A
little more than seven years ago, I began teaching with The Writers Circle, a regional New Jersey writing
community, in large part because of Michelle Cameron, an historical fiction
novelist and poet. Since then, we’ve become colleagues in so many ways, and
friends.
Please
welcome Michelle Cameron, whose newest novel launches today.
I’ve
been here before. Sort of.
My
first novel, The Fruit of Her Hands, was published by Simon &
Schuster’s Pocket Books, during the recession of 2009. My beloved editor was
let go three days before my launch, meaning I was then – using the term for
authors who experience this phenomenon all too often – orphaned.
No
editor means no advocate in the publishing house, so while I had the foresight to
hire a publicist who knew the Jewish reading market (my novel was a Jewish
historical) and who scheduled many events locally and further afield, I was
largely on my own.
The
book – a $25 hardcover – was a tough sell. People were hesitant to spend any
extra money in a recession, and even those who showed up to events and seemed
like the ideal appreciative audience, told me they’d wait for the paperback.
But the publisher decided my numbers weren’t strong
enough for a paperback.
Fast
forward eleven years.
In
that time, I’d written three novels. The first, based on the Babylonian Exile,
was completed during the long wait for Fruit to be published. I loved
the book; I still love the book. My agent did not. After a lukewarm attempt to
place it, it went back in my drawer. The second, based on Jewish emancipation
during the French Revolution, never really gelled. When I finally, reluctantly,
realized the story wasn’t strong enough, I put it aside.
The
third novel launches today.
Beyond the Ghetto Gates, a historical
novel set during Napoleon’s first Italian campaign when he liberated the Jews
from their restrictive ghettos, had a long slog to publication – an initially
enthusiastic agent who tried hard, some nice rejections from publishing houses
looking exclusively for the now-pervasive WWII novel. (The trend was for “contemporary
historicals,” a phrase that still makes me shake my head in disbelief.)
Finally,
I approached the hybrid publisher She Writes Press.
And I loved what they did with the book – the beautiful cover, the care and
attention to production values. After years of writing, revising, and trying to
get published, I wanted to give the novel the best possible chance to find its
audience.
From
the start, my promotional strategy was to secure synagogue events close to my
New Jersey home – hoping that by the time I reached the Jewish Book Council’s presentation to Jewish
organizations nationwide, there’d be enough buzz that I’d be one of the lucky
authors to be invited to present my novel further afield. (JBC covers airfare
and lodging for those authors.) I hired
two publicists – one who worked the media side and a second who by February was
doing a brilliant job, booking me for more than two dozen events during April,
May, and June.
I
was set. I was excited.
Then,
COVID-19 struck. And everything unraveled.
Now,
I know my problem is tiny in the face of this deadly pandemic. I’m home and my
family is healthy. I can continue to teach and work virtually. There’s enough stored
food in the house for weeks. I can walk outside without undue fear. I have so
much to be thankful for.
Still
– this stinks. I’ve postponed or canceled most events. Some may be rescheduled when
things return to normal. But I’m not naïve – I know some simply won’t. People
move on. Newer books always seem shinier, more appealing.
And
I realize this is what publishers have always worried about – sudden
catastrophes no one can anticipate or prevent that steal the spotlight from new
books. Julia Alvarez’s first novel in 14 years, Afterlife, is pubbing
today too. Just imagine how the folks at her publishers, Algonquin, must feel!
But
here’s where my bleak story turns positive. Through the generosity of fellow
authors and organizations, I’ve pivoted energetically toward social media,
accepting offers of video placement, podcasts, blog posts, interviews and live book
events on Zoom.
I
was featured in a recent virtual reading presented by Murphy Writing of Stockton University and my first chapter will soon be read
aloud online (see link below). My publisher is dramatically boosting one book a
day for all April releases – my day is April 8.
The
friends I’d tapped for my Street Team are making tremendous efforts on my
behalf – re-posting my teaser passages and blurbs, talking up the novel. I’m
grateful to them all.
Of
course, the essential question remains: will all this virtual activity turn
into book sales? For now, I’ve decided only that it certainly can’t hurt. Maybe
I’ll reach readers that I never would have before. I truly hope my novel can
provide a much-needed escape from this nightmare we’re all living – that my
words can touch someone who would never have heard of the book otherwise. May
it indeed be so.
You
can catch part of Michelle’s Social Media Tour at the following. (More being
added daily. See the Events page on her website.)
April
7 – Readers Coffeehouse
April
15, 7:00 pm (Eastern) – She Writes authors Eileen Sanchez and Michelle Cameron
in conversation about Beyond the Ghetto Gates via Zoom; click here to register
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