Family Member (FM): I heard about your book deal! Congratulations!
Me: Thank you. I'm excited.
FM: You're the next Harry Potter lady.
Me: You mean J.K. Rowling? (I say this while thinking, "If you can't remember her name how in the world do you think I will be THAT famous?)
FM: Yeah! Or that one Mormon mom who wrote Twilight.
Me: Stephenie Meyer.
FM: That's the one. So when is the movie coming out?
Me: *blank stare* *bursts out laughing*
I seriously thought the ridiculous comparisons to famous writers was just a joke, but apparently not. It's strange, these moments, to remember how the average person views what I have spent so much time immersed in. Most non-publishing people think I am now rich and poised to be some international success, and when I ask them to name ten YA authors they draw a blank after two or three. I guess I could get offended, but it's just so dang funny to me. It reminds me not to take stuff too seriously.
I have this same conversation on a weekly basis with different people. And I thought the SAME thing one time when they couldn't remember the author's name. Except I actually said it out loud and they laughed. Ha!
ReplyDeleteLol nice. People say this kind of stuff to me and I don't even have an agent yet, much less a book deal! Glad we can have a sense of humor about it.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice if, at some point in your career, you are compared more seriously to the "Harry Potter lady" or "that one Mormon mom." I hope you are.
ReplyDeleteHa! It's amazing how people think if you publish a novel, you must be rich!
ReplyDeleteIt's insane; it really is. The perception in the average person (even one who never reads) as to what it's like to get published is usually laughable.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, it would be awesome if some day some new writer made a blog (or whatever the "it" thing is then) post about how someone came up to her in church and said: "So you're the new invisible teen godfather lady..."
I'm still on subs but when I landed my agent and people found out, they had all KINDS of crazy misconceptions. They kept asking when my book was coming out. I kept saying, "Uh, that's not how it works! I still have to find a publisher." Oh and also, I write mysteries/thrillers in the vein of Karin Slaughter or Harlan Coben (names met with blank stares) but most people I talked to asked me if I'd be the next JK Rowling and Stephanie Meyer. I had to do a lot of "those are YA authors, I'm not targeting that market". And yes, I get a lot of remarks implying that I'm going to be rich beyond anyone's wildest imagination if I get a book deal. When I explain how small advances are and how little the author makes from the sale of a book, people literally do not believe me.
ReplyDeleteI always think "please do not jinx me, please do not jinx me" when someone does that.
ReplyDeleteI'm not even published and I've had similar conversations. Maybe I'm just arrogant, but I find it both funny and a tad offensive.
ReplyDeletePeople who know nothing of the publishing industry make me so frustrated. I'm still a teen, but how can they be so dumb! I have the same conversation over and over:
ReplyDeleteThem: So you're writing a book? That's so cool!
Me: Um, thanks. Lots of people start writing books. It's not such a big de--
Them: When's it going to be published?
Me: I don't exactly have a publi--
Them: But you're publishing it, right?
Me: That's not really my choice, since--"
Them: You totally have to publish it. It must be awesome. EVERYONE wants books by teenagers. You're a prodigy!
Me: That's actually untrue...
Them: What's it about anyway?
Me: *fed up* A girl. A tyrannical government. A rebellion.
Them: What's "tyrannical"?
And the conversation just goes downhill... I sympathize with you.
Congrats on being published! So, are your books written like that Blume lady? :) (just joking)
ReplyDeleteWAHAH! This is great. X) Congrats on the book deal! :D That's so exciting!
ReplyDeleteThat's hilarious! Because, of course, you know you've arrived when your book is made into a movie. It has nothing to do with actually selling the book itself or finding readers for it.
ReplyDeleteI still remember the time I made the mistake of telling my elderly neighbor that I was writing a novel. He advised me that all I had to do was get on the New York Times bestseller list and then I'll be set. I just thanked him and told him I'd see what I could do.
Give yourself some more credit! You're probably just that awesome!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how we get so caught up in the book world! I often forget people have no idea what I'm referring to, or that they don't know how long it takes to write and then publish a book. I agree that taking it with a sense of humor is the best plan. :)
ReplyDeleteSo when IS the movie coming out..? ;-)
ReplyDeleteOoh--I don't think I can name 10 YA writers, but please know that I think your posts are great and you probably will be the next J.T. Rocking. I mean J.K. Rowling. LOL
ReplyDeleteHow about being the first Natalie Whipple? ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt is funny though, how many people, especially family members we don't see often, assume about publishing. When my mum told her family about my book deal, one of my aunts asked her, in all seriousness, whether she'd be able to buy it since it was being published by an American company.
Ah yes. I've had a lot of people say, "You need to get your book published so you can retire."
ReplyDeleteRight. I'll do that.
I had a deeply mortifying moment when a group of strangers thought I WAS Stephenie Meyer. And I don't even have a book deal!
ReplyDelete