Nov 7, 2014
It’s been a bit of time since I last wrote you, and thetimes they are a changing, indeed.
After two major edits, a seriously necessary but nit-picky copy-editingprocess (note to self: maintain consistent use of apostrophe direction i.e. ‘vs. ’), a two-step proofing process involving multiple readers (including thiscomment from an Inkshares intern, which is everything for me: “I have to say,I’m really enjoying this novel.”), an aesthetic conundrum of choosing the bookcover (if you check out the Inkshares page,or Amazonor Barnes& Noble, you can see the final choice), the relief of being done with Itand the subsequent terror of realizing there may still be a typo, and finally letting go, knowing that It’s out of myhands and that you’ll receive the book before Christmas, but that the officialrelease date is February 3, 2015,well [take a deep breath] I can finally return to the only thing that reallymatters: get back to writing. The third novel is underway, and it’s anotherdoozy altogether. But for now I’ll keep that under wraps, except to reveal thethree protagonists’ names: Viktor, Carl, and Elsa.
If you had said one year ago that I’d be doing a panel at Shakespeare & Company for Slim and The Beast, I would have toldyou to shut your mouth, how dare you, it’s a terrible joke, GET OUT! Butthe Shakespeare & Company panel wasa true honor, and I met some really interesting writers and drank beer withthem well into the night. Highlights include debating the future of publishingwith friends and the Shakespeare crowd,and a flustered Soviet woman who used her “question” to rant for seven minutesbecause didn’t understand why no one wants to buy her book of poetry, eventhough it’s beautiful-on-the-inside-you-just-have-to-take-a-chance-and-open-it-alright?
In other news, I was featured in an article in Writer’s Digest (unfortunately only inprint—the November/December 2014 issue) that spoke about Inkshares as well asmy reasons for choosing them. The woman who wrote the article is a literaryagent who has been incredibly supportive/helpful as I approach the marketing,and has gone so far as to get me some great contacts in the industry.
The BIG NEWS is I’ll be doing a book tour in February (NCand NY, watch out!). It’s surreal for now, hence my lack of words to describeit. In addition to all of this, including close collaboration with book design (mytwin brother Aaron did chapter illustrations), Inkshares has helped me start awebsite (I’m building it now), has secured a high-profile interview for me, andwithout going into specifics, will be sending dozens of reviewers and a fewestablished authors an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in hopes of creating a buzzbefore the February release. Needless to say, Inkshares is a legitimatepublishing house. I’m lucky to be on board.
On a not-wholly unrelated tangent before I wrap this up, inthe publishing industry there’s this thing called a Tip Sheet (I learned whatit meant about one month ago), which is essentially a one-page document thatserves as a resumé for your novel. My distributor sends this to bookstores, andif bookstores are interested, they pre-order copies (a random bookstore inSouth Carolina did this, which is both baffling and exciting). Inkshares and Iworked on this Tip Sheet, and I’ll have a copy of it by next week. If any ofyou—wherever you may be in the world—are interested in keeping a distinctivegrass-roots twinge to Slim and The Beast,I’d be honored to send you the Tip Sheet and hear about your experience walkinginto an independent bookstore and saying, “Good morning. [Bell above doorrings] I know this is a bit strange, but I know this guy, see? And there’s thiscompany, see? It’s called Inkshares […] Would I like to sit down? Why thankyou.” It’s a bold move to just walk into a bookstore like that, but I did ithere in Paris at WH Smith and it worked. The smug Madame said, “We only workwith the biggest distributor in America, Ingram, and I doubt you are associatedwith them. Good luck with your—what was it, a short story? Bonne journee.” When I said, “Oh, no problem. Interesting youmention it, though … in fact I work directly with Ingram,” she immediatelychanged her tone and made up for it by giving me the director’s contact. Boldmoves move mountains, and you made the boldest move of all backing me whenpublishing was a far-off reality.
Which brings me to the most important part of this update: arenewed thank you for all of your support. Book tours, interviews,Shakespearian panels … the onlyreason any of this is happening is because there are 232 of you. Whatever happens once the book comes out—whether itsells 5 or 5,000 copies—I’ll no longer have to dream about what it would be like to publish a novel. Success or failure willbe based on the novel’s merit or lack thereof. I’m ashamed/relieved to say it: Imay or may not be secretly terrified that in fact the novel is shit. “What wereyou thinking?” an evil voice might say. “You’re an idiot and a fraud.” But thenI’m reminded that you believe(d) in me. Whatever happens, there will be luckand marketing strategy and all the rest of it, too, but one thing is for sure: Slim and The Beast will be “out there”soon, on a dusty bookshelf in Australia, or on a Parisian coffee table, or in abookstore in Springfield, Wherever, USA, and that is only because of you.