liz_scanlon

The marketing side of blogging? 
Not so much.

When my girls were little and I was doing freelance corporate copywriting, I coulda sold you swampland in Florida.
I wrote marketing collateral for IBM and it was fun, singing the praises of this or that service or software.

But this is different.
I flush a rather embarrassed pink everytime I mention the words "my" and "books" in the same sentence.
All the savvy lingo and salesmanship go right out the window.
So, please don't mind the clammy handshake and lack of eye contact as I introduce a week of blog posts about All the World, which will be on the shelves exactly 4 weeks from tomorrow. In anticipation of that I have lots to share with you.

**** Including -- A signed copy of the book from my own personal stash, mailed to you the DAY the books arrive at my house -- I promise! All you need to do is leave a comment here or on my facebook page or via email by this Friday, August 15th, and I'll enter you in the drawing!****

In the meantime, a little eye candy:

Here is the incredibly exquisite promotional package that my friends at Beach Lane and Simon & Schuster mailed out to various booksellers and librarians and such. It's a box with a full-size, full-color galley, a personal note from my editor along with the first-ever catalog of her new imprint, a chance to win a piece of Marla Frazee's original art, and even a shell and a few pieces of beach glass. When I saw it, I said, "Bestill my heart," and then I fainted. Or least I would have if my husband hadn't brought me that medicinal glass of champagne...





And then, a few weeks later, I opened the door to another package --
this one containing my very first bound copy of the book.
Allyn, my editor, really likes ritual. And ribbons. As you can see.
Of course I fainted again...







And since then, a few other people have seen All the World, too.

Here's how it was introduced to librarians at ALA in Chicago:




And here's what people see when they visit the Simon & Schuster's Children's Publishing Division in NY:




I hope you'll come back tomorrow when I plan to share what some folks think about the book so far...

And don't forgot! Leave me a little comment and I'll enter you in a drawing to win one of the very first books I hold in my grubby little hands. Well, I mean, they won't really be grubby. I'll wash up and send you a clean book. It'll be brand new and unsullied. Except that I'll sign it for you. Or your baby. Or your neighbor's baby. Or your dentist!!! Your call!