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.
Published by Prufrock Press, May 1, 2012
Copy obtained from LibraryThing Early Reviewers
285 pages
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I read this book a few years ago on Kindle. I found it really interesting and loved the interviews with the diverse YA authors towards the end. It sounds as if writing is the easy part-- marketing sounds wayy complicated, to me. Great review. :)
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