Writing Young Adult Fiction For Dummies

Foreword xxi

Introduction 1

Part I: Getting Ready to Write Young Adult Fiction 7

Chapter 1: The Lowdown on YA Fiction 9

Chapter 2: Targeting Teen Readers 19

Chapter 3: Managing Your Muse 35

Part II: Writing Riveting Young Adult Fiction 61

Chapter 4: Writing the Almighty Hook 63

Chapter 5: Creating Teen-Friendly Characters 75

Chapter 6: Building the Perfect Plot 97

Chapter 7: Creating Teen-Driven Action 117

Chapter 8: Setting Is More than Somewhere to Be 133

Chapter 9: Crafting a Narrative Voice Teens Will Listen To . . . and Love 151

Chapter 10: Talking Like a Teen 175

Part III: Editing, Revising, and Formatting

Your Manuscript 199

Chapter 11: Editing and Revising with Confidence 201

Chapter 12: The Finishing Touches: Formatting and Finalizing 219

Part IV: Getting Published 235

Chapter 13: Strategizing and Packaging Your Submissions 237

Chapter 14: Self-Publishing: Is It for You? 269

Chapter 15: Mastering Marketing 283

Part V: The Part of Tens 311

Chapter 16: Ten Common Pitfalls in Writing YA Fiction 313

Chapter 17: Ten Facts about Book Contracts 319

Chapter 18: Ten Ways to Make the Most of a Conference 329

Index 339