Pub Rants

Category: news

The NYT Children’s Series List

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: I’m back from vacationing Down Under! And it’s official. Australia has the cutest animals on the planet. There is just nothing to compare to the Koala, Wombat, tiny Blue Penguin, and the Wallaby. Squee. I couldn’t contain myself there was so much cuteness.

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? SOMEONE LIKE YOU by Adele

While down under, I met with quite a few Australian Editors so I have some interesting notes to pass along to my readers. I promise I’ll do that tomorrow.

Today, I just have to take a moment to say CONGRATULATIONS Simone Elkeles for hitting the NYT Children’s Series List this week (#8).

I couldn’t post the news last Thursday (Wednesday in USA) because I had literally just come off the The Great Barrier Reef where I had been snorkeling. A text message was waiting for me and alas, no internet connection.

Hitting this series list is tough to do–especially when you only have 3 books that have to compete with total sales from series with more than 4 or 5 books in them.

So take a moment to revel in it Simone!

Simone also hit the USA Today bsl coming it at number 77. Since that’s ALL books in all any format, that’s huge too.

All for a series that editors told me wasn’t “big enough” while on submission because it was a contemporary YA with no paranormal elements. I don’t know about you guys, but feeling big enough to me. *Grin*

Back

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: I’m finally back! It definitely took a week longer than I expected but I’m doing great.

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? JEOPARDY by Greg Kihn (Of course!)

Late on Friday (July 29) I found out that Jamie Ford was going to be a literature question on that night’s TV show of Jeopardy!

Surely you’ve arrived if you are ubiquitous enough to be a question on a popular game show, right?


Not a single contestant got the answer. LOL!

Yep, take it down a notch Kristin. It still makes me smile though.

Only Once In An Agent’s Lifetime?

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Even though I look absolutely ridiculous doing a happy dance, I’m doing it anyway! White woman overbite. Here I come.

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? THE LOAD OUT by Jackson Browne

This is just getting impossible. If I keep hitting crazy milestones, what will I have to look forward to? Last year, I had 3 authors on the New York Times bestseller list at the same time.

Then it happened twice in one year. Fabulous. Where to go next?

How about 4 authors on the NYT list at the same time? And 3 of them on the top 150 USA Today Bestseller list at the same time as well.

Yep! That’s the news that hit my inbox about an hour ago. And here they are.

At #19 on the Trade Paperback list and #146 on USA Today

At #9 on the Children’s list

At #11 on the Mass Market paperback list and #109 on USA Today

At #13 on the eBook listand #59 on USA Today

When I got into this biz, this wasn’t something I ever imagined so the reality is not quite real. Maybe it will sink in tomorrow…

The Cat Is Officially Out Of The Bag

by Kristin Nelson

Status: RWA. Day Final. Tomorrow I go home to Denver. Squee


What’s Playing on the XM or iPod right now? JOHNNY B. GOODE by Chuck Berry


We’ve known for months but couldn’t say anything. I guess if Hollywood Reporter is going blast it out there (with nary a heads up I might add), I’m going to shine a spotlight on it.


Congrats Ally on having Drew Barrymore attached to direct HEIST SOCIETY and even more fabulous?


Having the sequel, UNCOMMON CRIMINALS, debut at #3 on the New York Times Children’s Bestseller list this week!!!



News Flash: UNLOCKED hits USA Today and NYT Bestseller List!

by Kristin Nelson

Status: Giddy with excitment!

What’s Playing on the XM or iPod right now? nothing at the moment


I usually get the weekly NYT list around 6 in the evening but alas, it didn’t hit my inbox until 9:30 tonight but whoa, a huge surprise was waiting for me.


HUGE CONGRATS Courtney Milan!


You, my dear, are now officially a New York Times Bestselling author as well. Today, not only did your novella UNLOCKED hit the USA Today list coming in at #36, you also hit the NYT eBook bestseller list coming in at #6.


And sheesh, right during RWA 2011. That’s timing. I couldn’t be more thrilled for you.



Calling All Denverites

by Kristin Nelson

Status: It was already in the 90s by 9 a.m. this morning. Poor Chutney was not happy with her walk in Central Park.


What’s Playing on the XM or iPod right now? SHE BOP by Cyndi Lauper


Even though I have a healthy ego in regards to my agenting, I really do think that this a once-in-a-career opportunity.


I found out this week that Jamie Ford’s Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet is in the running for One Book One Denver!


Always the last to know….


But I’m so excited at the possibility I can barely sleep. I really don’t know if I’ll ever have another book in the running (although one never knows what the future will bring)!


As many of you know, Jamie is not a Coloradoan but his wife is and her family still lives here. They visit Colorado often so even though he’s not a local author per se, he’s an honorary or sometimes local. Either way, he is a writer of the West.


So what is this blog post about? I need your help! The title is in the running but I need Denverites to vote.


Here’s how it works. You go to the voting website here. Of course they are going to want you to register (sorry about that!) because they are collecting info for Denver Events eMailing list. You can always unsubscribe later


Then you’ll see the three titles and I won’t mince words. The competition is tough. I personally enjoyed The Art Of Racing In The Rain and my book club is scheduled to read The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks in just a few short months. I’m not disparaging these titles at all but I still want HOTEL to win!!


It’s a little confusing on the site but voters are suppose to vote on each title by ranking them with the number of stars that applies to your rating of the work.


So, it’s not a matter of the book with the most votes win but the book with the most votes and the highest ranking of stars wins. I hope that makes sense…


If HOTEL does win, trust me, Jamie will be coming to town for a variety of One Book One Denver events. NLA will hold a party and all Denverites are invited!


BEA Week

by Kristin Nelson

Status: It’s pouring rain in New York too. Is there anywhere where it’s not raining?


What’s Playing on the XM or iPod right now? WHATAYA WANT FROM ME by Adam Lambert


Dashing off in the next hour to head to Javits Center. It’s going to be a crazy week but I’ll try and report from the floor. I’m armed with my camera.


And some great news to kick it off. Kirkus lists the Top 26 Galleys to grab at the Fair and guess who is on it?


Heck yes!


In a totally unscientific sampling, I gave an ARC of this title to my 17 year old niece who loved it. She cajoled my 14 year old reluctant reader nephew to read it. He spent an entire day, while on spring break, away from playing his favorite video game because he couldn’t stop reading it.


There have only been two other books that did the same for him. ENDER’S GAME and the HUNGER GAMES trilogy.


This is how I know Marie and I might be on to something with this LEGEND trilogy so if you are at BEA, you might want to hit Marie’s signing on Wed. May 25 at 3 pm at Penguin’s booth #3252.


The last NLA book to be chosen as a top galley at BEA was SOULLESS by Gail Carriger.


This bodes well for us!


Who’s Got Problems? Dorchester Has Problems

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: I’m listening to Chill on XM. This station is new to me. Do I feel calmer? Hum…

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? TAMELESS by Yonderboi

Sadly, Dorchester Publishing has been in the news again recently. I’m sure most of you have already seen the headlines as it certainly is not a secret that Brian Keene called for a boycott of the publisher because unauthorized editions of Keene’s digital editions were being sold after the rights had reverted to him.

I can confirm that the same has happened to several NLA authors whose rights had also reverted.

In response, Dorchester vows to make it right.

Last Thursday, I was on a conference call that detailed Dorchester’s current financial situation where I also brought up this issue.

Currently they are paying royalties owed to what they call “currently active Dorchester authors” (ie. authors whose rights Dorchester currently has under contract and can exploit). I also received confirmation that those payments are happening on a weekly basis.

However, Dorchester owes a tidy sum of back royalties to what are called “non-current inactive authors” (ie. authors whose rights have reverted) and as of Thursday’s call, there is no plan in place to pay these past royalties owed.

I imagine that this is partly what CEO Bob Anthony is referring to when he mentions that they’ve needed to prioritize cash flow and in the end, one can hope that Anthony’s vow that “all authors will be paid in full” will come to pass.

Given past actions by the company, Mr. Keene and other authors remain skeptical.

A Manuscript That Stays With You

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Spent a little time this evening working through some leftover computer conversion kinks. We are almost there.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? Nothing At the Moment

Because I’m not on twitter, I only found out today that YA author LK Madigan had passed away from cancer.

I have to say that the news made Sara and I rather sad.

Several years ago, I had the pleasure of reading her YA novel FLASH BURNOUT while it was on submission. I remember this vividly because Sara wasn’t taking on clients at the time but she really advocated for this author.

And Lisa was lovely and so professional.

I didn’t take her on as a client and she went on to find a wonderful and enthusiastic agent. And this may sound odd, but over the last two years, whenever we heard news about her debut novel, I’d say, “remember that manuscript? And Sara would say, “I told you so” (not really as Sara isn’t the kind of person to say such a thing) but you get the picture.

It was one of those novels that we remembered vividly, even years later, and could now poke fun at ourselves on being wrong about.

Which leads me to a point I made at the San Miguel Writers Conference last week.

When you get a rejection, you just have to remember that ALL writers received them at least at once in their careers and where you are today as a writer is not necessarily where you’ll be a year from now. That you will always be learning, growing, and maturing as a writer.

Being a writer is about the journey. Embrace it.

5000+ Queries In One Day

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Things are getting back to normal.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? WHAT A LITTLE MOONLIGHT CAN DO by Billie Holiday

A week and one day. Felt like an eternity! In this short span of time, we completely upgraded our entire office computer system with a brand spankin’ new server.

With any major overhaul, there are always a few kinks.

For example: with the migration, something went wonky with our query email. For some reason, the server wasn’t recognizing when emails had been downloaded into the program. One morning, Anita opened the query program to find 5000+ queries in the inbox. That was a shock. The server had downloaded each query 5 to 10 times and then kept repeating it.

I’m happy to report that the problem is finally solved. I don’t think we lost any queries in the process but if you don’t hear from us in the next 2 to 3 weeks, you might want to resend. But you only need to send it once… I don’t think Anita ever wants to open that program and find an eye-popping 5000 queries in the inbox again.

Every day we keep finding a few more things that need to be tweaked. Like this morning. I found one whole folder to be missing. Poof. Just gone. Have no idea where or how. Luckily, we back everything up to the cloud so it was a matter of 15 minutes for me to locate it and repopulate it on the server. But it makes me wonder what other little discoveries are going to occur.

Our tech person was even here this afternoon for a few hours. And I do think we’ll see him a few more times before the week is out.

And if this stress of a computer conversion wasn’t enough, our new employee started last week.

Call me a glutton for punishment.