Tue 24 Feb 2009
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?
February 24th, 2009 at 9:37 am
2010? Is the cover going to be a wordcarving?
Anyway, good news, and I’ll even promise to buy it at cover price.
February 25th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Okay Robert, you’ve stumped me. Why would the cover be a woodcarving? For you, a discount.
February 25th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
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……
February 25th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
You mean tiring, because it’s so intense.
February 26th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
Hey, the comments work still!
February 27th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
I kind of like the woodcarving idea. It could be a peekaboo cover like the ones that sold so many V. C. Andrews novels.
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:58 am
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.
March 4th, 2009 at 10:49 am
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.
March 11th, 2009 at 1:53 am
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
March 11th, 2009 at 7:35 am
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.
March 26th, 2009 at 7:58 am
Dennis,
Great news! I will buy it as soon as it comes out! See you soon!
Rick