Soulmatch Updates!
Gosh! It’s been so long since I’ve updated everyone on the latest with my debut novel, Soulmatch! I have SO MANY updates!!
Let’s go!
I have a tentative publication date! July 1, 2025!! As with most things in publishing, that’s not guaranteed, but I’m excited to have an expected delivery date for my book baby.
On February 11th, right in the middle of a Super Bowl party, I received my edit letter.
If you’re not familiar with publishing, here’s a quick overview of the process - my agent pitched an acquiring editor at Simon and Schuster. The editor loved the story and pitched the publisher. The publisher loved the pitch, and they made an offer. After some negotiation, we accepted the offer terms and contract negotiations began. While those were going on, the editor read through the manuscript a few more times and typed up an edit letter of suggested changes. This whole process is super common, and everything’s gone as expected.
The edit letter and suggestions were spot on, so I worked up a revision plan, submitted it to the editor on February 15th, and after getting her approval, jumped right into revisions. The plot got a big overhaul, so it required a huge rewrite, but the story remains the same. (Plot = things that happen. Story = how my characters change) In fact, the last few chapters are almost identical to the ones I sent her, but the middle takes a sharp turn from where it used to. The plot is SO much more exciting now! I’m 100% obsessed.
After weeks of non-stop typing (seriously, I barely got up from my laptop), I submitted my revision on April 1st. Yay! I met my very first publishing deadline!
My agent read through and loves the revision! Still waiting to hear from my editor. Fingers crossed!!!
I saw a sketch of my cover!!! Y’all, my cover artist has done many blockbuster YA titles!! I could barely sleep the night I found out. Cannot wait to see and share the final version!!
I received and signed my contract! It’s really real now! Simon and Schuster bought my book! OMG!! Watch the video of my contract signing here.
I posted about signing my contract on Threads, and it went viral! Only 24 hours later, the post has 4500 likes, and it’s still growing! And MTVBooks is now following me?! WHAT?!!
If I’m dreaming, DO NOT pinch me, because I don’t want to wake up!
Free and Easy ways You can help!
If you haven’t already, please click “Want to Read” on the Soulmatch Goodreads page. Or add it to your “To read” on Storygraph!
Share my Goodreads and Storygraph pages with your book club! I will visit with your book club after Soulmatch publishes (virtual or in-person if you’re local)!
Now that revisions are done, I’ve picked up my social media posting. My goal is to hit 1,000 followers on Bookstagram by the end of 2024. Only 382 to go! Follow me here!
The romance tropes in Soulmatch.
What’s next?
Now that the contract is signed, I should get my first advance payment sometime within the next month. It’s not a life-changing amount of money, but my writing expenses will no longer need to come out of our household budget! Did you know authors can expense book purchases? This could be dangerous…
I’ve hired an incredibly talented artist to create the first renderings of Sivon, Soulmatch’s main character. I’m so nervous and excited to see what he creates!
I’m waiting for my next edit letter. After doing such a huge revision the first time, I’m hoping my second round of developmental edits won’t be as substantial. We’ll see! I have no idea when that will arrive, so while I wait…
I’m drafting a new novel! Like Soulmatch, this one is a YA speculative romance. This one is set only 20 years in the future vs. Soulmatch, which is more like 200. I’m halfway through the first draft and am hopeful my editor will pick up this one or one of my other two manuscripts for my second contracted novel.
So much more to come!! If you haven’t already, sign for my newsletter so you can follow along with my debut journey!
Book recs
Between writing and revising, I haven’t had much time for reading, but these are my four favorite reads of 2024 so far!
(Clicking the covers above will activate my Amazon affiliate link.)