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{Trisha’s note: My most recent post at the Kirkus blog is about Neesha Meminger’s new novel, Jazz in Love. I said, among other things, that it was predictable but fun, and I was intrigued by Neesha’s response on her blog: “I don’t mind ‘predictable’ – there are thousands of predictable books on the shelves featuring white teens. In a sea of books about PoC who suffer nobly, are rescued by white or western saviours, or are living amidst despair and violence, I am delighted that in this book, South Asian teens get to star in a light, fun, somewhat predictable read that was compared to some of Meg Cabot’s (The Princess Diaries) writing .” Oh, I thought, I want to hear more about this! So I asked Neesha if she’d be willing to write a guest post about why predictable can be a good thing, and (yay!) she agreed.}

My first novel, Shine, Coconut Moon, which I am very proud of, was about race and identity–not groundbreaking themes in South Asian literature, or literature by and about people of colour in general. The book explored issues of racism, discrimination, terrorism. These themes have been done time and again, superbly, by many an author of colour before me.

My second novel, Jazz in Love, is steeped in teen culture and gets very close to the teen view of life. I was clear at the onset that I wanted to write a light, fun, contemporary novel featuring South Asian teens. I didn’t want to focus on the identity of my characters, but I didn’t want to ignore it either. I wanted to place my story smack dab in the middle of popular culture, and I wanted to create a world that consisted of teens from a variety of cultural backgrounds. While there are issues of class (Jazz’s parents are working class, unlike the usual Indian-American narrative), caste, spousal abuse and dating violence, there is no identity struggle, no overt racism or racial issues, no overt mention of discrimination and no references to terrorism. The “heavier” issues are dealt with using a light touch, and the focus is the universal journey of teens navigating the often volatile landscape of teenhood.

My first novel was picked up by a large, New York publisher and my second novel was self-published. I think the reasons Jazz in Love didn’t get picked up by a large publisher are complex. But one of them had to be the big economic crash in 2008. My (then) agent sent the manuscript around on Monday and on Wednesday news broke of what became known as “Black Wednesday” in publishing. Editors were laid off left and right, and most were afraid for their jobs. The last thing, I’m sure, an editor was thinking of doing at that time, was fighting to acquire a manuscript others might consider “risky”. There are so many reasons a book is successful or not, and a lot of them have to do with a publisher’s expectations for a book at the onset. One editor respon

What am I reading now? Jazz in Love by Neesha Meminger
 

The Carrier of the Mark

Publishers of children’s books have, in recent years, come to appreciate the importance of social networking sites. The greatest role such sites play is to allow direct contact with your target audience. If you have a line of communication with your audience, you can sell to your audience.

HarperCollins Children’s Books took the concept of the social networking site a step further with the creation of Inkpop. Inkpop allows teen authors to submit pieces of writing to be read and discussed by their peers. Leigh Fallon, a teen writer from Ireland, did just that with her novel, The Carrier of the Mark. Her manuscript was subsequently voted into the “Top Five” an honour that garners a review by an editor at HarperCollins, and, perhaps, publication.

Fallon’s paranormal romance is the first Inkpop book to be chosen for print. The Carrier of the Mark is set for a Fall 2011 release.

Susan Katz, president and publisher of HarperCollins Children’s Books said, “Inkpop is HarperCollins Children’s Books’ first site (and not the last) to really put the users’ voice and ideas in the forefront. Social media is incredibly empowering if used correctly, and HarperCollins recognizes this and is gearing up to make social media the cornerstone of all of its digital endeavors.”

So, if you’re a teen writer, head on over to Inkpop. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. Who knows? You could be the next Leigh Fallon.