The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer

In spite of how easy the first sale was and the excellent reviews the book got, it took me two years to sell my second book. What has surprised you most about being an author? What do you wish you could change?

My advance, by the way, was $750.00, $500 on signing and $250 on day of publication, which the house forgot and I had to remind them of. My professor read the manuscript, declared it publishable, sent a letter of introduction to a small house that no longer exists, and a few months and one rewrite later, I’d signed a contract and begun my career. Just Morgan was the book I would have wanted to read at age 12 (I was 20 at the time, so my memories were still strong). It made sense at the time.Īnyway, I’d known in seventh grade that the books I was reading were pretty bad and I could do better, so I decided to write a book for seventh graders. One of the guest lecturers suggested that an approach to getting a job as an editor was to write a book, which, even if it remained unpublished, would be regarded as an accomplishment. I was taking a course in book publishing, figuring that since I also loved books, I might as well be an editor. I’d majored in Film History because I loved movies (I still do). I wrote Just Morgan because I was going to graduate from college with no career skills whatsoever. I’ve never had a day job, although I’ve done the same volunteer work for my friends of the library organization for about fifteen years (once I start on something, I guess I stick with it).” See also an Author Spotlight from Random House.Ĭould you tell us about your path to publication? Any sprints or stumbles along the way? I’ve written a lot of YA, a fair amount of middle grade, a few first chapter books, one picture book and one non-fiction book. I wrote my first book that got published, Just Morgan, my last semester at NYU and never looked back. Susan Beth Pfeffer on Susan Beth Pfeffer: “In first grade, I wrote Dookie The Cookie and realized right away that I wanted to be a writer.

The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer