Rick Simonson

A Little Misty and Messy 2
September 16, 2007

That business about the embargoed book(s) definitely rattled my Friday, hence, no Mist Place. Good thing it's not the day job.

One thing I did that day, aside from trying to focus on the idea of Immaculate Perception and what it meant, especially for work in books, was to try and erase from mind my even thinking about these embargoed books. I did first go and make a good security-guard-type approach to the various embargoees -- they were all stacked and segregated very securely. Boxes of books are boxes of books ... althought these ... I thought of getting the tape gun out just to show I meant business. No loose lips here. Thankfully, no one from the press called. I was ready to fend, fend, fend. The day otherwise went on.

Then it was Saturday. A day off, spent minding my business. Try to forget about the embargoed books as I might, they kept coming back to consciousness. I couldn't put them totally out of mind. To keep myself from accidental exposure to a possible leak, I stayed off the internet. There was a bit of email - even some with a bookselling colleague. That was tricky. I thought of broaching the subject matter of the embargoed books, that it shouldn't be subject matter. But I thought, there again, who is leading who down what trail? The colleague might suspect me of an attempt at entrapment. Maybe this colleague would be the reporting type. The things one starts to speculate upon ... Smartly and prudently, the subject matter was more safely kept to the weather, to what fruit was ripe, what a certain publisher's cheesiest title was, and what color shirt I was wearing. Actual books? Not this day.

Later on, though, there was what happened at the grocery store. Shopping done, I was on the way out the door when my eye caught the Seattle daily paper I don't subscribe to. Something in its headline caught my eye. Ohmigod, I thought, upon seeing it. Oh no, oh no, no, no, oh, oh. I didn't know what to do. The headline clearly was a reference to one of the embargoed books. I so did not want to read on, fearful of jeopardizing who knows what. I squinted, pretending more to peruse the free tabloid circular offering houses and condos for sale, meanwhile scanning the text of this shocking sight, this article ... I was looking for words to the effect of 'a copy of this book was bought at full retail from an undisclosed retail location.' That was all, really, to see who among us might have done this. Oh, the wrath, for this surely was an unsanctioned premature release, wasn't it? Would we all have hell to pay?

Then, shock became astonishment - I saw the byline, I realized the author of the article was the famous journalist, one-half of the duo that had helped bring down the Nixon admnistration with the use of the informant known for three decades only as Deep Throat. This journalist wouldn't need to say anything about how he got hold of this embargoed book. At this stage of things, he wouldn't have to say anything about a source, where he gets quotes or sources, none of it. Hey, his source could even be the book's author, worried that all this clandestine activity might not really help sell the books - an inside Deep Throat job. It probably wouldn't be the first time. I wondered if the journalist still met sources in garages. 

Concern did not stop there, by now, either. This journalist was/is himself the author of books very subject to this same embargo process. He knows how this works, as much if not better than anyone else. What is going on here? Who gave him this scoop? And for what purpose is he using it? Merely to write a newspaper article? I rather think not, don't you? Couldn't this mean he might have a new book of his own to suddenly come, announcing how this other book's contents came to be? (This time he could capitalize on naming his own 'Deep Throat' source, given he was scooped with the real one, years after he could have made such disclosure. Here he could get payoff.) When I got home and checked email, would there be a message from our Simon & Schuster rep announcing this book? (What other publisher is more fond of the add-on? Especially embargoed add-ons? Is anyone else better?) No doubt this could all be done on the quick - perhaps this book could also be in by the same street date as these other books?

The safest thing, of course, is not to check email. And now, to really not check newspapers. TV? No way. The internet. Nada. Maybe we should just wait, not open any of these boxes, just wait .... I was home by now, thinking this. And ... cloudy skies had given way to mist, and mist now to rain. Perfect timing for a nap. This one, no phone calls, please ... until the coast is clear.

Posted by Rick Simonson on September 16, 2007 | Comments (0)