brimfulcuriosities.com asked: So many books include praise from various kid lit experts and authors (all adults). While your book is in the ARC stage, do you also try to get a view point from your target audience and use that in your promotions?

2K9 authors answered:

Suzanne Morgan Williams: No, I didn’t try to get kids opinions for promotion of ( Read more... )

whereistheluv asked: When writing your books, did you actually think about the intended age of your readers and write specifically for an age range, (if so how did that influence you original idea) or did you just write a story and then realize it was a YA novel?

2K9 authors answered:

Donna St. Cyr: My book is midgrade and in the beginning I just wrote what ( Read more... )

stephsureads asked: How long did it take you to A) write your story, B) get an agent, and C) sell your book?

2K9 authors answered:

Megan Crewe: For GIVE UP THE GHOST, it took ten months to write (from starting the first complete draft to finishing the final revision before I queried agents--I had a false start several months earlier), six months ( Read more... )

Lesley asked: How do you go about tackling research? How much research do you do for a particular project and how do you know when it's time to stop researching and start writing?

2K9 authors answered:

J.T. Dutton: I invented the voice of Scotty Loveletter (from Freaked) based on the Deadheads I had known and one or two experiences I had had at a ( Read more... )

Parker P asked: How does your book make or break the mold of its genre?

2K9 authors answered:

Suzanne Morgan Williams: Bull Rider is contemporary fiction but, because it’s about rodeo and the west, a lot of people think it’s historical fiction. They assume there aren’t cowboys anymore. Some people also guess it’s nonfiction since it has a lot to ( Read more... )

stirlingbennett asked: Did you ever read back over your first draft and just shudder? Wonder how you could have ever been pleased with it? If so, how did you deal with it? Was your confidence in your ability to make it better just so strong there was no stopping you, or did you have to talk yourself into believing you were, indeed, a good writer and this draft ( Read more... )

rhondastapleton asked: What has been the most memorable part of the author's journey for you so far?

2K9 authors answered:

Donna St. Cyr: The most memorable part, for me, has been meeting so many wonderful people at every stage of the journey. While I must write alone, I write for others, and the friendship and support offered to me by fellow writers has been ( Read more... )

sdabd said: I am interested to learn what authors the 2K9 authors read when they were teenagers and what books they loved as teenagers.

2K9 authors answered:

Donna St. Cyr: I loved Beverly Cleary’s book Fifteen. I must have read it ten times. I also loved The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia.  In junior high, Nancy Drew was a staple for ( Read more... )

demonic0011 asked: How did you sell yourself? In what ways do you try to promote your book? Do you prefer going to bookstore to bookstore or more of an online publicity? Do you think twitter, have a facebook/myspace, blog or any of that sort help you expand and share your thoughts to others?

2K9 authors answered:

Lauren Bjorkman: I tend to resent people who ( Read more... )

irenelatham asked: Does that niggling self-doubt EVER all the way go away???

2K9 authors answered:

Megan Crewe: I don't think you ever completely leave doubt behind. In fact, I think if you did, your writing would suffer. A healthy amount of doubt is what keeps us striving to tell better stories, portray stronger characters, polish that prose until it ( Read more... )