First Pass Pages and News Alert: The hardback isn't dying!

Guess what? This is me, putting my very first First Pass Pages in the mail to send back to my editor. It may seem weird, considering it was edits, but I've been dying for this milestone! It's the first time my edits come looking bookish. With the title page, Library of Congress page, dedication, bio acknowledgements, correct fonts and layout and chapter titles-- everything! It's actually the first time I've read the book in six months, and one of the last times I'll see it before it's printed. It's a little strange to be in the middle of edits on book 2 and writing book 3, to go back to working on book 1. But it was also pretty cool to once again get grounded in what started it all.

Also, word to the wise: if you mail 300 pages and need it to get somewhere in two days, it costs somewhere around $10. If you mail it overnight, it costs somewhere around $45. Plan accordingly.

Not that I meet my deadlines at the very last moment or anything...

And in other news, I read an industry news article in Publisher's Weekly about MG & YA sales, and it had this graph.

People have been saying for the past while that hardcover books are on their way out. That they are going to be a thing of the past before too long. But check it out, peeps! SALES ROSE ON HARDCOVERS last year! And really, in nearly every category! And holy moley. Check out the rise in e-book sales. Incredible! People still want to buy books. And they still want hardcovers. And e-books like crazy. All is right in the world. (And if you don't believe me, stop doing things like watching the news, and come hang out with me in my protective bubble. There's rainbows and lollipops here. And occasionally unicorns.)

And a huge thank you to Deanie at Thoughts and Ideas from Deanie Humphrys-Dunne. She just awarded me the Liebster Award. Thanks, Deanie!