More than romance
This was originally a comment I made on the HuffPost article “Lovesick and Tired: Unnecessary Romance in YA,“ but it encapsulates my thoughts on romance and relationships within YA that I’m reposting it here. YA literature is, at its heart, about relationships. That doesn’t necessarily mean they have to be romantic ones. Some of the most beautiful YA I’ve read didn’t center on romance. One of my faves in recent years is The Sweetness of Salt by Cecilia...
Read MoreNew Adult
Update (4/23/13): In the three months since I originally wrote this post, New Adult has progressed significantly to the point where some of this information is obsolete or opposite from what I wrote earlier. So I’ve revised the post below to reflect new changes in how NA is developing. And this info might well go another 180-degrees within the next three months. If you participate at all in the online YA writing publishing community, you’ve undoubtedly heard the term New...
Read MoreLiterary matchmaker
For some odd reason, every time I try to come up with a title for blog posts, a related song pops into my head. Today’s edition? Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match . . . Why this song? you might ask. Because I consider one of my most important responsibilities as a literary agent to be a matchmaker between a writer (or more specifically, their manuscript) and an editor. After facing so much rejection and uncertainty when searching for an agent, writers can easily fall into the...
Read MoreWhy YA needs strong female characters
I’ve kept largely quiet on the commotion surrounding comedian Daniel Tosh and a woman in the audience who said he joked about how funny it would be if she were gang raped. The resulting debate is disturbing in many ways,* as the (largely male) negative response shows the pervading rape culture is going strong and perhaps even assimilating into some aspects of society where it hasn’t previously flourished. More than that, women are given the role of victim and forced to play the...
Read MoreIt’s okay
In the relatively short time I’ve been an agent, I’ve noticed something that makes me smile and sigh at the same time: the paralyzing fear some writers experience when they query agents. To them (and you) I say: Relax. It’s okay if you make a small mistake. It won’t ruin your career if you accidentally query an agent twice. Or if you get their name wrong. Or if you found a typo on page three that you were sure hadn’t been there before you sent your sample pages....
Read MoreWhat do you mean by “weary”?
I’m getting questions from writers curious about why I’d specifically say I’m weary of paranormal romance and dystopian, so let me explain. By the time a book hits the shelves, it’s already old hat for agents and editors. Most fiction is acquired 1 1/2 to 2 years before it is published. So that means when The Hunger Games hit theaters, the acquisition of dystopian books has been going on for the past three or so years. Even longer, if you start with publication of the...
Read MoreCan I query an unfinished manuscript?
Can I query an agent when my manuscript isn’t completed? NO Oh, you were expecting a longer answer? Okay then. NO CAUSE YOU HAVE TO FINISH YOUR BOOK FIRST. That better? Oh, fine. Here’s an appropriately long answer. (As a bonus, I’ll throw in a hard truth no writer wants to hear.) Agents don’t want to see unfinished projects because, honestly, how many books have you read that started out oh this is so great! and then started to peter out before ending at someone save...
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