My life in tweets

[rj_anderson]

• 09:40 Just got some AMAZING blurbs from some great authors to go on the back of my book's US edition -- so excited!

Comments

[mrstotten.livejournal.com]

Congratulations, that's fab, I just went to amazon to check my delivery of your book as I thought it would come today but it's estimated for the 20th Jan so just going to have to be patient :D

Knife

[colyngbourne.livejournal.com]

I finished Knife last night, and have reviewed it at http://palimpsest.org.uk

A good, thoughtful and delightful read.

Re: Knife

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your thoughtful and balanced comments! Your ideas about the possible spiritual symbolism involved re the contrast of the faery and human communities are interesting -- I confess I hadn't thought of it in precisely those terms, but I see how it could be viewed that way.

Re: Knife

[colyngbourne.livejournal.com]

I think it's the most fascinating thing, and actually since posting my review, I have thought some more about it, and changed the rating to Four Stars.

An author commented on some of my writing at one point, saying "of course it's all about loss of faith and whether it can be regained, isn't it?" and I was boggled because that had never occurred to me at all.

Re: Knife

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

I appreciate the upgrade, but most of all I'm glad the book stayed with you and kept you thinking -- that's the best compliment I could wish for.

And yes, it is funny what depths other people see in your writing that you didn't consciously mean to put there. Patricia C. Wrede has a delightful term for this phenomenon: she says "My subconscious is cleverer than I am."

If you're interested in loss-of-faith issues, though, then you should find the sequel Wayfarer of interest when it comes out in approximately a year's time...

[faerie-writer.livejournal.com]

Yay!!! :D

[erinbow.livejournal.com]

Hurray! Go you!!!!

How does blurbing work, anyway? Do you have to know some famous authors, or does the publisher do all that?

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

About a year before your book goes to press the publisher (often) gives you a Daunting Questionnaire to complete, and one of the questions is about which other authors you think would be good matches to blurb your book.

I suggested a few authors whose books I loved and/or with whom I had a friendly acquaintance; the publisher came up with the rest (mostly authors I didn't know and whose books I've not read, but were perceived as appealing to a similar demographic).

I have heard of some smaller houses (or smaller books) having to rely on the authors' connections to get blurbs, or not even doing blurbs at all. You have a big publisher behind you, however, so I am pretty sure they will not be sending you out begging with cap in hand. :)

[erinbow.livejournal.com]

(In poetry it's hat in hand, and the author's job mostly. Don't wanna do that again!)