When I last left off (click here to read Part 1), I had received my first book review for A Work of Art—a starred review from Kirkus Reviews. I was riding high, and then… Two months before pub date: Other reviews trickled in. I got a really good one from Booklist but a scathing one from another reviewer. Hmmm. Could it be that different people have different opinions? Reviews from book bloggers were mostly positive, but that painful review felt like a stab in the gut. Fear of negative feedback made me less enthusiastic about sending out ARCs (advanced reader...
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Yay! I’m having a book launch party! I wasn’t sure I was going to because throwing a book-launch party feels kind of like throwing a party for myself. But as my publicist told me, “Think of it as throwing a party for your book.” So, yay! I’m throwing a party for my book! And you’re invited! The official release date for A Work of Art is March 18 (a Wednesday), but I’ll be having my book party that weekend, on March 21. Since A Work of Art has an art theme, I’m holding it at the Coral Springs Center for...
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With less than three weeks before the release date of my debut YA novel (A Work of Art, Merit Press), I thought I’d start blogging about what the journey from contract signing to release date has been like so far. This first installment will be a recap from the time I signed the contract up until three months before publication. Zero to five months after signing the contract: I signed the contract in February 2014 with a release date of “Spring 2015.” I spent most of this time trying to guess what “spring” meant (is June considered spring?) and deflecting...
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As a debut author, getting your book reviewed is a big deal, so in the weeks after my advanced reader copies (ARCs) went out to reviewers, I’ve been nervously waiting, telling myself that if my book gets slammed, it’s just one person’s opinion, right? Well, I just got word that A WORK OF ART received a “starred” review from Kirkus Reviews! When my publisher told me, I had the same feeling as when my agent sold my book all those months ago—relief (since those Kirkus stars are hard to come by) mixed with validation. (Getting my book published wasn’t just...
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