An Interview with SCBWI's Newest Board Member: Ellen Hopkins!

Beloved, bestselling (and sometimes controversial) author Ellen Hopkins has recently accepted a four-year appointment as a member of the SCBWI's Board of Advisors.

Ellen's latest young adult novel in verse, FALLOUT, goes on sale September 14th. Before she embarks on a FALLOUT tour, she took a little time to chat with me about SCBWI, her latest projects, and what she wishes she knew when she was starting out.

Please tell me a little about your history with SCBWI. When did you join? When (and why) did you become a Regional Advisor?

Can't remember exactly, but around twelve years ago. In Nevada, you can attend critique group meetings without joining the international organization, so I think I hung out with the group a while before I joined. But I quickly came to see the value of joining.

I've been a Co-Regional Advisor for four years, and was an Assistant Regional Advisor before that. My co-RA, Suzy Williams, asked me to help out when she took over as RA, and I felt compelled to accept. It's kind of a calling, I guess.

How has SCBWI helped you over the years? Why do you choose to still remain so active in the organization now that you're a successful, best-selling author?

When I first decided I wanted to write for children, like most newbies, I had no idea how to go about it. I made all the usual mistakes, including writing a 3000-word picture book. I found our local SCBWI and learned so much! Still, there was plenty of rejection, and I might have given up except for in 2002, I went to the LA Annual Summer Conference. Deborah Nourse Lattimore critiqued a picture book in verse of mine, and nominated it for the Sue Alexander Award. That recognition pushed me forward and gave me the confidence to show that manuscript to an editor from  Simon & Schuster. She didn't acquire that book, but she did acquire CRANK.

I remain active with SCBWI because there are so many writers in exactly the same spot I was--searching for where they belong in this industry. Someone helped me when I needed it. I think it's only right to help others in the same way.

Tell me about your upcoming book FALLOUT, which will hit stores in less than a week, and where your book tour will take you. 

FALLOUT is the third and final book in the CRANK trilogy, only it's written from the POVs of Kristina's oldest three children, who are "shopped out" to different relatives and struggling to make sense of their lives. So many of my readers are dealing with a parent's addiction, and I wanted to give them a voice.

The book releases September 14th. I launch in San Francisco, and am in the Bay Area, Seattle, St. Louis, Chicago, Nashville and Columbus GA. Home for a day, then Austin, Houston (where I'm signing at the Humble B&N, so despite my recent uninvite from the TeenLitFest, the teens there will be able to see me!) Home for a day, then back up to King County WA, Bend OR. And then I get a week home before our Nevada SCBWI conference in mid-October.

You're really active and generous on social networks. Why do you choose to participate in Twitter, Facebook, etc.?

Social networking does a couple of things. First, it keeps me connected to my readers, who really enjoy the "behind the scenes" glimpses of how I live and work. And second, it connects me to industry professionals, many of whom are friends. Writers (when they're not traveling) live relatively isolated lives. It's nice to be able to talk with people who are experiencing the same things I am--balancing career and family; getting stuck mid-manuscript; going through revision hell, etc.

You recently contributed a piece to an issue of Writer's Digest called "Top Ten Things I've Learned Since Becoming a Bestseller." Could you share something you wish you knew when you were starting out as a writer?

The importance of patience when building a readership. Even after you write that great book and find a publisher for it, an audience doesn't just appear. It's a lot of work, and for most of us, it takes years. The great thing is, though, that once you build that readership, they remain loyal.

Can you give us some scoop on your next project PERFECT?

PERFECT is about four high school seniors, struggling to attain and maintain "perfection." Each has a personal goal (beauty; athleticism; grades), but each comes to learn that perfection (or as close as you can get to it) has a price. PREFECT is a companion to IMPULSE, so happens at the same time, with Conner's twin, Cara, as one of the main characters.

 Find Ellen Hopkins online

• Twitter: @EllenHopinsYA
• Facebook: Fan Page
• Website: ellenhopkins.com

Featured SCBWI Board Member: Carolyn Mackler

Did you know that SCBWI has a Board of Advisors made up of 25 diverse, talented and wise authors, illustrators, and editors? Every so often here on the SCBWI blog, I'll spotlight one of these terrific board members so you can get to know them and learn about why and how they are involved in SCBWI.

I'm starting today with one of the newest board members, award-wining novelist Carolyn Mackler. Carolyn just joined the SCBWI board a few weeks ago (along with fellow new board member--me!).

Carolyn's novels for teens include her latest, TANGLED; THE EARTH, MY BUTT, AND OTHER BIG ROUND THINGS (A Michael L. Printz Honor Book); GUYAHOLIC; VEGAN VIRGIN VALENTINE; and LOVE AND OTHER FOUR-LETTER WORDS. She's written for magazines like SEVENTEEN, GLAMOUR, CosmoGIRL!, GIRLS' LIFE and AMERICAN GIRL and has short stories in THIRTEEN, edited by James Howe, and SIXTEEN, edited by Megan McCafferty. She also served as a judge for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2008.  And she'll deliver a keynote speech at the SCBWI Annual Summer Conference in L.A.

How long have you been involved in SCBWI and how have you been involved with SCBWI?

I attended my first SCBWI conference in the fall of 1998. I'd been living in New York City for a little over a year, and I was hard at work on yet another draft of my first novel. Judy Blume, whom I'd met earlier in the year, told me about SCBWI. So I joined and off I went to the big fall conference (which is now the big winter conference). It was at a public school on the upper west side of Manhattan. I attended workshops and took a million notes and, mostly, I was inspired by all the other writers I met. I knew I'd found my place! By the spring of 1999, I'd finished (yet another) draft of my first novel, LOVE AND OTHER FOUR-LETTER WORDS, found an agent, and sold it to Random House Children's Books.

In the summer of 2005, I gave my first keynote speech. It was at the national conference in Los Angeles, and Lin Oliver invited me to deliver the first Paula Danziger speech. This was such an honor! Paula was a mentor, and a friend, and early in my career she encouraged me to get as much speaking experience as possible. Over the past several years, I've given other keynotes at national SCBWI conferences, and I've spoken at regional conferences as well. I love being at SCBWI conferences, big or small. There's a great energy, and such wonderful, smart, warm people. I always feel inspired.

How has SCBWI helped you? Why would you recommend someone join and how can a member make the most of it?

Yes, yes, yes! It is one of the first things I recommend to aspiring writers. Read a lot, write a lot, don't get discouraged, and join SCBWI. Go to conferences, read the Bulletin, try for the awards and grants, get involved with your regional chapter, make contacts with editors, agents, and writers, be part of the SCBWI community. That is certainly how SCBWI helped me...and has continued to help me.

Tell us about your most recent novel TANGLED and what you're working on.

Thanks for asking about TANGLED! Yes, that's my most recent novel. It just came out a few months ago and--sigh--it makes me feel happy talking about it. TANGLED is the story of four teens, two boys and two girls, who meet on a vacation. I follow them over the course of the next four months, with each month told from a different teen's point of view, as their worlds intersect and change, and they ultimately have lasting impacts on each other's lives. So far the response to TANGLED has been wonderful. One of my readers even sent me a song she wrote that was inspired by it!

I'm currently working on a new novel for teens. It's a very exciting concept, and I'm having a blast with it. That's all I'll say for now. Oh, and I'm also working on my keynote speech for this summer's SCBWI conference in LA! I'm giving a speech on Sunday morning, August 1st. I've called it "For Richer or Poorer: Writing in Good Times and Bad." Some people say that writing a book is like giving birth to a child. I have two children and, for me at least, writing isn't nearly as painful. But sometimes I see writing as a marriage: no matter what, I'm in it for life. Though I have to say, my husband gives a better shoulder massage!

Find Carolyn Mackler online:

• Visit her website
• Friend her on Facebook
• Follow her on Twitter
• Find her on MySpace