Karen Knows Best

Why Are Some Publishers So…Clueless?

Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Posted in: Dorothy Koomson, My Best Friend's Girl

I found this review of Dorothy Koomson’s My Best Friend’s Girl, on Youtube, and I quite liked it, so I thought I’d post a link to it on here.

Danke Smith, one of my serial lurkers (the Youtube video is hers by the way) posted a comment about the book, which I thought I’d highlight on here:

I wasn’t sure where to leave this comment about The American Version of Dorothy Koomson’s My Best Friend’s Girl so I thought I’d leave it here.

I noticed it is about to be released in America with an awful cover that doesn’t do the story justice. What is most interesting, I think, is that the cover blurb from the publisher makes a race issue when there isn’t really one.

Also, it has been paired with books about interracial romances on Amazon.com. It’s as if because the main character is black, there is nothing else to the story.

Thought I’d bring it up because I know this is a subject quite close to your heart. Mine, too! ; )What do you think?

Danke x

What do I think?

Firstly, the American cover sucks great big fucking hairy donkey balls, and secondly, this book wasn’t about effing race. It was about betrayal, death, adoption, and friendship. Why oh why do these publishers have to mess with stuff that aint broken? If Ms Koomson had wanted to make this book about race, then I daresay, she would have done so in a more obvious manner.

Richard Madeley even states in the video, that he wasn’t aware that Kamryn was black until the incident with Tiegan at the supermarket. This should be a flashing neon sign to the publishers, even though it’s obvious to anyone who’s read MBFG, that this book isn’t about race. Sheesh.

19 Comments »

jmc
January 30
5:16 pm

I picked up a copy of My Best Friends Girl after you reviewed it. Loved it, it was in my top 10 reads for last year. That cover? Would not induce me to buy a copy. And I agree that race was not the Big Deal in this book. It’s a shame that the publisher is pigeon-holing it that way.

sallahdog
January 30
5:28 pm

Its because the pussy whipped publishers are so frightened that some Ku Klux Klan member in the deep south will inadvertantly pick up this book and lose their shit…. which of course is completely bogus because we all know those folks don’t read books…

azteclady
January 30
6:36 pm

I have been trying to find this book over here since you posted your review oh so long ago, and sadly, I haven’t been able to find it… I’ll have to think outside the box.

The US cover? *gag* and *double gag*

What the hell?

Eli
January 30
7:04 pm

The cover bites, but I’m glad to see it was finally published here. I’ve had this on my “keep and eye out” list since reading your review. Now I can call my book pusher and have her add it to the pile waiting for me. Well actually waiting for the weather to cooperate so that I can pick things up.

TMS
January 30
7:25 pm

I didn’t even notice that the adult and the little girl on the cover were different races until it was mentioned by a commenter. Shows how much I pay attention!

If the book isn’t about race, then the publisher should not make is sound like it is.

That does suck.

Diane V
January 30
8:03 pm

I too bought this book after Karen’s wonderful review. Definitely not about race –and the american cover definitely sucks!

Azteclady…I ordered mine from Amazon and it only took about a week to get it delivered from the UK to the US — cost about $9 plus $4 to ship I think.

azteclady
January 30
10:27 pm

Thank you, Diane V, the bulb finally went on in my head, and I ordered it today.

Eve Vaughn
January 31
12:05 am

I loved this book!! I loved it so much, I got my girlfriend in England to send me Dorothy’s other books. I’m in the middle of reading Marshmallow’s for Breakfast (the British Version) and I love it almost as much as I did my Best Friend’s Girl. Karen, hurry up and read it and tell us what you think!

Seressia
January 31
12:35 am

If the American publisher is going to make race an issue, then why not keep the original cover? That’s certainly intriguing enough to make a person pick it up and read the back cover blurb.

The socks/booties are simply…oogly, as in oooh, that’s ugly!

azteclady
January 31
12:50 am

The original cover is so pretty and so evocative, that the US version seems doubly as yucky to me.

Shiloh Walker
January 31
2:42 am

I’m trying to decide if I want to read this. It sounds good… but I don’t like sad all that much. Is this a feel-good type story with some sadness or a sad type story with some feed good?

BTW, Karen, in case you’re curious!
Who we are

Hoping the link comes out okay….

Shiloh Walker
January 31
2:57 am

And another btw… those boots are hideous.

I really have no idea what influences these things.

Remember when the Colts won the Superbowl? And if I remember right, there was a lot of publicity centered around the fact that it would be two black men coaching the teams in the Superbowl~ I’m no sports buff, so I could be remembering wrong. I kept wondering, why is the focus on their skin color and not the fact that they are good at their jobs? They’d have to be, to get to the Superbowl, right? So why was so much attention focused on their color instead of the person?

I suspect because it was the media, and media likes sensationalism. Did the focus on “two black coaches” result in more attention than “two excellent coaches”?

In this instance, is it a publicity thing to catch the niche market? Trying to grab the attention of what’s perceived to be a sure sell?

I have absolutely no idea.

Marg
January 31
9:00 am

Noooo!!! I can’t believe how badly they have messed up the cover on this one!! I read this last year based on your rec and love, love, loved it! If I saw that in the shop, I wouldn’t even look at it!

Danke Smith
January 31
11:42 am

In this instance, is it a publicity thing to catch the niche market? Trying to grab the attention of what’s perceived to be a sure sell?

I think it’s just that the American media seems obsessed with race, than a marketing idea. Wouldn’t a company that aims to make money want to appeal to as wide an audience as possible?

I’m British by the way, so don’t really know about the Superbowl thing, but it seems to me that race is always mentioned in TV shows and films. Far more than over here.

As Karen pointed out in her original review a lot of people didn’t know that the main character was black until they started reading, so they hadn’t made up their minds about what the character was like and what the book was ‘about’ until they’d read it.

I know on the webchat Ms Koomson did about her book in relation to Richard & Judy, people tried to suggest she should have made more of the race issue and as she pointed out, the book wasn’t about that. Here’s the link to the webchat. http://forum.richardandjudybookclub.co.uk/showthread.php?t=115

Danke Smith
January 31
11:45 am

PS What are those boots about?!?

Shiloh Walker
January 31
1:01 pm

I think it’s just that the American media seems obsessed with race, than a marketing idea. Wouldn’t a company that aims to make money want to appeal to as wide an audience as possible?

The American media is obsessed with sensationalizing things period. I hardly even watch the news anymore.