YA Beach Blast: Six Authors in Cincy!

When I travel for a book signing, it’s always been for just one author. But yesterday I journeyed to Cincinnati to see six – count ‘em—SIX YA authors, all at one place. All sitting at the same table. And it was glorious.

 

From top left:
Liz Coley, author of Pretty Girl-13
Mindee Arnett, author of The Nightmare Affair and upcoming Avalon

Julie Kagawa, author of the Iron Fey and Blood of Eden series

Saundra Mitchell, author of The Elementals and editor of Defy the Dark

Kristina McBride, author of One Moment and The Tension of Opposites

Aprilynne Pike, author of the Wings series, the new Earthbound series and Life After Theft

 

Here are some fancy pointers they offered throughout the Q&A:

 

On Writing Time

Show up at the same every day. You can’t wait for the muse. –Mindee Arnett

Before you stop writing for the day, start the next chapter or scene so it’s easier to dive back in tomorrow. –Kristina McBride

Find ways to make time. And don’t apologize for your writing time. –Aprilynne Pike

 

On Failure

Don’t give up. Sometimes the book you think is going to make it doesn’t. –Julie Kagawa

If I’m struggling with a project, sometimes starting a new one will bring me back to the other one and help solve those issues. –Kristina McBride

If I can summarize the plot in 2-3 paragraphs, then I can write the book. But if I can’t, I won’t even start. –Mindee Arnett

It wasn’t my first full manuscript or my second that got me my agent. It was at least my fourth. And I’ve lost count how many manuscripts I’ve finished overall. –Liz Coley

 

On Dialogue

I always attempt to Joss Whedon my dialogue. –Mindee Arnett

I was a screenwriter for 15 years, so I try to propel the story with dialogue from the beginning. –Saundra Mitchell

When writing dialogue, it’s not just about the words the character is speaking, but also what’s going on in between the lines. The character’s actions and gestures are a factor too. –Julie Kagawa

On the Everything Else

There’s a lot of non-writing time that goes into being an author. The business of writing (answering e-mails to agents and editors, interacting on social media, etc.) takes up a lot of time. It’s a job in itself. –Aprilynne Pike 

Reviews are not for authors, they are for readers. –Aprilynne Pike (in the context of Goodreads and negative reviews in general)

A surprising aspect of being a writer is the way people interact online (they aren’t always the nicest), which is why I tweet about soup. –Saundra Mitchell

 

The authors were accommodating, down-to-earth and beyond amazing. I added six signed books to my shelf (don’t worry I won’t bog down the post with pictures...though I’m tempted). I’ve heard this is an annual thing, so you can count on my being there next summer. For shore!

 

DISCLAIMER: This post in an unofficial account of the YA Beach Blast event with the aforementioned authors on August 3, 2013 at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati, OH. The views that I present in this article are my interpretations of the event and are not direct quotations of the author’s comments. These paraphrases do not necessarily represent the opinions of these authors or their publishers.