Halloween In July

What was I thinking? Perhaps I wasnt thinking. At any rate, We’re celebrating Halloween in July this week at YALITCHAT! Why? Because there’s no one to stop us! Isn’t that what being a “young adult” is all about? Oh wait. We’re not young adults, we WRITE young adult books. Grrr.

At any rate, we kicked the week off on Monday by celebrating some of our brightest authors who write books about things that go “bump” in the night! Michelle Zink, Heather Brewer, Claudia Gray and Nancy Holder were awesome enough to donate books and promotional items for a week-long scavenger hunt over on The YA-5 blog! So far, we’ve learned that Heather is not so much into dogs, Michelle likes the musical stylings of Eminem and Nancy writes to horror movie soundtracks!

To round out the week, we have Claudia Gray and an excellent post by self-proclaimed teen Goth princess (and YALITCHAT editorial intern), Amber Skye about the gothic trend in YA paranormal literature.

And what ever you do–do not forget about the event which anchors it all–tonight’s #YALITCHAT on twitter. Our Spooktakular Midnight (Eastern) Chat. Join Heather, Claudia and Nancy for two hours of horribly good fun! There will NOT be a 9PM chat.

Be afraid. Be very afraid!

Georgia

That’s sooo 20 years ago: Nailing the high school experience in your YA book!

Are you still writing about the same tired high school experiences from your youth and calling it a new young adult novel with a fresh approach? Still trying to make sparks fly between the jock and the geek or the popular, rich girls and the ethnic ones? Still making fun of the lunch lady or the bald principal with the stained, brown suit from fifteen years ago? Well, if that’s what’s going on in the high schools in your books–then you’re missing the mark.

Calhan HS Seniors 2008 Credit: David Shankbone

Staying up to date with what’s happening in today’s high schools is vastly different than what was going on when you were a teen. Some things may not have changed but trust me, most things have.

Today’s teens (mostly) have no chalkboards in the classroom. Yep. You read that correctly. In the lunchroom they swipe their pre-paid lunch cards or enter a code to pay for lunch–that is, if they even eat lunch. Many inner city kids must pass through a metal detector to enter school and have for years.

Oh and stop worrying about the jock and the geek. They’re friends now. The rich girls and ethnic girls attend the same parties, vie for the same boyfriends and listen to the same music. Imagine that! Hair pulling and schoolyard smackdowns? Gone. All humiliation is done online now. Facebook is the new lockeroom/hallway/schoolyard. You can reach way more people with a YouTube video, a verbal bitch-slap or viral text breakup. Yeah–the internet has enabled a certain cruelty that just didn’t exist when “we” were in high school.

But unless you have a teen in the house it really is hard to know what’s going on in the schools. And even then–some teens may be more like ghosts, coming and going with barely a word then actual family participants. Simply doing school visits may not be enough but it is a great start.

So, what do you do as a young adult writer to ensure that your high school and overall teen experience is authentic? The last thing you want is to get it wrong or worse, almost right.

Join us tonight for a lively discussion. If you know a teen, bring them so they can be heard as well!

See you tonight at 9PM EST. Just follow the #yalitchat hashtag.

xoxo-

G

PS: Thanks to YALITCHAT member Cara Best for suggesting this topic!

Tags: georgia mcbride, young adult fiction, teens, high school, school, middle school, jocks, geeks, cheerleader, mean girls, young adult novels, cyber bullying

Balancing your creative vision with market conditions

This is going to be one of those difficult posts–for me not you. Well, at least I hope not you. I may even offend some people. But then again–I tend to do that on Wednesdays.

I’ll try to keep it short by starting this way. I’ve had to postpone tonight’s scheduled #YALITCHAT topic focusing on finding the right agent for YOUR work due to the fact that many agents are on query hiatus for the summer. No point in talking up agents who are simply going to delete your query unread after the chat. So, we’ll reschedule for some time in late August–I promise.

On the day of the launch of a new interview with me by Savannah Foley over at the Let The Words Flow blog, I must say I feel like a complete and utter fake, a failure, a hoax. And while I know I will regret blogging my inner thoughts for the world to read, I feel it is only right and a great way to kick off tonight’s #YALITCHAT topic: balancing your creative vision with market conditions.

You see, my vision for PRAEFATIO, my very first YA book and baby is so vastly important to me. It is not your typical YA book, and in fact, I feel I’ve asked a lot from the YA reader with this book. But it is the faith I  have in the maturity of the reader and her/his desire to be challenged that makes me believe that there is no other way to write it. The structure is unlike any other YA book I have read, and yet it contains many of the classic elements YA readers have come to expect.

I cannot tell you how many compliments I have received on my writing, themes, storytelling (not the same as structure) and characters. But when it comes down to it, the book itself simply looks TOO different than all the other books. One editor even referred to it as “avant-garde.” I barely knew what to say.

So, what is a writer to do? One might say that if you want to be traditionally published you shut up and revise the book to make it FIT into the mold. Others might say you keep going until you find that ONE person who gets it. Still others (most) say — you’re crazy but a decent writer so write something else that is more in line with what the market will bear.

BUT!!!! What if I’m simply not your typical standard YA writer? What if all of my books end up being well, a little bit odd, a little off the grid, a little out of the norm? Then what?

Crap.

Seems to me that trying to fit oneself into a mold is asking for trouble. I won’t do it. You can–if that’s what you want to do.

Here’s the thing. I only realized I was bizarre when I started writing more books. HOLES and MESSIAH are, well, just as (if not more) bizarre as PRAEFATIO. And while I may be a far better writer than I was when I first started writing PRAEFATIO, I’m still NEVER going to be your “typical, cookie-cutter, three act” girl.

Feel free to talk about me, this post or whatever it is that moves you. Who knows if anyone will EVER pick up PRAEFATIO traditionally. All I know is, I won’t stop trying–not matter what anyone says. You can read the first chapter here.

What I do know is this. I’m not trying to be something I’m not. Just writing books for kids who want to read them.

Join us tonight on twitter at 9PM EST for #YALITCHAT!

xoxo-

G

Author Platform for Pre-Published Writers

With all the attention YALITCHAT has been getting recently, I’ve been getting a ton of interview requests. I’m not complaining by any means but I don’t really like talking about myself. I’m more of a talking to myself kind of person. But a lof of folks ask me how I manage to get so many followers on twitter or friends on facebook without having a book out. It’s not a game and there is no magic. I don’t use spam bots and I loathe trickery. Many writers and pre-published authors want to know how to build a platform without having a book out, or while they are shopping for an agent, but have no idea how or where to start.

I’ve just completed an interview on this very subject which is near and dear to my heart. I’ll also be hosting a webinar starting in September so look out for that. Click here for the interview. Please let me know what you think!

xoxo-

Georgia

Tags: author platform, book marketing, georgia mcbride

TWO CHATS ARE BETTER THAN ONE

I’ve been absent from #yalitchat for the past two weeks as many of you know, and this week marks my return. You also know that I hardly ever do anything quietly. So this week, we have two chats instead of one. OK, OK. I admit, I didn’t actually plan it that way. It just worked out that way. And truth be told I would not have planned it this way had I been in charge of the planning of things. BUT, here we are nonetheless.

Tonight’s chat should be a lot of fun. The topic is: Stupid human tricks. Come talk about all the mistakes, blunders and missteps you’ve made along the road to publication. The purpose is not to ridicule but to have one of those “look back and laugh” moments. We need to let those who are still struggling or who may have made some mistakes of their own know that all is not lost. You can make mistakes or even screw up royally and still achieve your goal of being published.

Of course, we start at 9PM EST and go until 10:15PM for the official transcript. There is an  after party immediately following for our members on our community site at YALITCHAT Online.

I’m stoked to announce our second chat of the week will be with Cory Doctorow, bestselling author of LITTLE BROTHER (TOR Teens/Harper Collins UK) on Saturday, June 26th! Starting at 9PM EST, Cory will talk with us about why he writes YA, how he comes up with such awesomely creative ideas, why reaching male readers is so important to him and his thoughts on everything from our government, his government (he’s a Canadian living in the UK, eh?) and everything in between. You won’t want to miss this chat. I’ll also be giving away two copies of Cory’s latest book, FOR THE WIN!

If you can’t make Saturday’s chat and you have questions you want to ask Cory, please post them in the comments section below and we’ll ask him LIVE. This is a rare treat for us as Cory lives in the UK and is visiting the States for an appearance at ALA. He agreed to chat with us as a part of that tour.

I’d like to thank the team over at TOR Books for helping to coordinate all of the arrangements and the giveaways. What a bunch of awesome folks over there. And finally I’d like to thank the awesome hosts who filled in for me while I was recovering–Dawn Metcalf, Lauren Baratz-Logsted and Shelli Johannes-Wells–thanks so much for your friendship and support. I appreciate you.

Let’s chat it up!

See you at #yalitchat tonight and Saturday (this week only) 9PM Eastern!

x0x0-

G

Don’t Quit Your Day Job-What Debut YA Writers Really Make

So you wanna be a YA writer? Do you have visions of teen fans lined up a full day before your signing dressed in t-shirts that read, “team whatever your protagonist is named?”

Have you already quit your day job a full three months before the completion of your very first YA novel because you just know the moment the editor reads it she’ll fall in love and offer you a million dollars to publish it?

Well, you’re either high, stupid, extremely romantic, disillusioned, brave or have a tremendous amount of faith in yourself. Or–all of the above. 

Or are you?

History has shown us that the impossible is in fact possible. You can be homeless and rejected by just about every publisher out there only to go on and sell millions of books about one of the most beloved boy wizards. You can have three kids and write passionately about sparkly vampires and tribal werewolves, get rejected by those who know better, then turn the entire industry (and pop culture) on its ear by selling millions of books in a few short years.

But these results are NOT typical. In fact, they are but two examples that just happen to have come in recent times–fueling the hopes and dreams of countless debut authors and even some established and already successful adult-genre authors. 

Ask any writer and they will tell you, “it’s not about the money.” Ideally, most writers want to be able to make a decent enough living so that they can focus on what they love and do best–writing. When writing becomes the thing that pays your bills and feeds your family–then you are at peace as a writer and free to be creative. 

Of course, I can’t speak for all writers, but I think that about sums it up. 

As the founder of YALITCHAT–a young adult book publishing industry non-profit organization for the advancement of young adult literature around the world–I do my best to keep up with new YA works, debut authors, signings, releases, etc. I also track deals (in general) and talk to debut authors (and some not so debut) about their specific deals and business relationships. You’d be surprised how much misinformation is out there AND how candid the authors are about how much they make on each deal, how their deals are structured, when deals go awry, etc. 

NB: I’ve spoken to YA authors whose deals have ranged from $15k to $300k per book. These deals were made within the past three years. 

But are publishers really seeking debut YA novelists? According to editor Alan Rinzler they are. Here’s an article titled Publishers Desperately Seeking Insanely Great Debut Novelists from his blog. Mr. Rinzler also writes about the state of YA calling it RED HOT. Look for great insights from agents in this piece including what they’ve sold and where advances are at the time of the interview. 

In case you think writing YA is easy–About.com has an article called, The Pros and Cons of Writing for Young People. 

This article suggests big novel advances for debut authors is all media hype. What do you think? 

Join us tonight for a lively discussion during #YAlitchat’s weekly twitter chat at 9PM Eastern! You may also leave comments below. Would love to know what you think! 

Below are links from writers who have posted about their deals and or book deals/advances in general. 

Stephenie Meyer

Stephenie Meyer 

Aprilynne Pike 

Amy Huntington 

Kristen Hubbard 

John Green on Author Advances 

How Much Do Ya Authors Make by Kimberly Pauley 

Holly Cupala 

Nicole Peeler on Piracy, Debut Author Advances and Cleaning Her Room 

Justine Larbalestier’s Two Cents on First Novel Advances (with other great links) 

Publishing Money Myths by Jeaniene Frost 

Wondering about deals for debut YA authors in the past few months? Below is a sampling of some of the most notable. 

From Publishers Weekly  

Seven Figure Deal for Allie Conde (Is She the Next Stephenie Meyer?) 

Harper Teen Pays Seven Figures for New YA Trilogy 

Debut YA Trilogy Sells in “Major Pre-Empt” 

Debut YA to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in Pre-Empt 

Our Own Mandy Hubbard (as an agent) Signs First Deal (It’s a YOWSA) 

From Publishers Marketplace April – June 1, 2010 

YA debut in a 2-book very nice deal 

YA debut at auction 

YA debut in a 2-book deal 

YA debut in a significant deal, in a 3-book deal 

YA debut in a pre-empt 

YA debut in a debut in a significant deal in a pre-empt, in a 3-book deal 

YA debut in a pre-empt in a 2-book deal 

YA debut in 2-book deal at auction 

YA debut in 2-book deal 

YA debut in 2-book deal 

Ya debut at auction 

YA debut in a very nice deal, 2-book deal 

Eight other YA debuts without specific deal information 

Join us tonight for a lively discussion during #YAlitchat’s weekly twitter chat at 9PM Eastern! You may also leave comments below. Would love to know what you think!xoxo-

Georgia

Tags: georgia mcbride, Stephenie Meyer, JK Rowling, publishers marketplace, publishing, ya author advances, debut author advances, book advances, first novel advances, book deals, debut author book deal, YA book deals, aprilynne pike, amy huntington, john green, justine larbalesteir, kristen hubbard, nicole peeler, publishers weekly

Gender in YA

Ever wonder why most agents who represent YA are female? How about the readers of YA–yep. You guessed it–mostly female. But wait. Is that really true? And if so, why is that? Is it because YA lit is dominated by female writers who write stories told from the female POV? What about books with a male protag? Are they still somehow aimed or marketed toward the female YA reader?

And then there’s the bookstore. The YA section tends to look like an ode to Pretty in Pink. Well nowadays in some places it can look like a grave yard bookstore with all the dark titles… But how are males supposed to know that there is awesome YA written with them in mind when it is buried under all that pink? And how about the people who sell to bookstores? The ones who introduce these same titles to the bookstores and get them excited about hand-selling to customers (does anyone really do that anymore?). Are they mostly male? And if so, why is that? How are these mostly male adult sales reps getting so pumped about new YA books aimed at teen girls? And then there are the editors who decide which books to acquire. What gender are they mostly? Female? Male? What about the marketing team? The design team–the folks putting the covers together. You know, the ones causing controversy because they’ve most likely not even read the book but are tasked with coming up with a visual representation of it in the market. What gender are they? Pretty much male? (insert WTF moment-now breathe) What about the people who say this: “gender impacts advances. Male debut author advances are generally more than female debut advances.” OK, I don’t know anyone who has actually said that. I may have read that somewhere. But is this actually true? Can it be proven? Where does gender fit into it?

I guess by now you’ve realized that I have no answers–only questions. If I’ve ruffled a feather or an eyebrow for you, please join  us tonight during #YAlitchat on twitter to discuss GENDER IN YA! #YAlitchat is every Wednesday at 9PM EST on twitter. Follow the hashtag to join the conversation.

http://yalitchat.wordpress.com for full schedule of chats, transcripts, etc. and http://yalitchat.ning.com to join our 24/7 YA Lit community.

See you tonight!

xoxo-

G

PS- here are some interesting articles on gender and publishing

Jason Pinter: Why Men Don’t Read

Does Publishing Have A Gender Bias?

Is There a Gender-Specific Bias in Publihsing?

Tonight’s YAlitchat–Complex Worldbuilding

Tonight during #YAlitchat on twitter (9PM EST) we’ll be talking to author Helen Ellis about complex worldbuilding and character development. Her new novel THE TURNING is out now from Sourcebooks Fire.

About THE TURNING

Plucked from foster care, Mary Richards hit the jackpot with a loving family, an apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and a spot in the elite Purser-Lilley Academy.  But she might lose it all if people find out about the turning.

Something not human is inside Mary.  Her mind is reeling and her body is rebelling.  She succumbs to urges and desires she never imagined.  And then there’s the bizarre physical transformation.

Struggling with her metamorphosis, Mary is sought out by two boys who share her secret.  Will she reject the destiny they swear is hers? Or will she find our what curiosity kills?

You only get one chance to decide if you’ll never turn again.

SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America) has an awesome guide to fantasy worldbuilding on their blog.

If you have questions about complex worldbuilding and character development from an author of a recently completed YA novel that is part of a series, join us for #YAlitchat on twitter this evening at 9PM EST.

We’ll start by asking Helen:

1. How did you first define the rules of your world? i.e. my protag can’t drink tap water because it contains chlorine and chlorine will kill him. So, I guess that means he can’t go pool swimming. So when a new friend invites him to her pool party and he falls into the pool…
2. What are the most important or relative rules of this world?
3. Do you have a “world-book” where you write the rules of your world down so that you’ll recall them as you need to? I do for PRAEFATIO. It has evolved into more of a Lexicon and World Guide that I hope readers will enjoy.

Find Helen on Facebook and on twitter.com/theturningbooks

See you tonight.

xoxo-

Georgia

Tags: #YALITCHAT, Books for Teens, character development, georgia mcbride, helen ellis, the turning, worldbuilding, writers on twitter, ya author, YA books, yalitchat topic, young adult novel

All Aboard–Lauren Baratz-Logsted Blog Tour!

The super awesome and super talented Lauren Baratz-Logsted is doing a “single-question” blog tour. I’m excited because she has a new book coming out called THE EDUCATION OF BET due out in July from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

I got to ask her anything I wanted. And, since I’m lucky enough to talk to her often, I had to think hard. Something I don’t get to talk to her about is how she manages to do it all. You see, Lauren is very talented (yeah, I know I said that already). She writes books for kids, teens and adults. She’s also a mom and a wife. You don’t even want to know about the short stories and articles–that would be rubbing it in.

So,when it came time to formulate my question, it was easy. My question: You have a tireless schedule. What do you do to rest your brain, recharge or give yourself a “silly break?”

Lauren: “I watch General Hospital, every day from 3-4pm. If I can do that, it doesn’t matter if I’ve just worked eight hours straight since 7am and that I may be going back for a second writing shift after it’s over. At least if I take that civilized little break to watch the uncivilized citizens of Port Charles, I feel like there are still luxuries in my life. Oh, and Twitter helps too. It’s the ultimate palate cleanser between scenes and chapters.”

And there you have it.

Wanna know where Lauren will be tomorrow (May 7)? She’ll visit Liz Burns talking about her all-time favorite TV show.

Check out yesterday’s (May 5) stop with Sherry where Lauren talked about her last YA release CRAZY BEAUTIFUL.

Tags: author interview, blog tour, crazy beautiful, georgia mcbride, lauren baratz-logsted, New YA Books, new YA release, Teen Books, teen fiction, the education of bet, ya author, YA Author Interview

What Am I Thinking?

Since September 2009 I have known what I would be doing on Wednesday at 9PM EST. Hosting the twitter chat I founded and love, #YAlitchat has been a joy from day one and has grown beyond my wildest imagination (and I have a pretty wild imagination).

But today is a day I never thought would come. Writing deadlines and health issues have forced me to consider taking a night off from my beloved chat. Even with four wonderful co-hosts, I find myself feeling almost hung-over the day after the chats–high on the sheer energy of it all.

I must admit that last week’s two-night MADE FROM AWESOME Mega-Chat left me drained and in need of a serious vacation.

So tomorrow night, I turn over the reigns to the awesome team over at YA Highway lead by Kirsten Hubbard and Kirsten Miller. I can’t articulate how excited I am about The #YAlitchat Takeover and I’m excited to see how our chatters will respond to my not being there.

In honor of this crazy-the world has gone mad-event-I’m giving away prizes to the most creative (and reasonably applicable) answers to “what should I do with all my free time?”

Winner(s) to receive…

The Demon’s Covenant manga poster (signed)

EXPLORER X – Alpha (signed)

The Maze Runner (signed)

Prophecy of the Sisters Audio Book (signed)

Simply post your answer by commenting and note that the contest is ONLY open to members of my blog so don’t forget to subscribe!

xoxo-

Georgia

Tags: #YALITCHAT, georgia mcbride