Happy Monday Everyone! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and start to the holiday season. And congrats to all of you who participated in NaNo.
Today I'm thrilled to have Jenny Lundquist back on the blog. She was first here as a debut author in 2012 when her first MG SEEING CINDERELLA was released. I loved that book and the voice of her main character. It has been fun watching Jenny's career as a writer grow. I think we all that it doesn't happen for everyone, even with a book publishing contract with a big publisher. So I'm thrilled to have her here today to share about how she has grown her career and the release of her fifth book THE CHARMING LIFE OF IZZY MALONE.
Here's a blurb from
Goodreads:
Izzy Malone isn’t your
typical middle schooler. She wears camouflage combat boots, the stars
are her only friends, and after a month she’s set a new record for the
most trips to her principal’s office.
But Izzy’s life isn’t so
charming these days. The kids at school think she’s a mouthy misfit, her
musical prodigy sister gets all the attention at home, and no one takes
Izzy’s determination to compete in her small town’s Great Pumpkin Race
seriously.
When Izzy’s antics land her in hot water, her parents
enroll her in Mrs. Whippie’s Earn Your Charm School. At first Izzy
thinks it sounds stupid—her manners are just fine, thanks—but Mrs.
Whippie’s first assignment proves intriguing. Tucked inside a letter is a
shiny charm bracelet and instructions telling her she will “Earn Her
Charm” by performing a series of tasks. For each task Izzy completes,
she’ll receive a charm to place on her bracelet. “Complete them all,”
the letter says, “and you will have earned a prize unlike any other.”
Soon
Izzy’s adding charms to her bracelet. But when a task goes seriously
awry and threatens to derail her mother’s budding political career, Izzy
has her hands full proving she’s not an emerging juvenile delinquent.
Add in some middle school mean girls, a giant pumpkin that could be the
answer to all her problems, and discovering she might have a crush on
the boy she accidentally punched in the face, and Izzy may just pull it
all together and Earn Her Charm. And she’s about to find out the best
kind of friends are just like stars: Bright and beautiful, appearing
just when you need them, to shine a little bit of light on a dark night.
Doesn't this sound fantastic? Now here's Jenny!
Building
A Writing Career
I think one of the biggest fears after landing your first book contract
and surviving your first round of
professional edits is to wonder: Is this all
a fluke? Meaning: Will I ever publish again? That’s certainly what I wondered
after I handed in my last round of edits for my first book, Seeing Cinderella.
I didn’t want to be a fluke. I wanted to build a career. And after spending
several years doing just that, here are a few things I’ve learned:
1. Publishing Doesn’t Get Easier
After You’ve Sold Your First Book. I know, I know…I’m bursting a lot of
dream bubbles with this one, but it’s true. If anything, the reverse can be
true. As a debut author you’re a shiny unknown. Who knows? You could be the
next Stephenie Meyer or JK Rowling! But after one book, editors might think
they know what “box” you belong in and that can be frustrating. Your book
didn’t sell well? That could mean editors are less likely to take a second
chance on you. Your book did amazing? That’s awesome—but now editors might have
pretty high expectations for your second book, and while that’s a nice problem
to have, the pressure can be intense.
2. Content Matters. Even if
you’ve published one book, that doesn’t mean your editor is going to accept your
second book idea without scrutinizing it thoroughly. Editors are looking for
specific types of titles. After I finished revising Seeing Cinderella, I dove
into writing a companion novel and promptly delivered to my editor the synopsis
and sample chapters required by the “option” clause in my contract. I loved
that book so much I kept feverishly working on it the whole six weeks it took
my publisher’s editorial board to come back with an answer. And that answer was
a big fat NO. I remember taking a walk in the rain that afternoon and wondering
if that was it for me; if my publishing career was over before it even really
started. I allowed myself a good cry…but then the next morning I got to work
and eventually sent my editor another book idea. It was rejected. So I got to
work again, and sent them a third book idea. It was rejected. The fourth idea
ended up becoming Plastic Polly, my second published novel. The key to getting
a second (or third, or fourth, etc.) contract from your editor is figuring out
what your imprint wants to publish as well as asking yourself what you want to
write at the moment. Where those two circles intersect is the book you work on.
(And if there is no intersection, it could be a good time to ask yourself if you’re
willing to take a chance on getting picked up with a new publisher.)
3. Grow a Thick Skin. Not
everyone is going to like your book. It’s not if you get a bad review, but when.
And if you can’t learn how to graciously accept tough criticism—whether it’s
from a reviewer, blogger, agent, or editor—the hard truth is that you’re not
going to last long in this business.
4. Stay Healthy. This will
look a little different for each of us, but it’s so important. I’ve found that
while writing is a wonderful, inspiring art; publishing is a business—sometimes
heartbreakingly so. If I hadn’t learned how to stay healthy (mentally,
emotionally and physically) I doubt I’d still be writing for publication. For
me, this has meant limiting my time on social media (too much time on Twitter
can reduce me to a sniveling pile of anxiety). Spending time with my writer
friends is helpful—making friends within the kidlit community is a must, imho.
Getting outdoors and getting exercise is important to me as well—too much time
alone at my computer and I start feeling depressed. If I’m not in a good place,
I can’t write well, so I do whatever it is I need to do to stay healthy. Even
if that means I sometimes feel like I “miss out” by not being as active on
social media as other authors.
5. There Are A Million Things
Outside Your Control. The faster you accept that, the earlier you can keep
yourself from sinking into a deep pit of what I like to call Writer’s Despair.
You get a bad review from a respected publication. Your book doesn’t receive
very much (or any) marketing support from your publisher. Your book doesn’t
sell well. You and your agent part ways. You and your editor part ways. These
are all common things that can happen in this business; and you have very
little control over any of them. Remember Plastic Polly, that book that took me
four tries to finally receive a contract for? The month that it released,
Barnes & Noble and Simon & Schuster got into a huge hissy fit over
e-book sales. Because of this, Barnes & Noble decided not to stock a lot of
Simon & Schuster’s titles. The result for me was that Plastic Polly landed
on far fewer B&N shelves than I’d hoped, and once those sold, B&N
refused to restock them. It was so far from the book launch I’d hoped for, and
it definitely affected my sales. But it was out of my control, so I did the
best I could to market the book in other ways…and then I just had to move on, and
keep writing the next book.
Ultimately, that’s what it comes down to, I think. Keep writing the next
book. No matter how many things haven’t gone quite the way you would have
liked, keep writing the next book. If you really want to build a career as an
author, always, always, keep writing the next book.
The Charming Life of Izzy Malone is my fifth published novel, and I know
I’m lucky. The process of landing an agent and editor is a strange alchemy of both
talent and luck and I never ever, ever, take the blessings and opportunities
that have come my way for granted. With that in mind, and given that the
holidays are the season of gratitude, I’d like to pay the favor I’ve received
forward!
Lit Rambles was probably the single most helpful source for me as I was
pursuing publication so many years ago. So for one lucky Lit Rambles reader,
I’d like to offer a free 10-page critique! There is no expiration date on this
offer, so if you/your manuscript is chosen, you can send it to me at any time
and I will do my best to get it back to you in a timely manner. Good luck!
(Note: due to my holiday and work schedule, I won’t be able to read your
submission before early January.)
Thanks so much for having me, Natalie!
You can find Jenny at:
Jenny has generously offered a 10-page critique and THE CHARMING LIFE OF IZZY MALONE for a giveaway. To
enter, all you need to do is be a follower (just click the follow
button if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment through December 12th. If your e-mail is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. If you do not want a critique, please let me know in the comments.
If
you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention
this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. You must be 13
years old or older to enter. The book giveaway is for U.S. and Canada and the critique giveaway is International.
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday was started by Shannon Messenger. You can find the participating blogs on her
blog.
Here's what's coming up:
On Tuesday, December 20th, I'll be participating in the Midwinter Eve's Hop. For the rest of the month, I am on holiday break from posting, but will be visiting blogs some of the time.
I'll resume my regular schedule in January with lots of great interviews and posts.
On Wednesday, January 4th, I have a guest post by Shutta Crum and a giveaway of her MG fantasy WILLIAM AND THE WITCH'S RIDDLE FALL.
The following Monday I have an agent spotlight interview with Mark Gottlieb and a query critique giveaway.
The following Monday I have a guest post by debut author Jennifer Torres and a giveaway of her MG multicultural STEF SOTO, TACO QUEEN.
For those of you I don't see this month, have a Happy Holiday Season and Happy New Year! I hope to see you all back here with the start of the New Year. Be sure to stop by at the Midwinter Eve's Hop if you get a chance.
