Jan 6th 2009
Yay! 2nd Printing & reviews galore…
Yay! I got some good news today! Sucks to Be Me should be going into a second printing! Yay! If I was capable of turning a cartwheel, I would. Though I don’t actually know how many copies were in the first printing, so the news doesn’t actually tell me too much, but I know it’s good!
I’ve also been getting some fan mail (hehe, I still have to kind of giggle when I say that) from some really lovely fans, including lots of boys (which I totally didn’t expect!). Before I was published, I always wondered what would be the best thing about being a “real author” — and I probably always thought it would be the feeling you get when you hold your book in your hand for the first time or being able to walk into a bookstore and see your book there. And those things are really cool, but the real best thing is hearing from people about how your book touched their lives or made them laugh or brightened their day. That’s really cool.
At any rate, I also went on a mini-Google-athon today (when I should have been writing…bad me) and found some new reviews & mentions of Sucks to Be Me online. Here’s a sampling:
- The Field Guide to Parenting says: “I’m not sure how she did it, but the author has managed to create a normal family and a teen with typical problems, except for the fact that the family is full of vampires. The Myth/Truth at the top of each chapter and the plays on words (remember “It sucks to be me?”) add to the delightful, often zany adventure of an average girl dealing with an out-of-this-world problem.” and “Original and witty, it leaves you wondering how suddenly vampires don’t seem so strange after all.“
- And Through the Looking Glass (can’t remember if I mentioned this or not before…she also interviewed me and was really lovely) says: “Written from Mina’s point of view, the author has created a compelling voice for her character. It is a voice that is true to how a teenager thinks and feels, and for this reason readers will quickly find themselves becoming attached to this quirky and thoroughly likeable girl.“
- And there’s She Reads, She Blags About, who says: “Sucks to Be Me is written in a diary format, and Mina’s voice reminds me a lot of Mia’s in The Princess Diaries: light, funny, and just a little self-conscious. The concept isn’t just clever and inventive, it’s also well-executed, which is a rare combination: Pauley re-writes a lot of the “rules” of vampires, but she’s always consistent, which will please vampire aficionados. (You know who you are.)“
- And then I found this really lovely comment too: “I bought and finished reading this book yesterday. It is now one of my favorite books and I felt like telling people about it. This is the debut novel of Kimberly Pauley. Seriously, you have got to check this book out. It’s laugh-out-loud funny with great characters and you’ll instantly fall in love with Mina. Plus every chapter starts off with a vampire myth and Mina tells you if it’s true or not in her own personal way.“
In other news, I’ve been working on a new book proposal and talking with another writer about outlines. So I think I’ll be putting together a writing-related post about outlining soon. 
And, as always, if you have any writing or other questions, feel free to ask!
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i have a question =) (of course)
When writing part of my working in progress story/maybe book, i read it too many times (well i just loved it so much, at first) and it got a bit awkward. That’s the only word i can think of to explain it. Have you had this problem?? And if so, how did you ‘fix’ it?
i’m not even sure you’ll understand my question, but it’s worth a try
i just realized that question was almost exactly like the one i asked (yesterday, was it?)….. i dont know if you can answer it any better than you did before (by the way, thanks.). if you want to answer it again (or add something to it…), you can, but it’s not necessary. i think outlining might solve my problem. (i’ll never know till i try, eh?)
What can i say? i have such a bad memory… well and i was running/walking up and down stairs and ramps for soccer conditioning for and hour and a half earlier…. blegh. i’m worn out.
That’s pretty common, actually. It’s like if you say a word over and over and over again and all of a sudden it just kind of loses meaning. In those situations, the best thing to do is to put it away for a little while. Maybe work on something else. Or, at the very least, keep going and stop re-reading. The more distance you can put between yourself and the part that’s gone all awkward, the better. Then re-visit it later and see what you think then. I also highly recommend reading it aloud to yourself later on — that can help you pinpoint bits of awkwardness.