Q&A with a YA!! (repost)

If any of you follow my personal blog then you know I'm on vacation. I haven't taken a break from blogging or posting since I began in February. So I decided to share with you pieces from my segment Q&A with a YA, on Writers' Ally, hosted by Jacob Milhouse and Riv Re. These particular questions were answered by Jacob.
Enjoy!! And please, chime in and give your opinions!! We love them.

Today our 1st YA question comes from Elana Johnson, author of Possessions due out in 2011.

What do you struggle with the most in your life? Managing your time? Self-esteem? The opposite sex? What do you do when you have free time? Are the stereotypical "jocks" and "cheerleaders" and "nerds" real?

Answer: I struggle with a bit of it all, and it all kind of ties in to one another. You like someone but not confident enough in yourself to approach them. In other words, afraid of rejection…or humiliation. When it comes to time, there’s so much you want to do, but so little time it feels like. Or maybe that’s just me, lol, I’m overly ambitious and get agitated when I can’t do everything at once.

As far as stereotypes, books have always taken this to the extreme in some cases. To be honest, where I’m from the most popular/most beautiful girl isn’t a cheerleader; she’s an A-student. I would be considered a “nerd” in most places, but I talk and get along fine with anyone and everyone. Jocks, on the other hand, tend to be the ones that fall within the same guidelines. I know jocks that are intelligent and have a future besides sports, but there are also those who partake in sports for the attention or because, academically, they don’t excel. They need something that makes them feel good about themselves.

Kittie Howard and Dianna K. Salerni ask:  

Who's driving the YA market, the teens or the authors? Is it the publishers? Is the market driven by what teens want to read, what authors want to write, or what publishers think teens want to read?

Great question! I wish I could give a definite answer, but it's one of those things that's a system, you know? We all work together to make this industry thrive. I don't even need to explain how this system works, because, as writers, you know just as well as I do. We all have an invaluable part to play. The important thing as a writer is to write what you enjoy, what makes you uncomfortable, what makes you cry, what makes you laugh. Hell, I started writing because I couldn't find books that I liked. I wanted to cater to YA's like myself who want that perfect combination of adult and YA. Hopefully, a publisher will take that work and deliver it to the readers who will appreciate it.

What do you think? Have any questions of your own? (Ooh...and don't forget to grab our button. Did you see it? Didn't the designer do a great job. thx, jessie.)

By:  Sheri L.  

(reposted due to technically glitch with comments.  Thanks for your patience)