Writing Great Books for Young Adults: Everything You Need to Know, from Crafting the Idea to Getting Published

(Paperback)

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Description

The young adult book market is one of the healthiest in the industry, but little has been written to help authors hone their craft and truly connect with this audience. With the new edition of her indispensable guide, experienced literary agent Regina Brooks offers up-and-coming YA writers all the advice they need to create great content for this exploding market of readers. Most importantly, Regina states, the key to success is listening to young adults so that YA writers can create characters with whom their readers can identify.

Reviews

"Regina Brooks covers all the essentials of writing great books for young adults, such as plot, character, setting and dialogue. I found the explanation of the differences between plot ("a chain of events where each event has a cause") and story ("the sequence of events as the reader imagines them to have taken place") particularly helpful, as this is an area which is not always well explained." - Book in a Week
"Brooks writes in plain language and an engaging style accessible to all in this resource for writers entering the YA fiction market, whether they are still in the writing process or whether they are looking for a publisher. In addition to chapters on characters, plot, setting, dialogue, the book also offers tips on getting constructive feedback and finding an agent." - ProtoView
"There's a lot of useful information on the writing process, the publishing process, and everything in between." - Mother. Gamer. Writer.
"If you are thinking of penning one or already have and are now shopping around for a publisher, I highly encourage you to pick up a copy of this book. Drawing from her experience as a literary agent, Regina Brooks breaks down the whole process, from developing ideas to submitting queries to agents, into easy to implement steps. Each chapter deals with a different, major, area, such as theme, character development, setting, satisfactory endings, finding the right agent, and lots more." - History and Other Thoughts
"Brooks offers writers who are serious about attracting teen readers solid guidance through the creation process of writing YA fiction." - Library Journal
"If you are a writing teacher, this book would make a great teaching resource for you. The depth it goes into would really make some fantastic lessons and talking points with your students. I would also recommend this book to anyone currently writing a book or planning to write. It simplifies the process and helps you gain an understanding of what is needed to be clear and concise when writing to keep a teen reader's attention. " - The Flashlight Reader
"Brooks believes that the young adult period is a vitally important one for developing lifelong readers. As an agent, she has represented children's, young adult and adult fiction authors for the past decade... Written from the perspective of an industry insider, the book shows budding authors how to edit their work with fresh eyes." - Kirkus Reviews
"Brooks fills her book with clear examples that illustrate her points... She tells you exactly how to craft an attention-grabbing query letter to an agent, and how to write a book proposal that will look professional and give you the best chance of getting a book contract. If you're looking for an A to Z guide on writing and publishing YA fiction, Regina Brooks' how-to is the place to go." - Writer magazine
"Writing Great Books for Young Adults outshines its competitors, by combining all of the writing themes together. Instead of focusing just on dialogue, it will have a chapter on the subject, and so on, making it a great start for aspiring writers. " - Book Cupid
"Fantastic advice for anyone wanting to write fiction for young adults... a must read for anyone wanting to improve their skills or break into young adult fiction." - Batch of Books
"Writing Great Books for Young Adults, is a fabulous must read! This is an excellent source for all authors who are interested in writing great books for young adults! It has everything you need to know and it tells how to do it right... I would highly recommend this novel as the first and only tool for those interested in writing YA. I rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars!" - Universal Creativity Inc14
"This book made me want to drop everything and write! Teachers would find this to be a valuable guide for students with its informative and inspirational writing advice." - Unleashing Readers

Author Bio

REGINA L. BROOKS is the founder of Serendipity Literary Agency and has been developing books for over a decade. She has been highlighted in several national and international magazines and periodicals, including Poets and Writers, Essence Magazine, Writer's Digest Magazine, and Sister2Sister. She lives in New York City.