Back to the Beginning -- Jay

When my book first sold, I had a funny conversation with my editor. Even though I’d been trying to sell a book for years, I never really considered what I would do when it happened. How time consuming would it be to promote a book? How flexible of a schedule would I need?

“Should I quit my job?” I asked. “I mean, I love my job…but if you want me to, I’ll do it.” For making my dream come true, I would’ve done pretty much anything she asked.

My editor, who was used to dealing with nervous and excited new authors, told me to take a deep breath.

“Like this?” I asked. I wanted to breathe to her exact specifications.

I work at a library, which we both saw as a positive. And I worked Tuesday through Saturday, so I was able to pack a lot of school visits into those Mondays.

But it’s all changing now. Starting this coming week, I’ll be working Monday through Friday, which means my amount of school visits are going to have to decrease a bit. And I love school visits. When I first started doing them, I was scared out of my mind. But they quickly became my favorite aspect of being an author.

My last school visit was an awesome one, though. I returned to where it all began. I spoke to three college classes taught by Nancy Hurd. When I took her class, it was called Children's Literature Appreciation. And you’ll find Mrs. Hurd listed in the acknowledgements pages of Thirteen Reasons Why, mentioned as the reason I wrote my first book.

Fortunately, the managing editor of the school paper was there to catch it...

- Jay


BONUS COOLNESS: Thirteen Reasons Why just re-entered the NY Times Best Sellers list at #5!!!