Clean Slate

When you have a book coming out, you want to help your publisher promote it. One way to do this is to contact "people in the media" that you know personally who might write about the book, or carry it on TV with them, or just bring it along to cocktail parties. The trick is deciding how well you need to know the person to bother spamming them. (Rule of Thumb: If you have ever exchanged 10 words of dialogue with the person, you know them well enough.) So Josh and I were somewhat surprised when we received an email from JVG earlier this week. Actual text of the email exchange:

JVG: I went to High School with the woman who does books over at Slate. Is that at all useful to us?
Lock: Is this a weird kind of pop quiz for semi-morons?
JVG: Is Slate something that we're interested in?
Lock: At what point do I slap you?

Upshot: later in the day, JVG added Meghan O'Rourke ("senior editor at Slate and oversees books and visual arts coverage, along with other cultural affairs") to the Book of Ages press list with this notation: "Knew her in high school, haven't talked to her since then." Meghan, if you're reading this, drop your old buddy JVG a line.
UPDATE (12/11/03): JVG and Meghan O'Rourke run into each other at a party, and have a lovely chat. MO'R says she will google herself to find the BOA post. Hi, Meghan!

The Marriage Trap: Review by Meghan O'Rourke [slate.com]
Why Must Meghan O'Rourke Turn Slate Into a House of Lies? [tmftml]