Publishing Companies--Interview

I love to read. I am addicted to reading.  The thrill of getting the next book in a series or just a new book period is a rush!  It is seriously an addiction.  There is nothing like reading a wonderful book!  Of course, when you read a great book, you want to share it with everyone!  That is one of the perks of having a book blog!  I can ramble on about a book and I don't have to worry about looking at someone who is bored about what I am saying.  I have been fortunate enough to work with some great publishing companies as well.  At first, I was scared to approach them.  They are the head honchos of my addiction!  They are the ones who decide if I am going to have a new book soon in my hands!  

Well, have you ever wondered what really goes on in the publishing world?  Yes, there are actual people who work at the companies, not robots! They have feelings and minds as well.  I decided to do a short interview with one of my contact friends from Sourcebooks, Inc.  Danielle is a wonderful person to chat with and she has done a wonderful job of feeding my addiction of book lust.  She was kind enough to let me question her so that I could share with you a little bit about the other side of the book world and to prove to you that they are wonderful people!  THANK YOU DANIELLE!!!!!  Let's get started!

1. First off, thank you for being on My Overstuffed Bookshelf! Can you tell us a little about yourself?
   
   Thanks for having me! I work the lead publicist for romance fiction, women’s fiction and historical fiction at Sourcebooks, Inc. We’re an independent publisher based outside of Chicago. I was an English major/French minor at Bradley University, still live in the suburbs of Chicago, am an avid reader of all genres and fancy myself a baker (my friends  had to start telling me to stop baking things so they don’t get fat!)
2.  I am a fly in your office. What do I see in the daily life of Danielle at work?
   
   You would probably just see me sitting at a cubicle with frequent coffee and tea breaks and a whole lot of post-it notes! Literally everything I do is on my computer—from research to contacting the media… I do spend some time reading the books I’m promoting, but that’s only when I have time. A lot of what I do is pitching books to various reviewers (print and online), coordinating blog tours, helping author set up store events, writing press materials and of course, keep up to date with current events (you know never know what might be a good hook!). I also work very closely with other departments, so we’re all on the same page about initiatives for certain titles, and that we’re all informed about what’s going on in the company.
3. Has working with book review blogger's helped with book promotions?
   Definitely! I truly think that book bloggers and review websites are the driving force behind a lot of the success of so many books in the marketplace today. At Sourcebooks, we actually use the reviews from book bloggers on many of our book covers as blurbs! What’s so great about the growing online community for books is that these aren’t just reviewers—these are also readers and people who buy books regularly. I love the sense of comradery that there is among the book blogging community—it’s like one giant book club!
   
   I also love my part in this, too; bringing awareness of new authors (whether debut or new-to-you) to a group of readers. Book bloggers have really helped develop the careers of so many Sourcebooks authors, many of who we now have multiple releases from, and who continue to grow and develop as writers. It’s an awesome feeling when a blogger send me an email saying “PLEASE tell me you have a review copy of so-in-so’s book left for me to review! I love this author and I can’t wait to read this one.” I know that feeling of anticipating a book coming out, and it’s fun to share that with the book bloggers out there.
   
   
4. What are the guidelines for submitting books to Sourcebooks?
   As a publicist, I actually have very little to do with the editorial process! But there are a few different ways to submit books—all depending on what kind of book you’re interested in pitching and we have guidelines for the following categories up on our website:

-          General Fiction and Non-fiction

-          Romance Fiction

-          Children’s

-          YA/Older Middle Grade

5. With all the new books that have been coming out, do you think that the print books are going to survive the ebook popularity?
   
   Personally, I think there is nothing that can compare to the feeling of opening a book and turning the pages—it’s one of my favorite things in the world! But I 100% understand the organizational and environmental appeal of ebooks! Additionally, with products coming out like the iPad and developments with the ereaders already available, I know that enhanced content for books (and subsequently newspapers and magazines) will continue to grow and wow us all with what can be done from a technological standpoint. I think there are people who LOVE ebooks and have started only reading them, and I think there are people who swear by the printed page. I think (and hope!) that both digital and print books will be able to live in harmony in the future!
   
   
6. A few personal favorites of yours:
   Author: Every single Sourcebooks Author :-) Oh my—there’s now way to list just one! I love Jane Austen for her poignancy, JRR Tolkien for his world-building, Virginia Woolf for her timelessness, Edith Wharton, Charles Dickens and Vladimir Nabokov both for their social commentary… more recently Joyce Carol Oates for her transcendence, Toni Morrison for her courage, Nick Hornby for his humor, Zadie Smith for her effervescence,  Neil Gaiman for his wit… I could go on for hours… really.
   Book: I honestly can’t choose just one again, but one of the books that I had a very profound experience with was Beloved by Toni Morrison. I felt every single word she wrote. And another book I read in one sitting was Born in Fire by Nora Roberts—that book was seriously on fire!
   Genre: I think, from my list of authors and books, you’ll see that I read just about everything! I also love reading plays and poetry and some non-fiction, too. 

Again, thank you so much Daneille and thank you for giving us an inside look at the publishing side of books. It was a pleasure having you here and if you have any questions for Danielle, just post them in the comment section.