Bethany Wiggins, author of THE DRAGON’S PRICE, on how the meanest reviews are her biggest compliments

by Jocelyn Rish

We’re pleased to have Bethany Wiggins stop by to share more about her latest novel THE DRAGON’S PRICE.

Bethany, what was your inspiration for writing THE DRAGON’S PRICE?

So, THE DRAGON’S PRICE is about a girl who chooses death by dragon over an arranged marriage. When people ask how I came up with such a dramatic story idea, I simply tell them I’ve been married for twenty years (Insert maniacal laughter). Also, one night at dinner we were having a typical, quirky dinner discussion–mythical beasts. I have FIVE kids, so our dinner conversation is never, ever dull. Well, my son asked what the worth of a dragon’s scale would be in our world, and his question was an aha! moment for me. Those two things really helped form THE DRAGON’S PRICE.

What do you hope readers will take away from THE DRAGON’S PRICE?

I hope that people who read this book will see how infinitely precious our right to choose our own destinies is. Life is hard, we are faced with hard choices, but at least we have the freedom to choose what we do and do not want to do, and who we want to be (unlike some countries where women have no rights). I have a favorite quote that goes along with this perfectly: For what it’s worth: It is never to late too be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over. -F. Scott Fitzgerald

How long or hard was your road to publication? How many books did you write before this one, and how many never got published?

My journey to publication was very long and incredibly hard. It took me years of writing, nearly three-hundred agent rejections, and five books before I finally was a good enough writer to get an agent. Looking back at my earliest writing, I can now see I was not good enough, so it all worked out for the best. The first four books I wrote did not get published. SHIFTING was published in 2011. After I wrote that, I wrote several others that did not get published. STUNG and CURED were published in 2013 and 2014. THE DRAGON’S PRICE is probably the twelfth book I wrote (maybe the tenth, maybe the fourteenth—I wrote so many I have lost count).

What advice would you most like to pass along to other writers?

If you are an aspiring writer, never give up because every time you start a new book, you will be a better writer when you finish it. Keep trying. Keep writing. Let people read your work and ask them to give you honest feedback, and then take that feedback and use it to make your manuscript better. Once you get a publisher and editor, that is going to be a large majority of your work—editing to make your book better based on someone’s honest feedback and criticism.

For published writers: Your worst, meanest, most scathing reviews are actually a big compliment to your writing. I have found that people who hate my writing with a passion hate it because I connected with them on a very strong (albeit bad) emotional level. It takes skill to connect on such a raw, real level, and that means you’ve done your job well. But . . . try not to ever read a bad review!

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Dragon’s Price
by Bethany Wiggins
Hardcover
Crown Books for Young Readers
Released 2/21/2017

Fans of Julie Kagawa’s Talon and Renee Ahdieh’s The Wrath and the Dawn will devour this action-packed fantasy adventure about a girl who chooses to surrender herself to a deadly dragon rather than marry an enemy prince.

When two warring kingdoms unified against a deadly menace laying waste to both their lands, they had to make a choice: vow to marry their heirs to one another, or forfeit their lives to the dragon.

Centuries later, everyone expects the sheltered princess Sorrowlynn to choose the barbarian prince over the fire-breathing beast—everyone, that is, except Sorrow, who is determined to control her own destiny or die trying.

As she is lowered into the dragon’s chamber, she assumes her life is over until Golmarr, the young prince she just spurned, follows her with the hopes of being her hero and slaying the dragon. But the dragon has a different plan. . . .

If the dragon wins, it will be freed from the spell that has bound it to the cave for centuries. If Sorrow or Golmarr vanquish the dragon, the victor will gain its treasure and escape the cave beneath the mountain. But what exactly is the dragon hiding?

There are no safe havens for Sorrow or Golmarr—not even with each other—and the stakes couldn’t be higher as they risk everything to protect their kingdom.

Purchase The Dragon’s Price at Amazon
Purchase The Dragon’s Price at IndieBound
View The Dragon’s Price on Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bethany Wiggins is the author of Stung and Shifting. She started writing on a dare and dove headfirst into the world of writerly madness. She lives in the desert with her husband, four quirky kids, and two very fluffy cats. Wiggins has always been an avid reader, but not an avid student. Seriously! She failed ninth grade English because she read novels instead of doing her homework. In high school, she sat alone at lunch and read massive hardback fantasy novels (Tad Williams and Robert Jordan anyone?). It wasn’t until the end of her senior year that the other students realized she was reading fiction. Since then she has penned SHIFTING (2011), STUNG (2013), and CURED (2014).

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Have you had a chance to read THE DRAGON’S PRICE yet? Have your kids given you a genius idea for a concept? Have you received a harsh critique of your work before? Did you, like Bethany, use it to improve your work and become a better writer? Share your thoughts about the interview in the comments!

Happy reading,

Emily, Jocelyn, Anisaa, Sam, Martina, Erin, Susan, Shelly, Kelly, Laura, and Lori Ann

Jocelyn Rish

Jocelyn Rish is a writer and filmmaker who loves researching weird and wonderful animals and sharing what she learns. Her debut was BATTLE OF THE BUTTS, about ten animals that do weird things with their butts. Her latest book is BATTLE OF THE BRAINS, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection about ten animals with mind-blowing brain abilities. When she’s not writing, she tutors kids to help them discover the magic of reading. Jocelyn has won numerous awards for her short stories, screenplays, films, and novels and lives in South Carolina with her adorable dog. Find out more at www.jocelynrish.com.

Post @ Jocelyn Rish and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.

Posted: Feb 25, 2017

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: YA Author Interviews

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The first slide is an animation of a science/magic room in a castle. A cartoon character of a mad-scientist looking man in in the foreground says: “Hello! Dr. Frankenstein here to say, Well Done on kid lit zombie week! I’m an expert at reviving the dead, and let me assure you, with a little spark, you can bring dead projects to life. Especially if you dig up parts from other dead things. I’ll even let you have a sneak peek at my laboratory’s store room to consider potential parts for your dead project. If you see something with a yellow glow, that means you should click it. Have fun!”

He points to the right side of the screen and a new scene slides in of a castle science/magic storage room. There are various cartoon Frankenstein body parts scattered around. Some of them have a yellow glow. If you click on them, the images below appear (I’ve added alt text to them, so I hope it works).

The Heart of your story is the main character. The protagonist is the beating core that truly brings your story to life. If your MC doesn't make kids (and their grown-ups) care within the first few pages, your story will flatline. </p>
<p>Your main character needs to be:<br />
• Relatable enough for kids to see themselves<br />
• Unique enough to stand out in the slush pile<br />
• Active enough to drive the story<br />
• Memorable enough to survive multiple readings at bedtime</p>
<p>Where do you find this amazing donor heart? It might be the very thing you loved so much about the manuscript you want to revive. It might be the younger sister from your shelved YA novel. Or maybe it’s the hilarious kid you blogged about meeting at a school visit. Find a character beating with potential and place it in the center of your story.<br />

The Brain of your story is the theme or central message. The theme is the big idea that controls everything else. Picture books are more than stories - they're tiny life lessons disguised with humor and heart.</p>
<p>But your theme needs to be:<br />
• Subtle enough not to trigger the dreaded "didactic" rejection<br />
• Clear enough for a four-year-old to grasp<br />
• Universal enough to speak to both kids and adults<br />
• Fresh enough to prevent agents and editors from responding with "Not another sharing/bedtime/first-day story!"</p>
<p>Check your other dead manuscripts to see if there is a recurring theme, something that really seems to be speaking to you. Find the bit of poetry you scribbled on the back of a receipt to see what theme inspired it. Reread the pep talk you texted your critique partner at 1am. Pick the theme that will drive your story, giving it purpose, direction, and deeper meaning.<br />

The Legs of your story is the plot. Not to be confused with a grave plot.🤪 The plot is what keeps everything upright and moving, as well as providing support for all the other elements. You have very few words to use in a picture book, so you need to do a lot with each plot point.</p>
<p>In general, your plot should:<br />
• Hook readers fast<br />
• Build tension that a child can follow<br />
• Create page turns that feel natural<br />
• Wrap up in a way that satisfies</p>
<p>You can borrow a plot twist (a leg) from one manuscript and the opening (the other leg) from a different manuscript. Consider if the subplot of the middle grade novel you trunked would work better as a picture book. Or maybe your Facebook post about a disastrous camping trip could become a story for kids. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until you have your storyline.

The Arms of your story are the side characters.

The Torso of your story is the setting. Setting helps a story breathe and connects all the elements of the story. It isn't just where your story lives, it's what makes your story ALIVE. It's the difference between "this happened in a park" and "this happened in that park, the one with the twisty slide that burns your legs and the creaky swing that sounds like a baby crying.”</p>
<p>Your setting should:<br />
• Make your character's world feel real<br />
• Contain your story in a way that makes sense to young readers<br />
• Connect different scenes and moments organically<br />
• Give your illustrator enough room to add visual subplots</p>
<p>Half-finished manuscripts are a great place to dig up settings, since you worked out the place details before the plot petered out. Or maybe you had to cut a second fantastic location from your chapter book. You can also revisit the detailed caption from your Instagram carousel documenting your tour of that delish candy shop. Disinter a robust setting that can house all of your story's vital organs.

After you press the Click When Done circle button, the lights flash with the sound of electricity buzzing. Then the screen goes black and lightning zaps across the screen with the sound of thunder.

The screen then lights up to show the storage room, and all the Frankenstein pieces have been assembled into the whole monster. An upbeat song plays in the background. Then a speech bubble pops up with the words, “I’m alive! I’M ALIVE!” Then the screen goes to black.

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