I'm having the experience so many of you have had: publication in my home country. The Personal History of Rachel DuPree was released in the U.S.A. this week. It's a different experience than when it came out in the UK. There, it felt far removed and if the novel ended up in the discount bin, I never knew. Now it feels quite personal. Neighbors know that I've written a book and they're weighing in with their opinions. I'm lined up for readings in bookstores and am worrying that no one will show up. Should I hire actors to sit in the front row? I'm doing interviews (yikes!), and have the amazing luck of Barnes & Noble, a chain bookstore, selecting it as a Discover book.
It's a thrill but nerve racking, as many of you know. We'll see how it goes. It's in the hands of readers now, American readers. If they are half as gracious as the British readers, I'll be fortunate. We'll see what happens next.
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18 comments:
Congratulations! I'm sure it'll do well and be well received. It deserves to be. It's a fine novel.
Congratulations, Ann! Your novel can't fail to succeed; it's wonderful book.
Congrats Ann!
If they don't like it, there's something wrong with their literary taste-buds - who could fail to like Rachel? Many congratulations, Ann - I hope it turns out to be a wonderful experience being published at home.
Enjoy it, Ann! If there's any justice the book will take the country by storm.
Congratulations, Ann. I hope the book gets the success it deserves. It has always been one of my favourites. Excellent news about Barnes and Noble. With regard to readings in bookshops, you are (when reporting back to us or your family) allowed to describe any gathering of more than 2, excluding yourself and your publicist, as "a crowd" and anything that gets into double figures as "quite a large crowd". Those are the rules I've always worked to anyway ...
Congratulations Ann. I hope you enjoy every success - it's well deserved.
I has been my absolute favourite...hearty congratulations!
Sorry, it not I...
Thank you all. The support from the MNW authors can't be beat.
I got home last night from a trip to New York to meet the editor and the publicist, and the first thing I did was listen to a baseball game on the radio. That was instantly calming. Now I have the concept of literary taste buds -- a new image -- to help me laugh my way through this experience.
Len, I like your definition of a crowd and of a large crowd. I won't have a publicist at any of the readings but Rob, my husband, will be there. That's half of a crowd right there. One hired actor and the room buzzes. Thanks for the tip.
Bryan, I read The Rising while on my way to NYC. The many murders and the excellent story telling made me forget my own nerves. Job well done!
Congratulations Ann, this is great news.
It still surprises me how long it has taken for this to happen though - publishers talk about momentum yet so much happens in slow motion that it's difficult to build on momentum when it takes 2 years for a book to cross over the Atlantic.
Quibbles aside, I'm sure it will do really well there. It's a marvellous book and deserves to be a big hit.
Hello Ann, Congratulations, your book can be feted by all your friends and neighbours now - and maybe you will be able to hear their praises instead of reading them by email. Hope the tour went brilliantly and it is selling like wildfire.
Matt, it's startling how long the process has taken. But in my case, that's good. I'm a slow writer so this almost feels like the second book.
Thank you, Dee. Your U.S. debut is coming up in a few months!
So, where do you have readings planned? Some of us live over here, y'know...
David, I'll be reading at Book Passage in Corte Madera, near San Francisco, on September 28. It'd be great to see you, but aren't you in the LA area?
My other readings are in Houston, Dallas, Austin, and Dayton, Ohio.
Ann - I have a friend in Austin of wide reading and good judgement. What date is that event - I may persuade him to go along!
Tim, I'd love to meet your Austin friend. I'll be at BookPeople on September 7 at 7:00 o'clock. We're going out for drinks after --might that entice him?
Alas, I was on travel. And you're right, I live a long way from Marin County--but I've been to Book Passages quite a few times. A great indie store, and a major stop for amazing writers. Congrats--and sorry I missed you.
(Tell your publicist that many of us in LA can actually read. Well, okay, not percentage-wise. But even a small pecentage still adds up to a lot of folks!)
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