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Craft Chat Chronicles
Craft Chat Chronicles
Season 2 Episode 4: Hena Khan on Writing, Editing, and Mastering Middle Grade Books!
Could your next favorite children's book be waiting inside this episode? Join us on Craft Chat Chronicles as we sit down with the incredibly talented author and editor Hena Khan. From a childhood immersed in storytelling to an inspiring career in public health, Hena reveals the pivotal moments that led her to write for children. Discover how a chance opportunity at Scholastic ignited her passion for middle grade fiction and how her experiences as a young mother have deeply influenced her writing.
Aspiring authors, this episode is a treasure trove of practical advice! Hena shares her strategies for crafting captivating middle grade novels, emphasizing the importance of reading widely and utilizing beta readers to fine-tune your voice. Learn how to create multidimensional characters grounded in reality, and get tips on hooking young readers from the start. We'll also explore how to avoid the dreaded saggy middle and craft villains who are both complex and relatable.
But that's not all—if you're looking to promote your work and engage with educators and young readers, Hena's got you covered. She reflects on her debut year and shares essential tips for successful school visits and connecting with teachers. Hear about the impactful work of We Need Diverse Books and the evolving landscape of children's literature. Plus, get an inside look at the collaborative process of writing and editing, the joys and challenges of a full-time literary career, and the importance of flexibility and mentoring in the writing world. Don't miss this episode packed with insights and inspiration!
https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener-affiliate.html?fpr=craftchat
Welcome to Craft Chat Chronicles, the go-to podcast for tips on crafting best-selling fiction. Here at Craft Chat Chronicles, we bring you expert interviews, insights and tips on writing, publishing and marketing. Join the conversation and embark on a new chapter in your writing journey. For workshops, show notes and more information, visit jdmycom.
J.D. Myall:That's jdmayalcom In season two, episode four of Craft Chat Chronicles, we'll be chatting with author and editor Hena Khan. Hena will be giving us a deep dive into crafting compelling middle grade fiction. She'll talk a little bit about her publishing journey, writing picture books, give some tips on school visits and so much more. So, without ado, let's get into season two, episode four of Craft Chat Chronicles. Let's get chatting. Thanks so much for chatting with me. Thank you, I appreciate it. Okay, tell me about your life before books. Before books.
Hena Khan:Honestly, it's hard to separate my life from books because they were a part of my earliest life and memory Ever since learning how to read. I remember that being such a big moment in my family and how proud my mom was and I remember sounding out words to her and her feeling and feeling her pride and actually her making me perform that ability in front of other people, so that, and then trips to the library like she she was a big, she was a big advocate of of reading, so she would take us pretty regularly, and so my childhood was filled with books, and that was a lot of how I spent my free time was, you know, with library books and, you know, living in stories.
J.D. Myall:That's cool. What inspired you to become an author? How did you start your publishing journey?
Hena Khan:So you know, I never considered it. I wasn't doing a lot of creative writing at the time. I was working in public health communications, so I was doing writing, lot of creative writing at the time. I was working in public health communications, so I was doing writing and editing, but for technical audiences.
Hena Khan:And I had the chance to write for kids because of a friend who was working at Scholastic with their book clubs and she needed help with editing and rewriting a book for a series called Spy University. And knowing that I love to write and we had written together back in school on our high school newspaper, she asked if I would, you know, give it a try. And that was the first experience I had, writing for kids specifically, and I had to master the voice and try to imitate the style of the book that she was working on. But that just opened up the whole world of writing for kids to me and made me realize it was something I wanted to do and I was also a young mother at the time and it made me think about the stories that I didn't have as a kid, that I wanted my children to have, and sort of sent me on that path to eventually writing my own stories.
J.D. Myall:How did you get your agent?
Hena Khan:I went the traditional route of querying a bunch of people um and getting a lot of rejections, and um, eventually, matthew and I connected and um, I was, you know, just super excited and grateful. Um, and I think we've we've grown through this process together. Um, he, he represents a lot of adults and so, um, I think I might have been his first, you know, picture book and middle grade author, so, um, I feel like we've been been figuring things out together, but have a have a great understanding and he's been super supportive of me, so I'm happy it worked out.
J.D. Myall:That's good what do you consider the core elements of a good middle grade novel?
Hena Khan:for me it's always about the things that I cared about a lot as a middle schooler that I think are the universal concerns of being a kid. So you know a lot of um, friendship and family and concerns around belonging and and fitting in um, and just, you know kid size problems that don't feel like kid size problems when-sized problems when you're experiencing them. But I think you know we need. You know characters that are super relatable, that readers can connect to, who feel really authentic, and you know multidimensional and you know encourage readers to think in some way because the magic of middle grade.
Hena Khan:I just want to live in your background it's so beautiful.
J.D. Myall:It's a zoom background, a picture it looks so nice. I'm like, oh, that looks fantastic how did you make the switch from writing to editing traditionally published books, and which do you have a favorite, or do you love them both equally?
Hena Khan:So the first editing? Oh, I'm sorry, Do you mean writing, editing the anthology? That?
J.D. Myall:just came out.
Hena Khan:Yeah, so this was my first experience, um editing a volume like this. Um, I had done, you know, professional editing for, um, public health organizations, so I was familiar with the editorial process. But I'm not working with authors who I greatly admire and, you know, not putting together a compilation like this. So it was definitely a new experience, but I loved every minute of it. I loved, you know, conceptualizing the initial idea of an interlinked volume of short stories taking place at this community center and then having, you know, a bunch of south asian american writers who I really really look up to and whose work I love. Um, you join me to sort of piece it all together and, um, and I loved, I've always loved editing, perhaps more than writing in a way, because it to me it's more natural and I struggle with first drafts, like a lot of writers do, and I'm always filled with a lot of um, self-doubt and um, and I love the process of going back even to my own writing and putting that shine on it and revising.
Hena Khan:So, um, I love, I loved having the chance to do that with other people in their writing. And, yeah, and it was just a fantastic group of authors, some you know really well respected and award winning authors, and I mean all. I strike that all wonderful well respected authors, but some who've been doing it for a very long time and others who were newer to writing middle grade, and so it was lovely to have that range of experience and and just everyone's unique perspective.
J.D. Myall:How did the anthology come to be, what's the concept behind it and how did it happen?
Hena Khan:Yeah.
Hena Khan:So I owe a lot of it to uh author ellen o, who I was speaking with about this idea, and she had a similar anthology, uh of called you are here of east asian writers that hadn't been published yet, but I knew she was working on it and, um, I was toying with this idea and she was very encouraging and she pushed me to connect the stories, which ended up being a bit different from her anthology in the way I chose to approach it, but I thought of, you know, an interlinked anthology of short stories where the characters would all appear in each other's stories and they would all be taking place at the same location and then the stories themselves would build to a bigger story in the background.
Hena Khan:So once I had that idea, I reached out to the various authors and asked them if they wanted to be a part of it and was so happy that they all agreed and we got some sample stories, story ideas. We decided to set the stories at a fictional community center set in New Jersey and, like in my hometown New Jersey, and like in my hometown, community centers were often a place where immigrant communities will rent out halls to have various functions, whether it's religious celebrations or birthday parties or graduations or, um, you know, prayers, services or charity events, and so it's just a big um, it's something that all of us had had experience with and um, that's why we decided to set it there. But then there's also a larger story about the community center itself, um, and what's happening to it that you know is meaningful to all of these kids who are connected to it in some way love that, thank you.
J.D. Myall:What techniques would you give to aspiring writers on crafting? A good middle grade novel?
Speaker 1:hmm, writers on crafting a good middle grade novel. Let's see.
Hena Khan:A few things. I would really recommend, well, reading a lot of middle grade before starting if you're new to the genre, are starting if you're new to the genre and seeing what speaks to you and the types of stories and and voices you know you really connect with and, um, I think it helps to have a lot of beta readers if you're new to the genre as well. Um, kids, if you can access some, but definitely other writers and people who you admire to give critique, I think, especially when I was writing my debut middle grade novel, I think I made some very novice mistakes of you know, oversharing or overtelling my story, maybe because I was telling it to myself. So I think having other people help you cut down your story to what a middle schooler really cares about and might focus on is really helpful, as well as having those young readers who can make sure that you have the voice and the details right. But I think it really is about looking at the world through the eyes of a young person and not telling them what to think.
Hena Khan:And I think a lot of us are still, as adults, concerned with the same things that kids are like, whether it's does my friend still like me, or how am I going to reach this goal? Or you know how do I help my loved one who's going through a hard time? You know, those are all concerns we're dealing with on a day-to-day basis and it's just a different point of view, a younger point of view, but I think a lot of times, as adults, we might feel like we need to tell kids how to solve their problems or how to navigate life. So I think avoiding any type of preachiness, um or um, you know diet, just um, yeah, any type of preachiness and um. Feeling like you're being taught a lesson is probably the the best way to start. Um and and. Just trying to find that authentic, relatable voice.
J.D. Myall:And once they found that relatable voice, you have any other advice for helping them develop good characters that?
Hena Khan:relatable voice. Do you have any other advice for helping them develop good characters? Yeah, I think. For me personally, it helps me to ground a character in some kind of reality. So most of my characters are inspired by at least part of their personality is inspired by somebody I know and then I build around that. So, whether it's someone fictional that I've read in a book, if it's inspired by another character or a real life person, but you want to make sure you you really know your character well and to make them multidimensional, that they have more to their personality than one key trait. You know you want to give them lots, just like a regular person would have many sides to them. You want to make sure your character feels as real as possible and you know and flawed and you know complex and nuanced and not all the things that you want in a good character. That's going to make you believe that they're they're real as a reader.
J.D. Myall:What makes a good villain?
Hena Khan:Ooh, you know, apart from some of the pick your path style stories and um fantasy books I've coauthored, I haven't had true villains in my stories. Um, and it was fun in those books to make them, you know, over the top and um, um, as evil as possible but um, as evil as possible but um, I think a good villain is actually, uh, just as multidimensional as the protagonist.
Hena Khan:You know, if they were just a caricature of a person and they're not as compelling. But I think, if every character has something redeemable or something likable we're seeing this, you know, even in in film and and superhero movies, we're seeing the, the misunderstood villain as a hero, and I think it's because all of us have, you know, things that in us that we work hard to suppress, and some people aren't as good at it. Um, so, you know, I think it's recognizing that that there is a very human element to the villains as well. They shouldn't be too extreme love that.
J.D. Myall:Um, how would you suggest that aspiring writers who want to get into middle grade hook their young readers from the start, like, how do you grab the audience, especially the young audience, that early in a book?
Hena Khan:Yeah, I think there's so many different ways and you know it's funny. My newest middle grade novel that I authored solely drawing Dina, came out in February and my opening chapter takes place at the dentist. She's sitting in the dentist chair. How he does first chapter Fridays with his students and how he read the opening chapter of drawing Dina to his kids. And he said they were begging him to keep reading.
Hena Khan:And I started laughing because I said you know, I had so much doubt about starting this book at the dentist's office. I was like what am I doing when I was writing it. But I think it's a matter of, you know, taking your reader to a moment where they feel like they're there with you, they are invested, um, they understand your character through their actions, through their words, through their thoughts. You know a combination of all of that, um, and they're just in it with you, in action moment. It could be a quiet moment, but it's a matter of just sort of making your reader care about your character as quickly as possible, um, because if your reader doesn't care, they might not want to continue to read very true, very true.
J.D. Myall:How do you avoid the saggy middle in a story? How do you avoid losing that momentum halfway through?
Hena Khan:a great extent of detail, but enough so that I have some sort of roadmap, so that when I do hit that middle point and say what am I doing, I can go back and at least see what I had been thinking would happen next.
Hena Khan:And of course it changes as you write, um, but I think, um, you know, having a strong sense of at least your goal in writing and you know the overall story arc and point can sort of help you get through that part. And then of course, you know, as I said, I think I'm a natural editor, so that's the part I probably spend the most time on, where you know I'm building to that climatic moment and trying to make sure all the pieces are there that you know the reader needs to feel satisfied. Um, so you know, it is a matter of for me mapping it out first, trying to trying to achieve that, but then going back and really finessing and sort of massaging that, that middle section, because I do think that as much as as a writer you can get lost and frustrated. Um, you know that's where you really need to make sure your reader is going to stay with you to the end.
J.D. Myall:And how about the end? How do we tie it up? Good, what are some tips for that? Like do middle grade um, excuse me, middle-agers like the happy ending, are they okay?
Hena Khan:You know, that's something that I think I've had to work on the most. I've always, ever since I was in grade school, struggled with conclusions the most, with my essays, and I always felt like, well, I've said everything I've had to say. Why do I need to repeat myself? So of course, in fiction it's a bit different, but I do think that we have to resist. I know I've had to learn to resist the temptation to tie everything up super neatly for our readers, and if you're trying to convince them that a story is believable, you have to keep it. You know, believable all the way through. So, just like in life, you know, our problems don't all get solved very neatly. I think it helps to end on a hopeful note. That's what I like to do for middle grade, but not, you know, have every part of every challenge resolved.
J.D. Myall:And, yeah, to keep some doors open and, of course, that's also helpful if you're ever considering a sequel or continuing the story as well, not to have everything you know, complete, 100%. Love that, love that. What was your biggest surprise with the idea of publishing that you had before you became a published author? And then the reality working in the industry what was your biggest surprise?
Hena Khan:I think it was how, how much work comes after as an author that has nothing to do with writing. So all of the business side of things, all of the marketing and promotional activities, all of that was a big surprise to me, you know. I think I knew that there was the writing and, you know, expected the editorial process to be rigorous. I understood the sale of a book would be difficult, but I didn't realize how much, how much I would do later. That is outside of my element and I think a lot of writers are naturally perhaps more introverted or, you know, not really dying to be on a stage or have the spotlight and be a public speaker. And you know, all of that has taken me by surprise and a lot of it's been wonderful and I've learned to adjust and some of it's draining, but it wasn't something I understood before I got into the industry.
J.D. Myall:Did you have to do a lot of them, or do you do a lot of school visits and things like that?
Hena Khan:I do a lot of school visits and that's something I enjoy very much like connecting with readers and getting feedback from them and understanding the way they think and, you know, their questions is so valuable, so I adore doing school visits. You know, it's more of the. You know, giving a keynote is something that I also really appreciate, but it's just nerve-wracking because it's like you know, all of a sudden having a thousand eyeballs on me. This is something I I'm thinking of when I'm writing a book so um, yeah, it's just been a learning process, but you know it's good.
Hena Khan:It challenges you to go in different ways that you wouldn't think you might have to as a writer, and you know being a public speaker right, you know having to market yourself and do social media, for example. Or you know some unexpected things like uh, even you know having a interview with a puppet. You know you just didn't think you were going to have, but can be really fun in the end. Very true.
J.D. Myall:So for a newer um, a newly published author, what would be like the four or five marketing things that you would suggest that have worked the best for you?
Hena Khan:I wish I knew what was what really worked in marketing. Um, you know, I think, depending on who you're, you know what age level you're working. Did you ask middle grade? Sorry?
J.D. Myall:yeah, I'm asking middle grade because that's mostly what you do, but yeah, yeah so I elaborate in other areas, but well, you know, I've read picture books too.
Hena Khan:But, yeah, I think it depends on your, on your age range, who you're, who you're trying to reach. But I could answer the question for middle grade. Let's see what has worked, I think you know. However, however, you can feel comfortable. Engaging with educators is a wonderful way to get your work out there, because they are so instrumental in getting the hand your book into the hands of readers.
Hena Khan:So, whether it's through social media or by attending conferences or writing for outlets that they might be reading, I think that's excellent, um, you know, it's hard to know how much general social media engagement helps, um, and every day it seems to be changing. So, um, I'm, I'm not the best at social media. I try, um, and I can't say I, you know, I know whether or not there's certain strategies that work better than others, but, um, like, I'm not on TikTok, for example. So, um, but I think you know, just being positive, being authentic, um, you're trying to connect with people, whether it's kids or parents, any way you can really is is always well received, and I think it's, you know, the best way to share your books. Obviously, the public events are always fun, but they can be hit or miss, so it's always changing it is. It is the hardest part.
J.D. Myall:I think I love that you mentioned school visits. Do you have any tips for doing that? Well, like, what have you found? Like, are there any activities you do with the kids or do you bring something for teachers? Like any tips that you want to?
Hena Khan:yeah, I love talking to kids and I think what's been effective for me over the years is, um, you know, through practice, really learning how to speak to kids at different ages at the level that they can relate to what I'm saying, um, but really at any age, speaking to them as equals and um, and really being very honest about some of my own challenges with writing and editing, and being afraid or feeling less than or comparing myself to others, and I find that so many kids who readily admit that they don't think they're good writers or don't like reading or don't like reading, it's so wonderful to be able to try to challenge them and get them to realize that everyone can be a good writer or a good reader, and it's a matter of finding, you know, the ways to be inspired and to want to do it and to practice enough. So I think just being really real with kids and not talking down to them is really important. Really real with kids and not talking down to them is really important.
Hena Khan:Um, they love visuals and um, you know goofy pictures and all that stuff too. So that helps Um and uh. And you know they love stories. So whatever interesting stories you can bring are always well received too.
J.D. Myall:How was your debut year? Like, did you have a launch party. Like did you do anything?
Hena Khan:How was your debut year? Like? Did you have a launch party? Like, did you do anything?
Hena Khan:So for me, you know, my career was sort of spread out over a long time. So I started as a writer for hire, for Scholastic Book Clubs, like I mentioned, and then I had my debut picture book come out back in 2008. So it was, it was really different than in terms of social media and I didn't have a debut group or anything like that. I did have a surprise party thrown by my husband which was really fun for family and friends, but you know, it just felt really different then and it's been fun to see the industry sort of evolve and for me personally to have a community of, you know, diverse authors that I feel very connected to are now on the board of we Need Diverse Books, which I'm, you know, really grateful for all they've done to expand the landscape for children's literature and adding diverse voices.
Hena Khan:But when I started the landscape for children's literature and adding diverse voices, but when I started, you know, I felt a bit isolated and I wasn't sure if I would ever publish a second book or what the industry, you know how it would receive what my first book and you know what the market would be like, and so each time at the beginning of my career, I felt like I was waiting and seeing what might be next.
Hena Khan:And you know, I finally sold my first novel, amina's Voice, back in 2016. And that felt, you know, at that point I had an agent and that felt like the moment to really invest full time in this. But before that, I was writing part time for kids, I was consulting for public health organizations or still working for them, and I didn't even call myself an author for a long time, even though I had published books. I used to refer to myself, as you know, communication specialist, and I also write children's books. So it took a while for me to own this as my profession and really to feel comfortable making this my full time work.
J.D. Myall:That's awesome. So what do you guys do with? We Need Diverse Books. I know you guys used to have like scholarships to help with housing and stuff like that. Do you guys still do?
Hena Khan:all that. What are some of the programs? So, there's definitely scholarships for writers and also for industry professionals. To try to expand that, we need more. You know diverse editors and people working in the publishing industry. We have various campaigns to get books into the hands of diverse books, into the hands of readers. Um, there's the Walter awards, which is a wonderful um award for diverse books. That also involves getting those books out into the hands of readers. Um, and then special programs for um, you know, against book banning, for example, to help the fight against book bans, to support different communities, respond to, you know, various things happening in the media and in the world. So, yeah, really, really great stuff.
J.D. Myall:Important work. Good to hear. Good to hear. Yeah, I'm going to segue back. I'm sorry if I'm jumping around. I promise when I write it everything will be all right.
J.D. Myall:I'm sure no worries I just got when you said that. I got curious because, like I said, I used to know a little about it, but the industry changes. I wasn't sure if what I thought to be true was still true. Yeah, sounds like it is Okay. With picture books, how does that process work, do you like in general, how does your relationship work with your agent? Do you discuss this is something I'm interested in writing and then, you know, discuss if it can sell beforehand, or do you just create and then send it? Or how does that work? And with picture books specifically as well, how is that, you know process, I imagine is different than the middle grade um, it depends on, um.
Hena Khan:You know, if you're writing middle grade, as a as a first time middle grade writer or any type of book for the first time, you will likely write the entire book and then try to sell it, whether it's, you know, middle grade, contemporary, or a fantasy or a graphic novel. You'll, you'll write the whole piece of the whole work With a picture, and then, after you've been published, you might not need to write the whole thing. You might be able to sell it on a proposal with a few chapters, for example, but with a picture book, you, you, you really need to write the whole picture book. Um, and of course it's fewer words, many viewer words, um, but I think it's harder to sell a book, a picture book, on a proposal.
Hena Khan:Um, so, with my agent, you know, there's times where I've written a whole picture book because I'm excited about it or I think I have the concept, or I want to see if it works. So I'll write the whole thing and then share it with my agent and see what he thinks and he'll, you know, weigh in and then, you know, decide if we want to go forward with it. Sometimes I'll have an idea, something specific will pop in my head and I think this could make a picture book. What do you think? And we I might just you mention it we might talk through it and sort of workshop it together.
Hena Khan:So it really depends on how, how fully formed my idea is and how, how strongly I feel about it, If I'll just jump right in and write it first. But you know, since I don't illustrate, once we do, you know, get a manuscript ready to submit and then sell it, then the editor, the acquiring editor, will help pair us with an illustrator who brings it to life and brings you know their own take on it. Which is always the most amazing part of writing picture books is seeing two creative minds come together and, with their own vision and and create something magical.
J.D. Myall:I love that. Do you see yourself doing more anthologies in the future?
Hena Khan:I would love to Like I said, this was such a fun experience and I know I've heard others talk about how it can be challenging at times and I wasn't sure what to expect, but really it just brought me so much joy to be able to do this and to have it out in the world and everybody was so excited about it and, um, we just we feel like a little family now who worked on this book together and yeah, I would. I would love the chance to do it again.
J.D. Myall:How long did it take?
Hena Khan:Um, the initial drafting. You know, we, we went through various stages of, you know, everybody signing on, and then, um, and then we brainstormed together and, uh, worked out the specifics of our, where this community center would be and the types of stories we wanted and we all agreed to to write in the first person present tense to try to give it more, um, more continuity between stories. Even though it is different characters and different authors and different voices, it still feels a bit more unified that way. And once we decided on who our individual characters would be and their names, we created a document where we could share details of the theme of our story and a little bit about our characters' personalities, so we could weave each other's characters into our own stories. And then we all wrote well, I actually wrote my story last, but the other writers wrote their drafts and we did some, you know, revisions, um, until it felt ready to piece all the stories together and that was my job of deciding what order to put them in, going back and asking the writers to weave in elements of the bigger backstory, and then I wrote my story and inserted it in the place I thought it fit.
Hena Khan:So all of that, you know from inception to the final draft probably took at least a year, and you know we had a switch with our editor in the middle so that caused a little bit of a delay. But, um, yeah, all in all it was, you know, a pretty smooth process and, um, fairly quick overall, I would think, because, considering how many people were involved, you know, that's surprising to me, though, because I thought it was going to be shorter, because it was more people yeah, so I think you know, from idea inception to it being done.
Hena Khan:Yeah, I would say it was about a year, but that includes like selling the book and oh okay, so then it was there.
J.D. Myall:Yeah yeah, the actual, like I would say it was probably about six months okay, well, that was definitely quicker because a lot of people take like a year to draft alone. So that's why I was thinking you were talking just the drafting process.
Hena Khan:Yeah, no, people were pretty quick with their first drafts. I think I gave everyone somewhere between six weeks to two months and and everybody was great about getting things to me in a timely way to keep us on schedule.
J.D. Myall:How does how's your life changed now versus before you were writing, full time editing and all that great stuff.
Hena Khan:Yeah, I, I definitely have more autonomy over my time you know, not not working for somebody else and working for myself, um, and I feel, you know, I just feel so lucky to get to do this for a living, um, and to be able to to tell stories and and connect with kids and be around other authors and educators and, you know, librarians and parents and like people who just care about kids.
Hena Khan:So I feel like that brings me a lot of joy because it's it's a really wonderful space to be in. I feel like the things I struggle with are time management and trying to juggle, you know, writing with all the stuff we talked about before, like the marketing promotion, the travel, the school visits, um, and you know, make sure that I'm not failing or trying to try to keep, you know, keep everything, uh, going on top of you know, regular life stuff that comes at you, um. So, yeah, I definitely feel like having having more. Um. The biggest change has been turning a passion into a, into a career and and balancing the moments where you feel like the joy is being squeezed out of it because it is a job, um, and then regaining the joy through wonderful things that happen, like amazing interactions with readers or you, you know, teachers or fans. So I feel like it's like anything else, a balancing act.
J.D. Myall:What are your long-term goals in the industry?
Hena Khan:I would like to keep writing and publishing stories as long as I feel like I have them to tell inside me. I am doing some more mentoring of other writers and I really enjoy that, and doing some developmental editing as well. So I enjoyed editing this book so much. I'd love to see if in the future perhaps more editing or even more teaching might be in my future. But for now I'm really happy to focus more mostly on writing and doing some editing as well. But we'll see if that changes in the future.
J.D. Myall:Is the mentoring through we Need Diverse Books or is that through something else?
Hena Khan:Some of it's unofficial, some of it's through the highlights foundation um muslim storytellers fellowship um. That was a program that I participated in as a mentor you've gotten on writing what's the best advice.
Hena Khan:I don't know if this is advice, as much as it was a relief to hear people say you don't need to write every day to be a writer, because I think I had heard that so much when I was growing up and I imagine writers to be so passionate about writing that they did it every day and that they had a specific schedule.
Hena Khan:And I feel kids visibly, you know, really like exhale in relief when I tell them that I don't write every day and I don't have a schedule and I think writing when you feel like doing it will produce better work than forcing yourself to do it when you don't want to. So, you know, I get asked all the time about writer's block and how I overcome that, and for me, writer's block is really just being distracted or being confused about my story or not not knowing what, to where to take a story or a character, and just taking time away from that and doing something else and not feeling like I have to force it. So I really feel like letting your creative self, you know, have space. Um is the advice that I've appreciated. Um, and not giving yourself, not being too hard on yourself with word counts and page limits, or like the number of hours you have to spend per day doing it okay and best advice for aspiring authors.
Hena Khan:I would say to to really read widely um while you're writing or before you write even you know. To really get to know the genre that you're working in, the types of voices that are out there, and to really understand what appeals to you and the style that you like the best Um. And to really be open to critique um, cause you're going to get a lot of it from agents and from editors and so if you're not used to that, it's a good um, a good thing to experience and get comfortable with Um, cause I think sometimes, especially as somebody who edited researchers in the past, we can get very attached to our words and our stories and you have to be able to be. You have to learn how to be flexible and to be able to understand that others may not be receiving your writing the way you think all the time. So to get used to that is really helpful and will, I think, not only make you a better writer and your story better, it'll make the process a little like smoother down the road.
J.D. Myall:Awesome, I love that, thank you. So where can people um connect with you if they wanted to be mentored or edited, or just find a hub where all your books lie?
Hena Khan:Oh well, they could find me online at on my website, so you'll find lots of information about me. I have some resources for educators and a special page for kids, so you can find lots of stuff about my books and resource guides and videos and fun things there. So it's just my name, henna khancom, and there was also a forum where people can contact me through that. Um, also on social media um, mostly Instagram, much less anywhere else. So at henna khan books, and I love hearing from readers. I always appreciate reviews and I'm one of the writers one of the few authors I know, who actually reads all her reviews online and they go on.
Hena Khan:Goodreads and read them. So thank you to everybody out there reading and reviewing my books.
J.D. Myall:I love that. What's up next for you? What are you working on now?
Hena Khan:What's up next for you? What are you working on? Now? I'm working on my, my second graphic novel, and I'm deciding and a picture book and just deciding what my next project will be. And this is a big publishing year for me with five books releasing, so a lot of the fun, the fun stuff of promoting in the meantime.
J.D. Myall:That's awesome. How'd you do five in a year? I'm thoroughly impressed. I don't think I've ever heard that before.
Hena Khan:Oh, thank you. It's just sort of a, you know, just scheduling different publishers and different projects that cropped up and others that maybe got moved, and so because of that it worked out this way. So L5 are different genres. So I have a contemporary middle grade drawing, dina, that came out in February, the anthology that just came out last week, and then I have a picture book in a couple of weeks and my graphic novel debut coming out in the summer and then a co-authored book, um book for in a series called best wishes with sarah molinowski coming out in the fall. So it's a lot of different types of books.
Speaker 4:That wraps up today's craft chat chronicles with jd mayor. Thanks for joining us. If you like the episode, please comment, subscribe, subscribe and share. For show notes, writing workshops and tips, head to jdmayocom. That's jdmayorcom. While you're there, join JD's mailing list for updates, giveaways and more, and I wish you all the best.
J.D. Myall:continued success, you too, and I wish you too, you too stay strong. Thank you.