“I Wish I’d Known…”: Advice for Debut Authors, Part 3

Members of the Sweet Sixteens share what they’ve learned in their debut year.

Read Part 1.

Read Part 2.

Brooks Benjamin, author of My Seventh-Grade Life in Tights

  

Find him online at www.BrooksBenjamin.com

“I wish I’d known that every author out there has days where he or she struggles with writing. Whether it’s rejections from editors, a seemingly unfillable plot hole, or days where the words just don’t want to come out and play. Every author struggles at times. It doesn’t get easier the more we write, but we do tend to find more creative ways to deal with it. So, struggle on, dear writer, and remember: every bump in your road just makes the journey that much more interesting of a success story when you get to tell it to someone else.”

 

Erica M. Chapman, author of the Teach Me to Forget

  

Find her online at ericamchapman.com

“I wish I’d known that… everything was going to be okay. Even if your book only helps one person feel happy or more included, or special, that one person is worth it all. There’s so much you don’t have control over, concentrate on what you do. Lean on your debut friends they know how it feels. If [insert promo idea] fails, learn from it. It may feel weird to promote yourself so much (it does to me) but remember, your readers care about who you are; stay creative and be yourself, and you’ll be okay. Enjoy each moment because you have accomplished what so many won’t. ”

 

Shari Schwarz, author of Treasure at Lure Lake

  

Find her online at www.sharischwarz.com

“I wish I’d known that all of the things I feared or worried about when my book released are things that we all fear and worry about. We’re all in this together!”

 

Claire Fayers, author of The Voyage to Magical North and Journey to Dragon Island

     

Find her online at clairefayers.com

“I wish I’d known that there would be long periods with very little happening followed by weeks of frantic activity. I wish I’d made better use of the quiet times to get ahead on the next book, plan school visits, design a website and publicity materials, and all the others things I suddenly found I needed to do. I wish I’d made a to-do list of all this right at the start. And I wish I’d known that the next book is much harder to write, and this is quite normal and not a sign of catastrophic failure!”

 

Kali Wallace, author of Shallow Graves, The Memory Trees, and City of Islands

  

Find her online at http://www.kaliwallace.com/

“I wish I’d known that all of the things that feel so fraught leading up to release stop mattering so much afterward. I stopped obsessing over reviews, rankings, and social media buzz, because at a certain point it became clear that so little of all that stuff is within my control. I figured out the only thing I could truly control was the next book–and the next one, and the one after that. That would have been nice to know ahead of time, but I suspect figuring it out is part of the new author process!”

 

Thank the Admins!

As we near the end of 2016, we’d like to take the opportunity to Thank the Admins! For over two years, a core group of sixteen authors have been the tireless engine behind: ARC tours, Sweet Sixteen logo & web design, Facebook posts, Twitter love and so much more. To thank these incredible authors for their extra time and effort, we’ll be featuring a handful of administrators each month in a Thank the Admins post. We hope you’ll take a moment to extend your gratitude and give these peeps a virtual high five.

Kathy MacMillan

Your role as admin: Kathy was the founder of The Sweet Sixteens! *Huge shout-out to Kathy!* She coordinated EVERYTHING, including wrangling admins! The Sweet Sixteens wouldn’t be The Sweet Sixteens without the phenomenal amount of effort, time and caring that Kathy MacMillan has devoted to this debut group.

What’s up next:  An as-yet-untitled companion novel to Kathy’s YA fantasy debut Sword and Verse, scheduled to be published January 2018. Kathy’s fans are already drooling for this one!!

Thing you learned in your debut year: “Everyone will have different expectations of you and your book, and there is nothing you can do about that.  All you can do is focus on telling the story you need to tell.”

 

Victoria J. Coe

Your role as admin: Victoria formatted and posted all of the Meet the Author features. She’s been incredible about getting to know each and every Sixteener and making them feel welcome, both virtually and (for the lucky ones) throughout her book travels.

What’s up next:  Fenway and Hattie and the Evil Bunny Gang, the sequel to Victoria’s MG debut Fenway and Hattie, will be published on January 24, 2017. Victoria is currently revising a third Fenway and Hattie book that will be released in Winter 2018. More Fenway and Hattie means more smiles!!!

Thing you learned in your debut year: “This year has been life-changing! I’ve learned so much I can hardly get my thoughts together. But the biggest thing I’ve learned is I’m so glad I got to go through this journey with the Sweet Sixteens. To be part of this community of talented writers and outstanding human beings has been an honor.”

…

Marisa Reichardt

Your role as admin: Marisa posted all of the Fearless Fifteener interviews and kept our Sweet Sixteen Facebook page populated, along with help from MG author Laura Shoavn. Did you have your book news posted to Facebook this year? Throw a thanks Marisa’s way!

What’s up next:  Marisa is looking forward to foreign publications of her contemporary YA debut Underwater in 2017, as well as its paperback release. Today, she’s busy at work on another standalone contemporary YA novel. We can’t wait!!

Thing you learned in your debut year: “I can’t live without Shannon M. Parker.”

 

Brooks Benjamin

Your role as admin: Brooks is our YouTube guru and tweets for The Sweet Sixteens account, sharing great news across both platforms.

What’s up next:  Brooks is hopping around to different states for conferences and festivals promoting My Seventh Life and Tights. In between events, he’s writing and has a couple of MG manuscripts on sub right now! Yay for more Brooks Benjamin stories to come!

Thing you learned in your debut year: “Things get seriously busy after your book comes out. This isn’t a bad thing, just surprising. But I’ve also learned that I the other Sweet Sixteeners are wonderful to rely on when you feel overwhelmed. They’re going through the same thing and they always let you know they’re there for you.”

The Sweet Sixteens at the American Library Association Annual Conference

Many of our members will be on hand at the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference this weekend on Orlando, FL!  Here’s where to find them:

Saturday, June 25

11:00 AM

• Bridget Hodder will be signing THE RAT PRINCE at the Macmillan Kids Booth (#2118)

2:00 PM:

• Tobie Easton will be signing EMERGE at the IPG Booth (#2165)
• Stephanie Garber will be signing CARAVAL at the Macmillan Kids Booth (#2115)

2:30 PM:

• C. M. Surrisi will be signing THE MAYPOP KIDNAPPING at the Lerner Booth.

3:00 PM

• Tara Sim (TIMEKEEPER) will be participating in the Author Speed Dating Event (location TBA)
• Brooks Benjamin (MY SEVENTH-GRADE LIFE IN TIGHTS), Dana Elmendorf (SOUTH OF SUNSHINE),Melissa Gorzelanczyk (ARROWS),  and Erin L. Schneider (SUMMER OF SLOANE) will be participating in an author panel and signing at the nearby Winterpark Library.  Click here for more information.

5:30 PM:

• Destiny Soria (IRON CAST) will be participating in the YALSA Happy Hour (The Pub, Pointe Orlando Complex).

 

Sunday, June 26

9:00 AM:

• Destiny Soria (IRON CAST) will be participating in the YALSA Coffee Klatch (OC convention ctr, Rm W107).

10:00 AM:

• Elizabeth Briggs will be signing FUTURE SHOCK at the Albert Whitman Booth (#2045)
• Dana Elmendorf will be signing SOUTH OF SUNSHINE at the Albert Whitman Booth (#2045)

12:00 PM:

• Jennie K. Brown will be signing POPPY MAYBERRY, THE MONDAY at the IPG Booth (#2165)
• Panel: “Kiss & Tell: MG & YA Authors Talk Cuddling to Kissing to Oh My!” at the Pop Top Stage.  Featuring: Brooks Benjamin (MY SEVENTH-GRADE LIFE IN TIGHTS), Elizabeth Briggs (FUTURE SHOCK), Dana Elmendorf (SOUTH OF SUNSHINE), Melissa Gorzelanczyk (ARROWS),  Erin L. Schneider (SUMMER OF SLOANE), Tara Sim (TIMEKEEPER), Erin Summerill (EVER THE HUNTED).

1:00 PM

• Destiny Soria will be signing IRON CAST at the Abram Booth (#1226)

2:00 PM:

• Tara Sim will be signing TIMEKEEPER at the Sky Pony Booth (#2236)
• J. Keller Ford will be signing IN THE SHADOW OF THE DRAGON KING at the IPG Booth (#2165)
• Erin L. Schneider will be signing SUMMER OF SLOANE at the Disney/Hyperion Booth (1350)

 

Releasing Today: April 12, 2016

Congratulations to our members with books releasing today!  Click on the covers below for more information about each title:

              

 

Printable Release Calendar for April!

Here’s our handy printable release calendar to help you keep track of all the sweet April debuts coming at you soon!

Click here for the April 2016 calendar in .pdf format

Thanks to our printable calendar team: Sarah Alexander,  Jenn Nguyen, Dee Romito, Shari Schwarz, Kathy MacMillan, Randi Pink and Ava Jae!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Debut Club: An interview with Ronni Arno, author of RUBY REINVENTED

Sweet Sixteener Brooks Benjamin recently spoke to Fearless Fifteener Ronni Arno about her debut contemporary MG novel, RUBY REINVENTED (November 3, 2015 from Simon and Schuster/Aladdin).

About the Author: 

Ronni Arno writes middle grade and young adult novels, because she thinks kids are cool, and so are the books they read. Ronni lives on the coast of Maine with her husband, two daughters, and a dog named Hazel. Her debut, RUBY REINVENTED, publishes with Simon & Schuster/Aladdin on November 3, 2015. Her next book publishes with Simon & Schuster/Aladdin in Summer 2016. When she’s not writing, Ronni stalks her kids for story ideas, kayaks, and eats chocolate… but not usually at the same time. 

Find Ronni on her Website, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram, and Twitter.

 

About RUBY REINVENTED:

When twelve-year-old Ruby learns that her supposed BFFs are only friends with her because her of her famous parents, she finds a place as far from fake and phony Hollywood as she can get: a Maine boarding school. In her panic to distance herself from her star-studded folks, Ruby tells her new friends that she’s an orphan. She feels awful lying to her weird but wonderful roommate Summer (the first real friend Ruby has ever had), but not awful enough. In fact, now that nobody’s comparing her to her perfect parents, Ruby can finally let her own talents as a dress designer take center stage. But when Ruby finds herself connecting with a boy who really did lose his parents, she’s torn between who she is and who she’s pretending to be. And with Parent’s Weekend approaching, she must find a way to keep her secret… without losing her new best friend, the trust of her first crush, and the chance to shine as the designer of her own fashion show.

RUBY REINVENTED is available from: Amazon, Powells, Books A Million, Barnes & Noble, and IndieBound. 

Top Sixteen: Author Nightmares

1. SOMETHING’S MISSING: the launch is planned, the cover is fantastic, the publisher is all ready to go….except you completely and totally forgot to write the book!

2. You’re all set for the launch date, and the morning of you wake up and realize…IT WAS ALL A DREAM. You haven’t sold your book and there are three rejections waiting in your email box.

3. You’ve been anxiously awaiting the day for months, and finally it’s here. You open up your box of ARCs only to find that the publisher has put in not your professional author photo, but an image they found of you by Google image searching your name . . . and it’s from your crazy antics in college.

Top 16 List: Sixteen Author Outlaws

 

 

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Feeling shackled by what authors are told we MUST and MUST NOT do? Things like “never respond to reviews”, or “maintain a constant online presence” or “sell a million books all by yourself prior to the release date or your career is doomed” ?  Then feast your eyes on a rogues gallery of Author Outlaws…the ones who dared to defy the rules!

Outlaw #1:  Not on Twitter. Not on Pinterest. Doesn’t care.

Outlaw #2:  Called her copyeditor anonymously at 2 a.m. to demonstrate that you can, indeed, “breathe” dialogue.

Outlaw#3:  Freely admits he wrote his runaway bestselling picture book Look at the Pretty, Pretty Flowers on his iPhone at his sister’s wedding after his second bottle of champagne.

Outlaw #4: Plans to argue online with anyone who gives her book a bad review.

Outlaw #5: Her book opens with a prologue where the main character wakes up and looks in the mirror.

Outlaw #6: Writes children’s books; is actually terrified of children.

Outlaw #7: Surprise! The whole book was a dream!

Outlaw #8: Don’t tell her agent, but her secret WIP is: #$*?&@: A Preschooler’s Dictionary of Swear Words.

Outlaw #9: Ever since his divorce, puts his phone number next to his name at book signings.

Outlaw #10: Her latest book, The Squashing of the Vermin, features characters whose names are suspiciously the same as boys from her past.

Outlaw #11: Wrote a book about learning to respect your elders, and her grandchildren illustrated it. When it sells, she’ll use the advance to build a new library.

Outlaw #12: Exclusively writes main characters and love interests with bluish-purplish-green-gray eyes.

Outlaw #13: Has decided to spend 99% of her advance on attending one writers’ conference, staying in the penthouse suite at the conference hotel and ordering the in-room chef dining service every night by herself.

Outlaw #14: Writes numerous blog posts and tweets shouting “always be writing the next book!” but has been working on the second book forEVER yet always has time to watch the latest hyped series on Netflix.

Outlaw #15: In downtime, works on a filthy, profanity-filled picture book, and sends it to his agent with a ten-point missive explaining exactly why he believes this will sell.  Never admits to it being a joke.

Outlaw #16: Googles the latest-selling trends to ensure a quick sale for book two. Can’t decide on which trend to write, so he decides to make book two a fanfic of a fanfic he read about on someone’s fanfic blog.

Contributors:  Bridget Hodder, Sarah Ahlers, Ami Allen-Vath, Amy Allgeyer, Brooks Benjamin, Victoria Coe, Kurt Dinan, Emily Henry, and Lee Gjertsen Malone

16th Day Update: All the News that’s Fit to Blow Your Mind!

MY SEVENTH GRADE LIFE IN TIGHTS

Brooks Benjamin held his cover reveal over at Pop! Goes the Reader on May 4th to dizzee-ing acclaim!

LIVE IT. All Dillon wants is to be a real dancer. And if he wins a summer scholarship at Dance-Splosion, he’s on his way. The problem? His dad wants him to play football. And Dillon’s freestyle crew, the Dizzee Freekz, says that dance studios are for sellouts. His friends want Dillon to kill it at the audition—so he can turn around and tell the studio just how wrong their rules and creativity-strangling ways are.

WORK IT. At first, Dillon’s willing to go along with his crew’s plan, even convincing one of the snobbiest girls at school to work with him on his technique. But as Dillon’s dancing improves, he wonders: what if studios aren’t the enemy? And what if he actually has a shot at winning the scholarship?

BRING IT. Dillon’s life is about to get crazy . . . on and off the dance floor.

THE ABYSS SURROUNDS US

The action-packed cover for Emily Skrutskie ‘s debut was revealed on May 7th on YA Books Central.

For Cassandra Leung, bossing around sea monsters is just the family business. She’s been a Reckoner trainer-in-training ever since she could walk, raising the genetically-engineered beasts to defend ships as they cross the pirate-infested NeoPacific. But when the pirate queen Santa Elena swoops in on Cas’s first solo mission and snatches her from the bloodstained decks, Cas’s dream of being a full-time trainer seems dead in the water.

There’s no time to mourn. Waiting for her on the pirate ship is an unhatched Reckoner pup. Santa Elena wants to take back the seas with a monster of her own, and she needs a proper trainer to do it. She orders Cas to raise the pup, make sure he imprints on her ship, and, when the time comes, teach him to fight for the pirates. If Cas fails, her blood will be the next to paint the sea.

But Cas has fought pirates her entire life. And she’s not about to stop.

 

THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS

Marieke Nijkamp’s intensely powerful cover was revealed on B&N Teen Blog on May 11th.

10:00 a.m. The principal of Opportunity, Alabama’s high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.

10:02 a.m. The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.

10:03 The auditorium doors won’t open.

10:05 Someone starts shooting.

Told over the span of 54 harrowing minutes from four different perspectives, terror reigns as one student’s calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

Marieke will be signing copies of THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS at Book Expo America! Find her in the Sourcebooks booth, Friday, May 29, at 2PM.

On May 13th, THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS was announced as one of the Publishers Lunch buzz books!

New Titles

Michelle Andreani’s YA contemporary is now THE WAY BACK TO YOU and is due out Summer 2016 from Kaherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins.

Erin L. Schneider’s YA contemporary is now SUMMER OF SLOANE and is due out on May 3, 2016 from Disney-Hyperion.

Audio & Rights

Listening Library will release audio editions of Traci Chee’s YA fantasy THE READER. Audio will be available simultaneous with the hardcover. THE READER is due out in Spring 2016 from Penguin Putnam.

Foreign rights to Kathleen Glasgow’s THE TENDER KIT have been sold to  UK (Oneworld), Australia/New Zealand (HarperCollins), Spain (Penguin/Montena) and Poland (Jaguar). THE TENDER KIT is a YA contemporary releasing Fall 2016 from Random House/Delacorte.

Foreign rights to SUMMER OF SUPERNOVAS by Darcy Woods have sold to Fischer in a preempt. Spanish rights (with distribution in Latin America) have sold to Urano’s Puck Imprint. Release date is scheduled for April 5, 2016 by Crown.

A STUDY IN CHARLOTTE and its two sequels by Brittany Cavallaro have sold to Take Shobo in Japan. Brittany’s first poetry collection GIRL-KING is out and available for pre-order. It made a list on Refinery 29 of 30 of The Best Books Written By Millennials.

Pre-order, anyone?

SWORD AND VERSE by Kathy MacMillan will be available in hardcover and e-book on January 19, 2016.  Set in a land where writing is the sacred privilege of a few, it is the story of a slave girl who gets the extraordinary chance to learn the language of the gods when she becomes a royal tutor. But her dreams are threatened by her forbidden love for the prince, and her loyalty is tested by the Resistance, who dare her to join in the fight for her people’s freedom. National Book Award finalist Franny Billingsley says of SWORD AND VERSE: “Fascinating and unique. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.” SWORD AND VERSE is available for pre-order at HarperCollins, Amazon and Indigo.

Other Awesomeness:

Kali Wallace will be doing a reading at WisCon 39, the feminist SFF convention in Madison, Wisconsin that’s happening May 22-25. The reading will be at 10:30pm on Saturday, May 23 in Conference 1. Also reading are Gregory Norman Bossert, John Chu, Jessica Hilt, Jennifer C. Hsyu, Leah Thomas and Tom Underberg. Kali’s short story, “The Proper Motion of Extraordinary Stars” has been published in Shimmer Magazine. An author interview to go with the ebook version of the issue is available for purchase.

Music by SYMPTOMS OF BEING HUMAN author Jeff Garvin’s former band was featured in an April episode of the CBS crime drama PERSON OF INTEREST.

Laura Shovan, author of THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY, is a poet-in-residence at Northfield Elementary  School in Howard County, Maryland. This is an annual series of poetry workshops for the school’s 3rd grade. It’s paid for in part by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council. Laura posts the 3rd graders’ writing on her blog. The students LOVE comments from fellow authors so stop by and check out their work!

Kate Hart, author of AFTER THE FALL, has profiled several YA/MG authors recently on her Badass Ladies You Should Know series, including Kirsten Hubbard, Aisha Saeed, I. W. Gregorio, Courtney Summers, Maya Rock, and Ellen Oh. Next week she’ll have newly minted NYT bestseller Sabaa Tahir.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16th Day Update: Covers, Conferences and Congrats!

COVER REVEALS

April saw two more cover reveals from 2016 debuts authors. One YA and one MG! 2016 debuts are coming, people!!

THE GIRL WHO FELL: YA Contemporary

HIS OBSESSION. HER FALL. Zephyr Doyle is focused. Focused on leading her team to the field hockey state championship and leaving her small town for her dream school, Boston College.

But love has a way of changing things… (read more at Shannon’s website)

 

BOUNDERS: SciFi Middle Grade

Thirteen years ago, Earth Force, a space-military agency, discovered a connection between brain structure and space travel. Now EarthBound Academy has recruited the first group of cadets, Bounders, to be trained as aeronauts and experts in quantum ship bounding—traveling anywhere in the universe in a split second.

Twelve-year-old Jasper is in the first group sent out to space. After being bullied back on Earth, Jasper is excited to serve in Earth Force and connect with the other cadets. (read more at Monica’s website)

Next Cover Reveal? Brooks Benjamin My Seventh-Grade Life in Tights on Pop! Goes the Reader on MAY 4th!

Meet-ups!

YALLwest!

So many Sweet Sixteens were able to attend YALLwest  on April 11th and 12th on the sunny Cali coast. Among attendees were Sweet Sixteen members (L-R): Marisa Reichardt, Audrey Crass, Shea Olsen, Janet Taylor and Kerry Kletter.

 

 

 

 And on the opposite coast? A New England Retreat!

On Saturday, April 11th, Sweet Sixteens gathered at the home of Bridget Hodder for a productive and inspirational retreat by the sea. Highlights included reading the first pages from our debut novels, eating amazing food, and enjoying the long-awaited sunshine on a walk along the ocean. Pictured (L-R): Kim Savage, Monica Tesler, Jenn Biship, Emily Martin, Bridget Hodder, Victoria J. Coe and Ruth Lehrer.

 

Publications

Patrick Samphire’s short story “Five Things of Beauty” has been podcast on Toasted Cake.

Kali Wallace’s short story “Water in Springtime” will be included in The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2015, to be published by Prime Books in July. And her short story “No Portraits on the Sky” is in the Clarkesworld Year 7 collection, now available in print and ebook formats.

Ruth Lehrer’s poem Sweetheart is a Lilly Press pocket poem for National Poetry Month.

Two of Laura Shovan’s poems are on display in Baltimore. (aka Charm City). Here’s a photo of “Daddy Long Legs Speaks”. As part of the Baltimore Ekphrastic Project, Laura partnered with local artist Sanzi. Sanzi created a spirit mask in response to Laura’s poem “Symmetry” and Laura wrote a poem in response to Sanzi’s sculpture named Daddy Long Legs.

What? Pre-Order?… Yeppers!

Sweet Sixteen books are on Amazon for pre-order, people!!

Marieke Nijkamp’s YA  THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS  Told over the span of 54 harrowing minutes from four different perspectives, terror reigns as one student’s calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

Marisa Reichardt’s UNDERWATER  Morgan is an agoraphobic trapped in the apartment she shares with her mother and brother; when surfer boy Evan moves in next door, she has to face the life she’s been missing.

Rights: Sweet Sixteen debuts will travel the globe!

Foreign rights to SUMMER OF SUPERNOVAS by Darcy Woods have sold to Mondadori in Italy & Brazil.

Russian rights to Laurie Elizabeth Flynn’s FIRSTS were sold, making this the second territory for FIRSTS, which previously sold in Italy as well.

Patrick Samphire novel, SECRETS OF THE DRAGON TOMB, and its sequel, THE EMPEROR OF MARS, have both been resold to Germany.

Turkish rights to Meg Leder’s THE MUSEUM OF HEARTBREAK, to Pegasus Yayinlari, by Fusun Kayi at Kayi Literary Agency on behalf of Lauren Abramo at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

Shea Olsen’s FLOWER has sold Polish rights.