lFrom the YA Panel “Local Writers Tell All” at the Suisun City Library on January 21.
Meet local authors Adelle Yeung (The Cycle of Six Moons), Jess Flower (RedBird), and book blogger Jesalin Belk (Blogging Everything Beautiful) to talk about books, writing, and following your dream of becoming a writer. They will share their insights about how to write for young adults, and their experiences with self-publishing books and blogs.
Jesalin Belk
Blog – https://jbelkbooks.wordpress.com/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/JBelkBooks/
Godreads – https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/18795016-jesalin-belk
Bloglovin’ – https://www.bloglovin.com/people/jbelkbooks-14327005
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jbelkbooks/
Jess Flower
Website – http://jessubflower.com/
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/jessubflower
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/jessflower
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7435979.Jessub_Flower
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jessflower8/
Adelle Yeung
Website – https://adelleyeung.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/AdelleYeungBooks
Twitter – https://twitter.com/Adelle_Yeung
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14248019.Adelle_Yeung
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/adelle_yeung/
Listen to the panel below! Helpful time stamps included 😉
0:00 Introductions
2:45 What is YA fiction?
4:20 Is YA meant only for teenagers?
6:29 What makes YA more relatable?
9:19 (to Jesalin) What is YA like for a blogger?
10:17 (to Jesalin) What is it like to collaborate with authors on a blog?
10:00 (to Jesalin) Have you encountered readers who don’t like diversity?
11:30 (to Jesalin) When you hear about a book that’s misrepresenting diversity, do you read them?
12:10 (to Jesalin) Since you’re a high school student, does anybody affect your personal opinion?
13:03 (to Jesalin) Has the genre changed since you started blogging?
13:16 (to Jesalin) Why did you start blogging?
13:41 (to Jesalin) As a high school student, does academic reading interfere with pleasure reading?
14:27 (to Jesalin) Has an assigned book influenced how you interpret books?
15:11 (to Jesalin) Did anyone help you with your blog’s graphics?
She recommends canva.com 😉
16:08 Plotting vs Pantsing
16:20 Adelle explains plotting
16:43 Jess explains pantsing
18:05 What is NaNoWriMo
18:48 Adelle explains pros and cons of outlining
19:10 (to Adelle and Jess) Have you guys tried the other way around?
19:40 Adelle addresses the frustration of not writing in the moment
20:02 Jess addresses the cons of pantsing
20:26 What tips would you give an aspiring writer?
20:41 (to Adelle) What do you mean by sell out?
20:59 Jess’s advice to an aspiring writer
21:31 What’s your relationship like with your editor? Do you fear they might be too intrusive and remove your voice?
21:45 Jess gives advice on how to find editors for self-publishing
22:48 What is traditional publishing?
23:07 What are literary agents?
23:53 How to get an agent: query letters
24:19 A literary agent’s goal is to sell books
25:03 What a literary agent looks for in a client
25:30 Meet literary agents in person
25:49 Beware of scams!
25:35 Where do you find literary agents?
Query Tracker: https://querytracker.net/
Writer’s Digest http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/new-agency-alerts
Twitter #MSWL or http://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/
27:35 Manuscript Wish List
28:57 How to write a query letter
29:40 (to Jess) How do you research a fantasy world?
31:36: (to Adelle) How do you research a fantasy world?
33:04 (to Jesalin) Do you look for self-published books for your blog?
33:29 (to Jesalin) Do you talk about pantsing or plotting with the authors you interview?
34:12 (to Jess and Adelle) Do you use a particular program to help organize your books?
35:38 (to Jesalin) Do you review outside YA?
36:06 (to Jesalin) What is middle grade?
36:25 (to Jesalin) What is new adult?
36:47 (to Jess) What techniques have you used to market your self-published books?
37:21 (to Jess) What social media to you use?
37:45 (to Adelle) What techniques have you used to market your self-published books?
38:51 (to Adelle) Who did your covers?
39:18 In the process of researching, have you used Google Earth?
39:54 (to Jess and Adelle) Did you always know you wanted to be writers?
40:44 (to Jesalin) How did you figure out that writing a blog was your platform?
41:54 (to Jesalin) How do you build followers?
43:00 (to Jess) How do you develop a back story effectively?
44:04 (to Adelle) How do you develop a back story effectively?
44:52 (to Jesalin) What do you prefer when you read?
46:46 (to Adelle) Where do you find your inspiration?
The book is Awakening the Heroes Within by Carol S. Pearson
49:09 (to Jess) Where do you find your inspiration?
51:35 (to Adelle) Given a choice, would you do traditional publishing or self-publishing?
52:22 (to Jess) Given a choice, would you do traditional publishing or self-publishing?
52:38 Do you know any authors who would prefer self-publishing?
53:06 How much does it cost to self-publish?
54:28 Do you use print on demand?
55:05 Where do you publish eBooks?
56:02 What’s the difference in what you charge for a print book and an eBook?
56:38 Gushing about CreateSpace
57:16 If you publish with Amazon, are you stuck with Amazon?
58:06 KDP Select
59:05 How do you get your book in the library?
1:00:00 Have you pursued any reviewers or schools?
1:01:17 Have you entered any contests?
Check out the article on The Daily Republic here!
adelleyeung.com 