Giving Birth

With the onset of spring comes the time Mother Nature, in all her infinite wisdom, oversees an onslaught of new babies coming forth from the animal kingdom. Mother Publishing, taking a cue from MN, is doing the same thing, as a slew of new books--first books--are set to be born in the next few months, and it's looking like a doozy of schedule. Please note, aspiring authors, that "first books" touted by New York publishers are rarely first books. I will comment on this more below.

But let's get started. First off, released today, is the book The Next Big Thing, by author Johanna Edwards.

Edwards' "first" novel is about a plus-size heroine who goes on a reality show called "From Fat to Fabulous" to try and win over her fat-phobe Internet boyfriend. Edwards book has already made a splash, with a great review in US Weekly, and a place on some bestseller lists across the nation. I must admit I am incredibly encouraged to see this trend, originally set by author Jennifer Weiner, featuring heroines who most closely mirror the actual sizes worn by America's women. While I haven't read Johanna's book yet, it is on my TBR pile. Hell, it's on my MBR pile--MUST BE READ.

Next up, mid-April, is the "first" book gods in Alabama, by author Joshilyn Jackson. This book is reviewed in today's edition of ReadersRoom.com, and it's a powerful debut. I've mentioned it before, but it's worth saying again. Jackson received incredible backing from Warner, pretty much unwarranted for an unknown author who has not bared her breasts repeatedly in national media. Nevertheless, I suspect the gamble will pay off, because it is an awesome story. You can read my impression of it here.

Coming in May we can expect the spectacularly-titled The Bitch Posse, another "first" book that is getting all kinds of press play in all kinds of places. Like Johanna Edwards, and Joshilyn Jackson, Martha O'Conner is an extremely nice, extremely talented writer. Martha's book has received some great advance publicity and buzz, and I am really looking forward to reading it. One of her biggest supporters is in the UK.

From Martha's blog:

The scoop~Mark Farley is a bookseller and front-of-store manager at Waterstone's in Notting Hill Gate in London. He writes an interesting blog about his experiences as an author and "bookseller to the stars" (I guess a lot of movie stars visit his store... you know, it's "Notting Hill" and all...)

Anyway, Mark read an ARC of my novel and reviewed it on his site! (It's called The Bitch Goddess Notebook (Orion, May) in the UK.)

Mark called her book "stuck up middle finger punk fiction." That, my friends, is a quote you could not pay money for.

All three have them are also authors who blog, and blog very well. One thing I've noticed is that blogging authors seem, well, more human, and less Stephen-Kingish. No offense to Master King, but his life seems surreal. Somehow, you can believe that authors who blog also change diapers, wash dishes, and chauffer kids to soccer games and dance classes.

Now, as to the "first" book issue: Unpublished authors take heart. I happen to know for a fact that neither Martha's or Joss's books are actually FIRST books. They are just the first books the author sold to New York. We are actually talking three, four, five and sometimes even SIX times writing an entire novel before selling one.

Consider this: I have two books currently for sale, although one will not be available for much longer (that one being SisterWife). I have bothWives and Sisters, and SisterWife available for sale on my Web site. Both are available through Amazon. The similarities end there. You can't get SW anywhere else, really, because it was published with a small publisher using POD technology, in a contract that expires this month. Bookstores don't care much for that (POD-published books), although that's a discussion for another blog.

But when people come to my site they HAVE to be confused. Or think I haven't an ounce of creativity in my body. The two books are not the same, despite the similar titles. It gets more confusing when you realize that the October 2004 book from St. Martin's, W&S, emphatically claims to be my first book.

People are left wondering if SisterWife is the version available only in Utah, on Tuesday evenings, after a full moon, when the potato salad and jello is consumed, and the residents are hopped up on ice cream. It's not. SW was written and published before W&S was sold. When SM bought it, the title was changed. Not only was the title changed, but it became something very similar to SisterWife, which was already under contract to Zumaya Publishing. So I couldn't exactly change THAT title, now, could I?

I promise I am not title- and creativity-challenged. However, given the new trend for profanity in titles (See gods in Alabama and The Bitch Posse above), and my other titles, I have posed THIS interesting question to agent Jeff Kleinman, who I promise will be my guest on this blog within the next two weeks. SHOULD I call my next book Wives and Bitches? Stay tuned for his answer to this pressing question, as well as a few others that are probably a lot more relevant and interesting.