Yowser! Baby Doe is published as a trade paperback on Amazon. Here's the all important link
The ebook will be up on Amazon in a few weeks. Does that seem backwards to you? Me too Then the novel will be available on all those other ebook and print sites in a month or two...
Am I feeling ecstatic? That's a piece of it, overridden by worries: Is there still a devastating mistake evident in the book's pages? How will I market the sucker, effectively? Will anybody like it?
There's a great story about Phillip Roth, that's probably apocryphal. When Portnoy's Complaint was about to be published early in Roth's career, he felt it prudent to give his parents some warning of possible adverse reactions to the book's salacious content.
Philip's mother picked up the phone. After Roth announced that his book was to be published and described some of his concerns, his mother said, "That's nice dear. Thanks so much for calling."
Philip's father asked his wife, "Who was that on the phone?"
"It was Philip. He thinks some people are actually going to read his new book."
Also, the price of my paperback novel is outrageous, and I'm seeking some way to assert some authorial control over that.
After refining Baby Doe for years, I'm also bereft, no longer having my old friend, GAN, (as it was not so affectionately called by my wife--Great American Novel) to occupy my imagination and hours, which in our pre-covid days, in my wife's mind, should be more appropriately spent with shopping, parties, household chores, travel, museums, plays, movies, etc.
Towards the run-up to publication, Baby Doe, at least in my eyes, was gaining the appearance of an actual finished novel. Now I just face marketing, and the chaos of the not yet completed first draft of the next novel in the series.
So how do I show, not tell, how I feel?
Comments