This is just a brief post through a blur of happy tears, and it’s aimed at you, those people reading my blog who have been climbing the same mountain of drafts and redrafts and rejections and workshops and how-to books and support groups and critique sessions and are thinking I’ll never make it. I know how you feel. I was there for a long long time, more than fifteen years. And all i want to say is, don’t give up, it is SO worth the tears and the trials and the long, long wait.
Most of you will have seen my beautiful book cover by now. Here it is, in all it’s glory, back cover included:
It was revealed by SCBWI’s own Vivienne De Costa on her book review blog Serendipity Reviews. Viv worked so hard to get an excited build up before the reveal and she tells me she had an amazing 200 hits in the first minute of the blog going live. Alongside this, Usborne YA Shelfies ran a really interesting piece on how Hannah Cobley, the cover designer, arrived at the final look.
Facebook and Twitter all went a bit crazy – I did absolutely no work ALL DAY. The book doesn’t come out until February 1st next year but people are already buying it on pre-order. I was skipping about and grinning like an idiot. True, this was all about the cover, but there was also a lot of excitement about the concept of the book.
I don’t know what will happen when it finally comes out. The early reviewers have been really kind about it – did you read the quote from Teri Terry on the back cover? That’s, Carnegie nominated, multi award winning Teri Terry who said my book was:
” Weird, wonderful and utterly fabulous”
Who knows what everyone else will make of it?! It is weird, I know people might hate it but you know what, I love it. I probably shouldn’t say that, but it’s the truth. My editor, Sarah Stewart, has helped make More of Me a book I will always be proud of. And nothing, nothing can take away the joy of Friday. The ground swell of warmth and excitement across social media was extraordinary. I lost count of the number of tweets and shares and I know a lot of that will have come from my SCBWI friends.
Thank you, all of you. If this is your dream too, please, please, don’t give up. If I can get this far, so can you.
PS. If you’re after more, erm, brutal motivation, look out for my Writercise Boot Camp post on Notes From the Slushpile on 9th November – hosted in the grounds of Philip Ardagh’s Manor, Steve Cole will be putting you through your paces. there’ll be advice from guru Tanya Landman and gentle coaxing from Agony Aunt Cathy Cassidy. It might all get a bit shouty – what can I say, Nanowrimo is coming up!
Kathryn Evans 
Kathy, is it just me? I keep getting page not found.
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posted in error! sorry, shoudl be working now!
should be ok now!
So glad you’ve persevered and are enjoying all these wonderful milestones in your journey. Love weird 🙂
What an exciting time for you! Your making my heart swell just reading about this – and the cover looks great!! I’m in the middle of getting myself a cover designer and already can’t wait to see it. I’ll know there’ll be happy tears when I see it for the first time.
There will, I’m sure, enjoy!
Congratiulations! Your book looks fabolous and sounds really interesting, I will definitely check it out in February, can’t wait! I am working on a youth novel myself, I just started it a couple of months ago and am taking a writing class where we discuss our work in progress. It’s awesome! I always dreamed of writing a novel but this is the first idea that I really feel good about and the critique in my class, both good and bad, is really helping me a lot. Still I know that I have a long, long way to go, so much to learn, and it always inspires me of people who went through the same fight and made it. You made it and that’s great!
Thank you! The learning is fun but the pay off is great! Good luck x