YA Sunday Morning News: This Week for Writers 3/26/17

by Lori Ann Palma

Spring is officially here! Along with it, I have some great agent interviews, a bunch of articles on what’s happening in the publishing industry, and more.

Happy reading!

Writing for Publication—Before the Sale:

The Crafting of an Editorial Letter via Pub(lishing) Crawl: Agent Kelly Van Sant shares her process for writing an editorial letter to clients.
Two Types of Writers: Plotters and Pantsers via Reedsy: Each writing style is defined, along with a guide to make the move from a pantser to a plotter.
QUITE THE QUERY: LAURA RUECKERT AND A DRAGONBIRD IN THE FERN via Chasing the Crazies: A successful YA fantasy query letter sample with commentary.
How to Land an Agent for a Self-Published Book via Jane Friedman: Routes to querying agents if you’ve already self-published.

Writing for Publication—Book Marketing and Social Media:

The Reasons Branding Confuses You and How To Fix That Right Now via BadRedHead Media: A breakdown of what branding is, and how to define your own brand.
How to Make Facebook Show the Right Blog Image via Create If Writing: Podcast that provides an answer to fixing that annoying Facebook issue.
Can Changing Your Book Covers Really Help You Sell More Books? via The Creative Penn: Taking advantage of being an indie publisher and changing your book covers over time.
Helpful Hacks to Build a Strong Online Brand via Writers in the Storm: Defining your brand through two exercises.

Author Interviews:

Rockstar Book Tours Blog Tour, Interview, & Giveaway: Hear The Wolves (Victoria Scott) via YA Books Central: Interview with YA author Victoria Scott.
Author Chat with Carrie Mac, Plus Review & Giveaway! via YA Books Central: Discussion with Carrie Mac on her latest novel, 10 Things I Can See From Here.
Author Of The Week: Chat with Rosalyn Eves (Blood Rose Rebellion), Plus Giveaway!! via YA Books Central: Interview with Rosalyn Eves, YABC’s Author of the Week.
Shiny Ladders and Feminism: Kate Hart talks AFTER THE FALL via YA Interrobang: Interview with After the Fall author, Kate Hart.
Maggie Stiefvater Talks ‘All the Crooked Saints,’ and Here’s a First Look at the Gorgeous Cover via Entertainment Weekly: Maggie Stiefvater discusses her new stand-alone YA novel hitting shelves later this year.
Piper Perish Author Kayla Cagan on How to Bust Out of a Creative Rut via The B&N Teen Blog: Kayla Cagan shares her advice on breaking free of a rut

Literary Agent News and Interviews:

AGENT SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW WITH KRISTY HUNTER AND QUERY CRITIQUE GIVEAWAY via Literary Rambles: Interview with Kristy Hunter.
Agent Kate McKean and Author Alyson Gerber Guest Post W/Query Critique and Braced Giveaway via Literary Rambles: Debut author Alyson Gerber and her agent Kate McKean discuss her successful query letter and provide querying tips.
FIRST FIVE FRENZY with Tracy Marchini of BookEnds Literary Agency via Chasing the Crazies: Five questions for literary agent Tracy Marchini.
Interview With Editor Brian Geffen via Pub(lishing) Crawl: Insight into the acquisitions process.

Writing and Pitch Contests:

The Benefits of Participating in Writing Contests on Twitter via Writer’s Digest: A look at Twitter contests and if they’re beneficial for aspiring writers.

Writing Craft:

Directing Reader Attention via Kidlit: As the writer of your story, you know what’s important, but do you know how to pull the reader’s attention to it?
Tips for When You’re Stuck in the Beginning via Writers in the Storm: Practical advice for launching a new writing project.
How to Produce an Emotional Response in Readers: Inner Mode, Outer Mode, and Other Mode via Jane Friedman: Post adapted from The Emotional Craft of Fiction by agent Donald Maass.
5 Steps to Building an Outline for Writing a Novel by author Casey Griffin via Adventures in YA Publishing: The benefits of outlining and how to do it by Casey Griffin.

Writing Inspiration:

A Reminder Of What Makes A Real Writer via Terribleminds: If you write, you’re a writer.
A Little Reminder: Take Care of Yourself via Operation Awesome: A reminder to take care of yourself from YA author Melinda Marshall Friesen.
Embracing Perseverance via Writer Unboxed: Breaking down the how and why we persevere.
Stop thinking and start doing via Nathan Bransford, Author: Increase your productivity by writing rather than making notes about your writing.
Writing through the Soggy, Infuriating, Anxiety-Inducing Middle via Writer Unboxed: Inspiration and practical advice to get through the middle of your draft.

Publishing News & Trends:

Where Fiction and Reality Collide: Books and Black Lives Matter via NYT Books: A look at how real life has influenced recent YA books.
New Crop of Young Adult Novels Explores Race and Police Brutality via NYT Books: A companion to the above article—a look at new and upcoming YA books that explore race in America.
Facts and Figures 2016: Children’s Bestsellers Reflect Booming Backlists and Reinvigorated Franchises via Publishers Weekly: The PW 2016 Facts and Figures compilation of children’s bestsellers encompasses a wide range of titles, dominated by series (both new and old), movie tie-ins, and read-aloud favorites.
TV Alert: ‘13 Reasons Why’ via Publishers Weekly: A spotlight on the upcoming Netflix adaptation of Jay Asher’s YA novel and this growing trend.
Muslim Publishers Look to Build Bridges, Counter Cultural Misunderstanding via Publishers Weekly: Muslim publishers discuss countering cultural misunderstanding.
Bologna 2017: Agents Talk Children’s and YA Trends via Publishers Weekly: Agents and scouts attending this year’s Bologna book fair talk about the trends they’ve been noticing.
BAD GIRL GONE movie rights sell to Iggy Azalea via YA Interrobang: Iggy Azalea’s Azalea Street Productions optioned the upcoming novel.
This Week In YA: Emma Roberts, The Darkest Minds, And More! via Epic Reads Blog: New book clubs, movie news, and YA author besties.
IF FICTION CHANGES THE WORLD, IT’S GOING TO BE YA via LitHub: Opinion piece about YA fiction and its legitimacy in the publishing world.

New YA E-Book Deals:

New YA Book Giveaways:

YA New Book Deals and Releases:

New Releases this week 03/20-03/26 plus 3 Giveaways via Adventures in YA Publishing: Our weekly YA book picks and giveaways!
What’s New In YA ~ March 21st, 2017 via YA Books Central: New releases in YA.
What new YA books release this week? (March 21) via YA Interrobang: Weekly feature of YA releases in the US and Australia.

Just for Fun:

If YA Characters Had Google Search Histories via Epic Reads Blog: Examples of how your favorite characters’ search histories would look!

If there’s a news story or blog post you found particularly interesting, please share it in the comments!

Lori Ann Palma

Posted: Mar 26, 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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