Yesterday, we celebrated the release of Falling into Place by Amy Zhang (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins). I’ve had a couple of people ask me how I “found” Amy and some are surprised to learn that she found me–through the query process. You don’t need any special connections to become a published author. Querying works!
Today we’re talking to Amy about what she learned along her publishing journey. Her answers are in bold.
Falling into Place by Amy Zhang
EMILY: You once said that you “didn’t know what you were doing” when you first started querying agents. Do you have any advice for people in the same spot, who are just beginning the journey?
AMY: Never give up. Allow yourself to be terrible. Everyone makes mistakes. Don’t procrastinate. Don’t ever give up. That’s the advice I usually give for, well, life, but for querying in particular: one “no” does not define you or your work. A hundred “no’s” do not define you or your work. It’s been said so many times before, but all it takes is one “yes.”
EMILY: The hardest part about publishing is all the rejection, how did you deal with it?
AMY: I ate my weight in chocolate. I scowled at walls and kicked the floor. I whined to critique partners and wrote “You can do it!” on my mirror. I also printed out every nice thing that anyone ever said about my writing, and I looked at it every day. Don’t lose faith in yourself. Don’t lose faith in your characters. Don’t lose faith in your work. It’s so easy to get caught up in rejection, so it’s absolutely okay to treat yourself once in a while. Go ahead. You deserve another piece of cake.
EMILY: Now I really want cake! When you first contacted me, I read your partial manuscript and then passed on it. Ultimately, you made some revisions that changed my mind, so what are your tips for revising? You have to do a lot of revisions to get published.
AMY: I think the hardest part about revising is letting go. It’s so tempting to leave in an entire unnecessary paragraph to keep one beautiful line, but do not do not DO NOT let yourself do it. I liked to remind myself constantly of the outcome: that whatever comes out at the other end of revisions will be stronger, better, tighter. You’ll write lines just as beautiful as the ones you cut. You’ll write lines that are even better. Remember: let it go, LET IT GOOOOOOO!
EMILY: Now I want cake and have songs from ‘Frozen’ stuck in my head! Let’s move on to Falling into Place. One thing I really love about this book is how complex the characters are. How do you write full-realized characters without falling into cliches?
AMY: I think the thing about characters is that it’s easier to make them cliche or one-dimensional when you think of yourself as their creator rather than their scribe. Tell their stories. Jump into their heads, but keep in mind that they still have secrets, and hidden desires, and endless layers. One thing I really like to do is take personality tests as my characters, especially when I’m writing contemporary. Turns out, Cosmo can do q lot for character development.
EMILY: The journey to publication is a really long one. You first emailed me years ago. What keeps you going during the quiet time?
AMY: Definitely the community. Children’s writers really are the best—I think you definitely get a support systems that you don’t necessarily find in other writing categories. Everyone is just so helpful and funny and nice. You can always find someone to talk to or exchange critiques with. It’s amazing.
EMILY: I always say writers should find a group or a community, either online or through a local writers group. It’s too easy to feel alone as a writer. And then you end up talking to volleyballs like Tom Hanks in that movie… I digress. Has there been anything that really surprised you about publishing? Anything that’s really different from how you imagined it in your head?
AMY: It’s so big! It’s hard to understand how much work goes into making a book until it actually happens. There are so many people involved, and it’s absolutely amazing. Writing is a solitary activity, but publishing is exactly the opposite. I guess I never realized that every book in a library or bookstore has had hours and hours of work poured into it by countless and incredibly passionate people. It’s a mind-boggling amount of work, and I’m incredibly grateful for it.
EMILY: It’s true! I love everyone in this industry. So glad that you get to be a part of it now, Amy. Thanks for talking to me!
You can find out more about Amy Zhang on her website. Her debut novel, Falling into Place, was released September 9, 2014. It has been named a Top Ten pick for Autumn 2014 by the American Booksellers Association’s Indie Next List program. And has also been called one of the best YA books of Fall by Teen Vogue, so we’ll see how their personality tests stack up!
