I keep *thinking* of things I want to post, but Life is rather swamped just now. So it hasn't been getting any further than my head!
Mostly it's work stuff keeping me occupied, but there's also been concerts up the wazoo, social events, Girl Scout stuff (a city-wide "pinning" ceremony for Child last night--she is now a proud Official Brownie), writing (remember that vow last post), and the insanity that is keeping up with events. And, you know, watching the Finale of ANTM. (squee!) Whew.
HOWEVER, Dear Blog, I have some fantastic things coming up for you!
First up, around December 1st, will be an interview/giveaway with fabulous debut author Kelly Gay. Kelly not only is a great UF author--The Better Part of Darkness is blurbed by the superstar Vicki Pettersson, so it must be kick-ass--but she just sold a YA series!! Now she is my genre-sister. :)
Sometime in early December I'm also going to be hosting a guest blog by...drum roll...another Agent Fabulous, Joanna Stampfel-Volpe!
So stay tuned. If I'm being quiet in-between I'm probably writing or working, but don't go away!
First, two fabulous book-winning contests you guys should check out!!
Suzie Townsend is giving away a copy of Kelly Gay's debut, A BETTER PART OF DARKNESS. The UF fan in me *wants* this book. I bet you want it too. Go enter!
Second, Victoria Schwab is hosting an innovative contest. Go watch her vlog, check out her bookshelves, and pick which book you'd like to have! If you win, she'll send it to you. Any book, people! ENTER!
(I totally typed that "entere", which I think should be a word.)
And the vow?
I PLEDGE to finish the first draft of this book, SALVAGED, by December 31. There, it's public now.
Just browsing through the titles made me giddy. I LOVE those books. It started when I was about 12--I found a battered copy of WILDFIRE AT MIDNIGHT in a box of my mother's, ready to go to the library sale. I snuck it out and devoured it in a couple hours.
I was in love. Reader-love.
I quickly hunted down every book of hers I could find: read, re-read, treasured. I remember the moment, reading THE MOON-SPINNERS, when I first felt what it *might* be like to fall in love, that giddy sense that all the world is possible.
I walked around the house repeating to myself "Bryony...Bryony...Bryony Ashley", the opening lines to TOUCH NOT THE CAT.
I drove two hours to see Lipizzaner stallions two decades later because of AIRS ABOVE THE GROUND. I still want to sit with my back against Hadrian's Wall (which is where the name "Adrian" happens to come from, by the way) like Mary Grey did in THE IVY TREE or visit the caves and crashing surf on Corfu.
And that's not even touching the Merlin novels. I've probably read THE CRYSTAL CAVE ten times, and all the others at least three or four.
Her books--the combination of adventure, love, a touch of magic, and a smart, strong heroine--helped to shape me, who I am today. Who I try to be as a writer.
If I ever had the chance to meet Mary Stewart, I don't think I would be able to speak. I think I would melt utterly into a fan-girl puddle of worship and not come to my senses for a couple hours after she was gone, shaking her head.
I bet most writers have someone like that who inspired them, who is a real hero/heroine. Share the admiration. Who would make you lose your little writer/reader mind if you met them?
Here it is, peeps! The DANI NOIR interview, with the Most Fabulous Nova Ren Suma!!
Nova is the author of DANI NOIR, a tween novel about noir-movie-obsessed Dani and the lies she uncovers in her small nothing-ever-happens town, out now in hardcover and ebook from Simon & Schuster / Aladdin. IMAGINARY GIRLS, Nova’s YA debut, is the story of two sisters and their bond that can’t be broken. It is due out in hardcover tentatively in Summer 2011 from Penguin / Dutton.
Also, Nova is immensely cool. Just so you know.
Susan: Tell me your summary of Dani's story.
Nova: Speaking of fabulous, first off, thank you so much, Susan, for having me on your fabulous blog!
DANI NOIR is about liars, cheaters, and all things Rita Hayworth. It follows 13-year-old Dani the summer her best friend has moved away, her brother's away at camp, and her dad's left her mom for another woman. Classic black-and-white film noir movies and the stunning femmes fatales that star in them are Dani's only escape from her boring small town where nothing ever happens, or so she thinks. But when she realizes that someone's been lying, and not in the movies but in real life, she sets out to uncover the truth, no matter who gets hurt on the way...
Susan: I was so impressed with Dani's authentic voice, the authentic headspace of a 13-year-old. Tell me about how you slipped into Dani's skin.
Nova: Oh, thank you! You know, the whole time I was writing the book I felt like I was channeling Dani herself, like she was a real girl. She's a very dramatic character, so it turned out to be a very dramatic summer and fall for me while I was writing this novel. I may have acted out a little, so anyone who knows me, please forgive me! To get inside her head and slip into her skin I sent myself back in time to age 13. I remember the summer before eighth grade so clearly—too clearly—so it felt natural to speak from that voice. And when I felt myself feeling distant from Dani, I'd turn off the lights and watch a scene from a noir movie. Also, copious amounts of ice cream helped.
Susan: There is such a fabulous interplay between two different pieces in the book: Dani's troubles, including her parent's divorce, and her love of film noir movies. How did you come up with that combo?
Nova: I can't separate Dani from her love of film noir movies. I can't imagine a story about her without that interplay, it's so much of how she sees the world. I guess this is why, when I look back at the start of the writing before I decided to write about noir movies specifically, the story was completely flat. She was flat. Sure, Dani existed, but she was nobody special. She could barely carry a scene. Then I had one of those click-worthy moments watching a particular scene in a certain classic noir movie called Gilda. It's the scene where you first see Rita Hayworth.
I saw it through Dani's eyes, imagined her watching it from her lonely seat in the Little Art movie theater, looking up and meeting eyes with Rita Hayworth, and it all sort of fell into place. Once I knew where I was going, I went crazy with it. The "if this were a movie" diversions were my favorite parts of this book to write... could you tell?
Susan: Do you have favorite film noir bits? Are they the same as those in the book? Why?
Nova: If you asked Dani, she'd say her favorite thing about noir films are the femmes fatales, such as her hands-down favorite Rita Hayworth, but she'd also give props to Barbara Stanwyck, Lauren Bacall, and Lana Turner. And if you asked me the same question, I'd have to agree with Dani. Maybe that's why it was so easy to write her: We connect to the same things. So I think you could say that the scenes mentioned in the book are scenes that resonated with me personally, and that's why I shared them with my character.
Here's another scene that stuck with me from Gilda and that Dani also mentions loving:
In one point of the book, the projectionist, Jackson, insists on showing Dani the opening shot of Touch of Evil, which he says is genius because it's one camera moving through the streets without cuts, one of the first times that was done in movies. (View the Touch of Evil opening scene here) In real life it was my husband, an NYU film school grad, who insisted I watch that scene. I remember how excited he was by how skillfully it was done, not a cut until the car blows up at the end—and it sure was pretty impressive—but when I was watching I had the kind of reaction Dani might have had. The whole time I'm going, Yeah, yeah, that's great, but where's the femme fatale?
Susan: I understand you'd ghostwritten some projects before writing DANI NOIR. How many books did you complete before this sale?
Nova: For a few years, I did write a lot of books for kids and tweens under different pseudonyms and house pseudonyms—I lost count at seventeen. That amount probably sounds ridiculous, but only four were novels; the rest were shorter. Before DANI, I also wrote two adult novels of my own that were never published. At one point I remember counting up the pages I wrote in the span of two years—and it was more than a thousand. Let me tell you something about those years: I was tired. Very, very tired.
Anyway, I guess DANI NOIR is technically my seventh novel, but it feels like my first. It's the first original tween novel I ever wrote, and it's the first time someone actually gave me a real shot to publish my own story under my own name. Thank you, Simon & Schuster! Now that the book is out, it's also the first time people are actually reading what I wrote, reading and responding, and that's all new to me. It's a wonderful, exciting, frightening feeling. It took a while, and a lot of pages, to get to this place, but I'm glad it waited to happen with DANI NOIR.
Susan: Talk a bit about your writing process. Outliner or seat of the pants? Quick draft or revise as you go?
Nova: Outside my various day jobs, I am at heart a very disorganized person: scattered, messy, easily overwhelmed and terribly forgetful. This is why I need an outline to write a novel. It's important that I know what I'm in for, that I plan out my story in order to reach the end. Now, what I call an "outline" may look more like a rough or quick draft to another writer, but I like calling it an outline because I don't consider it real writing. I'd prefer not to show these "outlines" to anyone except my husband, who reads everything I write at every stage and helps me make it better (I'm so lucky to have him). No one else should see the outline though. I'm afraid it would make someone who didn't know me not want to read the book!
As for revising as I go, this is exactly how I write a first draft. What I consider a first draft has already been gone over multiple times—so it's maybe a third draft, technically. I do this chapter by chapter, so after writing to the end of one chapter, I spend days (sometimes weeks) rewriting it before hitting the next chapter.
I know that wise writers and writing teachers say that, for a first draft, you should just let your words flow and not get hung up on shaping your sentences at such an early stage, but I can't work that way. I do realize this is a waste of time when big chunks are cut later, or big plotlines changed, but I can't help it. I write in layers: I go over it and over it and over it and the story and the characters come clearer the longer I've spent carving them out. The first words I spit onto the page are never the ones you'll find by the end.
This method may sound painful, but I love it. The rewriting process between my private first draft and the official first draft I'll show readers is the most thrilling, delicious part of writing a book for me.
Susan: You were one of the leaders of the "twitter-break" last week. Can you talk a bit about your love/hate with social media? Do you think it's valuable to you, or too much of a time-suck?
Nova: I'm so very conflicted about Twitter, mainly because I like it so much. Too much. I'm a very easily distracted person, so I tend to misuse it. I tell myself it's perfectly okay to tweet (or check Facebook) while writing, and then I spend much of my writing time clicking back and forth between windows, reading people's updates, commenting... and there I've lost an hour and my scene feels dead on the page. I have no self-control.
Last fall, while I was writing DANI NOIR, I forced myself to give up Twitter for about two months. And that was before so many people were using Twitter; I followed maybe 20 people. So imagine how much worse it is now to follow hundreds!
Fact is, Twitter is a wonderful tool for authors and, through it, I've connected with so many people in the industry: writers, editors, agents, librarians, reviewers, not to mention it's a great way to keep up with my faraway friends. In fact, Susan, I'm pretty sure that Twitter is how I first connected to YOU! I just need a way to find balance—to write when I'm writing and not let Twitter call me away. That's how this week off Twitter came to be. For me, abstaining like this has been cleansing. I hope to come back to Twitter refreshed and focused, and not let my bad habits hold me back from writing the best novel I can. Fingers crossed.
Susan: What are you working on now? Is there any more to Dani's story?
Nova: I'd love to write another book about Dani—in my mind, her story certainly continues, but there are currently no plans for a sequel. However, as we speak, I am in the midst of developing some new tween novels and there's one especially insistent 13-year-old who's making herself known in my head. I'm excited to try to find her story.
But that's for the future. Because the novel I'm writing under deadline now—the one that's so important to me, I even gave up Twitter for a week!—is due this winter. It's my debut YA novel, and it's called IMAGINARY GIRLS. It's the story of two sisters, their strong bond, and the dead body that threatens to break it. Even though it's for an older audience, you'll find some echoes of DANI NOIR in there: the first-person voice, since I always write in first person, and the place, as IMAGINARY GIRLS is also set in the Hudson Valley, where I'm from. I'm at the point in writing this novel where it's completely taken over all my senses. It feels more real to me than the real life I'm walking around in. This is dangerous, like when I'm outside crossing the street and don't pay attention to oncoming taxicabs, but it's been great for the novel so far. Assuming I make my deadline, look out for IMAGINARY GIRLS from Dutton in, tentatively, Summer 2011.
Thank you so much for interviewing me, Susan! I appreciate the chance to connect with your readers. And if anyone wants to find me elsewhere, my main website is http://novaren.com, and all things DANI NOIR can be found on http://daninoir.com. And... guess what? I'm on Twitter. Feel free to follow me and distract me, within reason!, at twitter.com/novaren.
It's a 2009 Amazon.com Editor's Pick: Top 10 Children's Books for Middle Grade.
You want to get in on this action, don't you? Well, tomorrow you'll get a chance!!
Stay Tuned, My Pretties.Tomorrow I'll be posting my interview with Nova Ren Suma--and we're going to give away TWO fabulous prizes. A signed copy of DANI NOIR, and a DVD of:
I have a couple of big-ish blog posts in the works (a new sock-knocker and the interview with Nova Ren Suma), but I was a little stuck on what to talk about in the meantime. So I begged on Twitter, and Courtney Summers told me what to do.
Guys, if Courtney Summers tells you what to do, DO IT.*
*unless it involves Lady Gaga or Twilight or horror movies I couldn't watch from another room. But otherwise, listen!
Anyway, I am ruining my Serious Post.TM Courtney said, "tell 'em why you write YA." And I thought, hmmm. Why DO I write YA?
Part of it is as simple as "that's what comes out". There was no initial greater YA plan. My first book, The Murderess's Tale, was meant to be straight-up historical fiction. It didn't hit me until long afterwards that the heroine was 16 and it really was a coming-of-age book that just happened to be set in England of 1387. I'd been writing historical YA without even realizing it.
But then I decided I didn't want to write historicals for the rest of my life. I wanted to write a book that *I* would read, that had everything I loved poured into it and shaken up. When I sat down and started brainstorming that book, I listed out all the characteristics of books I loved. And I wrote this paragraph in my writing journal:
So all together, if we have all this stuff, this is some sort of YA. A funny YA, with some sort of fantasy/alternative world element to it, but without the predictable portal crap. A powerful, real voice. A girl who faces things as they are and deals with them—who is having a tough time, and then it gets way tougher and she has to figure it out.
And what came out of that was The Weirdest Thing about Jenna, which got me my most fabulous agent and is out under submission now. And that was it...bing! I'd found my most natural voice.
But the other side of that question is what do I like about YA, about reading and writing it. I certainly take my fair share of guff from other grown-ups about my reading choices ("Why can't you read books for adults?"), so there's got to be a reason I head for the back corner of the bookstore every time.
YA books--well, the best ones--resonate with the inner me (who is apparently 15). They have an immediacy and a lack of pretense. Sometimes I think kids are the most honest, and as we conform and take places in society we learn to adopt masks for different situations, to pretend, to do the socially correct thing. Teenagers are very aware of the masks, which is perhaps the source of some of the scorn for grown-ups you see popping up at that age. They realize they're probably going to have to use them too, and they try a few on. But they're still figuring out who they are.
There's more drama, but there's also more possibility. And far more honesty, both good and bad.
So the reason really is as simple as that, I guess. I write what I love, and I love YA books.
It doesn't hurt that I think the community of YA writers is the best and most supportive (and funniest!) group of people I've ever come across. I keep finding other writers who feel like soulmates, who are Just Like Me.
First, you guys are amazing. I popped in over the weekend to find a zillion hits and 50 comments (thanks to Janet Reid's link). At first, I admit, I thought I'd been spammed. But no. REAL PEOPLE! Hi real people!
So I also ended up surpassing my secret Twitter goal, which was 500 real followers. Hooray!
Twitter note: This came up in the comments to the How Not To Act post, but I *don't* actually auto-follow. Though I use TweetDeck on one computer, at home and on the road I use apps that don't do lists--so more than 200 people swamps Twitter's usefulness for me. BUT I do always (always) respond to replies, and I often update my lists and drop off/add interesting people. I LOVE Twitter.
To celebrate belatedly the 500-mark, I'm going to give away...a book! Or two. I have a big stack of YA books just sitting here--some of them old-ish, some not. So it's SHARING TIME!! 1 point for commenting here, 1 point for RT'ing. 2 points for announcing on your blog. I'll pick tomorrow this time. Winner can choose from:
LOOKING FOR ALASKA, John Green
EVERMORE, Alyson Noel
BLUE MOON, Alyson Noel
CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY, Ally Carter
THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS, E. Lockhart
REBEL ANGELS, Libba Bray
THE HUNGER GAMES, Suzanne Collins
SOMEONE LIKE YOU, Sarah Dessen
I know, there are a couple other teams still in the mix, but nobody I want to watch. Time to pack up my pom-poms until April!
The new pic over there on the left is a little guy at a county fair, sitting on the prize pumpkin. Just in time for Halloween!
I admit I'm not super into Halloween like many writer-peeps are. Not sure why. I definitely enjoy getting Child gussied up in her costume (this year: Egyptian QUEEN) and doing the rounds trick or treating, even in the below-zero weather that always hits on Halloween. But I don't usually dress up much myself.
Am pondering buying an Actual Costume for next week, though, as I'm running the cake walk at Child's school Halloween party. Hum.
*ponders*
Will let you know what I come up with, if anything!
I'm about to head out to the doctor to see if I have pneumonia...the cough from the swine flu has persisted for almost 3 weeks, and is getting worse! We shall see.
I'm here! Just busy. Researching and scribbling away, and doing regular Life stuff. I am slowly working on the Nova interview questions, so SOON.
Hopefully.
Anyway, this week's pic of the week is in homage to the MLB playoffs (go Angels). Did you see A League of Their Own?
You know you did. Madonna, Rosie O'Donnell, Tom Hanks? Geena Davis? Women playing baseball?
This is a picture of Dottie Schroeder, one of the real women who played baseball during World War II.
From the Flickr Commons tag: Dorothy "Dottie" Schroeder was born on April 11, 1928 and became the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League's youngest player at age fifteen.
I still don't understand why women don't play professional baseball instead of just softball...
She's 13. She lives in a small, isolated town where nothing happens, especially during the summer. But this summer is especially excruciating. See, she found out not long ago that her dad had been having an affair, and her parents are now divorced. The divorce was messy and awkward and awful for the kids, as it always is no matter how the parents handle it. Especially at that age, when you're just figuring life and romantic relationships out for yourself. To find out at 13 that your Dad, who's supposed to be your model of future husband, has been lying to not only your mom but you, for years? And then have him walk out and go live with another woman, another family, while you try to pick up the pieces with your mom? HARSH.
Especially when your mom isn't taking it very well. And your dad somehow expects you to not only forgive him, but act like everything's normal. Like he has a right to still be your dad.
That girl is Dani Callanzano, the star of Nova Ren Suma's fabulous debut middle-grade novel DANI NOIR.
But that girl was also me.
So much about this book paralleled my own experiences at exactly that age that a few pages were almost hard to read. It was like dipping into my own brain at that time--an awful time. It was so real; she captured that experience so well. I cried during a couple of scenes that might even surprise Nova, because they were so true.
But fortunately, Dani is also a wonderful girl with a whole, well-rounded world, and there's far more to Dani's story than that experience of divorce. There's old movies, and friendships, the love of Rita Hayworth and Lana Turner and the excitement of sneaking out to do a little detective work herself. I adored Dani, and I loved spending time with her: facing up to challenges her way, with her own noir twist.
Nova's skillfully balanced the tough and the funny, the snarky voice of 13 with the real emotions she's battling with, the helplessness inherent in being that age and the ways to take your own back.
I loved DANI NOIR, and highly recommend you check it out too. And like Courtney Summers says, make popcorn.
(also, I am so excited to be hosting Nova Ren Suma soon for a fantastic interview and giveaway!! STAY TUNED, people)
There's something that's been needling at me lately, and I think I need to let it out this way.
Let's look at two writers. Let's call them both "she". Yes, these are both Real Examples.
WRITER A: I've been following Writer A's progress since she was on the agent hunt, since before I had even completed my second book. She was funny, witty, and her book sounded intriguing...so I was interested. I bookmarked her site and checked back on her progress. I made encouraging comments. I cheered when she got an agent, when her book sold. I was all ready to support her, buy her books, help spread the word.
But she never replied to me. Not once. Not on the blog, not on twitter. From the very beginning she projected an attitude I can only describe as snooty. Like she had to shelter herself from "fans" (she even called them fans before her book came out!). It certainly wasn't just me, either. She communicated back only with a select group of writers who were already published, famous. She didn't respond to all those congratulatory messages. She gave the impression, always, that she was above all the unwashed, unpubbed, unagented writers. Again, not just to me. When I mentioned her name to another writer, I got a nose wrinkle.
Do you think I bought her book? Do you think I even read her book? Do you think I will?
WRITER B: Writer B was different. Always approachable, at every stage. She's released two books into the wild, very successful ones, but she never projects that "above-you" image. She makes a point to answer every comment. She replies to most @ tweets, no matter who the commenter is. She seeks out other writer's blogs and makes comments. She hosts and celebrates other writers, at lots of different stages. Her tweets and blogs aren't all about her--they're also building a community.
Yes, it takes more time to be like Writer B. Absolutely. But did I buy Writer B's books? HELL, YES. Did I tweet about them, write about them, hand-sell them to other people? HELL, YES. When I'm looking to give away a book, whose book do you think I'll pick?
It might not make that much of a difference, you say. You're just one person. So somebody rubbed you the wrong way--so what?
The thing is, if you're in the YA community (yes, there is one) and I named you these two writers, I would bet you $20 that 90% of you (at least) would have the same reaction. One is "eh" and one is "I love her!" All those writers are also readers, powerful readers who spread the word. I'd also bet you that if Writer A is like that with other writers, she's probably also like that with readers.This will hurt your sales. It will also forever hurt how people see you.
Writers, it isn't just one person. It's important how you connect with people before, during, and after the publication process. It's important that you've got some humility, remember your manners, reach out.
Be an active part of your community. Take the time.
Other writers are not beneath you because they haven't reached your place on the road yet. Talk to them. Encourage them.
Readers never, ever, ever will be beneath you. Don't condescend. Don't be rude. They are and always will be critical to your success.
It's from Flickr Commons, of course, and from World War II. The caption says the cat's name is Bobby, and it's a soldier saying goodbye. I love the cat, the sepia, the buttons on the man's pants...but especially the woman's shoes. And the fact that she's stretching up on her toes...
Someday, I'm warning y'all, I AM going to write a WW II story. Maybe a short, maybe something longer. But it's brewing in there. :)
It's Tiara Day!! Join in by Photoshopping a tiara on your avatar for the day. Or, you know, actually put one on your head for a while. :)
Today it's only 18 degrees, F. It's also the first day of snow-that-stuck. This means the first day of driving to work in snow-that-stuck.
Think *adventure*. Creeping on ice-slick roads saturated with layers of oil from the summer. With a large percentage of drivers on the road who (a) have lost all memory of how to drive in this stuff and (b) haven't put their snow tires on yet. Navigating around all the unfortunates stuck on The Hill, honking and weaving and swearing and praying you won't be one of them.
This morning it was almost comedic that The Sorcerer's Apprentice came on at the moment I headed up the hill and finished just as I pulled in to work. So apropos.
(can anyone hear The Sorcerer's Apprentice and *not* think of Mickey and the brooms?)
YA authors, pay careful attention! Here's Suzie's look at the most common subgenres of YA submissions, and what's still fresh/what's getting tiresome.
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Most Common Subgenres of YA Submissions
---Suzie Townsend
I read a lot of queries – as an assistant and junior agent – and sometimes it seems like every query is claiming to be the next best thing or something that hasn’t ever been done before. But in reality there are some genres or subgenres that stand out. YA is hot right now, which means I’ve seen a lot of YA submissions, and within YA there are certain subgenres more common than others. Here’s my countdown of the top five most commonly received subgenres for YA submissions, including what’s hot (still love it) and what’s not (over it).
5. Fantasy
(Similar to Graceling, Forest Born)
It’s important to note that YA fantasy is different from Middle Grade fantasy.
Over It: standard fantastical beings such as wizards, elves, goblins, and orcs, and standard fantastical quests involving the Orphaned Child of a shepherd with a name no one can pronounce and magickal weapons, who sets out on a journey only to find they’re actually royalty and the subject of a thousand year old prophecy, destined to defeat the Dark Wizard about to plunge the kingdom into darkness and is also responsible for killing Orphaned Child’s parents. Still Love: creative, thoughtful, detailed, and unique world-building that gives insight into the historical and cultural background of the world and characters and a well paced blend of storytelling, fight/battle scenes, action, adventure, and internal struggle.
4. Girly Romance
(Similar to The Truth About Forever, All-American Girl, 13 Little Blue Envelopes)
Feel-good, sweet, girly coming of age and possibly first love stories – the “chick-lit” for teens. Over It: catty, gossipy, or whiny protagonists too hard to relate to. Still Love: strong characterization is a must, it’s okay if nothing much seems to happen in the plot in terms of action, but the characters have to be involved in an internal struggle, the more range of emotions the better.
3. Dark and Edgy
(Similar to Wintergirls, Tricks, Thirteen Reasons Why, Cracked Up To Be)
YA that pushes limits in terms of style and content, it pushes the boundaries of what is socially acceptable, takes a taboo subject and tackles it head on without apologizing for making readers uncomfortable. Over It: manuscripts that are generic copies of books already published that don’t handle teen issues in a new way – copies of Ellen Hopkins just don’t live up to the original. Still Love: edgy manuscripts that do something new whether in rhetorical style or taking on a new issue or approaching an old issue with a new perspective, manuscripts that don’t necessarily tie everything up into a neat ending yet still have some sense of closure.
2. The Post Apocalyptic Thriller (and Romance)
(Similar to The Hunger Games, The Forest of Hands and Teeth)
The apocalypse destroyed the world as we know it, and the survivors have managed to hang on despite the insurmountable odds stacked against them. Characters are dealing with every day teen issues, while struggling to stay alive, and probably falling in love. Over It: a virus or something not well explained has killed off everyone but a select group of survivors or turned the masses into zombies or some sort of flesh eating facsimile, gladiators or reality show contestants who have to kill each other – it’s just not going to be as good as Suzanne Collins Still Love: complex and introspective characters in a multi-layered story – thrilling action that also delves into deeper philosophical and political issues (without being didactic!), and creative and unique world building combining science fiction or steampunk elements.
1. The Paranormal Romance
(Similar to Twilight, Evernight, Evermore, Shiver)
The most successful books out there are the tried-and-true YA formula (a coming of age story and a love story) with some sort of supernatural element (vampires, ghosts, fairies, etc). Over It: manuscripts featuring a kind of boring Plain-Jane-Girl-Next-Door narrator who meets Tall-Dark-Dangerous boy who’s also a vampire/werewolf/shapeshifter/fallen angel/evil fairy and who may or may not be trying to kill her. Plain-Jane falls for Tall-Dark despite his creepy stalker habits and values him more than her own life and despite his desire to kill her, something about her makes him change his ways. He falls in love with her and together they defeat the real Bad Guy. Still Love: I’m a sucker for all things paranormal and all things romance so I do still love reading manuscripts in this genre, but some agents and editors are trying to move away from this subgenre because there are just so many manuscripts and books out there now. I can’t help but love steamy romances featuring a strong teenage girl, maybe a girl with powers coming into her own, supernatural beings other than the overdone vampire/werewolf/shapeshifter/fallen angel/evil fairy combo, particularly beings with mythological roots, and a strong voice that can incorporate the typical danger, action, and romance with a dose of witty humor.
Last, but not Least, What I’m Clamoring For:
Genuine humor in any subgenre of YA that’s written by someone who is still in touch with today’s teenagers, a writer who can create a voice that understands the slang, technology, music, and other cultural aspects centered in today’s teenage experience. & Great characterization – no matter the subgenre. I want to fall in love with characters, get beneath their skin, and watch them come alive while I read. The best manuscripts and novels I read have characters that still exist for me long after I close the book, characters that keep me awake at night because I’m still so caught up in their lives and their story.
So...I'm at home. I've got the flu. Possibly even the porcine flu, but it doesn't matter much. I had a fever (which I don't anymore) and a yucky cough, and I'm taking one more day at home before heading back out in public.
Bleah.
Anyway, I am still going to post a guest blog from Suzie Townsend, tomorrow or Thursday! So watch for THAT. And Friday is still Tiara Day!!!
I watch America's Next Top Model. I've admitted it before.(I actually get an absurd number of hits from that one mention of ANTM and bikinis, and now I expect I'll get more!)
You might think it odd that I'm obsessed with this show. I'm 5'3". I'm not model age, nor remotely model-like--I've never for an instant wanted to be a model. I'm not even girly! The show is kinda wacked, and the shoots they get up to are pretty...kooky.
Not situations I--or, um, anyone I know--is going to be getting into in everyday life.So why the fascination?
I finally figured it out: because I have empathy with these girls. Because America's Next Top Model is Just Like Publishing.
I'm serious.
Let's break it down, and you'll stop mocking and see what I mean.
1. The first step for wanna-be models in ANTM is to be good-looking. Not in a typical "pretty" way, but some original take on beauty: an unusual mouth, odd-shaped eyes, the ability to walk on a runway with a "trademark walk" and pose well for the camera. This is equivalent to WRITING A BOOK. Your book also must be more than what's already on the shelves, something still "pretty" (entertaining) but different. Something that will make readers ooooh. Sure, it's a little more labor-intensive than...being born...but the similarity is THERE.
2. ANTM hopefuls make videos of themselves, trying to convince Tyra that they are not only beautiful but interesting, have a life story that will inspire others, and can handle themselves. This is THE QUERY LETTER. I don't even think I need to explain this one.
3. Hopefuls are then culled to a small group that will compete for the final prize. These girls are just like writers REPRESENTED BY AN AGENT. These select few get special advice and training from experts (revision), and then they have to put that advice into practice in photo shoots. In photo shoots they may have makeup and wardrobe and helpers, but in the end it's all up to the individual to perform, to show the best side of themselves. This is still revision, taking all the advice given to you and finding a way to weave it into the manuscript to make it the best possible work you can achieve.
4. After the photo shoot we head to the judging panel, where each model's fate is decided. This, of course, is SUBMISSION. Fortunately, we don't have to stand there in person while the judges critique not only our photos (our books) but the outfits we're wearing to panel, our hair, and that unfortunate scarf. Our agents handle both the submission and the possibly-brutal feedback. But we do have to remember that when we're putting ourselves all over the internet, blogging and tweeting and facebooking, we're still kind of standing there in panel. That unfortunate comment we made about a book that editor happened to love is just as bad--or worse--than an unfortunate scarf. I've seen girls get eliminated because of what they wore to panel being consistently bad week after week, when they didn't listen to judge's suggestions. Listen to your agent. Pay attention to how you appear. Don't be an ass.
Actually the judging criteria parallel submission and acquisition even more closely. Here are some qualities that are important both in ANTM models and wanna-be authors, if they want to seriously compete:
You have one chance to make an impression. The most important factor to the judges is that week's photo. Even if you rocked last week (last book), it doesn't really matter. What's in front of them right now, the book you're submitting, is what matters.
Presentation and personality do count when there is a decision to be made. ANTM judges will often favor the girl with a more positive, engaging personality. If you were an editor, would you choose the author who was easy to work with, upbeat, and willing to compromise, or the one who is always whining and complaining?
I said this above, but don't be an ass. Difficult, mean people never make it far.
Persistence matters. Attention matters. Judges look for improvement, for girls who listen to the advice of their experts. Who are willing to revise and revise and keep trying and striving, who put themselves into their effort wholeheartedly.
Now thank God, it's not *all* like ANTM. Authors on submission don't all have to live in the same house, on camera, and bicker at each other. We don't have to be naked on a horse (usually) or roll around in weeds or dirt or wear big poofy clown wigs. Usually. That stuff's just fun to watch.
But I'm in that critical SUBMISSION phase, standing there in front of the judges day after day. And every time I get a positive email from my agent, or even news that we're still out there, still under consideration, this goes through my head, in Tyra's voice. And I smile (smize), because I'm still IN there.
You're still in the running towards becoming America's Next Published Author.
Tomorrow (unless I get swamped) I'm going to do a post on why publishing fiction is just like America's Next Top Model. No, really.
Next week I am SO pleased to be hosting Suzie Townsend, Fabulous Junior Agent at FinePrint Literary, as a guest blogger!! Eeee! My first guest blogger, and I'm very excited.
Next Friday, October 9, will be Tiara Day! Polish your tiaras, peeps.
