Rhonda OnlineMy Favorite YA AuthorsLinks for WritersQ&A
Here's my radio interview with Across the Pond!
Here's a video of me talking about Stupid Cupid!
Maggie Stiefvater
Sara Zarr
Neil Gaiman
David Levithan
Erin Lynn
Amanda Brice
Deanna Carlyle
Lois Lowry
Libba Bray
Linda Gerber
Niki Burnham
Ellen Wittlinger
Jennifer Echols
Lisa McMann
Kristen Tracy
Nico Medina
Elizabeth Scott
Amanda Marrone
Scott Westerfeld
Jay Asher
Sarah Dessen
Suzanne Collins
Laurie Halse Anderson
Saundra Mitchell
Mandy Hubbard
Query Letters—The One That Got My Agent (an article I wrote on my blog)
Finding an Agent (an article I wrote on my blog)
Writer's Career Planning Template (an article I wrote on my blog)
How to Start a New Novel (an article I wrote on my blog)
Writing for Children and Teens (a website with YA writing advice)
Children's Writers and Illustrators Message Board (a fantastic forum for YA/children's writers)
Jim Butcher (this author has a awesome writing advice blog)
National Novel Writing Month (also known as "NaNoWriMo")
Romance Writers of America (a professional organization for romance writers)
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (a professional organization for SFF writers)
Agent Query (a free searchable agent database)
Publisher's Marketplace (you can subscribe and search for latest book deals for agents or editors)
Absolute Write Water Cooler (a forum where you can research an agent's background)
Preditors and Editors (a website where you can research an agent's or editor's background)
 |
Rhonda, I have a brilliant idea for a book. Srsly, it's awesome. How about I tell you my idea, and then we can split the cash? |
A: Actually, I have about a billion ideas of my own that I haven't even gotten to yet (I'm writing as fast as I can!), so I always encourage people to pick up a pen or open a laptop and write the stories themselves. You can tell your story much better than I could, anyway! Plus, I'm really bad at sharing. Haha
|
I'd like to learn how to write a novel/find an agent/find a publisher. Do you have any links I can check out? |
A: Hells yeah! Check out this section, where I include lots of links for writers.
|
Why do you write young adult stories? |
A: Many people who write YA say it's because they're still a teenager at heart. If you read any of my bio, you could see that that isn't the reason for me. It's because I'm totally mental. Okay, that's not the real reason. I adore reading and writing young adult novels. It's exciting how much flexibility there is, and it encompasses so many genres. YA is just flat-out awesome.
|
Where do you get your ideas? |
A: Sometimes, they come to me in a dream. Like this one time, I had a dream about a sparkly vampire...okay, we all know that wasn't me. But I have had dreams about stories before, mostly about how to resolve tricky plot points that I let chew around in my head. And I also look around me for Inspirado, at things that happen (or have happened) to me or people I know. Or sometimes, I get an idea for an unusual character, or setting, or plot. With those kernels of ideas, I look at how to make them over-the-top and give them my own unique flair.
|
Can I get a copy of your book so I can read it/run a contest/review it on my blog, etc? |
A: Authors get VERY limited amounts of free books from their publishers. When we give away our books, it's often what we've had to buy ourselves. If you are a reviewer and wish to obtain an ARC of my book, please contact the house publicist, who handles the distribution of ARCs for review and such. If you wish to do a contest, or just have a copy to read, you can always try to enter any contests I hold to snag a copy—or feed a starving artist and buy one... :D
 |
How much money have you made as a writer? |
A: Not enough to buy an island, but enough to have a nice vacation on one. Haha. Seriously, money's kind of a weird subject for some authors, especially since we usually don't know what other authors are making. So we often keep things generic (though some authors are very forthright and will tell you). I will say this—it's not easy to make enough to quit working and write full-time. But it sure would be nice! :D
