Mandy Hubbard

This week, we have Mandy Hubbard. Mandy grew up on a dairy farm outside Seattle, where she refused to wear high heels until homecoming and hated them so much she didn’t wear another pair for five years. A cowgirl at heart, she enjoys riding horses and quads and singing horribly to the latest country tune. She’s currently living happily ever after with her husband (who, sadly, is not a Duke) and her daughter (who is most definitely a princess). Prada and Prejudice is her first novel.

Here’s a little bit about PRADA & PREJUDICE, Razorbill, June 2009.

Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard

Prada and Prejudice is about a teen girl named Callie who buys an expensive pair of Prada heels in an attempt to impress the cool girls on her class trip abroad-only to trip, conk her head, and wake up in 1815!  She stumbles about until she meets the kind-hearted Emily, who takes Callie in, mistaking her for a long-lost friend. Sparks soon fly between Callie and Emily’s cousin, Alex, the maddeningly handsome-though totally arrogant-Duke of Harksbury. Too bad he seems to have something sinister up his ruffled sleeve…

Now let’s start the interview. When you received your offer, what happened?

Almost couldn’t breathe. Seriously, I had to breathe through my mouth until my heart rate went back to normal. I called everyone I knew and then popped some champagne that night to celebrate. I also used my book deal as an excuse to buy pretty much any book I wanted, since it would be tax deductible.

So now that you have a contract, what’s it like to be on the other side-on the verge of publication? What does it feel like to be official?

It’s fun to feel like I am suddenly a “legitimate” writer. I think we writers have a hard time proudly declaring ourselves writers unless we are published, and that’s a shame. We all work hard to perfect our stories! But talking about my book to people has been really fun, like I have something valuable to share with people.

Tell us a little bit about your path to publication.

Everyone said getting an agent would be really hard, so when I got an agent quickly I was sure my books would sell just as fast. It ended up being 2 1/2 years from my first agency contract, two separate books on submissions totaling 38 rejections, 9 drafts of PRADA & PREJUDICE… it was not at all an overnight sale as I had imagined. But I think there are far more stories like mine than people realize, but authors don’t like to share how difficult it can be. I think that’s sad, because it is so encouraging to learn that others faced hardship before succeeding!

And here’s our favorite question. How many rejections did you receive in general (not just for this book) before you landed your first major publishing contract?

51-100

Tell us about one of your most heart-breaking rejections and about one of your best.

My hardest one was from an editor who truly loved my book and wanted to buy it, and got tons of people at her house on board, but got turned down at the last minute when they decided their program should only publish paranormal books. I swear to you I spent a good hour trying to figure out if I could add a ghost to PRADA & PREJUDICE! Aside from that, the other 25 rejections weren’t so hot either. I think every house in NYC rejected me, until I rewrote the book from scratch and received two offers after less than two weeks later. One of those offers came from an editor who had rejected me twice already!

How long did it take to sell your books, from putting the first words on the page to receiving an offer?

2 years – 3 years

Prior to selling your books, you were …

Working a full-time job unrelated to writing

Now that you’ve sold some books, you plan to …

Not change a thing

What are some of the new things you worry about now that you have a contract?

Sales. I worry no one will read it, or that the big chain stores won’t stock it, which can kill your career before it gets off the ground.

Describe a typical day in your writing life.

I write on a laptop on the train (thirty minutes to and from work) and after my daughter has gone to bed–after 9PM.

Any inspiring quotes you live by?

“A published author is an amateur who didn’t quit.”   It was on my blog before my sale, reminding me of my goal, and I have kept it there, reminding me of what it took to get here.

Any advice for aspiring authors?

Never give up. I firmly believe that anyone can be published if they dedicate the time to learning the craft, and they refuse to take no for an answer.

Finally, Snoop wants to know: How did it feel to see your cover for the first time?

I freaked out. I didn’t realize when she called it a ‘cover comp’ that it meant it wasn’t the actual cover, but a mock-up of the general design. The legs they had put on the original cover looked like they’d ben run over by a car. Once I realized they were doing a photoshoot for my actual cover, I breathed a sigh of relief, and the final product turned out beautifully.

This concludes our interview with our latest author Mandy Hubbard. We wish her much success with her debut novel PRADA & PREJUDICE.

To see what Mandy is up to these days, visit her website at www.mandyhubbard.com.

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Sarah Rees Brennan

This week, we have Sarah Rees Brennan. Sarah was born and raised in Ireland by the sea, where her teachers valiantly tried to make her fluent in Irish (she wants you to know it’s not called Gaelic) but she chose to read books under her desk in class instead. She lived briefly in New York and somehow survived in spite of her habit of hitching lifts in fire engines. She began working on The Demon’s Lexicon while doing library work in Surrey, England. Since then she has returned to Ireland to write and use as a home base for future adventures. Her Irish is still woeful, but she feels the books under the desk were worth it.

Here’s a little bit about THE DEMON’S LEXICON, which comes out on June 2, 2009 (tomorrow!).

The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan

THE DEMON’S LEXICON is about two brothers, Nick and Alan, who are on the run from magicians.   The magicians have control of demons, who steal people’s bodies, control animals, and change the weather. Nick and Alan pretty much just have swords and guns, and neighbors who wonder what all the freaky noises are about.   Then a boy with a demon’s mark and a girl with trouble written all over her arrive on their doorstep, the magicians deliver a very disturbing message, and from the back alleys of London to the woods of the English countryside, the chase is on: they have to hunt the magicians who have always hunted them.

Now let’s start the interview. When you received your offer, what happened?

Lay on the kitchen floor with the phone clutched in my hand. ‘You should go to bed,’ my agent said, and hung up. I lay there and watched for a few hours as the sky changed to morning. I was totally in shock.  Then I stood up, it hit, and I called my parents laughing and crying at once. ‘Who is that on the phone?’ I heard my mother ask my father. ‘It’s Sarah,’ he said. ‘…I think she’s having some kind of seizure?’

So now that you have a contract, what’s it like to be on the other side-on the verge of publication? What does it feel like to be official?

I’m not sure that I do feel official yet. I would be crushed but not surprised by a note from the publishers saying ‘You have been Punk’d! Love, Simon & Schuster.’ But I think when I see the book in shops, well then, um, I just hope the people in the shop won’t think I’m having a seizure.

Tell us a little bit about your path to publication.

I’ve been writing stories since I was five, and finished my first book when I was seven – it was about ponies and ninjas, my two favourite things at the time. Starting this young meant my family’s response to the book deal was ‘Took you long enough…’   I always wanted to be published but uh, I think when I was seven I assumed that someone was just going to arrive in a chariot to collect the manuscript and shower me with gold dust. When I was twenty-one and the chariot had not yet arrived, I moved to New York to do a publishing internship, where I learned a lot about how the business works, and when my visa expired I moved to England.  My plan when I’d finished and revised The Demon’s Lexicon was to submit it to a carefully chosen list of agents, but I kept reading Kristin Nelson’s blog and one late night in a fit of insanity, I queried her – and only her. I was ridiculously lucky, and she took me on. She’s so ridiculously awesome, I secretly believe she has super powers.

And here’s our favorite question. How many rejections did you receive in general (not just for this book) before you landed your first major publishing contract?

0-10

Tell us about one of your most heart-breaking rejections and about one of your best.

When I was seventeen, I received a long letter telling me that the most important thing I had to do was stop writing fantasy, because it didn’t sell and wasn’t really worthwhile: that it was a waste for a writer with talent. I’m really glad the book I wrote at seventeen didn’t get published, and I’m even more glad I didn’t listen to another word of the letter.     Heart-breaking are the little dry, impersonal notes: it’s horrible for all writers to get form rejections! And yet of course we all get them. Everything’s easier once the rejections start getting personal, guys!

How long did it take to sell your books, from putting the first words on the page to receiving an offer?

6 months – 1 year

Prior to selling your books, you were …

Working a part-time job unrelated to writing

Now that you’ve sold some books, you plan to …

Other

What are some of the new things you worry about now that you have a contract?

Oh, earning out. I regularly get into a tizzy that the book won’t do well, and then I won’t get to write more books, and what if it’s all my fault because I didn’t do enough promotion, or what if people just don’t like the book? Then I start to resemble an agitated penguin, and my friends smack me around the head and tell me to take a deep breath.

If you’ve already begun or have finished the editorial process with your publisher, let you us know what that’s been like.

My editor sent me back my manuscript, decorated prettily with many-coloured Post-Its. It looked like Joseph’s Amazing Technicolour Manuscript. My father opened it for me since I was in the countryside writing with friends, read the first line and said ‘Sarah, your editor’s written you this lovely letter!’ and I told him, ‘Oh, Dad. It’s all downhill from there.’  It was a really good, in-depth edit, and once I had OD’d on tea and despair for a day I got started on it, and it’s a much better book now. I think my editor may have super powers as well.

Describe a typical day in your writing life.

I get up, make my first cup of tea, and check through the internet for any news. Then depending on whether the news is good or bad, I make either my second cup or my first pot of tea, consult my chapter plan, which is always mysteriously crumpled up under my bed, and start writing. Throughout the day I administer tea as necessary – and in cases of real emergency, I apply cupcakes.

Describe an Ah-ha moment you might have had that influenced your writing in a positive way.

I remember two people discussing a story of mine, and one of them pointed out that we couldn’t rely on the point-of-view character. That honestly hadn’t occurred to me until that day, not properly: it started an enduring fascination with unreliable points of view, and the little hints you can give to show the point of view character’s perspective on the world is not the only one possible. Every book can be like a mystery, as well as whatever else it is. The possibilities are endless!

What is one of the biggest myths in children’s book publishing that you wish aspiring writers would just forget about?

That there is any one path to success. There are a million different paths, and I think stressing out looking for the one true key to being published is bad for people. Plenty of other stuff to be stressed out about in the crazy world of publishing!

Any inspiring quotes you live by?

Well… I try to aspire to this one, but I don’t know if I manage it at all.  ‘Tell me a story. In this century, and moment, of mania, Tell me a story. Make it a story of great distances, and starlight… Tell me a story of deep delight.’ – Robert Penn Warren.   I also like Oscar Wilde’s ‘Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.’

Any advice for aspiring authors?

Plan things out. Even a rough sketch of things to come really helps me, and I didn’t do it for years because I thought it’d tie my hands. Also, it helps for when you get bored half-way through writing the book and start to have crazy thoughts, like ‘What if I introduced ninjas? Or ponies? Or… ninja ponies!’

Aside from WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS<—shameless plug, are there any other books on craft you recommend?

Does JRR Tolkien’s ‘On Fairytales’ count? I think it’s one of the best and most inspiring books out there for readers and writers of fantasy.

Finally, Snoop wants to know: It would be nice if other people asked ‘Who is that woman walking down this random Irish street?

She has the fire in her eyes of a genius! Also very good hair.’  Failing that, if I was asked to pick one superpower, it would be invisibility. Lots of people say flying, but I like to wear dresses a lot, so you can see how that would end badly. And I could use invisibility to fight crime.

This concludes our interview with our latest author Sarah Rees Brennan. We wish her much success with her debut novel THE DEMON’S LEXICON.

To see what Sarah is up to these days, visit her blog at www.livejournal.com/users/mistful or her website at www.sarahreesbrennan.com.

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This week, we have Megan Frazer, who studied English literature and creative writing at Columbia University. She lives with her husband in Maine, where she is a high school librarian.

A little about, Secrets of Truth & Beauty:

Secrets of Truth & Beauty is the story of a former child beauty pageant winner turned overweight teen, who struggles with family secrets and her own sense of self over the course of a transformative summer on a goat farm with her estranged older sister.

Now let’s start the interview. When you received your offer, what happened?

There were several publishers interested, so I kept getting update calls from my agent, Sara Crowe. She had mentioned going to auction, but then Donna Bray and Emily Schultz pre-empted. I expected to be a crier and a screamer, but I think most of the conversations with Sara consisted of me saying “Uh huh, okay, okay.” I’m still amazed at it all.

So now that you have a contract, what’s it like to be on the other side-on the verge of publication? What does it feel like to be official?

Honestly, and I imagine many AOTVs will answer similarly, I still don’t feel official. I feel like someone could take this away from me at any moment. I keep waiting for it to feel “real.”

Tell us a little bit about your path to publication.

I had been writing for adults, but then a couple people suggested I try YA. Once the idea for the novel came to me, I just ran with it. I can’t say the writing was easy, but Dara’s voice came easily to me. And writing it was joyful. Once I finished, I queried agents, which led me to Sara Crowe at Harvey Klinger. She offered representation two days before my wedding – that was a good week.

And here’s our favorite question. How many rejections did you receive IN GENERAL (not just for this book) before you landed your first major publishing contract?

Do you mean by agents or publishers? This was the only book that I’ve had sent to publishers, and I’m not sure how many rejected it. As for agents for all books, that’s got to be. . .

• 0-10
• 11-25
• 26-50
• 51-100
• 100+

Tell us about one of your most heart-breaking rejections and about one of your best.

I think they are the same. I got a personal rejection from The New Yorker. It hurt to come so close, but also felt really good because, you know, it was The New Yorker.

How long did it take to sell your books, from putting the first words on the page to receiving an offer?

• 0-3 months
• 3-6 months
• 6 months to 1 year
• 1 year – 2 years
• 2 years – 3 years
• 3 years+
• The manuscript has been around longer than I have.

Prior to selling your books, you were …

Working a full-time job in the writing industry

Well, it wasn’t exactly in the writing industry, but in the book industry: I was, and am, a librarian.

What are some of the new things you worry about now that you have a contract?

I am a champion worrier, and could write paragraphs and paragraphs about my neurosis. I will spare you and just give you the top three:

3. My reviews will be terrible.

2. I won’t get any reviews.

1. I won’t get published again.

Any advice for aspiring authors?

There are some people who I read that I am so jealous of – the way they put words together just amazes me. It’s important to realize that no matter how much you admire someone, you can’t be that person. You need to develop your own voice and play to your own strengths.

Aside from WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS<—shameless plug, are there any other books on craft you recommend?

On Writing by Stephen King. It’s part memoir, part inspirational, and part nuts and bolts. It’s one of those books that make me want to go right to my computer.

Finally, Snoop wants to know: What’s your favorite kind of cheese?

Why thank you for asking, Snoop. I’m sure you know that cheese plays a big part in my novel, so of course I’ve given the topic of cheese a lot of thought. Of course you can’t be a good sharp cheddar, and goat cheese makes me swoon, but I’m going to go with delicious fresh mozzarella. For today, anyway.

This concludes our interview with our latest author, Megan Frazer. We wish her much success with her debut novel Secrets of Truth & Beauty.

To see what Megan is up to these days, visit her website at http://www.meganfrazer.com.

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Fran Cannon Slayton

This week, we have the sensational Fran Cannon Slayton. Fran is a former child sex abuse prosecutor, a former legal publisher, and a stay-at-home mom.  She has been known to sing in rock and roll bands, play trumpet, do an incredible party trick where she flips her feet around backwards, and hop on a pogo stick 1000+ times in a row. (Full disclosure on that last one:  it happened quite awhile ago.  Like, decades.)  Fran enjoys coffee, working out at the gym, and Mexican food (actually, any type of food).  She was the 2005 Albemarle County Women’s Hog Calling Champion and has a trophy to prove it.

When the Whistle Blows by Fran Cannon Slayton

And here’s the scoop on Fran’s book, When the Whistle Blows (Philomel).

Jimmy Cannon is growing up in an Irish American family in Rowlesburg, West Virginia, during the 1940s.  He does all the things boys do in the small mountain town:  plays a mean game of football, pulls the unforgettable Halloween prank with his friends in “the Platoon,” and promises to head off into the woods on the first day of hunting season – no matter what.  He also knows that his father belongs to a secret society, and is determined to uncover the mysteries behind it!  But it is a midnight encounter with a train that shows Jimmy the man his father really is.  At its heart, When the Whistle Blows is a story about a boy and his father in a time when trains reigned supreme.

Now let’s start the interview. When you received your offer, what happened?

My husband took me out for the bottle of Dom Perignon that he’d promised me 16 years earlier when I first told him I wanted to write a novel.  We had a great dinner, too!

So now that you have a contract, what’s it like to be on the other side-on the verge of publication? What does it feel like to be official?

Honestly?  It’s been like a dream come true!  It seems like everyday new and exciting things happen.  I’ve been through the editing process with one of the best editors in the children’s book world, Patricia Lee Gauch.  I’ve gotten to write an acknowledgement page to thank everyone who has helped me along the way, and have gotten to hold my own galleys in my hands.  And I’ve had people I respect a great deal say nice things about my writing, which of course is absolutely thrilling.  The world has become smaller – I’ve met authors and librarians from all over the United States, Canada and beyond, and I’m looking forward to doing book signings across the country when my book comes out in June 2009.  These things are all like gifts.  Every single day.

One of the most gratifying things has been that the railroading community has responded with appreciation to my work, and people have gone way out of their way to help me get the word out about it.  In fact, people in the publishing and bookselling communities, the kidlitosphere, railfans, teachers, and many others have been incredibly kind and generous throughout the entire process.  The predominant feeling for me in being “official” is definitely gratitude.

Tell us a little bit about your path to publication.

There is a short story and a long story.  The short story is that I went to the Highlights Foundation’s legendary Writers Workshop at Chautauqua in 2006 and met Patricia Lee Gauch, who liked my then-incomplete novel, offered to work with me, and eventually bought my book.

The long story is that I’ve always loved writing, ever since I was in grade school.  I started writing my first novel just before I entered law school, and it took me 13 years to manage to write 100 pages of it. When my daughter was born and I decided to stop working outside the home I finally got serious about my writing. But rather than finishing my original 100 pages, I started a new book.  (I didn’t want to be discouraged if the 100 pages I’d spent 13 years of my life writing didn’t stand up to the critiques I knew I’d be receiving!)  So I started When the Whistle Blows and joined SCBWI, where I met best-selling author Ellen Hopkins, who became my friend and mentor.  I became a finalist in the 2005 SCBWI Work-in-Process grant, met the gals in my critique group, signed with my wonderful agent, Laura Rennert of Andrea Brown Literary Agency, and met Patti Gauch at the Highlights Foundation’s Writers Workshop at Chautauqua.  And the rest, as they say, is history!

And here’s our favorite question. How many rejections did you receive IN GENERAL (not just for this book) before you landed your first major publishing contract?

• 0-10
• 11-25
• 26-50
• 51-100
• 100+

Tell us about one of your most heart-breaking rejections and about one of your best.

No rejections broke my heart.  My best rejection came from Kristin Daly at HarperCollins for a graphic picture book I’d submitted to her.  She wrote me a personal note and I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.  I read it everyday for weeks.  Out loud.

How long did it take to sell your books, from putting the first words on the page to receiving an offer?

• 0-3 months
• 3-6 months
• 6 months to 1 year
• 1 year – 2 years
• 2 years – 3 years
• 3 years+
• The manuscript has been around longer than I have.

Prior to selling your books, you were …

A stay-at-home mom

Now that you’ve sold some books, you plan to …

Not change a thing

I want to keep doing what I’m doing – writing and being a mom and wife.  I love every moment of every day.  It doesn’t get much better than that!

What are some of the new things you worry about now that you have a contract?

You mean besides saying something stupid in an interview? J Honestly, I try as a rule not to worry.  It does nothing positive and is just an energy suck.  I do hope my book finds its audience.  I wonder what the reviews are going to be like.  And I think about the next book I’m writing, and hope I can keep improving as a writer as I move forward in my career.

If you’ve already begun or have finished the editorial process with your publisher, let you us know what that’s been like.

It was great!  I love editing – in fact, I have to really work to shut down my internal editor as I write my first draft or else I edit a piece to death and never actually get anything written.  I loved hearing Patti’s thoughts on what did and did not need tweaking.  Editing was more a process of shaping the story than a detailed analysis of text or grammar.  We were looking at the overarching narrative more often than not; making sure the groundwork was laid for emotions and feelings and themes.  It was a bit like weaving thread into an already completed blanket, to strengthen it.

What editing was NOT was a big bad session with a red pen, and initially that surprised me.  I found the editing process with Patti Gauch to be gentle and – I’m sorry to use this word – but truly brilliant.  And strategic.  More often than not she merely asked me probing questions; gave me things to think about.  Nothing was changed without a reason.  The editing was very purposeful.

Any advice for aspiring authors?

Don’t make your goal “being published.”  Being published depends upon the actions of other people, and you don’t have those in your control.  What you have in your control is whether you write or not.  Whether or not you finish your novel.  Whether you study your craft or not.  Whether you grow as a person or not.  Whether you love what you’re doing or not.  Focus on all those things, and it will be much more likely that the “being published” part will follow.  And if it doesn’t?  You will still have had a heck of a good time along the way.

Any inspiring quotes you live by?

I really love this quote by Teddy Roosevelt.  I think it is excellent advice for an aspiring author, especially when writing a first draft.  I’ve edited it below so it is addressed to a female audience:

“It is not the critic who counts:  not the [one] who points out how the strong [person] stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better.  The credit belongs to the [person] who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends [herself] for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if [she] fails, at least [she] fails while daring greatly, so that [her] place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

What is one of the biggest myths in children’s book publishing that you wish aspiring writers would just forget about?

“Show, don’t tell” is advice writers hear often, but it is only part of the story. It’s true, you do have to “show” the story – you can’t just say “he felt bad,” you have to illustrate it in your character’s expressions and actions and make it part of a story that can be envisioned or imagined.

But you also have to “tell” what is going on internally with a character.  And that’s what the “show, don’t tell” advice doesn’t, well, “tell” you.  Sometimes you have to give little summaries for the reader – some direction or understanding about the overall meaning of the story; markers as to what growth is occurring inside your characters.  So I guess I’d change the advice from “show, don’t tell” to “show AND tell.”  It’s a balance.

Aside from WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS<—shameless plug, are there any other books on craft you recommend?

I love Walking on Water by Madeleine L’Engle.

This concludes our interview with our latest author, Fran Cannon Slayton. We wish her much success with her debut novel When the Whistle Blows.

To see what Fran is up to these days, visit her website at http://www.francannonslayton.com or her blog at http://franslayton.livejournal.com/.

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Nearly 230 entries. Three winners walked away with a free-tique! We topped out at 395 comments for the Library Lovin’ Challenge. Now how are Snoop and I going to get 605 more?! Stay tuned to find out ….

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All Why, Why, Why feedback has been returned for those who have requested it. If you have not received yours, please let Snoop know and forward ALL the pages of your ms (PASTED in the email) to whysnoop@cynthealiu.com. Snoop will return your feedback via Twitter for any remaining works that have not received comments. Thanks!

If you want to see Round 13 go on, we need to reach four hundred comments (one per person please) by this Sunday 11:59PM CST.

http://www.cynthealiu.com/2009/03/bloggers-library-loving-challenge/

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Will Round 13 happen? Help us make it to 400 comments by Sunday, May 3rd, 11:59PM CST, and the race is on!

The challenge post is here.  Please leave a comment (one per person!).

http://www.cynthealiu.com/2009/03/bloggers-library-loving-challenge/

THIS JUST IN: Round 12 Twitter Thoughts from Snoop are posted.  http://www.twitter.com/thesnooper

From this point forward, Snoop is only posting feedback on Twitter to ensure you get ALL feedback for each page as quickly as possible. (So think of it this way–before you only got feedback for the entire work. Now you can see his thoughts for EACH page you submit.)  This makes it easier for Snoop and better for you.  (you do not need a twitter account to see Snoop’s thoughts.  Just visit the Twitter link above.

THIS JUST IN-IN! We have a PB winner for the last Free-tique #242!!!!! No more free-tiques to win. But  ALL age-levels may continue to play just for the sake of playing and getting Snoop’s thoughts (now available on a page by page basis.

To enter a new work: See full rules and details here.

Okay, back to business. Snoop has reviewed works submitted before yesterday’s deadline.  All other works received afterward will be automatically entered into the next round.

Here are the results for round 12.

If there is an asterisk next to your page, this means you are in jeopardy of losing Snoop’s interest. There’s your warning.

If you do not see your number listed here at all, check previous round results, and if there’s still no match, contact Snoop and forward the email you believe Snoop may have missed.

That’s all, folks!

SNOOP SAYS, “Green Light!”

Green light! You have until Sunday, May 3rd, 11:59PM CST to submit your stuff for the next round.

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Silver Phoenix: Beyond the Kingdom of Xia by Cindy Pon

This week, we have Cindy Pon. Cindy was born in Taipei, Taiwan and immigrated to California in 1980 at age six, settling in a suburb of Los Angeles. She began writing stories before she was officially declared English proficient.  Cindy is a student of Chinese brush painting, and her love for the art is reflected in her storytelling. An award winning artist, her paintings have been shown in various venues throughout San Diego.  To write and paint in China one day is a personal dream.

Here’s a little bit about SILVER PHOENIX : Beyond the Kingdom of Xia, Greenwillow/ HarperCollins (out now!).

My debut, SILVER PHOENIX : Beyond the Kingdom of Xia, will be published by Greenwillow Books, Harpercollins in Summer ‘09.  It’s a tale of a heroine’s journey and a labor of love, with monsters from Chinese myth and my own imagination. i define it as an Asian YA fantasy. major themes in the book include : the outsider, societal expectations, duty and obligation, FOOD! and unrequited love.  I also have a sequel to SILVER PHOENIX coming out along with a children’s picture book using my own Chinese brush art.

Cindy Pon

Now let’s start the interview. When you received your offer, what happened?

We’re thrilled and terrified.

So now that you have a contract, what’s it like to be on the other side-on the verge of publication? What does it feel like to be official?

Only mothers can relate to this, alas. It’s like your first pregnancy, when the idea of a baby (or published book) is amorphous and dreamy. But when the day arrives, you have a  very real baby in your hands! I’m in that daydreamy ambiguous stage of pre-publication.

Tell us a little bit about your path to publication.

I began taking some creative writing classes after I had my two bubs back to back. I was a stay at home mom and wanted something to call my own–and turned to my first love, writing. I wrote 40 pages of the novel between January and May 2006, then stopped for six months, utterly intimidated by THE MIDDLE. I had no idea what I was doing! (and I admit, sometimes it still feels like that!) but I used nanorimo to write 35k in words that November, conquering my fear of THE MIDDLE. I revised for over a year and began querying for agents in late January 2008. I landed my fantastic agent, bill contardi, in early April. The book went to auction about five weeks later.

And here’s our favorite question. How many rejections did you receive in general (not just for this book) before you landed your first major publishing contract?

51-100

Tell us about one of your most heart-breaking rejections and about one of your best.

My best and worst rejection were one and the same. the agent gave a personal rejection calling me a talented writer, but still passed. I was crushed. The close ones hurt the most. I queried 121 agents, and was considering going directly to publishers via the slush pile if necessary. There isn’t anything on the current YA market like SILVER PHOENIX, and some agents were put off by it. It was discouraging, but I love and believe in this story. and I picked myself up and dusted the rejection grime off each day to chase the dream!

How long did it take to sell your books, from putting the first words on the page to receiving an offer?

2 years – 3 years

Prior to selling your books, you were …

A stay-at-home mom or dad

Now that you’ve sold some books, you plan to …

Other

What are some of the new things you worry about now that you have a contract?

Oh gosh. I’m a worry wart. What isn’t there to worry about? actually, I don’t worry at all about my publisher’s end of things– I have every confidence in them.  I worry about promotion and publicity on a personal level. I worry about readings and signings. I worry about how well the book will sell. I worry about how well it’ll be received by readers.  Then there’s the sequel to be written and the picture book to illustrate!!

If you’ve already begun or have finished the editorial process with your publisher, let you us know what that’s been like.

Revising with my editor, Virginia, has been such an eye opening experience. I’ve learned so much. I’ve done three rounds thus far. the first round was mainly line edits and addressing some issues in the story / plot. I was naive enough to think that was the bulk of it. Then i got the second editorial letter. haha! there’s always the initial can i do this?! Panic! But i was able to tackle most of the questions virginia posed, making the story and characters deepen. The novel is so much stronger for it. This last revision was just tweaking of some dangling issues. I’ve really enjoyed revising with Virginia and am so grateful for her editing skills and insight.

Describe a typical day in your writing life.

Nothing typical yet. I like to revise in large chunks–usually 2 – 5 hours at a time. When i wrote the rough draft, I wrote 4 to 5 days a week, in 40 – 60 minute intervals, usually with an output of 1200 – 1600 words.  I can’t write every day. I need a break once in a while.

Any advice for aspiring authors?

Never give up! as long as you love your writing and your book and your world, keep going! read loads. Write! attend creative writing classes. Join a good critique group. Attend conferences. Read beyond your usual genres. Don’t let your fear of failure or rejection stop you from chasing your dream! Allow yourself to do bad writing, that’s what revising is for.

Aside from WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS<—shameless plug, are there any other books on craft you recommend?

On writing by stephen king steering the craft by ursula le guin

Finally, Snoop wants to know: What is a motto you live by?

Expect nothing, be pleasantly surprised.

This concludes our interview with our latest author Cindy Pon. We wish her much success with her debut novel SILVER PHOENIX : Beyond the Kingdom of Xia.

To see what Cindy is up to these days, visit her blog at http://cindypon.blogspot.com or her website at http://www.cindypon.com.

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Will Round 12 happen? Help us make it to 350 comments by Wednesday, April 30th 11:59PM CST, and the race is on!

The challenge post is here.  Please leave a comment (one per person!).

http://www.cynthealiu.com/2009/03/bloggers-library-loving-challenge/

THIS JUST IN: Round 11 Twitter Thoughts from Snoop are posted.  http://www.twitter.com/thesnooper

Twitter Thoughts do not replace actual feedback you will receive from Snoop if you ask him WHY? WHY? WHY? (see below).  Usually, Snoop has good things to say, too, but in the interest of keeping his tweets short, he got right to the point. If you request feedback for your work, you will usually get a little more than just that.

Snoop will continue to post his LIVE responses to help others see how his mind ticks for future rounds, if there will be one.

THIS JUST IN-IN! We have a winner for the Free-tique for novelists! #88!!!!! Still one open free-tique slot for a PB and ALL age-levels may continue to play just for the sake of playing and getting feedback.

To enter a new work: See full rules and details here.

Okay, back to business. Snoop has reviewed works submitted before Sunday’s deadline.  All other works received afterward will be automatically entered into the next round.

Here are the results for round 11.

If there is an asterisk next to your page, this means you are in jeopardy of losing Snoop’s interest. There’s your warning.

If you do not see your number listed here at all, check previous round results, and if there’s still no match, contact Snoop and forward the submission you believe Snoop may have missed.

That’s all, folks!

SNOOP SAYS, “Green Light!”

Green light! You have until Wed, April 29th, 11:59PM CST to submit your stuff for the next round.

Reminder: Snoop is returning email feedback now. To receive yours, send an email to *this special address: whysnoop AT cynthealiu DOT com. NOT snoop AT cynthealiu DOT com. Got it?

The subject of your email should go like this: WHY, WHY, WHY? Entry #, Type of Work, Your MS title. (e.g. , WHY, WHY, WHY? #14, PB, Nothing New under the Bun). In the body of your email, PASTE everything you sent in for that Entry #. So if you got to page 3, paste in Page 1-3 in that email. This way Snoop will not have to dig around his inbox for all the emails to refresh his memory. Submit ONE email per Entry #. Three entry #s? Three emails. Okay? This way Snoop can work though each entry at a time between bites of carrot during breakfast or before he runs out to the store to get some Gummi Bears. Wait patiently for feedback as Snoop will work through them as soon as he can, without his brain exploding. Finally, please do not email Snoop about the status of your feedback until he has announced here at Writing for Children and Teens that he has finished returning all feedback.

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Hello WFCAT fans,

Thought you’d enjoy this one today. Especially with RLGL underway. Breathe it in!

http://bluerosegirls.blogspot.com/2009/04/how-i-read-submissions.html

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