Author name: Booksquare

Dissecting the publishing industry with love and skepticism.

Looking at BEA Through The Rearview Mirror

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As we and others suspected, BEA was hot, sweaty, and filled with far too much swag — a normal human could not hope to carry everything without a rolling suitcase. The halls were crowded, and though we’d give an honorable mention to Random House for stealth re-introducing the lad lit idea, it’s clear the best booth in the house was 2857. New York-based attendees had to cope with the knowledge that this year’s event wasn’t a chance to get away from it all, though Sam Tanenhaus pretended by refusing galleys (expensive and he gets at the office). Editors and other […]

Publishers and Editors

On Taking A Step Back From Reality

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The paradox of writing fiction is that, at least for the author, it is reality. My characters are trapped in a situation that’s achingly plausible; I’ve got to help them through it to a credible resolution. This feels like decent, blue-collar work. And it has the small satisfaction of human-scale protest. A novel is a story, and stories have a kind of primitive power—they’re the weeds that grow in the sidewalk cracks, the campfire fables and telephone tales that can never be stamped out. The Writing on the Wall: When Reality Isn’t Enough – Jesse Kornbluth on why fiction is

Quote of the Week

So You Were Wondering About Literary Publicists?

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We see how this works: you move into someone else’s blog and invite all your friends over. Very clever. Dan Wickett is throwing a major party right now, and while we can’t keep up with all the posts, we’ll try to tap into various conversations as we wander around the room. You can click on recent posts to mingle with other guests. Lauren Cerand talks about her journey into the world of independent publicity. If you’ve been paying attention to what’s going on the ‘hood, you know that Cerand’s clients are building buzz in a world where buzz is hard

Tools and Craft

Looking For Your Regular Cup O’Dan?

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Dan Wickett is manning the controls over at Conversational Reading this week. He says he’s going to be a responsible blog-sitter, but we’ve seen men in action before. Scott’s going to come home to find an exploded Coke or two in his freezer… Warning for regular readers here

Square Pegs

Speaking of Obscene

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Every now and then, we feel an overwhelming urge to state the obvious. We beg your indulgence for a moment because now is one of those times. It is 2005. If the publishing industry wants to remain viable (and there have always been questions on that point), it needs to think like a real business. This might mean addressing the issue of advances. It means addressing the issue of print runs. And it means addressing returns. Most of these things should be done sooner rather than later. By sooner we mean the year 1999. Returns are the dark side of

Publishers and Editors

More Fun With Graphical Standards

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We are not suggesting that the new RWA graphical standards have stirred up a bit of discussion on the Internets, but, well, they’ve stirred up a bit of discussion. All over the place. Sure, we could pick and choose our favorites, but why spoil the surprise. Here’s a sampling of what’s being said by taller, smarter people. We do not want to influence our readers in any manner, but we might suggest that certain sites should not be read with coffee in mouth. It saves the keyboard. In related news, why are they called “graphical standards” when they also apply

Square Pegs

How Stupid Can Stupid Be?

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We don’t have much faith in the current Romance Writers of America Board of Directors (their lack of communication with members is unparalleled), and they’ve just given us another reason to doubt their skills as leaders*. Recently, they put their heads together and developed, uh, graphical standards for the organization. Now, our first thought when seeing those words was “huh?” We are now thinking, “Are they insane or just clueless?” The RWA board has, in its infinite wisdom, decided that the national organization and its chapters must adhere to a new, bizarre set of rules regarding linking to objectional sites.

Square Pegs

Just Another Nice Girl From Oklahoma

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Sure, we could be rushing out the door right (one must always rush toward the inevitability of sitting on the freeway), but instead we allowed the distraction of this interview with Sarah Vowell to derail our plans. As we read it, we thought, “This is the sort of pleasure we’d miss if we were in New York*.” We would return to an over-overflowing inbox and would be in frantic skim-and-delete mode. It’s much better this way. For those who have been sleeping through the media blitz, Vowell’s new book Assassination Vacation ties together the first three American Presidential Assassinations, omitting

Books/Mags/Blogs

Enough With The BEA Already

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It’s like all our friends have gone to a party and we’re stuck at home. Except for the part where we chose to be stuck at home. And we’re terminally shy, so would still be a wallflower. However, TEV checks in and shares the critical news from BEA as he attends a panel on blogs and publishing. Not necessarily in that order. Mad Max owns a bitchen Gandalf costume. And: Michael Cader gets it. He has since day one. He’s a man who has perceived and grasped the potential of blogs from their earliest moments, and he’s full of sensible

Square Pegs
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