I’m getting ready to launch my Fall 2010 list and reflecting on all that goes into that process. Launching involves a presentation of each title to our entire sales, PR, marketing and design teams, and ahead of time there’s an enormous amount of thinking that has to go into each piece. What’s the ideal publication date? Is it better to launch for the holidays? Or for Valentine’s Day the next year? With September and October such big months for the heavy hitters to release their new books, should I be piggybacking on that increase in store traffic? Or timing toward a less crazy month? What do I know about the author’s previous track record? Are sales increasing and we can ride that wave to the next level? Or have they leveled out and we need to re-build? Or is this a debut author who we’ll nurture and develop? What are the 3 most important things my sales people need to know about this book, this author, this subgenre? Then there’s the packaging for the book itself–what should I tell the designers for cover direction? Did I get character descriptions from the author, or do I now have to chase them down?
Every author and every book gets a strategy, and sometimes those discussions go on for a long time. Titles have to be approved in advance, but sometimes in the launch meeting they get ditched and it’s back to the drawing board.
What I love so much about the process is that it’s the first opportunity I have to share my excitement with my colleagues outside of the editorial department and my goal is to ignite their excitement. The process is high energy and exhilarating, and at the end I know I have a rockin’ list of romances that my sales people are over the moon about, my PR and marketing experts are in full swing with ideas, and the designers are off and running.
And now, I get to report back to my authors, my favorite people in the world, all the feedback and suggestions and ideas and enthusiasm. And then–let the games begin!
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I understand that your company is not only female owned, but that it is also wise enough to review direct submissions from authors. I understand that most publishers lack Sourcebook’s wisdom in that regard.
It occurs to me that if part of the future of publishing (not all of it, books will always be our friends) is headed towards a percentage of work being released direct to e-book rather than paper, that a large part of the current dynamic may not change.
What changes in the process, if any, do you foresee with the coming digital revolution?
I think it’s better to launch or relaunch authors in Feb./Mar., when the competition isn’t so swift. But I’m sure much depends on the subject matter and the genre. I have no doubt there is a ‘formula’ of sorts behind the process.
It’s always fascinating to hear this from the other side of the fence, so to speak. As an author I know it goes on but it’s good to hear how much planning and care goes into the books after we’ve handed them on.