AFTER THE WHIRLWIND Jan Dunning

 

Now that the whirling debut dust has settled, Lui Sit invites Jan Dunning to talk about one thing she's learnt since becoming a published author.

For most of the time since publication, it has felt like this publishing journey has been happening to somebody else. I still can’t quite believe it’s ME with TWO books out in the world.

 

The words exposing, terrifying, surprising and exhilarating come to mind.

 

Mirror Me came out in June 2023, published by Scholastic. It’s a retelling of Snow White, set in the London fashion world. It draws on my experience of working first as a model, then as a photographer – so, while on the one hand it’s a contemporary supernatural thriller, in many ways it’s also a very personal book.

 

When you write YA, you have to tap into your inner teen and that can dig up some excruciating memories, some raw thoughts and fears that make you feel very exposed. The fear of letting people see inside my head combined with the fear of not being ‘good enough’ means I was pretty anxious about putting my work out there.

 

In the run up to publication I had to get over my fears fast. You might think that my modelling experience would have prepared me for the promotional aspects of publishing a book, but I’m quite shy. I'm happier at home writing in my studio, than posting on social media, or talking about myself in real life.

 

I was enormously grateful to my publisher for planning publicity opportunities in the run up to the launch but I was definitely out of my comfort zone! Suddenly, I was expected to make Tiktok videos and Instagram reels, and attend a high fashion tea at a posh hotel with a bunch of booktok influencers half my age (they were adorably excited and put me at ease).

 

First signing

Booktok fashion tea

Then my book was published and out in the world…

 

Launch night

Some moments are just wonderful, like the first time you sign your book, or see it on a bookshop shelf. People you haven’t seen for years send you selfies, reading your book on holiday, while lovely friends update you daily about which chapter they’re on. But that's the thing - suddenly your book belongs to everyone. The manuscript I’d spent years honing and polishing could now be read – not just by friends and work colleagues, and, oh my God, extended family (what will they think?) – but by total strangers.

 

Reviews started coming in and I terror-read through my fingers. Newspaper reviewers, YA authors, book bloggers, influencers – they all had something to say. Most surprising of all (to my huge relief) - the reviews were actually good! But what did teenagers think? I wrote the story for them. Had they read it? Did they hate it?

 

I soon found out.

 

In November, I was invited to YALC, the Young Adult Literature Convention, at Earl’s Court in London. I had always wanted to go – but ideally as a lurker, observing from the shadows. Instead, I was asked to appear on a panel, talking in front of the entire YA community alongside a personal heroine of mine; the feminist, author, activist and brilliant public speaker Laura Bates.

 

Imposter syndrome kicked in; I barely slept. But, surprisingly, the panel was fine; more than that, exhilarating. The discussion was interesting; we talked about retelling fairy tales and I felt like an expert. I know exactly why I wrote Mirror Me, a story about perfection and impossible beauty standards, as a modern twist on Snow White. I had plenty to say.

 

The signing afterwards brought me back down to earth. A tiny queue with only handful of people in it, next to a big star writer with hundreds of fans! But I took my time and had proper conversations and that’s when I finally met teenagers – real ones – who had read Mirror Me and loved it. That was when I finally felt like an author rather than an imposter.

 

I should have followed up with school visits but they are tricky to arrange for YA writers, and my book came out in June; UK exam season. Plus, I’d heard stories about stony-faced Year 9s and I was scared. I also had an urgent deadline: Scholastic had just bought my second book, The Last Thing You’ll Hear, a retelling of the Pied Piper set at a sinister music festival.

 

Meeting teens on school visits

I finally did my first school visit in January 2024, six months after Mirror Me came out, and it was a revelation. They’ve actually become one of my favourite parts of author life. Teenagers are brilliant: smart, funny, switched on. They say what they think. When a teen reader talks about your characters like they’re real people and tells you how much your books resonated with them, it’s the best feeling in the world.

 

So, would I change anything about my (cliché alert) ‘emotional rollercoaster’ debut year?

 

I wish I’d been less fearful of other’s opinions and celebrated the smaller wins for longer. Writers are terrible for moving goalposts: you hit one milestone and immediately worry about the next. With Book II, I’m trying to accept that most things are out of my control.

 

Highlights?

 

Those encounters with readers. And this: in March, I received an email telling me that Mirror Me had won the Oxfordshire Children’s Book Award 2024, awarded solely by teens. The award ceremony is in November, and I’ll have to stand up in front of 400 children from 26 schools and speak. I know how exposed and terrified I’ll feel. But I’m going to take a deep breath and tell myself I deserve to be there, because teenagers chose my book. And then I hope I’ll meet them. Publishing is terrifying, exposing, exhilarating and surprising – but I’ve decided to embrace every moment.

*Header image: Ell Rose and Tita Berredo

*Photos courtesy of Jan Dunning

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Lui Sit writes MG, non-fiction, adult short stories, and memoir. She is agented by Becky Bagnell of Lindsay Literary Agency. Find her on X, Instagram and on her website.

 

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Ell Rose is the Illustration Features Editor of Words & Pictures. Find their work at www.fourfooteleven.com. Follow them on Instagram and X. Contact them at illustrators@britishscbwi.org

Tita Berredo is the Illustrator Coordinator of SCBWI British Isles and the Art Director of Words & Pictures. Follow her on Instagram and X or www.titaberredo.com Contact her at: illuscoordinator@britishscbwi.org

 

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Anne Boyere is one of Words & Pictures' Feature Editors and runs the #SCBWIchat X chat about books for all ages @SCBWI_BI. You can find her on X.