Dustin Thao is a Vietnamese American writer based in New York City. He graduated from Amherst College with a B.A. in Political Science, and is currently in a PhD program at Northwestern University where he studies critical media literacy. He writes contemporary fiction, and his debut novel You’ve Reached Sam is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller. You can find out more about Dustin at DustinThao.com, on Twitter at @Dustin_Thao, and on Instagram at @theDustinThao.
Moderated by the wonderful Martha Brockenbrough (a former Team Blogger) and assisted by ASL interpreters Keturah and Steve.
Published by Wednesday Books, You've Reached Sam is a YA novel about love, loss, and what it means to say good-bye. "Seventeen-year-old Julie has her future all planned out—move out of her small town with her boyfriend, Sam, attend college in the city, spend a summer in Japan. But then Sam dies. And everything changes. Desperate to hear his voice one more time, Julie calls Sam’s cell phone to listen to his voicemail. And Sam picks up the phone."
Q. What challenging moments did you experience, and how did you keep going?
The first urban fantasy that Dustin queried over two years received no requests, which was discouraging. He temporarily up on writing and went back to school. After he graduated, he decided to give writing one last try after revising. He was thrilled to get a request from an agent, and even though they said no, he was encouraged.
Dustin says that Twitter pitch parties also were a source of encouragement in his search for an agent. He received 80 requests from agents! The two agents who made offers to him happened to quit the same year, however, and he ended up getting his agent through a cold query.
Dustin's advice: Once you have a project, move onto the next one.
Q. What did you learn during your process that transformed how you work?
You've Reached Sam is the first book that Dustin really wrote for himself. The previous book was written more for trends.
Dustin's advice: Stop chasing big trends (though it's ok to be aware of them). You're going to be spending a lot of time on your book, so write a story that means something to YOU.
Dustin says that many of his early rejections described his main character, Julie, as being unlikeable and rude. Some early readers who gave him feedback also complained about this. When Dustin said he was considering revising yet again, his editor gave him wise advice: You can't expect everyone to like your book. No matter how many times you revise, there will always be someone who dislikes it.
Q. How has publishing changed your life?
Dustin says that in terms of finances, his life has not changed that much. He is still living on a student stipend and in school working on his Ph.D.
In terms of publicity, however, he is thrilled. He hadn't anticipated how much his book would blow up on TikTok, and his book has been on the New York Times bestseller list on eight months.
Dustin's takeaway: Even if your book is a runaway hit, it doesn't necessarily translate into financial reward...or at least not right away.
Q. How important is it for a writer to have a social media platform?
Dustin says that TikTok is a really big space for authors right now, but says he is not on TikTok. He isn't really on social media but does have a social media presence.
Dustin's advice: You don't need to be on social media to find an agent.
Q. Any advice about critiquing and critique partners?
Dustin says you need to find critique partners who is completely honest with you. He only has two critique partners, and one is his sister. His sister is ruthless, he says ("Dustin, this is terrible. Why are you wasting my time?" 😂)
Q. What is your biggest piece of advice for unpublished writers?
Don't obsess too much about trends. Write the book that you love.
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