Kate Watson's Blog

I'm only the tiniest bit in a sort of surreal denial as I write this...okay, maybe a lot bit. *big breath*

My book debuts today.

The book I first had an idea for six years ago. The book I first started writing four years ago. The book that got me my agent and my publishing contract and allowed me to meet a group of the most amazing and supportive author friends I could imagine, people who have become more friends than author friends, in fact.

Seeking Mansfield will always, always hold a special place in my heart. But today, I have to give it up to the world. Readers own it now. Their interpretations and feelings, their love and hate, are all as valid as my own. In some ways, this is freeing. I can't change anything. I can't justify anything. I can't explain what something really means. Because readers get to decide that for themselves now.

It's also scary.

Because giving this book up means that I can't change anything. I can't justify anything. I can't explain what something really means. My flaws, my weaknesses in writing, my inability to express myself as well as I'd hoped are all right there, on the page. Readers will take this book and draw conclusions about what kind of a person I am from what I've written. Sometimes this will be favorable. Sometimes, not so much.

And that's okay.

I did my best with this book, and I love it dearly. If I were writing it today, it would look a little different, because I've grown as a writer, and, I hope, as a person. I've learned from brilliant writers and I continue to watch and listen and learn from essential conversations happening that directly affect teen readers. But I'm proud of my efforts, and I'm beyond grateful to my incredible editor, Kelsy Thompson, my amazing editor, Dawn Frederick (and Bree Ogden before her), and the team at Flux for their support and for making this dream come true.

I'm excited for readers to be introduced to Finley Price and Emma and Harlan Crawford and Uncle Thomas and Oliver Bertram and Tate and...all of them.

Thank you for being a part of this journey with me.

I hope you enjoy.

Can you believe Seeking Mansfield comes out in exactly three months? No? ME EITHER! To celebrate, I'm running a giveaway!

One lucky winner will receive:

Kasie West's newest release By Your Side, Morgan Matson's Since You've Been Gone, and A signed advanced reader copy of Seeking Mansfield! 



Sigh. Aren't they pretty?
To win, you must be subscribed to my monthly newsletter. (All current subscribers will be automatically entered.) But you can earn extra entries by following me on twitter and tweeting about it. *wink wink*

Enter below by February 25th The winner will be announced in my newsletter on February 27th!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

In honor of the book birthday of one of my favorite YA Contemporary authors (and mentor!), Kasie West, I'm running a giveaway!

One lucky winner will receive Kasie West's newest release By Your Side as well as an exclusive signed advanced reader copy of Seeking Mansfield! WOO HOO!

To win, you must be subscribed to my newsletter, but you can earn extra entries by following me on twitter and tweeting about it. *wink wink*

Enter below...if you dare (which, honestly, I hope you do, because BOOKS!):

<a class="rcptr" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/disp..." rel="nofollow" data-raflid="9ac888220" data-theme="classic" data-template="" id="rcwidget_he0u4u93">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com...

November is one of my favorite months, and not just because of the holiday season. It’s one of my favorites because of National Novel Writing Month. Every year, writers band together and participate in a month long challenge in November to write 50,000 words of a novel, equating to 1667 words a day. The energy around NaNoWriMo is fun and infectious and unifying, and I love participating in it. 
I won (completed 50K+ words) in 2013 and 2014. In 2015, I ended a few thousand words shy of the goal when my family was in a car accident coming home from Thanksgiving, so I went ahead and gave myself a pass there. Winning NaNo this year seemed promising at first…until I realized it conflicted with a deadline to get a workable draft of my companion novel completed to my editor. (My publisher was acquired by another, larger house in October, and there was a span of about 10 days where everything was sufficiently hectic and uncertain that I let myself take a break from finishing that novel to think about a project just for fun—my NaNo project—otherwise, I wouldn’t have planned on NaNo at all this year).
Here’s the thing: I hate committing to something and not completing it. It makes me feel itchy all over. I want to be someone who can do everything: meet deadlines while simultaneously writing a new book and being active on social media and being a kick@ss wife and mom and friend with a clean house and dinner on the…okay, that last part is a lie. I hate cooking. I am why Costco’s frozen section was invented. But I digress.
This month, I’ve been reminded that, not only is it not possible to do it all, but the quest is causing me to mix up my priorities. Four years from now, when my youngest starts kindergarten and I find myself with six-ish uninterrupted writing hours every day, I want to look back on this time with no regrets. I want to have put first things first and to have used my time in meaningful, memorable ways.
In four years, when both my cuties are in school, I want to be able to say:
-I’m so glad I’ve been an involved, loving wife and mom while they were home.-I’m so glad that I was able to write two (or three or maybe even four!) more books during quiet time and after bed time.-I’m so glad I've maintained close friendships.-I'm so glad I could go to my writing retreats/conferences and get the occasional babysitter to write.-I’m so glad I’ve made such great writing friends and read so many brilliant books by them.
In order to say the above, here are some things I won’t be able to say:
-I’m so glad I spent so much time on Twitter/FB/IG/etc.-I'm so glad I watched all those TV shows-I’m so glad I made gourmet dinners every night.-I’m so glad the grout in my bathroom is so clean I could eat my nightly gourmet dinner off of it.-I'm so glad my kids watched so many extra movies so I could write.-I’m so glad I won NaNo in 2016.
So, why am I writing this? Because I’m an external processor and this is helping me feel better about abandoning my NaNo goal. Not the project! Just the goal. I’m writing it still, and I’m excited about it. But I’m 35,000 words behind with 10 days to go, and although I could get babysitters all week long and put a couple of extra movies on every day for my kids to meet the goal, it’s on my “things I won’t say four years from now when my youngest starts kindergarten” list*. With complete certainty, I know that in four years, I'll be just as happy that I finished this book in January as I will have been if I finished it in November. So, NaNo, I love you. But you gotta go. Here’s to next year.
For those doing NaNo, write all the words. For those who've found it isn't in their plans this year, that's cool, too. Your time is precious, and writing is a worthy, wonderful way to spend it. Writers of the world, I salute you. 
*Please know that this post is entirely self-focused and not even remotely a commentary on NaNoWriMo, which I dearly love, or the priorities of writers (it's like any other job--writing has to be a priority). Similarly, this is not a commentary on how many movies one lets one’s children watch when on deadline or when writing, in general (I sneak in extra writing/editing time daily during their TV time...usually instead of cooking). Nor is it meant to open up a discussion of the merits of cooking dinners in lieu of frequenting Costco's frozen aisle. It isn't. Let me have my dino-nuggets and you have your homemade chicken parmesan. Deal?

Several months ago, I found out the incredible Eric Smith was putting together an adoption anthology. The second I saw the announcement, I got literal, actual chills. I was especially excited because we are agency siblings (#TeamRedSofa) AND the anthology is being published by my publisher. And he still had openings for a few more short stories. I felt like the heavens were parting and a choir of angels was saying "Submit a short story, Freckle Face!"

So taking liberal advantage of these connections, I messaged Eric and begged asked him if I could submit a short story for his consideration. I wrote him an almost embarrassingly long message explaining what adoption means to me--I'm an adoptive mom to a multi-racial family; I have cousins, nieces and nephews, a grandparent, and my step-mom who were all adopted.  He was very gracious (which is sort of his hallmark) and said he'd love to take a look, while kindly explaining that there were a lot of submissions he'd be taking a look at and that he couldn't guarantee anything.



You guys. I wanted this so badly, I could feel it in my bones. I wrote the short story that night and let it sit for a couple of days. In a matter of a couple of weeks, with the feedback of my critique group and agent, I submitted it. I loved the story, but I knew it was missing something. And when I got Eric's feedback a few weeks later, he hit on exactly what was missing. After incorporating his suggestions, I couldn't get through the story without sobbing.

Perfect.

I sent it off to Eric again and crossed my fingers and toes. When I got the email from him saying he wanted the story, it was probably the happiest, most humbling moment of my career.



Today, seeing the
Now, go add the book to your TBR pile on Goodreads and start stocking up on tissues. You're going to need them in the best way. <3

I've been in the middle of edits lately, as well as drafting my next book, and the combination has caused some *cough* most *cough* other responsibilities to fall by the wayside. Like blogging.

The other day, I was talking with one of my critique partners who is also debuting next year (the fabulous Jennifer Park) about the responsibilities that come with publishing. We've both wanted to be writers since we were kids, and we've been working toward getting published for years. Our conversation turned to all the things we never realized when we first set out to write a book. We laughed about how having a book deal doesn't mean you've made it as a writer. Then we started to wonder what does.

When has a writer arrived?

Let's break it down. You have an idea. You research writing, read some books about plotting, read blog posts about pantsing, download beat sheets. You jot down ideas at all hours of the day and night, and you think about your book during meetings or church (whoops!). You decide to do NaNoWriMo or you set pen to paper for three years, or something in between. Then, finally, after all this time and thought and effort, YOU WRITE A BOOK.

Holy bleep. You wrote a book.

You've made it!

And you have! Except, then you learn that you need to get critique partners and beta readers to read it. You join a writing group, go to meetings, and learn more and more, incorporating all of it into your beautiful WIP. You revise a few a bunch of times until it's as good as you can imagine it being, around, say, draft #9.

Then you realize you need an agent. You research querying, write a thousand drafts of a query (with the help of your CPs), research agents, query, query, query. Rejection, rejection, rejection. Maybe you get an R&R. Maybe you enter some pitch contests. And during ALL OF THIS, you really should be writing your next book. Your brain keeps telling you that, anyway.

And then, one day, you refresh your email for the hundredth time and see a message--THE MESSAGE--from an agent! YOU HAVE AN AGENT! You've arrived!

Except, now your agent has feedback. You revise it again (hopefully only once, but maybe more and more and more). By draft #13, you're done. It's pretty and perfect and you're done.

Then you go on submission. Rejection, rejection, rejection, R&R.

Maybe this book never sees the light of day and you have to start over with a new book. Or maybe the R&R works out! You get an offer! YOU HAVE A BOOK DEAL! You've arrived!

Except, now there are more edits (developmental, line, copy; first pass pages). By draft #17, it's actually ready to go. You get a cover. You get ARCs (advanced reader copies). You buy swag and have giveaways and plan your launch party.

Then you debut. Holy bleep. Your baby is in the world. You are a published author.

YOU HAVE ARRIVED!

Except now, you have sales to worry about. And that next book to write. And the actual work of publishing, including conferences and proposals to teach classes. You're worrying about reviews and bloggers and whether your sales will entice another publisher (or the same publisher) to want another of your books. Which you still need to write.

And all of this time, you're still wondering when will I arrive?

It's an endless cycle... if you let it be.

But remember what you wanted when you first set out: you wanted to be a writer! And with that in mind, the answer is a lot simpler than we make it when we're in the throes of publishing or querying. It's easy to get caught up in every milestone and look at the success of other authors and think that that has something to do with our journey. But it doesn't. It really, really doesn't.

Do you know when you made it? The moment you wrote "CHAPTER ONE."

So congratulations!

You've arrived.

Starting May 1st, the Swanky 17 debut authors will be participating in a ten-day photo challenge! You can follow along on Instagram, Twitter, and/or Facebook to learn more about Seeking Mansfield. Stay tuned!

Over the last few months, authors on Twitter have shared their #novelaesthetics, three pictures that represent the heart of one's story. Today, I'm sharing mine for SEEKING MANSFIELD:



Now, I know the story, so I know why these pictures resonate with me. But I hope this acts as a good teaser for what's to come!
Additionally, you should take a look at the "Swanky 17" debut authors' novel aesthetics here (including another glimpse of mine, because why not?): 
https://storify.com/theswanky17s/swan...
What do you think?

We all have them, right? That indulgence that you don't necessarily talk about, but you enjoy all the same. Maybe it's singing along to One Direction in the car. Maybe it's spray cheese and peanut butter sandwiches. Heck, maybe it's the fact that you watch Peppa Pig when your daughter is at preschool.
My guilty pleasure is Hallmark Christmas Movies. (And maybe that Peppa Pig thing)
Except that's not totally accurate. It's not a guilty pleasure--I own the crap out of it. I love Hallmark Christmas movies. They're cheesy and cliche and silly and magical and I love them. I love how impractical and shockingly unlikely they are, but because it's Christmas, it almost seems less impossible. 
All I want to do all December long is eat Biscoff* with a spoon, straight from the jar, and watch a Merry Marathon every night after the kids are in bed.
My husband does not want this.
Too bad, sucker.**

*My spell check wants to change this word to Bischoff. What the heck is Bischoff and why does it think it's better than Biscoff? Because it's crazy.**Just kidding, babe. I love you. Now give me the remote. The "Nine Lives of Christmas" is starting.

The first book I ever wrote was when I was six or seven years old, and I sold it to my mom and dad for 25 cents.  It was called the Heart People, and it featured hearts with smiley faces and stick arms and legs, and Heart Boy and Heart Girl did really awesome things like go down slides and have crushes on each other. The book was written on binder paper and bound with yarn, and it had a cover and everything. It was as terrible as you can imagine, but I got 25 cents worth of candy out of that thing.

Based on the success of my first novel, I wrote a lot more, fast, and of rapidly declining quality. Eventually my sole customer noticed the lack of quality and fresh material and the market for my book dried up. But that love of writing was already deep in my soul. As was my love of candy.
By grade two (that's what we Canadians call second grade), when I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said I wanted to be a writer, an actress, and an airline stewardess. The next year, I said writer again, and the next year and the next. By high school, I'd written a fantasy novel that was really glorified fan fiction of David Eddings Belgariad series. 
I may have taken a few years off here and there, but I was always writing in my head, coming up with new stories and envisioning characters. Then three and a half years ago, when my daughter was born, I left my career in corporate America and decided to be a full-time mom and part-time writer.
I've never looked back.