Soon after I announced to the world that A Voice for Kanzas would be published, a friend of mine (who had another friend whose debut novel would come out 2012) told me about a great group. It seems that somehow a whole bunch of writers who had debut novels coming out in 2012 had linked arms and decided to sashay down this yellow brick road together. They called themselves, Apocalypsies, with a tag line of “Read ‘Em Like There’s No Tomorrow.”

They welcomed me with open arms, added me to their blog page, set me up on the list serve, and even told me how I could order the official t-shirt. Within days my email box was filled with the happy chatter of soon-to-be published novelists. There’s a Facebook page now, too. There is even a special group page for those of us who are working at getting into shape before our books debut. We share our new book covers as we get them. [Some are tweeting these things like crazy, but I have to admit that the Tweet is something I know not of.]  We post news about reviews. We share frustrations over long waits or seemingly impossible expectations of editors.

Through the posts of my fellow Apocalypsies I have learned more about what to expect about having publicity photos made, how to put together plans for a book trailer, how to use Goodreads to help me promote my book (I’m still learning on that one). We’ve all friended each other on Facebook and “liked” each other’s author pages. We planned a get-together at SCBWI-LA and actually met!

I think the group of 2013 is already forming now. If you’re reading this with hopes for your own debut in your near future–hook up with them. It’s great to have a support group in this little journey.