Ask me...

By: Joelle Charbonneau

As I said last week, one of the greatest things about my foray into the young adult world of publishing has been getting to connect with the readers of that genre.  WOW!  They are passionate and enthusiastic and send lots of e-mails with thoughtful, fun and often unexpected questions.  I do my best to answer every question that I get via e-mail because I love talking to readers. More important…that reader took the time to look up my e-mail address and send me that question.  It only stands to reason that I should take the time to answer them.

I also get questions via twitter and facebook and I do my best to answers those as well.  Because I’ve gotten so many in the last few months, I thought it might be fun to list the top five most frequently asked questions and the answers to those questions here.   And for any of you who has questions you like for me to answer, ask them in the comments section and I will do my best to satisfy your curiosity.  (And if I don’t have a real answer I’ll make one up.  After all – I make stuff up for a living…right?)

 1)  Where did the idea for The Testing trilogy come from?

Well, if you’ve been to any of my events you’ve already heard this, but the idea for The Testing sprung from my teaching high school voice students.  The stress of college admittance as well as all the auditions they have to go through to get into theater and music programs has gotten more and more intense over the years.  During one voice lesson, that tension boiled over a bit and the distraught student began to worry for her younger sibling because if the process was this stressful now think about how stressful it would be when he had to apply for college.  I, of course, said not to worry.  The system couldn’t get any more stressful. 

Ha!  Well, I couldn’t help wondering what would be a more stressful college admittance process.  It was at that moment that The Testing trilogy was born.

2)  Can I get a free book?

Authors get this question all the time and I get questions about free copies of books as well as requests for advanced reader copies all the time.  Sadly, as an author, I don’t get an unlimited supply of books.  I only get a small number of author copies, which means I can’t give free books to everyone.  I use most of those copies as contest giveaways on blogs like this one (and I try to keep at least one or two copies for me and for my son’s collection that he has no interest in now—which considering the subject matter is good).  The same is true of advanced reader copies only most of those go to bookstore owners who haven’t gotten a copy from the publisher or reviewers who put in their request forever ago.  (Oh – and I tend to have one advanced copy that gets a bit tattered and torn from being passed from family member to family member…so that one is spoken for!) 

3)  Can you get me an audition for The Testing movie?

This question shows up a lot.  And I haven’t a clue if the movie will really happen let alone how they will go about casting.  BUT – if the movie does move forward, I will post whatever open casting information I get to my Facebook page and to my website.  And I plan on being at that casting call right alongside everyone else.  Because – well – being in the movie would be fun!

4)  Do you still teach voice lessons?

Yes…although not as much as I used to.  I have a small group of students that I am very invested in and am thrilled that I get to continue to watch them grow as singers and performers.  But I am not actively looking for new students because I  don’t want them to feel as if I’m abandoning them when I am on tour or have to take a week off of teaching to meet a production deadline.

5)  Do you still perform?

Does singing Frozen music with my 6 year old count?  Currently, the only performances I do are at schools when I talk writing and books with students.  More often than not, the first question in the Q&A section is if I’ll sing for them…so I doJ  Now that my writing schedule isn’t as crazy as it was for the past two years, I’m hopeful that I might get a chance to squeeze in some stage performing again.  But first, I have to finish this manuscript and get the kid into first grade.  Once that happens…well, we’ll see!

Do you have any other questions that you’d like answered?  Now is your chance.  Ask away!

A new year. A new adventure.

by: Joelle Charbonneau

Welcome to 2014!  I hope you had a great holiday season and that the new year has gotten off to a great start.

For me, the new year is kicking off with 2 books hitting shelves and me hitting the road on my first major publisher sponsored book tour.  EEK!

I mean - hooray.  12 days.  10 cities in various climates.  One carry-on suitcase in the middle of winter.  What could possibly go wrong?

To be honest, I'm a combination of thrilled and excited and terrified of going on tour to promote INDEPENDENT STUDY.  I love that in each city I get to meet readers and chat with students at various middle and high schools who have already read The Testing and are excited about the newest book in the trilogy.  That is awesome.  And for the performer in me, there is something really excited about getting up on a stage and putting on a show about writing and books.  But because I've never done this kind of tour before, I am a little nervous about how things will go.  There are so many things I have no control over - planes schedules, weather...you know...travel stuff.

The travel stuff is the reason that I've chosen to heed the advice of authors who have gone on many a tour before me - No Checked Luggage!  I mean, why tempt the travel Gods.  With that many flights checked luggage is bound to go astray.  Hence, for this trek I will be taking with me one small carry-on suitcase and the attache cache that used to belong to my father-in-law to hold my computer and Cold Eeze.  (Yes, I will be writing on planes....at least that is the plan.)

Because of the limited space, I find that I am incredibly grateful to my love of Tetris and my lack of love of shoes.  (Trust me...not loving shoes means less footwear and more room for clothes.)  Some people have said rolling clothes is a good way to go, but I have yet to master the skill and have found I can fit more clothes into the suitcase by folding.  I have also found the world's smallest curling iron and checked my itinerary and the hotels I'll be staying to make sure I have a day for laundry.  So if you see pictures of me wearing the same clothes in more than one location on tour - I promise that they're clean.

Sadly, I won't be wearing my favorite jeans pictured to the right since I know the nifty sparkly designs on the butt will set off all the bells and whistles at the airport.  I'm hoping to avoid pat downs by the TSA.  Do you want to take bets to see if I can do it?

Needless to say, 2014 is kicking off with a huge adventure.  And really, it is only because of you and your support that this adventure is happening.  I hope I get to see a bunch of you on the road.  If we haven't met before, please introduce yourself so I can put a face with the name.  And while I'm gone, please be nice to three amazing ladies who will be guest blogging in my stead.  I have a feeling you're going to love them.

Okay - time to finish packing so I can prepare to get this show on the road.  While I'm fretting over whether to pack another pair of pants, let me know what adventures you are planning this year.  I can't wait to hear all about them!

What is success?

by: Joelle Charbonneau

This week something unexpected happened.  I woke up on Thursday to an e-mail from my editor letting me know that THE TESTING would appear as #14 on the 12/22/2013 NY Times YA Extended Best Seller list.  To say I was stunned would be a huge understatement.  I think I turned white and my mother and husband both thought that something was very wrong when I called them.  Yeah – I guess I don’t handle good news very well. 

Since Thursday, I’ve thought a lot about what hitting the list means.  Most people would say that The Times list is a mark of a successful writing career.  

Maybe.

Oh – don’t get me wrong.  I’m thrilled and astonished and still processing the fact that something I wrote hit that list.  But as important and wonderful that is, I don’t consider it to be my achievement alone.  Yes, I wrote the book, but it took an enormous village of people who believed in THE TESTING to help push the boulder up the mountain.  My editor, my agent, the HMH marketing, sales and PR teams, and my family and friends – everyone worked tirelessly to make sure readers learned about The Testing.  This is a group effort and the spot on the Times list belongs just as much to them and to all of you as it does to me.  That doesn’t diminish the accomplishment, but I know there is no way I could have hit this place in my career without enormous support.

Hitting the list is a successful group effort.  And I am so proud that I am a part of the team that did something so cool!  But as I sit behind my computer screen, I find that though the tag line behind my name is different, I am not.  I still measure my own personal success in the same way that I always have.  By getting up in the morning, putting my hands on the keyboard and filling the pages with words.  Each day that I write is a success.  Each day I add pages or edit a story is a success.  Each time a reader picks up one of my books and finds something engaging about my work is a success. 

I don’t know what will happen to my writing career in a year or two or ten.  At this moment, I don’t have a contract for another book.  Who knows…I might never get another one.  Those are things out of my control.  The only thing I can control is sitting in front of my computer screen and writing.  And every day I do that is a success.  Hopefully, you consider every day that you sit down and work to be successful as well.

And most important - thank you.  Thank you to each and every one of you who has read my blog posts and maybe even read my books.  You are part of the reason that I get to write every day and I am more grateful to you than you can ever possibly know.

Young adult...not just for the young adults...or is it?

 by: Joelle Charbonneau

I have to admit that I never intended to write a young adult book.  I knew lots of authors who wrote for kids.  I thought their work was great, but I never thought I'd have a story idea that fell into the young adult category.  Since my first young adult thriller, The Testing, was published just over a month ago, I proved myself wrong. 

My mistaken assumptions about the young adult genre were part of the reason for this twist of writing fate.  First, I assumed that the young adult genre was the same as when I was a young adult.  (Which for those keeping score wasn’t all THAT long ago.)  Second, I assumed that the voice required for writing young adult books needed to be just that—young. 

Turns out I was wrong on both accounts.  No, the young adult genre isn’t merely comprised of Sweet Valley High books with a few Christopher Pike novels thrown in for good measure.  (Okay, maybe I’m older than I want to admit!)  Yes, some of the contemporary young adult books out there are filled with pop culture references and other teen slang that I’m not familiar with.  However, what I didn’t realize is unlike adult genre novels that have very specific categories and rules that govern them, young adult has only one rule:  a teen must be at the heart of the story.

It’s as simple as that. 

In adult fiction, the publisher is concerned about where a book is shelved.  Is it a mystery?  A thriller?  Is it science fiction or romance?  In young adult, they don’t separate books into categories the same way.  The books are young adult.  Period.  Which is why you find science fiction/thriller/romances or Fantasy/romance/mysteries topping the young adult charts. 

In my opinion, that mash-up of genres is the reason that so many authors have found joy in writing for the young adult marketplace.  Anything goes.  Young adult books (or books targeted for the ages of 12, 13, 14 and up) can have violence or strong, they can contain sex and provocative themes.  Anything that is allowed in the adult marketplace is allowed in teen books—as long as it is believable teen journey.

And teens aren’t the only ones reading these books.  Studies done have shown that adults are reading young adult books in droves.  Quite possibly this is because so many of the titles now available transcend the adult genre fiction rules.  Because the young adult marketplace reaches such a broad audience, it’s not a surprise that almost every publishing house has multiple imprints to accommodate their young adult titles.  Huge sections of bookstores are now devoted to “teen” literature and a great number of those bookstores have relocated their teen sections away from the children’s picture books in order to make them more adult friendly.

Which takes  me to the point of this little chat.  YA fiction isn't young.  It isn't simplistic.  In fact, the work I was doing this week on my new YA project involved a lot of math calculations to make sure I didn't screw up the world building.  The young adult fiction category doesn't mean that the story is uncomplicated or less violent--THE TESTING trilogy books are the most violent books I've ever written. Young adult fiction is a category that is growing every day because it appeals to readers of all ages.  At least, that is my guess.  And maybe you can help me prove that to be true.  I'd love to conduct a very unscientific survey.  Please let me know in the comments if you've read a book that features a teen protagonist sometime in the last year and whether you fall into the under 20 or over 20 crowd.  Let's see how wide the appeal of young adult fiction is with our DSD audience.  Most of you are crime fiction lovers...lets see how far your reading has taken you. 

It's time to finish the book!

by: Joelle Charbonneau

You have an idea for a novel.  You've either thought about it for a while or have started writing or are halfway into writing it.  Perhaps you have told people you are writing this book and now when they see you they ask if you've finished the book.  Perhaps you've kept the action of writing secret and aren't telling anyone because you don't want them to ask whether you've finished the book.  Maybe you've started writing then decided to scrap that idea for a new one that seems like it might be more like the books you have seen on shelves.  Maybe...

STOP!

Okay, if you've a reader of this blog, you'll probably know what the rest of the blog post is going to say.  In the past couple of days, I've met several readers who are also writers.  All of them said they were struggling to find time to write or to continue with one story.  Most of them had started a book.  Stopped writing.  Then started something new.  Or three somethings new.  All the projects sit unfinished and they wanted my advice as to how best to write a publishable book.

Well, first of all, it's impossible to know which books will be publishable in the traditional sense.  (Self-publishing is a personal choice not a choice that is made by a third party so for this particular concept, I'm not going to talk about that route.)  Trends change.  Tastes change.  What is hot in the market today could be ice cold in twenty-four months.  Don't chase trends.  Don't try to guess what will sell and what won't.  Write the story that you want to tell.  Then worry about the rest.  Trying to decide whether an idea you have will catch the attention of an editor is pointless.  Worrying about query letters and which agents rep the kind of book you think you're going to write is a waste of time that you could be spend on writing the book.  Because--let's face it--writing the book is the first and most important step.  Without it nothing else matters.

Which, brings me to the only advice I really have to give new authors.  Finish the book.  Please.  Don't attempt one new idea after another hoping that one will inspire you enough to keep writing.  Don't give up on writing the book you're working on because it isn't as "fun" as it was when you first started.  Don't ditch the idea for the new bright and shiny one because the old one feels like work.

Writing IS work.  It requires focus and self-motivation and the ability to put your butt in the chair and get words on the page even when the sun is shining and you'd rather be outside frolicking in the great outdoors.  It also requires respect for the story you are telling and the desire to finish the task you have begun.  The story isn't always going to be "fun".  Writing won't always (if ever) feel easy.  Being a writer is a job like any other.  You show up and you make words happen even if you have to scream, cry, eat buckets of buttered popcorn and drink gallons of coffee.

For me, writing feels the hardest when I'm in the middle of a project.  The shiny, exciting beginning is in the past and THE END feels far in the future.  Pushing through that difficult middle (which EVERY author experiences) no matter the doubt and fear you feel is necessary.  Otherwise you will never finish the book. And you need to finish the book.

Let me say that again.  You need to finish the book.

Why?  Because finishing a book teaches you that you can finish a book.  You can climb the proverbial mountain and get to the other side.  Once you learn you can finish a book...well, you know you can finish the next one.  And the one after that.  No matter how difficult, you know you can push through the hard parts and get to THE END.  And let's face it, until you get to THE END, there is no story.  Because a story has a beginning, a middle and an end.  No matter which route you plan on publishing, you can't go about pursuing that goal until your story makes the entire journey.  And once you've made it, you'll be glad you did.

This year, I've reached THE END twice.  There is no better feeling than typing the final words on the last page.  There is relief and delight and a huge thrill at knowing you've once again accomplished what at times felt impossible.

For me, the only way to get to The End is to write every day.  No days off.  If I do take a day off, I find getting back into the story is harder than it would otherwise be.  This isn't true of all my writing friends, but it works for me.  Maybe it will work for you.  If your goal this summer involves writing a book, I challenge you to the 100 day 100 word challenge.  If you accept you have to write at least 100 words for 100 days without missing a day.  If you miss a day you have to reset the clock and go back to day one.  It's as simple as that.  100 words is a paragraph. You can make time to write a paragraph every day, right?

If you want to write a book, you first have to make writing a habit.  Which is why I encourage you to take the challenge.  If you do take the challenge...contact me on Facebook or Twitter so that I can cheer you on and provide encouragement if you need.  You can also send me your daily or weekly word counts if feeling accountable to someone helps you.

If you want to be a writer you have to finish the book.  The rest...well...worry about that later.


PS....Thank you to everyone for all your support during release week for THE TESTING.  It's been a really amazing week filled with incredible news.  Apple, Sony and Amazon named The Testing a top pick for June. The LA Times said it was a must read for teens this summer.  And perhaps the most surreal news was that THE TESTING was optioned by Paramount Studios.  I'm not sure what this new week will hold, but I am grateful, as always, to be able to share the ups and downs of this business with you.  Thank you for your belief in me.  It means the world.

The Testing Is Now

YOUR TIME IS UP.

THE TESTING from our own Joelle Charbonneau launches today. We couldn't be more excited here at DSD HQ, as this sucker is gonna be frickin huge.

Congrats to Joelle. Check out the prequel and then go order your copy.

It’s graduation day for sixteen-year-old Malencia Vale, and the entire Five Lakes Colony (the former Great Lakes) is celebrating. All Cia can think about—hope for—is whether she’ll be chosen for The Testing, a United Commonwealth program that selects the best and brightest new graduates to become possible leaders of the slowly revitalizing post-war civilization. When Cia is chosen, her father finally tells her about his own nightmarish half-memories of The Testing. Armed with his dire warnings (”Cia, trust no one”), she bravely heads off to Tosu City, far away from friends and family, perhaps forever.

Read “The Testing Guide,” an exclusive prequel story to The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau, out on June 4th from Houghton Mifflin.

GoodReads: THE TESTING

Get ready to launch....(and a giveaway!)

by: Joelle Charbonneau

It's June.  I've been in denial until yesterday that June was coming.  Why?  I had a book to finish
writing and one to revise.  I finished the first and am working on the second.  All the while I have been watching the calendar creep ever closer to this sixth month of the year.  In two days, The Testing will hit shelves.

Yikes!

I'm scared.

I'm excited.

I'm thrilled.

And I'm ready to hurl.

I loved writing this book.  If you go back to almost two years ago, you'll see the blog posts I wrote about the leap of faith I took in writing it.  I mean, I was the girl who wrote wacky mysteries.  My stories contained camels who wear hats and roller skates, and singing and aunts who drive pink convertibles.  But this story idea hit me and wouldn't let go and I count myself lucky that I have an agent who not only encouraged me to write it, but who loved it once it was done.  THE TESTING is dedicated to her for that reason and so many more.

This series of books (the third of which is currently being revised) has been such an amazing challenge to write.  It has made me think harder about my thoughts on the world around me than any other story I've created.  The characters have engaged me.  The world building has challenged me and my editor has pushed me to make THE TESTING and the two books that follow the best they can be.

I hope readers like THE TESTING.  I hope they see in Cia Vale a heroine to cheer for.  I hope....

So much has lead up to this week.  Now that it is here, I am terrified that the faith my publisher has placed in me and in this trilogy won't be merited.  I don't want to disappoint them or you.  But the story has been written.  The VERY shiny book (trust me...the cover is REALLY shiny) is sitting in boxes waiting to be put on the shelves.  And Tuesday is right around the corner.  All I can do is trust that I have done my very best and celebrate the joy I feel when I hold this book in my hands.

To celebrate release week, I am giving away 1 signed copy of THE TESTING.  You also might get a fun TESTING bracelet and some temporary tattoos as week.  Just leave a comment below about why you want the book or what you like about the cover or trailer or say hello.  I can read the comments this week as I hide under my bed:)  I promise that I'll come out from under the bed on Friday evening and pick a winner.  Oh - and make sure you leave your e-mail address so I can contact you if you win!

Finally, before I sign off, I want to say thank you to everyone in my life who has been so supportive of my writing and this trilogy.  My family, my friends (both those in person and on social media), my publishing team (OMG - there is none better!) and all the booksellers, librarians and readers who made this journey with me....Tuesday isn't just a launch day for THE TESTING...it is a celebration of all of you.  There are no words to describe how much you all mean to me.  All I can say is thank you.

My time is almost up!

by: Joelle Charbonneau

Well, sports fans.  My time is almost up.

If you've been following my publishing life in the last year, you probably know what I'm referring to.  The Testing is almost here.  According to the nifty widget that my publisher created, The Testing launches in 22 days.

Gotta love widgets. Right? And for those of you keeping score, with each minute that ticks away, I find myself getting more and more nervous.  This isn't my first book published.  So, I feel a little silly saying that I am more nervous now than I was when SKATING AROUND THE LAW hit shelves.  Why?  Well, first off, this is a bigger title.  There is more push from my publisher, which also translates to higher expectations.  But beyond that there is one simple fact that makes this release more terrifying than the first - I know more.

That sounds simple right?  And maybe it is.  But the more I learn about this business, the more I understand that there is more to learn.  Marketing for any product is an inexact science, but in many ways it is even more so for books.  How do readers find the books that they purchase?  Ads?  Blog tours?  Twitter?  Word of mouth?  I've heard people testify to the power of blog tours and others who say they never saw a single sale as a result of a 30 stop tour.  Others swear by the power of Facebook while more say Facebook is only effective if you are posting pictures of cats.  (I have to admit I love a good cat picture as much as the next person!)

And that's just the marketing of a book.  Turns out I know more about writing a book than I did in 2009 when I sold Skating Around The Law.  In a way, that lack of knowledge then made it easier to write.  I wasn't worried about what readers or my editor or my agent would think about what I was writing.  I wrote for myself....for my family and for the few friends and students that humored me by reading my words.  Now, though I still write for the thrill of seeing where the story takes me, I cannot seem to block out the expectations of those who will some day read my books.  Readers expect the story to be fast paced.  They expect the story to start in action and for the point of view to be clear.  They expect three dimensional characters that intrigue them or make them laugh.  And more than anything, readers expect the story to be worth the time they invest in it.

Trust me when I say that I am aware that not all books are for all readers and that not all readers will love my books.  In fact, I'd be disappointed if my writing was universally loved.  Personally, I find that the stories that linger with me the longest are the ones that are most polarizing in reader reaction.  But while I am not trying to please everyone, I find myself hoping that I will please a lot of them.  Not exactly the most conducive mindset for writing.

So each day, I do my very best to ignore the worry about the upcoming release of THE TESTING and the excitement that comes with getting good books news.  (Thanks to everyone who nominated MURDER FOR CHOIR for the Anthony for best paperback original.  You are awesome!)  I do my best to shut out the world, forget everything I've learned over the last several years and just write.  Some days that works better than others.  And as the widget clock gets closer to zero, I find that nerves are making that harder to do.

But while my time is almost up, my love of writing is still as new and exciting as ever.  And no matter what happens when The Testing releases...I will keep writing and telling stories.  And hopefully, there will be readers who enjoy them.

Paying it forward

by: Joelle Charbonneau

According to the widget that my publisher created there are 43 days until THE TESTING launches. YAY!  EEK!  Help!  All sorts of emotions flood me when I think of the launch.  And today there is a brand new emotion that I can add to the list - hope.  And not in the way you think.  Yes, I am hopeful the book will be read and even more hopeful that some readers will connect with the characters.  But this hope is more than that.  It is farther reaching.  Why?

Because yesterday Anderson's Bookstore announced something that we have been working on for a
while.  Anderson's and I have created a pre-order incentive that I hope everyone will take advantage of.  No, we aren't giving away cool swag.  Instead, we are offering readers a chance to make a difference in the lives of others.  Because for every book ordered from Anderson's between now and THE TESTING launch on June 4th - Anderson's and I will together make a donation to Autism Speaks.

Here is the link to Anderson's Bookstore's pre-order page for THE TESTING.

As a teen, I was a member of the International Order Of The Rainbow for Girls.  The Rainbow Girls are a Masonic youth service organization that encourages teenage girls to raise money and donate their time to charity work as well as building self-confidence, camaraderie and so much more.  This year, the Illinois State Chapter of the Rainbow Girls chose to raise money for Autism Speaks and I want to help them.

So many of my friends have children with autism.  It is a condition that seems to be more common with every passing year.  The challenges for families who have to navigate this condition are great.  The challenges for the medical community to find the best ways to not only help those with the condition, but prevent it in future generations is even greater.   More research is needed to understand how best to help those who have autism as well as how to prevent it in future generations.  Autism Speaks is dedicated to advocating for those with autism as well as funding research to find a cure.  They are such an important voice for families and I am beyond thrilled to be able to help raise money for such a worthy cause.

If you are considering reading The Testing, please join with me and Anderson's and help raise money for this wonderful cause. I hope together we can make a difference.

The higher you get the farther the fall

By: Joelle Charbonneau

The last couple of days have been a bit surreal.  On Friday, the trailer my publisher created for THE TESTING was revealed on EW.com.  Um…wow!  (Entertainment Weekly?  I mean, that’s just…yikes.  I don’t even have words to describe how stunned I was to learn that was happening.  In addition to the trailer, the website, thetestingtrilogy.com went live and the e-book prequel has been released.   I’ve also had bracelets that say THE TESTING delivered to my door as well as a glimpse of all sorts of other cool stuff the PR and Marketing teams are planning for the release on June 4^th.

To say I am delighted is an understatement.  To say I am scared is even more of one.

 Every book that publishes brings worry and angst.  Will readers like the book?  Will they hate it?  Will anyone ever want to read anything by me again?  This Tuesday, END ME A TENOR (Glee Club Mystery #2) will hit bookstore selves and I am gnawing my fingernails off as I wait to hear if readers once again connect with my heroine Paige and her colorful supporting cast.

But those nerves don’t compare to the ones that I feel when I think about The Testing launch. 

I am scared. 

I love my publisher.  I love this trilogy of books.  I did my utmost to write the best stories I could and am so fortunate that my editor and everyone at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt believe in this series with such incredible passion.  It is an author’s dream.

But as wonderful as it is, I am scared. 

Getting a book published was my first dream as a writer.  I wanted to see my name on a book.  I wanted to see that book on the shelf of a store or in a library or even more exciting in the hands of a reader sitting on a park bench somewhere.  My second goal as an author was to make a moderate career out of it.  Maybe be able to publish two books a year.  To make a financial contribution to our family with my writing and maybe…just maybe hang around as a midlist author for a while. 

My expectations as an author weren’t huge.  I wanted them to be realistic.  And in many ways they were one important thing –safe. 

Each time a book is read by a reader, authors put a piece of themselves on the line.  And in the age of social media and blogs where everyone says anything they feel, authors (whether they want to or not) are forced to see and face the reaction of those readers.  The more notice a book gets, the more push by the publisher and buzz it receives the more vocal readers are.  And people often forget that their words can bring the highest of highs with their praise or feel like attacks and bring an author down low.

With the release of the trailer of The Testing, I have gotten a small glimpse of what might be coming.  The first comment on EW.com was someone who was angry that the author quote on the cover said readers of Hunger Games would like it.  On facebook, I watched my friends post the link to the trailer only to have their friends say that I had clearly ripped off other books and that I probably didn’t deserve to be published.

And the ride is just beginning.

I don’t want anyone to think this post is about wanting sympathy or pats on the back or even a hug.  (Although I like hugs.  I wouldn’t turn one down!)  I am the luckiest girl ever to have this opportunity and to have the full weight of a publishing team behind me.  No, this isn’t about feeling sad or unhappy or wanting people to be nice to me.  (Again…I like when people are nice, but I can take my licks like anyone else and get up to fight again.)  This is a post I needed to write because I have now seen several sides of publishing and am continuing to learn how to deal with the aspects I have seen.

As authors, we often talk about the choices we need to make for our careers.  We discuss whether we want to self-publish, traditionally publish, have an agent, control every aspect of our book or search for channels to aid us in publication.  People discuss how to find readers and promote their titles.  There are lots of discussions about monetary compensation for authors.  How much should a book cost?  How much should an author hope to make?  How much should authors spend on promotion?  What are the best books for editing?  What is the best method to improving our craft?

But something I have realized more and more as the release of The Testing grows closer is that as authors we often forget to talk about the emotional cost that comes with publishing a book.  It’s natural for us to want people to like the work we have done.  Clearly, we did or we wouldn’t have written the story.  But while we want people to like what we have written, there will always be those who do not.  Some will love what we have created.  Others will attack it from every side.  And the higher and bigger the release, the more those attacks will come.

So while an author needs to improve their craft and learn the business, one of the most important things perhaps an author can do is develop a very thick skin and the ability to turn off Google Alerts.  Ego is often a dirty word, but an author needs one every time a book is released.  Rejection is hard at any point in a career.  If this is going to be your career…if this is going to really be mine for the long haul…building armor against the naysayers is perhaps the most important thing that can be done.

I loved writing The Testing.  I love my publisher for believing in it.  I loved watching the trailer…it’s pretty darn cool.  And in the months ahead, I will prepare myself for this interesting and incredibly fortunate turn that my career has taken.  The book could succeed.  The book could fail.  But I will grow the armor I need to appreciate every moment of the ride.

And if I’m really, really lucky, there will be readers who will enjoy it with me.