Penguin Sets December Pub Date for New Clancy

Penguin Sets December Pub Date for New Clancy: "Bestselling author Tom Clancy will deliver his first newbook in seven years w..."

It has been way too long since Clancy put out a novel (7 years to be exact). This will be huge for Penguin come December. I missed having a new Clancy novel the last few years while running Military Book Club -- I look forward to seeing this one.

Just a quick note. Back to work.

Saddened by the death of J.D. Salinger

I'm one of the millions saddened by the death of J.D. Salinger. At 14-years-old, as a freshman in high school, I read The Catcher in the Rye, and like so many others connected with Holden and his crazy little story. It is a special book. That's all I'll say about that.

Salinger lived his life the way he wanted to, to the chagrin of society. I read a great story in the Washington Post today about a very small publisher and his attempt to publish an out of print story of Salinger's. Link here. It's a wonderful little article. A one-man publisher running his operation out of his home. A random letter sent to Salinger on a lark. A response years later. An exchange of letters. A meeting. Then things fall apart. This story alone could be made into a movie.

Is it strange that I keep thinking of the movie, Conspiracy Theory? Like it or not, that film uses Salinger's celebrated book as a key element into looking at the twisted mind of a man with some serious mental issues. I really like the role the book plays in the film.

Stephen King Library 2010 Desk Calendars are in. Thanks are in order.

As a freelance editor over the past few years, I've worked on a wide variety of projects. Some fun, some tedious, others quite somewhere in between. But such is the life of a freelancer, you make due, seek and accept jobs where you can find them, and learn to be Charlie Hustle.

At one point late last year I was asked to edit Book-of-the-Month Club's--exclusive to memebers--2010 Stephen King Library desk calendar. This sounded like, and turned out to be, one of the most enjoyable projects I been involved in to date.

The hardest part was following up the terrfic work of the ultra-talented Robin Furth, former King research assistant, writer of various books about King, as well as scribe of several of the new Marvel and Del Rey comic book adaptations/miniseries of King's work. In my humble opinion she is a marvel and I was quite intimidated to talk to her, but when we spoke she was very cool and totally supportive-and even willing to contribute an essay to my project. Fantastic, I thought, what a great way to start on this exciting project.

Then it was several months of planning, reading, researching, and writing essays, trivia, finding excerpts, etc. I'd like to personally thank my sister, Jill, for help. See, she's a life-long King fanatic and had a copy of almost every novel and short story collection out there. She was my own personal King library. And working with her on one essay was a real thrill. I showed up at her apartment one day and left with pretty much her entire collection in addition to the books I already had.

Brainstorming ideas was the most fun. I mean, this is the kind of thing every bookish person dreams about. Take a favorite author, write about the little bits of this and that, the juicy details, the odd connections. Find fanatical people to contribute and pull it all together.

I also have to thank my personal "editorial assistant-at-large" and that would be my lovely wife, Fotini. She is also a contributor, with her own personal story about traveling to Greece as a teen and dearly grasping onto those King paperbacks to get her through long boat rides and flights. King was her personal salvation and she is also responsible for many essay ideas and helped me develop them into the readable bits within. For this, I am eternally grateful.

The other great part of editing this project was that I got to commission authors and King fanactics to write articles. This was great as there were already so many great contributors, the project soon became a delicate balance of previous collaborators and new entries, each with a personal angle which added to the depth of the collection.

In addition to the wonderful essay by the aforementioned Robin Furth, there are also return contributions such as: Stephen Jewell, an Australian born, London-based writer; comic book illustrator Jae Lee; Bev Vincent, a contributor to Cemetery Dance magazine and Bram Stoker-nominated author of The Road to the Dark Tower; Brian Freeman, author of many terrific books; Dan Kimmel, a Boston-based film critic and writer; and Rocky Wood, celebrated Australian writer of non-fiction and member of the HWA (Horror Writers Association).

Also I was able to invite others to contribute, including edged-weapon master and fantasy author, Peter V. Brett, and Jeff Somers, veritable SF writer and the kind of guy who'd have your back in a saloon fight. Everyone had great personal stories how King's work touched them in some way [I realize that sounds naughtier than it should]. I'd also like to thanks all the other contributors: Matt B., Nancy, Tom, Matt D., Beth, Jenn Huff, and Gary - you're all aces.

Here is a sample of one of the wonderful layout pages by freelance designer, Shonna Dowers, who did a wonderful job on the entire project. It was a pleasure work with you.

Last but not least I'd like to thank Deborah Sinclaire, EIC of Book-of-the-Month Club, without whom this project would not have come to me. Deb is a former boss, turned trusted colleague and confidant, and her confidence in me is something I've always valued and appreciated. Thanks.

Little did I know when I was asked to contribute one small article for the 2008 calendar, while I was an editor for the Science Fiction Book Club, [where I wrote about seeing King at NY Comic Con that year], that this entire project would come to me just a short time later. But for me, it's been all about the journey.

A Balancing Act

I find myself escaping to my blog, my little controlled world of content; however little of it there is, however little I update regularly. Being an independent editor/writer/professional takes discipline, a discipline I learn a little more about every day. This is something I am not sure I'll ever have mastered. But I am making a go at it.

Right now, even as I write this, I'm working on two interesting but completely different projects. Both are due at the end of the month. And like a circus clown, I'm juggling them both, hoping neither hits the ground.

During the early parts of the day, I deal with lots of email correspondence, I check a bunch of blogs, websites, etc. I try to keep in touch with all of the people I've been working been working for, I pass along bits of news I read or hear, in the hopes of staying connected and leading to more work.

Remember, it is your responsibility as a freelancer to remind people that you're out there. They have day jobs, and are likely to forget -- and I don't blame them. They have meetings to attend and lots more email to respond to at the corporate level. At a home office there are distractions like Angel on TV at 9 A.M. -- I'm just saying. Like every good Jedi already knows... one must have balance in all things.

So, every day is a learning experience. I think I've found a good balance of working at home and hitting the pavement do do sales work or meet with friends and colleagues. I also find detailed work like editing comes easier at night, when there are less email and phone distractions. I guess every independent worker must find their own pace that works.

Here are the two things I'm currently working on. One is editing the content for the Book-of-the-Month Club's: 2010 Stephen King Library (R) Desk Calendar. This has been a lot of fun so far, writing essays and editing the work of others. King is a fun guy to write about. There is plenty of material -- he has so much work to reference.

I'm also editing a book on World War I aviation. Yes they are two very different projects. Then again, so is my experience working with fiction and nonfiction -- I welcome them equally. And when they are done, I'll move on to whatever comes next.

And here is to that prospect of future work coming in. Raise a glass. Happy St. Patrick's Day.