My Favorite Lipstick, Why I'm in NYC, and a Preorder Sale

A few fun things!

Slant Letter is a newsletter for writers looking to craft your angle, write like you mean it, and do it in style—from your friendly editor in book publishing.

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Hi friends, I got up before the sun today to catch my early morning train into New York City (more on why below!) and so sending you this missive from the tracks with a few fun things.

Get your preordered copy 25% off!

First, Barnes and Noble is hosting a 25% off sale on all online preorders through tomorrow Wed 7/17! Use PREORDER25 to get your copy of Even After Everything, releasing October 15, 2024. This includes all formats—hardcover, ebook, and audio, which will be narrated by yours truly. Plus free shipping. Woohoo!

Help me pick an author headshot?

Second, I had the best time getting author headshots with my super-talent photographer friend, Whitney Jamgochian. I put on some heels and my favorite red lip these days (not an affiliate, just love it!) and braved the backyard 95 degree heat, and she worked all her magic to turn our photo shoot into a moody botanical fever dream!

Here’s a few of the images. I have been collecting votes on my Instagram and so curious to hear what yours would be! The kid ones are extras just for fun, but framers for sure 😊 Let me know over on IG or in the comments below!

Gotta love the gallery's crop job here but you get the picture!

Some news + why I’m in New York this week

Third, this week marks my first on a new job! After years of admiring the books and list of HarperOne, I’m so pleased to be joining the team as senior editor. I’ll be acquiring taste-making, talk-worthy prescriptive nonfiction, voice-driven memoir and narrative nonfiction, and spiritual writing that speaks to the whole person, among other things. HarperOne’s mission is publishing books for the world we want to live in, and yeah, that rings true, doesn’t it?

Studio Hours Replay!

Last week, we concluded our close reading of Maggie Smith’s You Could Make This Place Beautiful with Slant Letter’s very first live studio hours! Studio hours are available to paid subscribers, as this keeps our group organically small for rich conversation. I’m sending the replay link here for any who’d like to catch it retrospectively!

After getting kids in bed, I snuck into our little home library and our lovely group talked about:

• What it means to be “out with the lanterns, looking for myself” (Dickinson) as writers and as humans

• How to riff responsibly on someone else’s creative work (see: Dickinson!)

• The secret to breaking the conventional writing rules in style

• and more!

I really enjoyed our time together and hope you did, too. We’ll do this again!