Robbi was searching on the Chronicle Books site the other day, looking for a jpeg of the cover of our book. While there, she happened to glance down at the sidebar and saw exactly what she was looking for—the cover of our book! It was the thumbnail illustration for a blog post. About…our book!
Further investigation revealed that the Chronicle publisher (that’s the head honcho) had chosen to feature Ten Thousand Stories as her selection for “With the Publisher’s Compliments: Advance o’ the Week.” Apparently, every week she (her name is Christine Carswell) selects one upcoming Chronicle book that, in her words, “especially reflects the collaboration, the spirit, creativity, and value we hold so dear.”
Apparently, the “Advance o’ the Week” is placed on display next to the elevator in the Chronicle lobby for all to admire as they come and go. Our editor Bridget sent us this photo, that we might admire for ourselves.
That handwritten note at the base of the book? A note from Christine with her thoughts on the book.
I’m sure you’re dying for a closer look:
My brain is doing somersaults! Open this book and its quadripartite pages will remind you of those Exquisite Corpse games you played as a kid. But look! It’s pictures AND words! Flick back and forth to compose 10,000 fully illustrated stories! Stories full of intrigue, drama, and questionable morals. I worry about the creators’ long nights in a barn somewhere in Maryland; really, I do. And I also thank them – and Bridget, Kristen, Erin, and Lia (editor, designer, production lead, and managing editor, respectively, on the creative team for Ten Thousand Stories) – for this definitely-not-for-kids book. Talk about spirit, creativity, and value (in this case, for money)! Ten thousand stories = 0.002 cents per story per day for over 27 years (including leap years) – and a journey that can be taken only through the magic of the printed book.
And there you have it: evidence that at least one person likes our book. And if we had to choose one person to impress, the publisher at Chronicle isn’t such a bad option.
Let’s just hope that others share her enthusiasm come September 24.
If your enthusiasm has reached a fever pitch and you haven’t yet pre-ordered your copy, here’s the link.
Sweet! If only they’d placed it next to the bathrooms instead of Mr. otis’ vertical as-/descent machine, you’d REALLY have seen a bump in sales. Plus, bonus points for her use of “quadripartite,” an adjective that’s tougher to get out of the holster than most. Saw Chronicle’s “Beer Makes Daddy Strong” at my cousins’ house recently & recommended they give IdiotsBooks a look if that’s their cup o’ tea. Recommended you to several other kindred reader/writer/parent types lately, too, so if you got three (3) more hits than usual this month & no add’l sales, that was me. You’re welcome.
And “higher” math in the plug, too!
Zowie!
Congratulations.
Stu – thank you, sir. We’ll count every non-sale from here on out as one of yours. Also: we once were placed right next to the rest rooms at a book fair and never saw so many people seem so delighted to see us, only to scurry right on past. It was a bit tough, emotionally.
That’s high praise indeed. Congrats. And I like your book, too, so that brings you up to at least two people. I suspect there may be a few others out there.
Congrats!!!
What a terrific tribute! I love the book too. In fact, I think mine is one of the antique versions which must be worth more by the day, right?
I got so distracted yesterday by the link to pre-order that I never told you how happy I am for the Idiots!
Now I want to work with people who use the word “quadripartite”. Since I work at home alone, I guess I’ll have to start saying it to myself or to the dog.
Congratulations on everything but especially on attracting the fond attentions of a person who uses quadripartite in her descriptions of books and also who accounts for leap years when amortizing book values. Only amazing things can come of this.