Writing Still Matters

A funny thing happens when I tell people I'm a Young Adult author. Too often the response is something along the lines of "that's nice, too bad kids don't read anymore" followed by "and they think texting is writing, so say goodbye to books in the future."

Now those of us entrenched in this KidLit world immediately want to scoff at such absurdity. But I also know that sometimes when you are in the bubble, it's hard to see past the bubble. So I did some Googling to see who's right.

And our little KidLit bubble is not the one being popped. I write more about the results here, but for now, let me assure you that teens are reading and teens are writing--and not just via texts.

Not only do teens believe writing is important, they actually don’t consider their social media interactions to be writing. And this is the best part, the books of the future are safe because teens also want to write creatively. They are especially motivated to write creatively when they get to choose their own topics and receive feedback from engaged adults.

Aha, and that's where we come in. This means if we want teens today to write the books of tomorrow, we have a role to play.

This makes me even more excited to be a member of the Freshman Fifteens. Way before I found this study about teen writing, our group of fifteen authors with Young Adult books debuting in 2015 had made working with teen readers and writers our core mission.

Freshman Fifteens and Wattpad Partner in Teen Mentoring Contest

Our first joint project is underway right now. We have partnered with Wattpad, a community of more than 25 million readers and writers, to give teens the unique experience of what it’s like to be a debut author.

In the contest, dubbed COMMON ROOM, the winning teen writers will experience the process of having a book published, from the “query” stage where they pitch us their short story idea, to getting their “deal” when a Freshman Fifteens author selects them as their mentee, to working with their author as they would a book editor, going through two rounds of revisions, through the copy edit stage, cover reveal, release date, and—finally!—book launch.

The finished collection of fictional short stories will be published as an anthology, titled COMMON ROOM, on Wattpad, debuting in January 2015.

After finding this study, we are even more thrilled to be serving as mentors and will be running more projects this year and next to help make sure those books of the future keep on coming.

If you are inspired by these statistics, get out there and find a teen of your own to mentor. Go the local route by putting the word out at your nearby libraries and high schools. Or put out a call on social media and donate your time to critique a teen’s short story or chapter. Even better, hop on Wattpad, where millions of teens are writing every day. Read a story or two and leave a comment. Give that much needed feedback from an engaged adult.

The COMMON ROOM contest is accepting entries from teens ages 13-19 through July 25, 2014.

Full details on the contest including all the dates and how to enter can be found here. Or just swing by Wattpad and type “Freshman Fifteens COMMON ROOM Teen Mentoring Contest” into the search field.

The Freshman Fifteens would love it if you’d join our cause and help spread the word to all the teen writers you know and love!

Follow me on Twitter or my Web site and the Freshman Fifteens on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, or our blog to find out more about the winners and read their stories in the COMMON ROOM anthology in January.

Lori Goldstein is the author of Becoming Jinn (Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan, Spring 2015, sequel, Spring 2016). With a degree in journalism and more than 10 years of experience, Lori is a freelance copyeditor and manuscript consultant for all genres. She focuses on the nitty-gritty, letting writers focus on the writing.

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Meet Your Support Network

Wow, has another month gone by ALREADY??? Seems the summer is flying by in the Northern Hemisphere. And, for me, this spring/summer has been full of firsts. I did my first signing in May, and just last week, I went to my first writer retreat, hosted by the publisher for THE ZODIAC COLLECTOR (YA coming September 2014), Spencer Hill Press.

Most of the folks there I’d met via social media and the interwebz. It was nice to put faces to names and have an in vivo conversation with people I was used to interacting with via tweets and FB updates. Had I planned better, I could’ve stayed the entire weekend and participated in the local con, Pi-Con, and spent more time with everyone. (I’ve never attended a con before—does BEA count, considering I was there for only a few hours and specifically for my signing?) Still, the evening retreat was packed full of fun, laughter, and commiserating with writerly types. Everyone was bright, vivacious, and eager to chat stories, books, characters, and dreams. Just being around them was inspirational.

On the drive home, I realized how important it is to keep a strong support network going. As Kate Kaynak said, “writing is a solitary endeavor” (paraphrase) and we need to gather together whenever we have the chance. It enlivens us. It feeds our souls. It reminds us we’re not alone.

I have to say, the timing of the retreat was PERFECT. I’ve been editing my latest WIP, a YA contemporary about a boy with heart failure, and had considered deleting it. The strong voices of my support network talked me out of doing it (as did another author kind enough to read a partial; she called me crazy, rightfully so, for thinking about striking the delete key). Thanks to my writerly buddies, I started to believe in my story. And that belief was reinforced at the retreat.

Once again, my support network talked me off the proverbial ledge. They bolstered my self-esteem. Then hanging out with them, face to face in the same room, reignited my creativity and passion. I’ve since polished off the round of edits I’d put off for weeks and now I’m drafting a query letter. Yep. I’m back in the saddle.

Your turn to share. When has your support network been helpful to you?

* * * * * * * 

Laura Diamond is a board certified psychiatrist and author of all things young adult paranormal, dystopian, and horror. She’s a lucid dreamer, meaning she can direct her dreams while they’re happening. When she’s awake, she pens stories from her dreams and shares them with her readers. Laura has many published titles including the Pride Series (New Pride, Shifting Pride, and Tsavo Pride), the Endure Series (Endure and Evoke), The Zodiac Collector, a novella Sunset Moon in the Lore anthology, and several shorts stories. When she’s not writing, she is working at the hospital, blogging at Author Laura Diamond--Lucid Dreamer, and renovating her 225+ year old fixer-upper mansion.

If you’re interested in reading more about me, or interacting with me on the web check out the following links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DiamondLB

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLauraDiamond

Author Laura Diamond: www.authorlauradiamond.com

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5815639.Laura_Diamond

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Laura-Diamond/e/B009Y7L432/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1377733776&sr=8-1

Blog: http://lbdiamond.wordpress.com/

Hope to “see” you soon! 

Cover Reveals: Forget Me Not & Remember Me

Today I have not one, but two cover reveals for books of my fabulous Alpha: Stacey Nash.

Love her to bits and I love both of these books (yep, baby, I've had a sneak peek). These are fast past and entertaining reads...with gorgeous covers.

About the Books:

Genre: YA speculative fiction.

Since her mother vanished nine years ago, Anamae and her father have shared a quiet life. But when Anamae discovers a brooch identical to her mother’s favorite pendant, she unknowingly invites a slew of trouble into their world. They’re not just jewellery, they’re part of a highly developed technology capable of cloaking the human form. Triggering the jewellery’s power attracts the attention of a secret society determined to confiscate the device – and silence everyone who is aware of its existence. Anamae knows too much, and now she’s Enemy Number One. She’s forced to leave her father behind when she’s taken in by a group determined to keep her safe. Here Anamae searches for answers about this hidden world. With her father kidnapped and her own life on the line, Anamae must decide if saving her dad is worth risking her new friends’ lives. No matter what she does, somebody is going to get hurt.

About the Author:

Stacey Nash writes adventure filled stories for Young Adults in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres. When her head isn’t stuck in a fictional world, she calls the Hunter Valley of New South Wales home. It is an area nestled between mountains and vineyards, full of history and culture that all comes together to create an abundance of writing inspiration. Stacey loves nothing more than writing when inspiration strikes.

Pre-order buy links:

Amazon: Forget Me Not & Remember Me

iBooks: Forget Me Not & Remember Me

Google Play: Forget Me Not

How To Format A Manuscript To Publishing Industry Standards

Hello, lovely YAtopians!!! 

Why yes, I am in a good mood and that's because I'm kicking it on the beach this week. In honor of vacation, I've decided to recycle an oldie, but a goodie- a blog post I wrote some time back about how to format a manuscript- since I'm still seeing a lot of manuscripts in my freelance editing that are, well, a bit funky in terms of formatting. 

Is standardized formatting a deal-breaker? Of course not. But getting it right does show you've taken the time to research the industry and THAT says a lot about you to an agent or editor. 

Here’s how to format so you look like a seasoned pro who has done your homework!

First things first. Your manuscript should be saved as “TITLE Last Name” so that it’s easily searchable when an agent needs to locate it on his/her Kindle/e-reader.  The title should be in all caps and your last name does not need to be. You could also indicate “partial” or “full” in the document name if that applies. Please, please, do not label “TITLE version 4768” or “TITLE draft 2013”. You may have been polishing your ms for years, but I’m not sure you want to share that information at this point in the process. If you are using Microsoft Word, save the file as a .doc as opposed to .docx as not all agents can open the newer docx format.

Next, your document should begin with a cover sheet that looks like the picture below.  For the sake of your career, take five minutes and set up a professionally-named email account to use so that your cover sheet does not include MomofTwelve@crazytown.com or “Shmoopylovecakes@glitter.com. The bottom half of this sheet will be blank. A final note on this: round your word count up or down to the nearest 1,000.

The next page is where your manuscript begins. First things first, include a header on every page for agents who like to print out submissions, so if the pages get swept up in a windstorm the agent will instantly know who wrote this brilliant thing they’re reading and how to put it back in order!  Include your title, name, and contact information in the header. You should also include page numbers in the opposite top corner or on the bottom of each page.

You do not need to format your manuscript to look like a printed book (I actually did this–complete with cover art–when I sent my ms to my very first reader and she very politely and with a straight face, suggested I, um, reformat ASAP!) This is not yet a book, it is a manuscript, so there is no need to drop your chapter beginnings to mid-page or include photos you envision enlivening your text (If it helps you feel like you’ve written a novel versus a term paper, by all means save a copy like this that you can revel in! But send the agents the one that looks like a boring dissertation and let your words do the impressing instead.)

It should look something like this:

Note above that I used a standard font (Times New Roman and Courier are the two most requested by agents) and size (12-point) for all text (you can go to 24-point for the title on your cover page but otherwise 12, 12, 12!  All text should be double-spaced..

Next, go grab a published book off your shelf.

Trust me on this.

Open to the first page of any chapter and peek at the first line. It’s not indented. I know, I KNOW. You never noticed this before, in all your years of reading. Your mind is blown! But it’s true: The first sentence of chapter openings and of scene breaks are NOT indented. If you follow my instructions below, you will be formatting your text to automatically indent each paragraph so this is something you’ll need to fix manually when you’re done writing.

Speaking of indenting.  You’ll want to format your ms so that you do not hit the tab bar even once in the document. You also do not want to hit the space bar five times with each new paragraph. But why, Jen? It all looks the same on the page. Yes. Yes, it does. But, fates willing, when this sells in a giant multi-book deal it won’t to the person at the big, fancy publishing house formatting your manuscript into a book. And, more importantly at this stage, it won’t on an ereader, where it is extremely likely your book will be read by a requesting agent.

Instead (for Microsoft Word), along the top menu bar, go to Format and select Paragraph. Then fill out the form as follows with regard to margins, spacing, and indentation. This will set up your document so that when you hit the return key, the cursor will automatically indent five spaces for the start of the new paragraph.

You know how I mentioned above not hitting that space bar five times? You also don’t want to hit it twice. If you’re anything like me, you learned there were two spaces between sentences. Not no more! Now there is only one. If you can train yourself to write this way, you are golden. if you’re like me and just can’t get your brain to compute when you’re busy typing alllllll the words as fast as they form in your head, you can fix this at the very end. You’ll want to do a “Find and Replace”. Where you would ordinarily type a word for your computer to search for, you’re going to hit the space bar twice. Then go to the next line (replace) and hit the space bar once. Then hit enter. I would show you a pretty picture of this, but, well, it’s all kind of invisible. But it does work, I promise!

At the end of each chapter, select “Insert Page Break” from the Insert section along the top menu bar, rather than hitting return until you reach a blank page. As you revise, this will preserve your chapter breaks for you.

Finally, after the very last line of your ms, center a row of several ##### signs to let the reader know they’ve reached THE END!

On that note:

#########

5 TV Shows That Count As Reading Great Books

Hello from Kate, and happy Sunday!

Almost every writer I know says, "I need to find more time for reading." As much as we love great books, it can be tough to carve the time and energy for picking up a book out of a busy day. Sometimes, all I want to do is lay on the couch with a drink and watch TV. I'm picky, though-- thin story, weak character development, a plot that goes in circles, or overly dramatic writing spoils a show for me and makes me feel like I wasted my time.

Often the mentality around TV is that it's mostly empty entertainment-- fun, funny, exciting, but not as good as a great book. But that's not always true. Some TV shows are just as well-written and thought-provoking. The goal is to consume great story, and while writers obviously also need to consume words too, storytelling is storytelling. One medium can inform and sharpen another, so here's my advice: when you read, read great books. When you watch TV, watch great TV. Here are some shows that are terrific examples of high quality storytelling:

Breaking Bad
Hands down, one of my favorite shows. Breaking Bad is widely regarded as one of the greatest television series of all time. By its end, the series was among the most-watched cable shows on American television. Just look at its award list: "The show received numerous awards, including ten Primetime Emmy Awards, eight Satellite Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a People's Choice Award. In 2014, Breaking Bad entered the Guinness Book of Records as the highest rated show of all time" (Wikipedia).Even though the show's arc is suspenseful and gritty and complex, it's the character arcs that blow me away. Heroes turning into antiheroes, one of the most compelling underdogs of all time, and a chilling look at the force of authority and pride in someone's life. Some people say it's too gory, but in my opinion the show really isn't that bloody. The first season has a few "ew don't look" moments, but it's more grim than bloody. Plus, it's frequently hilarious. The writers do a brilliant job of using dark humor to make the sky-high stakes and edge-of-your-seat storytelling also entertaining. The cinematography, too, is first rate.

House of Cards
I didn't think much could make me enjoy political drama, but this show did it. Subtle power plays turn into life-or-death stakes, and the sheer cleverness of Frank Underwood make him a character you're a bit terrified to root for, but you can't help yourself. It's a wonderful story of ruthlessness, manipulation, and the greater good. The southern flair, the complexity of Washington politics, and the fascinating, unusual relationship between Frank and Claire make this show a slow, calculated burn. Both Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated, the writing really is genius. Give it a few episodes, and you'll be hooked.

Mad Men
Another show with a gradual build. It gains layers episode by episode, so stick around to watch it come together. It's genius. The show handles an incredibly large cast with the deftness of Game of Thrones, so

watch it for handling several large personalities on one stage and managing criss-crossing stories. Don's inner demons guide the show, but the incredibly strong female characters give him a run for his money. Peggy and Joan are brilliantly drawn, powerful women, and they light up their scenes. The show is a fascinating look at secrets, pretenses, gender commentary, and the art in advertizing. With 15 Emmys, 4 Golden Globes, and consistent ranking as one of the best TV dramas of all time, this show takes character-driven conflict to a brilliant new level.

Parenthood
No murders, no drug dealing, no political power plays--but this is one of my favorite shows. It's deep, it's funny, it's charming. Created by Ron Howard and starring a number of brilliant actors, it has won a Vision Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award, two Television Academy Honors awards, two Young Artist Awards, and three Entertainment Industries Council PRISM Awards. This is the show that made me love contemporary family stories, and it's especially brilliant for following both teen and adult storylines, and having such a differentiated cast of characters. Everyone is so different but so real and complex that it looks like real life. One of the things I appreciate most is that the show doesn't buy into cheap tricks-- arguments that would normally be blown out of proportion to develop action for the episode are resolved with a conversation; people adequately explain themselves in conflict; the characters don't hold too tightly to their flaws and virtues. If suspense isn't your genre but you want deep relationships and personal conflict, definitely go for this one.

Sherlock
I can't say anything about this show that hasn't already been said. Nominated for British Academy Television Awards, Golden Globes, and Emmys, and starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, this show is one of the most complex character studies I've ever seen. The episodes aren't about who did it, or even how they did it; they're about Sherlock and his friendship with Dr. Watson. (The longer length of the episodes also allows for a more complicated arc than many shows can achieve.) If you ever wondered whether it's characters who really make a show memorable, just try Sherlock. You won't regret it. Just do it. Right now. 

Any recs for us? Where are you finding top-notch storytelling in TV shows? Tell us in the comments!

Editopia: Meredith Rich with Bloomsbury Spark

Editopia is back! Today, we're thrilled to welcome editor Meredith Rich, the digital editor for YA and NA at Bloomsbury Spark.

Previously Meredith has also been a historical reinactor, a regular actor, a barista, a children's bookseller, a math editor, and a playwright. Many years and careers later she finally figured out that she loves storytelling, and that helping other people tell their own stories is even better. Her best days are spent with a good book and iced coffee in the park, preferably with someone else's dog to pet. You can find her on twitter at @MeredithJHRich

Bloomsbury Spark is a one-of-a-kind, global, digital imprint from Bloomsbury Publishing dedicated to publishing a wide array of exciting fiction eBooks to teen, YA and new adult readers. Their outstanding list features multiple genres: romance, contemporary, dystopian, paranormal, sci-fi, mystery, thriller, and more. Bloomsbury Spark is open to non-agented submissions, so if you have a manuscript between 25 and 60k words long, then please check out their submissions guidelines here: 

Hi Meredith! Thanks for being here. Okay, to start if off: most authors are surprised to find out that editors’ days aren’t spent kicking back at their desks with mugs of tea and piles of manuscripts and that, in fact, most work reading happens outside of work. Describe what your “typical” day actually is.

Hmm…my ideal day is something like this:

8:30-9:30: Answer all of the email as fast as I can, trying to get on top of my inbox. Often my favorite part of my day. I love email. Is that weird?

9:30-11: Either meetings or catching up on paperwork, metadata, marketing things.

11-1: Whatever needs doing. Sometimes this could be writing design memos for the cover, talking to freelancers, routing invoices, meeting with our Spark team, writing acquisition proposals, or chatting with authors and agents. I also really love spreadsheets so I try to slot some time to update all of them. There are many and they are all also color-coded. Of course.

1-3:  By this point I can try to settle in for editing for an hour or two. Sometimes I am writing longer edit letters, looking at arc, structure and characters, and with some I really look more at line edits from the beginning. I am very lucky that my authors are flexible and willing to take whatever feedback necessary! I am also lucky in that they forgive me for my overuse of "awkward" in line notes. 

3-4: Usually in the afternoon I try to look through some submissions and move things along. They can really pile up and I try to at least decide which ones I am interested in reading and then move them to my kindle to read later.

4-??? I head back to editing. We have two titles a month slated for Spark so I often edit at home and read submissions on the weekends.

Of course most days my actual schedule looks like this:

8:30-???: Meetings, emails, spreadsheets, meetings, emails, coffee, emails.

  

Ha! Yes. Those ideal days never quite happen, even with the best, color-coded intents, right? Without implicating anyone, can you tell us one of or some of the weirder submissions you’ve received?

One of the weirdest ones I have ever gotten involved a main character that had a really hard time with…certain bodily functions. I can’t even describe the query without it getting gross, but suffice it to say, it was quite easy to “flush” that one. (Sorry, couldn’t help myself. :)

*Snort* I really love the varied answers we get to that question. Switching gears a little, is there a particular book that sparked your love of reading or a book that you re-read time and again?

I don’t quite remember what age I was when I discovered Tamora Pierce, but I think it was probably around third or fourth grade. Reading her Song of the Lioness series was like discovering a whole new world that combined some of my favorite things. (Girls disguised as men, knights, magic, etc.)

I remember one particular family vacation to Germany where I only brought those four books with me, and I think I read the whole series through ten times by the end of the two weeks. One of my mom’s favorite photos of me features a very awkward Meredith on a train, ignoring the passing castles out the window, and completely engrossed in what Alanna does next.

How could anyone mind "awkward" when you also describe yourself that way?! That's adorable. Okay, so, I love to swim but have a total fear of drowning and I find it really hard to read books where that is a plot point. What about you? Anything you hate to read about? On the other hand, are there subjects you’re drawn to?

I am a super scaredy-cat as far as blood is concerned so I can’t read horror, as much as I might like to! I am ok with thrillers and mysteries, and I can handle violence in books as well if it is well placed and purposeful, but I can’t watch it on TV! For example I read and loved the Game of Thrones books, but I absolutely cannot watch the show. Just can’t.

As far as what I am drawn to without fail, I was a theater major in college and a historical reinactor right afterwards, so I love books with a historical twist or anything set in theater! I also love living vicariously through books set in small towns, mostly because I have lived in major cities my whole life. Also girls disguised as boys in fantasy always grabs my heart thanks to the aforementioned Tortall obsession, compounded by the fact that Twelfth Night is my favorite Shakespearean play.

is it bad that when girls disguised as boys come up, you think Shakespeare and I think Amanda Bynes movie? Hmm. Okay, ever since stumbling upon a tumblr feed that rounded up page shots of all the books that have a variation of the line “S/he released a breath s/he didn’t know s/he’d been holding” I spot it left and right in stories and now it makes me giggle! Also, I know about three people in my real life who have deep green eyes and yet every book seems populated with them! What about you? Any writer’s tics or cliché pet peeves that jump out at you?

I really can’t stand reading about girls who don’t realize how beautiful they are. I like a certain self-awareness in my narrators, and I find confidence likeable! Of course sometimes it could be essential to the plot, (if the character has an eating disorder, etc.), but the trope of spectacularly gorgeous heroines with hair like a waterfall and eyes like emeralds not knowing they are that gorgeous? I don’t buy it.

Amen to that!! Finally, here’s your chance to plug a few books on your list you’re excited about…

Ooh! Now choosing my from my list is like picking a favorite child…or dog. (I imagine picking a favorite dog would be harder. They all have puppy eyes!)

But, if I have to, these are the ones that I am working on at the moment that I fall for over and over again.

MY SOON TO BE SEX LIFE by Judith Tewes

 This YA contemp is so full of snark and heartwarming family drama, all with a girl who is just trying to take control of her own sexuality. I can’t get enough.

INKED by Eric Smith

Set in a society where tattoos are magical, fate altering, and mandatory, this YA fantasy takes you to the heart of corrupt government, and surprises me every time I read it. I am also pretty sure I will wind up with a tattoo by the time the release date rolls around.

THE EDGE OF YOU by Theresa DaLayne

This swoony New Adult romance is set under the midnight sun in Alaska. In the eternal words of Liz Lemon… I want to go to there.

ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT by Kristine Carlson Asselin

I love books about sporty girls, (perhaps to compensate for the fact that the only varsity sport I ever played was the dance team?), and this one hits the spot for me. It’s MYSTIC PIZZA meets THE CUTTING EDGE folks with a small town feel that evokes Stars Hollow. Get in line.

These all sound great, although I confess a soft spot for Any Way You Slice It because I'm friends with Kris and was part of the epic brainstorm session that went into titling that one. Can't wait for it! Thanks again for being here, Meredith!!

The Dichotomy of Identity and In-person Events

I must apologize for the tardiness of this post, but I am currently in South Africa and forgot to schedule a blog post for today! Here's a picture of me playing with lion cubs, which hopefully makes up for the lateness of this post...

While I am officially in South Africa visiting my family - many of whom I haven't seen in four years - I am also here doing some book promo for my South African set YA contemporary novel The Other Me. This novel was largely inspired by my teen years at a private, Catholic, all-girls school in Johannesburg, so being back in the city where I grew up after quite a few years of living in Finland is rather surreal and really special.

Even more special is that I'll be back at my high school later this week to chat to the staff and pupils about creativity, writing and of course, my book. And this brings me to the real topic for this blog post: in-person author events.

In-person promo is so different from online promotion. I find it a lot harder to talk about myself and my books when I'm face to face with an audience. While I have done some in-person events before, this is the first time I will be addressing an audience filled with people I know. It's infinitely easier talking to strangers about the events in my life that inspired The Other Me. Talking to some of the very people who were actually part of that time of my life and part of what inspired the story is quite terrifying.

Similarly, on Wednesday I'll be speaking at an LGBT event at a local university. Excited, enthusiastic and honoured to be invited to speak at this CtrlAltGender meeting, I very quickly created an event on Facebook and invited all my friends. Now all my friends are going and that's wonderful, but again, I'm faced with the terrifying prospect of talking about a very personal book in front of people I know, and not all of those friends know that I identify as genderqueer; in fact, I have only really spoken to a few people about my identity (well, outside of everyone on the Internet I guess) so the thought of standing up in front of my friends and even some family members and taking ownership of who I am, is scary in ways I can't begin to describe.

This brings me to the dichotomy of identity: the one we have In Real Life and the one we have online. I have found it much easier to be who I am online, to be my authentic self the way I want my YA characters to be. Somewhat hypocritically, I find it far more difficult to be this same authentic self in real life. By accepting these in-person events, I am forcing myself to amalgamate my online and offline identity in a very public way. I suddenly have a very real understanding of how my characters feel when faced with the prospect of coming out and I am emboldened by these fictional characters, their courage and their inner strength. I never imagined that the characters I created would be the ones to inspire me in return. 

The point of this rather rambling post is that authors can be inspired by their own creations and that it's only when we face our fears that we can be truly free. That's what I'm telling myself now as I attempt to summon the courage required for this week's public speaking events. I have no idea how I'll feel after the fact, but that's okay because no matter how this all turns out, it's going to be a learning experience and what is life if not an opportunity for new experiences?

How do you feel about in-person author events? 

Going Hermit: Getting Away from All the Noise

Not too long ago I decided to take a break from Twitter. It wasn't a long hiatus and, granted, the big dent punched into my mobile data was a significant motivation toward that decision, but all that aside--I needed to remove the distraction. And coming back, I wish I would have taken a longer walk away from it all.

Sometimes I forget that Twitter and other forms of social media are not solely mediums to mingle with other writers, to promote your work, or to stalk the agents who have your MS.

It can drive you nuts.

And soon you find you're doing more "Tweet gazing" than working on your work in progress or plotting or revising or editing. (What's the difference between those last two again?)

It's not just the interwebs either. You can be surrounded, if not completely pummeled, by family and work obligations. Sometimes it's like you can't breathe with all the noise noise NOISE!



That's why I advocate going hermit every so often.

You read correctly. We are all familiar with the image of the loner, bohemian writer, locked away in solitude, drinking absinthe and struggling over every last consonant and punctuation.



You don't have to go that far.

There are many writing retreats you can pay for or, even better, you can get with local writing buddies and sock away an entire weekend with no phones, no internet, just writing and companionship. And sleep for God's sake.

Rent a hotel room. Go to the library to write. At minimum, hit that disconnect from WiFi button on your laptop and dive into the world you are creating.

It's easy to get sucked up in the world of publishing and who's pitching what and what one idiot said online about the genre you love to read.

So easy, in fact, that you can neglect the one thing that makes a writer a writer.

Writing.


Sean

Agentopia: Cate Hart

Welcome to the June edition of Agentopia! For more information and to see other Agentopia posts, click here.

This month Cate Hart from the Corvisiero Agency is in the spotlight.

Cate is all about guilty pleasures. She loves salted caramel mochas, Justin Timberlake, Fox’s Sleepy Hollow, and Steampunk. As a native Nashvillian, Cate’s biggest guilty pleasure is watching Nashville.

When she’s reading, Cate looks for character-driven stories, a distinguished voice, and intriguing plots.She loves characters that surprise her, like the pirate with a heart of gold, and plots that keep her guessing until the very last page.

When she’s not reading queries, Cate works with clients to build their platform, works on PR projects to help promote clients’ books, and reads manuscripts with an editorial eye. 

Her first love will always be YA. She will consider any genre, but is looking especially for Fantasy and Magical Realism. 

For Middle Grade, she is looking for Fantasy, Adventure and Mystery with a humorous or heart-warming voice and a unique concept.

For Adult, she is only accepting Historical Romance.

Cate will also consider select LGBTQ and Erotica.

For Non-Fiction, Cate will consider select histories and biographies. She is looking for secret histories and little known facts and events. She enjoys reading about the everyday heroes of the American and French Revolutions, something more beyond the tactics of war.

To Submit your work:

Cate prefers you attach your 1-2 page synopsis and the first five pages of your manuscript as a separate Word .doc.

Cate will respond to every query. You can check her website catehart.com for “current through” dates as well as updated wishlists.

You can find Cate online:

Twitter
Facebook
Pinterest

Cate was kind enough to answer a few questions for YAtopia's readers...

1. What are you looking for in YA submissions right now?

I'd really like to see mystery, historical mysteries or mysteries than span generations or decades. I love fantasy, something along the lines of Sarah J, Maas or Julie Kagawa. Steampunk or clockpunk or candlepunk with a setting outside of typical Victorian London. And romance. I'll admit I'm drawn to a great love story.

2. What's an immediate turn-off in a query, something guaranteed to get the author rejected?

Not following submission guidelines or querying something I just don't represent. I'm very patient with queries, but if I can't get the gist of the story, I'm reluctant to read more. 

3. What's the story got to have to make you want to represent it?

Unique characters. Above all that's what really draws me into a story. I just signed my first client, and what I loved were her quirky, passionate characters.