Publishing According to Stephenie

Hang around the young adult section of any library or bookstore and it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll soon hear the names Stephenie Meyer, Edward and Bella, Twilight, New Moon, or Eclipse being mentioned. One of young adult literature’s fastest rising stars, Meyer is a BYU graduate and mother of three who says, “I love to write and can’t do without it.” And her fans are ecstatic.

Her rise to fame has come quickly. Meyer only started creative writing a few short years ago, and has already found herself on the New York Times Bestseller lists. Her words: “One day I was not a writer. The next day, I was.” As much as she relishes the joy of being at the top of the heap when it comes to children’s authors, she sort of misses the days where just the writing itself was the joy, that time before deadlines, editors revision letters, and speaking in front of large crowds of people.

Her advice for beginning writers includes, “A ‘no’ from an editor does not mean they are right. The books that break the rules are the ones people love. Learn to find the balance between listening to your editor and listening to yourself, then stand up for your characters.”

“When you have the idea, you must write it down, right then,” Meyer says. She gets most of her writing done at night and claims to be “seriously sleep-deprived.” But that doesn’t seem to hurt the quality or quantity of her writing. She considers the writing of her novels “a reward to myself.” And thanks her readers for reading them.

Meyer believes that part of her purpose is to teach her young fans how the writing, editing, and publishing processes work, and she is not afraid to share her writing at those various stages.

More information on Stephenie Meyer and her books can be found at her website www.stepheniemeyer.com where she often posts updates including exciting information for her fans about future books in the series (Breaking Dawn) and Midnight Sun, Edward’s version of Twilight, and other books that will soon be coming (The Host).