Review: Writing & Selling the YA Novel
During Weekend of Awesome, we shared our favorite writing resource. Erinn brought in Writing and Selling the YA Novel by KL Going. So I borrowed it and read it on the botched plane ride home*.
What I liked about it: It was easy to read. Most books on craft lean toward the dense side, but KL Going's writing is easy on the brain. It paired well with the book's chapters, which were broken up by school subject. For example, the one titled "math**" is all about the business end of writing.
What you should know: The book covers all writing basics but gives them a "how to write YA" spin. If you write YA (which I'm pretty sure most of the writers in the Lurkdom do), think of this as a refresher course. If you're curious about writing a novel for the YA market, this should be the first thing you should read. Because contrary to what people think, writing for teens is just as much work as writing literary fiction. (I'm looking at you, Katie Crouch.)
One more thing: With a 2008 publication date, the information about the publishing industry itself is a little dated, but everything else still holds true.
What about you Lurkdom, ready any good books on craft recently?
* And by botched I mean ten minutes to sprint across all over the Charlotte NC airport to catch the connection to Boston.
** Of course I'd remember that one.
_____
Last.fm hit of the day: Bother by Stone Sour
What I liked about it: It was easy to read. Most books on craft lean toward the dense side, but KL Going's writing is easy on the brain. It paired well with the book's chapters, which were broken up by school subject. For example, the one titled "math**" is all about the business end of writing. What you should know: The book covers all writing basics but gives them a "how to write YA" spin. If you write YA (which I'm pretty sure most of the writers in the Lurkdom do), think of this as a refresher course. If you're curious about writing a novel for the YA market, this should be the first thing you should read. Because contrary to what people think, writing for teens is just as much work as writing literary fiction. (I'm looking at you, Katie Crouch.)
One more thing: With a 2008 publication date, the information about the publishing industry itself is a little dated, but everything else still holds true.
What about you Lurkdom, ready any good books on craft recently?
* And by botched I mean ten minutes to sprint across all over the Charlotte NC airport to catch the connection to Boston.
** Of course I'd remember that one.
_____
Last.fm hit of the day: Bother by Stone Sour