Leading up to a brief break between terms, our group members have been astonishingly productive. After the cover concept was selected by the press, we worked with Kait Heacock to offer notes and feedback to the designer, Ryan Brewer, who continues to improve and expand the cover each day. We expect to have a final cover ready for unveiling in the next few weeks. Also within the realm of design, our group constructed an interior design brief and received more than ten applications. Leigh Thomas was selected for the honor of designing the Siblings interior, and we are thrilled to see her initial drafts soon.

On the marketing, publicity, and sales fronts, we got a handful of printed and bound copies to send to a few prospective blurbers. This is the first time the book has appeared in codex form, albeit in an undesigned word document on regular printer paper. It was an amazing preview into the excitement yet to come! We are hoping that these physical copies will find their way into the hands of some notable authors by the end of the month. Tell Cheryl Strayed to check her mail.

In addition to pitching to blurbers, we shared our enthusiasm about Siblings with our sales representative in a brief sales call last week. Preparing for the sales call, constructing the tipsheet, and drafting early backcover copy means finding concise, powerful ways to talk about Heacock and her work, highlighting the themes that run throughout each story without underselling the collection as homogenous. Learning how to most effectively talk about the strengths of this collection is an ongoing process, but our group could not be more suited to the challenge.

Our biggest upcoming task will put our creativity and marketing skills to the test: We are constructing sales kits that will get our distributor’s sales representatives excited and passionate about this collection. Stay tuned to hear what kinds of artifacts and collateral we include and how we articulate the literary eminence of Siblings.