Pub Rants

Category: Marketing & Promotion

One City One Book—Broomfield Colorado

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Going on vaca for about 10 days. Blogging could be a little sporadic.

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? PRAIRIE RAIN by Michael Stribling

Just a note to let any Colorado folks know that Jamie is going to be in town next Saturday. HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET is a One Book pick for the city of Broomfield.

He will be at the Broomfield Auditorium on November 6, 2010. The event starts at 7 p.m.

Jamie is also hosting a writer’s workshop earlier that day. I’m not sure if that seminar is already full but you can call 720.887.2350 to find out or email library@broomfield.org.

There is also a corresponding Bitter and Sweet Art Exhibition.

How cool is that? CU even did a Jazz evening featuring the music of Oscar Holden (who plays such a key role in the novel)

I cannot thank Mayor Pat Quinn enough for this terrific opportunity. If you live in town, we’d love to see you there!

What 2 Lit Editors Bought Recently

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: It’s already halfway through October…

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? LUKA by Suzanne Vega

When I’m in New York, the info I glean is obviously going to be skewed by which editors I see and what genres they represent. After all, it’s only 5 days. I can only see so many people in that short time frame.

For this trip, I focused on meeting some children’s editors I hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting in person and I also talked with quite a few editors in the adult literary fiction realm. I really really really want a another commercial/literary author for my list. looking for a really good

Part of that is in celebration. It’s official. Jamie Ford’s HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET has officially been on the regular and/or extended New York Times Bestseller list for 53 consecutive weeks.

One year and some change!

And not only that, this past week, Jamie cracked the top 10 again (currently at #9)—a year after publication of the trade paperback edition. I probably don’t need to tell y’all just how rare that is….

So join me in offering a HUGE CONGRATS to Jamie!

So as I said, I was in NYC at the beginning of October as I wanted to get a sense of what editors had bought recently in this field.

One editor is building a literary list at a house she just recently moved to. She’s only been there a month but in that time, she bought two books. The first a novel from an author whose work she started tracking when she read short pieces in the Paris Review. Interestingly enough, the book is literary but has a paranormal element and is set in the American West.

In a sense, not a surprise when looking at the success of THE PASSAGE. I think lit editors are looking for more of that genre blending for the literary realm. We haven’t seen a ton of that. Heck, I’d be game to see some of that! Her second buy was a narrative nonfiction work based on a true story.

Another literary editor I met up with had also just moved to a new house not exactly known for their literary bent. Obviously she was hired for a reason. (And yes, it was deliberate on my part to meet with two editors who had recently moved to new homes. After all, they are looking to build their new lists.)

For her, she had just recently bought a literary novel where the main story is driven by a murder but this is in no way a mystery. In fact, the contemporary story line alternates with a historical narrative that illuminates the contemporary unfolding of the murder and why it happened.

Kind of cool.

And all I can say is why aren’t I seeing those books? Wink.

NYT Bestseller List Has Been Very Good To Us This Year

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: I’m not sure I believe all this good news but it is, indeed, all true.

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? THE MODERNIST by Steve Davis

Yesterday I didn’t get a chance to blog because I did a guest blog over at thelitcoach. All of my blog readers are super savvy on all this query pitch paragraph stuff but maybe some new readers might want to check out the post.

And even if you are an old pro at query letters but generally hate them, this post teaches you the shortcut on how to write a terrific pitch blurb in your query letter. Always worth repeating I think.

But now on to the amazing news of the day!

Back in April, I blogged about hitting an Agency milestone by having 3 authors all on the NYT bestseller list at the same time.

Well, guess what? It’s happened again and even more delightful, it’s the same 3 authors. How wild is that? But very cool.

So huge congrats to Jamie Ford (48 consecutive weeks on the NYT list and at #19 this week), Gail Carriger (coming in for the second time this year at #20), and Simone Elkeles (also coming in for the second time this year at #6).

Color me happy!


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A First

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: I spent 3 hours on one conference call this morning. Means the rest of my day should have gone uphill, right?

What’s playing on the iPod right now? CRAZY by Gnarls Barkley

This may be a sign that we have officially turned some kind of corner in publishing.

I just literally got an email from my author Kristina Riggle who is out doing bookstore appearances for her second novel THE LIFE YOU’VE IMAGINED.


So she’s at her signing when a twenty-year-old gal approaches her to say that her mother is a huge fan of Kristina’s novels and would Kris sign her mom’s Nook.

How could any author resist? Now I’m sure Kris is not the first author to ever sign an electronic device but I do think it’s a first for an NLA author!

Promo Going Gangbusters

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Pretty much this week has been taken up by a big auction unfolding. Hasn’t left much time for anything else.

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? TRIOLA by Tropfstein

Today’s topic is about cool promo and how it came about.

Since it has gone viral, you might have already seen this wildly popular video by the critically acclaimed web series The Guild. (They rose to fame last year with Do You Wanna Date My Avator). This year is no different as their fun music video has just knocked Katy Perry out of the top spot on iTunes. Check out the article.

So, first you need to watch the video.

Notice the book she’s reading? If you didn’t, go back and play the video from the start. Yep, that would be an NLA author’s book in that opening scene. It’s BEWITCHED AND BETRAYED–the latest release in Lisa Shearin’s Raine Benares series. As many of you probably already know from reading my blog, Felicia has been a long time Lisa fan. So when Felicia knew she’d be reading a book to start the music video, she immediately thought of Lisa and her books.

Well, how cool is that?

But just so you know, even something as fabulous as The Guild can’t just grab a book and use the image without permission in a professional video like this. They knew that too so they came to us right before filming. It was a bit of a mad scramble on short notice, but we were able to get the permission in place within 24 hours (so thank you Ace/Penguin for stepping up to the plate and getting it done!).

Because you can’t buy this type of promotion that gets this kind of internet play and it all begins with an author cultivating and being responsive to the fan base.

RWA—Orlando, Florida (Day After)

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Well, you can see how well blogging went during the conference!

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? LONELY NO MORE by Rob Thomas

I took a ton of notes so I could share with all of you during the conference. I had one hour on Friday to do it but ended up getting sucked into answering emails during that time frame. I know! Blog readers should come first.

So I’ll have lots to share tomorrow but today I want to say a HUGE congrats to Sherry Thomas and Simone Elkeles for winning two RITAs at Saturday night’s awards ceremony. Even with six RITA nominations, a win is always tough. We couldn’t be more thrilled.

Here is Sara Megibow and I with NLA’s RITA winners.

RWA—Orlando, Florida (Day 1)

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Spotty blogging this week (as if you couldn’t already tell) but I will try and pop on when I can to send on any inside scoop.

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

Monday was crazy as I tried to wrap up anything that could be finished before leaving for Orlando. Yesterday was a travel day so spent the time on the plane getting lots of reading done! I sat next to a lady also heading to RWA who had both a Kindle and the Apple iPad with her. She let me play with that new iPad.

Oh, I like shiny things and was much enthralled. Did it make me want to run out and buy one? Yes and no. Mostly to me, it’s just an oversized iPhone without the capacity to call someone. So I liked it (of course I did) but I think I’m going to wait for the next generation before contemplating a buy. I’d like it to be smaller (something easier to fit in a purse) and to be honest, I still want an unbacklit screen for big chunks of my reading. It’s just easier on the eyes for long stints that we agents end up doing. Nice if iPad could create toggle switch so we could have it both ways. The iPad itself is nice eye candy though.

And I would judge that my seat row companion was in her fifties (if I had to make a guess). So interesting.

Since I just got to Orlando late last night (and just had dinner with one of my clients), I haven’t got any good juicy gossip from RWA to start the blogging week.

Instead, you get lame picture of the Swan & Dolphin hotel on the Disney compound.


As added bonus, Ally Carter had a great turn-out in Boulder. 75 people. The next day she went to St. Louis where 170 fans showed up for her reading. Wow. Go St. Louis.

So here is Ally with a NLA Colorado local author Kim Reid who came out to show support. How fun is that?

Ally Carter In Colorado

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Sorry! You know it’s a tough week when I can’t find 15 minutes to squeeze in a blog. RWA is next week in Orlando. Probably don’t need to say more.

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? LOVE MY WAY by Psychedelic Furs

I’m going to start today’s entry with a totally non-publishing related rant. All I want to say is that just once, I want to walk to work in the morning without seeing some male stranger’s underwear. Seriously people, pull your pants up or use a belt. This isn’t complicated because if you don’t look like a ripped athlete or Calvin Klein underwear model, then it’s not sexy. It’s just underwear (and not all that attractive at that!).

I don’t think I’m asking too much here…

But in fun news for ONLY THE GOOD SPY YOUNG, Ally Carter in the flesh is coming to Colorado (Boulder to be exact) this Sunday, July 25. I’d love to see you there and come say hello.

Barnes & Noble
Crossroads Commons
2999 Pearl StreetBoulder, CO 80301303-444-0349

Here’s the link to check out the event and to get more info!

Another Reason To Nail Your Query Pitch Paragraph

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Blogging before noon! That means I’m head of my To Do list.

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? YOU’RE ONLY LONELY by JD Souther

There is an interesting trend I’ve noticed lately in publishing. I think it has to do with the tightening of budget and the laying off of staff (actually, I’m just speculating that is the case.)

More and more lately, my clients and I have been practically writing our own cover copy for upcoming releases. Lately, it’s been clear that the copy writer has maybe seen just a brief synopsis of the plot before coming up with copy. By the way, this is not unusual. There is no way a copy writer could read every single book he/she has to write cover copy for. Still, in my mind, you don’t have to read the entire manuscript to be ready to write good copy. You really only have to read the first 30 pages of a novel to knock it out (and that’s easy enough to do even if the copy editor has 30 or 40 books to handle).

As I’m typing, I realize that this entry might sound like a complaint but it’s not. I actually prefer when the author and I are intimately involved and really get a say in the copy text (especially if the first draft we’ve received is really bland or just off).

So it’s more of an observation—as something I’ve noticed in the past 6 or 7 months. You folks are going to hate me for this but yet another reason to nail your pitch blurb paragraph in your query letter. You might actually be called upon to significantly contribute to the final copy that will go on your book jacket. You might as well master the craft now…

Only The Good Write Young!

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: So thrilled today.

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? THIS IS THE DAY by The The

Actually, I’m not exactly sure what that means except to say that Ally is still young and it sounded like a great title for this blog entry.

All I really want to say is CONGRATS ALLY! On coming in at #6 on the New York Times Series bestseller list and your best out of the gate sales numbers ever!

If any of the reviews on Amazon and BN are to be believed, this is the best Gallagher Girl book to date! We heartily agree.