Dziękuję, Polska ! — & other things I never expected within a year of being published

Hey all! It’s been a while. A little less than nine months ago Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index (aka my first book) came out in the United States, and I must admit my focus has been away from this blog since — but some excitement is happening abroad, and while I stopped by to share it, I thought I would interrupt my hiatus with a quick list of highlights and things I have learned as a debut author so far, starting with said news:

1. Juniper has been nominated for Book of the Year 2017 (young adult) on Lubimyczytać.pl, the Polish equivalent of Goodreads!

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I was so stunned to see this. Even if I don’t win — even if I come in last place — I might never get over seeing my book alongside John Green’s and Nicola Yoon’s! Have a Lubimyczytać.pl account or know someone who does? You can vote on best young adult book of 2017 here!

2. Readers are the best. This may not come as a surprise to anyone, but readers sure keep surprising *me* with their boundless kindness and honors! The above is an extreme example — it was a big deal even to see Juniper translated into Polish, let alone nominated for anything — but really, everything from a shoutout in a Tweet to a quick message, fan mail, or “bookstagram” photo is spectacularly uplifting, and really strikes the heart every time. I’ve made excellent use of that tears-streaming-down-the-face emoji the last few seasons.

3. I’m really glad I joined Instagram. Confession: I did not own a smart phone until last year. But I made an account a little before I got one at the recommendation of another debut author, who had observed how nice it was to be tagged in posts and see some of the love your book was getting without seeking it out. As someone with epic anxiety around reading reviews, that approach really works for me 🙂

4. Postcards = business cards for your books. Book swag can come in handy in any number of situations, but in my opinion, postcards are the absolute best. I always carry some with me on the go, and if the fact that I write books for a living happens to come up in conversation (as it often does), I have a visual + one-line summary and all the book’s details in one neat place — and whoever I’m talking to can take it home with them!

I especially recommend book postcards if, like me, you either loathe being a salesperson, feel flustered to discuss your book on cue, or both.

5. Yes, Book 2 really does suck…but you’ve got people in your corner. If you’re an author or aspiring novelist, you’ve likely heard about the notorious struggles of writing a second traditionally-published novel. Every situation is different, but I can tell you from where I stand: IT’S ALL TRUE. Mainly it’s just that circumstances have changed and there are any number of unique pressures that weren’t there for your first book — but they add up, and whether it’s coming up with an idea everyone likes, meeting parameters, deadlines, or turning in the ugliest first draft of your life, the stress is alive and well.

BUT: the same people who helped you sell, and possibly publish your first book remain your steady champions. As long and harrowing as your path to Book 2 might be, your people want to see you succeed — and in my experience, are excellent about working with you to make it happen.

6. I have a favorite business expense?? I knew online giveaways (***see below!***) were A Thing, but I never expected I’d be so dang happy making semi-regular runs to the post office! Readers really appreciate the chance to win a copy of your book via social media or Rafflecopter, and every winner I’ve interacted with has been so wonderfully gracious and ebullient, I can’t help but grin too when I get to play Bookmail Fairy.

7. Some things don’t change. A few: imposter syndrome. Bottomless TBRs (I am only just now starting to catch up on all the excellent debuts I purchased last year). The desire to to urge people to leave a review*, but want to be more Person than Salesperson and thus only occasionally vague-Tweet about how much authors love and appreciate reviews 🙂

*Reviews help authors. They are appreciated in any capacity — Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, etc. — but especially on Amazon, where I am told that 50 is the magic number to start enjoying the benefits of their algorithms.

Anything to add? Comment below!

And while you’re here…

***CURRENT GIVEAWAYS***

As of this posting, I am hosting TWO ongoing Juniper giveaways: one on Instagram and one on Twitter. Check them out for details! Winners will be drawn February 21, 2018.

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All aboard to Bookingham for another Juniper giveaway!

Friends and readers, I am delighted to announce that we have put our heads together, and the magnanimous Duke of Bookingham is currently hosting a Juniper-themed giveaway over on her tumblr!

photo by The Duke of Bookingham

photo by The Duke of Bookingham

You may notice there seems to be a set in these pictures. That’s because an advance copy, a finished hardback, and an audiobook of Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index are all up for grabs as prizes!

You can enter her giveaway and read the full details here, or, if you do not have a tumblr account, there are alternative entry methods via Rafflecopter (see link below). Ends October 7th. Good luck!!

enter via Rafflecopter

*

One month of Juniper, or: What’s it like to be a published author?

My book that came out a month ago was my first and nearly four years in the making. It didn’t take four years to write Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index, but it did take four years to plan, write, revise, get an agent, revise, find a publisher, revise, complete a slew of publishing firsts, revise, and eventually end up in bookstores. Add on a practice book, the study of the craft, and a commitment to reading, and it’s probably been closer to five years since I decided to pursue writing fiction.

So what’s it like to finally be published?

The answer is…

Pretty much the same?

There are a few differences:

1. I’ve started carrying around a Sharpie. Not to be pretentious—because in regular life I sometimes encounter friends, acquaintances, etc. who’ve bought the book and would like it signed.

2. I have fans??? Most days I wake up to some kind of social notifications from readers who enjoyed the book. I don’t know if this will be the norm going forward or if it’s just because Juniper is new, but it’s lovely, moving, and really kind of astounding! I mean, I remember what a big deal it was for me the first time an author I admire even liked one of my tweets (B.J. Novak after a reading). To be on the other end of that is nothing short of magical—and has me paradoxically fangirling over my fans.

3. People who go out with me are suddenly eager to tell strangers what I do for a living and that my first book just came out. Friends and family have always been supportive of my writing, but now that there is physical proof of success out in the world, it is easier to talk about and boy, are your cheerleaders excited to share for you. Even I am more likely to admit to being a writer in public (but still don’t go out of my way to tell people).

It’s like when you eat out with a friend on a birthday and your friend (un)casually lets the waiter know what day it is.

WAITER: Oh, it’s your birthday? Happy birthday!

YOU: Hahaha, thanks. Yep, another year older. Whoop whoop.

FRIEND: IT IS HER BIRTHDAY BRING FORTH THE CAKE AND THE GLORY

There have also been many firsts in the last month. Scroll or click through the gallery to see some of my favorites as well as other highlights from the first month of publication.

Happy book birthday!

May 30th broke my Twitter.

Congrats flowers 🙂

reader photo

Little sis texting me updates as she read gave me LIFE.

FREE ICE CREAM for my book birthday!

And then big sis found the dedication… >>>

(enlarged)

Old Firehouse Books in Colorado tweeted the BEST review on my book birthday >>>

>>>

THIS ONE.

First finished UK copies!!

On Juniper’s UK birthday, June 1st, a reader posted this magnificent photo.

SPOTTED IN DUBLIN >>>

at this historic bookstore, Hodges Figgis

Another friend across the pond bought Juniper for his b-day!

JUNIPER @ POWELL’S

!!!

I WROTE THAT

Made this #JuniperIRL Scavenger Hunt for launch.

Launch party! StarB’s even made us free pink drinks ❤

A U D I O B O O K S

One #JuniperIRL prompt was mirror writing. Fun and deceptively tricky!

reader tweet

reader post: a forever book

mirror writing ii

I’M SO EXCITED SOMEBODY KNEW WHAT ACCOUNT I WAS TALKING ABOUT

Spotted at B&N!

reader tweet: Tears, vol. 1

OH HI V.E. SCHWAB

(enlarged)

partial fan cast

This alone means everything.

Penguin Platform knows my aesthetic heart ❤

reader tweet: unputdownable

reader tweet: Tears, vol. 2

reader tweet: warning – page turner

reader tweet

HOUSTON WE HAVE A RE-READ

ANOTHER RE-READ AHHHH

reader post: Tears, vol. 3 – now with added lost sleep

reader photo

mirror writing iii

reading updates from a friend, aka Tears, vol. 4

Juniper’s Polish cover!

What company to appear with!

reader tweet: hooked

Happy UK book birthday!

TOP BOOK out of these 15 this month?? Yow!

The loveliest message from a friend of a friend in college. Another reader up late 🙂

Found THIS on Amazon one morning…

Hahaha, remember that time someone I had writing classes with read my book in one sitting?

Top 10 of 2017 so far

@YAWednesdays is hosting a buddy read of Juniper! Join them any time and hop on Twitter at 5:00pm EST July 26th to chat and Q&A with me!

Publishing your first book is a legitimate reason to treat yourself, right? Say hello to my first ever Ray Baes

I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW JUNIPER WAS GOING TO BE IN AUSTRALIA

And finally: a new author norm.

To those who aren’t published yet but are working towards publication, I say: even if the world does not yet recognize what you are doing, you are Doing it. Write on.

#JuniperIRL Scavenger Hunt

Here’s a thing I don’t get to say every day: My first book came out on Tuesday!!

To celebrate the release of Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index, today I’m kicking off a Juniper-themed scavenger hunt that anyone can join online, or, if you happen to be in the Portland area, in person!

The hunt list (above – prints at 8.5 x 11 in) features a combination of spot-this-items and activity prompts. Here’s how the game will work:

Online (open internationally): June 3 – June 11
​
Play from anywhere in the world by sharing a photo of any item from the list online using the hashtag #JuniperIRL. Each social share may count as an entry for raffle prizes including copies of the book, $20 USD worth of books from the Book Depository, and a Juniper-themed prize pack featuring bath bombs, sweets, and beyond! Winners will be randomly selected on June 12 and contacted via email or direct message.

Note: If sharing a #JuniperIRL photo on Twitter, you are entered for prizes automatically. If sharing on another social platform, please copy the link to your post and paste it in the share widget (click below to go to it):

Share Widget (Rafflecopter)

PORTLAND ONLY: Sunday, June 4th

From 2:00 – 4:00pm on Sunday, June 4, Julie will be celebrating at the Brewery Blocks Starbucks downtown (1039 NW Couch; at the corner of 11th and Couch, across from Powell’s bookstore).

Show her photos of any five items from the Juniper hunt list for a small prize, which may or may not involve ice cream (there is a Ben & Jerry’s three blocks away. It may). Or just come say hi, color a postcard, and get a book signed!

I’ve had a blast putting this all together — I hope you all enjoy it!

Countdown to Debut – plus, 10 more ARCs of Juniper up for grabs!

How did we get here? In less than two months now, Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index hits bookstores!

I hardly know where to begin, but I think I’ll start with some excitement: Goodreads is giving away 10 advance copies of Juniper! If you’re a Goodreads member, you can enter with the click of a button here (where it says “Enter Giveaway”) through April 27!

Other pre-release goings on at the moment:

• Audiobook production is starting! The producer with Listening Library recently reached out to me to let me know the voice actress they had in mind for Juniper. I listened to some samples and I absolutely love her and I cannot WAIT to hear her bring Juniper to life!
• I have a publicist now. Just assigned from my publisher a couple weeks ago. Figuring out this business a little bit by the seat of my pants, but we already have a local radio interview scheduled??
• I’m trying out video! A rep at Penguin asked if I’d be willing to film a short video about the book for promo purposes. I have written out a script (it’s meant to be under one minute) and I’m getting excited about actually making it!
• I’m working on promo efforts independently, too. On the advice of former debuts I am being careful not to spread myself too thin, and am instead concentrating on projects that I find enjoyable and not more time/effort/stress than they’re worth. These include, but are not limited to:
• Creating a Juniper coloring page/colorable postcard (watch this space!), and
• Planning a public release celebration to take place, most likely, the weekend after Juniper comes out. Key words so far: scavenger hunt. Raffles (open internationally). ICE CREAM.

Book 2 (unrelated to Juniper) currently hovers somewhere in the background, but I anticipate that may also move to a front burner quickly– and likely in the busy rush of release!

For now, it’s one day, one new step at a time.

Juniper ARC giveaway!!

Update 3/19/2017: The giveaway is now closed– the winner has claimed her prize! Congrats to Laura J!

Hello, friends! I’m excited to announce that I am giving away an advance reading copy of Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index— along with a prize! The winner of the raffle will receive the book and his or her choice of either:

1. A $50 Amazon gift card, or
2. A Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 Instant Camera (with one pack of film), winner’s color of choice.

I’m hosting the giveaway via Rafflecopter, so if you aren’t a member with them already, you may be prompted to sign up (it’s fast and free) when you click the link below.

Ready to play?

enter the giveaway

^

There’s a new cover in town…

Or rather, across the pond! Say hello to Juniper’s newest sister cover, that of the Penguin Random House Children’s UK edition!

Isn’t it beautiful?

This version is now also available for pre-order from Amazon UK! If you don’t live in the UK but are interested in this edition, sit tight– I will update this post with international vendor links such as The Book Depository’s (update: here it is!) when they become available.

For now, back to mooning over my screen…

Update: current places you can pre-order the UK edition:

• Waterstones
• Amazon UK
• The Book Depository

What happens between selling your (first) book and publication?

Spoiler alert: a lot.

 

Hello, friends!

How long has it been? Looks like my last post was in August (and even that, I remember, felt like it took days to put together between other tasks).

I credit several reasons for that, but most tie back to: selling your (first) book is work. It’s all uphill to this point, right? It should get easier once you’ve got your foot in the proverbial Publishing door, right?

Quoth the raven, “Nopenopenope.”

Here’s a glimpse at some of the blur that’s been going on off-screen this last year or so. Note towards the end of the year I started to lose track of what round of edits we were on and exactly which other tasks fell between them—everything ran together!

JANUARY 2016. Near the end of the month, my first book sells. Also my second (unrelated and unwritten, but same contract).

FEBRUARY-MAY. Peaceful quiet period in which my editor is working with her other, earlier pub date authors. I have time to read 1-2 books a week, work out every other day, sleep well, eat three meals a day, think and dream and outline what I hope will be my next project with said editor. Heaven is a quiet inbox.

END OF MAY. Receive my first edit letter. 13 pages. I know my work is cut out for me, and my editor graciously grants me a couple weeks to digest feedback and form a game plan.

I spend all of it taking apart my book and stitching it back together.

JUNE 14. Phone call with editor to discuss revision plan. Goes well; we’re really on the same page.

I start revising as soon as we hang up.

JUNE – AUGUST tasks:

• Revision. Must complete ~1.5 items each day to make deadline.
• Author Questionnaire (a packet the publisher sends you to fill out to help them promo the book)
• Cover discussion
• Contracts (with Penguin Random House and my first foreign sales) coming in to read and review
• Deal announcement

MID AUGUST. First revision due. After two months of massive cuts, rewrites, rearranging, and 100% new insertions (with 12 days left over to read the new product from start to finish and edit), I hit send and lie down forever.

SEPTEMBER? This is where things start getting hazy. I get another edit letter and only 20 days to do the entire revision – none of the plan-forming time I’d had for the first round and not even enough time to re-read through the changes before hitting send again.

Also going on:

• Cover discussion
• Book 2 discussion – including finding out that the idea I’d spent most of spring planning and researching would not make an ideal sophomore to Book 1, so back to the drawing board. Begin Stress of the Century.
• Book 2 brainstorming in the 10-ish days Book 1 is not in my court

OCTOBER. Subsequent revisions? Cover things? Maybe we’re starting to move more into line edits now? I don’t even know. I look outside and there are leaves on the ground. When did THAT happen? Where did summer go???!

New foreign sales, new contracts.

Around this time I join the Swanky Seventeens (2017 group for debut kid lit authors).

Super secret good news that might not mean anything but could mean everything and is pretty freaking cool regardless

The Book 2 stress is real. I’ve got nothing, nothing, nothing.

I should really find a CPA soon.

NOVEMBER-ISH. Starting to home in on a couple Book 2 possibilities. Between rounds of whatever’s going on with Book 1 (line edits? copy edits? First pass?), I back and forth with my agent to discuss them. Agent feels one idea is stronger, asks questions to help me flesh it out so we can send not just a premise, but a few pages (including details as involved as protagonists’ internal arcs) to editor.

I send those off at some point.

By now I’ve asked my publisher how to deal with permissions for lines and lyrics quoted in the book and written to the appropriate rights holders regarding them.

Miraculously, Publishing seems to shut down for Thanksgiving. The holiday is an actual holiday.

I should really find a CPA soon.

LATE NOVEMBER-DECEMBER (not necessarily in order): 

• THE YEAR IS ENDING MUST FIND CPA
• first pass
• I want to say this is when I see the book first typeset?—that is, evolved from a Word document to a PDF with real chapter headings and handwriting fonts, etc.?
• Seeing the book in design is awesome, but there are TONS of formatting details that mistranslated or were lost in the move; I swipe through the whole PDF as fast as I can on a Kindle to find and mark them in time to be corrected for the ARCs, make a (24 page?) list, and hit send
• FINALLY connect with a CPA, who directs me to an attorney to help set up an LLC
• set up LLC
• cover conversations with UK team
• Acknowledgments
• Find out JUNIPER will be an audiobook. Woohoo!
• holidays: family visiting
• learn that new Book 2 idea will also not work; back to the drawing board
• holiday homework: 25 queries from copy editor (and a par-tridge in a pear treeeee)
• holiday homework: write 1 page letter to accompany UK ARCs
• actual holidays! I permit myself exactly 2 work-free days in a row to make the most of festivities and family time.

JANUARY 2017.

• meet CPA in person
• finish setting up LLC
• UK cover talks resume
• Book 2 conversation resumes; editor graciously grants an open timeframe to ease the pressure of brainstorming (yay and thank stars)
• trying to get myself back into a reading groove of at least one book a week; my reading has really taken a dive since autumn, when a combination of Book 2 stress and edits led to longterm burnout
• a few follow-up queries from copyeditor
• chains of emails on final production details for Book 1: jacket copy, jacket design, handwriting fonts, formatting details, inline visual options
• follow-up on permissions requests
• ARCs arrive!!!

Which brings us to the present! I’ve started distributing my ARCs and am still making plans for others. I’ll be giving away at least one or two, so stay tuned for details!

Since I was given some flexibility for Book 2, I’ve also been making efforts to refill the creative well these last few weeks. That means reading, time to follow curiosity, making art or writing things that are allowed to be pointless, and getting out and going places weekends and wait—what’s that—a hint of SOCIAL life??

But to stay on header topic: it’s been a year since Book 1 sold and it’s still not finished yet. Things seem like they are starting to wind down, but there continues to be more to do every week. And now that we are entering the months prior to publication, I expect there to be increasingly more on the promo side even as the product becomes finished.

I’ll try to post more than once in a blue moon this year to share about the rest of the debut experience!

First Revision on Deadline – in pictures

Midway through June I posted some anticipated stats for a major revision (which, as you may have guessed, was for my debut novel). This has been my most ambitious revision to date, and was also my first on a deadline. I worked on it every day from the morning I talked through changes with my editor to the day I handed it in to her– not to mention the two and a half weeks beforehand it took to translate the edit letter and all margin notes into a game plan.

Here’s a glimpse of what that revision looked like.

The marked up, hard copy manuscript my editor over-nighted me. Give me ALL THE COFFEE.

How did I make a game plan? Simple. I destroyed my old outline with 8 pens (color coded), tape, and sticky notes.

Then I turned that disaster outline into lists. Nothing was crossed out when I started.

me: Hoooly F I need a calendar. / sis: *runs into other room* *runs back* Do you like PENGUINS?

I made a sticker system. (P.S. That’s my edit letter in the folder.)

Huskies = new scene. Big star = largely rewritten scene. Little star = significant addition/revision, but less than a whole scene. Flower = section completed (even line edits).

I did some math: if I averaged 1.3 items off my Big List every day, that would leave me ~2.5 weeks to read through, streamline, consistency edit, and pick over line edits.

My next list: final read-throughs. Pen = once read, green = twice, red = three+ times.

Guitar break (or: trying to remember how to play things because Neglected Hobby).

Shortly before my deadline, the Perseid shower reached its peak.

I spent a night outside with my Nikon aimed at the sky. See anything interesting in the upper left corner?

How about now (same shot, auto contrast)?

When your head is in a project, it’s easy to miss things. This was a much needed break to stop and drink it all in.

 

(More) Big Book News!!!

Hahaha, you thought I was done shouting last week when I shared this?

Well, check out what appeared in Publishers Marketplace this week:

Can you tell which part I’m most excited about? (Hint: not the sensible thing, which is that there were actually two books to this deal with a Big Five imprint, but that my debut also sold in France and Quebec– and is going to be translated into one of my favorite foreign languages!!)

JUNIPER is slated for release next year, summer 2017. If you’d like to be notified when the book is added to Goodreads, made available to pre-order, or will be celebrated/raffled off in a giveaway, you can let me know here or subscribe to my website RSS feed. Alternatively, follow me on Twitter or tumblr for antics peppered with book news!

For now, thanks for helping me celebrate. Virtual doughnuts on me!