Growing up, I always assumed that people who wrote books couldn’t possibly behave like most people I knew. Actually, I applied this assumption to anyone in the public eye: actors, politicians, musicians, even some of my own teachers. They were all doing Important Things, and I couldn’t imagine that they would ever get raspberry seeds stuck between their teeth or lose their keys or fart. They were above such things, and they probably had servants who were paid to fart for them.
During the course of writing TMI, I slowly began to realize that I becoming an author. An author who took out the trash and cracked her knuckles while driving (it’s a nervous tic) and ate too many cookies. A regular person. And suddenly, all of those people I’d lumped in the category of Doers of Important Things were far less intimidating.
So I emailed Catherine Gilbert Murdock to tell her how much I loved her first novel, Dairy Queen. I let John Green know that I thought An Abundance of Katherines was hilarious. And you know what? They both wrote me back! Like regular people. It was so refreshing.
Over the past few months, I’ve discovered ways to connect with writers and readers. I’ve gone to book signings and met E. Lockhart, Lauren Myracle, Sarah Mlynowski, and Stephanie Kuehnert. It’s so much fun meeting authors in person. I was all set to meet John Green this week at a signing for Paper Towns, but my daughter’s early bedtime conspired against me. Catch you next time, John.
The Internet holds a vast array of resources for writers, and I have been welcomed into the fold by several groups. I am now a member of:
The 2009 Debutantes (see my bio here), a site and LiveJournal community devoted to YA writers whose first novels are coming out in 2009
YA YNot? (see my page here), a networking site for lovers of all things YA
YA for Obama, a social network created by Maureen Johnson, author of 13 Little Blue Envelopes and other such awesomeness
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