Question of the Week: How Do You Organize Your Books?

by Clara Kensie

Hey everyone! Clara Kensie here. Pretty much the only thing writers love as much as books and writing is talking about books and writing. So each week at Adventures in YA Publishing, we’ll post a question for you to answer. The questions cover all topics important to writers: craft, career, writers’ life, reading and books. Together we’ll become better writers by sharing tips and discussing our habits and practices.

Question of the Week

April 13, 2014

How do you organize your books?

How do you organize your books?

photo credit: martinak15
via photopin cc

Jan Lewis: I read on my iPad Mini. My books are organized by title on there. The backups on my computer are organized by author.

Martina Boone: My physical books are organized alphabetically on some shelves, and randomly on other shelves, and according to signed books vs. unsigned on yet more shelves. I also have a shelf of commonly reread books. Plus I have shelves of ARCs and books marked for our giveaways here at AYAP, and then two shelves of signed series that are earmarked for giveaways on my own Tumblr and a few guest giveaways I’m doing on other blogs in the next few months. (Have you seen the April giveaway I’m doing on YABooksCentral.com of the Delirium series signed by Lauren Oliver?)

To be honest, though, I do most of my reading on my iPad, because I have that with me all the time, and I snatch moments of reading time wherever I can. Of course, I’m a publisher’s dream consumer; if I love a book I have read electronically, I also have to buy a physical copy. I’m also a pusher; I tend to want to give books I love to to people so I buy extras. Have you read this? You HAVE to read this. Here, read this. Have you read it yet? No, REALLY, you HAVE to read it NOW! You loved it? Me TOO? No, keep it. I want you to have it.) Do you have those conversations, too?

Lisa Gail Green: My books (much like my life) are completely disorganized! I have piles and shelves and random books lying around galore. But that’s okay because it means they’re used and loved. 😀 And of course while I’m reading a book it stays close by at all times. Ideally? I’d organize by type then maybe color because that looks so cool! Maybe when the kids are in college and I get my study back!

Alyssa Hamilton: On my shelf, it’s pretty much a few shelves for my favourites and I try and display them the best I can. Then everything else by series or genre! I also really like to display covers of my favourite covers but I’m running out of double stacking room so I need to stop that soon. On my Goodreads shelves I go by publishers, release dates and most anticipated!

Clara Kensie: My print books are completely disorganized because I allow my teenage neighbors to come in and borrow my YA books whenever they want. When they return them, they just put them anywhere on the bookshelves and dig through the stash for a new one to borrow. I don’t mind at all, because 1: I am too busy writing to take the time to straighten my bookshelves, and 2: since I got my e-reader a few years ago, 99% of the books I’ve purchased are digital. Even most of the library books I borrow are digital.

I keep my digital books meticulously organized on my e-reader. My cyber-bookshelves include: Read These Next, Borrowed from Library, YA, Non-YA, Friends’ Books, Books In Which I am Mentioned in the Acknowledgments, Finished, Did Not Finish, Read Again, Classics, Favorites, Childhood Favorites, Non-fiction, Writing Craft, Reference, Research, Awesome Covers, and more. Each of my favorite authors get their own shelf, and of course I have a shelf for my RUN TO YOU serialized series. Most of my books are on multiple shelves.

YOUR TURN: How do you organize your books? Alphabetically by author? By title? By purchase date? By color? A unique method only you understand?

Clara Kensie

RITA Award winning author of super-romantic thrillers and angsty dramas for young adults, & fun, flirty, feel-good romcoms for grown ups. Fueled by coffee and cookie dough.

Post © Clara Kensie and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.

Posted: Apr 13, 2014

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: Question of the Week | Reading

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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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