WEbook Blog: A Writer's Resource

Book Giveaway to Celebrate John Corey Whaley, winner of the Michael L. Printz Award

Some of you WEbookers who have been around the block a bit will remember a fellow by the name of John Corey Whaley—the first author to find an agent using AgentInbox.

After connecting with all-star literary agent Ken Wright in the fall of 2009, Corey went on to live every debut author’s dream. His novel—Where Things Come Back—was picked up by Atheneum Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, in early 2010. We covered John’s path to publication over the next year  and on May 3, 2011, Where Things Come Back was published.

Since that big day, Corey and his novel have received numerous accolades, including a New Voices for Teens Selection by ABC Children’s Group, a nomination for Best Fiction for Young Adults by the American Library Association, and an Indigo Books and Music Best Teen Books of 2011.

 Most recently, Corey received the prestigious Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature—one of the highest honors available to Young Adult authors!

We were thrilled to hear the great news. It seems like not so long ago we were filming videos of Corey from his kitchen in Louisiana, and now he’s winning literary awards for his amazing novel. It has been a truly great journey to witness.

We touched based with Corey and asked him about the moment he heard about the award. He said:

"When I got the call that I'd won the Printz Award, I was driving down the interstate and had to pull over on the side of the road to avoid causing a massive pile-up. It was the best, most dangerous news I've ever received."

We’re so glad you survived the news. Congratulations, Corey! Can’t wait to see where you fly to next!

If you haven't read Where Things Come Back, you're in luck. To celebrate Corey's win, we're giving away a free copy of his book to a lucky reader of this blog. Simply shout out a quick congratulations to Corey in the comments section, and be entered to win a free copy of Where Things Come Back from WEbook.   

We'll pick a commenter at random and announce the winner on February 13!

We Have Lift Off!

I first learned that I would be a published author in January of 2010, just a few months after my first post on Webook and after the website helped me find my agent. Now, as I write this, I am just a few days away from seeing the realization of a lifelong dream come true. On May 3, 2011, my debut novel, Where Things Come Back, will hit bookstores all across the country. I pinch myself every morning when I wake up….and I also watch for falling anvils. This last year and a half has been incredible. Indescribable. Crazy. And amazing. Everything I’ve wanted to happen has happened and it seems like I’m living someone else’s life.

Just two weeks ago, the trade reviews started coming in for the novel and I’m happy to say that they are great! First was a wonderful, complimentary review from Kirkus and then was the best thing ever---a starred review in Publishers Weekly. Apparently, people like this book.

With only a few days left until the book is actually available for the public to read, and a few weeks until I officially start my book tour (visit www.johncoreywhaley.com for more information), I am so overwhelmed with excitement and anticipation that it’s getting hard to sleep!  I’ve made the important decision to take the next year or so to promote my book and focus on editing my second novel and getting it ready enough to hopefully land another book deal. I am happy to say that I am leaving my five years of public school teaching, effective June 1^st. It is the right thing to do and the support and encouragement I’ve received over these past eighteen months, from friends and strangers, has assured me that writing is the career I should devote my life to.

 

I’m not going to keep going on about how lucky I am or how happy I am and all of that mess that you’re probably all rolling your eyes at. But I do want to extend an excessive amount of gratitude to all of the writers out there who are working late at night to finish that manuscript they’ve been obsessing over. I want to thank the people at Webook, who started a service that actually works for people like me, who have been rejected so many times in the past. And I want to tell all of my fans and readers and future readers and the like that you all have no idea how extremely grateful and honored I have been to share my story with you all. 

Corey Whaley hails from Shreveport, LA. He signed with Ken Wright, a literary agent at Writers House, last fall using WEbook's AgentInbox query service. His debut novel, Where Things Come Back, was purchased by Simon & Schuster early in 2010 and will be released on May 3, 2011.

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Read more about Corey's amazing story.

 

 

Author John Corey Whaley: Back in NYC

I recently returned to New York City to meet with my agent, editor, and the publicity director from Simon & Schuster. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss some of the many things that we can do, both locally and nationally, to get the word out about my book. As I continue to experience every aspect of being published by a large publishing house, I find myself a bit surprised at the kind and enthusiastic treatment I’ve received. I, like many writers, have often heard horror stories about big publishing houses ruining the lives, and works, of young debut authors.

John Corey Whaley: How to Market a First Novel

My first novel, Where Things Come Back, is edited, copyedited, the typeset has been approved, and I’m in the process of reading through what’s called the “first pass” to check for any typos before the book is sent to print. The cover, back cover, and content for the two inside flaps have all been approved as well.

So, now what? The book still doesn’t hit stores for another seven months!!!

Where Things Come Back, by Corey Whaley: The Cover Release

I am beside myself with excitement to be presenting to my fellow WeBookers the official cover to my debut novel, Where Things Come Back. I knew right when I saw it that it was the perfect fit for this novel. I will admit that I waited with much anxiety for it to arrive, but had no doubt that my editor and the team at Simon & Schuster would come up with something spectacular.

They knew, for instance, that it was important to me to have the iconic image of the woodpecker, whose role in the novel is a catalyst for much thought, worry, and neuroses from the narrator. I also love how the unique wood grain background speaks very subtly to the novel’s location—small town Arkansas.

Author Corey Whaley On His Writing Techniques and Habits

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Since my last post, Good God Bird's Flight to a New Name, I’ve gone back to my “day job” of teaching public school. I’ve taught every grade from 6th through 12th, but this year I teach Gifted English to 7th and 8th graders and, while it is a completely different and amazing experience, it hasn’t left me much time to even think about writing.  

Most days, for the past month or so, I come home and take naps instead of working on storylines or drafting ideas for characters. I wrote, once before, about juggling work with writing and at the time I didn't realize that I am a completely unmotivated writer when I’m distracted. I know this to be the case because as soon as I get myself away from work for just a few days, I am drawn back to my laptop…sentences dangling on the edge of my mind.

Good God Bird's Flight to a New Name!

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As I discussed in a previous post, "What's In a Name?", the title of my forthcoming novel has been something of a mystery for the last few months. Originally titled Good God Bird, my editor and I both felt that a new title was needed to properly and perfectly capture the tone and message of the story.  

For weeks I scanned over page after page of the novel, searching for ideas. I went from biblically inspired titles to ones taken from poems and song lyrics. None of them quite fit like one of my earliest ideas, taken from a chapter title in the novel: The Place Where Things Come Back.

For a while, it seemed this would be the one. I said it over and over again in my head and aloud—trying to get used to a title that would follow me for years to come. I wanted to love it; for it to roll off the tongue with the same pride that Good God Bird had done. I’ll be honest, even after a few weeks, I was still struggling to not use the original name. Then, my editor suggested we drop the first two words of the title. And, though it seems so simple, that was it.  

Where Things Come Back is the official title of my debut novel and I couldn’t be happier about it. I thought about writing a long, drawn-out explanation on how the title fits the story so well, but I instead I’ll let the work speak for itself instead.

I’m happy to say that you can now pre-order Where Things Come Back, which hits bookshelves on May 3, 2011, on Amazon.com and other websites. Below is the editorial description of the novel:

Just when seventeen-year-old Cullen Witter thinks he understands everything about his small and painfully dull Arkansas town, it all disappears. . . .

In the summer before Cullen's junior year, a nominally-depressed birdwatcher named John Barling thinks he spots the ivory-billed woodpecker--a species thought to be extinct since the 1940s--in Lily, Arkansas. His rediscovery of the so-called Lazarus Woodpecker sparks a flurry of press and woodpecker-mania. Soon all the kids are getting woodpecker haircuts and everyone's eating "Lazarus burgers." But as absurd as the town's carnival atmosphere has become, nothing is more startling than the realization that Cullen’s sensitive, gifted fifteen-year-old brother Gabriel has suddenly and inexplicably disappeared.

While Cullen navigates his way through a summer of finding and losing love, holding his fragile family together, and muddling his way into adulthood, a young missionary in Africa, who has lost his faith, is searching for any semblance of meaning wherever he can find it. As distant as the two stories seem at the start, they are thoughtfully woven ever closer together and through masterful plotting, brought face to face in a surprising and harrowing climax.

Complex but truly extraordinary, tinged with melancholy and regret, comedy and absurdity, this novel finds wonder in the ordinary and emerges as ultimately hopeful. It's about a lot more than what Cullen calls, “that damn bird.” It’s about the dream of second chances.

So that's my experience with changing titles. Have any of you gone through this as well? How do you come up with the titles for your writing? I'm all ears!

—Corey    

Corey Whaley hails from Shreveport, LA, where he teaches eighth grade English. He signed with Ken Wright, a literary agent at Writers House, last fall using WEbook's AgentInbox query service. His debut novel was purchased by Simon & Schuster early in 2010. Read more about Corey's amazing story.

Edits, Comments, and a Green Pen

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As many of you know, I’ve completed the last round of edits and revisions on my debut novel, which is scheduled for a Spring 2011 launch. Working on the novel again was an experience I wouldn’t trade for the world and the final product is, in my opinion, a much better work because of it. With my editor’s help, I was able to organize and adapt the novel into the form that told my story with the precise emotional, comedic, and dramatic effect that I had originally intended upon first writing it. 

WEbook thought it would be a great idea to show you all an actual edited page of my manuscript. The accompanying photo was taken of my original manuscript and the writing on it is from my editor at Atheneum Books, Nami Tripathi.  
 
 
You’ll notice that she used green ink, as I noted in a previous post, to make comments, suggestions, and ask questions.  

As nervous as I was as a first-time author to receive my editor’s notes, it was a great relief to be blessed with such an insightful and amazing editor. I would hope the same for any writer out there who fears his or her work being placed in a stranger’s hands. I am hoping that giving you all the rare opportunity to view part of a professionally edited manuscript will help to ease some of your nerves concerning the publishing process.

With Nami’s blessing, I'm happy to share a few notes she provided on one particular page of the manuscript. Note that this is from the earliest draft of the novel and additional changes may have been made to this actual page, etc.  

If you read the notes at the very top left of the page, you’ll see that Nami’s approach, overall, was less critical and more inquisitive. In order to make sure my future readers would fully understand things, Nami asked frequent questions concerning my intention with certain statements. In the top right, a positive comment about the main character and his brother let me know that this relationship was being understood as I intended. Further down the page, you’ll notice a couple of suggestions to reword a few sentences; these changes, each time, being asked, not forced upon me.  

Lastly, and this was why I chose to share this page, Nami shared her liking for my narrator’s profanity of choice: “ass-hat.”  Aside from making me laugh with her comment, this actually relieved some stress on my part, as I had worried, from the moment the editing process started, that she would hate the use of this word. I know it’s a silly thing to worry about, but it says a lot about my seventeen-year-old, slightly cynical narrator. 

Just remember that editing and revising isn’t something for writers to be afraid of. In fact, given the right editor, it can make all the difference in the world.

—Corey

Corey Whaley hails from Shreveport, LA, where he works as an English teacher. He signed with Ken Wright, a literary agent at Writers House, last fall using WEbook's AgentInbox query service. His debut novel was purchased by Simon & Schuster early in 2010. Read more about Corey's amazing story.

Doing the Editorial Shuffle

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Many of you are probably curious about the publication process and what I, as a first-time novelist, have been doing over the past few months in preparation for my debut next May. After my trip to New York, where I met my editor, Nami, and discussed the novel with her, as well as some details about how the process works overall, I got back home and waited on her notes.

A few weeks later, I received a copy of my manuscript, printed out, with liner notes and comments from Nami. My task: to read the notes and make the appropriate modifications. I will admit, I was quite nervous when I first saw my manuscript marked up—ink on nearly every page. But, once I sat down and started reading, I was so relieved and surprised to find that the approach my editor had taken to my novel was as respectful and genuinely caring as possible. In place of red ink “change this” comments, there were subtle scribblings in green ink (incidentally, my favorite color since childhood).
 
These “notes” on nearly every page ranged from questions to suggestions to paragraph-length compliments. I could not have been happier with the notes and the manner with which Nami approached my work. After reading her first few comments, I knew that she and I saw eye-to-eye on every aspect of the story. It was as if we’d worked together from the novel’s first inception years earlier.

It was so exciting to be able to revisit my characters and settings that I worked on and finished my first round of revisions in about three days. I sent the revisions back to her and waited again.

During this time, Nami and I also discussed these revisions, particularly the need to alter the order of the two-narratives, over the phone. Each and every time I felt uncertain about anything, we were able to talk it out. I sincerely hope every writer on earth experiences such an easy and fun a time working on revisions.

One more quick round of revisions a couple of weeks ago, which I completed in an afternoon (mind you, I work particularly fast when I’m having fun) and Nami and I agreed that the novel was in its final form.

Now, I get to wait for more excitement as I anticipate the arrival of the first composites of the tentative covers for the novel. This, in my mind, will really bring all of this to a hard-hitting reality. I can’t wait to be able to have a visual image to match with the words of my story. I have full trust that the design team is taking great care to create and image that will go perfectly with the novel. Nami and I have already discussed how we both envision the cover art, and, as you may have guessed, we agreed completely. 

I am so glad that I am able to share this exciting process with others who are as passionate about writing as I am. I wake up every morning hoping that I haven’t just had a really long dream about all of this. I’m so glad I get to share it with you all.

Happy Writing,

—Corey

PS: I’m hoping to be able to reveal the official title of my novel to you all soon.

Corey Whaley hails from Shreveport, LA, where he works as an English teacher. He signed with Ken Wright, a literary agent at Writers House, last fall using WEbook's AgentInbox query service. His debut novel was purchased by Simon & Schuster early in 2010. To read more about Corey's amazing story, go here.

Can You Juggle?

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I won’t be self-indulgent enough to claim that I'm already some expert on having a career in writing. I am, however, someone who has been suddenly (and awesomely) thrust into the position of leading a double life.

I have my one life, in which I teach 6th grade English and Reading in my mid-size Louisiana city of Shreveport. And then I have my second life, wherein I am traveling to and taking phone calls from New York, editing my manuscript in coffee shops, and social-networking to help build up a fan base.

So far, I haven’t noticed my “day job” of teaching being greatly affected by my writing life. I will say, however, that I have started to find it hard to focus the attention (I think) I need to writing. Being a writer has changed for me with all of these recent revelations. For one, I am no longer a lone writer, hoping desperately to be read by someone, ANYONE, someday. I am, instead, a writer whose debut will be on sale in less than a year. I am also someone who has only been able to work on his second novel enough to scrounge up about sixteen pages. This is the part that is worrisome.

I have the great fortune of having a job that allows me some amazing vacation time, though. I am about to be off work for nearly three months and I hope, between road trips and sleeping way too late for my age, to finish my second novel and start the process of editing it as well. But, for those of you who don’t have the luxury (and there are few things about teaching I’d call luxuries) of extended vacations, I find myself wondering (and standing in awe of) how you manage to juggle your two lives?

So, to change things up a bit, I’d like to ask you to share any tips, stories, etc., you may have that might provide some insights to all of us WeBookers who sometimes find it difficult to reconcile what we HAVE to do with what we WANT to do.

Happy Juggling,

--Corey