79 replies to this topic

[tommy]

i love your logo.

edit: the ol' top of the page trick, causing my comment to seem even more non sequitor than it is already.

[Wilfrid]

Will it include ADNY, or are you omitting chain restaurants?

[Fat Guy]

Actually two thirds of the book is devoted to reproducing the stupid ugly translated-from-the-original-Vulcan postcards I get from ADNY every few weeks. "I love Olive," baby.

[Wilfrid]

Yes, there's a consensus there. ADNY's mailings are the consistently least interesting of the ones I receive from restaurants.

[Fat Guy]

They're the most interesting, I think you mean, because they produce the most snorts and giggles. "Olive Oil is a mysterious continent we explore with the tip of a spoon."

[Liza]

Wow. That's right up there with aardvark porn.

[Aurora]

The cover looks great for the US market.  I am sure it will do exceptionally well

BUT

They are not really going to release the book in December are they FG?

Why not just put all the copies in the basement of a bookshop in the dodgiest neighbourhood in the Bronx in a box marked "beware herpes"  the resulting sales would be the same?

December is the month where good books go to die.  The boxes don't get unpacked as all the staff are running around making sure they have enough copies of The Grinch etc etc and they usually come upon them in January at the back of the good in dept and put them straight into returns.

I hope they keep it back to Jan.  They are a smart publisher, so I am sure they will have it all worked out anyway.


S

Steven - congratulations on your book! If I can be of any assistance, please let me know.

As as a former bookseller of many years, I agree that a December release is a little late, but I must disagree with the points made about the books not getting unpacked during Christmas. December is not the month of death, it is the month of frenzied activity. If that were not so, publishers would not spend millions on the development of their Christmas catalogs that they ram down the throats of booksellers every year.

The Christmas season is prime-time for all of retail. Typically, the amount of money that is made in the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are equivalent to what is made in the remaining months of the year. That is also true in books, and my store was no exception.

There is a tremendously low profit margin on books, and storage space in any bookstore is always small. The idea is to get as many books out on the floor as possible as quickly as possible. To do otherwise translates into lost revenue. The Christmas rush is the time when the money is made. Booksellers know that, and they are usually quite good at meeting the challenge.

To the contrary, the time of year when a box of books would be most likely to sit idle begins the day after Christmas until about mid-February. That's when the spending frenzy falls off dramatically and doesn't get another boost until Valentine's day.

Steve, I would argue strongly and loudly for a November release. It has been my experience that January is a highly unusual time for a publisher to release a book. That is the deadest time of the year. That was always the time when I would take my vacations, because there were never any authors turing at that time--no events to plan. If the publisher does has any thoughts about doing that I would fight to have the book held over until February or early spring.

Was there any reason given for why a December release was planned? In terms of promotion, that really puts everyone in a time crunch to get the word out. Is the publisher doing a good bit of pre-promotion? It is not uncommon to see advertisments for books in book reviews weeks prior to their release. It's a common practice that is designed to generate interest.

Ten Speed Press generally conducts excellent, thorough promotion. They're also very nice people to work with.

[Fat Guy]

It wouldn't be appropriate for me to speak too much about my relationship with my publisher, and it would be for Ten Speed to reveal its exact plans not me. What I can say is that the book was scheduled for October release but has been held up for various reasons and it therefore seems that it will be released whenever it is ready. When that will be, I don't know, but given where the book is on the pre-publication timeline it surely can't happen by November. And of course, as anybody in the book business knows, my opinion is completely irrelevant to any determination of how the process will unfold.

[Aurora]

And of course, as anybody in the book business knows, my opinion is completely irrelevant to any determination of how the process will unfold.

Well, that's not always true, but I get your point. No, not everyone can have the type of control that J.K. Rowling enjoys, but don't sell your importance to the process--or your input--short.

[pjs]

Steven,

Despite the fact that l currently live in the 6th borough--Florida--I look forward to paying full retail for your new book.

PJ

[Shermar]

I look forward to reading your book whenever it comes out!

Can Momo come out and play?

[Fat Guy]

Yes.

[Rachel Perlow]

I can't believe I didn't see this thread until now when someone linked to it from another thread. Must be because we were on vacation when it started. Oh well. If you still need any fact checking help or whatever let me know.

[Holly Moore]

Who the Hell is the Stephen Shaw cat? The authorship should be credited to Fat Guy!!!

[ajay]

I think I'll actually add restaurants that have opened recently that sound promising, though not yet sampled:

1. Atleir --I believe Wilfrid has posted on it.
2. Aix, Didier Virot's latest venture. Not yet sampled; i'm waiting for them to work out their new restaurant blues.
3. Industry (Food)--I've heard mixed reviews again wilfrid posted on it, that is once he finally found it.
4. Patricia Yeo's new mediterranean place. Again there has been some discussion on the board.
5. Alex Urea (sp?) left Blue Hill and Marseilles. I've been put off by the less than stellar reviews.

A methdological question: how do you treat restaurants where chefs changed or culiary focus radically shifted?

Well, since I haven't eaten at any of these places, I'm not sure I've been of any help, but hey, I tried.

[Fat Guy]

how do you treat restaurants where chefs changed or culiary focus radically shifted?

It's a case-by-case determination, but in most cases I either have to revisit them before the manuscript deadline or remove them from the book (or both).

[Robert Schonfeld]

FG, when is a publisher going to hire you to write a real book, with paragraphs and everything?

[Fat Guy]

An elusive goal, but one I'm pursuing vigorously.

[glenn]

I can't believe I didn't see this thread until now when someone linked to it from another thread. Must be because we were on vacation when it started.

Me too! Though my excuse is I simply stopped eating and stopped reading about food. Bigtime cograts, FG! I hope the chapter about NY's best restaurant accountants is not buried at the end... we're so unappreciated. I'm sure it's too late now, but I think a section on restaurant owners would be extremely interesting, they're mostly such colorful retards. And speaking of which, Pazo opened a few months ago.

[tommy]

Where will the book signing be held?