Why I Read Young Adult

Neighborhood friends keep forwarding me emails inviting me to their next book club meeting. While I am never one to turn down free wine or any appetizer made with cheese (or any appetizers not made with cheese, for that matter), I continue to politely decline. I read at least a book a week, so you'd think I'd be drawn to this like college kids to Panama City during Spring Break.

The truth is, I would rather spend my time reading Young Adult novels than the ones on their book club lists. Yes, I know that a woman my age should probably prefer books in in the genre of Women's Fiction. But as my first love Tim W. told me when he broke up with me in sixth grade: The heart wants what the heart wants.

I prefer not to invest my beloved reading time in story lines where middle age women question their life choices and struggle against the conflict that results when dysfunctional families are put under duress. Obviously. If I wanted that kind of drama, I wouldn't waste twenty dollars on a hardcover book at Barnes and Noble. All I'd need to do is go in my family room and attempt to wrestle the remote away from my sons in a bitter battle wherein I try to switch the channel from ESPN to HGTV.

I choose to read Young Adult fiction because the characters are more emotionally charged and the conflicts are more intense and fast paced. Maybe it's the resilience of youth, but YA fiction leaves me feeling more hopeful and positive about life. Or maybe I love YA because it submerges me in the kind of passion that ignites when your life is so ripe with yearning and potential. Or maybe I just feel grateful to be done with all that adolescent angst.

So there you have it. My name is Lynn and I read YA fiction. Give me the Teen Department in the book store over Oprah's suggestions any day. And if you don't know where that's located, you're really missing out.

"...it's impossible to put the book down. Conspiracy, loyalty, secrets, oaths, lies, and riddles flourish, making this the perfect book for readers who love to untangle mysteries by puzzling things out."  -BOOKLIST 

"At the end of the day, it’s Talan and his endearing combination of bravado and vulnerability, coupled with the crackling chemistry he shares with Laney, that will keep readers turning the pages. A satisfying read for secret-society fanatics and romantics alike."   -KIRKUS REVIEWS

Lynn Lindquist (Chicago, IL) lives with two overly social sons who provide fodder for her young adult novels and growing anxiety disorder. Her contemporary thriller Secret of the Sevens is set for release on June 8, 2015 from Flux Publishing.  To learn more, follow Lynn on lynnlindquist.com or on Twitter at @LynnLindquist.

The Mystery of Creativity: Should You Be Surfing the Internet or Should You Be Writing?

This is excerpted from a post I did on Through the Toll Booth in 2008.

You are a writer; an artist. If all your novels, stories and poems flow forth abundantly—golden words, clever concepts, satisfying connections and solid structure tumbling fruitfully from your brain to your fingertips and onto the page or screen, then this post will be of no interest.

If you occasionally struggle, or if you are procrastinating right now because you sat down to write and could not think of a darn thing to type, read on.

I’D RATHER BE WRITING (NOT).

George Orwell said, “All writers are vain, selfish, and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives there lies a mystery. Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not DRIVEN ON BY SOME DEMON whom one can neither resist nor understand.”

If it’s so hard, why do we write?

Because we're driven on by some demon – whom one can neither resist nor understand.

  

We all know that writing productively is magic. But sometimes it's that being productive part that's hard.

Robert Olen Butler says in his book, From Where You Dream, that “…Writer’s block probably suggests that you have an artist’s instinct. [It happens to writers] because  some important part of them knows that they’ve got to get to the unconscious. But they’re not getting there; they’re thinking too much, so there’s nothing there. Except it’s not quite nothing—you sit there thinking, fussing, and worrying: ‘Gee, I’m not writing,’ ‘I’ve got to write now and I’m not writing,’ ‘Oh my God, I’m not writing.’”

Creativity. Visits from the muse. How can we as artists tap into that all-important creative part of our brains? Keep it healthy and well-oiled? Strengthen it so it’s not fragile and temperamental?

After all is said and done, when our writing is not flowing, we’ve got two choices:

1. Show up with no excuses. If necessary, force yourself with tricks and treats to work and plunge past the block,

or

2. Back off and go “refill the well.” (See Jane Cameron and THE ARTIST’S WAY)

Option 1 is usually the right answer, and the more you do it the better you get at it. If you’re a pro, you produce. But every now and then you have to go with option 2. And surf the Internet.

If there’s one thing to learn about the writing life, it’s patience. Patience for learning the craft, patience with the process and learning how you work best, patience for a “finished” work, patience, lord knows, for publication. And faith all along the way.

In the end, we must have faith. In ourselves. And, I believe, in the universe.

Remember in the film, Shakespeare in Love, how the theater troupe was always one step from disaster? Financial, creative or legal? But how the production would always come together beautifully, even transcendentally in the end, and the players all had faith in the fact that it would work out?

Phillip Henslowe: Mr. Fennyman, allow me to explain about the theatre business. The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster.

Hugh Fennyman: So what do we do?

Phillip Henslowe: Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well.

Hugh Fennyman: How?

Phillip Henslowe: I don't know. It's a mystery.

It is that, for sure. 
Now go back to work.

Ann Jacobus's YA thriller ROMANCING THE DARK IN THE CITY OF LIGHT will be out from St. Martin's Press on October 6, 2015.

Finding a Literary Agent: Four Things I Learned

Literary agents are fantastic creatures. They get your manuscript into the hands of top editors, which is important since a lot of publishers don’t accept unagented work, and the ones that do can take a long (really long) time to respond. Agents negotiate contracts, not just the dollar amount, but rights issues and other clauses that you may not know much about. Agents have the connections needed to sell foreign rights and to make sure you’re actually paid for these rights. Getting an agent might be hard—they work on commission, so they’ll only take on manuscripts they think they can sell—but becoming a successfully published writer without one is even harder.

If you’re a writer in search of a book deal, it makes sense to look for an agent first. Here are four things I’ve learned from my own agent quest.

1.      Research queries. For those of you who don’t know, a query is a letter you send to agents in an attempt to pique their interest in representing your manuscript. A bad query can ruin your chances of ever getting to the next stage. Luckily, there are websites devoted to helping you. I like Query Shark and the Query Letter Hell section at Absolute Write. I’d like to point out that the names here are rather telling. I’ve never heard of a query puppy or a query letter heaven.

2.      Research agents. There are a lot of fabulous agents out there, but there are also some dishonest and incompetent ones. Look for agents with a solid sales record. If you’re going with a new agent, look for one with publishing experience or connections at an established agency. Also, make sure the agents you query actually represent the genre you write; otherwise, you’re wasting everyone’s time. Once again, Absolute Write has a great section—Bewares, Recommendation, & Background Check—to help you. Literary Rambles is a blog that does informative spotlights on children’s agents. Query Tracker makes it easy to find agents who represent your genre.

3.      Pace yourself. If you query all the agents on your list at once, you won’t be able to tweak a letter that doesn’t get a good response. On the other hand, querying one agent at a time could take you the rest of your life, especially since some agents never reply. I suggest sending your query out in small batches of about five to ten.

4.      Don’t be desperate. For many unpublished writers, getting an agent can seem like a daunting obstacle, and it’s easy to settle for anyone willing to offer representation. The truth, though, is that a bad agent is worse than no agent. Don’t query anyone who looks shady. Don’t sign anything you’re not comfortable with. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.

©Trent Black
 
Laurel Gale lives in the desert with her husband and a band of furry monsters that might actually be ferrets. She enjoys reading novels, playing board games, and learning about everything from history to science to grammar. Her debut middle grade novel, Dead Boy, comes out September 29, 2015, from Random House/Crown Books for Young Readers. 

You Say It's Your Birthday

By Natasha Sinel

Today is July 23^rd. My birthday. I know exactly what you’re thinking: Hey! Happy birthday, hope it’s a great year! Also, You’re aging quite gracefully!

This is what I’m thinking: Thanks! Also, Thanks!

A year ago today, I was celebrating. Big time.

The day before, I'd gotten the call from my agent. The editor who’d shown interest in my manuscript had managed to jump through all the hoops on her end, and made an offer for THE FIX. Honestly, the first thought I had was: Tomorrow, I actually get to celebrate. For real. The last four birthdays had been bittersweet—happy to have another birthday, a chance to eat cake, get cards and presents and such, but mixed with that other thought, too—another year without a book deal. It would've been my fifth birthday wishing for that one thing.

But on July 23, 2014, there was much to celebrate. There was cake, cards, presents, hugs from the kids, and champagne for the book deal.

And then everything happened so fast.

Contract, announcement, joining a debut group and getting up to speed on what it meant to be a debut author—all the things I’d have to do. There were the things I’d expected: edits, cover, blurbs, bio, etc. But also so much more: social media, blog posts, self-promotion, postcards to libraries, bookmarks. ARCs. Planning launch parties. Media. Bookstores. So. Much. To. Do. I got sucked into it all.

On June 23, 2015, exactly one month ago and nearly a year after the offer, my agent asked me, “So, how’s writing going?”

I laughed. “Um, it’s okay. I’ve been side-tracked with all the promotion stuff for THE FIX, so I haven’t written a ton, but I will. I mean, I’m writing, don’t worry…but…” Cue nervous laughter. Was I making excuses? About writing?

A tough love speech followed (emphasis on the love). It included a much-needed reality check that went a bit like this, “You need to prioritize your writing. This is your job. You are a writer. You write books. So, write another book.” And then the follow-up question, “When can you get a first draft to me?”

As authors (debut authors, at least), we do the bulk of our own marketing and promotion. More than you can even imagine, actually. And while I’ve been having a great time on social media, ordering bookmarks, designing cute stickers, and planning launch parties, those aren’t the things I’d signed up for. Somehow, I found myself working nonstop all day, yet not adding a word to my new manuscript.

Along the way, I’d lost focus.

This focus—I write stories about teenagers. That’s what I love to do. I’m a writer, and writers must write. Right?

My agent waited quietly while I thought. I made quick calculations in my head.

“August 15^th,” I said, as my heart started to pound.

“Great,” she said. “That’s great.”

So, I’ve been writing. After I make my word count goal for the day, I work on the other stuff, which is also important, but the writing has to come first.

A year ago today, I was celebrating my first book deal. Today, I’m anticipating the release of my debut novel in less than six weeks. And I’m confident, thanks to my agent, that in less than four weeks, I’ll be sending the first draft of my new manuscript to her.

Natasha Sinel writes YA fiction from her home on a dirt road in Northern Westchester, NY. She drives her kids around all afternoon, but in her head, she's still in high school, and hopes that no one near her can read minds. Her debut YA novel THE FIX will be out from Sky Pony Press on September 1, 2015.

"How do you find time to write?" is the wrong question. Here's why...

Greetings readers!

I'm doing something way out of my comfort zone for my July blog post. I'm posting a video blog!

Why? Because it's time efficient, and my goal this month was to talk about the question I am asked most frequently by non-writers: "How do you find the time to write?"

It's usually (though not always) asked out of genuine curiosity and respect. And it deserves a solid answer. I don't think I managed that with this video, but I tried my best.

Enjoy...