Friday, December 18, 2009

The World Comes To An End In Two Languages

Things have been pretty exciting around here.

For starters, I got my copies of the dead and the gone in paperback.


As you can see, it is quite lovely.

I am concerned though that I may have to get Scooter reading glasses.


I also got an email yesterday from my agent's assistant about the German edition of Life As We Knew It.

Carlsen, the publisher, is doing a lot of promotion. Here's a link to the website. I was particularly excited to see Marci was given full credit for the picture she took of me (I had lunch today with Marci and my mother, and Marci was pleased with the credit also).

Carlsen also ran a two page ad plus a cover ad for it in a German bookselling magazine.

I got Google to translate "bestsellen" for me fourteen times, and it never came out as "best selling." I even had Google translate "best selling" into German on a what the hey basis, but it didn't come out "bestsellen."

Then again, what does Google know. In the international language of Susan, there's only one meaning to Bestellen!












































9 comments:

Linda Jacobs said...

Wow, love those covers! That tidal wave scares me!

Pretty exciting stuff for you! Wonderful!

Unknown said...

I still love the american d&g covers the most but those covers are still chilling. Cannot wait for TW!

Tez Miller said...

Don't know if Scooter's pleased that the book is taking up his sunny spot on the carpet ;-)

And that tidal wave cover certainly is amazing!

Jill said...

here's where I get to use my massive German knowledge (insert sarcastic laugh right about HERE) and say that "jetzt bestellen" means "order now!" - which makes sense, since underneath it says that they'll be available in March 2010 (and then lists prices, I think for Germany and Austria, and definitely then for Switzerland)

and since that's about as far as I can get with it, I think I'll continue reading your books in English :)

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Happy Sunday morning Linda Jacobs and Jon and Tez Miller and Jill-

Let me start by saying we didn't get much snow. I'd guess 4 inches. There was a big coastal snow storm, and I live sufficiently inland so it didn't really sock us. Which isn't to say I won't have some shoveling to do when I feel like running errands. But it could have been a whole lot worse.

I love all my covers, and I'm eager to have all the copies of all the books for me to put on my shelf. Life As We Knew It, the dead and the gone, and This World We Live In are already taking up a lot of space on my bookshelf, but I'll just have to find space for the new copies as they come in!

Fear Death By Water said...

It will be cold indeed ...


http://survivetheapocalypse.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/learn-to-cut-wood/

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Hi Fear Death By Water-

I actually have cut wood. Okay, not very much and not for very long, but I did wield an axe once a long time ago.

I think I hacked a branch off a tree. Then again, it might have been a twig.

I am a pro at collecting kindling though, which is why I gave Miranda that job in LAWKI!

Anonymous said...

Jill is right, "Jetzt bestellen" means "order now".
Bestseller means bestseller in German.

I'm working in a bookstore and Carlsen sent a- I don't know what to call it, "preview?"- so I read "Life as we knew it" yesterday and I have to admit, that it's been a long time, since any book touched me much as yours. I did enjoy it very much but at the same time I felt very uncomfortable, because it kind of sucked me into this postapocalyptic world so I could even imaging to feel the cold and the hunger of Miranda.

I'm sorry for my crappy English, I just wanted to tell you, that I really liked your book (I'm thinking about reading "The dead and the gone" and "This world we live in" in English, because I don't want to wait for the translation) and will definitlely recommend it a lot.

Greetings from Austria and please keep writing great books like this,
Katharina

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Hi Katharina and thank you-

First of all, your English is great. My father studied German at one point, and he could never master it, so I have some sense of how totally different the languages are.

I'm very excited about the Carlsen version of the book, and eager to see it. It's wonderful to learn that it's beginning to make its promotional rounds in Austria.

Maybe someday it'll say bestseller and not just bestsellen!