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Once, long ago in my workshop days, a writer-friend of mine scolded me for talking openly at a party about something I was still writing. He firmly believed that anything still being written, any work-in-progress, should be totally shrouded in secrecy until it was finished. I wondered if he worried that someone would steal his ideas now if he revealed them? Or was it more superstitious? Did he think I could “jinx” myself by speaking about my work to others?

Loose lips sink ships, my grandfather, an old Navy man, used to say to me. But should a work-in-progress ought to be as closely guarded as a sailor’s cyphers?

I decided to adopt my friend’s stance and, for several years, maintained a cone of silence around my works-in-progress. At best it might protect me, I thought—at least it might create some eager expectation, some aura of mystique around my fumbling attempts to write my first book.

But after a while it became something else—just lonely. I missed those old workshops I’d once groaned through. Missed talking to other writers about what I was up to, and hearing from them about their projects too. Certainly I did not find that isolation was good for my art—over and over my books fell apart and the worst thing about it was that nobody even knew but me.

Finally, I decided to break the embargo. I created a simple blog where I could post drafts of my work each week for friends, even strangers, to see. I called it my Forty Stories blog—and I set it up mainly as a motivational tool, rather than as a system for getting feedback. My hope was that my friends would pressure me and hold me accountable if I didn’t deliver on schedule.

I told everyone that I planned on writing forty stories in a single year—one a week, for three weeks, followed by a revision week. Some of these pieces, I admitted up front, would surely be terrible. But hopefully at least some would not be. Even the good ones, though, would be rough, I warned them. Quickly made, needing extensive reworking. But they would exist, warts and all.

At the start I had no idea if I could really pull it off. The stories I posted in the beginning of the year were usually very short, largely undeveloped. But people responded—not always with compliments, and often with just an acknowledgement that they’d read the piece and were excited for another. Was it just having an audience, I wondered? Or was it something else? Either way I no longer felt so isolated and burdened by my works-in-progress. Better yet, the things I wrote took on new hues. I noticed an improvement. They felt more generous than anything I’d written earlier—and why shouldn’t they be? I was writing for others, more than for myself.

In the end, I did it. I wrote forty stories in one year. Many of them were pretty bad, and sometimes my friends were honest and said as much. Some weeks I simply had no good ideas. Other weeks I had a good idea and it simply didn’t come together. Oh well. There was always the next week. And in the end, a decent number of them were good enough to warrant revision, and eventually a handful even became the backbone of my first published novel.

None of that would have happened if I had been afraid to share something that I was still figuring out.

It is rare that we’re told about how often great writers depend on those around them for guidance. Franz Kafka had his dear friend, Max Brod; Vladimir Nabokov had his wife, Véra. Who can we count on for encouragement, or even discouragement when it is needed?

My Forty Stories experiment showed me that there were far more helpers in my life than I’d ever expected. Some friends would simply reach out to say, “Hey, I liked this one!” and others would sometimes say, “Were you really rushed this week? Didn’t like this one as much, I don’t know why.” One friend routinely fact-checked the weekly pieces, sending emails to say things like, “A pack of American Spirits would actually cost $4.57 at that bodega, not $3.77,” or, “If these characters are going to Lake Waccabuc, they’d be better off on the Hutchinson and I-684 at that time of day.”

All of this was valuable feedback, and vital support. I’d never have written the fortieth one, or likely even the third one, without the help of my friends.

Just the other day I saw a former student after an event and, as we spoke after he asked if I’d ever published one of the stories from my blog, and I said that no, I never had—it wasn’t one of my favorites and I’d forgotten about it. But he had liked it, he said, and thought about it still—maybe I should look again, he suggested. That night I did, and wouldn’t you know it, I suddenly saw its strength in a way I’d never seen before. The difference was that now I was seeing it through someone else’s eyes. What a gift that can be!

It’s understandable that we might prefer to be secretive when it comes to our works-in-progress. Writing is a vulnerable thing, and when we feel exposed we become cautious. When our work is in a messy state we want to hold back until it isn’t. After we’re finished, we want to cover our tracks and hide those rougher drafts from the light of day. We may not be able to stand others poking around in our not-yet-great work and wrecking our shaky confidence in the process.

But my best advice is to get over all that. Share the good, the bad, and the ugly. Share it openly and proudly. I still love bouncing ideas off other people. Seeing what excites them and what does not quite land as expected. If I have to suffer a little embarrassment sometimes and confess to a project disintegrating at some point along the way—well, so be it. There’s always next week, and the more you share with others, the more you’ll be able to see your work through their eyes. So go ahead and loosen those lips; your ships won’t sink but will rise on an open tide.

Do you have a curious middle grade reader in your life who loves adventure, whether its a magical journey or real-world scenarios? Then you might know a Quirk Scout!

Welcome to your one-stop shop to finding a great new book (or series!) for your middle grader. Check out the entire selection here and score the perfect pick!

Calling all parents of middle graders: we have a stellar lineup of summer reads for kids 8–12! Learn about vampires, ghosts, and aliens with the Totally Factual Field Guide to the Supernatural series, get into the STEM mindset with the Nick and Tesla series, and inspire your kids to whip up some magic (and recipes) with A Spoonful of Time by Flora Ahn. Plus, get kids excited for the 2024 Olympics with Kid Olympians: Summer!

Looking for ways to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month today and every day? Check out this roundup of resources from Flora Ahn, author of A Spoonful of Time and the upcoming A Brush with Magic!

“Packed with trenchant critiques of internet celebrity and topped off by a satisfyingly nasty finale, this leaves readers wanting more from Muenter.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Submit your preorder receipt to receive a friendship bracelet*, bookmark, and a signed bookplate!

*Friendship bracelet available while quantities last. Conditions may apply. You must be 18+ to enter this preorder campaign. US only. Promotion ends 6/11/24. For full Official Rules, see bottom of page.

How do I submit my receipt?
Send Quirk Books a photo of your Such a Bad Influence receipt using the Google form linked below. (Note: please make sure your full name, book title, and the date purchased are all visible on your receipt.)

If you have trouble uploading your receipt to the Google form, please send an email to [email protected] with the requested information and include [SABI Preorder Campaign] in the subject line.

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All receipts must be dated June 4, 2024 or earlier and submitted by 11:59pm EST on June 11, 2024. Please note that it may take a few weeks after the campaign closes for your items to be shipped.

Submit your receipt here!

About the Book

For fans of Ashley Winstead, Jessica Knoll, and Jo Piazza, an electric debut thriller about what happens when one of the first child stars of the social media age grows up . . . and goes missing.

Hazel Davis is drifting: she’s stalled in her career, living in a city she hates, and less successful than her younger sister, @evelyn, a mega-popular lifestyle influencer. Evie came of age online, having gone viral at five years old for a heart-tugging daddy-daughter dance. Ten years older and spotlight-averse, Hazel managed to dodge the family YouTube channel—so although she can barely afford her apartment, at least she made her own way.

Evie is eighteen now, with a multimillion-dollar career and unlimited opportunities, but Hazel is still protective of her little sister and skeptical of the way everyone seems to want a piece of her: Evie’s followers, her YouTuber boyfriend and influencer frenemies, and their opportunistic mother. So when Evie disappears one day—during an unsettling live stream that cuts out midsentence—Hazel is horrified to have her worst instincts proven right.

As theories about Evie’s disappearance tear through the internet, inspiring hashtags, Reddit threads, podcast episodes, and scorn, Hazel throws herself into the darkest parts of her sister’s world to untangle the threads of truth. After all, Hazel knows Evie better than anyone else . . . doesn’t she?

OFFICIAL RULES

IMPORTANT: Please read these Official Rules before entering the Such a Bad Influence Gift Preorder Campaign (the “Preorder Campaign”), presented by Quirk Books (“Sponsor”). By entering the Preorder Campaign, you agree to the terms of these Official Rules. These Official Rules shall govern in the event of any inconsistency with other Preorder Campaign-related materials.
RETAIL ONLY. THIS CAMPAIGN REQUIRES PURCHASE FOR ENTRY.
ELIGIBILITY: The Preorder Campaign is open to residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia and Canada who are 18 years of age or older at time of entry. All federal, state, and local regulations apply. LIMIT ONE ENTRY PER PERSON. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED. Employees of Sponsor, its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, and agencies, and their immediate family members and persons living in their household are not eligible to enter the Preorder Campaign.
ENTRY PERIOD: The Preorder Campaign begins at 11:00 AM (ET) on Friday, April 12, 2024 and ends at 11:59 PM (ET) on Tuesday, June 11, 2024.
HOW TO ENTER: Online entry only. Enter by completing and submitting the entry form as instructed at https://forms.gle/rYFekEr1tfqkB9TS8. If you have trouble uploading your receipt to the Google form, please send an email to [email protected] with the requested information and include [SABI Preorder Campaign] in the subject line.
In the event of a dispute, entries will be deemed made by the authorized account holder of the email address used for entry. Automated entries are prohibited, and any use of automated devices will result in disqualification. Sponsor is not responsible for incorrect or inaccurate entry of information by entrants; lost or late entries or transmissions; interrupted or unavailable network, server, or other connections; scrambled transmissions or other errors or problems of any kind whether mechanical, human, or electronic, technical malfunctions of any computer hardware, software, or any combinations thereof; or problems associated with any virus or any other damage caused to entrants’ systems. Incomplete or illegible entries will be voided. All entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned.
Comments and/or posts including photographs or videos may not include obscene, offensive or inappropriate (in Sponsor’s sole and absolute discretion) material or defame any person, or otherwise infringe on any person’s proprietary rights. If you are posting a photograph or video, you must have permission from the photographer/videographer (or be the photographer/videographer yourself) and have permission from any persons who appear in the photo or video before submitting it.
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PRIZE:
Every entrant who proves they have preordered a copy of Such a Bad Influence by June 4, 2024 will receive the following, while quantities last:
1. A “Bad Influence” friendship bracelet (quantity: 200)
2. A bookmark (quantity: 350)
3. A signed bookplate (quantity: 500)
Quirk Books will be checking receipts and will deem entrants as disqualified if requested information is missing from entry. Please note that it may take a few weeks after the campaign closes on June 11, 2024 for items to be shipped.
Actual value of prize may vary. No transfer or cash or other substitution of all or part of a prize is permitted, except by Sponsor, which reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to substitute the prize or prize component with another of comparable or greater value. Any and all taxes on the prize will be the responsibility of the entrants. Sponsor shall not be responsible for any cancellations, delays, postponements, substitutions, changes in services, damage in the delivery of the prize, and/or loss of any prize in connection with delivery of the prize via mail. In the event that there is an insufficient number of eligible entries, Sponsor reserves the right not to award the prizes.
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Get started finding peace and belonging in nature with this downloadable nature guide!

Thrive Where You’re Planted is organized by month and begins with March, but you can start at any point during the year. If you’d like to get started right now, we’ve created this downloadable version of the February chapter. That way you can save the February chapter that’s inside the book for next year!

Visit this link to download your own exclusive nature guide.