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How Waukee Fiction Author Jan Blazanin Found Success

Waukee resident Jan Blazanin is an accomplished author of young adult fiction. Read about how she learned to write and what her experiences can teach us all.

Jan Blazanin, Waukee resident and author of the young adult fiction novels "A & L Do Summer" and "Fairest of them All," sat down for coffee with me this week and I came away with a new appreciation for the craft of writing. In sharing her personal story, Blazanin also provided some remarkable life lessons that can be useful for us all. 

Lesson One: Be Open to New Challenges
Blazanin was a special-education teacher for 12 years before she transitioned to a sixth-grade classroom, where she taught language arts. In order to choose the books she felt would best suit her students, Blazanin found herself reading quite a lot of young adult fiction, aimed at 11- and 12-year-olds.

She said, “I thought to myself — I can write this.” So she began to write manuscripts and diligently sent them off to publishers for review.

Lesson Two: Rejection is an Opportunity to Grow
Most writers trying to be published have felt the sting of a rejection letter, but Blazanin was tenacious. She felt frustrated by the process of seeking a publisher for her manuscripts: “I didn’t even receive feedback; just a 'no thanks.' I realized that you can’t just be kind of good enough.”

Lesson Three: Listen to Critiques
Blazanin began to hone her skills. “There is a learning curve. I took workshops, joined a writing group, and went to conferences where editors could critique my work."

She learned by observing, listening, and reading. “There has to be something more,” Blazanin said, “something that catches the attention of an editor. They call it the hook.”

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She also found valuable colleagues in her writing group. “I met them at the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) and we all live in the Des Moines area. We meet once a month for critique and as a support group.”
 
Lesson Four: Put Yourself Out There
Blazanin calls herself lucky to have found a major agent, who represents clients like Suzanne Collins of the "Hunger Games" series. The agent liked Blazanin’s ideas when they first met at a conference. When Blazanin had finished the manuscript for "Fairest of them All," she approached the agent again and found success. She gained representation, a powerful voice to pitch her book, and eventually MTV Books made an offer to buy it.

Lesson Five: Know Your Strengths
Blazanin is working on a young adult contemporary fantasy project. She intends to continue to write for the young adult genre because it fits. “I don’t relate as well to books for younger kids.” She prefers writing for younger teenagers, noting “some of the older teen books tend to get a bit edgy. It’s harder to write.”

Her writing also has a perspective that resonates with her own upbringing outside Adel: both of her novels are set in Iowa.

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Beyond that comfort factor, Blazanin wanted to write a more realistic portrait of life in the Midwest. “There is a Midwest in this country. We don’t talk like hicks, and unless we live on a farm, we don’t walk around with manure on our pants,” she said.

Blazanin recalls her own upbringing with middle class parents and a life outside a big city. She said, “the whole country is not a major metropolitan area. My characters are ordinary Midwestern girls.”

Blazanin has spent the last 20 years in Waukee, where she lives on 11 acres with her partner, Mike, two dogs, one cat, and about a dozen guinea fowl. She was drawn to Waukee for both its open land and close proximity to Des Moines. Blazanin is 62 years old and continues to write and teach writing to kids, teens, and adults.

You can find her books locally and online. To learn more, go to JanBlazanin.com.

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