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I’M GOING TO BE PUBLISHED!

Okay, it’s been a MINUTE since I posted and I’m so sorry about that, but it’s for a GOOD reason. I was busy figuring out my new life in NYC and selling my debut novel, GUMIHO! It will be published with Putnam Books for Young Readers/Penguin Random House. You can add it on Goodreads HERE. I promise I’ll write more about my journey and other details soon, but I just wanted to share this exciting news with you!!!

🎉🎉🎉📚SO RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED to share my news with y’all! My #ownvoices #YA #fantasy debut novel #GUMIHO is going to be published with Putnam (@PenguinTeen)! I cannot wait for you all to meet Miyoung & Jihoon and all the K-drama angst! 🦊🇰🇷❤️👺 pic.twitter.com/OprIAcecdl

— Kat Cho🥯 (@KatCho) February 22, 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Fallow Periods

I’m back!

Hello strangers, remember me? I’m the person that’s supposed to keep this blog updated, even though I haven’t posted in MONTHS. I apologize for my LONG absence, but to be fair you can still find me pretty regularly over at Writer’s Block Party! And I have been much better at keeping up my new(ish) Authortube/Booktube vlog over at YouTube.

STILL, this blog was my first love and I’ve been horrible at keeping it updated. Partly because I did want to try out those other formats of connecting with everyone (vlogging is fun but time consuming, y’all!)

Also, because my writing has…not been going well. So, I thought I might talk about fallow periods and the search for motivation and inspiration when you’re a writer or a creator.

According to Cambridge dictionary “fallow” means: Fallow land is not planted with crops, in order to improve the quality of the soil A fallow period of time is one in which very little happens.

But Mirriam-Webster has a girl’s back because this is the first thing that pops up in their definition:

Way to both support and subtweet me Mirriam-Webster!

ANYWAY! You get the gist. It’s a period of time where a writer is not writing. There should be a sub-definition that says “a period of time where a writer questions all their life choices and regrets everything.”

The idea of a fallow period for writers is not new. However, if you look at the origin of the word it’s a time when fields don’t produce crops, but it’s ALSO a time when the fields are regenerating nutrients to be able to grow crops again! This definitely changed my view on the time periods when I couldn’t write and how I would treat them. This idea was first presented to me when a CP sent me this post.

So, instead of just seeing periods of time where I’m not creating as a negative, I see it as a chance to rejuvinate my creative well and to refresh my mind. I try to read all the books I couldn’t concentrate on when I was actively writing or revising. I use it to watch all the shows I’d been missing out on. And I pursue other creative endeavors because I know that when I’m actively writing I can’t do many other creative things at the same time. So, right now that’s being more active on my Instagram

And on my youtube channel!

Still, the idea of most of the things I’m doing is to work toward being able to write again. So I try to find inspiration and motivation in everything I do. I keep journals and lists of ideas as they come to me. And I try to let myself write if I want to, but I don’t set any deadlines and let it just flow naturally. This way, I find that most of the things I end up writing during my fallow periods is very personal and it helps to bring my stories closer to my heart.

What do you guys do during your fallow periods? How do you refill your creative wells?

Release Day: Rebel Seoul

Writer's Block Party

FINALLY, the day has come! It is release day for WBP’s own Axie Oh and her debut YA Sci-fi REBEL SEOUL

Here is a quick blurb of this amazing Science Fiction novel:

After a great war, the East Pacific is in ruins. In brutal Neo Seoul, where status comes from success in combat, ex-gang member Lee Jaewon is a talented pilot rising in the ranks of the academy. Abandoned as a kid in the slums of Old Seoul by his rebel father, Jaewon desires only to escape his past and prove himself a loyal soldier of the Neo State.

When Jaewon is recruited into the most lucrative weapons development division in Neo Seoul, he is eager to claim his best shot at military glory. But the mission becomes more complicated when he meets Tera, a test subject in the government’s supersoldier project. Tera was trained for one purpose: to pilot…

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Claribel & Kat’s Pitch Wars Wishlist!

It’s HERE! That time of the year when Pitch Wars is starting up and we are finally able to share our wishlists! Claribel Ortega and I are co-mentoring as #Teamoji this year and we are so stoked! Send us all of your YA fantasies and spec fic so we can devour them! (Nom nom nom)

First a little about us!

Claribel Ortega got her start editing student’s often times hilarious ads and ramblings on the back page of SUNY Purchase’s Independent Newspaper. From there, she became a small town reporter, where she enjoyed going to board of education meetings and texting the town mayors about the line at Starbucks. Today she’s busy turning her obsession with eighties pop culture, magic and video games into books. She lives in New York with her motorcycle-riding poet boyfriend & her suspiciously intelligent yorkie, Pancho Villa. She is represented by Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary. You can find her at claribelortega.com  as @claribel_ortega on Twitter or making promo gifs for authors and anyone else who will pay her at GifGrrl.com.

Kat Cho writes Young Adult Sci-fi and Fantasy. Mostly ownvoices and mostly involving as much angst as possible (don’t @ me). She has been a mentor or judge in other events such as Author Mentor Match and WCNV. And She is a volunteer coordinator for DVPit. She is agented by the amazing and lovely Beth Phelan at The Bent Agency. Her current MS is a contemporary fantasy based on the Korean myth of the gumiho. She believes the writing world is a community and loves to share thoughts and advice as a contributor over at Writer’s Block Party or on her Youtube vlog. You can also find her on Twitter as @KatCho.

 

So we’re writing this to let any potential mentees out there know what we’re into. What stories catch our eyes? What characters make us swoon? Stay tuned to find out!We love a wide-range of fantasy including historical, urban and epic! We are lovers of diverse stories that tell tales that aren’t centered around Western/European origins. We are fans of strong ensemble casts and strong ladies. But, instead of just rambling on, let’s just give you a quick bullet list of some stories we’d love to see (this is not at all comprehensive as we both like being surprised by stories we never knew we’d love).

So, without further ado, here is our Pitch Wars Wishlist:

• Ownvoices Fantasy (especially set in worlds inspired by non-Western/Non-European cultures)
• Retellings with a twist (Think The Star Touched Queen’s retelling of Hades & Persephone)
• If your book is like Buffy the Vampire Slayer (think emotion/characters/relationships)
• Hamilton told from the POV of the Schuyler sisters
• Books that take place over a short period of time (like a weekend or day) think Breakfast Club
• If your book reminds me of a Miyazaki Film send it to me yesterday
• Enemies to lovers
• Misfits/unlikely groupings, Ragtag group of friends or enemies to friends, on a quest or heist, and Multi-POV
• Anti-heroes, villains journey (think FOTL, Young Elites, Vicious)
• Bad-ass girl gangs
• Serial killers in a fantasy setting! (Claribel loves murder)
• Street smart characters
• Strong friendships

Wish List in video format cause we’re extra like that:

Things on our oh-no-no list aka don’t send these to us

• We don’t really do pure contemporary (usually)
• Fairies/Elves
• Dystopian
• Suicide, cancer, or child abuse
• Abusive relationships presented as romantic
• Books about race or oppression from the perspective of the oppressor

For your reference, here are some of our favorite Books:

 

Claribel’s Faves:

• Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo
• The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
• Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
• Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older
• The Jackaby Series by William Ritter
• Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead
• Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye
• The Millennium Series by Stieg Larson
• The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo
• Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova
• The Inspector Gamache Series by Louise Penny
• Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan & Cliff Chiang
• Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

 

Kat’s Faves:

• Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
• The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
• Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter Series) by JK Rowling
• Redwall by Brian Jacques
• Rebel Seoul by Axie Oh
• Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
• The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
• Black Cat by Holly Black
• Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
• Darkest Minds Trilogy by Alexandra Bracken
• Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
• Blood of Eden Trilogy by Julie Kagawa

And for another peek into our tastes, here are some non-book favorites:

Kat’s Faves

• Musicals: Les Miserables, Hamilton, Rent
• Anime: Dragonball Z, Sailor Moon, Cowboy Bebop
• Movies: Spaceballs, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Pacific Rim, Star Wars (IV, V, VI, VII, Rogue One), Moana
• Badass TV: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica
• Funny TV: Psych, Happy Endings, Parks and Rec, Brooklyn 99
• ALL things Miyazaki, Ghibli: Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Ponyo
• K-Dramas for dayz: Oh My Ghostess, Gaksital, Heirs, School 2013, Shut Up Flower Boy Band, Goblin

 

Claribel’s Faves

• Food
• Video games: Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy (especially VII aka the best RPG of all time, FIGHT ME) Just Dance,The Sims, Harvest Moon, Super Paper Mario, Street Fighter, Grand Theft Auto
• Puppies
• Murder Podcasts
• The 80s
• Movies: Amélie, Beverly Hills Cop, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Pacific Rim, Coming to America, Pretty in Pink, Wonder Woman, The Goonies, Guardians of the Galaxy
• Watching YouTube makeup tutorials while eating ice cream then passing out
• TV: How to Get Away with Murder, Brooklyn 99, Empire, Twin Peaks, GLOW

 

As for our future mentee, both of us really believe in revision. We actually have permanent residency in Revision-town. It’s a quaint little place with cute cottages and pools of our tears. Wine fountains and cheese fountains are equally present. And there’s a nice little path you can take to the top of a mountain where you can scream your frustrations into the uncaring sky. Anyway…what we mean to say is we’re not afraid of revisions and neither should our mentee. Revisions are meant to tighten and polish the MS. At the same time, we also don’t think the path to successful querying is perfection. We’re looking for a story that has potential (and we believe that’s what agents are looking for too).

Our future mentee should be ready to work hard. We want someone who is as kind as we are but as ruthless in making the cuts and changes necessary to make their book the best possible. We want someone who will keep an open mind and be willing to discuss big changes if they arise.

We believe your story will always be yours, we’re just here to collaborate with you and provide guidance and internet hugs and GIFs.

Good luck everyone and we can’t wait to read your submissions!

Go here for the links to all the other mentor wishlists!

1. CM McCoy (Colleen Oefelein) 2. Team Gingersnaps (mentors: Rebecca Sky 3. N.K. Traver 4. Rachel Lynn Solomon 5. Michella Domenici 6. Leigh Mar 7. Sharon M. Johnston 8. Carlie Sorosiak 9. Laura Pohl 10. Samantha Joyce 11. Katherine Fleet 12. Amelinda Bérubé 13. Erin Foster Hartley 14. Marie Meyer 15. Akemi Dawn Bowman 16. Molly E. Lee 17. Kip Wilson 18. K. Kazul Wolf 19. Naomi Hughes 20. Aimee L. Salter 21. Austin and Emily 22. Claribel Ortega and Kat Cho 23. Laurie Dennison 24. Ashley Hearn 25. Rebecca Schaeffer 26. Rebecca Denton

27. Mara Rutherford and Joan He 28. Alicia Clancy 29. Kristen Ciccarelli and Joanna Hathaway 30. Natasha Neagle 31. Lyndsay Ely 32. Judi Lauren 33. Monica M. Hoffman 34. Kelly Ann Hopkins 35. Helene Dunbar and Beth Hull 36. Sheena Boekweg 37. M.K. England and Jamie Pacton 38. Nikki Roberti 39. Jenny Chou 40. Amy Trueblood 41. Isabel Ibanez Davis 42. Kristin Smith and Beth Ellyn Summer 43. Lisa Amowitz 44. Cole Gibsen 45. Natalka Burian 46. Kate Karyus Quinn and Mindy McGinnis 47. Sonia Hartl and Annette Christie 48. Kit Frick 49. Susan Gray Foster 50. Sarah Nicolas 51. Monica Bustamante and Kerbie Addis 52. McKelle George and Heather Cashman

53. RuthAnne Snow 54. Laura Steven 55. Diana Gallagher and Katrina Emmel 56. Jen Ferguson and Gracie West 57. Kes Trester 58. Jeanmarie Anaya 59. Cat Scully 60. Heather Ezell and Rachel Griffin 61. Stephanie Scott and Erica M. Chapman 62. Linsey Miller and Maria Mora 63. Kristin Bartley Lenz and Heather Smith Meloche 64. Kelly deVos 65. Tomi Adeyemi and Kit Grant 66. Rhiannon Hart 67. Brianna Shrum 68. Emily Martin 69. Natasha Razi 70. Tabitha Martin 71. Jamie Howard 72. Lindsey Frydman 73. Jenna Lincoln 74. Destiny Cole 75. Dawn Ius 76. Jay Coles

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Pitch Wars Prep Care Package

Hello internet-peeps!

I assume you’re here because you’re considering submitting your manuscript to Pitch Wars! And as a mentor this year, I am so excited to read the entries once they roll in. However, there is still almost a month until the submission window opens. So, I figure there’s a lot of stress-prep going on. And I’m hoping to relieve some of that stress with some helpful guides to help you prepare your submission and your brainz for Pitch Wars.

The first thing I’ll give you is a bit of advice. While Pitch Wars is a great program that provides both mentorship and platform, it is not the end-all, be-all of pitching your work to agents. I did not make it into Pitch Wars the year I applied and I just used that experience to learn and grow as a writer until I got my agent. So all parts of the Pitch Wars experience can be valuable. (Also the fact that you finished and polished a whole book is a huge accomplishment. You’re all awesome!)

So, what do you need for Pitch Wars? A Manuscript, a query, a synopsis (optional), wine (less optional), and a support system!

Manuscript:

Note: you should have a complete and polished MS ready for Pitch Wars. But I’ll provide you some resources I’ve used in my own writing journey for those last minute touches.

Susan Dennard and the Revision Process

The For Writer’s Section in Susan Dennard’s Blog

Before querying & sub: cutting word count, filler words, & line-edits

Can Your Scenes be Seen?

Pitchwars Mentor Blog

Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction by Jeff VanderMeer

Query:

Some quick advice from me:

• Comps are NOT a requirement. They’re there to provide some quick insight into what your story is about, the tone/themes of your story, and/or the audience you seek to reach. If the comps you’re trying to include only confuse these facts, considering not having them.

Writing a Query Letter

Query Letter Success

Query Tracker Success Stories

Writer’s Digest Successful Queries

Query Shark

Synopsis:

How to Write a 1 page Synopsis

6 Steps for Writing a Book Synopsis

How to Write a Novel Synopsis

Wine

Support system:

Adventures in Revising(2): CPs, Beta Readers, or hired editors?

#CPMatch on Twitter

Bonus Advice:

Online Contest Pitching: Querying and Pitching in the Public Arena

Conference Report: ALA Annual 2017 & ARC GIVEAWAY

My recap of 2017 ALA Annual is up over at Writer’s Block Party Blog!

Writer's Block Party

A bunch of the WBP contributors went to ALA Annual conference this year in Chicago and we have an amazing time! Partly because we were able to see Amanda Foody on her first panel and Axie Oh had her first signing for her debut REBEL SEOUL!

Also, scroll to the bottom for a giveaway of books from BookExpo/ALA!

To start out the weekend on Friday there were some signings (including one by our own Amanda Foody!) and kick-off parties. WBP was lucky to attend some gatherings and we were totally star struck when we met Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance! He was there promoting DOOM PATROL VOL 1: BRICK BY BRICK.

The first night we went to some amazing get-togethers and got to meet Gerard Way (who was at ALA Annual for his new comic book)

Saturday was Day 2 and the first full day of the…

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My Podcast Debut! (88 Cups of Tea)

Hey guys, I am so excited to share the first ever podcast interview I’ve ever done! It was with 88 Cups of Tea one of my ABSOLUTE FAVES! And I am still pinching myself because I can’t believe I had this amazing experience. It was for their celebratory 88th episode (congratulations Yin and Moonlyn!) and I was one of the lucky listeners picked to interview. Previous episodes of 88 Cups of Tea included interviews with greats like Leigh Bardugo, Jenny Han, Alexandra Bracken, Renee Ahdieh, and V.E. Schwab! So I am so star-struck by this podcast and Yin (the amazing host!)

I’d say definitely check out all the episodes and listen to all 8 amazing listener interviews on this super fun episode (I’m around the 1:37:40 point)

 

And visit their website for the show notes and their archive of all the episodes: HERE

#KatInKorea: Vlogging my way thru Korea

Hey guys! The time has come for my vlog’s purpose to be truly realized! I’m vlogging my way through Korea with my cousins. So you can go to MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL to check it out. Here’s the playlist that I’ll update with the newest videos when they’re posted!

Also, look for some easter eggs of Rebel Seoul giveaway previews throughout the vlog!

UPDATE: My Korea trip has ended 😭 so all of my vlogs have been posted. I’ve gotten some interest in haul videos so stay tuned for those! 💸

The Diversity Conversation pt2: Resources and Links

 

Since there was more interest in my Diversity Conversation post than I expected (and because I do not consider myself an expert on this topic), I thought it might be helpful to provide a more comprehensive list of outside resources. I’ve compiled links to resources for anyone who would like to further their personal education on diversity and the diversity conversation!

I will be updating this with more links as they come to my attention.

***My request to you if you’ve come here to learn more about the diversity conversation in kidlit (especially if you are not part of one, many, or any of these marginalized communities). Please keep an open mind and be ready to be wrong. It’s important to overcome any internal biases that might have been picked up along your life (whether consciously or subconsciously). One of the reasons systemic racism and harmful stereotypes have permeated our world is because we can’t overcome these internal biases because we don’t see how insidious they can really be.***

Also, if you’re here, it’s probably because you want to learn. The BEST way to do that is to follow all the people who wrote these resources in the first place. And to support the authors who are creating diverse content. Buy their books! (Link to my diverse Goodreads books list: HERE)

Basics/Textbook definitions:

systemic/institutional racism

systemic misogyny

internalized sexism,

systemic ableism

how cis/het/straight is presented as the “norm” in our society.

defacto treatment of marginalized

microaggressions that happen daily

Some Baseline stats about publishing:

Publishing industry is overwhelmingly white and female, US study finds (The Guardian)

Diversity Baseline [in publishing] Survey 2019 Results (Lee & Low)

Publishing Statistics on Children’s/YA Books about People of Color and First/Native Nations and by People of Color and First/Native Nations Authors and Illustrators

Here are resources to learn from about diversity in kidlit:

We Need Diverse Books

Writing in the Margins

American Indians in Children’s Literature

Disability in kidlit

Gay YA

Reading While White

Writing With Color

Minorities in Publishing

Diversity in YA

CBC Diversity

Rich in Color

Malinda Lo’s Guide to LGBT YA

Latinxs in Kidlit

Twitter list of Diverse writers

(it is in NO way comprehensive, but feel free to follow any and all of them!)

Diverse Writers

Okay let’s go more in-depth shall we?

Writing With Color provides Blogs – Recs – Resources

They also provide Writing With Color – Featured Research Guides

 

People of Color to Publishing: We’re Not Okay by An Afro-Latina in publishing (Publisher’s Weekly)

 

‘A Conflicted Cultural Force’: What It’s Like to Be Black in Publishing Interviews by Concepción de León, Alexandra Alter, Elizabeth A. Harris and Joumana Khatib (New York Times)

 

Why We Don’t Italicize Spanish – Daniel José Older

 

The Year in Hyphenates by Kim Fu

How to be anti-racist & revamp your way of thinking

 

Do You Have “Advantage Blindness”? by Ben Fuchs, Megan Reitz, John Higgins (Harvard Business Review)

 

Implicit Bias (resources) UCLA

 

Holding up the Mirror: Recognizing and Dismantling the “White Savior Complex” by Janine Guarino (Medium)

 

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh

 

The White-Savior Industrial Complex (The Atlantic)

 

Racism against white people doesn’t exist in America, and here’s why it never will by Karen Fratti

Some Marginalized Authors are nice enough to storify conversations and threads:

Violence Against Black Women in Publishing: The Harm Women of Color, Particularly Black Women, Face When Pushing For Diversity (compiled L.L. McKinney)

Justina Ireland on Worldbuilding & Appropriation (by Justina Ireland)

YA: “The Total Experience” Diversity in YA With Beth Revis, C.J. Omolulu, Lydia Kang & Malinda Lo. (compiled by Ava Jae)

How about some videos too?