Jeff
Jeff
You know that teeny pang—a bit of envy, resentment maybe, self-doubt–you get when a friend makes good? Especially when you’re feeling a little low yourself?
I know I do. When my own life’s road has been bumpy—and I’m not proud of this—I’ve sometimes had to confront those ugly emotions bubbling up from a self I don’t want to be.
Except when it comes to Jeff Zaslow.
Jeff Zaslow, a man who, until yesterday, caught that “lightening in a bottle” brand of exceptional success not
Read MoreTraditional Books Light the Kindle Fire
Traditional Books Light the Kindle Fire
Traditionally published books sell Kindles and Nooks.
Does that seem crazy obvious to you? Maybe–but think about what it means. People buy e-readers to read, at least initially, bestsellers like The Hunger Games Trilogy, Game of Thrones, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. It’s the big and the beloved books that drive e-reader sales. Books that have been acquired, edited, designed, published and promoted by traditional houses.
Think about that the next time you see an ad for an e-reader–I do.
Much as I support self-publishing in some cases, I must ask: how many people, do you think,
Read MoreBookstores vs. Amazon Blog War
Can't find this on Amazon
Bookstores vs. Amazon Blog War
There’s a blog war going on about the future of the independent bookstore, and it touches issues very important to me, so I’ll weigh in.
In a Slate blog I felt seemed inadequately researched, Farhad Manjoo raged against the “high prices” of books in bookstores, termed the marvelous essay by Richard Russo in the New York Times “hectoring,” and called books published by major houses all “mass-manufactured.” Mr. Manjoo displayed
Read More8 Jobs of Modern Writers–Plus One: DOGGED TRUTHSEEKER
8 Jobs of Modern Writers–Plus One: DOGGED TRUTHSEEKER
Spotted an excellent essay on the consistently fine My Name is Not Bob blog by Robert Lee Brewer, in which he lists these 8 Key Jobs of Modern Writers: Writer; Editor; Copywriter; File Clerk; Negotiator; Accountant; Marketer; Speaker. I believe Bob left out one key skill: RESEARCHER (or, more accurately, ”Dogged Truthseeker“).
ALL writers must be master researchers. This is harder than it looks (and it looks pretty darn hard). Today, information is everywhere and truth is hidden. The online world is filled with hamster-wheels of mock expertise. Yet without
Read MoreLiterary Agents Closed to Queries: Is the Sky Falling?
Literary Agents Closed to Queries: Is the Sky Falling?
Who knew? I’ve just learned I led the literary agent crowd when I closed my doors to new queries several year ago (for me it was to find time to develop software and hang with my family). But now I hear that’s the norm–yet another mega-contraction in the world of possibilities for the unpublished writer. (If I listen closely, I can hear the
Romance Writers Enough with the Rules Already!
Romance Writers Enough with the Rules Already!
Just stumbled on a short and funny essay by Avon’s romance blogger Lucia Macro. From her opening lines:
“I’ve been seeing a lot of rules lately about romance writing. My advice today: stop. Please stop. Honestly, I’m not sitting around looking to see if your book has a prologue, if your pov shifts around a bit, or if
Read MoreSweating the Exception: A Exhaustingly Bad Idea
A worthy hit
Today my friend Michael Larsen, probably the menschiest literary agent on the planet, and I were talking about The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach. That book, published by the admirable Little, Brown, was a buzz book last BEA. A first novel acquired for scads of money & published with great enthusiasm–but both Mike and I were underwhelmed by the read relative to the ransom. Mike pondered: What does this mean? Is character
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