Posts from — June 2008

Rory Freedman is a sassy writer with an axe to grind. That’s right, you’re on her sh*t list. Why? Because you eat meat. And dairy. And soda, which Rory calls “liquid Satan.” Any of this sounding familiar? Maybe because Rory is the co-author of a little book called Skinny Bitch. Heard of it? We’re guessing yes, since it’s been on the New York Times Best Seller list for 49 weeks. Skinny Bitch promotes a vegan diet and exposes factory farming, slaughterhouses, and animal cruelty.

WordHustler interviews Rory about the inspiration for her best-selling book, her writing plans for the bitchin’ future, and (of course) what she snacks on while she writes.

WordHustler: When did you realize the idea for Skinny Bitch had crystallized into something you HAD to write?

Rory Freedman: I was an agent at Ford Models in NYC for five years. I was making a six-figure salary, but I wasn’t fulfilled. After reading Real Magic by Dr. Wayne Dyer, I left Ford to become a full-time animal rights activist. When I couldn’t find a job at an animal rights organization, I got the idea for Skinny Bitch. I called my friend, Kim Barnouin, who had given me Real Magic and who had kept bugging me to go into some kind of business with her. I said, “We’re gonna write a vegan diet book together. We’re gonna call it Skinny Bitch. You’ll do the research and I’ll do the writing.” She was fully onboard.

WH: I know you have a background in fashion and the modeling world. Did you and Kim use the conventional non-fiction publishing process (ie writing a book proposal, getting an agent, finding a publisher, etc) or did you come into it via another route?

RF: We went the conventional route, but were lucky as shit. But the whole thing was cosmic and karmic more than anything else. A friend had lent me these Tony Robbins CDs—Hour Of Power and Get the Edge. They totally rocked my world. One of the things covered in the CDs was the power of goal setting. So I made this list of goals and on the list was, “Write a vegan diet book called Skinny Bitch.” And according to Tony, I was not allowed to get up from the table until I did something toward accomplishing this goal. Within a week, I had the first outline drafted.

Next, I researched the whole non-fiction book submission process. Soon after that, I was having dinner in NYC with some friends (twin sisters) I hadn’t seen in a while. I mentioned I was writing a book and they said, “You should get in touch with our literary agent. She hasn’t liked any of the stuff we’ve sent her way so far, but you never know.” Within a month or two, I had submitted the outline, a proposal, and Chapters 1-3. We got signed soon after, and within a few months, we had a publishing deal.

I know how grueling the process is for most people and I fully understand how lucky we were. From the time I had the idea for Skinny Bitch to the time it landed on the shelves, it was probably about two years.

WH: What are the pros of writing a book with a writing partner? What are the cons?

RF: I’d rather eat throw up than do research, and writing isn’t Kim’s strong suit—so that alone was enough. But the best part of having a partner is having someone who feels equally as excited as you when good things happen. Your friends and family are happy for you, your writing partner is happy with you.

The worst part of partnership is wanting to rip each other’s heads off and hating each other’s guts. When our computers were being bitchy, our deadlines were stressing us out, or when there were bumps in the road, we turned on each other for small, quick, ugly bursts.

But those times were few, far between, and fleeting. Kim and I love each other and constantly say how grateful we are to be doing this all together.

WH: What is the first thing you remember writing as a child?

RF: I have a crystal clear memory of learning a poem in school (second grade, maybe) and then going to summer camp and submitting the poem as my own work for the camp newspaper. I totally plagiarized! It got published—and I remember feeling the shame and fear of being found out. I don’t know who really wrote it (sorry), but I’ll never forget the fucking thing: If I could wish to be a fish for just a day or two, I’d spout and splash and dart and dash with nothing else to do.

[Editor’s Note: a round of oh-so-thorough Google research revealed the poem in question is credited to “Anonymous,” so WordHustler suggests maybe the poem really was Rory’s after all]

WH: Here’s a question that combines healthy eating with writing: what’s your favorite thing to snack on when you’re working?

RF: Oh, God, I am a total pig in general—I love eating. And when I’m writing and struggling, I’ll do anything to get away from my computer. I’ll cook full meals in the middle of a sentence. But I will say, a favorite quickie is whole grain toast with homemade hummus.

WH: Being a writer is hard because you are, in every sense of the word, putting yourself completely out there. How do you handle criticism of your writing? Do you read all of your reviews? Do you do yoga or some other activity to chill out?

RF: At the beginning, every negative thing I read made me want to cry. Now, only the well written, articulate, accurate criticisms sting. The unintelligible, adolescent, hate-slinging doesn’t penetrate at all. I can see that when people write in a mean and shitty way, it’s because they’re unhappy and hurting. Actually, I shouldn’t say it doesn’t penetrate at all. The negativity and bad energy, the unfairness that some pussy can sling shit behind the anonymity of their computer—that can incite anger, for sure.

I used to obsessively Google the book to see what was being said. Now, thankfully, I don’t have as much time on my hands.

WH: I know Skinny Bitch In The Kitch is out and doing well and Skinny Bitch: Bun in the Oven is coming out in September…what’s next?

RF: We’ve got books four and five in the works: a motivational journal, Skinny Bitchin’, will come out December 2008. Skinny Bastard (a how-to-eat guide for men) will come out December 2009. We’re also about to get cracking on three workout DVDs (they’ll be released by Warner Brothers January 2008). And we’re working with Berman Braun (a production company) for both scripted and reality TV shows.

WH: Well, you heard it here. The bitch is on the move, people. Books! DVDs! TV shows! I guess there’s just one more thing to ask Rory…what do you think of WordHustler?

RF: WordHustler is totally useful, entirely unique, and pretty friggin’ cool.

WH: We couldn’t have said it any better ourselves.

Do you have a bitchin’ idea for a non-fiction book that you want to get out to the world? Why not submit your non-fiction book proposal to Running Press, home of Skinny Bitch and hopefully soon home to your delicious masterpiece! WordHustler wants to help you get published…success is just the cherry on top.

The New York Times reports that an independently published Christian novel called “The Shack,” which casts God as a jovial African-American woman named “Papa,” has defied expectations and sold over a million copies. This runaway phenomenon started when William P. Young, a former office manager and hotel clerk, wrote a small novel about God’s love. A year after “The Shack” was published on a shoestring budget by Young and two pastors, it has climbed to number one on the New York Times trade paperback fiction best-seller list and looks like it’s there to stay.

What makes “The Shack” the little book that could? Find out by reading more on the New York Times HERE.

Do you have a little novel that could…and should? Why not send it out today! I bet the kind folks (literary agents, to be precise) at Trident Media would LOVE to hear from you. Send them a query letter via WordHustler today!

Say it with us: “I think I can, I think I can!”

The New York Observer reports “Less than a month after Dmitri Nabokov announced, following years of indecision, that he would publish his late father Vladimir’s unfinished final novel, The Original of Laura, he has hired a new literary agent to represent the Nabokov Estate.”

Just who is this new mystery agent? None other than Andrew Wylie of The Wylie Agency. The loser in this situation? The previous agent of the Nabokov estate, Nikki Smith of Smith-Skolnik Literary Management. Guess Wylie’s nickname of “The Jackal” is indeed apt.

Nevermind the fact that Vladimir specifically left instructions for the 100-plus handwritten note cards that made up the novel to be burned after his death. Wonder how he’d feel about that?

To read the whole article on the NYO, click HERE.

To read a colorful article on “The Jackal” from Conde Nast’s Portfolio.com, click HERE.

Do you have a gripping fiction project ready to burst onto the literary scene? Why not use WordHustler to help you submit your short story to the 2008 RRofihe Trophy contest and earn a chance to win $500 and publication in Open City Magazine? Who knows, with that kind of attention, The Jackal may come sniffing your way too.

According to MediaBistro’s GalleyCat blog, publishers like W. W. Norton are the latest to jump on the Twitter trend. Twitter, for the uninitiated, is a text-based social networking tool that allows users to send and receive frequent, micro-blog updates from their friends. (See one Belgian man’s Twitter friend-graph below. That guy’s birthday parties must be insane.)

Twitter, in recent months, has been sidling into the advertising/publicity world and is being employed by companies looking to boost profiles or garner followers. One such company is stalwart publishing house W.W. Norton, who has set up their account HERE and are gathering fellow Twitter-ees. But what will this constant stream of chatter do for the publishing world? And is there such as thing as too much info?

Read more on GalleyCat HERE.

Do you have some information sharing to do? Why not submit a soul-baring poem to the 2008 Omnidawn Poetry Contest? First prize is $2000 and the deadline is June 30th so hurry! WordHustler wants to help you get your inner thoughts out there to the world…maybe you’ll garner a few followers of your own.

Nicholas Sparks, best-selling author of Message In A Bottle and A Walk To Remember, is one of those success stories who gives back to the community. But Mr. Sparks, according to The New York Times, gives back in a speedy way: funding his local high school’s running track. The high school is in the small North Carolina town of New Bern, the setting of Spark’s most successful novel, The Notebook. Mr. Sparks certainly is a writer who gives back to the town that gave him inspiration.

To read more on the New York Times, click HERE.

For a wee bit of Sparks-induced romantic sugar coma, take a gander at this:

Do you have some romantic stories to share with the world? Why not use WordHustler to send a query letter to a literary agent like Theresa Park at The Park Literary Group? She happens to be Nicholas Sparks’ literary agent and hopefully, someday, yours too!

According to the New York Post, Dan Lyons, the writer behind Fobes’ magazine’s wildly-famous “The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs” blog, has been poached by Newsweek. Guess there’s just not enough Fake Steve Jobs to go around.

To read the whole article on the New York Post, click HERE.

Here’s sampling of the REAL Mr. Jobs from his WWDC keynote address. MahaloDaily.com has condensed his 107-minute speech into 60 Apple-licious seconds:

Do you have a technological breakthrough you’d like to share with the world? Why not submit an article to Analog Science Fiction and Fact? Analog is a cutting-edge sci-fi magazine looking for genius talent just like yours! Let WordHustler help you snag a job…maybe even one like Steve Jobs’.