Last week, I received a questionnaire from the publicity department at HarperCollins. When I printed it out, the thing spanned fourteen pages. It took me a few days to fill it out. The questionnaire asked everything you'd find on a basic resume....name, address, publishing credentials....plus a few off-the-wall topics like, "Do you know anybody in the media?" (radio, TV, newspapers) as well as my favorite local bookstores. (Hello, Books&Books!)

I have a few publicity ideas of my own. I'm so eager to talk about them. But I don't want to come across as the overenthusiastic newbie (which isn't far from the truth). So I have to fight the urge to email my editor every five seconds.

Since I need all the help I can get...I emailed a freelance publicist who seems cool. Problem is...she's not sure about the "young adult" genre (which probably brings to mind the "kiddie section" of the bookstore). I tried to tell her, "It's just a story about a teenage girl."

Sigh.