Today’s video can be seen as a visual metaphor of the writing and publishing experience.
Can you tell me what is being represented?
Retail is Dead! Or is it?
You’ve read the news. This calendar year bankruptcies or total closures were announced by Toys R Us, Gymboree, Bebe, American Apparel, Guess, Rue 21, The Limited, Gander Mountain, Vitamin World, and Family Christian Stores. Sears and Kmart announced last Friday that they were closing another 63 stores in January, on top of the 358 they closed already this year. And the watchful vultures are …
Fun Fridays – November 3, 2017
With the U.S. baseball season finally complete and a new World Series champion crowned, I thought it fitting to post this story of a 99-year-old usher who works the Pittsburgh Pirates games. Think about it for a second. If he retired at the 65-year mark he has been enjoying his post-career years since 1983. I started my career in this industry in 1981 as a young college student. In other words, he …
Rumor Control
I was talking with an editor this week who asked me, "How are things going? I hear that your agency is barely making ends meet and that you've had to take on other type of work to survive."
I must admit that I was so startled by this rumor that words nearly failed me.
"Where did you hear that?" I exclaimed.
"Oh it was at a recent writers conference and folks were talking, and your name …
Fun Fridays – October 27, 2017
Today is our grandson’s 2nd birthday. (Hooray Caleb!) Someday he may enjoy math, or science, or business, or the arts, or just rule the world like he does now (hah!). This video is for those who are fascinated by math and statistics. Who would of thought that sorting books could be so hard? (Do you shelf your books by color? Please say no.) In my years as a bookseller we did variations of …
Variety is the Spice in an Agent’s Inbox
The other day a writer asked me, “Describe a typical work day for you.” I choked back a laugh and said, “There is no such thing as ‘typical’ in the day of a literary agent.” There are many things that repeat. Royalty statements, new deal negotiations, contract evaluations, reviewing client proposals, and the unsolicited inquiries. But within those is a constant variety. I wrote down a sample of …
Fun Fridays – October 20, 2017
A change of pace today. Do yourself a favor. Set aside 10 minutes. Turn up your speakers. Quiet your mind and heart. Close your eyes. Then play this video. The song “Alleluia” by Eric Whitaker is performed. (There is nothing to watch, only the album cover is displayed.) While you let the music wash over you, pray. Lift your burdens before the One and Only One who can help you carry …
10 Publishing Related Facts About Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh turned 91 years old today, Saturday, October 14, 2017! The book, Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne, was first published on October 14, 1926. Our family celebrates the day each year. Even with our kids all grown up and married, my wife still bakes Pooh cookies and decorates them. Here are some fun publishing related facts about Winnie-the-Pooh: ‘Winnie-the-Pooh’ was …
Grammar and the Singular “They”
Yesterday I opened a can of worms. There were many worms in the can; some male and some female. I discovered that a few of the worms were married to each other. One couple was having a marital disagreement. They were arguing about grammar, of all things. The fight was about the proper use of gender pronouns. Here is the sentence under dispute:
“When a spouse greets a partner with derision …
Fun Fridays – October 6, 2017
“Destroy a Book Title with One Word” A fun game to play today! This hilarious pun-related exercise has been around for years but thought we might have fun with it today. Below are some Christian book titles which either have a word added, a word changed, or a letter added or changed, with bizarre results! The first nine are my own creations and the rest are ones I’ve come across …