The new book and an ode to a bookstore
The advance copy of my new book arrived in the post. There is nothing quite like the feeling of seeing an idea finally printed and bound into a book. An advanced copy is created early in the process to send to media folk who may want to provide quotes, reviews, feature in magazines, etc.It's called an ADVANCE UNCORRECTED PROOF, which means it might have a few spelling mistakes (which stops my heart every single time) and, even though the book is in full color, this advanced version is in black and white:
The book is an illustrated day book, a travel journal of sorts, that begins in January and ends in December. Each day there is a little something to learn about Paris, a sketch, or a painting. And each day tends to run into the next in theme, color-scheme, or story line. A few pages from March:
Another few...
I'm so thrilled with the black and white version that I'm sure I'll be in pure bliss once the color version comes out in June 2017. You can pre-order it and it will be delivered to your mailbox or inbox in June:Barnes & NobleAmazon (US)Amazon (UK)IndigoBooks-A-MillionIndieBoundApple
Pre-ordering is one of the kindest thing you can do for an author.
More so than ordering the book the day after it comes out. Mais pourquoi?Pre-orders propels the book to statistic stardom on sites like Amazon. Online booksellers rely on these stats, so naturally the author begins to rely on these stats, too. But even more than rank, pre-orders help bookstores know how many to order for their shelves on launch day, or if they want to order it at all. I remember back when I was considering writing books, I would walk through Barnes & Noble on Third Street in Santa Monica and look at where my books would live. Then I would research the books around where my book would live: Who was the agent? Who was the publisher? Clues on who to contact once my books were written. But if no one pre-orders from Barnes & Noble, the book doesn't make it to those shelves. Quel dommage. And would-be writers of the future are left out of a golden opportunity. And no fun Francophile mail for you come June. Again, quel dommage.Thanks to pre-orders for my last book Paris Letters, Barnes & Noble pick up the book, but they let me write a little story about how Bruce Springsteen made me a writer. So thanks Barnes & Noble! Barnes & Noble was also the scene in Paris Letters where I meet up with Ben and together we concoct our escape from our dreary lives. His real name is Paul Freeman and he's the front man for the band The 100 Year War. A few years later we met up in Paris where he opened for a little known artist named Chris Isaak.
I digress. This happens when you only sleep in four-hour stints (if you're lucky) due to a thirsty newborn. Where was I? Oh yes, the requisite author request to pre-order A Paris Year. Merci buckets.
