We talk a lot about our favorite authors, but have you ever wondered what that special moment of “I’m gonna be an author!” feels like?

Luckily, Astrid Scholte is ready to offer insight into her amazing dream-come-true!!

The Life of a Debut Author

by Astrid Scholte

Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be an author, writing my first “novel” at age five. In fact, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing. Back then, my stories revolved around my cats, whether they were attending a birthday party or piloting a rocket to the moon. As I got older, my stories veered into the realm of fantasy, although you could argue that talking space cats was my first foray into science fiction! At thirteen, I attempted my first full-length science fiction novel, deciding I would be published by the time I turned eighteen. Little did I know it would take two decades for this dream to come true!

While I had a passion for writing from a young age, I also loved movies and decided to pursue a career in visual effects. The half-written science fiction novel that I had written was left abandoned. I moved to Sydney, Australia from my hometown of Melbourne to study 3D animation. After four years of studying, I started working as a 3D artist on an animated kids’ TV show. It was also during this year, in 2006, that I first read Twilight. It had been years since I’d read a book where I was so completely swept away by the characters and world. I decided I wanted to write something as captivating.

But it wasn’t as easy as I thought. When I attempted my own YA paranormal romance, I faltered at 20K words. Then I moved to New Zealand to work at Weta Digital and my writing took a backseat again. I was working 70+ hour weeks and struggled to find the time to write. But I was surrounded by so many creative people, I was inspired to create my own projects. When I returned home to Sydney in 2010, I enrolled in writing courses to ensure I had the tools to finish my next manuscript. And I did. I was convinced it was a masterpiece and was sure to be published. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t.

It took another six years, two more YA manuscripts and around 200 rejections until I signed with my agent, Hillary Jacobson of ICM Partners. The lucky manuscript was Four Dead Queens. I signed with Hillary through Pitch Wars, an online pitching competition, in November 2016. While I felt as though I had gotten closer to publication with my second manuscript, Hillary was the first person to say yes. It was an incredible feeling to finally be seen as a writer, and in many ways, validated. To feel that perhaps this dream of being published was not completely out of reach.

At the start of 2017, Four Dead Queens was sent out on submission to publishers. Less than two weeks later, Stacey Barney at Putnam, an imprint of Penguin Random House, said she was interested in my book. Cue all the screaming!

I will never forget the feeling of reading those words in an email from my agent. It was as though my body took flight. I ran around the house squealing, scaring my cats. Then I called my mum. I was hyperventilating so much she thought something terrible had happened. Eventually, I managed to tell her that my book was going to be published and with Penguin—a favorite publisher of mine!

Since then, there have been countless times where I’ve pinched myself: when I first saw my cover, when I saw the gorgeous map of Quadara, when my first ARCs were dropped at BookCon to great excitement, and subsequent chaos, when I held my ARC for the first time, when I sold rights to my first foreign territory, when I read my first five star review, when the first reader reached out to tell me how much she loved my book… the list goes on and on.

While being a published author has been a dream of mine, and I’ve researched the publishing industry for almost ten years now, I’m continually surprised by the wonders of a soon-to-be published author. Every day seems to pack a wonderful surprise or epic milestone, especially the closer I get to release. I am so blessed to be a part of this industry that has meant so much to me over the years. Books have been there for me in the good times and the bad. And I hope that my book brings a little wonder into the lives of readers, maybe even inspiring the next debut YA fantasy author!

Four Dead Queens is hitting shelves FEBRUARY 26TH! 

Unsure of which Four Dead Queens quadrant you belong in? Take the quiz to find out!