Arcand/Watzke: Magnitude

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Magnitude cover

MAGNITUDE: THE SCALE OF THE UNIVERSE
Kimberly Arcand and Megan Watzke (NASW member)
Black Dog & Leventhal/Hachette, November 7, 2017, $27.99
ISBN-10: 031650291X; ISBN-13: 978-0316502917

Watzke reports:

Magnitude: The Scale of the Universe takes readers on a journey to explore the lightest and heaviest, fastest and slowest, hottest and coldest, largest and smallest, loudest and quietest phenomena in the Universe. The book is broken into four sections — size and quantity (distance, area, volume, mass, time, and temperature); rates and ratios (speed, acceleration, density, and rotation); phenomena and processes (energy, pressure, and sound); and computation — to bring these difficult concepts within reach. Inspired by the film "Powers of Ten" by Charles and Ray Eames, Magnitude uses everyday experiences as jumping-off points for the extremes we find in nature and through technology.

[image: 2, left, medium]For Magnitude, we returned to Black Dog & Leventhal, which published our previous book, Light: The Visible Spectrum and Beyond. Having this ongoing relationship with Black Dog made the entire process very smooth. We did write a proposal, but it was more of iterative process with our editor, Becky Koh, who did a wonderful job on Light. Unlike our previous books, this one used an outside illustrator, the amazingly talented Katie Peek. This made the project different enough to be a bit scary — in a good way!

About three months prior to publication of Magnitude, we started trying to complement and amplify the publisher’s publicity plans. We wrote several articles that connected various current events to the book’s themes and ideas in outlets such as The Huffington Post, Medium, and Forbes.com. We pushed these out via social media, and did small giveaways and promotions to get early buzz going about the book.

This is the fourth book that my co-author, Kimberly Arcand, and I have written together since 2013. We’ve been with the same agency the entire time. Kim and I have worked in the communications group for NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory together for over 17 years. Our books seem to be a natural extension of the mind meld that comes from being colleagues for so many years. We are excited to see where Magnitude goes and where it might take our collaboration next.

Contact info:

Megan Watzke, 617-953-5411, megan1104@gmail.com
Kimberly Arcand, 617-218-4196, kimberlyarcand@me.com
Book website: https://www.arcandwatzke.com/books
Agent: Ariana Philips, 212-794-1082, aphilips@jvnla.com
Publicist: Kara Thornton (Black Dog), 212-364-0537, kara.thornton@hbgusa.com

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Advance Copy

The path from idea to book may take myriad routes. The Advance Copy column, started in 2000 by NASW volunteer book editor Lynne Lamberg, features NASW authors telling the stories behind their books. Authors are asked to report how they got their idea, honed it into a proposal, found an agent and a publisher, funded and conducted their research, and organized their writing process. They also are asked to share what they wish they’d known when they started or would do differently next time, and what advice they can offer aspiring authors. Lamberg edits the authors’ answers to produce the Advance Copy reports.

NASW members: Will your book be published soon? Visit www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines for information on submitting your report.

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