Time to BLACKOUT (or Release Day is Here!)

Tip of the Day: Verla Kay's Blue Board is so amazing that it is merging with the SCBWI message boards! Go Verla and BBers!

Four days early, my YA novel BLACKOUT is out in the world*!

It is only $2.99 (what a deal!) through the following retailers:
Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

 

Also, my super talented husband wrote original music and put together this awesome book trailer. I love it!

For a reminder on why I decided to self e-pub BLACKOUT, here's my blog post from April.

Thanks to all the A2A Misses and critique partners past and present who helped bring this book to life!

If anyone has any questions on the e-pubbing process from a first timer, feel free to ask them here. And if they are beyond my ability to answer, I will forward them to the epub master, Megg. :)

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

*Except for through slooow iTunes and delayed Kobo.

Read the Book (or Teen Book Fest #8!)

Tip of the Day: The best time to visit Rochester, NY, is in May during our annual Lilac Festival and Teen Book Fest! We were extra lucky this year and even had perfect weather today.

Wow. Where do I even start? With my gushing or back story?

OK, first one, then the other.

OMG TEEN BOOK FEST IS THE MOST AMAZING TEEN AUTHOR FESTIVAL EVER AND I AM SO LUCKY TO BE PART OF A LIBRARY SYSTEM THAT PUTS SO MUCH LOVE AND EFFORT INTO TEENS AND TEEN LIT AND TO BE A COLLEAGUE OF STEPHANIE S'S (THE TBF FOUNDER)!!!

Phew, OK, got that out of my system. :)

Now to backup.

Eight years ago I was starting to write teen fiction, and had just completed my MLS where I learned that I needed to be a teen services librarian. I began reading tons of YA lit, including SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson. Needless to say I fell in love with that book. Soon after I went to her webpage and nearly fell over when I saw that she was going to speak at a Teen Book Festival in my very own Rochester, NY.

I went that to TBF that first year as an attendee and was blown away by the amazing authors presenting there (Lauren Myracle! Nancy Werlin! about 12 in total?), and was thrilled that another Fest was planned for the following year. In 2007 TBF was a bit bigger, and I went again as an attendee. Then in 2008, I got my YA Librarian job and worked TBF as a volunteer -- and have ever since.

What has also been amazing to watch over these past eight years?
--the growing number of presenting authors
--the increasing size of the attendee crowd
--the number of teens devoting an entire Saturday to volunteer with authors and talk about books
--the number of authors who come back to TBF again because they had such an amazing time before
--the care the TBF Committee takes in making each author feel like a rock star
--the number of publishers that now sponsor their authors' visits to TBF
--the number of authors (and illustrators!) who hear other authors talk about TBF, making them want to come too
--the time Nazareth College takes in making the authors and teens feel at home on their campus
--the dedication of Stephanie and her TBF Committee who devote so much time to this amazing event so it becomes more organized and successful every year

I know I'm forgetting some of the thoughts that struck me today as I looked into the crowd of teens, authors, illustrators, teachers, parents, and librarians, but suffice it to say I am lucky to live in a city that really knows how to rock out to teen books.

And a special shout out to my author panel, who have now increased the size of my TBR pile by talking about their current and forthcoming titles! (Forgive me, I was too busy to take pics of the actual event, but check out tweets and retweets from @TBFLive for some great ones.)

And a high-five to the other authors who I chatted with, hugged, and who also made my TBF pile taller:

 Thank you, again, to everyone who made this awesome day possible.

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

New Adult (or I Guess This is Growing Up*)

*with apologies to Blink 182

Tip of the Day: Get ready for the WriteOnCon Luck 'O the Irish Pitch Fest in March! Start prepping your pitches now and get feedback in February. Get details on various book blogger sites.

As any YA writer who pays attention to the wide cast of the internets knows, the subject of New Adult has been gaining more and more attention.

If you do need to catch up, the awesome bloggers at School Library Journal's Adult Books 4 Teens (more specifically this post here; and you can search SLJ.com for "new adult" and get more hits) talk about the topic, as do the writers at NA Alley.

The pov I'm using to write this post is from my YA Librarian position, and the format I'm focusing on for the New Adult materials is print books, and the definition of New Adult I'm going to use is from NA Alley:

We view New Adult fiction (NA) as a category of literature —- meaning, it gives readers content expectations, but it does not dictate genre-based criteria. Typically, a novel is considered NA if it encompasses the transition between adolescence —- a life stage often depicted in Young Adult (YA) fiction —- and true adulthood.

Protagonists typically fall between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six, though exceptions may apply. NA characters are often portrayed experiencing: college, living away from home for the first time, military deployment, apprenticeships, a first steady job, a first serious relationship, etc.

In my role at a public library with a specialty in materials for grades 6-12, the idea of New Adult as a focus from publishers is both fabulously awesome and a tidge bit daunting.

First, why the idea of NA rocks:

1. As an 18-22 year old college student, I remember it being difficult to find books that related to my life experience, and although today there are more titles that cover that time period in a young adult's life, there is still a gap compared to those titles focusing on older and younger age brackets.

2. As a 16-17 year old high school student, I remember it being difficult to find books that related to the life experiences I expected for myself (college), and again, there is still a gap compared to those titles focusing on other age brackets.

3. As a YA Librarian, I love reading, compiling, and recommending the Alex Awards titles and highlighting them in my YA area even though they are published by adult imprints and purchased by the Adult Services Librarian and her budget for the reasons listed below -- although those Alex Award titles don't often reflect the NA definition above.

4. I'm sure a number of great authors have NA stories in them, and that it is difficult for them to find publishers, so it is great for there to be a wider opportunity for stories that would be loved and appreciated by readers.

Now, why the idea of NA is a tidge bit daunting:

1. If YA imprints pick up NA titles, I can purchase them with my YA budget and shelve the books in my YA section because it spans grades 6-12...BUT if NA imprints become their "own thing" and the price point is higher than YA titles, it will be trickier for me to stretch my budget (since my budget is based on YA prices).

2. If adult imprints pick up NA titles, I COULD purchase them with my YA budget, but most likely the Adult Services Librarian and her budget would have to purchase them due to the price point...and I might have to continuously recommend these titles to her since they may be off her radar.

3. If the adult budget buys the NA titles, then they will be shelved with the adult books, interfiled by author, so without a pathfinder for readers, the books will not stand out.

4. Even though my YA Area is for grades 6-12, some parents/teachers/readers may complain that "risque" NA titles for 18-year-olds should not be in the same area as books for 12-year-olds (even though I don't have a problem with it).

Overall, I will embrace the New Adult books as they come down the pike, and take each reviewed/recommended title on a case-by-case basis to see which library division should purchase it/where it should be shelved, and time will tell how successful any of these marketing attempts turn out to be.

What are your thoughts on New Adult titles in libraries and where they should be shelved?

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

The Holiday Publishing Lull

Tip of the Day: Did you all catch the news about Simon & Schuster offering self-pub? What are your thoughts on it? Leave comments below. Here's one author who thinks it's an awful idea. 

The holidays are upon us and that means things in traditional publishing come to a screeching halt. If you're just now querying agents or your agent is pitching to editors you can expect not to hear from them until probably January. In fact, you may want to just hold off on subbing anything until then and be higher up in the inbox.

So what can you do in the mean time?

1) Research. If agent-hunting spend time building up a list of dream agents to submit too, noting what order you want to contact them in. Make sure you’re finding agents who rep the kind of work you write. You can find info about them on agentquery.com. Another good way to spot agents is to read the acknowledgement section of books in the same vein as yours and see who the agent they thank is. If you’re looking for a publisher to contact directly look to see if there are any calls out for specific types of works. Entangled often puts out these types of calls.

2) Another thing you can do is continue to polish your work. Maybe you need a fresh set of eyes. Send your book to a new critique partner. Or get a professional opinion of your book. There are still some auctions open at the KidLitCares for Sandy Relief auction.

Also, YA author Michelle Zink recently posted on facebook that she’s open for new clients for her edit/critique service. “Are you planning to query agents or editors soon with your shiny manuscript? November/December is a perfect time to fine-tune your work (publishing all but shuts down until mid-January), and I just found out that I have an unexpected opening for edit and critique services at the beginning of December. I have a solid track record of helping authors gain representation and would love to help you ready your manuscript for representation and/or sale. Partials and fulls accepted! Inbox me for details.” Her contact info can be found on her Web site.

3) Or finally, just take a break and enjoy the holidays. A little time away from your book can be a big help. I often find fresh insights after I haven’t looked at one of my books for a while.

Kristina, Miss Author in Action

Guys Talkin' to Guys (or This is What Makes Us Boys*)

*with apologies to Lana Del Rey

Tip of the Day: Have you seen the amazing items up for auction on Kidlit Cares, started by author Kate Messner to benefit the Red Cross and Sandy victims? (Now author Joanne Levy is helping out, too.) GO KIDLITTERS!

My favorite session that I attended at the YALSA Symposium earlier this month was "Guys Talkin' to Guys" where four teens from different high schools in St. Louis answered questions on a panel with five male YA authors.

What made this 90-minutes so great? Real live teen guys talking to librarians and authors about reading and books! It's not something that I get easily in my day job and I really enjoyed hearing what they had to say. Some of it was funny, surprising, smart, real, and/or inspiring.

Take aways:

1. Teen guys do read, but often if is in the forms of magazines, instruction manuals, sports articles, short bites of information on subjects they are already interested in.

2. Cover art and titles make a huge difference on if a guy will feel comfortable carrying around/reading a book. They don't want to be perceived as "weak" by their peers, so a book needs to look "tough." (One panelist was convinced THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER was about a girl based on the title, so he resisted reading it despite recommendations and was surprised when he finally read it.)

3. It is more acceptable to be seen going to a "girl" movie than reading a "girl" book. (Often going to the movie involves going WITH a girl, which doesn't happen with a book.)

4. Books with girl main characters are fine to read as long as the cover and title don't seem girly (THE HUNGER GAMES was cited as the perfect example of this).

5. Books have a lot to compete with, and since guys spend a lot of time online, playing video games, watching movies, playing sports, using smartphones, etc., ads for books need to be just as convincing as those for other forms of entertainment -- and as easy to come across.

6. Guys would read more, and be more comfortable seen reading a variety of books, if they were "forced" to read in groups, like as a class in school for 20-minutes a day for example. Group reading wouldn't make anyone stand out for doing it instead of something else.

What have you learned from teen guys lately?

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Sympositastic! (of YALSA Does It Again)

Tip of the Day: If you are a YA author and have the chance to go to a YALSA Symposium, go! EVERYONE there will LOVE YOU! We'll be in Austin in 2014!

Wow. Thank you SO MUCH to YALSA for putting together the 3rd YALSA Symposium in St. Louis this past weekend. On Friday and Saturday, I attended sessions and activities from 8:30 til 7 PM, and on Sunday from 8:30 til my transport to the airport at 1:30. And it was all amazing!

First, proof that I was actually there:

Due to my issues with being CLOSED INTO TINY RICKETY ELEVATORS, I chose to glimpse it from the park below. More power to those who braved the climb and saw the Mississippi River from the top!

I have tons of notes of cool tips for authors (hence author2author) that I will dole out over the next couple of weeks, but today I want to highlight some cool moments.

1. Having dinner/drinks with authors Selene Castrovilla and Jo Knowles.

Selene and I have met a few times now at YALSA and TBF and she is a spunky woman with great edgy YAs, historical non-fiction for kids, and some adult novels in her too. It's always fun to catch up with her, and I wish her the best as her homestead recovers from Sandy!

Jo I've followed on LiveJournal for years and she is very sweet and very talented and writes the type of novels I loved as a teen and still do now.

I also attended the lunch where these two authors spoke:

Patricia McCormick

David Levithan

They both spoke about the human experience in some way, noting that any book can connect with any person -- even if they are a different color/sex/religion/etc. of the main character -- because we all share the human experience.

The final keynote speaker on Sunday was Scott Westerfeld. The topic of his fun, educational, hilarious, and thoughtful presentation was on the history of the integration of illustrations in books for teens and adults and how he used that in LEVIATHAN.

His speech would appeal to teens as well. If you ever have the chance to see him present, you must go! Seriously, I laughed and listened and was truly entertained.

On the flight home from STL to ORD, I had the pleasure of sharing my row with Helen Frost! I'd seen her session earlier on Sunday, and am a huge fan of HIDDEN, as are the teens in my town.

We chatted about books and authors and politics and writing and the 1-hour flight flew by (pun intended). If you haven't had a chance to read her work, you must; it is brilliant. Poems within poems, meanings within meanings, that all form a cohesive novel. Her Printz Honor novel KEESHA'S HOUSE will release next year in paperback, as well as her new YA SALT; definitely keep your eyes out for them.

Thanks again to all the librarians, authors, publishers, and YA lovers who made this conference possible.

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

When Disaster Strike! (or Weather Permitting)

Tip of the Day: Give me a shout in the comments if you will be at the YALSA Symposium with me in St. Louis this weekend!

With all of the talk about -- and destruction caused by -- Hurricane Sandy this week, I was thinking about disaster novels, realistic stories based on natural events.

Adding "bad weather" into your novel is a great way to create tension and a non-human foe. It also adds atmosphere and helps to place your story on the map.

If you've had enough of these horrors in real life, I understand. But if you want to read some kidlit with this setting, I recommend the following:

ASHFALL and ASHEN WINTER by Mike Mullin. When the supervalcano errupts, Alex must survive the fallout on his own. Totally gripping and it made me cold just reading about the ashy snow.

TRAPPED by Michael Northrop. During a snow storm, seven teens are stuck in their high school awaiting rescue while the temperature drops and the snow piles up. Creepy and disturbing and a little too close to home for those who live in lake affect snow zones.

HURRICANE by Terry Trueman. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch strikes Honduras and 13-year-old Jose must take care of his house when his father goes missing. This tragic and realistic story reads quickly and shows the vulnerability of island life.

THE WAITING SKY by Lara Zielin. Jane finally leaves her alcoholic mother back home -- but just for the summer because her mom needs her -- and joins her older brother and his team of tornado chasers through tornado alley. While the focus is on the characters rather than the weather, the tornado's power and unpredictability is well drawn.

What are your favorite weather/natural disaster novels?

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Oh the Horror! (or YA Books Not For Halloween Weenies)

Tip of the Day: Did you see Tina's cover reveal from Monday? No?!? Go check it out and then link to her personal blog for a chance to WIN STUFF!!!

Last week I mentioned five recent middle grade novels that are great reads for the creeptastic month of October. As promised, here are five young adult titles that you must check out if you like to have your mind rattled!

1. ASHES and SHADOWS by Ilsa J. Bick. Teens are turned into flesh-eating monsters after an EMP rocks the planet. The first book came out last year, the second just this month, both are action-packed, gory, and startling.

2. THE RAFT by S. A. Bodeen. A plane crash, a raft rescue, an island marooning, and dead bodies grace this novel that makes you hope to never be floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

3. EREBOS by Ursula Poznanski. The creepy overlord character watches the players of Erebos and makes them do real world tasks that may result in death. While at first I was sure this book would be paranormal, it was actually more normal normal, which made it even creepier. A unique, foreign addition to scary YA.

4. THIS IS NOT A TEST by Courtney Summers. An zombie-esque tale about teens trapped in their high school while outside are the living and the undead. What makes this novel stand out are the personal demons each character also faces.

5. THE UNQUIET by Jeannine Garsee. Is Rinn's school haunted by a girl who drowned in the swimming pool, or does she simply need to go back on her bipolar meds? Either way, Rinn is scared and should be.

Which ones have I missed? There have been so many great new releases this month too and I just can't keep up!

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Blog Hops

Tip of the Day: Did you catch the news about my forthcoming release? Check it out here. And then add it your book shelf on Goodreads. :-)

Under the advice of our fellow A2Agirl Megg, I recently took part in a blog hop hosted by I am a Reader, Not a Writer. I'd never even heard of a blog hop before Megg told me about them and now that I've done it I'd totally do it again. It's such a clever idea. Basically the host gathers together people with a similar sort of giveaway and using linky, links their blogs together. So, the one I did was for clean reads and I gave away a signed copy of Just Your Average Princess (which really anyone 11 and up can read). There were over 100 participating blogs and people wanting to partake in the contests just hopped from blog to blog entering the giveaways.

So why did I love this blog hop so much? Because it was the best giveaway I've had to date. And I've been doing giveaways for over three years now. Normally I get anywhere from 5-20 entries in any given giveaway. Even when the stuff I'm giving away is really good. For one of my earlier contests that I did, I gave away a signed book, bookmarks, chocolate covered espresso beans, and a $25 gift card for a bookstore. I also had second and third place prizes. Guess how many entries I had? Three. Yep, everyone was a winner. But doing this blog hop I had 373 entries! Talk about a big boost. I also gained a large number of followers both on my blog and twitter. And I saw lots of tweets about my giveaway that week too. Definitely a worthwhile way to promo your blog/books.

Kristina, Miss Author in Action

A Popularity Contest (or Give 'Em What They Want)

Tip of the day: See what your library is doing for Teen Read Week (October 14-20)!

Summer is over and the YA books at my library that were checked out by teen readers all season are making their way back onto my shelves.

Based on the displays I did over the past three months, what were the types of books checked out the most?

Here they are, from the most popular to the less popular, though the books know I love them all.

1. Dystopian. I put up a display of "If you like The Hunger Games, try these" books in preparation for my showing the The Hunger Games on DVD -- and the shelves were cleaned out daily. A mix of light sci-fi made its way onto this display too and was very popular. While I am close to done with reading new books in this genre, I think the teens still love it because they haven't been reading them as they were released all year; they were catching up this summer. Is there room for more on the shelves? It will take a unique premise for me to buy them as they come out in 2012/2013.

2. Paranormal Romance. Zombies and angels and mermaid oh my! Like with dystopian, I have no shortage of titles to put on this shelf featuring these creatures, but the teens seem hungry for more. And I have to say, the mermaids went super fast, even though in my opinion, those are the stories that feel the most similar to each other. With Amanda Hocking's new mermaid series, I'm sure these books will continue to go out even if new titles wane as publishers are filled up.

3. Even More Paranormal Romance. The vampires didn't fly out the door the way the faerie books did (I had them paired together), but they still hold appeal to the teens.

4. There Be Ghosts. To promote my ghost hunting program, I pulled books I loved that have ghost hunters and just creepy ghost stories. Unfortunately the program had to be cancelled for lack of registrants, but the books were still popular.

5. GLBT Fiction. I love that these stories, mosty contemporary YAs, find an audience. There are some awesome titles in this category.

6. No More Bullies. Novels about bullies, the bullied, and the affects of bullying again primarily feature contemporary YA plots, and again I like seeing these titles checked out amongst the otherworldly books.

7. Realistic Historical Fiction. To promote our Civil War 150-Year Commemoration Week at the library, and then to promote a Veterans Memorial Essay Contest for my town, I did a display of books that take place during pivotal points in American history. I think maybe one book was checked out. Historical fiction that depicts reality without any paranormal or fantastical elements are a very hard sale right now.

What books have the teens you know been clamoring for?

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Mildly Concussed (or A YA Novel Version of My Head Injury)

Tip of the Day: Megg's books are on sale for only .99 cents each!

The grass wasn't that long. Maybe only two or three inches. But it was the foot high weeds that got Mom yelling for the third time that morning, "Deena, will you please start on the lawn?"

I rolled out of bed where I'd comfortably been lounging under the ceiling fan while reading John Green's latest. "Fine," I called while throwing on socks and sneakers. The last time I'd mowed in my sandals and was stung on the toe by a bee. TJ, the college guy down the street, had caught me swearing and hopping around the yard while I clutched my foot like an idiot. I wasn't going to embarass myself like that again.

I grabbed the push-mower from the shed and headed for the front yard. It was sunny and hot, but not too hot. It was the perfect weather to have my friends over later tonight to play Kan Jam out back.

I pulled the power cord on the mower once. Twice. Third time was a charm. The mower roared to life and I plowed through the first strips of lawn with ease.

On my second pass toward the driveway, I caught sight of him. TJ. Shooting baskets in the hoop mounted over his garage. He was the guy who was two years older than me but hadn't acted like it until this past year when he basically stopped talking to me even in a neighborly way. But I couldn't stop looking at him or fantasizing that he'd come over and profess his love for me.

I shook my sweaty head at my ridiculous thoughts and turned the mower around. That was when things got messy. The trees that Dad continuously reminded the rest of the fam "provided much needed shade and oxygen" were hard to mow around with their long, knotty roots and low, thick branches. It took forever to run the square mower around the circular tree trunks without sending root chips into my eye or breaking Mom's expensive new mower. If I didn't do the job well enough, Mom wouldn't hesitate to send me back out to do it all again.

While I pulled the mower back and forth, TJ dribbled and shot his basketball. Then all at once two things happened: 1) TJ missed his shot and the basketball came bouncing down the street in my direction, and 2) I yanked the mower backwards and slammed the back of my head into a tree branch the size of a turkey leg. My vision went dark before speckling into focus again like a bad movie fade-in.

"Shit!" TJ and I yelled at the same time. Except as he came running for his ball, looking cool just the same, I was clutching the back of my head and hoping when I removed my hand there wouldn't be blood.

When TJ reached his ball just on the edge of my lawn, he stopped, said, "Hey," and dribbled back to his property.

There was no blood spouting from my head, but if there had been, it probably wouldn't have hurt as much as my pride.

I finished mowing the lawn with my head pounding, and after complaining about it for over an hour Mom called the doctor who informed her I was probably "mildly concussed," to keep an eye on me, and call back/come into the office if the headache didn't disipate in a week.

Some girls could've turned that story into something to flirt with, but for me, it was just more proof that I was incapable of simple tasks like mowing the lawn.

Perhaps I should switch to basketball.

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Conference Specificity (or I'm Gonna Stay at the Y-AL-S-A*)

*with apologies to The Village People

Tip of the Day: It's SUMMER READING time at your local library! See what great games and events they have planned!

I love SCBWI conferences, but my favorite ones have been those with a focus on writing YA, my personal first love, where I get the most bang for my buck.

And I love Book Festivals, but again my favorites are those that focus on teen books -- like the Rochester Teen Book Fest.

Likewise, for my allotment of library related professional development conferences I can attend, there are many choices, but to get the most out of it, I prefer ones that focus on YA lit.

So how lucky was I that the same year I started my job as a YA Librarian (2008), the first YALSA Symposium on Young Adult Literature was held in Nashville, TN.


This symposium is held every two years, and this year's is in St. Louis, MO on Nov. 2-4. The time to apply to hold a session has passed, but it's a great place for YA authors to schmooze with librarians who are obsessed with their works. :)

So if you're a YA author, librarian, teacher, or other fan of the lit, I highly recommend attending this event. You'll often leave with free books, and always leave with energy and inspiration from being around people who love the same literature you do.

Who will I see in St. Louis this November?

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Books to Movies (or Movies to Books)

Tip of the Day: Good sci-fi movie that was totally underrated -- though not based on a book to my knowledge: MOON, directed by David Bowie's son, Duncan Jones. Great minimalist film.

Kate's post from Monday on how many times her daughter saw Hunger Games in the theater got me thinking about other current YA books that I would like to be made into movies. Here's a short list (and if some of these already are optioned for film, comment and let me know!):


1. TRAFFICKED by Kim Purcell -- this contemporary story of human traffiking from Europe to America could make a great thriller/drama.

2. ALTERED by Jennifer Rush -- this novel that releases in Jan. 2013 is like a Bourne Identity for teens starring a kick-butt girl.


3. THE BOOK OF BLOOD AND SHADOW by Robin Wasserman -- this clue-following novel is like The Davinci Code starring smart teens and a cool European setting.


4. THE BUTTERFLY CLUES Kate Ellison -- this murder mystery stars an OCD sleuth who won't give up until she finds the killer.


5. CINDER by Marissa Meyer -- an alternate future China with cyborgs and a Cinderella retelling: the perfect combination.

Some other books I could see as TV dramas or series. I'll talk about those next time.

What recent YA novels would you like to see in movie format?

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

What the Teens are Reading Now (*or Hunger Games and What Else I Don't Have to Weed)

Tip of the Day: Catch up with the books I read and what I think of them here.

A few weeks ago, a reader asked what teen books are currently going out from the library like hot cakes. I've been monitoring my YA library collection in order to properly answer this question. And I've learned that the answer is: It depends.

Here are some observations.

1. I had a YA display up for all of May, Asian American Heritage Month books; titles that featured Asian characters or themes. And over the course of the month, only a handful of books were checked out -- and I have a fairly large Asian population in my town. These books were a mix of historical, contemporary, and fantasy stories.

2. I had a YA display up for two weeks in May, Jewish Heritage Month books; titles that featured Jewish characters or themes. And over the coures of the two weeks, a large number of these books were checked out -- and I have a very large Jewish population in my town. These books were a mix of historical (WWII/Holocaust primarily) and contemporary.

3. I had a YA display up for four days in June (so far), Gay Pride Month books; titles that featured GLBT characters or themes. And over the course of the four days, a lot of these books were checked out (and this display was super popular last year over the course of June as well) -- and I have no idea how big the gay population is in my town. These books are primarily contemporary fiction.

4. In the books that were NOT recently on display, I've noticed these titles/genres going out:

a) high fantasy (ex. Cinda Williams Chima's HEIR series)


b) spy novels (ex. Ally Carter's series)


c) action adventure novels (ex. James Patterson's series, Anthony Horowitz's series, Cassandra Clare's series)


A lot of "midlist" books that I bought in 2009/2010 are now languishing on the shelves, even if they are good books, and sadly I will probably have to weed them to make space for new stuff soon. BUT it's amazing how much these same titles can suddenly take off when they are put on the local school's summer reading lists or for assignments. I can see why authors get so excited when their books make the "state award lists."

Another conclusion is that while high fantasy and some paranormal romance are still going strong, contemporary is being read a lot, too, compared to the past couple years (during the TWILIGHT series' debuts).

Oh, and if you want to know the title in general with the most holds in our system, it is 50 SHADES OF GREY (about 700 holds between the hard copy and ebook versions; yes, it's beating out HUNGER GAMES).

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

What Happens in Vegas... (or Forget It; It All Ends Up on FaceBook)

Tip of the Day: Heading to Las Vegas? Stay south of The Strip at the M Resort for the best buffet, gorgeous rooms, amazing spa, and fabulous pool!

While in Vegas this past weekend, I spent some time analyzing the scenery for one of my WIPs that takes place there:

What color exactly are the mountains? (Brown, red, pink?)

What does dry desert air feel like? What do the neighborhoods look like away from The Strip?

What does the skyline look like from them?

What are the music venues/clubs like in the resorts/hotels?

What do the casinos sound like?

Vegas isn't so much a "character" in my WIP as it is a setting that I want to get right. With so many people who visit and vacation there, I feel it has to be "right" so the rest of the book that is of a speculative nature is easier to buy. Because if I can't get the feel of the desert sun accurate, who will believe in my pseudo science fiction? I usually write about places like my home in Rochester, NY, because I know it so well, so writing about another city is a stretch for me.

How do you select your novel settings?

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Dystopian Fiction Overload? (or Reality Bites but That's What Life Is*)

*with apologies to Limp Bizkit

Tip of the Day: My library won the area's Library of the Year award! Click here for details! Thanks to everyone who nominated Brighton Memorial Library. You rock!

I just read a YA book where:
--the main character is under house arrest on and off over her life
--phone lines are government controlled, only available intermittently, and rarely available for international calls
--the internet is highly monitored and all modems must be registered with the government
--outsiders are often forbidden from entering the country, and citizens are often not allowed out
--those who sneak information about the country/government outside the borders and are caught are subjected to imprisonment, physical torture, and death
--those participating in peaceful protests against the government are subjected to imprisonment, physical torture, and death
--disease runs rampant
--citizens are poor and powerless to overcome their situations
--the government spends millions on its lavish capital while the citizens starve in the other cities
--elections are rigged

Is this the latest dystopian novel on the shelves at B&N?

Nope. It's not even fiction. It's the story of Burma in the 1980s-present as presented in CHAMPIONS OF FREEDOM: AUNG SAN SUU KYI by Sherry O'Keefe (Morgan Reynolds, 2012).

I read this book to review it for VOYA, knowing nothing about Suu Kyi or Burma when I picked it up. I reached the end where the author compared Suu Kyi's world to that of George Orwell's 1984, I thought, holy crap. This horrific reality IS real for so many people across the globe.

So the next time you want to write about a government-controlled world but you keep hearing that dystopian fiction is overdone (I'm definitely reaching "full" on my library shelves), pick a country where this issue is a reality. Write about the real world -- even if we wish it was not so. I would totally read and buy those books.

Will I write them? I was very inspired by Suu Kyi's story, but would need to do a ton more research about a country that I just touched upon. Perhaps some day. Until then, I want to read more. Get writing! :)

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Query Clinic Submission #3 (or Good Things Come in Threes!)

Tip of the Day, Librarian Edition: Please don't get mad at the library if every copy of their children's biographies on Harriet Tubman are checked out when you know 50 kids at the local elementary school all have to do the same assignment of reading a biography about Harriet Tubman.

Thank you so much Julie for sending in your query for a critique! I hope this feedback is helpful to you and to our readers. I know the past two weeks of query crits have been helpful to me!

Here is Julie's query:

Dear Agent Name,

Aillie has the spirit of a wolf, even if her failing heart is weakening her human body. It’s no wonder her presence causes a stir when her father decides to take her home to live with his wolf clan in Scotland. They don’t tolerate women, and certainly not human ones.

When she tries to find solace and solitude in the hills above MacTire Loch all she ends up finding is a cocky member of the neighboring clan. Colin is all alpha and the future laird. He’s also her father’s worst nightmare. Or so he thinks.

Aillie's true enemies won’t be found in the rivaling wolf clan though. The ones who’ll stop at nothing to see her dead are much closer to home. Aillie and Colin will have to put aside their clashing alpha personalities to fight against history, myths and bitter old wolves if she’ll have any chance at life.

THE VOICE is a 47,000 word Paranormal YA.

This is a simultaneous query submission. Thank you for considering my manuscript for further review.

Sincerely,

Julie [REDACTED]
My [contact] info here

What is great about this query:

1. I get a nice set of the setting. Scotland! Cool!

2. There are multiple conflicts -- Aillie's failing heart, the disrespect from her clan, the tension with the rival clan, the people/wolves/creatures Aillie must battle to survive -- which keeps the tension high and makes me think the novel itself keeps moving at a good pace.

3. The writing is really good! I like the voice and the way the paragraphs flow together with great transitions, so it makes me think the writing of the novel is high quality as well.

What I would suggest:

1. Combine the first two paragraphs into a shorter intro one (while keeping the great voice!), and then elaborate on what the "real" danger is that Aillie and Colin must band together to fight. While the first two paras are the emotional arc of the story, the latter para is the important external quest and that is important.

Tangental YA Librarian ramble :) -- There are a lot of paranormal YAs featuring wolves out there now (besides TWILIGHT (Meyer) and SHIVER (Stiefvater), there's recent releases like the DARK GUARDIAN series (Hawthorne), RAISED BY WOLVES series (Barnes), NIGHTSHADE series (Cremer), SISTERS RED (Pearce), 13 TO LIFE series (Delaney), CLAIRE DE LUNE series (Johnson), etc. ). It doesn't mean this book doesn't have merit or its own twist! Just that the query will have to hit on its unique points (like Scotland!) and showcase them in order to get an agent's/editor's/bookseller's/librarian's attention so they don't think it's something they already have enough of on their list. In other words, those who are querying wolf (of vampire/zombie/dystopian/faerie) books now have to work a little harder to get attention.

2. The title THE VOICE now makes me think of that TV show "The Voice;" might want to consider a more unique title/something with pow or a Scottish feel to drive home that this is a MUST READ book. :)

3. Before the sentence about this query being a multiple submission, add something personal about yourself, even if it's not a publishing credit: that you like baking/biking/painting/running/etc., to give yourself some personality.

Overall, I think this query is a great start! Any feedback from our readers?

Thanks again to everyone for making our query clinic week a success!

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Places to Submit (or Open Doors)

Tip of the Day: Stay tuned for an A2A Query Clinic coming soon!
Have a polished manuscript? Looking for an agent and/or a publisher without an agent like me? Check out some of these opportunities to submit to some great people/places!

1. Janet Reid's Liz Norris Pay It Forward Writing Contest. You can win a great Backspace Conference prize package. Get your completed, thrilling novel in by March 15.
2. Angry Robot's new YA imprintStrange Chemistry's Open Door submission period. You have from April 16-April 30 to get your fantasy/sci-fi/horror/supernatural novels in.
3. Entangled Publishing, an up-and-coming new publisher, is still open to unagented submissions in upper-YA with romantic elements.


If your manuscript is not polished up yet and you are an SCBWI member, you have until March 15 for your manuscript to arrive at the L.A. HQ for the Work-in-Progress grants.

Good luck!

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Tip of the Day, Librarian Edition: Enjoy my blog posts? Think they mean I'm a good librarian? Think that means my Brighton Memorial Library is the best public library in Monroe County? Vote for BML!

On March 12th, I am presenting book talks on Hot Teen Titles to a bunch of librarians! Anyone who's met me in person knows I can booktalk for hours. I only get 20 minutes, so I better practice my speed-talking!



To prepare a well-rounded presentation and book list, I've been reading a lot of new teen graphic novels and non-fiction. I loved LILY RENEE, ESCAPE ARTIST (graphic novel) and am enjoying THE PREGNANCY PROJECT (non-fiction), but since I usually read teen fiction, I want to make sure I'm not forgetting anything HOT that was released between September 2011 and March 2012.



Does anyone have any recommendations of teen GNs or NF that I must read and include in my presentation?

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Tweet Your Favorite Author Day!!

Tip of the Day: There is still time to enter my contest for a signed hard cover of Just Your Average Princess. It's easy! Go to my blog to follow me and comment here to let me know.

I've been having a very good e-mail/facebook/twitter week. By this I mean I've been getting super nice notes from fans, parents, and librarians and it's awesome-- many smiles this week. And it made me think that we don't tell authors enough how much we like their work. Sure there are reviews posted on Amazon and Goodreads but outside of dedicated bloggers, a lot of people don't take the time to post a review after they've finished a book. I know I don't do it nearly enough. #Guilty

So, by the power invested in me by, well myself, I hereby declare today,

TWEET YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR DAY!!

Let's spread some author love. All you have to do is go on twitter and send out a tweet to your favorite author(s), telling them that you love one of their books. Here's an example:

@megcabot, your Airhead series is amazing! Love it!

Need to find YA author's twitter names? Here's some great lists: Mitali's, Mashable, and Reader's Ink. Or just google search your author's name and twitter.

If you want to include a hashtag- #TYFAD.

Go forth and tweet!

Kristina, Miss Author in Action