Come on in.
By now you know the gate is open, welcoming
everyone into the realm of children’s literature!
It’s not magic.
Everyone can…
Crash The Gate!
Click the pics for awesome writerly links!
Okay, so sometimes you feel like the Grim Reaper is sitting beside you, silently insinuating that your WIP should just RIP and the sooner the better.
And you bang your head against your keyboard and the resulting gibberish seems better than everything you spent your day writing. You think you’re never going to get it right, but your WRONG and the LUCKY 13ers are proof!
Sure, it seems crazy, but it’s true. Publishing a book is not impossible. You know you can do it. Just like the Lucky 13er’s who’ve paved the way, you too can pull a sword from a stone! (Get it? The impossible can really be done! Seriously if Arthur and Link can do it…) You need some tools, for sure! Confidence, Persistence, Dedication and A Little Bit Of Luck!
Ignore that Grim Reaper, take heart, and learn what the
Lucky 13ers already know…
Brandy Colbert
A POINT SO DELICATE
1. When did you realize the story in your head was meant to be a book?
I realized my story was meant to be a book when I couldn’t stop thinking about the characters and imagining all the ways I would tackle the “what-if.” That’s usually what drives me to write a story, the what-if. I don’t outline on paper, so I’ve found it’s the best way to plan out the story in my head before I start writing. The abduction plot came first, then the ballet. I have a not-so-secret fascination with dance books and abduction books, so I guess it only makes sense that I finally combined the two themes to write the type of novel I’d want to read.
2. Advice to aspiring writers.
Don’t quit. Seriously, don’t. You’re going to have some really bad days and face multiple rejections. We all do. Even after the agent and after the book deal. But you never know who will be intrigued by your pitch or pluck your query out of the slush pile. Keep reading, keep writing, keep getting better.
3. The hardest thing about your journey to publication?
Besides the rejections and the waiting? (Oh, the waiting – it never stops.) I think sharing my work with other people was one of the most difficult things I had to do. I’ve been writing since childhood, but even then, I would only show my stories to one close friend. I finally realized that I couldn’t improve if I didn’t show my writing to other people. And I wanted to make my books as good as they could possibly be. So I sucked it up and found critique partners. My CPs have changed over the years, but they remain one of the most invaluable parts of the process.
4. The most fun thing?
The most fun part for me has been meeting so many new people, from connecting with an agent and editor (both of whom I absolutely adore) to becoming friends with other writers in various stages of their journey. I feel quite fortunate to know so many people who feel the way I do about books, reading, and writing, and none of this would be nearly as fun without them.
Kristin Halbrook
NOBODY BUT US
1. When did you realize the story in your head was meant to be a book?
I knew it was meant to be a story when these fictional characters, this fictional journey, this fictional story . . . set against a backdrop of the real world, of real struggles, broke my heart. And I had only jotted down a blurb for the story at that point.
Usually, for me, it’s that passionate emotional response to some or all parts of a potential story that keep me invested in it, that keep me needing to write to see what happens.
2. Advice to aspiring writers.
First, determine if you want to write because you love to write or if you want to write because you want to be published. The journeys for either option are quite different.
If publishing is your goal, begin writing with knowing that writing, like all crafts, demands an apprenticeship. There is a learning curve, different for everyone, and climbing that mountain, combined with talent garnered through both nature and nuture, is what will help you succeed in publishing. Paying your dues should be rewarding, as you develop your style and voice, grow your vocabulary, read more in your genre, rather than frustrating. You’re doing good work here!
3. The hardest thing about your journey to publication?
Learning how much time I need to take away from my manuscripts before I’m ready to revise. Ultimately, it’s a gut feeling to know how much time, but almost always it’s more time than my brain thinks it “should” be.
4. The most fun thing?
The most fun things about this journey are building friendships with those in the community, celebrating their successes and my own, starting new projects and the feeling of satisfaction that comes with having met several life goals.
Chelsey Flood
INFINITE SKY
1. When did you realize the story in your head was meant to be a book?
Good question. ‘Infinite Sky’ started off as a sort of memoir really, I was just writing episodes from my childhood, trying to make them funny or sad, but in the voice of a character I’d had for a while: Iris. The story came worryingly late to the party, after about 50,000 words, I think… And I discovered it at the time I wrote it. I didn’t have a story worthy of a book for aaaages. Oh, how I worried.
2. Advice to aspiring writers.
My advice is don’t worry if you can’t write sometimes. Go and do something else: walk, read, run, get drunk, have fun, dance, catch up with friends and family. Pay attention while you’re doing these things too so you can refill the mysterious pit of creation. Most important: don’t let writing ruin your life!
3. The hardest thing about your journey to publication?
Hardest were all those years where I felt foolish/delusional calling myself a writer, when I’d just had a couple of stories published and was working full time as a waitress. All my friends seemed to be getting somewhere in their careers and I didn’t even have one. I used to really dread being asked what I did. I even stopped asking other people. I went straight from name to hobbies or books or whatever. It didn’t catch on.
4. The most fun thing?
There have been lots of fun things. When my book went to auction I was pretty happy, but the research was the best. I went to Appleby Horse Fair last year, as it’s a really exciting event date for Irish Travellers. I had my fortune told, and the lady said I would be a writer. She had this incredible fast patter, and was really intense. She’d put cardboard on the floor of her caravan to save the carpet from the mud, and there was all this immaculate china on the windowsill and sides. I wanted to stay for dinner! Actually, she said I would get money without having to work for it. Now that would be fun.
Elsie Chapman
DUALED
1. When did you realize the story in your head was meant to be a book?
An innocent question from my son about doppelgangers. It got me thinking about how it would make a good premise for a book. So I decided to try writing it.
2. Advice to aspiring writers.
Keep writing. Finish what you start. Make time for it. And read widely when you’re not writing, just to stay immersed in words in another way. Publishing is an awesome goal, but the writing comes first.
3. The hardest thing about your journey to publication?
The rejections, the coming-this close-but-not-quite, the waiting. The days you felt like your writing was absolute crap and then struggling to put those days behind you.
4. The most fun thing?
The publication journey really does give the best of both worlds—I get my alone time to write, and when I need to get out of my own head for a while, I can always find support from other kidlit authors I’ve met online this past year. Also, the idea of seeing my book in a bookstore still pretty much blows my mind.
Emma Pass 
ACID
1. When did you realize the story in your head was meant to be a book?
ACID is based on a story I wrote when I was 14, after a friend and I challenged each other to write a story set in a prison. I didn’t get much of it done, but the idea stayed with me, and over the years, I had a couple of attempts at writing it as an adult novel. Somewhere along the line, I discovered I was actually a YA writer. After snagging my fabulous agent with a contemporary YA that didn’t sell, I went back to my prison story, and this time, it was ready to be written.
2. Advice to aspiring writers.
Never give up! It might be the next book that gets you that publishing deal, or the next one… but if you don’t write them, you’ll never know. And you’ll learn a huge amount from every book you write, even if it doesn’t go anywhere but your bottom drawer.
Also, don’t throw any of your early stuff away! It might come in useful one day (like the story that became ACID did for me!).
3. The hardest thing about your journey to publication?
The self doubt that crept in after each rejection, or when I knew my writing wasn’t working but couldn’t figure out why. What kept me going was my love for writing – even if ACID hadn’t sold, I’d still be doing it. I’m also lucky enough to have a very patient and supportive husband, who refused to let my insecurities get the better of me even when I was on the verge of giving up!
4. The most fun thing?
For me, it has to be what’s happened since ACID sold – namely, getting online and connecting with writers, bloggers, reviewers and everyone else out there who loves books and reading. I was even asked to join my wonderful group blog, the Lucky 13s, via Twitter! I never expected to enjoy social networking and blogging as much as I do – in fact, before I got my book deal, I avoided it, and as a result often felt quite isolated. I didn’t feel like I could tell many people about my writing, so I didn’t know anyone else who was doing what I was trying to do. There’s an amazing community of people out there and I feel privileged to be part of it.
Jessica Corra
AFTER YOU
1. When did you realize the story in your head was meant to be a book?
I’ve never been good at having ideas for short stories or novellas. I tend to assume all my ideas are novels-length, or will be once they grow a bit. As far as when I knew AFTER YOU was something special, I’ll be honest: I gave myself shivers when I jotted down the one sentence idea that sparked the book on scrap paper at my desk at work way back in September 2009.
2. Advice to aspiring writers.
Read, write, breathe. Remember to live. You won’t have anything worth writing if you become a black hole of bookishness, fun though it is to be a black hole of bookishness. But do keep the creative well filled. Practice, and just keep going. There is no race.
3. The hardest thing about your journey to publication?
This is two-fold: I would say I struggle with the endless revision loop, but what that ultimately boils down to is my own impatience.
4. The most fun thing?
I get to work in sun-drenched cafes sipping Italian sodas and coming up with that rejoinder I can never make in the moment, envisioning the romantic scenarios and sweeping adventures I will probably never have, and bring it all to life. I get to dig deep into characters and stories and push them to their edges and then over, until everything sings with a resonance that makes me ache. I get paid to do this. I have the best job ever.
Justina Ireland
VENGEANCE BOUND
1. When did you realize the story in your head was meant to be a book?
Not until after the third or fourth draft, unfortunately! I wanted it to be a book, but it wasn’t until later drafts that the story really started to gel. I generally write without an outline, so my method of writing is a little chaotic.
I start by asking “What if?” With Vengeance Bound (the tentative title of my forthcoming book from Simon and Schuster) I started with an idea of “What if there was a teen girl version of Dexter (the serial killer from the Jeff Lindsay books)? What would she be like? And what would motivate her?” I really liked this idea of a girl who spent her days worrying about typical high school things, like boys and lip gloss, but spent her evenings killing people guilty of these terrible crimes.
But the first few chapters weren’t really working. My main character was very unsympathetic, and very cold. So then I began to play around with the idea of some sort of paranormal element motivating her, compelling her to seek out these targets. While researching mythology I stumbled upon the Furies, and everything kind of came together. And my main character, Amelie, was born!
2. Advice to aspiring writers.
First, read, read, and read some more! Everything that gets published ends up there for a reason. Figure out what worked in that story, and think about how you can apply that same principle to your writing. I’m not saying to plagiarize another author, because that’s just wrong, but look and they things they do to move the story along. Take Suzanne Collins, for example. She writes great action scenes, and a lot of it is her use of these short, choppy sentences that move your eyes across and down the page very quickly. Patrick Ness, who wrote the Chaos Walking Trilogy, does the same thing. So if you’re struggling with an action scene, if it drags or just doesn’t have enough tension, you may want to try breaking up your longer sentences with a few shorter, choppier ones. By reading how successful writers apply the craft, you can figure out your own style.
Second, when you’re revising don’t be afraid to make the big changes. The general feeling among writers tends to be “I finished a draft! Now I just need to smooth out a few things and I’ll be all done!” That doesn’t always work, and writers shouldn’t be afraid of making major overhauls. Kill a character, delete a few scenes, add new scenes, get rid of weak plotlines. Big changes can mean big payoffs, and so can small ones. Don’t feel committed to your plot if it’s just not working out.
And third, and most important, never give up. It takes a lot of hard work, a lot of rejection and a lot of self doubt to get published. I think every writer has had that moment where they’ve stopped and asked themselves “Am I wasting my time?” If you think you’re wasting your time, ask yourself why. Is it because you aren’t really that committed to writing? Or because you’re afraid of more rejection? Everyone gets derailed at some point. The important thing is to keep working, to keep improving, to keep marching towards that goal, no matter how long it takes to get there.
3. The hardest thing about your journey to publication?
The waiting. Nothing travels quickly in the publishing world, and the waiting would try even a very patient person. First, you wait to hear back from your beta readers and critique partners. Then, you wait to hear back from agents once you begin to query them. And when you’ve landed an agent you wait to hear back on revisions. When you go on submission you wait to see what editors think of your manuscript. And then there’s waiting on contracts, and edit letters, and copyedits…the waiting never seems to end. And it’s easy to lose confidence when you’re waiting, so it’s important to have other things to think about while waiting, like new manuscripts in progress.
4. The most fun thing?
Right now, I’m loving the idea that people are going to finally get to meet my characters. That’s just amazing.
You didn’t really think we were done did you..?
Stay Tuned for the next installment of the Lucky 13ers.
The Lucky 13ers Part Three!
Wanna chat with other YA writerly folks?
)
Anyway, I think having different pitches for different occasions is a great way to stay prepared for when people ask the inevitable (and often terrifying) question, “What is your book about?”
