Pretty Dead Queens by Alexa Donne | From 1st to Final Draft | tl;dr

[@rylanwow]

i love feature length alexa donne videos let's goooo

[@AlexaDonne]

This video is absolutely for a niche audience 😂

[@Amaiguri]

@@AlexaDonne We are the niche audience

[@TheAndreaDonoso]

Niche audience here… late but I loooove long videos…

[@moviemelody2210]

I’m sorry to hear about your mom. On a positive note I LOVE that you incorporated elements of Murder she wrote! I love that show

[@tathoiclassicalindianbollywood]

I'm so happy to see you back, like back back. I saw the new shorts and I know you took a break and shifted to tiktok but I deleted that app after it was draining my peace, and I'm so glad I can have my Alexa-fix here. Your honesty and vulnerability is so empowering for his baby YA author. Please stay, and keep shining. Love you

[@amy-suewisniewski6451]

Over an hour and a half of Alexa? What did I do to deserve such a beautiful and amazing gift???

[@elled.3544]

yesssss! this is the best episode of this niche little series! so in depth! so insightful! and so so motivational for those of us who are revising/editing!

[@unwillingunicorn1385]

Read Pretty Dead Queens a few weeks ago once i realized my library has an audio copy. It was great! So glad I read it in time for this video :)))

[@sistersauthorsfriendsincanada]

What an awesome video! I remember seeing the video where you first announced the release of Pretty Dead Queens back in late 2022, so I popped on over to listen to a sample on Audible . . . and promptly realized the MC had lost her mom to cancer. My mom had passed away from cancer earlier that year (in Feb), so I was like 'nope-nope-nope'. Then a year later, I thought I can do this. I purchased the book and started listening, and had to stop just a few minutes in. Again, it just hit too close to home. Still, I didn't return the book because I wanted to support you, but I just couldn't read it yet. Then the notification for this video popped up on my phone last weekend, and I decided now was the time. So, a little over two years after losing my mom, I FINALLY read. this. book. And, boy, was it an AWESOME READ!! I absolutely LOVED it! AND this video! Thank you for not only sharing your writing and editing process, but also how writing this book helped with your grieving process. I'm currently writing a book where one of the MC's lost his mom to cancer with the hope that it will be cathartic, and I'm really nervous. But the way you talked about it in this video has helped me to truly embrace the idea. I even came up with a couple core lines in an argument that will happen between the two MC's while watching / listening to your process! Also (coming from someone who lost her mom at age 48) that scene where Cecilia curled up on the floor and just wanted her mom . . . that resonated with me on such a deep level! Well done on the ending, too! I'd spent a majority of the book hoping it wasn't Ben but knowing deep down that it was, and I was so engrossed in the scene at his old house, that I completely forgot about suspecting the grandma (Moira? One thing I don't like about Audible is not knowing how names are spelled in books! LoL)! So, yeah, when Cecelia got home and realized she wasn't safe after all -- BAM! My jaw dropped. Literally! My sister walked by my room and stopped to ask me what was wrong! LoL I told her, "Oh nothing, I'm just floored by the thriller I just finished reading! No big deal!" Haha! Seriously, though, great job, Alexa!! REALLY GREAT JOB!!! ❤

[@rissaallen6298]

This is such a great video! I’m working through the mess of Act 2 on my own YA mystery so I loved the insight into your process Alexa! 💙

[@mikankitsune0440]

I remember when you first started talking about this book in 2019/2020. I'm almost finished with a book I started to conceptualize in 2021 and it took until this time last year to really start writing it. The process has been something else.

[@ericathofferson4164]

I'm working on this story, but I'm not sure if anyone would be interested in reading it. The story starts in Oregon in the 90's. The main character is a diner waitress who gets into a relationship with a struggling artist from Boston with a difficult past. But that's just the premise. Would you be interested in reading this story?

[@sonnypryderi]

that sounds so interesting

[@OverAndOut09]

An in depth feature length video for my favourite of your books (so far), I loved every second of listening to you go through your process for this book!

[@AFringedGentian]

“Pretty Dead Queens” is my favorite of your books, Alexa! I loved hearing about your writing process. It made me feel SO not alone in the writing process.

[@danad474]

Not a writer but SO fascinated by the process and deep diving 📚

[@nikkiminty4796]

I loved this book and I loved this video. I’m very much looking forward to The Bitter End.

[@suzannamedeiros_author]

I *loved* this book. So cool to see your post mortem. I also recommended it to my husband and he's now an Alexa Donne fan as well.

[@Gaywatch]

The opening pages of Pretty Dead Queens are beautifully effective at capturing grief, truly impressive.

[@sabinemetscher6449]

Fascinating, love how your brain works & how you gather material over time. The way you battle for your work I wish you lots of time to get the writing done & joy 💕🖊️🐾🐾🗺️🌞

[@veronikachristen2373]

Oh my god, I've been waiting for this video since forever!!!! Yesssss! I loved that book and I always wanted to know how you came up with the twists!

[@Sohiawrites]

Took me 3 days to finish this video and it was such a pleasure. Will definitely rewatch By the way, pretty dead queens is the only book of yours I read ! After I finish my TBR, I’ll look up others. I’m more adult so I can’t wait for you to move to that category

[@joeycron2831]

Ahh I’m so excited for this! These are some of my favorites of your videos.

[@CamiiW123]

Just wanted to say thanks for this video. The ting with your mother really resonated with me, because I just finished writing my first ever novel this week, and as I was writing my dad was dying of cancer. I started writing my book back in 2020, and he died in 2022. It took me four years to finish the book just because of that. It's just so interesting how you can think you're totally alone with something and then hearing about a person going through something very similar. So yeah, I appreciated that bit of information and hope you're doing well!

[@Izzy-tr2fs]

Oh. My. God. I didn’t know you had a KZbin channel!!!!! I can’t believe it lol. I just read brightly burning, and I am in the middle of the stars we stay when I realized I needed to read more books. Some context to my situation is that I bet my friend that I could read more books than her in a year; so we both set our goals to 100 books this year. I’m 81 books in, but I’m running out of time. So, since I liked your writing style so much, I googled “books by Alexa Donne,” and your KZbin came up! I think I even came across it in the past because I’m subscribed too! I can’t believe I’m subscribed to the author of my favorite book and didn’t realize!! 🤦‍♀️ Sorry for all the typing but I felt like I really wanted to tell anyone who is interested enough to read this about this awesome coincidence lol! Have a great day!!!

[@Izzy-tr2fs]

A funny thing that I just remembered too is that I randomly picked up brightly burning last year in my high school libarary after I took my yearbook pic and read it because I liked the cover. Then I read the little blurb on the back and liked that. I also liked the slow-ish burn about the book; enough to keep me interested, but not too much going on. Needless to say, I LOVE THAT BOOK.

[@AmandaEngland-r2k]

I loved this book, Alexa. It’s my favorite (so far.) thanks for sharing your journey!!

[@shebreathesingold8043]

Literally been waiting for this video FOR YEARS. I'm not even joking. Every few months I think about this. lol

[@Booksandothernerdthings]

I read it as soon as it came out (had an ARC I believe) and it was so good. Love the Ivies too but this felt like such a step up in your skills! Can’t wait for the bitter end, the cover is great.

[@kristianrother]

Hello Alexa, in case you're wondering if the videos have any "long tail effect"...I bought Pretty Dead Queens because this video exists. Now that I have finished both (book first obviously) here are a couple of thoughts. Sorry for the unsolicited rambling (I'm assuming spoilers in comments are fine due to the content of the video) :D 1. You are awesome. Great channel that gives amazing insights into writing. 2. As an avid thriller reader, this is the first YA crime book book I have ever read and you absolutely nailed that Scream vibe you were going for (I'm a big fan of trashy slashers). 3. Your writing style reads very authentic and real for lack of a better word. Very enjoyable. 4. The "A plot killer" was fairly obvious once it was clear there were two potential love interests (at least in my head it was likely it'll be one of them and probably the one that is featured more). The twist was also not surprising for me, mostly because I had watched your very excellent "writing a thriller form the end" video and my head was filling in X for "wouldn't it be cool if the killer was X" from the getgo. Normally that would bother me but here this wasn't the case at all. I was soaking in the atmosphere and riding along. I did like the mascot idea with the dance moves. 5. As an engineer who is kind of obsessed with structure, this book is well crafted structure wise. The cliffhanger sentences worked but could be refined a bit in my opinion. They felt a bit forced/over the top. Flow was also excellent, it read very smoothly and there was no "not sure if I want to continue" moment. 6. You sure love the word "beat" both in your videos and in the book. It felt a bit unnatural how often it was used in the book (I recall at least four times, probably more). 7. As a non-American who lived in the U.S. and enjoyed a year of High School there, the book transported me right back to homecoming...so you nailed the HS-vibe excellently. 8. I struggled a bit keeping track of the characters but that's often a problem of mine once >5 important-ish characters appear. But maybe your editor was onto something with regards to cutting one more. Oooooor...even more buildup in the beginning to flesh out "the gang more". 9. I'll buy The Bitter End (and probably The Iveys, too). 10. Keep up the great work. I reread the opening pages after watching the video and was moved to tears. Cancer is a bitch. Did I mention that you are awesome?

[@alexagc123uploads]

The editing video of my dreams!! Thank you!

[@t.s.611]

This was so great, as always. I love to hear authors' writing and revision processes, and it's so rare we get to hear about it from start to finish. I imagine these videos would be nice to look back on as an author, too! See how your process changes over time.

[@brt7721]

WAIT WHAT?! I’ve been subscribed to you for years recently read this book and The Ivies and had absolutely no clue that you were the author 😮

[@loricanales5759]

I just recently rewatched the vlogs from the writing of this book and this video couldn't have come at a better time for me! I love your writing vlogs SO MUCH. The Ivies was fun but this was my favorite book of yours so far. I can't wait to read The Bitter End and hear about the writing process.

[@robblackwell2774]

LOVE this gift of a video. Fascinating how much changed in the story as you wrote it. Hearing how you embraced confusion and solutions danced in. LOVE the two tour versions operating in town-one historical, the other sensationalist. Can already tell the book is a great read. I’m more excited about my own writing process after watching this.

[@RoseKindred]

Wow, that was a journey for this book. Another one of your books that are not in my normal reading radar but I am going to get it and try anyways. Least I can do for all the help you gave over the years.

[@barsabe]

my favorite writing video ever about my favorite book from one of my favorite authors

[@jessiemoss8619]

Alexa, have you ever thought about creating a course? Like a how to write and publish in the traditional world? It would be so amazing! I'm serious. Consider it. I know people who help build courses, if you're interested. I'd just really love to have all your fantastic advice and teachings collected in one place, with a comprehensive roadmap on how to get to the end goal myself. I realize you've kinda got that going here on KZbin, but I get distracted by other stuff on here way too easily. But it's what people want! To support you and simultaneously get tons of value from your advice.

[@CrimeConversations]

Just ordered! I’m going to finish watching after I read the book 🌟

[@mbilmey]

Dang you edit so well. I don't know if I have the writing stamina for that

[@dukeofdenver]

Just finished the book yesterday. Glad to dive into the spoiler talk

[@TakeBackOurCountry-RFKJ24]

I love these. As a writer still floating on my debut it is helpful seeing the process.

[@JulianGreystoke]

I love listening to authors talk enthusiastically about their work! Also, I totally caught the murdered she wrote and Nora Roberts elements!

[@zenebornman7917]

I LOVED THIS SO MUCH. I MISSED YOU ALEXA! ❤❤❤

[@rebeccatrusty7979]

Great advice on the end about how to measure success as a writer! I loved Pretty Dead Queens and this made me want to read it all over again!

[@rikkivu]

YESSS!!! Just gonna read the book real quick, brb.

[@JessicaNWheeler]

Yay idk if you remember me or this but I"m the one that asked about this when you did a Office Hours Webinar at Writing Mastery Academy last year. Funny thing it that was May 20th and its May 24th. LOL

[@zoomzoom103]

I'll be honest, I haven't read PDQ yet but after watching this video I really want to now

[@VanLemon]

I love your videos and especially this kind so, when I saw it was even one of the long ones for me it felt like a treat. 😆So, no need to apologize I'd say.

[@PrettyAndOrOdd]

Been looking forward to this video for ages! Woohoo!

[@NightOwlReader2790]

My favorite character from the book is actually Bronte because I kind of want to be friends with a girl like her. A girl who can balance having a bit of fun, and also because very focused academically. Who says it has to one or the other? I have friends who do partake, I don't, but that's just because I've just never been interested. Just because you partake doesn't mean you're automatically failing at life or whatever negative stigma it is associated with this.

[@AlexaDonne]

I love Bronte too!!!! She's someone I also wish I could be like (though I'm too intense and anxious) but definitely want to be friends with.

[@NightOwlReader2790]

@@AlexaDonne I wished that I made friends that easily, but I don't. I very introverted and distrustful because of personal experiences, which means I don't like talking to people much. If a friend group like Bronte's just almost took me in like a stray, that would've been nice. Bronte really did seem like a super cool, super chill person.

[@shorelinesoul]

YES! 🎉 Another Alexa video!!! WOOT WOOT!!!! 😁🎉🎉🎉

[@evalramman7502]

Read the first page online - I really liked your voice/style. (At the end, style is the equal, possibly the master, of plot and everything else.) I think I'll buy this book.

[@TheLinguistsLibrary]

I just got 'the ivies' super stoked to finally read it

[@thisnarrowroad]

Soooo looking forward to your Bitter End video 💛

[@paracosm0]

I love videos like these they're so inspiring

[@katendress6142]

I remember watching Murder She Wrote with my grandmother, and the first adult mysteries I read were from her shelves.

[@haleyferru9098]

Loved this book and think it’s your best so far! The twists were a lot of fun and loved the ending when Cecelia is looking at the bookcase. You set up her future wonderfully, which balances all the messed up things you did to the poor girl! Also, very curious, was her dad a rando or was he part of Seaview?

[@WilliamBilsters]

We'll be eating good with an hour of Alexa Donne video 😍

[@adornethegraverobber]

Grrrl out here giving away her Masterclass for free. Thank you! 🙏🏻🤘🏻🖤

[@ambertucker6792]

Welcome back!

[@Jasper99990]

If you ever started a podcast of this nature, I’d be soooooo in!

[@cheyannebuckhannon815]

These are the best videos!

[@authorjdnichols]

I LOVED 'MURDER SHE WROTE'!!!! Angela Lansbury was the BEST. :)

[@stagemomx3]

Favorite line, “Might as well call this place Forks, because I am definitely Bella * Swan today.” I found Cecelia’s instant friend group more believable because of her grandma’s fame and wealth, so naturally the wealthy popular kids would be interested in her. I kept waiting for there to be some clue in the books in Maura’s office because she went so hard on Cecelia being in there. I really wanted there to be something in her writing that revealed her. I guessed her as the killer but was blindsided by the boyfriend.

[@Virtella.]

Hey alexa i love your videos, id love to see a 2024 dead tropes, genres on the up etc

[@veronikachristen2373]

I'd loved to see the original conversations at the end (with Ben and Maura) but I also kinda want a sequel with Cecilia and her friends trying to uncover Mauras murders but maybe also stumbling into something she didn't do (or didn't do alone??) and somebody still alive doesn't want them to find out... you know? :DD

[@AlexaDonne]

If I ever write a sequel, that's the plan! Someone died at Alder University, but did Maura do it... ??? :)

[@kristinlaurelluna]

Question for perhaps a future video 😊 With the rise of special edition books, is it possible for a traditionally published author to do special editions of their books if they pay for everything? Is that against the contract? Do they pay the publisher? How does that work?

[@romeoandthechickenfeather]

Curious about the final word count (and roughly what the first act ended up being - you said it was 30k before you went back to revise the first time around; did it stay similar or did it get shorter?) Also, yay for being back on YT!

[@JohnDavidLiebling]

I recently finished my epic science fiction novel. It is about 120,000 words. And I've started to tinker with and reedited my back of the book blurb. Is 287 words too long, or is that okay?

[@Erdnussbuttertoast]

you say in 7:01 "I hadn't set a book in California yet" - is this actually a problem that editors want to change when you set multiple books in the same state/region? Or is that just something that YOU specifically want to avoid? Thanks for the great video, I love hearing about your process!

[@AlexaDonne]

I don't think most publishers care! I just personally try not to repeat myself too often, as it makes it easier for me to fall into certain patterns in my writing which makes things less fresh. Plus, I'm lucky I've lived in a lot of different places so I have the versatility to draw on those different locales to explore different "vibes." Though I usually have not actually lived in the places I've set my books and have used "sideways knowledge" to make it work, ie: I've never lived in Western Massachusetts, but it was the ideal setting for The Ivies... but I lived in Boston for 8 years (and know a fair deal about the "personality type"/vibe of Massachusians... including some family members of mine). I've never lived or even visited this region of Northern California, but I know several people from there, and to help I made my MC from Southern California. My next one is Southern Californians ending up in Colorado--again I have a spooky number of friends from or in Colorado! (and I've been to Denver several times) My next cast is from Virginia/D.C. Metro, drawing on my having grown up there... and the reason Olivia is from Maryland in The Ivies is my family is in Maryland. Some day, I will set a book in Georgia! So that is to say: I do think it's productive to draw on your knowledge to some degree, and it makes sense for authors to set their stuff in similar areas repeatedly. I'd been itching to do SOMETHING with California since I've lived here such a long time, but The Ivies simply had to be an East Coast vibe! (plus I do love weather so I prefer to pick areas that have it, ie: not Los Angeles lol)

[@JoTroutman]

You know what they say about corncobs?...break a rule once in a while...it's liberating..😂

[@amy-suewisniewski6451]

Its so sweet of you to answer questions! I was wondering if you had any inspiration or insight into writing the dynamic between Cecelia and her grandmother. One of my favourite parts of the book was their interactions and you did such a good job of making her trying to be this "cool grandma" but also detached. I spent a lot of the book wanting them to bond and have more of a relationship. Any time she was proud of Ceclia or encouraging I was living for it but you also kept her aloof enough that while I didn't guess the twist (and was devastated in a good way to find out her grandma was a killer) it still didn't come out of nowhere.

[@Elliot-1006]

You say this book was more niche than your others and that there’s a smaller audience for it…how so? Why? Like what actually makes it less viable to be a bestseller? Just curious. Thanks!

[@ErinLovegood73]

Yay

[@SaiiiiiiSaiiiii]

I feel so bad, because I recently listened to your audiobook for this, but my ADHD writer brain was like "NANA AND HER PRETTY BOY ASSISTANT DID IT." I couldn't prove it, but my brain was like "THEM" because.... if I was writing it, I definitely would have done that. Excellent job.

[@christinawhisler]

How do you get an editor?

[@AlexaDonne]

I'm traditionally published, so my editor works for my publishing house. I queried literary agents to secure rep, and my agent submits my books to publishers for consideration. I have lots of videos about the trad process on my channel, if you're curious!