Why I changed my mind about Facebook Pages for authors

By Candy Gourlay

For the past two years now, I've been co-running a Boot Camp for debut authors with writing pals Sara Grant (Chasing Danger) and Mo O'Hara (My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish).

The three of us bring useful skills from our real lives: Sara has worked in public relations and talks about strategy; Mo is a stand up comedian and an actress and talks about performance and school visits ... and me? Well I'm a former web designer and an all around geek – my role is to discuss how authors can take advantage of the digital opportunities available.

Mo O'Hara discussing the art of the school visit.

Sara Grant showing off her author kit in front of a board scribbled with the hopes and dreams of our audience.

Here I am with a roomful of debut children's authors behind me.

In past years, I have written a lot about author promotion, dishing out practical advice about websites, building a platform, how to do Skype visits, how to do Google Hangouts, how impoverished authors can make their own book trailers (part 1 and part 2), how to plan a book launch party and Facebook pages.

The very nature of digital opportunity is so fluid, what with technology constantly changing, that the advice is never the same. Looking back at a 2011 post I wrote about building your own websites, for example, so much has changed in the online world that I should really put up a warning note at the top of the piece, pointing out that I wrote it six years ago. Six years is a long time in a digital world.

Ten years ago, when the internet was just beginning to pick up speed, everyone suddenly decided that  authors must blog. Well the graveyard of defunct author blogs is now full to overflowing as a result. Later, Twitter seemed to have The Power. Today, thousands of books are not getting written because their authors have become Twitter addicted. While Twitter is a social network that connects individuals, it's not a great place to actually sell books. And then there's Facebook, virtual hang-out to two billion of the world's population.

At the beginning, Facebook introduced the 'fan page' – a thrilling way for authors to connect directly with fans who are on Facebook. Soon though, Facebook decided to 'monetise' fan pages via what one pundit called a 'bait and switch' – hiding your FB posts from your fans so that you will pay for them to be shown.

I was so disappointed I wrote a piece declaring that there was no point having a Facebook page unless you're JK Rowling and your fans willingly visit your page instead of waiting for you to appear on their feed. So for the past few years, I've been using my personal FB profile, instead of an official fan page, to connect with my readers.

But I kept an eye on Facebook. It's a no brainer that anyone wanting to be discovered should cultivate a good FB profile. But how?

In December 2016, I noticed that under the relatively new button 'Following' on every Facebook Page, a new menu was popping up (pictured right).

It gave fans the following new choices:

• They could UNFOLLOW your page so that they didn't have to see your postings, even though they liked the page.
• They could tick DEFAULT and let the FB algorithm decide how much or how little they see of the page.
• Or they could select SEE FIRST so that they could see your all of the page's posts on their feed as soon as they are posted.

Suddenly the game changed.

Facebook was giving users a way to keep track of pages that they absolutely wanted to see.

Yes, FB is still trying to encourage us to pay for promotions. But the social network has also realised that they have been alienating the people who create the content that makes the network social in the first place.

For us authors, it gives us a fighting chance to be discovered.

Book launch guru Tim Grahl says never make it about you, the author ... he says:

'Always focus on helping the reader'.

With the new improved FB pages, we now have the opportunity to post such compelling content that our readers will want to click SEE FIRST because they do not want to miss out. Tthink about all the things you find so compelling that you are moved to share them on your feed: heartwarming videos, surprising facts, amusing quizzes, urgent news ...

So what content can you create that will persuade your readers to click that SEE FIRST button?

The answer lies in several things:

• Your identity as an author.

• How useful/beguiling/compelling your content is to your reader.

• How original your posts are

• How much value do you, as author, add to what you post

Considering your identity, it might help to see how other authors are playing themselves on Facebook - Junot Diaz posts about social and political topics, if you're a fan of Neil Gaiman, you get to hear that gorgeous voice and witness the disarray of his hair in his videos, John Green posts about nerdy stuff, Kate DiCamillo (whose readership probably most matches mine) posts inspirational stories.

Me, I avoid politics but on my FB page, I comment on reading, writing and getting published (in childrens' books). As an 'author of colour' I am deeply concerned about diversity and inclusion. I use my skills as a former journalist to report on book events (you are welcome to read my blog post: Social Media: eight things we can learn from old-style journalism). It's also a chance to take photos and make videos (which I love!).

As for adding value – never post in a vacuum! Imprint every posting with the value of who you are – with a comment, a thoughtful reflection, a wise interpretation, a personal anecdote.

I only started my Facebook Page at the beginning of 2017 though I don't have a new book out until 2018.  I thought this would give me time to get to grips with the page, create fresh content and build an audience. If you're interested in following my progress, please like my page ... I really try to be useful. Oh ... and don't forget to click on SEE FIRST.

How is my FB page doing so far? Well, I'm feeling very positive.

Videos are a big hit, especially if they're about picture books. I am trying to do quickie interviews with the interesting people I meet – most recently, at the Pune International Literary Festival in India (see the playlist) where I interviewed a range of fantastic folk, from student volunteers to venerable literary stars.

The photo albums covering book launches (such as my friend Katy Dale's) and other booky events (like Melvin Burgess' nomination to the Hans Christian Andersen award, the Carnegie-Greenaway Awards, and the Dubai Literary Festival) attract many visitors (the secret is in the tagging – learn how to like other pages as your page). Some random visitors who come to look at pictures actually end up liking the page! I've noticed that the more original my posts – original here meaning, nobody else has posted it – the better it is received, with more likes, comments and shares.

As for links posting, I am always on the look out for interesting links, and so I find myself following good pages that serve up useful information that suit my page's personality. For example, I love the posts on diversity by Lee & Low Books (a multicultural publisher in the US) and have reposted some of their links. One of the most popular links I posted was an article by the author Grace Lin discussing Dr Seuss's early racism in his work and how he changed. I had more than a thousand hits in two days. A photo of my feet in Little Prince Socks on the day I went to my first day as a judge on Booktrust's In Other Words Competition got thousands of views though only eight likes! Why?



Still so much to learn. I'll report back in 2018 after my new books come out. Watch this space!

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Candy Gourlay thought she could not become an author while growing up under a dictatorship in the Philippines and became a journalist instead – but she was wrong. Years later, her novels Tall Story and Shine have been listed for many awards including the Waterstone’s, the Blue Peter, the Carnegie and the Guardian Prize.

Slushpile Chat: an Author and Agent Discuss the Art of Revision

Agent Jenny Savill (left) and author Sara Grant join Notes from the Slushpile to share a few tips on how to improve your manuscript and pitch your work to agents. Jenny is an agent at Andrew Nurnberg Associates Ltd and Sara is the author of Dark Parties.   

Sara: I used to hate to revise a manuscript.

The joy of writing came from that initial rush of telling myself the story. Once I’d written the story down once, I had a difficult time going back and figuring out how to make it better. Reading and re-reading a manuscript from start to finish might catch the typos, but this linear review doesn’t often significantly improve a story.

Sara's YA books (US covers)

I read a lot about revision and devised a system of reviewing my manuscript that looks at the big picture first and then by character and chapter, scene, paragraph, sentence and ultimately word by word. Revision can be a painful and endless process, but it’s necessary and incredibly rewarding.

Would you agree, Jenny? How many times do your writers typically revise their manuscripts with you and then with an editor?

Jenny: I agree, and the answer is: multiple times.

I will take on an author because I am excited by their writing. For me, it’s a strange combination of personal literary taste, instinct, commercial musings and, strongest of all, a conviction that here is a project that deserves to see the light of day – a story that needs to be shared with editors, a manuscript that deserves to become a book.

If I can visualise it on the shelf, I’m half way to phoning the author. Having taken the author on, I will work with them to get their manuscript to a point where it is submittable to editors. Sometimes this involves a lot of work, sometimes not so much, depending on the issues with the project when it arrives with me – all manuscripts have different things that need working on. It’s not unusual for an author to do several revisions with me, followed by tweaking.

On occasion, a manuscript can land in my Inbox where all the main elements of the novel are already working to a high degree. These projects will typically need only a couple of small revisions to get them ready for submission to editors.

Much as I enjoy working with authors, there are only so many hours in the day

Much as I enjoy working with authors, there are only so many hours in the day and this is of course the sort of manuscript I pray for..! So, before submitting to agents, writers need to do all they can to get their draft manuscript as ready as possible. You want your manuscript to knock an agent’s socks off, but if the agent is stumbling over spelling or typos, never mind plot inconsistencies or pacing problems, there’s obviously less chance of that happening.

 So, my advice is to learn how to revise your manuscript – speak to other authors, listen to editors - and find a way of doing it that works for you. Revisions don’t stop once you have an agent – and they carry on once you have an editor. They are a necessary on-going process.


Sara: It’s good to know that I’m not alone with multiple revisions. You will probably recall that I received nine, single-spaced revision notes from my US editor on the first round of edits for Dark Parties. (And I learned from her blog that she typically writes up to twelve pages of notes to writers the first time around.) Published authors don’t often talk about this exhaustive revision process.

I supposed we’d like our readers to believe our novels come out perfectly formed. Oh, if that were only the case.

Sara's younger fiction 

It’s easy for writers to get pulled in a million different directions during revision. When I talk to other writers about revision – whether it’s one on one or during a workshop – one of the first things I ask them to consider is: What’s at the heart of their story? Why are they writing it and why are they the only person who can write it?

If you want to be published – as you’ve pointed out, Jenny, writing is collaboration with agents and editors. You have to know why you are writing your story and what’s important to you so that when agents or editors ask for changes – and they most certainly will – you know the heart of your story and you can remain true to that throughout the revision process. This clarity of purpose shines through the prose organically and subtly.

That’s one of my top tips for revision. What’s one of your top tips for writers?

Jenny: One of my top tips would be this. During the revision process your manuscript will change – sometimes in dramatic ways. You might find that if you write in the first person it brings the voice alive; that if you change the tense the story flows more easily; or that two very different narrators, rather than one, add tension and texture to a flat narrative.

Perhaps you need to flesh out the world of the story. Perhaps you need to rein it in. It might be that the manuscript stays basically the same structurally and changes only in more subtle ways, but one of the things that tends to happen is that old stuff from earlier drafts lingers in the latest draft.

So part of revising should be checking for stuff that no longer belongs in your manuscript and getting rid of it. This sounds easy enough, but when you’ve been looking at your story for months on end, it can be really hard to spot these things, and what you don’t want to do is end up deleting something that is actually working.

Part of revising should be checking for stuff that no longer belongs in your manuscript and getting rid of it

 So, take a break, do something else or write something completely different for a while. Give the manuscript to someone who hasn’t read it before to read and feedback on. Return to it with fresh eyes, at which point there is a checklist of things you can do to make sure it is working – and this is where Sara, armed with her highlighter pens (!), excels. Hers is a helpful, hands-on strategy to help authors revise methodically, without losing sight of the heart of their story, or the reasons they started to write it in the first place.

Sara: After you’ve polished your revision until it sparkles, the best piece of advice I can give writers is: GET AN AGENT!

I tell anyone who will listen how important it is to have an agent. On a personal level, writers need someone who can offer advice and critique. And from a business prospective, agents can market your work globally in a way that writers simply can’t. They know the market and business of publishing so writers can focus on their story.

I knew from our first meeting that Jenny was the agent for me. She understood Dark Parties and was genuinely interested in teen fiction. I wanted a partner in the process from brainstorming ideas to giving editorial feedback along the way. And Jenny has exceeded my expectations in every way imaginable.

So, Jenny, what are you looking for in a writer? Any do’s and don’t’s for people who are submitting to you?

Jenny: *blushes* I look for a good understanding in the writer of who they are writing for, what they are writing and why they are writing it. A sense of humour is always good. Not only does it make working with an author fun, it helps us through the tricky patches. The willingness to receive feedback in the spirit in which it is given and to work really, really hard at revising, going forward.

In the writing, I want to feel from the first page that the writer is in control of the story and that I, the reader, am in safe hands. I love being surprised - by an original voice, a character who confounds the reader’s expectations, a plot that doesn’t go where you think it will, brave use of language or structure, an unusual setting.

Make me laugh. Make me cry. Give me a stunning and satisfying ending

The thing that children’s books often do so much better than adult books is to give the reader a fresh and insightful take on the familiar- so I will be looking out for this. Make me laugh. Make me cry. Give me a stunning and satisfying ending, even if there is to be a sequel.

Sara: Speaking of satisfying endings, I think we should wrap up for now.

My final advice is READ! READ! READ! Read the genre and age range similar to the book you are writing. Read the books you wished you’d written. Read the classics but also what’s new on bookshelves.

Dissect the stories you adore and determine how the author made you fall in love with his/her book.

Also buy the book. Support your fellow writers and the industry you want to join.

Best of luck with crafting and editing and revising you novels!

Sara and Jenny have teamed up to offer a day-long workshop on 15th June and again on 2nd November to help writers polish their manuscript and make it stand out from the slushpile.

Edinburgh Book Festival: Teri Terry checks it out from both sides of the Yurt

by Teri Terry

Banrock the Muse models my Edinburgh author badge,
nestled between the Edinburgh Programme & Slated!

Last week I was at the amazing Edinburgh Book Festival: the largest public celebration of the written word in the WORLD. 

I was invited to take part in two events - more on them, below - and also spent an extra day there so I could experience the whole thing from the other side.

Undiscovered Voices 2012 by Maureen Lynas

Undiscovered Voices

I've just been to the 2012 Undiscovered Voices workshop at Working Partners to meet the team and the other authors who have won this years competition and I'm now all of a twitter so...

#amsogratefulto @saragrant @sarao'connor @karenball @elizabethgalloway who did such a fantastic job organising the 2012 Undiscovered Voices competition.

Sara Grant

A few years ago BI SCBWI volunteer, Sara Grant, came up with the idea for Undiscovered Voices and pitched it to Sara O'Connor who said, 'Yes! Let's do it!' (My words not Sara's but I bet I'm close) 'If just one author achieves publication from the competition then it will be worth the time and effort!' (Their words, or nearly) And so the competition was held and an anthology of story beginnings was created which they sent to all of the agents and editors in the UK. Two competitions later and THIRTEEN authors have been published. Which is just amazing *gasps and smacks forehead*

This year the anthology was also opened to illustrators and six talented illustrators were chosen @juliaGroves @amberHsu @heatherKilgour @shanaNieberg-Suschitzky @nicolaPatten @rachelQuarry.

#amsothrilledtohavethebook

We were given our copies of the anthology as we arrived for lunch at Working Partners *is cool and collected, not!* and we read the judges comments for the first time. *musing on meanings* We were a bit like teenagers comparing texts – What do you think they meant by that? It's good, isn't it? I think so. Yes. Definitely. Hm.

Malorie Blackman

We also saw Malorie Blackman's foreword which shows such understanding and sympathy for authors who are as yet unpublished.  I shall attempt not to stutter when I say thank you. Or blush. Or gush.

I don't think Nick Sharratt has forgotten his early days either judging from his message to the illustrators. Perhaps that feeling always stays with you? *nods*

#amsohonouredtobeinthebookwithauthors @rosieBest @veronicaCossanteli @sandraGreaves @janeHardstaff @deborahHewitt @davidHofmeyr&zoeCrookes @sharonJones @rachelLatham @richardMasson @rachelWolfreys @joWyton

The winners were given a pdf of the UV2012 book to read a few weeks ago *struts at first official proof read*and then *gulps* - the stories were so good! How was I in this book? Was Prince Bob up to it? So many themes covered, so many characters jumping off the page. No one was telling, everyone was showing, everyone was so talented! *faints in disbelief*

#amsonervousaboutmeeting @agents and @editors

The invitations for the book launch haven't been sent out yet but agents and editors are responding to the 'save the date' cards in such numbers that I'm hoping there won't be enough space in the venue for author collywobbles or knocking knees. We could be so squashed there'll be no danger of swooning either. *swoons today to get it over with* then *freezes with fear* at the thought of how many pitches must be made! Jo's going to blog about pitching soon.

#amhavinglotsofquestions for @saragrant and @sarao'connor

Sara and the team took us through each stage of the publishing process so that we knew what to expect if our books were picked up. From 'Hello, Lovely Agent/Editor' to 'Your Book Launch'. They very patiently answered all of our questions (I think I asked a lot!) and reassured us that the agents/editors would be very kind to us on the launch night. *shoulders down and deep breaths*

#amsopleasedtomeetyou @UV2008 and @UV2010 winners

While Sara O'Connor and the rest of the team stuffed envelopes with books Sara Grant took us to meet some of the previous winners who had generously turned out to meet this year's batch for dinner and drinks. They shared their experiences, their high, their low, their inbetweens. They showed their books, accepted our congratulations, wished us well. They hugged, we hugged. They laughed, we laughed. We hugged, they hugged. We laughed, they laughed. Until eventually, full up on bonhomie, we parted company with promises to keep in touch.

#amfinished

And so at the end of the day, we Undiscovered Voices winners of 2012 recognised that the UV team of volunteers had worked incredibly hard to create an amazing opportunity for us and, whatever happens at the launch on the 9th February and in the future, whether we achieve publication or not - a good time was had by all. *smiley grins* Thank you.

#amdoingaPS - @saragrant has a book out! Just in case you didn't know.

Sara Grant

Maureen Lynas also blogs on her own blog which she creatively named - Maureen Lynas

That'll be the Debut - third of a series - YA debutantes!

By Candy Gourlay

Featuring Angela Cerrito, Sara Grant and Paula Rawsthorne

On Notes from the Slushpile, many of us are chasing down the dream of getting published. So when that dream comes true, it's time to celebrate! This is the third of our new series That’ll Be The Debut, where we meet debut authors who are finally leaving the Slushpile behind. Today's three have all written Young Adult novels. View the list of other debuts we've featured so far

Paula Rawsthorne

Paula Rawsthorne spent her time on the Slushpile well - winning the 2004 BBC Get Writing Competition with her comedy The Sermon on the Mount - which was ready by no less than Bill Nighy on BBC Radio 4 and chosen Pick of the Week. Her YA thriller, The Truth About Celia Frost (great title!) was one of the 2010 winners of the Undiscovered Voices competition. She lives in Nottingham with her husband and children.

Angela Cerrito

I first met Angela Cerrito at a critique session at one of the SCBWI Conferences in Bologna and I was totally bowled over by the chapter she read for critique. I was absolutely convinced that Angela was on the right track to publication ... she did in fact win SCBWI's coveted Work-in-Progress Grant one year, but it was still a while before she was discovered. That impressive chapter I first heard in Bologna is  now available in book form as The End of the Line. So happy for you, Angela! She lives in Germany with her husband and two daughters.

Sara Grant

Sara Grant had a direct hand in changing my own fortunes on the Slushpile - she was the brains behind the Undiscovered Voices competition which I won in 2008. I designed her website and had the unusual request to make her author photo look dirtier to suit the edgy, graffiti look. She's a senior commissioning editor at Working Partners and an ardent volunteer at SCBWI and I can't wait to read her YA novel Dark Parties.

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Candy Gourlay I asked the previous lot what it was like to have a dream come true - what was it like for you guys when you were on the Slushpile and how did it feel when you got a book deal?

Sara Grant I still find it unbelievable to be honest. When my agent sent me the initial email that said she was expecting an offer from Little, Brown, I forwarded the message to my husband so he could confirm that I wasn't dreaming. The first moment I started to believe was when I saw the initial designs for the book cover. I suppose until then I expected someone to tap me on the shoulder and tell me it was a cruel joke.

Angela Cerrito I agree Sara, sometimes I still can't believe it! The best part is getting emails or FB messages from readers. That's when it hits me. "My book is out there! And people are reading it!"

Paula Rawsthorne It feels incredible. I don't think that I'll ever get to a stage were I take for granted that I'm getting paid to do the thing I love and that the story that rattled around in my head is in print for anyone to read (officially, from the first of August). There's no denying that it's hard work and the very nature of creating a story means it's always occupying some part of your brain but it's all worth it.

Angela Paula, I really like that vision of staying hooked into (and in love with) your story through the long process!

Candy What was your life like as an unpublished author?

Angela Slushpile = STRESS, constant research, constantly wondering if I should re-write every word of my query letter and sample pages …or even the entire novel.

Agent submissions to publishing houses = STRESS, some very close rejections, and a lot of wondering if I should rewrite the whole dang novel.


Candy What worked in the end? What opened the door?

Angela Patience - and an amazing agent who didn't give up.


Candy Well done. But even getting a deal can be frustrating. When I got my deal I was struck by what a series of anticlimaxes it was - a series of long waits before you could announce anything.

Angela There are so many stages including a long beginning stage of telling only a few people so that when I could finally announce the “news” it didn’t feel so new anymore. Working with my editor was pure happiness…the novel changed so much – though I didn’t have to rewrite ALL of it!

Thirteen year old Robbie has reached the end of the line. At Great Oaks Schools there’s no  time off for good behavior.  His story is at times hilarious, at times horrifying - but if Robbie is to survive, he must confront the truth: he is a murderer.

Sara I agree with Angela. Working with my editors has a been a dream. It's exciting and overwhelming to suddenly have an experienced and amazing editorial team working with you to improve your novel. Dark Parties is a much, much better book thanks to the insights and feedback of my editors at Little, Brown (US), Orion (UK) and my German pubisher, Droemer Knauf.


Candy You all write edgy YA - how edgy can the YA readership take? where did your edginess come from?

Sara For me, it's not about being edgy; it's about being honest. I'm interested in issues and ideas as well as story and character. I like writing about issues that will continue to intrigue me. I may write dark stories but I prefer issues that aren't black and white. I think I can write about dark topics, in part, because I'm an optimist. I can write from a dark place, but I don't live there.

Angela Well, aside from death of a student and forced solitary confinement with restricted food and other privileges for the main character my novel isn’t really edgy at all!


Candy Yeah, right.

Angela In fact I first marketed it as a “dark middle grade / tween novel". Shows what I know! The edginess didn’t come from personal experience, but a few small episodes in the novel did. You can see the interview in the teacher’s guide on my website.

Paula I certainly didn't start off with any conscious decision to be edgy. I just set out to write something I hoped was entertaining, gripping and hopefully thought provoking. Everyone has their different boundaries- so one person's edgy is another's "family friendly".

It's interesting to see how Angela perceived her story and how others, in the business, viewed it! In life, the issues that require the most debate and thought are usually the most uncomfortable so we shouldn't be afraid of YA novels that get readers thinking about issues that may touch their lives now or in the future.

We shouldn't be afraid of YA novels that get readers thinking about issues that may touch their lives now or in the future. Paula Rawsthorne

Candy There's been quite a big hoo-hah over one author's comments about YA being too dark. Megan Cox Gurdon said YA books invited "teenagers to wallow in ugliness, barbarity, dysfunction and cruelty" and got an angry response from other authors including Judy Blume and Libba Bray (Read Jackie Marchant's report on the debate Is Young Adult Fiction Safe for Young Adults to Read?).

Teen and YA readers are a very particular market. do you write for your readers or do you write for yourself? do you think there is a universality in the teen experience that transcends time?

Angela I think I write for my characters not my readers or myself. But at every stage I find myself thinking about the future readers and I’m very fortunate to have a group of first readers who I trust completely. No, I do not think there is a universal teen experience.

Sixteen-year-old Neva was born and raised in an isolated nation ruled by fear, lies, and xenophobia. Hundreds of years ago, her country constructed an electrified dome to protect itself from the outside world. What once might have protected, now imprisons. Her country is decaying and its citizens are dying. Neva and her friends dream of freedom.
Dark Parties will be published in the U.S. by Little, Brown on 3rd August 2011 and in the U.K. by Orion on 20th October 2011.

Sara At first I wrote for myself because as far as I knew I could have been the only one to ever read Dark Parties. I had to stay engaged in my story if I ever expect any future readers to stay interested to the final page. Then once I had a first draft, I started to consider future readers.

Paula Teenagers are all individuals (Yes, I'm stating the bleedin' obvious) but I think there are certain experiences that transcend time, fashion etc. No matter if you were a teen in the 1970s or present day you can't get through those years without collecting cringy, self conscious moments and hormonally driven actions, or incidents of great melodrama because "nobody understands you"! It's all part of life's cruel journey- try and enjoy it!

Sara I agree with Paula, there's not a universal teen experience but there certainly are many things about being a teen that transcend time.


Candy How far are you prepared to go to tell your story?  Would you censor yourself to say, lift some of the darkness? My next book (working title: Shine) is slightly older and a lot darker than my debut novel Tall Story but I really worked hard to hold back on swear words.

I write for my characters not my readers or myself ... I don't believe there's a universal teen experience. Angela Cerrito

Angela I’d like to say I go where my characters take me, but that hasn’t always worked out so well in the past. I should say, I try to go where the main character takes me in a way that is best to tell his or her story.

Paula I thought long and hard about the nature of the ethical question and situation that The Truth About Celia Frost addresses and ultimately I decided that I had to be true to myself and write what I wanted in a responsible manner. YA books are much more open about dealing with issues of sex and drugs, to me, engaging Ya readers in thinking about ethics is just as important.

Sara I've discarded a lot of ideas because I didn't think I would be comfortable writing about certain topics or writing what was necessary to tell that story. I will also admit that initially I held back on a few of the most difficult scenes in Dark Parties and left more to the reader’s imagination, but my editor encouraged me to push myself and not hold back as much. It was great advice and I’m glad I listened to her. But it can be a delicate balance sometimes being true to your story and true to yourself.


Candy Will you always write for this age group or do you aspire for others?

Sara As an editor at Working Partners, I get to dabble in other genres and younger and older markets. I've worked on sparkly stories for young girls and action-adventure stories for tween boys and a bit of everything in between. I'm lucky that I can experiment with all types of fiction in my 'day job'.

But my personal projects tend to be for teens. It's a great market and I don't have any immediate plans to change -- but never say never.

Celia's strange illness brands her the school ‘freak’. Then she discovers her mother's been lying about it all along. In trying to break her mother's control on her life, Celia discovers strengths she didn't know she had - but does she have the strength the face the shocking truth about her birth? A roller coaster thriller.

Paula I've written short stories for adults in the past and they have ranged from dark and twisted to outright comedy but I knew I wanted my first novel to be for YA as I felt what teenagers want is a good story- well told. And that's what I love in a book too, so attempting to write such a story has been very enjoyable and I hope to continue writing for Ya for some time.

Angela Writing for teens is my dream but I do have a middle grade novel that I’m working on (and it is the one both of my daughters like the most, so I can’t give up on that project!)

Sara The stories I feel compelled to write fit nicely in this market. I think there's an added energy in writing for teens. I remember the passion I felt for the books I read as a teen -- experiencing so much in the pages of a book for the first time. I think I tap into some of that same excitement all over again when I write.


Candy Recently there was a flurry of tweeting under the hashtag #YAsaves. This was in response to that Gurdon article. But if YA saves, there is also a danger of viewing teen books as self help as explained in this article ... It seems to me there's a serious lack of respect for YA in the non-YA-loving world. Why is that?

Angela I have no idea. And it doesn't really matter what "other people think" it's the readers who matter. Teens are good at finding what they like and reading it. I expect that regardless of what anyone else says teens will find their way to books for many years to come!

Sara I don't worry too much about what non-YA readers say about YA books. Most of them are looking at a handfull of books not the entire market. I read almost exclusively YA fiction. It's not self help; it's not all dark and depressing. It's not less that any other type of ficton.

It's great stories of all genres -- yes, some dark and edgy - and some really incredible writing, characters and ideas. I think any time something becomes successful -- Harry Potter or Twilight, for example -- it's an easy target.

I also think some of these critics don't give teen readers enough credit. Shouldn't your teen years -- wait, your whole life really -- be about exploring new ideas? Some of which you reject and some you consider but ultimately you decide for yourself. Young adults are picking up books and reading. Isn't that something to celebrate?

I think some of these critics don't give teen readers enough credit. Sara Grant

Paula I agree with both Angela and Sara. Teenage readers are the harshest critics. They don't feel any obligation to finish a book if it isn't engaging them so YA books are usually compelling in their story-telling- more so than many adult books. Great storytelling in YA books doesn't mean that they can't be thought- provoking or deal with big ideas. Books don't have to be ponderous and self indulgent to be worthy of respect.


Candy Can you all talk about your current WIPS? Any plans for the future? Publication dates even?

Paula I was lucky enough to get a two-book deal with Usborne so I'm busy writing another stand-alone thriller for young adults. I loved writing Celia Frost and I'm feeling the same about my current novel. Writing for YAs seems to make me happy but I've also had short stories for adults published that have ranged from comedy to dark and twisted.

I'm having a bit of an out of body experience week as I've just had the book launch for Celia Frost which made me giddy with excess happiness! It was fantastic to see lots of very lovely, very happy people joining me to celebrate. If you want to see some pics just go to the website.

Usborne, my publishers were amazing as ever and the next evening I got to have dinner in a posh, trendy hotel with some lovely reviewers, booksellers and the wonderful Usborne team. I wish I'd bought a doggy bag!!

Angela I'm currently writing a middle grade novel about a girl with an unusual talent and an impossible dream.

Sara My second book will come out in the fall of 2012. It’s another dystopian novel. Its working title is Half Lives. It’s very much a work in progress, but here’s what I know so far:


Half Lives chronicles the journey of two unlikely heroes – Icie and Beckett. Both struggle to keep themselves alive and protect future generations from the terrible fate that awaits any who dare to climb the mountain. Even though they live hundreds of years apart, Icie and Beckett’s lives are mysteriously linked. Half Lives is a race against time and the battle to save future generations. It’s about the nature of faith and power of miscommunication – and above all the strength of the human spirit to adapt and survive.

Angela Sounds wonderful!!!




Candy Wow, she knows how to sell it!

Paula I'm looking forward to reading your second book already, Sara. Hurry up and finish it and Angela, your novel sounds right up my street.

My WIP is another psychological thriller for YAs. I'm hoping it's gripping, intense, twisting but has moments of real humour. It opens with a terrible shocker and I'm already getting too emotionally involved with my meaty cast of characters (I think I might require therapy after finishing this one).


Candy Thank you, ladies. Congratulations again -- it must be a thrill to be a part of one of the fastest growing genres in fiction world-wide!

Read the rest of our That'll be the Debut series:

• Part One - Dave Cousins (15 Days Without a Head), Katie Dale (Someone Else's Life) and Bryony Pearce (Angel's Fury)

• Part Two - Janet Foxley (Muncle Trogg), Caroline Green(Dark Ride) and Helen Peters (The Secret Henhouse Theatre)
• Part Three - Angela Cerrito (End of the Line), Sara Grant (Dark Parties) and Paula Rawsthorne (The Truth About Celia Frost)
• Part Four - Juliet Clare Bell (Don't Panic Annika), Julie Fulton (Mrs MacCready Was Ever So Greedy) and Linda Ravin Lodding (The Busy Life of Ernestine Buckmeister)

Candy Gourlay's debut novel Tall Story was published in June last year. Her second novel Shine will be published by David Fickling Books in March 2012.