Before I dive into this blog post, I just want to give you all a heads-up that my website and overall graphics will be getting a makeover soon.
Now, onto the good stuff:
I recently hand-wrote a letter to myself that I won’t open until publication day. It might be for DARK EXPOSURE. Might be for a different book. But for the sake of the letter, I put down DARK EXPOSURE.
I’ve seen a few authors post about it on social media, namely the one that caught my attention was Rachel Griffin (author of The Nature of Witches). I thought it was a great idea to do one day. I tried once before. Literally. I sat down and stared at a blank printer page… for hours on end. Nothing came to me. I didn’t know what to write— “hey you did it! You wrote a thing and published it! Now go write the next one!” That seemed so uninspired and disingenuous to me. It barely covered my journey to where I am and how I got here.
So, on April 30, I attended my high school’s 10-year reunion (it was supposed to be last year but COVID). We opened the 10-year prediction letter we wrote 100 nights before our graduation. I was initially apprehensive about reading it, thinking back to how cringey and angsty 18-year-old Kate was…and was bracing myself for whatever content was in the letter.
I was shocked to see how… normal it was. I predicted I would have gained a degree in psychology, and I would be running my own business (read: working for myself and not a regular employer). I predicted I would have a daughter. And I predicted I would be writing a YA book that would help those who struggled like me with depression/anxiety and the general rough-and-tumble throes of life.
Well, 18-year-old Kate—no kids, you do have an LLC for freelance purposes, you didn’t get a degree in psychology… and you did write two YA books—though one will never see the light of day (I’m looking at you, Project Dumpster Fire). However, one of them (THE CURSED ONES) will probably be changed into something completely different.
The point is the letter I read inspired me to write the one I wrote to myself before I’m officially published. It gave me a chance to truly reflect. And I got real and personal in my letter. It became a two-pager (double sided).
I highly recommend doing this, even if you’re not agented yet. As I said, it gave me a chance to reflect my journey, so perhaps, it will do the same for you.
AUTHOR NOTE TO SELF: Future Kate, if you’re reading this blog post, do not worry. Your letter isn’t cringe-worthy at all.