One Piece of Advice From 18 Young Adult Fiction Authors in 2023

Young adult fiction is a weird writing genre, because it’s not really a writing genre; rather, it’s a target audience. YA fiction includes the full spectrum of subjects, including mystery, romance, horror, fantasy, and more. What sets it apart is that the protagonists are teenagers, usually on the older side.

(5 Tips for Writing a YA Romance That Will Make Readers Swoon.)

Here I’ve collected one piece of advice from 18 young adult fiction authors who were featured in our author spotlight series in 2023. Be sure to click the author names if you’d like to read their full author spotlights from earlier this year.

“Do it for yourself first. It is so easy to be influenced by outside pressures: the opinions of other people, the expectations of readers, or even our own dreams of success. And, while those things may ultimately be important, they shouldn’t be the main driver behind your passion for writing. I’ve started to understand that writing is a safe space for me to speak my mind, gain a deeper understanding of myself and the world, and have a creative outlet, and my main objective is now to simply enjoy the process. That’s what makes it all worth it.” –Daniel Aleman, author of Brighter Than the Sun (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

“Create a giant, ever-evolving list of all of your favorite things in fiction—characters, tropes, settings, tiny little details, all of it! I call mine my “Id List,” and it is ENORMOUS—just pages and pages of things that I love in books or movies for no particular reason at all. Helicopters! Paternity revelations! Scenes set on rooftops! Characters eating ice cream! Bubbly, high-energy characters who should not be given coffee under any circumstances! Over-protective older brothers! High fantasy-style court politics! Fake dating! In between projects, I go back to my Id List and actively work to identify more and more things that I love, and then when I begin writing a new project, I am conscious about using my Id List as license and a guide to put SO MUCH THAT I LOVE in my books. It brings me so much joy as a writer and ends up solving a surprising number of craft problems for me as well.” –Jennifer Lynn Barnes, author of The Brothers Hawthorne (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

“Just write!” –Christy Cashman, author of The Truth About Horses (Spark Press)

“Find stories you are passionate about. You’ll spend a long time with the research and characters, and you’ll need to care enough about both to write about them authentically and in a way that will resonate with readers.” –Lesa Cline-Ransome, author of For Lamb (Holiday House)

“The best thing I could tell other writers is to not be afraid to challenge yourself. Trust your instincts and write the thing.” –Deborah Crossland, author of The Quiet Part Out Loud (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)

“I know it sounds simple, but it has really helped me: Never give up. It is simply not an option if you want to pursue writing as a career. There will be setbacks, failures, close calls, disappointments (I have definitely had my fair share and then some!), but I never gave up. I persisted. Along with the help of mentors, other writers, colleagues, family, and friends, I have been able to turn those setbacks into stepping stones. Not every single one, but many of them. Feel the feelings, then keep going. Just like you ask of your characters.” –Jennifer De Leon, author of Borderless (Atheneum)

“Don’t let it be your everything. I know the temptation is there, to pour all your time and energy into a project, to allow it to fill your mind. The industry might tell you it’s good to hustle, and if you don’t, you probably aren’t cut out for publishing. I disagree. I think balance is key to a healthy relationship with books, writing, and life in general. Live your own story, then write out of overflow.” –Caroline George, author of Curses and Other Buried Things (Thomas Nelson)

“Read as much as you can, but listen too. A good ear can improve one’s writing immeasurably. Give yourself goals, not a timeline. Don’t let rejections get you down. Persistence is key.” –Elizabeth Lim, author of Her Radiant Curse (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers)

“Be open to suggestions, but also, know the story you want to tell. My friend suggested I cut the opening chapters, and that worked for my book. Another person suggested I add in a talking animal friend. I knew that I did not want to tell that story, so I thanked them for their suggestion and moved on. Just because someone suggests something, you don’t have to do it. You know your story better than anyone. But you shouldn’t automatically dismiss suggestions either. If you know your story, you’ll know which suggestions are worth pursuing and which ones deserve a simple thanks.” –Jean Louise, author of Waking Fire (Inkyard Press)

“Listen only to the voices who’ll help you get better at what you do. The rest is noise.” –Sunya Mara, author of The Lightstruck (Clarion Books)

“Keep on keeping on. No one else can tell the story you will.” –Kelly McWilliams, author of Your Plantation Prom Is Not Okay (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

“To not overthink your writing process and embrace your own style. I wasted some time while writing The Broke Hearts trying to write a more straightforward kind of book, one that would be a little easier to talk about and what I thought would be more marketable—no one told me that a single narrative book would be more marketable or to write one. I made this up all on my own. I have a unique style and voice, and I was trying to change it for reasons that had nothing to do with growing as a writer or creativity. Instead, I was trying to write something I thought would be more popular with a general—imaginary—audience, which has everything to do with my own self-doubt. Of course, it didn’t take too long while drafting before the urge to try all sorts of different things won out. In the end I trusted my instincts enough to lean into all the different elements and character voices. And because of that I’ve written a novel I now think is the best I’ve done so far.” –Matt Mendez, author of The Broke Hearts (Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books)

“Stubborn perseverance really is key in this industry. My first book published, Beyond the Red, was actually the 10th book that I wrote—and though The Wicked Bargain will be my fourth book published, it’s the 19th that I’ve finished. It’s impossible to predict which of your projects will sell, so the ability to pick yourself up and brush yourself off after a failed round of submission or querying and stubbornly moving on to the next project is important if you want to make a career out of writing.” –Gabe Cole Novoa, author of The Wicked Bargain (Random House Children’s)

“You can read all day long about the writing process of other authors—the keyboard they use, the schedule they maintain, their revision strategy. We can obsess about it so much, in fact, that it distracts us from the actual writing itself. The truth is there is no one way to write and there is certainly no right way. Ultimately, it’s about finding a strategy that works best for you to get those words on the page, and that strategy might need to shift with each book. With each new manuscript and round of revision in front of me, I often need to find new ways of tricking my brain into writing.” –Cindy L. Otis, author of At the Speed of Lies (Scholastic)

“I’d say: Don’t be afraid to fail. The first time I sent my book out to agents, I received all rejections except for one ‘revise and resubmit’ request. If I had let that stop me, I never would have ended up where I am today. Instead, I got back on the horse, learned from my mistakes, and kept pushing forward, even if I wasn’t sure where the path would lead. The beauty of writing is that it’s not just about the outcome. Regardless of being published, writing this story has led me to make wonderful connections, become a better storyteller, push through hard times, and find opportunities I wouldn’t have otherwise. With that said, enjoy the process, try new ideas, and let your imagination take you wherever you want to go.” –Alison Schaffir, author of Your Dream for Me (Level Best Books)

“Breaks are just as important as those days where you write thousands of words. That advice of ‘real writers write ever day’ is silly because who doesn’t need to take a break sometimes? Breaks allow your brain to recharge and your creative well to refill. So don’t guilt yourself about your low or no word-count days. Your well is refilling.” –Tess Sharpe, author of 6 Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did) (Little Brown)

“Write for yourself! Writers can get stuck on trying to make their stories marketable or writing trendy tropes, but the only thing that’ll get you writing your best is when you do it for you. What do you want to read? What part of you do you want to heal through your writing? Because no matter how much you try to write for others or for the market, not everyone is going to be happy. Reviewers will always have something they didn’t like, and readers will inevitably have their own interpretation of your words that might not align with what you meant. So don’t write for them. Write for yourself and when it goes out into the world, just remember that what was written was for you and whatever is read is for them.” –Ream Shukairy, author of The Next New Syrian Girl (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

“Writers are readers first. One of the best ways you can grow as a writer is to actively read. Yes, write every day—or as frequently as your schedule allows. But there’s power and inspiration every writer unlocks when they just take the time to actually read!” –Julian R. Vaca, author of The Recall Paradox (Thomas Nelson)

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While there’s no shortage of writing advice, it’s often scattered around—a piece of advice here, words of wisdom there. And in the moments when you most need writing advice, what you find might not resonate with you or speak to the issue you’re dealing with. In A Year of Writing Advice, the editors of Writer’s Digest have gathered thoughts, musings, and yes, advice from 365 authors in dozens of genres to help you on your writing journey.

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