Tayari's Blog: PRINTED and BOUND

When I received my first copy of Leaving Atlanta, the result was strangely anti-climactic. I had expected to feel somehow validated by holding that hardbound book in my hand. Often people ask me "how did you feel the first time you saw your book?" I never tell them that for me, the moment that I got the andrenaline rush happened when I first finished the manuscript and printed it out, warm and damp from the printer. By the time the book ends up in your hands, it is less your baby and more a product.

That said, I have been working hard preparing for the release of The Untelling. So many of my friends have pitched in to help me distribute post cards, score interviews and otherwise get the word out. I feel very lucky.

This was my spring break from school and I spent it addressing about 3000 post cards. As I pasted on label after label, I felt a little bit of melancholy. I soon realised that all of the preparation for the book launch made me think of my friend, Amanda Davis, who was killed in a plane crash a couple of years ago as she tried to get the word out about her new novel, Wonder When You'll Miss Me.

Amanda was the best guerilla marketer I have ever seen. She maintained an extensive mailing list and sent postcards to every person on it. I remember that there was one date that was inaccurate on her announcements and she used a ballpoint pen to correct all 5,000 cards. She knew everything and everybody and wasn't going to let her publisher stand in between her and the career she wanted. You have to love a person like that.

No wonder she was all my mind every single day for the last two weeks. Whenever I put my head down and just try with all my heart, whenever I am feeling both scrappy and optimistic, I will remember Amanda. So, if she's on my mind, it's my way of knowing that I am on the right track.