Savannah Blue's Activity Book is here!
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: Books
We received 4,000 copies of Savannah Blue's Activity Book from the printer on Wednesday. They look fabulous! We sold our first copy, without trying, that very day!

This is the first book project Sudie and I have completed together, and it is very exciting. My first assignment when I started working for Sudie was to find a bilingual editor, and then a translator. That involved a very steep learning curve, since I don't read, write, or speak Spanish, as did trying to figure out how to communicate regularly and inexpensively with an editor who lives and works in the Southern Hemisphere! Oh, and, of course, we can't forget having to untangle all of the details of the ISBN number--apparently, the U.S. has decided to join the rest of the world in using a 13-digit ISBN by 2007, which is a change from the 10-digit we currently use. This sounds fairly straightforward, except that no one in the industry really knows the transition is happening or how to deal with it. (Except maybe Bowker and us, finally.)

I spent most of yesterday creating a map that covers Sudie's whole kitchen table outlining our domestic and international marketing plan, so she could see all the pieces. She asked me when it would all be accomplished! She should know as well as I do that, as long as you have product, marketing is never finished. This is especially true when she wakes up at 3:00 a.m. and starts scribbling notes about needing to break into foreign markets that I find on my desk when I get in in the morning. Right now I'm working with our graphic design geniuses on a new ad campaign, and with our web designer to get an announcement up on Sudie's website. I'll post a link to the new book as soon as it's in place!