The Changing Face of YA Literature

Last weekend I was so excited to see my good writer buddy, Lisa Gail Green--author of Soul Crossed, participate in an author panel at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena. That bookstore is such a blast! I could've spent the whole day in there.

Anyway, the topic of Lisa's panel was "The Changing Face of YA Literature." Other authors on the panel were Francesca Lia Block, Lissa Price, and Nicole Maggi. It was moderated by Erika Jelinek.

I took a few notes during the discussion. The authors gave really good answers to timely topics. Here's a short summary:

Research shows that about 50% of YA books are read by adults. The authors were asked, "Does this change the way you write?"

Lisa Gail Green--No, it doesn't change the way she writes (thank goodness!). She tells the story that needs to be told. YA writers can be fearless with their choices of topics.

The authors were asked why they think older readers like to read YA books?

Nicole Maggi--Voice. YA books are often about misunderstood teens. These stories take adult readers back to that tumultuous time. It reminds us of what it was like escape into our favorite books.

How do these authors tap in to an authentic teen voice?

Lisa Gail Green--she uses her acting background to insert herself into the role of her characters. She tackles the types of problems real teens face--problems that seem bigger than life, with high drama and strong emotions.

What makes YA books so appealing?

Nicole Maggi--many teens want to be normal, but wouldn't it be cool if they were called to be a super hero? Most people wish they were extraordinary in real life. But if we were called to do that, would we? YA books explore the possibilities.

Diversity in YA books...

Lissa Price--she pointed out that it would be great if the characters' faces in YA books better reflected the faces in the classroom.

(Leslie Rose, Lisa Gail Green, and yours truly)

There was so much great information packed in the short amount of time, and I only scratched the surface. Be sure to click on the author links above. They had some amazing books on display.

What do you think of this topic? What's your opinion on the changing face of YA literature? Or literature and publishing in general?

Perseverance and Conquering Fears: Lisa Gail Green's Journey to Publication

Guys, today I'm totally excited to have Lisa Gail Green here! She's one of my closest writing buddies and beta readers, and I'm so proud to announce the release of her YA novel, Soul Crossed. I've read Soul Crossed. It's amazing, and creepy, and thrilling. Check out this summary...

Josh lived a reckless, selfish life, so upon his death, escaping the eternal torments of Hell by assuming the role of a powerful, soul-corrupting demon is an easy choice. His first soul assignment doesn't seem too hard: the mortal Camden is already obsessed with weapons, pain, and torture. If only Josh wasn't distracted by Cam's beautiful friend, Grace.

Grace never expected to die violently at age sixteen, but now she's an Angel, responsible for saving a soul. She can already see past Camden's earthly flaws, so the job should be easy. If only that handsome, playboy Josh would stop getting in the way.

It's forbidden for an Angel to be with a Demon, so if Josh and Grace stop resisting each other, the results would be disastrous.

So, how did Lisa go from Super Mom to Super Mom plus published author? Let's find out!

Julie: Your YA novel “Soul Crossed” releases today (yay!). Can you tell us a bit about how you came up with the story idea? How much has it changed throughout revisions?

Lisa: Squeeeeeeee! Sorry had to get that out first. *ahem* The story started because I wanted a forbidden romance, so I thought, ‘what is the worst situation I can put my characters in?’ You can’t get much worse than an Angel and a Demon falling in love. Those are the kind of problems that I think make a good books. The rest kind of fell into place from there. In fact, one of my characters (I’m looking at you, Josh) did something I wasn’t expecting, which kind of saved the rest of the book for me plot wise. I love it when that happens!

Julie: You’ve persevered through a change in literary agents, and your publishing journey has definitely been a long and winding road. Can you give us a brief summary of your path?

Lisa: Hahaha! Yes, like many other authors I know I have changed agents. However, my current agent, Melissa Nasson works with my previous agent, Rubin Pfeffer! I have nothing against Rubin - he’s an awesome guy. We just didn’t make the best match for several reasons, things like my need/desire for an editorial agent and the type of books I write. I can say that it’s been quite the emotional roller coaster since I started though! And it continues to be. :D But now I embrace that. I love that you never know what’s coming and take delight in all the “small” accomplishments along the way, whether a kind tweet from someone or a nice review. I love seeing that my work made readers feel. That’s what it’s all about in the end, right?

But you wanted a summary of my path so here goes: Start writing with no clue, made the usual mistakes like querying before I was ready, joined SCBWI and learned as much as humanly possible about the industry, read, met great people like Julie Musil, read more, got an offer from Rubin and hit the ceiling/walked on air for several days straight (maybe weeks), started blogging and Twitter, met more awesome people, read more, went on submission, started getting rejections, got close, got more rejections, read, separated from agent, read, had a baby (#3 much younger than my others), was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and almost quit and — got a good doctor, got an offer from Melissa and THE OFFER from Samantha at FFF!!! Whew. Does that sum it up??

Julie: Soul Crossed was published by Full Fathom Five Digital. Can you tell us a bit about your experience with a digital only publisher?

Lisa: They’ve been AMAZING. I can’t stress enough how happy I am. They’ve made me one of their lead titles and have not skimped on the marketing, which any published author can tell you is beyond incredible. It’s all been electronic, but pretty much the same process as with any other publisher. I did edits with my awesome editor, then line edits, then copy edits with the copy editor, looked over the ARC, etc. I also love the particular way they handle the relationship contractually, but I won’t go into all that here. AND here’s the kicker — with FFF, since they have many arms, there are possibilities for more and in fact, we are doing a print version as well. I just don’t know the date of release yet. OH and one really cool thing with the digital publisher? They move so much faster than traditional ones. My sequel is due out July 1st!

Julie: What writing advice has resonated with you the most, and why?

Lisa: It has always been and continues to be: Write what scares you, which I first heard from my hero, Libba Bray. It hit me like an anvil. I had to keep improving and moving forward and the best way to do that, to challenge yourself and keep it fresh, is to go where you’re uncomfortable going. You can always revise later.

Julie: If there’s an author out there who’s doubting their writing abilities and is ready to throw in the towel, what “flick to the forehead” advice would you give them?

Lisa: Don’t do it!! If you quit, it is 100% certain it will never happen. If you keep trying, there’s always that chance. Also, that chance improves exponentially the more you improve your craft and continue writing. Look at me! I was about to finally give in, despite my habit of always encouraging others to never do that same and then IT happened. :D

Cool, right? Lisa, thanks so much for sharing your experience. We wish you the very best with your new series!

Friends, has your writing journey been a long and winding road? What's the best piece of writing advice you've ever received? Please share!

Lisa Gail Green lives with her husband the rocket scientist and their three junior mad scientists in Southern California. She writes books so she can have an excuse to live in the fantasy world in her head. She likes to share these with readers so she's represented by the lovely Melissa Nasson of Rubin Pfeffer Content. She has a parrot but would most definitely get a werewolf for a pet if she weren't allergic.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Interview with Author Lisa Gail Green

Lisa Gail Green's debut novel, The Binding Stone, released last week. I'm especially excited about this book, because Lisa is my good friend and writing buddy. I read an early draft of this book, and it was amazing then. But last week I downloaded the published version and wow, it's like reading it for the first time. Right now it's only $.99 so clicky clicky and get your copy!

Don't believe me? This is what Lisa Desrochers, author of Personal Demons, said about The Binding Stone: "Genies like you've never seen them, THE BINDING STONE is a wild ride of treachery and deception. For my first wish, I'd like a sequel, please."

Here's a quick blurb:

Tricked into slavery by the man she loved, the Djinni Leela has an eternity to regret her choices.

Awakened in the prison of her adolescent body, she finds a new master in possession of the opal that binds her. But seventeen-year-old Jered is unlike any she's seen. His kindness makes Leela yearn to trust again, to allow herself a glimmer of hope.

Could Jered be strong enough to free her from the curse of the Binding Stone?

Lisa Green was my first connection through SCBWI, and I'm so thankful we're on this journey together. Today, she opens up about her path to publication.

1. From idea to final product, how did The Binding Stone come to be?

That's about a three-year process! LOL. The idea was born because I had a demon (character!) that wanted to be written, but it had been done. So I started researching monsters on monstropedia that might be similar and that's where I came up with the DJINN. The idea fascinated me and my imagination went wild. 

2. Can you give us a brief summary of your writing process? Plotter? Pantser? Somewhere in between?

I've always been a pantser. I love the excitement of not knowing what happens next until the character does it! But practicality has forced me to do a bit of plotting as I've grown as a writer. I tend to fill out a Blake Snyder Beat Sheet as a short outline. I also like to pre-write a summary (like a query letter) and a pitch. Even if that changes, it helps to have as a reference. 

3. The Binding Stone is published by Fuzzbom Publishing. Can you tell us a bit about your experience with a small publisher?

It's been AMAZING! They are so invested in my book. I get all the privileges of having a publisher like editing, copy editing, and assistance with marketing and layout. But I also got final say on so much and certainly input on everything.

4. Can you offer us any advice about book promotion? What's working for you and what isn't?

I'm just learning myself! But I'm happy to share. I do know from our experience with the Journeys of Wonder anthologies that the key is word of mouth. What you want is to reach your intended audience, but that's hard to do with all the books out there (which is wonderful really). So you work hard to get that first tier of people to read it and hope it's good enough to get them to recommend it to others! The more reviews you can get on Goodreads and Amazon the better. The more people you reach at once, the higher your ranking and visibility. So if you read it, please put up reviews and recommend it if you like it!

5. Is there any writing or publishing advice you'd like to share with us?

Ha! I always feel weird giving advice to others, because we're all in the same boat really. The thing I always say is PERSEVERANCE IS KEY. If you don't try it can't happen. So keep learning, keep reading, and keep writing. Never stop if it's what you love. At least you're blessed enough to be doing something you love.

Perfect writing advice. I couldn't agree more!

If you're published, how did you connect with your publisher? How did you market your book?

If you're pre-published, do you sometimes struggle with perseverance? Please share!

"I dream of Lisa Gail Green! The Binding Stone is magical in so many ways. My Djinn asks for my third wish? The sequel, of course!" -- NYT Bestselling Author Nancy Holder