Malinda Lo
Blog
Sep 14, 2010
One year later …
It’s been a little over a year since Ash was published (I can’t believe it! It went so fast!), and over the past few days I’ve been thinking about what I’ve learned in my first year as a published novelist. This post, then, is my long, navel-gazey account of those lessons.
I did a lot of publicity and promotion around the publication of Ash. I went to ALA, NCTE, the World Fantasy Convention, did a number of bookstore appearances in the Bay Area, and several school/library visits on the East Coast. This was in addition to all the online promotion I did: a ton of book blog Q&As, many guest blog posts, a few contest giveaways, and general daily existence in social media. Some of these events were organized by my publisher, and some were organized by me or other authors I know. After all that, here’s what I learned:
In-person events
1. In bookstore appearances, less can be more. Last year, I said yes to every bookstore invitation I got, which was great because I got to meet a lot of booksellers. But let’s be honest: I was a debut author without a lot of readers (yet!). That meant that sometimes I did events where only one or two readers came. It was nice to meet them, but that’s not an ideal event for an author or a bookstore. In the future, I’ll probably only do one or two book events in any geographic area.
2. Connect with my community. I absolutely adored meeting queer teens at the high schools/community centers I visited. I would love to do more of that in the future. These events were so inspiring and affirming that they didn’t feel like promotion at all; they felt like connecting with my community.
3. Join forces with other authors. I did a number of group events with other debut authors last year and really enjoyed them. They gave us a chance to hang out together and support each other, even if not that many people came to our table in the bookstore. I’m definitely planning to do more group stuff in the future.
4. Be more selective overall. On the down side, travel and online publicity really eats into my writing time, and I’m getting to a point where I’m having to be more selective about what I say yes to. This is actually torturous for me! I want to say yes to all book events/invitations! Unfortunately, if I did, that would mean I’d never write another book, and since the definition of “author” is pretty much “one who writes (and finishes) books,” it looks like I’ll have to suck it up and say no sometimes.
The internet can be a blessing …
One of my biggest sources of support in the past year (other than my partner, Amy) has been the online writing community, especially the 2009 Debutantes.
When I quit my day job in September 2008 to write full-time, I purposely went online to find an internet community for YA writers. I knew there must be one (I didn’t know there were so many), and what a fantastic community I’ve discovered. I joined the 2009 Debutantes in January 2009 knowing none of them, and now, over a year and a half later, I’ve met at least a dozen in person, and some I email or tweet every day.
I’m aware that there’s a perception of YA authors as being cliquish, and I can see why that perception exists, but really, I don’t think it’s accurate. I think the internet has been an incredible way for previously isolated writers to connect with each other. Finally we have our own water cooler! I often think of these other authors as my coworkers. I know some better than others, but that’s always the case in any workplace.
If there’s one thing I wish, it’s that I had more opportunities to connect with more experienced authors, because I would love to learn from them. It was great to have a group of authors to go through my debut year with (the Debs), but as I move further into my career, I’m realizing there are so many things I don’t know. I wish there was an author mentor program or something! The good thing is, I think that as we move past our debut year, meeting more experienced writers occurs naturally.
If you are entering your debut year, I recommend that you find a debut community and join it — and then become an active participant in it. I firmly believe that you’ll get out what you put in. I also recommend that you read Ally Carter’s post on The Crazies, which should really be required reading for every person who signs a book contract for the first time.
… but the internet can also be a curse.
I started off my debut year swearing off reading blog reviews, and I’m happy to say that I’ve mostly succeeded. I still think blog reviews are valuable for readers, but not necessarily for writers. Sometimes I accidentally stumble on a review that basically tries to tear me a new one, and let me tell you, I thought I had a thick skin, but sometimes it’s just impossible to not feel slapped in the face.
That said, the vast majority of reviews I’ve read or been sent have been positive, or at least constructive in their criticism. Every time I read something negative about my book or me (yes, some of these things are bizarrely personal, even if they don’t know me personally!), I remind myself of this cartoon:
And then I force myself to leave the computer until I’ve calmed down. Because I think it never serves the author to respond heatedly to negative criticism of her work. The work is out there. It stands or falls on its own. I tell myself this repeatedly. I figure eventually I’ll totally believe it. 
I’ve also asked Amy to subscribe to my Google alerts (I haven’t read them in a long, long time), so that I lessen my chances of accidentally stumbling on a one-star homophobic review on Amazon. (Although, honestly, I find those more hilarious than hurtful.) Every once in a while I discuss the Google alerts with Amy, and she tells me about general trends in the internet chatter about me or my book.
She also forwards me links to pirated copies of Ash, which I forward to my publisher. I have to admit I did not expect that my book would be pirated — I mean, it’s available for free at the library! But as e-books become more popular, I think book piracy will rise, and we need to figure out ways to raise awareness about how it is illegal.
One thing I do allow myself to do is check my Amazon rank. Why? Because I have no idea what it means, and I find it kind of like staring at tea leaves. It immediately reminds me that I have no control over so much about the publishing business, which is actually kind of liberating. The only thing I have control over is:
The Writing
A year after Ash was published in hardcover, I’ve written and revised another novel (Huntress, coming in April 2011), my first short story in 15 years, and I’ve started a secret project (aka Blue Book) that so far has been one of the easiest things I’ve ever written! I fully expect it to grow legs soon and start running away from me, but for now, I’m enjoying it.
Every once in a while, I look up from what I’m doing and think: Oh my God, I am actually a full-time novelist. Whoa!
This is the job I’ve wanted to have since I learned how to write. I have dreamed of this career my entire life, and recently it’s seemed particularly bizarre and amazing that I’m doing it. On some days, the writing flows so smoothly I could practically get high on it. On other days it feels like pulling my hair out. But any day when I get to write is worth it.
All that promotion, publicity, Google-avoiding and Amazon-gazing — all of that is in service of the days when I can get up, sit down at my desk, and make up more stuff. It is the strangest, most ridiculous, most amazing job I’ve ever had. My goal, for the rest of however long I get to have this career, is to enjoy the writing. Period.
This was really informative. Sounds like you had a good year and have many more good writing years to come! Happy writing!
This is an excellent post. It’s only been about seven months since my debut, but I’d echo lots of what you say here. Especially the parts about the blessing & curse of the internet, except that I might have to add something about Twitter (which is both blessing and curse itself!).
Your productivity this year is impressive, too!
This is an excellent, informative post. I hope I can take your advice in a year or two.
A great and informative post–I love how clearly you’re always able to lay our your thoughts! And congrats on your first year!
Great post, Malinda. I echo your thoughts on bookstore events. For debut authors, the results can be disappointing and humbling. I’ve done a couple of group signings where the writers outnumbered the audience. They’re my least favorite events, honestly. On the other hand, my favorite events involve meeting groups of teens, especially the ornery and disinterested ones because they give me the chance to use my old teaching muscles to pull them into the conversation.
Those are some excellent lessons you learned, and thanks for sharing them. I especially like that you have your partner follow the Google alerts. Though I’m sure it hurts her to see criticism of your work, she has a step between her and the writing that makes her more objective. She must be a great support if she can curate all of that for you without it affecting her too much (I’m assuming).
I hope you don’t mind that I’ll be “borrowing” that idea when I’m finally published. It’s the wisest approach for me because it would kill me to never read feedback, but I also don’t want to inundate myself with negativity.
Congrats on your first year! Wishing you many more successful ones to follow.
Wow! Thanks so much for sharing some of what you’ve learned! I can’t believe it’s been a year! I wonder if when I finally get published it’ll pass so quickly for me… I’d never considered things like saying yes or no to bookstore signings etc. At this juncture, such things are inconceivable to me.
Speaking of saying yes to things… you’re still coming to Sirens aren’t you? I must admit that I’m chewing my fingers off in anticipation of the conference. It’s going to be so much fun!
I love how zen you seem about it all. I wish I had the strength not to read reviews. I love the idea of having your partner see the Google alerts. But I don’t know if my will is strong enough. Time will tell. Thanks for this post. As a debut author, I found it fascinating!
Great post! It sounds like you have a good first year. I loved Ash and can’t wait to read Huntress. Today, I looked at the authors list for YALSA’s YA Lit Symposium, and I was very excited to see your name listed. Do you know what panel(s) you’ll be on? I want to be sure that I get to see and hear what you have to say.
Also, any chance that I might be able to pick up an ARC of Huntress?
My productivity may sound more impressive than it really is.
I was working on Huntress for a good 9 months before Ash was published. But in the last year I basically entirely rewrote it (it was, I think, the hardest thing I’ve written).
Oh yes, I can’t wait for Sirens! That’s something I signed up for before I decided I needed to cut back, LOL. But I’m definitely looking forward to it.
I’ll be at the YALSA preconference on LGBT YA literature, and then I’m moderating a panel on diversity and commercial success during the actual conference. I don’t know if ARCs of Huntress will be available at the YALSA symposium, but you’re welcome to contact Little, Brown (info on my contact page) and request one. I know they’re not available yet, but will be later this fall.
Malinda – great post! From the other side, I can only say we really enjoyed having you read at SF in SF, and would be delighted to have you back when HUNTRESS comes out. I loved ASH as soon as I read the ARC, and I’ve enjoyed having conversations about it with others at conventions too. It does mean that audience will be interested in seeing what else you do, and I know I’m looking forward to it.
Great post!
I’m reading Ash right now (thank you, btw!) and I’m enjoying it. I’ve seen reviews of books where the reviewer bashes the author and I always skip those and I think authors should too. There’s no reason for someone who’s reviewing your book to bash you, as a person.
I wish you much success in your future projects!
Great post Malinda! I’m reading Ash now and really enjoying it–I like to think it was waiting on the shelf for me at my favourite local bookstore. It’s interesting to see the way you manage to balance productivity with keeping in touch online about what you’re working on.
I realize that this is an older blog post, but I just wanted to tell you that I picked up “Ash” at my local bookstore yesterday and read it because I have an insatiable love for fairytales, fairytale re-writes and the fairy myths in general.
I found your book to be absolutely lovely. I actually didn’t realize when I started the book that there would be a lesbian theme but I thought it was beautiful! I think anyone who is lucky enough to find the person who ties them to the world is extremely lucky and it doesn’t matter who (or what gender!) they are.
I loved the portrayal of the fairies and how they long to mimic the life they aren’t a part of. The insight into their fairy rings was really awesome!
Beautiful story! And as a straight girl with a constantly growing LGBT friend base, I think that everyone can relate and enjoy “Ash” and that one of my lesbian friends in particular is going to ADORE this book!
Thanks for your comment! I’m glad you enjoyed the book. I always love to hear from straight readers who didn’t know Ash was going to turn out to be a lesbian Cinderella. I hope you’ll pass it on to your friend!
Also, “the person who ties them to the world” — I love this. A beautiful way to put it.