The hardcover book has finally arrived

My book arrived today. An actual first edition, from Berryville Graphics, (read my earlier story about them) to Crown, to me. The same book you will see in bookstores, three weeks from now.

I would show you a picture but I’m here by myself, and anyway, there’s a realistic computer-synthesized picture on the right side of the blog.

Allow me to tell you some things about the hardcover edition of Look Me in the Eye that a picture would not reveal and a casual handler might not notice.

First of all, picking it up, you feel its solidity. The Advance Reading Edition seems thin and flimsy in comparison. And it is. That’s why libraries stock mostly hardcover books. They last longer.

The cover has a smooth feel, reminiscent of polished stainless steel. The feel of a restaurant kitchen countertop, right in your hand. It’s printed in matte ink, with the exception of the name, Look Me in the Eye, which is printed in glossy black. And there’s more . . . the title is actually embossed, so a blind reader could feel it with his thumbs and so positively identify my book. Looking at all the detail of the cover, it’s clear this book is a very high quality product.

Turning to the rear, readers will see the title, What People Are Saying. And below that, to no ones surprise, are four examples of What They Said. Two color of ink were used to express What They Said. At the very bottom, there’s a bar code tag, and a price.

Turning to the spine, and tilting the book to the light, you’ll see that the title and subtitle – but nothing else - has a glossy finish. You probably didn’t realize it, but the application of that shiny finish was a whole ‘nother step in the printing process. And book aficionados will note that the cover is printed in full color, too, proof that the publisher wanted only the best for Look Me in the Eye.

The marvels continue when you open the book. For example, on the inside flap, you’ll find a picture of me, sitting with a Bentley Turbo automobile engine, and a shelf with some assorted books behind me. Many people will search for the deeper meaning in that image, and I will not spoil things by revealing it here.

Readers of my blog who buy the book will be in for a special treat. Colors. That’s right, colors. Remove the jacket from my book, and set it apart from the book on a table near a computer monitor, and display my blog on the monitor. What will you see? Color coordination, that’s what!

Only the most special and unique of books match the colors of their author’s blogs. And for those doubters among you, the color match is like a fingerprint . . . unequivocal proof that I, the writer of this blog, am also the writer of Look Me in the Eye.

I am not, of course, the only person involved in the project. Other people have snuck their names in, and you’ll see them in your copy. For example, on the copyright page, you’ll find the name of the designer – Lauren Dong.

What is a designer, you ask? The designer is the person who figured out how the book would be laid out. Chapters starting halfway down the page. . . a classic Ardelovian typeface . . . The use of scrollwork and ornate letters at the beginning of every section . . . the use of small letters when describing signs, so MENS ROOM does not become unduly prominent on the page. That is design, and this book may well be nominated for awards.

It’s an often unrecognized but vital task, book design. And I haven’t taken the opportunity to speak of it, before now.

And she isn’t the only one. On the back flap, we find other names: Jacket design: Whitney Cookman. Jacket photo: Olaf Tiedje. Author photo: Rick Colson.

It took a moment to see, but I finally got it. The book designer was very clever when she placed those competing names. For they are on the jacket, and not in the book. So, fifty years from now, when kids of tomorrow look at an old copy of this book, who will they find? Me, and her. The others . . . vanished with the lost jacket, as if they never existed.

They may have vanished already, actually. On two occasions, I went to the Random House building and I sought out Whitney in his corner office, and . . . . . there was no one there. I found all the others, but not him. If some day I do find him, I will take his picture, and he will join the others, on my blog gallery.

I urge you to purchase my book right away, on the 25th, while you can still get a First Edition that is also a First Printing. Who knows what the future my bring. . . cost reduction engineers at the printer may change my book in subtle and hard-to-define ways, and some of the wonderful things I’ve revealed here may not exist by the fourth or sixth or tenth printing. So get yours soon.

On September 25th