The Power of Bigmouth Marketing, Part Two: Glenn Taylor Gets His NY Groove On

Since Richard Nash (@r_nash on Twitter) just tweeted a link to Part One, I thought I'd better get busy with Part Two.

When last I wrote, I told you about how I blogged a bit about M. Glenn Taylor's novel "The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart" from West Virginia University Press. 

A day or so later, I received a lovely email from the author himself, thanking me for the mention. I also received a lovely email from Dr. Mr. Reverend Neighbor's wonderful wife, thanking me for the mention. I was happy. I thought: I have done something good and honest, and the people involved noticed. 'Nuff.

So I was flabbergasted, a few weeks later, to receive an email from a young woman whose name was completely unknown to me -- but her email indicated that she was with the Susan Golomb Agency. I know Susan Golomb! This new agent (a former big-publishing-house employee) wrote that she was a big fan of my blog, and particularly liked to check out what I was currently reading. "Because of you," she continued, "I've just signed my first client."

Guess who? Yes, M. Glenn Taylor!

Not only did this agent sign Glenn as a client of her agency -- she (immediately, it seems, but I'm sure it took a little work!) got him a two-book deal with Ecco. They'll be re-releasing "The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart" this summer, and Glenn is working on his next novel. 

Now, I have no idea how Glenn's book bubbled up the National Book Critics Circle voting tree this year. I certainly didn't get it onto the list nominees for the NBCC Fiction Award all by myself. I'm not claiming that I have special powers of literary discernment; many of my colleagues were evidently just as discerning as I am (joke!). 

However, I do know that my blog helped nudge a winner closer to the starting block. As I read that email from Glenn's new agent, I could not have been happier or prouder than if I'd just had my own first novel published (hey! pigs do fly!). 

"The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart" did not win this year's NBCC Fiction Award -- but I'm pretty sure Glenn Taylor didn't mind at all. His book had been considered in the same company as those of Roberto Bolano, Marilynne Robinson. But there was one more treat to come...

Comments

[Kathy]

How exciting!