Hello, Diana! Nice to have you back! Can you believe it's been six months already when The 24/7s first interviewed you?
Happy to be here.
How did your revision of THE UNBEATABLE LILY HONG go? Any challenges, surprises, joyful outcomes?
My revision process was surprisingly smooth! I say “surprisingly” because I usually agonize over revisions, but THE UNBEATABLE LILY HONG was just so much fun to write that it didn’t feel like it took a lot of time or energy to revise. However, when I look at my drafts, I can see a lot actually did change.
Please, give an example.
For one thing, the title used to be EXTRACURRICULAR, but the editorial team suggested THE UNBEATABLE LILY HONG instead. I absolutely love the new title, and I think it captures the spirit of the book and my main character perfectly.
It's a great title--one that makes you want to read the jacket flap copy to find out how Lily Hong is unbeatable! What was it like working with your Clarion Books' editor?
I was fortunate enough to work with two great editors! Angela Song was my first editor for the bulk of my editing process. Then Alessandra Preziosi took over when Angela left Clarion. I found Angela’s insights to be completely spot-on, and I was happy to say that it was the same with Alex. I also had so much fun bonding with Angela over similar childhood experiences as she edited my book!
Having an amazing editor step in when an amazing editor steps out sounds like a blessing to be sure! What skill sets did they have that impressed you?
I was most impressed by how they gave feedback that made the story much stronger while still trusting me with the direction of the story. It’s not always easy to balance the author’s vision with needed developmental edits, but they both did it beautifully! I am so grateful to have worked with such brilliant and genuinely lovely editors.
We bet they were mutually pleased when working with you! Has your cover become available? If so, what do you love about it?
Ooh! I cannot gush enough about this amazing cover by Rebecca W. Chan. It’s not available yet, but I’ve seen the sketches, and it’s so fun and vibrant. I cannot wait for the cover reveal!
Neither can we! Well, thanks again for stopping by. Looking forward to seeing you and THE UNBEATABLE LILY HONG again soon. Come 2024!