Readers of Lucy Score’s new romance novel, “Mistakes Were Made,” will marvel at the cover and sprayed edges. They'll anticipate the love story that awaits them on the pages. But all the excitement in the world would still leave readers unaware of just how far this book has traveled to get into their hands.
It’s all I can think about because I’ve followed this novel for an entire year – from Score’s plotting and writing sessions when we first met in March 2025 in Boston, to developmental edits at her Pennsylvania farmhouse, to the printing press in Virginia, to the March 10 publication day in New York City.
A bestseller known for romance novels like “Things We Never Got Over,” Score represents how some authors are claiming more stake in the digital age. Her sales as a self-published and independent author were so successful that she didn’t need a traditional book deal. Then Bloom Books, an imprint of Sourcebooks, came knocking with a print-only offer.
Now, she and her fiancé, Tim (affectionately dubbed “Mr. Lucy” by fans), retain digital and audiobook rights under Tim’s publishing company, That’s What She Said Books, where he signs other authors, including Score’s sister, Madison Score. The two employ an inside-out approach to business, hiring her readers as assistants and marketers and her brother as Tim’s second-in-command. From a zealous Facebook group of fans to a hometown bookstore turned tourist destination, in romance publishing, everything’s coming up Lucy. After 12 months together, I understand why.
