This week YA author Melissa Minery took over our Twitter as a part of our weekly Thursday Twitter Takeover. Melissa Minery is the author of the YA book The Good, the Bad, and the Backstory. (See YEM’s interview with Melissa Minery here.) See highlights from the takeover below.
Hey, ya’ll! It’s Melissa Minery, author of #TheGoodtheBadandtheBackstory. I’m here to take over your Twitter! #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
Marcos says, "We see the performance but have no idea what's going on backstage." What does this mean to you? #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
To me, empathy is being able to feel with someone. It goes hand-in-hand with taking their perspective and imaging how you would feel in their situation. #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
#TheGoodtheBadandtheBackstory was my attempt at making these two very abstract concepts more concrete with relatable characters and experiences. #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
How many of us can say that we went through middle school unscathed? Maybe we were hurt; maybe we caused the pain… #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
Middle school is tough! Would it make middle school easier to be able to understand the backstory of the people causing others pain? At the very least it would help us have more compassion, and we could take back our power. #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
There are some big issues addressed in #TheGoodtheBadandtheBackstory: divorce and blended families, grief, domestic/family abuse, anxiety, questioning sexual orientation, among others. #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
In #TheGoodthebadandtheBackstory, there are specific ways to help yourself work through anxiety, how to be a better communicator and the importance of finding a trusted adult to help increase your resiliency. #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
Ashley, Kenisha, Ryan, Andrew and Taara are based in part on people I know or things I've witnessed. There's a lot of me in each character, as well; just in different ways. I found it hard coming up with characters completely from scratch. #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
I think my favorite character is Kenisha. Maybe that's because I can relate to her the most. She's not perfect, just perfectly human. #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
In one of Kenisha's chapters, she's talking with her school counselor about her grief with her dad dying when she was younger. That was my story. Ms. M was saying to Kenisha what I wished someone had said to me. #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
I also really loved writing the good-night part of each character's chapter. I get teary-eyed every time I read what I wrote for Taara. Is it a good sign that you can make yourself cry at your own writing?? #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
My favorite books growing up were the original Babysitter Club books. (Anyone read these?) I think I related most to Maryanne, though there were parts of Kristy that resonated for me, too. I would LOVE to be able to write a series like that! #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
My favorite books growing up were the original Babysitter Club books. (Anyone read these?)
I would LOVE to be able to write a series like that! #YAauthorTakeover— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
I never thought in a million years that I would become an author. It wasn’t until I became a school counselor and was giving lessons in classrooms that I realized I had things I wanted to share. #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
Years ago I created a vision board with all of the things I wanted in my life. One of the things was to become a published author. I still have this vision board, and I look at it every day. #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
Now it's crazy for me to think that I could be touching the lives of so many people through what came out of my brain! I feel really fortunate and honored. #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
In my experience, getting a book published takes a long time. I started writing #TheGoodtheBadandtheBackstory when my child was in the fifth grade. Now they just finished their sophomore year! #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
I wrote #Thegoodthebadandthebackstory on-and-off for 2.5 years, or so, and then it was another 2.5 years before getting it into the hands of readers. ⏱️⏱️⏱️#YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
My advice for others who want to be authors is to, first, be patient! And write, write, write! #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
Another piece of advice is to find a balance between knowing that you have something great to give to the world and realistic expectations that it may not happen exactly how you picture it. #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
One of the coolest parts about the process of being published was receiving emails with the illustrator's pictures and having to choose which font and style for the cover. #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
Seeing everything come together for the finished product was surreal! When I hold the book in my hands, I still can’t believe it actually happened! Shout out to #BoystownPress! #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
I hope that my readers will learn that they're not alone, and that we all have stuff going on in our lives that we're dealing with and sometimes it's just not about us. #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
We may be able to gain more from life if we can remember that and have compassion for others, instead of taking things so personally. #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
Oh, darn! My time's up.😩 This was super fun; thanks for having me!!😃Peace, friends! 🤟#TheGoodtheBadandtheBackstory #MelissaMinery #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) May 20, 2021
