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Those of you who know me may or may not know that I've been writing for 12 years.
I started in 2004 when my daughter was born and I had 5 months of paid maternity leave. I was immediately hooked and haven't looked back since.
I've had a tough road in publishing. I've written about 9 books over 12 years rejected by agents and editors. I had an amazing agent and then mutually parted ways.
I ended up indie pubbing my Nature of Grace series (before it was cool) and worked hard to sell over 100,000 copies. I also worked hard to rise above the stigma of self-pubbing and turn off all the naysayers and criticism I received from many. TO be honest, I worked through many tears to get where I am. I stopped writing for 6 months and almost gave up at times, but I found my way back to loving writing again.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE indie pubbing and still do. It was the best decision I ever made (besides my husband :) But I always wanted a traditional deal. Whether I felt I needed to be legitimized or that I needed to prove it to myself or whether it was because I wanted to be a hybrid author and do both indie and traditional, I don't know.
But one day I got super lucky and found a new agent (my agent soulmate) and we have worked hard together to make that dream a reality.
So today, after 9 books, 2 agents, 12 years of writing, and months of holding in a secret and avoiding talking to anyone because I can't keep secrets very well...I can finally announce my first traditional deal. :) And I get to see my name in Publisher's Weekly - a dream come true.
And what's even better, it's with my best friend,
Kimberly Derting (author of the Body Finder series).
=========
Virginia Duncan at Greenwillow Books preempted world rights, in a two-book deal, to a picture book series called Luna and the Scientific Method! by Kimberly Derting and Shelli Johannes-Wells. The first book is set for fall 2017. Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary represented Derting, and Lara Perkins, also at Andrea Brown, represented Johannes-Wells. Rennert said the series is about a “science-loving, question-asking girl” who discovers that “scientific inquiry... can lead to a lot of fun and adventure.” Derting (the Body Finder series) and Johannes-Wells (who uses the pseudonym S.R. Johannes and is the author of the Nature of Grace series) will be writing the series together; an illustrator for the books has yet to be chosen.
==========
We have no idea who will be illustrating our picture book babies, but what I can say is that Kim and I are crazy-excited to be working with Virginia Duncan, the publisher at Greenwillow, and her amazing team to bring our feisty, science-loving girl, LUNA, and her love science to girls around the world.
To me, this book is more than a traditional deal. More than a book. LUNA is a chance for us to make a difference in the lives of many future scientists to be. :)
Special shout out to our partner's in crime - Laura Rennert, Lara Perkins, and Virgina Duncan/Greenwillow for believing in me and Kim... and LUNA.
Because...
Science + Girls = AWESOME-SAUCE
YAY!!!!
Don't give up on your dreams - ever - they can happen.
It just might take some time. :)
Yay!!!
Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.
Here's what's on my mind today:
- New Deal For Seek Last Monday I told you I signed a new author to Leap Books Seek. Well, the announcement ran in Publisher's Weekly last Tuesday so I can share it now. I'm so excited to work with Sheri Larsen on Motley Education.
- The Haunted Realm Emilyann Girdner has a new book out. Check out The Haunted Realm. In this riveting continuation of the story, Araina again faces a series of seemingly impossible magical obstacles. As Araina and her friends search for answers about their Creators and their magical labyrinth world, their journey becomes rife with peril when Araina falls victim to illness. Despite heart-pricking losses in the labyrinth swamps, vengeful ghostly attackers in the Blinking Willows, and many other dangerous obstacles, Araina is determined to succeed. If Araina can’t solve the mysteries of the haunted realm and find a cure for her sickness, she and her friends may never escape the labyrinth, or even live to try.
- Editing I have two client edits and an edit for Leap on my plate this week. Eek!
- Eye Strain I've apparently been editing too much lately. My eyes are starting to really hurt from all the computer time. Sadly, I may need to scale back on all this editing. My eyes have always been an issue and I'm starting to worry that I'm doing damage to them.
- Into the Fire I've been hard at work editing Into the Fire. The book is so different now, and I love it. I can't wait to share it with you all.
That's it for me. What's on your mind today?
By:
Kelly Hashway,
on 11/1/2015
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Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.
Here's what's on my mind today:
- I Signed a Three-Book Deal! I'm really excited to say that my young adult series, Into the Fire, has a new home. You may remember Into the Fire was released last year as an Ashelyn Drake title. Well, I've added to the book and decided it is most definitely a Kelly Hashway title. All three books in the series will release through Limitless Publishing. And yes, you read that correctly. Into the Fire will have NEW content, never before seen! Here's the Publisher's Marketplace announcement:
- Editing I've been on an editing role lately. I'm even booking clients for 2016 already.
- FREE Monthly Newsletter My free monthly newsletter went out yesterday. If you didn't get a copy but would like one, you can sign up here.
- Creepy Short Story on Lightning Quick Reads Last week, the lovely bloggers over at Lightning Quick Reads posted my short story "House of Horrors." You can read it here.
- Halloween Fun I never post pictures of my daughter online. (Yes, I'm one of those paranoid mothers.) I do, however, post pictures of my dog, Hadley, and this was too cute not to share. I hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween!
That's it for me. What's on your mind today?
By:
Kelly Hashway,
on 7/6/2015
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Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.
Here's what's on my mind today:
- Book Deal! You know that news I've been hinting at? Well, it's that I signed another book deal! Yay!!! OUR LITTLE SECRET, my YA contemporary romance (written as Ashelyn Drake) will be published by Limitless Publishing. Here's the PM announcement:
Ashelyn Drake's OUR LITTLE SECRET, when a girl falls for her best friend's twin brother, she'll have to decide what she's willing to risk to keep the guy of her dreams, to Jessica Gunhammer at Limitless, by Sarah Negovetich at Corvisiero Literary Agency.
- Signing Postponed I was supposed to have a signing on July 4th for The Monster Within and The Darkness Within at Books-A-Million in the Stroud Mall in Stroudsburg, PA, but it had to be postponed. It's now scheduled for July 25th from noon to 3:00 p.m. If you'll be in the area, I hope you'll come see me.
- Editing This is the summer of edits for me. Last week I tackled edits on two of my own books as well as edits for clients. My poor eyes are going to hate me soon—if they don't already.
- Free Monthly Newsletter Today my newsletter goes out. In it is a sneak peek at the cover of the secret project I've been hinting about. The cover has already been revealed in my street team (Kelly's Coven) FB group, and now it's time for my newsletter subscribers to see it. I won't be doing a cover reveal, which means no one else will see the cover until the book is released, which will also be a surprise! If you aren't signed up to receive my newsletter, but would like to, click here.
- Slow Response Time I have funeral services to attend this week because there was a death in my family. So if I'm slow to respond to comments, that's why.
That's it for me. What's on your mind today?
It’s my birthday, but I’d rather not be reminded, because I’m slipping ever so closer to eligibility for the “AARP Junior” card, as my father likes to josh. (Thanks, Pops.)
Last year on my birthday, something fun happened—my agent and I announced the acquisition of LITTLE RED GLIDING HOOD by Heidi Kilgras at Random House Children’s. And this year, Meredith Mundy and Merideth Harte of Sterling have stepped up to the birthday cake. They have acquired NORMAL NORMAN, a story that began with just the quirky title. (Always have pen and paper on you, folks. I jotted it down on the grocery check-out line.)
Many thanks again to Ammi-Joan Paquette for brokering the deal. Here’s the full scoop:
Who here has yet to pay a visit to THE MONSTORE? It’s okay, we’ll wait. (You won’t regret it!)
Once you’ve stopped off to visit Tara Lazar’s deliciously quirky debut picture book, you will of course want to know what else she has on the horizon. And the answer is: much, much more! The next book to drop will be I THOUGHT THIS WAS A BEAR BOOK, coming from Aladdin in summer 2015.
And today, I’ve got still more good news—which is really the reason we’re here today. Tara Lazar’s brand new picture book, NORMAL NORMAN, tells the story of Norman, a little creature who does not want to do all the normal things that creatures do. He wants to be different! Unique! Unexpected! Not everyone likes this plan… not at all. What is a think-outside-the-box creature to do?
I’m delighted to say that NORMAL NORMAN has been acquired by Meredith Mundy and Merideth Harte at Sterling, and that an illustrator is already on board: the talented Stephan Britt. Congratulations, Tara—and here’s to Norman!
–Joan
Writer and superdad Jerry Mahoney chats with us about his new book based on his popular blog, Mommy Man, and his experiences blogging on WordPress.com.
In three short years, Paul Carrick Brunson has gone from a virtually unknown matchmaker to a best-selling author with his own show on OWN. So, how did he become a “real-life Hitch”? Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the relationship coach tells how in the latest installment of Mediabistro’s So What Do You Do?
“I’m always really transparent on social media, so I went on Twitter and tweeted to my followers that I was thinking about writing a book,” Brunson said. “And one of the associate publishers at Penguin saw it and said, ‘Hey, if you ever write something, let us know. We’d love to look at it.’ A couple months later, I sent him a direct message on Twitter and told him that I had finished the proposal, and he said that he would love to have me come in. I immediately went to New York — no agent — and sat down and had a meeting with them. Within four hours of the meeting I had a deal, and I signed it the next day.”
Read the full interview in So What Do You Do, Paul Carrick Brunson, Matchmaker and Co-host of OWN’s Lovetown, USA?
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Over at the MiGs, I wrote a post called After the Book Deal- The First 3 Months, which will end up being a series on things you can do after you get your book deal. The whole process can be daunting and you might wonder, where do I begin? Hopefully this series, After the Book Deal, can help you navigate your way through it.
This weekend has been overwhelming. I've been blown away by the well-wishes on Facebook and Twitter, the emails and blog posts. It's moments like these that all the years of late-night writing, tears over rejections and fighting self-doubt become worth it.
I'm so excited to celebrate my book deal with you that I'm giving away three prize packs. I know some of you are readers, some are writers and some are travelers, so I've created a pack for each of you.
Writer's Pack- Critique of your first 10 pages by me
- $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card- your choice!
- $10 Starbuck's gift card
- Journal and writing pens
- Query critique from my writing partner, Kate Fall, who has just opened her own editing business
Reader's Pack- Copies of my writing partner's books: autographed copy of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE by Beth Revis, I'M BORED illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi, and a preordered copy of PROPHECY by Ellen Oh
- A Samjokgo amulet (or some spell it as Samjogo)- this represents strength and was considered the most powerful symbol in Korea during the Koguryo Kingdom. This amulet has a big role in my book!
Traveler's Pack- Traveler's journal and writing pens
- "Woman On the Go" traveler kit
- Kindle or Nook (your choice!) versions of these great YA books: TEN by Gretchen McNeil and DEFIANCE by C.J Redwine.
Fill out the Rafflecopter form below to win! a Rafflecopter giveaway
Finally, finally I can scream from my rooftop that I've got a book deal! I've been keeping this little secret for a hundred years now. (Okay, maybe that's a slight exaggeration).I am so pleased to announce that my young adult paranormal, GILDED, sold to Amazon Children's Publishing (formally Marshall Cavendish)!Here's the blurb from Publisher's Marketplace:Christina Farley's GILDED, in which a 16-year-old Korean-American girl with a black belt and a deadly proclivity with steel-tipped arrows discovers an ancient Korean god has been kidnapping the first-born daughters of her family for generations, to Miriam Frank at Amazon Children's, in a nice deal, for publication in Fall 2013, by Jeff Ourvan at Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency (world). | |
 |
I know you're waiting for all the gossip on how it happened. So...Let's rewind back to January, when on Martin Luther King's birthday I got this stop-your-heart kind of email from Margery Cuyler, Publisher of Marshall Cavendish, saying she loved my book and was taking it to acquisitions. (Wow!!!!! She loved my book!!!!!!) For the next week I was on pins and needles. Waiting, staring at my phone, waiting and staring at my phone some more. Then I got the call from Jeff, my agent. THE CALL. It was during my school day and I'm not allowed to answer my phone so he sent me a quick email first. Amazon Children's had offered to buy my book. Squee! Somehow I got through the school day. I have no idea what I told my students or if I even taught the math lesson correctly. All I know is that I had this huge smile plastered across my face. As soon as I herded my students out the door, I was dialing Jeff to talk about all the juicy details.
Signing my contract
I am just so thankful to my agent who knew how to navigate through the whole submitting maze because the next few months after that were a bit insane. And he put up with my bizarre emails that looked something like this:!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(I know, who sends crazy emails like that?)Yes, he's totally a black belt in agenting.I am thrilled to be working with my editor, Miriam Frank, who said she fell head-over-heels in love with GILDED (I can't help but love her already). Below you will find a short video I made that highlights my journey in writing this book. If you have read my blog over the years, these pictures will be familiar to you. Most of the pictures my husband or myself took while living in Korea.Thanks as always to my crit buds who have endured emails and reading too many versions of this manuscript among others: Casey McCormick, Beth Revis, Larissa Hardesty, Ellen Oh and the amazing girls from the MiGs!I hope you will stop by later this week to celebrate with me because I'm holding an EPIC contest giving away books, critiques, gift cards, and jewelry based on GILDED.
In case you missed my squeals of joy yesterday, this is the official news about my debut YA book deal from Publisher's Marketplace:
September 25, 2012
Children's:
Young Adult
Kristi Helvig's sci-fi series BURN OUT, after the sun has burned away the atmosphere, Tora Reynolds
survives, protected by lethal bio-energy guns that bounty hunters and governments are desperate
for, to Greg Ferguson at Egmont, in a pre-empt, for publication in fall 2014, by Jessica Regel at Jean
V. Naggar Literary Agency (world).
I am beyond to excited to be joining Egmont, and am super grateful to my rock star agent for believing in this book! The deluge of awesome emails, tweets, and FB messages yesterday was amazing, and I feel lucky to know so many wonderful people. Wow, I use a lot of adjectives when I'm excited.
Also, don't forget to enter the 1000 Twitter Follower Giveaway to win books and all kinds of critiques (including the Wednesday Query Critique)!
Today I have double the celebration. First, my agency sister, publishing house sister, and dear friend, Trisha Wolfe has a gorgeous cover for her upcoming novel, FIREBLOOD, coming in October through Spencer Hill Press.
Here it is!
Fireblood
To save a kingdom, Zara must choose between a prince who could be the answer and a rising rebellion that threatens to take control.
When Zara Dane is chosen to marry Prince Sebastian Hart, son of the man who ordered her father's capture, Zara knows she must fight to save everything she loves from ruin.
Being betrothed to the prince means a life trapped behind the towering stone walls of the Camelot-forged realm. Under the watchful eye of the prince's first knight, Sir Devlan Capra, changing her future becomes difficult.
When an unlikely rebel reveals the truth about the deadly secrets that fuel King Hart's twisted world, Zara's path to rescue her father becomes clouded by deception. The Rebels clear her path by forcing Zara's hand with an ultimatum: sway Prince Sebastian to join the Rebels, convincing him of his father's evil nature, or they will take him out.
But Zara is uncertain about a future under the Rebels' command and where the prince's heart truly lies. She must decide who to trust, what to believe, and what she's truly fighting for before the king destroys all of Karm, including her heart .
Title: Fireblood
Author: Trisha Wolfe
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press (www.spencerhillpress.com) Please feel free to use any images, text, links, etc. from our website. ISBN: 978-1-937053-59-8
Release Date: October 8, 2013
Formats: Paper, e-book
My second bit of good news is that I've signed another 3-book deal with Month9Books! Here's the Publisher's Marketplace announcement:
TOUCH OF DEATH author Kelly Hashway's INTO THE FIRE, in which sixteen-year-old Cara Tillman, a descendant from the mythical phoenix bird, is nearing her rebirth where she will forget everything, including the love of her life, Logan, and attempts to embrace her last days with him even if it means drawing deadly phoenix hunters to her doorstep, to Georgia McBride at Month9Books in a 3-book deal, in a pre-empt for publication in Spring 2014 by LaurenHammond of ADA Management Group (World).
I wasn't planning to post today since I did a special Tuesday post as part of Rachel Harris's blog tour, but I have news!
Look what was in Publisher's Marketplace yesterday:
From Publisher's Marketplace: Kelly Hashway's THE MONSTER WITHIN, in which a teenage girl is magically brought back to life by the boy who loves her, but she comes back "wrong" and has to face the evil now growing within her, to Trisha Wooldridge at Spencer Hill Press, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in April 2014, by Lauren Hammond at ADA Management Group (World English).
I think you all know how much I love being with Spencer Hill Press, so I'm so happy this book (and its sequel) will be published with them. I have to tell you that this deal went to auction and I would've been happy either way it went. And I was seriously flattered that it went to auction. It was crazy to think more than one publisher wanted my books.
So I'm with Spencer Hill Press and my amazing editor Trisha Wooldridge for another two books! Yay! More news on The Monster Within and The Darkness Within soon!
If you want to add it on Goodreads, you can here. The release date is set for April 2014.
By: Jenny Martin,
on 8/10/2012
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Guys.
GUYS. I AM HAVING AN UGLY CRY ABOUT POSTING THIS AND I AM STILL IN SHOCK AND I CAN’T STOP SHOUTING IN RANDOM CAPS-LOCKY WAY BECAUSE…
My agent sold my debut. Our first book deal.
(C’mon. I know you want to sing along with me.)
I can’t believe this is happening. And if you are my twitter friend, or my IRL friend, or my I-haven’t-met-you-yet friend, you may or may not know how daunting and scary and wonderful my writing journey has been so far. Whatever the case, thank you for sharing this moment with me. I love you for it. I would hug you very tightly right now, if you were here. I would ugly cry on your shoulder, and you would get impatient and tell me to stop being so maudlin and so silly, and I would listen to you. But just for a minute. Then I would start acting like a sentimental nincompoop again because…
One of my childhood dreams is coming true. I WRITE BOOKS AND SOMEONE BELIEVES IN THEM AND SOMEONE WANTS TO PUT THEM OUT INTO THE WORLD. I AM A PENGUIN.
I am so incredibly happy and lucky to be able to write that. I have so many people to thank (My family! My fabulous agent, Sara! My dream editor, Heather!). I have presents to give. I have (not very) gory details to share. But that is another post, one I’ll be writing soon. For now, thank you for reading this and being my any kind of friend. It means a lot to me.
TODAY
TOMORROW
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(Well, it is!)
Children’s: Picture Book
THE MONSTORE author Tara Lazar’s I THOUGHT THIS WAS A BEAR BOOK, about an alien who falls into the wrong book and has to try to get back to his home planet, to Alyson Heller at Aladdin, by Ammi-Joan Paquette at Erin Murphy Literary Agency (NA).
This book is tentatively slated for release in Summer 2014. I hope I’m still alive by then! LOL!
Many thanks to all the friends who helped shape this book and to Joan for her perseverance!
See y’all soon for PiBoIdMo!
Another day, another vote!
I'm entered into a contest sponsored by Harper Collins UK on their Authonomy website. Writers submit their work and get "backed - voted on - and rated by others on the site. The top five books get considered for publication by real live Harper Collins editors. And, ta da - out of about 5,000 authors on the site, I'm currently number 21!!!
You can vote for me by going to the site, registering, and backing and rating (six stars if you please) Animal Cracker. It's easy and might actually help me get published. Here's the link to the Authonomy website and my book.
Thanks for your support!
The House of Representatives voted 228-192 to defund National Public Radio this afternoon. This week Steve Oney (author of And the Dead Shall Rise) landed a book deal to write a book on “the history, trials and tribulations of NPR.”
The Kneerim & Williams Agency negotiated the deal with Ben Loehnen at Simon & Schuster. Publisher Jonathan Karp had this statement: “We’re delighted to have acquired Steve Oney’s exploration of the personalities and conflicts at NPR. This is the rare media story that transcends the industry and speaks to larger cultural issues, and we believe this book will offer valuable insights into the workings of an important and intriguing journalistic organization.”
Follow this link to learn more how to support the embattled institution.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Some of you undoubtedly read my tweet yesterday:
"I just turned down a book offer. Why?"
As I tried to explain in the subsequent tweetage, it was an offer on my first book. I wasn't sure I wanted it "out there". But there's more, of course.
The offer was from an e-book company (a very solid e-book publisher, I might add). When I subbed the book in the summer of 2009, the poor dear had gone through massive edits--maybe twenty rounds or more. It is my oldest child, the one who faces the parental missteps and unintentional abuses. I just wasn't sure I wanted to let it leave the house just yet, and I'm pretty darn sure I don't want to sign a deal for e-rights only.
Not today. Not in 2010.
Why?
Because I can release it myself if I choose and keep the profit. Sure. Because I'm becoming a real sonuvabitch about creative control, too.
But what's the trade off?
Well, no "outside" editing, for one. While I'm fairly confident in my editing abilities (at least for my own stuff), I always miss something. I haven't touched The Last Days of the Springdale Saints in over a year. I'm going to give it another pass before making any final decisions.
Number two: the "stigma" of self-publishing. Yeah, well, whatever. I'm really not interested in hiding in the cave and waiting for the other dinosaurs to come home. I feel I've built a body of work I'm proud of, some of it published in nice, well-respected venues. I can write fairly well at times, at other times, my writing sucks. Hopefully I'll live long enough to spot the difference.
I don't know if I'm going to set The Last Days of the Springdale Saints free or not. I love the book as only a parent can love an oldest child. I've rewritten it a few times. I've edited it almost too many to count. It has taught me more than any of my subsequent novels. In its latest incarnation, a slim 67K, I've cut almost 30K words. The aforementioned e-publisher was the only one to see the slimmed down Saints. Maybe the book is ready.
Time will tell.
I should call this The Lazy Blogger. Or maybe the blogger-without-anything-to-say.
The truth is I'm putting most of my creative energies into, what else, the rewrite. After doubts of self and book doctor, I'm cutting, pasting, and creating new scenes (one quite brilliant one suggested by book m.d.) and guess what! It's getting better all the time.
I should be finished in a couple of weeks. Amy, book doctor, is in Russia at the moment, and had told me she could review the rewrite in either early June or September. Guess which is my favorite month.
I am considering sending it out to one particular agent I've been eyeing even ifAmy hasn't read it. Have I mentioned that I'm impatient, impetuous, impolitic and, yeah, immature? This agent says on his website that he has a soft spot for stories featuring animals. And the name of my book is...Animal Cracker! Yes, little critters figure prominently.
He will receive my query and sample pages. He will say, "Damn, she's good." He will email me immediately to request the full manuscript. He will call me a week later and ask me to come to New York to review our contract. He tells me he will begin submitting it to publishers immediately. He will contact me the following week with a two-word email: Bidding War! He will call me back with a $ number that will clear all my debts and then some. He will tell me that negotiations have begun on movie rights.
All of this will occur before August 1.
2010.
Now you know why I don't sleep very well.
Yesterday Megan asked:
I definitely want to hear more about the details of what happened, how it felt, and how you've since celebrated :)
Three weeks ago, Agent Michelle sent me an email saying, Good news! Best discussed over the phone. Which number should I call? As you can imagine, I went a bit crazy!
As soon as she called, she told me two, possibly three editors were interested in my book. This floored me. My work is nothing big and flashy, and I never expected to draw this sort of attention. I talked to editors over the course of the next two weeks, starting with pep talk phone calls from Michelle and ending with follow up conversations with her (while I talked with the editors, she took notes and later emailed them to me -- so helpful!).
It was amazing to talk with three people who loved my work, had shared it with others in their office, had thought through ways to strengthen the storyline, etc. The work editors are willing to put into a book before even knowing its theirs is amazing.
Michelle gave the three editors a deadline to turn in offers (last Friday at noon). Every hour or so, she'd call to update me on who'd turned in what. I thought I could do something productive between phone calls, but I was unable to focus on anything other than brainless TV.
I had three amazing editors to choose from and three different and exciting publishing houses. In the end, I went with the editor I felt understood May was well as I did. I'd had the strongest personal connection with this person. The thing that sealed the deal for me was a fabulous marketing plan.
Michelle called Nicole Geiger of Tricycle Press to tell her I'd accepted her offer. I few hours later I got a lovely email from Nicole, telling me how as a child she'd loved books about a lone character struggling against the world and how thrilled she was to get to work on such a story.
My husband was out of town Friday, and between phone calls from Michelle and trashy TV, I talked with Dan and my parents, often cutting them off to take a call. I'd been holding onto a bottle of champagne for months, longing for this day, and I couldn't wait any longer. The thought of opening it alone was the lonliest thing I could imagine, so I invited a few friends over. It was wonderful to finally be able to talk about everything that had happened and all that was to come.
It was 2004. While driving to meet my critique group, I happened to catch an interview with Adrienne Young, a folksinger just starting out. She talked about her first album, inspired by some advice she’d gotten while struggling to make it as a musician:
If you want to do this with your life, stay focused and see this through. You’ve got to plow to the end of the row, girl.
That simple phrase – plow to the end of the row – was enough to push Adrienne to continue. It became the title of both her album and lead song.
I can’t quite explain what that interview meant to me, hearing an artist choose to create despite the struggle, to push against fear and all things sensible and make it “to the end of the row.” I’ve carried this image with me for six years now, the plant metaphor standing in for artistic endeavor, the plow the unglamorous slog needed to dig deep and make it to the end.
I recently stopped by NPR.org, wondering if I could find that interview, and there it was, waiting for me. Hearing Adrienne’s words a second time reminded me just how long my row has been, because guess what, friends? I’ve made it to the end. After almost twelve years of writing and hundreds of rejections, I’ve sold my first book.
MAY B. will be published in fall 2011 by Tricycle Press (an imprint of Random House)!
Sometimes I find it funny that impatient ol’ me would choose a profession so bent on forcing me to wait. An almost foolish optimism has kept me working, trusting that the next editor or the next agent or the next story would be the one to launch my career. For years, I’d haunt the mailbox, waiting for something positive to come through. I’d ceremoniously send off manuscripts, chanting, “Don’t come back!” (entertaining postal workers, for sure). I have journals full of “this next editor is a perfect match!” and the like, managing somehow to keep on plowing in midst of little validation from the publishing world.
I’ve made it to the end of a very long, mostly lonely row, one that’s not very straight and loaded with stones. But the soil has gotten better as I’ve worked it, and each little sprout has been stronger than the last. The beauty of all this is I get to start again, take this seedling and transplant it, working alongside others who will nurture it into something better than I could ever create alone.
Thank you, friends, who have encouraged me along the way!
Like Tera's post, I am on the move these days. I did a paranormal conference in Indiana this past weekend at this old, old art deco theatre where we had a TON of paranormal activity and then we turned the RV east back to Boston. We did a stop in Gettysburg and are back on the road today headed home. It's been a long, productive roadtrip and there's been a lot of plotting along the way, as well.
While I've been traveling, I got some incredibly awesome news from my agent. Check it out!
International rights: Children's Russian rights to Marley Gibson's THE GHOST HUNTRESS: The Awakening, The Guidance, and The Reason series, to AST, by Whitney Lee of The Fielding Agency on behalf of Elaine Spencer at The Knight Agency.
How cool is that? Ghost Huntress is coming out in Russian! As a child of the Cold War, I find this amazing...and fantastic. It won't be out for a year, but I'm dying to see how the cover is going to look and see my words in another language.
Finally, I wanted to send my heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Canadian women's ice skater, Joannie Rochette, who lost her mother two days ago and went ahead and skated last night to a personal best. It's stories like hers that truly represent the true Olympic spirit and the dedication and passion of these athletes.
Hugs to everyone!
Marley = )
The past few days have been busy with sad personal issues related to a friend, but I think it's time for a *little* good news on a Saturday.
I'm shocked, thrilled, beyond excited and SOOOOO happy to announce that Editor K and the team at S&S have decided they'd like FOUR MORE CANTERWOOD BOOKS! So, 13-16, here we come! The official deal will go up on Pub Lunch soon, but I couldn't hold it in any longer and got the okay to share.
I'm incredibly grateful that not only do I get to keep writing these books that I love, but more so that I'm able to work with Kate. We're already brainstorming concepts and I'm just freaking out with excitement about these!
I've got to say thank you so much to Bethany, Mara, Fiona, Liesa and Jon for backing the books and being excited. Team S&S!
Cheers to four more books! :)
Head over to the wondersome blog of Carrie Harris and congratulate her. She just found out that her book, No Pain, No Brain, is going to be published by Delacorte.
These just went up on Publishers Marketplace:
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Middle grade |
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| August 12, 2009 |
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| Children's:
Middle grade |
| PG Kain's THE GO-SEE CHRONICLES series, an insider's look at the fiercely competitive world of tween commercial acting beginning with "The Sea of Me," in which a girl who has grown up with her face on everything from diapers to drink boxes needs to become a new and improved version of herself in order to maintain her edge over a sea of look-alike rivals, to Kate Angelella at Aladdin M!X, in a three-book deal, for publication in Spring 2011, by Alyssa Eisner Henkin at Trident Media Group (NA). | |
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Yaaay for official announcements for Canterwood and my supercool friend PG! :) Thanks so much to Alyssa for posting and go Team EK!
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Congratulations, Tara! I thought something was up when Mandy Yates posted yesterday, but I wanted to hear it from the horse’s mouth! You must have great birthday celebrations. :)
This is fantastic news, Birthday Girl!! So happy for you and the children who will get to read your books.
Congratulations and happy birthday! :)
Huge congrads and a very MERRY birthday.
YAY, Tara! You are on fire! Great job and Happy Birthday!
Good for you, Tara! That’s great news. Happy birthday.
I got my dancing shoes on!!!
~~~SNOOPY DANCE~~~
Congratulations, my friend! Keep on truckin’!
Double-whammy celebration! Woohoo!
All the best to one of the best!
Congratulations, Tara! I’m so excited for you. Praying for much success for you and Norman.
What an outstanding birthday present! YEA, Tara! So proud of you.
Congratulations! And happy happy birthday!