Hello, my name is Nana, and I would first like to say that you are like my idol-seriously!
Now that’s out of the way (and I can quit blushing), I want to ask for your advice. I read your blog, La Carmina, enough to say I am a loyal fan, and I think you are by far one of the coolest journalists (I’m guessing you fit that category, but your work seems very all over the spectrum) to date. What do I do to get where you are?

I know, plenty of people may ask you this question- to the point it may seem a bit repetitive and maybe even cliche- but seriously, I need some help!

I graduated high school, two years early, and so far I’m on hold where school is concerned. I don’t really know where to begin, so I’ve been thinking a liberal arts school, and on the other hand- I really, really, am considering being a Jrock Journalist. Oh, and to top that- I’m trying to get into an Ivy school possibly. Which also has me freaking out!

Also, I wanted to ask – How did you go about getting your first book published? Did you get scouted by the mysterious agent who saw your scribbles on a napkin (a la J.K. Rowling)? Or did you send your stuff in? Did you have to supply a ton of rough drafts? And just how long does that take?! O_O

I know you are very busy, so I’ll like to thank-you for taking the time to read my letter, and hopefully you are able to respond.
-Nana V.-

Dear Nana,
First, congratulations on your accomplishments! It’s no easy feat to graduate early from high school. And the fact that you are aiming high – considering future careers, looking at top universities – shows me you’re well on your way to success.

Over the years, I’ve learned to be less anxious about the future – because I’ve realized you can’t predict what it will look like until you get there. A job that sounds awesome today (such as blogging or J-rock journalism) may not even exist in five years. Think about it: when I was 16, it was the year 2000. YouTube, Google, Craigslist and blogs had yet to be invented. Digital cameras were a novelty. The hottest web technologies were ICQ and Geocities, both of which are dead today.

It was impossible, even for Nostradamus, to predict that anyone could have a career like mine in 2009. I never imagined I’d have blog income, talk to editors via Skype, or live in Tokyo part-time. That I’d take digital photos for my books and create drawings on a computer program (Adobe Illustrator). That I’d be hosting a Goth cooking show on YouTube and exchanging messages with Courtney Love on Twitter.

So I wouldn’t worry about what the future will look like – it will reveal itself in time! Until then, you are taking exactly the right steps to be prepared. I encourage you to try to get into the best university possible; you’ll be around smart people and the classes will help you stay sharp. Be curious and get involved: if you’re intrigued by J-rock journalism, reach out to others, volunteer to write for a site, or start your own blog.

Stay busy and you will end up doing many cool gigs. Nobody knows exactly where you’ll end up – but I have faith that you will get there.

As for how I got involved with book-writing… it was something of a fluke. I was helping a producer with a book proposal and on a whim, decided to try writing one for myself. I sent it to a small publisher and they ended up giving me a contract! So I continued down that path; after this blog took off, I signed with an awesome agent who pitched Cute Yummy Time and Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants. The moral is: you’ll never know what could happen unless you take the plunge.

Writing a book was never a dream of mine as I was growing up, but somehow I ended up here — and I know I’m really lucky. To be honest, my story is an exceptional case; most aspiring authors go through rounds of rejected manuscripts and agent pitches. Once you’ve got the contract, the work begins: one or two years of it. There are multiple rounds of drafts; you should expect to revise almost everything you first submitted. That is the nature of the business, but I have no complaints – I consider it a great privilege to be able to write books for well-established publishers like Perigee/Penguin an Mark Batty/Random House.

Gambatte – keep aiming high and experimenting, and I have no doubt you’ll succeed! For more advice from La Carmina, check out the Reader Questions section. I welcome your questions; contact me and I’ll do my best to respond quickly.

Final advice: get a daily dose of cuteness. For more fuzzy kitty pictures, check out Basil Farrow’s Scottish Fold cats blog.

Song of the Day #230: Gurigula – I’ll never forget your love (saw this Visual Kei band perform yesterday at J-Summit, a rock bands event at Webster Hall NYC. Rock!)