It's Official

It’s official!  I met with Molly and Matt of ZOVA Books over the weekend and signed the contract.  The feeling is so surreal.  It’s not every day you see your dreams become a reality.  So many people told me it was impossible, that publishing was beyond reach.  Well, it’s not, thanks to people like those at ZOVA!  I can’t wait to get started.

In my meeting with ZOVA they broke down the process for me.  The first step was that I had to change my name everywhere to Jessica Therrien.  They said I can't start marketing as Jessica Thayer and then switch at the last minute to my soon-to-be married name.

For those of you who don’t know, I’m getting married on the fourth of July, to the best man on the planet.  It is going to be a blast, dinner, dancing, fireworks!  It will definitely be a night to remember.

As you can tell, there is a lot going on in my life right now.  I’m getting published, married, not to mention my hours were just increased at Otay Water District.  I am a Strategic Planner by day and an up-and-coming novelist by night.  I swear it’s like leading a double life.  Forgive me if I get off on a tangent.

Once my name is changed, and I’ve gotten myself out there on the internet, the real work begins.  The first hands-on task is a content edit (character and plot changes, if any).  I will be working with Dan, ZOVA’s publisher to hammer out those details.  When that is finalized, they will do a line edit, checking for grammar, spelling, and sentences that need fixing.  Even after about five drafts of editing, there is always something.  No manuscript is ever truly perfect.  Once we’re done with the edits, it goes through a process of approval, and I will be allowed to sign off on the final version.  It gets really exciting after that.  Copies get sent out to reviewers, and if I get lucky, one of them will pick up The Descendants and love it.  The goal is to start some buzz around it, pump it up.  What I am looking forward to the most I think is working with them on cover art before it goes off to be printed and distributed.  Molly and I “walked the stacks” as she put it, and talked about which covers we like in the YA section of Barnes & Noble.  (How exciting is that?!)

For now my job is simple—wait.  Something I’ve learned from this industry is that waiting is one thing an author needs to get really good at.  Right now, ZOVA’s editor is working on other projects and I must wait my turn.  This will be good.  Maybe it will teach me patience, a skill I’ve yet to master.

I will keep you all up-to-date on what is going on and will share the press release when it comes out.

Thanks to all of my family and friends for their love and support.