Had a great chat with my editor at Gallery today, and the marketing wheels are in motion!
First, Kathy asked me to come up with some key selling points for the book. I’ve been ruminating on it all evening, and while I’ve practically memorized my novel (thanks to seventeen billion revisions), it’s totally different to think about the story from a marketing perspective. I’m probably going to need some help with this.
Second, I need to submit a photo. I’m the Queen of Self-Portraits, but I don’t know that I have anything that would be suitable for a potential book jacket, or for my coming Author page at Simon & Schuster. And Steve (no offense, honey) is really not very good at taking pictures. Gee, should I be making an appointment at a Sears Portrait Studio this weekend?
But I did accomplish one thing. Since I’m a member of International Thriller Writers Inc., I filled out their web form to let them know that my debut novel is coming out in July. YAY! A contributing editor is supposed to contact me for an interview, which will hopefully be featured on the website sometime before the book comes out.
And speaking of interviews, my editor also asked when I was planning to visit New York. They want to record an author interview (video), to upload on the S&S page and also here on my blog. Me, on video? I’m planning on going to ThrillerFest in early July (who wants to meet me in NYC?), which might coincide nicely, since the book comes out the same month.
I also forgot to mention this: a few weeks ago Kathy had asked me to put together a wish list of authors who I’d love to blurb my book. Of course I named a bunch of great writers. Okay, so some of them are super crazy long-shots (and I’ll give you one guess as to who the WHALE is that tops my list), but one or two just might be tiny possibilities. One of the writers on my wish list is with Gallery, and I found out today that Kathy shares an assistant with his editor. I won’t say who the author is because I don’t want to jinx it (and it’s still really hard for me to imagine one of my favorite authors reading MY book), but I have to say, it was pretty damned cool just to have the conversation. I might be a minnow in this pond… but I’m IN THE POND!
It’s all so exciting. And scary.