About Contacting Shelby

I have limited capacity.

I can only answer some but not all, because I am a human with limited resources, such as time, energy, concentration, and resources. As an adult, I decide where these resources must go. 

At this point, I am investing most of my time in creating. When I answer questions, I have a natural inclination to be thorough, which makes for valuable correspondence and content. This also means answering one question can requires 0.5 - 2+ hours of my time. If I receive a letter with multiple questions, answering it in full could take up my whole writing day.

I know this for a fact, because that is exactly what happened back when I did answer every question. I don’t regret that, because it is always truly lovely to connect with readers. 

But now I have recognized that this pattern doesn’t help me make new content, including new stories. So, it is my responsibility to find a path to correct it, which is why I’ve changed my policy.

What I choose to respond to will seem pretty random to the outside world. It will likely only make sense to the people who know me well: I will be following where my attention goes. 

For the first part of my career, I tried to answer questions chronologically, i.e. first-come, first-serve. 

However, this has resulted in two things: 

1. I have been years behind in answering my correspondence since roughly fall 2015, and

2. some of my answers are not as vibrant or detailed as some of the others, which always bugs me. 

You can review the questions I’ve already answered and see what material is already available.

If you have a question, it may have already been answered. That’s good news! No waiting necessary!

Because I have the policy of only answering new questions, I’ve made all the previously answered questions available, and I’ve organized them so that they’re easier to review. As I proceed answering questions, I will continue to keep this page updated.

The list has gotten long and will only get longer, so an easy way to search a page on your browser is to use Ctrl + F or Command + F. A bar appears at the top right, and you can use this to find a keyword. So, if you have a question about “characters” or “character development,” and search the page with Ctrl/Command + F, the browser will bring you to any mention of those two words.

If you still feel strongly about getting your question answered by me, you can attend Community Q’s, a live online event.

Through Instagram, I’ve set up Community Q’s Event on IG Live. It’s a set time, posted in advance (see link here). This has replaced the Q&A’s I used to do on author visits to schools. Because of the timing, I’m forced to answer pretty quickly, and although my responses are not as thorough as it would be if I were writing a post or recording a video, they’re still useful.

If you are there live, I will answer your questions.

If there are a lot of other people there, I may not be able to get to everyone in the hour time limit. That is a very possible scenario, but I do get to a lot of them.

If there aren’t a lot of other people there, you can ask up to three questions before I move on to questions that have been emailed to me for the event (see below).

If you do not have an Instagram account, you have a couple options:

• You can borrow the account of someone else, such as a parent or friend, and attend with them.

• If your parents don’t allow social media, you can still submit a question at the question form, letting me know that you aren’t allowed on social media. I’ll make sure that I answer it at the next Community Q’s event, and I’ll send you the recording for you to watch later.

You can just reach out via the Contact Form.

You may have already seen the contact form, but I’ll link it again, just in case.

When you’re writing me…

As I mentioned, I love messages from readers, and I read them all. 

These messages influence where my attention goes. I will write about a subject in depth or record a video about it, either because I’m interested it in on my own or because a reader’s message sparked that interest. 

As I also mentioned, I post the questions I’ve already answered, which may eventually include your question. 

So, when asking me a question, keep in mind that my response to your question will be public. 

I don’t have to include your name or any of the wording of your question. To protect your privacy as a young one, I will err on the side of safety and NOT include your name unless you tell me to. 

If you do want your name included and you tell me so, you can tell me how you would like me to refer to you (except for last names). If you don’t tell me, you will be your first name, the first initial of your last name (“Shelby Bach” —> “Shelby B.”). 

If you would like to send me your lovely art inspired by my books…

I love art from readers. I love to share it with others. I usually do so if I find that you’ve posted this piece on a platform that is public, such as a social media platform (Tumblr, IG, Facebook, etc.) 

However, if you are sending it directly to me, I am going to assume that it is for my eyes only. My mom and my sister are both talented painters, and it took them a while to get ready to share with EVERYONE but they shared with a few. I respect that in them, and I respect that in you.  

If you have sent it directly to me and would like me to share your piece more widely, please tell me so, and tell me how you would me to credit you. (You can choose your name, or you can choose “Anonymous.” Up to you.)

As a head’s up, I do reserved the right to choose to leave a question unanswered.

Here are some reasons why I choose not to answer:

1.

The question relates to something specific in the books that I don’t have an answer for (for example, what is Dani’s favorite food?). I used to make up answers on the spot. However, I then forgot what my answers were and contradicted myself.  So, I’ve decided not to do this anymore.

If your question is along those lines, then here’s my response: “You know, I never thought of that. This is a great opportunity for you to use your imagination and find an answer that you like.”

(Imagining like this is  what I did when I was growing up, and it helped me grow as a writer. Your imagination is like a muscle, and using your imagination to explore new areas of books you’ve read is a great way to train it for the creations you’ll make some day.) 

However, if you are asking about something in the books that I did think out, I’ll still definitely tell you. And due to the all the free writes that went into creating The Ever Afters, I have thought out a LOT of random stuff. 

2.

I don’t have an answer yet, because I’m still asking myself that question. If you ask a question, and it happens to be a question I’m asking myself, then I might still be gathering and weaving my answer to that question. 

In other words, if I am still puzzling through a question in my writing life, I don’t yet have an answer. Until I have an answer for myself, I can’t answer it for others. This happens more often than you might think.

However, sometimes getting a question kicks off some great thinking about a subject in a new way, so again, please feel free to ask.

3.

As noted above, I’ve already answered it, and that answer lives on the FAQ page (see below).