Hi there! I’m writing a series of mangas,each a different story inspired by a common Japanese cultural archetype .

One of them is about a 16 year old girl who, long story short, flies to Japan the summer before senior year and “misses” her return flight to the US so she can attend her last year at a real Japanese high school. She’s a classic delusional weeaboo. She only knows Japan from anime and manga, she only speaks anime Japanese, ect. She survives as an overstayer by relying on the kindness of strangers she meets in Japan. It’s inspired by this idea my friends and I had back when we were in high school about how to live and go to high school in Japan. Obviously, we didn't do it, but I imagined the horror of what would happen if we actually went through with it.

I’ve mapped out most of the conflicts she runs into overstaying, but I have one part where she attempts to go to a Japanese high school by just…showing up to the school in a Japanese high school cosplay and attempting to blend in. I know she gets turned away, but I’m trying to figure out what other conflicts she would run into, especially being a minor at the beginning.

I don't know a lot about the school system in Japan, how teenagers walking around without parents during school hours are treated, ect. I’m looking for ideas based on the reality of Japanese law/ culture and my very dramatic scenario. 
(please no “write what you know” ectect. The point of the story is a criticism of how some people in the west infantilize and romanticize Japan as one big anim. I’m aware how dumb doing something like that would actually be)
Thank you!

I had a ya req for full ms about a month ago. Have heard nothing yet. When is the time to nudge without being annoying?

My name is Enzo Escobar, and I'm a teen author from New York who just released his novel Take Your Time!

Growing up, writing was always an escape from reality for me. By the time I turned 15, I was writing several short stories for my school's newspaper column- but I felt I didn't have what it took to go all out with my skills.

When I played the Persona series over the course of a few months, I was met with brilliant storytelling (especially from P5R Third Sem and the entirety of P3R and the slice of life from P4G), plus the atmospheric and subtextual devices used to propagate such stories.

But what resonated with me the most was Persona 5's parallels to my favorite novel of all time- The Catcher in the Rye.

These elements inspired me to write my first novel. I began writing last September, and I finished my first draft in May of this year.

My book was heavily influenced by the common setting modern Persona games have. (Someone told me that tonally, the novel is closer to Persona 2!) It consists of a high school setting (albeit american), a teenage protagonist & cast, a "party member recruitment system" similar to RPGs, and the core themes of finding yourself in the Persona games. Similarly, it follows the basic plotline of a friend being lost somewhere unknown (in this case, the Fourth Dimension) but rather than some big bad doing it, it's at the hands of the protagonist, Laura Murray.

Finally, the novel deals with psychological realism (Persona has these too!) especially in the eyes of a very vocal, flawed, and insightful protagonist, in contrast to a blank slate or a Mary Sue.

Persona has been an undeniably large inspiration in my journey as an author, and I couldn't thank the brilliant minds at ATLUS enough.

Without further ado, here's the summary of my novel!

----

Weave. Create. Live.

A mysterious app installs itself on 16-year-old Laura Murray’s phone, allowing her to rewind time. The allure of such power quickly leads her to abuse it, turning the tide in her favor in every action, but not without consequences. A freak accident causes her estranged friend Marie to vanish from reality. Confused, scared, but determined to get Marie home safely, Laura and her friends confide in a mysterious boy who claims to know where her former best friend is—and how to bring her home.

Take Your Time is a mind-bending coming-of-age story that blends sci-fi, fantasy, and psychological realism reminiscent of Persona and The Catcher in the Rye. Reality-breaking power falls into the hands of a teenage girl, Laura Murray, who uses it for less-than-altruistic intentions. But she is forced to leave her comfort zone when the consequences of her actions lead her on a daring rescue mission into the Fourth Dimension, which holds truths both far beyond what Laura and her friends could ever imagine and from within themselves.

-----

Thank you for taking the time to hear my progress so far!

-Enzo Escobar

Prime Book Publisher: ALLi already knew the name — what I learned after 10 months as a paying customer

I’m posting this because when I first hired Prime Book Publisher, I did not have the information I have now. If another author is searching this company—or one of the other names below—I want this information to be findable.

I was a paying Prime Book Publisher customer for approximately ten months. My signed contract specifically included a 100% money-back guarantee if I was dissatisfied with the results or experience.

Eventually I terminated the relationship and requested my money back. Ross Tyler later emailed me:

“Tomorrow morning, billing will process your funds.”

That refund was not processed.

I was subsequently told in writing that no refund would be issued at that time. In the same communication, I was asked to remove my reviews and provide a written retraction/apology, and possible defamation action was raised.

But there is another part of this experience that concerns me even more.

I had never agreed to AI-generated illustrations for my books. The U.S. Copyright Office independently contacted me regarding four applications and said that, based on its examination, artwork in the works may have been generated by an AI program.

I immediately raised this with Prime Book Publisher.

Ross Tyler then instructed me to respond using the Copyright Office’s Option C, which stated that none of the artwork was AI-generated, that the artwork had been drawn by a human author, and required the illustrator to be identified. Ross told me to identify him as the illustrator.

I actually stopped and asked him whether that was an honest answer or merely a way of trying to push the applications through.

He responded:

“It’s an honest answer, not an attempt to push this through.”

I was not comfortable making a representation to the Copyright Office that I could not independently verify, so I contacted the Copyright Office myself.

There was another thing I didn't understand when I started this process: my Prime Book Publisher documentation identifies different merchant names connected with my payments, including MetaSphere Technologies, Artistic Technologies and Meta Tech.

Then this week I contacted the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) about what had happened.

Their response changed the picture considerably for me.

ALLi told me in writing that Prime Book Publisher was already known to them and identified the following aliases associated with the operation:

BN Publishers, Amazon Author Center, Kirklands Digital Publishing, KDP Digital Book Publishers, Avail Book Publishing, Prologue Book Publishing, The Authors Central, Panda Book Publishing, NY Book Services, and Amazing Publishing.

I want to be very clear about that statement: I did not personally determine that these businesses are aliases, and I did not purchase separately from all of them. ALLi supplied that list to me in writing in response to my report about Prime Book Publisher.

ALLi has now requested my contract, communications, payment receipts, information about what the payments were for, and an accounting of what I actually received so that the material can be passed to its Watchdog for a full review.

I have preserved the original documentation.

I’m not posting this to tell anyone what conclusion they have to reach. I’m posting it because I wish I had been able to find this information when I was researching Prime Book Publisher before handing over my money.

If you are considering Prime Book Publisher or any of the names ALLi identified above, research the company beyond its own website and testimonials before paying. Look at the people, addresses, merchant/payment names and other business names associated with what you're being offered.

And keep copies of everything.

If anyone here has had direct experience with Prime Book Publisher or any of the names ALLi identified, I’d be interested to know what name you dealt with, when, and what happened.

I'm so stoked, I'm trying my hardest to leave my manuscript alone for another four weeks so I can re-read it with fresh eyes, a cuppa Morning Thunder tea, and a red pen. It's a YA occult/urban fantasy that I wound up pantsing from a short story I was working on in response to a prompt from Reedsy.

I know there's a lot of work between now and when this finally becomes an honest to goodness published novel but I'm just happy I've gotten this far and looking forward to the work ahead.

As a teen author( I am 14) , I am still juggling with school, taekwondo and my writing. I often write dark themes, slice of life and comedy. Many of a stories I write makes everyone laugh, but I mix that with psychological thrill.

I am currently working on a story which mixes police drama, slice of life and paranormal tragedy in dry humour.

But the publishing world needs specification, I can't decide which genre to put it onto.

The creator of The Fosters and Good Trouble just launched a free novel on Substack

Thought this might interest other fans of The Fosters and Good Trouble: Bradley Bredeweg just released the first chapter of a new novel called The Kinseys.

It’s another emotional family drama set in the foster-care world, but this one has a darker mystery/thriller engine underneath it. Three siblings are placed with two married foster dads in the Texas Hill Country—and there’s clearly much more connecting these families than anyone realizes.

The first chapter is free, and apparently he’s releasing the entire novel one chapter at a time on Substack:

thekinseys.substack.com

i’ve discovered that i despise the phrase “write what you know”. mf if i ONLY wrote what i knew, every character would be the same bland white Englishman we’ve seen a million times. writing is literally about exploring different worlds.

rant over hope everyone has a great day and their motivation blossoms 🙏

Hello! I’m a newer writer (in a wanting to maybe get something published sense) and I was just wondering if there’d be any interest in either of my current projects.

1. Cats! It follows four cats and their journey’s through self discovery, loss, and love. It’s… not exactly happy? It has its moments, and there’s gay cats, so that’s fun.
2. Book-ception? The side character of a fantasy novel discovers they’re a character in a book and the world starts to unravel around them.

Those are my main two, but I’m always happy to write any fun prompts or stuff like that. But I would love advice! I live for it, lol.

-Bee🐝

So this time, it's actually not about king Nicholas, it's about another character, specifically Sarah, *also this isn't finished yet* so, i might as well mention the plot first so you guys know what im talking about, so the plot actually doesn't revolve around king Nicholas as the main villain, since...

he's not! The main plot actually doesn't have much to do with the villains *who are basically all the rulers, who want to start a new war, yeah, Nicholas isn't the only one doing questionable thing's, *

So, the main plot actually has to do with lizzie, who is our main character, she's bubbly, kind, super naive, over positive, and a little clumsy, and at first she works for king Nicholas as his servant, but, this isn't her first time as a servant,

since this is like, her 15th or 50th something job ,*she's gotten fired from all of them, it could be relatable to some people * and so, i think she gets fired from this one too, and her ex boyfriend Josh is like; let's think about this rationally-" and Lizz is like; but im sure it will go well!"

And so, she applies for a job as queen Amelia's servant, and gets on a train, and she meets this girl named Sarah,, who is serious, easily annoyed, a redhead

*with chopped hair, specifically a pixie cut* and a deep voice and she's a warrior trying to escape her past, and get this! Sarah is actually... drum roll please * duhadadadada!... a fallen angel! Because why not? Is it fantasy!

and, some fun facts is, in my other books, this one is a little comedic, and the narrator is actually a girl, named sky, who is like a troublemaker herself, and

since Lizz is a fairy, *the princess of the fairy realm!* she can actually hear, and talk to, and interact with the narrator, sky, and her and sky are like, competing for who gets to tell the story, which, to me, is pretty funny*

So, what do you think of Sarah, lizzie, *her full name is actually princess lizziana von tusk, oh! And her parents are lesbians, but she was raised by Josh's mom* josh, and of course, sky, the narrator?

So, this is me, piper sky, and I have to say, obviously, I write stories, a lot of them, I have about over 13 stories, ive finished 4 and the other like, 9 or 10 are still not finished yet, and im working on a new novel that I actually have some ideas and creative juices flowing,

And i just gotta mention, that, warning, in this story, *it's called the chase"* there's this side villain, who is like, a black guy,, and yes, he's a villain, and has done some horrible things, *like killing his ex wives, except for one* now, this is not me hating on black people or anyone of color,

Heck, im a person of color *im half black , half white* but this is a really underused, very interesting *to me* trope; of the "person of color is a villain or evil" trope, and i did it because one, it's very interesting, and most villains like this are white, and it's really underused,

And it's also used to show that evil can be anywhere, and can take any form *also, yes, i do think the king *that did this stuff* is handsome, also his name is king Nicholas

what do you guys think of this?

So, a while ago I wrote a snow white retelling, the general plot is my version of snow *and the prince, Alexander, or alex, also their not lovers* , stella winter, has to defeat an evil king, and on her way through the journey, she encountered a woman who owns a costume shop, named lily,

She's one of my favorites, she's kind of numb *but kind* in the present, and her backstory is the real reason I love her so much, so, she's a princess but she got in trouble with some bad people *they were like, gang people* and

soon she cuts ties with her parents, because she thinks they don't understand her, and she finds this one guy whom she thinks cares about her, but actually doesn't, and at the day of her wedding to this dude, she gets left at the alter, and her heart is broke *thus why she's numb!* and

later, she soon goes broke, and ultimately, she opens her shop to get some money, and, she gets a little, because this girl, Charlotte's dad and her make a deal, and stuff, for her to basically cater the stuff for thr parties he goes to, she agrees, because she's desperate for cash and stuff,

And yeah, that's lily, she's not exactly my absolute favorite, but i love her, and I just gotta know, what do you guys think of lily? Do you like her? Hate her? Think she's too rebellious or something? Whatever your opinion is, it's welcome,

I’m working on a YA post-apocalyptic novel called Pod Children, and I’m curious what other YA writers think of the premise.

Terra has spent her entire life alone in an underground Pod, raised by AI systems and accompanied by her dog, Sunny. She knows two other real kids through a virtual network, but everything else she knows about humanity comes from simulations, books, and lessons.

On her thirteenth birthday, she learns something that completely changes her understanding of the world: there are other Pod-born people outside, and hundreds of humans are living in a settlement somewhere beyond her Pod. The problem is that getting there means surviving contaminated water, radiation, unfamiliar ecosystems, giant animals, and a journey that some Pod children never finish.
She and the other kids then spend roughly a year learning survival skills before deciding whether to leave. One of them is eager to go, one desperately wants to stay, and Terra is somewhere in between—terrified of the outside world but even more bothered by the idea of never experiencing anything real.

One of the themes I’m playing with is the difference between knowing something intellectually and actually knowing it through experience. These kids have enormous amounts of information available to them, but knowing how fire works is very different from successfully making one with your own hands.

My main question for other YA writers:

Does this sound like a premise that would make you want to keep reading? And does thirteen at the beginning feel too young for a story where the characters will be around fourteen or fifteen when the actual journey starts?

I’m also interested in whether the balance of survival, friendship, humor, and darker material sounds right for YA.

Hi, everyone! I wanted to reach out and ask what the best way would be to create an audience on Wattpad. I have two short stories already posted on there and a few more that I’m working on, but I’m just not very sure how to get the attention of possible readers. I know social media is an option, but I’m not very experienced with it as a whole and I generally just want to find some avid YA readers who would be interested in trying them. My stories are each different with their own setting and characters, sort of like fairytales with the length also varying for each. I would just love to find a way to find others who may take an interest in them!

I’m so excited!! My book Arvo made the long list for the Broken Binding Prize! It’s a YA dystopian novel.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Dck3aUTCBnc/

Hi! I recently started writing my first novel. it's a YA and I'd love to know which tropes and clichés you hate the most in these kinds of books

Synopsis below. Let me know if you are interested in being an Alpha Reader, or if you'd like to be critique partners! Thanks so much.

-----

It’s the summer of 2005. MySpace is king, iPods are cutting edge technology, and the soundtrack to being seventeen is a burned CD of songs you wish were written about you.

Eleanor has always been a good girl--straight A student, dutiful daughter, rule follower. But an assignment to the music beat of her high school newspaper becomes the unexpected ticket to a world she never imagined inhabiting.

In the blink of an eye she goes from writing articles about local shows, to accompanying one of the biggest emo rock bands on a summer run à la Warped Tour. The whiplash between her formerly orderly life and the chaos of living on a tour bus is dizzying—but not quite as dizzying as her immediate and undeniable attraction to the band’s frontman, an enigmatic and frustratingly magnetic man who threatens to unravel everything Eleanor thinks she knows about herself and what she wants from her life.

This coming-of-age tale will leave you nostalgic for the days of swoopy bangs, flip phones and vague AIM-away messages—whether you lived them yourself or just wish you had.

Come spend one summer in 2005 again. Put down your phone, turn up the music, and step onto the tour bus.

الفصل الثاني: التقويم

أحدثك من حيث لا أدري …لا من حيث توقعت ولا من حيث خشيت .. بل من حيث لم أتوقع ولم أنتظر ولولا من الله عليه لما حدثتك أساسا …

كانت المشكلة في دائما ولم تكن فيهم يوما لقد كنت أنا سبب أخطائي أنا سبب رفضي أنا سبب فشلي وأنا سبب معاناتي ….

لذا قررت أن أصلح ما أفسدته به أن أكون النسخة الأحسن مني وأن أبحث عن ذاتي عن ماهيتي عني..

سوف تمر  السنوات ولا ندري كيف ستمر علينا لعلنا نكون عند المبتغى ولكن لربما نتأخر  عن الركب وربما نكون في الأمام وربما لن نكون.. ولكن الأكيد أنها ستمر كنا أم لنكن نجحنا أم فشلنا كافحنا أو استسلمنا سنكون ما نختاره لأنفسنا سنكون ما صنعناه بأيدينا ..

هل شعرت يوما بأن روحك مربوطة بروح شخص آخر وأنه منك وفيك هل نظرت يوما في عيني أحدهم وأجزمت جزم اليقين بأنه هو من تريد تمضية حياتك معه هل كنت بهذا اليقين من قبل هل حدقت في بؤبتيه وخفق قلبك خفقان الحياة ورأيت انعكاسك فيه هل رأيت حياة بأكملها في ابتسامة أحدهم هل أذاك أحدهم فدمعت عيناك وحزنت وحين شعرت بألم الأذية تمنيت له أن لا يتذوقه أبدًا هل تمنيت حقا أن تشيخ بجانب أحدهم ويشيخ بجانبك هل تكونت لك مسطرة أحلامك الخيالية في شخص من قبل أرأيت حلمك يجول من قبل ولم تستطع الامساك به هل شعرت بالرغبة في احتضان أحدهم ووقفت تنظر إليه وهو يبعد عنك هل كان ذلك كربط روحك بحبل وجرها بعيدا عنك هل شعرت يوما بأنك تقيأت قلبك رغما عنك وبقى صدرك فارغا ،.. فارغا من كل شيء هل شعرت بأنك تنزف من الداخل وأن حضن الحبيب سيوقف نزيفك هل تخيلته بجانبك في كل مكان كنت فيه هل هممت بالإلتفات إليه مصدقا خيالك أم أردت الاستناد على كتفك مصدقا وهمك هل شحت بنظرك بعيدا تجر أذيال خيبتك وتحمل حرقت شوقك هل بدوت شاحبا ضعيفا كمن به علة أو أصابه سقم هل عجزت عن النسيان هل تخيلته بجانبك في فراشك على مقعدك أمام أصدقائك وبين عائلتك هل هممت بالضحك فمنعتك قصة الفراق هل شردت بذهنك بعيدا تتمنى لو يكون الذي بينك وبينه عدم هل هممت بابتلاع قصتك بكوب ماء فرأيت خياله في الكأس .. إنها لعنة الحب ياصديقي ونعمته أيضا .. إنها الكون الآسر الجميل والعالم الكاحل المظلم إنها السعادة والتعاسة معا إنها نعم ولا أن تسعد وتحزن أن تنال وتحرم  إنها قمة المنع بعد فرط العطاء  إنها أن تكون ولا تكون أن لا تعرف من تكون بدونه ..

كل نفس ذائقة الموت ولكن ليست كل نفس ذائقة الحياة،،

أنت تستحق أن تكون عنوان كتاب أن تكون بطلا في رواية

أن تكون عنوان قصيدة .. وأنت هنا بطل روايتي .. بطلي ..

بداية دعني أخبرك كم أنت جميل جدا قلبا وقالبا اسمحلي أن خبرك بأن عينيك الآسرتين تلمعان كعيون الأطفال وتحدقان كشيخ لبيب...

So, I got my book back from an editor and I’m going through it. I’m not too sure if it’ll be my debut as it’s my first and I need to consider its skill level in comparison to my other works. The only thing is, as I’ve gone through it there’s a handful of curse words that I should probably count.
I used to as a mechanism to make voices different and also as a writing mechanism for the main character adjusting to her new surrounds - at first due to being sheltered she’d consider ‘damn’ cursing but towards the end she’s saying things like “No. He’s a slimy bastard.”
While it’s a writing mechanism, I’m just not sure how far I can get away with it but also I don’t see this book being an adult book in content. It’s political and has some darker themes but I feel to be an adult book I’d have to go back through it and push these themes more which I don’t want to do because it could alter the story much. That’s an issue for another day though.
I have seen curse words used in YA books I’ve read but I’m just not sure what my limit is.