WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Grammar Minute: SPECIAL EPISODE: Interview with Esther Pipkin, YA Fantasy Author

Episode Date: March 31, 2025

Esther grew up on a farm in Missouri, where she spent her childhood in the woods playing with Peter Pan and the Pevensies. She graduated from The Author Conservatory with a certification in creative writing, and a certification in business and entrepreneurship. When she’s not writing, you might find Esther baking snickerdoodles and singing showtunes or going on adventures (like visiting bookstores) with her husband. 

You're listening to a special episode of The Grammar Minute with Lauren Smith. With me today is Esther Pipkin, young adult fantasy author and contributor to the Voices of the Future Anthology. Esther, welcome to the podcast and thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you so much, Lauren. I'm so excited to be here today. So I want to start off by going all the way back to the beginning of your writing story because I feel like getting into writing can start with reading, can start with writing, or can start with something completely different. So what first got you interested in writing? How and at what age did you get started? I think my journey really did start reading, like you mentioned. I was a huge reader as a kid. Like my family would read out loud, like during lunchtime and things like that. I was homeschooled.

So like my family really fostered this level of reading. So I just read all the books as a kid. I would like frequent our library. Like every week, I could just get like a bunch of books. And I think my love just started there. So I started writing pretty young and wrote my first novel when I was 13 with a friend during Nana Rimo. And it just kind of started from there. Out of pure curiosity, did you manage to finish the entire novel during the month of November? I think we did.

We definitely like had to go back and add more later. but I think we got at least pretty close. That's so impressive. I've always wanted to make that one month deadline, but so far I think my record is maybe six months. Yeah, for sure. I don't think I've done it since then. And it helped that I was doing with a friend,

so we would take turns. But yeah, it's definitely a big commitment for sure. What were some of the books and maybe movies or music that you checked out from the library that shaped your writing journey later on? I read, like, so many genres. I read, like, the classics. I read, like, a lot of, like,

the really popular books at the time, like Percy Jackson and things like that. So I think just having a wide variety was really, I think that was really impactful to me because I really love, like, fantasy, which I write a lot of the classics, which I think was really helpful. I read, like, Aragon and Lord of the Rings

and C.S. Bluets and all. So that's definitely, like, I think we're, like my love of fantasy started in those like really, really classic books like Norenia. You mentioned you were homeschooled. Fun fact, I actually was as well. And I found that that gave me just a lot more time and ability to focus on writing. Was that something you experienced as well?

Or how was writing incorporated into your homeschool curriculum or experience? Yeah, I definitely did have like a lot more time to write. And like my mom definitely like encouraged me in that as a kid. and I definitely like spent a lot of my free time like writing or reading. So that was just definitely something like my parents really, really thought to me and me, which I appreciate now. So the book that you wrote during National Novel Writing Month, I guess that's what NanoRimo stands for, just for any viewers who are or people who are listening who don't know that. But for that book that you wrote during that time, what was it about? Was that fantasy as well?

And what was it like writing with someone else? Yeah, so it was very much as fantasy. It was very much like, looking back on it now, it's just kind of like adorable because it was like about like these five princesses who had magical powers. And it was just like it's very, it felt very much like middle grade fantasy for that time period like early earlier 2000s. But it was it was honestly really a lot of fun. I read it with my best friend that I went to church with.

And so, like, we would spend, like, our afternoons just, like, with our notebooks, like, not, like, jotting down notes before we started. And so I think, I think we, like, trades off every chapter. So I would write a chapter and then she would write the next chapter. And that seemed to work really well. And then we, like, both went back through and, like, worked on editing after it. But it was just, it was a lot of fun. Like, we did a lot of, like, really intense planning beforehand, which I think helped us as well, to kind of. to kind of know where we were going.

Are you still a planner or a pancer when you write now? I am absolutely a planner. There are some parts that I do like to discover you, right? Like, I don't plan absolutely every detail, but I definitely do believe in having, like, an outline. I like having, like, tracker outlines even. So I'm very much, like, there are some things I do, like, I like to, like, discover little details about, like,

oh, I didn't realize this world building piece needed to be here, but now I'm going to add it type of thing when I'm writing. But I'm very much like I like to plot and outline before I start writing now. And how did that first writing project help you later on as you started making writing a bigger part of your life? What were some lessons you learned from that or some just memorable experiences? Just having that first novel under my belt is really helpful. Because I had like started a lot of projects up to that point, but I had never, like, fully written a novel until that point. And just having, like, so, like, focusing so much on the plotting, before we started writing, I think really kind of laid the groundwork for me to, like,

be able to write more books later on. What came next in that writing journey? What was the next thing you wrote? I wrote two or three other books on my own. None of them were good, but they were all just kind of like they were good practicing and like stepping stones for me until I joined the author conservatory where I went to school. So those were kind of like they were good stepping stones for me until I like kind of like was actually able to like plot books that were actually a little bit better than the one like just the practice novels I wrote. I am not super familiar with the author conservatory and I'm guessing that some of the people listening to this won't be either. So can you Tell me a little bit about what that is and what your experience was like there.

Yeah, absolutely. So the author conservatory is a three-year college alternative. And they really just teach you like the writing skills and like how to navigate the publishing industry, how they get published. But they also like teach you the business skills and how to make money at being an author, which was just really so awesome. So I was one of the one of their like first founding students. So I graduated last year. And it was just such an awesome experience. And I honestly wouldn't be where I am today if I hadn't, like, gone through and gone to the school.

What is something that stands out in your memory from your lessons there as something that has carried through the rest of your writing or just a really big piece of advice that you would want to share? Oh, that's hard to choose. Over three years, I bet you would have a lot of options. Yes. Yeah. honestly I think one of the biggest one of the biggest things I learned just how important community is to writing and in the publishing industry is that like people kind of have this picture of like oh you're a writer so you must like hole away in your in your office and

like be a hermit and not talk to anyone but I really found that like I feel like the best stories like flourish when they're like have a community around them and author like if you have those people supporting you and you have critique partners and you have mentors and just all of this kind of like a village helping you, the process is just so much easier. Just having that, just having that community around you and those friends and those mentors and just in every stage. And that like has been so, so valuable. It's something I never really thought about before joining author.

Where are some places that you found that community? Definitely. writer's great. I love Instagram. That's just, that's such an awesome community there. And like a lot of my classmates, I found like just really, just a really awesome community there. But another really big one I found is finding community at writing conferences. I've gone to several, just like a lot of conferences through the years. And just finding those like fellow writers who like either write your genre or just a really, you really really disconnect with. That's been, like, really awesome, too. I would definitely, like, to any, like, young writers who, like, want to find that community, I would definitely recommend going writing conferences. When you were talking about the author conservatory, you mentioned a little bit about the business side of writing. So I want to take a detour here, because I think a lot of people who are interested in writing, obviously, want to be able to make a living off of that,

or at least want to make it a self-sustaining hobby. And there's a very common perception that like many types of art, it's really, really difficult to make money off of writing and that luck plays into it a lot. So how would you respond to that statement? And do you think it's possible for a young writer to have a career that's based off writing? Yeah, that's a great question. And definitely, like, something I got a lot when I was like, when I chose to go to the author conservatory. And that's something like, that really bothered me. Like, I got asked that question a lot. I know it had a lot of people saying like, oh, like writing isn't a viable career. So I would like definitely say yes, absolutely. It is like a lot of work and you do have

to keep at it. But if you were smart and you do build those business skills, one thing we do do in author conservatory is you have to like make your own like pop up business basically. and so you have trainings and you go through and learn those business skills and how to run a business. Because that's just really important to like navigate those skills. When you do become an author, you aren't just like focusing on the writing side. You're also realizing these are some tactics to help me like build an actual career and to make money at this. So it definitely like you have to put in the work for sure. but if you do build up those skills, I think it's absolutely viable.

And I also think that if you keep at it, if you keep growing your craft, if you keep growing, like, business goals, eventually, like, you will succeed. It just may take some time because being an author, like, definitely the publishing industry is a whole thing. It definitely can take some time. But if you just keep at it, and I think it's definitely a different viable option. publishing is a super famously tough industry and i want to come back and talk about that a little bit more too but before i do you're talking about writing and you're saying how you know a writer is first

of all writing books or at least you know short stories and articles and things that take a lot of time and mental energy and creativity and you're essentially running your own business at the same time and you know most likely you have a lot of life to live outside of that so what are your time management tips for just being able to kind of have that creative energy flowing without ever getting completely burnt out. One thing, one really important thing to do is just have, like, a list of your priorities. Because I know in certain times in my life, I haven't prioritized writing as much. And that, like, definitely my writing suffered during those times when I, like, had other things and I was busy. It didn't actually, like, set aside time to write that, like, my writing

some weird during those moments. So I think just really prioritizing what's important and how important writing is to you is really vital and kind of like sometimes just scheduling. Like I personally really, I find I'm more creative in the first thing in the morning. So something that's really important to me is I have to set aside time first thing in the morning to write. Otherwise I know I'm not going to do it. So that's one thing I've really found. It helps me is just to like, have a time that I go and write. So that's definitely a time management skill I've learned. And I think every person is different, too.

You have to really learn, like, what will work for you and your lifestyle and all of these things. So that's probably my top time management skill. Also, just, like, eliminating distractions and, like, turning off your phone and just, like, being really present whenever you are writing. And just having writing or just any other skill as well. It's just like being really intentional and just know how you're spending your time and being intentional with that time. Outside of your first novel, which with another person took you a month to write, how long does it usually take you to finish a project, whether that's a short story or a book? So in general, if I have like a deadline, I usually write, I can write a first draft. in like two to three months.

If I, like, have my strict deadline, I really, like, sit down, buckle down and write a short story, depending on how long it is, like, that could take me, like, a week to two weeks, and if I'm really, like, being away at it. So the editing process definitely takes me a bit longer. So, like, that's the first draft, and then I'll take, like, a few months. So go back there and edit it because I am an underwriter. So kind of my process is I like get the really rough first draft and then I go back through

and I usually like go through and add words, add a chapter here and there, which is kind of just how my process works. So everyone's a little bit different. But that's how I generally approach things. When you're editing, besides filling in the gaps, what are some things you look for in your own writing that are habits you're trying to change or just things to watch out for? Yeah, that's a great question. for me since I am an underwriter

I usually just go back and add in a bunch of stuff like I'm usually really bad about not having enough description and those kind of things so a lot of it is adding in adding in those little details that I might have might have not taken the time to write originally but a lot of other things like I'm like I'll go through each chapter

and I'll like just do a read through just read through the whole chapter and just kind of like make sure I'm seeing everything. And then I'll go back through and make sure that there aren't any plot things I need to fix. And then I'll look at all the characters and make sure the characters are all just, like their character arc is working well, that's the dot. And then I'll kind of go through and like look at the smaller things after that. Like is the dialogue slowly, is like pacing right?

I kind of have like this whole checklist I go through with each chapter and do that. Do you typically self-edit or do you involve? of someone else in the editing process? I usually do like a whole round of self-edit. So I'll have my first, like really rough drafts, then I will take a second draft to edit it. And then I'll usually give it to

like a critique burner or two and have them read through it and give me any suggestions. So those are kind of like I really, really recommend to any like new authors listening. Having a critique burner is a really vital step because they'll definitely pick up

some things that you've become blind to after those, like, first couple of drafts. So that's a really vital step, too, I think. What's a good way to find critique partners? Kind of going back to community is either, like, finding those online groups or Instagram or just kind of, like, building that community where you can, like, reach out to friends or people you know that you know will do a good job. So just kind of like building that community first and then having those people you trust you can critique for you.

And so you go through this whole process with a book or a story or anything that you're planning to publish. And you know, you've done all this work. You've had this idea. You've turned it into a finished piece of writing. You've gone through the editing with yourself and maybe with a critique partner. And then you get to the end. You have the project in your hand.

What's next? Do you approach an editor? Do you write a query package? What does that look like for you? So this has definitely been, like, different with each book. And I am, like, really new in this process. I've had, like, I had my short story published in The Force Voices of the Feature Anthology. So right now what I'm doing is I have one novel completely finished, completely edited,

and I'm working on that querying process with that right now. So I went through, like, I wrote it. I had critique partners and then I sent it to a professional editor who gave me a manuscript assessment on it and then I did more edits and then I decided it was finally ready and I could finally start querying it. So that's kind of how that novel that I'm pitching, that's how that process went. and I also have like another backup novel for if I if I decide that this other novel isn't working in the industry if it's just like if I'm kind of like a backup novel I have kind of like a backup novel to start growing if that other one if I end up like I need to like pivot and go a different direction I kind of have this other novel that I've been working on as well and then taking through with critique partners right now actually so I have. have also been through the querying process several times. And we all know there is so much rejection involved with that process, no matter how good of a writer you are. I mean, Stephen King is the classic example. He had so many rejection letters pinned to his wall that he used his motivation

while he was writing. But what's your advice for dealing with that rejection from editors, publishers, agents, because it will unavoidably happen as just part of the writing career. How do you handle those sorts of things. It's tough. That's like, it's, I don't think it's ever easy. Like, even I've talked to a lot of, like, really experienced authors and they're like, I never go away. You still deal with rejection, like, throughout your whole career.

So that's, it's so tough. But I think just kind of something I've really had to learn is, like, I do believe, like, I'm kind of going back to community again, it's like having those people who will cheer for you when you have your wins and also will be there for you to kind of mourn with you over those rejections too. It's just really important. But I also think one thing that's really hard for most creative people to learn and authors to learn is that having to kind of take a step back and not put all of your value into

your work and realized, hey, this one agent didn't really connect with my book. that's okay. And I'm going to learn from their feedback and keep going. And I know that I have a good story. I'm confident in my work. And I'm going to like learn and make it better. But also realize that I have value and I am like I have a value as a person. And my value in this book is not the same thing. So that's something I've had to kind of learn is that just because they're rejecting my book doesn't mean they're rejecting me and that I'm a mouthful person. If that makes sense, it's just you have kind of differentiating and being like, yes, I'm hitting a head end with this book and people who don't want it right now. And that may just mean that it's not the right time

for it. And that doesn't mean that I'm any less valuable as a person. So that's kind of something I've had to learn personally and how to deal with that rejection. So despite all of the challenges we've talked about in just creativity as a discipline and in the publishing industry specifically, you made it through the writing and the editing and the publishing process with a story in the voices of the future anthology. So can you tell me a little bit about that anthology and specifically about your story in it? Yeah, absolutely. So this is, again, going back to the opportunity, One thing we do in the school is in your last year you publish a short story.

So I was featured in this anthology through my school and got to kind of see, like, we got to like do all the back end stuff on publishing. So I like develop this short story and work together with other people to put together this collection of short stories, which is just so fun. And this really, this particular short story is really, was just really sweet. Because it's more of like a cozy fantasy. It's called Willo Zillow and Smith. And it's about three siblings who own a bookshop and a town where magic is illegal. So it's kind of like their misadventures as they're navigating this. They're like kind of like persnicking landlord and just kind of misadventures they get into.

So it was a really sweet story to work on. So I just really love the process. And this is a really fun collection of kind of a wide variety of genres. So mine's more of a cozy fantasy. That sounds so fun. I love it. I am looking forward to picking up a copy of that anthology. Thank you.

So I have one last question for you that I ask every guest on this podcast. It's very vague. It's very generic. but I love the wide variety of answers that it gets. And it is very simple and asked to every author, I'm sure, what is your favorite book? Yes, I will admit, this is kind of a question I dread a little bit because I just have so many favorites. I can't choose. So one thing I've kind of reverted to is I like to give my most recent favorite book because I just can't choose.

So I had a trip a couple weeks ago and I pretty much read the whole. whole book on the plane. Early is really close. And it's called A Crowd of Chains by Aaron Phillips. It's a retelling of the book of Esther. They're just really well done. I cried so much during different points. It was just really, it was just really well done. It just really impacted me a lot. So I would say a crowd of chains for Aaron Phillips is my most recent favorite. That sounds fantastic. This is all just a ploy for me to expand my reading list. Yes, I love it. Well, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today. It was great to have you, and I really enjoyed talking about your writing experience and experience in the publishing and editing industry.

Yeah, thank you so much. I really enjoyed just chatting with you today. This has been a special episode of The Grammar Minute with Lauren Smith. With me today was Esther Pipkin, young adult fantasy author, and contributor to the Voices of the Future Anthology. You can find more about her work on Instagram at Esther Pipkin author. And for more episodes of Grammar Minute, visit thegrammarminit.com.