The Taiwanese Love Me

It's like Christmas all over again.

Yesterday I arrived home to find a box full of books from my publisher (Ten Speed Press/Random House). The cool part? The books were all the foreign editions of Who Moved My Mouse? A Self-Help Book For Cats (Who Don't Need Any Help). Just for the record, seeing what the words you wrote look like translated into another lanugage is a hoot. I'm loving the look of my author profile in what I think is Chinese? The only big one still missing is Russia. Must track down the Russian version of my book! 

I'm going to go curl up with a Taiwanese dictionary and work my way through some cat humor.

Cheers,

Dena

Vegetarian Cookbooks From Ten Speed Press

Oh my God. Totally unexpected benefit of being an author published with Ten Speed Press/Random House? When I mentioned in an e-mail to my editor last month that I was going to Ashville to take a vegan soup making class, she offered to send me a couple of Ten Speed's newest cookbooks. A few days later I got a package in the mail with the two books you see below.

SO HAPPY. Blair calls it my cookbook porn. I loooove flipping through cookbooks, picturing all the meals I'll make. I've got about 20 recipies marked in each book to try. Kale Salad with Toasted Coconut & Sesame Oil and Panzanella (grilled tofu, sunflower sprouts, peanut butter, oven-roasted tomatoes) from Super Natural Every Day and Saffron Ravioli with Wild Mushrooms and Cashew Cheese from Candle 79. 

Ready for Thanksgiving to end--Blair won't let me fool around with the traditional dishes--so I can start cooking! 

Psst... Wanna Buy A Cat Book?

The dining room table, also known as "Marketing Headquarters"I am deep into marketing for Who Moved My Mouse and by marketing I mean I am sending out postcards night and day. Our local post office has volunteered to rename itself the DENA HARRIS POST OFFICE. Stamp prices will remain at their current prices because I am single-handedly buying enough stamps to support a nationwide price moratorium. I dream of sticky labels in my sleep. It's a lot. 

But is it worth it? That's the big unknown. I've seen my Amazon rating bounce around from the 2 millions to the 50,000's and everywhere in between, but that can often be the result of as little as three book sales at once. The Random House page where the book is listed is also at aMy author copies have arrived! higher ranking, which I'm hoping means indie bookstores are ordering the book. The more pre-orders I get, the more my publisher likes me and will ask me to write another book. Buy the book! Buy the book! Buy the book! =) 

There's no turning back. I have 1500 more postcards sitting on my table that need to find a home. I'm currently investigating whether or not it's worth it to mail out to public libraries or if what everyone gets from me for Christmas this year is a postcard. (Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus and he loves cats.) 

On a high note, my publicity rep in the UK e-mailed to say that WMMM will be appearing in part in the Daily Express, a national paper and she is lining up a writing assignment for me with a national UK cat magazine. Fun! 

Let's not forget who the star is, okay? How 'bout some too-nah love?Today is more postcards and labels and stamps... oh my! It's kind of fun in a draining, what-have-I-gotten-myself-into kind of way. 

I'd take a day off, but I wouldn't want the people at the post office to worry.

Cheers,

Dena

"Who Moved My Mouse?" Coming Soon To A Bookstore Near You...

Sorry to be blog-silent for so long. I got back from Ohio and had an e-mail waiting from my editor at Ten Speed Press. We're on round two of revisions. Round one was the editor going through the book and making suggestions/comments. I was surprised (and quite happy) at how few revisions there were. I'd heard stories of books coming back with all but five words crossed out, asking for rewrites. I had tissues and Tylenol standing by but, thankfully, they weren't needed.

This round is all about the copy editing. And this copy editor is GOOD. Straightening up my prose right and left. Plus, she's a cat person, and had some helpful comments/suggestions on some of the text outside copy editing. 

It's hard to believe I'll have to wait until October for the finished product. The book seems to be just winging along. I've got sample pages for how the book will be laid out and I've been approving illustrations for over a month. The book is already listed on Amazon and on Random House's author page. 

This is it though. This week is my last chance to make any substantial revisions to the book, so I'm going through with a fine tooth comb. My writer friends have been there in spades for me, responding to my anxious e-mails about "which is the funnier cat litter joke" as though they had all the time in the world to spare. 

I'm surprisingly calm about the whole thing. The only thing that makes me ancy is thinking about all the publicity I need to stir up. I've got a mile-long to-do list when it comes to marketing and promotion and I'm at the point where I need to start making things happen. 

Got any great ideas for making a cat self-help book a bestseller? Send 'em my way!

Cheers,

Dena