Happy Monday Secret Lifers! And also happy birthday to me :D
That’s right, I like you guys so much that I’m interrupting my birthday
festivities (which mostly consisted of binging on chocolate chip cookies and
episodes of Doctor Who because I know how to party) so I could write a sparkly
new blog post.
So I was lying around last night (also possibly binging on
chocolate chip cookies) and watching the clock out of the corner of my eye,
counting down the minutes until I was twenty-six, and my mind started to wander—as
it so often does—and I started thinking about where I was this time last year.
Book-deal-less, for one. I suppose that’s the main difference that’s relative
to the blog. Without a book deal and without any way of knowing if I would ever
actually reach that goal. As I recall, it was a bit of a bittersweet birthday
because of that—because for years, I’d always said my goal was “book deal by
twenty-five” (I have no idea when or how I decided twenty-five was “the” age,
but I had). And then suddenly I wasn’t twenty-four anymore. I’d missed my goal.
I was bummed.
But, I managed to remind myself before plunging into a pit of bottomless despair, I was also a long way from where I was when I turned
twenty-three. In the year between December 2, 2011 and December 2, 2012, I’d
finished two books, (finally) been offered representation from some insanely
awesome agents, and then began a fantastic working relationship with one of
said agents.
Oh, and then a few weeks after my bittersweet birthday, I
did manage to get that book deal. So I wasn’t too late after all.
Anyway, all of this had me thinking, last night, about where I’ll
be a year from today. My book will be on the shelf, at least, and I’ll
(hopefully) have more on their way to readers. Craziness. Of course, I have no
way of knowing, really, how it will all work out—all I know is that a lot can
happen in a year. And just because good things don’t happen according to
schedule doesn’t mean they aren’t waiting right around the corner for you. You just
have to keep moving forward, doing the best you can.
So on that note, I hope 2013 has been an
awesome year for all of you, but if not—take heart: you still have 2014 to make
it happen—whether “it” happens to be landing an agent, getting a book deal, or
anything else.
As for me, I’m off to eat more cookies. I’ll see you in
2014! (I can’t believe I’m already saying that. wut,)
Stefanie Gaither writes YA novels about killer clones and spaceships, with the occasional romp with dragons and magic-users thrown in for good measure. Said writing is generally fueled by an obscene amount of coffee and chocolate, as well as the occasional tennis and/or soccer break. She's represented by Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary, and her debut novel, FALLS THE SHADOW, is forthcoming from Simon and Schuster Books For Young Readers in 2014. You can add it on Goodreads here!
Or drop her an email at: stefanie.gaither@gmail.com
And also visit her website @: www.stefaniegaither.com
Happy Birthday! It's so awesome to see people around my age getting book deals and I can't wait to see your book on shelves, buy my copy, and support you and the handful of other young YA writers debuting next year! All the best!
ReplyDeleteAw, thank you! <3
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