The Well-Tempered Clavier

The Well-Tempered Clavier is due out in the US next spring - and already those efficient and devastatingly competent people at Soho Press in New York have given it a double-page spread  in their 2009 listings guide.

 

Not only that but they’ve given it a much better title; and, ahem, a much better cover.

 

Here it is:

 

 

 

All of it most excellent news. So civilised to deal with Soho’s editor too. Somebody who was keen, interested, enthusiastic …

 

In fact, now that I think of it, different in almost every single way from another editor that I happen to know in London.

 

Speaking of which … I spoke to Idle Tom the Publisher just this week. And yes, there is quite considerable news to report:

 

"Hello Tom," I said. "What are you doing?"

 

"Hello Old Cock," he chirrups. "Just out for a coffee. Have you seen this Barack Obama stuff? Amazing!"

 

"Yes it is, isn’t it?"

 

"Anyway, not much going on here. Told you about the break-in didn’t I? Yeah, I did. Umm, well, and that’s about it I guess?"

 

"So what’s happened with Project X?"

 

"Project X?"

 

"The stinking manuscript that I gave you over two months ago! The one that you have paid the biggest advance in Legend history."

 

"Oh yes. That. Well what about it?"

 

"Well have you read the thing?"

 

"Hmmm. Good question. Have I read it? Umm, now that I come to think of it, I got about halfway through and something came up."

 

"Jesus! But this is exactly the position we were in a month ago -"

 

"No - the last time I think I’d had my computer stolen -"

 

"Yes! I know that! But we’re in the same position in that you still haven’t read the manuscript -"

 

"Heyyy! Easy, tiger! I thought you asked me if I’d be able to read it by Christmas, and I said I’d give it my best shot."

 

"I know - but when I asked you if you were going to read it by Christmas I was joking. It hadn’t occurred to me that you’d take four months to read a 75,000-word manuscript."

 

"Ahh! You were joking! I thought you were being serious." I can hear him slurping noisily on his Latte. "Anyway - what I’ve read so far, I really like."

 

"Lovely."

 

"Might need a few tweaks, but basically it’s looking good - "

 

"I’m so pleased to hear you say that."

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 12th, 2008 at 1:07 pm and is filed under Well-Tempered Clavier. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.