After getting representation, Ms Lee’s book agent sent her manuscript to both adult and young adult publishing houses. This was because Ms Lee felt that her book had been written in a mature voice that would appeal to both adults and young adults.
She ultimately decided to market The Dark We Know as a young adult novel.
“I was really very much writing it as a coming-of-age story for who I was as a teenager and other teenagers whom I hoped the story spoke to,” she said.
Her book was sold to Gillian Flynn Books in October 2022, one year after she completed writing.
This offer came as a shock to Ms Lee because she did not know her book agent had sent her manuscript to Gillian Flynn.
“I was actually on a work trip at the time and had to sneak away from meetings to find a random corner in the expo hall where I could take a call with my agent,” she recalled.
Receiving that call was a pivotal moment in her writing journey. The agent said that Gillian Flynn had not only read and loved the story, but also wanted to publish it.
“It was a complete surprise and I love Gillian’s books, but just hearing that she wanted to publish my book also made me panic for a while as I started to overthink… wondering if my book was good and if there was anything I could fix,” Ms Lee said with a laugh.
An early version of her debut novel was shared with authors Ms Lee admired, who lavished praise on the book. This is to be included as blurbs on the back of her published book.
Recalling the moment she learnt of her book deal, Ms Lee said: “I was thrilled and very, very grateful. It was so amazing that so many cool writers all came through and it was a relief that they didn’t hate it.”
When she told her parents about her six-figure deal, her mother congratulated her before asking her how much of it would be lost to American taxes.
“I think they’ve seen me writing since I was a kid so this didn’t come as the biggest surprise.
“My parents are happy for me but they will still do the practical nagging about not quitting my job or to manage my money wisely.”
Even though her penchant for writing made it easy for her to churn out the first draft of her novel in a month, the overall process was not without its challenges, especially when she had to make revisions to her draft.
“Because it is quite a heavy book that deals with depression and grief, I would notice that whenever I went back to the book, I would get into this sort of headspace that wasn’t the most healthy for me,” she said.
So, whenever revisions had to be made, Ms Lee always had to make sure that she would be able to put the book down and go do something that was not quite as heavy.
Another challenge that she had to grapple with was learning to let go of sole control of her book because once it gets into a publishing house, it becomes a team effort.
“Everyone will have an opinion so the book is not really just yours anymore,” she said.
“As a debut novelist, a big part of the process was learning how to navigate this and learn how to sort of let go of the book and find a way to sort of reconcile that.”
Even as she counts down the days till her book release, Ms Lee is aware of uncertainty over whether her book will do well in an already crowded young adult fiction market.
However, she believes that there will be readers who will find her book and read it.
“The book touches on a lot of hurt and ultimately, I wrote the book towards healing so I think that if the hope and healing reaches someone, then I’ve done what I set out to.”
As she gears up for the release of her novel and the impending publication of the adult novel in 2025, Ms Lee shared a few words of advice for budding authors who are looking to get published like her.
“Don’t be afraid to write what you want and finish that book. Make sure you are writing something that you love and want to see through because you cannot go anywhere without having that.”
