NEW QUILL PRESS

MARKETING PLAN:
Title: What We Would Be
Author: Lisa Kaisen
Contact Info: kaisenl@gmail.com; 815-343-5279
MARKETING PLAN:
Book Description:
Raised by ex-hippie artists in a house that recalls Picasso, Olivia may as well have acrylic
paint running through her veins. Then she begins her Masters in Fine Arts at St. Angelas,
and can no longer bring paintbrush to page. Her muse is gone, and Olivia doesnt know
where she went or why she left. Adrift socially and artistically, Olivias plight is made worse
by the fact that St. Angelas is an all-girls campus, making her impending transition from
female to male that much more challenging.
In the meantime, Olivia lands a job at the campus library, working in the underground office
of creatives, a group of twenty-and-thirty-somethings who believe in personal and digital
revolutions. They are passionate, accepting, and inspiring. They take her in and involve her
in their plans. Just when Olivia starts to feel at home, strange things start happening...
This book hinges on mystery and magical realism while addressing some haunting and
important questions. What role does art play in identity? Who is Olivia without her muse?
Does her creative block have something to do with the ways in which her body is changing?
The paths she takes towards these private destinies curve in unexpected ways, and not even
Olivia knows what shell find at their center.
Category: Young Adult
Format: Trade Paperback
Illustrator: n/a
Illustrations # (color/b&w): n/a
Trim Size: 6 x 9"
Page Count: 305
Imprint: n/a
Warehouse Date:
Pub Date: Winter 2016
ISBN13: 978-1-932010-79-4 Print
978-1-932010-80-0 Ebook
List Price: Print, $15.95 US/$17.95 CAN
Ebook $6.99 US/CAN 4.99GBP

Print Run: 5,000-7,000

Book Code Book Title Abbreviation: WB
BISAC codes:
BISAC category code
YAF011000 YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Coming of Age
BISAC category code
YAF031000 YOUNG ADULT FICTION / LGBT
BISAC category code
YAF054020 YOUNG ADULT FICTION / School & Education / College & University
BISAC category code
YAF004000 YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Art
Edition: First
Other books by author:
n/a
Comparable Titles:
Nevada, Imogen Binnie, $15.07, paperback, 262 pages, ISBN 970983242239, 3/5/2013,
Topside Press
Nevada is the darkly comedic story of Maria Griffiths, a young trans woman
living in New York City and trying to stay true to her punk values while working
retail. When she finds out her girlfriend has lied to her, the world she thought she'd
carefully built for herself begins to unravel, and Maria sets out on a journey that will
most certainly change her forever. (Barnes and Noble summary)
The Paying Guests, Sarah Waters, $15.30, paperback, 592 pages, ISBN 9781594633928,
9/8/2013, Penguin Publishing Group
It is 1922, and London is tense. Ex-servicemen are disillusioned; the out-ofwork and the hungry are demanding change. And in South London, in a genteel
Camberwell villaa large, silent house now bereft of brothers, husband, and even
servantslife is about to be transformed, as impoverished widow Mrs. Wray and her
spinster daughter, Frances, are obliged to take in lodgers. With the arrival of Lilian
and Leonard Barber, a modern young couple of the clerk class, the routines of the
house will be shaken up in unexpected ways. Little do the Wrays know just how
profoundly their new tenants will alter the course of Francess lifeor, as passions
mount and frustration gathers, how far-reaching, and how devastating, the
disturbances will be. (Barnes and Noble summary)
Haunting Whispers, VK Powell, $15.77, paperback, 288 pages, ISBN 9781602825932,
2/14/2012, Bold Strokes Books
Can a nightmare be the answer to a prayer? Possibility, love, vigilance, even
fear can be captured in a whisper. But what if it's the only clue to solve a crime?
Detective Rae Butler inherits a series of assaults that seem to have no connection
beyond the suspect. But when she encounters Audrey Everhart and her
unexplainable insights, Rae is torn between what she knows and how she feels.

Mayoral publicist Audrey Everhart is haunted by nightmares and by the cop

determined to invade her privacy for answers. (Author website summary)
A Great and Terrible Beauty: Gemma Doyle Trilogy #1, Libba Bray, $9.99, paperback, 432
pages, ISBN 9780385732314, 3/22/2005, Random House Childrens Books
Its 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is
shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in
England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an
uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemmas reception there is a chilly one. To
make things worse, shes been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man
sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement
with Spences most powerful girlsand their foray into the spiritual worldlead to?
Audiences:
Teens and young adults; primarily LGBT individuals
Members of the transgender community
Adults who enjoy YA and NA novels
Aspiring artists
Readers interested in coming-of-age stories
Readers interested in university life and the academic sphere
Readers interested in novels with a focus on LGBT issues
High school and college students
Librarians, especially YA librarians, and readers who are hand-sold books by their
librarians.
Societies and Organizations:
Lisa has many connections with local artists
She is also a member of the local organization for creatives, ART + INK
Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston
Quincy Gallery of Contemporary Art
Markets:
East coast retailers
Airport bookstores
Colleges
High school libraries
Author resources:
Website
Twitter account
Reading/Writing Groups:
NA and YA book clubs
LGBT groups
Related topics to this book:
LGBT issues

 Coming-of-age
Fine arts
Identity
Strongest selling feature(s):
Lisa is an artist, and has used herself and her own experience as inspiration for
Olivias character
Lisa has a personal connection to all of her books themes; Her brother, born female,
came out to their family as transgender. His story is woven into the book
The books themes of coming-of-age, fine arts and academia, and transgender
representation are relevant and timely
Special emphasis as:
() Text Book
(x) Trade Book
() Professional Book
(x) Library Book
() Direct Mail
() Other
() Text Adoption Courses
STRATEGY/TACTICS:
Solicit reviews from targeted national and regional media
Review copies to major media (Publishers Weekly, ALA, etc.)
Regional magazines and newspapers
East coast publications
Book blogs: LGBT, YA, and NA
Coordinated social media campaign
Book giveaways
E-book pricing discounts with associated holidays
Designated hashtag: #whatwewouldbe
Co-promote with LGBT events and organizations
Handout w/ book cover, synopsis, resource pamphlet
Events and Launch:
New England Book Festival
New York Book Festival
Wisconsin Book Festival
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
Baltimore Book Festival
Wordstock
OutWrite LGBT Festival and Book Fair
YALLFest
Stores:
Book Culture - 450 Columbus Ave New York, NY 10024, 212-595-1962,
http://www.bookculture.com

 The Astoria Bookshop 31-29 31st St Queens, NY 11106, 718-278-2665,

http://www.astoriabookshop.com
Posman Books - 30 Rockefeller Plz New York, NY 10112, 212-489-9100,
http://posmanbooks.com
Strand Bookstore 828 Broadway New York, NY 10003, 212-473-1452,
http://www.strandbooks.com
Powells - 1005 W Burnside Portland, OR 97209, 503-228-4651,
http://www.powells.com
Awards to apply for:
William C. Morris YA Debut Award
Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Childrens and Young Adult Literature Award
Stonewall Honor Books in Childrens and Young Adult Literature
PEN/Faulkner Foundation Award
National Book Critic Circle Award
The American Book Awards
The Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature
Media:
Industry Publications:
Publisher's Weekly
Library Journal
Shelf Awareness
School Library Journal
Magazines:
TIME
Bloom
Tin House
The New Yorker
Harpers Magazine
Out Magazine
The Advocate
LGBT Weekly
Book Forum
The New Yorker
The Bloomsbury Review
Bookmarks
Book Page
Newspapers:
Seattle Times
Boston Globe
O, The Oprah Magazine
Washington Post
San Francisco Chronicle

USA Today
Los Angeles Times
Baltimore Sun
Chicago Sun Times
Philadelphia Inquirer
Washington Times
Portland Tribune
Seattle Weekly
Seattle Medium
New York Times
Washington Post Book World
Chicago Tribune

Online Media:
Huffington Post Books
Harvard Review Online
Harvard Book Review
New England Review
The Massachusetts Review
Kenyon Review
Tin House
Booklist
New York Times Book Review
Goodreads
GLAAD
Bloom
The Advocate
USA Book News
Barnes and Noble Review
The Millions
Rumpus
Salon
Bookblog
Bookdwarf
The Literary Saloon
Book Riot
Blogs:

GLAAD
She Reads Blog Network
Late Night Library
The Cosy Dragon
Bibliodaze
Navigating the Slush Pile
Book Geek Confessions
Teenreads

 BookLust
Rookie Magazine
Radio:

NPR All Things Considered

NPR Morning Edition
NPR Fresh Air
OPB State of Wonder
OPB Think Out Loud