Setting your kid up on Snapchat
and other parenting wins
So I’ve been on the road. I launched the book in the Bay Area. The belly of the beast, you could say. It was delightful! I spoke in Oakland, Lafayette, and Mountain View. I signed books at Books, Inc. and Orinda Books and at lots of delicious Bay Area Food.
Launching a social media book in the belly of the beast
I got to meet with my developmental editor, Genoveva Llosa while I was there. She helped me turn the proposal into something I could sell and it was great to have mocktails with her before my talk in Lafayette.
After launch week, I was excited to learn that Growing Up In Public was a USA Today Bestseller! I am super grateful to so many of you for buying the book and telling your friends about it. This is a very big deal for a book written by a non-celebrity.
I’m still processing what it means that people are actually reading this book. There hasn’t been much of a pause to take it in… After California, I spent a week speaking at schools all over Chicagoland, and then the next week I was in the Baltimore/DC Corridor.
In the midst of all of that travel, I celebrated my 18th anniversary with my husband and we had our (likely last of 2023) swim in Lake Michigan in early October.
Super Dad Saves Baltimore
In Baltimore, I talked with a dad and cheered him on as he shared the story of how he worked with his daughter to set her up for success on Snapchat. They both spent a week researching privacy settings, SnapMaps, and as much safety information as possible. They made a plan for who she would connect with on the app and when she would use it. They talked about what circumstances would mean she needed a break from the app. And then, ready to go, she dived in, made her Bitmoji, and joined the Snap-verse. I love hearing from empowered parents who can support their kids through something like setting up Snapchat. Got stories like this? Please share them with me, I live for this stuff!
On The Road
I was supposed to be off to Boston today, but my family just needed me, so I’m doing the wacky thing and flying to Boston tomorrow, the same day as my first three events there. The time difference is not on my side but hopefully, that first flight of the day will be on time, and all will be well. Being away from home the extra day was just not sustainable. Since the pandemic, I’ve found that my ability to be away from home and my family has diminished. Or maybe I’m just older. I love being on the road, meeting people, and speaking, but I miss home terribly, too.
Next time, I’ll let someone else plan my next book tour since this one was planned by someone with no sense of reality for time and space. And I keep getting mad at her, and then I have to look in the mirror!
I felt so much kinship when I saw
Slater tweeting about abandoning her suitcase in the airport on her frenetic book tour. If you haven’t read her latest book, Accountable, about the fallout from a racist Instagram account at Albany High School in CA, you need to drop everything and read it right away. It is written as YA, but is a very worthwhile adult read, as well.On the fun side of book touring, I’ve gotten to do some very cool media, including some shows that I’ve always dreamed of like Here’s Where It Gets Interesting with Sharon McMahon. What kind of people are we if we focus on kids’ online mistakes in a threat-based way without attempting to model repair, or focus on character?
And KERA Think. Ever since forever, I’ve wanted to talk to them. Krys Boyd asks great questions and really went there about kids sending risque photos. Today, my interview with Laura Yuen in the Star Tribune is out! We had a great chat about sharing kids on social media.
After Boston, I have a bunch more talks in Illinois including these two on October 18 in Hinsdale and then I’ll be in New York City, Westchester, and CT. Are you in New York? This talk on October 23 in Manhattan is free and open to the public!
That one thing you can do to support this book (or any author)
I can’t wait to hear what you think of Growing Up in Public, and I hope to see you while I’m on the road. Huge favor…if you are reading Growing Up in Public, or even if it is sitting on your TBR nightstand and you just know you are going to LOVE it, please, pretty-please, REVIEW it. Even one sentence helps.
I know real friends are more important than followers, and we don’t want to be servants to the algorithm. I read it in a smart book. But I also want people to find this book and have crucial conversations with their kids. Thank you!