9:30 PM 78 degrees.
More excitement. The cover art is on Amazon along with my Amazon author blog.
LOTTERY
What is so cool is John's book is coupled with mine (buy together) and "Readers who bought LOTTERY also bought
LOOK ME IN THE EYE
I think that is so cool!
The connections that are being forged through blogging with other authors is fascinating.
We are learning from each other and networking. It makes the process not so alarming cuz guys...it can be fairly alarming.
Why?
Because most of what goes on has little to do with writing.
For instance a decision I had to make over the last couple months was whether to use an outside publicist in addition to the publisher's publicist. It was a discussion that involved both my publisher and agent and was not done lightly.
For me when the dust settled there was only one firm to go with:
Goldberg-McDuffie
I feel fortunate that they felt my novel was one they could be enthusiastic about working with.
What I thought was relatively simple has become complex with a multitude of components.
Book tours?
Readings?
Interviews?
Reader's Groups?
Articles?
Reviews?
And who gets those pesky ARCs anyway?
The Advanced Reader Copies are for readers who are willing to be enthusiastic about the book, they are for reviewers, for other authors, and for blurbs among other things.
They are not just to give to cousins and friends (Sorry Mary...you too Peggy).
You never get enough ARCs and there are always people you really want to send one to but you just don't have enough.
It is common for authors to "over promise" and I have been guilty of this.
So now?
I wait for reviews. I wait for feedback. I wait.
Waiting.
Sound familiar?
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15 comments:
I needed a break and your beautiful picture of the Pacific helped ...
I think you've nailed it, Pat - the complexities of authorship that go beyond putting words on a page. I am off to amazon to see your cover (which I love, but you already knew that) and congrats on your new publicist. Keep us posted!
Love your pictures, Pat. Boy, do I miss the big blue sometimes (spent several years in the Philippines). The Pacific can be so beautiful.
:) Does the waiting ever stop?
So why did you need an outside publicist? I haven't encountered that suggestion, yet. Was that suggested by the Putnam publicist? Or someone else?
So far, all I've encountered is coordination with other publicists in other countries.
But you are a bit closer to market time.
It's going to be interesting seeing how new people like us are received at BEA. I'll be sure to go to the Penguin/Putnam booth and see how they present Lottery. I'll let you know.
Actually, I was wondering the same thing [as John]. Did Putnam suggest an outside publicist? Is that normal?
Oooh! I love seeing your books together! I knew you two were beshert - fiction and non-fiction yet sharing traits. And guess who I'm having lunch with next week? Hint. He's tall, fair and very handsome. You may commence to gnashing your teeth ladies. :)
Beautiful picture, Pat. Thanks for your on-going blow-by-blow account of the publication process!
Glad to hear your book's cover finally hit Amazon. Yay!
And, yes, you and John seem perfectly matched as book buys.
I already have my ARC of LOTTERY (lucky lucky me) and have pre-ordered LOOK ME IN THE EYE :)
Okay Pat. I've posted a mini-review on my blog, Easy-Writer. A longer one will be forthcoming once the rest of the beta-fish finish the book and we convene for a meeting in May.
And... The Writerly Pause will be talking to your publicist in June.
We're having a barbecue for her. We are reading books on etiquette. We are scrubbing behind our ears. We will smile. We will not slurp our drinks with umbrellas. We will say thank you and please.
All of that will be for you.
Morning everyone!
No it was not something Putnam suggested. In fact it is not at all done lightly (as I said before) It was a much discussed decision that was brought up by me at the suggestion of another author who thought I might want to consider it.
I think it is important for authors to invest in their career and talk to other more experienced authors for advice.
Many details are not usually shared (especially the financial ones) but suffice it to say that each author has to determine what best fits their unique situation. As I get farther in this journey i will talk about publicity in more detail.
Love the picture and as always I'm fascinated by the business aspect of the writing life. I like what you had to say about an author investing in their own career. Thanks for sharing the things you are learning.
I live in a small community where some people look at me strangely when I say that I have a book about to be published - as if they don't quite understand what I mean. How could this very ordinary looking woman who is just one of us be an author? Does not compute!
So I am loving meeting with other writers on my daily 'blog round', where suddenly I feel like a little fish in a big pond - but a perfectly normal little fish, not a two-headed monstrosity from the deep.
Hi, Orion! You've got a great blog here. :) And huge congrats to you for the upcoming release of Lottery. How exciting to read about your publishing journey! Your novel sounds like a marvelous read, and I hope it sells a ba-zillion copies. :)
Oh yeah! I'm such a fish!
We are a strange breed aren't we?
Thanks for the compliments on the blog. It is an evolving work and hopefully entertains!
Much aloha to you.
I love that picture. Just love it.
I know what you mean Pat, in fact I've been talking with friends about this very same thing. All the other stuff that needs to be done. The whole publicist thing is a major decision to make, not only an investment financially, but time wise as well. But I am positive you made the right choice! Man, you are so going to be famous (tee-hee!)!
(yay to covers being up on Amazon!)
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