When Authors Blog

By •

Ander Monson is blogging up a storm about Other Electricities over at the Co-Op. In addition to talking about his vision of his book, he’s addressing the comments and questions raised in earlier discussions of the book. It’s pretty cool stuff, especially his thoughts on the unusual structure of the book and how the various ephemera fit into the overall picture. Tomorrow (or today, depending on your time zone), there will be more fun as Sarah Gorham (publisher of Sarabande Books) and Kirby Gann (whom you might remember from last quarter’s discussions) talk about the publishing and editing of this […]

Books/Mags/Blogs

From Bookseller To Agent In Two Easy Steps

By •

Julie Barer just celebrated her first anniversary as a solo agent after coming to the business the old-fashioned way: she discovered the power of hand-selling books while working in a bookstore. The principles translated to working with publishers. “At an independent bookstore, people still come in and ask booksellers for recommendations. I did a tremendous amount of hand selling. That’s what made me want to become an agent. I saw that you could really say, ‘I love this book and here’s why I’m passionate about it and go home and read it.’ If they loved it they’d come back and

Agents

One Week Later, Publisher’s Weekly Discovers The Truth

By •

Okay, we shouldn’t make fun. Much. But PW just got around (yesterday) to noting that Mad Max has been revealed. And we thought we were behind the curve because we were six hours late in discovering the news. You live, you learn. You now know it’s Dan Conaway. As he’s already proven himself to be a regular internet user, it makes sense, though we preferred thinking of Max as a mysterious, magical being. What doesn’t make sense, if we may, is this: “I’m stunned that anybody at a senior editorial level—let alone someone with [nine year-old] triplets—had the time to

Publishers and Editors

Inbox: Research Department

By •

We are passing this one with full confidence that our crack BS team will get to the bottom of the latest potential literary hoax. We’re not going to brag (much), but our research squad is capable of spending endless hours on a topic. We’d call it obsessive, but that’s such an understatement. Navahoax: Did a struggling white writer of gay erotica become one of multicultural literature’s most celebrated memoirists — by passing himself off as Native American?

Square Pegs

On Tall Tales

By •

Though his stories were based on truth, it was somehow understood that the truth was always worth bending for a good story. Source Notes by David Masiel

Quote of the Week

Stare Decisis or Something Like It

By •

We have spoken at length on our thoughts on used book sales — not a bad thing, but, boy, it would be nice if the authors got themselves a piece of that pie. One thing each and every person who’s weighed in on this topic acknowledges is that the doctrine of first sale is alive and well. We’ve also noted that current copyright laws don’t really address the rapid changes in how we access and consume media. Congress needs to focus on this — and they need to understand the issue. We figure that’s going to take some time, if

Our Continuing Fascination With Copyright

Success Made Easy

By •

It is the BS policy to give, give, give. Some days, we sit in our little office and wonder how we can make your lives easier. Generally, no answer appears, so we move on. But today, ah today, we have found the secret of success. Not surprisingly, the key to getting what you want is quite simple. It’s a bit like losing weight. In other words, maybe it’s not how hard the work is. It’s how hard you work. The article includes a helpful grit test. We opted against taking it as the last time we encountered grit, it came

Square Pegs

On Children

By •

“When I ask if anybody has any questions,” he [Louis Sachar] says, “every hand goes up.” Louis Sachar: Hot novelist of the sandbox set.

Quote of the Week

Long Live The Internet

By •

It hasn’t been hard to predict the slow demise of the standalone book section in major newspapers — the Chicago Reader reports that only five such sections still exist. And one, belonging to the Chicago Tribune is undergoing stomach stapling surgery. To save on the cost of newsprint. Apparently a brilliant plan to move the section to the lower-circulation Saturday was nixed when additional stuffing costs were factored into the move. The truth is that newspapers are losing eyeballs and consequently advertising revenue. We’d like to gently point out that had they paid attention when Craigslist first went online, this

The Business of Publishing

Other Electricies – The Party

By •

As discussed last week (you do remember last week, right? It was the one with the holiday), the LitBlog Co-Op has planned a wide range of interesting and fun activities for each of this quarter’s nominated titles. Discussions, podcasts, editors, publishers, and even authors will be posting to the Co-Op site about their books. This week, the fun starts with Anders Monson’s Other Electricities, the book that made the California contingent feel really sorry for people who live near cold stuff. Our collective thin, tanned skin shivered as we read about cold, colder, and so damn cold it’s amazing humans

Books/Mags/Blogs
Scroll to Top