Shannon Messenger's Blog, page 59

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday Links--and a winner!

Once again I have to skip this week's MMGM--and no, it's not because I have another huge, mega-epic announcement to make tomorrow. But I do have an AWESOME contest I'm launching, so you will definitely still want to stop by. I've put together some pretty darn cool prizes, if I do say so myself.
And in the meantime, I don't want to overlook all the fabulous middle grade love that will be going on in the blogosphere tomorrow, so here are the links to lead you to all the awesome:
- The lovely Shannon O'Donnell always has an MMGM ready for you! Click HERE to see what she's featuring this week!
- Joanne Fritz is featuring HOUND DOG TRUE. Click HERE to see her review.
- Barbara Watson is gushing over ZORA AND ME. Click HERE to learn all about it. 
- Jennifer Rumberger is highlighting THE WEDNESDAY WARS . Click HERE to see what she thinks.
- Myrna Foster sings the praises of ICEFALL. Click HERE to see why Rick Riordan is the master of middle grade.
And if you are planning to participate and haven't had a chance to send me a link yet, no worries. I will be updating this post.  So drop me an email and I'll make sure and add you.
I also have a lucky winner to announce....
The winner of the signed (and doodled in) ARC of THE WHITE ASSASSIN is...
Kelly Polark
Yay!
*tosses confetti*
If that's you, please drop me an email at packratx (at) hotmail (dot) com with your mailing address so I can send off your prize. And it would be a HUGE help if you could put something like: THE WHITE ASSASSIN WINNER in the subject line so it catches my eye. My inbox has been a bit flooded these days...
HUGE thanks again to all of you who are participating in MMGM. I am hoping to get back to normal by the following week--but even if not, I promise I will keep linking you all on the Sunday. Gotta keep the middle-grade love spreading!
Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Why I am never making a deal with my followers again!!!

Okay, as promised yesterday ... the time has finally come to make good on The-Deal-I-NEVER-Should-Have-Made-But-FOOLISHLY-Did.

Just to quickly recap (in case you're newer around here): when I was a foolish, foolish teenager I got stuck on It's A Small World at Disneyland, struck up a conversation with the woman sitting behind me, and somehow ended up as a contestant on a REALLY lame, REALLY low budget, REALLY short lived Game Show called Hollywood Showdown.

(Yes, I realize my life is weird. These are the kind of things that happen to me.)

Anyway, a couple of years ago I made the mistake of posting about the experience--minus the name of the show because... well... someone has posted a clip from the show on YouTube and it's SUPER easy to find if you search for the show by name.

Which of COURSE unleashed a flood of comments/emails/tweets hassling me to let everyone view the humiliating clip. I resisted as long as I could, but I eventually caved to the pressure and decided to make a deal with my followers, promising that if my book ever sold I would post the horrifying YouTube clip on my blog so you all could watch it and make fun of me.

Fast forward to this week with all my exciting news and... well... I guess I have to make good on my promise.

*cries a little*
*considers fleeing the country*
I... have no words for what you're about to see--except... yes, I'm aware of the Bangs of Doom, and the nervous shuffle-shimmy thing I keep doing, and HOW LAME I LOOK IN THE BEGINNING WITH THE CLASPING-OF-HANDS-AND-SUPER-AWKWARD-HANDSHAKE THIING (I will forever hate the producer for telling me to do that). And don't even get me started on the fact that I TOTALLY LOSE.
Basically, this is Shannon Shame at an all time high--or low, depending on how you want to see it.
But I swore I'd post it, and I am a girl of my word, so... 
*deep breath*

The worst part? This is NOT the most embarrassing clip from my time on the show. It's just the only one on YouTube--that I've found at least.  (Well, there are a couple where I'm in the background). There are actually much worse moments you aren't able to see.
And for those of you now desperate to see the rest of my humiliation, never fear. Every so often the Game Show Network gets the brilliant idea to rerun the show. Yes, it is awesome when that happens. Especially since it's one of those shows where the contestants are on it for an entire week. A WEEK of Shannon Shame on national television.
*headdesk*
I guess the moral of this story is: DON'T HAVE BANGS! And DON'T GO ON GAME SHOWS--ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE GOING TO ACT LIKE A NERD--AND LOSE! And definitely, DON'T PROMISE YOUR FOLLOWERS YOU'LL HUMILIATE YOURSELF FOR THEIR ENJOYMENT IF YOU SELL YOUR BOOK!!!!!!!!!

And now, if you'll excuse me. I need to flee to Mexico and start over with a new identity. I'm thinking Senorita Messenger, maraca-player extraordinaire! Bring on the tequila!

Just when I think this week can't get any cooler...

I keep waiting for all of this to feel less surreal (and to stop talking about it CONSTANTLY and probably driving you all crazy!) but... stuff keeps happening that is just so overwhelming it's like... THIS IS THE COOLEST THING EVER HOW CAN I NOT GUSH ENDLESSLY ABOUT IT???????
So... sorry guys, you're welcome to ignore me if you've had enough. But I just. can't. help myself!
I mean, how can I not get all choked up/insanely excited when a PM announcement pops up in my inbox with MY BOOK DEAL IN THERE???????
From Publisher's Marketplace:
Children's: Fantasy
Shannon Messenger's debut middle-grade series KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES, about a girl who discovers there are secrets buried in her memory that others would kill for, and has to figure out why she is the key to her brand-new world before the wrong person finds the answer first, to Liesa Abrams at Aladdin, in a six-figure deal, in a pre-empt, in a three-book deal, for publication starting in Fall 2012, by Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (North America).
ljrennert@mac.com 

Obviously I knew it was coming. But still--when it finally did, yesterday? It was ... a "moment." And there was a lot of staring at the email and thinking.... OMG THAT'S ME!!!!!!!!
Also surreal? More than 100 people have already added my book on Goodreads in the last 4 days.  
O.O
I... I don't even know what to say about that. Or about Goodreads giving me a real "author page" of my own. Or about the discussion someone started, where they suggested my book--MY book--was going to be a top book--and so far no one has argued with them! (no agreement, either. But hey--I'm GOOD with no arguing!!!) (And btw, there are whole new realms of panic and pressure that come with that suggestion. Holy High Expectations, Batman! *bites nails*)
And then there are the hundreds and hundreds of comments, tweets, emails, FB posts, text messages, and phone calls I've gotten from all of you, filled with so much love and support I really don't know how to process it all. I'm doing my best to reply to them, because seriously they mean SO much to me. And I'm back from LA now--after spending a crazy few days researching a scene and connecting with some amazingly awesome people--so hopefully I'll be able to catch up on the rest. But if I miss yours accidentally--I'm so sorry. Please know that I read it, loved it, and so so SO can't thank you enough for it. 
I also know I keep promising you a contest--and I PROMISE I have one coming for you. But I'm saving it for Monday because my brain is totally floopy right now and I don't trust myself to organize the last final things.
Plus, a few of you are calling for something... else... to happen first. 
Not sure how many of you have really been following my blog long enough to know this but... a LONG time ago I made a certain deal with my followers that when I sold my book I would post a clip from the humiliating performance I gave a long time ago on a low budget game show (the story behind that can be found HERE.)
Well... the time has finally come. I scored five extra months with the whole not-being-able-to-announce thing (there were SOME advantages to that.) But alas, I can stall no longer. 
SO TOMORROW IS THE DAY.
There will be bangs of doom. There will be humiliating YouTube Clips. There will be SHANNON SHAME GALORE!!!!! 
And then... I will probably flee to Mexico to start a new life as a maraca player. Ole!

What REALLY went on during the last five months!

So... what do you do when you've gotten THE BIGGEST NEWS OF YOUR CAREER and you CAN'T TELL EVERYONE?????

You... take a lot of pictures to commemorate every tiny milestone so you can share them all when you're FINALLY allowed to spill.

So here's what REALLY went on during the last five months:

It all started with an EPIC series of phone calls:

Lots of exciting, surreal, life-changing conversations that finally led to an email from Liesa Abrams that started with this:
Laura just passed along your email address and I'm SO excited to write to you officially as your editor now. Woohoo!!!!!
Yeah... I totally cried. Good tears of course. But yeah...
Then came the inevitable question (from the *few* people I was allowed to tell):
What are you going to do to celebrate??????
To which I--of COURSE--went all Superbowl Champion and was like: 
I'm going to Disneyland!!!!!!
Where I suddenly realized: OMG my publisher is ALADDIN and THERE IS ALADDIN STUFF EVERYWHERE (different Aladdin--but still!). So of COURE I took a ton of nerdy pictures:



And even bought some nerdy souvenirs for my desk: (Yes, I now buy pretty much anything Aladdin/genie lamp related)(my husband has decided to find it cute)
There were also presents from my amazingly supportive CPs:
Sara 1
And Sarah 2 (this shirt won't make a whole lot of sense to any of you yet, but someday it will...) 
And then... the WAITING started.
And I waited.
And waited.
And WAITED.
Sometimes I entertained myself with vague tweets between me and my friend Natalie Whipple with a secret hashtag only we knew (Natalie was ALSO sitting on secret book news):

Pretty sure everyone thought we were super weird. But we thought it was pretty entertaining.
And then, I didn't have time to play around anymore because THESE arrived:
EDITS!
Yeah... I got a bit emotional getting a package from Simon & Schuster with MY book inside.(and um... pay no attention to the title on there--that's the old rejected title, not the new shiny)
It was SO HARD not to tell you guys what I had going on--especially since I had deadlines and stuff that sometimes prevented me from blogging. But I powered through.
And while I was in the middle of the revision, I went to ALA, where I of COURSE spent way too much time at the S&S Booth. 
This is me with the lovely Venessa, who was nice enough to get me invited to the S&S Party one of the evenings:
(me with Jo Whittemore, Elana Johnson, and Editor Anica Rissi)
It was VERY surreal to be introduced to S&S people as: "one of our new authors."
Alas, my editor wasn't there. But I wasn't TOO brokenhearted about it because I'd found out she was going to be at SCBWI LA, so I knew I would get to meet her there.
Before I did that though, I finished up my revision, sent it off, and then went to Comic Con, where once again I spent WAY too much time at the S&S booth:
(This is me with the awesome Anna and Carolyn)
And spent quite a lot of time looking for the perfect Batman thank-you gift, because Liesa has a *slight* Batman obsession. 
I also met Brandon Mull, part of the amazing Liesa Abrams family, and he was awesome enough to sign THIS in my copy of BEYONDERS: A WORLD WITHOUT HEROES: 

Yeah... that was pretty much the coolest thing ever. And should give you some idea of how amazing Liesa is to work with.
Then finally, FINALLY it was time for SCBWI LA, where I got to meet Liesa myself (I *may* have attacked her pretty much the second she stepped through the hotel doors--poor thing). 
And she was sweet and generous enough to take me out to dinner with a few other S&S authors:
(that's me with Alan Silberburg, Hillary Homzie, Jo Whittemore, and James Riley)
(Liesa is NOT pictured because she hates having her picture taken even more than I do--something I didn't know was possible. So instead she was the one taking the picture of all of us.)
I'll tell you more about meeting Liesa another time, because this post is already reaching epic lengths. And we'll fast forward through another two months of waiting, and title changes, and more waiting, until we finally get to THIS:
The day I finally signed my contract with S&S!!!!!
They are now OFFICIALLY AND LEGALLY STUCK WITH ME (I *may* have used that  phrase when I emailed Liesa and Laura to let them know the signed contracts were on their way. Good thing they're used to me.)
That's when I finally got the "we're ready to announce" email from Laura and a few days after that the news hit PW. And you guys know the rest BECAUSE I HAVE NOT STOPPED TALKING ABOUT IT SINCE!!!
Don't worry, I *promise* I will stop talking your ears off about all of this soon. Just... give me a few more days. I have FIVE MONTHS of pent-up enthusiasm to release. 
Plus, I still have a few things to do--like an epic contest to launch (yay!) and a deal I made with you guys a loooooooong time ago to fulfill (ugh!). So keep an eye out for all of that. Trust me, you won't want to miss it. Major Epicness in Store!

New and Improved! (Well... I hope...)

Wow, you guys. Just... wow.

I really don't have the right words to thank you for all your enthusiasm and support yesterday for my book news (and if you're scratching your head going... huh? you can find the announcement HERE.)

Those of you who spread the word about it--thank you so much! And if you @replied me or messaged me or emailed me and haven't gotten a response yet, bear with me. I'm actually out of town at the moment (doing some research for a scene, amazingly enough) so it's a bit challenging keeping up. Especially since the response was so amazing. (*chokes up a little*) But I WILL get to it because you guys are awesome. THANK YOU.

And since the news was so epic--and I had FIVE MONTHS to prepare for it--you may notice a few changes to this blog now that the secret is finally out, starting with a new OFFICIAL AUTHOR PHOTO!!!!

Yes, that's right, you may have already noticed this (or seen it on FB and Twitter yesterday when I switched it) but Shannon-with-the-strangely-too-dark-hair-and-plain-green-background is gone!!! And she has been replaced with this:


I'm... not sure what I'm supposed to say now... Um... ta da?

So... yeah. That's the photo you'll now be seeing in blogger feeds and Twitter feeds and Facebook Feeds. I hope you guys like it, because I am SO not in the mood to go through another photo shoot again. 
HUGE thanks to my friend Matthew Allende and his company Devende Photography for putting up with my I-hate-having-my-picture-taken curmudgeon-y ways (not gonna lie, I was difficult) and taking some amazing photos of me. (Seriously you guys, if any of you are in SoCal and need a photographer, you should use Matt, he is AWESOME.) I also want to thank my friend Lucy for doing my make-up (yes, I had a friend do my make-up. I figured if I was doing this I was doing it RIGHT) and making me look far better than I actually do in real life. And my hair stylist Kris, who's styling held up even though it was SUPER windy that day.
Other things you may notice: there are two new tabs on this blog now: BOOKS (Squee!) and ARC REQUESTS (double Squee!).

I already had a few of you request ARCs yesterday (which seriously made me teary. Thank you guys so much for wanting to read my book! You have no idea how exciting it is to hear that!) so I have created a simple FORM for you to fill out. Sadly, I can't guarantee that by filling it out you absolutely will get an ARC, but it's your best chance. S&S has direct access to that form and will be selecting people from there. So if you haven't filled it out yet and would like to, go HERE.

Also surreal/amazing? MY BOOK IS ALREADY ON GOODREADS!!! No idea how that happened so fast but within a couple hours KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES had its first official listing on the internets. So if you're a user of Goodreads and you want to make me incredibly giggly and happy, you are welcome to go HERE to add it to your shelves. *hugs and cupcakes in advance*
I've also updated my "About" page, "FAQs" and "Contact" info. And I'm in the process of designing a brand-new-shiny-author-website (!!!!) so keep your eyes out for plenty more changes to come in the months ahead.

And in the meantime, thank you guys again for all your love and support. Yesterday was one of those once-in-a-lifetime kind of crazy-surreal days, and YOU GUYS made that happen. I have an epic contest organized to thank you properly, but I'm waiting until I'm back home (and not on Hotel WiFi--which is NEVER as fast as it should be). So keep checking back--you WON'T want to miss it. Awesome, AWESOME prizes are to be had.

Oh and um... since this is the kind of post where it clearly feels like I'm asking for a comment section full of compliments on my photo--ugh--I'm going to end by saying um... so, anyone else craving a cupcake like I am????????

FINALLY--I CAN SHARE MY SECRET NEWS!!!

It's funny. I have dreamed of writing this post, pretty much every day for three years (THREE YEARS!) as I researched and plotted and wrote and revised my book, and revised again, and then revised a million more times. 
And I've drafted this post dozens and dozens of times over the last five months (FIVE MONTHS!) as I've sat silently on the news, waiting for the green light to announce. (hardest secret to keep, EVER!)

But now that the moment is finally here, I've come to realize that some things are so overwhelming and amazing and incredible and surreal, there just aren't the right words—even for a writer.

So I'm going to let this do the announcing for me:


S&S Takes Messenger's Middle-Grade Debut

Keeping up with the high-priced deals, Liesa Abrams, executive editor at Simon & Schuster, took North American rights to three books, in a six-figure pre-empt, by newcomer Shannon Messenger. Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary brokered the deal for the middle-grade fantasy series, and the first book, Keeper of the Lost Cities, is scheduled for fall 2012. In Cities, a 12-year-old girl who can read minds, and is something of a social outcast, discovers the reason she has her abilities when she meets a mysterious boy. Rennert elaborated: "She's never felt at home because she isn't. There are secrets buried deep in her memory, secrets about her true identity and why she was hidden among humans, that others desperately want and would even kill for." Messenger is in her 20s and is one of the founders of the free, online writer's conference, WriteOnCon.


(from Publisher's Weekly. The full link is HERE)
So... yeah. Crazy, awesome, amazing, emotional, almost-impossible-to-wrap-my-head-around news. I thought I'd gotten used to it these last few months but seeing it like that? A real announcement with my name and my book's name? *eyes get misty* I don't even know what to say.

Except this: THANK YOU. For following me on this crazy journey, cheering me on, and supporting me every step of the way. It has been a long, stressful, hectic road (which is really only just beginning--eek!) and I truly, truly believe I wouldn't have made it to this point without you guys.

And now that it's FINALLY out in the open, I have so many things to tell you about--like meeting my amazing editor over the summer and the things I've learned from working on real Edits (yes--I've already gotten them. In fact, I'm done with them!) plus some more details about my book—WHICH I CAN FINALLY TALK ABOUT!!!!

I also have an epic contest planned, which I really think you guys are going to love. So make sure you check back--I will have that up and running as soon as I come out of this shocked/amazed stupor I'm in at the moment. *stares at name in print* *stares some more.*

And ... okay, I have to say it at least once (and then I will TRY to restrain myself);

*clears throat* 
OMG I HAVE A BOOK DEAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday--er--Sunday--and some winners!

Okay, I know this is a day early and probably throwing off everyone's groove. But I actually have something else going on for my Monday post, so I have to skip this week's MMGM. But I've already heard from so many of you who are spreading the middle grade love tomorrow--some of you for the first time--and I didn't want those posts to go unlinked.

So I thought I'd give everyone a list of the AWESOME posts you HAVE to make sure you check out tomorrow. I mean seriously, look at this fabulous book love going on:

- The lovely Shannon O'Donnell always has an MMGM ready for you! Click HERE to see what she's featuring this week!


- Joanne Fritz is featuring ISLAND'S END. Click HERE to see her review.

- Barbara Watson is struck with wonder at WONDERSTRUCK. Click HERE to learn all about it. 
- Natalie Aguirre is featuring DARKFALL, with a GIVEAWAY! Click HERE for details.
- Jennifer Rumberger is highlighting THE LEMONADE WAR . Click HERE to see what she thinks.


- Michael Gettel-Gilmartin is gushing about THE ROMEO AND JULIET CODE. Click HERE to read more.


- Danika Dinsmore discusses THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY, and the difference between upper and lower middle grade. Click HERE to read her thoughts.


- Deb Marshall gives us the whole truth about THE WHOLE TRUTH. Click HERE to learn more.


- Myrna Foster sings the praises of THE SON OF NEPTUNE. Click HERE to see why Rick Riordan is the master of middle grade.

- Jemi Frasier makes her MMGM debut with a feature on MANIAC MAGEE. Click HERE to read her review and welcome her to the crew.
- Jon Arntson ALSO makes his MMGM debut with a review of MY VERY UNFAIRY TALE LIFE. Click HERE to see what he thinks.
And if you are planning to participate and haven't had a chance to send me a link yet, no worries. I will be updating this post.  So drop me an email and I'll make sure and add you.

I also have a number of lucky winners to announce from previous contests so...



The winner of all three DORK DIARIES, plus the new DORK DIARIES 3 1/2 is...
Anne N Kenny


The winner of LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR is...
Mrs. Heise

And the winner of THE FAMILIARS: SECRETS OF THE CROWN is...
Elizabeth G

Yay!
*tosses confetti*
Okay, if that's you, please drop me an email at packratx (at) hotmail (dot) com with your mailing address so I can send off your prize. And it would be a HUGE help if you could put something like: THE FAMILIARS WINNER (though of course list the correct prize) in the subject line so it catches my eye. My inbox has been a bit flooded these days, and I have a feeling it's going to get worse.
Phew--I think that's everything!

Sorry for the slight change of plans this week (and probably next) and a HUGE thank you to all of you who are participating in MMGM. You have no idea how excited I am to see all the middle grade love. 
And I know I won't have an MMGM for you tomorrow, but I do think you'll still want to stop by my blog. I have some exciting stuff happening. Hope you'll come by to check it out. 
Hope everyone had a good weekend!

The Power of Pumpkin

It's been yet another crazy-insane-hectic week filled with stuff and things and AHHHH--and not going to lie, I was starting to get a little ... emo from all the HOW AM I EVER GOING TO GET EVERYTHING DONE WHEN TIME KEEPS FLYING BY.

But before I started composing dramatic acoustic songs with lame metaphors like: Your hair it's everywhere. Screaming infidelities and taking its wear (why Dashboard? WHY?) two things happened:

1) The sky turned gray and misty and the air turned cold--and I know that may sound like a downer, but in SoCal it's a miracle to get any fall-ish weather at this time of year. I got to wear boots and eat soup and curl up with blankets (yes, I realize it was probably only 60 degrees--but I am a wimpy SoCal girl. That. is. cold!)

2) I made an emergency cupcake run to my favorite bakery and--after buying a few of my usual favorites--the bakery owner told me something amazing. They would be selling pumpkin cupcakes starting today. PUMPKIN CUPCAKES!!!!!!


*drools* *faints*
Which made me realize. Yes, time IS flying by, and I kind of wish I had a way to slow it down so I could catch-the-heck up for a second.

BUT... if time didn't keep passing we wouldn't get the good things that come with it. Boot and snuggly blanket weather. Pumpkin-flavored goodies. And who knows what other amazing things the rest of 2011 has to offer.

So I say: Bring it! I'll face each task as it comes at me and keep going. Just so long as I have plenty of pumpkin cupcakes to nom on in the process and a soft downy blanket to curl up with. Who's with me????

Bookanista Review: The White Assassin, by Hilary Wagner--AND A SIGNED ARC GIVEAWAY!!!!

Today's Bookanista Review is extra special, because not only is it for an awesome middle-grade read--but it's part of the author's official blog tour. So exciting--and huge thanks to Hilary for letting me be a part!!! And of course by "Hilary" I mean the awesome Hilary Wagner. Today I get to gush about her recently released sequel, THE WHITE ASSASSIN.

Here's how the publisher describes the story:

Book II in the Nightshade Chronicles begins three years after Juniper and his rebel band of rats liberate the Catacombs and defeat their oppressors.

A sense of peace has settled over Nightshade City, but it is a false one. Billycan, the white assassin, has been found. Deep in the southern swamps, he now rules a primitive horde of savage swamp rats eager to overrun Nightshade City and claim it for their king. With the help of an ancient colony of bats and an uneasy alliance with the swamp snakes, Juniper and his Council set out to thwart Billycan's plans. When an old secret is revealed—one so shocking it shakes both Billycan and Juniper to the core—the fate of Nightshade City and the life of Juniper's only son depend on Juniper's decision: should he help his mortal enemy? The past resurfaces with devastating impact in this exciting sequel to Nightshade City, a dark tale of intrigue, deception, and betrayal.
I love that summary--it has that awesome dun dun DUNNNN feel! :)
So, if you don't already know, this is the sequel to NIGHTSHADE CITY (which I already gushed about HERE), and if you are a fan of series like Redwall or Warriors you will LOVE these books. But even if you're not a fan of anthropomorphic animals, I strongly recommend you give them a chance. Because that's the amazing thing Hilary does--she makes you forget that you're reading about a bunch of animals. And not just animals. RATS. And WORMS. And BATS. And SNAKES. Could there be a more motley cast of critters? 
And yet, somehow she not only makes us care about them--she makes us forget that we're not reading about humans. But not in a way that makes it feel weird like... why are they rats, they act EXACTLY like humans? (I hate when authors do that). They are definitely still rats. Just... the cool kind of rats we wish we had hiding in our attics.
I wish I could tell you more than that, but once again I'm finding myself at a loss for how to talk about the sequel without giving away any book one spoilers. So I'm just going to say that in GENERAL terms, the story is packed with both action and heart and she manages to outdo what she did in book one and still keep everything we fell in love with the first time. It's a great read, and I highly recommend it to all of you. 
AND, the book finally released in stores on October 2nd, so you can go buy it RIGHT NOW if you want to. 
Or, you can try to win the lovely SIGNED (and doodled in) ARC I'm giving away here. To enter, make sure you follow my blog and leave a comment by 11:59 pm PDT on Saturday, October 15th. I'll draw one random winner and post their name on Sunday, October 16th. International entries welcome.
For more fabulous book recommendations, check out what my fellow Bookanistas are talking about:
Elana Johnson  is obsessed with PossessChristine Fonseca  twirls for AuditionShelli Johannes-Wells applauds The PledgeBeth Revis interviews The Girl of Fire & Thorns author Rae CarsonCarolina Valdez Miller delves into The Future of Us – with signed book giveaway Shana Silver shouts out about Shut Out Sarah Frances Hardy fancies You Will Be My Friend

Is it really "who you know?"

It's sort of a running joke amongst my friends that I "know everybody" in publishing. And while I definitely do NOT know EVERYBODY, it is true that between blogging and WriteOnCon and all the signings and conferences I go to, I have met and gotten to know quite a few people in the industry.

But the funny thing is, sometimes people think I have a reason for meeting so many people and taking the time to get to know them. You know that old saying: it's not who you are, it's who you know? Yeah... some people seem to think I'm on some dauntless "networking" quest to make as many connections as I can to get ahead in the industry. Which could not be further from the truth.

Here's the thing. I know there are stories of people who got their agent / book deal/ awesome blurb / whatever because they were friends with somebody who recommended them to somebody else and all the stars and planets aligned and viola! Insta mega-success!!!

It does happen. I'm not going to say it doesn't.

But...  just because it happens doesn't mean that's what you need in order to reach any level of success.

That's the thing I hate about those stories. They make people start to think: that is the only way I am ever going to get published--I NEED SOMEONE TO RECOMMEND ME!!!! 

When really? That's just one kinda rare, kinda flukey path to success.

Plus, even if you DO get someone to recommend you to an agent or an editor, you still won't get a book deal if you don't have a great book to sell them. It doesn't matter how much they like you (or how much they like the person recommending you). If they don't like your writing they aren't going to pay you for it.

And if you DO have an awesome book, you know what? An agent is going to want to represent it and an editor is going to want to buy it and an author is going to want to blurb it and readers are going to want to read it--because the book is awesome, and people love awesome books. Even if you don't know ANYONE.

I know that might sound oversimplified. And I know there are amazing authors and books that sometimes get overlooked. And I know rejection SUCKS, and we all wish we could find some secret fastpass to success without having to go through querying Hell and submissions Hell. And I know there are just enough stories of people who do just that by "knowing someone" to keep the dream alive. But... I really wish I could get people to understand that it's NOT all about who you know. I promise you, it's not.

Spend your time, effort, and energy worrying about making your book the best it can be, not worrying about how you can meet So-and-so or have So-and-so read your pages and have them recommend you to Important-Publishing-Person-X. You don't need to do that--not if you have a great book. And let yourself believe that your work is good enough to be published without any inside connections helping you along.

Being published really is a dream ANYONE can reach--if you're willing to put the time and effort into your craft. Don't be afraid to let your writing stand for itself.

You have all the tools you need to reach your dreams--without any "cool friends" to help you along the way. Believe that. Then don't give up while you work toward getting there.

Do that, and you WILL get there. I promise promise promise. You WILL.