Well, yes, it is over. For now. But if you haven’t had the chance yet to read everything that’s been posted, don’t panic — we’re leaving the blog up here and intact for you to come back to. Over the last two weeks, 128 authors posted 776 blog entries on fourteen different subjects.

You can use the drop-down menus to the right to browse the blog — you can jump immediately to see any particular author’s responses, or see all the responses for any particular topic. And you can check out the author pages as well, which have plenty of information about the author as well as the author’s latest book and a link to the author’s personal website (if they have one).

Why not take a few minutes every day to stop back here and introduce yourself to an author whom you haven’t read yet?

We can’t thank you enough for your support and participation during this first annual Simon Pulse Blogfest! It’s been a smashing success, and the only way it could have happened was with the wonderful participation of both the authors and you, the readers! Why not sign up for our Check Your Pulse teen email newsletter so you can be the first to know about new book releases and promotions, as well as any news on the next installment of the Pulse Blogfest.

It’s been a blast — and while there won’t be any new entries going up right now, there’s enough blog entries already posted here to keep you reading for days! So dive into the blog and get to know 128 fantastic authors.

Keep reading — and we look forward to seeing you at the next Pulse Blogfest!

–The Pulse Blogfest team

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

Rejection! So much rejection! Also, how do you get your foot in the door? Where do you start? That just confounded me. I had no connections, knew nobody, but I really wanted to be a writer, and I knew I was good. So I just kept trying.

I think what sets published writers apart is that they kept trying. And then you get a little lucky. If you send your stuff out to enough people, SOMEONE is going to like it. And then they find other people who like it, and then finally you get a book deal. But it can take a long time.

I think the biggest obstacle for me, was crafting a book that would find an audience. I don’t know if I’m saying this correctly—but for me, I had so much great feedback from editors—I had two unpublished novels that made the rounds, as well as unpublished non-fiction proposals. My agent told me everyone really liked my voice and my writing, so that wasn’t the problem but the book just wasn’t the book that was “the one”. It wasn’t right for the market.

When I finally published my first novel, for adults, it was well-received and well-reviewed but it didn’t change my life. But when I wrote my first YA novel – the Au Pairs—that’s when I realized I had written a novel for the right audience. That I had finally found what I was meant to do. I’m sooooo glad I write for teens. I love writing for teens and my writing for teens is the best stuff I’ve done.

Melissa de la Cruz is the author of such novels as the Ashleys series which includes JEALOUS? and the Au Pairs series which includes CRAZY HOT. Visit her author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

Self-doubt. The feeling that I’m not good enough, that I’ll never measure up. I recall the worst period of self-doubt occurred after I started workshopping my scripts in a formal, training setting and there was a woman there who, week after week, told me in no uncertain terms that she disliked my characters and found my story dull and boring. After six weeks or so I quit the class because this amount of undermining was not helpful. The experience depressed me for several months afterwards but it did teach me not to be too thin-skinned. Positive criticism is, of course, invaluable and should be welcomed and, if enough people say the same thing, take it seriously. However, I’ve learned that, in the end, you have to rely on your own good judgement. My saving grace during that difficult period was my persistence (obstinacy!) and my belief that you if you write what pleases you, it might please someone else.

Linda Buckley-Archer is the author of such books as THE TIME THIEF and THE TIME TRAVELERS. Visit her author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

The biggest obstacle I faced in becoming an author or anything else I’ve ever done is to let belief replace lack of belief and to have some degree of hard-headed stubborn determination, mixed liberally with a sense of humour about it all. Be clear about what you want to achieve but don’t get so attached to the outcome that it makes you ill or unhappy.

Of course, if you want to become a writer you need to write. If there’s nothing on paper you are not a writer. So you have to get something down. Even if it’s rubbish. Write it and you are a writer. It’s YOUR rubbish, you artiste you.

To begin with, what you create might seem like the Holy Grail, the culmination of all your inspiration and effort. That’s the point when you could be vulnerable when publishers/agents/friends/family tell you that your work is rubbish or that major edits need to take place. But keep on, modfiy or start again (start again is good), learn from what you’re doing. You’ll find eventually that consigning work to the bin as unworthy is just as important in your growth as a writer as producing something you think may finally be really good.

The hard-headed part comes in perservering with all the office juniors in the publishing and agent companies who have to wade through piles and piles of manuscripts and probably judge after a paragraph or two. Ring them up. Check they got your work. Ask if you could have feedback even if they reject it. Etc. And if you are rejected, keep that old self-belief and lack of over-attachment to your goal.

On the most practical level of all, I’d say to any teen starting out to read as much as they can, find out what they like and consider why they like it, experiment with writing in the style of favourite authors, and eventually find a ‘voice’ that works for them.

Patrick Cave is the author of SHARP NORTH. Visit his author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

Well, first let me change this question to the present tense: what is the biggest obstacle in being an author? The blank page—getting up every morning, facing that big white page on Microsoft Word, and saying: “Okay, I have to fill this today. I have to get into the world of my characters and help tell their stories.” That is always a challenge. The best way for me to overcome this is to face it—to write and to keep writing even if it doesn’t feel like it’s working. Some days it clicks; some days it drags. But you can always go back and revise. For me, I need to feel like that I’m moving forward, that I’m not stuck. That helps get me into the kind of rhythm that eventually helps me cross the finish line.

Thomas Fahy is the author of THE UNSPOKEN. Visit his author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

The biggest obstacle for me was getting a novel published. When I was starting out, I had some initial success in my 20s getting short stories into magazines and journals. But I had no luck getting an agent or selling my first novel. After years of trying very hard to make it happen, I gave up and focused more on my work as a filmmaker. Then, a few years ago, an editor at Simon & Schuster who was a fan of my films asked I’d be interested in writing a novel. Interested!? I’d been interested since I was 20! So, after some quick non-deliberation, my answer was a ridiculously enthusiastic “YES” and I’ve had two novels published since. As to the second part of the question, how did I overcome this publishing obstacle? It just took some time, that’s all. I’ve realized that some things in life often require a great deal of patience, something I did not have in abundance back then. But if you’re serious about your work, I believe that the universe will conspire to make it happen. At least, that’s what happened to me.

Brian Sloan is the author of such books as A REALLY NICE PROM MESS and A TALE OF TWO SUMMERS. Visit his author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

The biggest obstacle was the idea that being a published writer is an impossible dream. That’s such a prevalent belief that it could – and should – scare away anyone who isn’t serious about writing. It didn’t scare me away, but it did make me get serious about furthering my education and getting a good day job so that I could make a living while I continued to write. I had faith that if I kept at it, I’d be published one day; mostly, I believed in my stories and in my characters, who demanded to see the light of day.

Allison van Diepen is the author of novels including SNITCH and STREET PHARM. Visit her author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

I started out as an editor, working on other author’s works. The first big step was to realize that I wanted to speak in my own voice, not just by helping someone else.

Marc Aronson is the author of such books as RACE: A HISTORY BEYOND BLACK AND WHITE and the forthcoming UNSETTLED: THE PROBLEM OF LOVING ISRAEL. Visit his author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

An author faces rejection every single day. That is the hardest part for sure. Rhody and I have written 21 books, some for kids, some for teens, that one romance I wrote for adults and still, we get rejections. One of our books might win an award the same day an editor tells us that they aren’t interested in another book. For some reason, I immediately forget about the award and focus entirely on the rejection.

Even now, after all these years, I tend to take everything really personally, sometimes feeling like I suck as a writer and want to quit. I tell Rhody, “This is too hard. We should get normal jobs like normal people.” Rhody makes me keep going. It’s nice working with a writing partner; when I am down, she is up. When she is down, I am up and ready to forge ahead. We balance each other like that.

Stacia Deutsch is the author of such books as IN THE STARS. Visit her author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

Laziness? Fear? Procrastination? Pick one. I have wanted to be an author since I was 5 years old and wrote my first greeting card. It was the dominant desire in my childhood and as an adult. So what was my problem? Did I not have a pencil? I think it just seemed like too big of a thing to tackle.

This is how I overcame it: by just starting to write a tiny book. I met Elisabeth Wolfe (local fearless creative genius) and we started talking about our shared passion for using positive thinking to make great things happen. We talked about how great it would have been to have totally gotten this when we were teenagers, and (eureka!) Click! was born. But we set out to write a much smaller book, followed by a day planner. It seemed do-able because it was small. Once we’d done something small we added to it, and the whole thing was not so daunting.

Annabel Monaghan is the author of CLICK: THE GIRL’S GUIDE TO KNOWING WHAT YOU WANT AND MAKING IT HAPPEN. Visit her author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

Time was, and still is, the biggest problem for me. Ideally writers’ need a whole spread of it – days and days where we can just work without interruption. But most of us have families/other work demands/cars that break down/houses where the bathroom leaks – all those sorts of day to day life stuff – and those things are very demanding and nudge the precious writing moments out of the way.

Judy Waite is the author of such novels as TRICK OF THE MIND and FORBIDDEN. Visit her author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

Self-doubt. It’s so easy to convince yourself that you’re not a “real writer” because what does that mean, anyway? I used to feel like I wasn’t a “real writer” unless I published something. Then, after I published my first short story—in a small literary magazine—I felt like I wasn’t a “real writer” until I published a book. Then, after I published my first book, I felt like I wasn’t a “real writer” unless I published more books. And even after I’d published a bunch of books, I felt like I wasn’t a “real writer” unless I knew that everyone liked my books—reviewers, the public, etc.

Now, after all these years, I realize that I’m a “real writer” just because I love to write, and because that’s what I spend most of my time doing. Period. It doesn’t matter whether or not my writing gets published, and it doesn’t matter whether or not people like it. Of course, ideally, I want to continue to be published. Of course, ideally, I want lots of people to read my work and respond to it in a positive way. But ultimately, I have to feel good about my writing, and do it for myself, and keep doing it even if I get no outside affirmation whatsoever (like publishing contracts and literary awards and people showering me with praise: “OMG, Nancy Butcher is a genius!”).

Nancy Butcher is the author of BEAUTY. Visit her author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

I’ve heard other authors say that the hard part of writing isn’t starting a book, but finishing one. For me, the really hard part is sustaining my enthusiasm for a story I’ve written through many, many rounds of editorial notes, drawing, and copyediting. It takes around a year just to draw a graphic novel–I work at a rate of about one page per day–and when you break the story down into such small increments it’s hard to keep the big picture in mind. Even action-packed sequences are boring when they take so long to complete.

The easiest way to overcome the ennui of drawing a graphic novel is to stick to a schedule. I always take weekends off and get out of my studio, work in the yard, go shopping, take day trips, etc. By the time Monday rolls around I’m excited to get back to work, if only for a day or two.

Hope Larson is the author and artist of the forthcoming graphic novel CHIGGERS. Visit her author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

My biggest obstacle was finding courage, believing in myself, believing that I could write anything that anybody else would want to read. I was only able to overcome my self-doubt by seeking out others struggling with similar fears. We encouraged each other and gave each other the confidence that we lacked alone.

Alex Sanchez is the author of such novels as THE GOD BOX and GETTING IT. Visit his author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

My biggest obstacle was myself. Friends had been telling me to try and get stuff published, but I figured they were just being nice and blew them off because me? A writer? I just couldn’t see it.

But my friends kept saying it, and I was starting to feel bad about always blowing them off. And really, what would happen if I sent stuff out? Rejection? I was expecting that!

So I started to send stuff out.

I did end up getting my fair share of rejections, but I also got really lucky too. And I never would have done it if I hadn’t stopped thinking “I’m not a writer” and started thinking “You know what? It can’t hurt to try.”

Elizabeth Scott is the author of such novels as PERFECT YOU and the forthcoming LIVING DEAD GIRL. Visit her author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

There were many obstacles, but the biggest one for me was fear of the unknown. Could I actually write? Would I ever find an agent? Would I ever actually get published? Did I have anything interesting to say? Would my work be relevant to the readers I wanted to reach? Would I be able to earn enough money to make it work? Was I delusional to even think I could become an author?

I eventually overcame (most of) these fearful thoughts by taking things one day, one book, one project at a time. I set small goals for myself so that my bigger dream felt less overwhelming and daunting, and then focused on believing that if I worked hard, was persistent, and visualized things working out, they eventually would.

Deborah Reber is the author of CHILL: STRESS-REDUCING TECHNIQUES FOR A MORE BALANCED, PEACEFUL YOU and IN THEIR SHOES. Visit her author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

The biggest obstacle I faced in becoming a writer was that I was a terrible reader. That’s a serious impediment right there. It seems like all my wriiter friends knew from an early age what they wanted to do, and read their heads off all the way. I didn’t read a novel that was not assigned to me until I was in university. Late bloomer, huh?

I came to books, eventually, through my other interests. I read nonfiction books about stuff I liked. As a kid, that was war books and sports books. When I got older, it was about music, and biographies of interesting people. Eventually my tastes drifted more toward creative nonfiction, then onto full-blown imaginative writing. That is the thing about books, if you follow your interests and your own nose, you will eventually find there is a lot of dazzling work out there that is very much up your alley, and it will lead you up new alleys you didn’t even think of before.

Chris Lynch is the author of the novel INEXCUSABLE. Visit his author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

The rejections! I stopped counting rejection letters at 300. I decided keeping track was not helpful. Each day, there often was a rejection in the mailbox. For six years…

It was a long six years. How did I overcome it? I wrote articles for newspapers and sold poetry and art to magazines. Seeing my name in print was a huge boost to keep going. The sales helped pay for stamps to continue sending out book submissions.

I kept a notebook on publishing houses. I’d add lists of books published by each house so that I could gain a perspective on their personalities. I’d add editors and inside info I’d hear. Eventually that helped me to see who was most likely to publish my own work.

And I kept writing. I wrote and read in various styles. I took classes, went to conventions, and kept writing. Finally I found the form for my voice, the verse novel, and the six years of rejection were erased by one phone call from Emma Dryden, saying she was interested in Loose Threads. Perseverance, belief you have something to say, and grace overcomes many obstacles.

Lorie Ann Grover is the author of such novels as HOLD ME TIGHT and LOOSE THREADS. Visit her author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

Fear.

By far, that was the tsunami of obstacles—fear of not being able to write a book; fear of trying and being terrible at it; fear of rejection; fear of what other people would think; fear that if I couldn’t do it, what would I think of myself?

I had some legitimate reasons for this fear beyond everyday neurosis. I always wanted to write, always was writing, but encouragement, was, shall we say, lacking. Neither teachers, nor parents, guidance counselors, shrinks, anyone I had the nerve to ask, thought writing was the best career choice for me. I might have turned that perception around in college, but for reasons both financial and emotional, I dropped out after two years.

Overcoming fear.

Although I’ve published over 50 novels, I can’t say I ever completely kicked fear to the curb. It’s still there, always lurking behind that tree, in the other room, under the bed…

I wrote; I write, because, I couldn’t not write.

I started small. I took a job as a secretary at 16 Magazine, which covered teen idols, and the showbiz scene. Didn’t take long before I realized that I could write the kinds of articles being published. I got the chance, and seized it. As an editor at the magazine, publishing companies sent books to be reviewed—many were celebrity bios. I figured, “I could do that.” So I picked up the phone, called the publishing company, and asked which editor worked on these books, and would she agree to see me?

I wrote many a celebri-bio – Johnny Depp, Will Smith, Prince William, and on. I got an agent (these books were money-makers, so getting an agent was a snap), who blithely told an editor at Simon & Schuster, “Of course, Randi can do fiction.” Talk about terror!

I got assignments to write original novels based on characters from the movie Clueless; from TV’s Moesha; and Sabrina, The Teenage Witch.

From there, it was more of an exciting step than a huge one, to original fiction. I worked with a novelist, HB Gilmour on my first original series, T*Witches (which Disney Channel turned into two TV movies).

I’ve written eight more original novels since then – and hopefully, many more to come.

I still can’t not write.

Randi Reisfeld is the author of PARTIERS PREFERRED and the forthcoming REHAB. Visit her author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

The biggest obstacle I faced was my own family. Nobody believed that I could do it. I can remember one day, when I was in high school, I was sitting at the kitchen table talking to my mother and she asked me what I wanted to do with my life. After telling her about my dreams of being a lion tamer, and she stopped laughing, I then mentioned that I’d love to write full time. I can remember it as clear as day—she looked me in the eye and said . . . “A writer? Other people do that, not you.” I think what she was trying to say is being a writer is one of those jobs that you hear about in movies and television—like being an astronaut, or a movie actor, or director—it’s a job that’s really out of the realm of reality for a kid from a working class family in Lynn Massachusetts.

I don’t think she meant any harm with that response, I think she was just being realistic and trying to make me be the same. But ya know what? It lit a fire under my butt that you wouldn’t believe. Nobody was going to tell me that I couldn’t be what I wanted to be. And that’s when I really started to work at it, developing my skills and hoping that I had what it would take to actually be what I wanted to be. Thankfully it worked out.

Thomas E. Sniegoski is the author of such novels as THE FALLEN and the forthcoming THE BRIMSTONE NETWORK. Visit his author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

The biggest obstacle to my career as a writer was believing in my ability to do it. Growing up most of the people I knew, including my parents, worked long hours at difficult jobs to earn a living. It seemed like you had to have a lot of nerve to think you could make a career out of doing something that you enjoyed, especially in the arts. My parents didn’t believe it either and urged me to go into something more practical. But I never did anything practical, majoring in art as an undergraduate and in creative writing in graduate school. Being admitted to a prestigious graduate program helped me to believe in myself, as did winning a fellowship a few years later. But believing in yourself is really just a leap of faith—nobody else can do it for you. You have to decide who you are by yourself, and then start the hard work of becoming that person.

Ellen Wittlinger is the author of such novels as BLIND FAITH and PARROTFISH. Visit her author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

My social life. I wrote this novel shortly after having just moved to Los Angeles. For years prior to the move, I’d spent so much time socializing in NYC that when I suddenly realized I had no social obligations in LA, I felt as though I was getting away with something criminal. In fact, it took months to adjust to this life of not owing anyone a Saturday night or drinks on a Wednesday or whatever. Not owing anything to anyone but myself. If this sounds selfish, I don’t give a fuck. I defy anyone to create something artful; and then get that piece of art purchased by a major media company without sacrificing something meaningful along the way. In this newly founded simplified life, I discovered that not only was I writing more prolifically but that I was giving time to my family and the people that mattered. Of course, it helped to have moved with my lovely girlfriend. Look, this is not an anti-friends rant. One is nothing without true friends and family. But there comes a time when one has to shut his goddamn cell phone off and create something. My advice for teens in this regard: Friends are great. Seeking approval from peers is normal. Please, take a moment to yourself here and there. Turn off your iPod. Shut off your laptop. Close your cell phone. Close the book you’re reading. Take a breath. Whether you like it or not, it’s in these brief moments of solitude where we learn a thing or two about ourselves . . . where we define ourselves.

Tom Lombardi is the author of the forthcoming MY SUMMER ON EARTH. Visit his author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

I never planned to be a writer, so I had difficulty seeing myself as one. It took a long time for me to accept that sometimes, if I was lucky and worked hard, I was pretty good at it.

Mary E. Lyons is the author of such novels as LETTERS FROM A SLAVE BOY: THE STORY OF JOSEPH JACOBS and the forthcoming THE POISON PLACE. Visit her author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

I think the biggest issue all would-be writers face is rejection and climbing above self-doubt. Sometimes even those close to you, those who love you the most, begin to doubt your total focus on “making it” as a writer. If you don’t believe in yourself, you will totally fail. And I totally refused to do that. All I needed was to understand where I truly belonged as I writer. Thank God I found that.

Ellen Hopkins is the author of such novels as GLASS and the forthcoming IDENTICAL. Visit her author page for more information.

Madeline asks “What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?”

The biggest obstacle I faced in becoming an author was that I was really bad at writing. The first book I wrote was called Smitty the Hollywood Kitty, and it was, in a word, AWFUL! It was this horrible impression of a Dr. Seuss book. It took me a while to realize that I didn’t know how to write. But once I figured that out, I decided that it might be wise to take some classes and learn how. (Duh…) So I enrolled in a poetry class at UCLA, studied really hard with an amazing teacher named Myra Cohn Livingston, and eventually, I got better at it.

By the way, if you’d like to learn how to write poetry, too, I can recommend an excellent book by Myra called Poemmaking. Reading that book is the next best thing to taking Myra’s class.

Sonya Sones is the author of such novels as WHAT MY GIRLFRIEND DOESN’T KNOW and WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW. Visit her author page for more information.