The Debutante Ball, established in 2007, is a group blog for authors making their debut in the literary world. We are now in our twelfth season of celebrating up-and-coming authors. Former Debs include bestsellers in the genres of women’s fiction, mystery, literary fiction, nonfiction, young adult, and more. Click on any of the photos above to learn about The Debutante Ball Class of 2019 and their books. Read about the bestselling…
Attacus Atlas & Other Inventions: Indie Love
Aloha. K.A. Doore wrote an essay yesterday about the reader’s buying power and how the support of an independent bookstore helps save jobs and sustain a vibrant literary community. I have nothing to add to her excellent work – she said it so eloquently. I want to say that I’m so deeply grateful I have the love and support of Counterpoint Press. This amazing independent press was brave to embrace…
There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Book
Every few months or so there’s a new conversation about independent bookstores (or “indies”) and a certain big, monopoly behemoth that also sells books. On the one hand, monopolies are inherently bad for everyone but the monopoly. On the other hand, there are arguments to be made about ease of access, affordability, and even safety. I, honestly, don’t care which you choose, as long as you make an informed choice….
[News Flash] April 21, 2019
Thank you so much to yesterday’s guest, Kirstin Chen! If you haven’t already, enter the #DebBallGiveaway to win a copy of Bury What We Cannot Take. You can enter by sharing our post on Facebook and/or retweeting the following tweet (make sure you follow @DebutanteBall on Twitter too!): https://t.co/kJ861hEBpo we are so excited to host @kirstin_chen this week on @DebutanteBall! RT & follow for a chance to win a copy…
Interview with Kirstin Chen and Giveaway for BURY WHAT WE CANNOT TAKE
I could not be more thrilled to welcome this week’s guest, Kirstin Chen, to the debutante ball! Kirstin Chen’s second novel, Bury What We Cannot Take, was named a best book of the year by Entropy, Popsugar, and Book Bub, and a top pick of the season by Electric Literature, The Millions, The Rumpus, Harper’s Bazaar, and InStyle. She is also the author of Soy Sauce for Beginners. She has received awards from the Steinbeck Fellows Program, Sewanee, Hedgebrook, the…
Writing Finances
I am not a finance person. When I think of the words “financial” and “realities” in the same sentence, my brain tries to make a little symbolic dive under a sofa. All I can do with this post is just lay it out there and be honest. I have no problem telling everyone exactly what my book finances have been so far, because I think it’s important…
What’s in your non-negotia-bowl?
Devi Laskar said it best: “It’s tax season and this is a perfect time to remember that unless your last name is GRISHAM or KING, it is difficult to make a living writing books. Don’t let it deter you.” I recently read a wonderful article about how to find a rewarding career path that utilized this graph to help you understand what you really want out of your life: According…
Be Your Own Patron
Being a writer is a great way to make money! …if you don’t need that money at any particular time. For example: I sold my second book on proposal in January. It’s April going on May and still haven’t gotten my first advance payment yet (though it should be arriving this week). There are the contract negotiations, the back and forth to get the thing signed, waiting for the money…
Attacus Atlas & Other Inventions: on money and madness
Aloha: It’s tax season and this is a perfect time to remember that unless your last name is GRISHAM or KING, it is difficult to make a living writing books. Don’t let it deter you: creating a writing life is a noble calling, it just doesn’t pay well for the aspiring or newbie writers. It doesn’t pay well for poets. You should know that it’s madness in a way, to…
The Financial Reality of Being an Author or Don’t Quit Your Dayjob
I just finished doing my taxes this past weekend, so this week’s topic about the financial reality of being an author is especially appropriate. Once you’ve stuck a proverbial toe into the publishing world, either as a new author or if you’ve just started querying, you quickly realize that the bestsellers and millionaires that get splashed across headlines and festivals are the exceptions that prove the rule. Nobody sane writes…
[News Flash] April 14, 2019
Thank you so much to yesterday’s guest, Maria Kuznetsova! If you haven’t already, enter the #DebBallGiveaway to win a copy of Oksana, Behave! You can enter by sharing our post on Facebook and/or retweeting the following tweet (make sure you follow @DebutanteBall on Twitter too!): This week, we spoke with Maria Kuznetsova, author of the delightful debut Oksana, Behave! RT and follow us at @DebutanteBall for a chance to win…
