Author name: Booksquare

Dissecting the publishing industry with love and skepticism.

In Which We Advocate Heavy Drinking

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First, let us congratulate Mad Max on his pending promotion. Assistant Manager, Mailroom Operations is a huge leap, and we hope his new responsibilities (including alphabetizing packages) won’t cut into his blogging time. Wait, it already has — he’s padding his blog with the work of others. He’s using some fancy-schmancy title, but it all boils down to true stories from the author trenches. In the latest installment, “Keith” shares the highs and lows of a large advance. We follow Keith from book one to book five, and it’s painful. Very painful. Do not read this without a stiff vodka […]

Tools and Craft

This Is The Modern World

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As part of our romantic evening, the husband regaled us with exciting sentences from the latest Adam Penenberg column. You know, as a prelude to a rousing discussion on the state of journalism today. Or rather the state of newspapers, which is something that interests us greatly. It’s not that news isn’t relevant, but when we get up in the morning and scan the Los Angeles Times “A” section, it’s filled with yesterday’s news. Literally. The news we read yesterday. Old stuff. This morning, there’s a whole bunch of new news. Because of the process of printing, newspapers will necessarily

Books/Mags/Blogs

The Worst They Can Say Is No

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One of the hazards of shyness is a fear of approaching strangers and asking questions. It’s the stuttering, the red face, the inability to form coherent sentences (though they always sound good in one’s mind). Sometimes, however, desire thwarts shyness, and we (the terminally shy) walk right up and ask for what we want*. Sometimes that’s all you have to do in the book world as well. Well, ask and then build a campaign, but why quibble over details? In an innovative effort to raise the visibility of literature in translation, two nonprofit literary presses and a small indie house

Books/Mags/Blogs

Ladies Who Lunch And Solve Industry Problems. Simultaneously.

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Today we had a long lunch with frequent commenter and author Karen Palmer, and the subject of upperbacks (yes, stealing Publisher’s Lunch terminology) popped into the conversation. We were thinking specifically about hardbacks and less expensive alternatives. It didn’t surprise us that we were in agreement on one point: hardback prices are off-putting to readers considering taking a chance on new-to-them authors. We also thought that ten dollars was a comfortable price point — it’s a little more than a movie, but you spend more time with a book (and, from the Booksquare perspective, with a book, you have a

Books/Mags/Blogs

Authors Are Doin’ For Themselves

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We just can’t stop it — here’s hoping a long listen to the Magnetic Fields will break our spell — but that’s beside the point. The New York Times takes a long look at self publishing. And M.J. Rose, who we first met over her (then) self-published first novel, responds with some questions she can’t get answered to her satisfaction (like true consumer sales figures). In the past week, we’ve seen a rather weird instance of one fairly-new-to-the-scene author receive “offers” (and we use the term with all due skepticism in this case) from two self-publishers. The first came from

Publishers and Editors

How Many Times Must One Question Be Asked?

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Today, David Thayer poses the big one: How can a publisher get books into the hands of readers? That’s the battlefield of the next decade. Sometimes the best way to deal with a large obstacle in your path is to go around it. The asteroid has already landed. The only restaurant is Carl’s Junior. Streets are paved with grease. Five crazed wholesalers have hijacked an entire culture. We’re doomed. On with the show. David’s is not an idle question. If it is true that word-of-mouth is the best method of marketing books, then it stands to follow that marketing needs

Publishers and Editors

What Else Can A Poor Author Do?

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Most of us leave high school with sighs of relief. If you can survive the bitter end of your senior year, you can survive the worst the world has to offer. This is likely because most people do not become authors (though we meant a woman today who thought she might like to get around to trying writing at some point — could we help her out?). Those that become authors, especiallly the published kind, find themselves facing a challenge high school didn’t anticipate. Public readings. Readings differ from signings, though they may be combined, in that instead of remaining

Square Pegs

In Which We Issue A Challenge To Think Differently

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You want to know what makes us cranky? Other than that. Supermarket design consultants. Like any addict, we supplemented our regular book purchases with novels slipped in with the fruits and vegetables. It was a win-win situation for us — we got books, the husband got food. Then a funny thing happened that ruined our perfectly good gig. Someone thought, “Hey, let’s move the books to the other side of the checkout lane.” Now instead of slipping down aisle two (or skirting around back by taking the bread aisle), we stare balefully at the book selection as we make our

Square Pegs

You Say It’s Her Birthday

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We have this fantasy: Harper Lee is writing stories and getting them published under various names. She writes the New Yorker stories you love, and when you try to learn more about the author, not a single website can be found. She’s not prolific, but she’s writing and reaching readers. She does what she loves while keeping the world at bay. It’s her birthday today. While we wouldn’t presume to intrude on your private celebration, Today in Literature has helped us to help you. From To Kill A Mockingbird: As I made my way home, I thought Jem and I

Square Pegs

On Choosing The Right Career

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One needs to be fairly neurotic to copyedit—you have to be willing to spend time worrying about whether something’s a restrictive participle or a nonrestrictive one, and you actually have to care. Relatedly, it has to make a difference to you whether the name of the song is “I Want to Hold You Hand” or “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.” Enough About Me #8: In Which the Author Hands in His Copyedited Manuscript and Pays Tribute to the Most Unheralded Job in Publishing

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