5 Rules for Writing YA

A great blog posted by Chuck Sambuchino - Guide to Literary Agents - chock full of useful information for anyone out there writing for the Young Adult market.  If you don't currently follow Chuck's blog (or Tweets for that matter!), then you really need to Get. On. It. 

I relate to all of the rules, particularly #5 - always remember who your target audience is and the fact that they lead the way in trends.   

Keep on top of what you see out there in today's market - I often find that going to my local mall is an invaluable resource for this.  Watch where the teens shop, see what they're buying, listen to how they talk - of course, don't do this in a creepy way!  And don't forget to channel your inner teen!  You were there once - remember what it was like to fall in love for the first time?  Get your heart broken?  Be the center of gossip - or be the one to start it?  Friday night football games?   

After all, age is only a number.    

5 Rules for Writing YA
Posted by Chuck

1. The life of the story depends on the writer's ability to convince the reader that the protagonist is one of them. Teens despise fakes. You must know kids well enough to channel their voices, thoughts and emotions. 

     

Guest column by Regina Brooks, literary
agent at Serendipity Literary. This text
excerpted from Regina's 2009 book,
Writing Great Books For Young Adults.

2. Don't condescend to your readers. Young people won't abide stories that suggest their turmoil or idealism will pass when they "grow up." Brent Hartinger, author of Geography Club, says, "I'm a big believer that kids are smarter than we think they are ... I think kids can handle complexity and nuances, and the advantage to writing that way is that the book appeals to both teenagers and adults. Don't deal with young people by trying to push them in one direction or another. Deal with them where they're at now.

3. Read, read, read today's YA fiction. A word of caution: Don't emulate your favorite authors, but learn from them,. You'll want to create work that is truly your own. The benefits to reading what's already on the market are phenomenal. It will familiarize you with what's selling, how kids today talk, what they wear, what issues concern them, and so on.

4. Silence your worries over commercial considerations. This allows you to concentrate on your primary objective, which is to tell your story. Keep your artistic integrity—your ideals—ahead of how commercially successful you want your book to be. If you focus on writing the best possible book, commercial success will follow later. The significant rise in the success of YA novels has opened the way for a multiplicity of  categories, and just to give you an idea, I've listed some alphabetically: adventure, chick lit, comical, fantasy, fantasy epics, futuristic, gay-themed, historical, multicultural, mystery, religious, romantic, science fiction, sports and urban. If your story doesn't fit into any of these categories, you may have to invent one. Consider it an opportunity.

5. In your new world of YA fiction, erect no concrete barriers, wire fences or one-way signs. Instead, forge new paths. The YA field welcomes innovators. What will your contribution be? Think fresh. Remember that young people are trendsetters—they're always looking to differentiate themselves from others. It's how teens forge their own identities. Don't be afraid to push the boar out as well. Coming up with a fresh idea will set you apart from the pack and might be the thing that sparks an editor's interest in your work. 


Want more on children's writing?

• Examine Great High-Concept Hooks for Children's Books.
• New children's agent seeking submissions.
• How to write picture books for kids.
• Buy the kids writers' bible: the Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market.  
• Interview with kids agent Joe Monti of Barry Goldblatt Literary.
• Read a successful young adult query: "Wake" by Lisa McMann.
• Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.
• Read about What Agents Hate: Chapter 1 Pet Peeves.
• Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for?Buy the 2010 Guide to Literary Agents today!

USA Today's Top 150 Bestselling Books as of 7.25.2010

According to USA TODAY, the following is a list of the top 150 best selling books, based on sales through Sunday, 07/25/2010.  For reviews, book news and a searchable archive of USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list - or to check out more information on the top 150 books, visit their website.
 Note of the week: 33% of the top 150 best selling books fall under the Children's / YA genre (highlighted in blue), of which Jeff Kinney holds 4 spots for his WIMPY KID series.  Here are a few facts from USA Today, about Jeff Kinney:

Jeff Kinney wasn't an instant best seller, but few other authors have dominated USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list over the past three years as he has:

• His first book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, was released in April 2007 but didn't land on the list until July, at No. 117.

• Second book Roderick Rules entered the list at No. 7 in 008 and propelled Diary to No. 37 and eventually to No. 8.

• The third and fourth books were both No. 1 in 2009: The Last Straw for two weeks; Dog Daysfor three weeks.

• Kinney's The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary was No. 2 for three weeks this spring.

• Total number of Kinney's books in print, including a do-it-yourself workbook: 35 million.

• First printing for the fifth book, The Ugly Truth: 5 million.

• The Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie, released in March, earned $64 million in domestic box office. 

This Week  Title, Author (Publisher), Price


1  The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson (Vintage), $14.95
2  Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin), $15.00
3  The Girl Who Played With Fire, Stieg Larsson (Vintage), $15.95
4  The Rembrandt Affair, Daniel Silva (Putnam Adult), $26.95
5  The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, Stieg Larsson (Knopf), $27.95
6  Charlie St. Cloud: A Novel, Ben Sherwood (Bantam), $7.99
7  The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown), $13.99
8  Fly Away Home, Jennifer Weiner (Atria), $26.99
9  Private, James Patterson, Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown), $27.99
10  Smash Cut, Sandra Brown (Pocket), $9.99
11  The Search, Nora Roberts (Putnam Adult), $26.95
12  Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown for Young Readers), $22.99
13  To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee (Grand Central Publishing), $6.99
14  The Help, Kathryn Stockett (Putnam Adult), $24.95
15  Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown for Young Readers), $12.99
16  Women Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything, Geneen Roth (Scribner), $24.00
17  Under the Dome, Stephen King (Pocket), $19.99
18  Nine Dragons, Michael Connelly (Vision), $9.99
19  The Obama Diaries, Laura Ingraham (Threshold Editions), $25.00
20  Sizzling Sixteen, Janet Evanovich (St. Martin's), $27.99
21  Beezus and Ramona, Beverly Cleary (HarperCollins), $5.99
22  The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press), $8.99
23  The Lucky One, Nicholas Sparks (Vision), $7.99
24  Sh*t My Dad Says, Justin Halpern (It Books), $15.99
25  The Neighbor, Lisa Gardner (Bantam), $7.99
26  Linger, Maggie Stiefvater (Scholastic), $17.99
27  Knock Out, Catherine Coulter (Jove), $9.99
28  One Night, Debbie Macomber (Harper), $7.99
29  The Kane Chronicles, Book 1: The Red Pyramid, Rick Riordan (Hyperion), $17.99
30  Pretty Little Liars, Sara Shepard (HarperTeen), $8.99
31  McKettricks of Texas: Austin, Linda Lael Miller (HQN), $7.99
32  Little Bee: A Novel, Chris Cleave (Simon & Schuster), $14.00
33  Twilight, Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown for Young Readers), $8.99
34  Sweet Rains, Nora Roberts (Silhouette Special Releases), $7.99
35  New Moon, Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown for Young Readers), $10.99
36  Think of a Number: A Novel, John Verdon (Crown), $22.00
37  Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 5: The Last Olympian, Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion), $17.99
38  Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin (Penguin), $15.00
39  Game Over, Fern Michaels (Zebra), $7.99
40  Best Friends Forever: A Novel, Jennifer Weiner (Washington Square Press), $15.00
41  Finger Lickin’ Fifteen, Janet Evanovich (St. Martin's Paperbacks), $8.99
42  Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni Press), $11.99
43  One Day, David Nicholls (Vintage), $14.95
44  The Overton Window, Glenn Beck (Threshold Editions), $26.00
45  Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 2: The Sea of Monsters, Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion), $7.99
46  Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1: The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion), $7.99
47  Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press), $17.99
48  Live to Tell, Lisa Gardner (Bantam), $26.00
49  The Passage: A Novel, Justin Cronin (Ballantine), $27.00
50  Chains of Ice, Christina Dodd (Onyx), $7.99
51  The Last Song, Nicholas Sparks (Grand Central Publishing), $7.99
52  The Glass Rainbow, James Lee Burke (Simon & Schuster), $25.99
53  Storm Cycle, Iris Johansen, Roy Johansen (St. Martin's Paperbacks), $7.99
54  Love in the Afternoon, Lisa Kleypas (St. Martin's Paperbacks), $7.99
55  Coming Back Stronger: Unleashing the Hidden Power of Adversity, Drew Brees, Chris Fabry (Tyndale House), $26.99
56  Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 4: The Battle of the Labyrinth, Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion), $7.99
57  Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 3: The Titan’s Curse, Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion), $7.99
58  Ice Cold: A Rizzoli & Isles Novel, Tess Gerritsen (Ballantine Books), $26.00
59  Foreign Influence, Brad Thor (Atria), $26.99
60  Black Hills, Nora Roberts (Jove), $7.99
61  Pretty Little Liars: Flawless, Sara Shepard (HarperTeen), $8.99
62  Dead in the Family, Charlaine Harris (Ace), $25.95
63  StrengthsFinder 2.0, Tom Rath (Gallup Press), $22.95
64  The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett (Signet), $9.99
65  Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese (Vintage), $15.95
66  The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion, Mark Cotta Vaz (Little, Brown), $18.99
67  A Summer in Sonoma, Robyn Carr (MIRA), $7.99
68  The Lion, Nelson DeMille (Grand Central Publishing), $27.99
69  The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel, Garth Stein (Harper Paperback), $14.99
70  The Shack, William P. Young (Windblown Media), $14.99
71  Troublemaker, Bk. 1, Janet Evanovich, Alex Evanovich, Joëlle Jones (Dark Horse Comics), $17.99
72  Ramona’s World, Beverly Cleary (HarperFestival), $5.99
73  Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea, Chelsea Handler (Simon Spotlight Entertainment), $16.00
74  The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger (Little, Brown), $6.99
75  Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang, Chelsea Handler (Grand Central Publishing), $25.99
76  Sliding Into Home, Kendra Wilkinson (Gallery), $25.00
77  My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands, Chelsea Handler (Bloomsbury USA), $13.95
78  The Host, Stephenie Meyer (Back Bay Books), $16.99
79  Dark Flame, Alyson Noel (St. Martin's Griffin), $17.99
80  Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen (Algonquin), $13.95
81  Dead Until Dark, Charlaine Harris (Ace), $7.99
82  Almost Perfect, Susan Mallery (HQN), $7.99
83  Family Ties: A Novel, Danielle Steel (Delacorte Press), $28.00
84  Ghost Shadow, Heather Graham (MIRA), $7.99
85  Burned, P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast (St. Martin's Griffin), $17.99
86  Faithful Place: A Novel, Tana French (Viking Adult), $25.95
87  The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, Michael Lewis (W. W. Norton & Co.), $27.95
88  Sarah’s Key, Tatiana de Rosnay (St. Martin's Griffin), $13.95
89  Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose, Tony Hsieh (Business Plus), $23.99
90  What to Expect When You’re Expecting, Heidi Murkoff, Sharon Mazel (Workman Publishing Group), $14.95
91  Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance, Sean Williams (LucasBooks), $27.00
92  The Island, Elin Hilderbrand (Reagan Arthur), $25.99
93  Dead and Gone, Charlaine Harris (Ace), $7.99
94  Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury (Del Rey), $6.99
95  The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet: A Novel, David Mitchell (Random House), $26.00
96  The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary, Jeff Kinney (Amulet Books), $14.95
97  The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho (HarperSanFrancisco), $13.95
98  Swimsuit, James Patterson, Maxine Paetro (Grand Central Publishing), $14.99
99  Pretty Little Liars: Perfect, Sara Shepard (HarperTeen), $8.99
100  The Brazen Bride, Stephanie Laurens (Avon), $7.99
101  Matters of the Heart, Danielle Steel (Dell), $7.99
102  Black Magic, Cherry Adair (Pocket Star), $7.99
103  The Defector, Daniel Silva (Signet), $9.99
104  Rushed to the Altar, Jane Feather (Pocket), $7.99
105  A Reliable Wife, Robert Goolrick (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill), $14.95
106  In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving, Leigh Anne Tuohy, Sean Tuohy, with Sally Jenkins (Henry Holt), $24.00
107  206 Bones: A Novel, Kathy Reichs (Pocket Star), $7.99
108  The Darkest Lie, Gena Showalter (HQN), $7.99
109  The 39 Clues: The Maze Of Bones, Rick Riordan (Scholastic Press), $12.99
110  Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook, Anthony Bourdain (Ecco), $26.99
111  The Official SAT Study Guide, 2nd edition, The College Board (The College Board), $21.99
112  The Glass Castle: A Memoir, Jeannette Walls (Scribner), $14.00
113  The Book Thief, Markus Zusak (Knopf Books for Young Readers), $11.99
114  Heart of the Matter, Emily Giffin (St. Martin's Press), $26.99
115  Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Jeff Kinney (Amulet), $12.95
116  Spirit Bound, Richelle Mead (Razorbill), $17.99
117  Pretty Little Liars: Unbelievable, Sara Shepard (HarperTeen), $8.99
118  Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Jamie Ford (Ballantine Books), $15.00
119  Orchard Valley Grooms, Debbie Macomber (MIRA), $7.99
120  Dead to the World, Charlaine Harris (Ace), $7.99
121  Remember Me, Christopher Pike (Simon Pulse), $9.99
122  Whiplash, Catherine Coulter (Putnam Adult), $12.99
123  South of Broad, Pat Conroy (Dial Press), $16.00
124  Living Dead in Dallas, Charlaine Harris (Ace), $7.99
125  Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl, Rachel Renée Russell (Aladdin), $12.99
126  Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, Rhoda Janzen (Holt Paperbacks), $14.00
127  Savor the Moment, Nora Roberts (Berkley), $16.00
128  Lord of the Flies, William Golding (Perigee), $9.99
129  Pretty Little Liars: Wanted, Sara Shepard (HarperTeen), $16.99
130  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPré (Arthur A. Levine Books), $14.99
131  Her Fearful Symmetry, Audrey Niffenegger (Scribner), $15.00
132  Goodnight Moon Board Book, Margaret Wise Brown, art by Clement Hurd (HarperCollins), $6.95
133  The Night Before Kindergarten, Natasha Wing, art by Julie Durrell (Grosset & Dunlap), $3.99
134  How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster (Harper Paperbacks), $13.00
135  From Dead to Worse, Charlaine Harris (Ace), $7.99
136  Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, Jeff Kinney (Amulet Books), $13.95
137  L.A. Candy, Lauren Conrad (HarperCollins), $9.99
138  1984, George Orwell (Signet Classic), $7.95
139  Club Dead, Charlaine Harris (Ace), $6.50
140  Dead As a Doornail, Charlaine Harris (Ace), $7.99
141  Shiver, Maggie Stiefvater (Scholastic), $8.99
142  The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald (Scribner), $12.95
143  Only the Good Spy Young, Ally Carter (Hyperion), $16.99
144  Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer, John Grisham (Dutton), $16.99
145  Lego Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary, DK Publishing (DK Publishing), $21.99
146  Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, Jeff Kinney (Amulet), $12.95
147  Pretty Little Liars: Wicked, Sara Shepard (HarperTeen), $8.99
148  Pretty Little Liars: Heartless, Sara Shepard (HarperTeen), $16.99
149  The 5 Love Languages, Gary Chapman (Moody Publishers), $14.99
150  The Castaways, Elin Hilderbrand (Back Bay Books), $14.99

New York Times Best Sellers - Week of July 23, 2010: Children's Books

As of July 23, 2010, here are the New York Times Top Selling Children's Books.  The much anticipated release of Maggie Stiefvater's LINGER on Thursday, 7.22 - the second title in the popular SHIVER wereteen series (which is currently #8 on the paperback list) - has bumped the title into the #1 position on the list.  
And of course, Suzanne Collins continues to hold her positions in the top 10 with both THE HUNGER GAMES and CATCHING FIRE, with less than a month to go, before the release of the final book in the trilogy, MOCKINGJAY.
Here's to the day my name is on this list!

CHAPTER  BOOKS
This Week
1	LINGER, by Maggie Stiefvater. (Scholastic Press/Scholastic, $17.99.) The wereteens of "Shiver" face a new test of love and loyalty. (Ages 12 and up)
2	THE RED PYRAMID, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion, $17.99.) Ancient gods (this time from Egypt) and a mortal family meet. (Ages 10 and up)
3	CATCHING FIRE, by Suzanne Collins. (Scholastic, $17.99.) The protagonist of "The Hunger Games" returns. (Ages 12 and up)
4	TALES FROM A NOT-SO-POPULAR PARTY GIRL, by Rachel Renée Russell. (Aladdin, $12.99.) The further reflections of Nikki Maxwell on the agonies of middle school; a "Dork Diaries" book. (Ages 9 to 13)
5	THEODORE BOONE: KID LAWYER, by John Grisham. (Dutton, $16.99.) He’s 13, but he knows what to do when he encounters a murder case. (Ages 8 to 12)
6	THE HUNGER GAMES, by Suzanne Collins. (Scholastic, $17.99.) In a dystopian future, a girl fights for survival on live TV. (Ages 12 and up)
7	BIG NATE: IN A CLASS BY HIMSELF, written and illustrated by Lincoln Peirce. (Harper/HarperCollins, $12.99.) Where Nate goes, trouble is sure to follow. (Ages 8 to 12)
8	FALLEN, by Lauren Kate. (Delacorte, $17.99.) Thwarted love at boarding school. (Ages 12 and up)
9	SWEET LITTLE LIES, by Lauren Conrad. (Harper/HarperCollins, $17.99.) The heroines of "L.A. Candy" in a new Hollywood story. (Ages 14 and up)
10	THIRTEEN REASONS WHY, by Jay Asher. (Razorbill/Penguin, $16.99.) Before she commits suicide a girl sends explanatory recordings to 13 people. (Ages 14 and up)

PAPERBACK BOOKS
This Week
1	THE HUNGER GAMES, by Suzanne Collins. (Scholastic, $8.99.) In a dystopian future, a girl fights for survival on live TV. (Ages 12 and up)
2	BEEZUS AND RAMONA, by Beverly Cleary. Illustrated by Tracy Dockray. (HarperCollins, $5.99.) The movie tie-in edition of the midcentury classic about a girl and her often pesky little sister. (Ages 9 to 12)
3	THE BOOK THIEF, by Markus Zusak. (Knopf, $11.99.) A girl saves books from Nazi burning. Excerpt (Ages 14 and up)
4	L.A. CANDY, by Lauren Conrad. (HarperCollins, $9.99.) Excitement in TV land. (Ages 14 and up)
5	THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN, by Sherman Alexie. Illustrated by Ellen Forney. (Little, Brown, $8.99.) A young boy leaves his reservation for an all-white school. (Ages 12 and up)
6	THREE CUPS OF TEA: YOUNG READERS EDITION, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. (Puffin/Penguin, $8.99.) A former climber builds schools in Pakistani and Afghan villages. (Ages 9 to 12)
7	PINKALICIOUS AND THE PINK DRINK, written and illustrated by Victoria Kann. (Harper Festival/HarperCollins, $3.99.) Pink meets lemonade in a series of experiments. (Ages 3 to 7)
8	SHIVER, by Maggie Stiefvater. (Scholastic, $8.99.) Love among the lupine. (Ages 13 and up)
9	SAVVY, by Ingrid Law. (Puffin/Penguin, $7.99.) Mibs is about to receive her supernatural abilities. (Ages 9 to 12)
10	SCAT, by Carl Hiaasen. (Knopf, $8.99.) An eco-mystery, with a dismal swamp and wild characters. Excerpt (Ages 9 to 12)

SERIES BOOKS
This Week
1	THE TWILIGHT SAGA, by Stephenie Meyer. (Megan Tingley/Little, Brown, hardcover and paper) Vampires and werewolves in school. (Ages 12 and up)
2	PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion, hardcover and paper) Battling mythological monsters. (Ages 9 to 12)
3	PRETTY LITTLE LIARS, by Sara Shepard. (HarperTeen, hardcover and paper) Four girls less perfect than they seem. (Ages 14 and up)
4	DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney. (Abrams, hardcover only) The travails of adolescence, in cartoons. (Ages 9 to 12)
5	THE IMMORTALS, by Alyson Noël. (St. Martin’s Griffin, hardcover and paper) Love and angst of the supernatural variety. (Ages 14 and up)
6	THE 39 CLUES, by various authors. (Scholastic, hardcover only) A brother and sister travel the world in search of the key to their family’s power. (Ages 9 to 12)
7	HOUSE OF NIGHT, by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. (St. Martin’s, hardcover and paper) Vampires in school. (Ages 14 and up)
8	GALLAGHER GIRLS, by Ally Carter. (Disney-Hyperion, hardcover and paper) A school for spies. (Ages 12 and up)
9	RANGER’S APPRENTICE, by John Flanagan. (Philomel, hardcover and paper) A boy warrior battles evil. (Ages 9 to 12)
10	VAMPIRE ACADEMY, by Richelle Mead. (Razorbill, paper only) Undead boarding school. (Ages 12 and up)

Rejection Blues: Part 2

Here's the conclusion of the Rejection Blues article, posted on QueryTracker.net last week:

Guest Blogger: Jim Warner-Rejection Blues: Part 2

 Posted 7/22/2010 08:00:00 AM by Mary Lindsey


Part II: Major Variations

 In Part I, we talked about the pains of the Rejection Blues. Maybe you’re contemplating giving up. Maybe you’re angry and thinking about doing something really stupid, like flaming agents and the publishing world on your website. But these are negative responses, the wrong notes on the blues scale. You need to get back on key. Here are some constructive ideas.

 
 

• How Did You Get Here? I can tell you, I know it wasn’t easy. But you’re a writer. You wouldn’t do this if you thought it was easy. You put in a lot of work just to get to the query phase on a project. If you’ve written a novel, you’ve learned the discipline it requires to write regularly, to finish what you’ve started. You’ve had to face up to your weaknesses and turn your strengths into sparkling prose. You’ve done a lot to get this far. Don’t forget that.

• Keep Learning. I completed two novels before I even tried to sell the third. It was a spectacular failure with the agents. I didn’t even try to sell the fourth. The fifth, which I’ve only been shopping around for three months, has netted two requests for a partial and one for a full. All ultimately became rejections. But this fifth novel is already doing better than that the third effort, and I’ve only just started the process. I must have learned something during those past projects. I know I’m improving.

• Keep Writing. If you want to be a commercially viable author, you must admit to yourself that writing is a craft, not an Art. You must practice. I’m a hobby musician, but I don’t play the piano enough. My performance suffers as a result. Writing is just like music. You must practice to learn how to do it well, and you must keep practicing.

• Don’t Think Like an Artist. If you think your work is Art, you’ll have a tendency to think your writing works at too high a level to be the merciless editor you need to be. Don’t do this to yourself. Your work can always be better.

Don’t believe me? Just pick up any book by your favorite writer. They write much better than you do, right? Put on your editing cap and take a close look at their prose. Read backwards if you have to. Are there things you would have changed about their language? Did they use too many of the same words in a passage? Did they use too many commas? Not enough? You’ll find something. And you always will. That author may be better than you, they may always be better than you, but they aren’t perfect either. They work on their craft, just like you must. Don’t become one of those writers that thinks that they have written the perfect book. There’s no such thing, and you’ll destroy your career before it even gets past the fourth measure.

• Use the Blues. I know whenever I get my hopes up on a partial or full, only to get a rejection, the next time I sit down to work I’m hypercritical. Use this heightened editorial eye. Hone your prose with that sense of inadequacy. Not only will it improve whatever you are working on, you’ll regain that sense of lost control. Use a setback as a tool to make your craft better.

• Look at Your Submission Paperwork. You’ve probably had at least a few days since you sent out that particular query. Look at it closely. Was it the best you could do? Are there things you don’t like about it? Did you jump the gun and send something that wasn’t polished?

• Querying Is A Lot Of Work. I seem to have figured something out, because agents are reading my stuff. So let me tell you a little secret: I worked on that awful query letter for more than two weeks. I wrote it, I wrote synopses in three different lengths, and I even wrote a one page summary. While the outlines, synopsis and summary essentially stay the same from agent to agent, that query letter is only a template for what I actually send. Every agent wants different things. When I do my homework on an agent, they usually tell me what they want. And every agent has different clients, different tastes. So I target my query letters. Each time I send one, I spend some time on the query letter again. It changes, grows, evolves. I use any feedback I receive as a lens to magnify any strengths and locate any weaknesses. In one instance, I discovered I used the word ‘case’ three times in a paragraph. I couldn’t believe I missed something that simple, but I had. Even my beloved beta readers (who are pretty good), missed it. But I shouldn’t have. It was a rookie mistake. The latest query letters do not contain it. Interestingly enough, I got a request for a partial with three ‘cases’ in that one paragraph. The agent missed it too, and she’s a good one. But don’t count on luck. That letter should have been better.

A rejection is a chance to go back to that query letter and do it again. And you work on it until you do it right. You are going to make mistakes. Every writer does, even the pros. Each rejection gives you another chance to rectify them.

• Don’t Take It Personally. My last semester of college, I took a writing class. It was taught by Paul Cook at Arizona State, and I soaked it up. The class was part workshop, so we read each others’ work and critiqued it. I’ll admit I’m a pretty hard critic, and I made a couple of people upset. But I wasn’t criticizing them. I was criticizing their writing. I didn’t mean it personally, and in fact I really liked those I was most critical of. I read their work more closely than those I didn’t know as well. This nugget applies to rejection as well as criticism. There’s a reason why someone says or does something. You may not agree with it, but they have a reason. And you know what? I learned more from the criticism than I did from the comments like, “I loved it! Send it to Analog!” Don’t take rejection personal. It may boil down to personal preference. Learn to love criticism. Use it like the blues.

• Is Something Working? Have you had a query turn into a request for a partial or full? Congratulations. That’s success. You got someone that doesn’t know you to read your manuscript. It’s like they picked up your book, read the back, and opened it up. That’s more than a lot of published books manage.

I know some of you are skeptical about this. So go out and try it yourself. Go to your local bookstore, preferably one with a coffee shop, and drink a latte. Watch people browse. How many people pick up a book, look at the cover or the jacket blurb, and put it back? That’s the reader’s equivalent of rejecting a query. If they pick up the book and actually open it up, they’ve done something similar to an agent requesting a submission. If you sit in the right place, you may actually see the title and author of the books they’ve passed on. This is pretty illuminating about people and their reading tastes. Everyone gets put back by someone. And I mean everyone. Even J. K. Rowling and Stephen King get put back on the shelves. Hell, I haven’t read King in years. I don’t even pick up his books up anymore. But he does okay without me.

So if you’ve got a nibble or a bite from an agent, but didn’t land him or her, just realize that you get picked up in the metaphorical bookstore and your book got opened. They just didn’t take you to the counter and buy you. But you’re moving in the right direction.

The Coda

There a lot more ways to deal with the rejection blues than I listed here. If you’ve got the blues, and we all do at some point, just remember to be constructive and positive. Yes, it hurts. It’s disappointing, especially when you get a partial or full rejected by that agency you really wanted. But giving up isn’t going to get your name on a book. Eating a pint of Ben & Jerry’s might make you feel better for a little while, but it doesn’t expand your writing career, only your waistline.

You’re already sitting in front of your computer. Bring up the word processor and get to work. One of these days, you’ll find the right combination of craft, project and agent to land you a contract with a publisher. In the meantime, you’ve got to learn to play all the scales.

Even the blues.

* * *

Jim Warner turned to writing fiction after he discovered that there were no jobs available for an intergalactic spice smuggler. He's sold everything from liquor to luggage, worked in academic and public libraries, and has composed over a hundred pieces of music. In college, he majored in American history and anthropology. He has completed six novels, including four urban fantasies, a horror piece set in Dark Age Paris, and a science fiction/mystery thriller.

Part 1 of Jim's Rejection Blues was posted yesterday. If you didn't get a chance to read it, scroll down.

Thanks again, Jim, for sharing your time and talent with us.

                  

Rejection Blues: Part 1

QueryTracker.net posted a great article on query letter rejections, from author Jim Warner.
  
Anyone who has sent a query letter out into the great abyss of literary agents, has received a rejection or two...or three (I could keep going, but you probably get the point, eh?).  If you haven't received a rejection, well...you're a freak of nature and I'd love to see what landed you an agent on your first try (and congrats to you!).
 
The brief article offers great perspective on how to keep plugging away, when life as a writer seems impossible.  While sometimes I feel like I have skin as thick as a Komodo Dragon (but hopefully, a tad bit prettier?), I often feel the sting of a query rejection.  But as Jim says, everyone has to find a way to deal with the inevitable rejection.
 
It's out there...but I'm a firm believer, so is that offer of representation!
 
After all, it only takes one.
 
Part 2 will be posted tomorrow.

Guest Blogger: Jim Warner-Rejection Blues: Part 1

Posted 7/21/2010 08:00:00 AM by Mary Lindsey

We are delighted to feature a guest blogger this morning. Jim Warner submitted a two-part article on a topic near and dear to all aspiring authors: Rejection.

Part 1: The Blues

Rejections. They’re the bane of every aspiring author.

They come in the form of polite form letters or emails, sometimes personalized, sometimes with the dreaded “Dear Author” at the top. Your query was unsuccessful. You’ve been bounced, declined, rejected, or fireballed. Maybe it’s your first, or maybe you’ve got so many of the damn things your file cabinet is a fire hazard. No one likes being told they weren’t right for an agent or publisher. It always stings. But sometimes, it hurts.

When it does, you’ve got the rejection blues.

Maybe you’ve got past the query phase. Maybe you got a request for a partial or full. You got your foot in the door. Someone thought enough of your project to read more. Maybe your hopes were sky high, you thought you were going somewhere, you’re on your way to seeing your name in bold type on a book cover.

Then the letter comes.

“In the end,” the letter says, “I thought it wasn’t up to our standards.” Or they didn’t have enough enthusiasm. Or they liked it and they just didn’t think they could sell it. If you’re like most writers, you can probably add a dozen other taglines to this litany.

 A rejection at that phase really smarts. You wonder, “What did I do wrong? Was the writing that bad? What could I have done differently?”

 You’ve got the rejection blues.

The other day, I was reading the comments page on a particular agent on this very website, and a woman mentioned that she just didn’t feel like it was worth writing anymore. I don’t know why she felt that way. Perhaps she’d taken one hit too many, read one too many lines like, “Thanks, but no thanks.” Or, “This is not for me.” I won’t put words in her mouth, but I know one thing for certain.

 She’s got the rejection blues.

 I bet you get them too. But don’t be alarmed. I know a cure for the blues.

 In music, there are various techniques for getting out of a blues scale. You can transition from a minor key to a major one, or resolve a diminished chord into a perfect fifth, or change modes. As a writer dealing with the rejection blues, you have to do much the same thing. You have to keep your chin up.

 Changing keys while playing a song is not always easy. It can be a tricky compositional problem, and it’s hard to do well. As a writer, dealing with rejection is also difficult. But you have to keep the faith. You have to learn how to handle it.

Because, if you’re going to break into the publishing business, you’re going to take a lot of hits. You have to find a way to deal with rejection. It’s a personal thing, much like the act of writing itself. What works for you may not work for me, and what works for me may not work for you. Worse, what works for you may not work for you next week.

 But you still have to learn to change keys. In my next post, I’ll give you some ideas on how to do just that.

* * *

Jim Warner turned to writing fiction after he discovered that there were no jobs available for an intergalactic spice smuggler. He's sold everything from liquor to luggage, worked in academic and public libraries, and has composed over a hundred pieces of music. In college, he majored in American history and anthropology. He has completed six novels, including four urban fantasies, a horror piece set in Dark Age Paris, and a science fiction/mystery thriller.

Part 2 of Jim's Rejection Blues will be posted tomorrow. Thanks again, Jim, for sharing your time and talent with us.

New York Times Best Sellers - As of July 9, 2010: Children's Books

As of July 9th, here are the New York Times Top Selling Children's Books.  Not a whole lot of movement from last week, except to note that Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga has been on the NY Times list for 151 weeks and Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series has 4 more weeks on Ms. Meyer's, at 155 weeks!  Can you even imagine?  

CHAPTER BOOKS
This Week
1	THE RED PYRAMID, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion, $17.99.) Ancient gods (this time from Egypt) and a mortal family meet. (Ages 10 and up)
2	THEODORE BOONE: KID LAWYER, by John Grisham. (Dutton, $16.99.) He’s 13, but he knows what to do when he encounters a murder case. (Ages 8 to 12)
3	CATCHING FIRE, by Suzanne Collins. (Scholastic, $17.99.) The protagonist of "The Hunger Games" returns. (Ages 12 and up)
4	THE HUNGER GAMES, by Suzanne Collins. (Scholastic, $17.99.) In a dystopian future, a girl fights for survival on live TV. (Ages 12 and up)
5	TALES FROM A NOT-SO-POPULAR PARTY GIRL, by Rachel Renée Russell. (Aladdin, $12.99.) The further reflections of Nikki Maxwell on the social agonies of middle school; a "Dork Diaries" book. (Ages 9 to 13)
6	INFINITY (CHRONICLES OF NICK), by Sherrilyn Kenyon. (St. Martin’s Griffin, $17.99.) Brain-eating demons complicate academic life. (Ages 12 and up)
7	FALLEN, by Lauren Kate. (Delacorte, $17.99.) Thwarted love at boarding school. (Ages 12 and up)
8	BEFORE I FALL, by Lauren Oliver. (Harper/HarperCollins, $17.99.) Last kisses, death and second chances await a teenager one fateful Friday. (Ages 14 and up)
9	THE SHADOWS, by Jacqueline West. Illustrated by Poly Bernatene. (Dial, $16.99.) A girl and her family move into an old mansion where the paintings are more than art. (Ages 9 to 11)
10	BIG NATE: IN A CLASS BY HIMSELF, written and illustrated by Lincoln Peirce. (Harper/HarperCollins, $12.99.) Where Nate goes, trouble follows. (Ages 8 to 12)

PAPERBACK BOOKS
This Week
1	THE HUNGER GAMES, by Suzanne Collins. (Scholastic, $8.99.) In a dystopian future, a girl fights for survival on live TV. (Ages 12 and up)
2	THE BOOK THIEF, by Markus Zusak. (Knopf, $11.99.) A girl saves books from Nazi burning. Excerpt (Ages 14 and up)
3	THREE CUPS OF TEA: YOUNG READERS EDITION, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. (Puffin/Penguin, $8.99.) A former climber builds schools in Pakistani and Afghan villages. (Ages 9 to 12)
4	BEEZUS AND RAMONA, by Beverly Cleary. Illustrated by Tracy Dockray. (HarperCollins, $5.99.) The movie tie-in edition of the midcentury classic about a girl and her often pesky little sister. (Ages 9 to 12)
5	PINKALICIOUS AND THE PINK DRINK, written and illustrated by Victoria Kann. (Harper Festival/HarperCollins, $3.99.) Pink meets lemonade in a series of experiments. (Ages 3 to 7)
6	THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN, by Sherman Alexie. Illustrated by Ellen Forney. (Little, Brown, $8.99.) A young boy leaves his reservation for an all-white school. (Ages 12 and up)
7	SHIVER, by Maggie Stiefvater. (Scholastic, $8.99.) Love among the lupine. (Ages 13 and up)
8	IF I STAY, by Gayle Forman. (Speak/Penguin, $8.99.) A young cellist falls into a coma. (Ages 12 and up)
9	SCAT, by Carl Hiaasen. (Knopf, $8.99.) An eco-mystery, with a dismal swamp and wild characters. Excerpt (Ages 9 to 12)
10	SAVVY, by Ingrid Law. (Puffin/Penguin, $7.99.) Mibs is about to turn 13, the age at which supernatural abilities are conferred on members of her family. (Ages 9 to 12)

SERIES BOOKS
This Week
1	THE TWILIGHT SAGA, by Stephenie Meyer. (Megan Tingley/Little, Brown, hardcover and paper) Vampires and werewolves in school. (Ages 12 and up)
2	PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion, hardcover and paper) Children of the gods battle mythological monsters. (Ages 9 to 12)
3	PRETTY LITTLE LIARS, by Sara Shepard. (HarperTeen, hardcover and paper) Four girls less perfect than they seem. (Ages 14 and up) (Ages 14 and up)
4	DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney. (Abrams, hardcover only) The travails of adolescence, in cartoons. (Ages 9 to 12)
5	THE IMMORTALS, by Alyson Noël. (St. Martin’s Griffin, hardcover and paper) Love and angst of the supernatural variety. (Ages 14 and up)
6	GALLAGHER GIRLS, by Ally Carter. (Disney-Hyperion, hardcover and paper) A school for spies. (Ages 12 and up)
7	HOUSE OF NIGHT, by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. (St. Martin’s, hardcover and paper) Vampires in school. (Ages 14 and up)
8	THE 39 CLUES, by various authors. (Scholastic, hardcover only) A brother and sister travel the world in search of the key to their family’s power. (Ages 9 to 12)
9	RANGER’S APPRENTICE, by John Flanagan. (Philomel, hardcover and paper) A boy warrior battles evil. (Ages 9 to 12)
10	VAMPIRE ACADEMY, by Richelle Mead. (Razorbill, paper only) Undead boarding school. (Ages 12 and up)