Debut groups. What writers with their first publishing contracts are a part of. Ah, the dream! For years I’ve seen the hashtags of debut groups. We’ve all heard of the most recent Novel19s and Roaring20s, right?
As soon as I had serious interest in my young adult novel, List of Ten, I realized I was clueless about the next steps. If my book sold, what would I need to do for marketing, what would the timeline be, and when could I schedule my book launch! (4-6 months out by the way)
I searched the internet for information about the debut year, attended a seminar, and got all the information I could from friends who had gone through it already. (I did the same thing before my first child was born, and no kidding, I am keeping track of my debut year the same way by counting down the months until THE DAY!)
But I still had a lot of questions. And feelings. Tons of feelings. I had no idea what to do with them. I needed people on the inside. People who could tell me if I was on the right track or needed to get my butt in gear because they had the same deadlines. I needed people who were just was lost as I was in this new venture. So, as soon as my contract was announced I found a group.
And with the permission of The21ders MG/YA Debut Group, I’m going to give you a peek inside.
We are writers from many different countries and backgrounds. We are he, she, they. Young, older, and a tiny bit older than that. Our publishers are small, medium, and large. We write in all genres. Contemporary, rom-com, fantasy, historical fiction, science fiction, non-fiction, speculative fiction, and more. But despite how different we seem, we are the same. We have the same questions, insecurities, and celebrations.
Now that you know who we are, let me tell you what we do. We talk. A lot. We discuss marketing strategies. Some of us are more in touch with that part of life than others and they happily share what they know. We talk about copy edits and pass pages which helps us figure out where we are in the pre-publication timeline.
Covers and book two, or options, are frequently brought up in our chats with some good experiences and some not as good. Writing book two on a tight deadline is just as difficult and terrifying as it sounds. But all of it is easier with other who have the same fears.
In addition to having a place to come together to discuss the behind the scenes work of writing and publishing, we are a group of kid lit writers which more than anything means support. In the past few weeks we have plastered social media with each other’s book cover reveals, and in less than two weeks, we banded together and raised money to sponsor a We Need Diverse Books grant.
You will be hearing a lot more about debut groups, especially The21ders. Stay tuned for monthly Twitter chats on the 21st of each month (of course) starting in July with the hashtag #The21ders. Watch for us across social media platforms as we talk about books, writing, and sharing a little bit about ourselves.
You can also check out our debut books on Goodreads. We will keep you reading for the entire year!
