A few of my extra-observant friends have noticed that when you click to pre-order CREEP from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Chapters Indigo (or any of the other bookseller sites, for that matter), CREEP is listed as a hardcover release.
And these same friends were wondering, “Uh, Jenny… wasn’t CREEP supposed to come out in trade paperback?”
Yes, it was.
When I got my contract for CREEP back in June 2010, the deal was originally for trade paperback. Which was great and fantastic and amazing. I was not disappointed that it wasn’t a hardcover deal. How could I be? All that mattered – and all that still matters – was that I was going to be published by a great publishing house, and the day my agent called with that news was one of the best days of my life.
But now the book is coming out in hardcover. Why the change? Well, I found out in January that the publisher of Gallery Books herself had read CREEP over the holidays. They then decided the book might do well as a hardcover.
I was floored when I heard the news. Because it had never occurred to me that something like this could even happen – at that point we were already seven months into production. And I didn’t blog about it then because I felt really guilty being so happy about it. After all, getting a book published is a huge accomplishment, no matter what format the book is in. We all want to see our stories out in the world, and read by people who don’t personally know us, right? So in that respect, I’d like to think that the format of our published work is much less important than the content.
However, since I’ve always been honest about my publishing journey on this blog, I can’t pretend that I haven’t dreamed about holding a hardcover of CREEP in my hands. When I was writing the first draft way back in 2008 and envisioning the finished product, hardcover was what I always imagined. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve always felt there was something so classically old-school about hardcover books and the way they feel heavy in your hands. Or maybe it’s because all the Big Name thriller writers I love and admire get their books released in hardcover first, and I dream of having a career like theirs. I don’t know. But I do know that when my agent called and told me they’d changed the format from trade paperback to hardcover, I honestly felt like I was getting my book deal all over again.
Because now it was exactly as I’d envisioned it would be.
The reason I’m telling you this story is because I want you all to DREAM BIG. I’m not trying to be cheesy here. And I’m definitely not kidding. DREAM BIG. Whatever it is you want, put it out into the universe. Imagine it every day. Talk about it. Blog about it. Act as if it’s going to happen. Because you know what, it does happen.
It really does.
Edit to add: Blogger ate about 15 other comments that I have in my email but are not appearing below. Thanks for all the good wishes, guys!