Books on Film: Nancy Drew

Even if you haven't read the books, or seen the movies, you've heard the name Nancy Drew. She's a famous book detective, and through the years she's been edited, adapted and re-packaged endlessly so she can keep on being relevant. And it's worked, because we all still know who she is -- and she's been a teenager since the 1930s.

The Books

Nancy Drew was born on the page in 1930, to be exact, with The Secret of the Old Clock. This first book spawned an entire series that's going on 83 years old. The many, many books in the series are written under the name Carolyn Keene, a person who does not exist. Several ghostwriters have been responsible for crafting Nancy's adventures over the years.

Ghostwriters were also used to change those stories. Nancy underwent her first big re-branding in 1959, to eliminate racist stereotypes and other subject matter that didn't make for appropriate reading in those times of Civil Rights. Drew changed again in the 1980s, becoming a bit older and more professional in her detective endeavors. The entire original series wasn't ended until 2004, when Nancy Drew re-emerged under the Girl Detective mystery series. She's way more PC in this version, and even drives an electric car (gas is in the past, kids). 

Despite all the changes, or maybe because of them, Nancy has remained highly popular among YA readers through the years More than 80 million books featuring her have been sold around the world. She's also appeared in no less than 5 feature-length films, two TV shows and more computer games than you can shake a mouse at.

She began as a 16-year-old amateur sleuth bent on solving mysterious crimes. Later, she became 18 years old. Nancy lives in River Heights (which does not exist) with her father Carson Drew, a successful lawyer. Housekeeper Hannah provides the mothering influence that Nancy needs, as she lost her biological mother when she was very young. In the original stories, Nancy's mom left the picture when she was 10. Later, Nancy was 3 when her mother died. Nancy also has a love interest, Ned Nickerson, who goes to Emerson College.

Nancy Drew has a truly mind-boggling array of skills. In addition to being beautiful, she speaks French, knows how to drive boats, paints and understands the intricate workings of the human mind. She also swims, sews, cooks, plays golf and tennis, rides horses, dances like a pro, knows first aid and, of course, plays bridge (some sort of card game). She also has a seemingly inexhaustible income, and usually tools around in a blue convertible. All this, in spite of the fact that she doesn't accept money for her detecting efforts. Solving the crime is more than compensation enough for Nancy Drew.

Most of the Nancy Drew books written between 1930 and 1959 were penned by a woman named Hannah Gruen, herself a very self-confident and self-possessed independent woman. She drew some flak for making Nancy too assertive and confident, and interjected lines throughout the book where Nancy is talking "sweetly" or "kindly" to people to tone down her perceived abrasive nature. Harriet Adams took charge of the series in 1959, going through all the books to make the needed changes to eliminate racism.

The books are somewhat formulaic in nature, but no less enjoyable for it. Each revolves around a specific mystery, upon which Nancy stumbles accidentally or has been asked to solve by some other character. She sometimes has help with these mysteries, but invariably ends up solving every clue herself. She's pretty and she's stylish, but Nancy isn't afraid to go anywhere, do anything or confront anyone. She always has a flashlight within easy reach, and thinks nothing of creeping through cellars or climbing around attics. A cursory nod to character development is given, and if you read the series you'll notice new developments in the lives of the people who surround Nancy Drew.

Several new series were created to re-introduce Nancy over the years, including The Nancy Drew Files and Nancy Drew on Campus. Nancy broke up with Ned during this series, and became the leading lady of Girl Detective in 2003. She's been through many changes over the years in the literary world, but Nancy Drew has been adapted several times on the screen as well.

The Movies

Actress Bonita Granville became Nancy Drew in four different Warner Bros. films during the 1930s. The stories became more comedy than mystery, and the self-assured Nancy of the early books became vapid and silly on the silver screen. Ned's name was changed to Ted for reasons unknown. These films are very hard to find, but you can sometimes see them on TCM. 

Nancy came to the small screen in the 1970s, this time played by actress Pamela Sue Martin (and later, when Pamela left, by Janet Louise Johnson). This Nancy was more assertive and bold, more like the original storybook Nancy, but arguably didn't look a thing like the character described on the page. Tracy Ryan played Nancy in a very brief 1995 TV series, and she didn't really look like Nancy either.

Nancy Drew languished in film obscurity until 2007, when Warner Bros. produced a fairly big-budget, highly promoted film version of the classic stories. Emma Roberts played Nancy, who was moved into the modern era. The adaptation does take a few tongue-in-cheek moments to poke fun at the long history of the Nancy Drew series, but in this version she's back to being very smart and less concerned about romance, more like the 1930s version of the character. Rumor has it that Roberts has already agreed to appear in the sequel.

In this version, Nancy has recently moved, temporarily, with her father Carson from River Heights. And because she's Nancy, she picked a rental house with its own built-in mystery. It's the former home of a somewhat obscure film star, Dehlia Draycott, who was mysteriously murdered (some sources say that the character was based on Natalie Wood, a well-known actress who did become the victim of a still-unsolved crime). But Carson doesn't approve of Nancy's sleuthing, and hopes that she'll become more "normal" while living in California. 

That's not who Nancy is. She ends up throwing herself into the mystery wholeheartedly, as usual, and begins to unravel all the clues. Nancy's blue car is featured in the flick, as is love interest Ned.

What Got Adapted?

Arguably, the 2007 movie makes fun of Nancy. She "likes old-fashioned things," and doesn't dress like anyone else (because she's really from the 30s). She's very smart when it comes to sleuthing, but seems to lack common sense in all other areas. And she's socially awkward, something the real Nancy Drew never was even through all her changes and re-vamping. The real Nancy makes friends easily and often draws admiration from others. Her friends George and Bess have completely disappeared, something that's sure to upset longtime Nancy fans, and much of the movie focuses on how weird and different she is -- when we all know that Nancy is highly adaptable. She's known for it.

That said, it's a really fun, cute movie, and Emma Roberts is adorable as Nancy Drew. There are definitely elements of the original books in the movie, and there's certainly a mystery to be solved if you look hard enough for it. Ned's a cutie, Nancy's new friend is absolutely delightful on screen, and there's even a cameo from Roberts family friend Bruce Willis (it pays to be related to Julia). So if you haven't seen it, see it! When you're done, read all 200-plus Nancy Drew books, and see if you think the film adaptation is an appropriate modern update for the long-running franchise.

From the Trenches: Unbroken

Receiving rejections is a wearing, wearying experience. Each brand-new letter brings a ray of hope. Every time the envelope is opened, that hope is crushed. It's like standing on top of a mountain for thirty seconds before falling to the Earth...and it's a long, long way down.

One author refused to let that fall break her, and because she wouldn't give up all of us know her name.

Being Stubborn

Judy Blume was born in 1938 in New Jersey. As a child, she liked to make up stories in her head. After graduating high school, Judy attended Boston University, but went on to graduate from NYU with a degree in teaching.

Teach she would, but not necessarily in the classroom. Judy went on to marry in the early 1960s, and became busy with a home and a young family. But all those stories were still in her head. So when her children started attending school, July Blume finally had the time to start writing them down. She wrote prolifically, and eventually got enough gumption together to submit her stories to publishers.

They were promptly rejected. Undeterred, Judy Blume continued writing and submitting...and she continued receiving rejection letters. She began selling short stories to magazines, but for two straight years only rejection letters came in the mail.

Blume recounted her experience in her own words on her website: "One magazine, Highlights for Children, sent a form letter with a list of possible reasons for rejection. 'Does not win in competition with others,' was always checked off on mine. I still can't look at a copy of Highlights without wincing."

True Grit

"I would go to sleep at night feeling that I'd never be published. But I'd wake up in the morning convinced I would be."

Blume said that she learned a little more with each new story she created. And finally, someone else agreed. She published her first book in 1969, then a second quickly after. But it wasn't until Are You There God, It's Me Margaret came out in 1971 that Blume officially became a bestselling author.

Her books have sold more than 80 million copies around the world, and today Judy Blume is considered to be one of the foremost children's writers in the business. Take that, Highlights magazine!

Judy Blume was stubborn, and continued to dream about being a writer even when her hopes were repeatedly crushed. She didn't give up, and eventually the publishing industry gave in. She wrote in the trenches, fueled on little more than hope, and she's still writing today.

Writing 101: Print Marketing

No, you haven't fallen into a time warp. Print marketing is still relevant, up to a point, and there are a whole lot of good reasons why you should be using it to market your self-published books. 

Really, It's a Good Idea

I know, I know. Everyone and everything is online these days, including self-published books. So what can print possibly hope to offer to a digital-savvy writer who's hip to social media and an entire world of e-marketing? 

Bookmarks. Lots of people still love their paper books, and each one of those rectangles is a marketing opportunity. First, print them up using images from your book cover. Add pertinent info in easy-to-read text, like "available in print and online at Amazon.com" and maybe your author blog address. A quote or two praising the book probably wouldn't be out of hand, either. Remember to print images and text on the front and back. 

Once you've got them, give them away. Go to your local bookstore (if you still have one) and ask if you can set them on the counter to give away for free. They can also be set out at card shops, novelty shops, and even the grocery store. Just ask someone for permission, and set them out. And whatever you do, don't forget the library. Your local library is probably very willing to give out your bookmarks, hang up your flyers and maybe even have you in to give a little presentation about self-publishing, literacy or another book-related topic. Take your bookmarks with you. Local marketing is a powerful tool, because people are going to find it much harder to reject you when you're standing there, in their faces.

Make up some flyers, as well, and if you're truly feeling ambitious make up a couple of posters. Make them beautiful. If you're going to do it, then go ahead and do it well. The more gorgeous your printed materials are, the more successful your local campaign is going to be. Hang posters and flyers in the library and bookstores, if they let you, and anywhere else you can. Local coffee shops and music store are often very supportive of local artists of all types, including authors. While you're at the coffee shop, ask them about open mic night if they've got one. Read a short story, a poem or a compelling excerpt of your book. And before you leave, make sure you pass out all of your (that's right!) bookmarks. This tangible proof of the existence of your book will make it much easier for them to remember to buy it. Go to the college bookstore and college hangouts as well to give our your stuff. The campus environment is very supportive of indies and local artists.

It does cost an investment, and there's no promise of a return on that investment. But print is such an unpopular medium these days, you can probably take advantage of sales and budget deals that will help you save a little money. You may also find it more cost-effective to print the stuff up yourself. Take the time to do some pricing on your bookmarks, crunch some numbers, and figure it out.

To get more for your time and effort, you can always re-use the graphics. Post the bookmarks on your blog or website as a template so people can print out their own copies of your bookmark. You can offer it at-large, or maybe as part of a special gift that you give to readers through a promotion. People do still read on paper, and I have paper copies of books that I'll never part with. Bookmarks are still the best way to save one's place in the middle of Harry Potter, or whatever, and there's no reason why I can't be using yours to do it. Maybe I'll look at the book cover and think it seems interesting, and I'll remember your name the next time I go shopping for ebooks on my Kindle. 

Aren't you willing to take that risk?

Writing 101: Re-Releases, New Editions and Extras

The first time she submitted Flowers in the Attic, V. C. Andrews was rejected. It was too long, the publisher advised, and boring. So Andrews went back to the book, eliminated about 100 pages and added the stuff that would "make [her] mother blush." It was a huge hit right away, leading to a movie, three sequels, one prequel...and a career that outlived the author herself.

Authors don't always get it right the first time, especially self-published authors who have to learn how to do every bit copyediting, formatting and marketing on their own. There are lots of reasons why you might have to issue a re-release or a new edition of a book you've already published in the past. But if you do it, make sure you do it the right way.

Re-Releases

Re-releases are common in the book world, and there's no reason self-published authors can't join in. Books that have been re-released usually are not changed in any way; all the text of the book is the same. In some cases, the text may be newly copyedited for correctness. But even in this case, the story hasn't changed; nothing has been added, or taken away.

That's why you've got to add one crucial element to make your re-release more successful: you need a new cover. You have to bring something new to the table, and you have to distinguish this new re-release from the old version of your book. An introductory price definitely wouldn't be out of line, either. Promote the new cover, the temporary price and the re-release itself. 

New Editions

If any significant changes have been made to the book, including very thorough editing, you have to release a new edition (in most cases, the Second Edition). It's okay to stick with the same cover if you like, because when you put out a new edition you won't be creating a brand-new page for the book. You will be wholly replacing the first edition of the book, so the cover can carry over if you like.

However, you'll have to promote the new edition really hard. With self-published authors, new editions are most commonly released because major editing errors or formatting problems have now been corrected. This is a great thing to do; if there are problems with your book, fix them. If you've decided to address a bunch of problems at once and release a whole new edition, you've got to make a whole thing out of it. 

Why? Because, chances are pretty good that you got several negative reviews regarding the editing and formatting (why else would you go to such trouble to fix it all?), and now you've got to win readers back. You'll have to respond to the negative reviews, and announce on your book's information that this second edition has been fully edited and re-formatted, or whatever. 

To make the new edition even more palatable, and perhaps get some second-time buyers as well, you might want to include something else: an author's note. It's promotable, and it's a good way to address the readers directly and tell them why you've released this new edition of the book. Since significant changes have been made, it's a good idea to reference these changes and re-invite your fans to read the story. 

Extras

Of course, there's another really important reason you might issue a re-release of your books: you wrote a series. It's common practice in the book biz to release boxed set editions of serial books; I personally own several of these sets. Self-published authors are in the book biz, so why not release a boxed set of your series?

If you do, it's a good idea to give the fans a reason to re-buy all the books they already read. You're going to need to add extras. Did yo draw up any sketches while you were working on the books? Maybe create some maps, calendars, notes? What research materials did you pull? Take a look back through all your notes, and you might find some interesting tidbits that you can share with your readers. Add a few extras to your re-releases and new editions, no matter why you're releasing them, and you'll give readers that much more incentive to check out your new-old book. You're trying to get a second chance, so make it as easy as possible for them to give you one.

Writing 101: Getting to the End

Have you ever loved reading a book so much that you didn't want to finish it? Sometimes, writing a book can inspire the same sort of feeling. Writers spend a ton of time inside the world they've creating, looking into the minds of different characters, and ending the book is a very bittersweet experience. Sometimes, maybe too bittersweet. Getting to the end can be so difficult, authors end up putting it off...and ruining the story. 

All Good Things...

Once an author is really into the story and into their characters, the writing flows naturally. The dialogue style of a particular character, specific thought processes -- it all becomes second nature. Putting an end to all of that can be really heart-wrenching and difficult. Sometimes, authors may not even realize that they're having trouble getting to the end of the story...they just keep inventing more and more and more story. 

Getting that deep into a particular story can create a one-way flow of creativity; the author's mind is so focused on these characters and this setting that other stories just aren't springing up. That's how intense focus and concentration work. But all good things must come to an end. 

It's not always easy to face that fact. Fear of facing the end can create all sorts of bad decisions, like over-writing. It can also lead to missed deadlines. I had a lot of trouble getting to the end of my most recent book, the last in the Deck of Lies series. My writing slowed down dramatically; there were nights when it took hours to write half a page of text. Finally I realized that I was a little bit unwilling to face the end of the entire series. The minute I realized I was having the struggle, my writing got right back on pace.

Sometimes, you've just got to grit your teeth and get to the end. In some writers, the fear manifests itself as too much writing; others (like me) have trouble writing anything at all. When the fear gets into you, it might cause all sorts of things -- you might constantly re-think scenes, and go back to re-write them over and over again. You might find it impossible to focus, and wind up doing everything but writing. 

If you find that you're just not on track with your book, check your emotions to see if you have a fear of reaching the end. It's a really common emotion among authors. Endings are often more difficult than beginnings, and there's a ton of work that follows every time you finish another novel. Once you face the fear, it'll probably go away.

Writing 101: Should You Be Writing Every Day?

Lots of writers, even the most famous ones, advocate that if you're a writer you ought to be doing it every day. It's a good way to exercise your creativity, they say, and how else can you get finished with a book otherwise? Should you be writing every day?

Habits, Hobbies and Obsessions

I found a quote online where even Mark Twain himself advised writers to writer every day. Easy for him to say, right? Writers in the 1800s didn't have to think about tweeting, or blogging, or checking their own sales figures. It may come as a surprise to know that Mark Twain self-published, but you can bet he wasn't spending an hour wading through emails every day or digging through book blogs to find reviewers. And then there's the fact that Mark Twain became pretty famous in his own time, and his books sold quite well.

So naturally, Twain had time to write every day because he was getting paid to write books. Lots of self-published authors aren't getting paid (at least, not enough), and that means they've got to get paid for doing something else.

By some standards, that means you ought to work a full day on the job, come home and then write. Every day. It's just not practical advice by any stretch of the imagination. Self-publishing is hard. Don't make it harder on yourself by wearing yourself out. Fatigue isn't going to help your creativity. For most people, it has the opposite effect. 

Setting daily goals is a good way to maintain discipline, but you can also make yourself crazy. If you've got time to write every day, good! But if you don't, there's nothing wrong with making a decision to write on the weekends, on on Tuesdays and Thursdays, or whenever it fits into your schedule. When you reach Mark Twain status, then yes you should write every day. But when you're working multiple jobs, trying to establish yourself as a writer and logging onto Twitter all the time to boot, writing every day is a huge burden. 

Don't turn writing into a chore, because that could affect your love of writing very negatively. If you're making yourself write, you're not going to be producing your best writing. 

Getting Dramatic with Justice

 "I loved the development of the story line right from chapter one." 

"I would recommend this book to any young adult because it's the perfect amount of high school drama for any adolescent."

Justice (Deck of Lies, #1) has been reviewed at The Rise of a Novelist. Go and read the whole thing, and get an inside look at how I get my reviews!

On the Edge with Justice

"This is a suspenseful, mystery book that has you gripping every lie as they multiply in the palm of your hands."

"This book felt real and I will recommend it to everyone I come across."

Addicted to Novels has reviewed Justice (Deck of Lies, #1). Read the whole thing to find out where to get your copy of the book!