Welcome to mid-summer, writers! While this week was light on YA news, it was big on query tips, agent updates, and author interviews.
As always, if there’s a news story or blog post you found particularly interesting and you want me to include it next week, or you want to share your thoughts on a link, send me a tweet or share it in the comments below.
Enjoy!
Writing for Publication—Queries and Submissions:
- QUITE THE QUERY – Laura Weymouth and THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLDS via Chasing the Crazies: Our own Laura Weymouth and her successful query letter are featured this week.
- Summer Query Extravaganza 2017 via Michelle4Laughs: Michelle features a bunch of query letters and her feedback on how to improve them.
- How to Pitch Agents at a Writers Conference via Jane Friedman: Pitching tips for your next conference.
Writing for Publication—Book Marketing and Social Media:
- You’ve Got Mail: What Writers Need to Know About eNewsletters via Writer’s Digest: The benefits of starting a newsletter for subscribers.
- TIps For Holding a Book Giveaway Contest via WOW! Women on Writing: Make your book giveaway a success with these tips.
Author Interviews:
- Author Of The Week: Chat with Aditi Khorana (The Library Of Fates), Plus Giveaway!! via YA Books Central: Interview with Aditi Khorana, author of The Library of Fates.
- Authors Liz Kessler and Joanne O’Sullivan Talk Hauntings, Hurricanes, and How to Find the Story via The B&N Teen Blog: The two authors speak about their latest books, their craft, and inspirations.
- Author Chat with Erin McCahan (The Lake Effect), Plus Giveaway! via YA Books Central: Interview with Erin McCahan, author of The Lake Effect.
- Author Chat with Liz Kessler (Haunt Me)! via YA Books Central: Interview with Liz Kessler, author of Haunt Me.
- What to Say Next Author Julie Buxbaum Shares Her Favorite Memories of the High School Cafeteria via The B&N Teen Blog: Julie Buxbaum, author of What to Say Next, talks about her obsession with the high school cafeteria.
- Ep 113: Danielle Paige via First Draft with Sarah Enni: Podcast interview with Danielle Paige, author of the Dorothy Must Die series.
Adventures in YA Publishing Author Interviews:
- J.C. Geiger, author of WILDMAN, on writing honestly
- Rachel Caine, author of ASH AND QUILL, on discipline carrying you where inspiration fails
- Paula Stokes, author of THIS IS HOW IT HAPPENED, on how it was almost a completely different book
Literary Agent News and Interviews:
- Agent Spotlight: Tanusri Prasanna of Foundry Literary + Media via Writer’s Digest: Update on what Tanusri Prasanna is seeking for YA submissions.
- Twitter & Literary Agents: Looking Below the Social Media Surface via Pub(lishing) Crawl: What you should look for when checking out a potential agent’s Twitter account.
- Agent Looking for Clients – Erica Rand Silverman – Stimola Literary Studio via Kathy Temean: Submission guidelines for agent Erica Rand Silverman.
- Query Questions with Jess Dallow via Michelle4Laughs: An interview with Jess Dallow of Brower Literary Management.
Writing Craft:
- Birth of a Book: The Development Stage: Creating the Characters via Fiction University: Helpful tips for creating a cast of characters for your plot.
- Getting to the Heart of Your Story: The Character Brainstorming Worksheet via Adventures in YA Publishing: Martina shares a worksheet to help make your story compelling.
- Avoiding Stilted Dialogue-author toolbox via ML Keller: Common dialogue issues most writers face and how to fix them.
- Tips for Writing About Distant Lands in Fiction via Writer’s Digest: If your work features a place you’ve never visited, consider these tips to expand your understanding of the location.
- Tips to Better Engage Your Reader by Tonya Kuper via Adventures in YA Publishing: Tonya Kuper, author of Enigma, shares tips on getting readers closer to your characters.
- Raise a Question, Earn the Backstory via Writer Unboxed: Using backstory effectively to keep readers interested.
- Real Life Diagnostics: Does This YA Opening Work? via Fiction University: Real Life Diagnostics is a weekly column that studies a snippet of a work in progress for specific issues.
Writing Inspiration:
- So, You’re Having A Bad Writing Day via Terribleminds: Getting through those bad writing days.
- The Best Writing Practice: Why You Need to Practice Differently via The Write Practice: Identifying your writing weaknesses and focusing your craft on improving them.
Publishing News & Trends:
- Political Books and Biographies Are Hot In 2017 So Far via Publishers Weekly: A look at what’s selling in the adult fiction and non-fiction world (as well as some data on juvenile fiction).
- Children’s Books Exploring the Refugee Crisis via Publisher’s Weekly: A host of children’s books about refugees and their experience.
- Tom Holland, Daisy Ridley’s ‘Chaos Walking’ Lands Spring 2019 Release Date via The Hollywood Reporter: The movie adaptation of Chaos Walking, a YA novel by Patrick Ness, gets a release date.
- Netflix Enrolls At ‘Elite’ Boarding School For Spanish YA Crime Drama via Deadline: The eight-episode series starts shooting early next year for release in 2019.
New YA E-Book Deals:
New YA Book Giveaways:
- Adventures in YA Publishing Giveaways
- Epic Reads Giveaways
- Goodreads Giveaways
- RivetedLit Giveaways
- YA Books Central Giveaways
YA Book Awards and Congratulations:
- Ruta Sepetys wins the Carnegie Medal for Salt to the Sea. via YA Interrobang: Congratulations to Ruta Sepetys!
YA New Book Deals and Releases:
- New Releases this week 07/10-07/16 plus Giveaway of ASH AND QUILL via Adventures in YA Publishing: Our weekly highlighted new YA releases, plus giveaway!
- What new YA books release this week? (July 11) via YA Interrobang: Wondering what’s hitting shelves this week…look no further!
- What’s New in YA ~ July 11th, 2017 via YA Books Central: More new books this week!
Just for Fun:
- All 160 Pretty Little Liars Episodes, Ranked From Worst to Best via Vulture: If you’ve been in PLL withdrawal since the series finale, see where your favorite episodes fall on this list.
