Work With Foster Youth or Adoptees?: Request a Library of Books for Your Organization

When my adoption-themed anthology WELCOME HOME was acquired, it was always the goal to use whatever money the book made to do a little good.

Last year, I was able to give away over three hundred books to youth centers who worked with foster teens and adopted kids, and well… royalty season is upon us, and I’m happy to be able to do that again. Thanks to your support of this little anthology that almost didn’t make it.

So! Are you an organization that works with foster youth? Adopted teens? Maybe you’re a youth center, or a teacher with a number of kids in the system.

Whoever you are, this opportunity is for you.

The mini-libraries contain FORTY BOOKS, brand new hardcovers and paperbacks, from a number of celebrated YA authors including:

Melissa Marr, Darcy Woods, Erin Bow, Courtney Summers, Rebecca Phillips, Julia Durango, Brendan Kiely, Melissa Gray, Charlotte Huang, Gina Cionna, Kerry Kletter, Rosalyn Eves, Jared Reck, Stephanie Kuehn, Courtney Alameda, Lauren Morrill, Corey Ann Haydu, Jennifer Longo, A.S. King, Kayla Olson, Stacey Lee, Emily Henry, Gillian French, Alexandra Duncan, Jenny Torez-Sanchez, E.K. Johnston, Rhoda Belleza, Melissa Gorzelancyzk, and Kristin Paige-Madonia.

You’ll also receive a bundle of books from my clients in my agency life. All of these titles a wide range of contemporary romance to hard hitting sci-fi, and should provide a lot to pick from.

If you’re concerned that you don’t have the bookshelves for this sort of library for your teens, please let me know in your request. I will happily donate a bookshelf (sent via Amazon) to your center, to house the books.

How do you apply to get one of these? Just shoot me an email, with details about you, your organization, and the kids you work with. Simple as that. I’ll choose THREE people in early August to get these books. It takes a bit of time for these kind of opportunities to float out to the people who need them, so I’m giving it a bit of time:

• Name:

• Organization:

• Information:

• Organization Website:

Email me at ericsmithrocks at gmail dot com. I’ll alert the people getting the packages by August 15th, so you’ll know when to expect the shipment.

And that’s it. This is open to US requests only, as it would be impossibly expensive to ship crates of books like this overseas, and I need to make the funds stretch as far as possible.

Last time I did this, a number of author friends and publishing pals reached out to see if they could donate additional books. The answer is yes! Just shoot me an email.

Book Deals: Nita Tyndall's Who I Was With Her Acquired by HarperTeen!

I’ve been following Nita Tyndall for what feels like years, reading their posts on Barnes & Noble’s YA blog and insightful comments on the state of LGBTQ+ kid-lit on social media. They are a powerful voice in the literary community, and it has been such a joy to represent them.

And it’s SUCH a joy making this announcement.

Thrilled to say that Nita Tyndall’s debut, WHO I WAS WITH HER, will be published by HarperTeen in 2020, having been acquired by Catherine Wallace.

A powerful story about a teen track star who loses her girlfriend in a tragic accident, it digs into some really intense places. What is it like to grieve for someone no one else knew existed? To mourn a loss you cannot bring yourself to talk about? It’s a heartbreaking novel, and I adore it.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I cried a whole lot on the phone when I called Nita about this book deal. It was not pretty.

Here’s a bit about the book from Publishers Marketplace:

Lambda Literary Writer’s Retreat Fellow Nita Tyndall’s WHO I WAS WITH HER, in which a closeted teen girl loses her secret girlfriend in a car accident, and finds herself mourning the loss of a person and relationship no one around her knew existed, and completely unable to talk about it with anyone, to Catherine Wallace at HarperTeen, for publication in Fall 2020, by Eric Smith at P.S. Literary (World English).

Congrats Nita! This has been a long time coming, and I cannot wait to see your words in bookstores everywhere. Be sure to follow them on Twitter, and send your congrats.

Crafting the Non-Fiction Book Proposal With Sam Slaughter

Okay, so there are a few things to get out of the way, before we dig into all this.

First, this is an overview of the proposal Sam Slaughter and I worked on together to sell his debut cocktail book ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK RUM?: and Other Cocktails for ’90s Kids. Published by Andrews McMeel, it’s a fun pop-culture-infused book full of hilarious, pun-filled drink recipes. So while a lot of the lessons in here are certainly applicable to other non-fiction proposals, this one skews a little heavier towards the cookbook world.

If you find this helpful, PLEASE consider ordering it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local indie bookseller. I love posting client queries and advice, but this stuff does take a bit of work, and some serious vulnerability (thank you Sam!) on the client side of things. Say thank you by buying his book.

Second, remember how subjective this all is. What works for me, might not work for someone else. There are some great additional proposal guides written up by Jane Friedman, Brian Klems at Writer’s Digest, and Nathan Brandsford. Learn as much as you can.

And third, read agency guidelines before sending anything. An agent might want something ENTIRELY DIFFERENT from a non-fiction proposal / query. But I imagine a lot of what we are going to dig into here, such as author platform, proposed contents, sample pages, etc… will be across the board for everyone.

Alright. Let’s dig in.

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THE BASICS

When it comes to crafting a really great non-fiction book proposal, there are a few sections you should have in every single one. In my opinion, the breakdown should look a little something like this, and we’ll dig into each of these in a minute:

• About the Book: Exactly what it sounds like. What’s the jacket copy look like?

• Meet the Author: Let’s get to know you.

• Author Publicity & Platform: It’s time to name drop. What’s your platform like, where do you write, who will support your book, what are your numbers?

• Comparative Titles: What books would yours sit with in bookstores? What book would fans of your book, also potentially like?

• Potential Media Relevance: Covering a topic that gets dug into in the media? Shows us a bit about that, if possible.

• Manuscript Overview & Proposed Contents: What you’ve got so far, and where you see the work going. Word count? Well, that can vary greatly. We’ll dig into that too.

Now, there are some cookbook specific sections in this one, such as Meet the Photographer and sample photography, that you might not have if you are writing say, a memoir or a pop-culture history book (which hi, I’ve also worked on, please look up George M. Johnson’s All Boys Aren’t Blue and Alex Ruben’s 8-Bit Apocalypse).

Keep that in mind as we dig ahead. That’s something you should absolutely have in your cookbook proposal.

Now, let’s break down these sections a bit more. I’ll include summaries of what we discussed in the proposal as well as some screenshots, which I hope will give you a helpful overview of what goes into one of these.

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ABOUT THE BOOK

You know that query letter you’ve been polishing up? With your jacket-copy-esque writing that describes the book you’ve spent all these many months / years on? Well, this is yet another place to let that writing shine.

For ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK RUM? Sam opened up the ‘About the Book’ section be describing one of the unique drinks he was planning to have in the book, and then immediately dug into light-hearted and fun jacket copy that described the book.

The ‘About the Book’ section for this proposal was only two pages. Yes, this is a bit longer than what you usually write in a query letter, but this is a proposal. There’s a little more room to dig into what the book is going to be about.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Whenever I talk about query letters, I like to quote other agents who say it’s all about the “hook, book, cook.” The marketing blip that snags you in, the jacket-esque description of the book, and the cook, aka, you! The chef behind the pages.

This, is your author bio.

For Sam’s bio, we had a solid three pages digging into who he is as a writer. We didn’t dive too much into platform here, because that’s a whole separate, major section of the proposal.

Sam’s bio talked about his current experience working as the spirits editor for The Manual, some places he’s been published, and a bit about his experience in the service industry. It was important not to just showcase Sam as this ‘brand’ who could write this particular book, but as a person. We spent some time talking about his literary chops in addition to his cocktail slinging ones, showcasing the breadth of his creativity and talent.

Your bio should be enticing and interesting. It should make a reader want to spend time with you, and spend time with your book.

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ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER

This is a section that was a bit cookbook specific. We introduced editors to Sam’s photographer for the project, Amy Ellis. We dished a brief, one page bio about her and where her work has been featured, who some of her bigger clients have been, and wrapped it up with a link to the website.

We included some of her photography work at the end of the proposal, in addition to the pictures included with the sample recipes.

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PUBLICITY AND PLATFORM

Ah yes, the dreaded platform blip.

First, let’s talk about this for a second. Because when I speak at conferences about platform for non-fiction authors, all too often I see writers visibly deflate when I mention having a platform.

It is never too late to start building a platform.

I can’t stress this enough. While it might be hard to build up a large social media following to support you as platform these days, it isn’t hard to pitch media outlets. Writing a collection of essays? A memoir? Great. There are so many places you can potentially pitch pieces to. Me, I regularly read websites like Catapult, Lit Hub, Electric Literature, Guernica, and more. If you’re trying to build your platform as a writer in that space, pitch your work around. Look up where your favorite essayists and memoirists have been (and are regularly) publishing. It’ll help.

Publication counts as platform.

If you look at Sam’s social media following, he has a little under 3,000 Twitter followers. This isn’t to talk smack about that, but to point out that his platform exists in a big way in publication.

In Sam’s platform section for Are You Afraid…, we dug into the places he writes and regularly publishes, including The Manual and other outlets that have featured his writing, including Maxim, Bloomberg, Chilled, Southern Kitchen, Thirsty, and included notes to his literary writing as well (you can see a full list of where his stories and essays are on his website).

Since Sam is involved in the spirits world, he also took the time to discuss some of the influential people in that world he could potentially share the book with. Media outlets, popular bartenders and their bars, professionals in the spirits world… dishing who can potentially lift your book up with you, is also a great thing to dig into platform-wise. There’s no guarantee, but the possibility is worth sharing.

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COMPARATIVE TITLES

Before you leave a comment on this post saying that your book is beyond compare, please stop. It isn’t.

When it comes to non-fiction, your comp titles should list books that your book might exist next to. In bookstores, on the shelves of readers, etc. It shouldn’t be a running list of books that are wholly similar to it, because then why are you writing a non-fiction book on a subject that’s been tackled to death?

In Sam’s case, we brought up books like The Drunken Botanist, My Drunk Kitchen, and The Geeky Chef Cookbook, all of which are humorous, pop-culture-ish, gift-ish cookbooks meant to be given as presents and discussed when you have friends over. Cookbooks that are conversations pieces. Cookbooks that are found in places like Urban Outfitters and with specialty retailers.

We also spent some time talking about cookbooks that tackle specific movies, like The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook, and how if a cookbook can exist to tie into one specific moment in pop-culture, why not a book that discusses an entire generation, like a 90’s book?

It’s less about what’s in the book, and more about who the audience is.

Now, if you’re writing memoir or essays, you’re not going to include people who tell stories exactly like yours, but instead, might dig into comps that contain similar elements. IE, your travel memoir contains the drama and life changing upheaval found in books like Wild by Cheryl Strayed , or your collection of essays finds the humor in your past like in I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley.

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MEDIA RELEVANCE

When you’re digging into something very pop-culture-centric, a section like this helps in a non-fiction proposal. Especially for a cocktail book like Sam’s, that is trying to convince a potential publisher, editor, reader that yes, a book full of 90’s jokes is relevant in 2019.

And guess what? It is.

In this section, we dug into how often nostalgia is revisited in the media. We talked about the appeal of shows like Fuller House, the sequel to Independence Day, the re-launch of Crystal Pepsi, and the reboot of the Power Rangers franchise (with that surprisingly good movie).

This wasn’t a huge section. We spent a little over a page digging into a few of these things, mostly focusing on the Crystal Pepsi relaunch and Power Rangers reboot, both of which happened in 2017 when we were pitching this book around. We included links to relevant stories in major news outlets like NPR, Forbes, The Atlantic, Mashable, Mic, and more.

This was to help showcase how a story surrounding the book, and pop-culture nostalgia, could essentially be positioned from a marketing and publicity angle. Remember, it’s not just an editor who has to buy into your book, but also the marketing and publicity department. Give them what they need.

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MANUSCRIPT OVERVIEW + PROPOSED CONTENTS

Well, here’s the big one, my friends. When it comes to this section, I tend to break it down into a few pieces, as it’s arguably the most important. It isn’t just what you’re planning to have in the book, but samples of what will be in it.

First, a note on actual word count.

I’ve heard contracting thoughts regarding the word count here, for just how much you should have written for a proposal. Me, I like to see at least 10,000 words if you’re writing memoir, pop-history, or an essay collection. With a cookbook, it’s a bit different, because word counts for cookbooks are significantly less than other non-fiction.

I mean, think about it. Half a cookbook is usually the photos, and each page has ingredients bulleted… so sometimes it’s not really even a page of text. In the case of Sam’s proposal, we were at about 4,000 words.

Now, about those sections:

A Quick Introduction, What to Expect: I like to have one of these in my proposals, where I explain what the reader is about to see.

Hey, fun fact, Are You Afraid of the Dark Rum was originally titled Grown Up Drinks.

Anyhow. It’s just a quick paragraph or two, that states about how long the book is going to be upon completion, what will be in it (in Sam’s case, we said it would have X number of recipes, photographs, guides to stemware, and 90’s playlists). I also like to bring up the estimated time of turn around for a finished project.

Contents: In this section, there’s a detailed list of what will be in the book.

In Sam’s case, he broke down the introduction, the techniques, the cocktails, and other fun and quirky sidebar items, like drinking games and crafts. Please note, the contents section was significantly longer than this, detailing all the drinks, techniques, etc… but come on my friends, I can’t screenshot EVERYTHING. I hope this shows enough.

The Actual Sample Pages: In Sam’s proposal, we included the Introduction, which helped establish what kind of voice he would be bringing to the project, as well as six finished recipes for the potential book, four of which had gorgeous full-color photographs from his partner.

If you pick up the book (please do!), you’ll notice that the photography is different in the book, as opposed to what’s here. Those sample photos you take for your project might not be the right fit for the book. An art director and publisher will have a vision for the book. Don’t look at it as a waste though. It’s what helps get your book over that hurdle, and into the right hands.

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SAMPLE PHOTOGRAPHY

This one is a bit cookbook specific, and likely fairly subjective. Not every person writing a cookbook is an amazing photographer. And if you’re not, that’s fine! Maybe you don’t have sample photography to include that feels like it belongs in a published book you’d see in your local indie.

But if that’s the case, see if you can’t rope in a friend to take a few sample photos of a recipe or two that you’re including. Visuals go such a long way with cookbook projects, they really do.

But in the end, it’s better to include no photos, than to include bad ones.

In the case of Sam’s book, we included some of Amy’s gorgeous work that showcased her eye and skill in a variety of settings, and also encouraged the reader of the proposal to visit her website.

And there you have it, the non-fiction proposal, as based on Sam Slaughter’s Are You Afraid of the Dark Rum?.

At the end of the day, the proposal ended up being close to 40 pages total, but I’ve seen non-fiction proposals up and around 50 to 60 pages. Dish as much as you have to, to get the point of your book, and why you are the person to write it, across.

And like I said, If you find this helpful, consider ordering Sam’s book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or from your local indie bookseller.

And stay tuned! I hope to do more of these down the line.

"Write the Tree Book" - The Girl and the Grove Turns One

“Write the tree book.”

The Girl and the Grove turns one today, and that statement is one that sticks to me whenever I think about the little novel that could and almost didn’t. It was a novel that was impossibly hard to write, after working on two manuscripts that are (probably) forever shelved.

My dear wife Nena has pushed me, ever since we got together, to write about what’s personal. It was something that scared me. The idea of writing about adoption and identity terrified me. And every time I told her about this story I had kicking around, she’d say the same thing.

“Write the tree book.”

The story of an adoptee wrestling with identity, and the idea that, all those “what ifs” that adopted kids like myself sometimes kicked around, maybe could be magic. I was tired of not seeing it in the books I read.

We deserved to be magic.

Well, that little tree book is one today, and it’s really here because of her. That and Welcome Home, my adoption themed anthology, for that matter.

To any writer friends reading this, find someone who supports you with a reckless abandon, and doesn’t just lift you up, but pushes you to be your best creative self. Not saying you have to find a romantic partner. Maybe this person is a friend, a fellow writer, a critique partner.

That belief and support will take you far.

Believe me.

I have short stories in two anthologies coming soon, Color Outside the Lines by Sangu Mandanna (Soho Teen, November!) and Body Talk by Kelly Jensen (Algonquin, 2020), and both talk about adoption. I don’t think I’d have had the courage to write what I did, without her saying the same thing again and again.

“Write the tree book.”

Now, to celebrate The Girl and the Grove turning one, I’d like to gift a few copies out to teachers with classroom libraries and/or high school librarians, who would like a copy for students to take out and borrow. I realize it’s May and the school year is winding down, but hey, May is when the book came out.

Interested in a copy? Sign up for my newsletter (it doesn’t go out often, I swear) and send me an email (ericsmithrocks at gmail dot com) with you and your school’s information. I’ll pick TWENTY SCHOOLS to get a copy.

Thanks for celebrating with me. And thank you Nena, for making me brave.

And of course, to my agen Dawn Frederick for not giving up, and Mari, Megan, and the whole team at Flux, for bringing this book to life.

Book Deals: Alison Stine's Trashlands Acquired by Mira

Describing Alison Stine’s harrowing literary fiction is a challenge. One that I love.

She pens stories that weave in the speculative and the terrifying, in order to deliver powerful messages about poverty, climate change, and how the way we treat each other is just as important as the way we treat the world around us.

The Grower publishes next year with Mira, and I’m so thrilled to announce that her second novel, TRASHLANDS, will be publishing with Mira in 2021.

The first few chapters of Trashlands left me gasping. A novel of beauty and horror, violence and innocence loss, it’s yet another almost indescribable work, and I just cannot wait for readers to get their hands on it.

The quick pitch? Well, here’s the blip from Publisher’s Marketplace:

Author of the forthcoming THE GROWER, Alison Stine's TRASHLANDS, a novel where, at a strip club at the end of the world, a single mother has to choose between love and survival in the region-wide junkyard that Appalachia has become after climate change floods re-draw the coasts of America, pitched as an Appalachian THE CHILDREN OF MEN, to Margot Mallinson at Mira, by Eric Smith at P.S. Literary Agency (world English).

Whew. I need the finished book in my hands, right now, printed and on my bookshelf.

Congrats on another amazing accomplishment Alison! You can follow Alison on Twitter here, and send her all the congrats. Keep an eye out. She’s up to great things.

Perfect Pitch: Tom Ryan's Query for Keep This To Yourself

I was so wildly excited when Tom Ryan’s query hit my inbox. I’d read some of his books with Orca (Way to Go and Tag Along are great, please scoop them up!), and at the time, I had recently read Caleb Roehrig’s masterful debut Last Seen Leaving. I’d been tweeting plenty about wanting to read more LGBTQ+ YA thrillers, and well… along came Tom.

I inhaled Keep This To Yourself (originally titled Somebody’s Watching Me), it was dark and twisty, with a fierce voice and a ton of heart. And it’ll be out with Albert Whitman on May 21st.

With that beautiful book on its way, I wanted to share Tom’s original query for the novel, in hopes that you’ll be able to learn something from it.

And if it’s helpful, please consider pre-ordering Keep This To Yourself. It supports both the writer and you know, his agent that writes these helpful posts and all that. Tom has a great pre-order campaign going on where you can get signed bookplates and some very fancy comic book art from the iconic Cat Staggs!

Let’s check that query out!

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Dear Mr. Smith,

In light of the fact that you’re looking for LGBTQ YA, I'd like to submit for your consideration my novel Somebody’s Watching Me, a 65,000 word psychological thriller for young adults, with a queer protagonist. Somebody’s Watching Me will appeal to fans of We Were Liars by E. Lockhart and Rian Johnson’s Brick.

It’s been a year since the Catalogue Killer terrorized the sleepy seaside town of Camera Cove, killing four people before disappearing without a trace.

Like everyone else in town, eighteen year old Mac Bell is trying hard to put that horrible summer behind him - easier said than done considering Mac’s best friend Paul was the murderer’s final victim. With high school finally in the rear view mirror, just one last summer stands between Mac and freedom from Camera Cove and its awful memories.

When a cryptic message from Paul appears from beyond the grave, suggesting that he’d been trying to solve the case on his own before he died, Mac finds himself unwillingly drawn back into the mystery he wants so desperately to forget. As he attempts to pick up the pieces of Paul’s investigation, Mac begins to suspect that the murderer might not have been a random drifter after all, and nobody - not friends, neighbours or even the sexy stranger with his own connection to the case - is beyond suspicion.

As a hurricane bears down on Camera Cove, and with the rising suspicion that someone is following his every move, Mac struggles to come to terms with his true feelings towards Paul, while scrambling to uncover the truth before the killer strikes again.

Since 2012, I have published two novels for young adults, and two for middle graders. My books have been positively reviewed by Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Voya, and School Library Journal, among others. I have been twice nominated for the Ontario Library Association’s “White Pine” award, two of my books have been named to the ALA’s “Rainbow List,” and both of my most recent releases were Junior Library Guild Selections. My middle grade title, Big Time, has been published in German, Norwegian, Finnish and Swedish. In 2013, I contributed an essay to the non-fiction collection Dear Teen Me: Authors Write Letters to Their Teen Selves. More information about my books, including reviews, awards, and other distinctions, can be found on my website: www.tomryanauthor.com.

Although I have been publishing steadily since 2012, this is my first time seeking representation. Thank you for taking the time to read my query.

Sincerely,

Tom Ryan

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Doesn’t that make you want to read this? Hell yes it does.

One wild thing about the way Tom described the book… is how much of his query ended up being part of the book’s actual jacket copy. That’s how good his faux-jacket-copy part of this query was. It ended up being the REAL jacket copy.

I’m not saying your query letter’s section that digs into the book needs to be that perfect. We can’t all be Tom. But it’s a great example of doing it flawlessly.

Let’s breakdown that query, according to the “hook, book, cook” format.

• Hook: In his opening bit, he dishes the word count, the title, the category, and comp titles, all in one sentence. He even has a little bit of personal splash, as he knew what I was looking for. Now, remember, you’re not always going to be able to find specific things to address an agent with, when it comes to making that personal connection. If you can make one, great. If you can’t, it’s not the end of the world.

• Book: Perfect jacket copy is perfect. We get the plot, the motivation, the stakes.

• Cook: So, Tom was already a well-published author before he came my way. He digs into that, and if you’re a published author, you should too! But don’t worry if you don’t have a long bio of publishing credits. Saying something as simple as “when I’m not busy writing, I can be found…” what? Playing video games. Hanging with my corgi. Whatever the case is. Show us a little something about you.

And that’s another example of perfect pitch.

Be sure to scoop up Keep This To Yourself. It’s out with Albert Whitman on May 21st.

Don't Read the Comments: Publishing January 2020!

Hey friends!

My novel Reclaim the Sun has a new title. DON’T READ THE COMMENTS.

And hey, it’s officially up for pre-order across book retailers, complete with jacket copy. Curious about the book? Well, here you go:

Divya Sharma is a queen. Or she is when she’s playing Reclaim the Sun, the year’s hottest online game. Divya—better known as popular streaming gamer D1V—regularly leads her #AngstArmada on quests through the game’s vast and gorgeous virtual universe. But for Divya, this is more than just a game. Out in the real world, she’s trading her rising-star status for sponsorships to help her struggling single mom pay the rent.

Gaming is basically Aaron Jericho’s entire life. Much to his mother’s frustration, Aaron has zero interest in becoming a doctor like her, and spends his free time writing games for a local developer. At least he can escape into Reclaim the Sun—and with a trillion worlds to explore, disappearing should be easy. But to his surprise, he somehow ends up on the same remote planet as celebrity gamer D1V.

At home, Divya and Aaron grapple with their problems alone, but in the game, they have each other to face infinite new worlds…and the growing legion of trolls populating them. Soon the virtual harassment seeps into reality when a group called the Vox Populi begin launching real-world doxxing campaigns, threatening Aaron’s dreams and Divya’s actual life. The online trolls think they can drive her out of the game, but everything and everyone Divya cares about is on the line…

And she isn’t going down without a fight. 

DON’T READ THE COMMENTS will published with Inkyard Press on January 28th, 2020.

You can pre-order it on:

• Amazon

• Barnes & Noble (soon!)

• Books a Million

• IndieBound

… and wherever books are sold. Stay tuned for fun pre-order goodies, and for where you can buy a signed, personalized copy. And be sure to add it on Goodreads!

I’m hoping to put together some kind of Street Team surrounding the book, so if you want to stay in touch in order to get ARCs, swag (postcards, bookmarks, posters), and other goodies, feel free to fill out this Google Form.

Special shout out to Claribel Ortega for this awesome .GIF and video! Check out Gif Girl!

Book Deals: Adam Sass' Surrender Your Sons Acquired by Flux!

There’s a good story in Adam Sass’ journey to publishing.

I remember reading this novel… two years ago? It wasn’t quite right (I hate saying that, it’s a typical agent phrase, but whatever) for me at the time, but Adam circled back with a revision a year later and well…

Here we are.

The lesson there? Don’t. Give. Up. And never be afraid to followup and nudge agents, my writer friends.

There’s more to the story of Surrender Your Sons, the bumps in the road and the challenges Adam had to overcome, but that’s his story to tell. For now, let’s dish this part.

I’m so thrilled to say that Adam’s debut will be published by Flux in the Fall of 2020. Here’s the blip from Publisher’s Marketplace:

Adam Sass’s debut SURRENDER YOUR SONS, in which a gay teen is kidnapped and taken to a conversion camp on a forgotten island, where he’ll have to team up with the other LGBTQ+ teens to uncover the camp’s dark secrets and expose them to the world, pitched as a queer Lost, to Mari Kesselring at Flux by Eric Smith at P.S. Literary (World).

There’s so much to love about Adam’s harrowing, darkly funny book. His voice is one that’s altogether unique, with an ability to weave in humor and horror in a way you see in shows like Riverdale, with the twists and turns you expect from a show like Lost, with the literary prowess of YA authors like Adam Silvera and Alex London.

It’s the debut of a stunning voice, and the start to an astonishing career, and I feel so lucky that I get to play a part in this. Adam Sass has arrived. Get ready.

Congrats Adam. You deserve this.