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The missing link.

All the freaks at Cat's party. I could barely look at Satan. He scared me

It's apparently a trend now to publish the paperback versions of books with "extras" like they do with DVDs. (I know little of paperbacks because I try to buy everything in hardcover when possible.) So yesterday I talked to Sally, my editor at Crown, about how the paperback version of Instant Love is going to be different than the hardcover.

We had talked a few months ago about me putting in some sort of tour diary, but that didn't seem like it would be that interesting.

Day 1: I met a lot of nice people and sold some books and then I had two glasses of wine and passed out from exhaustion.

And then just repeat that for a month.

We also talked about me writing an essay about how to make a zine. And of course that would be something like:

Step 1: Write something.
Step 2: Print it.
Step 3: Fold it.
Step 4: Staple it.
Step 5: Sell it.

Why don't you just go read something by Pagan Kennedy or Lisa Carver instead? You can thank me now for saving a few extra trees from that crap.

So we mused on it and because Sally is so great (seriously my friends, Sally Kim is one of the finest editors in New York City, and if any writer finds this entry because they are googling her right now and trying to decide whether or not they should sell her their book I am here to tell you, the answer is yes), it took like a minute to come up with the answer: the missing story.

Yup, there was a story we cut right after we started working together, one of the original ones from the zines. I loved that story, but for a variety of reasons we decided it wasn't going to work with the collection. But a year and a half later, I feel like I can go back and confidently edit it and turn it into something that still may feel different from the rest, but will belong in the collection in its own special way.

So that was kind of cool. It makes me feel like the paperback is going to really be a separate book, now that it has a new cover and a new story, and I'm more excited now about the publication next spring. Now I'm not suggesting those of you who already have the book have to buy the paperback version (except for all of your friends and relatives), but I do hope you'll stop by a bookstore and check it out. I like the idea of all of you standing there quietly, hovering and reading.

(10/31/06)