What has been the most memorable moment on your road to publication other that the actual book deal?
"The initial offer of representation from my agent. It's something I'd worked a long time for, but much like with buying lottery tickets, I never really expected that magical "it" to happen. In fact, I would take that initial phone call over winning the lottery any day." - Lauren Destefano, author of Wither.
"The most memorable was getting an email from someone who'd read my book. It was the first 'fan' letter that I'd gotten and I was over the moon excited. Throughout the whole process I'd worried that people wouldn't 'get' what I was doing. They'd think it was a silly book with silly characters that should never have been published. But this person who wrote me got it. They understood what I was saying through Ollie and that was maybe the best moment in this whole crazy publication deal." - Shaun David Hutchinson, author of The Deathday Letter.
"I have two agents, Charlie Olsen and Richard Pine at InkWell. When Richard called me to introduce himself and tell me the potential he saw in the book I thought I might pass out. Also when my publisher at Philomel, Michael Green wrote his first email to me it was beautiful and made me cry. I'm fortunate to have wonderful agents, and a fabulous editor - Jill Santopolo - and publisher, all of whom I respect and trust." - Andrea Cremer, author of Nightshade.
"Writing the last 50 pages of both of my books were these crazy-intense situations. For 'Audrey' I was trying to get out of jury duty (which I did), then I sped to a Starbucks and wrote the last words in this adrenaline-fused hour. For the first draft of 'AMJ', I sat on my living room floor in my pajamas for an entire Sunday, typing like a maniac. For the final draft, I figured out one thing that had been bugging me about the plot and worked out this ridiculous outline for my editor, then wrote the whole scene and emailed it two days before the final deadline. Both of those experiences made me feel like a 'real' writer, like I had worked my ass off and had something to show for it." - Robin Benway, author of The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June.
"Can I say 'When Neil Gaiman kissed my cheek after I gave him copies of my first two books?' If so, that!" - Jackie Kessler, author of Rage.
"One moment that really sticks out to me is standing at the kitchen stove, right after the idea of Unearthly came to me, and frantically writing notes down with one hand while stirring spaghetti sauce with the other. And I thought, how lovely this is, this blaze of inspiration. It was a super high. Another key moment was standing in Barnes and Noble after I knew my book was going to be printed, just standing there looking out at the shelves and knowing that someday, for sure, my book was going to be on those shelves. And I started to cry, I was so overwhelmed by the realization." - Cynthia Hand, author of Unearthly.
"Having to pick up my author copies at the courier drop off place in my small town – a refrigeration shop. Nothing like seeing a box of your books on the floor between broken down fridges and freezers to keep you grounded." - Judith Graves, author of Under My Skin.
"Oh, so many wonderful moments, especially with writer friends. I feel very lucky to have shared joy and nervousness and terror and exultation with some of the best people in the world. There is nothing cooler than being in a chatroom when one of your bff’s says, 'OMG Agent So-And-So wants to call me…' or 'my book is at auction RIGHT NOW.'" - Rae Carson, author of The Girl of Fire and Thorns.
"When my agent and I jumped into a bathtub full of mini marshmallows to celebrate. It’s something I promised to do in jest and then actually followed through on. I don’t think I’ve ever done anything more ridiculous than that, and I’ll remember it for the rest of my life, I’m sure." - Veronica Roth, author of Divergent.
"The day I saw my cover. I almost hyperventilated. Very, very lucky my sitter was at my house." - Myra McEntire, author of Hourglass.
"That first email from my now-agent, saying she wanted to call and talk about representation. I'll never forget it. It as the first time becoming a published author actually felt attainable." - Rachel Hawkins, author of Demonglass.
"My first visit to the Simon & Schuster offices, when I met all of the incredible people who have been working so hard to turn my Word document into an actual book that is going to be in actual stores and somewhere in the annals of the Library of Congress. That New York trip was pretty incredible. I’ll never forget it." - Michelle Hodkin, author of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer.
"Getting my first fan letter from a reader who'd loved my book. I named a character (Kelsey) in my second book after her. :-)" - Sarah Darer Littman, author of Life, After.
"Speaking at the BookExpo America Children's Breakfast last spring with Richard Peck, Sarah Ferguson, and Cory Doctorow felt like a big deal. The stage was huge, and I was scared silly, but I think I did okay." - Mitali Perkins, author of Bamboo People.
"Seeing the Amazon listing for my debut was freaky. That was when I first felt like a real writer--that it was a real thing happening in the real world and not in my head." - Dia Reeves, author of Slice of Cherry.
"I’ve been honored to meet many of my favorite authors as a result of my publication. It’s such a dream come true to meet people you have admired all your life."- Emily Wing Smith, author of The Way He Lived.
"One of my readers threw a Body Finder themed birthday party, complete with a Body Finder cake. That was pretty freaking incredible!" - Kimberly Derting, author of Desires of the Dead.
"I think the most exciting moment was the first conversation I had with editor after it sold--becuase it was just *so* amazing to have a conversation with someone who loved my characters and story as much as I did. You know, that surreal moment of talking about made-up characters as if they were real people that we both knew and loved. Very, very cool!" - Kristi Cook, author of Haven.
"There have been a lot of fun, 'oh my God, how is this my life?' sort of moments. A few months ago a reader sent me a picture of my book on display at a library in Singapore. It's crazy to think that my book has traveled more widely than I have. Another outrageous moment was back in September when I was on a panel with Elizabeth Scott. Elizabeth Scott! Afterward she sent me a facebook message telling me I did a great job. I still don’t believe any of that really happened." - Holly Hoxter, author of The Snowball Effect.
On Tuesday, learn the opening sentence of each author's latest book and how it differs from the original!
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