We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Khadijah VanBrakle. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Khadijah below.
Hi Khadijah, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the best thing you’ve ever seen (or done yourself) to show a customer that you appreciate them?
The best way I can show my customers, aka the people who read my books, how I appreciate them is to develop the best stories I can.
Even with two Contemporary YA books traditionally published, I make sure to take the time to continue attending webinars and read books on the craft of writing. For me, it’s vital to connect to other authors to share experiences with and learn from others who have been in the publishing arena for many years.
Second, I appreciate the independent bookstores that carry my books and support local authors. Page 1 Books is one of those stores and I was honored to have the book launch for sophomore novel there last year.
Additionally, I share free writing resources on my website. As someone who doesn’t hold an undergraduate degree in Creative Writing, it’s important to me to encourage those who may have always wanted to write a fiction novel but didn’t know where and/or how to start, to have a place to find some basic information.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Khadijah VanBrakle and I’m a traditionally-published, Contemporary Young Adult author. I write coming-of-age stories about teens who face impossible choices. I pivoted away from my original career path because I wanted to become part of making sure that marginalized teens see themselves on the printed page and now I write stories with universal themes that can create empathy and a sense of commonality. There are so few books in Contemporary Young Adult literature that feature Black American Muslim protagonists, a dual marginalization that I share.
This is what drives me to keep writing.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I wrote my first, complete Contemporary YA manuscript almost ten years ago. I’m still proud of my perseverance to finish the story. I revised this project for many months until I thought it was the best I could make it.
I sent the edited manuscript to just over one hundred literary agents. Unfortunately, not a single one offered representation. I was devasted and for a short time, I was convinced my writing career was over.
Despite being burdened with imposter syndrome, I took a vague idea and started a new manuscript. At the same time, I took classes to improve my writing and revision skills. After a sensitivity reader’s feedback, a complete overhaul and an additional six months of edits, I reentered the query trenches.
Less than a year later, in Feb. 2020, that second manuscript that I wrote while being ladled with self-doubt, I received and accepted offer of representation from my current agent, Kristina Perez. That manuscript became my 2023 debut novel, Fatima Tate Takes The Cake.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
When I first began my creative journey, I wish I knew that every author is different and struggles with one or more parts of writing. The fact that drafting is not my favorite part of the process but revision is what I consider my superpower, is perfectly normal.
In my earlier manuscripts, I struggled without a method to complete first drafts. Outlining seemed overly complicated and after trying pantsing, I found Story Genius by Lisa Cron. It’s my all-time favor way to delve deep into my main characters and discover the stories I want to tell. Now, I feel no shame in continuing to take craft classes and reading craft books, to sharpen my writing skills.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.khadijahvanbrakle.com/
- Instagram: @khadijahvanbrakle
Image Credits
Khadijah VanBrakle’s author photo credit: Khadija Chudnoff