Katie McGarry is Pushing the Limits (Dare You To!)

Today's interview features Katie McGarry, author of PUSHING THE LIMITS (Harlequin Teen, July 31, 2012) and DARE YOU TO (coming in 2013). Learn more about Katie's writing on her website, or visit one of the two blogs to which she contributes: Ya Fusion and The Apocolypsies.

Q: Tell us a little bit about your path to publishing... when you started writing, how you found your agent/editor, etc.

A: Writing has always been a passion of mine, but I didn't start pursuing it until a few years ago. I'm a stay at home mom of three active children (twins and a younger child). When my youngest child began sleeping through the night, I began writing.

After I finished my first manuscript, I was interested in finding out what I needed to do to become published. I joined my local Romance Writers of America chapter and realized I had a lot to learn when they asked me what genre I wrote and the only response I could give was, "I write books."

To help me, they then asked where I would consider my book to be shelved at a bookstore and the light bulb flashed on when I answered, "The Young Adult section." My RWA chapter mates taught me how to seek an agent, write query letters, and about entering writing contests. I floated my first manuscript into a contest and discovered that while there were some aspects of my story that were good, there was a lot I needed to work on.

I focused on reading craft books and taking on-line classes offered by other RWA chapters. I learned a lot and decided to start a new project. This project turned into PUSHING THE LIMITS. I began querying agents in the spring of 2010 and landed my agent, Kevan Lyon, the following fall from a slush pile query. After reading the query, she requested a partial, then eventually the full. Shortly after I accepted her offer of representation, Kevan submitted my manuscript to several publishing houses. Within a few weeks, my manuscript went to auction and was acquired by Margo Lipschultz at Harlequin Teen.

Q: Your debut, PUSHING THE LIMITS, just hit bookshelves. What has the experience been like... preparing for the release, any promotional activities, seeing your book on shelves and reviews coming out?

Katie McGarry

A: Exciting! Terrifying. Exhausting. Busy.  And a whole slew of other emotions thrown in for kicks.

Over the past few weeks leading up to launch, I've been quite busy filling out blog interviews or guest posts. My motto has been to say "yes" to whatever promotional idea has come my way. I'm treating this as a once in a lifetime opportunity. I'm so blessed to have a book being published and I want to look back and know I took advantage of every opportunity placed in my path.

As for seeing my book on shelves…it's been a surreal experience. The first time I saw PUSHING THE LIMITS on the shelf was by accident. A bookstore had shelved it early and I was chasing one of my kiddos through the store and the book caught my attention. I stood there like a deer caught in headlights. I just couldn't believe that my book was on a shelf…in a bookstore!

Q: You write contemporary love stories. I'm curious to know what you most like to read. Do you have other favorite authors in this YA romance genre?

A: I'm a huge fan of Simone Elkeles and Jennifer Echols. They are brilliant writers. Stephen King and S.E. Hinton have been favorites of mine since high school.

Q: Tell us about DARE YOU TO, your next novel scheduled for publication sometime in 2013. Where are you in the publishing process with that book?

A: DARE YOU TO follows the story of Beth, a secondary character from PUSHING THE LIMITS. Beth is one of Noah's (my hero from Pushing the Limits) best friends.

My editor and I are currently in the revision stage of this book. We're fleshing out some of the big picture issues in the novel, then we'll tackle smaller things. I have to mention that it is an unbelievable honor to work with Margo. She is brilliant, funny, friendly, and easy to talk to.

Q: You contribute to two blogs, YA Fusion and The Apocolypsies. Tell us how you got involved, how often you write for these blogs, and if you've found them to be effective promotional tools.

A: I founded YA Fusion a few months after I accepted the offer from Harlequin Teen. I belong to a critique group and one night I asked if they were interested in forming a group blog and they jumped on board. We've extended out from our original group and we're thrilled with how the blog has grown. I post once every thirteen weeks for YA Fusion.

Someone, and I wish I could remember who, told me about the Apocalypsies. We are a group of debut YA, middle grade, and children's book writers. After the suggestion, I found their website, sent an e-mail to the group explaining that I was also a 2012 debut, and they soon welcomed me to their family. I've posted twice on this blog.

YA Fusion has been helpful in teaching me how to craft entertaining blog posts and it has been a blast collaborating with my fellow bloggers.

As for the Apocalypsies…oh my, they have been fantastic! We are extremely supportive of one another, whether we are helping each other by tweeting about a new book cover or by offering each other encouragement.

Q: Final question: What are you working on now/next?

A: I'm currently focused on promotion for Pushing the Limits and will soon be directing my attention back to revisions for DARE YOU TO.

Thank you, Katie! 

HELLO GORGEOUS! author Taylor Morris talks tweens, 12-steps, ghostwriting & more

Please welcome today's featured author, Taylor Morris! Her books for teens and tweens include CLASS FAVORITE, TOTAL KNOCKOUT: TALE OF AN EX-CLASS PRESIDENT, BFF BREAKUP (all published by Simon & Schuster M!X) and the HELLO, GORGEOUS! series (Penguin's Grosset & Dunlap). Taylor has worked as an editor for a teen magazine, writer of the non-fiction book ORIGINAL DIVAS for Girls Press, and as a YA book reviewer (three books a month for five years!) for Romantic Times Book Club. She's also written short stories for Girls' Life magazine. 

Learn more about Taylor and her work at www.taylormorris.com.

Q: I've read the very fun bio on your website, but for those who have not… can you tell us a little bit about your path to publishing?

A: The best thing I did to get my writing started was to take a novel writing workshop. I did the 12-week intensive course through Media Bistro—this was actually before they had a YA or children's series, too. My poor classmates! I'm so glad I got that early feedback and help with structure and plot because I really had no idea what I was doing or even what I was writing about.

Through the 12-week course I wrote a little over 100 pages, then took maybe a year to finish writing it as well as have good friends read it for feedback (including one of my new friends from Media Bistro). And let me tell you, it was a mess. Thank goodness for that feedback.

As for getting an agent—I literally bought a book of children's book agents. I wish I could remember what it was called. I also went through novels I liked by authors I admired who thought I might be compared with and read the acknowledgements to see who their agents were (an old trick). Then I simply looked up the agent's query guidelines—and I followed them to a T. After sending out a few queries (and being rejected), one named Steven Chudney bit! He suggested lowering the age of my characters from 15 and 16 to 13, changing from high school to junior high. I took his advice and eventually sold to a two-book deal. That book I worked on in the Media Bistro class became my first novel, CLASS FAVORITE.

Q: The main character of your HELLO GORGEOUS! series is 13 years old, and you note that you write for tweens. Are your books considered Young Adult or Middle Grade? How would you describe your typical reader?

Taylor Morris

A: My books are definitely considered tween. I think within tween there are different levels and ages of readers. Hello, Gorgeous readers might be a bit younger than my BFF BREAKUP readers, for example, but it's all under the tween umbrella.

As for my typical reader? I'm not sure but from the readers I've met and heard from online I think they're a bit like me—slightly shy girls who like makeup and such but also don't mind getting their knees dirty. Girlie girls with a slight tomboy edge.

 Q: HELLO GORGEOUS! is described as an "ongoing series." How many more books are planned? Can you tell us a little bit about the process of writing a series like this?

A: The series will land on five books total. The fifth book, "Do's and Don'ts," came out in May. I signed on for a four-book series and although there was talk about having six total, the publisher has settled on five.

The process of writing a series like this? Well, if you have a full-time job like I did through most of the writing, it is insane. The pace is relentless. Theoretically I'd have three months to write the first draft; while my editor edited it, I'd start conceptualizing and outlining the next. Then, she gives me her edits while I give her my outline for the next one.

It rarely went this smoothly and there were many times I was working on two books at once. And with my full-time job—it was exhausting and I wrote the five books over a year and a half or so. I often worked for an hour or so before work, getting up at 5:30 or 6, then another hour when I got home. Weekend days were always for writing. I'm not saying I gave up all of my Saturdays or Sundays but it was rare that I didn't work six to seven days a week.

Now, though, my life is a very different. My husband recently joined the Army—he's a music conductor—and we left New York City in November and are now living in Virginia. All along I'd been saving most of my book money so now I'm able to write full-time, especially with my husband's steady job and our low-cost of living. I also recently got a ghost writing job (more on that below), so it's all working out nicely for us so far.

Another important thing I should mention is how I got the Hello, Gorgeous series. This was a good-old fashioned case of connections. One of my writing instructors at Media Bistro (I took two more courses after that first one) knew Penguin (the publisher) had been looking for a writer for a series about a girl who works at her mom's hair salon. She put the editor in touch with me and I wrote a sample for them about how I thought the characters would be and how the story would go and—they chose me! So I guess I can say I've gotten published by not knowing a soul in publishing (Class Favorite) and later by having a connection (Hello, Gorgeous).

Q: Can you tell us about the promotional support your books receive from your publisher, and if/how you supplement with your own efforts?

A: I think my answer is the same as others on this loop have talked about. Not a ton of publisher support in terms of marketing (but lots of excellent editorial support). I'm terrible at self-promotion (aside from posting pics of my books on Facebook as they come out) and I think most authors feel this way.

Also, because I'm not a huge author with name recognition, there's a level of humiliation to anything I try to do. I've been turned down too many times by schools, libraries and festivals that there's really only so much a girl can take. I do giveaways on Goodreads and I promote on Facebook. The good thing about Facebook is a lot of my friends from high school now have kids who are my readers' age, so I've definitely sold books and gained fans that way. I suspect that, in big publishing houses, you have to be a part of the 1%—meaning, the best sellers and award winners—to get that great promotion we all dream about.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: I'm currently ghost writing a series for my publisher. I wish I could say what celebrity I'm ghosting for but it's a secret! After my HG series ended my publisher was looking for someone to work with this person on a tween series and asked me, along with several other authors, to create samples from the concept they had—similar to what I did for Hello, Gorgeous but more involved. The editors and celebrity liked my sample and one other. From there I had a phone interview with the celeb and editors to see how all our chemistry worked and then…well, I was shocked when I was chosen. I won't get any name recognition (maybe a bit in the acknowledgments) but it's great work for someone who just went to full-time writing. The money is decent and having a contract certainly gives me a sense of purpose as I stay home each day when my husband marches off to work. Also, the series (four books) is a lot of fun to work on.

(Ask me any questions about ghosting. I knew nothing about it before this began in February so I'm happy to answer any questions I can.)

I'm also working on a YA book that I started before Hello, Gorgeous but had to put aside because of the grueling schedule. I've also started coming up with new tween ideas and running them by my agent.


Thanks so much, Taylor. 

Jen Nielsen tackles princes, pixies, goblins and... in her spare time, the 6th Infinity Ring book

Jennifer Nielsen

Today's Q&A features Jen Nielsen. She is the author of The Ascendance trilogy, beginning with THE FALSE PRINCE (Scholastic Press, April 1, 2012) and The Underworld Chronicles (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky), including ELLIOT AND THE GOBLIN WAR (Oct. 2010), ELLIOT AND THE PIXIE PLOT (Aug. 2011) and ELLIOT AND THE LAST UNDERWORLD WAR (April 1, 2012). She will write the sixth book of Scholastic's Infinity Ring series (other authors writing for the series include James Dashner, Carrie Ryan, Lisa McMann, Matt de la Pena and Matthew Kirby… Jen's book will be published in Dec. 2013). 

To learn more about Jen's work, visit her website: www.jennielsen.com.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit about your path to publishing?

A: The Teen Lit Authors forum is actually central to my path to publishing. I had been writing on and off for nearly ten years, between full time mommying and part time employment. Then a few years ago I submitted a manuscript to an agent who really liked it but asked for a pretty significant rewrite. So I posted a question to this list asking if anyone else had been in this situation. Several members here gave me excellent advice (pausing here to send out hugs for that), but even more exciting was that a newer agent was quietly lurking on the list, Ammi-Joan Paquette of the Erin Murphy Agency. She emailed to say that the project I had described sounded very interesting to her and if things didn't work out with the agent I was querying, that she'd love to see the manuscript. Well, things didn't work out with him, but by then I had researched Joan and already knew of her agency. I couldn't get pages to her quickly enough, and when she called to offer representation, it was a very happy day.

Q: I'm curious about the process involved in publishing a trilogy, the timing and juggling of it all. Could you tell us about your experience with your first trilogy, THE UNDERWORLD CHRONICLES?

A: I actually enjoy working with series books. I tend to think in bigger story concepts and so I love the freedom that comes with knowing I can explore a character's arc in a wider format. But you're right; there is a lot more juggling involved.

For example, there were a few weeks last summer when I was finishing up writing the final UNDERWORLD book, working on copyedits for THE FALSE PRINCE as a new series with Scholastic, and writing the second book in THE FALSE PRINCE trilogy. It was um, a little crazy.

Q: The first book in your new trilogy just came out, and is receiving kudos from readers, book bloggers and reviewers, including Kirkus and Publisher's Weekly. How important are those reviews as a part of a successful promotional effort?

A: The response so far to THE FALSE PRINCE has really been wonderful and exciting. Not only the places you mentioned, but also very kind reviews in places like the LA Times and Hollywood Reporter. Scholastic did a wonderful job early on by sending out bound manuscripts signed by their entire sales team to targeted booksellers to get them excited for the release, and I can definitely see the results of those efforts now.

Book marketing can be very competitive, and the reality is that there are many great books that somehow pass under the radar. But I really believe that authors ought to consider the Serenity Prayer whenever we work on self-promotion. We need to accept the things we cannot change (Whether a book gets a "big" mention, or a starred review, or some celebrity has their picture taken with our book in their hand), and gather courage to work on the things where we can have an impact. Above all else, I believe this means always working on our writing to deliver the best possible book.

Q: You posted covers of some of the foreign editions of THE FALSE PRINCE on your blog. Gorgeous! What's it like to see your words in print in other languages? And what have you learned about the process of publishing internationally… what's involved?

A: I love the foreign covers that I've seen so far, and there are a few more covers yet to be revealed. I can't wait to get copies of them all because I'd love to find a way to display them. The idea of having my words move to an international audience is incredibly exciting. Already, I'll see a blog or Goodreads post in another language and wonder what they're saying about the book. At times I've tried plugging it into a translator, but I can't always figure out the language, and even when I can, it doesn't always do a great job.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: I have three projects ahead of me right now. The first is to continue writing the rest of the FALSE PRINCE trilogy. The second is working on a proposal for another series for down the road. And finally, I'll be one of six authors writing for Scholastic's new multi-platform series INFINITY RING, a middle grade time travel adventure. I'll be writing book six and am buried now in research for that project.

Thank you for the interview Sharon!

And thank YOU, Jen. Keep us posted on THE INFINITY RING and perhaps you can visit the blog again when it comes out!

Cheryl Rainfield taps painful memories to write novels that speak to troubled teens

Today we are featuring the amazing Cheryl Rainfield. Cheryl is the author of SCARS (WestSide Books, March 2010), HUNTED (WestSide Books, Dec. 18, 2011; F&W Canada, Feb. 2012), and the upcoming STAINED (Harcourt, 2013). Visit Cheryl's website to learn more about her work.

Q: Cheryl, you have been very open about your own terrible experiences as a teen victim of incest and ritual abuse, and how you turned to self-harm as a coping mechanism. Can you tell us a little bit about the experience of writing SCARS and putting something out there that was so personal to you (including the cover image of your own arm)? 

A: Writing SCARS was painful at times, because for much of the first years that I was writing and rewriting it, I was living the pain I was writing about. I felt like I was pouring my pain onto the page. It didn't feel like a relief or a release at the time, though I think it would have been much worse if I hadn't had that outlet. I also found it painful and hard to receive rejections for so long--10 years--when I so desperately wanted to be published. I was okay with the rejections the first few years, because I knew it can take time to get traditionally published, but when it got to be eight years of rejections, then nine, then ten, I was feeling pretty despairing and hopeless.

But when I got the offer to publish SCARS (from two different publishers at once) it felt so good to me! And then the reader letters started pouring in, and that also felt so good. It was one of the most healing experiences of my life to have SCARS published and have it reach people, resonate with them. For me, it disproved some of the lies that my abuser parents had repeatedly told me--that I would never succeed at anything I cared about, and that if I spoke out no one would listen to me or believe me.  It wasn't hard for me to publicly share about being an incest and ritual abuse survivor or using self-harm to cope because I've been open about those things since I was a teen. I think that talking about painful issues can encourage greater healing in ourselves and in other people, and can help break painful silences. And I also don't like and can't bear keeping secrets; it reminds me of the incest and ritual abuse that I had to keep silent about. For me, talking about those things in SCARS was an extension of what I've done for years--be open about some of the major things that have affected me, and try to encourage healing in others and myself.  I was delighted when my publisher agreed to use a photo of my arm on the cover of SCARS. It felt like it made SCARS even more my own story (even though it's fiction), and it tells the reader immediately what the story is about--and to me says you're not alone and you don't have to feel ashamed. That's important to me.   

Cheryl Rainfield

Q: What has the response to SCARS been like from readers, including those who are self-harming and reaching out to you for help?  

A: The response to SCARS has been wonderful! Two years after SCARS was first published, I still receive letters every week from readers telling me that SCARS helped them stop cutting, get into therapy or get help, tell someone for the first time about their own self-harm, sexual abuse, or being queer, or helped them feel truly understood, often for the first time in their lives. I've had readers tell me they feel that I wrote about them.  

I also hear from people who have never had any of those experiences who tell me that now they have more compassion and understanding for people who have, and that they really "get" self-harm where they never did before or may have judged it harshly before.   I'm so glad for both of those types of responses; they're both what I hoped for when I wrote SCARS--to have people know they're not alone, and to have others have more compassion and less judgement. It has been incredible and rewarding to get that feedback over and over again.   

Q: Your latest book, HUNTED, is a YA paranormal fantasy/dystopian. How was the experience of writing this novel different than SCARS, and how was it similar?  

A: Writing HUNTED was similar to writing SCARS in that I again drew on my abuse and trauma experience to write it; I wrote my emotional truths; and I focused on oppression. It was different in that HUNTED is a fantasy, and because I wasn't in as much emotional pain as I was when I wrote SCARS it was much easier to write (though some parts were painful). I also felt lighter and had more hope because my editor was immediately interested in HUNTED--something I didn't have while I wrote SCARS--so I knew it was more likely to get published. But mostly, it felt very similar to me. Yes, HUNTED is a paranormal fantasy (or a dystopian or a thriller, depending on how you look at it), but for me it was another way to talk about oppression in an accessible way.  

Q: I often ask authors about how they found their agent, and wonder if you could touch on that but also tell us about the experience of working with your agent… what the interaction is like, the support/guidance, the process… 

A: I got my wonderful agent, Andrea Somberg of Harvey Klinger, once I had an offer of a contract for SCARS. I'd submitted another manuscript to Andrea before that, and received the nicest, personal, most encouraging rejection letter from her, telling me that she'd love to work with me on another project. Her belief in my writing stood out to me amid all the other personalized (and non-personalized) agent rejection letters I'd received. So when I got an offer for SCARS, I wrote and asked if she'd be my agent and work with the contract, and she accepted. I'm very happy she did! I'd read that that was one way to get an agent--once you had an actual offer from a publisher, so I'm glad I remembered that. 

Andrea has fought hard for me for rights, money, and all sorts of things that I'd never have known about and never have had the courage to fight for, for myself. I also knew from the editing course I took that publishers have two standard boilerplate contracts--one for authors without agents, and one for authors with agents, and the one for authors with agents automatically starts with a higher advance, higher royalty level, and more rights, so I knew it was important to get an agent.  

But I didn't want just any agent. It was important to me that I like the person who would become my agent, since I plan to be with them a very long time; they represent me professionally; and your agent gets a percentage of all your work that they negotiate, even if you part company. I had a very brief experience with another agent before Andrea that scared me, so I was so glad and relieved to find Andrea--someone I liked and respected and who I felt good about. Andrea is friendly, professional, knowledgeable, and she gets back to me incredibly fast on any question I have. 

Another thing I really love about Andrea is that she gives me feedback on my manuscripts. She tells me when she doesn't think they're ready, and gives me suggestions on how to make them better (which I so appreciate) before we send them out. That's something I really value. She knows the market and the writing business, so  I feel good about getting her feedback. She's always ready to answer any question I have, or to be the go-between for me and a publisher if I need it. It's a great buffer, and allows me to work on what i need and want to work on--my writing and book promotion.  

Q: What are you working on now? And can you tell us a little bit about STAINED?

A: I am working on an edit of STAINED (Harcourt, 2013), an edgy realistic YA about Sarah, a teen with a port wine stain who is abducted, and who must find a way to rescue herself. I'm really enjoying working with my new editor, Karen Grove at Harcourt, who has given me wonderful, thoughtful, insightful feedback and helped me make STAINED a more powerful book. I also love that she trusts my instincts for my manuscript!  I am also working on another edgy realistic YA novel, as well as a sequel to HUNTED, and I'm getting ready for my Toronto in-person launch of HUNTED (this Saturday at Bakka-Phoenix Books, 4-6pm).   I also work every single day on book promotion. It is tiring and takes a lot of time--I think of it as a full-time job, on top of writing! But I really believe it helps make a difference in getting books out there.

UPDATED (Sept. 17, 2012): Cheryl reports that HUNTED is a finalist for the Monica Hughes Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy. The winner will be announced in November. 

Good luck, Cheryl!