Blog Archive
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Multiple Houses Continued
Sep 06, 2006
Yesterday’s post elicited so many comments that I felt the need to expand on this further and continue the discussion. It’s something I feel could be talked about for days, but I’ll try to contain myself. Since I suspect that most readers already know why they want to be published at multiple houses and what […]
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Published with Multiple Houses
Sep 05, 2006
There’s a huge trend these days of authors being published with more than one house—sometimes three. And while I can see why some authors desire this, I can also see where it can become a problem. Not surprisingly, publishers don’t like this new trend and are doing whatever they can to discourage it (option and […]
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Spam Filters, Interns, Assistants and Other “Helpers”
Sep 01, 2006
Summer is over and along with saying our good-byes to half-day Fridays we are also bidding adieu to our interns. Hopefully they are walking away from the experience with a new knowledge of the publishing industry. I know that over the past few months I, for one, have learned a lot. For nearly seven years […]
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Dummies and Idiots
Aug 31, 2006
No, not the authors, the series. Recently we were asked the following: What about your series books? I see you do several. Any insights on those and what kind of authors they are looking for? I met a Dummies Guide author and he said the people who author these types of books must be special […]
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Maintaining Enthusiam
Aug 30, 2006
I posted recently about being enthusiastic for a project and then waiting months to finally get the requested materials in “Bummer,” posted August 22. A reader asked: But . . . and it’s a big but here . . . if she had gotten it back into you after working like crazy to submit, how […]
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Perspective from the Publishing House
Aug 29, 2006
A recent comment reminded me of how lucky I am to have been an editor before becoming an agent. The knowledge I have from working inside a publishing house gives me the unique ability to fully understand the acquisition process and to know what might happen when a book is brought up in an editorial […]
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Which Category?
Aug 28, 2006
What advice do you have for a manuscript that has several different possible audiences? Do you go with the strongest factor? Most great books do straddle categories. For instance, many mysteries have romantic subplots, but they are most certainly mysteries and not romances. A thriller thrills the reader: there is the sense of chase, the […]
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Small Presses
Aug 25, 2006
What are your opinions of small presses, for example, Poisoned Pen Press? I noticed Libby Hellman’s books are published by Poisoned Pen in hardcover and Berkley in paperback. Is this highly unusual? Sometimes a house such as Poisoned Pen will buy the hardcover rights from another publisher who has published paperback editions of an author’s […]
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Getting the Call
Aug 24, 2006
We always talk about how exciting it is for an author to finally get that call, either from an agent or from the publisher (especially the publisher), but rarely do we talk about how exciting it can be for the agent or editor and the feelings we sometimes go through when making that call. Last […]
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When an Agent Disappears
Aug 23, 2006
I’m with an agent right now—one-year contract. When he offered me representation, I had partials all over town, but I foolishly yanked them with the offer of representation from a reputable, well-known agent. Said agent has never gotten back to me. Won’t return emails, won’t call. It’s been six months. At what point should I […]
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Bummer
Aug 22, 2006
About a month ago I requested the full manuscript of this amazing novel. I loved the concept so much that immediately upon opening the package I read the first three chapters. They were terrific: well written, enticing, exactly what the market is looking for right now . . . I loved them. I emailed the […]
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What Not to Do
Aug 21, 2006
I know that writers get extremely nervous when talking to agents and I do understand and forgive a lot of what is said or done because of that nervousness. However, there are still definitely some things that, no matter how nervous they are, authors should avoid doing. One of these happened to me recently, and […]
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