This week Emily from Head of Zeus wrote, “I put together a history sheet that provides some background to the world at the start of the [Eye of Isis] series. That way there’s no spoilers for those jumping in with Abduction of a Slave or starting at the beginning of the series. Also attached is a character sheet that highlights a few of our key players and how they are connected to Tetisheri.”
As below.
I include this news in a #thiswritinglife post because of how unusual it is. It may seem like a small thing, a publisher supporting a book with bookmarks and one-page histories and character lists. I mean, why wouldn’t they. Isn’t that their job? Don’t most manufacturers encourage sales with promotion?
But it isn’t usual, not in publishing, because today publishers have allowed promotion to default to their authors. (Those recipe cards for fry bread and salmon bouillabaisse? I did that. The Mutt sticker? That was me. Giveaways at events? Yep, I do those, too.) Most publishers use their publicity budgets to support the A list, the writers who hit the NYT Bestseller List every time, chiefly because publicists want to be able to point to the List and say “See? That’s my author! S/he’s on the List! I’m doing my job! Don’t fire me!” It’s understandable, but it is also one proximate cause of authors embracing self-publishing.
Meanwhile, back in Stabenowland, Head of Zeus is supporting the fourth Eye of Isis novel with bookmarks and timelines and casts of characters. These are physical objects which will end up in the hands of fans, and fans are a writer’s raison d’etre. It’s a much more effective use of publisher resource than an ad in the NYT Book Review.
Because it’s all about the community, folks. Acknowledge the members of your community, nourish them, salute them, thank them, and if your publisher does something like this for your book lose no time in trumpeting it all over the place.
But tell them first. I did.
The fourth Eye of Isis novel, publishing in January 2025 and launching from the Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale, Arizona, on January 25th. See you there! Swag in hand.
