"Mommy, where do books come from?"
"Well, dear, if they're Harlequin books, it's likely they come from the warehouse in Buffalo, New York."
"A book warehouse? What's that?"
Glad you asked...
A few weeks ago I had the enormous pleasure of participating in the Harlequin Customer Service Representative Appreciation day. It was a fascinating day, meeting the customer service representatives and touring the Harlequin distribution center.
First thing I saw when I pulled in? Geese. Okay, that wasn't interesting. But the very next thing I saw was an eighteen-wheeler with the Harlequin logo on the side. That was totally cool. Too bad I forgot to take a picture. Next time.
When I met with the customer service representatives I was delighted to bring them gifts. Thanks to the generosity of the other Superromance authors, I had piles of signed books, bookmarks, pens, and other small presents. I'd also collected signed book covers and made them into a collage thank you card.
Sorry about the flash on the glass.
Meeting the representatives was fascinating. They deal with a lot of interesting questions. I was intrigued by how much really personal service these folks provide. It made me want to call them up after I got home just to chat about books. ;-)
After the luncheon, I had a tour of the distribution center.
Warning: The rest of this post includes extreme book geekery. If your idea of heaven on earth is a bookstore, read on. The rest of you are going to be bored.
Harlequin has a short-run press in the facility that they use for *wait for it* printing short runs of books. Sometimes reprints, sometimes advance reader copies. Lots of different applications.
Here's some paper waiting to go on the press. (I did warn you about the book geek thing, right?)
My book geek soul was on fire when I took this photo. It's an actual book being printed. Sweet! You wouldn't believe how fast and intricate the process is--these long rolls get printed, folded, cut, and turned into a book in a few seconds.
Serendipity! I actually know the author whose book was being printed. Hello Maggie Shayne's book on the press!
After the books are printed and bound, the covers are glued on, and then they go up this conveyor belt to the machine that chops the edges off clean. (Anyone else getting a Mr. Rogers vibe here?)
Want to know what's inside the book warehouse? Books! See?
Well, actually those are mostly boxes that the books are going to go into.
Here are books.
Finally, a close up of the very best kind of books. Superromance! This picture shows some of the June Supers. This is just one small portion of the copies of these particular books. These pallets were destined for K-Mart, I think.
That's it. Tour is over, folks. Now if anybody asks you where books come from, you know where to send them!
Cheers,
Ellen
Ellen's Blog --- Ellen's Website
The Boyfriend's Back Superromance May '09
His Secret Past Superromance May '08
Wow. I actually want more pics and more details.
Maybe next year for the 60th anniversary, H/S can make a video of the process? A video podcast?
Penn
Join the 2008 Book (Reading) Challenge!!! It’s for a good cause and it’s FUN!
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If that's geeky....
...then I'm all for joining the land of Geekdom! Honestly, I think it's fascinating. I don't know about feeling the Mr. Rogers vibe, but the pics of the of book-making process made me drool. Where's my bib?
Thanks for sharing the info and pics, Ellen!
"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
- Mark Twain
More details
Hi Penn,
I was utterly fascinated. The distribution center has different areas for the books that are shipped out to major chains, for the smaller book stores, and for the online orders. Each area has its own processes and arrangements and enormous stacks of books.
I never really thought about how complicated it is to fulfill an online order. For example, my last order included 1 Blaze, 3 Supers, and a Mira book. A person had to locate and pack all of those books, checking against the slip that had been printed from the order database. I guess I assumed it was all way more automated, but it's not.
The printing part was amazing. I was psyched that I knew the author of the book they were printing, but it would have been cool no matter what.
I think a video is an excellent idea! I volunteer to go back and ask more questions.
Anything in particular you wondered about?
Cheers,
Ellen
Ellen's Blog --- Ellen's Website
The Boyfriend's Back Superromance May '09
His Secret Past Superromance May '08
Drooling over books
Hi Amanda,
The books were just amazing. Stacks and stacks.
Sadly, some books are damaged before they can be sold. Those are in bins and people who take tours of the warehouse *cough* me *cough* are allowed to take some home! It was very difficult to restrain myself in that situation!
Cheers,
Ellen
Ellen's Blog --- Ellen's Website
The Boyfriend's Back Superromance May '09
His Secret Past Superromance May '08
Wow
Great blog Ellen!
I'm with Penn as I'd like to see more too.
A soul suffocated by fear leaves too many joys unlived...Maria Housden.
LOL Ellen
Restraint...if I was there that word would definitely not be in my vocabulary!!
I guess we were posting at the same time.
A soul suffocated by fear leaves too many joys unlived...Maria Housden.
Video
Hi Shelley,
Harlequin should make a video, shouldn't they? I bet they would get a ton of interest because we readers love our books start to finish, I think.
You know what else was interesting? Hearing the range of questions the customer service reps answer. Everything from "where's my order" to "I want to complain about a scene in this book" to "How do I turn my printer on so I can print an online read?"
Cheers,
Ellen
Ellen's Blog --- Ellen's Website
The Boyfriend's Back Superromance May '09
His Secret Past Superromance May '08
Restraint
Heh. It was my first "speaking engagement" as an author. (Still feels weird to say that.) I didn't want to look like a total weirdo so I made sure to take only as many books as I could carry without dropping them.
Next time I'm bringing a big purse.
Ellen
Ellen's Blog --- Ellen's Website
The Boyfriend's Back Superromance May '09
His Secret Past Superromance May '08
A big purse....now that
A big purse....now that sounds like a great plan!
A soul suffocated by fear leaves too many joys unlived...Maria Housden.
Ellen - I'd just bring a portable armchair and park myself
beside the bin until I'd finished one of each book in it
which begs the question
How big was that bin?
Sadhbh
Dream Team 2008 Challenge blogs
Sadhbh....
LOL about parking yourself! That would be tempting.
Ellen, the employees would've probably thought I was beserk if I'd been there, because I would've stuffed the books down my shirt and up the legs of my pants just in order to take home as many of the freebies as possible! FWIW, I should clarify myself here - I am NOT a professional shoplifter! Just a hungry reader. And, unfortunately a much lazier reviewer.
That's cool that you were a 'Author' guest speaker. What an honor.
"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
- Mark Twain
Reading on site
Sadhbh,
The armchair would have to be out of the "traffic lanes." We kept getting our tour guide in trouble by wandering in front of some of the many book moving vehicles. We were definitely not getting high grades for safety--too distracted by the books.
The bins weren't that big--you could probably read through one in a day or two. (Normal folks in a month or two.) But! There were lots of bins! Since Harlequin prints so many books, you might just have to move in.
Ellen
Ellen's Blog --- Ellen's Website
The Boyfriend's Back Superromance May '09
His Secret Past Superromance May '08
Shoplifters?
Hi Amanda,
Way back when I was young and single and living in Seattle, I used to go to clubs to hear music quite a bit. One song I've never forgotten was called "Steal Things from Work." It was witty--all about paper clips and staplers, etc.
When I was walking around the warehouse I was thinking about that song a lot.
Cheers,
Ellen
Ellen's Blog --- Ellen's Website
The Boyfriend's Back Superromance May '09
His Secret Past Superromance May '08
Very cool, Ellen
You should write an article for RWR -- that was just really neat to see. Thanks for sharing!
Sam
Blog with Sam and friends at Love Is An Exploding Cigar
Guest Blog: Sept 10, Sarah Mayberry
OOO, this book-loving geek LOVES this!
Ellen, thanks for sharing all those pictures! How COOL is that?? Thanks for being our ambassador to the customer service folks.
Sam, Holly Jacobs is actually working on a series of articles for RWR that will include stuff like this. (RWR has already approved the series, as has HQ) I think the first of the series is supposed to focus on the art department.
It is fascinating to see the behind-the-scenes stuff. Thanks, Ellen!
A Kid to the Rescue
"There's a little superhero in all of us..."
Feb. 2009 - Superromance
www.SusanGable.com
The problem with it being in RWR is that a lot of us
don't read that . . . so I'm still voting for something accessible online. :)
Penn, "just" a reader
Join the 2008 Book (Reading) Challenge!!! It’s for a good cause and it’s FUN!
Come find my teammates and me at The DFWPlus Blog!
AHHHHHHH Ellen....
Can I follow you around? Not like a stalker thing, but maybe to live vicariously through your awesome experiences. You could say I'm your groupie or something.
What a fantastic experience! I would love to go to a publishing house/facility. The pictures are great. It's a pretty involved process. I would propbably pass-out from delight in a warehouse filled with books.
I once got locked in a library for a night and I thought it was the best thing in the world. (The librarian wasn't pleased the next morning, but she got over it....I had to sign in and sign out after that.....Long Story).
I love the smell of paper... I go to the bookstore when I'm stressed to relax. That warehouse would probably make me boneless.
Anyway, (I derail pretty easily when it comes to printed media) I think it would be a brilliant idea to make a video of the process. Educational for children and entertaingly informative for book worshipers.....
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the tour via
Thanks for the tour via pics. I guess I'm a book geek. I would to take that tour.
See what I read last year - Star's Reading Lounge
http://www.myspace.com/kimanipress
http://www.myspace.com/kimani_tru
Song?
Ellen, LOL about the shoplifting song. I'm a music buff, but don't remember that one. Wish I did, it sounds comical.
Once upon a time I thought newspaper presses were soooo awesome. Of course, after a while of being a journalist, it became old news (forgive the pun). I'm not sure I could ever get tired of the book making process, though. That's definitely an art!
"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
- Mark Twain
More information
Sam and Susan,
Glad to know Holly is on the case! I really hate non-fiction writing--I'm always too tempted to make things up. Real life seems a bit flat to me.
Note: I didn't make any of the stuff up about my little field trip, but I kinda wanted to..."There we were in the conference room and all of a sudden Fabio...!"
Kidding,
Ellen
Ellen's Blog --- Ellen's Website
The Boyfriend's Back Superromance May '09
His Secret Past Superromance May '08
Penn
I'm with you, Penn. I think HQ should put some video up on this site. We're here because we love books. They make books. We should be sharing the love!
Ellen
Ellen's Blog --- Ellen's Website
The Boyfriend's Back Superromance May '09
His Secret Past Superromance May '08
drkeel
Hi,
You can follow me around if I can follow you around. How did you get locked in a library and what did you read??? I would have loved that!
Just FYI, this little excursion was pretty far out of the norm for me. I was excited about driving on the Thruway (my town --> Buffalo). That's how pathetic my life is.
Ellen
Ellen's Blog --- Ellen's Website
The Boyfriend's Back Superromance May '09
His Secret Past Superromance May '08
Star
Hi Star,
I loved the tour. It was definitely cool. I also toured a lightbulb factory one time and loved that too. I think maybe I just like to know how stuff works.
But the books were amazing. On the way home I pulled over in a rest stop and read the beginning of one of the ones I picked up. I really couldn't resist the stack of fresh stories!
Ellen
Ellen's Blog --- Ellen's Website
The Boyfriend's Back Superromance May '09
His Secret Past Superromance May '08
Amanda--song
Hi Amanda,
I tried to find the song lyrics through a quick google but no luck. It was a long time ago and it was a late night show--I'm not sure I have the chorus correct. My memory of it is very funny, though. Maybe if I did read the words it wouldn't measure up?
Ellen
Ellen's Blog --- Ellen's Website
The Boyfriend's Back Superromance May '09
His Secret Past Superromance May '08
Geeky book stuff
I'm sitting here really wishing I could be in Buffalo New York to take that tour myself. What fun.
Now, I want to hear the library story! Long or no! Pleeaasseee.???
The great gift is the passion for reading. It is cheap [Hah! It most certainly is not!], it consoles, it distracts, it excites. It gives knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind. It is moral illumination. ~ Elizabeth Hardwick
I read everything....
I went to college when I was 16...Not a brilliant age for me (another story)...I was in the library archive looking for microfische, for a term paper. Someone opened the door and said library is closing in 10 minutes... needless to say, I didn't make it out of the archive until after the lights went out and by the time I bumped my way around to the front door I was locked in. From 10pm to 6:30am...
The lights in the bathroom work on a different light switch than the keyed main lights. I spent the night running from shadows and picking books at random to read a chapter of this and a chapter of that. It was spooky as heck in there. But what a great time reading... to myself, aloud and to the shadows. (By the way, did you know that when you open a can of warm soda it erupts out of the can? Also, it sounds like a gunshot in a dead quiet library.)
The librarian almost passed out when she opened up in the morning and found me in there. But surprise changes to angry rant pretty quick... She made me put back every book I had stacked up by the bathroom.
They changed policy after that. The rooms all had to walked through before she could close at night and I PERSONALLY had my own sign in/sign out sheet for about a year.
Song About Stealing.....
You wouldn't mean "Been Caught Stealing" by Jane's Addiction that song was in the 90's. About how much fun it is to steal then wallow in it as a pile?
If I had thought of it back then, I would have made a huge pile of books and "swam" in it.
Jo and drkeel
Jo--Maybe Buffalo should think about incorporating "We've got Harlequin" into their marketing plans!
drkeel--thanks for the library story. It made me laugh out loud thinking about you creeping around in the dark grabbing random books and retreating to the bathroom.
I used to work in the library in college putting the numbers on the spines. I loved working with the classifications and peeking into all the books. University libraries are fascinating places. Thanks for sharing the story.
I checked the Jane's Addiction song and that wasn't it. I'll keep looking.
Cheers,
Ellen
Ellen's Blog --- Ellen's Website
The Boyfriend's Back Superromance May '09
His Secret Past Superromance May '08
That is SO cool!!!
I guess I'm a geek too (although I think we've covered that before, fellow tech writer!) I'm always fascinated by factories and how things are made. How cool to see Maggie's book being printed! And the piles of Supers. I'd be in seventh heaven!
JodieG
Prepublished and workin' to change that!
A winner of the Big Finish 2 Contest, March 2008!
Participating author in Pass the Plot, Summer 2008
Jodie
Hi Jodie,
Maggie was the first famous author I met. She's in my RWA chapter and she's lovely. I read part of what became Wanted Man at critique one Saturday and Maggie explained about head hopping to me. I went home and tore the whole thing apart (I had thought I was finished) and put it back together with coherent POV scenes.
I'm not against head hopping if it's done well but her advice was that it's easier for an unpublished person to sell with more standard POV. She's a very generous person with all of the newbies like me.
Glad you liked the tour! I hope the work stoppage is over.
Ellen
Ellen's Blog --- Ellen's Website
The Boyfriend's Back Superromance May '09
His Secret Past Superromance May '08
It reminds me..
of when I was in elementry school, back in the early 70's, we went on a field trip to the Capitol Records record plant. We got to see how records were made. It was sooo cool.
Terri
Got Books?
Terri
Touring the Capitol Records plant, especially as a kid in the 70's does sound very cool! Wow. What a lucky field trip that was.
My sister worked at a record factory one summer. Of course, they were making CDs by then. She was responsible for the "dog bone" machine. It's the one that puts that little dog-bone-shaped sticker on the CD case that keeps it sealed shut.
Thanks for stopping by the tour!
Ellen
Ellen's Blog --- Ellen's Website
The Boyfriend's Back Superromance May '09
His Secret Past Superromance May '08
Oh dear, I guess this means
Oh dear, I guess this means I'm a geek, 'cause I found your tour very kewl. But why did I hear trolley's and sounds of the Mr Roger's theme song?
Nancy
Ellen,
I dont know if watching CD's being made would have the same thrill. I know todays 11 year olds, have probably never seen a vinyl record (unless their parents are music geeks like me).
Some where in my belongings I think I still have a hardened glob of the stuff that records are (were?) made of. It is a nice tear shaped shiny smooth rock. 100 years when the do an archeolological dig of my house site, they will find this odd rock and future scientists will have no clue about this foreign sustance.
The same could be the same for books. It could be likke on Star trek, where everyone reads books on some kind of reader, except for Captain Pickard, who loves the feel and smell of actual physical books.
Terri
Got Books?
Nancy!
You heard the trolley sounds too?? Nice.
I grew up in Mr. Rogers's neighborhood for real. His folks lived in Latrobe close to where I was born. When I was little, I learned to swim at the Rogers-McFeely Pool.
I loved the gentleness of that show so much. Thanks for bringing up a great memory!
Ellen
Ellen's Blog --- Ellen's Website
The Boyfriend's Back Superromance May '09
His Secret Past Superromance May '08
Artifacts
Terri,
I love that you have a piece of record vinyl (or whatever...). That is a piece of (ancient
) history, isn't it? My kids' 1st grade teacher brings a record player in so they have a chance to see one at least once.
I went to the Guiness factory and took a tour when I was in Ireland. (There's a fascinating, if a bit overly long, tour!) I was given a real drop of Guiness encased in Lucite as a parting gift. I still have that. I wonder sometimes what someone would think if they had to clean out my drawers.
Cheers,
Ellen
Ellen's Blog --- Ellen's Website
The Boyfriend's Back Superromance May '09
His Secret Past Superromance May '08
when I was a kid,
we went to Busch Gardens, where we took a tour of the Brewery. I dont think they gave us a gift like that.
They got rid of the Busch Gardens here in the LA area, but I believe there are others accross the US
Some where there is a pic of me as a 10 year old sitting on top of a clydesdale
Terri
Got Books?
wonder
if they do this in the Mississauga(Toronto)warehouse too or if the books are shipped there and then distributated to consumer here in Canada.
Christa ~ Quiet Canadians ~ 2008 Challenge Blog
My Shelfari Page
That is so cool. Thanks for
That is so cool. Thanks for sharing your pictures! I'm jealous now. LOL
Rebekah
Reviewer & Blog Administrator
SimplyRomanceReviews
rebekahatsimplyromancereviews@gmail.com
I'm green with envy
Just loved the pictures. I really love having a brand new book that no one else has read. It would thrill me no end to smell all the new books. Sensory overload for sure. I agree that bookstores and libaries are great places to go to relieve stress.
When I get a little money I buy books, and then if any is left I buy food and clothes..-- Erasmus
Hi Kaelee
I still haven't finished reading the books I picked up on my trip. I love a stack of new books almost more than anything!
Glad you enjoyed the pictures,
Ellen
Ellen's Blog --- Ellen's Website
The Boyfriend's Back Superromance May '09
His Secret Past Superromance May '08