Tag Archives: debut author

April 16, 2010 · 9:38 am

Great Guy, Great Book, Great Advice: Part 2

When Ty Roth started to query his fourth manuscript, So Shelly, he wasn’t expecting instant success. He’d been writing for five years, and had queried three previous novels without securing an agent. The third had gotten close, generating requests for six fulls, but nothing had come of it. 

In August 2009, Ty joined AQConnect to utilize their agent database. Ten queries later, he had an agent. Only 2% of querying writers will actually land an agent, and only fifty percent of those writers will ever be published, but just a few weeks after getting repped, Ty beat the odds again. His agent contacted several publishers about the manuscript, and all but one wanted to look at it. There ended up being so much interest that his agent thought they would need to have an auction. Then Random House (Delacorte Press) made him an offer he couldn’t refuse, and in September, Ty ended up with a two book deal and a healthy advance.

So Shelly will be available at bookstores in February, 2011. Although considered the ‘off season,’ (the holidays and summer being the peak times for blockbuster releases), late winter is actually a good time for an author to debut. There is only so much space devoted to reviews, and established authors are going to get the lion’s share. In February, the competition is lighter, and a book released at that time will get more attention.

Now that all of the editing has been completed, Ty is in the process of developing a webpage, has started a blog (tyroth.wordpress.com), and is working on a Facebook Fan Page. He has no plans to quit his day job as a high school literature teacher, which he loves. Being around students all day keeps him informed about the likes and dislikes of his target audience. He knows what teens are talking and thinking about, and it helps guide his writing.

Some things about Ty’s publishing journey surprised me, such as the fact that he has never met his agent or his editor in person. Other than email exchanges, he has only actually spoken with each of them three times. Also, he was able to keep his manuscript’s original title, and has had some say on the cover.

When I asked if he plans to devote any of his advance to marketing, he said that he doesn’t know yet what the publisher will provide, but he is more than willing to invest. He believed in the agenting system and the editorial system, and it served him well. He believes in the marketing system, too. “If it’s good, it will sell.” He also has confidence in word of mouth, which is highly influential in the reading choices of Young Adults.

Ty thinks that he was really lucky, but is happy to share what he may have done right. About writing a query, he says, “A good hook is crucial.” After that, “it’s all about the story.” It’s fine to briefly mention yourself, but that’s not what agents care most about. He has great faith in the querying process, generally believing that if a book is well written and interesting, an agent is going to respond. 

What Ty really wants people to know is, if it could happen to him, it could happen to anyone. He just followed protocol, and everything worked out. 

Sometimes, you just get lucky, but this time, I’d say that the system worked.

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April 14, 2010 · 8:55 pm

Great Guy, Great Book, Great Advice: Part 1

Yesterday, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Ty Roth, debut author of So Shelly, a novel for mature young adults, due to be released by Delacorte Press (a division of Random House) in February of 2011.

So Shelly is based on the actual lives and personalities of romantic poets Lord Byron, John Keats, Percy Shelley and his wife Mary (author of Frankenstein). The twist is that in So Shelly, they are all modern day teenagers, and the title character, Shelly, is a feminine compilation of Mary and Percy. Although the setting is completely different, the author has taken pains to bring facts to the fore, incorporating actual events from the lives of the poets into their modern day counterparts’. 

The action begins with Shelly’s death, and the theft by her friends of her ashes. The story goes “back and forth” between the present and the recent past, shedding light on what brought the characters to this point.

“Entertaining” and “sexy” are adjectives used by in-house readers to describe the story, and after some consideration, that’s okay with Ty. (See Ty’s blog post to read his perspective on including sex in YA novels.)

When asked about his writing process, Ty says that he always starts his books knowing the beginning and the end. Then he writes his way through, always keeping in mind where the plot is headed. He writes in short spurts, 45 minutes or so at a time, and likes to “layer” his themes.

I asked him what writing manuals he uses, if any. Ty said that he owns Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing, which he likes a lot, but he was quick to mention that he doesn’t only use “said” for his dialogue tags. He refers to “The Rules” as a guideline, but he’s not afraid to go with whatever seems right at the time. How does he feel about adverbs? “I tell my students that adjectives and adverbs are like salt and pepper. If  you don’t use them, your story will be bland, but too much isn’t good, either.” 

As for developing a network from which to glean writerly advice, he didn’t. Although Ty joined AQConnect to get the benefit of the agent database, he never actually posted anything on the forum. He didn’t have any critique partners, either. In fact, he says that he has never even printed his manuscript out, and no one besides himself (other than people at the literary agency and the editors) has read it to this day, not even his wife.

Contrary to popular writing-forum wisdom, he doesn’t feel that having a perfectly polished manuscript is as important as some people seem to think. He describes his completed manuscript as “rough.” It’s important to make one’s work presentable, but “having a great hook” is really the key. “It’s the story.” Even the most flawless manuscript is going to go through several edits with the publisher, and Ty thinks that every author is going to have a better product by the end of it, no matter how perfect he/she thought it was.

When I asked if it was painful to go through editing, he told me that he did have to part with a few of his darlings, but he didn’t make the mistake of thinking that the manuscript was “his baby.” He had faith in the editing process, and heeded almost all of their “suggestions.” “They know what they’re doing,” he said.


Tomorrow: Great Guy, Great Story, Great Advice Part 2: How Ty got an agent and landed a healthy publishing contract for a two book deal.

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