When Your Book Breaks Containment

I’ve reached a strange and nerve-wracking part of my publication journey. People who are not my family, friends, agent, or editor/s are reading the book, and I think I’m taking it much better than I thought I would.

Del Rey has been working hard in getting my ARCs (advanced reader copies) in the hands of early readers, influencers, and reviewers. It all started with the summer party earlier this year. That was my first taste of how the public would respond to THE REAPER, and even though I was initially rattled to see people casually passing over the huge stack of them on the table, the night took an about turn after I got the chance to pitch the story’s premise during the panel discussion, and soon, people returned to the book pile to get themselves a copy. For whatever reason, I had been hush-hush about the story’s plot up to that point, not wanting to give anything away, but witnessing the reaction to the premise first-hand encouraged me to be more open about it.

I was pleasantly surprised to see another stack of REAPERs at an event in Leeds for a fantasy showcase at Waterstones. I didn’t attend the event so I don’t know whether many people picked up a copy, but as the night was already focused on a panel of published headliner authors, I wasn’t too fussed about it.

Everything changed in November 2024. I had a meeting with Sam near the Penguin offices on the same day as the US Elections, and with the crowded US Embassy in the near distance, we chatted about the next few months, nursing hot chocolates between our cold hands. Sam appeared keen to know how I was feeling about the whole process so far, and I’m not sure if I made any sense, as I’m pretty bad at expressing myself, but I managed to garble out a few words about being apprehensive about the book’s success, and about trying to drown out a lot of the cynicism I see about publishing online. Sam empathised, and towards the end of the meeting, they told me that ARCs would be at YALC London – the young adult literature convention. YALC is a huge event on the publishing calendar, as influencers, bloggers, and passionate readers flock to the Olympia to grab the year’s hottest releases and get ahead of the curve for 2025’s big books. THE REAPER fits neatly in the adult crossover space, so it made sense for it to be at the Del Rey stand. I didn’t attend the event, but once again, I was pleased to know THE REAPER would be there in my stead.

I received a DM from a bookstagrammer on the day before the event. She has been following me ever since I started posting about THE REAPER on my socials. She said she really wanted a copy, and I assured her that she was likely to get one, but if not, just let me know and I would talk to the team. She messaged me at the end of the convention’s first day: “all gone! They went so quickly!” Oh, that’s nice to hear, I thought. Then she went on, “everyone’s talking about it! Even when I was standing in random queues, I heard people talking about it”.

Eh???

The next day, Molly took a photo of Del Rey’s table to boast that REAPER was in high demand at the tombola. She then messaged me to say people were going to the Del Rey section specifically to get my book.

What?

And then Sam said the team’s received requests for it because so many people missed their chance to get a copy. In the days since, I’ve been tagged in various Instagram posts with people “grateful” that they “managed to get a copy”.

I’m speechless!     

A few days ago, I teased the premise of THE REAPER on TikTok, having neglected my account for a few days. As it’s a notably invasive app, I have my notifications disabled. Towards the end of the day, I checked in to see how the video was going, and I saw hundreds of pink alerts. It had gone unexpectedly viral, with over ten thousand views and dozens of enthusiastic messages from people who “need the book now”, others who immediately went to preorder, and several more who went to request an ARC. People started following my Instagram based on the TikTok video. Initially, I was pleasantly surprised, but then I panicked – everyone sounded highly excited about the book, and when expectations reach those levels, the disappointment is much more acute when those expectations are not met. I saw people excitedly suggesting: “ah, so like Good Omens mixed with Rivers of London? Sounds great!” And my heart dropped into my stomach. Can THE REAPER truly compare to such iconic novels? Who knows! I found myself confronted with a whole new level of anxiety that I never thought about.

My book is no longer hidden within a small community but is now out in the world, in people’s houses, potentially being read by people I will never know and meet. It has online attention, too. It’s what I’ve always wanted, but I’m nervous. They might not like it – they might hate it, even. I don’t know how I’ll really feel about this whole experience until I get a flavour of the general consensus closer to the release date. Hopefully it’s received well.

There are some exciting deadlines on the horizon now. This week, I have a meeting with my publicist, Aoifke, who I met at the summer party, and the week after I’ll be sitting down with the marketing and publicity team to discuss the book’s campaign. The thing I’m most excited about is the cover reveal. So much happened with the cover since my last post about it, and I’m dying for everyone to see it and to properly discuss my new feelings about the cover here in a later blog. I’m so pleased with it, and I truly think it will stand out among the crowd for all the good reasons.

2025 is rapidly approaching. It feels like I’ve waited a lifetime for this release date, but now that the countdown has officially started, time no longer has meaning. Everything is just whizzing by. I realise I never took enough time to savour that quiet period when THE REAPER was still stuck in the computer, riddled with editorial notes and suggestions. My advice to any new authors reading this would be to enjoy that time, as you will never get it back, and there is an abundance of new, sometimes frightening experiences that come with a book’s upcoming release.

Despite the nerves, I’m hopeful. I want to believe that the next seven months will be a whirlwind in the best way. Deep down, I think THE REAPER has the potential to be big, so I’m determined to enjoy every moment leading to July, and every moment thereafter.