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| Christina & kiddos |
By Erin Petti & Christina Soontornvat
Today Erin and Christina talk about
their new releases and lives as newly published authors.
Then
offer tips as to how to survive and thrive your literary debut experience.
Erin Petti is the first-time author of The Peculiar Haunting of Thelma Bee (Mighty Media, 2016). From the promotional copy:
Eleven-year-old budding scientist Thelma Bee has adventure in her blood. But she gets more than she bargained for when a ghost kidnaps her father.
Now her only clues are a strange jewelry box and the word “return,” whispered to her by the ghost.
It’s up to Thelma to get her dad back, and it might be more dangerous than she thought–there’s someone wielding dark magic, and they’re coming after her next.
Christina Soontornvat is the first-time author of The Changelings (Sourcebooks, 2016). From the promotional copy:
All Izzy wants is for something interesting to happen in her sleepy little town. But her wish becomes all too real when a mysterious song floats through the woods and lures her little sister Hen into the forest…where she vanishes.
A frantic search leads to a strange hole in the ground that Izzy enters. But on the other side, she discovers that the hole was not a hole, this place is not Earth, and Hen is not lost.
She’s been stolen away to the land of Faerie, and it’s up to Izzy to bring her home.
CHRISTINA: The Peculiar Haunting of Thelma Bee (Mighty Media, 2016) hit the shelves this fall. Has life changed for you now that you are a published author?
ERIN: Life is busier now with events and all that good stuff, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Also, it’s totally and completely amazing to walk into a bookstore and see something I wrote on the shelves.
Pretty much a lifelong dream come true!
CHRISTINA: Yeah, seeing my book on the shelf is still kind of a shock. When friends snap a photo of The Changelings (Sourcebooks, 2016) in a store halfway across the country, that’s when it hits me that all of this really happened.
Because otherwise life isn’t too different, you know?
It’s not like publishing a book gets you out of doing the laundry or the dishes! And meanwhile I can’t help putting even more pressure on myself to write the next thing.
ERIN: Oh absolutely, but writing that next thing is exactly what you have to do. That’s the biggest piece of advice I share with writers who are querying or about to debut – “keep writing!”
It took me a long time to write, revise, and query and there were moments where it was hard to get back to the actual writing part.
But the writing is really all you have control over so as long as you’re creating and getting words on the page, you’re doing your job.
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| Erin |
CHRISTINA: That’s a good reminder – the author’s job is to write the books!
And you’re so right – there is a lot you don’t have control over, which can be stressful but also liberating in a way.
Speaking of “jobs,”you have a young daughter and another baby on the way as well as other work that you are passionate about.
How do you juggle life and writing?
ERIN: It’s not super easy to schedule, and I’ve definitely had a measure of trouble keeping the house clean and my kid’s shoes on the right foot – but we’re getting by.
My husband is more or less super-dad, and I rely on him an awful lot. But you are one to talk with your own work and two young kids!
CHRISTINA: Well, meeting other writers – like you – who have similarly jam-packed lives has been good for me. It’s a reminder that the vast majority of us have to purposefully and doggedly carve time out from our crazy lives to write, even after we get published.
Some days I get a couple hours, other days just enough time to jot down notes. But I’ve found that if I don’t write every day I get into trouble, and it’s harder to pick it back up. Oh, and I definitely gave up on having a clean house years ago!
Readers are going to fall in love with The Peculiar Haunting of Thelma Bee. Your book isn’t just for the Halloween season, but it definitely explores the paranormal.
Do you have a favorite spooky scene from the book?
ERIN: One of my favorite scenes is when the three young heroes are walking alone through the cold, dark New England woods searching for a certain (possibly haunted) cottage.
I got to play with the environment a lot–exploring just what is lurking in those tall shadows–and it really shows the kids at their bravest.
CHRISTINA: And those illustrations really build the suspense! They remind me of Edward Gorey’s drawings, which I totally love.
ERIN: I love the illustrations, too! We’ve both talked about how we lucked out with our books’ art. Your beautiful cover jumps off the shelf! It definitely gives you the feeling that these fairies are no Tinkerbelles, that there is something darker going on.
CHRISTINA: Yes, the story was inspired by old folktales of fairies who steal babies and swap them with Changelings, so definitely a little dark. Their motivation for doing that was one of the most fun things to explore in the book. Why would they want human babies? And why would a Changeling sign up for that exchange?
Tips for Debut Authors
1. Enjoy the moment: As much as we hate to start things off with a sentiment that should be cross-stitched onto a pillowcase, this one happens to be very true.
Celebrate the big and small milestones – your first signing, seeing your book on the shelf for the first time. And then there will be a moment when a reader loves your book so much that they tell you.
Soak that in. Don’t skim over the beautiful moments. You only do this debut thing once.
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| Christina with authors Lindsey Schiebe, Madeline Smoot & P,J, Hoover |
2. Connect with a community: Other authors are the best and most supportive people to have in your corner, and sometimes the only way to maintain your sanity.
Twitter, conferences, and debut groups are wonderful ways to connect with other debut authors who are going through the same ups and downs as you are.
It also feels so satisfying to cheer on their successes and root for people whose books you love.
3. Turn that dang thing off: Social media can help keep you connected when you need it. But it can also suck the hours right out of your day – and time is going to be your most precious resource when your book comes out.
So as much fun as it is to chat and retweet clever “Stranger Things” gifs, know when to put down the phone and work/read/rest.
Social media can sometimes also make you feel like everyone in the world is getting a book deal/winning awards/getting a movie contract/selling millions of copies – everyone but you. If you ever feel that way, turn off that app for a little while, and see Tip #2.
4. Make it easy on your publicist: Your publicist will be your ally in helping to set up events, pitch you for conferences, and make connections for a blog tour.
But as much as they love you and your book, they will have other authors they are also working with and new books continuously coming down the pipe. Do what you can to help them help you.
During your first meeting or conference call, ask them for concrete ways you can help. Maybe you know of a local area children’s book festival that your author friends rave about. Or perhaps your critique partner has a great blog and she wants to do a giveaway for you. Doing your research ahead of time will make everyone’s jobs easier.
5. Get ready for things to change: Have you ever gone to a SCBWI Conference and sat next to a debut author who told you, “Just enjoy the freedom of not being published yet. You can write so unselfconsciously,” and you wanted to stab them with the pen that came in your registration tote bag? Turns out there’s a little bit of truth to that.
For a lot of authors, getting published creates this paradox of delusional thinking that now they will never be published again. I blame some of this on the overemphasis of “being a debut.” and the accompanying feeling that once your debut is over, you are used goods.
But whatever the reason, there are expectations now, real and imagined, from you, your agent, your publisher about you as a professional author. And you may find yourself longing just a little for the days when you wrote just to write, and there was less expectation, less self criticism, more freedom. (But don’t say that to unpublished writers at conferences. Those pens are sharp).
6. Get ready for things to be exactly the same: After the initial sparkly, Instagram-worthy swirl of launch date subsides, life is likely going to feel pretty same-ish.
Yes, there may be events and school visits, book signings and festivals. But for most of us, the bulk of our days will carry on as before.
Your non-writer friends will assume you are out shopping for a Tesla Roadster or having brunch with Ann Patchett when really you are cleaning a lint trap or scraping an exploded baked ziti off the oven door.
If in that moment you think to yourself, “I shouldn’t be doing this – I’m a published author,” you are in big trouble.
7. Keep writing: The best way to simultaneously get over your anxiety and celebrate your newfound authordom is to write more things.
If you have gotten to this point of having a book published, you must love the work of writing. There is no other reason that a sane person would endure the long, unpaid hours, the sting of rejection letters, the glacial delay of gratification, if that person didn’t love to write.
You may have to write more things because you signed a contract for another book. If so, lucky you! But even if that’s not the case, start on a new project before your debut comes out. You may have to set it aside during the busy days of your launch, but it will feel so good to open up your laptop and have something ready and waiting for you.
8. Find joy in other things: These things may be hobbies or your day job or your daily walk, or art museums or jiu jitsu. Or they may be people, like your spouse or your friends or your children.
These things matter very much, just as much as writing. And unlike writing, these things will hug you and they will eat your cruddy, over-baked ziti. And when you are having a hard day, they will hold up your new book and smile and say, “Look what you did! You did this!”