2022 Debut Authors and Their Publishing Daydreams
2022 Debut Authors and Their Publishing Daydreams
As an aspiring author myself (working on my second manuscript, with one discarded manuscript buried deep in the rhetorical drawer) I know all too well about aspiring author day dreams. But I want to hear from those of you who made it - those of you who give us hope - the 2022 debut authors.
Robert Gwaltney
After a local author visited my classroom when I was in the third grade, my desire to become an author was ignited. For the last 17 years I have engaged myself in the Atlanta literary community: taking classes, actively writing, and participating in a small critique group. My greatest dream--to become a published novelist began to form two years ago when I secured literary representation. The journey has been a long one, and in October 2021, I was offered a contract to publish my debut novel, The Cicada Tree, which will be released February 22, 2022. Seeing my book trailer and my book cover come to life have been two of the greatest thrills of my life. And I look forward to the day that I can engage readers and discuss my novel with book clubs. My head--it has always drifted in literary clouds.
Mazey Eddings
Of course, like every author, I entertain daydreams about making it on bestseller lists or being published in other countries, but those things feel very elusive and are largely based on sales and numbers. One goal that always makes me giddy at just the thought is to inspire fan art! To me, there is nothing more incredible than creating art that inspires/spurs more art. The reading community is so clever in how they create fan art, and it always makes me smile to see different imaginings of characters and scenes of favorite books be recreated. I'd love to write a book that touches someone enough that they transform it to a different medium; I think that's such a beautiful thing. Another dream is to be someone's favorite book. I'm neurodiverse, and write characters with various neurodiversities and mental health struggles, so to make a reader feel seen and loved and create a book that they return to time and again would be the highest honor.
Jennifer Fawcett
My dream was - IS - to walk into a bookstore - preferably Prairie Lights which is in Iowa City and stocked full of amazing books by decades of Iowa Workshop authors, or the Strand, or Powells - but really any bookstore, and to see my book displayed with those handwritten cards written by people who work at the store talking about how they love the book. I read those cards. I have found some beloved books because of those cards. Now I want to be on one of them.
Aimee Hoben
I’d love to see my book challenge people’s underlying assumptions about the role of corporations in the world. And a NYT review that isn’t blisteringly bad!
Eileen Brill
Naturally, I was excited at the thought of seeing my book in local bookshops. I imagined making the rounds at book groups and doing readings at a variety of events (always live in my post-pandemic imagination). But, I also fantasized that the novel would be adapted as a Netflix miniseries, because I actually think the story lends itself to that format. And, being a Philly gal, the prospect of being interviewed by Terry Gross has fueled my fantasies throughout the process.
Carleton Eastlake
Great reviews, my name in lights outside our local surviving Bookstar (a converted movie theater, it actually has a marquee) are all day-dreamed means to achieving the more ambitious dream that the topmost level of my work - the icing on the cake, the amusing adventures of two people in love on a TV location in Florida - will entertain readers so vividly that they are drawn into wider engagement and discussion of the deeper layers of the work that focus on the often hidden influences of bonding love, power-seeking, fantasy, and conflicted consciousness on our lives.
Amy Tector
My daydreams don't usually involve gorgeous book covers, fabulous launch parties or even New York Times bestseller lists. When I allow myself to daydream about author success, I think about time. I imagined myself receiving that huge advance check and princely royalty payments (ha ha!) and being able to devote myself to writing full time. I see my days stretched out in a peaceful routine of early morning meditation, followed by a breakfast of homemade muesli and a cup of green tea and then four or five hours blissfully devoted to writing, before a cleansing walk (or "forest bath") through the woods and a cozy evening in with my family. I know that day dream is just that, a fantasy, not only because the paycheck from novel-writing just won't cover it, but because meditation, green tea and forest baths don't fit into the reality of fulltime work, tween-age angst and my need for caffeine and chocolate. Still, the dream is beautiful.
Adele Myers
Seeing my book in the window of a book store is my number one author day dream.
Kimberly Garrett Brown
I always picture myself standing in front of a large audience at a bookstore or a school auditorium, reading a selection from my novel and talking about the Harlem Renaissance. Then I answer questions about my writing process. I'm wearing some really cute jeans and a black leather jacket with a white t-shirt under it because it reminds me of one of my favorite characters.
Maggie Giles
When I was in the querying trenches my inspiring day dream was being able to walk into a local bookstore (or any bookstore for that matter!) with a pen in hand so I could secretly sign copies and put them back on the shelf to surprise any potential buyers! I loved the idea of someone picking up my book and finding out it's been exclusively signed by the author.
Caron McKinlay
The thing about day dreams is that they change and develop over time. Nasty little devils daydreams.
One day you might be dreaming about a pink scooter with streamers - like the one the little girl next door has. And then in the blink of an eye it's a red mini cooper. I don't have either of those things, by the way, but it is the same for writing.
When I first day dreamed of being a writer I simply wanted to write a book. Something I had dreamed of all my life but never thought I was good enough. Writers don't come from council estates and working class backgrounds. I didn't even know the trenches existed. Wow was I in for a big surprise.
Agents? Query Letters? Submissions? It was all a new lanuage and I was completely out of of my depth. When my book was finished - my dream changed - I would learn all I could and an agent would love my book and want to represent me. But I knew deep down it wouldn't be easy, I had read so many brilliant books, so much better than mine, that hadn't made it. I knew the statistics. And I knew my chances were pretty thin. After all, I wasn't even a real writer.
Those trenches were hard. I remember telling my husband I was drowning in a puddle of despair and to get me some ice cream and chocolate. He laughed and said "You are being stupid, it has only been four weeks since you started querying" I couldn't believe it - it had felt like four months and I had to check the dates of my emails to prove I wasn't being gaslighted! I think only those in the trenches can understand that stretching of time. Where minutes feel like hours and days feel like weeks and still there is silence. I had no room to dream of anything else but an email to prove my book was worthy. That's all I wanted.
I was lucky, the full requests came in and a brilliant agent did love my book. I was ecstatic for about ten minutes. My agent now had to get a publisher to love it. Enter the next day dream - a publisher was going to adore my book and offer a contract. It would be battled out at auction and result in a six figure number. I would be asked onto the Graham Norton show and chat with all the celebrities. Well not quite , but a deal did come through and I am truly happy and grateful. It is true, that it is a dream come true. But.
The day dreams do not stop. Now I dream of a beautiful book cover, of people liking my book, of five star reviews and of Nicole Kidman phoning me up because she wants to star in the movie version.
Most of all I day dream of not being a failure. Nasty little devil day dreams.
The Storytellers is published May 16th 2022 by Bloodhound Books
Three women trapped between life and death are forced to revisit their toxic past relationships to unravel a haunting truth..
Kelly Ohlert
The dreams have been a moving target. First it was the agent call, then the call from my agent that i'd gotten an offer. I would dream about both of those at night regularly. Then, it's been seeing the cover for the first time, and doing the unboxing and holding it in my hands for the first time. I think the most consistent dream though, has been seeing it on a bookstore shelf. Before I was even agented, i'd regularly take pictures in bookstores, pointing to the place in the shelves where my books would one day be. One more year to go!
Sandra L. Young
Living in Northwest Indiana, I nurtured my dreams in a sort of writing bubble because I hadn't discovered a local "tribe" that wrote in similar genres and shared my dream of publishing. Unfortunately, I wasn't yet aware of the awesome, dynamic, online author / reader community. So my hazy daydreams centered around having one of my books release through a traditional publisher to be read and enjoyed by my local community - and hopefully beyond. I queried out my first (favorite) book and got a few agent nibbles but didn't land one. So eventually I shelved it and worked on other WIPS. I stumbled onto the Women's Fiction Writers Association about three years ago and started making contacts and tapping into the valuable resources it shares to improve your craft in all ways imaginable, including a great critique forum. A year ago I went back to my first book and reworked it and dropped it into a pitch contest. To my surprise and delight, a small trad publisher wanted it, but I wasn't sure the company was the best fit, so I queried a couple more and they also offered contracts. I chose The Wild Rose Press because other WFWA members had good experience pubbing with them. In the meantime, I'm playing catch up on branding and social media and have launched a web site and established stronger presence and connections on Facebook, Twitter, and now on Instagram and Goodreads. My dreams definitely have grown to have DIVINE VINTAGE ripple out to a much broader audience among the crowded field of published works. I'm working on a strategic marketing plan with a coach to make the most of my early 2022 release. And I certainly haven't forgotten my local community, where I look forward to meeting readers at signing events, through book clubs, etc. It's an exhilarating journey as I keep learning and growing, pursuing every opportunity to present my novel with the best launch possible.
Tory Henwood Hoen
I think I’ve always known, on a cellular level, that I wanted to be a novelist, but it took me 35 years to work up the courage to go for it. The vision I always circled around was of myself answering the question: “So, what do you do?” The idea of being able to respond confidently that “I am a novelist”—and to really own that identity without apology—was the thing I dreamt of most often. Now that it’s happening, it still feels surreal. I also tend to daydream about an older version of myself ("Wise Tory") who is more established and confident in that identity, and I envision Wise Tory giving advice to aspiring writers who are just starting out. In this daydream, I'm swathed in cashmere and I’ve lived through many of my current questions into the answers, and now I’m helping others find their way. Writing may be a solitary activity, but as a community of writers, we are all in this together—even if we’re still in the daydreaming phase!
Megan Van Dyke
My dream has always been to walk into a bookstore (specifically the Barnes & Noble I visited all the time growing up) and see my book on the shelves. It still hasn't happened yet, but fingers crossed it will one day.
One dream that has come true is seeing the official publisher's marketplace deal announcement for my upcoming debut. I don't know why that little announcement meant so much, maybe it's the validation of many years of hard work finally coming to fruition, but it’s one of those moments I treasure.
Another author dream I’d love to experience is to see fan art of my characters. I can easily lose hours looking at art of my favorite fandoms, so the idea that someone might like my stories enough to draw them would be such a dream come true.
Maggie Smith
I dreamed of my launch party - all my friends and family gathering at Boswells, the fabulous bookstore on Milwaukee's east side, and I was being interviewed by Jacquelyn Mitchard, originally from Wisconsin and Oprah's first book club pick years ago. In my dream, I'd friended her on Instagram and we'd become social media buds and she agreed to fly back from the east coast just to help me celebrate! And of course hundreds of people showed up, so many we ran out of books and had to give out vouchers. And at the end of the evening, a reporter from the Chicago Sun-Times, randomly shopping at the store, gave me his card and asked if he could interview me.
Anita Kelly
A lot of them have already come true! Seeing my book cover was a big one, and the cover for my official debut, LOVE & OTHER DISASTERS, is more than I could have even dreamed. Getting DMs from readers who connected with my work, who felt seen or somehow moved by my characters. (This is, of course, the most important one.) Getting to do book events with authors I admire. One of the biggest things I couldn't have predicted in this journey is how generous and kind other authors are, even when they're super successful and you're just a baby in this whole business. It's a weird, vulnerable thing, writing and putting your work out there, and the support of readers and other authors means the world.
I also have a lot of little daydreams specific to my genre and interests: getting a pencil set made from my books by Kasee at Longhand Pencils! Getting my book spine on a romance book mug from Words & Kisses! Getting nominated for a Swoonie!
Then there are of course, the big daydreams everyone has: being a Book of the Month selection. Getting lots of starred reviews. Becoming a bestseller. None of those are things I need, but man, they'd be neat!
There are others too: being translated into other languages is a big one. Selling multiple printings of my book. Earning out my contract. Getting to do in-person book events and conferences. Being able to help boost other writers. Building an extensive backlist, and getting to write in different age categories and genres.
And of course, the ultimate: being able to write full-time. Which isn't a life that works for all writers (having other gigs is often good for our brains), but it's where I hope to be one day. All I really want to do is be able to keep telling stories, even if they're just quiet, simple stories that might not work for everyone, but that reach someone. That work for me.
Adele Holmes
Writing is as necessary to me as breathing air, but until 2016 it was relegated to hobby status . Then the world as I knew it seemed to crumble and make no sense. My anger at the rise of social injustice spurred me to think about making a difference with my written words. In 2017 I quit my day job to begin the process of wringing the words out of my soul that might do just that. In 2022 my debut novel, Winter's Reckoning, will be published. I dream now, as I did then, that the world might be a bit better--a bit more socially just--because of it.
Gabe Montesanti
My roller derby memoir, BRACE FOR IMPACT, was difficult to write in many ways. The book deals with my eating disorder and abuse—but it also details the deep friendships I made when I joined Arch Rival Roller Derby in St. Louis. When I was in the trenches of writing, imagining my derby friends encountering their story—our story—in published form kept me going. In the process of writing, I would often reach out to my teammates with a shared memory. “Remember the time you wrapped a pair of underpants around your head before practice?” I asked Nanny McWhee. Or, to Tutz, “Remember the time you wore an inflatable cow costume at our Halloween scrimmage?”
My roller derby mom, Taryn ItUp, provided perspective on more painful events, like the day I broke my leg on the track. She read miscellaneous chapters, offered feedback on excerpts, and came to all my readings, but I knew I wanted the book to be nearly complete before giving her the full manuscript. When the time came, she tore through the book in a matter of hours. She sent selfies: herself laughing, herself grimacing, and finally, herself crying. “You got it so right,” she told me.
Most of my teammates have yet to read BRACE FOR IMPACT, and I eagerly await the day they can hold it in their hands. The kind of community we built together deserves to be cherished and celebrated.
Amy Lea
When I was in the query trenches, my biggest author dream was for someone who looked like me to walk into a bookstore and see my book (with a cover depicting the main character - an Asian heroine) on the shelves and feel "seen." As someone who strolled the aisles of Chapters/Indigo as a young girl and rarely ever saw Asian characters on book covers, this prospect meant everything to me.
Anna Gracia
My dream is to see my book on a library shelf! And maybe see someone checking it out 👀
Priyanka Taslim
When I was querying and on submission, just imagining someone (my agent, an editor) calling to tell me that my book was going to be published would get me through a bad day, but some bigger things I daydreamed about were:
Getting to see Bangladeshi characters on my cover
Bangladeshi readers telling me they felt seen by my work
Readers caring enough to make fan-works
My parents walking through Target, seeing my book on shelves, and getting excited
Seeing it in bookstores and shelves
And sometimes I would dream REALLY big and picture what the casts would look like if there was ever a film
I still daydream! It’s one of the most fun parts of a big imagination!
Sunyi Dean
I wanted to make enough money from an advance to pay for my daughter to visit Legoland (she's a big Lego fanatic). I've had to sacrifice time with my kids over the past few years to get the book done, and I feel bad about that. I was also really broke for almost a decade, and couldn't afford to take her to places like that. I wanted to be able to finally afford something nice for her. Of course, the bigger issue now is whether it's safe to go with Covid running rampant! But we'll get there eventually.
Lillie Lainoff
My biggest author day dream was always that my book would mean something to readers. I wanted to give readers with POTS the opportunity to see themselves reflected in literature. I didn't have that opportunity when I was a teenager. So many POTSie readers have already told me that OFA means the world to them--and for me, that is enough. That is more than enough.
Elisa A. Bonnin
I've wanted to be an author since I was 8 years old. In the 20 years it took me to get my book deal, I would imagine my book on the shelves every time I visited a bookstore. I would find the place where the story I was currently working on would be shelved and would imagine seeing copies of my books there. I am so excited for that to become a reality.
