Most of the time editors toil in their offices, reading manuscripts and struggling to make silk purses out of sows' ears. Thoughtful authors remember to thank them (not nearly as often or as unstintingly as they should) in the acknowledgements at the end of their books. And once in a while these backstage heroes make dramatic appearances on stage, as my Doubleday editor Nita Pronovost has just done to promote one of her authors. Here's Nita's blog about it:
In one of the stranger moments in my publishing career, a few weeks ago I found myself in a morgue with one of my authors. Fortunately, neither of us was performing an autopsy. Fortunately, neither of us was dead.
In Nicholas Ruddock’s brilliant debut novel, The Parabolist, a group of earnest young med students in the seventies dissects a body—through skin, tendon, flesh and bone they slice, as layer by layer, they unravel the mystery of a murder and the truth about their own lives. So, when it came time to drum up some promotional ideas, Nick, a family physician and an incredible writer (yes, some people have way too much talent), thought it might be neat to shoot a short video in a morgue. I had to agree: that did sound neat.
So that’s what we did.
I didn’t think much more about this—about the reality of this—until we actually arrived at the site. We were escorted through fluorescent hospital halls to those ominous stainless steel doors, and then it suddenly set in with a shock: this was not a movie set. Our plans were delayed because there was an actual autopsy in progress.
We returned a few hours later to learn that the “job” had been completed, and that “the crew” had cleaned up the morgue. We were ready to enter.
As we walked in, I couldn’t help but notice the small details: the chemical smell of disinfectant in the air, the line of rubber boots along a wall, the clipboard that read: “Processed Limb: For Disposal” … and in the centre of the room, that cold metal table, where a short time before, a person had been unravelled—skin, tendon, flesh, bone.
Here’s the thing: those are my toes in the video. I had volunteered to be the body in our shoot, proving that I will do just about anything for the love of book. I soon found myself lying on that freezing table with a white sheet draped over me, toes exposed and tagged. I’ll admit it: my heart was racing, and I was feeling more than a little spooked, but as we progressed, I started to relax into the role. I mean, how many times in my life would I get to play dead?
Fortunately for me, Nick’s a great reader and a lot of fun. The shoot was fast-paced; Nick’s gallows humour quelled my jitters; and my resurrection came mercifully quickly. As the shoot rounded to a close, we needed just one more shot. Nick asked the videographer, “Where do you want me this time?”
I knew the answer, and I couldn’t help myself. “Over my dead body,” I said.
From http://www.booklounge.ca/blogs/2010/01/for_the_love_of_book_the_parab.html
