down the writer's path

Internet Tools for Writers: JacketFlap networks people in the children's book industry

Social networking is here to stay. So if you're among the thousands of writers who have not made an attempt to tickle any social networks such as MySpace, Facebook or Twitter, it's time. Anyone remotely connected with the children's book industry should take a look at JacketFlap.com. You'll not only find authors and illustrators, but you'll run across reviewers, librarians, agents, booksellers, publicists, teachers, and even students. This is a growing community with a database of books, just released books, reviews, children's book-related blogs and publishers. If you're already published, you may discover your name and book is already listed. If that's the case, it's time to update your profile before anyone else does. Best of all, JacketFlap is free.

I came across JacketFlap yesterday during a search of my name. The site only had my name and the info on DIVIDED LOYALTIES. So I cruised around the site, read all about it, and updated my profile. It was easy and didn't take long. You can make it as concise as you wish. I was even able to have a feed to this blog show up on my profile page. If you're a writer or illustrator, JacketFlap is one more way to promote your books and your work. In addition you can find other writers and "friends" who will network with you. At the very least your profile is one more page that will show up on a Google Search. The best JacketFlap offers is a connection to the publishing community that may lead to more book sales and possible future work.

In order for the community to grow, JacketFlap awards points when you update publisher information, new contacts, or referrals. The points accumulate and gift certificates are earned. So, don't forget where you first heard about JacketFlap and spread the word. I find the site pretty impressive. Take a look and then come back and give me your thoughts. If you're in the kiddie lit field, why not join me--and don't forget to "friend" me--at JacketFlap.com.
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More info: USING FURL; USING OUTLOOK; USING GOOGLE ALERTS; USING GOOGLE DESKTOP SEARCH; USING THE BLOG READING LEVEL TOOL; USING VISUAL THESAURUS

Publishing News: B&N expects "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" preorders to top one million

In case you have absolutely nothing to think about this weekend, ponder these Harry Potter numbers. James Covert at the Wall Street Journal reported that Barnes and Noble "had already received more than 500,000 preorders" for J.K. Rowling's next book scheduled for release on July 21, 2007. Not only that, B&N expects the number to "top the one-million mark by launch date." Now consider that earlier this month Amazon reported one million plus in preorder sales. Now add on the estimated preorder sales figures for Borders and all the mighty independent bookstores nationwide and you get a whopping magical number conjured by most novelists only in their dreams. Mind you, these are preorders. Good news for everyone, right?

Well, maybe not so good for the bookstores. The competition is fierce. The discounting brutal. Booksellers are complaining that their profit margin is evaporating. (In addition to a smaller profit from the sale price, most will have to schedule extra staff and will probably pay overtime.) The same Wall Street Journal article reports that despite an expected "second quarter sales boost from the publication on July 21" of the Harry Potter book and its equal ability to drive traffic, Barnes and Noble admits they don't expect the HP publication to drive profit. If the heavy discounting works against B&N, bookstores around the world can probably expect the same result if they participate in the discounting wars. Clearly the major chains hope to make up the difference in additional sales, but anyone attending a Potter release knows that the majority of buyers are simply there to pick up their reserved books. They will stand in line, pay the cashier, and walk out--many turning pages and already absorbed in Harry's world. Given that other major discount retailers such as Cosco and Sam's will be offering the books at equally low prices, July 21 and the days that follow will definitely be a buyer's market.

So, who will profit from the latest Pottermania? Well, J.K. Rowling and the publisher, of course; and then there are those thousands of magicians who will be hired to entertain the Potter troops who stand in line, participate in readathons, and attend all the Potter-themed events that naturally flow from a release of this magnitude. But most of all, I think the most significant profiteers will be those young minds who benefit from a continued reading experience that will, I hope, instill a love of reading that will last a lifetime.

Sources cited: Wall Street Journal and HPANA

Publishing News: Narrative Magazine expands in growth and content

Narrative Magazine, an online favorite of mine, is having one heck of a year. The readership has doubled, the magazine remains free, the contributors continue to be paid, the annual contest grows, and big things are afoot. The magazine now includes poetry, and Michael Wiegers, the executive editor of Cooper Canyon Press, has agreed to be the poetry editor. Narrative's new issue is the first to publish poetry by novelist David Guterson. You'll find Guterson's poetry along with short stories, an excerpt from Ron Hansen's novel Exiles, a profile of Ann Beattie, essays, a memoir set in mid-twentieth century New York, a coming-of-age tale by Nathanial Hawthorne, and the usual assortment of book reviews. Why free? Narrative is a nonprofit organization with a mission to use the Internet to bring readers and storytellers together online, and by the results it's easy to see they are doing a bang up job.

That's not all. In their Editor's Note, Carol Edgarian and Tom Jenk report that Narrative is now the publisher of StoryQuarterly.

This past March, Narrative had the good fortune to become the publisher of StoryQuarterly, a little magazine that’s been around as a hard-copy annual for the past thirty-two years and that last summer made its inaugural foray into the online world. SQ, as it’s called by its familiars, has been shepherded in recent years by the indefatigable, gracious, and spirited efforts of publisher and editor Marie Hayes, whose care and attention to writers is legend within the world of small magazines and in the teaching and writing community. Marie has sustained SQ as a place hospitable to all writers who care about good work and especially to writers who are starting out. As SQ moves forward with Narrative, Marie will continue to provide a guiding hand, and SQ, which has long had the welcome mat out for new writers, will open its door even wider: in the past, submissions were accepted from November through January, but beginning this summer, SQ will accept submissions year-round. A notice will go out letting you know when the new SQ submission system is online, and SQ’s editors will look forward to reading your work.

Some of our readers have asked about the editorial crossover between SQ and Narrative, and we’d like to answer several central questions now. Each magazine will maintain its own identity. A submission to one magazine will not be a submission to both. Each magazine will have its own separate submission system. There will be some overlap in staff and services, such as art and technology, and for the sake of combined strength and for the support of each magazine, there will be collaboration on projects, such as events and story collections, but each magazine will have its own character and pursue its own vision. Other questions will be addressed in a Frequently Asked Questions section to be posted in SQ and updated in Narrative this summer. An updated SQ Submission Guidelines page will be posted in the next SQ, which will go live in July, just in time for summer reading!

For those of you who hate to read online and prefer to have actual hardbound copy in your hands when reading, starting with the September issue Narrative and StoryQuarterly will be offered in print-on-demand format. The magazine also has plans for something called Narrative Backstage which sounds like it will be a lot of fun for those who support the magazine by way of donations. There will be previews of unpublished works, audio files, video footage of authors, and exclusive stories. Sounds like they've hit on a great way to thank their financial angels.

If you enjoy good writing, give Narrative Magazine and StoryQuarterly a try. There's pretty much something for everyone.

Publishing News: Agents step into the Simon & Schuster fray

The Author's Guild and its members are not the only ones citing the dangerous path Simon & Schuster (S&S) has chosen in changing their contract language concerning book rights and electronic warehousing. Jim Milliot at Publisher's Weekly continues his chronicle adding the concern of a number of agents. Writer's House Simon Lipskar calls it a "rights grab" and worries about the impact on his clients. Gail Hochman, president of the Association of Authors Representatives, considers the change "a mistake." Brian DeFiore of DeFiore and Company, says S&S is "asking for something no one else has."

Clearly S&S has chunked a massive stone into the big publishing pond and the result will continue to churn for some time. Agents and authors will have to think long and hard before they even consider approaching S&S. If other publishers move in the same direction, all authors may have to rethink their game plan. Milliot cites George Borchardt of the George Borchardt Agency as seeing the change having the potential to create a two-tiered system where only big authors would get a decent contract.

And where is Simon and Schuster in all this? Why on the side of the authors, of course.

This is a huge shift in perception by a traditional publisher about the reality of today's publishing market. With the advent of electronic publishing, writers have had to deliberate over which publishing avenue to take. At a certain point, many must decide if they want to spend the months, even years, assailing the traditional publishers or consider whether it would be better to cozy up to the inviting electronic publishers. Those willing to devote a large chunk of time to marketing, hustling, and publishing opt for the self-publishing model. Still others take into consideration their potential for an audience, their need for immediate publication, and their sincere desire not to learn the ins and outs of the publishing trade and pounce on print on demand for their immediate needs. Now a traditional publisher has scanned the horizon and figured out that electronic publishing is here to stay. So they might as well gobble those rights up, too.

Simon & Schuster's position is that they are offering a service to their authors and an "unprecedented opportunity." Their authors will benefit because S&S will now be able to "keep their books alive and selling." But will they? Or will Simon and Schuster opt to allow some of those rights to lay dormant? If not, will the books of the lower tier of authors be folded into such a large database that it will take a clever hacker with the patience and desire of Sisyphus to search and find such buried literary gems?

Am I overreacting? I don't know. You have only to see how midlist authors fare to figure out that a publisher may devote its resources elsewhere and be completely willing to allow books to be pulled from the bookstore shelves. The technology may change, the acquisition of rights may evolve, but will the thinking of those who make decisions that control the life of a book and the direction of an author's career change?

You tell me.
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For more information, read Jim Milliot's work at Publisher's Weekly: 05/18/2007-2, 05/18/2007-1 and 05/17/2007.

Publishing News: Simon & Schuster brings copyright issues to a boil

I received word today that publishing giant Simon & Schuster is now intent on extending their copyright control of an author’s work “in perpetuity.” This is a drastic shift and one I’ve been worried about for a number of years. Normally, traditional publishers—at least the decent ones—allow the author to re-gain the rights to a book after the book has gone out of print or fallen victim to low sales. This allows the author to have some control over their work and allows them to choose whether they want the book to remain in print either by self-publishing or, now, by taking the digital route. Simon & Schuster says no. They want to retain copyright to the work as long as it can be available in any form even if they have discontinued print runs and have no available copies left for traditional distribution into the bookstores. Anyone offered a contract is essentially being asked to give up any chance of reclaiming their work. For bestselling books this may not be a problem. But for authors whose books have a shorter shelf-life, this has a definite impact. What if the publisher retains the rights but does nothing? They can keep your work (just in case) and it may never see the light of day again.

Now, I know how frustrating it can be to have a work locked up by a publisher. When the publisher refuses to return the rights and also refuses to do anything else with a work, the work is consigned to limbo and the author enters a type of publishing hell. The author may know a small audience still exists but the publisher may deem it too small to consider. So they do nothing. This can—if he or she lets it—drive an author nuts.

The slippery slope of intellectual property rights is cause for concern. With the advent of the Internet and the appearance of the electronic publishing medium, it was merely a matter of time for this type of rights grab to raise its ugly head. In past years, authors have seen their ability to retain rights shrink. Twenty years ago publishers cared little about the ancillary rights. This at least provided some form of contract negotiation tactic for authors to gain control of their work. Then the publishers saw the gleam of the screen and slowly enfolded film rights into their assumed portion of control, then the digital world exploded and electronic rights began to beam brightly and catch the publisher’s eye. With the advent of publishing on demand (POD), it would seem publishers have their eyes wide open to the possibility of the never-ending book.

What to do? Well, for one thing writers and authors could become more literate about intellectual property. Few writers pay attention to their literary rights until the contract is slapped in front of them—at the exact moment when they are blinded by the light of publication—and rush through the process without even knowing what they are signing. Even those who are represented by an agent should arm themselves with knowledge and question all contract clauses to make sure they understand what they are signing. Consider carefully whether this is the right route to go for this particular work. Given this new dimension, the authors may have to live with their decisions for a long, long time, and they will have no one else to blame but themselves if, in the future, they find they have made a mistake that impacts them severely financially. Definitely think twice before signing with Simon & Schuster. Get legal advice before you write your name. (Of course all contracts should at least be reviewed by an entertainment lawyer with experience in the publishing industry.)

You also may want to consider supporting The Author's Guild. Below is the Member Alert from the Author’s Guild that outlines the new Simon & Schuster contract language. The email is reprinted with their permission as stated below.

UPDATE 05/18/07: Read Publisher's Weekly article by Jim Milliot

Michael Crichton and NYT Book Review Editor on Sunday CSPAN2 Book TV

Quick. Grab your remote, click to the CSPAN2 channel and set your timer for these upcoming BOOK TV events. (The schedule will fill up over the next few days.) This Sunday, December 8th at 7:30PM, Michael Crichton's speech to the National Press Club will be aired on C-SPAN. Crichton always delivers a provocative and interesting talk. Given the subject matter of his new book, you can imagine the depth and breadth of his talk. Then, if you've wondered what really goes on at the New York Times Book Review, make sure you watch CSPAN the following Sunday, December 17th. The program will air at 11 AM and 7PM (Eastern times).

Weekend Highlights ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Michael Crichton, Next Saturday 8 PM, Sunday 7:30 PM ET In his novel, Mr. Crichton describes the genetic world as "fast, furious, and out of control." During this event hosted by the National Press Club in Washington, DC, the author discusses recent scientific leaps in the study of genetics and talks about how gene manipulation can help cure drug addiction.

**Coming up on Book TV next weekend - December 16-18**
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Sam Tanenhaus, Editor, New York Tiimes Book Review
Sunday, December 17 11 AM and 7 PM ETA rare look inside the influential New York Times Book Review, featuring Editor Sam Tanenhaus. Mr. Tanenhaus guides viewers through the editorial and production process including how books are chosen, how reviewers are selected and how the review is fact-checked and copy edited.

If you aren't in the habit of watching CSPAN on the weekends and you love books, particularly nonfiction, you'll love watching CSPAN on the weekends. Often a weekend is devoted to one of the national, regional, or state book festivals. While 90% of the time the subject matter is nonfiction books and their authors, occasionally, like this weekend, a writer known more for his fiction than nonfiction turns up. Of course, nothing compares to the 3-hour in-depth interviews that happen on the first Sunday of every month where an author sits for an interview that covers their life and complete literary works. Great stuff. Another favorite of mine is the National Press Club meetings. Most of the time the subject matter is timely and the author interesting.

And if you're keeping up with the latest book talk gossip, then the in-depth interview with former President Jimmy Carter Sunday morning might be of interest. If you do watch one or both of these shows, stop back by and tell me what you thought.

O.J.'s If I Did It: An invitation, but to what?

You would think that as a society we would be weary of the OJ syndrome, but alas it seems we are not--or at least the media has not had its fill. The book isn't even out yet and the media hours are racking up with its nonstop commentary. Worse, the bulk of it is a rehash of the crime and the court case. I guess that's to be expected. How many times have we heard the case declared "the crime of the century?"

But this latest book. Now that brings up a new issue. After hearing publisher Judith Regan's statement on why she entered into this surreal landscape, I found myself at the keyboard tapping out another article, O.J.'s If I Did It: It's Not About the Book, It's Not About You, Judith:

If I Did It, the new O.J. Simpson book that is roaring over the publishing landscape like a tsunami and leaving as much devastation in its wake, is wrong on so many levels, it’s hard to even begin to separate them; but frankly the real issue has nothing to do with publisher Judith Regan or even that of Simpson writing a book about the slayings. What is weird, perverse, and pretty much evil is that Simpson is being given a public forum to fantasize, relive the details of a crime in his mind, and then invite us all to share in the “dream.” I mean, how perverse and voyeuristic have we become?

Blood money transactions abound in our culture. Publishers show dismal taste in their choice of many books. Readers open their minds to baser and baser information. That’s a given in our culture today. But this, this is different. There is something wrong, something twisted, something unreal about this whole issue and the ensuing conversation. For whatever reason there are, apparently, those who believe that somehow Simpson’s creative “confession” would be a boon for society.

The announcement took on epic proportions early, long before Judith Regan entered the fray. Now, what already screamed bizarre became, if possible, even more odd. How can Reagan even imagine that Simpson’s folly will have some kind of cleansing effect on anyone, let alone her? And what does it say about her own pathology when she has apparently so intricately threaded her personal psychology into the fabric of this drama?

Whatever Regan’s reasons are for publishing the book, she is not the issue. Whatever ethics might be called into question regarding the supposed three million dollar deal, that is not the main problem. Whatever motivations are ascribed to O.J. for his latest headline-grabbing antics, they are barely worth the time and energy invested in their generation. The fact that there is an automatic assumption that we, the readers, will not only want to know but will willingly become accomplices in O.J.’s public fantasy projections is something that society may need to examine carefully.

If Simpson is innocent, how does this benefit us? If Simpson is trying to make a rather perverse “confession,” what is our role in all of this? If Simpson committed these crimes, what are we allowing him to do to us?

11/21/06 Update: As many will undoubtedly know, the book and the interview have been canceled. Now, how many books and snippets of footage will make it onto the black market. All eyes turn to eBay.

Plan now: Make a book video and pull up to the Book Trailerpark

In the vein of if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, the book industry has finally embraced film with the introduction of the book video. "Book video?" you say? Yes. Now, in addition to coming up with a "high concept" idea, thinking cinematically in terms of story construction and visual appeal, and plotting to the beat of moviedom, authors might learn they're to "star" in book trailers and videos. Several companies are already on the move, such as Expanded Books:

ExpandedBooks, one of the more recently-founded book video production companies, focuses on author interviews, giving viewers a glimpse into the author’s process and ideas for writing a book.

“To us, a book video is a catch-all term that can be used to describe any one of numerous types of videos,” Skye Van Raalte-Herzog, producer of ExpandedBooks, told The Book Standard. “Specific book videos such as book trailers and viral videos portray an original, vivid and memorable introduction to the book, while book video interviews are more in-depth and offer a portrait of the book and the author. There are other types of book videos as well that portray dramatizations and others that closely resemble ads.” (Kimberly Maul, The Book Standard - 10/12/2006)

This year also saw the beginning of The Book Video Awards Competition held by The Book Standard. The good news is that so far there is an interest in safeguarding the reading experience:

"We try very hard to make VidLits different from movie trailers or television promotions,” Dubelman (Vid Lit, founder) said. “We never show a character unless the author does, because reading is a collaboration between the author’s imagination and the reader’s imagination. We wouldn’t want to take away from the magic of reading.” (Maul, The Book Standard - 10/12/2006)

Learn more from Kimberly Maul's Book Standard article, Book Videos: Where Did they Come From? and of course you'll want to visit the blog Book Trailerpark. So now do I put together a "book vid" for my teen novels...ideas anyone?

New York loves the National Book Awards

Lit-lovers gather in New York next week as the city celebrates National Book Award Week with a series of events leading up to the National Book Foundation's 57th National Book Awards Ceremony and Dinner. Under 35 and a budding novelist? You might enjoy the Under 35 event where the 2006 NBA finalists and winners attend celebrate the National Book Awards with the next generation of fiction writers. The following day young adult novel writers will gravitate to the National Book Awards Teen Press Conference and the NBA finalists will be at the New School for a Finalist Reading. The top-off to the week's activities happens Wednesday night with the National Book Awards Ceremony and Dinner.

Won't be in New York next week? Don't worry. CSPAN will once again be there recording the event for posterity. You--and I--can view and hear the acceptance speeches on CSPAN Sunday, November 20th at 8:00 PM (Eastern). If you're not sure whether it's worth watching, I can only tell you that I've always enjoyed listening to the winners speak. In 2003 the NBA decided to award Stephen King with the Distinguished Contribution to American Letters award--a highly controversial move. Then King, himself, caught everyone's attention when he "took the award to task." All is not peachy-keen in the literary world and this particular night, King had quite a few comments about the constant clash between the highbrow and the lowbrow literary divisions. I wonder why? (If you've noticed, King's newly released LISEY'S STORY has been called a genre-literary crossover.)

I watched King's speech on CSPAN and loved every minute. You can read the transcript of King's speech generously provided by the National Book Awards. You might also enjoy reading the introduction speech given by Walter Mosley.

Want to know who's up for the 2006 awards? Click on "Continue reading" for the list of finalists.

Book Standard highlights book videos and e-readers.

Today's Book Standard E-Blast featured a story about book videos. Book videos? Don't ask me. But if you want to know more, click here. I wonder if I should spend some time conjuring up a video for my teen books? And if you've heard a little buzz about a new e-book e-reader, read this piece, but first you might want to catch up on some background info. That should give you a few things to think about over the weekend; meanwhile, I need to go back to work.