal-Mart- the largest seller of books in the US- is not a reporting company.  So all those books don't count.  No one seems to know if Amazon reports or not.  From what I understand, the people who make the lists have some say in what goes on it as well.  This is why books that sell relatively few copies can get on the NYT, USA Today, and other best seller lists.

The word is spreading through the reader community that beyond the money made from the sale of an individual book, if they want to help their favorite authors they need to buy at reporting stores.  How to find a reporting store?  That's the trick, because in theory it's supposed to be secret.  If there's a store in your area that usually hosts the big author signings, most likely it's a report store.

I know a few people online who write on the racy end of romance.  They use pseudonyms so that 1. the neighbors don't find out, and 2. the pervs have a harder time tracking them down.  #2 is also an issue for someone I know who writes mystery/thrillers with disturbing content.

It used to be that certain romance lines would force you to use a pseudonym and then retain the rights to your name.  So if you wanted to work for another house you were stuck starting over.  While they could have someone else write under your name.  That, fortunately, has changed.

The choice to write under a different name seems to be yours these days.  As for picking the name, I'd discuss it with your agent and/or editor.  They should be able to help with considerations like how the name will look on the cover and where it would be shelved.  If you're choosing your name, you might as well choose for maximum sales.

The subject of J.A. Konrath came up on another writer's forum today.  He was quoted as saying that he spends 80% of his time promoting and 20% writing.  While promotion is important, that seems a bit excessive.  All that promotion comes to nothing if you don't have a next book to put out.  And the only way to publish another book is to write another book.

As a reader, I say find something important that happens during that month, or skip it.  If I want to read about people rambling along, eating and taking naps, I'll pick up Tolkien.

As a writer, I say write it if you need to.  You might need to take your characters on that journey, even if the whole chapter disappears in the final edit.  Do what works for you.

But if nothing of any importance happens in those pages, don't make us read them.