Blog Archive
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Competitive Book Selling
May 03, 2007
I’m competitive by nature, have been my entire life. I always wanted to be the best and still do. Even as a Girl Scout it was never enough to just sell cookies, or sell the most cookies for my troop. I had to sell the most cookies for the entire town. And I did. So […]
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An Intervention
May 02, 2007
Over the past two weeks I’ve become obsessed with the blog. I’ve done research on how to increase traffic and studied which posts elicited more comments and more traffic than others. I’ve thought about it all day long and late into the night. And it wasn’t until Webmaster Bill suggested that we might want to […]
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Reader Question: The Queries We’re Getting
May 02, 2007
Hi. I’m always interested in what kinds of queries agents are getting. Are there common themes in character names, plot ideas, something that is just way out there? Did you find something in the query box that got you excited? Are people following your submission guidelines? This is a fun question and I’m not sure […]
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A Subjective Business
May 01, 2007
I was talking to an editor this morning, pitching a new book that I’m very excited about, when the editor said to me that she wasn’t interested in the project since it went against her political leanings. And this really got me thinking. How much can you learn about an agent or editor by taking […]
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Query Critiques
May 01, 2007
I may be opening myself up for more than I’m ready for, but here goes . . . I hear it all the time, authors who complain that they can’t even get an agent to read the proposal. “How am I supposed to get published if no one will even read a chapter?” Want to […]
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Publishing Questions
Apr 30, 2007
I suspect the newest edition of Writer’s Market has just been published. Why? Because I’ve been receiving a lot of email questions about the business, things I would assume people should know before they begin the submission process. My personal opinion is that Writer’s Market is the easy way out and used primarily by new […]
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BookEnds Talks to Sue Owens Wright
Apr 27, 2007
Sue Owens Wright 150 Activities for Bored Dogs—Surefire Ways to Keep Your Dog Active and Happy Publisher: Adams Media Pub date: April 2007 Agent: Jacky Sach (Click to Buy) Sue Owens Wright is the author of The Beanie and Cruiser Dog Lover’s Mystery Series and What’s Your Dog’s IQ? She is a seven-time nominee and […]
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An Editor Leaves
Apr 26, 2007
This week we say good-bye to a good one. An editor I have worked with on a number of different projects and someone I think is truly talented, smart, and an asset to the publishing community. The really sad thing is that this editor is not just leaving a publishing house, but the business altogether. […]
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Market Update
Apr 25, 2007
I recently had lunch with an editor at Perigee. We went to a sushi restaurant on Carmine Street—Yama. Kim was very disappointed in me. It’s one of her all-time favorite restaurants and I’m afraid the yumminess was lost on me. While I’m fine with sushi, unlike Kim and Jacky I just don’t have a passion […]
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Questions to Ask Before Signing with an Agent
Apr 24, 2007
If you didn’t pick up on it yesterday, I want to remind you today: You are hiring an agent. This person works for you and you pay her. Therefore she should be the person you feel the most comfortable with and who you trust with your money and your work. So what can you ask […]
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Multiple Offers from Agents
Apr 23, 2007
You get that call. Finally, an agent wants to offer representation and you’re over the moon. Your first instinct is to shout, “Yes, anything you want,” into the phone. But I’m here to tell you to suppress all first instincts. This is the time when you are finally in the driver’s seat and can take […]
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BookEnds Talks to Sally MacKenzie
Apr 20, 2007
Sally MacKenzie Book: The Naked Earl Publisher: Kensington Zebra Pub date: April 2007 Agent: Jessica Faust (Click to Buy) Sally MacKenzie was born in Washington, D.C., and still lives in the Maryland suburbs with her transplanted upstate New Yorker husband. After years driving her four sons around, she wrote and sold her first Naked book, […]
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