Announcement
Mar. 20th, 2014 05:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grav_ityA year ago tomorrow, I was on the phone with Secret Agent Man, and he said "I think it will be easier to sell if there is romance which, knowing you, will be slightly unconventional."
I was, at the time, writing something that I was pretty sure was unpublishable. Again. And, as it turns out, I was incorrect. Again.
The week before OWEN came out, Secret Agent Man was in New York, and even though he was there on separate business, he said he got a lot of questions about if I had anything else, given the response that OWEN got pre-pub. We talked, and decided that I would use my writing retreat to do proposals (which is why my plan went from "napping and cookies" to "write three proposals and edit 100K", by the way), and then he would go out with them starting March 10, with a reply deadline of April 4.
On March 10, Josh sent the proposal for A THOUSAND NIGHTS (aka "Desert Stories") to pretty much everyone. By March 11, he had emails from editors saying they loved it. On March 12 he had calls saying that houses were working around the acquisitions boards to try and make their offers as soon as they could. On March 12, he got a couple preempts (which houses put out to prevent the book going to auction), and on March 13, he decided we should have an auction.
The auction was yesterday. It was, in a word, bizarre. It was also very difficult, because EVERYONE WAS SO NICE. (It was kind of like the day someone discovers all your fanfiction and leaves reviews on every chapter of every piece you've ever written, except with money attached.)
In the end, I am very, very happy to announce that I have signed with Hyperion for two books, A THOUSAND NIGHTS, plus another title TBD. This is ridiculously good news for me, and I wanted to share it with all of you because, well, you know. *hugs*
You can read the announcement in Publishers Weekly here, but I'll copy in what Secret Agent Man wrote originally, because it's much more DRAMATIC. ;)
In a heated auction with 8 publishers participating, Emily Meehan at Disney-Hyperion has acquired North American publishing rights to dazzling new talent Emily Kate Johnston's A THOUSAND NIGHTS. Set in the harsh deserts of the Middle East, this dark, evocative YA fantasy tells the story of the unbreakable bond between sisters, and the dangerous magic that love and the will for survival can create. It's a story that would not be out of place if Scheherezade herself were telling it...and perhaps she is. Johnston is the author of THE STORY OF OWEN, which debuted earlier this month and already has 3 starred reviews. Publication is scheduled for Fall 2015. Josh Adams at Adams Literary handled the 2-book deal.
I was, at the time, writing something that I was pretty sure was unpublishable. Again. And, as it turns out, I was incorrect. Again.
The week before OWEN came out, Secret Agent Man was in New York, and even though he was there on separate business, he said he got a lot of questions about if I had anything else, given the response that OWEN got pre-pub. We talked, and decided that I would use my writing retreat to do proposals (which is why my plan went from "napping and cookies" to "write three proposals and edit 100K", by the way), and then he would go out with them starting March 10, with a reply deadline of April 4.
On March 10, Josh sent the proposal for A THOUSAND NIGHTS (aka "Desert Stories") to pretty much everyone. By March 11, he had emails from editors saying they loved it. On March 12 he had calls saying that houses were working around the acquisitions boards to try and make their offers as soon as they could. On March 12, he got a couple preempts (which houses put out to prevent the book going to auction), and on March 13, he decided we should have an auction.
The auction was yesterday. It was, in a word, bizarre. It was also very difficult, because EVERYONE WAS SO NICE. (It was kind of like the day someone discovers all your fanfiction and leaves reviews on every chapter of every piece you've ever written, except with money attached.)
In the end, I am very, very happy to announce that I have signed with Hyperion for two books, A THOUSAND NIGHTS, plus another title TBD. This is ridiculously good news for me, and I wanted to share it with all of you because, well, you know. *hugs*
You can read the announcement in Publishers Weekly here, but I'll copy in what Secret Agent Man wrote originally, because it's much more DRAMATIC. ;)
In a heated auction with 8 publishers participating, Emily Meehan at Disney-Hyperion has acquired North American publishing rights to dazzling new talent Emily Kate Johnston's A THOUSAND NIGHTS. Set in the harsh deserts of the Middle East, this dark, evocative YA fantasy tells the story of the unbreakable bond between sisters, and the dangerous magic that love and the will for survival can create. It's a story that would not be out of place if Scheherezade herself were telling it...and perhaps she is. Johnston is the author of THE STORY OF OWEN, which debuted earlier this month and already has 3 starred reviews. Publication is scheduled for Fall 2015. Josh Adams at Adams Literary handled the 2-book deal.
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Date: 2014-03-20 09:29 pm (UTC)This requires....
also
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Date: 2014-03-21 12:11 am (UTC)And also, you know, EVERYTHING ELSE. :)
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Date: 2014-03-20 09:39 pm (UTC)EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
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Date: 2014-03-20 09:55 pm (UTC)I can't wait to buy these, too!
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Date: 2014-03-21 12:16 am (UTC)And she basically just dropped the phone so she could use both hands to claw at the deal until she had it.
It was overwhelming, and still is, but now that I've settled down a bit, I'm just REALLY HAPPY.
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Date: 2014-03-20 10:43 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2014-03-20 11:04 pm (UTC)(also I gave the dragon book to the kiddo yesterday and he seems really interested in reading it!)
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Date: 2014-03-21 12:17 am (UTC)(Let me know what he thinks! Unless he hates it!*) ;)
*that's the standard disclaimer, btw.
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Date: 2014-03-20 11:25 pm (UTC)*twirls you around*
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Date: 2014-03-20 11:50 pm (UTC)(edited as my getting ready and trying to figure out how to pitch to agents phase got hold of me, but this announcement is about glee for you so ignore it if you read it)
Still so freaking happy for you!
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Date: 2014-03-21 12:19 am (UTC)(And I am always happy to give advice. Or at least tell you how I did it, which may or may not be useful to you.) ;)
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Date: 2014-03-21 03:29 am (UTC)I am so very excited for you! Congrats! :D :D
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Date: 2014-03-22 12:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-03-21 05:23 am (UTC)I'm so happy for you, Kate! :D *hugs*
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Date: 2014-03-21 07:19 pm (UTC)SQUEE!! This is awesome news, my dear! I can't wait to get to read those ones too!
*hugs*
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Date: 2014-03-22 12:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-03-21 10:41 pm (UTC)omg you are amazing i'm so happy for youuuu <3
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Date: 2014-03-22 12:47 am (UTC)I AM SO EXCIIIIIIIITED (and, you know, TERRIFIED).
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