Today’s interview is with Sarah Frank, a seventeen year old author of the novels One Chance and Two Secrets. She writes middle grade fiction novels as well as poetry, and she’s been writing since the first grade! She also does public speaking at schools, and launched a writing program in which you can get free worksheets, activity sets, and general tips. You can find that writing program here, her website here, follow her on Instagram @sarahfrankauthor, and find her books on www.bealubooks.com.

What are you currently working on? When/where will it be available to read?

I’m currently working on my third book, Three Quests, which will come out later this year!

What is it like being so young and already being a published, award winning author? Does it come with its struggles?

I absolutely love being a teen author! It’s such a huge part of my identity and it’s what people know me for. In school and my community, I’m the girl who wrote a book and I actually really like that reputation! I won’t lie, though, the journey has definitely not been easy. Writing, editing, and publishing takes up a lot of time and attention. I faced a lot of doubt from everyone and I can’t blame them: at the end of the day, I was a little kid saying I wanted to do what is considered a very adult thing. I also faced a lot of jealousy from people, from kids who wanted to be in the spotlight but didn’t want to put the work in. I lost some friends but the true ones stayed and supported me on my journey. It’s been an amazing adventure!

What is your favorite part of writing?

There are so many things to love about writing. I use prose as an escape and poetry as expression. I can find myself in stories and lose myself there too. It’s always been incredible to me that an author could put a pen to paper, put all the right words in the right combinations, and make me feel something.

Who are some of your favorite authors? Have they affected your writing at all?

I started writing stories in first grade. I was inspired to write because of my love for reading and have been writing ever since. My favorite books growing up were Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and Divergent. Those authors (JK Rowling, Rick Riordan, and Veronica Roth) created worlds out of words that I felt such a big part of. I found that incredibly inspiring and wanted to do it myself!

Describe the first thing you ever wrote

The first story I ever wrote was in first grade about a girl who could become invisible. I always thought that it was a super cool power and loved that I could explore it through my writing.

What was your publishing journey like?

My writing journey has not always been easy. I wrote my first draft of my book, One Chance, in 5th grade. I was 11 and I already wanted to look into publishing. People didn’t believe in me and their doubt stung but I used it as fuel to my fire. At the Tampa Bay Area Writing Project fall conference in 2015, the year’s guest speaker was Luana Mitten, CEO of BeaLu Books. I’d self-published a short book of poetry in 5th grade that she heard about. She invited me to speak on a panel of authors to answer questions. After the panel, she gave me her business card and expressed interest in publishing my book. I signed my contract in May 2017 and released One Chance in January 2018, Two Secrets in November 2019, and Three Quests this coming fall.

Can you share a sneak peek/quote from your current project?

“Fighting Charles Moon will be hard…but fighting our destiny will be even harder.”

What’s your biggest writing struggle?

Doing edits is definitely the hardest part. Sometimes it’s easy to remind myself that it’s for the best of the book and it’ll be worth it, but sometimes I just really don’t want to make the changes. It’s hard to change a part of a story or a character you’re connected to.

What advice would you give a writer less experienced as you?

My favorite piece of advice to give is to make sure you enjoy the writing. Too frequently, writers get caught up in critique as they write. The writing brain and the editing brain don’t work together, they’re not meant to coexist. Write it and enjoy writing it, THEN look to edit and revise. You can always go back to it. On a similar note, if the story doesn’t feel right for you, don’t write it. Sometimes you have to hit some dead-end stories to find the right one.

Big thanks to Sarah for her interview! If you would like to be interviewed for my blog, send me a message on Instagram