There’s an argument to be made here. The birth of a book could refer to the date when it hits book stores and is available to readers for the very first time. Or it could refer to its conception in the author’s mind.

It’s kind of like the right to life debate – earliest conception versus ability to live outside the womb – but hey, we’re not going there. Two things I do not discuss here are religion and politics.

Let’s stick to books. And the birth I want to talk about has to do with the publisher. How do they first learn about my book and what do they do?

Writers reading this will be growing alert, wondering what I do compared to what they do. Some writers prepare a detailed outline to introduce the publisher to their book. Others deliver the first few chapters. Some give both.

I tried and failed at preparing the detailed outline. It took too long and required such a great investment of emotional energy that I felt I had already written the book – and in the instance I tried, the publisher rejected it anyway. Plan B (delivering the first few chapters) worked better for me because by getting into the actual book, I had something to show for my time and could go on with the book from there. Of course, if the publisher hates the premise of the book, she will hate the chapters.

So here’s what best does it for me. I come up with a premise. I write character sketches, suggest a setting, and jot down my plot themes. If I have at title or two in mind, I write them down. Same with sound bites. We’re talking a total of 4-5 pages, max.

Those of you who have followed my blog and surfed my site, particularly the pages having to do with The Secret Between Us, know that this book was inspired by the death of Grace Kelly and the perils of her daughter Stephanie. Reacting to that, I conceived of a scenario in which a mother and daughter are in an accident while driving home on a rainy night, and when the police arrive to investigate, they never ask who is driving. A lie is born. It festers and grows until the weight becomes unmanageable for both mother and daughter. What to do then? How to go back?

This was the premise I sent my publisher. I sent a character sketch of my mom, Deborah Monroe (family doctor in practice with her dad in their hometown; devoted mom to Grace and Dylan; still upset about her two-year-old divorce). I wrote character sketches for Deborah’s daughter, Grace (star athlete, star student, popular high schooler driving on a learner’s permit that night), and of the man they hit on the road (Grace’s history teacher, married but a loner, respected by students but far from beloved). I listed working themes – a lie goes wrong; the price we pay for being in denial; family responsibiity and expectation; the danger of trying to preplan a life. And I sent it off to New York.

What happened then was amazing. My publisher, who loved what I’d sent, had the marketing department write up a piece that they could use to start hyping the book – this, before I’d written a single page and when Family Tree was just hitting stands. Doubleday’s super-duper title person came up with The Secret Between Us, and though I still love my working title, Driving at Night, this one is immediate and personal. And the art department came up with a phenomenal cover, a home run right out of the box.

So the hype began. As Family Tree climbed the bestselling lists, the sales force had the ear of its major accounts and was also able to talk up The Secret Between Us. This is important, all part of the business of publishing – a propitious birth, if you will.

Later this week, I’ll tell you about outtakes – how I got into the actual writing of the book and the things that ended up on the cutting room floor – things that you’ll never see in The Secret Between Us, when it hits stands January 22. Check back, please.