The Seven Deadly Sins of Debuts
I used to be a good girl, a little too good actually. In school I never talked to ‘my neighbors.’ It took years for me to work up the courage to tear that little label off my mattress. But deep…
Category: Debut Novel
YA Wednesday: Why Being A Debut Author Isn’t Exactly A Dream Come True, 10 Things I’ve Learned About Being A Debut Author, 10 YA Authors on Not Being a Debut Anymore
I recently got laid off from an IT job I’d held for 35 years (I really did stay at an insurance company that long) and became a debut author. This has been, without a doubt, an exciting time. But new…
Friday Feast: NPR Book Concierge, Books You Might Have Missed, Beautiful Books, Books to Watch in December, and the Best Books You Didn’t Read in 2015
It’s the most wonderful time of the year: when the best of book lists come out. I don’t harbor any anxiety about not being able to read all of the options. I consider it a challenge to read as many…
YA Wednesday: Morally Complicated YA Books
The blogosphere has been abuzz over a six-figure deal for the rights to a year-old self-published debut novel, The Cruelty, by Scott Bergstrom. The firestorm began with a November 24th article in Publisher’s Weekly, “YA Debut Gets Six Figure Deal,…
Friday Feast: In Praise of Rejection, Writers Who Give Up, Things Writers Know, Perfect Practice, and Six Debut Novelists Look Back
Fall is the time of year when I most feel the pressure to get the words on the page and revise the stories that I allowed to languish all summer (or since last year). Maybe it’s because October is a…
Friday Feast: After the Debut, Sad Sales Figures, the State of Publishing, Giving Up, and Marketing in the Era of Social Media
This is gonna be quick and dirty this week ’cause I’m heading to the homeland for dominoes with my daddy, biscuits and sausage gravy, some John 3:16 Pizza (I don’t know the real name, but it’s a great pizza joint…