“Publishing is a rollercoaster, and all you can do is hold on for dear life.” -Erin Quinn-King
Erin Quinn-Kong is a longtime magazine editor and a brand new author. Currently managing editor at Texas Highways, she was also editor-in-chief of Austin Monthly and an editor at Allure and Us Weekly. Erin is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and their two children. Hate Follow is her debut novel.
In August, we’ll be joined in conversation with three writers – Sarah LaBrie (No One Gets to Fall Apart), Erin Quinn-Kong (Hate Follow), and Cherry Lou Sy (Love Can’t Feed You) – who are just days away from the publication of their debut books. We’ll discuss their journeys so far from idea to the book deal & all of the preparation for publication – everything that makes up the unique and thrilling experience of publishing your first book.
This is the first of a special two-part Third Thursday that will cover the path to publication. In November, we’ll welcome our panelists back for a follow-up conversation to hear how those exciting days post-publication unfolded.
Here’s what Erin had to share with us in advance of our August event:
Scribe: What was the inspiration for your book?
Erin Quinn-Kong: I started writing Hate Follow in December 2020—before the media attention on the privacy of influencer kids really amped up. I’d been following influencers and bloggers for a long time before that, and I noticed there were several influencers who lost their husbands and then their followers skyrocketed. One of the women had preteen kids, and I remember thinking, “What will her kids think in a few years when they see their sick dad all over the internet?” That got me thinking about whose story parents are allowed to tell. If someone dies, does their spouse get to tell that story or their child? Or should anyone? And that was the jumping off point to have a teenager sue their influencer parent for invasion of privacy—something I swear is going to happen in the future!
Scribe: From idea stage to completed manuscript, how long did it take you to write your book?
EQK: It depends what you mean by completed! I started querying in August 2022, so it took me about 19 months to get to that finished place. And then after I got my agent, I did two revises with her (one big, one small), and then I did two rounds of edits with my editor. The book was final for William Morrow in spring 2024.
Scribe: Has there been a moment of epiphany in terms of your work, when you thought, “This is it! Now I know what I’m doing?” How long did that feeling last?
EQK: I had written and queried another book before Hate Follow that got a good bit of interest from agents but no offer of representation. I knew this idea had a far better hook, so I had that going for me. But I don’t know if I ever thought I knew what I was doing! I’m currently working on a new project and still wonder if I can write a book. Only time will tell.
Scribe: Was there a moment of doubt or struggle while writing your book, and how did you push through that moment to keep going?
EQK: There were lots of struggles throughout this nearly four-year process, but there were also lots of highs. Publishing is a rollercoaster, and all you can do is hold on for dear life.
Scribe: What’s one piece of advice you would go back and give yourself (or someone else) during the early days of your project?
EQK: My best advice is to figure out your process. If you can only write on weekends, or at night after your day job, or at 1 p.m. when your baby naps, then do that. The important thing is to be consistent. Also, the only thing you can truly control in publishing is your writing. So have fun, be weird, be bold—enjoy it!
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Thanks, Erin!
Click here to learn more about our August Third Thursday Panel.
