A. J. Sass: Every Writing Project is Different

A. J. Sass (he/they) is the author of the ALA Rainbow Book List Top 10 titles Ellen Outside the Lines, which was also a Sydney Taylor Honor Book, and Ana on the Edge, as well as Camp QUILTBAG (co-written with Nicole Melleby). He grew up in the Midwest and South, spending many of his summers with his family enjoying the beautiful Northwoods lakes and scenery in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his husband and two cats who act like dogs. Visit him online at sassinsf.com, or follow him on X (Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram.

A. J. Sass

In this post, A. J. discusses how the writing process differed from previous projects with his new middle grade novel, Just Shy of Ordinary, his hope for readers, and more!

Name: A. J. Sass
Literary agent: Jordan Hamessley at JABberwocky Literary Agency
Book title: Just Shy of Ordinary
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Expected release date: January 30, 2024
Genre/category: Middle Grade contemporary
Previous titles: Ana on the Edge; Ellen Outside the Lines; Camp QUILTBAG (with Nicole Melleby)
Elevator pitch for the book: A 13-year-old nonbinary kid must balance attending public school for the first time while managing their anxiety in this heartfelt story that explores the connection between academic giftedness and emotional health, LGBTQIA+ identity, and Jewish heritage.

Bookshop | Amazon
[WD uses affiliate links.]

What prompted you to write this book?

Growing up, people considered me academically gifted. To most, this would be a good thing, and to an extent it was. But I also struggled with anxiety and as-yet undiagnosed autism during my adolescence; the expectations I placed on myself to excel in school adversely impacted my emotional health.

I managed my anxiety on my own all through middle school, assuming everyone felt queasy before giving a school presentation or felt their pulse pick up when the teacher called on them in class. Then my family moved from Georgia to Minnesota midway through my freshman year of high school. A month later, I was skipped from ninth to 10th grade. Struggling to connect with my new classmates and trying to keep up with tenth grade honors classes exacerbated my anxiety.

It took me years to unpack my deeply rooted perfectionism and realize that it’s OK to ask for help when I’m struggling.

I wanted to explore this through Shai, a kid who’s always been a strong student but who is thrown for a loop due to circumstances outside of their control—mainly, their mom losing her job during the pandemic, requiring them to move in with family friends to save money. The pandemic isn’t over yet, but as I started to brainstorm this book back in 2021, the first vaccine had just been developed. People were seeking their own “new normals” and trying to figure out what that looked like. Just Shy of Ordinary was born out of my desire to explore that through the lens of a queer, neurodivergent kid who approached life a lot like I did when I was the same age.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

The first inkling of an idea for this book appeared in the summer of 2020. I was in the process of co-writing the opening chapters of what would become my third novel, Camp QUILTBAG, with Nicole Melleby. That book was set in the Minnesota Northwoods, the first story I wrote in the Midwest where I spent the majority of my childhood. It made me want to write another story from a small-town Midwestern kid’s perspective.

For a year, all I knew was I wanted to set the story in Minocqua, Wisconsin, where my family visited during summer trips to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan where my grandparents lived when I was a kid. I started outlining the book and shaping the plot in summer 2021, sent a proposal to my editor in the fall, and accepted an offer of publication in early 2022. I spent most of 2022 drafting and revising the novel, while 2023 was all about copyedits, pass pages, and fine-tuning various other elements. The book releases on January 30, 2024. The process took about three and a half years from idea to publication.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

My wonderful editor, Caitlyn Averett, left editorial at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers while Just Shy of Ordinary was still in the process of being edited. Caitlyn was a fantastic editor who saw the heart of my story through an admittedly very rough first draft; her editorial feedback was invaluable as I worked through developmental edits that were in turn quite extensive. Caitlyn moved on after I’d completed line edits, and I began working with another editor, Erika Turner, starting at copy edits and through pass pages and proofreader queries.

The editor-author relationship involves a lot of trust. As an author, my stories are very personal for me and very dear to my heart. Sometimes, they can also make me feel vulnerable, because I’m often unpacking challenges I encountered when I was younger via a fictional lens. Initially, it felt unsettling to shift working relationships from someone I trusted, someone who knew and loved my story and characters as much as I did, to a new person.

Fortunately, Erika seamlessly picked up where Caitlyn left off. Their editorial approaches are unique to both of them but, like Caitlyn, Erika inherently understood the story I wanted to tell, and her guidance was invaluable to fine-tuning the story as it got closer to publication. Now I can say I had the honor of working with not one but two very talented editors on this novel.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

I was surprised by how difficult the first draft was in comparison with my past books. I sold Just Shy of Ordinary on proposal, meaning I’d written a few chapters and created a detailed outline but hadn’t yet drafted the entire manuscript at the time my editor acquired it. I’d sold past books on proposal as well but when I sat down to start drafting this one, I struggled to weave all the moving parts I’d included in my outline together in a way that felt organic.

I was a mix of emotions when I sent that initial draft to my first editor, Caitlyn. I was embarrassed by how rough it was and frustrated that I couldn’t get it more polished on my own. When Caitlyn sent me the first developmental edit letter, I wasn’t surprised that it was 17 pages long—what did surprise me was just how well Caitlyn understood the story I wanted to tell and how effective her letter was in turning my embarrassment and frustration into motivation to make improvements.

For the first time in my writing career after receiving an edit letter, I sat with Caitlyn’s feedback for a full week. I took some notes but mostly I just mulled over her notes and brainstormed how to incorporate them. Ultimately, I realized I needed to start from scratch.

I won’t say the process was easy—I don’t think any author wants to rewrite their book once they’ve already drafted 300+ pages—but in this case it felt necessary. Ultimately, the decision to rewrite from the ground up resulted in a final product I’m incredibly proud of, surprises and all.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

I hope for a lot of things when I share my stories with readers. I hope some readers will feel seen by my main character Shai’s identities and the challenges they encounter throughout the story. I hope other readers whose identities differ from Shai’s are offered a window into another person’s experiences that allows them to empathize with others. More specific to Shai’s story, I also hope readers who might be struggling with something in their life know it’s OK to ask for help from their friends or family. Even if they may be successful in some aspects of their life, it doesn’t invalidate their struggles in other areas.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Developing your writing craft is not always going to feel like a linear process. If writing Just Shy of Ordinary taught me anything, it’s that each story is different and may present challenges I didn’t encounter writing other stories. As an example, the writing process for my third novel, Camp QUILTBAG was a night-and-day experience compared to writing Just Shy of Ordinary (which is my fourth novel). Camp QUILTBAG was a joy to write. The outline was relatively easy to convert into prose. In comparison to the 17-page letter I got for Shy, Camp’s edit letter was only 2 pages long.

At first, this made me feel like I was moving backwards. Shouldn’t each book be easier since I understand the drafting process better and have presumably improved my craft as I go?

As I made my way through the editorial process for Shy, I realized I was trying different things with it from my other projects. For the first time ever, I included poetry as part of the story, for one. I was also focusing on my character’s struggles with their mental health, which was emotionally taxing on me and made drafting it more of a challenge.

Each project is different and may have different needs. As a result, some projects may feel more difficult than others, even if you’re a seasoned writer. That’s OK. It’s all just part of your writing journey.

With a growing catalog of instructional writing videos available instantly, we have writing instruction on everything from improving your craft to getting published and finding an audience. New videos are added every month!