Thursday’s (Final) Pre-Publication Post

March 25, 2010. That was the date of our first “Thursday Pre-Publication Post.” Less than 10 months later, it’s time for the last post in the series. Next Wednesday, January 19, will see the official publication date of my short-story collection, Quiet Americans. And next Thursday, we’ll take this show on the post-publication road. I’m so thankful for the advice and support that you’ve shown me here on the blog in this pre-publication phase, and I hope you’ll stick around to see how this particular publishing story plays out.

Right now, I’m especially focused on launching our Winter 2011 Blog Tour, which begins next week. I won’t tell you exactly how much time I spent last weekend drafting guest posts for host blogs. Let’s just say that it was considerable. Not that I’m complaining! I am really grateful to have these opportunities.

This week, I’ve been shifting a bit from the guest posts to my part of author Q&As. In case you haven’t surmised, this time, I’m the one supplying the “A”, not the “Q.” And I have been blown away by my interviewers’ incisiveness. (Sure, I knew they were smart, but this smart?)

I don’t want to give you any examples yet. Let’s let the suspense build for the tour, shall we? But I will share that working on these interviews, on the heels of receiving excellent blurbs and more recent feedback, I’ve been reminded of a December blog post by Ellen Meeropol on what Elli, as another debut author, has been learning from her readers.

“I didn’t expect to be surprised–and humbled–by readers’ insights into my characters and their story,” she wrote.

Frankly, I didn’t expect it, either. In my case, there’s some especially delicious icing on this cake: readers’ insights into not only specific characters and stories, but also on the collection as a whole.

You’ll see what I’m talking about once the tour is under way. Happily, it’s not long now!

5 thoughts on “Thursday’s (Final) Pre-Publication Post

  1. David Abrams says:

    A momentous occasion! Congratulations, Erika. And may your sales of “Quiet Americans” be very loud at cash registers in bookstores all around the world.

  2. Congratulations, Erika! The day is finally arriving ~ enjoy this exciting time. Best wishes!
    I enjoyed your AWP article in the Feb 2011 issue of THE WRITER. I attended in January ’08 in NYC ~ it was awesome. I got to chat with Billy Collins and Frank McCourt just before they addressed the crowd (I had met them at the Southampton Writers Conference in ’06 & ’07, and was lucky to study with Frank in ’07). It’s a moment I’ll never forget.
    Have fun moderating at AWP~ and celebrating the release of QUIET AMERICANS. I’m going to order my own copy 🙂

  3. Thank you both so much!

  4. Armand I. says:

    Can’t wait to follow the blog tour Erika!

  5. Arlene R. says:

    Each day I joyfully anticipate your meaningful contribution to literature as you stretch readers’ minds. “Quiet Americans” will surely stir a big buzz.

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