It's publication day, in the UK at least! Before I Go to Sleep is available, in the shops! It's an amazing feeling, and really does feel like a dream I've had my whole life has come true. I have a launch party tonight, and I'm very happy...
Very busy, too! Hence it's been a while since I've updated here. By way of a quick round-up, there have been a few reviews and articles in the press over here in the UK, and I've done a couple of radio interviews, too. One will be broadcast tomorrow, at 10pm (GMT) on BBC R2 (The Arts Show). Tune in (or listen on BBC iPlayer, if you're based in the UK). Details here.
We also learned that Before I Go to Sleep has been chosen by Simon Mayo as his book club book of the month for May. Terrifically exciting! Details here.
I also did an interview for BBC Radio WM (West Midlands, where I'm from). Surreal experience, sitting in a small booth just off Oxford Street in London, chatting to a DJ in the West Midlands. Made even more surreal by the fact that I thought it was a prerecord interview so strolled into the booth, sat down, took my coat off, found my phone and switched it off, all in a very leisurely fashion, only to hear a slightly anxious woman in the headphones. I popped them on and said, 'Yeah, hi, I'm just getting settled....' to which she replied, 'We're going live in about 10 seconds...'
A moment later I was on the air, live, chatting to a DJ. In a way I think it worked out for the best - at least I didn't have time to get nervous!
For details of all these things, look at my (brand new!) website, here.
Thursday, 28 April 2011
Thursday, 21 April 2011
A package arrives
A package arrived yesterday from my agency. The promotional material for Before I Go to Sleep in Spain! It'll be called No Confies En Nadie, which I believe roughly translates as 'Trust No-one' or 'You Don't Trust Anyone'. Nice title!
And the book will look beautiful in Spain. Kind of a hybrid of the US cover with the Australian typeface on the title. I like it!
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
A trip to the printers
This journey has been an exhilarating ride, with lots of high points, but yesterday was definitely one of the highest. I went to the printers, and witnessed first hand how my words went from my computer screen all the way to a printed and bound hardback book. It was incredible to see all those huge, huge machines, printing, collating, binding, trimming, glueing, sorting, packing, sealing. Absolutely wonderful.
Unfortunately I couldn't take photos in the factory itself (which covers 30 acres, would you believe?!) but here's one of me signing copies of Before I Go to Sleep. I signed quite a few. About 1300, in fact...
They were then stickered and packaged, and even now are on their way to their next destination (i.e the shops!) from where they'll (hopefully) end up in the hands of readers, which is what it's all about of course. I saw the gold edged version, too, that Goldsboro books are going to be selling. They're really special. It's all incredible exciting, and to say it's a dream come true for me must be one of the biggest understatements imaginable!
Unfortunately I couldn't take photos in the factory itself (which covers 30 acres, would you believe?!) but here's one of me signing copies of Before I Go to Sleep. I signed quite a few. About 1300, in fact...
They were then stickered and packaged, and even now are on their way to their next destination (i.e the shops!) from where they'll (hopefully) end up in the hands of readers, which is what it's all about of course. I saw the gold edged version, too, that Goldsboro books are going to be selling. They're really special. It's all incredible exciting, and to say it's a dream come true for me must be one of the biggest understatements imaginable!
Monday, 18 April 2011
Radio 4, and Amazon 'Rising Stars'
Friday, 15 April 2011
A speech, a broken finger, a launch party
So last week I went to the 2011 Advancing Healthcare awards. I'd been invited to give a little speech and tell my story, and was lucky enough to also enjoy a fabulous lunch and meet lots of wonderful people from the health service. These were Allied Health Professionals and Clinical Scientists - a much undervalued group. These are the therapists and technicians and scientists who are in fact vital members of any healthcare team, and it was nice for them to get some recognition. I felt rather humbled in their presence, if I'm honest, but here I am...
From there I went home and listened to some of the audiobook of Before I Go to Sleep. It's been read by Susannah Harker, and she's done a brilliant job. Hearing my words come to life was such a bizarre and wonderful experience.
Unfortunately, however, I'd chosen to listen in the bath as I prepared to go out for the evening. As I stood up to dry myself the door buzzer went and, stupidly, I ran down the stairs. Or that was the plan; in fact my legs disappeared from under me on the top step and I slid to the bottom. My first sensation was relief. I was alive and, had I slid the other way, I might easily have broken my neck. My second, though was pain, emanating from all over, but focussed mostly on my finger. 'I wonder if it's broken?' I thought, but on touching it and feeling a rather odd clicking sensation I wondered no more. My evening out was cancelled and I spent it instead in A&E (where I received a wonderful service and found myself thanking once again the staff of the NHS). When I got home I practiced shaking people's hands (impossible), writing longhand (possible, but painful and with illegible results) and signing my name (possible, not too painful, but it looks like a toddler who's been let loose with the felt-tips). With a launch party to attend, a novel to work on and books to sign - what bad timing!
Then, on Monday, Before I Go to Sleep was officially launched! (For the first time at least - we're having another launch party for the UK edition on the day of publication itself). We had a party at the offices of my agent, Clare Conville, in London's West End. London Book Fair was in full swing by then, and all my foreign editors and publishers were invited. It was great to meet them all over a glass of wine, as well as all the scouts and sub-agents, not to mention my colleagues from Faber, who have worked so hard and been so supportive of me and the book over the last year. Clare gave a speech, I gave a speech, I had a fantastic time, and the book was well and truly launched. Here are some photos...
The trailer was playing on all of the computers in the office...
The books were on display...
Here I am, chatting to Jake...
... and to Amy.
The fire brigade were called as the party wound down. Luckily nothing too drastic - one of the guests had locked themselves in the bathroom...
So now we're off. Before I Go to Sleep is launched, and within a few days will be in the shops (in the UK and Australia at least - the US will have to wait until June). I'm tremendously excited, broken finger or no!
On the radio...
I'm going to be on Radio 2! The Arts Show, discussing Before I Go to Sleep with Claudia Winkleman. Friday 29th April, at 10 pm. Details here.
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
The French Jacket
This is how Before I Go to Sleep will look in France. Beautiful, isn't it? I took delivery of two copies yesterday, which was an exciting moment, and it looks even better in real life...
Now we have six jackets, I wonder which is everyone's favourite?
Friday, 1 April 2011
On reviews...
I must admit this week I read the story of Jacqueline Howlett's online meltdown (over a bad review of her book) with mixed feelings. (You can read about it, and handling reviews in general, here. For those who want the source material, it's here, but be warned, it's not pretty). It was kind of funny, and yes, it showed spectacularly bad judgement on her part. It went viral with the speed that only these things can, and an awful lot more people now know about her book than would have done had she not attempted to mount a reasoned defence of her work (albeit it one that quickly degenerated into mudslinging). Whether they'll want to buy it is another question (along with "Is it really true that any publicity is good publicity?").
But I actually feel a little sorry for Howlett. I understand why she responded to those reviews. Before I Go to Sleep is out there, now. Not released yet, but there are advanced reader copies doing the rounds. It's public property. People are having an opinion, and some of those people are posting their opinion on their blogs and on review sites.
And I'm reading them. I can't help it. It's my baby. I conceived it, raised it, nurtured it, sent it to school with a lunch box, helped it to do its homework and stood by with tissues when it was dumped by its first girlfriend (OK OK I've taken the childrearing metaphor too far...) But now it's off, on its own. Not my property any more. I'm anxious to know what people think.
Mostly I've been happy. Mostly I've been absolutely delighted in fact. But there have been a few people who haven't been quite so gushing. Some have just said 'It's not really my cup of tea', and they're easy to cope with. That's fair enough. (In fact I like to think of a line of Emo Phillips about playing to middle-class audiences in Edinburgh - he said he enjoyed it because if they don't enjoy his show they blame themselves for making a poor entertainment choice. 'If I'm rubbish, never mind,' he said. 'You'll do better next time.')
But there are those who identify what they see as flaws and weaknesses. And yes, the temptation as an author is to respond. To say, Actually, I did that deliberately. Or to say Well, no one else thinks that scene doesn't work, so you're very much on your own there. Or to point out that such-and-such a character would say that, or do this, or whatever, and you should know, because you invented them.
Before the internet these rights-of-reply weren't available, or weren't so easy at least. I imagine that if Jacqueline Howlett had had to find a pen and some paper, or load a ribbon into her typewriter, and then compose a response before finding the correct address and an envelope and stamp, she'd have cooled down enough by the end of it to not post her letter at all. But now we can read a review and within two minutes we've typed and posted, publicly no less, our ire. And, has been proven again this week, it would be a mistake. At best you look petty and insecure, at worst it makes the book look as though it doesn't work unless the author is on standby to explain what he or she meant at any given point. Howlett has been rounded on by hordes of readers, all keen to shoot her down (and to be fair, they probably have a point - her final comments towards her reviewer were childish and offensive). I imagine she's feeling pretty rotten right now though, in a sort of Oh-no-what-on-earth-did-I-do-last-night-kind-of-way (unless she really does have such enormous self belief in her writing that she continues to feel her response was justified). Surely she didn't ask for this.
So, I guess the take home message from this is that it's probably better to keep our mouth shut. Just because the right of reply is there, that doesn't mean we should use it. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and the internet means that everyone can now share theirs with the world. But, just because we can, that doesn't mean we should answer back. We want people to judge the work, not the author, and it has to speak for itself, no matter how tempting it might be to intervene. Wading into a public forum, and directly challenging a reviewer (who is, after all, entitled to their opinion) immediately removes the distance between the work and the author, and put the focus on the latter.
In any case, how can we expect to please everyone, all the time, and for everyone to get every little subtlety in our writing? We can't, and when people don't get it, don't like it, or both, we have to take it on the chin.
Or maybe not read reviews at all?
But I actually feel a little sorry for Howlett. I understand why she responded to those reviews. Before I Go to Sleep is out there, now. Not released yet, but there are advanced reader copies doing the rounds. It's public property. People are having an opinion, and some of those people are posting their opinion on their blogs and on review sites.
And I'm reading them. I can't help it. It's my baby. I conceived it, raised it, nurtured it, sent it to school with a lunch box, helped it to do its homework and stood by with tissues when it was dumped by its first girlfriend (OK OK I've taken the childrearing metaphor too far...) But now it's off, on its own. Not my property any more. I'm anxious to know what people think.
Mostly I've been happy. Mostly I've been absolutely delighted in fact. But there have been a few people who haven't been quite so gushing. Some have just said 'It's not really my cup of tea', and they're easy to cope with. That's fair enough. (In fact I like to think of a line of Emo Phillips about playing to middle-class audiences in Edinburgh - he said he enjoyed it because if they don't enjoy his show they blame themselves for making a poor entertainment choice. 'If I'm rubbish, never mind,' he said. 'You'll do better next time.')
But there are those who identify what they see as flaws and weaknesses. And yes, the temptation as an author is to respond. To say, Actually, I did that deliberately. Or to say Well, no one else thinks that scene doesn't work, so you're very much on your own there. Or to point out that such-and-such a character would say that, or do this, or whatever, and you should know, because you invented them.
Before the internet these rights-of-reply weren't available, or weren't so easy at least. I imagine that if Jacqueline Howlett had had to find a pen and some paper, or load a ribbon into her typewriter, and then compose a response before finding the correct address and an envelope and stamp, she'd have cooled down enough by the end of it to not post her letter at all. But now we can read a review and within two minutes we've typed and posted, publicly no less, our ire. And, has been proven again this week, it would be a mistake. At best you look petty and insecure, at worst it makes the book look as though it doesn't work unless the author is on standby to explain what he or she meant at any given point. Howlett has been rounded on by hordes of readers, all keen to shoot her down (and to be fair, they probably have a point - her final comments towards her reviewer were childish and offensive). I imagine she's feeling pretty rotten right now though, in a sort of Oh-no-what-on-earth-did-I-do-last-night-kind-of-way (unless she really does have such enormous self belief in her writing that she continues to feel her response was justified). Surely she didn't ask for this.
So, I guess the take home message from this is that it's probably better to keep our mouth shut. Just because the right of reply is there, that doesn't mean we should use it. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and the internet means that everyone can now share theirs with the world. But, just because we can, that doesn't mean we should answer back. We want people to judge the work, not the author, and it has to speak for itself, no matter how tempting it might be to intervene. Wading into a public forum, and directly challenging a reviewer (who is, after all, entitled to their opinion) immediately removes the distance between the work and the author, and put the focus on the latter.
In any case, how can we expect to please everyone, all the time, and for everyone to get every little subtlety in our writing? We can't, and when people don't get it, don't like it, or both, we have to take it on the chin.
Or maybe not read reviews at all?
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