Writing and Selling the YA Novel

by K L Going

  The question then, for each of us, is: What kind of world are we looking to create? Are we hoping to move our readers through realism, fantasy, or some combination of the two? As you think about the teenage world you're portraying, consider what realities would be a part of your character's world. Do drugs exist? If so, how close or how distant would they be to your character's experience? Would sexual feelings or sexual experiences be a part of your character's life? How would the characters speak in the environment you've chosen?

  Many authors get confused and try to portray a potential reader's experience, or their own views or wishes, rather than remembering that the world that exists on the pages of a book belongs to the characters. Limitations should not be imposed based on the author's desires, or even a potential reader's desires. When that happens, worlds collide and the spell of great fiction is broken.

  To give you an example of what I'm referring to, I'll use my own experiences with controversy. In Fat Kid Rules the World, the main character, Troy Billings, is a junior in high school who is living in Manhattan and finds entree into the alternative world of punk rock. In this world, I felt that Troy would naturally hear and use language that some people consider offensive. Since he's a teenage boy, I also felt that sexual feelings would be a part of his reality, even if sex itself wasn't. Furthermore, I felt that he'd not only be aware of drugs, but he would most likely be confronted with them up close and personal at one time or another.

  Despite what some people might suggest, I didn't make the decision to include bad language, sexual feelings, or drugs in my book in an arbitrary manner, to add "spice" or controversy to my novel. Personally,

  I rarely swear and I don't use or advocate the use of drugs, but when I wrote this book it wasn't my world I was portraying; it was Troy's. I wasn't willing to portray Troy's world as I, or anyone else, wished it might be. Instead I chose to portray it as I believe it truly would be. Should someone argue with the realism of that portrayal, I would have to be called to task, but if, in fact, I've done my job, hopefully I've opened a window to a world that most of us don't usually get to peer into—that of a six-foot-one, three hundred-pound, punk rock drummer in New York City.

  My goal when I was writing was to create this world in a realistic way, and my hope was that people would go on a journey with the characters and, regardless of how they might personally feel about the lives portrayed, they would come to love them. After all, isn't this what life is all about? Seeing other people, places, and beliefs and accepting them for what they are rather than trying to change them into .. . us?

  In my next book, The Liberation of Gabriel King, which was geared to younger readers instead of teens, my characters are fourth-grade students living in Georgia in 1976. In this book you'll find no references to sex or drugs and no swear words. In this world, the insertion of swearwords, drugs, or sexual feelings would have been out of place—imposed on the text. But what you will find is the word "nigger" used by an adult and overheard by the children.

  This book deals with racism, and the characters must struggle with the confusing and unfair nature of the world they live in. Since the story takes place at a time in our country's history when the civil rights movement was still new, it seemed to me that racism would certainly be a part of these children's everyday lives. Yes, the temptation to rewrite history was there. I don't find it any easier than the next person to accept the uglier realities of the world we live in, but what

  would be gained by whitewashing the past and what opportunities might be lost to discuss the present?

  What it comes right down to is portraying the world you've chosen with the most skill, artistry, and truth possible. Had I chosen a fantasy setting for either of these novels—an otherworldly punk rock zone in some far distant galaxy, or two kids living in the southern part of a country that never existed—I could have created these worlds with no limitations imposed by the real world. I could have created universes where different races had always existed in harmony, or a planet where sex was something teenagers never experienced, wondered about, or grappled with. But those aren't the settings I chose.

  Likewise, in the modern world I might have decided to portray a different type of teenager in Fat Kid Rules the World. Perhaps, I might have chosen a very sheltered six-foot-one, three hundred-pound teen boy who never swore and refused to get involved in the punk rock scene because he objected to the drug use and swearing, but what a different book that would be!

  Each author must make her choices about the book she wants to write. What is your premise? Who are your characters? Where is your book set? When is your book set? These choices will inform your decisions about what language and issues exist in your story. No agenda, either pro or con, can do anything but draw from the integrity of your novel.

  SLANG, TECHNOLOGY, AND FADS

  If sex, drugs, and bad language present types of difficulties when writing for teens, dealing with slang, technology, and fads present a whole different can of worms. Here, it's not the protective, judging eyes of

  adults you need to be concerned with, but the sharp, assessing eyes of teens themselves. The modern world changes very rapidly, and just about the time you've filled your book with all the "hip" references you can muster, you'll probably find some teen snickering at you, saying, "Did she just say 'hip'? No one says 'hip' anymore!"

  The same is true of technology. The moment you think you've been clever by incorporating the newest technological gadget, another greatly improved one is sure to come along. Computers, cell phones, iPods ... all of these are evolving right before our eyes, and new inventions we could never have imagined are just moments away from being thrust into the marketplace.

  Staying abreast of what's happening in the world is important. You certainly don't want to make outdated references in a modern novel, but it's also important not to let the quest for relevance outweigh your characters and plot. Remember, it's the timeless aspects of a book that will make a reader want to keep reading, not the references to what's new and fashionable.

  When you do need to refer to a cultural phenomenon—whether it's a celebrity, a musical group, a technological invention, a fashion piece, or a slang word—you can handle it in several different ways.

  First, you can choose to accept your limitations. Some books are going to become dated. There will always be classics that seem as relevant today as they did when they were written—so much so that you might unconsciously remember them as if they took place today even though the setting might have been decades prior—but there are other books that are meant to capture a specific moment in time and their intent is to appeal to fast-paced modern readers who are interested in what's hot right now.

  One example of these sorts of books would be the novels that came out right about the time when the Internet was becoming popular and used the e-mail format as something new and seductive to teen readers. Looking at many of these novels now, in the age of instant messaging and MySpace pages, they often seem simple and dated in terms of their technological references, but for the authors who wrote these books, the current appeal outweighed the future chance of the technology becoming obsolete or being replaced by something newer or better.

  Another way to handle the ever-changing cultural scene is to invent a new one, unique to your book. Depending on what type of book you're writing, this may or may not work for you, but some authors have pulled it off brilliantly. In the futuristic novel Rash by Pete Hautman, the author invents new slang, popular foods, technology, clothes ... everything you can think of that makes a teenager cool. The same is true for M.T. Anderson's Feed, which also takes place in the future.

  But what about contemporary novels? There's no reason you can't invent popular fads in a book that takes place today. Want to reference a well-known music group? Make it a local group that all the kids love. Having difficulty choosing a wardrobe for your fashion-conscious character? Give her the type of fashion sense that's both personal and eclectic, or make up some fabulo
us new item she finds on a trip to Soho.

  Finally, you can take the approach of choosing the classics. When it comes to fashion, celebrities, movies, and music there will always be certain references that will stand the test of time. How do you know? Because they already have. The Beatles might not be the "new" thing anymore, but if your character loves them you can guarantee kids will know who they are and the reference will have meaning. One word of warning, though. Too many classic references can get old real quick.

  Another one of my pet peeves in teen novels is that so many characters watch and adore classic, black-and-white films, while in real life I know of very few teens who actually watch them. It's the equivalent of giving your character red hair and green eyes. Are there people out there with red hair and green eyes? Certainly, but the literary usage has become so common as to be cliche.

  I'd suggest you use some mix of all these techniques to give your novel a timeless feel. And of course, your choices will have to be defined by the characters and the setting. For some books, the issue of modern relevance—or the hip factor—simply won't matter, either because the book is historical or because the character is withdrawn from the modern world, paying no attention to what's popular and what is not.

  BUT WHAT ABOUT YOU?

  Of course, it might be well and good for your character to be withdrawn from the modern world, but what about you? As an author for teen readers, do you need to stay current, accessing teens through all the latest technologies and presenting yourself as the literary equivalent of Justin Timberlake? (Let's see how quickly that reference becomes dated!)

  This is a difficult question. If you're J.K. Rowling, do you need to focus on your image and invest yourself in promotion? Nope. At this point, I doubt she needs to do any marketing of her books or of herself as an author. Her books are selling quite well on their own, thank you. But for the rest of us, promoting ourselves to teen readers can be a challenge as we discover the world of forums, blogs, Web sites, book trailers, and podcasts.

  Although it is your publisher's job to sell your book once it's produced, you can't sit back and wait for a bestseller. Or even a decent seller. For most of us, it's necessary to join in the process of marketing our teen novels through personal appearances and online resources. The good news is, new technologies are making it possible for us to reach teens in a more direct manner than ever before. They offer us opportunities for publicity that are not dependent on our publisher's limited budgets.

  205 Writing & Selling the Vjfo y.«vtl

  PERSONAL APPEARANCES

  Personal appearances can run the gamut from author visits to schools and libraries, speeches, workshops, and bookstore signings to visiting a college class as a guest lecturer or doing a reading at a book festival. Depending on your level of comfort speaking in public, you'll need to gauge how many of these visits you want to do per year and how actively you pursue these opportunities.

  If you're interested in making personal appearances a part of your publicity repertoire, a good place to start when you first get published is the local level. Contact your community bookstore, especially if you have an independent bookstore nearby, and see if you can set up a book signing. Chances are the store will be open to this idea, but you will probably need to send out some of your own invitations to the event. When I worked at the Merritt Bookstore in Cold Spring, New York, I found that the most successful events were the ones where the authors played an active role, sending out invitations to friends and family. It's difficult for a small store to generate large crowds, so if you want people to attend your event, help out by publicizing your visit.

  Local schools and libraries may also be open to hosting a visiting author. You can contact them with a formal business letter, or if you have a friend who might put in a good word for you, that's even better. You might also consider printing a small flier with your biographical information, some information about your presentation, and the name and ISBN of your book(s). Fliers can be expensive if done professionally, but the return is often worth the money spent. You can also print something on your own using the publishing software offered on most computers. Consider purchasing a mailing list as well. Most printing places offer mailing lists tailored to your specifications.

  Want to do school or library visits within a one hundred-mile radius of where you live? You might be surprised to find out how many schools and libraries you've never even heard of.

  I'd also recommend you offer to do your first few school or library visits for free so you can work out your presentation and establish references. Once you have a firm footing, you can set a fair price based both on what you feel you have to offer and on what most schools and libraries in your area can afford. Fees for author visits vary dramatically ranging from token amounts like fifty or one hundred dollars that just cover your costs and might leave you with a little bit extra, to fifteen hundred to two thousand dollars that award-winning authors with a long track record might receive. Remember that your fee should change according to how many presentations you're doing (you might do one presentation for a library or up to three separate presentations for a school visit), the length of time you're asked to present for, and the size of the program. I highly recommend you iron out all of these details in writing at the time you schedule the event.

  Unlike school visits, library visits, and bookstore signings, it's a little more difficult to pursue keynote speeches, workshops, and panels at conferences. Most of the time, the coordinators of the larger conferences such as those hosted by the SCBWI, the American Library Association (ALA), the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), Writer's Digest Books, or BookExpo America, will want to contact you or your publisher, not the other way around. However, if you can find out the name of a conference coordinator there's probably no harm in submitting your resume and pitching your idea for a speech or workshop. SCBWI hosts regional conferences in addition to their large annual conferences, and they just might be looking for a workshop exactly like the one you have in mind.

  If you're very eager to book speaking engagements, make sure your name is listed in as many speakers directories as possible. If you follow the path of traditional publishing, your publisher will probably have an author coordinator on staff, and she will most likely list information about the programs their authors offer. Make sure to introduce yourself to this person and double check that your name is listed on any Web site they maintain. SGBWI offers a directory listing public speakers, and in my area, the New England Booksellers Association publishes a directory every two years. Chances are there's something similar in your area, too. Forums (which we'll discuss more in a moment) also provide opportunities to share personalized tips and exchange information with other writers. Every area of the country offers unique opportunities that other YA writers may already have access to.

  WEB SITES

  What if you're not comfortable with public speaking? Are there other ways to publicize your books that don't require you to stand in front of an audience? Certainly. We're fortunate in this day and age to have plenty of opportunities available through the Internet. Web sites can be created at an affordable cost, and I highly recommend maintaining one. They're great ways for teens to find out more about you and your books.

  Obviously, the easiest way to procure a Web site is to ask a friend, family member, or acquaintance who knows how to create them. Many people can build Web sites these days—if you have a teenager in your family, you might start by asking him. The Authors Guild also offers free Web sites to new members, although this offer won't continue indefinitely. Still, it's a great deal while it lasts, and even if you're not a

  new member or the offer expires, their normal Web site design and hosting costs are very reasonable.

  If you don't know someone who can design a site, you can also go to your local chamber of commerce and look for Web designers. As with anything, you want to be careful to choose someone reputable to work with. It's easy to get taken advantage of, so don't be a
fraid to ask for references. You should plan to meet with several designers, and before you speak with them try to determine how you envision your site and what you'd like the site to do for you. Gome up with different statements about what you want and need. Examples might be:

  • "I want a site that can promote my books."

  • "I want a Web site where teens can have fun."

  • "I want a Web site where teachers and librarians can find resources."

  Ask plenty of questions and make sure the person you're speaking to is able to explain her work in terms you understand. Find out how she handles updates to sites because author Web sites tend to change as each new book or review is available.

  Make sure your Web designer will provide hosting and register your domain name. Hosting for Web sites is the equivalent of renting office space for your business. A Web site needs bandwidth to exist, and those who "host" sites do so for a fee. Your domain name is the name that points people to your site, such as klgoing.com orfatkidrulestheworld.com. It is very important that your domain name be registered in YOUR name and not in the name of the person who creates your Web site. Your domain belongs to you, and should you decide to change Web designers, you'll need to be in control. You'll also want to be clear on whose responsibility it is to renew your domain name before it expires so you don't lose it.

  Depending on how large a site you want, you can expect to pay anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars to develop a Web site. While it might seem like choosing a free site or a low-cost site is the obvious way to go, don't discount sites that cost more to develop. Many Web sites contain beautiful graphics, but they don't attract browsers because they don't have the text that search engines are looking for. You want to build a successful Web site that will meet your expectations, rather than simply posting a page online that might or might not attract readers.