Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Location: Old New Castle, Del.
Yesterday I wrote about finding a treasure–a children’s picture book manuscript that a friend referred me to. It is a story filled with magic, sensory richness and adventure.
You may have guessed, after my raving about the story yesterday, that I offered representation. You would be guessing wrong. I did contact L. Stewart Marsden through my friend, but it was to ask his permission to blog about his project.
So why, if I’m crazy about this story, did I not offer to represent it? (more…)
By Wendy Lawton on Feb 3, 2012 in Blog, Finding an Agent | 0 Comments
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Location: New York City
Talk to any literary agent and she will have stories about discovering that perfect project– the one that wouldn’t leave her alone. Today I’m going to talk about one such project that I discovered this week. On Friday I’ll reveal why I made the representation decision I made.
One of my longtime writing friends wrote to our critique group to tell us about a reporter who was doing a story about her. She told us he was an aspiring writer himself and she pointed us to a children’s story on his blog. I normally wouldn’t have time to go look at a blog but she loved the story and I needed to see why. The story is for a children’s picture book and is titled Stinky and the Night Mare by L. Stewart Marsden. (more…)
By Wendy Lawton on Feb 2, 2012 in Blog, Children's books, Finding an Agent | 5 Comments
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Location: Books & Such main office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
If you don’t know what a QR code is, scroll down to the end of this post to take a peek. QR (which stands for “quick response”) codes are ubiquitous–on food packaging, on clothing tags, in ads, etc. The codes might provide recipes that use the food item you’ve just purchased or ways to tie the scarf you’re considering buying or a video about the car pictured in an ad.
I’ll suggest some ways authors can use QR codes in a minute, but first I’ll explain how they work. (If you already know, just move on down to the numbered items.) The codes are two-dimensional, which means they can carry much more information than the one-dimensional bar code. QRs are designed to be used with smartphones by scanning the code with the phone’s camera. The phone’s software interprets the information and takes the user to a spot on the Internet. (more…)
By Janet Grant on Feb 1, 2012 in Authors, Blog, Book Proposals, Business of writing, Marketing & Publicity, Publishers | 10 Comments
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Location: Books & Such main office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Considering that January is about to exit our lives, I figure today is my last chance to let you know the word that Dictionary.com selected as depicting 2011: tergiversate.
Just in case that announcement didn’t seem especially enlightening to you, tergiversate (pronounced “ter-JIV-er-sate” means “to change repeatedly one’s attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject, etc.; to equivocate.”
Now do you get why the word was so appropriate for 2011? The stock market couldn’t make up its mind how it felt about the world’s events; so the market looked like a kid on a trampoline–way up, way down, way up…And then we had Occupy Wall Street (and several other “Occupies”). Not only couldn’t the public decide how it felt about Occupy, but also the movement couldn’t decide why it existed or even what to occupy. In my hometown, Occupy moved from the plaza where the city government buildings were located to banks to the mall to the local junior college. And then there’s publishing… (more…)
By Janet Grant on Jan 31, 2012 in Agents, Authors, Blog, Business of writing | 5 Comments
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Location: Books & Such main office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Pretty much everyone just wants to be liked, right? Why, we’ve all taken to heart one sentence from Sally Fields’ earnest Academy-Award acceptance speech: “You like me, you really like me.”
But authors seem especially prone to need to know that they’re not only liked but also respected by the publishing industry. Which points to one of the reasons authors forgo the option of self-publishing. They want to be able to say, “My publisher likes me, really likes me.”
But I was reminded of how compelling that need is when I read a recent Wall Street Journal article about Darcie Chan, who crafted a hit, self-published novel. The Mill River Recluse is her debut novel and has sold more than 400,000 copies–in seven months. According to the WSJ article, she’s receiving offers from foreign imprints, movie studios and audio-book publishers–without having sold a single physical copy of her book. And that’s the big rub for Chan. (more…)
By Janet Grant on Jan 30, 2012 in Authors, Awards, Blog, Publishers, Writing Life | 20 Comments
Blogger: Mary Keeley
Location: Books & Such Midwest Office, Illinois
A killer title for your book can make the difference between an editor taking a serious look at your proposal or not at all. It’s the all-important first impression. If your title can capture agent and editor attention, the perception is that the first pages of your manuscript might deliver on the title’s promise. Here are a few suggestions to help you zero in on a great title. (more…)
By Mary Keeley on Jan 27, 2012 in Agents, Authors, Blog, Book Proposals, Publishers, Writing Craft | 9 Comments
Blogger: Mary Keeley
Location: Books & Such Midwest Office, Illinois
As we concentrate on positive outlooks, this week, let’s tackle our persistence barometer. Some people just seem to have a sunny disposition no matter what life throws at them. For the rest of us, especially those with a melancholy temperament, it can require a lot of effort. We have the assurance: Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1). But acting on it takes persistence.
You can employ some practical exercises to help check yourself when you encounter discouragement over a rejection letter or your book’s low sales numbers. First, appropriate the Boy Scout motto: Be prepared. (more…)
By Mary Keeley on Jan 26, 2012 in Agents, Blog, Business of writing, Publishers, Writing Life | 4 Comments
Blogger: Mary Keeley
Location: Books & Such Midwest Office, Illinois
If you are in a well-functioning critique group, you are blessed indeed. You know what an asset your group is to growth in your writing craft, and you witness increasing results in your work. In fact, you may be thinking you couldn’t do this thing called writing without your partners. Today, let’s talk about the characteristics that create the perfect climate for a well-functioning group. (more…)
By Mary Keeley on Jan 25, 2012 in Authors, Blog, Writing Craft | 8 Comments
Blogger: Mary Keeley
Location: Books & Such Midwest Office, Illinois
In a productive brainstorming meeting with a client about two weeks ago, three necessary parts of a writer’s whole proposal “package” came into clear view. They are not new concepts; they are basics. But the combination of the three results in a winning idea. See if they also are helpful to you in terms of adjusting your WIP and in developing future book ideas. (more…)
By Mary Keeley on Jan 24, 2012 in Agents, Authors, Blog, Book Proposals, Writing Life | 11 Comments
Blogger: Mary Keeley
Location: Just back from Agency Summit in Wine Country
No, the title of this blog isn’t about the software program. I’m referring to my view of 2012. At the beginning of each new year we’re used to feeling encouraged at the thought of a fresh new start. This year, take it up a notch for me.
Exhilarate: 1. to enliven; invigorate; stimulate. 2. to make cheerful or merry. This is the atmosphere that permeated our Agency Summit last week, and I hope to pass it on to you. What am I so exhilarated about? (more…)
By Mary Keeley on Jan 23, 2012 in Agents, Authors, Blog, Business of writing, Writing Life | 4 Comments
