How to Make an Author Feel Special, Book Seller Division
Posted on September 5, 2006 Posted by John Scalzi 14 Comments
Sending him a congratulatory card and really excellent chocolates is a fine way to do it. I mean, really, how cool is that? I wish more book sellers would send me really excellent chocolate. Hint, hint.
(This is the book seller who was kind enough to pass along these good thoughts and chocolates, incidentally, and this is where you can get some of these chocolates for your own. They make their chocolates right there in the shop, and I’ll vouch for it being the good stuff. Yeah, chocolate from Kokomo, Indiana. Who knew? Well, now you do.)
Back to book writing for me. Yes, I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. If only the end of the tunnel would just stop moving.
Heh. I just got a huge bunch of flowers from my UK publisher congratulating me on the release of my new UK paperback.
There’s sure some nice people out there in the biz.
I bet if some monkeys hurling ssquee were runnign behind you, you’d find the end of the tunnel much quicker. But could you type while running from turd-chucking primates? Ask you prehensile overlord that one!!!
Ahem. Good one on the cohoclates. Bet they are nothing like Len Libby’s chocolates. But you’d never know since you;ll probably never come to the Northeast… heent heent.
Wow! I wish I was as drunk as my typing in the previous post would suggest. Sheesh…
New cheese board, jewelry, and now chocolae! Damn, if my wife hears about this she will kill me if I don’t become a published author. :)
See, the end of the tunnel only *looks* like it’s moving.
In fact, it’s actually like the speed of light. The closer you get to the end of the book, the more energy it requires to go further, until you finally reach the end and it requires infinite energy to type the last word.
You’re not helping.
Seriously! Don’t you want Scalzicce to finish the damn book?!
Around here, we always wonder if that light is really the end of the tunnel. Usually it’s the frenetic glow of the marketing department welding on more tunnel.
Well, John, could be worse. The light could be an oncoming train.
(in the voice of Martin Short from “Three Amigos”) Write. Write like the wind!
The folks at Don’s Books are so nice. They gave me some of their chocolates when I went there for my signing, and I inhaled them in practically one sitting.
You do not want to stand between Marjorie and chocolates. (grin)
Dr. Phil
One of the best managers I have ever had gave me a great tip years ago. I had a small team of a couple college students working for me. They needed to do about six hours of work a day, and after that I didn’t really care what they did. I stressed ‘making their numbers’ over and over and it was in one ear out the other.
My (great) manager said I should set a goal and take them out to lunch.
I set a weekly goal and told them I’d take them out to lunch on Friday if they met the goal. On friday I took them to a fairly modest all you can eat lunch buffet at an Italian restaurant.
We had about six more weeks left in the job, testing software, and I told them if they met their numbers and we made the end date I’d take them out to dinner.
Yeah, that money came out of my own pocket but it was well spent. We made all our numbers and I got a good reputation as working well with co-ops.
I guess what I am saying is that sometimes it doesn’t take much to make a person feel appreciated and nowadays we don’t do it enough.
Indiana has another good chocolatier: Ghyslain, in Union City. It’s the sort of thing I beg my parents to send out to the Northeast.
Not that you need more distractions at the moment.
Yeah, chocolate from Kokomo, Indiana. Who knew?
Hey, Indiana has a fine tradition of chocolate. The South Bend Chocolate Co. is well-known, and includes the wonderful Chocolate Cafe on Monument Circle in Indianapolis. Their dark chocolate hot chocolate is wonderful. The Mexican hot chocolate is an acquired taste, however.