A Look Behind the Scenes
I thought I’d depart from the usual subject matter to offer a glimpse into the life of an unknown writer who, against all odds, is striving to promote his book.
Here’s some of what I’ve been doing these last few days (not counting the efforts to keep my employer satisfied, my kids on the straight and narrow, and the sounds of disapproval from my spouse at no more than a low rumble).
- Preparing for a radio interview Tuesday morning
- Making a pitch to another radio outlet for an appearance on that show
- Offering a copy of my book to a new reviewer
- Contacting an autism researcher to comment on a presentation he’s making at a conference
- Exchanging emails with another autism researcher and sending him a copy of my book, just as an expression of gratitude for the important work he’s doing
- Critiquing a writer friend’s draft short story
This evening I look forward to returning to the book I’m currently reading for pleasure, John Scalzi’s Agent to the Stars. I read something else by Scalzi several years ago. My impression was that the idea behind that book was clever but the writing was uninspired. Based on that, I didn’t expect too much from this one, but still wanted to see what he would do with the subject: Friendly aliens have hired a publicist to help them make a good impression when they introduce themselves to Earthlings. Before proceeding, they need some help overcoming a negative: Briefly, they smell bad.
I identified with the aliens’ problem, since I am trying to present What About the Boy? in the best possible light. No, you will not find me saying that it stinks! Quite to the contrary, it’s the best and most important thing I have ever written. But who am I? The world doesn’t know, doesn’t particularly care, and that’s a major hurdle for anybody who has something to say.
Anyway, the first several pages of Scalzi’s book have been a very pleasant surprise. I read a lot but seldom get my hands on something that’s funny. I’m very appreciative when I do, because laughter is healthy—even when it causes me to wake up a sleeping spouse, who then expresses the disapproval alluded to above.
If you like to read—and I hope you do, because this site is as much about a literary effort as it is about the campaign to address a kid’s disability—then I’d be interested in knowing what kind of books you turn to for relaxation.
Tags: promotion, reading, What About the Boy?
24. October 2011 at 03:35
Steve,
I can relate to most of what you write above. I’m trying to do it all as well. I read to relax/escape/be thrilled, awed, depressed, frightened, etc., and usually have two things going at the same time in my Kindle. Currently I’m reading Abuse of Power by Michael Savage. Not bad, but I don’t know how it compares to other thrillers, because I seldom read in that genre. I recently finished a book I mostly enjoyed, History is a Lie, by Erich Von Daniken (hope I spelled that right.) Funny, this ties into your current read. One of the things Daniken posits is that we (humanity) are essentially a breeding experiment and zoo or wild animal park for ETs. I have no credentials in anthropology or history, and so for me it’s a guilty pleasure, one I’d be ill equipped to defend, but at the core there’s something to it that has that proverbial ‘whiff of truth.’ This is not to discount God, but Daniken maintains that the ‘gods’ that populate the bible and other ancient books were really alien visitors.
Anyway, somewhere in the book he states that they’ll make a grand return, but there may still be some lurkers here enjoying the alien equivalent of a safari or a anthropological field trip. Why am I going on… Oh, he thinks they really will have to put a lot of thought and creativity into how they ‘spring this’ bit of news to us when they finally emerge or arrive from the skies.
Well, almost bed time.
Later!