YA author Amy Zhang: ‘My books are there so people won’t feel they’re alone’

"Nobody’s born being good at writing. It’s a skill and a craft that has to be developed.," says author Amy Zhang, who was recently in Manila. Photo: Paul John Caña

Many teenagers today spend their waking hours (and even some of the time asleep) perpetually attached to their mobile devices. Between posting on Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook, and school and after-school activities, there’s hardly any time left to do anything else, let alone something truly remarkable.

Amy Zhang was one of those teenagers; just another senior in high school in Wisconsin who played tennis, went out with her friends and did her homework. But on top of all of those normal things that girls her age do, she managed to find time to become a full-fledged novelist. Falling Into Place, a YA story that deals with heavy issues like depression and teen suicide, has been so well-received that she now has fans worldwide, including here in the Philippines.

Zhang, now in her early 20s, was in Manila recently for a book tour upon the invitation of National Bookstore. I chatted with her about being a teenage novelist, being a role model and what else she’d like to do with her life:

Book cover images: Harper Collins

GMA News Online: You wrote your first book when you were a teenager. How’d you do it? There are so many distractions, especially for young people like you.

Amy Zhang: (laughs) You know, I don’t know. In hindsight, maybe it’s just cause I didn’t realize how difficult it would be. I was 16 when this book sold. I really had no concept of how difficult it would be. I just wanted to write a story like so many writers and teen writers. And I guess I just got very lucky along the way.

How did you maintain focus? Especially since I know you were very active in school and other activities besides the writing stuff.

I did maintain a schedule. Writing Falling Into Place was the most disciplined time of my life. I would write before school, from like 4 to 6 a.m. I’ve never done it again. (laughs) And then I would go to school, I would go to tennis practice, do my after-school activities, hang out with friends, and then come home and do homework, so the mornings were the only time I had to write.

Was there ever any point when you were writing when you felt insecure, that you felt you weren’t good enough?

Oh absolutely. I mean I think every writer goes through that at every point. I think that about my writing now. All the time. Every time I’m writing, every time I sit down, it’s like I forgot how to write a book. I don’t know how to do it this time. I don’t know if it’s something that you ever get over. It’s just something that you have to work through. Especially with a first draft, the point is just to get it on paper. It’s more of just, get it out, it doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad. People will fix it later (laughs).

You shopped the book around to agents and got a few rejections before somebody finally said yes. Could you describe that feeling when someone finally wanted to publish the book?

Yeah. It was actually very difficult. I found my agent through a different book which didn’t sell. And it was at that time when I was writing Falling Into Place. The last book was out in submission for months. I didn’t hear anything. But with Falling Into Place, I had an offer within three days. It was like, I didn’t even have time to feel nervous. It was so amazing. I remember this very clearly, I was taking a quiz in my chemistry class and I got a text from my agent and she said, ‘Call me as soon as you can,’ so during my lunch hour I called her back and she gave me the news and I completely freaked out. I called my mom and cried.

Yeah I think I read a story when you said you hesitated a bit about telling your agent how old you were, but what did she say when you finally told her?

She was very open to it. She’s a great person. I haven’t told her that I was a teenager when I signed and we had our first phone conversation when she offered representation. She asked me how old I was, and she had already googled me, and my school profile had come up, and she was like, hmmm (laughs). But yeah she just rolled with it.

Did you ever let your parents read your stuff. What was their reaction?

No! (laughs) My parents have never read my stuff. Til now! They still haven’t read it.

How do they feel about you being a writer?

They’ve really come around to it. They were very unsure at first when I told them I wanted to write. My dad’s a nuclear engineer and my mom is an actuary. So they’re both very math-and-science-minded. My grandparents were as well. So they were like, ‘Where did you come from, how did this happen?’ But they’ve come around to it. (laughs)

How do you feel about traditional vs online self-publishing? A lot of people are doing self-publishing online.

I really don’t know much about self- and online publishing. They weren’t things that I personally looked into. But I think that it’s great that there are these platforms available to people. The most important thing is to know what you’re getting yourself into. The thing is, with online publishing, there’s a lot of fine print there. So I’ve always been wary of that. But I think it’s really wonderful that there are these platforms where you can share your work and people can read your work. That’s a really great thing. I think it takes a lot of bravery to put yourself out there, so I really do admire that.

You’re active on social media, and now that you’re well known and somebody that young people look up to, are you conscious at all about what you post on Twitter? Or is it more like, whatever.

You know, I really should. It really should be something I’m more conscious of.  But I have a lot of issues with social media just because to me, when I’m posting, it’s like, I’m in college and my friends are posting and in my head it’s like, it’s okay to post the same thing. But it isn’t necessarily as appropriate. So it’s something that I’m definitely trying to be more aware of.

The book deals with heavy themes and you’ve talked about this before in previous interviews, but could you share a few experiences or feedback that you’ve gotten from your readers about how much the book meant to them and how they reached out to you to tell you that?

Yeah, you know it’s always amazing to get emails and stuff. I got a direct message the other day on IG from a girl I met at a teen book convention and she messaged me to say that, ‘It’s really great to read this, because I do really great at school but I struggle with self-confidence. And it’s really nice to know that I’m not alone.’ And that’s just like the most wonderful thing to hear because I feel like my books are out there so people won’t feel like they’re alone. To have that kind of reaction is really amazing.

Is it your first time in the Philippines? What’s the experience been like?

Oh I’ve been so spoiled. It’s great. It’s so beautiful here. I’m already sunburned and I just spent like 2 hours outside. (laughs).

Are there things you might want to say to people who are just getting into writing to encourage them?

Yeah. Just keep writing. That’s the most important thing. Nobody’s born being good at writing. It’s a skill and a craft that has to be developed. It’s important to find other people to read your writing, to be open to other opinions, other styles, and also to keep reading. Every writer is a reader first and to read outside of what you’re used to. It’s so beneficial to expose yourself to new styles, new authors, new genres.

You’re still pretty young. Do you feel like being an author is it for you, or do you feel like there are still other things you want to do?

Absolutely. Right now, my career path, I think, I’m headed for publishing, I think, and I’m very interested in marketing. I do want to continue writing, of course, but I have such an incredible passion for books, and I really do want to get involved in making other books a reality. That’s my plan right now. — BM, GMA News

Paul John Caña is a magazine writer and live music geek. Check out his blog manontheotherside.blogspot.com. Email him at pjcana@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter and Instagram @pauljohncana.