Mac hesitated. This was odd and unexpected, to say the least.
“Her name,” he began tentatively, “is Kate.”
Chapter Forty-Three
After Nick left for work the following day, Kate took a drive down to the beach to consider her next move. Allan’s book was hers. She could do with it what she wanted and what she wanted was to publish it.
She parked in one of the many small parking strips that lined the coast. The Santa Monica beach sprawled out on either side of her, long stretches of sand and surf. Summer in California always brought throngs of tourists to their popular beaches, especially this time of year. It was almost the Fourth of July—hard to believe that just a month ago she was happy with Mac and was on the cusp of a major book release.
It seemed like an eternity ago.
Kate walked down the steps and onto the beach. Barely ten a.m. and it was already crowded. She watched as several surfers crested a high wave and gracefully rode it to shore. She kicked off her sandals and let her feet sink into the warm sand. She could see why Nick loved it here so much. California was easy. Everything about the state was laid back. Well, except the traffic. Kate hadn’t seen traffic like that since, well, never. But it was worth the highway battle to wind up here. She walked towards the water, passing sun worshipers and families getting ready to spend the day on the beach.
Her mind started to circle back to Allan’s book. She could try to sell it to a publisher, but, candidly, she’d had her fill of the New York publishing market. Moreover, she knew Allan would hate that, too. She needed to find a good home for the book that could get it distributed into bookstores and even the airport store market. Despite the uptick in ebook sales, she knew that not having bookstore exposure would probably hurt a book like Allan’s. Literary fiction wasn’t as big a seller in ebooks as genre fiction was. It was okay, but the numbers were never stellar. If she wasn’t going to go through New York, her options were limited. She could probably find a solid boutique house, but she really didn’t know any off the top of her head. Though she could probably reach out to some contacts in publishing. She really didn’t want to dig into that part of her life yet. She knew she’d need to at some point, but not now. She continued to walk through the sand and up the coast. Then it hit her. Last fall, she remembered meeting a publisher out of the Midwest. The delightful husband and wife team specialized in children’s literature. Though they wouldn’t be suited to this book, they might know someone who would. Kate wracked her brain for the name of their company. Candle–something…Kevin and Maryann, she remembered their names. Kate pulled out her phone and did a quick search online.
“Candlewood Press!” she said aloud. Quickly, she dialed their number.
“Candlewood. Kevin Parker speaking.”
“Kevin, this is Kate Mitchell. We met at–”
“Of course, I remember you, Kate, and I’m sorry to hear about Singer’s book. How are you doing?”
Of course her name was top of mind with most publishing people. If anyone followed the trades at all, they knew about the unmitigated disaster that was The Continued Promise.
“Yeah, fine, thanks. Look, I have this book…”
Kevin chuckled. “I hear you left MD. Good for you. Seems though, that publishing is still in your blood. Too bad I can’t say the same for MacDermott.”
“Excuse me?” she hadn’t read any email or trade publications since she left New York.
“What? You didn’t hear? MacDermott Ellis quit MD. Yep, Publishers Lunch said he walked in and told Edward to go to hell. Well, that’s the rumor anyway; guess someone at MD leaked some details.”
Kate felt sick. No doubt that was Pete with his freckled ear pasted to Edward’s door. Mac quit. The thought was heavy on her mind. She never expected him to really leave MD, although he told her he would.
When Kate was silent, Kevin continued. “I’m sorry, I figured you knew.”
“No-no I didn’t know. It’s too bad for MD.”
“Big loss, that’s for sure. There was no one better in publishing than MacDermott.”
Kate’s mind drifted. She saw Mac sitting behind his desk—that broad, handsome smile filling his face and his blue eyes fixated on her. She used to love the way he looked at her, when his playful smile would reach his eyes.
She pushed the image from her mind. Too painful.
Too hard to remember.
“So, you have a book?”
“Yeah. Well, I sort of inherited this book and I need to get it published, but the author’s wishes were that I didn’t go to a New York house.”
“What author?” he asked.
Kate knew better than to tell him. “Sorry, Kevin, I need to keep that confidential for now. But I’m just wondering, do you happen to know of a boutique house that could take this book?”
He thought for a moment. “Well, if you can’t tell me the name, it must be a big deal, so I’d say no.”
Kate’s heart sank; a boutique house was her last and final hope.
Kevin quickly added, “I mean, first off, if this book is really a big deal and not just some favor for a friend, then I don’t know if I’d go with a small press. I mean, I’m a big fan of the little guy. I am the little guy. But we’re all a little strapped these days. Also, do you really want to sign the rights away to this book?”
Kate thought about it. “I don’t really have any other options, do I?”
“You would if you published this yourself.”
Kate’s stomach knotted. She had visions of books filling Nick’s garage and images of endless rejections for reviews because she self-published Allan’s book. She couldn’t stomach doing that to him.
“I-I can’t, Kevin. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”
“Look, if you’re worried about the stigma, don’t be. You know this industry inside out. Call in a few favors with reviewers, which I’m sure you can easily do, and I’ll help you set up the company. It’s a bit frightening how easy it is, which is probably why so many are doing it.”
“Yes, and we end up with a boatload of science projects instead of quality books.”
Kevin chuckled. “True, but it’s gotten better, Kate. I mean, really. Last year, dozens of self-published books got picked up by major houses. And what about that gal who lived in a trailer park, Amanda Hocking?”
Ugh, Kate was so sick of hearing that girl’s name. Yes, she was thrilled that this hard-working author had gotten such a great deal. She did deserve it, but the fame of Amanda Hocking brought a deluge of unvetted, unedited books in her genre into the publishing world. A glut of books by wannabe Amanda Hocking authors. Kevin did, however, have a point.
“What would I need to start a company?”
“A business license, a block of ISBN’s, that’s about it.”
“Who would design the cover and interior? Outside of MD I don’t really know a lot of freelance book people other than publicists.”
“I have a great book cover person and a bunch of other vendors I can refer you to.”
“It’s a lot to think about, Kevin, but I appreciate the ideas.”
“Sure, and listen Kate, I was serious about my offer—I’m happy to help in any way I can.”
“Thanks, Kevin.” Kate slipped her phone back into her purse. She hadn’t considered publishing Allan’s book herself. That would mean that she’d become a publisher. Kate rolled her eyes. Even when she tried to get out of the industry, the tentacles of the market kept pulling her back. But she wanted what was best for Allan’s book. She had to be sure she did it right. Kate headed back to her car. She needed to learn all she could about the self-publishing industry. She headed to the San Marino library and spent the afternoon buried in books and details about what it would mean to become a publisher.
Chapter Forty-Four
When Kate got home, she fired up her computer for the first time in weeks. Her inbox was overloaded with notes from friends in publishing—all of them wishing her well. There was a note from Lu
lu telling her Mac had left and that she missed them both. Kate quickly wrote her back to tell her she was doing okay and that she’d call her soon.
Kate read through a few back issues of Publishers Lunch and found the story about Mac. He’d left MD right after she had departed for California. There was no update on where he’d landed or if he was even going to go back into publishing. Mac had been “unavailable for comment” on the story. Kate’s mind drifted, wondering what he was doing. She didn’t want to wonder or care but the truth was that she did. It would be a while before the name MacDermott Ellis wouldn’t send her heart racing. She desperately looked forward to that day.
Kate opened up her contacts file and decided to do some calling. She’d learned that setting up a publishing company was, as Kevin said, pretty easy. But the piece that concerned her was distribution for Allan’s book. She needed to find out how bookstores decide whether or not to stock a book. Although Kate had been in publishing much of her life, she’d only worked on the publicity side of things; she had never been involved in the book process, per se.
Rebecca Wright. She wasn’t a particularly close friend. But aside from Mac, she was one of MD’s better editors, and they’d weathered enough battles together that she knew she could trust Rebecca enough to ask her a few questions. Quickly, she dialed her number.
“Rebecca.” She answered on the first ring.
“Rebecca, it’s Kate.”
Kate heard a gasp on the other end of the phone.
“Wait!” Kate could hear Rebecca set the phone down.
“I wanted to close the door. Katie, my God, how are you?”
“I’m good, fine.”
“God, it’s good to talk with you! Seriously, this place is a mess. Did you hear Mac left? Where are you? Is it true you’re in California?”
Kate smiled. “Yes, I heard about Mac, and yes, I’m in California staying with, eh, a friend.”
“So really, how are you doing?”
Kate wasn’t sure how to answer that. She had no job and an uncertain future, but she had Allan’s book and now she could publish it. She was starting to feel good again. “I’m doing well, actually. California is a great place to get away.”
“How long are you going to be there? I miss you so much. You have no idea.”
“I miss you too, but I think I’ll be here for a while.”
“That’s too bad, but I can’t say as I blame you. Fucking Edward. What an asshole that man is.”
The last person Kate wanted to talk about was Edward.
“Look, Rebecca, I have something I need to ask you and I need you to keep this confidential.”
“Of course, what’s up? You want me to help you kill Ed?”
Kate chuckled. “I’d love to, but no. This is different. I need some information about publishing a book.”
“Oh God, this is perfect. You’re writing your memoirs!”
“No, my life isn’t that interesting, seriously. But I have this book; it’s amazing and the author doesn’t want to go through the regular New York channels. He’s asked me to publish it for him.”
Rebecca was silent for a moment. “Wait. You’re becoming a publisher?”
“Well, I’m considering it, but I’m not sure this is the best route for this book.”
“What do you need? I’d love to help out.”
Without revealing Allan’s name, Kate laid out her plan to Rebecca. She wanted to publish the book, and if she was going to do this, she needed to act quickly. She wanted to give Allan’s book a November release so it would be out in time for the holiday market and would coincide with the one–year anniversary of his death.
“November? Kate that’s awfully quick. Is the book typeset? Do you have a cover?”
“No. In fact, I have the only copy of the manuscript. I have to get it retyped.”
“Oh Lord, Kate, that’s gonna take some time. Couldn’t you scan it into some OCR software?”
“Well, I could, but I’ve done it before and it always seems to turn everything into a train wreck of mish-mashed verbiage. I don’t want to have to deal with that.” Kate paused, “So, you don’t think I can pull this off?”
Rebecca sighed. “Well, I do, but you’ll have to get it to someone to retype almost immediately. It’ll need a good content editor. I can recommend a few freelance ones.”
“Sounds good, I’ll need one. But what do I do about bookstores? It’s literary fiction, and it needs to be in bookstores and the library markets. And what about airport stores?”
“Whoa, slow down. Let’s start with bookstores. I have a contact with the Barnes & Noble Small Press Department; I met her at a luncheon a few months ago—great gal. I’ll get you her information. You aren’t going to get this in airports unless it becomes a mega–bestseller. They’re mostly into genre fiction and business stuff.”
“Costco?”
“Same. It’ll need to be getting some serious buzz before they’ll consider it. Now, to get the bookstores to stock it in time for fall, you’ll need some serious cred with this book. Who’s the author?”
“I can’t tell you yet.”
“Fair enough, but does he or she have a platform? Are they known at all?”
That was safe enough. “Yes, very well–known.”
“Oh. Cake walk then. Here’s what you do: Get a book cover designed and get the book retyped. Once you do that, you can send it to the Small Press departments and start circulating it for reviews—you’re going to need to get after that pretty fast, as you know.”
Kate nodded. Reviews would be easy enough to get; she knew a bunch of people whom she could go to.
“Rebecca, I can’t thank you enough for this help. Seriously—this has been great.”
“Of course, my dear, anytime. And don’t worry, I won’t mention to anyone we chatted, but I do have one favor.”
“Sure, what?”
“When you issue a press release that you’ve become a publisher, can I be the one to personally hand it to Edward?”
Chapter Forty-Five
When Nick arrived home, Kate was making dinner. When he walked through the door, she greeted him with a glass of wine.
“Katie,” Nick smiled, “what’s going on?”
She kissed him on cheek. “I have great news,” she smiled.
Nick lowered himself onto a chair. “Do tell.”
Kate took her glass and joined him. “I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out how to publish Allan’s book, and today I finally made a few calls.”
“And?”
“We’re going to become a publishing house.’
“We?” he grinned.
“Yes, you and me. I figured you’d want to be part of it, right?”
Nick shook his head. “No, dear Kate. My uncle’s book is your baby. You should have it all.”
“But I want to give you something; I mean, if this makes money, you know–”
He put a hand over hers. “Let’s figure that part out later. Right now you should be focused on getting his book out there.”
Kate smiled; it was the biggest and broadest smile he’d seen on her face in a while. “I’m already working on that. I found a typist who is willing to work overtime to type up the manuscript. I made a copy and FedEx’d it to her this afternoon, and I also have someone working on the book cover.”
Nick was obviously surprised. “Wow, Kate, that was fast.”
She sipped her wine. “It has to be fast. I want Allan’s book out by November.”
Chapter Forty-Six
Kate made no formal announcement that she’d become a publisher. She figured that folks would find out soon enough. Besides, the focus needed to remain on After the Fall, Allan Lavigne’s second and final book. She asked Nick for his input on potential names for the new publishing house, and they debated at length, finally agreeing on Lavigne House. Simple and elegant. Allan would have gotten such a kick out of having his own publishing company.
Kate kept busy hiring the fre
elancers and managing the different pieces of the project to get the book completed on time. The Lavigne House logo was almost complete and the website would be launching in a week. The book’s cover turned out beautifully and the interior layout was finished. In true Allan fashion, the book needed minimal editing so that process went faster than she’d anticipated. This project was turning out to be an expensive endeavor since she paid rush fees to get everything done in time. Her severance from MD was coming in quite handy.
By the end of July, her first shipment of galleys had gone to reviewers and she eagerly awaited the first responses. Kate had issued a press release to the major media outlets and reached out to the Small Press Department at Barnes & Noble. She was thrilled they asked her to FedEx them a copy of the book. Just as she hoped, the industry was buzzing about a new book by Allan Lavigne. Moreover, Kate Mitchell had gone from being a publicist to a publisher.
Publishers Lunch had a story about it in their newsletter that morning:
Turns out there is life after publishing, at least if your name is Kate Mitchell and you have a book written by the late, great, Allan Lavigne. Perhaps the only great novelist of his time. The book, titled After the Fall, is scheduled for a November 12 release. So, is Lavigne’s second book as good as his first? Several early reports say it’s even better. We also know that Morris and Dean decided to get rid of Lavigne and canceled his second book deal before he died. The book was then willed to Ms. Mitchell, who resigned from MD earlier this summer. If this book does as well as Lavigne’s first, we suspect that the folks at Morris and Dean will have little to celebrate come the end of the year. Things have already been tricky there, after the debacle of The Continued Promise and the loss of their top editor, MacDermott Ellis. Welcome back to publishing, Kate.
Kate read the entry and emailed the link to Nick. They would have to celebrate tonight.
Her phone rang. “Hello,” her voice was chipper. There was indeed much to be happy about.
The Publicist Book One and Two Page 33
