I joined Ooligan Press as part of the Odsburg team right as the marketing plan was being implemented. The promotion of this strange, gorgeous novel has been my focus throughout my time at the press, so getting to finally send it out to readers is beyond exciting. This is the culmination of a lot of hard work from many, many other Oolies as well as Odsburg‘s author, Matt. (Just designing the credits page for this book was a challenge because of how many people in the press had a hand in creating, promoting, and polishing it.)

With Odsburg launching early in the fall term, the team had to hit the ground running as we got back into the swing of school. As we prepped for launch, my team of new Ooligan students got a crash course in social media collateral creation and reading-tour research. Making collateral for Odsburg has always been a fun part of the process, as this book allows for us to be more creative than usual in our designs and copy. And of course, that amazingly detailed cover is fantastic to work with.

We continuously pulled elements from the cover to make new objects for marketing. Digging through that InDesign file has come to feel like making my way through a familiar forest. It’s dense, and while I know it well, it’s just as delightful as the first time I saw it. After you read the book, I highly encourage you to take some time to study the cover closely. Discovering all of the little secrets hidden between its leaves is a fun way to remember some of the strange characters you meet throughout Odsburg.

Once Odsburg launches, my team will continue to work on promoting it and finding reading opportunities for Matt (and we’ll be waiting for award season with bated breath and fingers crossed!). Even when we shift our focus to the next book coming to us from the acquisitions department, we’re not letting Odsburg go. This entrancing story has fascinated me since I joined Ooligan, and it will still be on my mind long after I graduate.

The excitement of a book launch is a motivator for a lot of us in the publishing industry. Often years of work go into a book, and the high of finally seeing it out in the world is tough to match in one’s professional life. Yes, there’s a lot of stress that comes with such an occasion, but it’s so very worth it. I can’t wait to hear what readers think of the little town we’ve been living in all this time.