Pub Rants

Category: news

Publisher’s Weekly Best Books Of the Year

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Now this is news I could have every Monday Morning!

What’s playing on the iPod right now? IF I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS by Barenaked Ladies

Just got an early peek at this week’s PW magazine and the Best Books of the Year is their cover story. In PW’s words, “Once again, we take the opportunity near year’s end to review the year in books, highlighting the very best of what American publishing had to offer in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, comics, religion, lifestyle, and children’s.”

And guess what? NLA has a client book on that list!

Huge congrats to Sherry Thomas for her extraordinary debut that made the list (as well as having the cover featured in the article!). PW reviews a lot of books in the course of the year and to be one of five titles to make PW’s list in that category, well, you don’t have to take just my word for it that the novel is good.

Click here to buy.

Sneak Peek: The Demon’s Lexicon

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: I just walked over to my early voting location to hand deliver my ballot and drop it into a secure ballot box. Now all we can do is wait until Tuesday.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? IN THE DARK by Billy Squier

Okay, I’ve been dying to show this cover to the world and guess what? You blog readers get to see it first.

Mark your calendars! THE DEMON’S LEXICON releases on June 2, 2009 and S&S has already announced a 100,000 initial print run (and since they “announced” it, I can share this info with you!).

Doom & Gloom & Google

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Four more hours until I can go home and vote!

What’s playing on the iPod right now? BOBBY JEAN by Bruce Springsteen

Oh my. I’m reading all my daily news feeds this afternoon and I have to say that even I was stunned at the Media Bistro headlines.

Get a load of this:

Time Inc. plans 600 layoffs

Christian Science Monitor to go Web-only (not bad news per se but certainly sign of the times I think!)

Gannett will Cut Ten Percent of Newspaper Jobs

McGraw Hill Cuts 270 Jobs

Yowza!

In other big, big news, from Wall Street Journal Google settles lawsuit [link from the AP] regarding book scanning and book search. And yes, it means one more thing to talk about during deal negotiations as this is yet another revenue stream. Luckily, my contracts manager and I already have discussed Google revenue and where it falls in many of our contracts.

Publishers Marketplace has several key stories regarding the news. [Click here and here] You may or may not have to subscribe to see the full story. And if you want to read the 141 page settlement, you certainly can by clicking here. I suggest, at the very least, reading Attachment A: Author-Publisher Procedures. Also, here’s the settlement administration link.

One of the big questions being kicked around is the difference between commercial availability and “in print.” Does the presence of a book in Google’s book search program constitute a work being in print? There’s a lovely explanation of the two tests to determine so in the Author-Publisher procedure. And, according to the Author’s Guild, the answer is no as the OOP clause in the contract still prevails and that should contain a sales threshold that defines whether a book is in print. From what I’ve read of the settlement, that is indeed correct.

But it’s still tricky. What happens when a book is considered OOP (and the rights have reverted to the author) but Google still makes the text searchable on their book search site (and is potentially generating revenue for that)?

Good question. And this too is addressed. Will Google then send statements (and checks) to the authors who hold the rights? Yes, they should (as that is covered under the Author-controlled Section 4.1 of Author-Publisher Procedures Attachment) but the onus is solely on the author and there are a lot of steps outlined! [Payment is detailed in 6.2]

And authors and agents thought it was hard enough extracting information from publishers regarding their royalty statements. This could take revenue tracking to a whole new level.

It’s a brave new world, isn’t it? Happy reading.

The Other Colorado Book Award Nominees

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Today was a travel day as I’m out of town for a week.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? FADE INTO YOU by Mazzy Star

With all the excitement last night (and the rather late hour when I wrote my entry), I totally forgot to highlight the other two worthy nominees in Kim’s category. We were up against some tough competition with BOXING FOR CUBA by Guillermo Vincente Vidal and OBIT by Jim Sheeler.

And check out some of the press coverage in the Rocky Mountain News and the Denver Post. In the RMN, Kim’s win for NO PLACE SAFE is the headline!

NLA’s Colorado Book Award Winner

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Just returned home from the awards ceremony and the post-celebration.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? Nothing at the moment.

It’s official! An hour or so ago, Kim Reid won the Colorado Book Award for her memoir NO PLACE SAFE.

I cannot tell you how proud I am and how pleased I am for Kim. If you haven’t picked up this wonderful book, it really is worth the read.

Kim Reid with the Colorado Book Award

World’s Best Paid Authors

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: I’m actually heading out of the office early to finish up a client edit. It’s just easier to do that when I’m not answering the phone or checking emails.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? HALFWAY HOME by TV On The Radio

At least according to Forbes. I imagine all of you can guess who heads the top of that list.

Harry Potter anyone?

I have to say that I was a little surprised not to see Nora Roberts’ name there. Seems to me that she overtook Danielle Steele years ago. Maybe that’s only in volume of novels published per year rather than in dollar signs. I really don’t know.

And before y’all get stars in your eyes, I wouldn’t buy into the idea that writing is your path to riches. It can be but it’s probably up there with getting struck by lightening or winning the lottery.

It has to happen to somebody (of course) but if you’re a writer, I wouldn’t count on it. Writing has to be your passion and if good things follow, monetarily, for you—hooray!

I know. I know. You are all going to dream big anyway. Can’t say I blame you.

Update On The Handwritten Manuscript

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: TGIF! I actually had hoped to work on some queries today and it didn’t quite happen. I imagine I’ll tackle some this weekend. I have to work on two client edits as well so I’ll let you know on Monday how much I actually accomplish. It’s like my eyes being bigger than my stomach. I always put more food on the plate than I can eat and I always think I will accomplish more than I actually do.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? JUST LIKE HEAVEN by The Cure

You will all be relieved to know that that the writer of the handwritten manuscript has indeed gotten in touch with us. This person’s email to us was a little incomprehensible as he described many things in his letter but didn’t actually answer our question about whether we could recycle it or whether he wanted to send postage for its return.

Sara will persevere!

But rest assured, we did not recycle a writer’s only copy. And although I don’t believe that there are too many heartless agents out there, maybe we rebalanced the karma in the world of cold-hearted agenting by going the extra distance.

And in a totally unrelated segue, if you want to check out a recent interview with moi, here’s a link.

Building The Pitch Paragraph (Part Five—INTERPRETATION OF MURDER)

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Why am I blogging at 10 p.m. at night? Because I’m nuts, that’s why!

What’s playing on the iPod right now? WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER by Queen

Now I find it interesting that back cover copy is often hard to find on both Amazon.com and B&N.com. The sites will often list reviews, personal commentary, even a bit of a synopsis but the back cover copy is often missing. In fact, sometimes you can’t find it unless you use the Search Inside feature so you can see flap copy or the like.

Considering how much time is spent on the pitch—by aspiring writers, by the agent when it comes time to sell it, by the editor who is pitching it to ed. board and then to sales reps at Sales Conference, and then reps to the booksellers, both these online sites almost eschew using the copy…

What am I saying? I don’t know. It’s too late to really analyze what I’m saying but it’s interesting to note.

And today’s entry was a must in light of the terrific news I get to share. My author Hank Phillippi Ryan has won the 2007 Agatha for best first book for her debut mystery/women’s fiction hybrid PRIME TIME.


How cool is that? Out of all the mysteries published last year, only four were nominated and she won. And in even cooler news, MIRA is going to rerelease this title, plus the second book and two other new books in the series for some Summer 2009 back-to-back fun.

So this leads me into an example for a genre that I don’t really represent but I have to say that if I had gotten a query letter with this kind of pitch blurb, I would have said to heck with what I rep, this sounds like something I want to see.


The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld

On the morning after Sigmund Freud arrives in New York on his first – and only- visit to the United States, a stunning debutante is found bound and strangled in her penthouse apartment, high above Broadway. The following night, another beautiful heiress, Nora Acton, is discovered tied to a chandelier in her parents’ home, viciously wounded and unable to speak or to recall her ordeal. Soon Freud and his American disciple, Stratham Younger, are enlisted to help Miss Acton recover her memory, and to piece together the killer’s identity. It is a riddle that will test their skills to the limit, and lead them on a thrilling journey – into the darkest places of the city, and of the human mind.

Okay, you know the drill. Find the plot catalyst. Then analyze what is used to build the pitch paragraph.

There is certainly an economy of words with this example. Four sentences total. Hit me with it and then tomorrow we can talk about it. Does it work? Why?

We could also talk about whether it doesn’t but for me, that’s not really all that important. If it doesn’t work for you, then you won’t be picking up this book nor if you were an agent, would it be up your alley either. This biz is all about personal opinion after all. Not much to learn from that. However, the publisher believed this short, and to-the-point copy would work. It’s up to us to try and figure out why as we demystify the pitch.

Brenda Novak’s Diabetes Auction on May 1!

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Today I analyzed specifically how I spend my time (mainly because I believe I’m not quite getting enough done during the day). I realized that this morning alone, I spent over 2 hours simply answering emails, handling questions, issues, etc. It might have been closer to three. I wonder if I should start in on my first task in the early morning and then wait until noon to start in on the emails. It will still take me 2 hours but maybe I’ll feel like I accomplished more if I reverse the order.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? BELIEVE by Cher

Today I promised to tackle character elements but I’m actually going to grapple with that tomorrow. I also have a task for you readers. In the next day or so, I want you to read some of your favorite back-cover copy from already published books in a variety of genres. Recently published preferred. I think it would be fun to analyze them together. So, if the copy is available online (such as at Amazon or B&N.com), provide the link and I’ll go give them a look and choose some examples for possible discussion on the blog.

Here’s why I’ve pre-empted today’s entry. You readers need to get ready. Why? Because Brenda Novak is just about to open her yearly auction for Diabetes research. There are some amazing items to bid on—including a “respond in 24 hours” read and critique of sample pages by yours truly.

Ack. It’s probably going to kill me to meet that deadline but I am determined because it’s all about raising lots of dollars for this charity event.

Bids begin May 1, 2008 (only a day and a half away) so bookmark the page and mark you calendars.

Just to give you a sampling of some of the great items that are available.

A weekend getaway with Susan Wiggs

An Amazon Kindle (squeak!) plus $100.00 gift certificate

If you are interested in agent evaluation stuff, here are just a few agents who have contributed read & critiques that you could bid on.

Lois Winston
Donald Maass
Robin Rue
Meredith Bernstein
Susannah Taylor
Elaine Spencer
Annelise Robey
Elaine English
Ethan Ellenberg
Steven Axelrod
Eileen Cope
Paige Wheeler
Rachel Vater

And the list goes on…

There is even a breakfast with Deidre Knight. I haven’t even mentioned the editor evaluations that are available.

I, myself, might go after the “Day of Bridge with a World Class Player.” I’m a bridge fanatic but alas, not a master level player. Not even close actually. I might be too scared to actually play with this person in a tournament but I wouldn’t mind spending a couple hours in a tutorial!

So get ready…

The Email That Started It All

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Blogging late. No particular reason other than it has been a rather busy day.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? THICK A** STOUT by Skankin’ Pickle

It never gets old. When Wednesday comes and the NYT bestseller list for the next week is released and Ally Carter is still on it, holy cow. You’d think the thrill would die down but it really doesn’t.


And this is what gets me. Three years ago, I didn’t even represent young adult or anything in the children’s world. In a sense, Ally has my author Jennifer O’Connell to thank for starting me down the children’s world road (which I absolutely love, is totally a natural fit, and I can’t imagine why I didn’t rep it to begin with).

Jennifer was the person who started it all when she wanted to write for the YA market and asked me if I could sell it. Of course I said sure (even though I didn’t know any children’s editors at the time), and got on the phone immediately with a good agent friend who only reps children’s books to get the scoop. Then I went to New York to meet the people I needed to for Jennifer’s submission. And that’s how my repping YA began.

Her first young adult, PLAN B, sold at auction in less than a week. Thrilled, all I could think of was that I love YA and where could I get more to sell.

That inspired an email to all my current clients asking if any of them had ever thought of writing for the young adult market.

Ally immediately emailed me back with a list of ideas—which I promptly shot down (Ally tells a more colorful story on her website if you want to check it out). But it inspired her to come up with 3 more ideas and I’D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU BUT THEN I’D HAVE TO KILLYOU was the second on the list. It hit me immediately that that was the novel she had to write so I called her to tell her so.

She did. And here we are on the NYT bestseller list for 14 weeks running.

So thank you Jennifer! I think it’s her turn to hit the list so mark your calendars for June as LOCAL GIRLS and RICH BOYS hit the shelves and these two books seriously rock. It’s her best stuff yet (and I want that girl’s abs…).