Friday, June 5, 2009

Tour of Hachette Books

Another NYC highlight this past week was Kelly giving me, Daniel, Steph (Reviewer X) and Nicole (Linus's Blanket) a tour of Hachette's offices on Monday morning. Kelly took nearly two hours out of her day to answer our questions and show us around. Thank you to Kelly and the whole online team at Hachette. You are doing a great job reaching out to bloggers.

Group shot (Kelly Leonard, Anna Balasi, Miriam Parker, Nicole, Brianne Beers, me, Steph, Valerie Russo)

Our first stop was to visit Alice in the Little, Brown Young Readers division. I can't tell you how cool it was to see her desk piled high with ARCs of HATE LIST, ASH and PROPHESY OF THE SISTERS (all spoken for). No stack of BEAUTIFUL CREATURES because they went superfast!

Alice's desk

She told us a bit about her job and that she gathers up ARC requests and then deals with them all at once about once a week. She loves digest e-mails, so if you owe her links to several reviews, it is best if you wait to send them all at once.

Me and Alice Morley in front of this season's Little, Brown Young Readers sign

We walked around and looked at a couple of the other departments and imprints, with Kelly telling us about what they do.

Kelly points out the various imprints

And of course, she had to show us the ARC closet that Brianne recently organized. I am sure I squealed when I saw it.

Brianne shows off her handiwork

Kelly showed us Hachette's video studio and then took us to a whole different floor to check out Hachette's in-house, state-of-the-art audio recording studio where actors and authors come in to record audio books.

What I'd look like if I was recording an audio book
Hachette is very pro-book blogger and were very early adapters in online marketing. They are both amazingly accommodating and genuinely thrilled to be working with us.

They've set up a platform on ning where book bloggers can sign up to host a Hachette giveaway and another platform where book bloggers can request upcoming titles for review.

Thanks again Kelly!
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57 comments:

  1. MichelleJune 5, 2009 at 7:50 PM

    Look at all those wonderful books! What an amazing opportunity you had to get an inside look at how it all works. Color me jealous but so happy for you guys.

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  2. trishJune 5, 2009 at 7:52 PM

    That is so cool! That'll be something I'd like to try to do next year... :)

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  3. UnknownJune 5, 2009 at 7:52 PM

    Wow that is awesome! I'm totally jealous you got to do that! And you met Alice!

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  4. BookChicJune 5, 2009 at 7:56 PM

    That's totally awesome!! :) And is that Alice Morley? Great pics and recap- I'm jealous! Sounds like such a fun time!

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  5. Ana S.June 5, 2009 at 7:57 PM

    ARCs of Ash! *pines* I'm really looking forward to that one.

    Thanks for sharing the pics. Sounds like it was a great experience!

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  6. SarahChristineJune 5, 2009 at 8:04 PM

    i would love to be locked in hat closet :)

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  7. MeghanJune 5, 2009 at 8:07 PM

    That is really, really awesome. I'm jealous!

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  8. NelyJune 5, 2009 at 8:12 PM

    So neat - thanks for sharing the pics. It's great to put faces to these wonderful gals we work with every day.

    ♥ Nely

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  9. AnonymousJune 5, 2009 at 8:14 PM

    This entire post is just so so cool!

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  10. 3mJune 5, 2009 at 8:33 PM

    Wow, that looks like a fantastic time!

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  11. JanssenJune 5, 2009 at 8:35 PM

    That is incredible. And I am, obviously, dying of jealousy over that ARC closet.

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  12. AlyceJune 5, 2009 at 8:52 PM

    That is really cool! I loved getting to see the behind the scenes photos of Hachette!

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  13. UnknownJune 5, 2009 at 8:54 PM

    That sounds like such a great time. I'm so glad you guys got to go!

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  14. Anna ClaireJune 5, 2009 at 9:01 PM

    What a fabulous trip! It looks like it was amazing. And you look so professional in the recording studio ;)

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  15. bermudaonionJune 5, 2009 at 9:14 PM

    I'm sorry I missed the tour! Hachette is so wonderful to work with and I loved meeting all of them last weekend. Thanks for posting this.

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  16. HillaryJune 5, 2009 at 9:41 PM

    That looks like it so was soo fun. Hopefully I can go next year. Now I want a book closet!

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  17. ANovelMenagerieJune 5, 2009 at 9:56 PM

    OH! I want to go there! That looks soooo cool!

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  18. StephanieJune 5, 2009 at 10:00 PM

    Oh, I'm so jealous!!

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  19. Rebecca HermanJune 5, 2009 at 10:37 PM

    How cool! Love the ARC piles.

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  20. Brooke ReviewsJune 5, 2009 at 11:09 PM

    Wow that ARC closet is awesome. :) I want one. lol

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  21. ShalondaJune 5, 2009 at 11:40 PM

    That looked like a really fun time! It would be so cool to sit in that audio booth.

    And you met Alice! She's wonderful!

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  22. KateJune 6, 2009 at 12:41 AM

    It sounds like you had fun. Great pictures. You didn't happen to get the blueprints for the builing (including the ARC closet) and notice if there were any alarms? :D

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  23. BookwormJune 6, 2009 at 1:07 AM

    OMG that's so cool! I'm totally jealous. Did you manage to snag an ARC of Alphas by Lisi Harrison? Let me know! (:

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  24. AleaJune 6, 2009 at 1:07 AM

    Thanks for posting this, I've always wanted to see what the inside of a publishing house looks like. And loved the picture of you showing what it would look like if you were recording an audio book! hehe!

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  25. BurtonReview June 6, 2009 at 1:29 AM

    Wow that is definitely awesome! Loved the pictures, especially the one that would make many of us squeal... WOOOOOOOOOOOHOOO

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  26. ToniJune 6, 2009 at 1:51 AM

    Love the pictures.. thanks for sharing. What a great time. I am soooo jealous.

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  27. BonnieJune 6, 2009 at 2:30 AM

    Thanks for sharing your tour with us! It was so nice to see the "behind the scenes" at Hachette and faces of the wonderful women that support book bloggers. The ARC closet and audio booth were my favorites!! What a wonderful trip that you had in NYC!

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  28. kalea_kaneJune 6, 2009 at 2:58 AM

    What a treat it was reading all about your tour! It looks like you had a wonderful time!

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  29. Shooting Stars MagJune 6, 2009 at 3:26 AM

    Hachette really is great when it comes to working with bloggers. And I'm so jealous you met Miriam in person, I used to talk to her a lot this past year.

    You are so luck to have gotten a tour. I'm freaking out over that ARC closet. ME WANT. lol

    -lauren

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  30. Ruth KingJune 6, 2009 at 4:00 AM

    Lenore, I loved this post! Thanks for giving us an inside look at Hachette. I've had the pleasure of working with Miriam several times and it's great to see how Hachette operates. I now want to move to New York and work for them. (How awesome would it be to be surrounded by so many books all day and actually get paid for it?)

    You probably wouldn't have been able to drag me away from the ARC closet.

    Totally off topic, but Steph and I own the same pair of shoes.

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  31. ThaoJune 6, 2009 at 4:22 AM

    I'm so jealous of you guys. How did you get such a great tour like that? I'm so glad to see Alice, she's been so nice on emails and stuff. And look at the ARC closet! Anyone else wants to be book thief?

    Thanks for the pictures and the links Lenore :D

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  32. StaciJune 6, 2009 at 4:41 AM

    Loved all of those pictures!! and especially the ARC closet..I could hear your squeals of delight from here!!

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  33. DarleneJune 6, 2009 at 5:31 AM

    That's totally awesome Lenore! I love Hachette-they really are great.

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  34. AmyJune 6, 2009 at 6:48 AM

    What fun! I have to admit I was green with envy when you guys made your plans at dinner.

    I love the Hachette team...they are wonderful.

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  35. AnonymousJune 6, 2009 at 11:50 AM

    These pics are sooo awesome. And that ARC shelf is cool. I wish Hatchett would ship the ARC's internationally :(

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  36. Lenore AppelhansJune 6, 2009 at 11:56 AM

    One thing I didn't mention in the post - the security is tight. You have to present yourself to security guards downstairs who check your ID and then call up to see if you are expected. That's so no one pops in to try to sell a manuscript (or raid the ARC closet ;))

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  37. Christina FarleyJune 6, 2009 at 2:25 PM

    Oh I loved the pictures. Thanks for sharing. Looks like you had so much fun. I'm living vicariously through you!

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  38. DeborahJune 6, 2009 at 2:30 PM

    what a great post. i love all the girls at hachette and it's wonderful you got to tour the place...SO jealous!

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  39. Beth FJune 6, 2009 at 2:43 PM

    How fun!!!!! I have to spend more time in NYC next year.

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  40. EricaJune 6, 2009 at 3:41 PM

    Wow. That's neat. That'd be something I'd love to do some time.

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  41. Kate at Read This Book!June 6, 2009 at 4:08 PM

    *drools* look at all the ARCs.

    You are very lucky! What a great opportunity for you.

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  42. LivianiaJune 6, 2009 at 8:07 PM

    Way cool! I love the bit I've done with the Hachette team, so I'm glad to hear they were awesome in person.

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  43. The Tome TravellerJune 6, 2009 at 8:50 PM

    Thanks for this fantatic post! Hachette is just the best and I was sooo envious that you gals got a tour. But this post is almost as good as being there!

    Carey

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  44. AmeeJune 6, 2009 at 11:00 PM

    An ARC closet! That is awesome.

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  45. AngelaJune 7, 2009 at 4:03 PM

    Oh, how cool!

    I can't wait to read ASH.

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  46. LuanneJune 7, 2009 at 5:08 PM

    Oh I loved this post!! How lucky you are and how jealous I am that you got to meet all the great folks at Hachette and tour their offices!! Cool beyond belief. Thanks for sharing!!

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  47. icedteaJune 8, 2009 at 1:31 AM

    Thanks for the inside look and all your BEA reports.

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  48. AngelaJune 8, 2009 at 3:41 AM

    Looks like a ton of fun! When I visit NYC again I would love to spend some time visiting with the amazing people at the publishing houses that I've been working with!

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  49. MelodyJune 8, 2009 at 10:21 AM

    I enjoy reading your blog, Lenore! And this post about the Hachette Books Tour is just awesome!

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  50. Lenore AppelhansJune 9, 2009 at 6:27 PM

    Oh Bookworm, I did not get ALPHAS. I'm not sure I even saw it, but then I wasn't on the lookout for it.

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  51. vvb32 readsJune 9, 2009 at 9:48 PM

    supercool! thanks for sharing this hachette experience.

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  52. the story sirenJune 10, 2009 at 1:09 PM

    That looks like so much fun! and what an awesome experience! Definitely learned a couple new things!

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  53. Ladytink_534June 11, 2009 at 1:21 AM

    Sounds like a lot of fun! I'm with you about that ARC closet :)

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  54. AnonymousJune 13, 2009 at 11:04 PM

    That is AWESOME!

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  55. Joanne ♦ The Book ZombieJune 14, 2009 at 1:20 AM

    This is such an awesome post! Thanks so much for sharing the pics from your tour - that is something I would love to do. I think it's pretty cool that the recording studio is in the same building.

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  56. Dawn - She is Too Fond of BooksJune 18, 2009 at 4:48 AM

    Very cool behind-the-scenes tour complete with photos ... thanks for posting this!

    I can't decide which pic I like the best - the group shot in front of the Hachette sign, the ARC closet, or you in the recording studio!

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  57. jamaiseJanuary 11, 2010 at 3:25 AM

    That's so cool - I work with Miriam & have worked with Anna - neat to see them. What a great experience for you!

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