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Gary Rintelmann's avatar

The first of your books I read was All The Rage, then The Project, then Sadie, Cracked Up To Be, Some Girls Are, This is Not A Test, Believe Anything, and I'm The Girl. A peculiar order, perhaps, but I was awed by All the Rage and knew I would read all your work. The comment from Emily Slaney is beautifully eloquent and says everything I might have hoped to say. I simply needed to share that your earliest work already had the depth, richness, and honesty upon which you've built all your books. Thank you.

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Emily Slaney's avatar

Thank you for sharing this 😁💖 I love learning how stories came to be, and all the little details that entails. It's funny but I never felt that Sadie didn't fit with your other books, they were all the evolution of Courtney Summers to me, which is how it should always be for a writer, right? Every one of your books is a new girl, a new story, another step. They have all always been uncompromising, and complicated, and heartbreaking and empowering.

Also the imagining your work through a tape recorder thing - I totally get that. Someone once taught me that you should always read your work aloud (or listen to it played back) because you can see/hear where it trips a reader up and what works. As well as where you can use words to purposely make them stumble or slow down. Words and how they can be used in writing will always fascinate me.

I probably have more to say, but right now I can't think 😖. Thanks again for being so generous with you time & art 💕

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courtney summers's avatar

It makes me so happy that these newsletters are enjoyed! Thank you so much for reading them and commenting on them like you do--I always appreciate it. I think one of the reasons there ended up such a dissonance for some readers after my work was because Sadie was introduced to new readers as a thriller, and my work fits less into that category as YA has defined it. Each subsequent release didn't match with the idea that had been established, but it worked if you knew about the books that came before.

And YES! Reading out loud is so essential! I love to read things out loud. I think if everyone can, they should. It definitely changes the relationship with the lines.

Thank YOU for being so generous with your time and comments and perspective!!

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Emily Slaney's avatar

Ah yes, so it's the marketing teams fault 🧐 (no, I'm joking 🤭😏). But where are the rules that say a writer's genre has to stay the same? 😁 Who are the audience to place boundaries on art 😑. Although I do get the impression that if a particular book sells well, then an author (or director or musician or artist) is encouraged by their team/company/ whoever to continue in this genre. Or possibly I'm wrong? 🤔

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courtney summers's avatar

😂

you're right, though! publishing likes to use already successful properties as shorthand/box authors into previously successful formulas. i actually think it's less the audience creating those boundaries, then reacting to being sold something that was misrepresented? i think it is very hard to market my books outside of sadie as thriller-focused--and i don't think sadie fits the bill, though it gets away with it because the inherent likability of her/the tragedy of the story created similar feeling stakes--but this is how they were marketed and packaged and that created some dissonance, though if you were there at the start with my books it made more sense! that kinda thing.

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Cami, the Author's avatar

Loved this book. Powerful stuff. Congratulations.

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courtney summers's avatar

Thank you so much, Cami! I appreciate that.

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