by Steve Laube
With today being New Year’s eve we have a chance to reflect, evaluate, and celebrate the events of this past year.
Our agency was extremely busy this year closing on 118 new book contracts covering nearly 200 new books. That meant we averaged a new contract every two business days. Amazing. What makes this exciting is that, despite dour predictions, publishers are still acquiring great content. We are privileged to work with some of the best writers in the industry.
by Steve Laube
Publishing is partly an exercise in guessing what might be the next surprise bestseller. Some of it is an educated guess based on certain trends we see in the industry and in society at large. Any exercise in naming these trends bears the risk of expressing the obvious or being out of date the moment they are stated. So bear with me as I tinker with some of the things that are either influencing trends or are trends within themselves.
The Blockbuster Mentality
If it was your money you would likely “bet” on those book ideas that you know are going to sell a ton of copies. And only those who already have a track record are assured of a ready-made buying audience. In addition, for the non-fiction writer in particular, there is a demand for the author of have a visible or quantifiable platform from which they can launch their book ideas. Much ink has been spilled on defining platform and how to build one, and for good reason.
by Steve Laube
Someone asked me to list the magazines, newsletters, and blogs I read to stay informed (and from which I derive our weekly “New You Can Use” post). It was a good question. But when I started compiling the list I realized how ridiculously long it is. Therefore I can only list selected highlights by type of media.
Unless you get the wrong impression, realize I’m an eclectic reader who skims the surface of the waters gleaning information quickly. Occasionally I will dive deep for real food, but mostly it is a thin sampling. Five miles wide and two inches deep is one description. I estimate that I read/skim at least 200 pages each week of Industry related material, just to stay on top of this ever changing profession.
Note the intentional diversity of perspectives. Read widely to stimulate your own thinking.
Magazines
Topic: Publishing Industry
Publishers Weekly
Christian Retailing
CBA Retailers+Resources
New York Times Book Review
Book Business
Romantic Times Book Reviews
RWA Journal
Writers Digest
by Karen Ball
Authors, I’m guessing you’ve heard this question over and over: “Where do you get your ideas?” I know I’ve heard it more times than I can count. Now, if you’re like most writers I know, ideas for possible stories come fast and furious—most of the time. But what to do when you feel as though the idea well has run dusty and dry?
Well! Let me share a few standards that I, and other authors I know, rely on:
The Media
That old saying that the truth is stranger than fiction has stood the test of time for one reason: It’s true! I’ve discovered that the news, whether on TV or in a paper or online, is a veritable mine of ideas just waiting to be…well, mined.
I’ve been in publishing for lo, these many years (over 30), so you’d think the work would be pretty much second nature for me. No so! In fact, just this last week I did something completely new!
I edited a book, in four days, using Skype and Dropbox.
The amazing thing about this isn’t that the author and I got the book done so quickly, but that it was SO MUCH FUN! We parked on Skype for hours, so that if I had questions as I edited a chapter, I could just ask him, and if he had questions about the editing, he could just ask me. It was like being in the same room together, but without the expense or stress of travel. And I discovered that doing the edit this way gave me a fresher understanding of what the author wanted to say. It also enabled us to do a bit of arm wrestling when we disagreed on something, but to do so with humor and kindness. When you deal with issues over the phone or in email, you always run the risk of misunderstanding because folks can’t see your expressions or body language, or hear the tone of your voice. With Skype, those risks were gone, so we handled a couple of sensitive issues without frustration or misunderstanding.
And that, my friends, is a miracle!
My Favorite Article of the Week – Please read it and make your agent happy.
What Publishers Can Learn From the Airlines- Andy Le Peau of IVP renders a very clever take on what publishing could look like if they would only emulate other industry practices.
Amanda Knox Signs a $4 Million Book Deal – Sigh…Think about it for a second. In 2005 a relatively unknown senator from Illinois got $1.9 Million for two non-fiction books, his name was Barak Obama. And right before he took office as president he signed a $500,000 advance deal for a children’s book. Former President Bill Clinton got $8 Million up front for his memoir. And former President George Bush received $7 Million for his Decision Points memoir.
Do You Ignore Issue of Copyright? – This article shows the complexity of copyright when going from one country to the next. For example, Hemingway is public domain in Canada, but not in France. Do you even care?
Men are from Google+, Women are from Pinterest – clever article
Adult vs. YA Dystopian Novels – Interesting look at the phenomenon of dystopian novels in today’s YA market. And if you don’t know what that means, click the link.
25 Subordinating Conjunctions – I was afraid to read the article too. Clever help for flat writing.
A couple weeks ago we discussed local flavor in expressions. It got me to thinking that I grew up in an era where no one thought anything of saying, “He should be shot,” or “My father is going to kill me,” for minor infractions. One of my friends noted that if a teenager said that today about her father, someone would call Social Services. After the Columbine tragedy that left so many dead or maimed at the hands of gunmen, I decided not to use any reference to shooting or killing in a cavalier manner. I believe my speech is gentler for the change.
I’m not sure every alteration has been for the better, though. The term “waitstaff” throws me. I can’t help but visualize a shepherd’s crook leaning against a corner wall, waiting for its owner to retrieve it. On the other hand, I don’t mind “flight attendant” as a substitute for “stewardess.” Have you noticed that media calls both male and female stars “actors” rather than “actresses” and “actors.” This change seems unnecessary to me.
Some have a hard time appreciating the talent involved in writing genre fiction. By genre fiction, I mean novels that fall into a defined category such as contemporary romance, historical romance, romantic suspense, or cozy mystery. Many of these novels are published by mass market publishers (like Harlequin) and fit in lines they have formed for the sole purpose of selling the genre.
These are distinguished from Trade fiction where there isn’t necessarily a specific line that has been formed to sell a genre, although there are exceptions to that “rule” like the “Love Finds You” series from Summerside Press. In publisher’s lingo “trade” means a 5 1/2″ by 8 1/2″ trim size and is probably between 80,000 and 100,000 words in length. “Genre” or “category” fiction can mean the 4″ by 6″ trim size (also known as mass market) and between 50,000 words and 70,000 words.
The sale of Thomas Nelson to HarperCollins and last week’s sale of Heartsong to Harlequin brought to mind a critical piece of advice:
Never Burn a Bridge!
Ours is a small industry and both editors and authors move around with regularity. If you are in a business relationship and let your frustration boil into anger and ignite into rage…and let that go at someone in the publishing company, you may end up burning the bridge. And that person who you vented on might someday become the head of an entire publishing company.
By most accounts the purchase of Nelson by HarperCollins will put the #1 largest Christian Publishing house under the same ownership as the #2 largest Christian Publishing House (Zondervan). The press release mentions that the sale “is subject to customary regulatory clearance.”
It will be interesting to see if the Department of Justice cares about Christian publishing, or even understands it. Over in the telecommunications industry they are blocking the merger between ATT and T-Mobile, which are #1 and #4 in wireless service. With the purchase of Nelson, it is combining #1 and #2. So it should come under some scruitiny. But it might not because:
