The Making of a Masterpiece
I spent today answering a questionnaire from the publicity department of Paraclete Press, the publisher of my new book Henri Nouwen and the Return of the Prodigal Son: The Making of a Spiritual Classic. It is a long document - five pages. When it landed in my inbox about a month ago, I opened it and quickly closed it again, horrified at how much an author was expected to “push” their own book. But now, having acclimatized to yet more work an author does for free, I find myself enjoying the process. For one thing, I’ve been catalyzed to set up a “brand” on social media. I am now registered on Amazon Author Central (my url is amazon.com/author/gabrielleearnshaw) and have established a professional instagram account to share details of my new writerly life (glearnshaw is my handle - you can follow me by clicking below on the instagram icon). My newly updated twitter account is also below.
In addition to an enjoyable crash course in social media, I have been pleasantly challenged by the myriad of questions they have for me: “List 5 questions that would be a Q&A with the author”, “Please give us 5-10 key word phrases that readers might use to search for the book”, “What makes your book different, controversial, or stimulating” are some examples. It is like sudoku for writers! (Some answers: “How were you personally impacted by The Return of the Prodigal Son?”; “Adulting” “Includes never published letters from Nouwen’s personal archives.”)
A favorite question was “Give us 3 comparative title of your book”. One came to mind right away. It is the book I used as a model for my own. It is called Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of an American Masterpiece by Michael Gorra. This book was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and is truly an exemplary model of a biography of a classic book. I like to aim high! Other books on my list of comparative titles include The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester and Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser. No doubt there are other and perhaps you’ll share them with me below in the comments section.
Meanwhile, I will get back to my questionnaire: “Please list any ideas you have of possible endorsers for the book”. Mmmmmmmmmm…….