Don't Ignore YouTube Just Because You're Not 8 to 16

So the other day on my Facebook business page, I posted this meme:

Parents and grandparents of elementary school kids should be nodding (and laughing, come on--it's funny) along with this hysterical meme from Debi Downer on Facebook (which you should follow by clicking that link because she is super funny!) because you understand the YouTube craze like no other, I'm sure. My daughter who is 8 sometimes watches YouTube on our Smart TV instead of Netflix or Hulu--instead of Disney! (gasp) And she watches people play video games or do slime challenges or play "games" where the kids switch clothes with each other. She wants to talk about slime and create her own challenges all the time, and I will admit that I'm often not tuned into the conversation because I just don't understand. 

But this "blasted" YouTube is where kids are. This is where teens are. This is even where adults are--finding TED talks, how to change their oil, or how to make themselves look better through Photoshop. Recently, when I taught the School Visits and Author Talks class for WOW! (next one is in October!), even I used YouTube videos as part of my material. Authors are making videos of their presentations online, so that interested schools can view them and see what the authors' speaking styles are like. And I used these videos as examples for WOW! students on how to create engaging and interactive presentations for kids. 

Recently, I was listening to the Jen Hatmaker podcast and her guest was HEAVEN TAYLOR-WYNN from MediaWise, a media literacy project that aims to teach 1 million teens how to sort fact from fiction online by 2020. (This really does have to do with videos and YouTube, just bear with me...). During the interview, the following exchange took place:

Jen Hatmaker: One thing I know as a mom of five teens and just post-teens is that... they are inhaling videos. That is absolutely how my kids are getting their information. Is this what you're seeing?

Heaven: Yeah, well like you just said, it's hard for not just teens but for adults as well—it's so much content, so much information coming at us all the time. But some new research just came out recently from Common Sense Media, and they concur with what you're finding. Teens are getting most of their information from social media and from YouTube. 

So, in the class I just taught, I suggested to WOW! students that making a YouTube video of yourself presenting or speaking or even reading your books is a great idea. If you're a young adult author, you should be making videos and posting them to Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and Twitter. (Teens are not on Facebook. Facebook is for us old people.)

Look, I am giving this advice, and this is how many videos I have made: 0.

But V-I-D-E-O is written up on my dream/goal board now, and I know it's something that Angela and I have talked about for social media: Instagram stories and FacebookLive and more. So many videos and information are free out there; and if you want people to pay for your books or your speaking or your class, then you're probably going to need to give them a taste of what you're like because you can be sure that some other author is doing that already.

I'll be honest--this video craze scares me--I'll have to shower and put on makeup!  But we've all heard the quote from Dune about fear being a mindkiller, so join with me and let's try to make some videos and further our careers.

The YouTube addict is pictured above...:) 

The next School Visits and Author Talks for Children’s and YA Writers and Illustrators starts on October 16 and ends before Thanksgiving and the crazy holiday season. If you are a children's or YA author, giving these talks is a must for your marketing plan. Sign up here. Find out more about Margo on her site.

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6 comments children's authors, making a video, marketing, school visits, social media, YA authors, youtube

The Number One Thing You Need in Your Author Talk

School is almost out for summer! If you live in the United States, you probably have anywhere from one week to one month left of the school year. (If you live other places, I’m not sure how much school time you have left. Let us know in the comments.) But, I digress. I’m writing about school getting out because this post is about writers who are also teachers or writers who are also parents with kids coming home for the summer or anyone who loves the long hours of daylight in the summer and gets a lot of writing done! (Plus, I just attended my stepson’s graduation from high school on Friday, and I wanted a chance to share this photo with you of him and my cute daughter, his sister. I’m super proud of them both.)

 Some of you who are teachers and writers under the same hat use summer to catch up on your writing that might have taken a backseat during the school year. I know when I was teaching in an elementary school, I also used the summer to attend workshops and go to writing conferences. For those of you who are children’s writers or young adult authors, you may also be taking time to create new school visit workshops. Part of being a children’s or young adult writer  is finding opportunities to get in front of those audiences, and this is often done at schools. (By the way, you could also do it at Bible schools and summer camps, depending on where you live and what your book is about. I have done all of these places.)

 I know it’s not always the easiest speaking event—a gym full of zK to 2nd grade students, for example. So I will tell you what I believe to be the number one element you need to have in your workshop. Really, this could be for any writer who has to give any workshop or presentation. But I think it is especially true if your audience is 18 or under.

That number one element is… Connection. That’s right, connection. Connection is what every presentation that you give to kids needs to have. The problem is that it’s not easy to connect with kids who are not the same age as you, who may not have the same interests as you, who may be attending your workshop because they are being forced to by their teacher, or who may have never heard of you or your books when you step in to their school. But it will be completely worth it if you figure out some way to connect with your audience and to make yourself relatable to them before you share your message—whether it’s about your books, your writing career, or your illustrations.

Here are three ways that children’s or young adult authors can look for ways to connect with their under 18 audiences:

1. Start your presentation with a personal story from your life when you were a kid. Make yourself vulnerable. You can use humor. You can be serious. But find a universal story about your childhood or your teenage years that will let your audience know that you can understand some of the issues they may be facing as a young person.

2.  Get to know your audience before you start selling to them. Even though you will not be hard selling at a school visit, you are realistically still trying to get these kids to like and read your books. Before you do this, have an activity where you are asking questions to find out about your audience. For example, you can ask kids to stand up if they like a certain baseball team. You can ask kids to raise their hand if their birthday is in the summer. You can ask kids to raise their hand and tell you there favorite foods. You will have to revise this activity, depending on if you are talking to a classroom of kids or a gym full of kids. But you will know plenty in advance before you get to the school. And if you are a teacher, then you will know what kinds of activities relate to many of these kids already because you are around kids every single day.

3. Just be real! It’s not as easy as it sounds. But kids can spot someone who is not sincere and genuine 100 miles away. So don’t try to be funny if you are not actually funny. Don’t try to be hip. Just be yourself—whatever that is. You have a message to bring to these kids. You wrote a book for them. Now you are there; and in order to connect with them, just be yourself.

If you are a children’s or young adult writer, and you have a tip for school visits, let us know in the comments below. If you give a lot of author talks to all ages of audiences and you have some tips, let us know below. Or if you are a teacher looking forward to getting out this summer to do some extra writing, let us know that, too.

Margo L. Dill is teaching a new class for WOW! titled School Visits and Author Talks for Children’s and YA Authors:  http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/classroom/MargoDill_AuthorTalks.php , and it starts on August 6! Check it out at the link!

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2 comments author talks, children writers, Margo L. Dill, school visits, YA authors

From the Mouths of Teens

As winter break approaches, and the juniors in my English classroom are less inclined to focus on work, I find myself talking to them about issues unrelated to AP Language and Composition. Today, I asked them to write down advice to give to authors of young adult fiction, or to writers of fiction who are portraying teenagers in their novels.

Unsurprisingly, they had a lot to say.


Teenagers on Being Children

“Try not to portray us as children, because we don’t see ourselves that way.” This comment was the first one I read, and it is one I often have to be careful not to do in my writing. I work with teenagers every day and, while they are still children in many ways, they are also partly adults. Many students chimed in on this issue, asking they not be portrayed as younger than they are. As one so aptly put it, “We’re not naïve. We’re smarter than that.”  As a teacher, I learned early on that teenagers want respect. That holds true in our writing as well.


Teenagers on Stereotypes

The most popular piece of advice my students offered was for authors to avoid stereotyping teenagers. “Don’t be cliché,” they said over and over. Don’t portray girls as “desperate” or “over-dramatic.” One student begged authors to give them “strong minds.” Many said that authors try to make some students out to be exceptionally “cool” or “hip” when, in reality, all of them have incredible insecurities, and even well-liked students don’t feel as amazing as they are sometimes portrayed. “Just give them normal personalities,” another said, “because teens are always changing. And we don’t outwardly care about social status as much as books make it seem to be.” It’s safe to say that as authors, we should certainly avoid alienating them with preconceived notions.


Teenagers on Realism

I couldn’t believe how many students begged for more realistic books. As a lover of fantasy and dystopian stories, I sometimes forget how much they want to find someone just like them. Even the students who love science-fiction said they wanted “real” characters. In any genre, my students asked that writers not, “make it cheesy or unrealistic.” They want “plausible motives” with “relatable” characters. “Add diversity,” several added. “Not everyone is white.” My favorite line was probably, “They always make teenagers mainstream and hormonal. They hate their parents. Blah, blah. But most of us aren’t like that. And it’s okay to deal with actual issues – especially those dealing with young women.”


Teenagers on Love

This is where they drastically split. Some begged for more love stories. One girl wrote, “Romance! Even if it isn’t a story about romance, just a little bit is always needed.” Another begged for authors to bring an end to love triangles. A third said, “Chill with the romance. Not everyone, actually very few teenagers, have a love life. And not all of us want one, either.” So, when it comes to love, it looks like anything is fair game.


Teenagers on the Unconventional

There were, of course, many random suggestions that I loved. “Every book should not end happy,” one boy said. Another wants authors to, “Be sarcastic! Using irony and creatively poking fun at the society that teens live in is great!” Along these same lines, my students asked for authors to give them something unconventional. “Not all teenagers are rebellious,” mentioned one, while another said, “Just because we were raised with advanced technology doesn’t make us stupid.” Many, in fact, mentioned this, feeling resentful, as if their generation has been stigmatized because technology is at their fingertips.

And lastly, my favorite piece of student advice: “When writing about teenagers, think about Carl in The Walking Dead. Teenagers, and kids in general, adapt to situations quicker than adults.”


Hopefully some of their advice will help you in your writing adventures. I encourage you to spend some time listening to teenagers. They have some great advice, and might help move your YA book in the right direction!

Bethany Masone Harar is an author, teacher, and blogger, who does her best to turn reluctant readers into voracious book-reading nerds. She hopes you’ll join her in this lofty endeavor.

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7 comments relating to your audience, teenagers, writing advice, YA authors, YA writing

Sara Polsky talks her debut YA novel, This is How I Find Her (Giveaway!)

Today, we welcome young adult author, Sara Polsky, whose debut novel, This Is How I Find Her, recently came out to the reading world! Sara is a writer and editor at Curbed NY, and her articles and essays have appeared in The Christian Science Monitor, The Forward, Poets & Writers, and other publications. She lives in New York City.

We're talking to Sara today about her book, which deals with bipolar disorder and the theme of finding yourself, as well as life as a debut novelist! Stay tuned for the end of the interview and fill out the Rafflecopter form for your chance to win a book!
  
WOW: Welcome to the Muffin, Sara, and congratulations on your debut YA novel coming out this month! How are you feeling about everything right now?

Sara: Excited, nervous, thrilled!

WOW: We are excited for you! Tell us about your novel, This is How I Find Her.

Sara: This Is How I Find Her is the story of 16-year-old Sophie, who has spent much of her life caring for her mother, who has bipolar disorder. When Sophie's mother, Amy, attempts suicide and is hospitalized, Sophie moves in with some estranged relatives across town—and begins figuring out how to balance caring for her mother with living her own life.

WOW: As you mentioned, the mother of the main character has a bipolar disorder. What kind of research did you have to do to write this character? How did you stop the mother from taking over the story and keeping this about the teen?

Sara: I did a lot of research into bipolar disorder, reading everything from memoirs to slightly more technical books. There are a lot of bipolar disorder guides out there for patients and families, and I found those particularly helpful for getting the details right.

I never really worried that Sophie's mother would take over the story. For me, the book was always about Sophie finding her way, understanding her family more clearly, and reconnecting with old friends. Her mother's suicide attempt is the catalyst for some of those things, but the story is all Sophie's.

WOW: We met you through your agent, Suzie Townsend, who is judging our flash fiction contest. Can you tell us a little about the process that led you to Suzie? In other words, what was your agent journey like?

Sara: I started my agent search by looking at agents who represented books I loved and thought had something in common with my manuscript. I also read a lot of agent interviews online, and I think that was how I first stumbled on Suzie. I knew I wanted to query her as soon as I read her agent bio—she talked about how much she loves strong, female protagonists, and we had a few of the same favorite books, including Jellicoe Road, How I Live Now, and When You Reach Me. Suzie sent me some amazing editorial notes on the manuscript; and when we talked on the phone the first time, she compared my manuscript to one of my favorite books, so I knew I wanted to work with her. (And she is just as wonderful as I'd hoped!)

WOW: It sounds like a great fit for both of you! What are you enjoying most about being a YA debut author?

Sara: I love hearing from people who connect with the book. It's amazing to me every time someone tells me they care about these characters and this story that lived only in my head for such a long time. And seeing my book on the shelves in a bookstore, next to some of my own favorite books, is an incredible feeling.

WOW: Awesome! What are you finding difficult?

Sara: I don't really talk about the things I'm writing while I'm writing them, so it's hard to get used to talking about the book now that it's out! And then there's that flash of nervousness when someone says, "So, I read your book…" and I'm waiting to hear what they thought of it.

WOW: Yes, it is your baby—that is now out in the world, and we want everyone to love our babies as much as we do! What's next for you?

Sara: I'm working on another contemporary YA novel.

WOW: Thanks, Sara. Don't forget to check out Sara's new book, This Is How I Find Her. If you want to connect with Sara, you can find her website here: http://www.sarapolsky.com.

You can also WIN a copy of THIS IS HOW I FIND HER. See the Rafflecopter form below!

***** BOOK GIVEAWAY *****

Enter the Rafflecopter form below for a chance to win a copy of This is How I Find Her by Sara Polsky.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Good luck!

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10 comments bipolar disorder, debut novels, YA authors, young adult novel