Oh, that seems good, Allyson!

He had conviction, but apparently not a lot of finesse.

LOTS of conviction, by the sound of it. He's not the sort you want to cheer on with a perky, "Keep at it, bunky, and one day you'll succeed!" but you hate to see such determination go to waste.

edit: (If ever you see this guy in a fic/book somewhere, check for my name, then check for a credit. He's too good not to steal.)

We settled on a subtitle.

It works better without a subtitle.

The title is good and interesting. The subtitle is explainy and dilutes the impact.

Oh well. You like the cover though?

Maybe you could use a parenthetical like James Brown: "Funky President (People It's Bad!)"

My editor brought my concerns to the higher ups, and it was a no go.

I feel better that my editor saw my points and went to bat for me, and got them to drop more embarassing subtitles.

Now I'll be able to get my galleys, I think. It seems like a million years away, but Barnes & Noble will put put them on their tables in about 8 weeks.

Congrats, Allyson!

God, the events of Dana's trial are horrid, but I'm glad justice worked and they got this guy NOW. Dana, thank you for doing your job.

(I have to admit I was dorkily delighted when a week or so after trial, I got a letter from the judge, thanking me for my service. Yeah, it was a form letter. But the sig was real crappy ballpoint pen! I like the gesture.)

Oh! I totally want a letter.

My editor brought my concerns to the higher ups, and it was a no go.

Marketing will have its say.

Doesn't matter. It's your book, and your title and your cover and it's gonna to be displayed out on the tables at big stores.

And because you're a good and funny and interesting writer, it's going to do well.

Hey Allyson - how do people not you go about promoting this thing? I was thinking of writing one of the blogs I read (Boing-Boing?) and saying, "Hey, you should mention or review this book...." But then I thought it might work better if they had a review copy. Then I figured you and your publisher would need to send out review copies. Then I got confused....

Anyway, can I write some blogs and say, "You should review this book, and it's possible I could get you a review copy" or something?

Will the Vampire People Please Leave the Lobby?

And Other Unusual Stories from a Life Online

Excellent! I understand why they want a subtitle on it. Until you explained the whole deal recently, I always thought the geekdom subtitle was your idea. I never thought about it much. It was just there.

I like this new one much better though, and I'm glad you're happy with it, and that you have an editor who will go to bat for you. Congratulations for sticking to your guns.

I forgot to say, I asked the judge why we couldn't take notes. She said it was because if one or two people take notes, then the other people could rely on those people for their interpretation of events. If it had been a longer trial, she said she probably would have allowed it.