Site: http://www.sarahdessen.com/

Blog: http://writergrl.livejournal.com/

I'm sure there probably is another way, but honestly I don't think I could take anything else on. I did experiment with podcasts a bit, and considered maybe doing a few where I was talking about the book, or reading a section...but in the end, I figured what I had was enough. Maybe by next book I'll have figured out that technology a bit better, and will give it a try. Never say never.

The list I put up on iTunes I did on my own. Basically, I chose songs I was listening to a lot while I was writing and revising the book: ones that reminded me of the characters, but also some that I felt helped me get through the harder days. Music can be a great comfort, especially when you're stuck and need a little push. Now, whenever I hear those songs, I'll think of Just Listen. So that's kind of nice, too.

My hope was that the playlist would just be an addition to reading the book, a sort of behind-the-scenes thing. Kind of like the extras on DVDs: you don't have to watch them to get the movie, but if you're interested, it's always kind of fun to see what else was happening during filming, or how the director or actors felt about certain scenes. The book should always be able to stand on its own. That's important. But I think as a reader, I would have liked to know what else the author was thinking about while they were writing the book, to get a bit more insight into that process.

I definitely hear a lot about the blog from my readers, and especially did on my recent tour. Instead of the Q&A being just about the book, I got questions about what I'd written about in the blog, like how my dogs were doing, or were those the shoes my friend Dana talked me into buying. I think that the blog allows the readers to feel a little closer to you: it's sort of an inside joke. I even had some people show up at my signings who had never read any of my books, JUST the blog. Somehow they'd found it, and liked it, and decided to check out the books. So that was another interesting thing. I'm lucky that I have really good, vocal readers. They respond to everything, and often in kind. On this last trip, I got several CDs from girls who wanted to share their music with me. So that was kind of cool.

I think it's just a way to connect with the readers, as well as the world. When I started my Livejournal, I honestly wasn't sure what I was going to do with it. I just wanted to see what would happen. But then it became kind of a habit, and still is. I try to update Monday through Friday, and some entries are clearly better than others. It takes me about fifteen minutes a day, which isn't really that much, and allows me to comment on stuff that's happening in the pop culture world, or my life, in a way that I can't do in my books. I do think, though, that having the blog really helped to get the word out about Just Listen. I was able to talk it up, and provide information about it, to a wider audience in a way I hadn't been able to before.

I don't think it has to be an either/or kind of thing. My writing is altogether separate: it's a private process, with no one weighing in, like a big secret I keep to myself over many months. The blog lets me have contact with my readers without compromising the way I write, which I think is essential. Plus, to be honest, it's fun. I like it.