If a tree wears a tiara in the forest, will anyone hear it cry?

I was a Dungeon Master long before I knew there was more than one kind of Dungeon Master. I think I still have some of the books and even the little figures. Here’s a link to the article.

Today was a great day. The sun was shining and you could walk around Manhattan with just a sweater (pants are also recommended). Even sweeter, however, was meeting with the marketing and publicity folks at Pocket for a chat. We covered a lot of ground, everything from online outreach (which, of course, includes blogging – so I guess I’m also outreaching at the moment 🙂 print and online advertising, blurbs, signings, events and more. What’s so cool about this, is that this is a launch of not just my book, but of Pocket into hard cover fantasy. We are very much in this together. It’s fun and more than a little scary, sort of like getting on a rollercoaster and hoping they finished the ride…except you have no idea where that finish is.

The ARCs (advance reading copies) of A Darkness Forged in Fire arrived this week and I feel like a proud parent. I’ve constrained myself, so far, from carting one around with me wherever I go, but it hasn’t been easy. I wish I could show it here, but I don’t know how to load images yet. Anyway, in my very biased opinion, it looks darn spiffy. I imagine most folks here know this, but ARCs are used to generate buzz in advance of the actual pub date. They are sent to reviewers at newspapers, magazines, websites etc., select books stores, buyers for various accounts, other publishers for subrights like translation rights in foreign markets, and even Hollywood. They can also be used to increase awareness as giveaways at conventions. In fact, Pocket will be doing that at New York ComicCon and BEA this year.

On a more technical note, an ARC is typically printed as a trade paperback on a lower grade paper and sometimes, though not always, features the cover in color on the cover, although added effects such as embossing, foil, die cuts etc. are often not done at this stage. On the back cover you’ll often find early blurbs, cover copy giving a brief synopsis of the book and marketing information which is aimed mainly at the accounts (but also signals to reviewers the level of support the book is receiving from the publisher).

The ARC is comprised of the first set of page proofs which means the book has been edited and copyedited from the original manuscript, but is by no means in final form. Changes big and small can still be made to the book even after the ARC has gone out, although usually the revisions are minor. For this reason the publisher prints huge warnings on the cover stating:

UNCORRECTED PROOFS – SPECIAL ADVANCE READER’S EDITION – NOT FOR SALE
(Please do not quote for publication without checking against the finished book.)

By sending ARCs out months in advance it hopefully allows for that all important buzz to form. If things start to roll the accounts have time to look at the number of copies they’ve ordered and increase it (or decrease if the buzz is gawd-awful.) Naturally, I’m hoping the book gets a positive response.

Cheers,

Chris

I guess my Commonwealth upbringing is starting to pay off. S&S UK has just bought the rights to the Iron Elves series. I knew the series was being shopped overseas, but more or less forgot all about it. It was a very nice surprise when I heard the news.

Cheers,

Chris