Today’s interviewee is Toby Ball, who’s novel The Vaults is coming out with St Martin’s Press on September 14th.

In a dystopian 1930s America, a chilling series of events leads three men down a path to uncover their city’s darkest secret.

At the height of the most corrupt administration in the City’s history, a mysterious duplicate file is discovered deep within the Vaults—a cavernous hall containing all of the municipal criminal justice records of the last seventy years. From here, the story follows: Arthur Puskis, the Vault’s sole, hermit-like archivist with an almost mystical faith in a system to which he has devoted his life; Frank Frings, a high-profile investigative journalist with a self-medicating reefer habit; and Ethan Poole, a socialist private eye with a penchant for blackmail.

All three men will undertake their own investigations into the dark past and uncertain future of the City—calling into question whether their most basic beliefs can be maintained in a climate of overwhelming corruption and conspiracy.

Something I’d like to note quickly; this interview began back in June, hence my first question!

I have to admit, I haven’t got any personal experience in print
publishing. How far through the process are you now? From what I’ve heard, I’m under the impression most of the editing and so on is done fairly early on, and the publisher is involved in the nitty-gritty of store placement, peer reviews, and other pre-promotional stuff. Is that right?

My editor gave me some guidance in a memo and I did a rewrite based on that. It wasn’t a major overhaul, though he said that sometimes it is easy (like my book) and other times there is a lot more back and forth involved. A copy-editor also went through and corrected grammar, spelling, made names consistent, etc. Both my editor and agent got author quotes and my editor walked the book through cover design, print design, etc. I’m just starting to work with the publicity and marketing departments. The sales people work with the bookstores and chains for book placement. We haven’t gotten to that point yet with my book, but should during July/August. I’ll also be getting pre-pub reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, etc. and also get a sense of who, if any, of the national magazines will be reviewing.

The publicist assigned to me at St. Martin’s is also arranging book signings and hopefully press, etc.There’s a certain amount of talk about trying to build buzz around a book — talking it up with sales reps, bookstores, etc. I’m not completely clear on how that works.

Did you go through an agent, or did you submit directly to your publisher? Either way, what made you decide on St Martin’s?

I spent several years querying agents and working on revisions for The Vaults before I was finally offered representation. It was a very long and frustrating progress, but worthwhile because the agent I ended up with is very well-connected and is a former editor who worked with me to get my manuscript into the best possible shape before submitting (he’s also a great guy).

He submitted to around 20 editors at the big New York houses and St. Martin’s made the best bid. Before they bid, I’d met the editor who eventually bought the manuscript (and a second book, as well) and a couple of other people from St. Martin’s. I felt very comfortable with the editor and he and the others were clearly excited about my book. It was not a difficult decision. Another factor for me was that my editor had worked on and was working on projects that I thought were interesting. I thought that our sensibilities were similar enough that our partnership would be smooth (as it has turned out to be).  One thing that I didn’t realize before this process began was that you are signing with both an editor, who steers your book through the process from manuscript through revisions and the various steps leading to publication, and a publisher, with its staff of publicists, marketers, designers, sales reps, etc. It has worked out well for me, but they are in some ways separate relationships, which is why you see authors following their editors to other publishers or sometimes being left in a kind of limbo if their editor leaves and they don’t or can’t follow.

What were the major milestones for you once you’d been accepted?

After we worked out the contract with St. Martin’s, I had a phone conversation with my editor and he followed up with a one-page memo listing suggested revisions. I spent a couple of months writing another draft based on the memo and that draft was accepted (thankfully).

The final big production step was the cover, which is both very important and completely beyond your control as an author unless it is really just unacceptable. I was extremely fortunate in that the cover they designed was both visually interesting and very neatly evokes the atmosphere of the book. You can see the cover at my website: tobyball.com.

Since then it has mostly been a matter of waiting for pre-pub reviews and trying to set up publicity and book events. I received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and a more moderate assessment from Booklist (which also gave away the whole plot in their summary).I’ve set up a number of author events in my area and also on the west coast and my publicist will be trying to get reviews in newspapers and magazines.

Of the promotion done so far, what has St Martin’s arranged, and what has fallen to you?

St. Martin’s printed a number of galleys and sent them to magazines, a few major newspapers, and some industry “buzz-makers.” I believe they also had some available at BEA and maybe some other events like that. When the hardcover book is printed, about three weeks prior to release date, they will send to newspapers, other media, book bloggers, and other people they identify or who I request. I worked at a magazine in Washington DC for a number of years and have a fair number of friends in the media and my publicist will coordinate with them when submitting review copies. I’ve also identified som e book bloggers who have agreed to review The Vaullts. But, for the most part, it is the publicity people at St. Martin’s using their contacts and shipping books to try to get reviews.

Arranging book events has been a joint effort. The publicist does all the logistical work – making sure books are at the store, sending promotional materials, contacting local media, etc. – and both she and I have talked to bookstores to arrange events.

Particularly with events, I’ve found that publishing with a big house has – whether rightly or wrongly – given me some credibility with the media and bookstores. As I’m writing this it is too early to know how the reviews will pan out, but my strong sense is that it would be nearly impossible for me to get reviews at most newspapers without the backing of a big house.

Do you have any more books in the works? I know some publishers like the right of first refusal on certain projects; is this so with St Martins, or would you and your agent pitch to other publishers with future books?