Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire
  • Mood: tired
  • Music: Counting Crows, "Four White Stallions."

Here's rosemary, for remembrance...

A year ago, I was in a state of low-grade panic because of the upcoming release of my first novel, Rosemary and Rue. Was it really going to happen? Would anybody buy my book? Was my book even worth reading? What if this was some sort of elaborate practical joke (admittedly, one pulled by someone who could afford wasting a book advance on fucking with my head)? What if DAW hated me? What if, what if, what if?

Six months ago, I was in a state of low-grade panic because of the upcoming release of my second novel, A Local Habitation. What if the first book was just a fluke? What if nobody liked Toby when she was less broken? What if everyone lost interest and went off to read something else, and my publisher dropped me, and my numbers were terrible, and my agent told me I should be a dishwasher or something? What if, dammit?!

Right now, I would be in a state of low-grade panic, but I'm honestly too tired to work up the flailing. An Artificial Night, the third Toby Daye book, is out now, and I would really appreciate it if you'd go out and buy a copy, assuming you haven't already. My reasons are legion: I really think it's the best book of the series so far, I really love it as a piece of work, and it's the last book on my original contract with DAW, so it would be nice if it went out with a bang. Like all authors, I worry vaguely about an unknown god known only as "the numbers," and I'm sure I want the numbers to look on me with grace. So that means book sales, and maybe, I don't know, sacrificing a pizza. I'll get on that.

I really love this book. I love the way it looks, I love the way it feels, I love the fact that it exists. It makes me feel like a real girl, because now I can look at my brag shelf and see three Toby books in finished form, all of them there, waiting to be opened. It's amazing. And still a little terrifying.

Release parties start next weekend. Fun for the whole family!
Tags: an artificial night, contemplation, release dates, toby daye, writing
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  • 151 comments

archangelbeth

September 10 2010, 22:50:01 UTC 6 years ago

It's out? Okay, between it and another one that I want, I gotta hit the bookstore. Hm. I should also pick up a copy for my friend who is having/has had a birthday roundabout now... And maybe one for my mom, d'ya think?

(Your agent would not tell you that you should be a dishwasher, I am sure! (Though, er, on the agent topic -- would 6 months of no response suggest that perhaps a query got eaten by a net monster? Or just that she's really really busy partying/marketing your manuscripts because she's got such an awesome author? Or that the query sucked so hard that it spontaneously self-deleted because it did not deserve to be near anything related to Toby and Feed? Totally don't bother even thinking about this if it's not a top-of-the-head sort of answer!!))

seanan_mcguire

September 11 2010, 00:16:25 UTC 6 years ago

Six months of no response does indicate loss of query. The Agent is generally much more responsive than that, especially where queries are concerned, even if it's only to say "I'm sorry, this is not for me."

archangelbeth

September 11 2010, 01:48:56 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you so very much. I'll work on a re-query in the morning. (And hopefully it was a net monster, and not spontaneous query-combustion because of proximity to Awesome. O:> )