5 questions with editor Aimee Friedman

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, I thought it’d be a great time to interview my fabulous editor, Aimee Friedman, for the Apocalypsies blog. Not only is Aimee a Senior Editor at Scholastic, but she is also an author of books for teens – all with romantic themes. Thank you Aimee for sharing your thoughts with us!

How important is setting in a romantic novel? What is your favorite setting from one of your books and how did it help your novel?

Setting can really help enhance a novel’s romantic tone and background, but it won’t make or break it. It’s ultimately about the characters, and how they banter and flirt and engage —if the love story between these two people jumps off the pages, it shouldn’t matter if they’re kissing in Paris or in the parking lot of a Dunkin Donuts. However, in the case of my book, Sea Change, the setting—a fictitious, mysterious island off the coast of Georgia-was almost like another character. I wanted the romance in that book to blossom quickly in part because of the dramatic setting—misty beaches, Spanish moss, the dark, unknowable ocean.

As an editor, are there any “taboo” things that writers of romance or romantic scenes should avoid, like things you see too frequently, or things that just don’t seem to work?

I’m a sucker for a good romance—I think most readers are. A romance doesn’t work for me when I’m not invested in the characters, when either or both of the parties aren’t fully fleshed-out or developed, but instead come off as flat vehicles for the plot. My heart isn’t going to race if the romantic hero isn’t witty and smart—if he’s just handsome, that’s not enough—and I’m not going to root for the heroine if I don’t have a strong sense of her and what makes her tick. I’d advise authors to really make sure your characters are fully rounded before they fall in love---so we can see why they love each other!

My book, THE BOY PROJECT, has a romantic theme, but it’s light and humorous. What do humor writers need to remember when they are combining humor with romance?

I definitely think humor and romance can go together, but it’s important to let the romantic moments have their due, and not allow the humor to completely override any potential swooning. I think THE BOY PROJECT does a terrific job of weaving in hilarious, relatable moments while also giving us a couple brief but very resonant scenes of early romance! I think the key is to let the protagonist endure her share of funny foibles, but in the end, let’s see her win that kiss from the great guy in a pure, unironic way.

Are there any types of books, romantic or otherwise, that you are hoping to acquire this year?

I would love a great, romantic historical novel, either YA or MG. It’s very challenging to get historical fiction to read as fresh, sexy, and relevant for today’s readers. I think Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle Trilogy does a wonderful job of this, for example. It would be great fun to get something sweeping and dramatic, with lots of luxurious gowns and treacherous plotting and stolen kisses.

Thanks for all of the insights into writing and acquiring romances! I want to leave our readers with a positive word about publishing, because it seems like we hear a lot of bad news about the industry these days. Can you share something that you see as positive about publishing today?

I think children’s publishing in particular is having something of a golden age right now. The Hunger Games is probably the biggest, zeitgeisty book of the moment, and it’s YA (you could argue that two other biggest books of the last 10 or so years were Harry Potter and Twilight—also kidlit). There is such a wealth of wonderful novels out there now for YA and MG readers. As a result, the marketplace is more crowded than ever, which is challenging for authors, especially in the wake of Border’s dissolution and Amazon’s dominance. But the creative opportunities are there, and most of all, the passionate, devoted readers are there. With the advent of Twitter, Tumblr, Goodreads and more, there are so many chances for readers of kidlit to really share their enthusiasm and generate even more love for books and reading. It’s exciting to be a part of it all.

The Apocalypsies are definitely excited to be a part of it! I love the way you said that! With so many great children's books out there, and more coming out this year, it does seem like a golden age. Thank you, Aimee, for joining us!

To find out more about Aimee and her books, visit her WEBSITE. And to see another side of her personality, check out her interview from Nerdy Chicks Rule.

Post by Kami Kinard

Kami Kinard's debut novel, The Boy Project, was published in January 2012 by Scholastic. Aimee Friedman is her editor.

Pain in the But

I was inspired to write The Boy Project (Notes and Observations of Kara McAllister) after reading my old middle school diaries. It’s not like I turned events from my middle school life into a novel (mainly because there were no events in my middle school life), but reading the diaries helped me remember what it was like to think like a tween. Basically, Kara’s voice was a gift from my diaries.

Once I started writing in that voice my manuscript really took off. I’ve never written anything so fast. In order for the book to stand out in the market, I decided to deviate from the standard diary-format book. I had the brilliant idea to present the diary as a scientific journal, where each entry describes one of the boys Kara observes and the entire story is told through those observations.

I sent it off to an editor I had been in conversation with. She loved the voice,BUT…

Oh, it’s that but that always kills you. When I was in college, any time someone said the word but, one of my friends would shout out, “Everybody likes a big but!” His catch phrase doesn’t apply to writers. We hate the buts. The buts bring us pain – pain of the revision variety. My knee-jerk reaction to hearing the word but in conjunction with my writing is to tell someone to butt-out. I know how to write.

But… what if the editor was right? What if I did need to show the character’s motivation? What if I did need to add more plot? What if I did need to consider altering my brilliant format because it detracted from the story?

So, I did what a lot of writers do at this point. Over the next few weeks, I thought about how I would change the manuscript if I decided I needed to. Then I got to work. I set up the story, I added more plot, I even got my manuscript polished enough for a wonderful agent to take me on.

In the end, I decided to make every change the editor had suggested, except altering my brilliant format. I just couldn’t see throwing out the most unique aspect of the manuscript. After all, part of successful revising is knowing which advice to take and which advice to ignore. My agent sent the manuscript off again and it came back about with tons of nice comments about the voice, and this time the plot too, BUT…

Oh the pain! Was it possible that my brilliant format was just not going to work? After spending three months rewriting the entire manuscript, I couldn’t bear to think about revising it again. Maybe I wouldn’t have to… there were other editors out there… maybe one of them would see the brilliance in my unique format.

My agent advised me to take some time to think about whether the format I’d chosen was getting in the way of the story I wanted to tell. I didn’t think so. Still, I needed another opinion.

I sent the manuscript to my wonderful and brutally honest writer friend. (I hope you all have a friend like this – one who doesn’t stunt your growth by sparing your feelings.) I didn’t tell her what the editor’s issues were. I just asked her to read the manuscript and tell me the main thing I needed to change.

Darn if she didn’t name the exact same thing the editor had. It was time for me to look my problem in the eye – or in this case, the but. I was time for me, the writer of light humor for tweens, to commit murder. It was time, as writers often quote, to “murder my darlings.” My darling was my format.

Another three months and I had completely revised my manuscript again. Eradicating my brilliant format was painful, but I ended up with a much better manuscript. I put the altered manuscript back into my agent’s hands. And this time it sold! I’m happy to say that The Boy Project (Notes and Observations of Kara McAllister) debuts January 1, 2012 from Scholastic.

My old diaries.

Add The Boy Project to your Goodreads shelf here.