The Cover, the Store, and Other Book Things
Here it is.
I was surprised to find that publishers consider the cover of a book to be marketing content, not editorial content. Even a wonderful publisher like Eerdmans, that is privately owned and famous for publishing books that they love and believe in, must consider the reality that they want people to pick up the book and take a look at it. The bottom line is the publisher makes the final decisions about the cover.
I kept wondering when someone would contact me to ask about the cover, but no one ever did. They were probably delighted that I wasn’t calling them and pushing my way into the process. It was kind of funny. When I finally sent an email inquiry as to when work on the cover would begin, my editor told me that the cover was done.
It’s always an interesting experience the first time you get involved in a new and complex process with lots of people and all sorts of rules and understandings. I think that authors who want some say in their cover design must speak up and let that be known. If you stay silent they assume you're cool with them handling things.
In this case I think it is good that I wasn’t involved. I wouldn’t have liked the idea of a keyboard and probably would have pushed for something “softer,” for lack of a better word. But I like it just fine. It reflects a reality about my writing that perhaps I don't dwell on, but is a reality nonetheless. I'm a blogger. I write in the computer world. If there is any kind of surprising and new community at Real Live Preacher - and I think there is - then we are all sitting at keyboards interacting with one another. You're sitting in front of one right now.
So yeah, I like the cover a lot. It took me a day of thinking about it, but I like it. It fits.
The other thing I want to talk to you about
Now let's talk about a subject that has become very difficult for me to think about. Signing books.
It wasn't long after I joyfully announced that I had landed a book deal that someone sent me an email and asked if I would mind signing her book.
Sign the book? Hmm. I had never considered that before. The idea made me uncomfortable, so I replied to her email, but ignored the part where she asked about signing the book. I just pretended she never asked. That’s a very old and destructive habit I have, by the way. Sometimes I just ignore things I don’t want to deal with and hope they go away.
Occasionally it works, which is tragic because it reinforces the behavior.
Since then a lot of people have written and asked the same question. Each time I pretended they didn't ask. I replied to their emails nicely and never even acknowledged that the question had been asked. I guess I hoped this whole issue would just go away.
Then Elizabeth, the woman who runs Viva Books which is my favorite bookstore in the whole world, asked if I would do a book signing at the store. Once again I felt uncomfortable, but this time we were talking on the phone and not answering her would have been very rude. So I said something like, "Well, I don't know. I really don't like the way that would feel. Maybe we could talk about it later."
You know the kind of stuff you say when you just want to put off saying anything, and you hope maybe the whole thing will go away.
But Elizabeth has been in the book business for many years. She is a good and wise friend. She talked to me and helped me come to understand that when people ask you to sign a copy of your book, it's a way of expressing friendship. It means, "I don't just read what you write. I feel like we are friends, and this would be meaningful to me."
The truth is, I'm the only one who was making a big deal about this whole business of signing books. No one else was taking it very seriously at all.
When someone asks you to sign their copy of your book, you can only do one of two things. Well, I guess you could do hundreds of things including pushing them to the ground and running away, but there are only two reasonable responses.
You can say no, and you will sound like a jerk even though you are saying no because you are embarrased. And then you will be obliged to explain why you don't sign books. And since I really don't know why a person would refuse such a nice and reasonable request, I don't know how I would explain not signing a book.
If you say no, you are the one who is making a big deal out of something that is really a very small thing.
Or you can simply say thank you, sign the book, and go on about your business. If you are a person like me who is not famous, or a celebrity, or anything like that, the signing of the book is just a friendly gesture and will be forgotten quickly. In a month or two the book will become old news, and you can laugh with your friends about how you signed books once upon a time.
So that's what I'm going to do. I’m going to sign books if asked. I’m embarrassed, but it seems like the thing to do.
Viva Books in San Antonio
Finally, I would like very much to encourage you to support a wonderful local bookstore here in San Antonio. I love Viva. For two years I wrote sermons and other things at the little table upstairs, right by the old desk that no one ever uses and very close to the rack of clerical shirts where I first saw the denim priest shirt that I now own. I was there so often that people sometimes thought I was an employee and would ask me questions. Sometimes I would pretend to be an employee and help them find their book.
If you plan on purchasing a copy of my book, I thank you and say, “Why not buy it at Viva?” Amazon.com has all the business they can handle anyway. If you click on the link below, you’ll be taken to the Viva website where you can purchase "RealLivePreacher.com." If you buy through Viva, I'll be happy to sign a copy if you like. Please be aware that if you ask for a signed copy, it might take a few days longer to ship it to you.
Viva has ordered a good number of copies, but pre-ordering will insure that you get yours quickly. They will be tracking the number of pre-purchases and will adjust their final book order as needed.
We'll have detailed instructions online soon, but Elizabeth says that you can request a signed copy by putting that request in the comment section during purchase.
The book has been heavy on my mind for over a year now. It feels good to be almost done. Thank you for standing watch with me while it happened.
Click here to purchase an advance copy of RealLivePreacher.com from Viva
peace,
rlp
8:56:26 AM 
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