Posts Tagged ‘launch’

The Birth of Carina Press

JennyBullough | June 16th, 2010

By Jenny Bullough, member of the Carina Acquisitions team and Manager of Digital Content for Harlequin and Carina Press

Did you know that maternity leave in Canada is 12 months? Yeah, it’s a pretty sweet deal – until you realize that your year is up and it’s time to transition back into career mode! It can be very daunting to try to pick up where you left off after a year of spending your days counting dirty diapers and washing spitup-stained shirts. After so long in Mommy mode, you wonder if you’ve lost the brainpower to deal with deadlines.

 That’s where I found myself last fall, when I decided to return to work “early” after 9 blissful months at home with my infant daughter and preschooler. Luckily for me, I work in Digital & Internet, so during my time off I was still very connected through email, Twitter, and Facebook! Also luckily, I work with a great team and a fabulous boss (Hello, Malle!) who instinctively knew I would need a little time to adjust back to being a working mom.

I think Malle gave me a good couple of weeks to relax back into my working routine (the first day, I did remember how to turn on my computer, but forgot my voicemail password – d’oh!). Then one day, she strolled over to my desk and said, “So, you know about the new digital-first press we’re launching next year. Guess what – you’re on the Acquisitions Team!”

 And thus I was flung into an exciting whirlwind of meetings, manuscripts, and more! I was a little nervous – I’d been working in Digital Production for 5 years (since my first mat leave ended) and it had been ages since I read and evaluated a manuscript; but happily, the editorial muscles came back to life much faster than my abs have!

 It’s been such a thrill to flex those muscles again – reading submissions, writing copy – and so exciting to be a part of the birth of Carina Press! It’s had its ups and downs – I’ve fallen in love with books, pitched them to the team, then been saddened to see them go to another publisher or rejected – but the whole 9-month process from conception to launch has been full of anticipation and excitement (ooh, I think there’s a metaphor in there somewhere… )! Now that the day is finally here, it’s fun to look back and see how far we’ve come and how much has changed – and imagine how much will change as we go forward into a brave new digital world!

~Jenny

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Posted in Behind the Scenes, Carina Press | 7 Comments »

Carina Press confessions…

Eleanor Elliott | June 14th, 2010

I have two confessions to make in this blog post.

Confession #1 – I promised Angela I would write this post by Friday of last week. It’s clearly not Friday anymore.

Confession #2 – I cry at the drop of a hat. Sad book? Cry. Think about my son’s impending 2nd birthday? Cry. Chuck season finale that I just watched last night? Cry. Seriously, it’s a problem.

Confession #2 is why I keep putting off writing this post – I know it’s going to make me cry (hence, Confession #1).

Before the launch of the website, I didn’t think too much about Angela’s request: “write a post about your experience launching Carina Press”. You see – I was still in the process of launching! Right up to the last minute when the site was being tweeted, I was still trying to iron out bugs (and there are still features and issues that we’re working on). It’s hard to reflect on an experience while you’re still in it.

But the truth is, with a website, you are never ‘done’. There are always bugs to be fixed, features to be added, promotions to be created… so, before launch day becomes a distant memory, I’m committing some words to paper about my experience…

Our lives are made up of big events. First job, wedding, birth of a child….they are the route markers along the path of our memories. The launch of Carina Press on June 7th was one of those ‘big events’ for me.
But when I look back on the launch – it’s not the big event of June 7th that is sticking with me – it’s all the little moments…

Going over to Malle’s desk and dancing when I found out the project was approved.

Seeing the Carina Press logo (on my Blackberry on a Friday night) and knowing it was perfect.

Getting Aideen’s first “cover review” email. I still get excited when these emails arrive…especially when it’s for a book I recommended for acquisition!

Sending the design mock-ups for the site to the team, hoping & praying that they would like it as much as I did (they did. Phew!)

Seeing our Carina Press ads in magazines and on websites.

Watching our boss, Brent, chair-dance when he saw the promo video for the first time.

So many moments of anticipation, excitement, pride.

Quite simply, launching Carina Press was one of the most rewarding experiences in my entire career.

Now….back to working on those excerpts, and gift-certificates, and wishlists, and…

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Posted in Behind the Scenes, Carina Press | No Comments »

What made it real for me…

Aideen O'Leary-Chung | June 9th, 2010

After months of discussing Carina Press with anyone who would listen, the day I searched for and discovered our titles on ebook retailers’ websites will probably remain one of the most exciting of my career. All of a sudden Carina Press was real! Oh, I had been awakened to the reality of things several times over the past few months – when we acquired our first books, when we saw our first cover – but this moment was the culmination of all of those little moments and it was fantastic.

After holding my breath as I searched for “Carina Press” on Amazon, my heart skipped a beat as the list came up. And to see the books on our own site…well that elicited the gasp that was heard around the world…or at least throughout cube-land here at Camp Carina.

Working on Carina Press has brought great new experiences. When wearing my Harlequin hat, my position doesn’t involve regular contact with authors and cover designers. As part of the Carina team, I get to work with our authors from submission all the way through the publishing process and thanks to a trip to the Romantic Times Convention, I’ve been lucky enough to meet some of them. They are a fun bunch and I think their fabulous posts on our blog this past month have really allowed their personalities to shine through!

As for the designers that I’ve had the pleasure to work with – Frauke, Angie, John, Monika, Mandy, Gin, Sherin and Annie to name just a few – I never fail to be impressed by their talent and ability to know what I want in a cover, even when I don’t know myself! Thanks to all of them for your hard work and patience these past months. While I’m famous for last-minute requests, I promise to set a more leisurely pace now that we’ve managed to get 37 plus covers out the door!

Now that we’ve launched, it’s only the beginning and I can’t wait to see where Carina goes next! Actually, I could swear I heard Malle muttering about holograms the other day. I’m pretty sure she was joking…right?

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Posted in Behind the Scenes, Carina Press, Cover Art, Marketing | 4 Comments »

My History in Mystery

J Wachowski | May 7th, 2010

J. Wachowski. First book. First blog. First Twit. (You never forget your first Twit.) I took the scenic route on my way to published Mystery Author. Stopped and read a few books on the way…

Age 9: Terrible Flu. Fever for 8 days. Can’t get out of bed. Neighbor drops off her entire collection of Trixie Belden mysteries. I read one and a half books a day, finishing the entire series (vols.1-13) before returning to school with a new passion: solving crimes. (If only I had rich friends and a cute honey- colored bob! )

Age 14: Trapped in a remote location on family vacation, I discover piles of paperback novels squirreled away in my Uncle’s forgotten bookcase—fabulously trashy ‘60’s editions of John D. Macdonald’s Travis McGee series. I read them secretly every night shrouded by mosquito netting. Family wonders why I look so tired by end of vacation. Several books mysteriously find their way into my luggage.

Age 20: I attend a class taught by Stuart Kaminsky. Gobble up his Chicago stories. Sara Paretsky is next. Am stunned by the realization that my hometown could ever be cool enough to host a mystery novel. Father Andrew Greeley’s mysteries knock me upside the head with an eraser for my lack of hometown pride.

Age 29: Devour Robert Parker’s entire Spencer series while holding nursing baby with one hand and book with the other. Sleep deprived and groggy, I stumble next into Dennis Lehane’s Patrick Kenzie. Consider moving the family to Boston in hopes of meeting Spenser or Kenzie. Husband frowns on this idea.

Age 35: Maddy O’Hara introduces herself to my subconscious. I begin to write my own mystery….
And the rest, as they say, is history.

Tell me about your history in mystery. What books did you love as a kid, as a teen, as a grown-up?

J. Wachowski lives in the Midwest, where the winters build character, with her family who are all characters. In Plain View is her first novel. You can find her on JWachowski.com, Facebook and Twitter.

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Posted in Authors, Books, Carina Press, Contest/Giveaway, Countdown | 23 Comments »