Writing and Selling the YA Novel (2 page)

3
^rd
Period: English.
I don't know about you, but English was always my favorite class. If there's one thing I love it's a good book, and good books are full of great characters. A memorable character will linger in a reader's mind long after she's finished reading. Learning to create and develop interesting personalities is essential to storytelling, and there's no better place to practice your skills than English class.

4
^th
Period: Lunch.
Isn't there more to a good story than characters? The characters have to
do
something, don't they? That's where lunch comes in. In the lunchroom alliances are formed, gossip is rampant, and cliques are everywhere. Someone is almost always in tears or in the process of breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend. In short, lunch means action, and action means plot.

5
^th
Period: Social Studies.
After lunch you'll proceed to social studies, where we'll take an in-depth look at setting. We'll discuss what role location plays in stories and how it can be used to affect plot and characters. Do you know which details can bring a location to life? If not, have your notebook ready.

6
^th
Period: Study Hall.
Narrative voice and point of view are two qualities of YA literature that have stood out over the years. In study hall you'll learn how you can make your teen voices sound realistic and how to figure out the best way to tell a given story. Learning about narration techniques will help you make good decisions. What does this require? Time! Good thing you've got study hall.

7
^th
Period: Science.
According to the
Oxford English Dictionary
, science is a branch of knowledge requiring systematic study and an expert's skillful technique. Skillful technique is what editing is all about. Very few of us (if any!) produce polished material in our first drafts. Learning how to improve what you write can make the difference between a manuscript that makes it to an editor's desk and one that gets lost in the slush pile.

8
^th
Period: Math.
How many of you dreaded math class when you were in school? But as a writer, you'll love it, because this is where we talk about money! Yes, writers can and do make money. Here's where you'll

perfect your query letter, decide whether you're looking for an agent or an editor, and research the best marketplace for your material. You'll also learn the basics of negotiating a solid contract.

9
^th
Period: Shop Glass.
In your school, was shop class reserved for the kids who smoked in the bathrooms and wore black leather jackets all year round? Or maybe shop class meant computers and learning the most up-to-date technology. Maybe you were one of those kids who waited all day for a chance to get your hands dirty, or the artist who made statements in the only class that allowed you to create. Regardless, there's no better place to talk shop than shop class. Here's where we'll discuss swearing, drugs, sex, slang, technology, and all the other ever-changing hot-button issues unique to the teen market. We'll also look at marketing your book once it gets published.

Sound like a lot to learn? Relax. You've got all the tools you require in your writing locker. You can progress at your own pace, taking all the time you need before moving on to the next class. In fact, I encourage you to do each of the homework assignments you receive, not because they'll be graded, but because practicing your skills is the best way to improve them.

So, if you're ready to go, the morning bell is ringing...

What's your most vivid memory from high school? How about middle school? Can you recall where you sat in ninth-grade social studies? Does the smell of the biology room still linger somewhere in your subconscious? What was your favorite class? Who was your best friend? Your worst enemy? Were you homeschooled? What's the one thing you know now that you wish you'd known back then?

If you've made it to homeroom today it's because you want to write novels for young adults. Congratulations! This is a wonderful goal, worthy of many hours in the classroom. Writing for young adults is an expanding field attracting some top authors. If you're looking to break into this market, you're off to a great start. Studying the craft is essential for success, and knowing who you are as a writer and who your audience is can help you begin your career with a solid foundation.

But maybe you're not so sure you've come to the right place.

Maybe you've tiptoed into homeroom because someone put it on your schedule, but you're not certain where you should sit or whether you really belong here at all. Perhaps you think you're too old to go back to school. Maybe you can't answer any of the questions at the beginning of this chapter. The smell of the biology room? That was years ago! Is remembering your locker combination a prerequisite for success?

Why would someone choose to write for the teen market anyway?

If you want to write a young adult (YA) novel this is the number one question to address. Writing takes a lot of stamina. It requires hours of solitary work, creating and recreating characters, plot, and setting. It takes energy and enthusiasm, and trust me, if you aren't entirely in love with your book and its characters, you'll never make it through round after round of editing. So it's important to be sure that the work you create is coming from your heart.

Does this mean you can't experiment? Try out different voices and styles? Absolutely not! Experimentation is essential if you're going to learn what works for you, but you can save yourself a lot of time by understanding the field you're delving into. Learning about other books similar to the one you're writing can spark ideas, shape the choices you make, and maybe even influence the way you approach your novel.

In homeroom we'll explore the defining characteristics of the YA novel, the reasons someone might (or might not!) want to write for teens, and what you'll need to know to get started.

WHY WRITE FOR TEENS?
_

Okay, class, settle down. Let's go around the room and share why were all here today.

Remember when you were a kid and adults asked this question? Back then the answer was almost always, "Because I have to be." Only that was never what you said out loud. Instead, it was necessary to come up with platitudes to please the teacher.

I chose this class because I really want to learn about economics.

I'm here so I can become a well-rounded individual.

I truly love science.

Sometimes those platitudes were true, but more often they were just what you said in order to get through the activity you'd been forced to attend. Now that we're adults, we get to enjoy the freedom of choosing our activities and arranging our schedules exactly as we'd like. "We have unlimited choices and can usually do exactly what we want.

Or can we?

When was the last time you stifled a yawn at a meeting? Have you ever wished you could throw your daily planner out the window? Are you constantly promising yourself you'll slow down only to find it never seems to happen?

The truth is, no matter how old we get, we share much in common with teenagers. The experiences and emotions of those years never disappear completely, and that's part of the reason I love writing for teens. No matter how old you are, you still experience emotions that are the same as when you were younger, but nowyou possess more life experience than you did when you were a kid, so you can put them in a different context. Writing books for young adults is a unique opportunity to channel both familiar emotions and unfamiliar experiences, exploring ideas and issues that are meaningful to teens yet still relevant in your own life.

Of course, this can be a challenge because, while the core emotional truths stay the same, there are also a lot of things that have changed since you were in school, even if you graduated only a few years ago. Think of all the things that are different now than they were when you were in high school or middle school:

• your body

• technology

• language

• relationships to friends and family

• how you spend your time

• your goals

• the world around you

This list could go on and on, and maybe that seems intimidating, but it can also be exciting. Writing books for young adults allows us to revisit the world in a new way.

If you're feeling out of touch, don't panic. Television, movies, music, and people-watching are easy ways to observe what's going on in the world of teens. If you don't know any teenagers personally, go see the top-rated teen movies, or read
Teen Vogue
or
Seventeen.
Better yet, stop by some forums online, or get a MySpace or Facebook page. Just beware of judging adolescents by their covers. You certainly wouldn't want teens to base their assumptions about adults on the hit Monday night TV show or the latest romantic comedy. And beware of writing your book with the sole intent to reach a "hip" portion of the demographic. Books are first and foremost art and entertainment, and books for teens are no exceptions. The best YA books can appeal to almost any age group and almost any type of teen because they use strong writing to tell meaningful stories with well-developed characters.

Many people underestimate teenagers, but I think the average teen is far more complex than we think. Most teens are already reading adult books, so the intent of the teen novel isn't to "write down" to them, but rather to give them a body of literature that is uniquely their own. Our teenage years can be tumultuous ones. Teenagers are on the brink of adulthood, and their understanding of the world can be simultaneously very broad and very limited. Some teens live sheltered lives, yet others catapult forward, dealing with experiences and issues most adults would be hard-pressed to navigate. Books for teenagers must tap into both ends of this spectrum.

Think about this: Have you ever watched a performer standing on stage belting out songs to a huge audience and thought that you wouldn't have the courage and composure to do the same? Have you then found out the performer was just fifteen or sixteen years old? Teens are capable of amazing accomplishments, yet they are also just beginning to experiment with adult roles. They're constantly shaping their identities and redefining how they interact with the ever-changing world around them.

This is the deep well from which YA literature draws. Our audience is astute, demanding, inquisitive, and always in flux. Their openness to diversity of form and content allows the YA writer a nearly limitless canvas. As author Bruce Brooks says in Marc Aron-son's
Exploding the Myths: The Truth About Teens and Reading
, "Someone who does not share the fundamental conviction that these [teens] are people of profound integrity, intelligence, and feeling ought to be a writer, editor, publisher, critic, librarian, or bookseller for someone else. Young adults deserve our best regard and our best literature."

I believe they are getting it.

Young adult writers today are constantly exploring the teenage world, giving it the layers and complexity it deserves. Understanding what other authors have created and analyzing how they've accomplished it can be an important learning experience and may even remind you of a few things from your own past that you think you've forgotten. It will certainly help you determine whether this is the market you are best suited to write for.

Writing for teens isn't easy. It's a balancing act—weighing what's relevant with what's timeless—but if you can do this, you can succeed in any genre.

DEFINING YOUNG ADULT
_

Maybe you're thinking all this sounds great but wondering how you'll know when the book you're reading or working on is a YA novel. Maybe what you're writing is really a middle-grade novel, or perhaps it's more suited to adults. Sure, teen novels are exciting and challenging, but what exactly
are
they?

This question isn't as easy to answer as you might think.

With almost every genre of literature you can create a list of definable characteristics, and while there will always be exceptions, the exceptions aren't the rule. Writing for young adults defies this description. You'll find books like Cecily von Ziegesar's
Gossip Girl
series sharing a bookshelf with M.T. Anderson's acclaimed literary novel
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation.
Do such diverse books have anything in common? Is YA literature even a genre?