Pre-Ordering Bread & Wine

Last night, on my way home from dinner with friends, all of a sudden, I started getting a whole bunch of texts & Twitter messages—Bread & Wine had just become available for pre-order on Amazon!

The magic of the third time around is that I was surprised, but not surprised to be surprised, if that makes sense. I learned through the last 2 publishing processes that there is a very detailed publishing schedule, and for years you’re working backward from that one magical release date…but when Amazon actually decides to start selling your book, you may be in your pajamas at the lake, sleepy after a thunderstorm, like when Bittersweet released on Amazon, several weeks earlier than I expected.  Or you may be on your way home from Maggiano’s, at a dinner party. Like last night.

Perfect timing, really: I’d spent the evening at a long table, surrounded by friends, eating spaghetti and meatballs and drinking chianti, laughing and telling stories. Bread & wine, indeed.

So many of you have texted, sent Twitter messages, and posted on FB that you’ve pre-ordered the book—THANK YOU! Another thing I’ve learned along the way: pre-orders on Amazon are really, really important. Essentially they show my publisher and all the book-sellers that people are excited about the book, and that it’s worth the effort to support and market it.

That’s one kind of funny thing about publishing and marketing: you’d like to think that the little books are getting lots of support and the big books are fine on their own, but it’s sort of the opposite. When they see lots of pre-orders, they put more effort into marketing and publicity, and then there’s a snowball effect—more pre-orders, more publicity, even more pre-orders, even more publicity.

All that to say, many, many thanks to those of you who have already pre-ordered. And if you’re thinking about ordering it sometime, a pre-order really does help. Same with reviews, actually, while we’re on the topic.  If you haven’t left a review on Amazon for Cold Tangerines or Bittersweet, they’re really helpful. Thank you again to those of you who have.

Lots of messages about the cover—thank you! I love it, and I’m so glad you do, too. I’m sure many of you recognize the amazing work of Lindsay Letters. Lindsay was a reader who has become a good friend, and her lettering is literally all over our life—baby showers invitations and menu cards for all sorts of events, party invites and gift tags and rubber stamps. Up next: personal stationery, Christmas cards, and a piece for over my sink in the kitchen. You could say I’m a fan. :)

I really wanted her work on the cover—isn’t it beautiful? I know this cover is pretty different from the other two, and that was a hard decision. We looked at all sorts of options, really similar to the others and completely different, and we landed in what I think is a beautiful place: the same and different, and most importantly, really lovely.

Another wild thing about publishing is that you can pre-order a book I haven’t yet finished writing. That makes me a little nervous, but more than that, it makes me excited to really give everything I have these last few weeks with the manuscript, getting every word, every story, every recipe, every phrase just exactly right.

I love this part of the process, and I find that lines and phrases from the book are in the back of my head all the time—as I rock the baby or slice apples for a snack, I find my mind working on one sentence or story: am I saying that just right? What do I really mean? How exactly did the sky look, right in that moment?

Thanks for being excited with me. In coming months we’ll have all sorts of ways for you to get involved with the release—from reading and reviewing on your blog, to hosting or attending an event, to having me Skype into your book club or cooking club or dinner party.

And if you have other ideas for how you’d like to be involved with the Bread & Wine release in the spring, or if you have suggestions for that process, we’re all ears! Let us know in a comment or send us an email.  We would love a whole bunch of fun, creative, slightly-bonkers ideas and suggestions—as I say to Henry when we’re cleaning his room, “Wow me.”  :)

With love & bread & wine—

Shauna