This post was originally sent through my author newsletter on April 14th, 2023. To subscribe to my newsletter and receive up-to-date news, musings, and more, click HERE.
As you may have heard (since I've mentioned it, ahem, more than a few times...), the paperback edition of Madison Morris is NOT a Mouse! is out in the world. All three Class Critters books are now available in four formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook. That feels pretty amazing!
But there's also something about this moment that feels bittersweet: my three-book contract with Abrams Kids is now officially fulfilled.
And I don't know, as of right now, whether there will be any more Class Critters books. I want there to be more—I absolutely do!—but I can't be certain. That's publishing, in a nutshell, but it's also a hard pill to swallow.
I received the offer to publish Class Critters in January 2020. When I signed the contract, spring of 2023 seemed so very far away. This was my first multi-book deal, and it felt incredible to know I had so much in the pipeline.
I also assumed, perhaps naively, that I'd sign on for more books in the series before the third paperback released. It hasn't happened that way. It's hard to launch a new series in a market already glutted with long-running, beloved series. Pandemic disruptions to both publishing and schools continued much longer than anticipated. Tally Tuttle Turns into a Turtle wasn't a hit right out of the gate, which gave the subsequent two books harder mountains to climb.
I intend to pitch more Class Critters books to my publisher. I know I have many more stories to tell in this world. I also intend to keep doing school visits and other promo for the series. At the same time, I have to make peace with the idea that this might be it. I love these three books, and I know readers do too.
Will you help me give Class Critters one last push?
Here are a few ideas:
If you haven't already bought the series for the kids in your life, will you go ahead and do so? (Even if they're too young now—they'll be the right age soon enough!)
If your kids have already read the books, maybe you'd consider buying a few extra copies to give to their friends as birthday presents this year?
You could request the titles be purchased by your local public library or elementary school library! (You could also buy the set to donate to a school library...)
You could visit your local indie bookstore and ask them to stock a few copies on their shelves!
You could review the books on Amazon. All it takes is a star rating and a single sentence, something like: "My child loved this book."
Easiest of all, you can tell people about the series! The next time a colleague or neighbor or fellow dance or soccer parent happens to mention that they know a child who's looking for something new to read, I hope you'll point them toward Class Critters.
Books don't succeed in a vacuum. They need word of mouth. They also need to be findable—on shelves where readers can actually pick them up and skim the teaser on the back.
If you've read this far, please know that I am so grateful for your support. I love what I do and I am proud of what I have produced, and the fact that you're here, reading this, means the world.
Now, go forth and get those paperbacks!
~Kathryn
What I'm:
Reading: I finally read Sabaa Tahir's multi-award-winning YA novel All My Rage. It was every bit as good as the accolades suggested. I tore through it in a little over a day! This week, I've been reading Carrie Soto is Back, Taylor Jenkins Reid's companion novel to her earlier book Malibu Rising, about a professional tennis star attempting a late-career comeback. I am not a tennis fan, and yet I am pretty riveted.
Watching: Speaking of Taylor Jenkins Reid, we've been watching "Daisy Jones & The Six" on Prime. The music is great!
Working on: I'm in Tennessee right now, doing school visits! Hooray!
Loving: Look at my three paperback babies, all together. What a dream. :)
