The Vent with Sydney Langford and THE LOUDEST SILENCE
In Which Sydney Langford Hops Aboard to Tell Us About Their New Book
Another month has gone by sailing these writer seas, and we’ve drifted upon a fellow author who’d like to take a minute to vent and share their work with us. So put on your Ventorship best because we’re headed on back to the theater, authors, this time to hear from Sydney Langford as they tell us all about their debut YA novel, THE LOUDEST SILENCE!
Ventorship Captain, Jason June (JJ): When you started your writing journey, what was the biggest frustration you encountered as you tried to find an agent and/or went on sub to editors for the first time that you wish you could have vented about?
Sydney Langford (SL): I had somewhat similar struggles in both departments! I started querying in 2021 in the middle of the pandemic and later went on sub in late 2021 with my first agent, and then again in early 2022 with my second (and current) agent.
My novel is a dual-POV YA contemporary with themes of grief and anxiety, unexpected connections and friendships, and carving out your own space in the world. There are upbeat and funny moments, but the overall vibe leans quieter and more poignant.
The feedback I consistently got was on two completely different sides of the spectrum. Because we were in the height of the pandemic, some agents and editors wanted the book to skew more toward escapism and lean into the com elements. On the other hand, some wanted to lean even further into the “doom and gloom,” and even suggested cutting comedic-relief side characters and lighter hearted moments in favor of exploring grief and hearing loss arcs.
Neither of these felt right for the book, or what my intended messaging was, so it was definitely frustrating! At the time, it felt like nobody beyond my current agent and I really “got” the book.
JJ: How about once you got your first book deal? How did your frustrations (if you had any) change, and what would you have vented about or did vent about to author friends?
Getting your first book deal is super overwhelming for so many reasons, and all of it is a massive learning curve. A big thing I had to adapt to was relinquishing control of so many elements. Processes like cover design, marketing plans, cover copy, and much more involve so many people and unfortunately, sometimes your vision or hopes and dreams for your book doesn’t match what the team is envisioning.
There are compromises to make during edits and there are often things you and your editor will have diametrically opposed opinions on and those are the trickiest situations! Trying to stay true to your vision for the book while having to remain amiable and professional can be challenging. Sometimes you just want to keyboard smash and send a bunch of frowny faces LOL!
I think every author hates the kill your darlings part of editing—but it’s 10x harder when someone else is suggesting which darlings to kill!
JJ: Tell us about your latest book! And (I bet you know where this is going) what’s the biggest vent you’ve got about the process of creating this novel?
My debut novel is called THE LOUDEST SILENCE and comes out on July 30th, 2024! It’s like I Wish You All The Best meets Disney’s High School Musical and follows the unlikely, platonic love story between Casey—a 16-year-old, bisexual singer who is grappling with sudden hearing loss—and Hayden, an anxiety-riddled, aro-ace star soccer player with a secret passion for Broadway musicals.
My biggest vent is just how TIRING editing can get LOL! I’ve been working on this book for almost 4 years and I never, ever want to read it again (but hope everyone else reads it, of course!). It can be so, so hard to remain passionate and excited about a project when you’ve been working on it for a long time. During the last few edits, I was struggling to stay focused on the heart of the story and do justice to the plot and the characters. Thankfully, lovely readers and friends kept that passion up during moments I couldn’t and now I’m again SUPER EXCITED to share the book with the world!
JJ: Any words of wisdom you have for writers whether they are at the beginning of their journey or multi-published?
Definitely “find the heart of your story!” The first thing I do when workshopping new ideas or drafting, is write down a few things I want to convey through that specific project. For THE LOUDEST SILENCE it looked like: a desire to highlight badass Disabled characters, let platonic love shine centerstage, and show that it’s okay to not be okay.
There were moments where these themes got lost during edits, and the story started to feel like what someone else wanted, not what *I* wanted. It’s difficult to stand up for what you want and write the book you want to write, but it’s worth it. At the end of the day, your name is on the cover. Not your beta readers’, or agent’s, or editor’s name. Make compromises and be collaborative, but also trust your gut and produce a book you’re proud of.
JJ: Thanks so much for joining us aboard the Ventorship, Sydney! Author-passengers, read below for more info about Sydney and THE LOUDEST SILENCE!
About THE LOUDEST SILENCE
I Wish You All The Best meets Disney’s High School Musical in THE LOUDEST SILENCE, a poignant debut YA novel that follows the unlikely, platonic love story between Casey—a 16-year-old, bisexual singer who is grappling with hearing loss—and Hayden, an anxiety-riddled, aro-ace star soccer player with a secret passion for Broadway musicals.
About Sydney Langford
Sydney Langford (they/them) is a queer, Deaf-Hard of Hearing, and physically disabled author who resides in Portland, Oregon. Their biggest passion in life is creating stories that reflect the diverse world we live in—whether that be rom-coms about quirky, disabled teens; or contemporaries that feature queer joy. Their debut YA novel, THE LOUDEST SILENCE, will be released in 7/30/2024 by Holiday House and their YA rom-com, SOMETHING TO DAYDREAM ABOUT, will be released in 2025.
X/IG: @Slangwrites
Website: www.slangwrites.com
Authors, the Ventorship is looking for traditionally published writers to be featured with their latest book release in a future edition of The Vent! Email me at heyjasonjune@gmail.com with the subject: VENTORSHIP to let me know you’re interested. All you’ll need to be featured are answers to the same four questions asked above, as well as an author bio and book description.
If you’d like to vent about anything author/writing related, write to me at heyjasonjune@gmail.com with the subject: VENTORSHIP. I’ll give you my take in a post, and we’ll crowdsource author opinions in the comments. You’ll remain anonymous, and any haters will be thrown overboard. Ultimately, I think you’re going to be buoyed up by author love and support as we realize we really are all in the same boat 🛳️