If you came to this post hoping for an absolute answer to this question, you’ll be disappointed. I’ve been on a querying blitz this past week, sending the YA version of DUET out into the world. Because I already queried a number of agents with the MG version, this question of re-querying has come up…
Always Learning, Always Improving
I’ve heard it said you have to write a million words before you’re ready for publication–or something like that. Now that I’m working on my third manuscript (ok, fourth if you count the totally amateur shelved one I don’t like to claim), I really get it. I’ve learned so many things through the writing-critiquing-querying-submitting process…
Does It Make Sense?
I’m going to admit something that will make a lot of you cringe in horror: I didn’t have anyone read my first novel before I queried agents. Well, maybe my husband. I don’t remember for sure. The thing is, I had this idea that it wouldn’t be mine anymore if other people gave me their…
YA Review: SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY
I’m excited to be writing my first YA review of the year. I picked up SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY mainly because I’d read so many helpful blog posts by Susan Dennard. I wanted to support her book since I’ve learned from what she shares online, so … good marketing strategy on her part! But, even…
The Evil Synopsis
I made up my own hashtag last week as I was working on the synopsis for the YA version of DUET: #evilsynopsis. Because I truly think they’re evil. How am I supposed to condense 77,000 words into a less than 500-word summary? It’s much harder than when the book was 44,000 words. My point with…
Why Pride and Prejudice Stands the Test of Time
I’ve read PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Jane Austen so many times I’ve lost count. I first read it in 9th grade, when my English teacher told us to pick a classic to read for extra credit. I selected it because I’d read numerous historical romance novels where the heroines read this “scandalous” new book. I…
Solving the Revision Puzzle … plus pictures of Harry Potter World
I can’t believe it’s been three weeks since I posted, but I promise I wasn’t just slacking off. First there was Christmas, then we went to Florida so my husband could be one of the best men in a wedding. And then we went here: In case you can’t read the signs in the second…
What I Read in 2012
I ended up reading 83 books in 2012, the vast majority of them middle grade. Books I reviewed are linked. If it made my list of favorite MG/YA reads of 2012, it’s starred. River’s End by Nora Roberts The Tempest by William Shakespeare The Finishing Touches by Hester Browne The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by…
My Favorite Reads of 2012
At the beginning of the year, I set a goal of reading 75 books in 2012. I’ve read 80 books so far, and I still have a week and a half left! It helps that so many of them were middle grade. It’s gotten to the point where I wonder why adult books are so…
YA Review: A MILLION SUNS
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE is one of those books everyone was talking about last year, and I finally picked it up in January. Although I thoroughly enjoyed it, I didn’t have the urge to immediately go read the next one. Part of that was due to the fact that I was focusing on reading MG as…
So Apparently I Write YA …
Or at least I’ve written one YA. I hesitated whether to put this out there since a few agents still have DUET, but I’ll go ahead and say the revision I did was to make it YA. I had no idea if I could pull it off. For one thing, I had to add at…
YA Series Recommendation: MATCHED by Ally Condie
I picked up MATCHED shortly after it came out in 2010 and loved it. So when Ally Condie made a stop in St. Louis on her CROSSED tour last fall, I had to go see her. It was my first author event, and I loved hearing about her inspiration for each book. These books are…
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