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Heidi Heilig

Goodreads Author

Born

in Honolulu, Hawaii

April 03

Website

http://www.heidiheilig.com

Twitter

heidiheilig

Genre

Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Member Since

December 2013

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/heidi_heilig

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Heidi grew up in Hawaii where she rode horses and raised peacocks, and then she moved to New York City and grew up even more, as one tends to do. Her favorite thing, outside of writing, is travel, and she has haggled for rugs in Morocco, hiked the trails of the Ko'olau Valley, and huddled in a tent in Africa while lions roared in the dark.

She holds an MFA from New York University in Musical Theatre Writing, of all things, and she's written books and lyrics for shows including The Time Travelers Convention, Under Construction, and The Hole. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their pet snake, whose wings will likely grow in any day now. ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Heidi Heilig My advice to aspiring writers? Stop calling yourself aspiring--just call yourself a writer. Start now! I still struggle with calling myself a writer a…moreMy advice to aspiring writers? Stop calling yourself aspiring--just call yourself a writer. Start now! I still struggle with calling myself a writer and I have a book coming out in a year, and two more due according to a contract with my name signed at the bottom--not in blood, but in ink, which is much harder to wash away.

For writers aspiring to be better writers (and I think all writers are), my advice is to read--not just for fun, but also critically. For me, each book is a lesson--How One Writer Did It!-- as well as a story. It's the best way to learn, thinking about what I loved and what I didn't and why.(less)

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How did you go about getting a book deal? Was it difficult and time-consuming? What is the process like after you finish the whole editing process? What's been your favorite part of the entire process?

Heidi Heilig This is actually a lot of questions in one! :) I'll try to keep the answer brief:

The bulk of the work of actually getting the deal was done by my agen…moreThis is actually a lot of questions in one! :) I'll try to keep the answer brief:

The bulk of the work of actually getting the deal was done by my agent (i don't want to take credit where it isn't due!) I wrote the book and was going to throw it on Wattpad, but then my mom (who always has good ideas) told me I should try to find an agent, so I did.

I gave myself 6 months to try (after which I told myself I'd just go back to the original idea of Wattpad and writing whatever was next). Then I worked on the Query Letter (QueryShark was a HUGE resource for me), and then just searched for YA agents who rep'd fantasy and historical novels. I sent queries to something like 17 agents over the course of 3 months. Two of them ended up offering rep, and I chose Molly at The Bent Agency. Together, we did one round of revisions with her, and then about 4 months after we signed our contract, she sold the book using her special agent magic. It wasn't too time consuming or difficult (for me) though I'm certain she was running around and doing a ton of work!

After the whole editing process--i actually am not 100% sure since I only JUST finished. Between big-picture edits, line edits, copy edits, and post-ARC tweaking, there is a lot of editing! I think the book is only now (two and a half months out) finally ready for print. In the meantime, I'm working on a lot of blog posts and scheduling time away for various trips to book events next year. Soon i might plan a launch party? I'm eager to see what comes next.

My favorite part hands-down has been all the wonderful people I've met on this journey. The people at HarperCollins and at Hotkey, the book community, fellow authors and bloggers and of course readers. As a writer, you spend a lot of time hanging out with the people you made up, and i never could have imagined a community as vibrant and welcoming as this one.(less)

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Heidi Heilig’s books

Average rating: 3.7 · 34,416 ratings · 6,571 reviews · 12 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Girl from Everywhere (The Girl from Everywhere, #1) 3.69 avg rating — 17,056 ratings — published 2016 — 24 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite by Zoraida Córdova (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Natalie C. Parker (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Samira Ahmed (Goodreads Author) 3.53 avg rating — 6,778 ratings — published 2020 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Ship Beyond Time (The Girl From Everywhere, #2) 3.87 avg rating — 4,869 ratings — published 2017 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	[Don't] Call Me Crazy by Kelly Jensen (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Victoria "V.E." Schwab (Contributor), Adam Silvera (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 4.01 avg rating — 2,340 ratings — published 2018 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	For a Muse of Fire (For a Muse of Fire, #1) 3.64 avg rating — 2,018 ratings — published 2018 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens by Marieke Nijkamp (Goodreads Author) (Editor), William Alexander, Fox Benwell (Goodreads Author) 3.70 avg rating — 1,373 ratings — published 2018 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Kingdom for a Stage (For a Muse of Fire, #2) 3.87 avg rating — 443 ratings — published 2019 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	On This Unworthy Scaffold (Shadow Players, #3) 3.77 avg rating — 198 ratings — published 2021 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cincinnati Lee, Curse Breaker 3.87 avg rating — 133 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cincinnati Lee, Curse Breaker: Library Edition 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Heidi Heilig…

35 posts
Heidi Heilig's Blog

The Ship Beyond Time: Preorder Incentive

Soooooooo The Ship Beyond Time comes out in less than two months and I haven’t done anything to promote it.

[insert sailor swears here]

This is not because the book is no good. Au contraire! The Ship Beyond Time got rave reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, and School Library Journal (they even gave me a star, yay!) Entertainment Weekly called it one of their most anticipated books of 2017, and more impor

Series by Heidi Heilig

The Girl from Everywhere (2 books)
by

Heidi Heilig (Goodreads Author)

3.73 avg rating — 21,925 ratings

Shadow Players (3 books)
by

Heidi Heilig (Goodreads Author)

3.69 avg rating — 2,659 ratings

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Heidi’s Recent Updates

Heidi Heilig is now friends with Sharon
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Quotes by Heidi Heilig (?)

“Sometimes a person has to let go of something to take hold of something else.”
― Heidi Heilig, The Girl from Everywhere

tags: slate

47 likes

“Sometimes fate makes choices for us.”
― Heidi Heilig, The Girl from Everywhere

tags: nix

30 likes

“When I was young, I learned to expect loss. Every time you slept, something disappeared. Whenever you woke up, someone else was gone. But . . . I also learned that every day, you created everything anew. And whatever you had, you enjoyed as long as it lasted. Spend money when it’s in your pocket.” He took my hand and put the orange in it. “Eat fruit while it’s ripe.” His other hand found my cheek, his thumb brushing the corner of my mouth. “Paradise is a promise no god bothers to keep. There’s only now, and tomorrow nothing will be the same, whether we like it or not.”
― Heidi Heilig, The Girl from Everywhere

28 likes

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