Ah, if all the stuff that happens–and I’ve been told must happen–behind the scenes to get a book ready for a launch matched the excitement level I felt actually writing one. Not that the “coming out” process is tedious or demonstrably less fun, I’m just the type of person who prefers the writing part of the cycle more than the business.

What sort brave new world awaits a novelist after the sale? Hmm. Pitch letters. Solely for the marketing contingent, pitch letters help the publisher recognize and target different demographics. Then there’s the synopsis–probably the most grating word in the English language to a thriller writer. Also, the author bio, and the obligatory “what is the story behind the book?” I plan on recycling both the bio and the “gee you’re clever, how did you get that way” pieces forever.

All of that is the dry run for the review process holding pattern hang-glide. The marketing person wraps up all the little notes the publisher asked the writer to draft, takes a copy of the book and sends it to places like:

New York Times Book Review

American Library Association

Publisher’s Weekly

. . . and so on. In this case, the publisher secured an ace marketing person for the project, Ellen. Ellen kicks ass for a number of reasons, not the least of which is her proven track record of guiding favorable reviews from distinguished sources in a timely fashion. And you really need someone like Ellen in your corner because, well, review services are under no obligation to review any title at any time for any reason whatsoever. A book is received and it’s assigned a reviewer or it goes down the void. Even with an reviewer assignment, the publisher receives the book review, well, whenever. The receipt being as much as a year after its release.

However, the time spent hang gliding over a volcano pays off, because once a single service says something nice about a writer that golden phrase can forever more adorn the book jacket.

Sweet.