Editing Agents

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I did a ton of research before querying agents and learned something interesting. There are, apparently, two types of agents: ones who offer editorial suggestions/revisions and ones who don’t. What I wanted most was for my MS to be good, so I decided to only query agents who mentioned that they would work with me to perfect my MS, and offer editorial suggestions prior to submission.

Let’s just say that it was the best decision I could ever make.

My agent is amazing. After agreeing to work with her, within a week she sent me a document that basically outlined a few areas I could beef up and/or improve. I loved reading her advice, and loved applying it to TNWSY. Because everything she suggested was spot on. They made my book so much better, deeper, more complex. It’s like she opened up my idea and fluffed it up a bit.

Now i’m onto line edits and while opening my track changed document was a bit jarring at first (what? so much is bad?) I saw quickly that her changes were all for the better, and, honestly, there weren’t that many big ones. (It’s like seeing the red pen on an essay. You just assume everything written is bad, and don’t look for the compliments buried within.) She had grammatical suggestions, places to emphasize, places to stretch out. And as I accepted the changes, I saw how it all worked really well. And how she’s totally right about nearly everything. And I know it’s not required to accept every suggestion, every edit an agent offers, but I actually love everything she’s done. Truly.

So! My advice is this – when looking for agents, decide which kind you want to work with. If you’d rather just go straight to submissions, that’s fine! But if you’d rather get down to the nitty gritty and uncover diamonds in the rough, perhaps go with an editing agent. I adore mine, and I hope you’ll like yours, too.

UCF Book Festival

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I went to the UCF Book Festival today, and had the best, most unbelievable time ever. I believe the experience can best be described by pictures.

The first event we went to was a YA author chat with (in order of above photo) Ellen Hopkins (!!!), Ty Roth, Allan Wolf and Jessica Martinez. In the end, I spoke with Martinez and Roth one-on-one. They asked if I wrote, and when I mentioned I just secured an agent, they literally cheered for me. We got to discuss the intricacies of the next stage, and they never made me feel like a fan, but more so someone in the same industry as them. Which was amazing. They are the nicest people ever, and if I could singlehandedly get the world to buy their books, I would.

We then saw a contemporary voices panel with Lauren Groff, Darlin’ Neal, and Michael Griffith. Here’s the thing – Groff’s first novel, Monsters of Templeton, is one of my all-time favorite books. So seeing her was like a dream come true. After, we went to her signing. Because I’m the biggest dork ever, I showed her the family tree I made while reading MoT (which thankfully she liked and didn’t consider me crazy) and then she, too, asked if I wrote. When I told her about my agent, she hugged me and my life suddenly felt complete. Biggest geek-out ever.

The last panel was another YA chat (with the same authors as above), where they discussed the importance of YA literature, and how it gets teens to read. And how books can help people. And how books create new, safe, exciting, worlds. I nodded along the entire time, and had to stop myself from screaming AMEN. Because these authors? They’re so inspirational.

The crazy thing is that if my book is published, I may be in their company one day. I may even be at this festival. Which is all so insane to even consider.

During the first chat,  Wolf explained that he wrote his book, The Watch that Ends the Night, because he liked the idea that different people get different stories from the same event. I’m sure many stories came from today’s book festival. Some may have enjoyed the other panels more. Some may have wished there was more. But me? I had the best day ever.

Oh, we also saw some mini ponies.

Road Trip Wednesday – Best Book of March

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Today’s prompt from YA Highway is: “What was the best book you read in March?”

This was actually kind of easy. I only read three books this month, so I didn’t have much to choose from, but my favorite was hands down Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver, the second book in her Delirium trilogy.

I reviewed Delirium previous here, and as you can see, I really enjoyed it. So of course I was thrilled for the sequel to come out. With the popularity of Hunger Games right now, I’ve been recommending my friends to this series next, over the other YA dystopias out there. Why? I find this one so incredibly haunting and real. And Oliver is one of the best writers out there. (If you don’t like dystopian novels, check out her first novel, Before I Fall.)

I won’t write much about it because it only gives away the first book (which you should read), but just know it’s just as action packed as the first (if not more), and Lena, the main character, is so compelling and strong, it’s crazy. She’s a great heroine, and I can’t see what happens to her next. But what I found most relevant about it is that, especially right now with a conservative fight going on politically, I can almost see the country going “yes, i agree, we should get rid of love! It’s a disease!” Crazy, right?

Anyway, that’s the best book I read in March.

Easter Eggs

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I love inside jokes. The little things that mean so much to just a handful of people, and nothing at all to others. Small mentions or glances that can tell a whole story. It makes you feel in on something, makes you feel part of it.

I suppose that’s why I love when authors make references to previous works in their novels. Paige Toon is fantastic at it. In each of her books, she’ll have one of her previous characters show up. It’s never an important role, and it doesn’t mean anything if you haven’t read her other books, but for those who know, it’s phenomenal. Sometimes it’s just a mention (for instance, in one book, the main character picks up a poster of a rock star. Simple enough, right? But if you know, the rock star was the main character from an earlier novel.) and sometimes they’ll actually show up and answer a question lingering from a previous book (one book ends with the question of who’s the father. The question is actually answered one book later when the mom and child walk down the street. Merely pass by, but there’s one sentence that details the child’s eye color and that makes all the difference.).

(That was the longest, most run-on sentence in the history of sentences, wasn’t it?)

Sarah Dessen does it really well, too. Instead of just mentioning a character, though, she creates a whole world. The same shops and restaurants are visited. Characters pass through, unremarkable unless you know. I love it so much. Vikas Swarup did it too, bringing his two main characters of Q&A (the book Slumdog Millionaire was based on) into his second novel, Six Suspects.

I guess, much like inside jokes, I enjoy these Easter eggs because they make me feel in with the book. Like I’m sharing a joke with the author and becoming more connected to their world. Perhaps i’m the only one who feels that way, but every time I see another reference, it’s like a wink in my directions, a thank you for sticking around.

So i’ve decided to do that, too. In a very minor way I’m making a small mention of a main character from TNWSY in Book2. If you get it, awesome. If not, it doesn’t matter. But man, writing that scene? It was so much fun. It was like bringing my character into a new world, and seeing how he’d do. And I loved it. And I hope others do, too.

As a reader, do you like when authors do it? What are some other examples? (And as a writer, have you ever thought of doing it?)

Contest Winner & Dinosaurs

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The contest winner is…

Hannah! E-mail me your address and I’ll ship out your Dessen book right away. Thanks for everyone who entered! We just got a few awesome donations in at the library, so expect another one of these soon.

As for the dinosaur answers, I loved them all. My favorite has always been the brachiosaurus. I mean, he’s just so cool with his big neck and all. For my 23rd birthday, S brought me to Dinosaur World, a large road-side attraction with tons of, well, dinosaurs.

It was as glorious and silly as  you could imagine.

My new friend T-Rexy and I.

So it was only natural for us to have dinosaurs at our wedding, too.

Photo by Katie White

If there were ever a way to my heart, it’s clearly through extinct animals.