Mary asks whether the bound galley is the same as the ARC. No, the ARC -- the Advance Reader's Copy -- is still to come. The ARC, in this case, will have the full color cover, though they don't always; sometimes, cardstock with black type. The important thing about the ARC is that it also has publicity info on the back: publication date, size of first printing, author tour, advertising plan, etc.; plus whatever blurbs the galley was able to garner, and reviews of the author's earlier works. The ARC is for booksellers and reviewers. It gives reviewers lead time, and gives booksellers a chance to do two things. One, to read the book and see if they like it. This matters a lot in independent bookstores, where booksellers will hand-sell something they liked. It matters very little in chains, where even if some of the staff has read a book, the chance of interaction between one who's read it and a reader who might like it is small. What matters in chains is the other thing: the chance to see, from the back of the ARC, how much weight the publisher is throwing behind the book, and where the book fits in their store. If my tour will bring me to their city; if I've been blurbed by someone whose work is popular in their store; if the setting of my book is their area; if the type of book I write is a good seller for them; all these things influence how many copies a store will order. Another influence, of course, is the cover itself. If it's eye-catching, a bookseller might start thinking in terms of a display. Yet another factor, totally outside my publisher's control, is the presence or absence on other publishers' list for the same season of similar books. A couple of similar books could make for synergy, for example a bookseller creating a front-of-store display for three or four on-topic titles. Too many, and you have a flood, where no one really sees any of them.

(Sarah, your question about imprints tomorrow.)