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So You Want to Be a Teenage Author? Published Teen Authors Tell It Like It Is

Jun 17, 2013 12 Comments ~ Written by E. Kristin Anderson
So You Want to Be a Teenage Author? Published Teen Authors Tell It Like It Is

Here are some things I repeatedly hear from young writers:

I know if I can get an agent by 20 I’ll get better marketing.
Teen authors are rare! If I’m a teen author, I’ll be fancy!
[Insert known teen author here] did it, I want to be like her/him!
I’ll be way more famous if I publish by [insert age under 25].
I keep telling folks that these dates are arbitrary, that authors publish when they’re ready and that everyone is ready at a different time. That being a teen author is hard (I’m 30, but I have friends who first published as teens) and it comes with a stigma. That being a teen author doesn’t necessarily garner fame. That writing a good book is the most important. But why listen to me? I mean, I’m 30! What do I know.

So, I got this crazy Idea that I’d take to the streets (or the intertubes) and find out what REAL teen authors (and former teen authors) had to say about their experiences. Here you go, y’all. Straight from the horses’ mouths!

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Review: BELOW by Meg McKinlay

Jun 14, 2013 Leave a Comment ~ Written by E. Kristin Anderson
Review: BELOW by Meg McKinlay

Cassie was born on the day her town died. Or rather, the day that her town was purposely flooded and everything was rebuilt around a manmade lake. Everything is supposed to be the same. But Cassie, the youngest of her siblings, feels like she doesn’t belong. She doesn’t remember the old town, but her family does. Her sister and brother have memories from their old house, and she can never, ever be a part of that.

Cassie has always been fascinated by the lake, and, ordered by the doctor to swim regularly to strengthen her lungs, she finds herself there, instead of the pool, doing her laps. At first, it’s just to avoid the crowded pool. But soon, it’s discoveries. The off-limits side of the lake. A friend she didn’t know she had. And — on the edge of the town’s highly anticipated centennial celebration — a mystery that could unravel everything, especially for a few pillars of the community.

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Cover Reveal: THE SOUND OF LETTING GO by Stasia Ward Kehoe

Jun 13, 2013 Leave a Comment ~ Written by E. Kristin Anderson
Cover Reveal: THE SOUND OF LETTING GO by Stasia Ward Kehoe

I’m really excited to be part of the cover reveal for Stasia Ward Kehoe’s new novel in verse, THE SOUND OF LETTING GO. Stasia is a DEAR TEEN ME contributor and an all-around lovely person, and I’m thrilled about her forthcoming book:

About THE SOUND OF LETTING GO: For sixteen years, Daisy has been good. A good daughter, helping out with her autistic younger brother uncomplainingly. A good friend, even when her best friend makes her feel like a third wheel. When her parents announce they’re sending her brother to an institution—without consulting her—Daisy’s furious, and decides the best way to be a good sister is to start being bad. She quits jazz band and orchestra, slacks in school, and falls for bad-boy Dave.

But one person won’t let Daisy forget who she used to be: Irish exchange student and brilliant musician Cal. Does she want the bad boy or the prodigy? Should she side with her parents or protect her brother? How do you know when to hold on and when—and how—to let go?

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Review: HOW MY SUMMER WENT UP IN FLAMES by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

Jun 12, 2013 Leave a Comment ~ Written by E. Kristin Anderson
Review: HOW MY SUMMER WENT UP IN FLAMES by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

This is the sort of refreshing YA contemporary that I live for. A road trip book complete with a scandalous start, HOW MY SUMMER WENT UP IN FLAMES is about how Jersey Girl Rosie completely and totally didn’t mean to blow up her boyfriend Joey’s car, but how she actually did, leading to a temporary restraining order.

It doesn’t seem to matter how many times she explains that it was an accident, how when she saw Joey show up at a party with his new freshman girl — the one he cheated on her with — she felt the urge to light some of the things he gave her on fire. Who wouldn’t, really? But that doesn’t stop her parents from agreeing to sentence her to a road trip with her neighbor and close friend Matty, his pal Spencer, and Spencer’s older brother Logan, the latter of whom is on his way to pre-orientation at Arizona State. It’s for the best, everyone says, to keep Rosie away from her ex and out of trouble.

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Review: THE COLOR OF RAIN by Cori McCarthy

Jun 11, 2013 3 Comments ~ Written by E. Kristin Anderson
Review: THE COLOR OF RAIN by Cori McCarthy

This is a debut novel that is so unexpected and mind-bending that I guarantee you won’t be able to put it down. Part of it, yes, is the shock of it all. Cori McCarthy’s THE COLOR OF RAIN is about prostitution. In space.

I think it’s actually more apt to think of this as a human trafficking book, though. Rain, the protagonist, is a fiery redhead — and one of the last. Johnny, Captain of a ship that runs the Void between Earth City and the outer planets, is fascinated by her — he’s never seen a real redhead before and has always wanted one. The fact is, Johnny isn’t all that he appears, and while Rain has already reached a point of desperation to saver her sick brother, she truly has no idea what she is in for when she agrees to whatever Johnny wants in return for passage on his ship — and her brother’s possible salvation.

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Cover Art: Myths Debunked and Stories Revealed…with some help from authors & industry pros!

Jun 03, 2013 9 Comments ~ Written by E. Kristin Anderson
Cover Art: Myths Debunked and Stories Revealed…with some help from authors & industry pros!

Here are a few things I get asked a lot:

So, how did you make your cover?
Do you get to pick your cover?
Why don’t authors get to make their own cover?
But I already have an idea for my cover, why should I change for the publisher?
But I’ve already designed my cover, isn’t that a good thing?
And a lot of the time I explain that, no, the author doesn’t have a lot of control, and that while I got really lucky working with Zest (they asked Miranda and I for a lot of input while we worked on the cover), many authors I know don’t have any say at all. Most authors might get to give feedback, or give suggestions, but it’s ultimately up to the publisher what goes on the cover of your book.

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Posted in agents, books, community, grown-up books, literature, poetry, pop culture, publishing, reading, writing, YA - Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Review: DEAD RIVER by Cyn Balog

May 31, 2013 1 Comment ~ Written by E. Kristin Anderson
Review: DEAD RIVER by Cyn Balog

What’s not to love about a good, old-fashioned ghost story? DEAD RIVER by Cyn Balog is certainly spooky, with a protagonist seeing ghosts (and not sure if she might be crazy). But there’s a lot more to DEAD RIVER than meets the eye.

On prom weekend, Kiandra, her best friend, and their two dates are going camping instead. If Ki had her way, she’d have a pink dress and a corsage and that magical dance, but she loves her long-time boyfriend and he loves white water rafting. Her dad has always kept her away from the water, ever since her mom died and left them behind. And Ki is starting to wonder if there’s a good reason for it. For one thing, the Dead River gives her the creeps. And then there’s the fact that her encounters with spirits are getting more and more intense.

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Review: THEN YOU WERE GONE by Lauren Strasnick

May 30, 2013 1 Comment ~ Written by E. Kristin Anderson
Review: THEN YOU WERE GONE by Lauren Strasnick

I love friendship stories, especially stories of friendship interrupted. THEN YOU WERE GONE is a fast-paced mystery, thick with emotion, in which Lauren Strasnick has woven a heart-breaking tale of friendship gone wrong.

Dakota is everything every girl wanted — beautiful, talented, even almost famous. She also used to be Adrienne’s best friend. Now they haven’t spoken in two years, except for a voice mail that Dakota left on Adrienne’s phone the night before she disappears. Suddenly obsessed with finding out the truth about Dakota, Adrienne begins falling down a rabbit hole of skipping school, smoking cigarettes, and immersing herself in her ex-best-friend’s life.

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Review: THE LOOP by Shandy Lawson

May 29, 2013 1 Comment ~ Written by E. Kristin Anderson
Review: THE LOOP by Shandy Lawson

Mmmmm….an action story! I think YA could use more of these funny, flirty action books. I know Joe Schrieber filled that niche well with AU REVOIR, CRAZY EUROPEAN CHICK. And now we’ve got THE LOOP, a debut novel from Shandy Lawson, which I’ve come to think of as NICK AND NORAH’S INFINITE PLAYLIST meets Groundhog Day with more violence and less kissing.

Yep, it’s that good.

THE LOOP is a true page-turner. The kind of book that, even though I was completely exhausted, I had to keep reading, one eye open, just to see what was going to happen. And, wow, did a lot of things happen.

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Review: ABSENT by Katie Williams

May 28, 2013 Leave a Comment ~ Written by E. Kristin Anderson
Review: ABSENT by Katie Williams

If the afterlife were high school, I think we’d all feel doomed.

In ABSENT by Katie Williams, three teens are stuck in the halls of their high school, where they died. And they’re apparently stuck forever.

Worse, they can hear every single word the people around them are saying. And in the case of Paige, the rumors are killing her. At least, they would be, if they weren’t already dead. In one of the grief counselling meetings, someone says that Paige actually killed herself. And it’s so not true — she fell off the roof. She didn’t jump. And when her best friend not only doesn’t stick up for her but later refuses the opportunity to paint a commemorative mural, Paige knows she has to set things straight.

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EKA

E. Kristin Anderson grew up in Westbrook, Maine and is a graduate of Connecticut College. She has a fancy diploma that says “B.A. in Classics,” which makes her sound smart but has not helped her get any jobs in Ancient Rome. Ms. Anderson is the co-editor of Dear Teen Me, an anthology based on the popular website. Her poetry has been published worldwide in many magazines and she is an assistant YA and Children’s editor at Hunger Mountain. Once upon a time she worked at The New Yorker. Look out for Ms. Anderson's work in the forthcoming anthology Coin Opera II, a collection of poems about video games from Sidekick Books and Futuredaze, an anthology of YA SciFi from Underwords. She now lives in Austin, TX and blogs at EKristinAnderson.com and MetreMaids.com. She is represented by Christina Hogrebe at the Jane Rotrosen Agency.

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