Kiera Cass - Journal

The Selection Release Party!

2012-05-08T19:03:06Z

In life there are things you don’t turn down. Like the chance to eat cupcakes and wear tiaras. Therefore, I had a release party for The Selection. Now, release parties aren’t something that you have to do. For me, it was about celebrating, which is why my setup looks an awful lot like a birthday party. That’s pretty much what it was.

And it was awesome.

I had so many wonderful surprises that day, including friends unexpectedly coming in from out of town, Liz running around in a flaming red wig, and the line that seemed to go on and on of people wanting to pick up the book! But, I wanted to share with you the top three moments of the day:

Number Three: This guy drove up from Charlotte (about a three hour trek) to get a copy of The Selection signed for his wife who couldn’t make it. That chick is rad, and her husband is rad, and that made my day. It was humbling.

Number Two: Nothing makes me happier than to see a guy in line! Love to see the boys reading my books. So when this one guy came in, gushed all over me, and asked to get a picture together, I was totally stoked. And then, seconds later, he tried to walk out the door without paying for his book… I don’t know if he just spaced out or thought the books were free, but it was SO UNCOMFORTABLE telling him he had to go pay for it. But I’ll never forget it.

And Number One: I had lots of free things at the party. There were cupcakes for anyone passing by, tons of bookmarks, and I even gave away goodies at random to people coming in the store. But the one thing I wasn’t expecting to be taken was my décor. I threw a bunch of random teal and silver and white things in my bag, not knowing what I’d use when we set up. There was a lot of space in front of the cupcakes, so my mom put out these glass stones I had. After a few minutes of milling around the cupcakes, this older woman picks up the stones in her hands, looks and me and asks “Are these free?” I wasn’t sure what to do, so I just said yes, and she took a handful. Then, after walking away and deciding she hadn’t grabbed the right colors, she came back and switched some out. I was cracking up!

All in all, it was an awesome day, and the dedication of some readers along with the randomness of others made it completely unforgettable. I can’t thank the people who came out enough, or the wonderful gang at the Christiansburg Barnes & Noble for making the whole thing feel easy.

When I have a release party for Book 2, I’ll be expecting everyone to show up in ball gowns. Even the boys. So prepare yourselves.

How to Help

2012-04-23T21:14:04Z

Because y’all are pretty much rad, lots of you have asked how you can help The Selection do well. First of all, I’m blown away by how supportive you’ve all been! I mean, it’s one book out of thousands, and you could totally just let it exist in the world. That would be okay. But so many of you are crazy enthusiastic! Thank you! I’m slightly floored by you!

Since you were cool enough to ask, here are a few ways that you could help me (or any other authors you really like) promote their books.

Buy the book. I know it’s kind of obvious, but let me just go ahead and say it. I like writing books, and the way I get to do more of that is if you buy them. So, ya know, if you feel so inclined, go for it.
And be smart about how you buy. You can order it off of Amazon, B&N.com, or go to your favorite indie store if you’re lucky enough to have one nearby. In general, numbers from Walmart are totally ignored, so even if I sell a million copies there, the powers that be don’t notice it. If you’ve pre-ordered, that’s good, too. You’re probably already on the right track, but I thought I’d mention it just in case.
Tell your homies. If you enjoy the book, tell your friends about it. Word of mouth is still the best form of promotion, and that is entirely in your hands. So if you stayed up all night finishing it, don’t be shy about mentioning that to your BFF. And the people at your bus stop. And your dentist. Okay, well, maybe don’t be that creepy. If you know someone who would like it, let them know.
Write a review. Now, unless you’re a book blogger or a serious fan, taking the time to write an actual review might be too big a task to ask of you. I get that. So, here’s an alternative: like someone else’s review. It’s way faster, and just as good. If you hop over to Amazon, you can like one of these 5 star, 4 star, or 3 star reviews, depending on how much you enjoyed it. If you go to Goodreads (which you have to be a member to like reviews on the site), I would suggest this star-free and totally lovely review.
If you come to an event, support the store. This is just a courtesy thing. The stores are being kind enough to host me, so do me a favor and buy something from them to say thanks. If you’ve already bought The Selection, that’s cool. Get another book or buy a coffee or whatever. As someone who has watched all the bookstores leave her area, I’m totally for helping out the ones that are still around, especially the ones who are so helpful to me.

And, really, that’s pretty much it. Just your excitement up to this point has been so wonderful for me, and I appreciate it more than I can say. Tomorrow, The Selection will be out in the world, and you can go snatch it up. I hope that you do, and that you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it.

Seriously, guys, thank you.

Remembering

2012-04-16T13:53:36Z

This is a repost of a blog I wrote last June. It just feels like the best way to remember those we lost, be grateful for how we’ve grown, and acknowledge that we’re still moving forward without forgetting our past. I might be really sad at some point today, but right now I feel hopeful. And I think that’s good.

Thanks for listening.

June 5^th, 2011:

So The Wall Street Journal has written an article about darkness in YA. And they aren’t happy. It seems they rarely are, but whatever. In the wake of this, Miss Maureen Johnson started a hashtag #yasaves and has asked people to share how YA has saved them. My story needs a bit more than 140 characters, but here it is:

I live in Blacksburg, Virginia. If you’ve heard of this town at all, it’s probably in reference to Virginia Tech and our fantastic football team. Go Hokies!

But about four years ago, we were famous for an entirely different reason. A gunman opened fire on our campus killing 32 people and himself. It devastated the school as well as the town. If you don’t live here, it’s kind of hard to explain how integrated the two are, but they’re both fluid and impress upon each other.

This is my home.

At the time, my husband worked on campus, my best friend lived on campus, and since we go to a campus-based church, nearly everyone I knew was a student. Even as a townie, I lost someone I knew. It’s hard to explain just what this did to me, and I know I’m not alone.

At first, I kept busy and did okay, but as the year passed, I was emotionally unstable. I would cry if I tried to experience any emotion. I cried at Disney World, I cried in church, I cried doing anything. I started forgetting things, and poor Callaway was in a constant state of repeating himself. I stopped smiling. I remember that now, just how little I smiled or laughed.

In the fall, I caved and went to a therapist, and she helped me find some things to give me order and routine. That worked a little, but the thing that helped the best was something I stumbled into accidentally.

Just after the first anniversary of the shootings, I was like “That’s it. I’m just going to write a story and give my problems to a character and see how she deals with them, because I can’t anymore.” And I did. But I never finished that story. A few weeks in, I woke up with the idea that would become The Siren. I wrote every day for a month to finish that story, and after that the idea for The Selection and a bunch of other little stories were born and are waiting their turn to be told.

The Siren has language, a near rape, assault, and thoughts of suicide. And it saved my life. It was my path back to normal. The Selection (pending editing) will have some heavy issues in parts of the trilogy too. It’s just part of the story. But now, a year out from publication, it has become something amazing and is already making people excited, and every second of this journey is a gift to me. It’s saving me.

Maybe YA is dark sometimes, sure. But you know what? A few months ago when I sat down and read Jennifer Brown’s Hate List, I felt comforted. I’m glad someone wrote that story, because I needed to read it. I felt stronger when I was done. And I’m 30.

It’s okay to talk about the bad stuff because the bad stuff is out there. It makes us weirdos feel not quite so weird. The lovely thing about this country is the right to not read or listen to or watch things we don’t want to. It’s freedom. So I’ll write what I want, and I’ll be stronger for it, and if you don’t want to read it… don’t.

The Book!

2012-04-03T17:40:56Z

So last Friday, something awesome happened. I got two copies of the actual, final, real life version of The Selection. I woke up from a nap and there they were! I made Callaway film me, but because I was so drowsy from waking up… I just… I can’t even tell you how awkward it is. So, instead, here are some pictures of the final product, which you will be able to snuggle with in 3 weeks!

This is the book in its hard bound glory. Even though I've had the dust jackets forever, seeing it wrapped around an actual book is crazy! There's no ARC stampy thingy on the side. I'm in love!

This is what is waiting just under the cover. Isn't it lovely? It looks like a diary to me, which I'm totally nuts about. Perfection!

And, finally, this might be my favorite thing. Maxon, America, and May all write notes at different parts in the story. They each have their own handwriting now, and they're so perfect. I couldn't have picked them out better myself.

Another cool thing is that this copy has my acknowledgments page. Nice to see all the thank yous lined up and pretty. :)

After all this time, I can't believe it's right around the corner! I hope you guys love it!

10 things I do when I edit

2012-03-26T18:39:00Z

So this will probably be the most boring post ever, but with all my talk about flags in Book 2 of The Selection trilogy, I thought you might like to know how I edit.

In truth, so much of the work you do as a writer is editing. You only get it out of your head once. The rest is making it suck less until (hopefully) it doesn’t suck at all. I’m really lucky because I have an awesome team that will straight up tell me what sucks and will encourage me through the rest. But, at the end of the day, the job of making it pretty falls on me. Sooo…

Once I get my editorial letter and manuscript back, this is what I do:

I bind it. You might have noticed that I tweet from Panera a lot. That’s where I work. I don’t have a space to work in my house, and I’m terrified I’m going to drop it on the floor in public and just lose everything, so I have to have it bound.
I pick a pen. Erica does her edits in purple. I love this. And every time I come across something that she says to change, I check it off with a non-purple pen (usually a really bright pink) so I know I took care of it.
I whip out the sticky tabs. When I come across something, like a big picture detail from my editorial letter or a line that needs to change but I need to think about, I highlight it and put a flag on that page so I know to go back to it. For me, it’s dumb to waste time working straight through when an edit might take me 20 minutes to fix now… or 5 to fix later.
I make notes. You know how I said I bind my book? Well, sometimes that means I punch through Erica’s notes and have to ask her what she said. Or I see something in a totally different light than she does and don’t think it should be changed. Sometimes I keep another document open just for notes I’m making back to Erica, or I scribble them in the manuscript.
I go with my gut. From time to time I come to a section that might be cut or moved or rewritten so fixing what’s in them might be a waste of time. Or maybe I can’t work on what’s next because I think I know how to fix a big scene. If so, I drop the line edits and work on that.
I finish. No highlights, no flags, all the scenes in the right place, and all the notes worked in. Ahh.
I go through it again. I make sure all the edits have a check by them, or if I kept something a certain way, I make sure there’s a good reason. Often, I even get a new pen and check all the checks over. That’s just me needing to be thorough. This is also the time I make sure everything I could possibly get from the editorial letter into the book is done.
I read it again. I try to leave enough time to really read through the manuscript and make sure than anything I deleted or moved or added makes sense. Sometimes it doesn’t all work, and I have to write some more. I hate that.
I send it back. I’ve taken to labeling things “Selection 3.0” and the like so I can keep the rounds of editing straight, because there are SEVERAL. And I send my notes on anything important back with it.
I eat cake and wait. I know it will only be a few months until I have to read through my book again (Which is why you should always write what you love. You can’t escape.), so I try to use the down time to read other books, play with Guy, and work on what’s coming next.

And there you have it. I don’t know if what I do is normal… it’s just what I do. I once saw an author who broke her manuscript down into small pieces and put them in folders so she only had to tackle one part at a time. That’s smart, too. Anyway.

Was this helpful at all? Honestly, I’m still freaking out that The Selection is less than a month away, and my brain is on fire, so I really can’t tell. I hope it was. Even a little.

On Perfection

2012-03-12T19:57:58Z

I get asked pretty regularly if I have any advice for newbie writers. Usually I say: Learn as much as you can. There’s so much going on behind the scenes of making a book, it benefits you to know as much about it as possible beforehand. This is one of the reasons I keep making Behind the Book videos. I hope my adventures will make your journey smoother.

But today I thought of something else, and I want to pass this on as well: Forget perfection.

Forget it. It doesn’t exist.

I say this because as I sit here working on Book 2 in The Selection Trilogy, I’m looking at a pile of purple marks on my manuscript, and I’m a bit overwhelmed. Granted, this feeling is probably because of the baby brain, but still. And this isn’t technically the first round of edits. The first thing I handed over was so jacked up, Erica (my editor) didn’t even bother doing line edits because I basically needed to gut the book and fix it. And, actually, that wasn’t even the first round because Elana (my agent) and I worked on it before sending it off. She put notes in the margin saying “Why? Just why?” at one point. It was that bad.

And I’m pretty sure that, no matter how long I do this, I will never send out a manuscript that doesn’t come back with something that needs to be changed. I will never get it right the first time.

And neither will you.

You will always have to work at being better, and really that’s a good thing. Hopefully it encourages you to be the best writer you can be and create the best books for your very generous readers. At this moment, it’s hard to look at those notes that way, but I know that every purple dash means you’re getting something better than what I originally put on the paper. As easily tired and confused as I am these days, I can’t complain about that.

On a related note, The Selection is less than two months from hitting shelves, and the pilot for the (potential) series is being shot right now. People have ARCs out there or have gotten hold of the script, and I’ve heard all kinds of opinions on this. There’s a range from “this is the best book I’ve ever read!” to “why are they making this piece of $h!t book into a show?”, and, honestly, that too is a good thing.

Yeah, sure, I wish that only the nice stuff made it to my ears. It’s already a pretty daunting task what I’m doing here, and it’s not always easy to do when you feel like there are people excited at the possibility of you failing— whatever failing even is— but haters are a good thing.

Hard to believe, I know, but that’s how I genuinely feel. If everyone loves what you’re doing, you’re not reaching enough people. If you get out of the safe waters of people who adore you, you will run into those who CANNOT STAND what you’ve done. Querying alone will teach you that.

This is one of those things you have to accept. Your idea of the perfect story will not be the same as everyone else’s. Try to be supported by the good stuff, ignore the bad stuff, and NEVER go looking for either. Trust me, enough of both will make its way to you. Alas.

Let perfection go. Aim for your personal best. And as things change, adjust that goal.

For me, I’m not even sure what that is right now. Maybe just seeing that gorgeous cover finally hardbound and on a shelf. That will be a goal four years in the making. I know, right?

Anyway. Just learn what your best is, always make the effort to create exactly that, and roll with the rest.

Housekeeping

2012-03-07T19:22:03Z

I’ve been getting a lot of similar questions lately, so I thought I’d take a minute to cover them, just in case you were curious yourself. If there’s another big picture question, leave it in the comments, and I’ll try to get to those ASAP.

Goodies. If you have been waiting for goodies, everything has been sent out. If you haven’t gotten your ARC/bookmark/button, please let me know! It might be a while before I can do more givaways. I might try to do a blogtv soon, but I can't promise that. But in April (not sure if before or after The Selection is out), I’ll be doing some GIANT giveaways. I seriously can’t wait.

ARCs & Interviews. If you’re looking for ARCs, I no longer have any. Sadface. And from what I hear, HarperTeen is out as well. The Selection is now out in less than 50 days, so just hold on a bit longer! I’m also not doing any more interviews right now as there will be a blog tour soon, and I want to make sure to give those bloggers something fresh. If you’re willing to talk to me in the fall, I’m all over it!

TV Stuff. Basically, I know what you guys know, except that I have also read the script. I find out about castings, locations, and dates from the internet. Mainly via my stalker mother who hunts the web on my behalf. I don’t have any secret news to offer, which is for the best. I can keep secrets if I must, but it’s not my favorite thing to do. I have zero say over the casting, so if you’re trying to get into that, I think you have to goggle that info. Sorry! To anyone still auditioning, best of luck! I think our team is AMAZING so far!

Touring. Currently, there are no plans for me to do a book tour. I’m doing my best to take advantage of any traveling I’ll be doing with my family, and I’ll make you aware of those dates as they come along. If you want me to come to a specific high school, library, or something like that, I’m afraid that’s something your school (or whatever) would have to pay for. I can’t afford to travel at random. I so wish I could, because I’m giddy to meet as many of you as I can! But, alas, I cannot. And you can always check the events page to see if or when I’ll be near you.

Translations. At the moment, the only places besides the US where The Selection will be available are France, Germany, The UK, Australia, and New Zealand. I understand some more deals are in the works, so if there’s nothing for where you are at the moment, hold tight!

I feel like there were other things, but I’m very forgetful right now. So, again, leave stuff in the comments, and I’ll try to get to them soon!

Recent Reads #9

2012-03-05T21:54:18Z

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler & Maria Kalman

Release Date: It’s out!

The general idea: In case you don’t know why I hate you now, here are some letters and items detailing why you suck.

Thoughts upon seeing the cover art: I’d like some tea.

It made me feel: Like the real title should have been Why Did We Date in the First Place.

Romance: I guess. Okay, yeah, but not from the d-bag male lead.

Highlight: The art! I love illustrations!

Read it if you like: Singing “You Oughta Know”, Old Hollywood, cooking.

Rating: One fun size bag of M&Ms.

Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony & Rodrigo Corral

Release Date: It’s out!

The general idea: A story of a mysterious relationship told through art, music, and videos.

Thoughts upon seeing the cover art: Pretty! But the spine is so many colors, I don’t know which shelf to put it on! *is confused*

It made me feel: Like looking at all the little things Callaway and I have collected between us over the years.

Romance: Yes, the slightly forbidden and honest type.

Highlight: YouTube links and the like. I think lots of books might try things like this soon.

Read it if you like: Fast reads, art, the beauty of an unopened door.

Rating: One plate of flan.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Release Date: It’s out!

The general idea: I have two gay dads, a jerkface boyfriend, and a crush on the boy who broke my soul.

Thoughts upon seeing the cover art: I need that wig. I need it now.

It made me feel: Like I should take up making my own clothes again.

Romance: Of course. The imperfect and a long-time-coming type.

Highlight: Besides the cute, lovey stuff, the descriptions of everything. From settings to clothes, it all felt vibrant.

Read it if you like: Figure skating, the unexpected, baking.

Rating: One packet of Skittles. Taste the rainbow!

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E Smith

Release Date: It’s out!

The general idea: I’m on a flight and have to sit by an awesome guy I’ll probably never see again.

Thoughts upon seeing the cover art: It’s like a Valentine!

It made me feel: Hopeful. I do like the random circumstances of life leading to interesting things.

Romance: The type that you’re not sure can work because of where it was born.

Highlight: Getting her back on the ground. I don’t like flying either. I felt jittery!

Read it if you like: Fate, being pissed at your parents, going to weddings.

Rating: One plane package of those great cinnamon cookies. Mmmm.

Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Release Date: It’s out!

The general idea: I’ve escaped a life of forced marriage, yay! Oh, so everything sucks out here, too? Awesome.

Thoughts upon seeing the cover art: Is she high? *reads the book* Oh… yeah, kind of.

It made me feel: Mostly icky, if I’m honest. The series circles around some sad and pervy things. But also, very suspenseful. Or suspended? How do I translate suspense into a feeling?

Romance: Yes, the very stressed type, no matter where it comes from.

Highlight: Maddie. I’d like to give this character a hug.

Read it if you like: Constant fear, jellybeans, going to the doctor.

Rating: A bag of kettle corn. Not exactly a candy, but it’s sweet, so deal with it

Winners!

2012-02-27T16:33:36Z

Okay, I am nerdishly in love with pretty much everything you guys said. You’re all so creative, and it’s clear the same old damsel in distress isn’t what’s expected of a princess these days. I seriously wish I had enough goodies to hand out to all of you, but I had to whittle it down. Below are a couple of my faves:

Princesses must be able to charm wild animals with their singing voice.- Rachael L
Remind yourself! You are never ugly, the mirror is just broken, or people need glasses.- Sarah M
A princess must have hair straight out of a Pantene commercial. If it doesn’t have a shine factor of at least 8, she’ll be suspected of being an imposter.- Lauren K
Wear comfortable high heels, nothing is more unattractive than a girl limping around the ball room saying I'm alright while they are clutching onto your arms crying ouch every five seconds.- Ryan

Rachael, Sarah, Lauren, and Ryan, please send me your address via the contact form here on my website, and I will send you each a signed bookmark. You guys get an honorable mention for your general awesomeness!

As for our big winner… when I came across this entry, I laughed so hard I nearly peed myself:

1st RULE: You do NOT talk about BEING A PRINCESS
2nd RULE: You DO NOT talk about BEING A PRINCESS
3rd RULE: If someone says "stop" or goes limp... Wait. I'm thinking about the wrong book, aren't I?

Ha! Even posting this makes me giggle! So congratulations, Kayla B, you win a signed ARC of The Selection (and I’ll shove a bookmark in there too)!

Thank you guys for all playing along. And if you didn’t win, hop on over to my YouTube channel for another chance!

Three Royal Rules (A giveaway!)

2012-02-20T18:06:51Z

So, it’s giveaway time! I’ve been wanting to give out the last little ARCs I’ve had hiding in my room for a while, and this is the moment, people! So, if you would like to get a signed ARC of The Selection, here’s what you need to do:

1. Live in the US. Sorry.

2. Be awesome. Easy. Done. Check.

3. In the comments below give me your three rules that all princesses should live by.

To help you out, here are my Three Royal Rules:

1. Princesses NEVER take off their tiaras, no matter the occasion.

2. Princesses NEVER turn down chocolate.

3. Princesses ALWAYS take naps.

a. The time and duration of said naps are left up to the discretion of the princess. Of course.

And there you have it! That's how things would be if I was in charge. Now, it's your turn. If you want to get creative and post pictures or something, just leave a link to your blog in the comments instead. I’ll chose and announce a winner next Monday! And there might be a few runner up type things, because I hate making decisions. So yeah.

If you happen to follow me on YouTube or Facebook, stay tuned. ARCs heading that way as well. Wahoo! Happy princessing!