A SIMPLE PROPOSAL…
If there's one thing I could change about book publishing it would be this: Books should have credit rolls. In movies, you generally see an entire film crew listed on screen just a few minutes after the Death Star explodes, the monster is finally dead, and everybody's getting ready to live happily ever after. For a "book crew," which includes editors, artists, sales & marketing people, publicists, legal beagles, rights managers, accounting departments, payroll folks, production staff, technology experts, book sellers, librarians, reviewers, and a whole lot more… well, obscurity is often the rule.
I don't like that.
Making a book and then putting it into readers' hands is a team effort. There really should be more than just the author's name on the cover!
Don't get me wrong. I am not complaining. I'm a ham to the 999th degree. My favorite toy is still a Mister Microphone. But honestly, authors are just part of the picture. And often, they're not even the most interesting part. In fact, if you're looking for the smartest, the savviest, the funniest person on the crew, don't visit a writer's home. Some of us put on a good show, but in reality, a writer at work is an absurd creature. Personally, I stare at the wall a lot. I laugh out loud for no apparent reason. I mutter and drop incomplete sentences onto the page in odd bursts. Not only that, my "writing face" makes me look like somebody just hit me in the head with a brick.
During the next few weeks, I'll be tweeting and blogging conversations that I've been able to have with some of the great professionals whose work is bringing my new novel, Rachel Spinelli Punched Me in the Face, to life. I'm doing this because first (and most importantly), I really, really, really want to say THANK YOU to all these amazing people. Second, part of my job as an author is to call attention to the fact that, um, I JUST PUBLISHED A BOOK!!!!! And I want to do that in a way that's not all about ME ME ME ME ME (Not that I mind talking about me. But even I get tired of me sometimes.) Third, I am really very curious about people. That's actually the reason I write in the first place. I'm trying to figure out what makes us all tick. Lately, I'm thinking it's some combination of laughter, candy, fear and humidity.
So, to wrap up:
1. THANK YOU to everybody for helping me to make a new book!
2. I JUST PUBLISHED A BOOK… PLEASE RUSH OUT AND BUY IT!
3. Book people are awesome. If you don't believe me, visit my blog over the next few weeks and see for yourself.
In the meantime, you'll find a few notes and quotes from my Rachel Spinelli book crew below. Enjoy!
I was told the book was about a boy who had a crush on a girl named Rachel, and when she punched him in the eye, it made his crush even stronger. I thought the boy was crazy, but I hear that's what love does to a person. –Wyatt Cross, teen model for the cover of Rachel Spinelli Punched Me in the Face
I love everything about words: how they fit together, where they come from, how they change. Language is a living, breathing thing. It's organic. –Linda LiDestri, copy editor for Rachel Spinelli Punched Me in the Face
For the cover, I wanted the colors to be more primary and really pop off the page… I toyed with having him on a bench but thought having him on the ground would exemplify the fact that he just got punched more effectively. I actually studied Norman Rockwell when I did this cover. He was a wonderful artist and an even better story teller. –Mike Heath, photographer/designer/artist for the cover of Rachel Spinelli Punched Me in the Face
The idea to open an independent bookstore stemmed from my desire to help the public… This is truly a family business. My husband and kids are involved every day. They are the emergency staff when I need help, my assistant buyers when I need a second opinion and my marketing people when new products come in. Booksellers don't get rich, but the experiences and responsibilities that owning a bookstore has offered my family and the community are priceless. –Shelly Plumb, Owner, Harleysville Books, Harleysville, PA
Books haven't really changed that much in 200 years! Isn't that one of the many things that is beautiful about them? –Tom Nau, Executive Director of Production, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group
