Author name: Booksquare

Dissecting the publishing industry with love and skepticism.

Adding A New Buzzword To Our Vocabulary

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Nothing gets us more excited than new buzzwords, unless it’s a good guessing game. Please try to guess the phrase-of-the moment in this announcement about Amazon’s acquisition of BookSurge: BookSurge offers its inventory-free book fulfillment network to publishers through BookSurge Publisher Services and to authors through BookSurge Publishing. In addition, retailers, wholesalers and distributors can leverage the BookSurge Direct wholesale platform. Other than that, we’re quite excited about the possibilities of the activity formerly known as print on demand. Amazon.com Acquires BookSurge LLC

Publishers and Editors

Keeping Blogging Safe for Literature

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Some of our favorite people are involved in the latest shenanigans at the Emerging Writers Network, including the fine folks from Collected Miscellany, our role model The Happy Booker, Chekhov’s Mistress, and host of others. We’re not saying anything, but it didn’t take much for Dan Wickett to get this group to spill all the secrets of blogging. LitBlogger EPanel III

Books/Mags/Blogs

AgentSpeak: Serious, Controversial Non-Fiction

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Ellen Geiger has left Curtis Brown (New York) for the Frances Goldin Literary Agency. We presume she will contribute to her new firm’s proud tradition of quality literary fiction and serious, sometimes controversial non-fiction. Though this probably isn’t relevant, we are happy to note that Geiger is moving from a website-less agency to one with a fine and functioning site. Vitals: Frances Goldin Literary Agency, 57 E. 11th St, Ste 5B, NY, NY 10003, (212) 777-0047, (212) 228-1660 (fax) (Via Publisher’s Lunch) Frances Goldin Literary Agency

Agents

Marketing: An Exercise in Head Banging

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Michael Cader follows up his previous thoughts on the Expanding The Market: survey: But take a look at today’s NYT arts section, where publishers have invested a considerable amount of money in six different display ads. None of those ads describes the book at all — not even a single line or clause. All but one employs exactly the same technique — a wall of quotes, mostly from reviews (which we don’t believe sell books), saying the book is good. Only one provides even the slightest identification of who the author is, other than a “bestseller.” If you’ll recall, potential

Publishers and Editors

Here’s Hoping He Got His Wish

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Asked about his thoughts on what happens after death, Bellow offered two scenarios: oblivion or immortality. “My intuition is immortality,” said Bellow, who was ambivalent about whether he believed in God. “No argument can be made for it, but it’s just as likely as oblivion.” Saul Bellow, Author and Nobel Winner, Dead at 89

Square Pegs

From The Desk of Our Legal Reporter

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Because we can’t bring ourselves to even think about the Jane Fonda media blitz (what is it about people named Jane and the need to confess all in an attempt to reach readers/viewers? Even though we know the drill, the whole thing smacks of horrible desperation), we have made the executive decision to cover an entirely different celebrity story. The Booksquare Board so enjoys the meetings where these topics are debated. Yes, dear readers, we are returning to the Alicia Keys/Noah Lukeman story that occupied our imagination for a good five minutes a very long time ago. While we weren’t

Agents

At Least We’re Not Going Over The Edge Alone

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If we need any more evidence that this time change madness must stop*, our dear friend David Thayer has — well, there is no good way to say this — revealed something a little shocking about himself. We really picked a lousy week to cut back on the wine. Where we thought we were dealing with a mild-mannered crime fiction writer, it seems he’s responsible for both the Decline of Western Civilization and some fishy business with Jean-Paul Sartre. Not necessarily in that order. * – Did you know we are now practicing Pacific Daylight Time (or the equivalent for

Square Pegs

Fortunate Move

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Gail Fortune has left Berkley to join John Talbot in what will now be known as the Talbot Fortune Agency. We are straining our nice gene to avoid making any of the obvious comments; instead we’ll note that if you have something on Gail Fortune’s desk at Berkley, you might want to ask questions. If you’re seeking The Talbot Fortune Agency, you’ll be happy to know they actually have a website. As always, we applaud this sort of modernity. Our intensive research reveals a bent toward commercial fiction and narrative non-fiction. Also seeking edgy voices and domestic realism. You’ll have

Agents

Someone Didn’t Get The Never Say Never Memo

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Far be it for us to suggest that someone seems a little sensitive about her future, but, well, someone seems a little sensitive about her future. Maybe it’s the fact that she uses such strong words as “preposterous”. Or suggests that the sensual nature of newsprint will save the day. . .ah yes, the black ink on spotless fingers evokes fond memories of happy spring mornings. Now, we don’t really believe that blogs will replace newspapers. Nor do we think there’s a one size fits all solution for consuming news. It’s just that when the argument in favor of something

Square Pegs
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