Faculty Voices: Emily Jenkins (e. lockhart) from Scotland

Hello from Scotland. My (infrequent) faculty Inkpot posts have all been a little bit about professional author stuff and some thoughts on going about it. This one will be more of the same.

I’m writing this in early August, currently traveling for my publisher in the UK and Ireland. Very often books come out in a different order or at different times in foreign markets—because translation takes time. Even in English-speaking markets, there can be a delay, or the books might not come out at all. For example, I had my first adult book come out in the UK and Ireland — and my first three YA books, but after that, I had no publisher there for many years. There wasn’t much I could do about it. However, when We Were Liars came out, I got a new publisher, and that publisher bought my older YA up and brought it out as new. 

I’m here for two reasons, then. The first is is to tour bookshops and do a festival (YALC—the Young Adult Literature Conference) for books that I wrote a long time ago. That’s an interesting thing to do, as the books haven’t been particularly popular, and I’m not sure which ones to talk about, particularly. I had to re-read them before getting on the plane! 

As I write this I have done two events where I didn’t sell many books except We Were Liars— so I will adjust my presentation tonight. The first event I tried talking through my older titles super fast — a sentence about each. Then the conversation was about YA literature generally, writing processes, etc. At the second event, I didn’t mention the older books at all, but my interviewer gushed a lot about one book — though she actually never explained what it was about. So for tonight, I think I’ll choose one or maybe two to talk from and even read from. These events are supposed to be literary conversations, and nobody wants to hear a sales pitch—but they are supposed to sell books. So I am thinking on the road about how to learn from the events I have had so far. 

The second reason I’m here is to generate pre-publication excitement for my September 2017 book, Genuine Fraud. For my first four YA books I had no idea that publishers set things in motion before publication for certain titles. But they do. They might mail out ARCs in special packages, bring the author to conferences full of booksellers, teachers or librarians, and they might have parties. In this case, we had a bookseller party one night (chain buyers, indie stores etc.) and a blogger party another night (video bloggers). There were goodie bags and speeches and the blogger party had cupcakes (see photo). It is part of my job to put these images on Instagram and Twitter — to find amusing ways of extending the reach that events might have. There was also a tea with Irish children’s librarians and booksellers, and I filmed a lot of video (not my favorite thing to do!) that will be rolled out when the book is released. For example, I made a video for a chain bookstore recommending five titles; and I made many videos describing the book that will go onto online book sites. 

My job is to have prepared something of a schtick about my book, to have figured out a number of ways of talking about it that are appealing—and to try to connect with people. I try to get my hair to behave itself, but it doesn’t really matter if I fail. I try to adapt to each situation, and to learn from the publishing team what they think is working—it’s a good chance to refine what I’m doing in front of crowds, to understand it and to try and get better at it. 

I am super tired and a bit homesick, but I’m also thrilled to see Edinburgh, Dublin and London, and to meet all these readers. I’ve gotten to know the YA book community a bit, and everyone has been welcoming and wonderful.

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Read Emily Jenkins (e. lockhart) faculty bio here.

   

Inkpot Interview: E. Lockhart (AKA Emily Jenkins)

We Were Liars, E. Lockhart's latest YA novel, was published by Random House on May 13. E. also writes under the name Emily Jenkins.

Please describe the book.

A family owns a private island off the East Coast. They summer there each year. A patriarch, three daughters, countless grandchildren, and two outsiders. There is love and amnesia. Things go very, very wrong. There is a website for the book! It has interactive bits.

As the story progressed from inception to copy-edited version, what were the major changes? How did those changes come about? When did you first begin work on it? When did you finish?
The love story became a much bigger part of the story in revision. I was trying not to write the love story because it was hard. The action sequences also became a much bigger part in revision. I was trying not to write those either. I am a big avoider of difficult bits.

I began with a proposal and then wrote the book. I showed it to 6 (I think) writer friends and revised with their comments. That is many more eyes on the book than usual. It was a tough one to write. Then I had two meetings with my editor, Beverly Horowitz, and made revisions based on her comments, each time. It took about two years, total.

What research was involved, and how did it affect the story’s development?

I read books I admired by wonderful writers on somewhat similar subjects. For example, books where a home looms large in a family mythology, such as Brideshead Revisited, Bleak House, Howard's End.

The Secret Life of Billie's Uncle Myron, your first book, was published in 1996. What have you learned about the business of writing since then?

I have learned to write and sell fiction on proposal, which works for me. I like a deadline. I need a paycheck. Most importantly, I like to know a story I am working on will have an audience, and commitment from the publisher inspires a similar commitment in me. I know a lot of writers who prefer not to work this way, but to me, it feels right.

If very good friends are visiting for one evening, do you cook or go to a restaurant? If the former, what would you cook? If the latter, what restaurant?

I cook. Mostly vegetarian. Often for people with kids, but I find if you just put out some cut fruit and provide warm bread, kids won't complain no matter what else is on the table. I am a big fan of room-temperature or oven-warmed food that causes no stress on the host. Nothing last-minute. I might make Ottolenghi's cauliflower with tahini sauce (from the cookbook Jerusalem), roasted asparagus with Parmesan (from Barefoot Contessa), a big cheese plate with apples and warm bread, maybe a tomato salad. Then a big gooey dessert. I like layer cakes and crumbles. My favorite baking cookbook is Baked Expressions. You see? I just recommended three books.