New Release: Bye Forever, I Guess
Happy good morning! <3
Happy good morning, everyone! BYE FOREVER, I GUESS releases today!
This is my seventeenth published book! It’s my first middle-grade novel and . . . I think you know I don’t use this phrase lightly, but it’s the book of my heart. All my books are from my heart, obviously! But BYE FOREVER, I GUESS is truly special to me.
This is the book I wrote simply for the fun of it, just bits and pieces of it here and there. On airplanes. Between other work. Whenever I thought of something funny I wanted to add.
From 2018 - 2021, this book was my super duper side story — one I thought about but wasn’t actively working on . . . until 2021, when I had a break before I needed to start writing MY SALTY MARY with the Lady Janies and doing edits for DAWNBREAKER. I’d done as much “relaxing” as I could stand and decided to go back and see what BYE FOREVER, I GUESS looked like.
And to my surprise, I had half a novel! So I revised the beginning and finished writing the end. Then I revised it again and again. And again. I know that sounds like a lot of work — and it was! — but it was truly one of the most joyful writing experiences I’ve ever had. I loved every moment of working on this book.
And now it’s here.
With two starred reviews, a spot on the Kids’ Indie Next List, and tons of support from other authors, educators, and booksellers, I could not be more honored by the reception this book is getting.
I hope you’ll read it.
Order BYE FOREVER, I GUESS:
One More Page (signed and personalized TODAY by 2pm Eastern)
Scrawl Books (signed and personalized on Nov 14)
Audiobook options (plus a sample you can listen to)!
Other ways to support!
Whenever I have a new book release, readers always want to know how they can help support my books. Here are a few things you can do to support any book, old or new:
Request that your school or public library add a copy to their collection
If they have a copy, check it out to keep it in circulation — especially older books
Talk about the book on social media
Engage with others when they talk about the book
Use the hashtag (for this book, it’s #ByeForeverIGuess)
Share photos, graphics, and posts others (including the author) make
Need some ideas for this book? Think gamer girl, cozy vibes, You’ve Got Mail (but the indie bookstore lives!), book fandom, online friendships, and knitting. Baked goods also go well.
Post reviews on retail sites (primarily Amazon and Barnes and Noble)1
Talk to your local booksellers about the book — why you like it, what kind of other readers you think would be interested, and what books they could compare it to
And, of course, buy a copy if you are able
If you somehow end up with extras, you can put them in a Free Little Library, give them to friends, or donate them
The best thing that can happen to any book is for organic, word-of-mouth excitement to spread about it. So if you love a book — any book, but also mine — talk about it.
Sharing reviews on retail sites is particularly important, since algorithms will pick up the activity, and people on the page will see a high number of reviews and decide to take a chance, too.
Think about it: are you more likely to buy the item with 20 five-star reviews, or 1,000 reviews and a 4.3-star average? Volume matters. (So if you’ve already read BYE FOREVER, I GUESS and you have a review written, please give it a little copy and paste into Barnes and Noble and Amazon.)
Reader support is vital to my ability to write and publish more books in the future. Without you, I don’t have a job. So thank you.
Events!
This afternoon, I’m heading to the Westover Branch of the Arlington Public Library to share a little behind-the-scenes about the book, too, including some of the real text messages that inspired it!
One More Page in Arlington, VA - October 22, 3pm at the Westover Library
Northside Library in Charlottesville, VA — October 26 at 2pm (copies will be available here, courtesy of New Dominion Bookshop)
Scrawl Books in Reston, VA, with Nashae Jones - November 14 at 7pm
School visits:
I’ve been setting up some local school visits (they’re not on the list because they’re not public), and I’m hoping to do more. If you want me to go to your school, please let me know! You can get more information here, as well as see some of the nice things people have said. :)
Okay, I need to start looking human and get in the car. Thanks for letting me write seventeen books for you! <3
Remember, you can get the book from anywhere and still leave a review on those sites!
Happy book day, Jodi!
Happy book birthday!! Can't wait to pick up my copy tomorrow!