Valerie Peterson
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Booklover, book publishing professional, book author — I've been all around the book block and will share with you the inner workings of the industry and its people. These are exciting times — the publishing world hasn't seen this much change since Gutenberg set the type for his first Bible and I'll try to cut through the clutter to bring you evergreen wisdom and actionable advice for right now.
I also regularly share bookish insights and my adventures as a NYC writer on my blog.
Experience
I'm the author of Peterson's Holiday Helper and Peterson's Happy Hour humor/cocktail books (Random House/Clarkson Potter) and the co-author (with Janice Fryer) of Cookie Craft (a backlist bestseller!) and Cookie Craft Christmas cookie decorating how-to books (Storey Publishing/Workman).
In addition to working on books, I write for publications including the New York Times, and was named a semi-finalist in the 2015 Robert Benchley Humor Writing Competition. I'm working on my first novel... pray for me.
Prior to my full-time writing career, I held marketing positions at book publishers including Random House and Doubleday where I made lots of videos and developed award-winning marketing campaigns for authors like Robert Crais and bestseller James Lee Burke. I was the head of marketing for the cookbook / gardening and travel book divisions at John Wiley Publishers (yes, at the same time) where I had the honor of working with such prestigious authors, brands, and household names as Mark Bittman, the Culinary Institute of America, Betty Crocker, and Frommers Guides.
In addition to being an author and a journalist, I'm a screenwriter and filmmaker. I recently completed my first TV drama pilot, which achieved Quarterfinalist status in the 2014 Screencraft Pilot Launch competition. One of my short films, The Maid of Honor, was an Official Selection of the Sedona International Film Festival and my Jane Austen/time travel screenplay, The Jane Austen Syndrome, has been recognized by numerous screenplay competitions, including those sponsored by The Austin Film Festival, Cinequest, The Big Apple Film Festival and MORE magazine.
Education
I attended P.S. 22, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Charles E. Gorton High School in Yonkers, New York; I have a B.A. in English from Fordham University in the Bronx and a Certificate in Film and Television Directing from NYU...
... but much of my "education" has come from the smart, accomplished and passionate people I've worked with in the book publishing and media industries, from the thousands of books I've read over the years, and from the wonderful authors and other "creatives" I've met along the way. I learn something new every day and I hope to contribute to your book publishing success by sharing my knowledge with you here and on my website.
Valerie Peterson
If you have a question for About Book Publishing...
... please address it to me on my Facebook page with the following caveat:
I take your questions and comments very seriously, and I do use your feedback to help determine what I cover on the site. However, due to the volume of correspondence About Book Publishing receives, I can't answer your queries personally and About Book Publishing will not accept manuscripts for reading or feedback.
