I feel my blogging (and lack thereof) is like my journal writing. About once every six months I pick up my journal and know I need to write in it more . But that doesn’t happen. I’ve come to terms that I’m an occasional blogger for now. Maybe someday I’ll get better at it.

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I was (pleasantly) surprised to see that I semi-finaled in the #YALitChat and Sourcebooks contest (http://georgiamcbridebooks.wordpress.com/ — See the March 3^rd post). I won’t find out until the end of March if I finaled, but it was nice to get that far.

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Soooooo that leads me to plug the YALitChat ning. It’s an awesome community, full of a wealth of information for YA writers. If you’re writing YA, I would highly recommend you join it. Here’s the link: http://yalitchat.ning.com/

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Happy week!
Sandi

A Couple of Recommendations
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I also finished “Lipstick Apology,” which I loved, mainly because it reminded me of the type of writing I do—contemporary romance, but with a unique hook. Nice reason to love it, huh? But really, I would suggest this debut author as well.
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Thoughts on Form Letters
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Last week I received a request for my full manuscript from an agent. The difference from all the others I’ve ever received, however, was that it was very personal. The agent took the time to be very specific in what she liked about my book. In the past, not only have I gotten form rejections, but I’ve gotten form “request for more” emails. Even if this agent doesn’t end up taking me on, her email made my day (and my week, and month, maybe year!).
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Since I teach hundreds of online students at any given time, I know the value of a form email. I understand from an agent’s perspective—who is getting hundreds of submissions a day—why a form response is necessary. And I would definitely rather receive a form response than no response at all.
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But I do notice a huge difference from my students when I use a personal response. They are grateful, and it seems to make a difference in their attitude. It’s during those times that I realize how valuable a personal response can be.
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Of course I get that this isn’t always realistic. For those of us whose jobs include dealing with mass quantities of individuals, giving personal responses to everyone would be a joke—we’d never get anything done.
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But I do think that once in a while we should consider that we are not robots nor are the individuals on the other side of the computer robots, and personal responses can make a world of difference in their lives. While it’s not always possible, we should strive to make it happen when our gut tells us we should.

Just some thoughts for you today
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Have a great week!

Amazon Breakthrough Novel now has a YA category: http://www.amazon.com/Breakthrough-Novel-Award-Books/b?ie=UTF8&node=332264011

KidLit blog (sorry, this one ends today, but she often has contests going on): http://kidlit.com/kidlit-contest/

Sourcebooks contest: http://teenfire.ning.com/

And, associated with that is a really cool YA ning community where they talk all YA happenings and they’ll help you with your ms’s: http://yalitchat.ning.com/

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The world of publishing has got me super depressed right now. Nothing was happening with my novel, so my agent and I parted ways. It’s hard when you’ve worked for over a year with someone, feeling like it’s going to get you to that next step and then it doesn’t work out. I went into writing with the misconception that once you get an agent your career will take off. It isn’t so. (And I appreciate all the people I’ve met online the last few months who have been happy to share their several agent experiences with me so I won’t feel so alone…I’ve only had one…some have racked up several).

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So now here I am again, trying to find another agent in a market that is super competitive and is especially prone to take on anything that walks and breathes paranormal (which I don’t write).

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Any advice on how to keep pushing along even through these times of rejection that I seem to attract these days would be greatly appreciated.

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In more positive news about me… (BTW, I usually don’t go on and on about myself, so you’ll have to forgive my one self-indulgent blog)…I am considering applying to a PhD program. I’ve always loved school and research, and I’ve talked for years about going all the way (HA! that sounded funny!). But I haven’t had the time, money, whatever, fill in the blank. But since my husband is a few months away from finishing his master’s, I’m thinking about it again. In another week I’m going to a seminar on taking the GRE, and I’m ordering some GRE study books. I’m a horrible test-taker, so I most fear the GRE.

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The goal would be to take the dreaded test, and then apply to programs. But the two top programs I am interested in are a little ways away from home. One is the PhD in Creative Writing at Texas Tech, and the other is a PhD in Children’s Literature at the University of Florida. I’ve looked at a few general English ones in Arizona and California, and also online, but they don’t interest me as much. But I’m not sure if I want to up and move my family across the country for three to four years.

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Anyone know any pros/cons to getting such a degree (besides being able to teach full time at the university level)?

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So much to think about.

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Hope you have created some of your own goals this year, especially for reading and writing. I’d love to hear them. I don’t get a lot of comments on my blog, but I love hearing from you all, including my students (and now you know your teacher does not have a perfect life!).

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Have a great weekend!

Sandi

In the meantime, there is a cool contest going over at the KidLit blog: http://kidlit.com/kidlit-contest/

There are some others I’ve heard of, but I keep forgetting to post them. I hope it won’t be too long before I’m back on. Happy writing!
Sandi

“Along for the Ride” by Sarah Dessen

Info

Contemporary YA fiction (ages 12-19)
Viking, 2009 

Summary

Since Sarah Dessen is my favorite YA author, this was an easy and likable read for me. What I enjoyed most was that the characters were either about to start college or had been out of high school for a year or two, making it more interesting for readers who enjoy YA with college characters.

The story and characters were intriguing, and like all Dessen books, the plot keeps you interested, especially the romance. 

“Twenty Boy Summer” by Sarah Ockler

Info

Contemporary YA fiction (ages 12-19)
Little Brown, 2009 

Summary

I enjoyed this new author and couldn’t put this one down. The story follows a girl who has lost the guy she loves, and how she works through that—especially considering the guy she loved was her best friend’s brother. Wonderful characters and a page-turning plot.

I normally try to only say positive things about the books I read, but one thing bothered me about this book… the title. Because the title is “Twenty Boy Summer,” and the blurb on the back makes it sound like the main character seeks out twenty boys in order to get over her loss, that was what I expected. But instead she meets only a few guys and ends up seriously dating one of them. So as I read the book I kept waiting for her to date twenty guys, but it never happened. Still an awesome book, but totally threw me.

“If I Stay” by Gayle Forman

Info

Contemporary YA fiction (ages 12-19)
Penguin, 2009 

Summary

In this book a girl is in a car accident with her family and gets to decide whether she stays on earth without her family or if she dies along with her family. As she’s in the hospital, she’s in a state where she can see everything going on around her. She wrestles with staying and pursuing her dreams, or leaving earth to go be with her family. I really enjoyed the author’s voice on this one.

I hope you have a wonderful New Year!

The big story in publishing last week was Harlequin announcing it was launching a self-publishing side. Many authors and organizations (including RWA) are not too happy about it.

I have no problem with self-publishing provided that (1) the author has a platform—a sure way to sell the books, and (2) the author really, really, truly understands what he/she is getting into. The majority of the time, an author doesn’t meet both those criteria and things end up going a way they didn’t expect.

Times have been changing, especially with the economy and the Internet, so I think we need to know that these publishing companies are going to be changing as well. We can fight against it all we want (and we should to an extent), but it will still change. As for the companies, I feel they would be better off doing separate names, websites, etc… This would probably help the authors, editors, and the rest of the publishing community not get so upset. I think I did hear that Harlequin was considering changing the name of the new self-publishing imprint.

Book Reviews

“Story of a Girl” by Sara Zarr
2008
Little, Brown

I’m sorry to say that I have just now read my first Sara Zarr book. I have wanted to for awhile. “Story of a Girl” is a poignant tale of a girl who gets caught (by her dad!) having sex with an older guy when she was thirteen. Now, a few years later, she struggles through the pain and those who won’t forgive her (and the fact that she can’t forgive herself). A very fast read with a complex character. I look forward to reading more of Zarr’s books.

“When You Reach Me” by Rebecca Stead
2009
Random House

I hardly ever read Middle Grade. Actually, come to think of it, I never read MG. But I had heard good things about this one, so I thought I’d check it out. The story takes place in the 70s, and shows a girl dealing with her game show obsessed mom and the loss of her best friend. Along the way strange things are happening, and she starts getting notes from someone. I really enjoyed the mystery in this. It kept the pages turning for me. Compelling book with some good character development and interactions. I can’t tell much about it without giving the plot away. It’s gotten great reviews, and I suspect it will do well.

When Swift hosted Saturday Night Live last week, she was funny! Here is the video “Monologue” from that:

And her performance on SNL:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZU0KjdkBaM]

One more week until “New Moon”! Do you have your tickets yet? I do! (Yes, I’m way too excited about it).

I’ve been reading faster and more often these days, so I have two book reviews this week:

“Evermore” by Alyson Noel

St. Martin’s, 2009

Thoughts

I’m not usually a paranormal fan, but this reminded me somewhat of “Twilight.” It has a contemporary feel and a great love story with a lot of mystery that keeps you turning the pages. If you enjoy paranormal YA romance, I would recommend this author. This book is part of the “Immortals” series, and the second book (the sequence to “Evermore”) was released a couple of months ago.

“Lost It” By Kristen Tracy

Info

Simon Pulse, 2007

Thoughts

This contemporary YA is about a girl who loses her virginity, and the way she deals with it, along with her struggling family situation. The author has a great voice and style that keep you moving through the story. I liked the ending and how the character was changed even though we don’t quite know what will end up happening in her life.

Keep reading and have a great week!