The CW will shoot a pilot episode for a TV adaptation of Kiera Cass‘ not-yet-published novel, The Selection. This young-adult dystopian title has been compared to The Hunger Games and will be released on April 24th.
So far, five actors have been cast: Aimee Teegarden will play lead heroine America Singer. Ethan Peck will play love interest Prince Maxon. Sean Patrick Thomas will play a royal advisor named Sylvan. Leonor Varela will play Queen Amberly. Martin Donovan will play King Clarkson.
Here’s more from Deadline: “Based on the upcoming series of books by Kiera Cass, The Selection is described as an epic romance set 300 years in the future. Written by Elizabeth Craft & Sarah Fain and directed by Mark Piznarski, it centers on America Singer (Aimee Teegarden), a poor young woman who is chosen by lottery to participate in a competition to marry Prince Maxon (Ethan Peck) and become the next queen of a war-torn nation at a crossroads.”
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Last week, you gave us your questions about self-publishing. And this week,
YA author Kiera Cass has the answers. Kiera has a great foundation for comparison between starting through the self-publishing route and going the tradition publishing method via an agent. Her first novel,
THE SIREN, was self-pubbed, while her second novel is currently being offered by
the Caren Johnson Literary Agency.
Hello all! I hope that I got all the big questions, and if anyone needs to follow up, please feel free to email me at
kierasfriends at gmail.com. I can be a bit slow sometimes, but I will answer.
Q: Why did you self-publish?
A: Mostly because I’m impatient. I did go through several rounds of query letters and got a few nibbles from some agents, but no one fell in love with The Siren. No one said my concept or writing was awful, and I was too in love with the characters to not do something, so I went with self-publishing. It was something I’d considered from the very beginning, and since I already had a following, it worked out pretty well.
Q: What are the pros and cons of self-publishing?
A: The big pro is control. No one can make you edit out things you love, you get to choose your cover art, and you get to be hands on with the inside design. The speed is also helpful. Traditional publishing usually takes a year and a half from the submission of the manuscript to the book making it to the shelves. If you’re writing something time sensitive, that can be a little too long. Also, if you’re planning to market to a small group, self-publishing might be something to consider.
The big con is the immediate assumption that what you’ve written is crap. Because anyone can do it, there’s A LOT of bad stuff out there, and you will be lumped in that group. It’s also damn near impossible to get your book into a store. Independents will be more flexible, but you can pretty much kiss Barnes and Noble or Books-A-Million goodbye. You have to rely on online sales, and if you can’t make that work, it’s tough. It’s also a lot of work to do on your own. Even with traditional publishing, you’re going to be responsible for giving your book legs, but it’s magnified when there’s no one there to back you up.
Q: If I want to self-publish, how do I even do that? Where do I go?
A: Do your research! Since you’re paying for a service, you should be getting exactly what you want. Have a plan and know what you need. I went with iUniverse because their fees were very straightforward and their services were the ones I needed. In fact, they let me trade services I didn’t need for ones I did and expedited my printing. iUniverse is a print on demand company, so you don’t have to pay to have thousands of books printed (which some places ask you to do), and then not know if you’ll be able to sell them (do you have garage space for ones you can’t?). I paid the original printing fee, and that was it. They make money at the same time I do: when I make a sale. If you choose to go with someone who asks you to pay per printed book, I’m very sorry, but I have no wisdom for you. Personally, I don’t think I could have done it that way.
Q: What about going digital?
A: Lots of places will have that as an option, and that’s really up to you. Sometimes it’s simply part of the package you get. I’d say if you had to add it on to not bother with it. That’s just my opinion.
Q: Who was your editor?
A: Me. And I was literally changing things until the very last second. Most companies will offer editing services (and tons of other options) for an extra fee, and now that I’ve been my own editor, I would suggest springing for a r
We usually reserve Tuesdays for How-To Write type articles in which we explore ways to approach common writing challenges. This week, we're going to explore what self-publishing can offer a new or emerging author.
YA Author Kiera Cass self-published
THE SIREN when she couldn't find any takers on the traditional publishing route. The decision worked out very well for her, and her latest novel is currently being presented to traditional publishers by her new agent from the
Caren Johnson Literary Agency.
Kiera has graciously agreed to take your questions about self-pubbing this week and provide answers next Tuesday.
And because Marissa and I aren't shy, we'll start the questions off:
- Would you recommend paying for a printed version of a self-published book, or going purely the digital route?
- What's the best way to self-publish a printed book?
- What are the options for self-publishing digitally?
- Does self-publishing hurt your chances for finding a traditional publisher later?
- What was the most surprising thing you learned as the result of self-publishing THE SIREN?
Can you think of any more questions? Pony up, folks. There won't be another opportunity like this one. Here's you chance to find out if self-publishing is something you might consider.
Please post your questions in the comments.
Best regards,
Martina
It's WOW Wednesday again, and we are excited to have Kiera Cass guestblogging about her untraditional road to publication. Kiera, in case you didn't catch the results of our Underappreciated YA Novel poll last week, is the author of the #1 Underappreciated YA Novel:
The Siren.
Kiera was born and raised in South Carolina, was a nerd in high school, and majored in History at Radford University where she learend to tell stories and fell in love with writing. The Siren, came out in July of 2009, and her newest project, The Selection, is being pitched to editors as we speak. She is represented by the
Caren Johnson Literary Agency. You can
stalk Kiera on her website or via
Twitter.
On Going It Alone
by Kiera Cass
I make New Year's Goals Lists every year. Not resolutions, mind you, but goals. These are quantifiable things like ride an elephant and learn to hula hoop (both of which I've accomplished). And so, because it had crossed my mind a thousand times, in 2008 I put "write a book" on my list. I was sure that would be one of the ones I failed at, like getting knocked up (which I got around to later) or building a cardboard boat. Sometimes the stars just don't align.
Sometimes they do.
One not-so-special day I woke up from a nap with an idea in my head. I promptly wrote down four paragraphs that were the seed of this story, and then went to a friend's birthday party where I did nothing but think about my little story and wish I was at home writing it. We left early.
Days passed... weeks passed... and eventually I had a finished product. I wrote a book! From that moment on I was in love! I spent months going over the text again and again, really learning who my characters were, making the descriptions shine, showing it to trusted friends. I was pleased as punch until I realized that these characters that I loved so much might only live within this tiny circle of people. I wanted to share them, so I decided to try and publish it.
Now, I don't know what I was expecting, but this is what I got: I sent query letters for The Siren to about 70 agents, maybe 10 or so requested more, and in the end no one felt like they could sell it. The market's tough right now, so it was understandable. I wrote to small publishing houses, trying to get in without an agent. No such luck. In the end, I decided to go with an idea I'd been flirting with from the very beginning: self-publishing.
For those unaware, self-publishing is where you pay a fee to have your book printed. I myself have no problem with this, but the bookstores and book buyers of the world typically do. Most assume that because your paid to have your book printed, it must suck. Let me just say that there are a lot of crappy self-published books out there. I shiver when I see the covers alone. But Eragon, The Shack, Still Alice, and the Chicken Soup for the Soul books were all originally self-published and then picked up by larger companies. They don't suck. And, based on all the feedback I got from the agents I submitted to, I didn't think my book was bad either. It just wasn't the right fit. For me, choosing to do it independently was good. Still, I wouldn't recommend it for everyone.
To be clear, I worked my ass off. I got into book fairs, I went to conventions, I made my presence known on the web, I held contests... I did everything I could for my book. And we did okay. For someone who did it alone, I'm proud of my sales and of my awesome fans who support me and share The Siren with their friends. But I
Wonderful post! Kiera has the down to earth, basic information that everyone needs before making this decision.
Wow, thanks for this! Whether or not I decide to self-publish, I know I've gotten some really good advice. :)
wow. this was fascinating to read. a huge thank you to all of you for putting this together!!
This is a great post! Kiera, thanks for sharing all your knowledge. You're obviously very savvy and you've given us a realistic view of self-publishing.
Ha ha - LOVED the comment about the cover art!!!
Very practical and realistic advice Kiera - THANKS LADIES for sharing this with us. It DOES sound scary to me but I appreciate the down to earth spin on SELF PUBLISHING.
Great interview - lots of honest, helpful information. Thanks so much :)
I never knew much about self-publishing as it was an option I didn't really consider. But I found the information very interesting and thorough.
Loved the interview - lots of great info. Best of luck with the upcoming release!
Congrats, Kiera!!!! Great interview.
Thank you so much for answering all these questions! This is fascinating to me, especially since I plan on releasing my self-published book in August. It's a scary thing!
Great tips, great interview, and great work! Congrats on *making* your dreams come true, rather than waiting for them to happen. :)