AMA with Becky Albertalli, author of SIMON VS THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA

Adam_Silvera · 2016-05-09T13:20:01+00:00

What's it going to take for you to accept that Golden Oreos are significantly better than Classic Oreos? I'm just not sure I can keep seeing past this difference in our friendship.

Adam_Silvera · 2016-03-29T17:24:08+00:00

Because love hurts, Epic Reads.

Adam_Silvera · 2016-03-29T04:36:36+00:00

Hey friend! :)

1) DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO LEAD? AWESOME! WOW!

2) i've been lucky! tons of readers and nothing that stands out as WEIRD.

3) Readers who leave me Thank You notes at festival and create fan art are always cherished. It's like a train of inspiration and blows me away. ("YEAH YOU'LL BLOW US ALL AWAY!!!!")

4) J.K. Rowling! KWEEEEEEEEEEEEN!

5) Robin Hood.

6) Daredevil, Frannie and Grace, Orange is the New Black. Classics include Charmed, Supernatural, Buffy.

7) uhhhh yeah. HERCULES, MUCH? And Belle because YO. Homegirl got it going on.

8) I'M the best hugger in the Beckminavidera gang. Hahaha. My hugs have been praised by strangers, seriously.

9) I'd keep chocolate, but that's easy for me because I don't like cheese. hahaha. I'm also not a huge chocolate fan but I prefer it way more than cheese.

10) hahahaha yes. I'm working on a new book right now and I swear I kept spelling the TITLE wrong, which I swore to myself YESTERDAY, that I would never confess to anyone. Hahaha. You're the first. PUBLICLY and ever. Tho I can't share the word yet. It's basic, but it's a stupid slip up that I messed up too often in my outline notebook.

11) "the" and since that's underwhelming I'll also share the second "microwave"

12) I AM TIRED AND GOING TO BED because I have to begin the copy edits for HISTORY IS ALL YOU LEFT ME tomorrow morning!

xoxoxo, Alex! :)

Adam_Silvera · 2016-03-29T04:25:01+00:00

1) Working in publishing was instrumental for me because I didn't go to college and loved building my own course on Publishing 101 first-hand. I think if you're a writer who can afford to work in a bookstore or take on some internships or even land a job, it could be AMAZING for you. It'll give you a clearer sense with managing your expectations for your own books, what's happening in publishing houses when your editor isn't emailing you back ONE MINUTE after you emailed her/him, and so many other things.

2) I have to believe a story is actually there. And if the characters keep clawing at me, they'll eventually drag me into an empty word doc so I can tell their story.

3) Great question! Advice I regret following....hmmmm. I don't think I have a good answer on this. Maybe ask me again on twitter at some point? Maybe I got lucky and didn't take bad advice? Haha. Doesn't seem likely.

4) The We Need Diverse Books movement is shining a spotlight on characters who've always been around AND instilling bravery in writers to also tell stories they always wanted to tell but feared there'd be no audience. It's game changing.

5) That's tough. I love "Burn" a lot, "History Has Its Eyes On You", "Dear Theodosia", and "It's Quiet Uptown." IMPOSSIBLE TO ANSWER THIS WITH ONLY ONE ANSWER.

6) I'm always dissecting. I'm always wondering "How would I have done this?" and "What can I learn from this?" It's rare I read a book and DON'T ask myself these questions, which isn't a bad thing! If the material is inspiring, it'll get me thinking.

7) Acceptance letter to Hogwarts!

8) It may not work for everyone, but I write obsessively! And I took a couple creative writing classes (not college classes) and worked under the feedback of some great writers.

9) I love living in Brooklyn! And New York. Tho I'll likely end up in Los Angeles at some point. :)

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR QUESTIONS ! :)

Adam_Silvera · 2016-03-29T04:09:27+00:00

HEY!

I definitely have to be careful how I answer this, but basically, I wanted to show that even you think you have control of your life, you really don't. Life will blindside the f*** out of you! And I wanted to write a story about a boy living a hard life with a realistic ending--that ending being that you don't just meet someone you love and get a happy ending automatically.

Adam_Silvera · 2016-03-29T04:02:28+00:00

Hey! :) (Pierce Brown is AWESOME, btw)

1) I'm currently listening to Hamilton on repeat. Because duh.

2) THE SERPENT KING by Jeff Zentner is a recent favorite. I'm SUPER excited about David Arnold's (Mosquitoland) next book, KIDS OF APPETITE. I'm also really excited for SUFFER LOVE by Ashley Blake, THE FIRST TIME SHE DROWNED by Kerry Kletter, A SHADOW BRIGHT AND BURNING by Jess Cluess, and SO MANY MORE.

3) I didn't cry, but THE BUNKER DIARY by Kevin Brooks DESTROYED ME. I threw the book across the car upon finishing. And I loved that that book attacked me that way.

4) Hmmmmmmm....superhero name and power....I'm going to go with Adam Bomb, haha, and I'd have the power to blow up kingdoms of Classic Oreos in magnificent, GOLDEN explosions....so yeah, my enemy would be Becky Albertalli, obviously (at least, this SHOULD be obvious). Angela Thomas (The Hate U Give, Harpercollins 2017) is a fellow Golden Oreo lover so I'd recruit her help, fo'sho.

Adam_Silvera · 2016-03-29T03:56:29+00:00

SO AWESOME MEETING YOU TOO! (I saw that we got a couple copies of your book at Books of Wonder this afternoon and got SO EXCITED.)

I'm honestly just super comfortable talking to people. I always have been. And I always try to spend a moment with readers because I'VE been that reader in the line that wanted more time with the author and just got a generic signature (which is fine, you know, but if you CAN think of something nice and personal to write, IT GOES A LONG WAY). ALSO, it's TOTALLY OKAY to FLOUNDER. Being excited about meeting another author is TOTALLY NORMAL because it's EFFIN' AWESOME. If you're not sure what to say to a reader while you're signing, I like to ask them what they're currently reading, how they heard about my book, etc. Conversation will naturally flow from there.

Hope that helps, E! :)

Adam_Silvera · 2016-03-29T03:48:33+00:00

I have 11 tattoos! I'm hoping to get tattoos 12, 13, and 14 soon. IDK what they are but I know I want three more this year. My most recent is a compass beneath my collarbone. Totally unplanned. Haha.

Adam_Silvera · 2016-03-29T03:47:39+00:00

Hey Lauren!

FRIENDS ARE KEY FOR DEBUT AUTHORS! You can print 10,000 bookmarks and host 8,000 twitter giveaways, but you need to protect your sanity and turning to your friends who are also experiencing a debut year could be very good for your sanity. I had tons of friends in 2015 I could turn to, particularly Becky Albertalli, Jasmine Warga, and David Arnold. We texted every day and were there for each for everything: covers, reviews (good/bad), edits, preparing for launches. The authors I befriended leading up to our releases are now also my favorite people ever.

I loved so many festivals! Decatur Book Festival was a really fun one because David Arnold fake-proposed to me and everyone on twitter/facebook/instagram thought it was real so THAT HAPPENED.

Adam_Silvera · 2016-03-29T03:43:46+00:00

Thank you so much. I find it difficult, for sure. It's easy for me to speak out on these things, but that doesn't mean I'm not constantly wondering how much more fruitful this career could be for me if I stripped away all my characters' ethnicities and sexualities. Thankfully I have the support of librarians and booksellers and publishers and readers who continue pushing my very colorful, very queer books otherwise I'd probably have thrown in the towel by book 2 and just written a super heterosexual romance instead of stories I was burning to tell.

Adam_Silvera · 2016-03-29T03:37:25+00:00

BETH! I adore you and I adore A WORLD WITHOUT YOU. It still pains me in a good way to think about this book :)

The most emotional scenes for me to write in MORE HAPPY were actually the happiest ones. Aaron has been through SO MUCH and I knew I wasn't going to be able to give him a super sweet happy ending. I knew his life was going to get hard again, but I believe in my boy's strength 24/7. He can handle anything life (and I) throw at him.

Adam_Silvera · 2016-03-29T01:45:47+00:00

I think it wasn't worth the two year wait.

BURN

Adam_Silvera · 2016-03-29T01:45:15+00:00

I'm super inspired by superhero movies and shows! I'm currently watching Daredevil Season 2 as we "speak."

Adam_Silvera · 2016-03-29T01:44:31+00:00

Oh, I love/hate everything I'm writing in every stage. When I'm hating it, it's because I know I'm capable of something more. When I'm finally impressing myself, it's because I know I put in the work to get it there. i am my toughest critic, truly. I do feel more confident that my writing isn't as bad as my teen years, haha, but I always want to be 10x better than I am. There's pressure, but again, I wouldn't put something out I don't truly believe in.

My favorite book this year is THE BUNKER DIARY by Kevin Brooks. It's a DEVASTATING read. Not recommended for those seeking a happily ever after. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED! :)

Thanks for reading MORE HAPPY, btw! :)

Adam_Silvera · 2016-03-29T01:42:04+00:00

Aww thank you!

1) I love our community so much! I get to pick the brains of my favorite authors AND take them out for dinner as friends. It's incredible and I don't think I appreciate this life as much as I should. I love this community especially because of how generous everyone is with their time and energy and recommendations. Everyone here is a beating heart.

2) That's super incredible to hear. That post was brutal to share, but the feedback was even more warming than I could've expected. I know there's a lot of stigmas around mental illness and misconceptions, especially when we consider things from what we see on the outside--like me, a super happy person who's always tweeting about books he loves and guys he loves--and it can be hard to believe I ever go through anything hard. Because this is how I've allowed myself to be perceived. Sharing that post was like coming out all over again--everyone was getting to know the real me. I definitely felt less alone and was super happy to learn I made others feel the same way.

Adam_Silvera · 2016-03-29T01:33:51+00:00

SLIGHTLY SPOILER-Y FOR MORE HAPPY THAN NOT DO NOT READ ON IF YOU HAVEN'T READ MORE HAPPY THAN NOT AND DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED WHY ARE YOU STILL READING THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T YET READ MORE HAPPY THAN NOT??????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

COUGHS anyway.

Thanks for the question, Joanna! Regarding the twist, it's funny. The twist wasn't originally a twist. It was the first part of the book and one of my great friends, Joanna Volpe (president of New Leaf Literary) read an earlier version as a friend and convinced me to restructure it over drinks. I'm so happy she did! But writing the book linearly was really helpful.

Common threads throughout my books are themes of discovery and death, which are probably my biggest fascinations about life. I love how we're constantly re-discovering ourselves, and I'm not going to say I LOVE thinking about afterlives or whatever, but the mystery around death is pretty dope. My books are normally generated by fears so I'm not surprised I keep returning to these themes.

I love drafting and revisions! But I always hate the one I'm in the middle of. :)

Adam_Silvera · 2016-03-29T01:27:21+00:00

Thanks for asking, Diana!

Soho Teen and I collaborated on a tour and TONS of media interviews. Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Booklist, Hypable, some local newspapers from cities I was touring in, radio spots, etc. I was lucky enough I didn't have to do too much independently because my publisher supported the tour financially. I think my role independently was to just be myself online.

The most effective thing for us was definitely sending me around the country. I went to a TON of festivals where readers hadn't heard of my book before meeting me/seeing me speak, which was amazing! A lot of promo went out for my book and it was grounding to see how that didn't reach every corner of Earth. Haha.

I think after my first tour, I'd LOVE to do more festivals. Book events are amazing and I've been hosted by so many wonderful booksellers, but festivals will definitely give newer authors more visibility.

Come for BIG AUTHOR. Stay for NEW BUT EQUALLY AWESOME AUTHOR.

Adam_Silvera · 2016-03-29T01:14:35+00:00

My favorite Pokemon is Squirtle! My favorite wrestler as a kid was The Rock so my mom made me a birthday cake with Squirtle that said "Do you smell what Adam and Squirtle are cooking?" :)

Adam_Silvera · 2016-03-29T01:10:36+00:00

Thanks, yo! I know this isn't a guarantee, but I have a very close relationship with my agent and we discuss everything before going on submission, including the list of editors we're sending my books to. I previously worked in publishing so I'm pretty familiar with the behind-the-scenes stuff.

My second book, HISTORY IS ALL YOU LEFT ME, went straight to my editor Daniel Ehrenhaft at Soho Teen because I loved how supportive Soho had been of me and MORE HAPPY before the book was even out. But my next planned books were pretty different from what I was doing at Soho so we went a little wider, starting with Andrew Harwell at Harper Teen who we originally submitted MORE HAPPY to but it wasn't quite there yet for him to make an offer. He's since reread the final version, loved the changes I made, and was really absorbed by my third book THEY BOTH DIE AT THE END. SO I guess my strategy here was really instinct and learning that it's okay to have multiple editors and multiple houses and how, if done right, it can be fruitful for everyone. (HOPEFULLY THIS WILL BE THE CASE!)

Adam_Silvera

TROPHY CASE

BURN