Interview With New Author Megan Crewe
September 14th 2009 12:49
Today, instead of following my normal blogging schedule with a prompt/exercise, I've got an interview to show you guys. Regular readers will remember that a couple weeks back, I got really excited about an author named Megan Crewe whose debut YA novel, Give Up The Ghost, is released into stores September fifteenth (in other words, tomorrow).
I contacted her right away and confirmed an interview. Here it is:
Hi Megan, welcome to Fictional Worlds and thanks for taking some time out of your busy book-launching schedule to talk to me. First, could you share with our readers a brief description of your new book, Give Up The Ghost?
Give Up the Ghost is about a girl who's an outcast at her high school and whose only friends are ghosts. Using the dirt her ghostly companions dig up, she exposes the crimes and deceits of her classmates. But then the popular student council vice president comes to her for supernatural help, and she realizes some of her assumptions may be wrong.
What was your favourite part of writing Give Up The Ghost?
Getting into Cass's voice. She had a lot of attitude and a very clear story she wanted to tell, and I loved discovering it as I wrote.
What was the hardest part of writing Give Up The Ghost?
Keeping Cass sympathetic. She's a prickly personality, and likes to think she's tough, but I had to show her vulnerabilities and fears so that readers could relate to her. It's a difficult balance to pull off!
How long did you work on this book-first drafts, revisions, and shopping it around to agents/publishers?
When I first attempted to write the book, it stalled about a third of the way through. I set it aside for nine months while I worked on other things. When I came back to it, it went through three drafts in about eight months, with breaks in between while my crit partners read it. I queried agents for five months before I was offered representation. It took exactly a year to sell the book.
How did you find your agent/publisher?
I knew of my agent (Kristin Nelson) from reading her blog, but I'd actually never considered submitting to her when I first started querying. The YA books she'd repped at that time seemed very different from mine. But then she posted about how she was interested in seeing darker YA, so I figured it couldn't hurt to try. I'm glad I did!
What was the experience of working with an editor for the first time like?
Both exciting and scary. Exciting because I knew my book was going to be out there, reaching readers before long, and that my editor was going to help it be as good a story as it could be. But scary because I didn't know if I'd agree with all of her suggestions.
I've been reading your agent Kristen Nelson's blog for quite some time, and wish she represented darker works of fiction. What was your experience working with her like?
See, you have the same misconception I did!
But if you look at my book, or, say, Sarah Rees Brennan's The Demon's Lexicon, I think you'll see that she enjoys darker novels quite a bit. Kristin's a very editorial agent who always offers feedback to get the manuscript into even better shape before sending it out, and she's great at negotiating any issues that come up.
Do you have any other novels in the works?
But of course! Nothing I can share details on right now, but I expect to continue writing YA, paranormal and fantasy, for the foreseeable future.
Last but not least, what advice would you give a writer getting ready to shop their manuscript around to agents/publishers?
I'd say, first make sure your manuscript is as good as it can be. Almost every author I know (including published ones) does at least one thorough revision before sharing their novel with editors. I often do two or three. And I'm talking plot and character changes, taking scenes out and adding new ones in, etc., not just line edits. It's easy to get excited about a story and the possibility of submitting it and to want to rush right in, but it's a tough industry and you're far better off taking the time to make your book as strong as possible.
Once your manuscript is ready, do your research. There are many sites with information on which agents and publishers to avoid, how to submit to the ones who are reputable, and so on. My favorite website for agents is AgentQuery.com. It's best to also check the agent's website to make sure the information is up to date. And Publishers Marketplace is great for checking recent sales.
And finally, have patience! Sometimes you have to query a lot of agents or sub to a lot of editors before you find the right fit.
Thanks for the interview!
----------------------------- ----------------------------- -------------
Megan was quick to respond and extremely courteous. She's been all over the web with the coming of her new book. She's got a guest post at Katie's Books which talks about her favourite books from school and features a giveaway, another interview at Authorlink.com and many more guest posts and interviews you can find by visiting her personal blog.
Give Up The Ghost is available in stores on September fifteenth, and the real-world book launch is coming up. I'm looking forward to buying this book and meeting Megan in real life. From what conversation I've had with her, I hope to forge a friendship. She seems like a great person as well as a good writer.
Thanks for reading, folks.
~Dianna
I contacted her right away and confirmed an interview. Here it is:
Hi Megan, welcome to Fictional Worlds and thanks for taking some time out of your busy book-launching schedule to talk to me. First, could you share with our readers a brief description of your new book, Give Up The Ghost?
Give Up the Ghost is about a girl who's an outcast at her high school and whose only friends are ghosts. Using the dirt her ghostly companions dig up, she exposes the crimes and deceits of her classmates. But then the popular student council vice president comes to her for supernatural help, and she realizes some of her assumptions may be wrong.
What was your favourite part of writing Give Up The Ghost?
Getting into Cass's voice. She had a lot of attitude and a very clear story she wanted to tell, and I loved discovering it as I wrote.
What was the hardest part of writing Give Up The Ghost?
Keeping Cass sympathetic. She's a prickly personality, and likes to think she's tough, but I had to show her vulnerabilities and fears so that readers could relate to her. It's a difficult balance to pull off!
How long did you work on this book-first drafts, revisions, and shopping it around to agents/publishers?
When I first attempted to write the book, it stalled about a third of the way through. I set it aside for nine months while I worked on other things. When I came back to it, it went through three drafts in about eight months, with breaks in between while my crit partners read it. I queried agents for five months before I was offered representation. It took exactly a year to sell the book.
How did you find your agent/publisher?
I knew of my agent (Kristin Nelson) from reading her blog, but I'd actually never considered submitting to her when I first started querying. The YA books she'd repped at that time seemed very different from mine. But then she posted about how she was interested in seeing darker YA, so I figured it couldn't hurt to try. I'm glad I did!
What was the experience of working with an editor for the first time like?
Both exciting and scary. Exciting because I knew my book was going to be out there, reaching readers before long, and that my editor was going to help it be as good a story as it could be. But scary because I didn't know if I'd agree with all of her suggestions.
I've been reading your agent Kristen Nelson's blog for quite some time, and wish she represented darker works of fiction. What was your experience working with her like?
See, you have the same misconception I did!
But if you look at my book, or, say, Sarah Rees Brennan's The Demon's Lexicon, I think you'll see that she enjoys darker novels quite a bit. Kristin's a very editorial agent who always offers feedback to get the manuscript into even better shape before sending it out, and she's great at negotiating any issues that come up.Do you have any other novels in the works?
But of course! Nothing I can share details on right now, but I expect to continue writing YA, paranormal and fantasy, for the foreseeable future.
Last but not least, what advice would you give a writer getting ready to shop their manuscript around to agents/publishers?
I'd say, first make sure your manuscript is as good as it can be. Almost every author I know (including published ones) does at least one thorough revision before sharing their novel with editors. I often do two or three. And I'm talking plot and character changes, taking scenes out and adding new ones in, etc., not just line edits. It's easy to get excited about a story and the possibility of submitting it and to want to rush right in, but it's a tough industry and you're far better off taking the time to make your book as strong as possible.
Once your manuscript is ready, do your research. There are many sites with information on which agents and publishers to avoid, how to submit to the ones who are reputable, and so on. My favorite website for agents is AgentQuery.com. It's best to also check the agent's website to make sure the information is up to date. And Publishers Marketplace is great for checking recent sales.
And finally, have patience! Sometimes you have to query a lot of agents or sub to a lot of editors before you find the right fit.
Thanks for the interview!
----------------------------- ----------------------------- -------------
Megan was quick to respond and extremely courteous. She's been all over the web with the coming of her new book. She's got a guest post at Katie's Books which talks about her favourite books from school and features a giveaway, another interview at Authorlink.com and many more guest posts and interviews you can find by visiting her personal blog.
Give Up The Ghost is available in stores on September fifteenth, and the real-world book launch is coming up. I'm looking forward to buying this book and meeting Megan in real life. From what conversation I've had with her, I hope to forge a friendship. She seems like a great person as well as a good writer.
Thanks for reading, folks.
~Dianna
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