We end our lazy week with a message of outrage. We’re sure most of you are paying attention to the “signing statements” made by the President — the latest made when he signed the the re-authorization of the Patriot Act. Privacy groups fought and worked hard to ensure that the Act protected the rights of […]
Articles from March 2006
A Nation of Laws
March 31st, 2006 · Comments Off on A Nation of Laws
File Under: Square Pegs
A Portrait Of The Author As A Cranky Old Man
March 30th, 2006 · 3 Comments
Are we alone in thinking that VS Naipaul is having a bit of nervous breakdown? He’s been a bit ranty on the subject of appreciation and himself. Like all geniuses, he believes he’s underappreciated and unloved. We are going to send him a copy of Wilco’s “Misunderstood”. He’ll enjoy it. Seriously, what is the point […]
File Under: Square Pegs
BS By Mail
March 29th, 2006 · Comments Off on BS By Mail
In our continuing effort to provide, uh, optimum public service, we are proud to announce that Booksquare is now available by email. Yes, we’ll come to you instead of making you come to us. Which kind of sounds lonely, now that we think about it. But don’t mind us — it’s your life that matters. […]
File Under: Square Pegs
Stopping The Blook In Its Tracks
March 28th, 2006 · 2 Comments
Before we get started on our topic, we must clear the air. In no way, shape, or form do we support the use of the word “blook”. We demand that this word be stricken from the nation’s vocabulary immediately — think of the children! Do not let this word perpetuate. And with that, we plunge […]
File Under: Non-Traditional Publishing
A Lot of Conversation In A Very Short Amount of Time
March 27th, 2006 · Comments Off on A Lot of Conversation In A Very Short Amount of Time
Mr. Segundo has lured author Dana Spiotta (Eat The Document) into his cave to discuss (and we quote): Katherine Ann Power as inspiration, the ambiguities of terrorism, comparisons and similarities between Eat the Document and Lightning Field, witty political activists, the Billboard Liberation Front, cinematic influences, Don DeLillo, plotting, reader expectations, on stopping just short […]
File Under: Square Pegs
The Cover Matters, And Other Truths In Publishing
March 24th, 2006 · 2 Comments
To nobody’s surprise, the right cover for a book does matter. We note this only because we’re not sure what we find more fascinating: that a major publishing conference would have a session on this topic or that Publisher’s Weekly would do an article on the session. Then again, it’s possible that what really caught […]
File Under: Square Pegs
Radicalism, Publishing Style
March 24th, 2006 · Comments Off on Radicalism, Publishing Style
In what is an apparently radical move, Cindy Spiegel and Julie Grau will call their new Doubleday imprint “Spiegel & Grau”. After noting that publishing houses often name imprints after the male founders, the new name feels “both old-fashioned and radical”. Definitely beats some made-up feminine sounding word that makes no sense at all. Spiegel […]
File Under: Publishers and Editors
Revisiting The Second Novel, Again
March 23rd, 2006 · Comments Off on Revisiting The Second Novel, Again
We are most intrigued by the notion of a “first novel” versus a “second” novel, because, quite possibly, the first is really the second, or maybe even the third. It is the rare author who hits the big-time on the first effort. In the world of writing, that first manuscript is often viewed as a […]
File Under: The Business of Publishing
In Which The New York Times Discovers TPO
March 23rd, 2006 · Comments Off on In Which The New York Times Discovers TPO
Ah, prestige. So lovely, so heart-warming, so not likely to pay the bills. We will admit that if it weren’t for the higher royalties, we wouldn’t get the desire to publish in hardcover. After all, we count among our acquaintances only one soul who refuses to touch paperback books; everyone else is quite happy to […]
File Under: The Business of Publishing
Public Service Announcement #37: New York Times Author Policy
March 22nd, 2006 · Comments Off on Public Service Announcement #37: New York Times Author Policy
Though we sincerely hope that no New York Times reporters are turning to us for clarification of policy, we cannot be sure. Times reporters are sneaky that way. Thus we offer yet another in our continuing series of public service posts. If you are a reporter for the New York Times, you are also (apparently) […]
File Under: Square Pegs