Articles from October 2004

It Could Happen To You

October 24th, 2004 · 9 Comments

We admit it — we expect the worst and hope for the best. When the USA Patriot Act was passed, however, we pretty much stopped at expecting the worst. Don’t get us wrong, modern crime requires modern law enforcement techniques (hence states trying to figure out how to handle drugged drivers…statutes only cover drunk drivers). […]

File Under: Square Pegs

It’s Agent Scandal Week

October 23rd, 2004 · Comments Off on It’s Agent Scandal Week

Normally, you don’t hear much about agents and scandal — they leave that up to the authors, but this week we have two stories. What are the odds? Hmm, now that we think about the number of agents out there, we suspect very high. That’ll teach us to do math. Sarah’s got the scoop on […]

File Under: Agents

Tell Them How You Feel

October 23rd, 2004 · Comments Off on Tell Them How You Feel

If you’re looking for a new imprint (and, frankly, who isn’t?), might we suggest Morgan Road Books, headed by Amy Hertz and now an official addition to the Broadway Books family? Launching in 2005, the imprint will focus on the ever-popular health, fitness, spirituality, psychology, literary non-fiction niche. In other words, if it’s kind of […]

File Under: Publishers and Editors

Some Him Time

October 23rd, 2004 · Comments Off on Some Him Time

Jon Riley is stepping down from his editor-in-chief position at Faber & Faber. Publisher’s Lunch suggests he’ll return at a future date to function as an editor…but we bet he’ll still get a seat of power during staff meetings. Faber & Faber Publisher’s Lunch

File Under: Publishers and Editors

People Are Moving Again

October 23rd, 2004 · Comments Off on People Are Moving Again

It seems the post-Labor Day doldrums lasted forever — nobody wanted to switch jobs. We suppose it’s hard enough dealing with the inexplicable increase in traffic. No need to add figuring out a new route to the office to the mix. However, there were some org chart changes of note. First, Rebecca Gradinger has moved […]

File Under: Agents

Honestly, Does Anyone Have Time To Keep Score?

October 22nd, 2004 · Comments Off on Honestly, Does Anyone Have Time To Keep Score?

The novel is dead. It’s not dead. Gasping for air. Breathing on its own. Dead. Not dead. Buried. Wait, not so fast. Is it any wonder that we’re dizzy? Is the novel dead or not? Is this writing thing going to be like buying a brand-new Commodore 64? We do so hate to seem clueless, […]

File Under: Books/Mags/Blogs

There’s A Joke Here Featuring Pens and Swords, But We’re Running Late

October 21st, 2004 · Comments Off on There’s A Joke Here Featuring Pens and Swords, But We’re Running Late

Seriously, we thought the British got all the fighting out with the War of 1812 (yes, but were there hearts really in Crimea?). On the other hand, it’s worth joining English PEN just for the conversation: Suspicion, distrust, backbiting, smear tactics, simple loathing and sometimes extremely unliterary abuse have come to characterise a struggle that […]

File Under: Square Pegs

Must Resist The Urge

October 21st, 2004 · 1 Comment

Seriously, we tried not to comment on this. We really did. But we couldn’t stop ourself from clicking on the link. Reading the article (which was just like all the other articles). It was too much even for us. See, it’s like the bestselling book in the nation, yet: “We felt a majority of our […]

File Under: Books/Mags/Blogs

The Time Value of Money

October 20th, 2004 · Comments Off on The Time Value of Money

We will admit that we’re big fans of the split accounting concept. We like that authors get paid in a timely manner (checks do not go to the agent for processing before the author receives a share), and we like that authors get paid in the event something happens to the agent. It’s not personal […]

File Under: Agents

In Which We Confess to A Less-Than-Refined Sense of Humor

October 20th, 2004 · Comments Off on In Which We Confess to A Less-Than-Refined Sense of Humor

We’re on the anti-piracy record, so we believe we can be forgiven for this transgression: Latin American literary giant Gabriel Garcia Marquez has won the last laugh on book pirates by finely tuning the ending of his latest novel. The launch of the Spanish-language version of the book, “Memories of My Melancholy Whores,” was brought […]

File Under: Books/Mags/Blogs