For the month of October, we thought it would be fun to have some some paranormal YA and MG authors. This week we have the awesome Andrea Cremer, author of:
Nightshade, Wolfsbane, and the upcoming Bloodrose. In this episode you can learn why a writer should try to break their hand or have a boring job, what the Zeitgeist Lottery is, and which authors can and can't read similar genres to what they are writing at the time. Her rejection stories from Andrea, James, Nathan, and Jeff. (Feel free to weep a little if you must!)
And . . . since we had such a great time giving away Robison Wells' novel, Variant. We're at it again. Cooment on the blog and you are automatically entered to win a paperback copy of Nightshade. If we get at least 30 comments, we'll throw in a hardback of Wolfbane--because we're just that nice. Okay, Andrea is just that nice. We're sort of cantankerous.
Drawing will be done October 9th, 2011.
Check in over the next few weeks when we will have Kiersten White, Aprilynne Pike, and Chris Grabenstein.
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This is my favorite podcast episode yet. I really enjoyed the topic and was sad when it came to an end. Although I suppose that had to happen eventually. My favorite party was about what everyone does to motivate themselves.
I really enjoyed your podcast with Andrea Cremer. I read her blog and have read her first book and really loved it. Rejection is hard but I think I;ve learned not to get discouraged. I’ve put on a thicker skin and have learned to move on and make the writing better.
Someone I once read that real writers get rejection letters. I figure it’s much better to have a heap of rejection letters than to have an empty filing folder.
Thanks for reinforcing the fact that writing is hard, getting an agent is harder, getting published is even harder, and achieving “success” is nearly impossible.
Write only because you love to write, need to write, can’t imagine life without writing, and would write even if you couldn’t get paid for it. Good personal stories, all four.
Wow, great podcast, first time listener and I loved it. Great advice, it really inspired me.
I really enjoyed this podcast. I have a growing collection of rejection letters, so it’s nice to know that’s just part of the journey.
That was awesome! And this series is one of my favourites. Can’t wait to see what’s next.
When ever I look on writing communities and see my views, or worse, comparing them with my friends views, I always find it’s great to remember the great praise and comments I get from people who’s read my stuff in real life. And when all else fails, imagining myself as J.K.Rowling always succeeds.
Great podcast…I love Andrea Cremer=)
The first time I submitted a story, I sent it to semi-pro magazine that gave out personalized feedback on rejected stories. I was almost sad when I didn’t get rejected, because that’s what I’d been expecting. (I’ve been rejected several times since, and that’s eased the confusion I had at being accepted right off the bat.)
I love these podcasts. Learning so much from each one.
The first thing I ever submitted–a children’s picture book that I wrote in a couple of days–won a contest and was published. Now I have been working on a MG novel for a couple of years (I have a full time job and 3 kids) and the more I learn about writing the more work there is to do. But I love it!
I have a question. Music is a huge part of my writing process. Scenes can change/be inspired by my writing playlists and the song I’m listening to at any given moment.
Do you guys use music during your writing process? What is you favorite artist/genre to write to?
CV
I thought this was only me that did this. For what it’s worth, I listen to Lecrae, Demon Hunter, some Soundgarden, and a whole host of other stuff when I write.
Fabulous episode, and the book Andrea recommended (Ready Player One) sounded so awesome I went over to Amazon and ordered a copy. I really liked the audio of Nightshade. I’d love to own a copy of either that one of Wolfsbane.
Hi all,
How can I thank you all for exorcising the demonic librarian from so many years ago? (Agreed, James, she was pure evil for saying that) THANK YOU so much for this podcast! Such great advice, and helpful insight. I wish I’d heard this twenty years ago.
As for how I deal with rejection… I’m currently marketing a novel and found myself checking my email way too many times a day. When I’d get a rejection–or even just another empty inbox–I became increasingly bummed out.
Fortunately, this time of the year is great for me because I’m a Halloween junkie, and run a haunted house fundraiser each year.
So, I decided to limit the number of times I check my email per day. And then, to distract myself, I make sure to go out in the garage and build animatronic monsters instead of stare at an empty inbox. A nice balancing act for me, and it keeps me energized for writing the current novel.
Thanks again, you guys (and gal). Awesome, awesome podcast! I’m embarrassed it took me until Thursday to listen to it. But hey, I’ve been busy building monsters!
Sincerely,
David Dickson
I love this author and can’t wait to read and review her last book…I think podcasts are more fun than guest posts sometimes. edysicecreamlover18@gmailDOTcom
This was a great podcast! I have always aspired to writing a novel but have never had the courage to try and publish. Sounds like a ton of work but totally worth it in the end! THanks for the advice!
Great podcast guys! I found you by accident and so glad I did. You have a really nice conversational style and the kids podcasts were a cool idea. I wish I had something like that when I was a kid
Loking forward to hearing more!
I haven’t had to deal with rejection yet, but that’s because I’m still writing my first novel. I figured I shouldn’t submit anything until I’d finished it… It’s amazing how a single comment from someone you look up to when you’re young can affect your entire outlook on that subject for the rest of your life. It never occured to me when I was young that writing could be a career, so I pursued other things. Only now am I realizing that I could have continued writing and had 15 years under my belt now…sigh…it’s not easy to find the time, but it’s so fun to do I can’t believe I ever stopped! I look forward to rejection letters…because that means I will have finished my first novel!
Great podcaste this week. I’m already a huge fan just a few episodes in. I listen to Wordplay when I’m writing, I find it really helps my creativity flow. Also, I would love to be entered into the contest for Andrea Cremer’s Nightshade. Thank you!
dylan.larkin96@gmail.com
Great podcast. I love being able to leave this on without worrying I will offend someone, and the insights every week are superb.
I would like to know how each of you deals with what I call “Story lethagicy” i.e. you start out great on a book, but as time goes on it just gets harder and harder to write and by the time you hit editing it’s like dislocating fingers. I finish stuff mainly through brute force, but I would love to know if there’s an easier way, or if my old coaches were right and football did really prepare me for life.
In more detail I mean.
I’m so glad authors like Andrea don’t give up when receiving rejection letters or we would not have so many great books out there.
I really love your guy’s podcast and I think that all schools (including mine) should play it during their classes.
I think you’re absolutely right about the zeitgeist lottery. (And I love that phrase!) Some day, the stuff I like to write is going to be the flavor of the month. My story, my book, is going to be sitting in some editor’s pile and it will hit that person in just the right way at just the right time. Until then, I’ll keep writing what I like.
But honestly, sometimes it feels like there really is a zeitgeist, a spirit of the times. Haven’t you ever noticed that people tend to get similar ideas at around the same time? Movies, books, and also in academia. I don’t know what the explanation is, but the consequence I think is that I need to pursue the ideas that I love and think are great. If I don’t, someone else might be getting the same idea, and they might write it up and get famous.
So I guess what I’m saying is that the only way to win the zeitgeist lottery is to play!