Currently in MG/YA literature, everyone's talking about The Hunger Games. Before that Twilight. Then Harry Potter. Before Harry Potter? Uhmmm... Goosebumps? I should know the answer, but I'm not the most well-read MG writer, so take this post and the opinions expressed within with a grain of iodized salt (I'm pledging a cliche-free post, in case you were wondering).
So what's next? Publishers and agents and writers and insiders are putting together their formulas to try and see what concoction is going to take off next, and placing their bets accordingly. It probably won't be sloths, unfortunately. It SHOULD be sloths—I mean come on, just look at this guy!
And I'm probably shooting myself in the foot knee when I say this, but it probably won't be bears either. As much as I love my little book and as much as I think YOU will love it, it's a standalone and it's very difficult for standalones from debut authors to really become trendsetting. So here's what I think... and yes, I'm just another pseudo-blogger in a sea Great Lake of far more prolific and informed writers/bloggers. You ready? Okay, here's the next big thang:
Everythang.
Bears. Zombies. Caterpillars. Sloths. Vampires. Leprechaun pirates. Medieval stuff. Maybe my dog Tayla? She's a trendsetter. Sasquatches. Wars on other planets. Future diseases. Ancient robots. A modern retelling of The Blob. Volcano cats (btw, that's a WIP idea, so if anyone steals volcano cats, I would be sad). Love triangles involving gnomes and/or gerbils and/or Nutella. I've never gotten into Nutella, but I've seen what it can do to people.
I don't know about you, but I'm incredibly excited about what's coming next. I truly feel we're entering, or on the verge of entering a Renaissance period in YA/MG literature where anything goes. In a post Hunger Games/Twilight world, everyone's scrambling trying to come up with some new trend that they're pairing the most absurd and unlikely ideas. And instead of rehashing the same old creature, like vamps or angels, writers are coming up with new creatures or completely reinventing old ones.
Maybe this really isn't the case and I'm just being idealistic and hopeful that people are just as crazy as I am. But I think we should have fun with our ideas, you know?
Check out some of these new/upcoming releases to see just how amazingly eccentric these concepts are: Above World by Jenn Reese, Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Struck by Jennifer Bosworth. Teeth by Hannah Moskowitz. I mean, Robo-Cinderella? Lightning addicts? Magic gay fish? Who comes up with this stuff?
I love it.
Anyway, as much as anyone speculates, it's insanely hard, nee impossible to consistently predict trends. Sure, someone probably read Harry Potter back in 1996 and thought, “ho schnap, boy wizards are going to be HUGE.” But if that same person had read Twilight circa 2004 before its release, do you think he/she would have called that one too? Would that same person have also predicted the success of The Hunger Games?
Yes, maybe you're absolutely positive that The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen has all the right ingredients to be a blockbuster—think YA Game of Thrones—and maybe it DOES. But that doesn't mean that kids are going to be engaged by the story or fall in love with the characters. Now, I'm not offering any opinions on this particular book because I haven't read it yet (on my to-read list, however), but I've heard it could be big. And I'm fascinated why people think some books could be big, while others not so much, and to see if their predictions pop or fizzle.
So anyway, I think here's the point I'm trying to make that's been made in one hundred other writer's blogs: don't write to trends. You can't predict this stuff. Write what inspires you and have fun and maybe all the elements of your story will hit the publishing equivalent of Mega Millions. But if it doesn't, who cares? Even if only one person loves your story, isn't it still freaking awesome that you're a hit with that one reader? That you've connected and really spoken to someone else on a meta level?
Yeah, you're right. It's all about the bling bling.
- Music:Imagine Dragons - It's Time
From Publishers Marketplace, March 15, 2012:
Ryan Gebhart's THERE WILL BE BEARS, in which a thirteen year-old confronts first crushes, losing his best friend, his grandfather's failing health, and a man-eating grizzly, to Joan Powers at Candlewick, in a nice deal, by John Cusick at Scott Treimel NY (World English). ... |
After two and a half years, two agents, four titles, countless revisions, and one amazing adventure in Wyoming with my good friend Brendan Rien that helped inspire this story, I've sold my middle grade novel There Will Be Bears. I must give a huge shout out to my agent, John M. Cusick, and my agent's agent, Scott Treimel, who both have helped tremendously with molding my novel into what it is today. And to the Musers, for all their support, encouragement, empathy, etc etc during the trying revisions and submissions processes. And to my editor Joan Powers, who's willing to take a chance on me and my story.
And most importantly, thank you Grandma and Papa. You mean more to me than you'll ever know.
Thank you all so much and I can't wait for everyone to read it!
roar.
Yes, that was a confusing statement. It's the best way I can describe this velociraptor beaver thingy that's been pressing it's talons on my brain for I don't know how many years now. Now, as much as he mentally abuses me, I kind of like him. On one hand, this leech-with-a-million-teeth feasts on my gray matter to the point where I'm just a mindless thing googling "the dark knight rises" for the fiftieth time today, on the other hand he comes up with all these weird ideas about talking trees floating in the ocean and volcano cats and dead children on a mountaintop... even the biggest mushroom tripper couldn't think up this kind of crazy.
So what do I do? How do I stay sane, and how do I keep this insert-clever-monster-name in check without sacrificing his endless fountain of creativity?
Now this monster goes by another name... anxiety disorder, but I like to think that my descriptions are a little more awesome. Case in point...
That's basically what my anxiety disorder look like--scary, stupid, ridiculous. It's a monster that doesn't exist, except in my mind. But it's very real in my mind. Medication might put him down for awhile, but he would still be there, sleeping with one soulless lizard eye open. Through years of trial and error, I've learned the only way he can be appeased is through expression--he's a slave driver that demands I write, play the piano, paint a pretty picture.
And I haven't been doing much of any of those things lately.
If I don't share his beautiful raptor song with the world, he lashes out on me in unpredictable ways.
I think too much. If I don't channel all that thinking into some absurd fiction story about shamanic voyages and angels who wear shrunken heads as necklaces, then I'll be thinking about the meaning of life on this indifferent floaty whatever planet, or the fact that my heart could stop at any second, and those are some pretty scary thoughts.
I'd rather be thinking about volcano cats.
- Music:Lord Huron - The Stranger
I could say that I'm lucky that I've found a group of writer friends who are successful in what they do, and who are passionate about reaching goals, and who are continually raising the bar. But I'm not lucky--I sought them out because I want to be just as successful as they are. I want to prove something to myself as well as to others. I'm also just a very competitive person--maybe that's the result of having five older brothers. In my writer group, I have friends in different stages of the game. Some have garnered six-figure deals while others are working on getting their work ready to be considered by agents. I fall somewhere in the middle.
We did not come this far collectively through undeserved praise and pandering. When we feel that a work needs a thorough rewrite, we say so, because no legitimate agent or editor will ever represent or acquire a novel just to be nice. This is a business, and as much as we all love the art of writing, we have to become hardened a bit if we ever want to make any money from our art. And believe me, my writer's group has given me some very rough critiques.
But I'm better because of it. I would not have gotten this far without my writer friends. Apart from the critiquing, they have been there for me for encouragement during the trying times, and they've been there to celebrate when good news comes my way. This, in my opinion, is invaluable.
On the subject of my writer friends, I want to announce that Amanda K. Morgan has just accepted an offer for representation from Mary Kole of Andrea Brown Literary. Yup, my agent now represents Amanda, and this is definitely a win-win situation for both parties. Go check out Amanda's blog and see just how awesome (and hot) she is: http://mandymorgan.livejournal.com/
Holler.
Here is the link to Andrea Brown Literary, in case anyone is curious about them. PS, they're amazing: http://www.andreabrownlit.com/
So the next step is revisions, and after that I'll go on submission to editors, to see if they want to buy Grizzly Kid.
HOLLER!!!
- Mood:
ecstatic
Anyway, an update on my writing life. My absurdist comedy, Of Grandma and the Aliens, is still being considered by two agents, but for all intents and purposes I've considered the project DOA. This saddens me, cos it's my most fave novel I've ever written.
I did another project this year. It was originally called Lonely Lonely, then it became The Tyrant's Son, then it became trashed. Cos it needs a thorough rewrite. Yeah I'll get around to that.
I also just finished a middle-grade novel called Grizzly Kid. It's about a 12-yr-old boy who is supposed to go on an elk hunting trip in Wyoming with his grandfather, until his parents stick his grandfather in a nursing home. I'd like to get around to querying this novel at some point in the near future, but we'll see what my betas have to say.
Also, I'm going to promote a bone-breakingly awesome YA novel right now. It's called Break by Hannah Moskowitz. I'm not sure how many people I'm going to promote it to, seeing as most of the subscribers to my blog already own it. But still, Break. Buy it.
Also, I'm going to be the first to start the buzz for the impending phenomenon known as THE UNIDENTIFIED.
That is all.
But when it comes to querying agents, I'm like the tide: I'll break that shell into sand no matter how long it takes.
Besides... like the tide, I ain't got nothing else to do.
So let's pose some hypothetical scenarios. Let's say you've written an awesome chapter. Or you've gotten positive responses back from beta readers. Maybe you'd just gotten a full request from your dream agent. Better yet, a full request turned into an offer for representation. Maybe your agent just got you a book deal. And holy cowabunga yo, you just got a positive review for your novel from the New York Times. Good stuff, eh?
I've come to realize from my own personal experiences, and from hearing about what's going on with my fellow writers, that writing will get you high--be it from the pure self-satisfaction of creating, or in my honest opinion, the even greater satisfaction that comes from unyielding approval from your peers and critics. It tastes so sweet, that moment when you realize that maybe you actually have something worth saying. That you're actually important.
Well, actually, my greatest satisfaction comes from fantasizing that I won't have to work at my terrible and depressing job the following week. Then I do. Like every week. *sigh* But that's beside the point...
There is no "...and the writer lived happily ever after". Because let's reevaluate all those hypothetical scenarios. One of your betas thinks your "awesome chapter" actually needs some work to better engage the reader. And that full request? Rejected three months later. And that offer for representation? Your agent can't sell your book. What about that book deal? Oh, yeah, poor distribution and a lousy advance. But check out this sweet review from the NY Times baby. It doesn't matter, because in the end, you're too insecure as a writer to ever think that you're good enough.
So we face a duality. A Two-Face, if you will (god I love Batman). On one hand, we as writers think we're the Second Coming, that our words will usher in a new revolution of peace and prosperity to mother earth. On the other hand, we realize a goat could crap out better words than our so-called novel.
It sucks. When you write for the public, you put everything about yourself out there, from your greatest strengths, to your most intimate of vulnerabilities. So it seems only natural to feel exhuberant when things are good, and suicidal when the responses are at their worst.
But that's okay. That's life. That's the economy. That's being an artist. That's everything. You get highs and lows. And I guess the thing that I most want to emphasize is this: when everything seems it's worst, be heartened by knowing that things will get better. And when things are at their golden best, be humbled by the fact that your high will not last forever. They never do.
Holler.
I cranked out my first novel six months later, and at 84,000 words, I had myself an incoherent, self-satisfying pile of wannabe literary drivel. Of course, because I am so awesome, I assumed that my novel was equally so. However, this was before I learned about such basic creative writing errors, things such as "head-hopping", "infodumps", "cliches", and "purple prose". I had forgotten such subtle and elusive things as a "voice", "character development", or "plot". Whatever. Who needs those things when I'm a literary genius? People will get me.
Unfortunately, I was so convinced of this, I let some of my friends and family read this mess. They feigned their smiles, and their approving comments, but whenever I asked any follow-up questions, it became painfully apparent that they never got past page 5.
So, it's been almost three years since I purchased my little laptop, and where am I now? I've written two more novels, and there's a third on the way. I'm still unpublished, still unagented, but at least my writing is readable. That is so clutch--the fact that my latest beta readers can get through an entire novel of mine without a gun being held to their temple, and somewhat enjoy the experience.
I think the most important thing I've learned is to not have any expectations. Just write. Just edit. Just lose your mind. Just rewrite. Just craft a book that is written for the reader, and not for the author. And maybe, when all is said and done, somebody will "get me".
- Music:Iron and Wine
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