Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Location: Books & Such Main Office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
The week of writing about crazy-driving scenarios wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t mention that sometimes the good folks at the publishing houses drive us crazy. One of those times is when they become in communicado.
I’ve phoned and emailed about a timely, important issue–well, it’s important to my client and me. And the person at the publishing house–be it an editor, someone in marketing, someone in publicity, or the publisher himself–doesn’t respond. Acknowledgment of receipt of the communications would be appreciated! A time-frame in which a respond will be coming would be deeply appreciated. (more…)
By janetgrant on Sep 3, 2010 in Agents, Authors, Blog, Publishers | 11 Comments
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Location: Los Angeles
If you read my post yesterday, I talked about agents who poach clients from other agents. But another crazy-making scenario is when a client leaves an agent badly.
Every client an agent picks is chosen carefully because it takes a lot of energy to “fold” a client into the agent’s workflow. The agent needs to be thoughtful and purposeful in how to move the writer onto his or her next level. If the writer has a number of published or unpublished manuscripts, the agent needs to become familiar with where the career is to understand how to move it forward.
One of the delights of being an agent is that we get to choose whom we work with. (How often can a person say that!?) So we choose our clients not only based on career potential but also based on whether we enjoy working with that person.
Considering the investment the agent makes in a client, agents don’t take it lightly when one leaves. Choose to leave well. How? (more…)
By janetgrant on Sep 2, 2010 in Agents, Authors, Blog | 8 Comments
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Location: Books & Such Main Office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Lest you think, based on my posts so far this week, that only writers drives agents crazy, let me hasten to say that agents drive agents crazy!
A perennial problem among agents is a practice called “poaching.” Ew, sounds unpleasant, doesn’t it? “Poaching” occurs when an agent knows an author is represented by another agent and attempts to “steal” that client away.
Now, all agents know we don’t own our clients, and author-agent relationships don’t always work out the way we think they will. So there’s a certain amount of changing “dance” partners that naturally occurs. The agent might decide the client isn’t fitting into the agency well or isn’t producing salable manuscripts or barrages the agent with emails or some other crazy-making behavior. The author might not sense the agent believes in the writer’s work, is paying enough attention to the writer, or is found to be lacking in ethics. Whatever the reason, the relationship falls into the “irreconcilable differences” category. (more…)
By janetgrant on Sep 1, 2010 in Agents, Authors, Blog | 9 Comments
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Location: Books & Such Main Office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Connected with my post from yesterday, when I wrote about writers who try to glean free advice from agents, are writers who are in a pickle with their agent or publisher and need help to straighten out the mess. Often they’ll cast about for either a new agent or a new publisher and call a potential agent to discuss the issues that have left them floundering, unsure of how to deal with the situation.
Inherent in the discussion that author has with the potential new agent is the understanding that the agent who offers time and insight should be the agent you would choose to represent you when you’re available to make that decision.After all, this is the person who is making a significant investment of time and energy. (Unless you determine you don’t agree with the advice the agent gave, of course.) (more…)
By janetgrant on Aug 31, 2010 in Blog, Finding an Agent | 19 Comments
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Location: Books & Such Main Office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Every job has its drawbacks. You know, the stuff you’d just as soon not have to deal with but put up with for the inherent rewards in what you do. When I was an editor, proofreading was the do-I-have-to-do-this element of the job for me.
Agenting has plenty of rewards: working with clients for decades and seeing the long-term payoff for lots of dreaming and doing the hard stuff everyday; introducing a writer to the reading world; celebrating with clients when they hit the best-seller list or receive a notable award; reading lots of great books before anyone else sees them; and developing strong relationships with publishing colleagues (editors, other agents, marketing and publicity folks, the publishers themselves).
Okay, that’s the good news. Now for the bad. Agenting has its share of crazy-making scenarios. To give you a glimpse into our world, I’m going to disclose a few of those circumstances this week.
Unagented people who ask for free advice. (more…)
By janetgrant on Aug 30, 2010 in Agents, Authors, Blog | 19 Comments
Blogger: Etta Wilson
Location: Books & Such Nashville Office
Weather: High 80s
In the wide-ranging sweep of topics this week, I think I’ve pushed myself and you readers to explore the subconscious for writing motivation. Certainly I want us to look at nationalities, racial groups, and languages other than our own to examine what’s being written outside our comfort zone–not as a steady diet but on occasion to get a feel for something new. After all, something new is what the market seems to seek a lot of the time.
In light of that, here are some questions for us to discuss:
1. Who is your favorite non-native-American author? Why?
2. What genres do you feel American authors write better than any other nationality?
3. What genres do you associate with other nationalities?
4. Have any of you had experience having your work translated? How did that go?
5. If you could promote your writing in one non-US country, what would it be and why?
6. Do U.S. children in general understand other cultures better or worse than children of 20 years ago?
By Etta Wilson on Aug 27, 2010 in Blog, Reading, Writing Life | 6 Comments
Blogger: Etta Wilson
Location: Books & Such Nashville Office
Weather: Low 90s
Looking at the American Library Association’s lists of awards and prizes over the years, I see several authors and books from other cultures. The Mildred L. Bachelder Award for best work of translation is probably the best known of these. Begun in 1966 and named in honor of a children’s librarian whose work had international influence, the award is intended to promote communication between the peoples of the world. In 2003 author Cornelia Funke won that award for The Thief Lord, originally published in German. Funke has written several best-sellers since then and is now part of a promotional tour in the US along with several other juvenile authors.
In 2009 the Bachelder Award went to Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit by Nahoko Uehashi, originally published in Japanese. Even though it was published in the U.S. by Arthur A. Levine of Scholastic, the same imprint that brought us Harry Potter from Britain, the book has not appealed to readers in the same way as Funke’s. It has also been outsold by a Bachelder honor book that same year, Tiger Moon by Antonia Michaelis, originally published in German.
I may be making too much of this, but I feel several things are at play here: The American taste for intrigue and mystery rather than for spiritual symbolism. There may also be some underlying feeling of more ethnic identity with Germanic culture than with Asian. Or it could be something more obvious–page count, helpful glossary in the back, etc.
Within the realm of Christian publishing for children and youth, I feel we have too few books about children from other cultures, and I wonder why. Are we too preoccupied with the moral development of our own kids that we focus on the culture in which they are growing up? Why aren’t we publishing and promoting stories about our children learning, giving, and receiving with children from other countries? Eager to hear your answers.
By Etta Wilson on Aug 26, 2010 in Authors, Awards, Blog, Children's books | 2 Comments
Blogger: Etta Wilson
Location: Books & Such Nashville Office
Weather: Hot
Down at my second home, aka the nearest bookstore, I was looking for a few books I’d seen recommended recently. They were books for adults but with children in major roles. I’m always fascinated by how authors treat children in books for adults, and I think their number is increasing. I’ve previously mentioned Homer Hickam’s Rocket Boys and Tony Earley’s Jim the Boy, but there’s a new batch on the shelves. (more…)
By Etta Wilson on Aug 25, 2010 in Blog, Fiction, Reading | 7 Comments
Blogger: Etta Wilson
Location: Books & Such Nashville Office
Weather: Sunny and 92
In an online authors’ group, I’ve been reading a recent discussion about whether an author of one race can write effectively about characters of another. Can a Caucasian write an authentic story about a Chinese character and vice versa? Can an African American write an authentic story about a Caucasian and vice versa? The basic question seems to be about the extent to which race dictates unique experience. (more…)
By Etta Wilson on Aug 24, 2010 in Blog, Fiction, Reading | 10 Comments
Blogger: Etta Wilson
Location: Books & Such Nashville office
Africa has been popping up in one way or another during the past year for me. Last fall, I heard the organizer of the centennial for native Tennessean James Agee, who wrote the screenplay for The African Queen, speak. I was startled to realize how many great changes had taken place on that continent in the 60 years since Agee had not only written that story for film (starring Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn), but also Let Us Now Praise Famous Men and A Death in the Family, for which he won the Pulitzer after his sudden death in 1955.
In January Desmond Tutu’s daughter Naomi, in full South African garb, spoke at a local university here in Tennessee. I didn’t get to hear her, but this quote indicates she has the same spirit as her father: “It doesn’t matter what the prime minister of South Africa thinks of me. It only matters what I think of them, and I think of them as my brothers and sisters.” (more…)
By Etta Wilson on Aug 23, 2010 in Awards, Reading | 15 Comments
