By Samuel Medina III/ south news editor
Julie Murphy stopped by South Campus Oct. 15 during a tour for her new book Dumplin’ to discuss her days being a librarian, student and now New York Times best-selling author.
Murphy used to be a part-time librarian on South with another full-time job on her schedule. While making her way through Texas Wesleyan majoring in political science, she realized she loved writing even more.
juliemurphywrites.com
Murphy said it was hard starting out as a writer, but the advice she said helped her through it all was, “If you act like a professional, everyone will start treating you like a professional.”
“I’ve always wanted to write a book,” she said. “If I didn’t just force myself to do it, I never would’ve done it. You can’t really move at the pace you want to move. You have to move at the pace that you can afford.”
Murphy said the book took a while to write, and when she finished, it was ugly and gross. But it started her search for an agent.
“I sent out my book to tons of agents, something like 50-60,” she said. “And every single one of them said no. Finding an agent is a task within itself. They can be really picky and will only work on stuff they absolutely love.”
After she found an agent, Murphy had to find a publisher. Publishing is a lot of hearing no before you hear yes, she said.
Many students were happy to get tips and tricks on how to write their first book and get it published.
“It’s kind of like the logical part of your brain just shuts off and you start writing,” she said. “You let yourself make stupid mistakes, but that’s OK because if you get it all down on paper, you can go back and fix them. That’s how I wrote my first book.”
Her first book, Side Effects May Vary, came out almost two years ago.
Her new second novel, Dumplin’, came out in September and is now a young adult hardcover New York Times best-seller.
“Writing this book left me feeling a bit exposed and raw,” Murphy said. “I wasn’t ready for the world to see it because I felt like a piece of me that I didn’t want anyone else to see was in this book. Sometimes it’s worth it to make yourself vulnerable and put yourself out there.”
It’s OK to write or create something really personal, Murphy said. Sometimes that’s when people connect the most.
With the amount of attention her book is getting, Murphy’s agent came across a film agent in Hollywood who wants to buy the rights to Dumplin.’
“I had a conference call with the film agent, and she said ‘There is an executive at Disney who wants to buy the rights to the book and possibly make it into a movie,’ and I hung up the phone. I just freaked out,” she said.
Murphy said a producer has been assigned to the movie, and Disney is currently looking for a screenwriter.
“None of this means it’s going to actually happen,” she said. “Hollywood works really slow.”
