Book Review: Wild Ink, Success Secrets to Writing and Publishing in the Young Adult Market by Victoria Hanley

Wild Ink: Success Secrets to Writing and Publishing
in the Young Adult Market
by Victoria Hanley
Prufrock Press Inc. 5/1/12
ISBN: 978-1-59363-864-1
Trade Paperback $17.95

Reviewed by Pat Stoltey: Highly recommended.

Cover art reprinted with permission of Prufrock Press, Inc.

"In general, YA novels move at a brisk pace. Everything's a bit more condensed and intense than traditional adult novels. As a writer, you'll want to aim for a style that moves forward quickly and emphasizes voice."

An updated and expanded version of Victoria Hanley’s 2008 book, this edition of Wild Ink is certain to become the basic reference for beginning and aspiring writers of Young Adult fiction and non-fiction. Beginning with an introduction to the YA genre, Hanley answers common questions about appropriate word count, use of slang, and subject matter, then advances to subgenre classifications and market trends. A chapter on writing YA non-fiction follows an excellent two-part workshop on novel-writing.

Most writers, including those who have been published in other genres, will benefit from the chapters on “Obstacles and Demons”—the excuses writers use and the roadblocks that make them stumble on their way to a finished manuscript. Hanley’s writing exercises as well as her section on “Resources for Writers” will be as helpful to the experienced author as the beginner. Many of the references cited apply to all genres and audiences.

When Hanley moves on to discuss “Submitting Your Manuscript,” she includes information about agents and editors, agent interviews, multiple submissions, and things/scams to watch out for. There is also excellent coverage of both traditional publishing versus self-publishing. The discussion of marketing is enhanced by interviews with marketing specialists.

The final section of Wild Ink features interviews with YA authors writing in a wide range of subgenres. Hanley has updated this section, as well as many of the examples used throughout the book, to include recently published writers, providing the reader with a current view of today’s YA audience and trends.

Victoria Hanley is an award-winning YA novelist published in 13 languages. She is a popular instructor at writing workshops in Northern Colorado and at writing conferences.

An advance reading copy of Wild Ink was supplied by Prufrock Press Inc. for this review. This book may be purchased direct from Prufrock Press Inc. or from most bookstores and online booksellers.