Blog Archive
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Page Numbers
Mar 20, 2007
Do you know what’s worse than dropping an entire manuscript all over your floor? Going to pick it up, only to discover that the author didn’t put page numbers on it. It’s a weird and little-discussed phenomena, but editors and agents hate to receive manuscripts, proposals, synopsis, anything without page numbers. It just makes our […]
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Buzz Marketing
Mar 19, 2007
We talk a lot at BookEnds about buzz marketing and how important it is to create a buzz surrounding your book. This is probably the easiest and cheapest form of publicity you can get, but strangely the one authors seem to neglect the most. Why? Because buzz marketing means you have to brag. It means […]
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BookEnds Talks to Jamie Novak
Mar 16, 2007
Jamie Novak Book: 1000 Best Quick and Easy Time-Saving Strategies Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc. Pub date: March 16, 2007 Agent: Jessica Faust (Click to Buy) Jamie Novak is the Organizing Expert for NBC’s iVillage.com and her tips are featured in national magazines. She’s also authored the #1 book 1000 Best Organizing Secrets. Jamie’s infectious energy and […]
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Author Beware: SASE
Mar 15, 2007
Over the years, as an editor and agent, I have built a pretty good-sized author beware file. This file is made up of interesting and usually angry letters and e-mails from authors. Often they are in response to rejections or other correspondence we’ve had. No matter what the situation, the letters always give me insight […]
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Resubmissions
Mar 14, 2007
I got an e-mail today from a writer I had just rejected. She thanked me for my letter and asked if I would be willing to take a look at her WIP (work in progress), and I was thrilled. With the increase in form letters, my biggest fear is that I’ll see a decrease in […]
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Agent Hand-Holding
Mar 13, 2007
I received this question via e-mail, and since the reader referred directly to the blog I thought it was worthy of a post. And by the way, while I don’t mind e-mails, please feel free to ask questions on the blog at any time. In some cases I’ll answer them in the comments section and […]
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The Dangers of Blogs
Mar 12, 2007
I’m sitting here enjoying a nice cup of tea and thinking about the dangers of blogging. By now most of you are probably aware of Jason Pinter’s reported firing from Crown for a posting he made on his blog. If not, take a look at what Galleycat has to say about the situation. While I […]
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The Evolution of an Agent: Part II
Mar 09, 2007
When I left my position as senior editor at Berkley Publishing, I felt pretty confident of my grasp of the publishing industry. Leslie Gelbman, the president of Penguin’s paperback division, and all of my editor friends there were terrific mentors. Nevertheless, I was new to the agenting biz. Shifting my perspective took a little getting […]
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The Evolution of an Agent
Mar 08, 2007
Today marks my third anniversary at BookEnds, and my third year as a literary agent. For those of you who don’t already know, my first nine years in the industry were spent on the editorial side at Berkley Publishing, a paperback division of Penguin USA. People ask me all the time why I left editing […]
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Fonts
Mar 07, 2007
When it comes to writing queries and formatting manuscripts, authors can make themselves crazy obsessing over font size and type, how to figure word count (which I previously covered), and how many pages a synopsis should be. Stop! Please stop. Stop obsessing and start thinking. When you get an email or a letter, or if […]
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When It’s Not Fun Anymore
Mar 06, 2007
There was a very interesting discussion a while back about a client of mine who experienced writer’s block, and I was fascinated by the varied comments, suggestions, and feelings about writer’s block. Some of you felt there is no such thing, while others had a variety of suggestions on how to move beyond it. But […]
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Reader Questions: Bad Numbers
Mar 05, 2007
What about writers who were able to sell a couple of books in the mid-1990s, then for some reason the next books didn’t sell. Is it the style? The market? I’ve parted ways with my original agent. She didn’t try all that hard after the option books were turned down. A couple houses, then nothing. […]
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