Tuesday Tidbits with Kari...it's Release Day!!!!

It's release day! I can't believe the day is finally here!

A year and a half ago my dream of finally becoming a published author came true when I sold THE SAMANTHA GRANGER EXPERIMENT: FUSED, and now book one is finally out today November 2nd.

I wrote this book because we live in an age where society is obsessed with technology. I have four children ranging from pre-teen to full-blown teenagers, who constantly carry around and play with their gadgets, generally driving me crazy :-) So one day I jokingly said, "If you guys don't watch out, you're going to turn into one of those machines!" and voila...Samantha Granger was born.

Here's the blurb for book one : When Samantha Granger touches a meteor while talking on her cell phone, her life is changed forever: her body now has all the capabilites of her phone (GPS, phone, text, camera, etc). She secretly calls herself a "Digital Diva" as she rushes to answer emergency calls. But will her identity be discovered when sparks fly (literally!) between her and Trevor, her dreamy crush? Samantha has to get a handle on her abilites and quick, because when Sam gets kidnapped and the entire town is in danger, she is the only one who can save them.

I remember being so excited, and admittedly, I still am. I thought over time, the goofy smile plastered across my face would lesson, but it really hasn't, which made me think of what I would say for today's blog.

For many of us the process of becoming published takes a very long time. It took me 14 years to sell a book. For a while I thought it would never happen, and I even considered giving up. This business is so hard to break into and is often more about luck and timing than anything else. So don't quit, because it CAN happen, you just have to hang in there and get smart about the way you approach the process. Really study the market, because anymore, it's all about the unique idea. What hasn't been done before? Find something "different" to write about, and you just might get your foot in the door.

Which leads me to the next part of this blog. Once you're finally in, the excitement builds until you're ready to explode. You go through edits, and you get this fabulous cover, and you get some awesome quotes, and you finally get a release date! That day becomes sacred, like an anniversary or birthday, etc. At least for me it did. My day was supposed to be November 1st. That is actually the official day, but then I found out that books are like movies. They usually come out at a special time. With my publisher, it's the first Tuesday of every month.

Well, I looked at my calendar the other day only to realize the first Tuesday was actually November 2nd. My editor went one step further and said even though they always ship on time, they have no control over when stores order or even put their books out on the shelves. To an author, this is agonizing! I thought release dates were firm. My book might be officially released on November 1st, but Barnes and Noble, for example, won't have it on their shelves until Tuesday November 9th! (unless it comes in early). EEEEK! It's been hard enough to wait a year and a half, so not knowing "exactly" when the books will be on the shelves at each store is agonizing for an author. Especially an author like me :-)

I have become a total spaz with my signed by author stickers and my bookmarks and my purple pen ready and waiting as I stalk the bookstores daily! So not pretty. I have a feeling this could be book number ten and I would still be acting this way. When a dream finally comes true, enjoy every second of it, people...

I know I am!!!!