Happy Memorial Day Weekend! I hope you enjoy this week’s links for writers.
Writing for Publication—Before the Sale:
- Query critique Tuesday: Just tell the story via Nathan Bransford: A query letter critique with tips for how to tell the story and not over-complicate the plot.
- 5 Qs Authors Don’t Ask but Should When an Agent Offers Rep via Nelson Literary Agency: The top five questions you should be asking when offered representation.
- How Much Should You Personalize a Query Letter? via Jane Friedman: Tips on personalization for your query letter opening.
- TOP SECRET FORMATTING PRO-TIP FOR WRITERS via Ask the Agent: Formatting tips to help an agent identify your manuscript out of all the others they’ve requested.
- Writing 101: Surviving the Query Trenches via Adventures in YA Publishing: This post is part of the Writing 101: From Concept to Query (and Beyond!) series, and covers two keys to surviving the query process.
Writing for Publication—Book Marketing and Social Media:
- Your Writing Platform: Letting Readers Know the (Sort of) Real You via Writer’s Digest: Sharing your real self on social media without making it too personal.
Author Interviews:
- Authors Roshani Chokshi and Sarah Nicole Lemon Talk Unlikely Friendships, Ghosts, and Their New YAs via The B&N Teen Blog The two authors discuss myths and tales, unexpected armor, and balancing the light and the dark.
- Author Of The Week: Chat with Joelle Charbonneau (Dividing Eden), Plus Giveaway!! via YA Books Central: Interview with YABC’s YA Author of the Week, Joelle Charbonneau.
- Lily and Dariomauritius: A Q&A with Kara Lee Corthron on THE TRUTH OF RIGHT NOW via YA Interrobang: Interview with debut author Kara Lee Corthron.
- Ep 108: Kayla Olson via First Draft with Sarah Enni: Podcast interview with Kayla Olson, author of The Sandcastle Empire.
- Reflect Their Reality: Karen McManus talks ONE OF US IS LYING + giveaway via YA Interrobang: Post about Karen McManus and her YA contemporary/mystery, One of Us Is Lying.
- Q & A with Cassandra Clare and Karen Wojtyla via Publishers Weekly: Interview with Cassandra Clare and her editor, Karen Wojtyla.
- Ramona Blue author wanted to give her teenage self her own Chasing Amy via EW.com: EW talks with Julie Murphy about her latest novel.
Adventures in YA Publishing Author Interviews:
- Kathleen Baldwin, author of REFUGE FOR MASTERMINDS, on being surprised how a character resonates with readers
- Susan Juby, author of THE FASHION COMMITTEE, on finding creative outlets that make the world disappear
- Trish Doller, author of IN A PERFECT WORLD, on a bumpy road to publication
Literary Agent News and Interviews:
- Agent Spotlight: Q & A with Connor Eck of Lucinda Literary via Adventures in YA Publishing: I interviewed Connor Eck of Lucinda Literary on what he’s looking for in submissions.
- New Agency Alert: Root Literary via Writer’s Digest: Agent Holly Root has formed her own agency, Root Literary.
- AGENT SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW WITH ALYSSA JENNETTE and QUERY CRITIQUE GIVEAWAY via Literary Rambles: Interview with Alyssa Jennette of Stonesong Literary Agency.
- Agent Looking for Clients – Roseanne Wells via Kathy Temean: A look at what Roseanne Wells is seeking in YA and other categories.
- Featured Agent – Jennie Dunham Part Three Interview via Kathy Temean: Part three of interview with Jennie Dunham.
Writing Craft:
- Drafting: Four Methods For Highly Anxious Individuals via YA Highway: Four methods to help you write when you’re highly anxious.
- What an aspiring writer needs to know about editing, marketing, and publishing: An interview with editor Jillian Manning! via Go Teen Writers: Jillian Manning, the acquisitions editor at Blink YA Books, discusses the struggles of getting your first novel published.
- A Quick Way to Outline Without Outlining via Fiction University: Using lists to navigate your novel.
- How Much Character Description Does Your Story Need? via The Write Practice: Tips about character description King gives in his book, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.
- Creating a Killer First Line via M.L. Keller: Tips on crafting a memorable first line.
Writing Inspiration:
- You’re Writers, Not Waiters. via Writers in the Storm: Using your time to write, not wait for your writing career to take off.
- 2 Ways to Beat Writing Procrastination and Finish Your WIP via The Write Practice: Tackling writing procrastination to get back to work.
Publishing News & Trends:
- Publishing Trends via Books & Such Literary: An overall look at what’s going well for publishing and what’s not faring so well.
- What new YA covers hit the web this week? (May 23) via YA Interrobang: New YA covers to drool over.
- YA Onscreen: MAMMA MI-NO We Don’t Need A Sequel via Forever Young Adult: News about YA book adaptations and YA shows and movies.
New YA E-Book Deals:
New YA Book Giveaways:
- Adventures in YA Publishing Giveaways
- Epic Reads Giveaways
- Goodreads Giveaways
- RivetedLit Giveaways
- YA Books Central Giveaways
YA Book Awards and Congratulations:
- GEMINA wins best YA at Aurelias Awards via YA Interrobang: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff’s Gemina won the 2017 Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.
- Nebula Award Recipients Announced via SFWA: The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. announced the recipients of the Nebula Awards® for works published in 2016, including YA titles.
- THE LIE TREE wins YA book prize at L.A. Times awards via YA Interrobang: Frances Hardinge’s The Lie Tree is the Young Adult Literature winner of this year’s Los Angeles Times Book Prizes
YA New Book Deals and Releases:
- New Releases this week 5/22-5/28 plus 4 Giveaways via Adventures in YA Publishing: Our weekly selection of new releases and giveaways!
- What new YA books release this week? (May 23) via YA Interrobang: Weekly feature of new books.
- What’s New In YA ~ May 23rd, 2017 via YA Books Central: Another round-up of YA releases this week.
If there’s a news story or blog post you found particularly interesting, please share it in the comments!
