My dèbut novel, The Paper & Hearts Society, will be released in summer 2019 in the UK by Hodder Children’s Books, an imprint of Hachette Children’s Group.
From the official press release:
“[The Paper & Hearts Society is a]three-book fiction series about finding lifelong friendships at a teen book club. Each book will be told from a different character’s perspective and show the friendship circle strengthening over their mutual love of reading. The first book in the series, will be published in paperback on the Hodder Children’s Books imprint with a major launch in June 2019.
The Paper & Hearts Society series is a hilarious and accessible teen series all about letting your “weird out” and reaping the rewards – think Quidditch themed book club meetings, Jane Austen dance parties, and donut-fuelled get-togethers. Tabby Brown would much rather snuggle up on the sofa with her favourite book than go to parties. She hasn’t found her people yet. That is until she moves to a new town where The Paper & Hearts Society book club, is recruiting.”
I am pleased to welcome Annalie Grainger to the blog today, author of Captive and newly-released In Your Light, as well as commissioning editor at Walker Books. I’m a huge fan of Annalie’s work (she also publishes some of my favourite authors, like Lauren James and Katherine Webber), so it’s fascinating to see into the mind of someone who knows both sides of the publishing industry.
As a commissioning editor and a writer, talking about tips for getting your book published is one of my favourite things to do! I think this list could have been about twenty points long, but here are my top five suggestions:
1. Start writing and then keep writing!
You can’t get published if you haven’t finished your book. That might sound really obvious, but writing a book is hard work, and it can be very easy to put it off. My creative writing tutor said to me that the difference between those who make it and those who don’t is often down to a matter of how much time they put in.
You have to be disciplined to keep writing through the easy chapters and the hard ones. Set yourself a word limit each day and stick to it, no matter what. (Mine is 300 words – which I chose because it is manageable in half an hour, even on a really bad day when I feel like throwing my computer out of the window!)
2. Read as much as you can
I’m sure you’ve heard this a hundred times before, but reading, especially in the genre you want to write in, is essential. Joy Nicholson, who wrote one of my favourite novels (The Tribes of Palos Verdes), read books to see how authors made transitions between things. This is such a beautiful way of saying to learn from other people. See how your favourite writers create sentences, tension, plot, pace. When I first started writing, I would create plot diagrams from my favourite novels to see how they were structured – where were the high points, the low points, how was the ending foreshadowed, how did the subplots fit in etc.
3. Believe in what you are doing
Don’t try to write something because you think it will sell. Write the book you want to read and you’ll find your own voice.
4. Edit, edit, edit!
Don’t be in a rush to send your script out. Take your time to read what you’ve written. Try to be objective. If you can bear to, put it in a drawer and don’t look at it for at least three months. Then take it out again and be ruthless – what is good, what isn’t, where are the baggy bits, which character is one-dimensional etc.?
5. Get impartial advice on your script
Before sending your script out to agents, find someone you trust to give you honest (but kind!) feedback. This doesn’t need to be a professional but it should be someone who loves to read as your reader will need to instinctively understand what makes a good book. I would avoid your mum, brother, husband, beloved aunt if possible, as they might be biased or might find it hard to tell you the truth.
And a bonus piece of advice: when you’re ready to send your script to agents, do your research very carefully. Literary agents will list their other clients on their website, so check those out to make sure that your chosen agent will be a good fit for you. Also agents get a lot of submissions, so make sure you adhere to their submissions guidelines, otherwise they might not even read your work.
And of course – have fun! Yes, writing can be hard, but it should also be enjoyable. Good luck!
In Your Light by Annalie Grainger is out now (£7.99, Simon & Schuster)
2 years ago, I sat myself down and said: one more year. One more year of blogging and then you can reevaluate if it’s something you want to do anymore. Just one more year.
As you can see, I’m still here. Still writing. Still making YouTube videos. Still tweeting (possibly still tweeting too much). You couldn’t get rid of me that easily.
Today marks my 6 YEAR blogging anniversary. 6 years!! That’s a third of my life spent inhabiting this tiny corner of the blogosphere. It’s been an incredible 6 years: I’ve grown from a shy twelve year old into a quietly confident eighteen year old; I’ve met like-minded people who share my passion for books; I’ve spoken in rooms full of hundreds of people; I’ve achieved dreams I didn’t even know I had. And all of it is documented here.
The past two years, in particular, have been a whirlwind.
For one, I WROTE A BOOK! I’ve wanted to be a Proper Writer™ ever since I was nine, but I guess I thought it was something I’d do when I was thirty or forty years old, not 17. It’s been one of the most rewarding, if sometimes stressful, things I’ve done, and I’m so glad I decided to write it during my GCSEs and not, y’know, actually revise (okay, maybe that’s a little bit sarcastic).
I also became the Brontë Society’s Young Ambassador this year — eek! I adore the Brontës with all my heart and so to be involved with Emily’s bicentenary year is the greatest honour. Earlier in the year, I went up to Haworth where I got to meet the amazing team who work behind the scenes at the Brontë Parsonage, talk about the Brontës more than is humanly possible, and I even met the Duchess of Cornwall. I’m so excited for everything the rest of the year holds and I especially can’t wait to visit Haworth again this summer.
I’ve read so many amazing books. My tastes have changed A LOT in the past few years: whereas I used to read 95% YA, I’ve become less rigid with that and have discovered a love for classics (particularly the Brontës, Thomas Hardy and Jane Austen, among others). Classics combine my love for history and my love of beautiful language, so they’re perfect.
I’d be here all day — and this would be a very long blog post — if I thanked everyone individually, so do excuse the general thank you’s.
THANK YOU for supporting me, whether you’ve been here from day one or have only recently discovered my blog. Your comments, likes, tweets and messages always put a smile on my face, and it’s so lovely to be a part of such a welcoming community.
THANK YOU to all the authors who continue to write amazing books, write fantastic guest posts and are truly wonderful human beings. Working with REAL LIFE AUTHORS is possibly the best part of the job — it’s something I never thought I’d get to do when I first started my blog!
THANK YOU to the publishers — the publicists, marketing folk and editors — who never fail to get me excited about their upcoming titles, who send me squeal-worthy emails, but who also make my job deciding what to read next very difficult.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
Here’s to the next year of Queen of Contemporary! Who knows what will have happened by this time next year?! I am very excited to find out!
Cat Clarke has long been one of my favourite UKYA authors, ever since I read Undone many years ago and was left bereft by the ending. Seriously — there aren’t many other books that have made me cry the same!
Back last year I revealed the cover of Girlhood, which I read in the summer and fell head over heels in love with. It’s one of the best YA books I read last year, and so I was honoured to be asked to reveal the cover of Cat’s next book: We Are Young.
So, without further ado…. Here is the cover of We Are Young!
ABOUT THE BOOK:
It starts with a wedding. And a car crash.
On the same night Evan’s mother marries local radio DJ ‘Breakfast Tim’, Evan’s brand-new step-brother Lewis is found unconscious and terribly injured, the only survivor of a horrific car crash. A media furore erupts, with the finger of blame pointed firmly at stoner, loner Lewis. Everyone else seems to think the crash was drugs-related, but Evan isn’t buying it. With the help of her journalist father, Harry, she decides to find out what really happened that night. As Evan delves deeper into the lives of the three teenagers who died in the crash, she uncovers some disturbing truths and a secret that threatens to tear her family – and the community – apart for ever…
An unforgettable story from the queen of emotional suspense, for fans of Jodi Picoult, Megan Abbott and Courtney Summers.
How amazing does that sound?! I don’t know how I’m going to be able to wait until it’s released!
The cover was designed by Hachette Children’s in-house designer Sarah Baldwin, and the book will be released on 3rd May 2018.
Okay, let’s get real for a second: it’s getting harder than ever for us book bloggers. Views are low, the number of comments on each post is decreasing, and this can be extremely demotivating for all of us who put lots of work into creating posts, with a very low return. I’m determined, though, to make 2018 the Year of the Blogger, so I have a few tips for things you can do this year to support your favourite blogs.
#1: Follow on social media
If you look in the sidebar of most blogs, you’ll be able to find all of the links to where the blogger lives on social media. Following social media accounts and engaging with the bloggers you follow is a great way of showing your support and letting bloggers know that there are real life people reading their posts, and not just automated bots.
I can promise you that all bloggers love having conversations on social media – they’re one of the most rewarding parts of the job. It’s great to be able to share what you’re passionate about, and even better when you find other people who are just as passionate as you. Plus, it’s a brilliant way to make new friends!
#2: Share links to new posts
Retweet links to posts you’ve liked, tweet the link yourself, quote retweet on Twitter to tell people what you loved about it; share to your Facebook friends or include it in your Instagram Story. There are endless ways to tell people not just about your own posts, but other people’s too.
I have a few favourite blogs that I will ALWAYS retweet, just because I love them and want everyone else to love them too. If we all chose 3 blogs to concentrate on this year that we faithfully spread the word about, I believe it would create an atmosphere where people looked forward to writing every single post, and felt that support was coming from all corners.
#3: Leave a comment!
Comments are a bit like the equivalent of letters – when you receive them, it’s exciting to open them up and read what’s inside. However, like emails taking over from letters, quick messages on social media are now becoming more popular than comments. Although getting any interaction is amazing, the great thing about comments on blogs is that they’re easy to find, no matter how long ago they were left, whereas with Twitter, for example, your feed has already moved on.
Back when I first started blogging, I saw blogs with, quite literally, HUNDREDS of comments. Now, bloggers are lucky if we get 10. I’d love to return to the time when people left meaningful comments, when I would spend all day on a Sunday writing comments on as many blogs as I could find. I feel like we’ve lost a bit of the commenting magic!
#4: Credit other bloggers
Take inspiration from a post that you’ve seen someone else do, or participate in a tag that’s making the rounds? Please credit the original source. Not only is crediting original ideas polite and the correct thing to do, it also spreads the word about a new blog and the original blogger is more likely to share your post to their followers.
Also, what happened to blog memes? There used to be Waiting on Wednesday, Follow Friday, Stacking the Shelves and Letterbox Love… Now, these kinds of post never seem to appear in my feeds. Whilst this format doesn’t always favour the individualistic style of blogging now, I do think that they favoured a more supportive community, so I’d love to see something similar make a return.
#5: Talk about bloggers IRL
In the past few years, particularly since I started my blog, blogging has definitely become more mainstream, but I still feel as though there’s a divide between actual bloggers and people who either consume blogs or have no idea what a blog is. I’d love to hear conversations take place about what it means to be a blogger, how people outside of the blogging community can support blogs, and the changing face of the blog as technology develops.
Blogs and vlogs are now COOL. Instagram is pretty much a micro-blogging platform. But, despite this, blogging hasn’t quite broken the barriers to the outside world, so I think that if we talk more about our favourite bloggers in real life, this will help to make blogging seem like a genuine job or hobby, rather than just something “you do on the side”. Side-hustles are valid too!
How do you think we can support our fellow bloggers this year? I’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments!
Exactly one year ago to the day, I sat down and began writing the first proper draft of my book. I’d written about 20,000 words of a veerryyyy rough draft the summer before, but… that was pretty much all scrapped. I managed to salvage 5,000 words, but that was it. It was, quite honestly, a load of rubbish.
So, back in January 2017, I grabbed a handful of characters who I didn’t know a lot about, a brief plot that didn’t have much substance, and got to work. This time, I was in luck: I got to 40,000 words before I had to put it to the side to tackle my dreaded AS-level exams. Seeing as though I’d written the rough draft back when I was doing my GCSE’s, I definitely don’t make things easy for myself. Something clicked with this draft, though, something that made me happy every time I added words to my manuscript. The characters sprung to life on the page, even off of the page because I couldn’t stop thinking about them; the settings I included became vivider, even more so than when I was writing them in the actual places I feature. Everything finally came together and worked.
I remember sitting in a café in Haworth after visiting the Brontë Parsonage for the first time, right around the time I’d first started writing it back in June 2016, and telling myself, “This is it.” This is going to be the book you finish, finally, after so many false starts. No more 1,000 word openings with nothing else to follow. No more giving up on writing. You’ve got this.
I’d like to think that the spirit of Emily Brontë was looking over me in that moment, because apparently THIS WAS IT. A book I’d finish seven months after starting a proper draft, query nine months later, and the book that ten months later would get me signed with a literary agent better than my wildest dreams. Thanks, Emily.
It’s been a moment of extreme highs and extreme lows (yes, the saying “blood, sweat and tears” quite LITERALLY applies to this book), but I love it and wouldn’t have it any other way.
I have no idea what the next year will hold for me and my mad group of book lovers but, whatever happens, I will always be incredibly proud of my first ever book and proud of myself for having the motivation and determination to finish it.
If you’re currently writing a book, other than invoking the spirit of a genius author, my advice is, of course: YOU’VE GOT THIS. And may 2018 be an amazing writing year for us all!
I’d love to hear about your 2018 writing projects and goals in the comments below!
The Paper & Hearts Society
And of course – have fun! Yes, writing can be hard, but it should also be enjoyable. Good luck!
