Uncorrected Proofs - and their secrets...

The Crown of Embers

I got a healthy stack of YA galleys from my local indie, Park Road Books, and Rae Carson's new one was in the pile. *hops up and down* It comes out in September. :)

I read it yesterday, in one sitting. I<3 fantasy!

I'm not going to review it. I'm going to pass my gently used copy along to the person who can tell me the name of the guy I think Elisa should marry. If you read Girl of Fire and Thorns, you'll know. If you don't remember, here's a big hint:

In the sequel to the acclaimed The Girl of Fire and Thorns, a seventeen-year-old princess turned war queen faces sorcery, adventure, untold power, and romance as she fulfills her epic destiny.

Elisa is the hero of her country. She led her people to victory against a terrifying enemy, and now she is their queen. But she is only seventeen years old. Her rivals may have simply retreated, choosing stealth over battle. And no one within her court trusts her-except Hector, the commander of the royal guard, and her companions. As the country begins to crumble beneath her and her enemies emerge from the shadows, Elisa will take another journey. With a one-eyed warrior, a loyal friend, an enemy defector, and the man she is falling in love with, Elisa crosses the ocean in search of the perilous, uncharted, and mythical source of the Godstone's power. That is not all she finds. A breathtaking, romantic, and dangerous second volume in the Fire and Thorns trilogy.

Leave me a comment with your email address.

If you haven't read Rae Carson yet, just know she's like a Kristin Cashore/Tamora Pierce/Robin McKinley, ie: awesome fantasy writer!

So, the secret of an uncorrected proof:

On the back of each galley there's a bulleted list about the National Marketing Campaign.

Everyone talks about a "National Marketing Campaign" like we aspiring writers should know exactly what it means. Did you nod your head? I used to nod my head. I sort of understood the concept: What is the publishing house going to do for my book?

All the while, I really thought publishing houses didn't support author marketing anymore, and the 'marketing plan' was a compilation of my efforts and their prêt-à-porter house platform. I was right, however...You know how they tell us to be specific? Well, that's the secret I learned.

"Online consumer advertising campaign" is not "Featured title on (insert site here)".

I'm guessing the more specific "featured title" is the one where the publisher is definitely laying out some money. The vague "online campaign" seems more like "if we get good feedback from your galley release, then we might think about spending some money." And what exactly does "extensive" mean?

Maybe you knew all this already, but it's what I learned today. :)

Now. If I could just get someone to offer me one of those "nice deals".