Alex George Books » Publishing

Catching Breath

Alex George — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:47:05 +0000

Not really. No time to catch breath. Just under three weeks until publication, and things are going ever so slightly bonkers. But in a good way.

Lots of news to share with you. Where to begin? Let’s see…

A GOOD AMERICAN was named #1 Read to Pick Up for February in O Magazine. Yes, that’s Ms. Winfrey’s little publication. Kind of a big deal, and we’re all very happy about that.

The book has also been named as a Midwest Connection Pick for February. These are books chosen by the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association. I’m very honored about this, and obviously pleased and proud of the novel’s connections to this part of the world.

My editor, Amy Einhorn, was profiled in the New York Observer on Monday. And yes, she really is as smart and as kind and as generally wonderful as the piece suggests. My book got a mention as being this year’s February Amy Einhorn release, following in the footsteps of The Help, The Postmistress, and The Weird Sisters.

So. No pressure there, then.

As I type, I am suddenly spooked by the lack of definite article in my book’s title. Eep. (Because, like, I didn’t already have enough things to keep me awake at night.)

This week also saw the online publication of a great interview with BookPage, which will appear in next month’s magazine proper. It was one of those interviews that was scheduled for 30 minutes… an hour later, we were still talking. (People who know me won’t be especially surprised by this.)

You will have already noticed that things have changed a little around here. Yesterday saw the launch of the new site design , and I hope you like it. Quite possibly (= almost certainly) there are typos and mistakes lurking; if you catch any, or find some dodgy links, or have any other suggestions as to how the site could be improved, please do write to let me know. My deepest thanks to web genius Paul Boomer for all his hard work on this.

For those of you in mid-Missouri, I’ll be reading and signing books at the Barnes & Noble in Columbia Mall at 7.00 p.m. on Tuesday February 7 – the launch date of the book. I’m not quite sure yet exactly what format the evening is going to take, but I’d love to see you there if you can make it. Details on other tour dates can be found here.

Finally, speaking of travel-related matters, on Sunday I am flying to Dallas to the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting. I get to deliver a little talk to a roomful of yawning librarians on Monday morning while they eat breakfast. Tough room, I’m guessing. Now we’ll really find out how far a cute English accent will get you.

Missing Link

Alex George — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:01:21 +0000

It occurred to me this morning that there was a photo missing from my last post, which illustrated an absolutely critical part of the process. Here it is:

This is a page chosen more or less at random, during the second six month rewrite, after I had signed my deal with Amy. I am hopeless at editing on screen – I need a pen, paper, and lots of time. (And quiet.) And then I do this sort of thing. Whether you call it fine pruning or hacking with a machete is, I suppose, a matter of opinion.

One of the reasons I wanted to post this photo is that this kind of close editing is one of the most enjoyable parts of the process for me. The careful chipping away of unnecessary words, the cleaning up of infelicitous syntax, the hunt for clarity – all these things are immensely rewarding. The only downside to it is that it is a never-ending process. I know that if I were to pick up the book today I would still find things I’d like to change. But I cannot. I am learning to ignore those little voices in my head. My work here is done.

A Story in Five Photos

Alex George — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:05:08 +0000

Once upon a time, there was a blank sheet of paper. You know, that thing Ernest Hemingway was allegedly so scared of.

This blank sheet of paper (and a few hundred others) got written on. Some guy had an idea for a story, and every morning at five o’clock, he hauled himself out of bed, switched on the coffee machine, and sat down to write for two hours, while the rest of his family slept. The story was an elusive thing. There were many wrong turns taken. Whole plot lines lay abandoned on his computer’s hard drive. Once-cherished characters got written out entirely. Some good ideas turned out to be very bad ideas. It was an exhausting, enervating, frustrating and utterly wonderful journey.

Five years later, this is what he ended up with:

So: a book! Or rather: a big block of paper with lots of words on it!

The guy sent this big block of paper to his literary agent in London, who liked the story. His agent sent it to another agent in New York, who also liked the story. Submissions began simultaneously in both markets. Within days, there was a response from a well-known editor in New York. She loved much of the novel, but couldn’t make an offer for it. The last third of the story was too flawed, she said.

OK, said the guy, wobbling only slightly. As rejections go, that’s pretty heartening.

Over the course of the next few months, the big block of paper was rejected by everyone else, too. Many people professed to love it, but nobody wanted to published the damn thing. Most mornings there was another rejection waiting in the guy’s inbox. He began to dread waking up. He became despondent. Sure, he still had his big block of paper – nobody was ever going to be able to take his story and his characters away from him. It was still, people told him kindly, a wonderful achievement.

But.

Finally, the guy called his agents and told them to stop the submissions. Something was obviously wrong with the story. It needed more work. He hunkered down, and with a slightly heavy heart, attacked the manuscript once again. The five o’clock starts acquired a new focus. Six months later, he had a streamlined story, with a completely new ending. This time, they submitted the manuscript to just one editor – the very first person to respond last time around. And, this time, she liked it, and made an offer to publish it. But, she warned, it still needed a lot of work. Oh, and a new title.

The guy and his new editor talked long and often on the telephone, discussing what had to be done. “A lot of work” was something of an understatement. The guy sat down and beavered away for another six months, making wholesale changes to the story. And the story was immeasurably better as a result. A few weeks after he delivered the revised manuscript, this arrived in the mail:

That, ladies and gentlemen, is an uncorrected early proof copy. It is, frankly, a mess. It’s full of typos. The font size changes at haphazard moments, the pages are not properly formatted, and the cover, you’ll notice, won’t be winning any design awards, either. But, to the guy’s eyes, it was a thing of beauty. All those words he had been wresting with for so long finally looked like a book. He no longer needed a carrier bag to haul his novel around.

Work continued. The text was line edited, copy edited, proof edited, fact checked. Every last syllable was scrutinized. The guy read and reread, wrote and rewrote, until the words were swimming in front of his eyes.

Then came the cover. And it was a thing of beauty. Soon after that, galleys were printed, resplendent with gorgeous design and kind quotes from early reviewers.

These beauties were sent to reviewers, booksellers, magazines and a fair few were sent out to readers. Soon people began to talk about the book. Reviews began to appear online. A buzz was building. (By this time, the guy’s left arm was a mosaic of black and blue bruises from all the pinching that had been going on.)

And then, just after Christmas, this arrived in the mail.

I’m kind of anxious to find out what happens next.

A GOOD AMERICAN #1 Pick for February’s Indie Next List!!

Alex George — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 03:01:12 +0000

Exciting times!

Through the Indiebound collective, booksellers from independent bookstores across the nation submit nominations for the books published each month that they’re most excited about.

I’m proud, and slightly startled, to announced that A GOOD AMERICAN has been selected as the #1 pick for February 2012.

As you might imagine, this is fabulous news. Independent bookstores remain the beating heart of the publishing industry. Their influence is of unparalleled importance when it comes to creating a buzz about new titles and handselling the right books to the right customers. Indie bookstores are owned and staffed by knowledgable, articulate, fantastically well-read people who are passionate about books. I can’t imagine a more gratifying nod of approval. I’m incredibly humbled and flattered.

So – thank you, thank you, indie bookstore people everywhere, for your amazing vote of confidence in A GOOD AMERICAN.

Words of Wisdom from Ann Patchett

Alex George — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:58:25 +0000

Last week a bought a Kindle. I know, I know.

Now, I’ve been down this path before. I wrote here about my brief and unfulfilling flirtation with a Nook, and this post shows another problem with e-readers generally. I will never, ever stop buying books… but, well, let’s be honest – there’s a certain inevitability about it all, isn’t there? I’m going back to England for Christmas and New Year and I really don’t want half of my allotted baggage weight to be books – especially since (because I can’t do otherwise) I would also have to lug them back across the Atlantic after I’d read them. And the Kindle really is very dinky and light and all that good stuff.

But perhaps the best reason for buying a kindle is that there is now material that is only being made available to people with e-readers. Many authors are publishing their out-of-contract back catalogs for e-readers via sites like Smashwords, and of course – if this is your kind of thing - there is always the next self-published erotic vampire novel to get your teeth into (ba-boom-tish, I’m here all week, etc.)

One of the main reasons I finally broke down and bought my kindle was because I was desperate to read an extended essay called The Getaway Car by Ann Patchett, which is only available in downloadable format through amazon. Patchett is probably best-known for her novel Bel Canto, which I read and enjoyed several years ago – although by all accounts, her new book, State of Wonder, is better yet (the – please note - actual book is sitting next to me as I write, and I am itching to start it.)

The Get Away Car, though, is something different. It’s part memoir, part rumination, part advice column. Patchett offers up some of her personal memories and reflections on her career as a writer. Anyone who is in interested in the creative process of sticking words down on paper should get their hands on it at once. You’ll devour it in one sitting. It is absorbing, inspiring, funny, honest, modest, and – best of all – it’s full of wise observations and advice. Patchett writes about writing with refreshingly unsentimental candor. Here are a few gems I pulled out more or less at random. For each quote there were another ten I could have chosen.

First of all, perhaps the best metaphor for novel writing that I’ve yet come across:

“Novel writing, I soon discovered, is like channel swimming: a slow and steady stroke over a long distance in a cold, dark sea.”

Next, an elegant description of the mountain authors have to climb every time they are confronted by the proverbial blank page:

“What I like about the job of being a novelist, and at the same time what I find so exhausting about it, is that it’s the closest thing to being God that you’re ever going to get. All of the decisions are yours. You decide when the sun comes up. You decide who gets to fall in love and who gets hit by a car. You have to make all the leaves and all the trees and then sew the leaves onto the trees. You make the entire world.”

This next one resonated with me especially:

“As much as I love what I do, I forever feel like a dog on the wrong side of the door. If I’m writing a book, I’m racing to be finished; if I’m finished, I feel aimless and wish that I were writing a book.”

And finally, perhaps the truest words of all:

“Writing is a miserable, awful business. Stay with it. It is better than anything in the world.”

Thank you, Ann Patchett, for writing such a wonderful little book. I’ll be returning to it time and time again. Very highly recommended.

To Read, or Not To Read?

Alex George — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:51:45 +0000

In my earlier post about my trip to the Midwest Booksellers’ Association in Minneapolis, I mentioned that at the dinner hosted by Penguin on the Thursday night, there had been some spirited discussion between booksellers about what made for the best author events. Certain booksellers felt that, as a general rule, authors should never read from their books at book signings. It sounds counter-intuitive, but when you think about it, the idea makes a lot of sense.

For a start, listening to most writers (or indeed anyone) read out loud from a book is usually rather boring. Secondly, people who make the effort to go out to an author event at a bookshop are looking for an experience that can’t be replicated (or bettered) simply by sitting at home on the sofa. So instead of just reading what they’ve already written, writers need to provide insight, anecdotes, background… all these things can enhance a reader’s enjoyment of a book more than simply listening to the author declaim his or her own words. Speaking for myself, I always enjoy answering questions during the Q & A session far more than the reading itself.

But don’t take it from me. The most vocal proponent of this idea in Minneapolis was Geoffrey Jennings, who works at the wonderful Rainy Day Books in Kansas City. In yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, Geoffrey’s mother Vivien, founder of the store, weighed in, echoing his opinion. Rainy Day are renowned in the industry for the quality of their author events, so they really do know what they’re talking about.

One of the best author events I’ve been to recently was by Eleanor Brown, whose best-selling novel, The Weird Sisters, I have raved about on this blog before. Eleanor did read a small extract from her novel (actually “perform” would be a better description), but most of the evening was Eleanor chatting about the book, giving insights into her creative process, and answering a ton of questions from the audience. It was both stimulating and highly entertaining. Of course, when it comes to pulling something like this off, it helps if you’re, well, Eleanor Brown, who is one of the warmest and most engaging people on the planet. And this is one of the key points here: writers these days need to be able to speak eloquently and entertainingly about their work. We can’t hide behind the words on the page any more.

I’m going to be doing an author event for A GOOD AMERICAN at Rainy Day Books on Thursday, February 23 next year. At least I have plenty of time to work out what I’m going to say!

I should note that not everyone at the dinner agreed with Geoffrey’s opinion. And indeed, in the WSJ piece, some event-planners do like authors to read something. What do you think? Do you like to hear an author read from their work at events, or do you prefer just to listen to them speak?

Goodreads Giveaway!

Alex George — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 14:52:46 +0000

If you read this blog, the chances are you’re interested in books. And if that’s the case, may I humbly suggest that you join Goodreads, if you haven’t already? Goodreads is a great online community of readers. It’s like a book-centric facebook, but without all the annoying games, aggravating political inanities, and pictures of other people’s puppies. It’s the largest book-related social media site on the planet, which means that you’ll always find someone ready and willing to chat about whatever your literary interests may be, no matter how rarefied.

And if you do? Or if you already have? Please take a minute to look me up and become my friend – or, if you’re really a glutton for punishment, become a, ahem, “fan”.

Here’s another reason to join. One of the other cool things about Goodreads is that they give away lots of books. You can probably guess what’s coming next… my publisher is hosting a giveaway of 25 galleys of A GOOD AMERICAN. If you are a member you can go here and click on the “enter to win” button. You have until December 5 to do so. Good luck!!

In other news, plans for events in February to mark the publication of the book are slowly coming together. We are waiting for the final pieces of the jigsaw puzzle to drop into place and once that has happened I will let you know. I also spoke with the wonderful Penguin publicity people on Friday and learned more about some of the media coverage for the book. Reviews a-plenty! It’s all very exciting, and I will announce stuff here just as soon as I am able.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Where Are All the Boys?

Alex George — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:55:39 +0000

Recently the site Reading Group Guides very kindly did a giveaway of 100 copies of the galley of A GOOD AMERICAN. They published the list of winners, and this list gave me real pause for thought.

Of the 100 winners, two were men.

Put another way (showing off my maths skillz here), 98% of the winners were women (unless there are a whole bunch of dudes out there called Amy.) Now, I realize that the fact that the galley contest was run on a website devoted to reading groups may have skewed the numbers a little, since guys apparently don’t go in for that sort of thing much (although I would like to know why not.) But 98%? Really?

All of which leads to the obvious question: where the hell are all the boys?

Now, the idea that women read more than men isn’t exactly news. When I mentioned this to a friend yesterday, she sent me this very interesting NPR article (a couple of years old now) which discussed some of the possible reasons why women read more than men, and suggests that men constitute as little as 20% of the fiction market.

The fact that there is a website dedicated to posting pictures of men reading books tells you what a rare breed male readers have apparently become. It’s all a bit depressing.

There’s plenty of evidence of the phenomenon closer to home, too. Of all the people good enough to write a pre-publication review of A GOOD AMERICAN on the goodreads site, only one has been a man. And yes, almost all of the people who have put the book on their “to be read” list are women. I also realized, thinking about all this, that in the past several months, precisely two men have posted comments on this blog. (Thank you, Terry and Christopher.) Does this mean that no men read this blog? Well, I don’t think so. I think they just choose not to comment. Which is fine, although I’m curious as to why that is. Now, I realize that asking readers to post a comment on a blog explaining why they don’t post comments on blogs would appear to be an exercise in futility, so instead I shall make this simple plea: if you’re a bloke, and you’re reading this, please wave at the rest of us from the comment box. Are you there? Or just shy?

And if anyone else has any theories about why men appear to be so reluctant to read novels, please do share. (I’m skeptical about the “mirror neurons” theory in the NPR piece.) Have you experienced or witnessed a similar gender divide?

DIY Book Trailer

Alex George — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:02:32 +0000

Last weekend the kids and I discovered a new website, xtranormal, which is a brilliant place where anyone can make movies simply by typing in dialogue and having characters speak it. I have seen several extremely funny videos made this way, including this one about writing a novel which I posted a while ago. Author Laura Zigman has made a whole series of extremely funny films, which I recommend highly. Here’s a good place to start.

The kids enjoyed playing about with the site. My son likes making complicated stop-motion movies with his ipod touch – he can spend hours in his bedroom animating soft toys and other things and making them do strange things. I guess that’s better than watching another re-run of iCarly, right? Here’s an example.

Anyway, I could see my son’s eyes grow bigger as he played about with xtranormal as the possibilities blossomed and multiplied in his head. I went off to take a shower, and by the time I came downstairs again, he and his sister had come up with this. All their own work – they come up with the concept, the script, the execution – the lot.

I don’t know if there will be an official book trailer for my novel – nobody has said anything to me about it – but that question has been rendered somewhat moot. Because how, really, can you do better than this?!?

I love my kids.

Spot the Difference

Alex George — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 14:35:26 +0000

I’ve written here at some length and on numerous occasions about just how much I love the cover of A GOOD AMERICAN. I think it oozes class and is both evocative and beautiful. Of course I am biased, but most people I’ve spoken to seem pretty keen on it, too.

But these things, I am learning, are fluid and can always be improved. Despite all the swooning over the cover, Amy had mentioned when we were in Minneapolis that she was having second thoughts about the lettering. She wondered whether there was too much curlicue, if it might all be a little too feminine. I thought no more about the conversation until an email arrived last week with a new cover with redesigned lettering on it.

And just when I thought I couldn’t love something more, I discover that actually I can. Here is the old cover:

And here is the new one, with the revised, simpler, title font:

I really like this a lot. It’s unfussy, and (I think) even more elegant that its slightly more flamboyant predecessor. What do you think?

What I like best about this story is how it shows that really, really good editors and publishers don’t stop just because they know they have something good. They are constantly searching for ways to improve the product. No detail is too small to be re-examined.

Lucky is the author who gets to work with such people.