Trail-blazing Teen Writers – "How They Got Published – Stories of Writing Success",

 Trail-blazing Teen Writers. 

In this occasional series, "How They Got Published  – Stories of Writing Success", we look at how writers got their very first contract; the story of how that happened and how they are so very willing to share their advice with other hopeful writers. 

This time we look at some writers of Young Adult fiction; a popular genre both to write in, and be read in. Teens are not the only readers of YA fiction; adults love it too and due to its popularity, the publishing houses also are on the hunt for good teen fiction. Here are four writers who 'made it' with their very first novel.

Sue Lynn Tan was born in Malaysia, studied in London and France, and currently lives in Hong Kong with her family. Her first book, published in 2022, Daughter of the Moon Goddess has been described as a ‘epic, romantic — an all-consuming work of literary fantasy, with a perilous quest, legendary creatures and vicious enemies, and a moment where the protagonist, Xingyinm, must make a vital decision between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.

Tan’s fantasy world is rooted in a non-western canon using the myth of Chang’e, the Moon Goddess, who was married to Houyi, the archer who shot the nine suns. Houyi was gifted an elixir of immortality but did not drink it, as he did not want to be parted from his wife. Yet Chang’e drank it instead, becoming immortal and flying to the moon. Here, she takes to Utopia State of Mind about the aspirations she gained from the myth and how she transformed it into a YA novel, her thoughts on the characters, and the editing she undertook.

‘While researching the legend, I was struck by its variations: Was Chang’e originally an immortal or mortal? Did she drink the elixir to save the people from a tyrannical Houyi, or to save it from thieves, or did she want to become a goddess? And in the end, did she reunite with her husband or live out her eternal years in solitude on the moon? Perhaps the variations morphed to portray Chang’e in a different light, though we will never know the answer. What is certain is that she is a much-loved figure, and one that I adore myself. I studied the different variations of the legend of Chang’e and Houyi, though I could not include them all in the story. I also researched archery – the materials of ancient bows, an archer’s posture, the sound the arrows made as they sliced through the air. I especially loved researching Chinese dragons which are quite different from their Western counterparts: though equally as powerful, they are typically wingless, creatures of water, benevolent and kind.

‘I love Xingyin’s resilience and hope. When she faces devastation and disappointment, she does despair like anyone might, but does not yield to it. Yet her nature can be reckless and impatient, particularly for things she finds hard or which she is eager for. Xingyin is a skilled archer with strong magic, but of equal importance is her intelligence and emotional depth—her ability to empathize with her enemies, even those she despises, to try to understand their motivations.

‘Xingyin’s love for her mother is the driving force behind her ambition to return home, and free her. Their bond is especially close because the moon is a solitary place, and they only have each other for company, along with a single attendant. It is not always a smooth relationship for Chang’e is dealing with heartbreak from her separation from her husband, and there are things that she is reluctant to share. Yet Xingyin is empathic and compassionate, and considerate of her mother’s feelings.

‘I tend to find drafting more challenging than editing—figuring out the story at the same time as developing the characters, although it is also the most exciting stage. For me, it is a slower process, with a lot of back and forth. I enjoy editing, refining the story and thinking about how it can be made better, although it depends on the deadline as well.’  (Utopia State of Mind 2022)

Before Luke Palmer began his debut YA novel, Grow, he wrote poetry; a debut pamphlet of poems, Spring in the Hospital, won the Prole Pamphlet contest in 2018. Grow (2021), which has been studied throughout this pathway, is published Firefly Press. Grow has strong themes of racism, terrorism, rape, grief and loss, and cultural coercion:  Josh is struggling to cope with his father's recent death at the hands of terrorists when he becomes attracted to a white supremacist group which tightens its hold over him. But Palmer counteracts this by offing moments of respite for the protagonist, when he  becomes involved in some ‘gorilla gardening’ with a school mate.  The introduction to this landscape coincides with Josh waking with the dawn, face down on the ground, after taking a beating the night before:

        ‘’The blackbird turns its head, flied off. I watch it as it comes to rest on a stone wall about five metres in front of me. Patches of moss, cascades of great leaves with purple flowers cover most of the wall’s significant height. I realise there are walls on three sides of me and, with the wooden boarding at my back, I’d say I was lying in a pretty even-sided square.                                           The blackbird trills on, and above its head a scurry of wings brings two more birds into view. I don’t know what these birds are, but when they move they look like pale blue streaks. One of them arches its flight to land on the branches of a small tree in the corner of the square. When it lands, I see its chest is yellow against the bush’s purple spears of flowers. I force myself up, every joint in my body complaining.'   (Pg 43)

Palmer talks here about the trigger for this story:

‘A few years ago, I was sitting in a room full of teaching colleagues attending a compulsory Prevent strategy training session. A general murmur of dissent went through the room at another case study of radicalisation of a young Muslim student in a school hundreds of miles away. This school’s percentage of non-white students was well below 10%. There had never been a Muslim student on roll. Radicalisation was Someone Else’s Problem.

The next case study involved a young white male. Teachers in his school had grown concerned after he voiced several right-wing opinions in his lessons. Following an investigation, a number of bomb-making materials were found in his bedroom along with plans to attack a nearby mosque. The earlier murmur of dissent turned to one of realisation – radicalisation wasn’t just one way. We’d all been having more and more frequent conversations with students around the increasingly polarised sides of the Brexit debate, and the rising tide of nationalism. Pupils were getting angry – the kind of anger that bubbles up when young people are engaging in vital but un-nameable conflicts with aspects of themselves; aspects that cut straight to the heart of identity and selfhood. All around me, names of certain students started to circulate, and questions were asked about how to challenge radical and pervasive viewpoints, and to address this anger in the classroom. This is where the book that became Grow first started.

I wanted to write a book which addressed that anger; that explored the difficulties of coming of age against a backdrop of increasing animosity and xenophobia towards elements of our society, of toxic ideologies that try to breed and harness that anger, and of competing models of how to be a good citizen. I wanted its central character to be pulled by the extreme ends of this spectrum, enticed and revolted by them in equal measure. I wanted him, above all, to suffer through his anger in the way one suffers through grief. But I also wanted him to come out the other side wiser, more aware.

And I wanted to write a book that was believable, now. A book about multiculturalism that rings true for the many people who don’t experience it on a daily basis except mediated through their computer or phone screens. People in a society where suspected far right radicalisation now outweighs any other referral to agencies involved with the Prevent strategy. Perhaps those two things are connected.

But most of all I wanted to write a book about growing up, about changing, about becoming the person you want to become, about relationships with mothers, fathers and friends. I wanted to write a book about connections, that might speak beyond its immediate context to the core of that anger; the need to be understood.

The book that I wrote is Grow. The wonderful team at Firefly Press have helped me to bring this important story into the world, and for that I’m eternally grateful.’     (Palmer 2021)

Tomi Adeyemi is a Nigerian-American novelist known for her novel Children of Blood and Bone (2018). the first in the Legacy of Orïsha trilogy. It won the 2018 Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy and went on to win the 2019 Waterstones Book Prize. She is also now a creative writing coach, and was one of Time’s “Pioneers" 100 Most Influential People of 2020. Here, she talks about her love of YA fiction, and offers some advice to students of the form.

’It was painfully clear what writing is for me and what it's always been for me, which is just my lifeboat, It's this outlet for me and this sort of companion through this really insane process of being alive.

I think why YA speaks to all of us is not just because it's so emotionally intense and usually more plot driven because it has to be,” she says. “We're not separated from who we were growing up.

Focus on cultivating your ‘inner world’ of creativity before worrying about what the world thinks of your work. Dive into yourself and put what’s on your mind on the page. If you solidify that inner world that you dive into for that creativity and for that process and for what it does for you — something that you have 24/7 access to right now, that you don't need an agent or a publisher to give you — that's all you need. The other stuff can come.’     (Mosely & Hagan, 2021)

Angie Thomas is still perhaps best known for her very first book; The Hate U Give (2017), is told entirely in a single first person POV, using the present tense, and yet its thematic depth is constantly engaging – and terrifying. Here she talks about her early misgivings, and wondering if her writing would matter:

‘I think at the time it was just, I'm just going to have the audacity to write these books about young people who look like me and neighborhoods like mine. And if I just have to sell them out the back of my truck, then that's what I'm going to do. It's important for white kids to read about Black kids and read about the different kinds of Black kids. But on the other hand, we have this whole idea that anything done by a Black author or a marginalized author has to be excellent when we should be able to do a range of kinds of books. We shouldn't have to hit a certain level to be able to get a seat at the table.

I once had a white parent come up to me at an event and she was like, ‘I don't know if my 14 year old is ready to read ‘The Hate U Give.’ And I said ‘Well, could you tell that to the Black parent who was having a conversation with their 9 year old about what to do if they're stopped by a cop?’    (Giorgis, 2019)

You might like to research new YA authors you’ve discovered and loved reading. Your first stop is the internet, especially author blogs, YouTube and publishing websites. You might also find your author speaks directly to their readership at the back of their novels, and in magazines/journals that focus on literature or writing.

To read more 'how the got published' blogposts, click here