On Saturday, I was able to hear Stephenie Meyer speak at the gorgeous Library at Academy Square. Now that I have devoured both of her published books, I have time to type up my notes.

-Stephenie Meyer believes that writers should be disqualified from public speaking because they are crazy, sleep-deprived people who make faces and hear voices.

-Everyone she meets wants to write a book, except her husband.

-Be a writer, not an author. If writing isn't the good part, quit now. Letting people read what goes on in your head is scary. BUT, if you really love your characters, you'll want to share them with the world.

-Get an agent because people in Manhattan don't speak English. She was a mom of 3 who had absolutely never published anything in her life, when she started to query agents. She received a few rejections...just because someone tells you NO, doesn't mean they're right. Sometimes a book doesn't fit neatly into a certain genre. This makes it harder to place, but it also makes the book special, different, unexpected.

-CONTRACTS=LONG TIME, NO PAY.

-EDITING=AGONY/ECSTASY (but mostly agony.) Editing letters made her cry. They started extremely complimentary, but then proceeded to tell her everything she should change. She had to fight hard for her characters. Editors didn't like Bella's mom. They suggested that maybe she should die. They were also convinced that sex sells (and had the stats to prove it), but Stephenie Meyer refused to have any type of sex scenes in her books. That's just who she is. An author must learn when to listen to herself and when to take the advice of editors.

-It's hard to get your way until your a New York Times bestselling author, then suddenly everyone thinks you're brilliant.

-She received a note that said, "It's so great to have a book I can let my mother read."

-Write your book so YOU can't put it down. Don't spoil the writing by worrying about the readers or publishers.

-You must distance yourself from decisions you can't control, like the look of your book cover.

-While growing up, Stephenie Meyer loved to read huge books, the fatter, the better.

-She loves characters like Lois Lane/Bella. How does a normal person look at life when surrounded by superhero supermodels?

-Book Three, Eclipse, will be released in August. She is working on Book Four, which is tentatively called Breaking Dawn.

-She tried to write a chick-lit once, but she got bored with it. "Humans are not enough for me," she said.

-Meyer doesn't like dark, goth, or scary books/movies. She had never read a vampire book or seen a vampire movie. She enjoyed writing action scenes, however. Her books are inspired more by her love of superheroes than monsters.

-Before submitting a story for the first time, make it as good as you possibly can.

-Stephenie Meyer's current favorite books: Enthusiasmby Polly Shulman and The Midnighters series by Scott Westerfeld.

-Her books are loosely tied to classics. Twilight=Pride and Prejudice, New Moon=Shakespaere, Eclipse=Wuthering Heights (although she doesn't like WH because it's too sad.)