My Book as a Read Aloud? GASP!

If I am to be completely honest, I was a bit terrified to begin I AM DRUMS as a read aloud. My students were excited, to be sure, and I had the permission of my editor, my principal, and the district office. So why exactly was I so apprehensive about sharing a huge accomplishment with my kids? I'm supposed to be setting an example for them -- why not be a role model of where writing can take you?

The truth is I had no idea what they'd think. We're a little over halfway through, and I'm still searching their faces a little too much, trying to figure out what they are enjoying the most. The first thing I noticed after the first read aloud session, where we covered the first two chapters of the book, was the kids were a little speechless. I AM DRUMS was not turning out to be the book they thought I'd written. It was about a girl, first and foremost, and the kids described her that first day as "not really someone who fits in" and as a "girl who acts like a boy because she wears a baseball cap." Interesting.

Thankfully, my biggest fear (that they'd hate the book) was proven silly. I not only had their attention, but possibly the largest participation in discussions than any other read aloud all year. And they had interesting things to say -- about who Sam was, and whether she was doing the right thing, and can it be okay to do the wrong thing if your heart is in the right place at the time. It has been kind of amazing.

Another surprise -- Pete, the music teacher, is a big hit. I always worried I wrote him as too rough and tough, but the kids so far find him oddly hilarious. One student said, in response to the chapter that introduces him into the story, "That sounds like something you'd write." Then quickly added, "I meant that in a good way." :)

One quick confession -- I pulled a few moments of mild questionable language. And yes, I do feel a bit cowardly, especially since I am (for the most part) philosophically on the side of letting kids read what interests them over removing the opportunity to read something potentially mature for their age. On the other hand, I have to respect my role as teacher while those kids are in my hands, and I think, given the context, it was the right decision for this particular age group.

There's still plenty more book to go. The kids have made a lot of predictions, and it will be interesting to see how they react as Sam's story plays out.

I AM DRUMS on Goodreads

Consider me surprised, though not in a bad way, to discover that I AM DRUMS is suddenly on Goodreads.

It looks like the description was pulled directly from the Publisher's Weekly blurb, and there are already some readers who've added it to their TO READ list. Now I'm blushing....

Anyways, please add it to your own reading list if you are on Goodreads and want an extra reminder when it hits shelves in Fall 2015.

In the meantime, I'm adding more to the site, which is now officially mikegrossoauthor.com. It's not where I want it to be just yet, but as Bob said, "Baby steps to the hallway....."

Is There An "I Got Into Publisher's Weekly Dance"?

...because if there isn't, I'm creating one. And it will likely include backflips. Here's the small to many (but not small to me in my very new writing career) blurb next to my big silly face:

http://publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/61869-rights-report-week-of-april-14-2014.html

My book deal was announced on the same web page as Mike Lupica? Yes, I'll take that with a side of Happiness Pancakes!

Counting Up Rejections

I spent some extra free time today during my son's nap doing something that felt amazing.

I counted my rejection letters.

It took a while. In the twenty-first century, counting rejection letters for me meant combing through old emails, searching for all sorts of keywords like "query" and "submission" and "not the right fit for us". It also meant opening up an old shoebox that's been collecting snail mail rejections since 2007. Most of them say something along the lines of "thank you, but no". But a few of them had personalized rejections, or "please send us the first fifty pages" next to another envelope with "Thank you for sending us the first fifty pages, but no."

It was pretty gratifying, actually, to see how many places I've sent things. I totally forgot, for instance, that I'd sent several stories to Cemetery Dance once upon a time. It was also nice to revisit old works of fiction, both long and short, that I can look at now with a knowing eye for what was wrong with my writing at the time.

The coolest part of all was calculating how many rejections I've amassed in all. I have an ESTIMATED final count of.... drumroll, please.......

DUGGADUGGADUGGADUGGADUGGA
....
....
.... 425 rejection letters.

It breaks down in a very internet-influenced way. 376 of them are E-rejections, while only 49 are snail mail rejections. The numbers also show that I gravitate more towards writing novels than short stories, as 300+ are queries to agents rathen than submissions to literary magazines.

It's also worth noting that the actual number of rejections I've received might be higher. For instance, it doesn't include anything before 2007, which was when I truly started writing and submitting my work regularly and collecting snail mail rejections in a little shoebox. This wouldn't add on much, but it would add something.

All of this makes me think that rejection letters, as hurtful as they are at the time, really are a good sign. If you're getting them, it means you haven't given up. You're taking an extra step that the majority of people who care about words enough to make some of their own are afraid to do. If your response to a rejection letter is, "Better get started on the next one," then you're not really losing out at all.

I've long forgotten who gave me the advice that "every rejection letter you receive is one rejection closer to yes", but I do feel I owe them a big thank you, or at least a really big cookie.

I AM DRUMS on shelves Fall 2015

It's official. I AM DRUMS has been purchased by Egmont, USA, and will be released sometime in Fall of 2015! That feels like a long time from now, but at least I know it will definitely happen.

The news came yesterday. A few phone calls, exchanges of emails, and suddenly the news started spreading amongst my family, friends, and various social media. My Facebook account, in particular, exploded with friends congratulating me and saying how they couldn't wait to read it. It felt nice -- it's one of those moments you dream about during the many years you spend submitting your work and collecting rejection letters and wondering if any of this insanity will ever pay off.

But, as my agent told me over the phone, "the fun has just begun." It's a long way to Fall 2015, and during that time there will be quite a lot to complete. There will be more revision notes. There will be waiting to see what the cover will look like. There will be my trip with my wife to New York in July, which we've wanted to do for almost eight years but never had a good excuse to follow through. Then there will be the moment when I actually get to hold a copy of I AM DRUMS in my hand. Yeah, that will be something, all right.

I've learned a lot of lessons this year. I can't even begin to fathom them all, but I'll be doing a lot of thinking and, of course, a lot of working. The next book isn't going to finish itself.

Almost There

It's time to blog again for three reasons:

1) I haven't in a while, and it's about time.

2) It's 1:38 AM and I can't sleep.

3) Most importantly, I AM DRUMS is almost there.

By "almost there" I mean that an offer to buy the book has been put on the table. My agent has made it clear that there is some negotiating to be done, but it's good to know that if I really wanted to, I could reach my hand out this second and cross something off my bucket list.

Little by little the news that I may become a published author next year is leaking out amongst friends and coworkers. And it's better, really, that it's out there. I need to get used to feeling comfortable talking about this as a real thing, and stop thinking that I'll jinx it the second I open my mouth.

My next blog will hopefully be the official news that a book deal has been set in stone. I''ll be looking forward to writing it (and continuing to miss out on sleep) until that happens.

Editorial Phone Calls and the 50 Book Pledge

It's been three months since I've posted anything. Not my best time for blogging.

The good side of this is I've been productive in nearly every capacity. The new book is slowly coming along, and I had an excellent phone call with an editor about I AM DRUMS. The editor was definitely interested in the book, but her editorial team needs a few more revisions before they can jump on the bandwagon. Very reasonable revisions, thankfully, and my agent confirmed that they seemed very sensible (he added that he's seen editors ask for pretty weird things). If I was to give advice to other writers about this part of the process, it would be the importance of listening.

I took a few days to stew over the phone conversation and got right to work. Within two to three weeks I had a revised manuscript that I was pretty sure covered everything the editor asked for. Now it's back to the waiting game!

On another separate note, I felt my reading habits slipping in late 2013, mostly due to the stress of work. That's unacceptable no matter the reason, so I joined the 50 Book Pledge for 2014, if only to keep myself on pace and/or catch myself if I'm letting life get in the way of reading regularly. For those of you who've never heard of it, the 50 Book Pledge is an oath to read AT LEAST 50 books by the end of the year. I'm hoping for more.

I've read ten books so far this year (almost finished my eleventh), which has me on pace for 53 books. I'd really like to be on pace for 60, but maybe I have to chill out about that for now.