Jake Smith's Blog

One year ago, after a mid-January, late-night discussion with my wife about my (lack of) fiction writing successes, I teetered somewhere between “am I just a glutton for punishment” and “maybe golf would be a saner hobby.” I used to golf a lot in high school. It’s not saner. And as for the punishment, my thick skin formed from previous rejections was finally starting to crack. Whatever salve I rubbed on it just stung. And not the good kind of sting, either, the kind that tells you the medicine’s working.

My wife stayed true to the argument she’s given me for the last dozen years: “It’s just not your time yet.” Young family, full-time job, coaching duties, Little League games, a beautiful part of the world we live in… a thousand things pulling us in a thousand directions. “It’s just not your time yet.”

One year ago today, my time arrived.

Through a fortuitous friend-of-a-friend turn of events, the synopsis for Wish and the first three chapters ended up in the hands of a New York Times best-selling author. “This looks good,” he told me over e-mail (I’m paraphrasing), “surprised you haven’t had more traction. Let me send it off to a few people.”

I received that e-mail on my lunch hour on January 31, 2013. That evening, the phone rang. I didn’t recognize the caller ID, so I figured it was a telemarketer and left it for the machine. Besides, the whole family was watching a really neat Disney short video on my computer. But as I walked out of the room, I heard someone leaving a message. Thinking that telemarketers don’t normally leave messages, I listened.

On the machine, agent Jeff Kleinman of Folio Literary Management – one of the “few people” my friend had sent them off to earlier in the day – was telling me that he had received the three chapters and he wanted the rest.

And there I stood. The call I had been waiting years to receive. And I screened it.

Actually, that’s not entirely accurate. Once I heard who it was, I held the phone trying to decide if I should beep in and cut him off. Fearing my voice would crack and I wouldn’t be able to talk, I took a breath and let him finish his message. My e-mail dinged shortly after as he followed-up, just as he’d promised on his message; and in the course of a few more e-mails that night, I answered some questions and sent him the rest of the book. The next morning, we talked, he sent the contract, and that was that. I had a literary agent. All in the span of about 24 hours. Years and years of patience and frustration and worry and perseverance and hope and rejection and determination… all either swept away or rewarded in 24 hours.

Not quite a year later (I think this past December), I received the Advance Reader Copy of Wish. From collecting cyberdust to sitting in my hands. From “why do I put myself and my family through this,” to my name on a cover. There are more surreal experiences, but I’m a bit hard-pressed to think of one right now.

And now, in the coming months, the final sprint to release day, May 1, and all that lies beyond.

I still can’t believe I screened that call.

Right from the moment I sat down to begin, Wish felt different than the other novels I had written. Not my typical genre, Wish was a step out of my comfort zone, though a necessary step as my comfort zone wasn’t getting my anywhere.

My brother solidified that “different feeling” with something he told me after reading the first draft. As we canoed back to shore after tussling with some bass and bluegill on a beautiful northern Michigan summer evening, he said, “How does it feel to know that this will be the first book you get published?” I confess, I didn’t think so at the time, thinking back to the stack of rejection letters at home for my other stuff. And I really would’ve shot his notion down had I known at that time how many rejection letters I would go on to compile for Wish before it found a home through a whirlwind series of events.

But maybe he was right. Maybe that’s why everything felt different. I must’ve known it, subconsciously anyway, because this was the first book I had written in which I kept a journal of the process, from when I began, to today, as the publication date draws near. It’s not an everyday sort of thing, mostly something I tap out quickly when significant events happen.

And it’s not under lock and key like my daughter’s diary. So over the course of the next several months leading up to publication — and whatever exciting events happen afterward and wherever this whole ordeal might lead — I’ll share some of those journal entries with you.

It’s a little like Christmas morning, when an author receives the cover of his first novel. But just like Christmas, it’s in the giving — the sharing — that we find the most joy. I am so thrilled to be able to share the cover of Wish with you. Seeing this for the first time provided quite a “gut check” moment for me — that this, all of this, is really happening. Thanks for joining me on the ride.

Thank you for stopping by! This will be the place to keep track of the launch and life of my debut novel, Wish, a book that culminates many years of perseverance and pulled hair. Throughout the course of the next several months, prior to Wish’s release in May of 2014, I’ll fill you in on exciting events, upcoming promotions, where I might be showing up for signings or speaking engagements, and tidbits on the entire saga — researching, writing, landing an agent and publisher, and the eventual release of Wish.

And when that mysterious “Book #2” begins to take shape, this will be the place to peek into the world and mind of a writer. It’s kind of dusty. With cobwebs. And lots and lots of echoes.

The whole life of Wish to this point has been quite a ride. Roller coaster-ish, you could say, and one with a really — really — long climb at the beginning. Perhaps not as long as other authors have experienced, but long enough if you ask my family.

You’ll have the option of sharing these posts on your social media pages — please do! — and, at times, leaving your own comments (mostly when I remember to flip them on). I’ll try to link back and forth to my Facebook and Twitter pages, and you can help by sharing-retweeting-hashtagging-liking-pinning-whateverothersocialmedialingothereisfortelling yourfriendsTHISBOOKISREALLYCOOL! As you’ll see in other pages of the website, we are trying to do some pretty special things with Wish, and your simple sharing will help the impact.

And the first thing I hope you share is… the cover!

Over the next couple of weeks, Wish will be available for pre-order! Select your favorite retailer from the Books page, or from the links over there to the left. And if you want to put in a good word for the book at your local, independent bookstore, I’d appreciate it.

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