BOOK LAUNCH for Jay Asher

A reminder that Jay Asher is coming to town.

"Jay Asher’s first book, Thirteen Reasons Why was and is a worldwide phenomenon. It’s been translated into 35 languages, spent over 200 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and sold nearly 2.5 million copies since its 2007 debut, making it a contemporary classic with staying power. It’s been named a Children's Best Book by the Association of Booksellers, an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, and has appeared on 16 state award master lists. Netflix is adapting it into a 13-episode series. Selena Gomez is set to produce the project from Anoynymous Content and Paramount TV, with a pilot penned by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Brian Yorkey (Next to Normal).

Described by Asher as the answer to Thirteen Reasons Why, his new book, What Light is a love story that's moving and life-affirming and unforgettable. Early praise:

"A beautiful story of love and forgiveness."—Stephen Chbosky, New York Times bestselling author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower"

When:        Tuesday, November 1, 2016

                      7 PM

Where:       Secret Garden Books

                   2214 NW Market St.

       

Questions: Suzanne Perry

                      Events / Public Relations Manager

                  206-789-5006

                   suzanne@secretgardenbooks.com

Visit Jay's website at:  http://jayasher.blogspot.com/

Jennifer March Soloway and Book Launch for Jay Asher

How To Be a Guest at Jennifer's Dinner Table

WOW! What a Kick-off to our SCBWI season. Jennifer March Soloway was our guest agent from the Andrea Brown Literary Agency and she was truly one to listen to. Immediately, she captured the audience in Demaray Hall at SPU last week with her charisma for books, the authors and illustrators behind the books, and those of us who are either dipping our toes into the craft to those of us who are so close to getting an agent. No matter where you are in the process, Jennifer was rooting for each of us!

Jennifer talked about her methods for reading through submissions and the slush pile. But the nuggets of her talk that never get old no matter where you are in the "getting published" process, Jennifer says that "... every rejection is a choice: to keep going or to quit." If you are enjoying the ride, you keep on going. If you are in the process of revising your work, this is the time to embrace the magical transformation of your manuscript or picture book dummy to that of published book. Here are a few key points from Jennifer's presentation that are must haves:

• A dynamic opening line
• A strong, engaging voice
• An intriguing premise that feels different from anything else
• An opening scene filed with drama that has enough context to immediately ground the reader in the world
• An irresistible character with high stakes
• An additional story thread that is also compelling

On Thursday, Jennifer taught a master class with more awesome information for perfecting our crafts. In a nutshell, there are three stages of writing:

1. Writing for story - here is where you just write. No editing. Only writing.
2. Revise for structure, plot, clarity, and character.
3. Polish language at the line level - POV and word choice.

To summarize, per Jennifer:



Recipe for page-turning best seller!




Thank you, Jennifer, for spending two days with us here in Seattle. We are all looking forward to seeing you again - as our agent!

On another note, let's give a "SHOUT OUT" to Milagros Welt, aka Mili, aka Snack Mistress! First time out of the gate and she put on a spooktacularly delicious Halloween themed spread of snacks and beverages. I can't wait to see what November brings. Mili, awesome and thank you!

BOOK LAUNCH

Now, on to something that is super cool. Jay Asher is coming to town. And what's more, he is a client of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

"Jay Asher’s first book, Thirteen Reasons Why was and is a worldwide phenomenon. It’s been translated into 35 languages, spent over 200 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and sold nearly 2.5 million copies since its 2007 debut, making it a contemporary classic with staying power. It’s been named a Children's Best Book by the Association of Booksellers, an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, and has appeared on 16 state award master lists. Netflix is adapting it into a 13-episode series. Selena Gomez is set to produce the project from Anoynymous Content and Paramount TV, with a pilot penned by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Brian Yorkey (Next to Normal).

 

Described by Asher as the answer to Thirteen Reasons Why, his new book, What Light is a love story that's moving and life-affirming and unforgettable. Early praise:

"A beautiful story of love and forgiveness."—Stephen Chbosky, New York Times bestselling author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower"

 

 

When:            Tuesday, 1 November 2016

                      7 PM

 

Where:           Secret Garden Books

                   2214 NW Market St.

       

Questions:     CONTACT Suzanne Perry

                      Events / Public Relations Manager

                   206-789-5006

                       suzanne@secretgardenbooks.com

 

Visit Jay's website at:  http://jayasher.blogspot.com/

Hope to see everyone at Secret Garden Books on November 1st and at our next SCBWI meeting on Wednesday November 9th.

Cheers,

Kathleen

Jay Asher's keynote address: How to publish a book in 12 years...or less #scbwiwwa

Jay is taking us through a time line of his publishing adventures, including, but not limited to:

• free fruit smoothies;
• the truth about men and women and what they say about foot sizes; and
• ill-advised laminated bookmarks featuring The ChocoBarn Cow (tagline: for Adam Kinski, life is one problem after an udder)

One of his life-changing experiences on his 12-year publishing Odyssey happened at an SCBWI national conference in L.A., when he got a critique from Kathleey Duey (a National Book Award finalist for Skin Hunger). Kathleen pitched his book to an agent right then and there. Jay won the Sue Alexander award for that manuscript...

But it's still not the year he got published. (In fact, he was only halfway there.)

Along the way, Jay accumulated three agents--one at a time. "Anyone who's ever said that agents are just as hard to get as editors? No."

He started getting more personal rejections. He got the idea for 13 Reasons Why while driving on an icy road one dark night.

It was during a creative period when he was writing everything, including SCBWI joke contests (and Pat the Bunny parodies). He also won an SCBWI grant for his work in progress. An editor was interested in seeing his manuscript. Advice from Jay: "Enter as many contests as you can; you never know what connections you'll make there." (Note: this includes costume contests.)

With his fourth agent, Jay finally started submitting 13 Reasons Why, which received 12 rejections, some of which were really hard to take. And then an offer came. And then another--the same day.

Get a bad review?

Jay Asher, one of the keynote speakers at our annual conference, has great advice on how we can handle the reviews of our published work:

After Thirteen Reasons Why came out, it took me a looooong time to get comfortable with the idea that not everyone was going to appreciate my book the way I thought it should be appreciated. One person may call it “quite possibly the best book I have ever read” and someone else may call it “a waste of my time.” One person may claim the book made her “treat people better and have more respect for myself” while someone else thinks it contains “no moral value whatsoever.” One person may say her “heart goes out” to Hannah while another person owns a heart which “could not feel any empathy towards her.”

Your part of the author/reader conversation ended the moment you turned in your edits. From then on, the only thing that will change about your story will be the people reading it. Their prejudices, their life experiences, and their understanding of the world will frame every single page they read. Every word! As they read each line of your story, that line essentially disappears from your book and moves into their head. (Scary, I know.) Your brain may have written the story, but their brain is going to interpret it based on however their brain is wired at the moment.

And there’s nothing you can do about it.

Read the rest on his blog. (And if you're planning to go to the conference but still haven't signed up, don't delay much longer. Spots usually sell out.)

What's it mean to have a great hook?

The Guide to Literary Agents asked Jay Asher for his picks of great hooks in the fall catalog. Here are some of his choices:

Andromeda Klein by Frank Portman. A high school underdog’s tarot card readings become strangely accurate.

As You Wish by Jackson Pearce. A teen falls in love with the genie sent to grant her three wishes.

Claim to Fame by Margaret Peterson Haddix centers on a young TV star who can hear whatever anyone in the world says about her.

DupliKate by Cherry Cheva. An overscheduled teen starts seeing double: suddenly there are two of her.

The Espressologist by Kristina Springer centers on a matchmaking barista who links up her friends based on their coffee orders.

For the rest, visit Guide to Literary Agents.com.

Jay Asher in Bellingham Saturday

Late breaking calendar announcement:

Jay Asher, author of THIRTEEN REASONS WHY, will be speaking and signing books at Village Books in Bellingham on Saturday, July 25th, at 2:00 p.m.

For more information see Village Books' website.