Sandy Hall celebrates her second novel, Signs Point to Yes, and channels the Magic 8 Ball to reflect on her journey to publication.
‘My Journey to Publication, as told through Magic 8 Ball answers,’ by Sandy Hall
“Most Likely.”
It all started with fanfiction. No seriously. I got really into fanfiction, started using Tumblr, and started writing my own fic. If any one of those things hadn’t happened I might not be where I am today.
“As I See It, Yes.”
Thanks to spending so much time on Tumblr, I learned about Swoon Reads. I saw a post linked to an interview that Jean Feiwel had done with Huffington Post and started researching what Swoon Reads was. And if maybe, it might have been worth writing something for the site.
“Cannot Predict Now.”
Unfortunately, I didn’t have a manuscript ready to post. I was working as a teen librarian at the time and I was trying to think of types of books I knew I didn’t have a lot of in my collection. Young Adult books about your first year of college were few and far between at that point, and I knew I’d personally never read a love story written from fourteen different points of view. And that’s how A Little Something Different was born. But there was still a ways to go to publication.
“Don’t count on it.”
From the time I put the manuscript up on the website until it was selected for the first list, I became nearly obsessed with checking my comments and ratings on the site. It was the first thing I would do in the morning and the last thing I would do before bed. It all seemed so possible. But also kind of seemed as likely as winning the lottery.
“It Is Certain.”
Having my manuscript picked up by Swoon Reads had the approximate feeling of Ed McMahon knocking on my door with one of those giant checks. That’s the kind of elation I felt when I found out.
“You May Rely On It.”
The elation lasted for a fairly long time. Everything felt sort of surreal and like I wanted to pinch myself on a daily basis. I was swept up into a world I only vaguely understood. Book tours and advanced copies and launch events. It was a great time, that honeymoon period.
“Without a Doubt.”
Then it got even better when Swoon offered me a SECOND BOOK CONTRACT! It’s the kind of thing you can’t imagine happening to yourself until it actually does. It was a dream come true.
“Outlook Not So Good.”
It was a dream come true, until I actually started writing that second book. My ideas were all over again, my drafts were a mess, my characters too flawed or flimsy to be real. I worked on those early drafts on Signs Point to Yes for so long I honestly started to believe it might never be a “real book.”
“Concentrate and Ask Again”
For a while, my life was just drafting and redrafting. A definite low point after so much wonderful for so long.
“Signs Point to Yes”
But now I sit, book in hand, and it feels like things worked out perfectly. By the time we ironed out the issues in Signs Point to Yes, it turned in a book I love with characters I adore. I supposed every author feels like that about their books, but I’m awfully proud to call this one my own.
Signs Point to Yes by Sandy Hall is available today from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and your local independent bookstore.
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