Path to Publication Lessons from Author Suzanne van Rooyen + Giveaway!

I'm thrilled to have Suzanne van Rooyen, author of I HEART ROBOT, joining us today to share her advice and lessons from her road to publication.

Please join me in giving her a warm TTI welcome, and make sure to scroll to the bottom for a chance to win your own copy of I HEART ROBOT.

Guest Post by Suzanne van Rooyen

Everybody's road to publication is different. There is no single map of how to get there, but a multitude of routes and some may meander while others might lead to a few dead ends before ultimately getting you where you want to go. There are quite a few things I wished I'd known though before starting out, as it may have helped me better choose my route.


1) Writing is rewriting

I was not prepared for the amount of revising and editing that was required in order to get published. I've never had a problem editing my work, but I was still shocked to discover that I would have to go through at least one round of content edits before line edits and finally proofreading before signing off on the polished manuscript. If you're new to writing, best you make friends with Track Changes because writing is rewriting.

2) You can get picked from the slush pile

I had my first book published without really understanding that agents are awesome and I should've maybe queried agents first before publishers. I also didn't understand that I, as a mere mortal, could even get an agent by sending out queries. You do not have to be connected or well-known or have anything other than a good book to get an agent. If you want to go the traditional publishing route, having an agent is essential.

3) Having an agent doesn't guarantee success

To be honest, once I signed with an agent I thought that was it. In a few weeks, we'd be hitting up publishing houses and a few weeks later I'd have a three book deal and life would be grand. Not exactly. Having an agent is often only the first step toward success and does in no way guarantee a sale of that or any book. Having an agent does, however, open a lot of doors and is vital for when deals are eventually offered to help you understand the small print so you don't up selling your soul.

4) Writers need a thick skin

I thought I understood this. I thought I knew what getting a crit back on work would feel like because I'd had teachers squiggle red pen on my essays in high school. I thought I understood how getting negative reviews would feel because I'd read a bunch of negative reviews about books I loved by other authors and even that hurt me, a mere fan. I had absolutely no clue just how brutal this industry could be. If you want to be a writer, you need to be brave enough to show your beloved work to others, to accept that some might not like it (they may even hate it) and won't be afraid to tell you before or after publication exactly what they think of your word-baby. But that's okay because you can learn from it – or ignore it – and become a better writer for it either way.

5) Writing is hard

Writing as a hobby, as something you love to do in your spare time isn't the same as having to crank out words with a deadline approaching, and it definitely isn't the same as trying to write something commercially viable in a saturated market when next month's rent depends on it. Writing professionally is hard and there will be days when you'd prefer to be gored by an angry hippopotamus than look at blinking cursor on another blank page.

That said, I'm fairly proud of the journey I've taken toward publication and I'm glad I've got this far, because I'm fully aware that there's still a very long way to go.

ABOUT I HEART ROBOT:

Publication date: March 31, 2015

Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.

Author: Suzanne van Rooyen

Sixteen-year-old Tyri wants to be a musician and wants to be with someone who won’t belittle her musical aspirations.

Q-I-99 aka ‘Quinn’ lives in a scrap metal sanctuary with other rogue droids. While some use violence to make their voices heard, demanding equal rights for AI enhanced robots, Quinn just wants a moment on stage with his violin to show the humans that androids like him have more to offer than their processing power.

Tyri and Quinn’s worlds collide when they’re accepted by the Baldur Junior Philharmonic Orchestra. As the rift between robots and humans deepens, Tyri and Quinn’s love of music brings them closer together, making Tyri question where her loyalties lie and Quinn question his place in the world. With the city on the brink of civil war, Tyri and Quinn make a shocking discovery that turns their world inside out. Will their passion for music be enough to hold them together while everything else crumbles down around them, or will the truth of who they are tear them apart?

Goodreads | Chapters Indigo | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | TBD | iBooks

ABOUT SUZANNE VAN ROOYEN:

Suzanne is a tattooed storyteller from South Africa. She currently lives in Sweden and is busy making
friends with the ghosts of her Viking ancestors. Although she has a Master’s degree in music, Suzanne prefers conjuring strange worlds and creating quirky characters. When she grows up, she wants to be an elf – until then, she spends her time (when not writing) wall climbing, buying far too many books, and entertaining her shiba inu, Lego.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Enter for a change to win a copy of I HEART ROBOT by Suzanne van RooyanFive (5) winners will receive a digital copy (INT)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

direct link

YA Book Pick: Charm & Strange

Once a month, we choose an outstanding YA book to review. We want to spotlight books of interest to aspiring writers, as well as highlight some of our favorite books and authors.
This month's pick is CHARM & STRANGE, by Stephanie Kuehn.

Synopsis (from Goodreads): 

When you’ve been kept caged in the dark, it’s impossible to see the forest for the trees. It’s impossible to see anything, really. Not without bars . . .

Andrew Winston Winters is at war with himself.

He’s part Win, the lonely teenager exiled to a remote Vermont boarding school in the wake of a family tragedy. The guy who shuts all his classmates out, no matter the cost.

He’s part Drew, the angry young boy with violent impulses that control him. The boy who spent a fateful, long-ago summer with his brother and teenage cousins, only to endure a secret so monstrous it led three children to do the unthinkable.

Over the course of one night, while stuck at a party deep in the New England woods, Andrew battles both the pain of his past and the isolation of his present.

Before the sun rises, he’ll either surrender his sanity to the wild darkness inside his mind or make peace with the most elemental of truths—that choosing to live can mean so much more than not dying. 

First line:  I don't feel the presence of God here.

I was hooked when I read this first line.  It brings the reader straight into a situation that you know is not going to be your typical wake up the bedroom or hanging out at school scenario.  There is a darkness and sense of foreboding that surounds this first sentence.  So many questions are raised but it also reveals a lot about the protagonist and his voice.  

We know that Win is in a situation where he is clearly uncomfortable.  While there is a sense of loneliness that is very prevalent, there is also a tinge of hope.  He is a boy that believes in something more than what's concrete and static around him, he wants something more.

Highlights:  

As much as the first line hooked me, Kuehn's ability to create provoking and poignant ends to each chapter is what kept me reading.  Each chapter's last sentence always evoked a sense of danger, poised a question or provided a thoughtful insight into a character's personality that made me want to know more.  

For example, the last two sentences of chapter two are:

For most kids, this milestone means a lot. 

For my brother, it meant everything. 

My interest is perked.  Win is reminiscing of a conversation he had with his brother about losing the believe in Santa Claus.  Something so innocent and yet it meant everything to his brother, why?  Why was it so important to hold onto this small belief?  I'm intrigued.

Kuehn also writes in an organized, non-linear fashion.  Each chapter switches from Win's present day living at the boarding school and flashbacks of his life before tragedy struck.  The family tragedy involved the death of siblings but Kuehn holds back.  She reveals information a little at a time, like peeling away the layers of an onion.  Each chapter reveals more about Win and the people around him but leaves the reader wanted more and reading faster in the hopes of getting more answers. 

Notes for Writers:  

Charm & Strange is a great example of a novel full of great twists and turns.  As many have mentioned, it's difficult to write about Kuehn's debut novel without revealing spoilers or major plot points.  I look at this as a plus because it shows that reviewers care about the experience that other readers will have when they read the book and they want them to have the same "oohs", "ahs" and "gasps!" that they did. 

A good read for: fans of contemporary YA as well as supernatural thrillers.  This novel is a great example of a dark teen male protagonist.

Get ready for a roller coaster ride of thrills and chills!

Special thanks to Martina Boone and Adventures in YA Publishing for sending me such a great novel as part of their Million Visitor giveaway!