The Vent with Dahlia Adler and COME AS YOU ARE
In Which the Author Comes Aboard To Tell Us All About the Long Game and Remind Us 'It's Not Just You'
Holy moly, has it been an embarrassment of riches when it comes to authors writing in and being so open and vulnerable with their vents! This week, we hear from Dahlia Adler to ring in the release of her latest novel, COME AS YOU ARE. I can’t thank Dahlia enough for really embracing the Ventorship spirit and giving us a whole boatload of wisdom in her responses, including not giving up on novels you wrote decades earlier and remembering that you’re never alone in whatever you’re experiencing on the publishing rollercoaster. Get ready to feel seen!
Jason June (JJ): When you started your writing journey, what was the biggest frustration you encountered as you tried to find an agent and/or went on sub to editors for the first time that you wish you could have vented about?
Dahlia Adler (DA): I went on sub to thirty editors for my debut, which, honestly, I don't think would even be possible now. For the most part, the rejections were pretty garden variety (minus the "We have a book with the exact same plot" from the only editor who wouldn't read it, and yes, as soon as the book was announced, it absolutely did sound the same, though in execution they were wildly different), but there's one that forever sticks with me that went something like: "We love this book! It's so special and so much deeper than it sounds! But we don't know how to make clear to readers that it's so special and so much deeper than it sounds, so we're gonna pass." And I was just like... but that is your job. That is literally what your job is. How do you not know how to do that? How do you not feel weird telling me you don't know how to do that?? Anyway, they folded by the time my book was published in June 2014.
JJ: How about after you got your first book deal and continued on to publish multiple books? How did your frustrations (if you had any) change, and what would you have vented about or did vent about to author friends?
DA: I've had such a wild publication journey. For one thing, I'm on agent number five, so you know I've had a lot of bumps along the way, especially because I'm a rare case of every single one of those agents having sold at least one book for me. But as grateful as I am for those sales, of course it makes things so messy. My favorite thing about my agent, Patricia Nelson, is that she takes it all under her wing as "an investment in my career," so she doesn't pretend my backlist doesn't exist just because she doesn't earn money from it. In fact, she sold all my small press and self-pub books in audio. But a bad agent... man, they can be so bad. It's really hard when your publishing partner not only acts as your personal gatekeeper but lies to you in ways you can't prove until you've dissolved the relationship, which is why I've always been quicker to urge people to leave when the flags are that brightly red.
I've been in publishing a long time, and I've been on both sides of the desk - I interned in Publicity at HarperCollins, then Production at Simon & Schuster, then returned to S&S to be an Editorial Assistant before I moved out of state and switched to academic publishing - so I've been lucky and privileged that I'm often listened to about my concerns. But that also makes it a harder pill to swallow when I'm not, and there are two frustrations I have related to covers that I will take to my grave because I am certain they made a huge impact on sales. Also, I think a lot of us struggle with the opacity of the industry, and I'm no exception to that, but even more than sales - because at least you can see two years of BookScan through Amazon's AuthorCentral, and then you get royalty statements eventually - I've been really resentful of not being kept in the loop as various editions go out of print, and that's something I struggle with even now.
It's also really hard to see and feel the wildly unnecessary inequalities in promotion from your own publisher. There are things I can accept that not everyone gets, but there are instances where I'm like... there was zero reason not to include me in this. I also really wish imprints fostered greater relationships between their authors (and some definitely do! But mine are not among them) with group giveaways, events, etc. There's so much potential left on the floor. And a personal one for me (because let's get out all the vents!) is that I've had so many authors express gratitude for my support over the years who simply do not show up for me in return, even if they've literally said "Tell me if I can ever repay the favor!!" Blurbs is the worst one here for me - I really struggle to get them, which feels honestly gross given I blurb about ten books a year - but there are just so many examples, it kills me.
But my frustrations are largely about those smaller things, which is a huge change in and of itself. They're not "Hey, none of these editors are getting back to us" the way they were ten years ago, because people at least know my name and that I'm someone they may not want to burn a bridge with, so while they might reject, I don't get ignored as much as I know happens to a ton of newer authors these days. My advance quote is not high, which can be frustrating when I see new authors making exponentially more than I am for books that might never earn out, but it's steadily increased over the years and far more of my books have earned out than not. My frustrations more often have things to offset them now, and rather than "Why can't I get published" it's "Why can't I blow up bigger," and that's a problem 99% of authors have, so, I'm in good company, I think.
JJ: Tell us about your latest book! And (I bet you know where this is going) what’s the biggest vent you’ve got about the process of creating this novel?
DA: It's so fitting to be doing this interview for Come As You Are, which may be my latest book, but is also the first one I queried for real, back in... 2010, I believe? This is a book that was meant to play the long game! It stars a girl named Everett (aka Evie) who's had her heart broken by her boyfriend, best friend, and sister, and goes to boarding school to get a fresh start, only to end up the joke of the school when she's placed in a boys' dorm. When rumors start flying about her, she decides to lean into them, and enlists her emo stoner dormmate, Salem, to teach her how to be "bad," in exchange for teaching him how to be "good" so he can repair his relationship with his parents after the events that got him sent to boarding school in the first place. There's a really fun cast, including Salem's himbo roommate and his witchy twin sister, Sabrina, who also becomes one of Evie's best friends, and it's probably the most banter-filled of any of my books. I feel incredibly lucky that I was able to revive it after having to shelve it as a querier, but it was a lot of work.
One thing that's really hard, I think, for a lot of authors of contemporary YA who came up in the 2010s is that those quieter, slice-of-life, coming-of-age novels used to be so huge, and were inspirational to many of us, and then suddenly one day the entire industry was like "That is dead to us now." I don't think I would've sold CAYA if my agent hadn't come up with the brilliant plan to add the plot point on which the entire book hinges so that we could comp it to a huge bestseller. (Which, ironically, we no longer use as a comp, because it was Adult and better YA comps have released since.) And I actually really like that change, but I don't own it in the same way I own other elements of the book, in the way that I know and understand it down to the marrow of my bones, you know?
At the same time, I had to lose so many elements of the original, and again, for the most part, I agree with those changes! Some of my ideas were very bad! So was my writing, I know now! But also sometimes teenagers make incredibly stupid mistakes and this book was initially conceived to be a tribute to that, to have the message that there's no mistake so big you can't move past it, and it's hard to have had to dilute and change that because there's only so messy characters are allowed to be. (Which is a whole other can of worms I will not get into right now, but wowee have we gone in the wrong direction on that IMO. As an author of intentionally deeply flawed characters, the fact that many readers now expect an MC's character arc to effectively be complete before the book begins is the biggest reason I'm no longer interested in writing YA right now.)
JJ: Any words of wisdom you have for writers whether they are at the beginning of their journey or multi-published?
DA: This is sort of my publishing catch phrase - I have a whole blog post about it - but "It's not just you." Whatever's happening in your publishing journey, no matter how bad or isolating it feels, I promise you're not the only one to have gone through it, so please don't let your embarrassment about it keep you from talking it out with a trusted friend or colleague. There's nothing wrong with doing "Hey, is this normal?" checks. And some of those checks I've heard are deeply abnormal - usually relating to the behavior of a publishing professional. You need to be with people you trust, and just as importantly, you need to be with people who don't get into your head and scramble it around until you lose your love for writing. Do your best to forge relationships in this industry based on genuine interest and support, and yeah, sometimes that's gonna require you putting yourself out there a little by going to events or commenting on newsletters or reposting other authors until they get to know you, and sometimes, it's not gonna click. But sometimes... it is. And when you find your people, stick with them for as long as you can, even if you move forward at different speeds. You'll be so happy you did.
JJ: Thanks so much for joining us aboard the Ventorship, Dahlia! Author-passengers, read below for more info about Dahlia and COME AS YOU ARE!
About COME AS YOU ARE
In this opposites attract romance for fans of Begin Again and Better Than the Movies, a fresh start doesn't have to mean changing yourself.
Hot on the heels of a broken heart, Everett “Evie” Riley arrives at Camden Academy ready for a new beginning - one far away from her cheating ex-boyfriend, the sister who stole him, and the best friend who let it happen. But her fresh start is stopped in its tracks when she's accidentally placed in an all-boys dorm, with no choice but to stay.
When rumors and gossip about Evie's housing predicament spread like wildfire, she decides the only way to survive is to lean into her questionable new reputation... but she's definitely going to require help. Her grumpy emo dorm mate Salem Grayson isn't exactly her first choice, but he does need her help to repair his relationship with his parents every bit as much as she needs his to learn how to be cool. And so they make a pact - he'll teach her how to be bad, if she teaches him how to be good.
It's a flawless plan, except while Salem thrives academically, even romantically, and - annoyingly enough - even physically, Evie's quest feels like one dead end after another, and the girl she's becoming certainly doesn't feel remotely cool. But when Evie realizes what she wants more than anything, she'll have to contend with her thrice-broken heart and figure out how to become someone capable of chasing happiness.
Dahlia Adler’s Come As You Are is about refusing to accept less than you deserve, and realizing that the best relationships are with people who know exactly who you are.
About Dahlia Adler
Dahlia Adler is an editor by day, a freelance writer by night, and an author and anthologist at every spare moment in between. She is the founder of LGBTQReads.com; her novels include Kids' Indie Next picks Cool for the Summer, Home Field Advantage, and Going Bicoastal, a Sydney Taylor Honor Book; and she is the editor of the anthologies His Hideous Heart, That Way Madness Lies, At Midnight, and co-editor of Out of Our League. Dahlia lives in New York with her family and their overflowing bookcases.
Website: www.dahliaadler.com
Authors, the Ventorship is looking for traditionally published writers to be featured with their latest book release in a future edition of The Vent! Email me at heyjasonjune@gmail.com with the subject: THE VENT to let me know you’re interested. All you’ll need to be featured are answers to the same four questions asked above, as well as an author bio, cover image, and book description.
If you’d like to vent about anything author/writing related, write to me at heyjasonjune@gmail.com with the subject: VENTORSHIP. I’ll give you my take in a post, and we’ll crowdsource author opinions in the comments. You’ll remain anonymous, and any haters will be thrown overboard. Ultimately, I think you’re going to be buoyed up by author love and support as we realize we really are all in the same boat 🛳️
Oh, this was SO HELPFUL to read - thanks to both of you for making this happen. I'm a little slow getting to it, but of course that ended up being exactly the right time.