Hi Friend!

It's the end of September which means it's time for my little newsletter to appear in your in-box. Thanks for taking a couple minutes to talk books with me.

What's in this update:

1) A Book worth talking about

2) Learning to be an Author

A Book Worth Talking About:

Because not every book is a favorite and not every author is someone we love to read, sometimes the book worth talking about is to see what others thought of it.

This past month, I decided to try something with an author that I didn't really care for. A couple years ago, when it was first released and quite popular, I read The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. I thought it was pretty okay until the end and then, I really didn't like it at all.

This month, when I was searching for an audiobook, I came across another one of Michaelides novels, The Fury. I thought, maybe it was just the one book. Maybe I would appreciate a different form. The description read like something I would like.. and then I listened to the whole thing (although I wanted to stop a few times through). And at the end, decided that I really didn't like that one either.

Is there an author or book that others around you seem to love, but you didn't really? What was it you didn't like?

Learning to be an Author

On Sunday night, I was talking with a group of students. I was trying to help them understand all that goes into wanting to be someone who writes excellent, well-loved books. I mentioned that I listen to podcasts and read books and think about writing a lot. I also have to put my butt in the chair and write words on paper, and then give it to others to read. Not to mention, that right now, I'm learning how to do marketing. It's a lot. A few minutes later, a student raised her hand--"wait, Sammy, you have to read books on writing?"

Right now, I'm reading "Dear Writer" by poet Maggie Smith. It's fun short essays about all different aspects of writing, like creativity and play and good endings and how to begin. It's fun to read about writing, especially from great authors. Do you have a book on craft (writing or something that you love) that you could share with me?

On a writing front, I'm doing a final pass-through of edits for my current YA novel, Rules of Survival. (I thought it was going to be a Middle Grade book for 8-12 year olds...but I think it's for slightly older kids and kids at heart.)

Between you and me, I am wondering if I am an author for the traditional market (with agents and publishing houses and such) or if I am an author for the indie/self-published market. And I'm not sure how to make that decision. There are pros and cons to both paths. But the market (everywhere) is crowded. And I'm not quite yet sure where I fit.

I'm really glad you're here. I've been doing a lot of hard marketing work lately--and knowing I'm talking directly to people (many of whom I can picture--Hi, friend!) is really encouraging to me. I'd love to hear about your books you didn't love or what you've been reading lately. Feel free to respond to this email. I work hard to answer every email I get.