Wild Ink: Success Secrets to Writing and Publishing for the Young Adult…

Excellent introduction to writing for teens. Loved the section toward the end where published writers explain how they got published. ( )

Ever wonder what it takes to become a YA author? How about learning about the publishing process? Maybe you just want to know more about what it takes to be a better writer. Well, if any of those apply to you-- Wild Ink is for you.

This is not my normal type of book for review, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to read this one. Yes, I was interested into learning more about the publishing process for books. I mean, who doesn't have that dream, right? But what I really wanted was insight into the writing process.

I admit it. I was 100% selfish with my decision to review this book. I am a teacher. In fact, I'm a Language Arts/writing teacher. Naturally, I would want to learn more about the writing process so I could share that information with my kids. Duh.

What I didn't expect though, was for a book to fully cover all the skills that I teach when I teach literature. Not only does Wild Ink spend the first 3 chapters hitting all the elements of great fiction, but it also provides exercises for practice. I love that. I'll even admit that I used some of the practice activities with my students. Great teaching tool.

As a blogger, I even found some of the information applicable to my blogging. Awesome, right? For instance, there is an entire chapter on how to interview authors. Yes, it's something you could figure out on your own, but it's nice to have a guide for the newbies.

Overall, I was impressed with the layout and presentation of the material in Wild Ink. I would certainly be interested in picking up other books by this author to add to my teacher tool kit. ( )

I have no intention of ever writing a book. And Wild Ink: Success Secrets to Writing and Publishing in the Young Adult Market hasn't changed my mind. But, for someone who is interested in exploring the possibility of writing, Wild Ink has a lot of helpful and inspirational information.

Victoria Hanley spends time on all the parts of the novel (and also a chapter on non-fiction writing.) Each discussion contains example quotes from popular, current YA fiction. Hunger Games and Pride and Prejudice are used often and many times in comparison. I think these are good choices, since surely every YA author is familiar with these works. But, in addition, many other popular authors' works are quoted.

After discussing the writing, Hanley goes on to talk about editing, publishing, and marketing. Pretty much every aspect of writing and publishing a book is explored. She includes interviews with several editors and publishers. She never makes this sound easy. I believe writing is really hard work (hence the reason I will never attempt it), and Hanley reinforces this belief. The last 85 pages consists of interviews with popular YA authors. I found this part to be inspirational (but must admit I didn't read EVERY word of this section.)

Wild Ink isn't a textbook for writers. It's an informational text that's easy to read, gives a lot of information, but not really deep information on writing. There are some exercises to perform, but I wouldn't call this a syllabus for "how to write."

I would recommend Wild Ink to authors who are just getting started and perhaps need some direction. Or, for those who maybe have come to a dead end and don't know where to turn. A useful book. Also, a bibliography is included for additional information.

Anyone who is writing for or even considering writing YA, this is the book for you. Informative, easy to comprehend, Wild Ink: Success Secrets to Writing and Publishing for the Young Adult Market is a writer's dream. ( )

This is a really great book! She talks pretty early on about how this book isn't a comprehensive "how to write a novel" book, but rather focuses in on all of the pieces that make YA books engaging, but I really found it to be so helpful, I don't know that I'd really need another book to supplement it. The only issue I'd warn people on is that she mainly uses two novels to make large points throughout the whole book, and if you have not read those - Pride & Prejudice, and The Hunger Games - then you might feel a bit lost. She also makes references to some other books throughout, but those two are consistently referenced, and I'd say practically required reading in order to understand all of the points she is making. But if you have read those books, I really would say this is a great reference for anyone wanting to try their hand at writing some YA fiction, and she even touches on nonfiction as well. Very comprehensive and instructive. Thanks! ( )