Last Saturday I had the pleasure of attending KidLitCon, right here in my hometown of Baltimore, and presenting a session on “Connecting with Debut Authors” with Alyssa Susanna of The Eater of Books! blog. I wanted to give attendees a sense of the particular neurosis that is being a debut author, and that means making one thing crystal clear: the waiting.

Oh, the waiting.

To that end, I polled my fellow Sweet Sixteens, and eleven authors graciously agreed to anonymously share the timelines of major developments in the publication of their debut novels. You can find the entire PowerPoint linked at this post at Alyssa’s blog, but here are some of the averages from our completely unscientific sampling that might surprise you:

The moral is: if you wanted to be a published author, be prepared to do a lot of waiting.

News and Excitement

October 12, 2015News, Sword and Verse, Young Adult Fantasykathymacmillan

Lots of exciting things are happening for Sword and Verse! A couple of them:

1) Positive early reader response in the UK has led to the decision to put the book out in hardcover in the UK market, rather than waiting for paperback.

2) Just found out a few days ago that Sword and Verse will be released on audio! As someone who is concerned with accessibility, and as a lover of audiobooks, I am tickled pink!

Actual footage of me right now:

Sword and Verse Pronunciation Guide

September 18, 2015Sword and Verse, Young Adult Fantasykathymacmillan

Four months from tomorrow, Sword and Verse will be published! To celebrate, I have posted a pronunciation guide showing how to say to the names of the gods, characters, places, and story-specific words in the book. This is something that several early readers have asked for, so I hope others will find it interesting too! (And there are a few extra details in this guide that you won’t find in the book too!)

All the Buzz

August 21, 2015Sword and Verse, Young Adult Fantasykathymacmillan

For an author awaiting the publication of her debut novel, there are few things as thrilling as seeing other people – like, people who aren’t even related to her, even! – getting excited about her book. Here’s a big thank you to:

The Perpetual Page-Turner

YA Interrobang

The Eater of Books

Spellbinding Books

Thanks to everyone who has given love to Sword and Verse!

Bloggers, did I miss you? If so, post your link in the comments, and I will include your post in the next round-up!

GeekyCon Recap

August 12, 2015Authors You Should Know, On Life, On Reading, On Writingkathymacmillan

A couple of weeks ago I got to go to my first GeekyCon, and it was fabulous! I left the con and went directly to a camp in the woods, which is why I haven’t gotten to post about it until now. A week and a half after leaving Orlando, here are the moments that stuck with me:

1. Being incredibly proud of founders Melissa Anelli and Stephanie Dornhelm as they received a “Geek Day” proclamation from the Orange County Commissioner.

2. Watching my good friend Megan Morrison discuss topics such as likable protagonists and making old stories new alongside authors like Taherah Mafi, Ransom Riggs, Holly Black, and Cynthia Leitich Smith (all of whom, by the way, totally recognized Megan as a fandom authority).

3. Getting signed copies of books by Stephanie Perkins, Courtney Summers, and Marie Lu. I was pretty much tongue-tied and starstruck. (And getting to reread Stephanie Perkins’ Isla and the Happily Ever After at camp. It was even better than I remembered.)

4. This sign in the bookstore:

5. Co-presenting a session on fanfiction as a launching pad for original writing with my pal Megan, and reliving our shipping days.

6. Getting the map in the back of Megan’s book, Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel signed by mapmaker Kristin Brown.

7. The opening event at the Wizard World of Harry Potter. A bunch of Harry Potter fans having the whole place to themselves? It was awesome. And my son was chosen to be measured for a wand at the Ollivander’s Experience. I’m not sure who was giddier – him, or the superfan adults watching it all go down.