How do I do it all? Well to start, I am a mom of four kids. I work a full-time job as an Engineer, and I teach part-time at a University. Lastly, I am an author.

I learned a long time ago to manage my time. I’ll provide tips below, however, you must make…

Congrats! You made it through the horrors of querying, waiting for the call, revisions, submission to editors, more revisions, and finally... a contract. Now you're impatiently waiting for your book to be published. So what do you do while you wait (besides eat cupcakes of course!)?

YA and MG author Lisa Schroeder has put together a detailed checklist of what you should be doing in the six months prior to your release date. This is a fantastic guideline that all #YALITCHAT…

by Nathan Bransford, posted on http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2010/03/all-about-sequels.html

Meanwhile, I get lots and lots of questions about sequels, and while I've addressed them tangentially in…

Posted by Kirsten Hubbard on www.yahighway.com

When it comes to young adult fiction, the word "edgy" is widespread. Edgy fiction, edgy characters, edgy plots, edgy writing. Aspiring authors spend a ton of time agonizing over it. Is my book edgy? they wonder. Or worse,…

Part III in our EXCLUSIVE article by editor, Teresa Kennedy!

DON’T preach, teach. Nobody wants to pick up a novel and get a morality tale, and teenagers least of all. In this age group, rebellion is the name of the game and life itself is one big Declaration of Independence. When writing for a teen audience, it’s important to respect that. Your readers need to be allowed to grow and experience right along with your characters and to find their own way with…

So you might have heard that the Indianapolis Colts lost the Super Bowl, and, naturally, that begs us to address the question…



Should we do away with YA literature?



Okay, one has absolutely nothing to do with the other and it was a terrible segue; however, we never promised everything we do here at WMLA would make sense. We are in publishing, after all.



HA HA.



Seriously, though, there have been some changes in the industry that have made this a viable…

Formatting Guidelines by Jessica Faust from BookEnds, LLC

I recently received a partial request (first fifty pages) from a legitimate agency, but the submission guidelines and personal request never stated if the partial should be double or single spaced to include the exact fifty pages. I wanted to know if I should double space the pages just in case, since I am sending them off via mail per the agent’s request, or single space to include the actual fifty…

We hear a lot about word count and so many feel they can ignore the guidelines and just go with what they please. Don't. A word count outside of the guidelines is one of the fastest ways to turn off a potential agent or publisher. Yes, there are always books that get published that go way over word count and do very well. But the likelihood of you getting representation or your first contract on a 200,000 word tome is slim (save it for when you've got 3 books on the NY Times…

Part II in our EXCLUSIVE article by editor, Teresa Kennedy!

DO read writers you admire, but DON’T try to imitate them. Instead, make a mental inventory of just WHY you find a particular author’s work engaging. Is it the dialogue? The emotional lives of the characters? The quirky reality of the urban fantasy setting? The intricate twists of the plot? When you’ve got a clear idea of what makes…

Check in each Wednesday for the next installment in the series.

DON’T conceive of yourself or your book as being the “next” anybody. Despite what a lot of experts recommend, the hard truth is no one is going to be terrifically interested in your work if you’re pitching it as similar to books they’ve already read. When an editor or agent sees you comparing your work to some bestseller, chances are…