Marketing – Write on the World

Writing adult novels with a young adult point of view: Challenges, opportunities, and why it matters

January 15, 2026December 26, 2025 Mandy Webster

There’s something uniquely compelling—and uniquely tricky—about writing an adult novel through the eyes of a young adult protagonist. You want the story to resonate with adult readers, but the voice will inevitably feel youthful, immediate, and shaped by the character’s limited experience. That tension can be powerful, but it can also trip up both writers and readers if it isn’t handled thoughtfully.

It’s difficult to write an adult novel when telling the story from a young adult point of view.

Take Casey Dunn’s The Wind Witch Murders, for example. The novel is marketed as adult fiction, but its protagonist, Raven, is young, searching, and emotionally raw. The book is written in first-person point of view, which makes it even more difficult to escape the natural YA headspace. Every detail, every observation, every emotional beat is filtered through Raven’s young adult perspective.

Continue reading →

Bibliography

How to review scholarly articles on your blog

April 6, 2015March 17, 2015 Mandy Webster

Not long ago, I wrote a post complaining about having to write a detailed, 10+ page annotated bibliography for a course that I have been taking this semester. It seemed like such a large amount of work to have to do for so very little reward. Well, I don’t mind telling you that I have since had to eat my own words!

I have found that this exercise not only helped me digest the articles I am reading for my final paper, but it also offers an excellent framework for organizing blog posts and generating blog content. Because I have found this assignment so useful, today I share with you a general outline for writing your own scholarly article reviews for your blog: Continue reading “How to review scholarly articles on your blog” →

Education, Publishing

How to self-publish your novel

September 26, 2013 Mandy Webster

Yesterday I attended a seminar on self-publishing with author/publisher Cornel Rosario at my local technical college. I have been doing a lot of research on publishing recently and wanted to see if there was anything new he could teach me that I hadn’t figured out yet on my own. I am glad I did. Prior to the class, I had learned a lot about ebook publishing, but the process of publishing actual books had been a bit of a mystery to me.

Much of the information Rosario covered in this three-hour session was old news to me, as far as ebooks go. But when it comes to printing actual books, he was a wealth of knowledge on both old-fashioned printing and print-on-demand. I also learned a lot about the costs associated with publishing your own book. Continue reading “How to self-publish your novel” →

AWP, Conventions & Conferences, Education, Novel Writing, Writers on Writing, Writing Programs

AWP 2012 | Now That’s a Novel Idea: Marketability (Gasp!) and Creative Writing Programs (Part 2)

March 13, 2012March 12, 2012 Mandy Webster

Hilton Chicago (Photo credit: Diorama Sky)

Yesterday, I began my discussion on the 2012 AWP Conference session titled, “Now That’s a Novel Idea: Marketability (Gasp!) and Creative Writing Programs.” Today I’d like to share some of the panelists’ advice on approaching the early stages of writing a novel.

Before I start, I should tell you that I arrived at this session late after getting lost trying to find my way to registration upon arriving at the conference. So, I missed out on the introductions and am unable to attribute some of the quotes I wrote down during the session. (Thankfully, I’m no journalist; otherwise I would probably be in big trouble!) I’ll do my best to give credit where credit is due, but if I get something wrong, please tell me so I can fix it.

One of the speakers at this session recommends that you write a synopsis of your novel early in the process to make sure you have a clear picture of what your novel is about. The synopsis will also help you sell your story to potential buyers (agents, editors, publishers, etc.) Remember, they won’t be interested in your novel if you can’t sufficiently tell them what the novel is about. Continue reading “AWP 2012 | Now That’s a Novel Idea: Marketability (Gasp!) and Creative Writing Programs (Part 2)” →