Lemons, Lemonade

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Though many of us have achieved proficiency in the art of rejection (that is, the art of being rejected), few of us can claim the title “Rejexpert.” Actually, as far as we know, only Cathy Wald has worn the crown. Not that she planned her life that way; things have a funny way of working out. Sure she could have sulked over her stack o’letters, but why do that when you can use them to your advantage? Her book The Resilient Writer practically wrote itself (thanks to the fact that finding an author without a rejection story is almost impossible), […]

Books/Mags/Blogs

On Lessons Learned in Kansas City

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Discounts offered by wholesalers could make it tempting for independent booksellers to blow off the publisher and buy directly from discount outlets like Costco because there is no real financial incentive to buy from publishers—the price turns out to be just about the same, minus the cost of shipping. Though the above practice could be detrimental to relationships between publishers and booksellers, it does hold a great deal of appeal for authors, whose book sales could count twice—once when a bookseller purchases said book from the discount outlet, once when a customer buys the book from the bookstore. The Adam

Quote of the Week

AgentSpeak: The Complete Life of A Book

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When we last checked in with Joe Veltre, he’d struck out on his own. No wait, when we last checked in with Veltre, Diane Bartoli had joined him at the Artists Literary Group. Has it really been a year? We could check the archives, but why? Time is construct for people who aren’t like us. Veltre and Bartoli have been busy, building a strong agency. As far as what they want, Veltre outlines his tastes in broad strokes: “It can be high brow, it can be low-brow, middlebrow, it can be fiction, it can be nonfiction, as long as there

Agents, Square Pegs

Da Vinci Code Hardback Death Watch: Day One

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We hope you’re sitting down. And not just because it’s not safe to compute and stand. The only thing worse is using a cell phone while reading blogs. So, seated? Comfy? Ready to have your mind blown? If that’s the case, probably you should hit another site. We’re tired after a long day of doing nothing much at all. The Da Vinci Code may be loosening its grip on hardcover lists. Like all champs, it put up the good fight, but is finally seeing the end of a long, productive career. It was only a matter of time — by

Books/Mags/Blogs

Release The Shackles of Influence, Or Something Like That

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Amy Hundley of Grove/Atlantic talks about what grabs her, editorially speaking, and what she’s looking for when she’s looking at your work. She also discusses the importance of voice, noting it’s important to write past your influences to discover your own style. And, of course, she addresses the age-old question of experience: I’d say it’s pretty irrelevant. I’ve learned over time that there’s no relationship between an author’s experience and their level of comfort with the publishing process—some come into it seeming like old pros, and some of the old pros need more attention. Many of my authors I’ve ended

Publishers and Editors

A Caution

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Over the weekend, we received word that a site out there is selling unauthorized versions of electronic books. Various authors have assured us that the bookseller has not entered into arrangements with their publishers to sell these titles (also, we did find it peculiar that the only electronic versions of the Harry Potter books and certain Michael Connelly titles were available via this site). The authors have assured us that their publishers are attempting to contact this seller. Sites like this one come and go with alarming regularity. Sometimes the problem is genuinely criminal; sometimes it’s the result of genuine

Books/Mags/Blogs

Against All Odds

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This morning, a very cheery MJ Rose tells us that, give or take, there are approximately 500 new titles being published each week. Let us make that more clear: 500 new books hit the shelves every week. No wonder we go to dinner parties and have no books in common with the person sitting next to us. What are the odds we’d ever find the same two titles? We agree with MJ that the problem isn’t too many authors — it’s a combination of things. First, of course, is telling the world you have a book. Or rather, telling the

Books/Mags/Blogs

Harlequin Launches New Line, Authors Everywhere Polish Synopses

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We had a friend recently describe Harlequin’s recent efforts as something akin to lurching around in the dark. That !@#$ light switch must be somewhere! While avoiding every bit of our helpful advice, the publisher continues to tinker with ideas and concepts, looking for something that resonates with today’s readers. We would suggest a bit less focus on “lines” and a bit more focus on stories, but that’s probably why we’re not a multinational corporation. The new Epic Romance line is targeted toward readers (and writers) of, well, the love story aspect of J.D. Robb’s “In Death” series. None of

Publishers and Editors

Universal Truth Number Seven: Romantic Heroines Must Be Insipid. Also Klutzy. In a Cute Way.

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A confession. We have a soft spot in our little black heart for romantic comedies. However, and this is important, even we were not sucker enough to see Miss Congeniality 2. Why? Because it was a foregone conclusion that the character played by Sandra Bullock would be like many of the other characters played by Sandra Bullock, who has the misfortune of typifying the modern romantic heroine. As Carina Chocano describes this monster: Quirky but impeccably soignée, Charlie (the boy’s name implies you can trust her) works a series of sporadic, menial jobs but is not poor. In fact, she

Tools and Craft

We, Too, Are Committed To The Word

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Please pardon us while we work through our confusion. It centers on the definition of the word “word”. While we are too lazy to pull out the OED, we are not too lazy to consult with the fine folks at dictionary.com. They, oddly, have the same definition we have for the word: A sound or a combination of sounds, or its representation in writing or printing, that symbolizes and communicates a meaning and may consist of a single morpheme or of a combination of morphemes. We bring this up because the recent article in the New York Times quotes Frank

Square Pegs
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