The Publishing Process and How I Became a Sunday Times Bestseller
As we approach paperback launch week (which is NEXT week!), I feel a bit like I’m saying goodbye to the hardback era of Girl Unmasked. I know many people prefer paperbacks - they’re cheaper, lighter and have a different feel. I’ve always been a firm paperback lover too, but I think the hardback of Girl Unmasked will always be my favourite. It made me an author - a dream I’d had since I was a little girl. It meant my story was out in the world, that so many people have thanked me for telling (even though I thank YOU for reading it!). And, it made me a Sunday Times Bestseller at the age of 22.
People often ask me how the publishing process works, so I thought I’d delve into it a little as I reflect on the past few years and how I got to this point.
Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of being an author and writing stories, so I never imagined that I would write a memoir. As a child, I wrote a lot - stories, books, drafts of novels that will never see the light of day! - and that’s how I developed my writing. When I was a teenager, I set up a blog where I wrote about my anxiety anonymously.
After I found out that I was autistic, in my last year of sixth form, I started tweeting about it. I started a new (this time, public) blog called Authentically Emily and developed a following on Twitter. A publisher approached me to write a book for them. This is probably a good time to explain that there are different ways to publish a book: self-publishing, traditional publishing (where you are represented by a literary agent and get paid an advance to write the book) or with a small publisher/press (who often don’t work with agents and don’t pay an advance, but they will pay you royalties). It was this type that had approached me. At the time, I thought my writing would be terrible and they wouldn’t want it, so I told them I’d write it first to see if I could. I wrote a draft in about three weeks - a very, very rough draft of Girl Unmasked. They said they liked it and sent me a contract. When I looked through it, I thought I don’t understand this.
Me and my lovely agent Jessica Killingley at my book launch!
The previous year, I had written a fiction book that I had queried. I was rejected by, like, a hundred different literary agents. This meant I knew the process of acquiring an agent. I didn’t know what to do. The possibility of publishing a book was right there, but I wanted to do it as well as I could. I sought some advice from other authors online and they all told me to get an agent. So, I did.
I was really, really lucky in the fact that I actually only approached one agent, who I was introduced to by Cathy Wassell, the CEO of Autistic Girls Network. Jessica Killingley had an interest in neurodiversity and I sent her my manuscript. She read it very quickly and sent me a lovely long email. I felt like we clicked and like she understood my book and why I wanted to write it. I signed a contract with her and the BKS agency on 21st December 2021, which was actually four years to the day after I’d been discharged from the CAMHS unit.
Jessica and I spent a few months revising the book and working through some edits, and then it went out on submission. This is where your literary agent submits your manuscript to different publishers. In May 2022, my mum, Jessica and I went into London to meet with Octopus Books and they offered me a publishing deal, which was a dream come true. Although I’d always imagined I’d write fiction, I wanted to tell my story. I had an urge to do something about what I had experienced because so many others were experiencing similar.
My publisher wanted my book to be published in March or April time - there is autism awareness week, and neurodiversity celebration week, and this would avoid it getting lost in summer books or celebrity memoirs in the lead-up to Christmas. The timing was important in helping me make the Sunday Times Bestseller list, as fewer hardback copies needed to be sold around this time to make it.
For it to be published in March 2023, I would need to have the manuscript finished by September 2022 - as there is usually around seven months from completion to publication. I was just finishing my student nurse training and very much unable to meet this timeline. So, we decided to aim for March 2024 instead, giving me a year and a half. I had ample time to edit the manuscript and rewrite it in a different style - as previously it had all read as non-fiction, whereas now the memoir-y bits read like a story. I definitely think it’s much better than it was initially.
Once I had delivered my final draft, my editor went through it and added comments, asking me to rewrite, rearrange and add certain bits. After that it went to copyediting, which is basically line by line edits, before the legal read and cover designs/layouts etc.
I recorded the audiobook in January 2024 and it was published on 28th March 2024 - though I saw it in a book shop on the 27th! Apparently book shops often put new releases out on shelves earlier than they’re supposed to!
A BBC journalist approached me on social media to write an article. This was massive, and what I believe landed me on the Sunday Times Bestseller list. She wrote an article called Emily Katy: ‘Finding out I was autistic saved my life’ which made it to the front page of BBC news online. The Amazon ranking went up to number 7 out of all books which was MIND-BLOWING. I just remember at the time being so overwhelmed. I was getting so many lovely messages and I just didn’t know what to do with myself. It made me quite anxious, though also excited.
I knew that my book was out there and I knew it was being read. I’d been watching the Amazon ranking go up but you don’t really know what that means in terms of how many are being sold. And then I got a call from my editor/publisher - which had never happened before. I’d just come in from work and I picked up the phone and he told me that Girl Unmasked had made the Sunday Times Bestseller list that Sunday. And I…freaked out.
Making the Sunday Times Bestseller list as an author is one of those dreams you never dare to dream. I had never even anticipated the thought that might happen to me. It’s just a list at the end of the day, but it was mind-blowing. I couldn’t believe it. I was so excited.
That week, I made it through work, and then on the Sunday I went and bought a copy of the Sunday Times. Lo and behold, there it was. Girl Unmasked was number 8. I did not know what to do with myself.
That is basically the journey to publication. After that I had a Waterstones event. The last year has been a bit wild. But the most important thing is that people have connected with Girl Unmasked. All I ever wanted was to help just one person - I’m sure that’s incredibly cliché, but it’s true. I just wanted to make a small difference to one person. I’ve had so many lovely messages telling me that it’s done that. I still struggle to believe it, but I’m so grateful.
This week the paperback is out. I don’t know how it’s been almost a year since the hardback publication! I could not have asked for a better, kinder response. If you’d like to read the paperback, you can find pre-order links at the link below. Pre-orders are really helpful for authors as they let shops know that people want to read the book.
Thank you so much to everyone who has read it, everyone who has picked it up and everyone who has recommended it to anyone. I appreciate it more than I can say!
Love, Emily x
GIRL UNMASKED (The Sunday Times Bestseller) is available to order from Amazon and all major bookstores!
The paperback is out 27th February and can be pre-ordered here:
https://linktr.ee/girlunmasked
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