She’s a published author, Taylor Swift’s pen pal – and she’s 11

Emerson Weber talks fast when she’s excited.

Her blue eyes light up behind her big glasses. She leans in and uses her hands for emphasis and punctuation.

In some ways, going fast is a theme for the 11-year-old Sioux Falls girl.

When her dad, Hugh Weber, shared a Twitter thread in May 2020 about the outpouring of gratitude after Emerson wrote a letter thanking her mailman, it was fast to go viral.

HarperCollins was fast to reach out to Emerson that same month about writing a book on her letter adventures, and it published more than twice as fast as usual a children’s book, going from idea to bookshelves in about eight months.

But for all the speed in Emerson’s life, one of the biggest takeaways she has from the past year is the importance of taking time to step back and say thanks.

“Anybody can write a letter thanking someone that they love in their life,” Emerson said. “Gratitude is such an important thing to share.”

Emerson’s love of writing letters started in large part with the help of her elementary school librarian, Beth Versteeg.

Versteeg makes a point to respond to any letter a student writes to her, so when Emerson wrote her a note as a third grader, she wrote back. And when Emerson wrote back again, Versteeg again responded.

Three years later, they’re still corresponding at least once a week. They share book recommendations, talk about weekend plans and, lately, get “book updates” as Emerson worked to publish her first novel, “Sincerely, Emerson,” which came out Dec. 8.

Emerson’s personality comes through in her letters, Versteeg said.

“Even as a third grader, when she would write, it was like I could hear her voice through the letter,” she said.

Emerson’s love of letter-writing found new fuel when the coronavirus pandemic hit in the spring. She began doing school remotely, and, without a cellphone, letters became her outlet for staying connected with friends. It was around that time she realized how important postal workers were to her as a conduit for sharing updates with friends and family.

She wrote a thank-you note to her postman, Doug Scott, who shared it with his supervisor, who then shared it in an internal newsletter for postal workers. That’s when the spark turned into a flame.

Doug delivered two boxes of letters from postal workers across the country reaching out to Emerson to share their appreciation for her act of gratitude.

Hugh took to Twitter to share this heartfelt story from his daughter, which quickly went viral with more than 70,000 likes and tens of thousands more retweets. Letters began pouring in, including gifts and stamps from people all over the country.

“I have so many new pen pals because of that,” Emerson said.

She also received notes from two of her, as she calls them, “sheroes”: Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Taylor Swift.

Warren sent a note from her personal email address cheering on Emerson and encouraging her to keep doing what she’s doing.

Swift sent a handwritten letter in a painted envelope she’d decorated.

She also sent merch from her latest tour and her own wax seals with the number 13, her lucky number.

“I’m sorry they look messy. I couldn’t get new ones in time so I sent you mine,” Swift wrote. “I hope you’re feeling good during isolation and not too lonely … make sure to find time to create and daydream … and remember, no one expects you to be perfect … you’ve already set a really cool example and I’m proud of you.”

Swift finished the letter with greetings from her pets and signed it: “A big hug from me! Love, your pen pal, Taylor.”

And as if that weren’t enough to thrill this 11-year-old fan, life was about to get even better.

Not long after, HarperCollins reached out, and Emerson had a chance to fulfill one of her big goals in life: publishing a book.

It’s a goal Emerson shared as a fourth grader, when she had to write her own bio for a program for a school play.

“I wrote, ‘Emerson someday hopes to become a published author,’ ” Emerson said. “Exactly a year from that, they (HarperCollins) reached out.”

The book brings to life Emerson’s story with Doug, but she doesn’t want the focus to be on her. She wants to put the spotlight on people like Doug, on postal workers, on farmers, on school bus drivers, on sanitation workers.

“They make it possible to do what we’re doing to stay safe and healthy, and they’re people that don’t get recognized terribly frequently,” Hugh said.

Bringing Emerson’s story to life also was due in no small part to the work of illustrator Jaclyn Sinquett. This is Sinquett’s first time illustrating a book. Her background is in, appropriately, greeting cards.

Look closely in the illustrations to find repeat appearances from Emerson’s little brother, Finn, as well as some Taylor Swift “Easter eggs,” including an appearance of the wax seal Swift sent to Emerson.

HarperCollins printed 50,000 copies of “Sincerely, Emerson” in its first run. The book can be purchased at Barnes & Noble, Target, Amazon and at sincerelyemerson.com.

Listen to Emerson tell her story in her own words below.

As for the future, Emerson said she plans to keep writing letters, maybe even another book someday, but beyond that, she’s just excited to see what comes next.

“This all just happened from me writing a letter to Doug,” she said. “After this couple months, anything can happen to anybody.”

Emerson even read her book for an online story time hosted by Barnes & Noble. You can play it for your kids below!