A Finished Copy of ALTERED!

Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Something very special arrived today.

A finished hardcover copy of ALTERED.

I cannot adequately describe the feeling of opening the package and seeing my book in its final, printed version. All those months working on it. Revising. Revising. Copyedits. First pass pages. ARCs! And now, finally, it's done. I want to compare it to baby making, but truthfully, being pregnant was far easier than revising Altered. Being pregnant is actually a pretty charmed life if you have people who care about you. And thankfully I did. When I was pregnant with my daughter I napped a lot. Husband cooked me dinner almost every night. I napped some more. My shoulders were rubbed regularly and so were my feet. I watched a lot of TV. Read a lot of books. Napped. Napped. More napping.

I would compare revising a book to walking across a bed of hot coals, then jogging through a mountain valley with only peanut butter M&Ms and tequila to get you through the night. And then you emerge, only to realize the valley goes on and on for another ten miles and you're running out of tequila, and you have one M&M left but it's frozen solid, just like your feet, and you can't quite remember what real life felt like, you've been jogging for so long, and...don't you have a husband and kids? What do they look like? You've been buried so deep in edits mountain jogging that you can't remember.

Okay, okay, so perhaps I'm exaggerating a wee bit.

But when experienced writers warned me about the revision process, I never quite believed them. It's one of those things you don't understand until you've gone through it. And even then, it's different for every writer, and every book. For instance, Bot Wars was a lot easier to revise than Altered was, but that's perhaps a different post for a different time. This was supposed to be about celebrating!!

I opened the package that arrived on my doorstep early this AM and this is what came out ---


This is the moment where I felt like weeping. Holding the book! Seeing the little gift box and the card from my editor. I hugged the book to my chest and jumped up and down and hollered a lot. It was entertaining. 

This is what my editor sent along as a congratulatory gift ---


A tree necklace! It's absolutely perfect. Not only does it match the cover, but the tree symbolizes the tattoo on Sam's back. It's an incredibly touching/thoughtful gift, and it just served as a reminder of how lucky I am to have such an AMAZING editor. 

And then, after reading the card (and getting misty-eyed), I examined the book for what felt like forever. The dust jacket itself has a matte finish, and the branches, title and author name have a glossy, raised finish. I absolutely love that detail. You can see it better here ----


And then the spine and the back cover with all of those amazing blurbs from such amazing writers! 

Basically I was feeling the major love today. This package served as a reminder of how lucky I am, how grateful I am, to be here. I know there are unpubbed writers out there still trying to snag an agent. Or maybe you are represented, but you can't seem to sell anything yet. HANG IN THERE. It may not happen next week. Or next month. Or maybe not even next year. BUT IT WILL HAPPEN if you keep trying. 

And now, I am off to clutch the book to my chest again and pet its pretty spine work.







18 comments on "A Finished Copy of ALTERED!"
  1. LOVE the book AND the necklace!!

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  2. OMG! is a so beautiful edition! (I want it!) Congrats, Jennifer!

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  3. Wow, this is absolutely beautiful and the tree necklace is pretty amazing. Love the cover! I'm so excited for Altered that I'd totally hug it alongside you. =D

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  4. Yay! I'm so happy for you! I love seeing how far you've come since the days of LJ. It's exciting enough to just receive a finished copy of your book, but to also get such an amazing gift from your editor on top of that? You must be in heaven right now! Yay, again! :D

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  5. YAY!!! So nice!!! 26ish days to go!!! I sooo want a necklace like that :D

    Congratulations!!! You're one step closer!!! :)

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  6. It's beautiful--the book and necklace. Can't wait to get a copy. Congratulations!

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  7. I love the book and I can't wait to get a hard copy even though I have ARC . Congratulations

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  8. I really enjoyed your book! I was wondering if there would be a follow up to it?

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    1. SO cool to hear you liked ALTERED! And yes, there will be a sequel. There isn't a solid release date yet, but I'm assuming it'll be around January 2014.

      Thanks for stopping by!

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  9. just read Altered, really enjoyed it- congratulations! a great way to start publishing! :)
    looking forward to the next instalment

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    1. Hello Deniz! So glad you liked ALTERED! And thank you for stopping by the blog. I can't wait for everyone to read book two. It seems so far away! :D

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  10. Ooooh it's absolutely amazing!!!! Love it! Can't wait to read it!!! I plan on reading Altered first on my list this month as part of the DAC 2013 Challenge!!!


    ~Kayla
    http://theramblingsofatoddlersmom.blogspot.com

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    1. Awesome! I can't wait to hear what you think! I do hope you like it. *is nervous*

      Thanks for stopping by, Kayla! :D

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    2. omg! Loved it!!!!!! I could not put it down! Started it last night & read for 5 hours straight, LoL.

      One of my new faves for sure!! I just finished my review & posted it on my blog, Amazon & B&N :)

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    3. YAYAYAY! So cool to hear!! I like when people read it all in one sitting! It means I've done something right! :-)

      And thank you for posting your review on Amazon and B&N as well as your blog. It means so much!

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  11. I absolutely loved Altered. Couldn't put it down. I was so sad when I reached the end of the book, I wanted there to be more and more. I can't wait to find out what happens with Anna and the boys. Thank you soo much for writing this book.
    ~Courtney

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    1. Hey Courtney! Thanks for stopping by! So glad to hear you liked ALTERED! This makes me smile like a fool!

      Can't wait for you to read ERASED!

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