I had heard a lot about BookEnds, and only good things. Some of the books I fell in love with were written by authors from the agency, and I feel extremely lucky to now be a part of it.
Tell us a bit about your writing process. Where do you write, and how often?
One thing to know about me is that I’m a pantser through and through, no matter how much I would like to learn to outline. Usually, only a few concepts are floating through my mind before I start writing, and I need to wait for them to take shape into some kind of atmosphere. Once I have a grasp on that aura for the story, that is when I start writing — the plot, the characters, and everything else will come as I draft.
My writing process is a bit special in the sense that I don’t really edit unless I have to. Instead, I write a first draft to get the plot down onto the page, and then, I will rewrite the full book as many times as it takes for it to be good enough. For the book that got me my offer, I wrote it a total of three times.
Thankfully, I am a very fast drafter, since writing is pretty much all I do in my free time when I feel inspired. I sit down at my desk, and spend most of my nightly hours working on a manuscript or another, until I feel too tired to keep going.
Where can readers find you on the web and social media?
On Twitter and on Instagram, under the username @StellaRosaMarys. I’m also working on a website that I’ll hopefully get to launch soon!
Do you have any writing rituals? (e.g. burning a candle if you’re having trouble getting started at the computer or writing longhand first if you’re feeling uninspired.)
I like to go on Youtube and watch writing vlogs or any kind of advice and tips related to the publishing industry. It always gets me into some type of “productive mood” because I feel like wow, I’d like to get there someday.
What do you love about writing YA Fantasy?
I like being able to do anything! There are no limits in a fantasy world that I can craft by myself, and I think it is that creative freedom that I enjoy the most.
Do you get inspiration from any TV shows or movies? If so, which ones?
I get a lot of inspiration from TV Shows or movies! It will really depend on the project, but I always try to get into movies ad TV shows with a similar atmosphere to what I’d like to achieve writing-wise. For example, for the project that got me an offer, I watched the movies Labyrinth (1986) and Crimson Peak (2015) at least a thousand times.
If money were no object, what would be your dream writing location?
This is very specific but apparently, in Tokyo, there is a café made especially for writers who struggle to meet their deadlines. When you enter, you give your word count goals to the staff — once you do that, they won’t let you leave until you reach it, and will check in with you on your progress every single hour.
The concept is appealing to me because I, too, would love to be in a stressful environment alongside other writers, just struggling together.
How did you know your book was ready to submit?
I am a person who works very much with intuition. I didn’t think that it was ready to submit, and then someday, I saw that there was a pitch contest for writers from the SWANA region, SWANAPitch. I don’t know why, but the timing felt right, and I thought, what if? I ended up posting a single tweet that Jenissa, who is now my agent, liked, and the rest is history. I do think I have been extremely lucky with the process, though.
Thanks so much for coming to the blog. Please don’t forget to like and share this post. We value feedback and questions from readers, so feel free to leave a comment below! Lastly, subscribe to our YouTube channel for even more publishing insights and advice, and follow us on our socials to see what we’re up to. Twitter | Instagram | Illustrator Instagram | Facebook | TikTok
Name:
Stella R. Marys
What you Write:
YA Fantasy
Agent:
Jenissa Graham
Why BookEnds?
I had heard a lot about BookEnds, and only good things. Some of the books I fell in love with were written by authors from the agency, and I feel extremely lucky to now be a part of it.
Tell us a bit about your writing process. Where do you write, and how often?
One thing to know about me is that I’m a pantser through and through, no matter how much I would like to learn to outline. Usually, only a few concepts are floating through my mind before I start writing, and I need to wait for them to take shape into some kind of atmosphere. Once I have a grasp on that aura for the story, that is when I start writing — the plot, the characters, and everything else will come as I draft.
My writing process is a bit special in the sense that I don’t really edit unless I have to. Instead, I write a first draft to get the plot down onto the page, and then, I will rewrite the full book as many times as it takes for it to be good enough. For the book that got me my offer, I wrote it a total of three times.
Thankfully, I am a very fast drafter, since writing is pretty much all I do in my free time when I feel inspired. I sit down at my desk, and spend most of my nightly hours working on a manuscript or another, until I feel too tired to keep going.
Where can readers find you on the web and social media?
On Twitter and on Instagram, under the username @StellaRosaMarys. I’m also working on a website that I’ll hopefully get to launch soon!
Do you have any writing rituals? (e.g. burning a candle if you’re having trouble getting started at the computer or writing longhand first if you’re feeling uninspired.)
I like to go on Youtube and watch writing vlogs or any kind of advice and tips related to the publishing industry. It always gets me into some type of “productive mood” because I feel like wow, I’d like to get there someday.
What do you love about writing YA Fantasy?
I like being able to do anything! There are no limits in a fantasy world that I can craft by myself, and I think it is that creative freedom that I enjoy the most.
Do you get inspiration from any TV shows or movies? If so, which ones?
I get a lot of inspiration from TV Shows or movies! It will really depend on the project, but I always try to get into movies ad TV shows with a similar atmosphere to what I’d like to achieve writing-wise. For example, for the project that got me an offer, I watched the movies Labyrinth (1986) and Crimson Peak (2015) at least a thousand times.
If money were no object, what would be your dream writing location?
This is very specific but apparently, in Tokyo, there is a café made especially for writers who struggle to meet their deadlines. When you enter, you give your word count goals to the staff — once you do that, they won’t let you leave until you reach it, and will check in with you on your progress every single hour.
The concept is appealing to me because I, too, would love to be in a stressful environment alongside other writers, just struggling together.
How did you know your book was ready to submit?
I am a person who works very much with intuition. I didn’t think that it was ready to submit, and then someday, I saw that there was a pitch contest for writers from the SWANA region, SWANAPitch. I don’t know why, but the timing felt right, and I thought, what if? I ended up posting a single tweet that Jenissa, who is now my agent, liked, and the rest is history. I do think I have been extremely lucky with the process, though.
Thanks so much for coming to the blog. Please don’t forget to like and share this post. We value feedback and questions from readers, so feel free to leave a comment below! Lastly, subscribe to our YouTube channel for even more publishing insights and advice, and follow us on our socials to see what we’re up to.
Twitter | Instagram | Illustrator Instagram | Facebook | TikTok
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