Field Trip Friday: June 25

On Route 66: Kirsten discovered the
sign was no lie.

Field Trip Friday

Our weekly trip around the field of YA with stops at the most helpful, interesting or otherwise entertaining news.

This Week In Writing

Image credit

- Author Lilith St. Crow on how each new novel is its own experience. I especially liked this metaphor:

It’s like climbing the corner at the rock gym. Each time I go up that particular route, I do it differently. I still use the same skillset and the same tools. And sometimes I get into a difficult spot and have to hang there for a moment and think how the hell am I going to do this, now?"

- Author Isabel Allende gives advice to young writers

- When to tell instead of show from agent Mary Kole

This Week In Reading

- Breaking News from The Rejectionist: "Gay People Also Read, Purchase Books"

- The WSJ reports that kids in India have read YA for years, but until recently, it's mostly been imported. Now Indian publishers are commissioning original pieces for the Indian market.

- The HuffPo polls readers to determine the "next big thing" in YA.

- Why are fangs sexy? (via @sarahlapolla) 

- All sorts of kerfluffle over Sharon Dogar's ANNEXED, a fictionalization of the life of Peter van Pels, who hid with Anne Frank during the Holocaust. Amid rumors that the book features a sex scene between the two characters, The Telegraph reports the family is angry; two writers at Bookslut address it, the latter citing The Jerusalem Post's article; Jezebel is pissed; Metafilter is discussing it; The Guardian has the author's rebuttal, and Hornbook would like to point out that no one has even read it yet-- and said sex scene doesn't even exist. Fascinating stuff.

This Week In Getting Published

- Pimp My Novel cautions: The Internet Counts. Watch your mouth.

- Agent Michael Bourret says unpublished authors should enjoy this time. I know, I laughed too, but he makes some good points.

- Agent Jennifer Laughran on the Luxury of Choice.and the ones that got away.

- Twitter exploded Wednesday with a discussion about agent payment models. Victoria Strauss has one analysis on her blog.

- Thursday, it exploded again, this time on the topic of advances. Pimp My Novel has a post on the topic.

- Agent Kristin Nelson in defense of the one book deal

- Lots of "short and not-so-sweet answers" from agent Rachelle Gardner

- Moonrat explains why the first page of your MS is so important. (Spoiler: Because otherwise, she might not get to the second.)

- Why agent Nathan Bransford writes vague rejection letters.

- "How Not To Be An Email Goober" from author Tawna Fenske

- Author Shannon Messenger guest posts at QueryTracker with pointers for pitching at conferences.

- Agent Elana Roth dispels the idea that a slow response indicates lack of enthusiasm.

This Week In Member Posts!

Besides updating YA Highway with new posts almost every day, our members have their own blogs where they post some pretty fabulous stuff. If you're not following them, you should be-- go check these out!

- Kody: The Worst Thing You Could Do To Your Characters: Being true to your character development (and check out her new website!)

- Kate: Snow White and the Seven Synopses: How Disney can help you write the dreaded synopsis

- Leila: If You Think About It... Leila's pet monster blog attacks

- Kristin Sr: They Love You, They Really, Etc.: The excitement that makes an agent say YES.

- Kirsten: When You Hate Your Book: Hanging onto the spark

- Michelle: With Emphasis On The Suckage: Includes gems like "'Oh, dear,' said the hot dog named Folly. 'Now I want some Velveeta cheese.'" and “Fish sticks. Flaky. Think about that.“

- Emila: YA Girls and the Battle of Female Badassery: ... I can't really summarize better than that!

- Kristin Jr: Win the 2010 Guide to Literary Agents and a crit!

- Kaitlin: They're Watching: How not to shoot yourself in the online foot

NOW WITH MORE AGENTY GOODNESS!

Congrats to Kaitlin, who is now repped by Elizabeth Jote of Objective Entertainment!

This Week In Other Stuff

Tent city pics from the HuffPo. You can
also check out #tentcity

- Blogs You Can't Live Without at The Bookshelf Muse

- Querypolitan is taking submissions.

- Filmstrip Friday: Each Friday, pop-culture junkie (and YA writer) Kathleen Peacock highlights a different movie or TV show from her ridiculously large DVD collection. Check it out on her new blog!

"Bug spray? Check.
Sleeping bag? Check.
Sparkly vampire? ...oh right. In the tree
outside my room. Check."

- Speaking of movies: In case you missed it, Eclipse comes out next week-- or as Cleolinda puts it: "Sparklemas approacheth."

This Week In The Random

Michelle just brought the following to my attention: Tattoo artists practicing on pigs. Do you think the pigs with bad ass tattoos rule the pen and pick on the poor Disney princess pigs?

Unrelated and equally random:

and courtesy of our girl Tahereh:

~ Kate Hart

field trip friday Friday, June 25, 2010