Monday, January 21, 2013

It's A Lesson (Not) Too Late For The Learning

Remember that blog entry I wrote complaining about the copy written for Amazon's The Shade Of The Moon page? On the incredibly off chance you don't, here's the link and here's the copy:
The eagerly awaited addition to the series begun with New York Times best-seller Life As We Knew It. Four years ago, a meteor knocked the moon off its orbit and the world changed forever. Seventeen-year-old Jon Evans is one of the lucky ones…he ended up in a Tennessee "enclave" instead of a dreaded "grubtown," where the government doesn’t even bother purifying the ash-polluted air. Despite the fact that his own relatives live in a grubtown, Jon buys into the idea of the innate superiority of "clavers." His worldview is upended, however, when he meets a green-eyed girl who believes in equality and vows to help right the world’s wrongs. Can Jon afford to be as idealistic as she is?
As soon as I pressed the Publish button, I decided while complaining to you, oh lovely you, is a lot of fun, I might get a better result by letting my publisher learn of my dissatisfaction.

So I emailed my poor beleaguered editor and gently, very very gently, let her know what I thought. Only I didn't just say what I thought. I offered an alternative version.

My editor responded by asking all the people who needed to be asked, and by golly, they changed the Amazon copy to what I suggested.

Naturally I kept the eagerly awaited part. My publisher added the rest of the first paragraph, figuring there were people who might want to know what the setup for the book actually is.

The eagerly awaited addition to the series begun with the New York Times best-seller Life As We Knew It, in which a meteor knocks the moon off its orbit and the world changes forever.
But the rest is what I wrote, and I'm delighted that my publisher agreed to go with my version.
It's been more than two years since Jon Evans and his family left Pennsylvania, hoping to find a safe place to live, yet Jon remains haunted by the deaths of those he loved. His prowess on a soccer field has guaranteed him a home in a well-protected enclave. But Jon is painfully aware that a missed goal, a careless word, even falling in love, can put his life and those of his mother, his sister Miranda, and her husband, Alex, in jeopardy. Can Jon risk doing what is right in a world gone so terribly wrong?
So now I know how to render change. You don't just whine. You whine to the people in power and you offer an alternative suggestion that they can accept.

The world is about to become a better place, now that I've figured this out.

Oh Mr. Boehner? Mr. Cantor? I have a few suggestions for you!



7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well done!

Anonymous Santa Fe

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Thank you, Anonymous Santa Fe!

Lilian E. Lauer said...

Yay! Now people will actually buy it, which means royalties for you, which makes you happy, and therefore us readers happy! I just hope I get around to book three in time for book 4.

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Good morning Catalina L.L. who understands me oh so well.

You have plenty of time to read book 3 since book 4 (with the brilliantly written copy) doesn't come out until September!

Unknown said...

Hi Susan! Just read the first three of your "Life As We Knew It Series" and throughly enjoyed them! I'm in my 40's but hadn't read any books in geez maybe 20 years!!! Last year I decided to read the last book of the Twilight series, then started reading Jules Verne and next thing I knew I burned through about 24 novels in 8 months. Not a lot but considering how long it'd been since I read it was a lot! This year my goal is 50 novels and I've already done 6 this month :)

Was curious if you saw this article? http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/28jan_2012da/ Friend of mine posted it on my profile as she's reading your books now and found it spooky!!! :)!!

Laura in Seattle (and a big fan)

Unknown said...

oops that's THOROUGHLY!!!

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Hi Laura Holland and congratulations on rediscovering the pleasures of reading (right now I'm reading a biography of George the II's wife, and it is excellent at putting me to sleep).

I'm always pleased to learn a meteor isn't going to hit Earth. One of these days though, one of those suckers is going to forget to miss, and then we'll be in for it!