Field Trip Friday: March 19

 Field Trip Friday is a weekly trip around the field of YA with stops at the most helpful, interesting or otherwise entertaining news.

Someone asked me the other day why the Field Trip Friday posts show up on Thursday. The answer is time zones. Mine's US Central. What's yours?




This Week In Writing

• How do you know when it's good enough? Author Lilith Saintcrow answers: "I Never Know."
  
  
• The Intern has a list of "The Ten Best Things You Can Do For Your Manuscript."
  
  
• "Action does not automatically equal compelling and interesting." Advice and debate about story openings, from Jane Friedman at There Are No Rules.
  
  
• Author Maggie Stiefvater says "Be a writer. But be something else too."
  
  
• Author Cory Jackson has been hosting a blog series called "How Writers Do It." Eight writers, including yours truly and lovely Leila Austin, address writing-related questions from our own points of view as well as that of a well-known writing guide. It's been fascinating-- we've covered the definition of art, getting in the zone and developing characters so far. Check it out and win the writing guide of your choice!

This Week In Reading

• Captain Underpants is back!

This Week In Getting Published

• Author Tahareh "I am mysterious and have no last name" has an OBSCENELY IMPORTANT MEMO about agents for you.
  
  
• Agent Nathan Bransford (*insert reverential chorus*) has some query advice: Specificity = good. He also has an idiot proof "how to format your query" post.
  
  
• The gatekeeper suggests a strategy for querying to maximize your chances.
  
  
• Rachelle Gardner (*bring back reverential chorus*) is critiquing queries on Wednesdays and sometimes Thursdays for the next few weeks.
  
  
• Elana Roth suggests that authors who receive an offer of representation should notify all agents they've queried, whether they've heard back from them or not. Lots of interesting conversation on Twitter ensued.
  
  
• Should you send a thank you for a rejection? Agent Jessica Faust says maybe.
  
  
• The Rejectionist has "5 Traits to Bag A Boyfriend Agent"-- query advice Cosmo style.
  
  
• Agent Jenny Bent posted a list of rookie mistakes.
  
  
• I don't think a week goes by without me linking Elana Johnson or Suzette Saxton, and this week I'm linking them both: "Write Your Query In *gasp* First Person! (and then change it back.)"
  
  
• An #askagent session went on last night-- you can read it here.

This Week In Contests
The contest is over but this post at The Rejectionist has officially pushed his/her blog to the very top of my favorites list with no chance of ever being toppled, EVER. Excellent! Game on!








This Week in Fabulous Other Stuff

• In an epic fail, I neglected to mention that one of our own, the fabulous Lee Bross, signed with fabulous new agent Mandy Hubbard a few weeks ago!
  
  
• Another one of our own, the fabulous Michelle Schusterman, signed this week with fabulous agent Sarah Davies!
   

• Also newly agented: The fabulous Vee Roth, who signed with the fabulous Joanna Stampfel-Volpe-- who also reps the fabulous Kody Keplinger, who revealed the cover of her ARC this week!
  
  
• Happy birthday to our fabulous Kristin Briana Otts, who officially graduates from "teen contributor" to "contributor"-- which means she gets... um... exactly the same dose of daily YA Highway crazy she's getting now.  :)

And finally...
Via the fabulous Kathleen Ortiz: "How Twilight Should Have Ended"

And in case you haven't seen it, Eclipse trailer < Eclipse sneak peak.

~Kate Hart

field trip friday Friday, March 19, 2010