21. Oh, Sh*t: A Writing Special
On my recent moments of realization, a wider array of new releases, the inspiring Abby Jimenez, and a book recommendation in which I deeply connected to the main character (and yeah, it's a rom-com).
I was inspired to write this one from a comment chain I had with Madeline on her wonderful post: writing “the end” on a first draft. She is such a wonderful person, and I have been loving her new Substack.
When I started writing my first draft, it was just for fun. That’s what I said to others and myself. I tend to minimize the importance of things to myself in order for the future failure to not hurt me as badly.
As you can imagine, I have many oh-shit moments. One of the most recent ones was hitting 100 subscribers on here. How genuinely insane that 100 people enjoy my writing enough to want to hear what I have to say, and to interact with me. It was an Oh, I’m really doing this moment. This is still so fun for me, but now I have expectations for myself and you all have them for me as well. It’s a bit more pressure if you will. But I’ve never been one to back down from a challenge (sometimes to my detriment).
It echoed through to my writing as well. I’m sitting at 32,000 words (!!), and for the first time, I am flowing with the writing. I feel it in my chest, my fingers can’t move fast enough, a smile never leaving my face. I genuinely have something special in front of me. My far-off dream - an idea that sparked a few years ago - is slowly taking shape in front of my eyes and within my brain.
So, I was unfortunately confronted with an oh shit moment again. Is this just for fun? Do I want to try to publish it? What would that take? Self or traditional? What is a query letter? Do I use a pen name? What do agents expect me to have? How long should I stay on this draft before moving on? What would this mean if go forward to publishing? Can I stick to the rest of this series? Will I be okay if people hate it?
When I tell you I have no idea what the publishing process looks like, I have no clue. I started research this week, and let’s just say I was a little shocked. How is it so hard to publish a book? There are so many books out there, and I have no clue how I haven’t heard a peep about the publishing process until this point in my life. There is also a lot of money you “should” spend on editing before querying agents or through self-publishing.
There are a lot of confrontations I need to have with myself. I’d be lying if I said I wrote the book with no intention to share it with others. I’d also be lying to myself if I said that this is one of my biggest fears: sharing something vulnerable with the world - sharing a peek inside my brain - and potentially having people hate it. Sunday Scaries!
What do I plan on doing? Keep writing. That makes me happy. I'll also do research on self and traditional publishing, subscribe to newsletters, listen to podcasts, and have some deep discussions with myself.
But at the end of the day, I know I will try because I'd regret letting this thread remain loose. I could never regret trying.
As always, there are a bunch of books releasing this week! I have been trying to find a wider array of releases, perhaps ones that we haven’t heard of in advance. So, if there are any new releases that you think I should discuss, please send them over!
Taming 7 (Boys of Tommen #5) by Chloe Walsh (Romance): April 16, 2024
A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci (Historical Fiction): April 16, 2024
The One that Got Away with Murder by Trish Lundy (YA Mystery): April 16, 2024
Essence and Ruins by Taylor Lynn (Fantasy): April 16, 2024
Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao (YA Contemporary): April 16, 2024
The Finders Keepers Library by Annie Rains (Romance): April 16, 2024
Welcome Home, Caroline Kline by Courtney Preiss (Romance): April 16, 2024
The Beautiful People by Michelle Gable (Historical Fiction): April 16, 2024
The Study of Magic by Maria V Snyder (Fantasy): April 19, 2024
Books I’ve compiled from mainly the NYT Bestsellers List, but also the B&N Top 100 and Amazon Bestsellers in no particular order. I’ve decided to simply add the books I haven’t before, since I’ve caught up to the new additions. If you’re curious, last week’s post can be found here.
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez (Romance)
Table for Two by Amor Towles (Short Stories)
The Rule Book by Sarah Adams (Romance)
City in Ruins by Don Winslow (Thriller)
She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica (Thriller)
The Husbands by Holly Gramazio (Magical Realism)
One by One by Freida McFadden (Thriller)
Personal Top Read from Last Week: Ready or Not by Cara Bradstone (Romance)
This romance author has skyrocketed in popularity over the last year. I have read most of her books, and I can understand why. It’s Abby Jimenez!
I had another moment of realization while researching Abby for this - she runs Nadia Cakes and I watched her win Cupcake Wars years ago! Talk about a full circle moment. Also, this woman is so inspiring. She started a bakery from her own home, proceeded to win several awards on the Food Network, and is now a multiple New York Times Bestselling author. She is a true inspiration, and I’m so glad someone like her has been able to influence masses of young women.
Today, I will just be focusing on her writing. Abby has written The Friend Zone, The Happy Ever After Playlist, Life’s Too Short, Part of Your World, Yours Truly, Just for the Summer, and wrote the short story Worst Wingman Ever. I had a phase this summer, if you will, and read every single one of her books besides Worst Wingman Ever. Yours Truly, Part of Your World, and Life’s Too Short hold special places in my heart. There is amazing anxiety representation, real life struggles, characters I deeply relate to, and just taking life by the reins. She has done an incredible job focusing on real problems that people go through in life - infertility, loss, mental health, incurable illness, and now the foster system, toxic parents, and prison in her newest release, Just for the Summer. I am reading it right now, and while I can’t relate to the main characters, I do feel for them deeply. I think that reading it and putting myself in their shoes is helping me to become a better, more empathetic person. She has a special way of making people feel heard, seen, related to. That’s why she has gotten so much well deserved recognition, and I truly cannot wait to see what she does next.
You can find Abby on her website, BookBub, and Instagram.
Just a reminder to submit any books you think others will love on the R&R page or to my email: thesundayreads@gmail.com!
Practice Makes Perfect (When In Rome #2) by Sarah Adams
This wasn’t a perfect book. But I rate it five stars anyway.
There aren’t many other characters I relate to as heavily as Annie. Introverted, some social anxiety, feeling like I have to fit a mold for my family. Bad dates? Check. And poor Will. He has been through it. But the way he cares for Annie is everything. He only wants her to be more of herself and spread her wings. The honestly between these two is everything.
I felt the pacing was off towards the end. And it was a bit drawn out - they both knew how the other felt.
This one is special because the author was able to create such amazing, lovable, relatable characters. I’d love a guy like Will, and Annie made me feel seen.
That’s all I have for today. Much love!
Izzy
I have never researched the steps to publishing a book, but I can imagine it would be quite the process! I love reading your Substack so I would definitely want to read a book you wrote!!
You might like Christine Riccio's book writing series on youtube. It's entertaining!