It's going on four months since the release of What You're In For, and though sales are tapering off as expected, the excitement's not over. This past August I received my very first royalties check from Amazon, and just yesterday I received a check from Neighborhood Reads, the local bookstore in which WYIF has found a lucky home. As I type this, I'm sitting in a Barnes & Noble cafe in my college town, trying to grab lunch around the absurd amounts of makeup I'm wearing in anticipation for another author's photoshoot...
A few weeks back, I was contacted by the judicious journalist Emma Lingo from Vox Magazine in Columbia, MO, who's currently writing a story about how I, also, wrote a story! Being interviewed by her was a dream come true. (And I can't stress this enough. I was in a euphoric state the whole time.) Some young part of me can't help feeling that publicity like this equates to a step forward on my "authorship journey," and though my destination may yet be a far-off figment of my imagination, I offered Emma an egotistical little tease as to what those next steps of mine are. I hope that anyone reading this, and anyone bothering to keep up with my "journey" in general, gets to appreciate Emma's awesome work when it releases later this month!
As I'm learning in my internship with illustrious literary journal The Missouri Review, long periods of expectation and rejection are pretty much the norm in the world of professional writers. That being said, I'm privileged to be learning these industry details and absorbing such great material. The expert editorial staff takes a positive, encouraging approach when it comes to selecting what and what not to publish. Dr. Speer Morgan is a marvelous mentor. My fellow interns are exceptional. I'm already in hog heaven and I keep looking up.
One of my many jobs as an intern is to develop TMR's social media presence. This is daunting enough, considering my tendency to observe rather than participate/perform online (I'm socially anxious just sitting in this crowded cafe, listening to "Campus" by Vampire Weekend), but in today's world, commodifying one's internet identity is basically inevitable, so authors with followers are appealing. Because of this, I want to commit to being more active on my own socials as well as TMR's. We'll see what sticks!
That's about all I have to say for now. You might see me around online more often, and you might catch me in the Vox article. Whatever happens, thanks for reading, and have a great September!
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