Write Good or Die

figures."
    She named a number. I jumped around my house like a wind-up toy.
    "That’s great! We’re accepting it, right?"
    "No. Another editor is interested. I think I can get more. In the meantime, Leslie Wells at Hyperion wants to talk to you. Is tomorrow morning good for you?"
    Leslie was a hero of mine, having edited two of my favorite authors, Ridley Pearson and Robert Crais. The thought of working with her awed me.
    But what should I say? How should I act?
    "Just be yourself," Jane advised. "I think you’ll like each other."
    Leslie and I instantly hit it off. She loved my book, but more importantly, she had great plans for the series, and great ideas on how to make Whiskey Sour even better.
    I got off the phone hoping Hyperion would wind up with the book.
    The call came two days later.
    "Joe? Jane Dystel. Are you sitting down? Hyperion made an offer..."
    After 10 books, 12 years, and 460 rejections, my dream had finally come true.
    My wife took me out to celebrate. But we didn’t go out to eat. We didn’t go to a concert, or a show, or to France.
    We went to a tattoo parlor.
    Now, on my left shoulder, there’s a smiley face.
    To match the other smiley face I wear all the time.

    J.A. Konrath— http://www.jakonrath.com
    ###

27. WHAT HAPPENS IN THE PUBLICATION PROCESS
    By Gayle Lynds
    http://www.GayleLynds.com

    At last I can give you a publication date for my new novel, The Book of Spies —March 30, 2010. It seems a very long way away, nine months, but for those in the business, it will whip past at supersonic speed.
    Why has it taken so long to settle on a publication date? Ah, the fine art of publishing. I thought you might enjoy an insider’s take on what's going to happen next....
    As many of you know, co-op is an important part of the business. Book stores—both the chains and the independents—make their own decisions about which books to feature at the front of their shops. But the chains want financial investment from publishers for that all-important first look by customers who walk in the door. They won't take a publisher's money—co-op money—if they don't want to feature a book.
    There can be several reasons for this: they think the book isn't strong or good enough, they have two almost identical novels arriving at the same time from different publishers and therefore want to highlight only one, or the author's reader base has been declining and the chain is losing confidence in its ability to sell the author's latest title.
    At the same time, publishers face similar decisions. They work to balance their lists so they don't have two big novels coming out in the same week to compete for readers' attentions—or to compete against other publishers' books.
    I'm fortunate in that you, my good readers, have been increasing, buying and enjoying my novels in greater numbers with each title. As a result, my fine publisher, St. Martin's Press, settled on March 30 as a date in which The Book of Spies will have less competition in-house and in the marketplace and therefore optimum chance at great co-op and attention from readers and reviewers.
    So what happens next? I have one more round of editorial input from my terrific editor, Keith Kahla, and then the manuscript goes to a copy editor, who checks my facts and looks for misplaced commas. Each publisher has its own style, and commas fall into that. I've given up. All the rules I learned seem to change with the weather. Still, copy editors play an important role, and I'm grateful for those who do excellent work. I've gotten copy-edited manuscripts that were tattered, decorated with brown coffee rings, and aromatic with pipe smoke. Those copy-editors were beavering away.
    Then the book is set into type—yes, typesetters haven't completely vanished, thank God—and I'll be sent the page proofs to read for errors. It's amazing how long reading proof can take, and by then I'm ready to chuck the whole thing out the window because I'm tired of reading my own book and just want to be writing the next one uninterrupted. Discipline , Gayle. At the same time, it's a thrill to see the story in type, and that keeps me going.
    All during this period the cover is being designed and settled upon, marketing meetings are taking place, publicity is being consulted, and a budget to support the novel is put into place. Any of this can change, too, as the publisher keeps its eye on what's selling and how it's selling. Some opportunities vanish, while new ones