I just got the great news that HarperCollins plans to repackage and reissue Wilderness by February 2010. That will be almost exactly 20 years since I received one of the more memorable phone calls in my life from agents Liz Darhansoff and Lynn Pleshette to inform me that a major studio movie deal for the as-yet-unsold novel had been struck. This movie that never happened helped leverage a publication deal with Poseidon soon after. At the time, paranormal romance had about the same market share as sci-fi westerns, so nobody could quite figure out how to market the novel. Maybe now that teen Mormon vampires are doing so well, my adult woman werewolf can find a market niche to den in somewhere.
Here are the costars of the so-so British TV mini-series, chopped down to a movie Wilderness that screws up the ending so unforgivably it’s painful for me to watch. But these two are lovely, aren’t they?
2010? Is the cover going to be a wordcarving?
Anyway, good news, and I’ll even promise to buy it at cover price. 😉
Okay Robert, you’ve stumped me. Why would the cover be a woodcarving? For you, a discount.
If you lived with R., you’d know he was simply making light of how long it will be before it’s released. His humor grows tiresome……
You mean tiring, because it’s so intense.
Hey, the comments work still!
I kind of like the woodcarving idea. It could be a peekaboo cover like the ones that sold so many V. C. Andrews novels.
That’s such great news Dennis!
It always struck me as odd that people can’t figure out how to market things. But I think given the proliferation of Anita Blake and Twilight these days, they should have a better idea.
And Harper Collins has a brilliant marketing department these days. I mean absolutely brilliant. I even applied for a job there I’ve been so impressed.
Part of the problem with marketers in my experience is they haven’t read the book they’re marketing. They’ve read the concept, the hook, the wank-off points. The book? That’s so like 19th century.
That is core problem 1 of like 15 with marketers.
I must spend at least 3-4 hours of research time before I begin to write a direct mail piece. And that’s just one little letter.
For a campaign sometimes I’ll spend a week (budget allowing) reading a clients source materials.
But HC. They’re good people.
You should tell them to hire me.
I’m just saying 😉
To be fair, I have presented marketers with tasks like making a novel about the most famous anarchist in history palatable coming out on the heels of 9/11. Just lucky I guess.
Dennis,
Great news! I will buy it as soon as it comes out! See you soon!
Rick