Author Spotlight: 'Louder Than Words' By Deborah Reber

Today’s Ypulse Author Spotlight is on Deborah Reber and her trio of teen memoirists, Marni Bates (19), Chelsey Shannon (17) and Emily Smucker (19), featured in the new series Louder Than Words. From Deborah’s website:

There’s Marni, who brings us inside her secret world of “pulling” and the challenges of surviving high school while trying to hide an obscure stress disorder.

And then there’s Chelsey, who used writing as a way to recover from experiencing the unthinkable when her father was murdered the week before her fourteenth birthday.

Then there’s Emily, who takes us through the senior year that wasn’t when chronic illness forced her to miss out on one of the most important times of her life.

By empowering these three young writers tell their stories, Deborah has produced an authentic work by teens for teens while learning about online video and other social media marketing tactics essential for reaching this audience.

The Louder Than Words series is out in bookstores now, but we’re giving away free copies to the first three commenters who share their favorite memoir and why they loved reading it.

Ypulse: How were the teen authors chosen?

Deborah Reber: I put the word out to a bunch of teen writing and mentoring organizations that I was looking to connect with crazy talented teen girl writers who were interested in penning a memoir. To apply, girls sent me 2-3 writing samples and a brief synopsis of the story they wanted to share. Ultimately, we were looking for teens who were fantastic writers with unique voices and an interesting story to tell. Of course, they also had to be capable of writing an entire book under a tight deadline while juggling school and life. After a few months of collecting submissions, I selected my top five candidates, and then worked closely with HCI to determine which three to make offers to, with a goal of presenting a diversity of experiences and voices in the premiere list.

YP: Who should read these memoirs?

DR: Anyone who loves YA literature! Our hope is that teens will see themselves in the writing and feel not only a sense of connection with the authors’ experiences and perspectives, but feel empowered by the very act of reading the published work of their peers. And while these are true-life memoirs, we hope Louder Than Words proves that true life can be as captivating as fiction—these books read like any good YA novel.

YP: What has been the most unexpected aspect of the project for you? What’s been the hardest part?

DR: The most unexpected aspect has been the incredible self-awareness of all three authors. I have worked with teenagers for years, yet I was still struck by the clarity of these young women’s voices, the maturity of their insights, and their raw talent. It was truly an honor to work with them! The hardest part was working with busy, already stressed-out teenagers on a project with an insanely tight production schedule. I had to be super sensitive that these were first-time, young authors. I worked hard to develop strong relationships with each one of them and create enough structure to ensure they felt good about their participation throughout the entire process, while keeping the whole project moving forward and on schedule.

YP: Why did you decide to extend the book into a livechat with the Louder Than Words online show?

DR: More than anything, we wanted to give readers the chance to meet the amazing girls behind the books to be inspired, to feel connected, to see them for who they are—teens, just like them. By making the show available for bloggers and websites everywhere to actually embed the live videochat right into their websites, we created a virtual online network with the potential to promote and build awareness among teens who are directly connect to other teens who love YA books.

YP: You’ve published several non-fiction books in the past for this audience. What new lessons in marketing/promotion have you learned so far with Louder Than Words?

DR: I’ve definitely learned more about how to market and promote using social networking across multiple platforms; that it’s not enough to just be using one, but you have to repeatedly get your message out through Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, blogs, and on and on. Offering the live videochat as an embed was dreamed up by Patron Saint PR, and we don’t believe it had been done before. Our online TV show seems to have been very appreciated and well-received among teens, so that taught me another lesson about the importance of continually thinking outside-the-box about creative ways to reach an audience. Lastly, I’ve worked hard to develop personal relationships with the many teens out there with YA book review blogs. They are ultimately our “connectors” and their endorsement and enthusiasm is priceless.

Ypulse: How does writing about the obstacles you’ve overcome compare to discussing them on the internet?

Marni Bates: Discussing the obstacles I’ve overcome on the internet feels far more real than writing in my dorm room between classes. While I was working on it, I could pretend like the autobiography wasn’t going to be published and no one was going to know how I obsessively pulled out my hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes. Now that it’s out though, and people are telling me that my book has helped them feel less alone and less insane, I’ve come to love the immediacy of the internet. I know right away if I am reaching people and making a difference. That feels absolutely wonderful. And it’s great not to focus so much on editing.

Chelsey Shannon: I’m not an avid blogger, but I did keep a Xanga in the month immediately following my dad’s death, and a LiveJournal for about a year after.  The content I posted on these sites, while still basically true, was different from that of my personal diaries and writing because I was aware that others may be reading them.  I would say my blog posts were just as honest, but phrased more to please others than simply express my feelings.  However, there were definitely instances where a friend or acquaintance posted a supportive comment on one of my blog entries, and that interaction is definitely something you don’t get from private journaling.

Emily Smucker: Writing is easier in a way, because you can deeply think about what you want to say before writing it down. When discussing it on the internet you have to come up with answers FAST. However, there was something about connecting directly with people interested in my book via video chat that was so energizing and fun.

YP: What advice would you give to other teens who might be going through similar experiences?

MB: My advice is to find friends you trust and to talk to them about it. It can be terrifying to discuss, but you are going to want support from people who love you whether your eyebrows are bushy or non-existent. The hardest part about having trich for me was the self-loathing, the shame, and the fear. It’s so important to understand that you are not alone. At least 2.5 MILLION Americans have trichotillomania. So don’t let trich become something that defines you—figure out who you are for yourself.

CS: My biggest piece of advice is to keep your remaining friends and family close.  Even though they are not the person you lost, they still love and care about you and will do whatever they can to help you.  Also, especially if you’ve lost a parent, it’s important to not become self-centered in your grieving.  Though it’s certainly a great tragedy to lose a parent, always remember that there are other people who loved your lost one who are with you in your pain.

ES: Honestly, I don’t have a lot of advice to give in this area. But one thing that was helpful for me was blogging, because it not only gave me something to do, but it connected me with other people who were going through similar things.

YP: Could you tell us a little bit about what each of you are up to now?

MB: Right now I am trying to find an agent for my first novel That’s Debatable and working on several new projects (all young adult fiction). I’m going to Lewis & Clark College and I see a semester or a year abroad in my future. I have a whole list of goals for myself, which includes: meeting Meg Cabot, drinking tea with Julie Andrews, being interviewed on Oprah, and helping at least one million people. We’ll have to see if I can do it!

CS: Well, I’m still at SCPA, still writing, still working, still a vegetarian, spiritual atheist, feminist. Basically, not much has changed, except I’ve just moved into my senior year, which is extremely exciting, with all the opportunities it entails, and the future that beckons.

ES: I am currently visiting Oregon for the month of August, just hanging out with my family and doing book signings with my Mom and stuff. At the end of the month I’ll head back to Colorado, and honestly, I’m not sure what I’ll do then. I tried working in a thrift store last spring and it really didn’t go too well. I may give it another try, or try to get a job somewhere else. But my health is still shaky enough that it’s hard to predict whether or not I will be able to handle a job before I try it, which is kind of frustrating.

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