signing books is harder than it looks
I have to open by thanking you all for your responses to my last post. A number of you sent me such kind messages of encouragement and positivity, and while I wasn’t expecting it, I so appreciated them. I think most of us lurk silently on social media/newsletter platforms (I 100% do!), partly because we’re busy but also because we don’t want to come off as a nuisance to a total stranger. I just want to say, for the record, I love chatting with, receiving messages from, and learning about all of you. So keep those notes coming! They don’t even have to include compliments about my writing. 😉 You folks really know how to pick a girl up, so thank you again.
(And while we’re on the topic, The Hitchcock Hotel recently received a second trade review. This one was starred and very positive, proving my point about art being subjective!)
UK proofs
I have another stunning proof to share with you. Behold: UK proofs of THE HITCHCOCK HOTEL! (Reminder: a proof is an unfinished version of the book that goes out to key early readers, including booksellers, critics, social media influencers, etc. When I say unfinished, I just mean it hasn’t been professionally proofread.) This cover is different than the version you will eventually find on shelves, which I’ve found to be more common in the UK—whereas the US mostly seems to use the final hardcover cover for their proofs as well. I love the hotel key detailing and the “GRAND OPENING” copy.
The signed page you see in the first photo above is called a tip-in. My UK publisher sent me a stack of them, I signed them all, and now they’re back on their way to the UK printer, who will cut them down to size and put them inside a limited number of hardcover books.
[To be honest, I’m baffled whenever I’m asked to sign anything. What a crazy dreamworld I’ve been living in these past few years. All because of you folks. Have I thanked you recently for reading my books? THANK YOU SO MUCH.]
A quick aside
I can still remember the first time I sat at a signing table. I was at the Henley Literary Festival in the summer of 2019, doing an “artists in conversation” panel with two other authors on a boat (!). Afterward, the organizers asked us to stay and sign proofs. This was one of those well-oiled machines where the staff had asked each attendee in line their name and how to spell it, then stuck a sticky note with said name on the cover of the book they wanted signed, so we authors could sign quickly when the attendee approached.
Despite this very helpful gesture, I struggled then—and still do—to sign books and make small talk at the same time. As you will see below, before my debut came out, I signed an enormous stack of tip-ins. Ever the overachiever, I had decided to include a brief note in addition to my signature. Just a quick “happy reading.” Nothing fancy.
As soon as I set marker to paper, I randomly began worrying I would get too into a rhythm and write “happy birthday” by mistake. I don’t know how many pages into signing I was before it finally happened, as you can see in the photo on the right below. I did my best to change the “b” to an “r,” but I still feel bad for the person who received this copy. Not to worry—with this new batch of tip-ins for THE HITCHCOCK HOTEL, I stuck to my basic signature and managed to spell my own name right every single time.
Anyway, these new signed first editions will be available for UK readers at Goldsboro Books, who have been so supportive of me over my five (!) years in publishing. If you’ll permit me another brief digression so I can gush over them a bit longer…
First off, Goldsboro hosted my debut launch party for The Recovery of Rose Gold1 on March 5, 2020, mere days before the world shut down due to COVID and, consequently, the rest of my launch events worldwide were cancelled. I’m still so grateful I was able to have that single night of celebration with my family, friends, and publishing team.
Goldsboro also invited me into the store in both 2020 and 2022 to sign stock for my first two book launches—much easier to do when I was living in London and just a Tube ride away.
I’m grateful to every platform that sells my books, but I want to especially highlight indie bookstores. They are tireless champions of authors and deserve more recognition than they get. When you can, I encourage you to buy local! (And let’s be honest, most of us have such a towering TBR stack that we don’t *need* 24-48-hour shipping on the new book we want.) If you don’t have a favorite indie, I suggest ordering from Bookshop.org, which also benefits local bookstores.
More free books!
My publishers have continued their generosity with two more giveaways for THE HITCHCOCK HOTEL. I like to picture them as an army of Oprahs: “You get a book and you get a book and…!”
Check out the contests below:
Can you believe the company I’m in here? I thought about creating a fake email address so I could enter this giveaway myself without my publisher knowing it was me, but have decided instead, out of the goodness of my heart, to share it with you all.
Enter here now through 7/30 (today!). US residents only.
We also have another Goodreads giveaway, this time for US readers. Thirty readers will win an early hardcover copy of HH.
Enter here now through August 15. US residents only.
That’s all I have for you this time. I can’t believe THE HITCHCOCK HOTEL hits shelves in less than two months!
Cheers,
Since I get asked every time, The Recovery of Rose Gold is the UK title. In the US/Canada, it’s called Darling Rose Gold. They’re the same book. One is not a sequel to the other.