Be warned, the video is even more eye-opening than the pictures of slush taken in Tor's offices. Some might even call it graphic.
31 March 2008
The Truth About the Slush Pile
Attached is a candid video, taken in an unnamed editor's office. It reveals the horrible truth about what really happens to unsolicited manuscripts.
Be warned, the video is even more eye-opening than the pictures of slush taken in Tor's offices. Some might even call it graphic.
Be warned, the video is even more eye-opening than the pictures of slush taken in Tor's offices. Some might even call it graphic.
29 March 2008
Amazon Reportedly Issues Mandate to POD Publishers
There’s some interesting things going on in the world of POD publishing. Word on the ‘net is that Amazon is starting to strong arm smaller publishers that use POD technology to maintain their booklists.
Representatives from Booksurge, Amazon’s print-on-demand subsidiary, has reportedly been contacting POD publishers and telling them that if they don’t use BookSurge’s services, the “buy” button on their books’ Amazon listings will be removed. For most of these publishers, this mandate puts them in a difficult position. Switching their entire booklists to meet BookSurge's requirements would be a major expense, plus it would require them to maintain two formats, one for Amazon and one for other outlets.
Publishers Weekly has reported on it and BookLocker’s Angela Hoy has posted about her own experiences on Writers Weekly. I’ve contacted a couple of the smaller publishers listed in the online reports to find out their side of the story. I’m waiting to hear from them. I’ll keep you posted to the best of my ability.
Representatives from Booksurge, Amazon’s print-on-demand subsidiary, has reportedly been contacting POD publishers and telling them that if they don’t use BookSurge’s services, the “buy” button on their books’ Amazon listings will be removed. For most of these publishers, this mandate puts them in a difficult position. Switching their entire booklists to meet BookSurge's requirements would be a major expense, plus it would require them to maintain two formats, one for Amazon and one for other outlets.
Publishers Weekly has reported on it and BookLocker’s Angela Hoy has posted about her own experiences on Writers Weekly. I’ve contacted a couple of the smaller publishers listed in the online reports to find out their side of the story. I’m waiting to hear from them. I’ll keep you posted to the best of my ability.
27 March 2008
Random Question #7
Why do female characters always scream uncontrollably in stressful situations on TV crime dramas?
25 March 2008
AW Down (But only temporarily)
I've the full story from Mac. My paraphrased, not quite technical explanation is: The company that hosts AW's dedicated server did some maintenance this morning. As part of that maintenance, they had to power all the servers they host down. When they brought them back up, there was a glitch with Dawnette (AW's server). Mac is working diligently on fixing the problem as I type this.
24 March 2008
Taglines, Bios, and Teamwork
Hello, my dear faithful readers. Thank you for hanging around despite my silence. The month has been a bit of a blur for me. First, it was the flu… Okay, there’s still a couple of annoying symptoms -- a slight cough and a tendency to get tired easier than normal -- hanging around… I really hate being sick. It’s an inconvenience. It wouldn’t be half so bad if the virus or bacteria or whatever it is would give the host the common courtesy of calling in advance and scheduling a time that is convenient for everyone. But no… the little germs just crash through the front door whenever they feel like it and then they don’t leave. Of course, being me, I also hate the lack of control I feel when I’m sick. It’s the idea that I’m not in command of my own body. It just does what it wants to do, regardless of what I want or what I will it to do. And then, my silence was forced to continue because ever since, I’ve been playing catch-up. I hate playing catch-up, too, always running from place to place, trying to get everything done that should have been finished weeks ago.
I was going to blog about evaluating manuscripts today, about how to judge the quality of your own writing to determine whether or not you really should aim for that top paying market or let it go to somewhere lower. After all, everything we write is not golden, is it? However, I’ve spent the last few days playing with taglines and author bios and doing the final copyedit for The Alchemist Review, so I thought I’d write about that instead.
Taglines have been interesting. They’re important in a periodical publication. They give the reader an idea of what a story or poem is about. They make the reader want to flip to that page of the journal or the magazine and read that particular piece, but they can’t give away any twists that the author uses. In short, they’re vital and they’re hard to write. As a result, my Assistant Editor and I did them together. He started writing them and sent them to me. Some I liked. Some I didn’t. So I rewrote the ones I didn’t and sent them back to him. After a couple of days of this, we decided to meet at a coffee shop… except we forgot it was Easter Sunday and the coffee shop was closed, so we ended up at a Chinese restaurant, drinking tea and eating eggrolls and going back and forth over. It turned out that there were only four that we really disagreed on and we were able to work out a compromise fairly easily. It’s good to have people who are work well together on a team. So, after two hours, we had taglines for the six fiction pieces and eight poems that we’re publishing. We decided that the titles of the three non-fiction pieces spoke for themselves and, of course, we didn’t do taglines for the artwork.
Bios were something else again. I had to track down twenty-two of those. Most of them were sent to me right away, but there were the people who insisted on going over the word count I asked them to keep to… And we’re not talking by just a word or two either. One guy sent me a bullet list of his life’s events and suggested that I should be able to write something from it. Fortunately, he’d had an interesting life. The only one that truly had me banging my head was the one who insisted he had already turned it in. Okay. That’s nice, but I no longer seemed to have it. Could he please resend it to me? Turns out, he’d never sent it to me, but had sent it to another staff member instead. Just a word of friendly advice, if an editor asks you for something, even if you’re fairly certain you’ve already sent it, just send it again rather than making them dig for it, especially if you have it fairly handy and they’re asking for it. They’ve probably had a rare human moment and misplaced it, or else the cyber-gods interfered and they never received it.
I remember one of the first articles I’d had published. The editor contacted me two or three times to ask me to resend it to her. I was starting to panic, thinking it wasn’t going through. She assured me that it had, that she just couldn’t find it. I, of course, resent it each and every time, but I was starting to wonder about her and her organization abilities, etc. These days, I’m much more understanding of what she was going through and wouldn’t think twice about sending something multiple times if asked. There’s just so much that goes on behind the scenes. It’s chaos. And it all has to be done at once. Now. Immediately. It’s details that most writers, unless they’d served behind the scenes in some capacity, wouldn’t have much idea about.
There are those who say that every writer should read slush at least once. Personally, I think every writer should serve on an editorial staff at least once. I think it’s important to experience the little details, the other side of the fence, so that we can develop a mutual respect for one another’s tasks in the publishing process and work together as a team that much better.
I was going to blog about evaluating manuscripts today, about how to judge the quality of your own writing to determine whether or not you really should aim for that top paying market or let it go to somewhere lower. After all, everything we write is not golden, is it? However, I’ve spent the last few days playing with taglines and author bios and doing the final copyedit for The Alchemist Review, so I thought I’d write about that instead.
Taglines have been interesting. They’re important in a periodical publication. They give the reader an idea of what a story or poem is about. They make the reader want to flip to that page of the journal or the magazine and read that particular piece, but they can’t give away any twists that the author uses. In short, they’re vital and they’re hard to write. As a result, my Assistant Editor and I did them together. He started writing them and sent them to me. Some I liked. Some I didn’t. So I rewrote the ones I didn’t and sent them back to him. After a couple of days of this, we decided to meet at a coffee shop… except we forgot it was Easter Sunday and the coffee shop was closed, so we ended up at a Chinese restaurant, drinking tea and eating eggrolls and going back and forth over. It turned out that there were only four that we really disagreed on and we were able to work out a compromise fairly easily. It’s good to have people who are work well together on a team. So, after two hours, we had taglines for the six fiction pieces and eight poems that we’re publishing. We decided that the titles of the three non-fiction pieces spoke for themselves and, of course, we didn’t do taglines for the artwork.
Bios were something else again. I had to track down twenty-two of those. Most of them were sent to me right away, but there were the people who insisted on going over the word count I asked them to keep to… And we’re not talking by just a word or two either. One guy sent me a bullet list of his life’s events and suggested that I should be able to write something from it. Fortunately, he’d had an interesting life. The only one that truly had me banging my head was the one who insisted he had already turned it in. Okay. That’s nice, but I no longer seemed to have it. Could he please resend it to me? Turns out, he’d never sent it to me, but had sent it to another staff member instead. Just a word of friendly advice, if an editor asks you for something, even if you’re fairly certain you’ve already sent it, just send it again rather than making them dig for it, especially if you have it fairly handy and they’re asking for it. They’ve probably had a rare human moment and misplaced it, or else the cyber-gods interfered and they never received it.
I remember one of the first articles I’d had published. The editor contacted me two or three times to ask me to resend it to her. I was starting to panic, thinking it wasn’t going through. She assured me that it had, that she just couldn’t find it. I, of course, resent it each and every time, but I was starting to wonder about her and her organization abilities, etc. These days, I’m much more understanding of what she was going through and wouldn’t think twice about sending something multiple times if asked. There’s just so much that goes on behind the scenes. It’s chaos. And it all has to be done at once. Now. Immediately. It’s details that most writers, unless they’d served behind the scenes in some capacity, wouldn’t have much idea about.
There are those who say that every writer should read slush at least once. Personally, I think every writer should serve on an editorial staff at least once. I think it’s important to experience the little details, the other side of the fence, so that we can develop a mutual respect for one another’s tasks in the publishing process and work together as a team that much better.
18 March 2008
Arthur C. Clarke dead at age 90
Arthur C. Clarke, a visionary science fiction writer who won worldwide acclaim with more than 100 books on space, science and the future, died Wednesday in his adopted home of Sri Lanka, an aide said. He was 90.
MSNBC, 18MAR08
Sir Arthur C. Clarke, who peered into the heavens with a homemade telescope as a boy and grew up to become a visionary titan of science fiction best-known for collaborating with director Stanley Kubrick in writing the landmark film "2001: A Space Odyssey," has died. He was 90.
Los Angeles Times, 18MAR08
MSNBC, 18MAR08
Sir Arthur C. Clarke, who peered into the heavens with a homemade telescope as a boy and grew up to become a visionary titan of science fiction best-known for collaborating with director Stanley Kubrick in writing the landmark film "2001: A Space Odyssey," has died. He was 90.
Los Angeles Times, 18MAR08
15 March 2008
Gypsy Blood
At times, the lure of the open road and unvisited places can be very strong for me. There have been times I've sat at a red light, knowing I need to turn, but knowing equally that if I were to continue forward, straight, the road I was on would become the interstate, heading out, away, journeying to ways that lead to ways, places and destinations as yet unknown. Sometimes, I've sat, looking at the gas gauge, thinking of how many dollars I did or did not have in my pocket, and wondering how far I would get before I became stranded or long-trained practicality and responsibility made me turn back.
As a teenager, I was never certain where such urges came from. I only knew they were different than many people around me. I know my mother believed people should move every seven years, a belief she did not have the luxury to practice, and that she liked to travel at the drop of the hat, but even so, my mother always wanted a home base, a central location to return to, somewhere she could winter. For me, the idea of loading up the back of the vehicle with essentials and heading out to see what there was to see was enough. Other than a place to shelve my books, I didn't have a strong desire for a home. Not always. Sometimes, but not always. I eventually learned that this traveling gene came to me directly from my biological paternal grandfather, a man who chose to live life footloose and fancy free. The nomadic lifestyle was in my blood, the call of the open road that I heard echoed down through the generations to me.
Throughout my twenties, I bounced around from locale to locale, often boomeranging back to my parents' home. It became a common question, when the neighbors saw me, to ask, "Was I back or just visiting?" They never knew which it might be. Either was equally likely. Sometimes, it was a bit of both.
During that decade, I lived in Kansas, Illinois, and South Korea. I visited the highest point in Illinois, waded across the Mississippi River at its source, got lost around the delta where the Mississippi joined with the Gulf of Mexico, saw the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, climbed to the top of the Colorado State Capitol, slept in a hostel in Chicago, and did many other things. Then, as my twenties were ending, my father became sick and I had to let opportunities to go different places and see new things slide past. Well into my thirties again, the old restlessness has reasserted itself. There are things to do and places to visit. Other places. Not here. New experiences. One's I haven't even begun to imagine.
I'm ready for them again, but, unfortunately, circumstances and $3.50 per gallon gas prices are keeping me close to home at the moment. I'm trying to make up for this by looking for job opportunities -- it's getting to be that time again -- that will require me to move elsewhere, to somewhere new -- or put me in a position to be able to travel some. Or both. Ideally both.
I'm trying to figure out where my ideal "home base," as my mother would call it, might be. I've ruled out a monastery in Italy, but other places sound very appealing to me. If you could move, or travel, anywhere, where might you go?
As a teenager, I was never certain where such urges came from. I only knew they were different than many people around me. I know my mother believed people should move every seven years, a belief she did not have the luxury to practice, and that she liked to travel at the drop of the hat, but even so, my mother always wanted a home base, a central location to return to, somewhere she could winter. For me, the idea of loading up the back of the vehicle with essentials and heading out to see what there was to see was enough. Other than a place to shelve my books, I didn't have a strong desire for a home. Not always. Sometimes, but not always. I eventually learned that this traveling gene came to me directly from my biological paternal grandfather, a man who chose to live life footloose and fancy free. The nomadic lifestyle was in my blood, the call of the open road that I heard echoed down through the generations to me.
Throughout my twenties, I bounced around from locale to locale, often boomeranging back to my parents' home. It became a common question, when the neighbors saw me, to ask, "Was I back or just visiting?" They never knew which it might be. Either was equally likely. Sometimes, it was a bit of both.
During that decade, I lived in Kansas, Illinois, and South Korea. I visited the highest point in Illinois, waded across the Mississippi River at its source, got lost around the delta where the Mississippi joined with the Gulf of Mexico, saw the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, climbed to the top of the Colorado State Capitol, slept in a hostel in Chicago, and did many other things. Then, as my twenties were ending, my father became sick and I had to let opportunities to go different places and see new things slide past. Well into my thirties again, the old restlessness has reasserted itself. There are things to do and places to visit. Other places. Not here. New experiences. One's I haven't even begun to imagine.
I'm ready for them again, but, unfortunately, circumstances and $3.50 per gallon gas prices are keeping me close to home at the moment. I'm trying to make up for this by looking for job opportunities -- it's getting to be that time again -- that will require me to move elsewhere, to somewhere new -- or put me in a position to be able to travel some. Or both. Ideally both.
I'm trying to figure out where my ideal "home base," as my mother would call it, might be. I've ruled out a monastery in Italy, but other places sound very appealing to me. If you could move, or travel, anywhere, where might you go?
11 March 2008
In Today's News: Harry Potter: the last battle
...everyone seemed very happy with the Lexicon so long as it remained on the internet and didn't make any real money - it has only earned $6,000 in advertising revenue over seven and a half years. But all that changed last year when Vander Ark signed a deal with RDR books to publish part of the Lexicon website in book form. On - appropriately enough - Halloween, Warner Bros and Rowling took out a temporary injunction against RDR to prevent publication.
Crace, John. "Harry Potter: the last battle." The Guardian, 11MAR08.
Crace, John. "Harry Potter: the last battle." The Guardian, 11MAR08.
10 March 2008
More on Digital Publishing
The idea of writing for the digital age, for e-readers and cell phones, just won't go away.
Earlier this month, Penguin decided to deal with piracy concerns by releasing its audio books free of copyright protection. This will permit the books to be played on any listening device owned by the consumer.
This is, at least partly, in response to Random House's decision to release e-books free of charge to the consumer. Penguin has yet to jump on the e-book bandwagon, citing that there is not yet a reliable e-book reader out there.
Writers, however, are starting to see the handwriting on the digital screen and are growing concerned about what inroads into digital publishing will mean for their financial futures. While many writers have previously indicated that free e-books has helped to increase their overall sales, others are worried that they will end up having to fight for their digital rights, much like the screenwriters in Hollywood had to do.
The problem is that when writers are receiving royalties for digital publication, their percentage of the profits are remaining the same, despite the fact that the publishers' costs of producing the book have been reduced. Why, then is the author's percentage being kept the same?
Meanwhile, others are working to create a niche market for digital readers by distributing them free to editors and others who are likely to use and trumpet the product.
Create a market for an already existing product and the demand will come. Or so that seems to be the current plan.
Only time will tell how all of this falls out. The best we can do is stay on top of news, developments, and trends and try to predict where the industry is headed.
Earlier this month, Penguin decided to deal with piracy concerns by releasing its audio books free of copyright protection. This will permit the books to be played on any listening device owned by the consumer.
Though she said it was vital to protect intellectual property, "I don't think we can be worried about every incursion from electronic selling and electronic use. We have got to think about what the future is going to be and look at how to experiment with it."
This is, at least partly, in response to Random House's decision to release e-books free of charge to the consumer. Penguin has yet to jump on the e-book bandwagon, citing that there is not yet a reliable e-book reader out there.
Writers, however, are starting to see the handwriting on the digital screen and are growing concerned about what inroads into digital publishing will mean for their financial futures. While many writers have previously indicated that free e-books has helped to increase their overall sales, others are worried that they will end up having to fight for their digital rights, much like the screenwriters in Hollywood had to do.
Book publishers, well aware that there's a brave new world of digital content just around the corner and keen to exploit their backlists, as well as any future titles, across as many platforms and devices as possible, are in the midst of the rather overdue process of securing digital rights from their authors.
The problem is that when writers are receiving royalties for digital publication, their percentage of the profits are remaining the same, despite the fact that the publishers' costs of producing the book have been reduced. Why, then is the author's percentage being kept the same?
Meanwhile, others are working to create a niche market for digital readers by distributing them free to editors and others who are likely to use and trumpet the product.
The Hachette Book Group recently distributed hundreds of Sony Readers to its editors and publishers. “People are evangelical about it,” says publisher Jonathan Karp, who has about 30 submissions on his Reader. “If you’re traveling, this is so much easier than lugging around manuscripts. It’s good for reading in bed, too.”
Create a market for an already existing product and the demand will come. Or so that seems to be the current plan.
Only time will tell how all of this falls out. The best we can do is stay on top of news, developments, and trends and try to predict where the industry is headed.
07 March 2008
Stop the planet. I want to get off.
Thursday's scheduled post hasn't been forgotten. I came down with a bit of that flu bug that's been making the rounds and my backlog of posts have all been used. Well, not all used, but the others are slated for certain days.
Right now, I can feel the rotation of the earth and the computer screen is zooming in and out. This strikes me as not good.
Back soon. Keep yourselves well.
Right now, I can feel the rotation of the earth and the computer screen is zooming in and out. This strikes me as not good.
Back soon. Keep yourselves well.
03 March 2008
Book Review: The Outcast
Some books are difficult to summarize easily. This happens most often when the storyline is complicated and is about many things simultaneously. Such is the case with Sadie Jones' The Outcast. It is about many things simultaneously. As the back cover blurb promises, it is about 1950's hypocrisy. It is also about a young man coming of age while dealing with his grief, about the secrets people and communities harbor by choice and design, about how society creates outcasts, and about the loss of innocence. It is about all of these things. Primarily, it is about what it means to be human.
If my reviews were starred, or otherwise rated, The Outcast
One day, maybe, I'll be able to write this well.
Title: The Outcast
Author: Sadie Jones
Publisher: Chatto & Windus, an imprint of the Random House Group Company
ISBN(s): 9780701181758
Format: 345 pages, hardcover
Release Date: March 2008
Cover Price: $16.47
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