The Girl with the Green Pen

My fantastically brilliant critique partner, Taryn Albright, is branching off from Teen Eyes Editorial to launch her own editing service, The Girl with the Green Pen. Taryn has a fantastic reputation and tons of success stories from those who've used her editing services in the past and are now agented or contracted with publishers. She has a quick turnaround, and her critiques are flat-out amazing! Check out her new website (www.tarynalbright.com) and the services she offers--anything from help with queries, synopses, entire manuscripts (big picture or more extensive critiques), and all kinds of combo packages. Her rates are excellent and her services, even more so. Join the ranks of authors made more fabulous by Taryn's help!

Here's some more info from Taryn...

Me 'n' Taryn. This photo is my claim to fame.

My mission is to guide writers through the daunting task of revision. From idea development to editorial feedback to general publishing advice, I love working with stories and those who create them. As a nationally ranked swimer, I know the value of time, so I believe in quick responses from the first email to the last.

I am not just another freelance editor. Beyond providing an experienced and thorough critique, my secondary goal is to establish a relationship with my clients. I want to support you throughout the stressful submission process and celebrate with you upon any and all good news. Writers may put pen to paper alone, but it is through a community that the book gets finished, polished, and submitted.

Why The Girl with the Green Pen? Why green?

Most edits are made with a red pen. If someone critiques your manuscript, s/he will most likely cover it with red ink, right? Not so much here. I make all my notes in green because I like to reflect the idea of moving forward. Green means go, it means new life. These are ways to think of your revisions, and this is how I like to think of the editing process.

But why are you leaving Teen Eyes?

I founded Teen Eyes in August 2011 to critique your YA manuscript from the perspective of a YA. Since then, I've expanded my interest in editing. Plus I'll be 20 soon, so the "teen" part won't work much longer. I still love Teen Eyes, but I wanted to do something bigger.

I'm currently your client / have been your client in the past. What does this mean for me?

I hope nothing! I will continue to give the notes you have come to expect. This is only a change in scenery, really, and I hope you'll be excited as I am about my growth in this area.

Interview with Taryn Albright

I have a house guest! And not just any house guest--it's my critique partner, the one-and-only brilliant Taryn Albright. At nineteen years old, she has an agent, is an intern for another literary agent, runs an editorial service (Teen Eyes) with her best friend, and is an assistant to the much-buzzed-about-debut author, Gennifer Albin. PLUS she's a full-time college student, nationally ranked competitive swimmer, and an all-around awesome gal. I have a complex just being her friend. ;-)

I decided to be a mean hostess and torture Taryn with a slew of agonizing writing-related questions. She decided to be a nice guest and oblige me.

So here we go!

What is your biggest fear as a writer?

I fear losing my love for writing, or being called predictable, like I have formulaic plots. For some reason I don't fear "selling out" or being highly commercial. I write to entertain, not to be profound, though my greatest hope is that I can manage both. Still, first and foremost, entertainment is my priority.

In what area of writing do you feel the most self-confident?

Drafting! Haha :) Revisions=not fun.

What advice would you give yourself as a writer, if you could travel back in time two years?

Ohhh fun question. Hmm, two years ago I had just finished high school. I wasn't very serious about writing. I don't know if I'd tell myself anything . . . my writing journey has been very smooth and organic. I wouldn't want to change the way I did anything.

What is your favorite thing about being a literary agent intern?

Ohh gosh. I love discovering projects that I think are awesome, but that's very rare. There have only been two that I've read and thought I WANT TO SEE THIS AS A BOOK. Honestly, my favorite thing is how my boss-agent is coming to trust me and the way I'm able to get experience in what I want to be my career. This is a lame answer ;)

You are currently on submission with a novel. Tell me a little bit about that book.

BEGGING TO BREATHE is a swimming murder mystery that takes place over the last day of nationals. Tessa Crichton has found her archrival Julia drowned, and due to Tessa's previous near-drowning experience, her memory has holes around the time of Julia's death. Because of their rivalry, Tessa is the top suspect. Commence intrigue, secrets, and kissing.

How you do you handle the ups and downs of being on submission?

I stay super busy. I have a freelance editing service, Teen Eyes, I have my internship, and I have a few awesome critique partners who ask me enough questions to keep my mind off submissions. I'm working on another project right now, but it's actually a reminder of submission, not a respite.

How would you describe your relationship with your agent, Vickie Motter?

Vickie and I are pretty close. We actually live like 15 minutes away from each other, so we meet up often for coffee/to trade books. She's responsive and fun, new but skilled. Her enthusiasm for my projects is tangible :)

What advice would you give writers who are still in the querying trenches?

 It only takes one yes! Also, MAKE SURE you have objective eyes on your manuscript. (Teen Eyes is great for that! *shameless plug*) 

You are only nineteen years old, and yet you have accomplished so much. What advice would you give to aspiring teen writers?

Get involved online. People are way older than you, but in "writer-years," we're pretty similar. A 50-year-old may be writing her first book, whereas a 18-year-old could be Kody Keplinger and published. Don't put it off. I am of the opinion that advice to TEEN WRITERS should be no different than advice to any writers.

You just attended the Book Expo of America in New York City. What was the most surreal moment for you, and what was the biggest disappointment?

 Surreal moments: (there were many) Boss-agent introduced me to a bunch of editorial directors, I met a lot of agents to whom I'm on submission, and a few authors recognized me.

Disappointment: Not much! I didn't snap many pictures? My crit partners weren't there?

Everything was awesome :)

What character of your own invention do you identify with the most and why?

Well, my MC of the book on sub is one of those hard-to-like characters...she's obsessive about winning, arrogant, and uber-competitive. She's also extremely talented. I'd say Tessa is a very very accentuated version of me. She's got my talents--except WAY more. She also has my flaws--except WAY worse. Because of these extremes, she was fun to write.

Fast forward five years. If all the stars aligned and you had your way, where would you be and what would you have done in the writing world?

 I would have six books out (two in 2014, two in 2015, two in 2016; I plan to be a 2 book/year person), I'd be under contract for a whole lot more. I'd be a literary agent with a bunch of awesome clients (who all were contracted). I'd be living happily near Seattle, where I was raised. All this at 24 ;) Ohhh, I'd also have graduated college, I guess, with my creative writing degree, and have won nationals for swimming my senior year. Oh, wait, that's not writing related...

You are an incredibly dedicated and ambitious person. How do you keep the fire burning?

I love love love the book world. I love stories, authors, and everything about publishing. So far, that's been enough.

My First Critique Partner Retreat

Robin, Ilima, Emily, Taryn and me at a restaurant in Emily's YA novel.

All the other lovely ladies in my critique group have posted about our retreat last Thursday-Sunday, so I thought I'd finally jump on the bandwagon.

It's funny...before the retreat we made a giant list of things we hoped to do together. These things included pedicures, a night out at the movies, yoga (by certified Robin), guitar singing 'n' playing by yours truly, hot tubbing, and a hike in the mountains. I think we were all a bit worried that maybe the friends we briefly met one year ago, and have since stayed in constant online contact with, weren't really like us. No one in their right mind would want to write most of the time, after all.

So, although we didn't get to cross off so many items on our giant to-do list, it was so refreshing to see that we are all bona fide writer geeks. We did, for good measure, watch one movie (Like Crazy) at Emily's house in not-so-sunny California, and I managed to pluck everyone's eyebrows, but other than that we wrote, wrote, wrote, all sitting in Emily's cozy family room. We did pause and chat from time to time (we are human!), and we shared excerpts from what we were working on.

Writing 'n' waiting for cinnamon rolls

The second night, Emily asked us if we wanted to watch another movie. We all looked up from our laptops and notebooks and shrugged, as if to say, "Movies? Who needs movies when the story I'm writing is so much cooler!" The next morning we woke up, staked out places at the kitchen table (as we waited for Emily's cinnamon rolls to finish baking), and again, delved deep into our story worlds.

It was AWESOME being with people who totally get this madness that is writing. As James Owen so perfectly put it at LTUE, "I had found my tribe."

Let me tell you some things about my awesome crit partners...

Taryn & Emily

EMILY, our lovely hostess, is Martha Stewart's doubleganger. She does everything crafty and homemaking. Her home is picture-worthy from every angle, and is stuffed with quaint hand soaps, handmade quilts, and fresh eggs from her own chickens (okay, her house isn't stuffed with eggs, but you get the point). Emily also bakes delicious food from scratch, and when she asked what I'd like for lunch, and I said peanut butter and jelly, a sad look crossed her face. Emily has a master's degree in literature, and she loves to dig up the themes and deeper meanings in our stories (and as you can imagine, her stories revel in them). AND Emily is super hilarious...in a dry way. I'm infamously gullible, and I often can't tell when Emily is pulling my leg. She said she'd have to make a sarcastic-face emoticon to help me with our future email correspondence.

Baby Joseph & Robin

ROBIN has been my friend for forever. We started our writing journey together over two years ago. Robin is  very smart and, like Emily, is talented in a bazillion areas. She's a rock climber, yoga instructor, piano teacher, mother of four, and a speed-reader (at least, according to my standards). She usually reads two to three books a week. Robin brought her sweet four-month-old baby, Joseph, to the retreat. He is super cute and LOVES to talk. (I'm sure his gooing and gaaing definitely mean something to him.) Robin has started writing her third book, which is amazing to me, considering I'm still polishing up my first. Robin, you are my hero! Can you move back to Utah and be my neighbor again. Pleeeeease?!!

Ilima

ILIMA is my Utah CP buddy. She is yet another multi-talented wonder in our group (hmm...I'm starting to realize how uncool I am). Ilima homeschools her children, volunteers a ton of time to her church, sews, hosts a monthly book club, and is currently writing her fourth book (a dystopian we're all freaking out about because it ROCKS). Ilima is from Hawaii, and that place and culture are a strong influence in all her stories. I always appreciate Ilima's honesty...she has a special way of giving helpful criticism without the sting. My favorite Ilima moment of the retreat: when I was plucking her eyebrows, I said, "Wow, you're not even crying." She replied, "I'm crying on the inside. I feel like Bella when she is turning into a vampire."

Taryn

TARYN is the youngest, but most brilliant and experienced writer in our group. At nineteen, she already has an agent and several finished books under her belt. It's no secret that we all live vicariously through her, and I'm not just talking about all-things-writing. Whenever Taryn is going through boy drama (good or bad), we want the nitty gritty. She's learning to wrap us around her finger and divulge the details SLOOOOWLY through several coy emails. It's torture! I didn't realize how laid back Taryn was until this retreat. But she's so speedy with writing! She drafted her agented novel in two weeks and finished revisions in three days. Insane. Taryn is also a competitive swimmer and has placed in nationals. When she wants something, she goes for it and gets it.

I miss you already, ladies, but am looking forward to seeing you again at WIFYR this year! XOXOXO

Guinevere is Sleeping and I am Going Crazy

Arwen pretending to be Guinevere

A writer friend of mine recommended that after spending two intense years of writing Guinevere's story, I should give myself some distance--at least a month. That way I could go back my story with fresh eyes and hack at its length with a battle ax.

But after so long I don't know what to do without Guinevere. It sounds pathetic, I know, but...I miss her. *the sound of violins swells in the background*

So here's how I've been biding my time...

• balancing my checkbook (um...hadn't done that in 1 1/2 years)
• potty training my three-year-old daughter (no liquid gold in the froggy potty yet)
• going on actual dates with my husband...what a novelty!
• reading three books on writing and revising (my favorite so far is The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile by Noah Lukeman)
• buying three more writing books
• entering a bunch of Online contests for pitches and the first 150 of my MS
• registering for a writers' conference
• committing to attending a writers' retreat with my friends in March
• watching a lot of TV and movies (Fringe is back on. Woot, woot!)
• working for the Utah Hemophilia Foundation (well, I do that anyway, but I didn't want my bread and butter--and fabulous friends there--to think I'd forgotten them)
• reading many author and agent blogs
• beta reading a novel for my crit partner (Robin, you go, girl!)
• critiquing three chapters for my other crit partners
• scariest of all (balancing my checkbook was scary) finally emailing my crit partners my MS yesterday. I've been going back and forth with whether or not I should let them read it at this point, knowing it needs so much cutting. But I braved up and decided in a sheer moment of GENIUS, they could help me with that!

So here I am twiddling my thumbs, reading another revision book, and waiting another few days for my sleeping beauty to wake up.

My battle ax and I will be ready...I think.

WIFYR, I Love You

This picture pretty much sums up the craziness and the fun that WIFYR was this year. On an impulse, my good friend Robin and I decided to register for WIFYR (our first writing conference) back in March of this year. And I'm so happy we did! We couldn't have picked a better teacher (Louise Plummer) or a better class. Louise kept my sides aching from laughter. She is a goddess. Funny, sassy, sharp as a tack. I worship you, Louise. Thanks for being a true inspiration!

Our days at WIFYR were spent intensely critiquing the first thirty pages of each other's manuscripts. My turn fell on the last day, which made me both relieved and anxious. Relieved, because I didn't have to face the group criticism yet. Anxious, because I hadn't faced the group criticism yet. :-) I spent many nights that week literally on the verge of throwing up because I was so nervous about my looming critique.

On the flip side, I don't think I've ever been so rowdy and outspoken in a classroom setting. But I wasn't the only one. That was the beauty of it. Our class was collectively brilliant, obnoxious, and hilarious. (And our fabulous teacher only goaded us on!) When it came time to critique Robin's manuscript, I couldn't keep my mouth shut in defense of her writing (which I was overly familiar with). Louise eventually had to send me to the bathroom so I'd shut up. I laughed my way out the door. It was a needed potty break anyway. (I pee VERY FREQUENTLY when I'm stressed. There's nothing for it.)

When it was finally my turn to be critiqued, I thought I would die, but can happily report that I survived! People actually audibly gushed when Louise finished her reading of my pages. (It sounded like several gushing people, but maybe it was just Taryn gushing very loudly.) I was so surprised! Emily, I know you're out there thinking I'm ridiculous for being so nervous in the first place, and I realize it sounds like I'm bragging now with the gushing and all, but I seriously spent the week of WIFYR nauseous and peeing twenty times a day from the anticipation, so you can imagine how shocked and pleased I was with the class's response. Most loved my manuscript, and the suggestions they did offer were stomachable (see? no vomiting, after all!). I left WIFYR feeling rejuvenated to keep plunging forward with my book, knowing that it's something others really want to read, and knowing the passion I have for my Rowaness is ringing true on the page. In the meantime, I'll try to keep my adverbs in check (don't count how many I used in this blog post), and I'll try to keep Nimue from screaming as much as possible. Now that I have one WIFYR conference under my belt, I know what to expect and can look forward to only peeing ten times a day at next year's conference.

The best part about WIFYR were the new friends I made. Shortly after the conference, and in a random sort of way, a few of us in the class formed a critique group. Now it's my turn to gush...

Taryn, you are the embodiment of free-spirited youth, along with the brilliance of a mature writer. I ogled over your book, and was so happy to meet the authoress behind the masterful writing (and I am so happy you loved my book too!). Emily, you are the queen of taking things in stride, of seeing the glass half-full, and of finding humor in any situation. You write rich characters and have a knack for seeing the big picture in writing. Ilima, you and I both love to write romantic and fantastical stories. Thanks for letting me fall under the spell of your lush world and love story. Jenilyn, you were my off-and-on-next-seat neighbor at WIFYR (when you weren't out running errands for the conference as the assistant for our class). Your critiquing skills are spot-on; you notice important details that others overlook in their critiques. And at least you and I remembered that Artemis is the Goddess of the Hunt! Robin, you have been with me on this writing journey from the beginning. We have been tough on each other with our critiques, but our strong friendship has carried us through it all. You have 10,000 gifts and strengths, and I am completely in awe of you. We started this journey together, and I hope we'll always continue on the road side by side.

To read Louise's blog entry about our WIFYR class, click here.

In the photo above, you'll find Louise Plummer at the center of all the face-touching. Ha! I am behind her (to the right). Robin is to my right, Ilima is to my left, and Taryn is to the left of Ilima. Jenilyn is at the far right of the photo, and Emily's in the back left (wearing glasses). I'm feeling dizzy now. Are you? (You can click on the photo to view larger.)