Author: Katy Upperman

A brief but enlightening conversation about publishing…

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Setting: My House, Dinnertime…

Players: Well-Meaning and Supportive Relative, Me…

Conversation:

Relative – Hey, Katy, how’s that book you’re working on coming along?

Me – Really well, actually. I’m moving pretty quickly. It’s a lot of fun to write so far.

Relative – What’s it about again?

Me – It’s a ghost story, a mystery, and a romance all wrapped up into one.

Relative – And what about that other book? The one you said agents were reading?

Me – Still waiting to hear back from most of them.

Relative – Here’s an idea… what about just calling Walmart and asking them if they’d be willing to sell your book?

Me (at a loss) – Um, that wouldn’t really work…

Relative – Why not?

Me – Because my “book” is a word file on my computer. Books have to be produced before they’re sold at major retailers.

Relative (thoughtful) – Oh…

Me – Before books can be produced, they have to be bought by a publisher. Before that–in most cases–they have to be agented.

Relative – Hmm… well, do you *think* Walmart will sell your book someday?

Me (undeniably hopeful, yet realistic) – Walmart sells best-sellers, for the most part. Books that have already proven themselves.

Relative – Yeah?

Me – It takes a long time or a ton of luck–often both–to get to that point.

Relative – Oh, well hopefully, right?

Me – Yep, hopefully!

Moral of the Story: If you’re not IN IT, you just don’t get it.

RTW: Comparables

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Road Trip Wednesday is a “Blog Carnival,” where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing or reading-related question and answer it on their own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

Today’s Topic: Who are your comp titles/authors?

Though I know it’s important to know who you compare to within your particular genre, I sort of hate this question. It feels so arrogant to measure my work up against anything already out there, particularly books that I love. But, whenever I am asked what books my manuscript Loving Max Holden  compares to, I reference Sarah Ockler’s Twenty Boy Summer and Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty. (Just realized both of these books take place during the summer. Max takes place during the winter. Hmm…)

I reference these books not only because they are awesome, (:)) but because I feel they’re similar to Max both in their realistic teen girl voice, and in the way that they deal with family dynamics. Max also shares the general mood, tone, and voice of some of Sarah Dessen’s books (in my opinion Max is steamier!), but I never use her as a comp because it feels too obvious. Lots of contemporary YA fiction is sort of Sarah Dessen-esque, right?

As far as Where Poppies Bloom, um… can I pass?  Poppies is still a work-in-process (though I am about 2/3 of the way through the first draft–yay!) and although I’ve been reading quite a bit of paranormal romance lately, I’ve yet to find anything I’m comfortable comparing it to. If you have any great paranormal romance recommendations (particularly those that might deal with ghosts!), I’d love if you’d leave the titles in the comments.

Tuesday Tunes – Already Gone

Sugarland is one of my favorite groups. Jennifer Nettles has the most beautiful, twangy country voices around, plus, she’s gorgeous. The lyrics to this song tell the story of a failed relationship. They’re honest and romantic and raw. My favorite?  But his dark eyes dared me with danger, and sparks fly like flame to a paper…

Here are the lyrics, written by  Kristian Bush, Jennifer Nettles and Bobby Pinson, in their entirety:

My Mama mapped out the road that she knows
Which hands you shake and which hands you hold
In my hand-me-down Mercury, ready to roll
She knew that I had to go
And hang out, make lots of noise
And lay out late with a boy
Make the mistakes that she made ’cause she knew all along

I was already gone
Life is a runaway train you can’t wait to jump on

They say the first time won’t ever last
But that didn’t stop me the first time he laughed
All my friends tried to warn me the day that we met
“Girl, don’t you lose your heart yet”
But his dark eyes dared me with danger
And sparks fly like flame to a paper
Fire in his touch burning me up, but still I held on
‘Cause I was already gone
Life is a runaway train you can’t wait to jump on

The last time I saw him, we packed up my things
And he smiled like the first time he told me his name
And we cried with each other
We split the blame for the parts that we couldn’t change
Pictures, dishes and socks
It’s our whole life down to one box
There he was waving goodbye on the front porch alone

But I was already gone
Hang out, make lots of noise
And lay out late with a boy
Make the mistakes that she made, life is a runaway train

My mama mapped out the road that she knows
Which hands to shake, which hands you hold
In my hand-me-down Mercury
Life is a runaway train you can’t wait to jump on.

Friday Five – What’s awesome this week?

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It’s a random Friday. I’m knee-deep in WIP, and therefore not reading a lot or watching much TV. But, I have gotten out a little and here are the things that make my awesome list this week. 🙂

1) Okay, movies first. I saw two last weekend and they both rocked (the Munchkin slept over at Mimi and Baba’s and my husband and I pulled a double feature!).

The Social Network – Fast paced, funny, and completely relevant. I was in college when Napster came out (I may or may not have had a few free songs downloaded on my computer. Shhh…) and have had Facebook for a few years now. The Social Network is a story of friendship, money and betrayal, and the impact of technology on masses of people. There’s really no good guy in this movie; at times, I was sympathetic to all of the main characters. The Social Network is proof that good ideas are a dime a dozen. Actually being able to execute them WELL is what’s important.

 

AND It’s Kind of a Funny Story –  Based on a YA novel, It’s Kind of a Funny Story reminded me of Little Miss Sunshine, a movie I adore. It’s a little bit dark, a little bit funny, and a lot heartfelt. The actors are adorable, and the movie focuses on a realistic teen with realistic problems (pressure at school, unrequited love, feelings of isolation). At times, it’s a little heavy-handed on its lesson (things are never as bad as they seem), but I still loved it.

2) I found a local independent new/used bookstore! A Good Book Cafe in Sumner, Washington might just be my new favorite place to buy books. They have a huge selection of all genres and are willing to special order anything they don’t stock. Plus, they took two huge boxes of old books off my hands in exchange for discounts and store credit. Yay! 

3) Vampire Diaries – I know it’s aimed at teens, blah, blah, blah, but I think Vampire Diaries is one of the best shows on TV. It’s steamy, with super sharp dialogue, new twists and turns in every episode, and a freakishly attractive cast. If you’re not watching, start with Season One. Too much goes on in each and every scene to jump in mid-Season Two. But do watch–definitely!

4) I found the perfect actor to play the romantic interest in the movie of my WIP, Where Poppies Bloom (hey, a girl can dream!). Meet Alex Pettyfer. Yeah. I know.

5) Last but not least, I have found my new favorite non-writing/non-publishing blog ever – www.whatclaudiawore.com. I have to admit, I was intensely fanatical about The Baby-Sitters Club when I was a kid. Not only did I read every. Single. Book, but, I owned most of the too. Silly as they seem now, I was an uberfan. My favorite character was Claudia Kishi, the Asian American girl with the almond-shaped eyes. So what if she sucked at school and had an insane candy addiction? She was arty and unique and she wore–seriously–the coolest clothes ever.  Somehow I’ve managed to stumble across a blog written by a twenty-something who shares in my previously dormant  Claudia obsession. Her posts are snarky and fun, featuring the way-too detailed descriptions of Claud’s outfits straight from the books’ text, with her witty commentary laced it. Lately, she’s been doing her take on the book covers too, which are nothing short of hilarious. Yep. Check it out! 🙂  

(Kristy pic from http://incredulouskristy.tumblr.com/, also worth checking out!)

RTW: In the Beginning…

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Road Trip Wednesday is a “Blog Carnival,” where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing or reading-related question and answer it on their own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

 

 

 

This week’s topic: A novel’s opening is like a pick up line. If it’s good, you might take it home. If it’s bad… well. You know. What are your favorite first lines? How do your own WIPs start?

Honestly, I never paid much attention to first lines until I started writing seriously. Now when I’m book shopping, I read the back cover blurb, then the first line before I decide whether or not to buy. When done well, they catch my attention, make me wonder and set the tone for the book. Here are a few of my favorites:

 

If I Stay by Gayle Forman – Everyone thinks it was because of the snow.
 
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater – I remember lying in the snow, a small red spot of warm going cold, surrounded by wolves.
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson – Gram is worried about me.
 
Looking for Alaska by John Green – The week before I left my family and Florida and the rest of my minor life to go to boarding school in Alabama, my mother insisted on throwing me a going-away party.

And here are the openings from two of my manuscripts:
Loving Max Holden – Riding to school with Max Holden is only slightly less traumatizing than riding the big yellow bus.
 
Where Poppies Bloom (still a WIP, so subject to change) – At first glance, you wouldn’t peg me as the type of girl who hotboxes her bathroom.
 

What about you? What are your favorite novel beginnings?

Friday Five: What my WIP is teaching me…

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So, I’m somewhere around half-way through draft one of my WIP, Where Poppies Bloom. It’s been a learning experience, to say the least. It’s the third full-length YA novel I’ve tackled, and for whatever reason, everything that worked for me while writing the first two is NOT working for me this time around. It’s a learning experience, and a definite labor of love. Here’s what I’ve picked up at this stage of the game.

1) I’m a romance writer, through and through. WIP’s original outline started out with very little romance, and even that didn’t come until the end. It was so not working for me. I’ve made some adjustments. Now, my two main characters realize their feelings for each other earlier, and it’s so much more fun to sit down and spend my afternoon working on their relationship with them. I’m inspired again. *whew!*

2) I’m an unapologetic lover of adverbs. Yeah, I know. Don’t use them, it’s amateur, they’re a crutch, blah, blah… Whatever. I dig them AND I use them. Of course, many are edited out at a later stage of the game, but in the first draft I drop them in without inhibition. Why? Because they’re easy. They say what I want to say quickly, and I can revise later if I need to. They help set a mood. And I think adverbs–when used thoughtfully–are capable of making a YA voice just a little more authentic.

3) I’m capable of writing scenes out-of-order. Who would have thought?! Oh, my last manuscript was so easy. Seriously… effortless as far as getting the words down on paper. I outlined scene by scene, then I wrote that sucker, scene by scene. There was no jumping ahead, no backtracking. This WIP… not so much. It’s a struggle. Like pulling teeth some days. So I skip around. I write what I’m feeling, what I can’t get out of my head. Then I go back fifty pages and stick in a new scene that just randomly popped into my head. And it’s okay! (I have to keep reminding my OCD of this.) Writing fiction is like putting the pieces of a puzzle together. (And this.) The manuscript will survive! (And this.) After all, that’s what revisions are for, right? Smoothing it all out, plugging holes, and shining it up.

4) Speaking of revisions, I love them so much more than writing the first draft. Yep. It’s true. It’s HARD getting the story down on paper. I’d so much rather make something that already exists pretty. I love to edit. I love to revise. I can’t wait until I get to that phase.  

5) Setting is really important, and fun to create! I’ve created a whole town for Where Poppies Bloom. It’s called Bell Cove. It’s on the Oregon coast. And it’s beautiful. Most importantly, it plays a big part in the story, much like a character. All these events that take place? They can only happen in Bell Cove. It’s quaint and touristy and quiet. I sort of want to live there someday. And this house that my main character is living in? It’s spooky and historical and in the midst of a remodel. Awesome. And the beach? Well, I didn’t create the beach, but it’s lovely and sort of symbolic and it’s really fun to write the scenes that take place there.  

So yes, WIP is giving me fits, but she’s fun and I’m learning, and that’s why I keep going back for more. What about you? What has your WIP taught you lately?

RTW: It’s vacation time!

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Road Trip Wednesday is a “Blog Carnival,” where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing or reading-related question and answer it on their own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

Today’s Topic: You’re packing for a month on a deserted island. What, as a reader and writer, must be in your backpack?

Yeah… this one might be a problem for me. I mean, just how deserted is this island? Are there electrical outlets? Because I’d be lost without my laptop, and its battery is good for two hours–tops.

What about wireless internet?  I need Google. I need my online writing partners-in-crime. I need to check my email obsessively, just in case my top choice literary agent  gets back to me about that submission.   

Will I have access to a freezer? Ice cream is my writer’s block snack of choice. It’s gotten me through many an I’m stuck! moment. I doubt I’d be productive without it.

And I’ll need comfy clothes and a cushy chair…

I think I might be high maintenance.

But here’s the thing: If I’m going to a deserted island, I won’t be working on anything but my tan. I’ll be flat on my back on the beach, soaking up the sun and catching up on sleep. Pina coladas might be involved. Oh my… it sounds so lovely…

I’ll definitely need books. Lots of them. Because reading on the beach is probably one of my top five favorite things to do EVER. Mostly YA, and all of my favorites. I’m currently in the middle of Brenna Yovanoff’s The Replacement, and I am already dying to reread The Sky is Everywhere. Also, I’ve been meaning to read Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol since, oh, I don’t know… it came out.

So yeah. A sunny deserted island sounds pretty amazing right now, especially considering the cool fall weather I’ve been suffering through these last few days. When does the flight leave?

What about you? What would you pack for a desert island vacation?

Tuesday Tunes – Travelin’ Soldier

Say what you will about the Dixie Chicks and their… um, political statements, but I love their music and I absolutely adore this song. As an Army wife whose husband has endured three long deployments, it hits particularly close to home. Plus, these lyrics have the beginning threads of a young adult novel snaking through them. Here’s a live performance, with lyrics below.

“Travelin’ Soldier”

Two days past eighteen
He was waiting for the bus in his army green
Sat down in a booth in a cafe there
Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair
He’s a little shy so she gives him a smile
And he said would you mind sittin’ down for a while
And talking to me,
I’m feeling a little low
She said I’m off in an hour and I know where we can go

So they went down and they sat on the pier
He said I bet you got a boyfriend but I don’t care
I got no one to send a letter to
Would you mind if I sent one back here to you

I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin’ for the love of a travelin’ soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin’ for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letter said
A soldier’s coming home

So the letters came from an army camp
In California then Vietnam
And he told her of his heart
It might be love and all of the things he was so scared of
He said when it’s getting kinda rough over here
I think of that day sittin’ down at the pier
And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile
Don’t worry but I won’t be able to write for awhile

One Friday night at a football game
The Lord’s Prayer said and the Anthem sang
A man said folks would you bow your heads
For a list of local Vietnam dead
Crying all alone under the stands
Was a piccolo player in the marching band
And one name read but nobody really cared
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair

Lyrics originally by: Bruce Robison

Bad Advice

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The Word Play blog has a good post about bad writing advice today, my favorite of which was: “Write what you know. If I wrote about what I know, my books would be pretty boring!” submitted by @righter1.

The post reminded me of some bad advice I was witness to recently at a small writing conference. A panel of local authors was gathered to offer advice and guidance to aspiring writers. While a lot of their advice was valuable, one of their comments struck me as completely out of touch and very naive. Here it is, paraphrased:  “Write what you want. Don’t worry about your audience or genre. Your eventual publisher will figure all of that out.”

Okay, no.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a card-carrying member of the Write What Inspires You Club. BUT… you’d better know who your audience is!

Bookstores organize their stock into categories for a reason. People know what they like, and they want to be able to find it easily. If you write a book that’s a mash-up of space aliens, fairies, a child dying of cancer, the reunion of two scorned lovers, and a Big Brother inspired government take-over, what genre will it fall under? Where is your book going to be shelved?

If you’re not paying any attention to the genre you’re writing in, how will you learn by reading already published books within that genre? How will you write appropriately to please and entertain your audience? How will you write a compelling query to interest an agent or publisher in your manuscript? How will you be able to list comparable books if asked? How will you participate in marketing once the book (hopefully!) sells?

Yes. Hearing that advice spouted carelessly to a room full of hopefuls was horrifying. I was tempted to raise my hand and speak out, but at the time, it felt disrespectful. Who am I, an unpublished aspiring writer, to argue advice given by a seasoned veteran? Now, I sort of wish I would have. I know we’re all creative individuals, but publishing is a business and should be treated as such. I’m very proactive in researching the publishing industry and the genre in which I write, but I’m willing to bet some of the people at that conference aren’t. And now they’re stuck with advice that, frankly, sucks.

What about you? Any horrible advice you’ve gotten during the course of your writing journey?

RTW: Best Book I Read In September

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Road Trip Wednesday is a “Blog Carnival,” where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing or reading-related question and answer it on their own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

Today’s Topic: What’s the best book you read in September?

September was a bit of a slow reading month for me because I started a new WIP. I read Lucy Christopher’s Stolen (which was amazing–I mentioned it in this POST), Kody Keplinger’s The DUFF, and Sophie Jordan’s Firelight. I’m currently in the middle of Julia Hoban’s Willow.

But the best book I read this month, one of the best books I read all year, and now among my top five favorite books EVER was Jandy Nelson’s The Sky is Everywhere. I know, I know. I’m a little late to the game. I remember seeing The Sky is Everywhere mentioned on more than one RTW August book list, but oh my God, I loved it too much not to mention it.

Here’s the Goodreads blurb: Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey’s boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie’s own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they’re the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can’t collide without the whole wide world exploding.

First, I should admit I’ve become a bit of an impatient reader. When I hit a big block of exposition or background stuff, I usually skim over it so I can get onto the good stuff. Even books I really enjoy usually have parts I hurry through. Not the case with The Sky is Everywhere. I can honestly say that every sentence–every WORD–was crucial and beautifully written. Jandy Nelson’s metaphors were creative and spot on, her descriptions painted total and complete pictures, and her portrayal of grief and the crazy things that sometimes happen to someone immersed in sadness were entirely authentic. 

I always find it fascinating when an author puts a character in confusing or dismal or horrible situations, but still manages to make you wish you WERE that character. Lennie is flawed and selfish and rash, but still, there’s something about her you can cling to. And the rest of the characters… Joe, Toby, Sarah, Lennie’s eccentric family members… they are all individualistic and fully realized. You’ll want them to be a part of your life.

So yes, The Sky is Everywhere is by far the best book of my September. Check it out (and other responses from RTWers!) if you haven’t already!   

Oh, and here’s the trailer. It’s fabulous. 🙂