I am not alone on this new journey

My latest book, MEMOIRS OF AN IMAGINARY FRIEND, lands in stores today. In the book industry, it’s known as pub day, and it could not be more thrilling. I was recently asked in an interview if pub day begins to lose its luster after experiencing three of them.

I assure you that this is not the case.

With the publication of this book, a new journey begins, and so much of it  continues to surprise me. People around the country will begin reading my story, and a shocking number of them will begin communicating with me, via email, Facebook and Twitter, leaving me feeling like a stinker for not reaching out to enough authors myself after finishing a book that I loved.

Some of these people will write to tell me how much they enjoyed my story. They may begin following me on Twitter and friending me on Facebook. Some will become regular readers of this blog. Some may begin reading my backlist.

Reviews of the book will continue to trickle in. Some will be negative, but I’ve have been fortunate so far in that the majority of the reviews have been positive. When they arrive, I will smile and breathe a not-so-small sigh of relief, as I expect that many authors do when told that their book has been reviewed.

Then the amazing things will begin to happen.

Some of these readers will begin communicating with me often enough that I will begin to think of them as friends. I will meet some of these readers in person, at literary festivals, book signings, live storytelling events and other public appearances, and I will discover that they are even more interesting and delightful in person.

Readers will begin sending me links to stories, hoping that I might share my opinions on an issue or take a stand on their behalf. They will share secrets with me that they have never shared with anyone before. They will reach out to libraries and bookstores and convince the people who run these establishments to stock my books or invite me for an appearance. They will begin championing my books through social media and old fashioned word of mouth and will send me tallies on how many sales they have generated on my behalf.

Some will write to me to tell me that my books or blog have inspired them to take action in their lives. They will begin writing books of their own and making honest-to-goodness life changes that I could’ve never expected, and while they will credit me for some of these changes, I will know that almost all of the impetus for these changes already resided within them. 

They might even reunite me with long, lost family members.

I know. It sounds crazy. Doesn’t it? But it happens all the time. I receive the most amazing communication from readers about how my words have touched and changed their lives, and it happens more often than you could ever imagine.

More often than I could ever imagine.

New opportunities will arise. Film producers, show runners and screen writers will reach out to me. Options will be signed, scripts will be written, talent will be cast, and the slow, meandering, uncertain, unlikely process of bringing a story to the big or small screen will begin.

Teachers will ask me to visit their classrooms. Book clubs will invite me to their meetings. Authors will ask me to blurb their books.

It’s a glorious journey that begins today, but the most important part to remember is that it does not happen alone. The act of placing words upon the page is a solitary process, but it is the only solitary part of this journey.

There is my literary agent, Taryn Fagerness, who plucked my first manuscript from the slush pile and launched my career. She changed my life, and I would not be standing here today without her. I know many authors who do not like or do not have a relationship with their agents that extends beyond business. They are envious over the relationship that I have with Taryn. They sometimes don’t believe me when I describe it. I think of Taryn as my friend first, my hero second and my agent third.  

There is my film agent, Shari Smiley, who works hard to bring my stories to to life in the mysterious and impenetrable world of film and television. I think of her as my own version of Lewis and Clark, off on a journey in an uncharted country, with hopes that she might return someday with riches.

There is Melissa Danaczko, the editor for my first two books, who was the first person willing to pay money for stuff I made up in my head. Then she  made that stuff better through her skill and expertise. Melissa took the first financial gamble on me, and that is something no author ever forgets. She  taught me that the rumors about editors are not true. They are not hackers and slashers who tear your books apart without thought or concern for an author’s feelings. They are partners and surgeons who make books better through precision and collaboration, and in the process, they become your friends.  

There is Brenda Copeland, the editor who I sometimes think believes in Budo more than I do. Changing editors and publishing houses was a scary and sad process for me, but this talented, funny, quirky, brilliant, loving person took me by the hand and made St. Martins Press feel like a second home to me. I thought I was getting an editor when I signed on with Saint Martins, but Brenda has become my mentor, my boss, my confidant and my friend. 

There is my friend, Lindsay Heyer, who first gave me the idea for MEMOIRS OF AN IMAGINARY friend after listening to the story of my own imaginary friend and insisting that it would make a great book. And there are the dozen or so readers who followed my story, chapter by chapter, offering words of encouragement and advice along the way, Lindsay included. 

There are the editorial assistants, copy editors, publicists, marketers, art departments, sales people, sound engineers, narrators, foreign editors, foreign publicists, translators, book store owners and a hundred other people whose titles and importance are being left out of this paragraph because I am too stupid to remember them.

Beginning today, this new books will launch a new and amazing journey, but the person deserving the most praise will often go unnoticed. Standing beside me will by my wife, Elysha, the love of my life. MEMOIRS OF AN IMAGINARY FRIEND has as much to do with her as it does with me.

I still cannot believe how fortunate I am to have found this woman and bamboozled her into marrying me. She is the best mother I know, the best wife I could imagine, and my biggest fan. She reads the reviews, hears the praise and listens to the stories from readers about how my words have changed their lives, and at every moment and every turn, she feels nothing by excitement and pride for me. She is the pillar that supports me, the iron that defends me, the rock that steadies me and the clarion that trumpets my accomplishments. She has blessed me with an an embarrassment of riches that I will never be able to repay. When I look at this book, sitting beside me as I write this, I see Elysha and all that she have given to me to make this possible.

When writers ask me for advice about finishing a novel or finding an agent or getting published, my first piece of advice is my most sincere and least helpful:

If you don't already have one, find the perfect spouse. Not the good spouse or even a great spouse, but the perfect spouse. It is remarkable how quickly your life can change when you have right person standing beside you. Novels get written, agents are found and books land in bookstores much faster when you have the love of your life supporting you. Defending you.

Loving you.

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend is here!

 

Foreign editions have arrived!

The Greek, Spanish, Catalan and large print UK versions of MEMOIRS OF AN IMAGINARY FRIEND arrived today.

Just three more weeks until the US version hits the bookshelves. While the international success of the book has been thrilling, it will be nice to finally see it on a bookshelf in real life.

 

Matthew Brown reads Matthew Green

The fact that I published MEMOIRS OF AN IMAGINARY FRIEND in the UK under the pseudonym Matthew Green and the narrator of the audio version of the book is Matthew Brown is odd. Or perhaps fitting.

Either way, I am happy to see Matthew Brown getting his due in the recent review of his performance in AudioFile magazine:

MEMOIRS OF AN IMAGINARY FRIEND
By Matthew Dicks
Read by Matthew Brown

Matthew Brown gives a winning performance as Budo, the imaginary friend of 8-year-old Max. Max has a spectrum disorder (probably autism). Budo, who immediately assures us he’s not imaginary, is the interpreter of and the link between Max’s world and the “typical” world. Brown is especially effective as Budo explains Max’s life. Max can’t stand to be touched, has rigid routines, likes silence and solitude, and retreats inside when too many choices overload his circuits. When Max loses control, his voice becomes shrill with a flat affect. Brown’s uncanny reproduction of Max’s high-pitched hysteria makes Max completely believable. Matthew Dicks offers an unusual and original look into a world filled with terrifying obstacles for a child whose brain function forces him to create his only comfort.

Best two sentences ever

As an author and a teacher, this message from a reader in the United Arab Emirates about MEMOIRS OF AN IMAGINARY FRIEND might be the best I have ever received in regards to my WORK:

Thank you for this book. Your book was the first book I ever got, and because of it, I love reading.

Nothing can ruin this day for me.

MEMOIRS OF AN IMAGINARY FRIEND in Greece

Thoughts?

Imaginary amigo!

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend is on sale in Spain! A reader was kind enough to send me a photo of the cover today (I hadn’t seen it yet).

Final cover at last! And Publisher’s Weekly, too!

There are have been many versions and iterations and drafts of the cover for my next book (and you’ve probably seen a few), but the final cover for Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend is at last official. It’s been quite a road to get here, but I couldn’t be more pleased.

To top it off, Publisher’s Weekly reviewed the book today, calling it “A chipper narrative and lively climax make Dicks’s newest a fun read and engaging exploration of the vibrant world of a child’s imagination.”

Publisher’s Weekly also attached an old version of the cover to the review, but that’s okay. Even I was confused about the cover until last week.

I can play favorites with my children but not my books

Yesterday a reader in Australia who has now read all three of my novels asked which is my favorite. It’s a question that I’ve heard authors asked many times before, and I’ve heard many of them give an answer. I don’t know how they do it.

Choosing between the three books that I have published so far (and even my unpublished manuscript) would be like choosing one of my children as my favorite.

Right now my favorite child is Clara, of course, but that’s because she’s three years old and plays with me. The only thing my two week old son wants is his mother, so while I’d defend him from a bear attack if necessary, I’d do it with grudging annoyance and a bitter heart.

By contrast, I’d defend Clara with a clear mind and an open heart.

But that will change. Eventually Charlie will do something other than sleep and eat, and when he does, choosing my favorite child will become impossible, as it is for choosing a favorite amongst my books.

Each one means so much to me.

Something Missing will always remain special to me because it was the book that launched my publishing career. It was the manuscript that my agent plucked from the slush pile and changed my life forever. It was the book that helped us buy our first home. Most important, of all the characters who I have ever written, Martin remains the most real to me. He is the protagonist who my wife and I still speak of as if he were a real person. Though my interest in writing a sequel to any of my books does not interest me at this time, writing a sequel to Something Missing would probably be easiest because Martin continues to live inside me like no other character I have ever written.

Unexpectedly, Milo is the book that explores themes that are most closely connected to me. I have always been interested in the idea that we encourage children at an early age to avoid peer pressure, be themselves, blaze new trails, and not worry about what others may think of them, but when these children continue to follow this advice as adults, they are often punished by society for being different. Unexpectedly, Milo is a book about a man who must hide his differences from the world lest he be expunged from it. It is also a book about a man’s search for someone willing to accept him for who he is. I am not Milo, but a great deal of Milo lives inside me, making this book near and dear to my heart. It was also the book that allowed my wife to stay home with our daughter for the first two years of her life, and that alone makes the book a treasure to me.

My upcoming novel, Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, is the book I had the best time writing. Creating the world of imaginary friends was incredibly fun, and I suspect that I tapped into more of my imagination while writing this book than any of my previous stories. The book also reflects many of the existential issues that I deal with on a daily basis, and the fact that one of my closest friends and colleagues exists within the story as herself makes this book especially real to me. Memoirs is also written in the first person and not entirely grounded in reality, making it very different than anything I had ever written before. It was the book that taught me that I can be successful trying new things. It has also sold in thirteen foreign markets in addition to the US, making it my most financially successful book so far, and it will allow my wife to stay home for the first two years of our son’s life.

As you can see, choosing between these three books would be impossible. Perhaps someday I will write a masterpiece that I can declare my favorite.

More likely, I will write a clunker that I can exclude from my list of favorites.

Peeping Tom

My favorite photo from last week’s Book Expo America was Erin Morgenstern’s Instagram of the advanced readers copies she acquired while at the Expo.

Erin Morgenstern is the author of THE NIGHT CIRCUS, a book that I enjoyed very much. It is especially thrilling when an author who I respect and admire a great deal is interested in reading one of my books.

Even though I’ve published two novels and have a third on the way, I still feel very much like an outsider when it comes to the publishing world. I’ve always thought of myself as someone who is peeking through the windows into the industry rather than stepping through its door.

Moments like seeing my book in Erin Morgenstern’s pile bring me a bit closer to that proverbial door.

Recent press for Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, which published in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa back in March, continues to receive positive press overseas and even some here in the US (it publishes in the US on August 21 of this year).

Here’s a roundup of a few of the most recent reviews:

• A blog post about the book by author Ellen Meeropol
• A review from a British book blogger
• A review from an equally astute British book blogger
• A blog post by the inestimable Melissa Klug on a recent book event (our favorite weekend of the year) in Manchester, VT, which includes a lovely photo of the book and an even lovelier description of my wife.

And to balance all this good news with a little bad, here is the first negative tweet about the book that I have seen, written by @trs41 (Tanya Saxton):

“finished Memoirs Of An Imaginary Friend by Matthew Green. Repetitive & daft, don't bother. http://amzn.to/GDhH1D #Kindle”

I guess you can’t please everyone.

It’s like kudzu.

One of my wife’s friends took this photo in a bookshop in Taipei!

A bookseller, a reader and an imaginary friend

In her Huffington Post “Notes from My (Book) Shelf”column, the very generous and highly esteemed Roxanne Coady, owner of RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT, writes: Serendipitous Moment of the Week Sandi Kahn Shelton (a writer and journalist; her pen name is Maggie Dawson) was in my store this week and literally bumped into a friend -- Matthew Dicks -- another author -- whom she introduced to me. There was something very charming about Matthew and his wife and it made me curious to read his new book which will be published in August. He graciously dropped off a galley of Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend the very next day. The title intrigued me enough to bring it home (as opposed to the other dozens of books on my desk saying "pick me-pick me") and started it on Thursday night -- I finished it Saturday morning. This book is magical, uplifting and incredibly smart. Loved it -- not only can't I wait to tell you more and encourage you to read it when it comes out but I think it would be great fun if we invited kids and adults to write about their imaginary friend -- and how that friend helped them or made a real-life difference.

I think it’s important to note a few things about what Roxanne said:

1. As an author, there are few things better in this world than hearing that a reader loved your book. When that reader is a bookseller, it becomes  over-the-top thrilling. I can’t tell you how much Roxanne’s words mean to me.
2. Roxanne writes that there was something charming about me and my wife. I assure you that this was wholly my wife’s charm. I was merely standing in its glow.
3. The fact that the tittle intrigued Roxanne is credit to my agent, Taryn Fagerness, who suggested it and the title of my previous novel, Unexpectedly, Milo. I cannot title a book to save my life.
4. Though Roxanne is correct in stating that Sandi and I are friends, we were only friends through Twitter until that day. Sandi happened to hear me giving my name to the cashier for RJ Julia’s rewards program and asked, “Are you the Matthew Dicks from Twitter?”

Serendipity, indeed.

As if this wasn’t serendipity enough, Roxanne’s wonderful idea of inviting children and adults to write about their imaginary friends was thrown into motion yesterday evening when I received an email from an overseas reader who has just finished the book (which she has given me permission to post here).

She writes:

Dear Matthew

I'm typing this email with tears still running down my face after reading Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend. I'm 48 years old and my imaginary friend,  Mrs Gaynor, still lives. Growing up on a farm with few playmates I created my own. A few years ago at a family dinner my parents told my teenage children about Mrs Gaynor.  Since that time she has lived in our home, leaving a mess, moving important things, hiding socks, and quietly taking the blame for many mishaps, her ways of staying alive. She will always live in my heart, real or imaginary, because she was my friend when I needed one. I really enjoyed reading your story about Budo and Max. It is amazing what strength and courage we can find when we reach inside of ourselves.

Thank you.

Mary-Anne Ryan

First Roxanne and then Mary-Anne.

As an author, I cannot imagine a better day.

On the topic of book covers: Recommended listening and recommended viewing

If you love books, you should already be listening to the wonderful Books on the Nightstand podcast:

But if you haven’t started listening yet, this week’s episode features a discussion about my recent post about book covers that is worthy of a listen, and hopefully it will get you hooked on this outstanding podcast.

Host Ann Kingman and Michael Kindness also discuss New Cover, a blog where graphic artist Matt Roeser redesigns book jackets after he’s read the books. It is very much worth a look.

My recent NYC visit included a fibrous hymen, a visit with a fictional character and a heart wrenching betrayal by a friend.

I spent last Thursday in New York City. Oftentimes a single day in the city feels like three by the time I leave, and Thursday was no exception.

When I am in the city, I like to get a lot done. 

A few notes from that day:

1. My first stop was MacMillan Audio, where I teamed up with my friend and colleague, Donna Gosk, who also happens to be a character in my next book. While attempting to create a fictional teacher who my protagonist would love and respect, I decided that I would simply use Donna, who is one of the finest teachers I have ever known. As a result, I have transformed Donna into a nonfictional-fictional character, at least for the purposes of the book (though many who know Donna might say that she is a bit of a fictional character in real life as well).

After learning that Donna is a real person, the good people at MacMillan decided to interview the two of us for a segment that will be placed at the end of the audiobook. It was a brilliant idea on their part, and I think listeners will find it very interesting.

How often does a reader get to hear a fictional character speak in real life?

2. Donna and I joined my editor, my editor’s assistant, and author Ann Leary for lunch following our interview. I eat lunch everyday at work with a large group of women, and this lunch turned out to be no different.

Having spent the last thirteen years teaching elementary school, I can’t remember the last time I had a weekday lunch with a man.

There was much talk around the table about 50 SHADES OF GRAY, the recent bestselling book of erotic fiction, which naturally led to even more talk about sex. When this happens at school (which it does quite frequently), I am able to step away, claiming to have papers to correct or a lesson to plan. On Thursday, however, I was stuck with nowhere to hide. I remained quiet for much of the conversation, eating my cheeseburger and learning that, among other things, there is an exceptionally steamy sex scene in the second book of the CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR series that every woman  should read.

3. Donna and I also visited the offices of The Daily Beast, where her daughter works on the social media side of the business.. I receive most of my news via The Daily Beast, so it was exciting to see the organization, which is larger than I would have ever imagined, in action.

4. I was joined by friends for a Moth StorySlam performance later that evening at Housing Works in the East Village. This is the couple who we have chosen as godparents of our next child, yet I learned over dinner that the husband, a man who I consider a close friend and is a member of our book club (so we at least occasionally reads), has never read either of my books. Needless to say, I was stunned and look forward to the moment when my wife unleashes her wrath upon him.

5. I was lucky enough to have my name drawn from the proverbial Moth hat (it’s actually a tote bag), so I was able to take the stage on Thursday night and tell my story on the topic of Armor. My story centered on the time I rode my bike off our barn roof in a feeble attempt to garner some much-desired attention of my neglectful parents.

It’s ironic that I took the stage and told a story about my inability to get the attention I needed as a child to an audience that included a friend who has failed to read either of my books.

I should have worked that into my story. 

Nevertheless I did well, finishing second in a field of ten storytellers. I was beaten by author and former StorySlam winner Diana Spechler, whose story about losing her virginity (which included the difficulties in dealing with her fibrous hymen) was quite deserving of the win. When Diana finished telling her story, I think there was little doubt in the room that she was going to be the winner that evening.

Though I always want to win, the fact that I had already secured a spot in the GrandSlam championship with my StorySlam victory last month made second place slightly less frustrating.

But only slightly less.

Anatomy of a book cover

I am very fortunate. I love the designs chosen for both the US and UK editions of Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend.  Both are very different, but I like them almost equally.    

To be honest, my preference wavers constantly. There are days when I like the UK version better, and there are days when I think the US version is far superior.

Either way, I like both designs a lot.

Below are two earlier proposals for the UK edition that found their way onto the Internet.

 

While each design appeals to me in some way, I think that my publisher made the right choice in passing on both.

The first design seems to target the young adult market rather than the adults for whom I was writing. While I would be perfectly happy (ecstatic, even) to see my book cross over into the YA market, it is a book first written for the adult market, and I would expect the cover to reflect that.

The second design is eye catching, and I love its graphical underpinning, but I can’t quite figure out who the two figures on the cover are supposed to represent.

When the author can’t make that distinction, there is probably a problem with the design.

I have yet to see designs from the dozen or so other countries where the book will eventually be published, but I will share them with you when they come my way. It’s been a lot of fun to see the way in which various markets around the world have interpreted the cover of my first novel, Something Missing.

Instagram Budo

Someone posted this to Instagram yesterday. It’s a photograph of the back cover of the UK edition of Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, enhanced by one of Instagram’s filters.

I know it’s not a big deal, but I cannot describe the  joy in knowing that someone enjoyed my book enough to take the time to create and post this.

Gratitude journal: Booksellers everywhere

Tonight I am grateful for the amazing booksellers of the world who work tirelessly to place books in the hands of readers everyday.

I have found that booksellers will go to almost any length to promote a book that they love, like those in Australia, who sent me these smile-inducing photos of their “I’m with Budo” promotion.

Budo is an imaginary friend and the protagonist of MEMOIRS OF AN IMAGINARY FRIEND.

When I strike it rich someday, my plan is to visit every bookstore in the world with the goal of hugging as many booksellers as humanly possible.

And I’d make it a point of starting with these folks.

     

Gratitude journal: Surprise

Tonight I am grateful for the potential for surprise that fills my life as an author. Today my agent informed me that we had received an offer from a French publisher for Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend. Just like that, my book will be translated into another foreign language and sold in another country.

I woke up thinking that this would be a relatively uneventful day, but by noon, I was going to be published in France.

Surprise!

Earlier this week I received news from my film agent that a production company has expressed interest in Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend. While this means absolutely nothing (both of my other books are currently optioned for film and television but nothing has happened as of yet), this news brings greater possibility to my life.

Surprise!

I also learned this week that the book has entered its fifth printing in the UK and its third printing in Australia.

Surprise!

Admittedly this was an especially surprising week for me, but it’s the possibility for surprise that I find myself especially grateful for this evening. Before publishing my first book, my life was relatively predictable.

Not unhappy, uneventful or unfulfilling, but marked by considerably fewer surprises.

Being an author requires a great deal of patience. Weeks and months can go by without a speck of good news and sometimes some absolutely dreadful news. But knowing that surprises like the ones that filled my week could be just around the corner make the hard work and the endless waiting all worth it.

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend: An audio preview

The first two chapters of the audio version of Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend are available for preview here. The book is narrated by Matthew Brown, which seems apropos considering my UK pseudonym is Matthew Green.

I was initially worried that I would not like the narrator, especially given that the story is told in the first person, but the team at Macmillan has done a tremendous job in casting the role. I couldn’t be more pleased.

And I will have a chance to listen to the whole book soon. Macmillan is producing advanced listening copies of the book for distribution to booksellers, reviewers and at Book Expo America, so I’ll be able to give the book a listen before it’s actually published.

This will be helpful considering I never read any my own novels after they have been published. It’s too painful. I cannot help but continue to revise sentences and word choice in my mind.

I live in a tragic state of perpetual dissatisfaction.

But I am able to listen to my books on audio and enjoy them without the inner critic sounding off in my head, which is important considering how easily I can forget what I’ve actually written. Recently I was asked a question about a minor character in my first book, Something Missing, and I could barely remember who the character was or what role her served in the story.

It was a sign that it was time to give the audio version of Something Missing a listen again. I can’t tell you how embarrassing it is to realize that a reader has more knowledge about your novel than you do.