Writing Tips from YALLWEST: My top takeaways from a galaxy of stellar writers at a most amazing YA festival

By Susan Gray Foster

YALLWEST panel with Nicola Yoon, Jennifer Niven, Robin
Benway, Heather Demetrios, and Stephanie Kuehn

After living inside the deep, dark revision cave for many months, I emerged into the sunlight, packed my bags and made the six-hour drive from Phoenix to Santa Monica for #YALLWEST. For those as in-the-dark as I was, #YALLWEST is a mind-blowing young adult literature festival, created by NYT bestselling authors, Melissa de la Cruz and Margaret Stohl. It attracts a host of top-name and debuting young adult writers who give panel presentations on a huge variety of topics and also sign books for fans. In addition, there are ARC and swag giveaways galore, as well as opportunities to meet and make connections with YA readers and writers. I focused on attending panels, seizing the opportunity to listen to some of my favorite authors share their insights on YA literature and writing YA. Here are some of my takeaways:

On writing “the truth of characters”:

Rainbow Rowell (Fangirl, Eleanor and Park) starts with characters, since characters are what interest her. She loves Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the characters but can’t follow the plot.

Kiersten White (Paranormalcy) shared that her characters (both villains and heroes) are drawn from her own feelings.

Gwenda Bond (Lois Lane: Fallout) told the audience that, “Every person has a universe inside them,” and that characters should reflect that.

Jennifer Niven (All the Bright Places) advised writers to, “Live in the story.”

Robin Benway (Emmy and Oliver) uses, “research and empathy.”

Heather Demetrios (I’ll Meet You There) told writers, “Put yourself in that person’s position,” using “method writing.”

Nicola Yoon (Everything, Everything) believes that, “Experiences that are widely different have a common thread.”

On plotting vs. pantsing:

Rainbow Rowell shared that she writes with a vague idea and no intention, and never even worries about whether her work is YA or adult; she just writes it. Ransom Riggs (Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children) expressed that writing is often like “a journey using a map drawn by an idiot.” Other pansters include Simone Elkeles (Perfect Chemistry series) and Evelyn Skye (The Crown’s Game).

Gwenda Bond explained that she tells the story to herself, and has a loose outline so that she doesn’t lose “the magic of discovery,” while Leigh Bardugo (The Grisha Trilogy) uses a twelve beat story outline.

On the value of YA literature:

Jennifer Niven expressed how books “open other worlds and make us feel that we’re not alone.” This sentiment was echoed over and over by authors throughout the festival. Newbery award-winner, Matt de la Pena and Coretta Scott King award-winner, Jason Reynolds stressed the importance of giving those who feel like outsiders, “a home in literature.”

General writing advice:

Sara Zarr (The Lucy Variations): “Read widely. Pay attention.”

Jessi Kirby (Things We Know by Heart): “Don’t be afraid to write crappy stuff.”

Adi Alsaid (Let’s Get Lost): “Make time for writing.”

Siobhan Vivian (The Last Boy and Girl in the World): “Finish a first draft.”

Jason Reynolds: “Know all the rules and then break every single rule.”

Matt de la Pena: “Talk less and listen more. The answers are all around you.”

Kiersten White: “At the end of a writing period, write three lines of the next chapter.”

Libba Bray (The Gemma Doyle Trilogy): “Learn to be brave.”

Evelyn Skye: “You’re telling your story.”

Jennifer Niven: “You have to feel the emotion if you want the reader to feel it.”

Adi Alsaid: “Originality is over-rated; just be personal.”

On those days when you feel like a failure and everything you write is crap:

Matt de la Pena and Jason Reynolds discussed how success can be as paralyzing as failure.

Leigh Bardugo shared that what’s important is the way you deal with those days.

Heather Demetrios talked about how sometimes changing one’s perspective makes all the difference. She also stressed the importance of “taking care of yourself creatively.”

Stephanie Kuehn (Charm and Strange) advises writers to read (or watch) something they find compelling that makes them feel inspired rather than defeated.

Jennifer Niven shared her mom’s wisdom: “There’s only one Jennifer and only she can write what she writes.” And also, “There’s room for all of us.”

Robin Benway told writers, “Let it suck! You can go back and fix it.”

Nicola Yoon advises, “It’s part of the process. Trust that you can get past it.”

With Everything, Everything author, Nicola Yoon

On writing love and romance:

One of my favorite moments of the weekend came when Nicola Yoon passionately defended novels that focus on love and romance against those who dismiss them or regard them as inferior, saying, “I dare anyone to say that love isn’t important; it’s the thing that makes the world go around. Even the critics who say those silly things are obsessed with it.”

And my number one takeaway: Go to YALLWEST next year!! It’s like an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord of fabulous YA authors and books. Don’t miss it!

Many thanks to my fellow Pitch Wars ’14 alums, Traci Chee (The Reader) and Tara Sim (Timekeeper) for waking me up to the fact that YALLWEST was taking place and for introducing me to a fun group of writers who let me tag along and showed me the joys of free ARCs! Thanks also to Pitch Wars mentor Jennifer Hawkins who, sadly, was unable to make use of her VIP pass, but, happily, sent it to me. Most of all, HUGE thanks to #YALLWEST organizers, Melissa de la Cruz and Margaret Stohl, and to all the authors and the behind-the-scenes people who made this amazing event happen.

Brought home some goodies!

MASSIVE MAY MENTOR GIVEAWAY!

It's May! The air smells fresh, public holidays are coming, and there's a layer of possibility springing out from the blooming flowers.

OK, so in reality it's actually either pouring hard or there's snow on the ground depending on where you are in the world, but hey, we're starting this month full of positivity. And so should you!

But wow! Where has the year gone? We hope you're enjoying all the fantastic info we're posting on the site, and you know that you can hit us up with any questions not only in the blog comments, but also via Twitter anytime. We love to hear your feedback, so don't be shy!

May is a great month. For one, it means Pitch Wars is gearing up behind the scenes. Mother Brenda is running some workshops on her blog and this year's mentors are being gradually announced.

And we have a fab month of blogging coming up for you too. It's YA month, so expect a wealth of juicy, delicious bites from some gorgeous mentors to help you hone your YA novel.

But to make a positive start to this sunnier time, we have our giveaway. And it's pretty darn special, if we might say so ourselves. Are you ready? Below you'll see all the prizes on offer. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment here with the following:


Your name
Your Twitter handle
The category and genre of your WIP (so if you win we can match you up with the best mentor)


And then go tweet the following to the world:


I just entered the @WWTMentor MASSIVE MAY MENTOR #GIVEAWAY! You should do the same! http://writingwithmentors.blogspot.com.au/2016/04/massive-may-mentor-giveaway.html #PitchWars

Yes, that's it! If you don't have a Twitter account, don't panic, just leave a gushing comment below and that will guarantee your entry.

So, here's the list of prizes on offer...


1. Kim Long: a three-chapter (max 30 pages) critique, preferably MG or YA

2. Katie Bucklein: a query critique

3. Sharon Johnston: e-book of Divided

4. Kes Trester: a 3-pass query critique

5. Julie Dao: a query critique

6. K.T. Hanna: a first chapter (or 10 pages) critique

7. K.T. Hanna: e-book of Chameleon

8. Molly Lee: a paperback of Edge of Chaos (US only)

9. Michael Mammy: ten page critique preferably SF/F/Thriller/Mystery

10. Kara Leigh Miller: first chapter critique preferably romance

11. Kara Leigh Miller: e-book of Dangerous Love

12. Lynnette Labelle: 3-pass query critique YA, NA, or adult

13. Fiona McLaren: a synopsis and first chapter critique

14. Samantha Joyce: ebook of Flirting with Fame (US only) as well as a swag pack (US/CANADA)

15. Juliana Brandt: a query and first chapter critique

16. Kelly Siskind: e-book of Chasing Crazy

17. Kelly Siskind: e-book of My Perfect Mistake

18. Michelle Hauck: a query critique

19. Trisha Leaver: a three chapter critique (up to 30 pages)

20. Alexandra Alessandri: a first 10 pages critique (MG/YA)

21. Kendra Young: a 10 page critique

22. Marty Mayberry: a 10 page critique 

23. Rachel Lynn Solomon: a query critique

24. Kelly Hopkins: a 3-pass query critique


WOW! WOW! WOW!

AMAZING!

That is a lot of goodness right there. So, don't hang about, enter now. The giveaway closes on May 14 so check back shortly afterwards to see if you're the luck winner!

Share us, RT us and spread our love. We want to reach and assist as many writers as we possibly can.

Thank you, and good luck!

New Adult in Australia

When I first wrote Divided I had never even heard of New Adult. I queried it as a Young Adult story. An agent asked me to rewrite it so that the main character was in high school rather than at university. But a student having an affair with a teacher is a bit more taboo than with a university professor.

I believe New Adult is an important category as people usually read up, and there's a lack of stories out there for teenagers about what they can expect when they leave school. I know university life wasn't what I expected, and maybe getting the opportunity to read stories set straight after school would've helped with that.

I was so relieved with I heard about New Adult. Finally my story fit somewhere. Unfortunately for me, New Adult barely exists in Australia. In fact when I raised it at a writer's conference, someone else wrote a sneering tweet along the lines of "Of course someone brought up NA. Ugh."

We have stories that would fit as New Adult, like Rebecca James' novels, but they are categorised as Young Adult still. And we have authors such as CJ Duggan who are championing Australian New Adult. You can read an interview with her on it here.

I was excited to find that Booktopia now has a New Adult section. And some publishers (but not many) have NA submission options, like Escape Publishing and Bloomsberry Spark.

But the take up is much, much slower than in America. And I get the impression that Australian authors with New Adult novels are more likely to find an audience in America than at home. That's certainly been my experience.

The good news for Australian authors writing New Adult is global reading is definitely growing. Readers what to be transported in their books, and they do love visiting Australia in their books.

Hopefully the grassroots writer support bases in Australia, such as writers' centres and writers' festivals will embrace, support and promote New Adult by including courses on it, including it in their programs, and allowing education opportunities. Some have started, but there's a lot more opportunities out there.

If this base support starts, maybe one day I'll get to see New Adult Sections as a standard thing for Australian libraries and Bookstores.

Writing the Male POV ~ By: Kelly Siskind

The old adage “write what you know” is sound advice, but if I only ever wrote about women who sold cheese and dragged their butts to yoga and drank Chardonnay like water, my writing career would be short-lived. Adding bits and pieces of ourselves offers dimension to the stories we create. Still, we need to push our writing outside the comfortable.

All my novels are told through alternating points of view (POV), from male to female. Sometimes, I swap chapters evenly. Other times, I switch them at whim, depending on whose internal reaction is needed to drive the story. When it’s my hero’s turn to strut his stuff, I get to channel my inner dude, and I love it.

As a woman, writing the male POV is a blast. There are tricks to nailing those voices, devices you can use to set the tone when your hero takes charge. I’ll break this down into three categories—word choices, setting, and dialogue—and I’ll use examples from my novel, CHASING CRAZY, to illustrate my points.

Word choices:

The easiest fallback when writing a male POV is tossing out shits and fucks like a gun slinger. Not necessary. Abrupt, hard action words can conjure a similar image, without all the dirty words. Don’t get me wrong, damns and shits and fucks have their place (and they’re fun to write!), but it’s important not to use them as a crutch. Below is a paragraph written from a female POV. I’ve then flipped it into male (as it is written in my novel) to illustrate the differences.

Female POV: Squeezing through the entrance, I slip off my backpack, place it beside one leaning against the wall, then I roll my aching shoulders. I glance around. Some travelers are in a lounge area on the left—two on computers, others seated on an orange couch. A girl around my age is at the bookshelves, dragging her finger along the spines.

Now from the male POV: Squeezing through the entrance, I drop my pack beside one leaning against the wall. I crack my neck and poke around. Some travelers are in a lounge area on the left—two on computers, others hanging on an orange couch. A chick’s at the bookshelves, dragging her finger along the spines.

In the male POV, I use sharp action words, such as drop, crack, and poke. The girl saw people “seated,” whereas the guy noticed them “hanging,” and he used the term “chick.” Each word was chosen to create a sense of voice and perspective. Nothing is accidental. Also, men tend to be direct in their thinking, and shorter sentences can reflect this.

Setting:

Men and women see the world differently. Whereas women tend to attach more emotion and meaning to situations, men tend to be more abrupt in their thoughts. This affects setting. I work setting into scenes gradually, through actions. Again, below is a paragraph originally written in a male POV, but I’ve flipped it into female first to show the difference.

Female POV: I open my can and take a sip while our group mingles around the sparsely wooded area beside the meetinghouse. The charred barbeque smell from the deep pit in the ground lingers, our dinner of roast chicken and potatoes as good as my grandmother’s cooking, the food and memory warming my belly.

Now from the male POV: I crack open my can and take a generous gulp while our group mingles around the sparsely wooded area beside the meetinghouse. The charred barbeque smell from the deep pit in the ground lingers from our tasty meal of roast chicken and potatoes.

Again, word choices have been made: open vs. crack open, sip vs. gulp, but it’s the second line that exudes gender. My guy didn’t think much about his meal, beyond the fact that it was tasty. He was probably hungry, he scarfed it down, and that was that. But my female version connected the meal to a time in her life, adding a deeper emotional reaction. This type of character development can be done for the male POV, too, and I do it often, but pick and choose your moments, and your words.

Dialogue:

Two things come into play when writing dialogue: the action tags, and the dialogue itself. For the tags, male reactions are often more physical: jaws clenching, necks cracking, shoes crunching gravel, hands tightening into fists and scrubbing chins. It doesn’t mean men can’t ponder life around their speech. Both have a place in a manuscript, and all writing is dependent on the hero you’ve created.

But the dialogue itself is somewhere a man’s voice can shine through. Often, men—especially tough, alpha males—chop their sentences, leaving off subjects, even verbs. Examples:

Instead of “Are you going outside?” the man may say, “You going outside?”

“I’m not sure” can become “Not sure.”

And “I’ll see you later” becomes “Catch you later,” or even just “Later.”

Every character is unique, as is each point of view and voice. The above examples may not work for the hero in your novel, but they are suggestions that will hopefully help you examine your writing and encourage you to make active choices when crafting words.

Happy writing!

Kelly Siskind
www.kellysiskind.com

 

Wielding Words like a Warrior

Words are gorgeous, glorious things. They have the power to convert, uplift, tear down, and shatter. They have the ability to evoke strong images and emotions that leave us blubbering messes for days. They also have the gift of hope, nestled between the folds of their robes.  

As wielders of words, we have amazing power at our fingertips!

When I’m writing my first drafts, I try to focus on the characters and the story. I’m still careful with word choice, but I don’t let my inner editor take over. If I can’t find the right word immediately, I use a stand-in.

But when it’s time to revise? That’s where the real magic happens.

Here are some tips to help you shine those words until they are the best, most powerful words they can be.

Choose active verbs

As you read through your manuscript, pay attention to verbs you’re using. Weak verbs can water down your fabulous characters and plot, while strong, active ones can create powerful images with fewer words.  

Consider variations of the verb to walk: gait, pace, tread, amble, stroll, hike, march, saunter. Each of these offers a different visual. Someone who is marching has a very different aim than someone who is strolling.

On a similar note, to be and to have verbs (e.g. is, was, were, has, had, have) tend to water down the images. They’re not wrong and at times they can be perfectly good and necessary. But if you’ve got a page full of these, you’re cheating your reader from a visceral experience.

And verbs like see, feel, and hear process sensory descriptions for your reader, also telling instead of showing. Again, a handful throughout the manuscript is fine, but too many close together can be problematic. Consider the following:

Maria saw an endless ocean in front of her and cool water pooling at her feet. She smelled the saltiness in the air. She heard the waves crashing against the shore. (31 words)

Now consider this revision:

Maria ambled to where the cool water pooled around her feet. The salty ocean spray lingered in the air and the waves crashed against the shore. (26 words)

If Maria is at the scene and we’re in her POV, then we know she’s the one seeing, smelling, hearing. We don’t need to be told as well.

Avoid wordiness…

As shown in the above examples, weak verbs and verbs that process sensory descriptions lend themselves to wordiness. The more concise you can be, the better! Using two or more words for something that could be said in one adds mileage to your word count and zaps power from your writing. You want every single word to count.

Some ways to combat wordiness is to comb through your manuscript for places where you’re being redundant or where there are too many words strung together to say something simple. Read it aloud, too. This helps catch wordiness your might miss when reading silently.

Consider the following:

Maria fell onto the bed exhausted, having stayed up until three in the morning. “I’m so tired,” she moaned. “I’m never going to wake up tomorrow.” (26 words)

And then consider a more concise version:

It was three in the morning when Maria collapsed on her bed. “I’m never going to wake up tomorrow.” (19 words)

“Three in the morning” and “collapsed” show exhausted. There’s no need for her to also say “I’m so tired” and by cutting out some of the words, we’ve reduced the word count by 7. Sometimes, we fall into a trap of redundancy without even realizing it. Consider for example, the following:

She nodded her head.

You can only nod your head, so “her head” is redundant and wordy. Removing these takes two words off your word count!

Passive voice can also lend itself to wordiness. Passive voice is when the subject is receiving the action instead of doing the action. It will make use of a past participle verb form and will often have “by” introducing the noun or noun phrase doing the action. For example, consider this sentence:

Maria was driven to the doctor by her mother. (9 words)

Here, Maria is receiving the action (she’s being driven) and “by” introduces what should be the subject (her mother). And we see the past participle “was driven.” Changing this to Her mother drove Maria to the doctor removes 2 words from that phrase. It doesn’t seem a lot, but if you’re counting, we’ve eliminated 16 words in the examples here. Do this page after page and you’ll have a tighter manuscript.

…and excess adverbs

Stephen King has famously said, “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” Adverbs are not inherently bad. They serve a function: to describe a verb. The problem with adverbs, however, is that they tend to tell what can be better shown and they tend to be overused. Too many adverbs too close together becomes wordy. Instead of relying on an adverb to tell the reader, aim for stronger verbs and more vivid nouns.

Consider the following:

Albert walked nervously.                                VS                    Albert paced.

Susan spoke loudly.                                        VS                    Susan shouted.

Lola wept bitterly.                                          VS                    Lola wept. “It’s not fair!”

Sometimes, you might add a handful more words, as in the case of example #3 above. This is not a bad thing so long as the result is a stronger image and the usage is as sparse as it can be.

Quality vs quantity

At the end of the day, your focus when revising should be on the quality of words and not the quantity. Your words should serve your characters and plot, and they should be wielded with precision. Avoiding filler words like adverbs and other qualifiers as much as possible will lead to stronger, tighter manuscripts.  And software like ProWritingAid.com can help with strengthening your story at the sentence level.

Happy writing (& revising)!

New Adult: Themes and Expansion

Let’s talk about the New Adult genre. This is one of my favorite genres to write in, so much so my debut novel, EDGE OF CHAOS, happens to be a contemporary NA romance.

When the genre first hit the book world I remember how much confusion surrounded it, as well as the excitement for a new age group of characters to follow. Confusion over what the rules were to the genre: did the characters have to be set in college? Did the characters have to have sex or could it just be hinted at like in some YA? Is there a certain age that the characters have to be to fit into the genre?

As with any genre, these “rules” can always be broken, but as I’ve watched the genre blossom over the years, these questions have started to work themselves out. The difference between young adult and new adult consists of many things, but one of them is the age of the characters. They can range anywhere between 18-26, and normally they are within a college setting, but this isn’t a hard-fast rule. Luckily, with the popularity of the genre, authors are now trying to expand the settings and roles and even sub-genres to include fantasy.

What I love about the age range is the new set of stakes that come with no longer being a teenager. The character has survived high school, finding themselves at least in part, and now, as they go out into the big wide world alone, they have a whole new set of conflicts to deal with. It’s no longer about pleasing the parents—though of course that can always be a goal for any aged character—but the focus is more on how the character can function in the world around them on their own. It is in these moments—whether that be in college far away from home, or in a trade-school in their hometown, or during an internship at a huge corporation—that they discover who they are at their core. The journey in this period of life will set up the reactions to certain difficult situations throughout the rest of their lives. The transition to adulthood is such an intense time, because it’s one of the last phases where they dig deep to find out who they are without question.

The discovery of one’s own self worth is a beautiful character arc, in my opinion, and I find it to be one of the most fun periods in life to write about.

Don’t get me wrong, I adore writing young adult too, but there are such different things at stake for teenagers as opposed to characters who are on their way to donning the “adult” title. Teenagers are intriguing to write because everything is a new experience. New Adult is interesting to write because after learning their likes and dislikes in high school, the characters are free to own their passion and go after what they really want—as for my main character, Blake, in Edge of Chaos, she’s reached the age where she can finally go after her dream of being a meteorologist and chasing storms.

I’m excited to see the genre expand into both newer sub-genres—like fantasy, thrillers, historical—and to see characters placed outside a college setting—like going straight from high school to a trade job, or a work source program. The possibilities are endless and I hope readers continue to respond to the genre in order to keep the spark alive.

The In-Between: What's It Like Working With An Agent?

Queries! Pitch contests! Form rejections!

Wherever you go as a writer, whether you're online or attending a conference, there's a wealth of information about how to get an agent.

But what happens when you get to that next level? What comes after getting The Call and signing your name on that elusive contract?

There isn't a whole lot out there about the In-Between. Agented writers aren't supposed to talk about being on submission, and some aren't even allowed to announce when they sign with an agent. There's a lot of mystery surrounding the people in limbo between "unpublished" and "published."

So, to shed a tiny bit of light for those of you who are on your way, I've polled some of the Lucky 13s, my posse of newly-agented authors. They've shared some excellent insight into working with an agent and climbing the next mountain of publishing, so special thanks to all of them!

Here are some of their testimonials:

• "The surprising thing to me about being agented is how little has changed. My agent's an amazing person to have in my corner. Our partnership is valuable and validating. But I've reached the top of the mountain and realized there are much bigger mountains ahead. When I sit down to write, it's nice to know an industry professional who trusts me will read it, but it's still the same. It's still me, alone in front of a word processor. The process of working with my agent has been a firsthand lesson in the fact that this is a long journey that can be very much out of your control. If you want to be published, having an agent's eyes on the market is a huge help, but if your first priority is not writing something you love and making it as good as you can make it, you're in for a lot of frustration." - Mara Fitzgerald



• "For me, it's been what I expected: like working with a critique partner who's also your business partner, just a lot more intimidating. Once the shine of being newly agented wears off, it can actually get mundane... with the ever-present fear of failure to keep things interesting. More than anything else, I'd advise always being open and honest with your agent, and to not be afraid to discuss things with them. But also remember that they have other clients and lots going on, so be patient with them :) Find other people in your situation because you gotta talk to somebody who's going through what you're going through, else you'll lose your mind. And keep writing. That one's hard, with all the self-doubt you'll be building up, but it's also the best cure for it, in my experience." - Heather



• "Write write write, it's all you can do. But now you have someone to tell you which ideas might sell and which are sinking ships. An agent knows what's selling and what's not, which saves you from falling in love with a story that might not work. Both you and your agent are working toward a book deal at the end of the day, so that's a huge amazing thing. I must say that my personal experience has been amazing, but the doubt and the fear still lingers. It's sort of like querying, but on steroids. Every rejection from an editor is a bruise, but this time you have your agent holding the band-aids, telling you, "It'll be all right. We'll get them next time." Newly agented writers should be aware that each agent experience is different, so don't fall into the pit of doubt that you've made a mistake because your relationship is different from person A or B. You've chosen to be represented by your agent, so trust that." - Kevin van Whye



• "Realizing that a flesh-and-blood professional was willing to stake their time and professional reputation on me was kind of revelatory. Having spent years with a number of manuscripts with only my perspective, working with an agent everything feel more real. I became more serious about writing in general, ramping up productivity and becoming less sentimental about weaknesses in my prose and other bad writing habits. My confidence also grew immensely. I took narrative risks and experimented with voice, cadence, structure. I finally worked up the nerve to call myself a writer. While becoming agented is not the panacea it appears from the query trenches, it's a truly amazing accomplishment that should be recognized as such and celebrated accordingly... especially when one considers the number of people who imagine writing a book but never even make the leap to put words on a page." - Jordan Villegas



• "The great thing about having an agent is you don't have to query anymore. Not only do you now have an agent, but they usually do the heavy lifting of creating submission lists and letters to editors. After your revisions are done, all you have to do is sit back, relax, and be gnawed ceaselessly by relentless paranoia, fear, and self-doubt. But it is really wonderful having a professional in your corner, and in the darker moments you can remind yourself, "Hey, someone believes enough in my book and my career that they are willing to put in hours and hours of labor with the hope of an eventual payday." But if I can impart one piece of advice to writers, it's: DON'T RUSH IT. I know the drive of wanting to just be done with your book and get an agent and get a deal. But publishing is a slow industry. You'll wait months to hear back about queries. You'll hear months to hear back about full MS requests. You'll wait months to hear back about submissions. There's a lot of waiting ahead, so make sure your book is as good as you can get it. Don't rush it. Nobody else is." - Austin Gilkeson



• "Getting an agent was affirming to me. It meant I wasn’t just spinning my wheels or playing at being a writer. I come from a  theater background, so I need that type of validation from people. My relationship with my agent is full of him assuring me constantly that I am good at this. That I write stories that are worth being told. My agent totally understands that he’s going to get random emails from me that mostly mean I just need some reassurance. And he gives me that. But, other than having like the most invested critique partner ever, not much changed. No one magically thought of me as some amazing writer. I didn’t even post about it on my Facebook page until recently because if you’re not in the industry, people just don’t get what it means when you say you have an agent." - Kati Gardner

Aren't they so wise and brilliant? I'm lucky to be in their group!

Here's my testimonial:

Although nothing really changes, the stakes are higher. With an agent, anything you write could now potentially sell. No pressure, right? *breathes into paper bag* This is why you MUST surround yourself with people who know what you're going through. You should not do this alone. Find your writer friends and hang on tight.

The first rule of Submission Club is you do not publicly talk about Submission Club. Don't slyly hint about it on Twitter. Don't complain about it on your blog. And don't rant about it in "private" Facebook groups. You never know who could be reading, and all it takes is a screenshot to blow your cover. Some people are no holds barred, and I admit it helps to know different situations, but keep quiet if you can. If you must vent, do it privately with trusted CPs and writer friends only.

Don't be afraid to talk to your agent. Everyone is different, and some writers have more anxiety about contacting their agents. This is why it's so important to find someone you're comfortable with and to carefully assess your chemistry during The Call. Your agent is your champion and advocate, and you should never feel like you are bothering them. I've been lucky in this regard because my agent is so open and available to me whenever I need her, and I always feel better after talking to her. I bounce ideas off her, get her expert opinion on different paths for my career, and more!

However, you should be professional and independent wherever possible. Remember that your agent is neither your parent nor your therapist, and they are juggling dozens of clients and projects all at once. If what you need is a quick shot of reassurance that no, you in fact do not suck at this, that's where writer friends come in handy. So make use of your posse!

Also, you should always have been professional online, but it's even more important now that you're on a different level. I noticed after I got agented that editors, publicists, published authors, and other pros began following me on Twitter and other social media. Don't whine or complain publicly and don't overshare, because there are more eyes on you now and publishing is a VERY small world.




And that's pretty much it! I hope this post gives you a little bit more of an idea of what the In-Between is like! If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments and I'll do my best to answer them.

Thanks for reading this, and good luck with your writing journey, whatever stage you're at!