Christina Hoag's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing-tips-publishing-agents"

Author David Alan Binder interviews me, Christina Hoag, about writing and my new books. I give a couple of key tips about what I've learned from this arduous journey to publication. Full interview here:
https://sites.google.com/site/dalanbi...

Back Porch Writer's Kori Miller interviewed me about the journey to publication of my two novels, covering the writing, publishing and promotional process. Listen to the interview!
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/backporc...

Thriller author Matthew Peters was kind enough to host an interview with me on his blog today!
I talk about my books, writing journey and give a few tips. For more:
http://www.matthewpetersbooks.com/an-...

My guest post on writing tips on Author Sandra Cody's blog: https://birthofanovel.wordpress.com/

I am pleased to welcome Christina Hoag as a guest to Birth of a Novel. Christina is a former reporter for the Associated Press and Miami Herald and worked as a correspondent in Latin America writing for major media outlets including Time, Business Week, Financial Times, the Houston Chronicle and The New York Times. She has very graciously agreed to share some of the knowledge she’d picked up along this impressive journey.

And now, from Christina:

Here are several writing tips I’ve discovered through many years of writing. You may find them helpful. They’re in no particular order.

I don’t write myself out every day. I leave something – the very next scene, usually – so when I come back the next day I know what to do. I just pick up and keep going. If you write yourself out, then you end up wasting a lot of time wondering what comes next and trying to get back into the rhythm of the story.
If someone says something in your piece doesn’t work, it’s only one person’s opinion. But if two people make the same observation, you need to pay attention to what they’re saying. More often than not, it’s something that needs fixing.
Develop a thick skin. It takes courage to write and show your work to the world for judgment, but remember that not everyone is going to like your work, and that’s okay. You have to learn to let criticism roll off you. The nastiest rejection I ever got was from the editor of a literary journal who scornfully said of my experimental fiction submission, “Why would anyone even read this?” I kept submitting it and got the piece and another like it published in other journals.
If there’s someone in your life who does not support you creatively, either get rid of them out or distance yourself from them as much as possible. Be ruthless because your art is worth it. I’ve broken up with boyfriends because they were not supportive or had no interest in my writing. In my mind, you can’t be with a writer if you’re not interested in what they write because their writing is part of their self-expression.
Don’t give up! It can be hard to keep going amid the onslaught of rejection –agents, editors, reviewers. If you get a particularly bad rejection or setback, allow yourself to wallow in self-pity for a set period of time, say three days. When that’s over, get back to your PC.
When critiquing other people’s work, remember to be constructive and how it feels to be on the receiving end. Always state some positive points first then say ‘I thought you could improve this by…”
Have a general sense of where your story is going and how it will end. I’ve tried “pantsing,” ie. writing by the seat of my pants, and ended up lost in the plot labyrinth and wasting a lot of time. So now I have a loose outline and I periodically map out the next couple scenes as I go, that keeps me on track and thinking ahead. It makes the process much smoother.
Read a wide range of genres and authors. Read poetry to develop lyricism and an ear for language. Read plays to develop dialogue. Read mysteries/thriller classics to improve plot development. Read literary works to enhance character development.
When confronting the dreaded writer’s block, do something else for a while, don’t fret and don’t force. I’ve found that getting up and going to the kitchen clears my head enough for the next step to pop in it. You can also use the time to do something else writing-related: work on your website, submissions, an essay, or on another section of your book. The secret is changing your focus so you can clear your blocked channel.
This may be the most important tip of all: Believe in yourself. Believe that you have something worthwhile to say. Believe in your talent. Believe that you will succeed and that the rocky road is part of any artist’s journey.

A big thank you to author MK Graff for hosting me on her blog today., Auntie M Writes https://auntiemwrites.com/

I give my best 10 writing tips!

Here are several writing tips I’ve discovered through many years of writing. You may find them helpful. They’re in no particular order.

1. I don’t write myself out every day. I leave something – the very next scene, usually – so when I come back the next day I know what to do. I just pick up and keep going. If you write yourself out, then you end up wasting a lot of time wondering what comes next and trying to get back into the rhythm of the story.

2. If someone says something in your piece doesn’t work, it’s only one person’s opinion. But if two people make the same observation, you need to pay attention to what they’re saying. More often than not, it’s something that needs fixing.

3. Develop a thick skin. It takes courage to write and show your work to the world for judgment, but remember that not everyone is going to like your work, and that’s okay. You have to learn to let criticism roll off you. The nastiest rejection I ever got was from the editor of a literary journal who scornfully said of my experimental fiction submission, “Why would anyone even read this?” I kept submitting it and got the piece and another like it published in other journals.

4. If there’s someone in your life who does not support you creatively, either get rid of them or distance yourself from them as much as possible. Be ruthless because your art is worth it. I’ve broken up with boyfriends because they were not supportive or had no interest in my writing. In my mind, you can’t be with a writer if you’re not interested in what they write because their writing is part of their self-expression.

5. Don’t give up! It can be hard to keep going amid the onslaught of rejection –agents, editors, reviewers. If you get a particularly bad rejection or setback, allow yourself to wallow in self-pity for a set period of time, say three days. When that’s over, get back to your PC.

skinoftattooscover
6. When critiquing other people’s work, remember to be constructive and how it feels to be on the receiving end. Always state some positive points first then say “I thought you could improve this by…”

7. Have a general sense of where your story is going and how it will end. I’ve tried “pantsing,” ie. writing by the seat of my pants, and ended up lost in the plot labyrinth and wasted a lot of time. Now I have a loose outline and I periodically map out the next couple scenes as I write. That keeps me on track and thinking ahead. It makes the process much smoother.

8. Read a wide range of genres and authors. Read poetry to develop lyricism and an ear for language. Read plays to develop dialogue. Read mysteries/thriller/classics to improve plot development. Read literary works to enhance character development.

9. When confronting the dreaded writer’s block, do something else for a while, don’t fret and don’t force. I’ve found that getting up and going to the kitchen clears my head enough for the next step to pop in it. You can also use the time to do something else writing-related: work on your website, submissions, an essay, or on another section of your book. The secret is changing your focus so you can clear your blocked channel.

10. This may be the most important tip of all: Believe in yourself. Believe that you have something worthwhile to say. Believe in your talent. Believe that you will succeed and that the rocky road is part of any artist’s journey.

I'm on Jennifer Wilson's blog today discussing Los Angeles, the setting for my literary noir thriller Skin of Tattoos. It's not the L.A. the world sees. Read on:
Los Angeles has a reputation the world over for glamour, dreams of stardom and fame and fortune, thanks to its status as the global capital of the film and television industries. The entertainment business carries an outsize influence around the planet since its products are seen just about everywhere. Movies and TV are undoubtedly America’s most powerful export.
Many of them are filmed here in L.A., even if they’re supposed to be set elsewhere. You often encounter streets closed for use as a movie set on any given day, or sometimes spot a star at shopping malls and supermarkets around town, or run into a crowd of paparazzi hanging outside a trendy club or restaurant waiting for a celebrity to come out. It’s fun to go on studio tours: Warner Brothers, Paramount and Sony all offer behind-the-scenes glimpses of how the world of make-believe is pulled off.
L.A. is also renowned for its azure skies, constant sunshine and beaches. In the summer we can go months without rain, which makes for a great outdoor lifestyle. The downside is that vegetation dries out, creating the risk of brush fire, and water is a precious commodity. One of my favourite beaches is Venice Beach, which has a free-wheeling, Bohemian atmosphere that makes it great for people-watching. Swimming is another thing. Contrary to what you might expect because of the climate, the Pacific Ocean this far north never really warms up. It’s an invigorating dip.
But L.A. is not all glitz and glam. It also holds a couple titles of more dubious distinction. It’s the gang capital of the United States, with at least 450 gangs and 45,000 gang members, according to police estimates. It also possesses the biggest homeless population in the country, with more than 50,000 people living on the streets, largely because the warm, dry climate makes sleeping rough amenable.
This urban underbelly is the Los Angeles where I set my gangland thriller, Skin of Tattoos, because I’m fascinated by how this world functions as a subculture within our larger society. It has its own set of rules and hierarchies, its own moral code and sense of justice. It is a world driven by the demand for respect, and revenge when respect is not given. While these gritty south and east side neighbourhoods are situated only a few miles away from the white, wealthy Westside and storied places such as Beverly Hills, Malibu and Bel-Air, they exist as a parallel universe living in the shadow of the palm-tree postcard L.A. that the world at large sees.
The characters in Skin of Tattoos are Central American immigrants who live in the impoverished, densely packed Central L.A. area near MacArthur Park. This reflects another reality of Los Angeles: It is an immigrant city with large populations from Mexico and Central America, as well as from countries around the globe from Ethiopia to England. Ethnic enclaves, such Little Persia, Little Tokyo and Little Armenia, make for some great, authentic dining.
I’ve only skimmed the surface of the city I’ve made my home. I find it a terrific place to be writer in. I just open my door to find inspiration.
https://jennifercwilsonwriter.wordpre...

Author Vicki Batman interviews me today on her blog as part of Mystery Thriller Week! It's a nice quick read in which I talk about writing and she included the first snippet to Skin of Tattoos. Thanks Vicki!
Read below or check it out at
http://vickibatman.blogspot.com/2017/...
TODAY’S GUEST IS AUTHOR CHRISTINA HOAG
author of Skin of Tattoos, a gangland thriller
WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO WRITE?
I won a prize for “writing interesting stories” when I was six years old so I think writing was something I was born with. Iwas also a voracious reader so that made me want to write books when I grew up. In high school, I discovered journalism - a career that would pay me to write! I wrote short stories on and off until I really focused on my childhood goal of writing novels about a dozen years ago.
ARE YOU A PLOTTER OR PANTSER?
A bit of both. I like to know where I’m going so I have a loose outline to avoid writing myself into corners. That said, I change stuff as I go all the time. Having at least a mini-outlines, even covering just the next chapter or two, helps to get you started when you sit down at the computer every day so you avoid wasting time wondering what comes next.
HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEA OF YOUR BOOK?
I went El Salvador back in 2000 to do a magazine story on gang members deported from Los Angeles to San Salvador, which most of them really didn’t know because their families had emigrated when they were infants with the result that they belonged neither in El Salvador or in the United States. Their story resonated with me. I could relate to them because I had moved around the world as a child, so I also feel I don’t really belong anywhere. Although my novel is not about deported gang members; it’s the tale of rival homeboys in L.A., the book was inspired by those interviews in El Salvador.

I'm in the "limelight" today on author Hannah McKinnon's blog. Thanks Hannah for interesting questions!
Read on or check the link:
http://www.hannahmckinnonwriter.com/a...
This week's Limelight guest is author Christina Hoag.
Hi Christina and welcome to the blog. Let’s start by you telling us about yourself …

Hi Hannah, and thanks for hosting me!

I am a journalist and novelist. When I was six years old, I won a prize for writing interesting stories and that’s basically what I’ve been doing ever since. I became a newspaper reporter so I could write. During my career, I worked for the Miami Herald and Associated Press, among other places. The highlight was reporting from 14 countries around Latin America and the Caribbean for major media including Time, Business Week, Financial Times, the Houston Chronicle and The New York Times. Now I do corporate communications writing and write novels.

And, of course, we’d love to hear about the books you’ve written. Tell us about those.

I have two novels published by small presses last year: Girl on the Brink, a YA romantic thriller, and Skin of Tattoos, a noir thriller.

Girl on the Brink is about a 17-year-old girl, Chloe, who gets involved with the wrong guy at an especially vulnerable time in her life, as her parents are splitting up. At first, she thinks Kieran’s the one. He sweeps her off her feet, to use an old cliché, and she experiences an incredible connection with him. Slowly, however, he reveals a very dark side of his character – he’s manipulative, abusive, violent, possessive. Chloe wants to help him, but despite what he says, Kieran’s not that keen on being helped. He pulls a huge move to harm her, and Chloe must use all her smarts, strength and courage to defeat him.
Skin of Tattoos is set in the gang underworld of Los Angeles, and the main character, Mags, is a gang member. We meet him as he comes out of prison wanting to go straight and never return “behind the wall.” To do that, he has to get away from his gang, which has undergone some changes since he’s been locked up, namely his rival Rico, who set him up on the charge that got him imprisoned, is now the leader and isn’t about to let Mags leave the gang. It’s a story of revenge and rivalry, but there are also other layers such as a coming-of-age theme as Mags heals his fractured relationship with his family, and there’s a romantic subplot, as well.
How different is writing for adults from writing for YA from writing non-fiction? How do you handle these different genres?

Nonfiction is probably the easiest because the story comprises facts. It’s all laid out for you. The challenge comes in organizing those facts into a narrative, sub-topics and so on. Writing for YA is, for me anyway, the hardest because you have the most constraints. Your protag is a teenager so you have to take into account the restrictions on a teenager’s life: parental control and school, plus their limited self-awareness and knowledge at that age, and use limited sex and profanity. Adult fiction, which is my preferred genre, is a wide open field!
You also co-authored a book. What was that experience like?

I co-authored Peace in the Hood: Working with Gang Members to End the Violence (Turner Publishing, 2014), a book on “gang intervention.” Basically I was the writer. I interviewed my co-author, noted gang interventionist Aquil Basheer, at length about his life and his program to train former gang members as community peacekeepers who disrupt the retaliatory cycle of gang violence. I also interviewed many former gang members, cops, psychologists and others who work in this field. It was a fascinating project, and I’m proud to say that the book is being used as a text in several university courses.
Are you traditionally or self-published? How did you go about getting published?

I’m traditionally published by small publishers, but I got both deals myself. I’ve had two literary agents for Skin of Tattoos but neither was able to sell it or wanted Girl on the Brink. I kept rewriting both and submitting to publishers who accepted unagented submissions. It took a long time and many, many rejections but I kept polishing and submitting until I found homes for both. I’m happy to say both books have been well received so I’m glad I didn’t give up. There are many ways to launch a literary career.



You’re a volunteer creative writing mentor with WriteGirl.org. Can you share how this works?

WriteGirl is an organization in Los Angeles that works to promote writing by teen girls and help them get into college. Last year I led weekly writing workshops with at-risk girls at an alternative high school; this year I’m a mentor at monthly workshops (each month is a different writing genre) in which the mentors are paired with girls for the day to help and guide them in writing exercises. It’s a great program that really builds self-confidence and validation in girls from all types of backgrounds. I really wish I had had something like this when I was in high school.



Can you tell us about your writing process? Any particular methods or quirks you can share?

I’m a morning writer. I get up early, have my coffee and check the news and sit down and write until I feel my brain turning squishy, usually early afternoon. Then I get some exercise and try to do some marketing work. I use an outline. Although I rarely stick to it, I still like having it as a guidepost to the next plot steps. It’s also good to have some type of ending in sight when you start although it can change. I find writing is a very fluid process. It’s often surprising where the story ends up.



What’s the most surprising thing you learned about yourself when you started writing creatively?

I’m always amazed at what I come up with and how I write myself out of plot impasses. I may be uncertain of where I’m going with a particular thread or I may get just plain stuck, but a way out always comes to me. It might be in the middle of the night or as soon as I get up from the computer or while I’m writing, but an answer always pops up. I’ve learned to trust my creative process and not fret about getting stuck.

Can you share your Top-5 tips for aspiring writers?

1. I don’t write myself out every day. I leave something – the very next scene, usually - so when I come back the next day I know what to do. I just pick up and keep going. If you write yourself out, then you end up wasting a lot of time wondering what comes next and trying to get back into the rhythm of the story.

2. If someone says something in your piece doesn’t work, it’s only one person’s opinion. But if two people make the same observation, you need to pay attention to what they’re saying. More often than not, it’s something that needs fixing.

3. Develop a thick skin. It takes courage to write and show your work to the world for judgment, but remember that not everyone is going to like your work, and that’s okay. You have to learn to let criticism roll off you. The nastiest rejection I ever got was from the editor of a literary journal who scornfully said of my experimental fiction submission, “Why would anyone even read this?” I kept submitting it and got the piece and another like it published in other journals.

4. If there’s someone in your life who does not support you creatively, either get rid of them out or distance yourself from them as much as possible. Be ruthless because your art is worth it. I’ve broken up with boyfriends because they were not supportive or had no interest in my writing. In my mind, you can’t be with a writer if you’re not interested in what they write because their writing is part of their self-expression.

5. This may be the most important tip of all: Believe in yourself. Believe that you have something worthwhile to say. Believe in your talent. Believe that you will succeed and that the rocky road is part of any artist’s journey.



Will you tell us about your latest project(s)?

I’ve got a romantic suspense novel called “Heat in the Tropics” releasing next fall from Melange Books under the pseudonym C.A. Elliott. It’s a romance between a reporter and a homicide detective set in a sweltering Miami summer. Under my own name, I’m currently working on a thriller set in South America called “Jungle.”

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

My next biggest passion is travel and sightseeing. I’ve travelled all over the world, the more remote the place the better! On a more daily basis, I love going for walks either in the outdoors or around art galleries and museums. Since writing is so sedentary, I need to get off my rump!

And finally, where can we learn more about you and your work.

The most complete place is my website www.christinahoag.com I also welcome people to follow my exploits on:
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Instagram

The Hazardous Hippo (love that name!) features my post on "My Long, Winding and Rocky Path to Publication." If you're starting to despair, read on for inspiration!

I was incredibly excited when I landed my first offer of representation from a literary agent for what was then my novel “Skin of Tattoos,” a YA coming-of-age thriller set in the gang underworld of Los Angeles I’d sent out about 90 queries, had received a few requests for pages but no bites and I was starting to despair.
Then I got the call. During our conversation, the agent said, “I don’t really like agenting. I’m just, sort of, doing this.” It struck me as odd, but I couldn’t turn her down. What if I didn’t get another offer?
I signed and we met. During the conversation, she told me that a publisher had agreed to take one of her books but had never followed through with the contract. Again, it didn’t paint her in the best light, but I figured that could happen to any agent.
Several months later, my book had been rejected by about 10 houses, and she stopped submitting. Then I got an email – she had submitted to one more publisher. Relief. Then I waited. Was she submitting it to more? Was this really it? Wasn’t she supposed to keep submitting? Or maybe this agent didn’t have a very deep “bench” of editors? I recalled her previous comments. She didn’t like being an agent and she couldn’t close a deal. It was dawning on me that I hadn’t made a good choice.
Nevertheless, I tried to make the best of it and soldiered on. I told her about my second novel, “Girl on the Brink,” a YA about a teen romance that turned abusive that was inspired by true events. She seemed excited, and I pounded out a draft in several months and submitted it, hoping for a meaningful critique that would help me develop it further, a la Maxwell Perkins. That’s what agents do, right?
Nope. She was scornful about my manuscript, but couldn’t articulate what was wrong, instead telling me to read “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden,” which I’d heard of but never read. I looked it up. It was published in 1964.
She made it clear she didn’t want to read revisions--“It’s not good for us to read the manuscript multiple times.” Huh? Instead, she recommended a “book doctor” so I called the person. By now, my eyes were far less starry and I asked discerning questions. The “doc” had no publishing background. She’d been a screenwriters’ agent and her YA credential consisted of having a 15-year-old daughter. For $500, she’d read my manuscript and give me a critique over the phone. She repeatedly stressed the phone part. Talking, of course, is much easier than spending time writing a detailed critique, and it’s far more convenient than meeting in person.
Luckily, I wasn’t convinced. I got off the phone and immediately felt the crushing disappointment of realization that I had simply signed with a lousy agent. I had fallen in the trap warned about on so many book blogs, advice sites for new writers, etc. My depression lasted a week, then I realized something else.
What I did have were two detailed critiques from top editors at major New York publishing houses. I studied what they said, pulled “Skin of Tattoos” apart and rewrote extensively. I made it an adult book by upping the age of the protagonist, which turned it into a full-fledged thriller, and chopped it into two books. It worked far better.
By the time my contract expired six months later, during which time I never heard again from the agent (She never even responded when I sent her a polite email thanking her but stating I wouldn’t be renewing the contract.), I had a new manuscript.
I started seeking an agent once again. This time I honed my search carefully and eventually landed an agent whose name I had plucked out of the acknowledgements section of two crime books published by major houses. This agent really was a professional. She loved the book and promised to keep sending it out until we got a deal.
While this novel was on submission, I rewrote and rewrote and rewrote the “Girl on the Brink,” working on the voice and inserting more suspense elements, turning it into a romantic thriller with a social message. My agent didn’t want it (in fact, she was cross that I had written a YA: “You’re all over the place. That’s not how you build your brand.”) so I submitted it to publishers on my own and eventually got a deal.
To my great disillusion, however, “Skin of Tattoos,” didn’t sell after about 40 submissions despite garnering some real praise from top houses. I realized a hidden truth about publishing – the quality of the writing didn’t necessarily matter, nor even the story, as much as whether it was deemed commercial and fit neatly into a genre.
Eventually, I started researching publishers on my own and sent lists to the agent, who sent it out to those she deemed worthwhile. She took longer and longer to respond. After two years, the agent told me she could do no more.
I went back to the manuscript yet again, cutting about 12,000 words, deleting stuff that both agents had told me to include but really didn’t fit the story, again paying attention to the few worthwhile things rejecting editors had said, and mostly to my own gut.
Five months later I had a contract with a small publisher and I wondered if I had done the right thing. Should I have just shelved the manuscript? Waited until I landed a major publisher and developed an audience and then dusted it off?
I’m so glad I didn’t. Both “Skin of Tattoos” and “Girl on the Brink” were published in August and have received excellent reviews from Kirkus Reviews, as well as from readers. “Girl on the Brink,” in fact, was named to Suspense Magazine’s Best of 2016 YA list. It had been an unbelievably long journey but I am thrilled I never gave up. There are far more routes to being published than the traditional one. The key is to believe in yourself and your story.

I'd like to thank Christina for her guest post and for taking the time to stop by today.
I'm planning on adding both of these to my ever growing TBR and if you've read either of Christina's books then I'd love to hear your thoughts.
http://thehaphazardoushippo.blogspot....

I'm on Anne Williams' book blog today, writing on the challenges of writing for a teen audience. Anne has a huge following on her UK-based blog, and I'm grateful for the tweet storm that my post has received! Here's the link & post!

http://beinganne.com/2017/03/guestpos...

I’m delighted to welcome author Christina Hoag as my guest on Being Anne today. Christina is the author of two novels – Skin of Tattoos, a literary noir gangland thriller, and a YA romantic thriller, Girl on the Brink. Today Christina has written a fascinating piece about the boundaries – and challenges – of writing YA. Over to you Christina…

There’s no question that YA is the genre du jour. Literary agents and editors all seem to be seeking the next big thing in young adult, especially the “crossover” novel that can hit both the teenage and adult markets.

So when I started writing my novel Skin of Tattoos it seemed to me a no-brainer to make it a YA book. The book is a thriller pivoting on the rivalry between two street gang members in Los Angeles. Since gangs are primarily composed of young men, many of them teenagers, it seemed to be a natural fit for YA. Great, I thought, I can jump on the YA bandwagon. But it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be, either writing the book or selling it.

First, in writing YA, authors must keep in mind the limitations on a teenager’s life, namely they generally live with their families and have to answer to parents. The author must account for these family characters in some way and establish their relationships with the main teen character. Specifically, the author must invent excuses for the parents not noticing the behaviour of the teen that generally makes the conflict of the plot.

I notice a lot of YA books have the teen (girl, more often than not) alone with a divorced or widowed parent, which makes the mum or dad conveniently more distracted or absent-minded, leaving the teenager to get on with the plot. A lot of teen protagonists are also only children, another handy mechanism that eliminates the need for the author to deal with sibling relationships. Although these scenarios certainly occur in real life, it’s probably not quite as often as in YA fiction. Authors must also keep in mind that friends are hugely important in adolescence so friends must play a major role and those relationships must be established. Likewise, teens are not adults. They are subject to school rules and a different set of laws, which may affect the plot.

Elements such as profanity, obscenity, drug use and sex must be considered. The author can include those things but she must consider her goals for the book. If she wants to sell into school libraries and cast a wide net for readers, which would include adults who buy books to give to teens, she may not want to include the racy stuff. On the other hand, teens themselves may actually be drawn by the edgier, grittier and more realistic content.

YA books also have a more uniform style. They are overwhelmingly told in first person, mostly present tense, in a day-to-day fashion so the reader feels a part of the protagonist’s life. The voice must also be right. A certain tone of snarkiness in interior monologue and side comments seems to be what agents and editors like although in reality teens don’t talk like that as often as books would have you believe.

YA is overwhelming a girls’ genre. Visit a bookshop’s YA section, you’ll see most titles are romance-oriented or otherwise female oriented with girls on the cover. I didn’t initially view this as a hindrance. After all, my teenage son had often complained to me that he didn’t like reading books because he couldn’t find any action/adventure books more suited to boys. I figured there must be a market for boy YA.

But the truth is not really. Agents and editors are looking for what sells, and that’s by and large girl YA. Nevertheless, when I sent out my manuscript, I got nibbles and a few bites, and eventually I landed an agent. (That’s the subject of another blog post!) The book, however, didn’t move. To make a long story short, I parted ways with that agent and then I saw what I needed to do: make Skin of Tattoos an adult novel. I upped the age of my protagonist, Mags, by a couple years, to twenty, and suddenly he was freed of the constraints and limited world view of a minor, yet still young enough to have issues with his family and make the boneheaded mistakes that youths make as they enter adulthood. As a writer, it was like shedding shackles.

Mags instantly became old enough to have a level of awareness about himself and the world. He could come to terms with his family problems with the emotional depth that a teen likely wouldn’t have. It made his character, the main plot and the family-issue subplot that much richer.

After much revision, I got a deal with a small publisher, and Skin of Tattoos was finally released to the world last August, after a winding path to publication. Moral of the story: thoroughly research your genre before you sit down and write!

Enjoyed that, Christina – thanks for joining me today! Let’s take a closer look at Christina’s books…