YA Sunday Morning News: This Week for Writers 2/19/17

by Lori Ann Palma

Writing for Publication: Before the Sale:

FREE WEBINAR! Editors’ Tips on Revising Your Manuscript and Query Letter via Writer’s Digest: On March 7, five editors will provide revision tips and the inside scoop on querying agents.
Bigger Isn’t Always Better via Babbles from Scott Eagan: Choosing the right agency to query, and how the size of the agency might impact your decision.
Manuscript Rejection Feedback: 3 Critiques to Heed (and 2 to Ignore) via Writer’s Digest: When to revise and when to ignore feedback.

Writing for Publication: After the Sale:

Is It Time, Dear Writer, To Ditch Your Literary Agent? via Terribleminds: Reasons why you might want to leave your agent behind.
Freelance Publicists Contact Sheet 2017 via Publishing Trends: A contact sheet for freelance book publicists.
Book Marketing Strategies with Chris Syme – 089 via Create If Writing: Listen or read the interview on tips for book marketing.
15 Ways to Earn Your Audience as a Writer via Writer’s Digest Guide to Literary Agents: Guest columnist and author Chuck Wendig shares tips to earn an audience based on your skill, talent, and devotion.

Author Interviews:

Social Media and Being True to Yourself: Jilly Gagnon talks #FAMOUS via YA Interrobang: Author Jilly Gagnon discusses her new novel and cyberbullying.
ELLY BLAKE and SUZIE TOWNSEND GUEST POST W/ QUERY CRITIQUE and FROSTBLOOD GIVEAWAY via Literary Rambles: Elly Blake and her agent ask and answer questions on publishing.
Queer YA in the Trump / Pence Era via YA Interrobang: YA author Robin Talley discusses writing her novel, Our Own Private Universe.
Jennifer Brown, author of DARE YOU, on always having something new to learn via Adventures in YA Publishing: Jennifer Brown shares more about her second novel in the Shade Me series.

Literary Agent News and Interviews:

Q&A with Literary Agent Jaida Temperly of New Leaf Literary & Media via Women Writers, Women(‘s) Books: Tips on query letters and manuscripts.
Coffee & Conversation with Thao Le: From Dreaming to Doing Conference via As the Eraser Burns: Interview with Thao Le about her favorite books and other fun questions.

Writing and Pitch Contests:

Say What?! Son of a Pitch is Back! via Katie Teller’s Stories: Another query/250 words contest, called Son of a Pitch, launches on February 20th. Open to YA, NA, and Adult manuscripts.
Announcing Pitch Madness 2017…Candyland Edition! via Brenda Drake: Reminder that this contest submission window opens February 24th.
Upcoming Contest–Mark Your Calendars! via Adventures in YA Publishing: Reminder that our Red Light/Green Light contest begins March 9th.

Writing Craft:

Getting in Touch With Emotion; Really Useful Links by Paul Anthony Shortt via Writing.ie: A list of links to help writers channel the emotional depths of characters.
You Vs. The Reader via KidLit: Creating a reliable narrator that readers connect with.
How To Make Your Setting Come Alive In Edits via Go Teen Writers: Ways to enhance your setting as you revise.
Capitalizing and Punctuating Quotations via Daily Writing Tips: The rules for all your quotation conundrums.
PubCrawl Podcast: POV via Pub(lishing) Crawl: The latest podcast on point of view.
Emotion vs. Feeling: How to Evoke More From Readers via Writers Digest: Fiction and nonfiction author David Corbett discusses writing emotion vs. feeling, and how to use both.
How To Edit Description via Go Teen Writers: Author Jill Williamson offers advice for writing too little or too much description.
Craft Resources: How to Perfect Your Opening Pages via Adventures in YA Publishing: Resources to get your pages ready for our next Red Light/Green Light contest! Entry day is March 9th.
4 Reasons to Write Short Stories via The Write Practice: Short stories hone your craft, and are quicker to write than a novel.
Using Theater Techniques to Write Better Emotion by L.E. DeLano via Adventures in YA Publishing: Using theater techniques to show, not tell.
Writing Tips: 7 Steps to Deal with Overwriting via The Creative Penn: Toning down overly ornate writing.

Writing Inspiration:

Have Courage, Writers! Use the “Theory of the Duck” via Writers in the Storm: How to be brave in the face of writerly rejection.
How to Fall Back in Love with Writing via Goins, Writer: Tips to reignite your passion for writing.
YOU’RE TOO SMART TO GO DOWN STUPID via Kristin Lamb: Hollywood producer Joel Eisenberg discusses the winding path to publication and not giving up.
Want to Double Your Success as a Writer? Do This via The Write Practice: Setting intentions to commit to daily writing.
WOW: Treating your path to publication like it’s your MFA via Adventures in YA Publishing: Author Jennifer Brown discusses how to use rejection as a learning opportunity.
Failure, Betrayal & Setbacks—Sometimes the Only Way Out is THROUGH via Kristin Lamb: The pitfalls of instant success and why growth is a learning process.
5 Inspiring Writing Quotes From African American Authors via The Write Practice: Five quotes for writing inspiration.
Plant the Tree. via SubItClub: Developing patience on your path to publication.

Publishing News & Trends:

Bookstore Sales Rose 2.5% in 2016 via Publishers Weekly: Sales comparison from 2015 to 2016.
QUESTION: What do you say to allegations of racism in Carve the Mark? Via Epic Reads: Veronica Roth’s response to criticism of her latest novel.
This Week In YA: Everything, Everything and More! via Epic Reads: Movie news and cover reveals.
Publishers are hiring ‘sensitivity readers’ to flag potentially offensive content via The Chicago Tribune: The role of the sensitivity reader in today’s publishing climate.
Procrastination Pro-Tips: Leigh Bardugo’s WONDER WOMAN, An EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING Trailer, And More! via Forever Young Adult: A round-up of YA movie news and more.

New YA E-Book Deals:

New YA Book Giveaways:

YA Book Awards and Congratulations:

Carnegie and Kate Greenaway awards announce 2017 longlists via The Guardian: The UK’s most prestigious children’s book prizes reveal their finalists. Congratulations to all the YA authors!

YA New Book Deals and Releases:

New Releases this week 2/13-2/19 plus Giveaway of DARE YOU via Adventures of YA Publishing: Our list of new releases!
What new YA books release this week? (February 14) via YA Interrobang: Regular feature highlighting new YA releases.

Just for Fun:

A Rebel’s Reading List: The Books Victoria Aveyard Recommends for Her Own Heroine via Goodreads: See what books Mare would be reading.
The Prettiest Library Cards (As Seen in the #RiotGrams Challenge) via Book Riot: Pictures of beautifully designed library cards.

Happy Reading!

If I missed anything, please leave a comment!

Lori Ann Palma

Posted: Feb 19, 2017

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: Lori Ann Palma | This Week for Writers

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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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