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Joined: 6/7/2013
Posts: 1356
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Hi everyone--I also posted this on the blog this morning, but I wanted to have it here as well:
Today I have some bittersweet news to share with the Book Country
community: I’m leaving my role as Book Country Director and moving to a
new position inside Penguin Random House, as Assistant Director of
Publicity at Random House.
As you might know, my first couple of jobs right out of college were
in publicity. My favorite projects were when I got to work on literary
fiction debuts by emerging writers. Working with these types of books is
exciting because the publicist’s job is to get readers excited about
up-and-coming writers, and also gets the chance to work with writers at
the beginning of their careers. This is actually quite similar to what
I’ve been doing here at Book Country in many ways, and I can’t thank the
community enough for what I have learned from you as you have explored
the new frontiers of writing, publishing, and marketing your books
online. I’m firmly of the mindset that no writer can find an audience
without getting involved in a writing community at the start, and I’m
planning on using a very community-minded approach to publicizing books
in my new job at Random House.
Random House publishes some of my all-time favorite writers, so I
feel very lucky to become a part of their world-class publishing team.
However, there are a lot of things about working at Book Country that I
know I’ll really miss. Working with this community was a unique
opportunity to learn an enormous amount about diverse genres, different
styles of publishing, social media and video, web development, and, of
course, gave me the chance to connect to over 20,000 writers from all
over the world. With Book Country I hung out with romance writers in New Orleans and Atlanta, mystery and thriller writers on the beach at Bouchercon,
and dug into the craft of writing and business of publishing at writing
conferences and meetups in Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, and here in
New York. I’ve read and reviewed books that have been in progress for
years, as well as new novels you’re just starting to write. We’ve also
set–and achieved–some incredible goals together, from NaNoWriMo to
feedback challenges to the Book Country Buddy Program.
 Outgoing
Book Country Director Lucy Silag with member Andrea Dunlop at the
Pacific Northwest Writers Association conference in July 2015.
Now that I won’t be the Book Country Director, I won’t be able to
answer community questions about how to use the site and I won’t be able
to help if issues come up with your account. Please email customersupport@publish.bookcountry.com if you have questions so that my Book Country colleagues can help you.
I also want to let you know that because of this staffing change,
Book Country will not be at the San Francisco Writers Conference as we
had announced we would be. However, Book Country member Andrea Dunlop will be there with Girl Friday Productions. If you will be at SFWC, be sure to connect with Andrea at the conference!
My last day as Book Country Director will be January 29, 2016. Please
don’t hesitate to reach out with questions, and of course, I want to
keep in touch with you as we continue on this writing journey. I’ll keep
using the site to workshop my own WIPs, to connect with like-minded
writers, and to stay informed of trends in the industry. My profile is here. You can also find me on Twitter.
THANK YOU for your good humor, your community
spirit, your creativity, your thoughtful reviews and discussion posts,
for your innovative approaches to publishing in the digital era, and for
inspiring and encouraging me as a writer and reader.
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Hi, Lucy.
I'm sad to see you go, but am glad you're getting a job that will make you happy 
I'm also glad you're wanting to stay in the loop in the Friday Accountability thread.
Quick question: will there be a new Director appointed to Book Country, or are we going to be on our own now? Without a Director, I'm not certain how long this site will last . . .
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Joined: 1/21/2016
Posts: 8
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Hi Amber-
My name is Debasree. I am the Book Country Assistant that will be taking over for Lucy. I know I have some large shoes to fill. If there is anything you or anyone needs, I am here for you.
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Joined: 6/7/2013
Posts: 1356
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Thanks, Amber! And thanks, Debasree, for being there to help!
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Hi, Debasree! I'm certain you'll run this site fine
Nice to meet you!
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Lucy already knows I am happy for her, albeit a bit sad to see her move on. But she can't get rid of us that easy. There's always BC, Facebook, and Twitter.
Next topic: Yay! A person and not an anonymous email mailbox! Nice to meet you, Debasree. I am looking forward to your insight on Book Country. We'll be nice. Promise. 
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Mysterious. Not a word yet out of the new Director. Very unusual, I say.
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Mimi Speike wrote:
Mysterious. Not a word yet out of the new Director. Very unusual, I say.
I was thinking the same, too, Mimi. I wonder if we've been left to fend for ourselves after all . . .
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Oh Amber. That thought has crossed my mind. Well, if this site goes down, you and I have Writers Co-op. And, guess what? I finally discovered Pinterest today. I like that feature where you can search for something, for instance, cats in boots. And cats in boots may just pop up. I thought people had to know your name and go to your page. It seems not. Can you do the same thing on Facebook? I know nothing about that either.
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I'm getting my nerve up to do a final revise on my novella. I've been agonizing for a week now. My latest review is very good, except that I am told I go in too many directions. I have been crazed over that comment, I couldn't get my arms around just what it referred to. I thought it was something subtle. Then it came to me. It's the big shifts, the shifts that I've made deliberately. My story is a mosaic, a piece here, a piece there, it all joins up at some point. And I like it that way.
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You're right about that, Mimi
There's also other writer sites out there (I'm part of a few of them, and I've been getting a lot of feedback that I value highly), so if it has to be, then it has to be.
But who knows? Maybe Book Country will make a turn-around and become active again. I won't delete my profile, I'll check in every now and again, and even do the occasional review.
I just hope it doesn't shut down completely. I'd like to let everyone know when I finally get something published, lol.
Also, good luck with your revision! I'm sure it'll all come together!
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Book Country seems to be a bit more active on Twitter. Perhaps there is a learning curve to this site we are not aware of?
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Joined: 8/20/2015
Posts: 32
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Debasree Book Country Assistant wrote:Hi Amber-
My name is Debasree. I am the Book Country Assistant that will be taking over for Lucy. I know I have some large shoes to fill. If there is anything you or anyone needs, I am here for you.
Hello Debasree! Since all the people I have known are slowly trickling away I think I'm in the progress of moving to. As it is, right now I have little time for BC, so is there a way to "hide" my book or make it visible to friends only - or do I have to delete it completely? I hate for it to be accessible to the whole world while I'm not there to watch it?
Thanks
--edited by lilmerlin on 2/25/2016, 12:54 PM--
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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I am participating in a co-operative site being assembled by a handful of Book Country refugees, and I am building, finally, my own site. But I am also keeping an eye on here, mystified by the new director's lack of a response to what is clearly a crisis.
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Joined: 8/20/2015
Posts: 32
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Mimi Speike wrote:I am participating in a co-operative site being assembled by a handful of Book Country refugees, and I am building, finally, my own site. But I am also keeping an eye on here, mystified by the new director's lack of a response to what is clearly a crisis.
Seriously no kidding. Been waiting two weeks for a reply now. Can't send her a message since she won't connect. Guess that's why the reason all I knew left. Sad really.
Shortly after Authonomy closed, some survivors created Scribblers http://http://scribblers.freeforums.net/
Would be a nice place too if more writers joined. Write on I just find confusing. --edited by lilmerlin on 3/1/2016, 10:01 AM--
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