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Thursday, May 13, 2010

Holding my breath

I’ve sent out advance reading copies for FORGET YOU, which will be published by MTV Books on July 20, and so far I’ve seen nothing but good reviews. There may be bad reviews out there, but I have not seen them, which I think is a good place to be. The reviews I’ve seen are from Naughty Book Kitties, Princess Bookie, Girls Without a Bookshelf, Chick Loves Lit, Lorraine’s Book Blog, and Myriad Words, plus a review from Asamum that pegs what I was trying to do in this book so accurately, I got a little creeped out. Because of these book bloggers who have been kind enough to post early reviews, I’m no longer worried about the reception of this book when it finally comes out.

But ENDLESS SUMMER is a different story. It will be published by Simon Pulse in eleven days (!!!) and I did not get advance copies, so I will not be able to send books to bloggers until it’s already in stores.

A few months ago I was feeling a lot more confidence in ENDLESS SUMMER than FORGET YOU. ENDLESS SUMMER is the sequel to THE BOYS NEXT DOOR, which came out in 2007. I wrote the sequel because readers asked me to. It’s the only sequel I’ve written, mainly because in general I don’t like sequels. Too often it seems the author poured everything she had into the first book. By the second book, the characters have nothing left to achieve. So I thought about this sequel for three years before I finally wrote it, and I’m very proud of the result.

The copy that will go on sale also includes THE BOYS NEXT DOOR in the same volume. This means it is an Extremely Large Book, about 600 pages, and it has a beautiful cover.



I’m hoping, and I think Simon Pulse was hoping when they designed it, that it will really stand out on a shelf full of black-covered paranormals. In short, I hope that even with no advance reviews, readers will judge a book by its cover.

Before my work was published, I never gave much thought to covers. I figured I would write the best book I could, and readers would judge my books on their merit. It was a huge surprise to find that covers can make or break the sale of a book, and authors have little or no say in the matter. That’s why I am so gratified that Danielle and Barbara have such gorgeous covers for their upcoming 2010 releases—and why I am really happy to be published by MTV Books, where they understand that the cover is important to point-of-sale, and it even affects the reader’s perception while she’s reading. It’s unnerving, really, to give up that much control over how people will perceive your work. So when you get a great cover, you rejoice, and trust, and hope.

Still holding my breath, though.

14 comments:

LorelieLong said...

It really is a lovely cover.

Reminds me of the summer before my junior year. ;) We lived at Huntington Beach that summer.

Callie James said...

How interesting that you didn't receive ARCs for Endless Summer. I read a while back that publishers are sending out ARCs less and less these days. Is that what happened? Or is it because it's a sequel?

Jennifer Echols said...

Thank you, Lorelie!

Callie, yes--Simon Pulse sends out ARCs for the first book in a series. That could change and I'm sure it's different for some people.

Anonymous said...

I am so excited for Forget You! I too have heard such amazing things about it. :D The Endless Summer cover is beautiful. I still have to read the first book but I plan on doing that soon. Your books are wonderful!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful cover! It is so true about readers checking out the book covers before reading the book. It does make a huge difference. Endless Summer's cover pulls me back to my adolescent years of carefree summers and young love. Can't wait to read it!

Robby said...

I can't wait to read Going Too Far. And Forget You. And Endless Summer. And everything you release.

Mrs. DeRaps said...

I've only read one of your books (Going Too Far) but absolutely loved it! I can't wait to read all of your other books. And, you're right. Covers do matter and probably much more than they should. It's the downfall of the shopping experience. But, your covers have been gorgeous so far. Thanks for writing YA lit.

Morgan said...

Jennifer, I am very glad you wrote a sequel to The Boys Next Door-because I loved it. I only read it about a week ago and cannot wait to read the sequel. The cover is gorgous-I can't wait to purchase it and hold it in my arms!

Jennifer Echols said...

Y'all are all SO NICE. I feel better.

I would feel better still if a big honking box of author copies appeared on my doorstep.

Unknown said...

Book release angst! So excited for Endless Summer and Forget you. And whatever comes next.

Sara said...

I'm really looking forward to read both Forget You & Endless Summer! I love all books I've read by you, and I can't wait to read those two! I'm going to pre-order them soon :)

Stephanie Kuehnert said...

Don't let the anxiety get to you, Jenn. They both have gorgeous eye-popping covers and readers will love them. I am very excited read them both, I haven't read The Boys Next Door (bad!) So I am excited that they packaged the two books together. That way I can devour them both, preferably on a beach somewhere this summer, but even if it is on my couch the cover will make me feel like I'm on a beach :)

Rowena said...

I'm going to have to go and get the first book so that I can get ready for this release. I wish you nothing but the best!

Jennifer Echols said...

Don't do it, Rowena! This volume contains both books.