Tuesday, October 07, 2008

PJs Forever! -- Jay

If I could, I would wake up everyday and stay in my pajamas till I swap (in a move reminiscint of Mr. Rogers) one pair of pajamas for another just in time to crawl back into bed. My days would consist of waking up, brewing some coffee, sitting down to write, and not getting up (other than for refills and bathroom breaks) till I can't write anymore.

And now...I'll have the chance to do that.

In an extremely bittersweet move, I recently gave notice that I will be leaving my full-time job at the public library to become a full-time writer. I absolutely love my job at the library. Everyday, I feel like I'm contributing something worthwhile to the community. And my co-workers have all become friends. But it's every author's dream (at least, every author I've spoken with) to have the chance to devote as much time as possible to their stories.

And now...I'll have the chance to do that!

This definitely was not an easy decision. My agent, the fine folks at Penguin, my family, and the Mermaids have all been pushing me in this direction for quite a while. But I'm a worrier, so just the idea of leaving the stability of a full-time job (with benefits!) was agonizing. So my agent and the fabulous folks at Penguin basically pushed me out of the nest (can Penguins fly?) and now I'm happy to announce that I'm putting all of my eggs into one basket. [If you check out the third photo in this post, that's what we were toasting. Sometimes it takes a while to finalize these things.]

On top of writing, I'll be able to do a lot more promoting, which is almost as fun as writing. (Actually, it's more fun than writing...but don't tell the fantastic folks at Penguin I said that!) For example, last weekend I signed books at the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association tradeshow.

Take a looksie...

Do any of you recognize this woman? She's a V.I.P. in the history of my book signings. Click here to find out who she is. And yes, I realize I have a problem thinking I need to hold my book every time my photo is taken. Call it author-insecurity.

Okay, now this is ridiculous! I must really have author-insecurity issues. On the left is Allison Verost, my publicist at Penguin. According to Allison, publicists should never be photographed. They should remain behind-the-scenes. So, everyone...this is Allison! And on the right you will find Penguins Sales Rep. Extraordinaires, Steve Kent and Colleen Conway.

Problem solved! I can hold someone else's book while they hold my book. Before my autographing session, I had coffee with fellow Razorbillian, Richelle Mead. Richelle does a much better job on her blog of showing you what an actual tradeshow looks like.

Now, it's time to buy some comfy new pajamas!

- Jay


Mermaid Meet-Up: Today (Tuesday, October 7th), I'll be speaking at the fourth annual San Luis Obispo Suicide Prevention Forum. It'll be at Laguna Middle School from 6-9pm. If you're in the area, stop by...and take home some valuable information. You can download a flyer here.

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Woo hoo! Now you and Evie can go pajama-shopping together. Good luck on the transition. Miss you, mean it (and Eve and Robin, too).
Lamy

Wild About Words said...

Jay,

Congratulations! And remember, you'll still be making a contribution to the community every day -- just a much, much larger community.

With all good wishes,
Donna

Anonymous said...

Congratulations, Jay! What a leap! May your days be filled with creativity and coziness.

Kelly Polark said...

Wow! Congrats! I recommend Spongebob Squarepants loungewear or perhaps your favorite sports team. (My husband works at home, he loves his "work clothes"!)
Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Best of luck, Jay. And these penguins flew, with some help.

sruble said...

Congratulations on your new full-time writing life Jay!

Stephanie
(sruble from the BlueBoard)

Anonymous said...

Jay - this is so exciting. You're livin' the dream! Huge congrats.
Angela

Brianna Caplan Sayres said...

What anexciting leap to be able to make! Your job at the library also sounds like it was wonderful, but now you'll be making contributions to an even wider world of children's literature. (And I just have to tell you how much I love Thirteen Reason Why. I don't usually read YA, but I finished it and had to read it all over again to analyze how you had hooked me so completely as a reader.)

Mari Hunt said...

Learn to ignore the weird look the UPS guy gives you when you answer the door at 1pm in your bathrobe. Congratulations!

Jen Robinson said...

Congratulations, Jay!! What a big step. PJs forever!

Jacqui said...

Congrats and good luck. I recommend flannel myself.

Jacqui (SproutQ from BBs)

CJ Omololu said...

As long as you're not wearing that shortie kimono, I'm all for it!

Yay for Jay!

Natalie said...

I think the stellar folks at Penguin should send you a pair of penguin pj's. :-) And judging by your "Mermaid Meet-Up" announcement, it sounds like you'll be giving even more back to your community than ever. Congratulations, Jay!

The Bill Cochran said...

Congratulations.
I personally would like to announce that I am adopting your Pajama to Pajama lifestyle... but will be doing it at my job. We'll see how long this lasts.

Lisa Schroeder said...

Woo hoo - so happy for you, Jay! And they say don't quit your day job. Ha! You showed them!!!

Disco Mermaids said...

Ah, the PJ to PJ lifestyle!

I knew you'd heed my advice eventually and come over to the dark side!

Let's definitely go PJ shopping together! Although, I buy my PJ's at Victoria's Secret, so, um, you cool with that? Pink cami-tops would be so perfect for your physique and skin tone!

Eve

Anonymous said...

Congrats, Jay! So glad you made the big decision! Can't wait to read all the work you produce. Good luck to you! BTW.... I think I might have detected that you're happy with Penguin?! :-)

Suzanne Young said...

The book mobile will never be the same.....

Congrats! The toast was well deserved.

-Suz

Anonymous said...

Jay,
Wow - a huge decision, & a very exciting one. May your pajama life be as productive, fulfilling, & more lucrative than your library life has been.
Woohoo!
Charlie

Disco Mermaids said...

Maybe I'll take you all PJ shopping with me. I'll photograph my top 3 choices, and you can choose!

Hmm...

- Jay

C.R. Evers said...

That's awesome jay! Congratulations! :0)

Christy

Unknown said...

Congratulations, Jay! Welcome to full-time writerhood! I hope you went out to buy new pajamas to celebrate:)

Rita said...

This is a huge move. Congrats, Jay!! Keep us posted on how the whole transition feels. :D