Working Titlez

The "Rock Star" of Writing, author Neil Gaiman (photo by Andrew Taylor)

The annual Vegas Valley Book Festival just concluded. Held for the first time at the Historic Fifth Street School, the new venue helped contribute to the “best yet” festival. What a whirlwind of activities devoted to the celebration of reading and writing! There was something for everyone from the Target Children’s Book Fest to a plethora of programming for aficionados of graphic novels and comic books. The craft of writing was furthered with workshops on everything from character development and point of view to authenticating crime stories. Over eighty individual authors had sales tables and poets performed in the courtyard. Stephens Press was well represented with our own sales area and several of our authors gave presentations in the auditorium. Las Vegas Review-Journal entertainment columnist Mike Weatherford interviewed celebrity columnist Norm Clarke, whose newest book, Vegas Confidential: Sinsational Celebrity Tales debuted at the festival, and Norm didn’t disappoint, shaing some “scoops” with the audience that hadn’t hit the media yet. Next up, author and editor Geoff Schumacher (Howard Hughes: Politics, Paranoia & Palace Intrigue) interviewed Laraine Russo Harper, author of Legal Tender: True Tales of a Brothel Madam. Laraine shared her experiences running a legal brothel with plenty of wit and funny stories. Damn the Rejections, Full Speed Ahead: The Bumpy Road to Getting Published author Maralys Wills took the stage along with yours truly. The audience asked many questions following the tips presented for improving manuscripts and seeking publication. The festival was “bookended” by a pair of star authors. The opening keynote, Neil Gaiman drew a capacity crowd of fans for his body of work (Mirrormask, Stardust, American Gods, and more). The Brit-born author gave a long and rambling talk about modern culture, authors who’ve influenced him and his writing, and read from The Graveyard, his newest title. Pulizer Prize winner (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union) Michael Chabon gave the closing keynote address. His essay-like talk covered a lot of territory from Legos to the uber-insulated life our children live today. Interestingly, both Gaiman and Chabon talked about the “crap” their children read — or that they read as children — and observed that while it may not have been literature, it added to their perceptions and body of knowledge. Or, as Neil put it, “great stuff can be grown in crap”. Key sponsors incude the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the City of Las Vegas, the Clark County Library, and Nevada Humanities. It takes a lot of people and a lot of support to pull off such a successful event. I’m heartened and encouraged to see this annual event really come into its own.

The most gratifying part of my role as publisher is placing the first copy of a brand-new book in the author’s hands. I sometimes think I should wrap it in a receiving blanket, so akin it is to presenting a new baby to the parents. Every author’s journey from the zygote of an idea to the smell of fresh ink in a newly bound book is a long one. The gestation can be filled with endless nights of writing and rewriting, doubts, frustrations, dead-end paths along with “a-ha” moments of clarity, writing “in the groove” when the words flow faster than your fingers can type them and the giddiness of passing the 50,000 words mark.

Occasionally, one of our authors lives elsewhere and I don’t get to do the presentation honors in person. Richard Menzies documented the receipt of the first copies of his book Passing Through and sent it to me:

This picture was shot on what was no doubt the highest (and most terrifying) point in my long so-called career. I’d worked my way up from newspapers to magazines and now here at last came the thing that I had dreamt about my entire life: a book with my name on it! I had been out for my daily morning dog walk, and when I returned, there was a box sitting on my doorstep. From Hong Kong, via Las Vegas. Up until that point I had yet to meet in person my publisher, my editor, my book designer–not even A.D.Hopkins, my contact at the Review-Journal who had graciously championed my manuscript at a time when others were eagerly searching for the self-addressed, stamped return envelope!

The entire thing had been put together electronically. Me, sitting at my computer terminal in Utah, Carolyn at hers in Nevada, Sue at hers in Colorado, the mysterious Sandy Knauke at a still undisclosed location. (Prudent publishers, like realtors negotiating contracts between buyers and sellers, always take care that at no time a writer and his editor are in the same room at the same time.) Text and photos had been transmitted electronically to a printing press in China. The finished product had been shipped on a slow boat across the Pacific to Los Angeles, thence by rail car to Las Vegas. Finally, half a dozen books were sent to the author via United Parcel Service.

For the next several hours, I paced the floor, too frightened to open the box. Over the years, I’ve spent countless hours in the darkroom, straining to craft beautiful photographs–only to see them muddied up and murdered by clueless pressmen. I’d spent an entire summer proofreading the text, and now what did I see? TWO TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS ON THE BOX ALONE!

Finally, I summoned the courage to open the box. To my infinite relief, the book was even nicer than I had envisioned. Much nicer, in fact! To this day people continue to compliment me on the layout, the typography, the first rate photo reproduction. I had nothing to do with any of that, of course, but still I take all the credit. Because–what the hey? My name’s on the cover!

Too, just like children, authors will find their book leads them to unexpected places, opportunities and adventures. Richard’s Passing Through is now the subject of a PBS documentary that will air November 20, 2008. The book also received the Bronze Award for travel book of the year from Foreword magazine and was a finalist for the Independent Publishers regional non-fiction book of the year.