Category Archives: Jane

March 04, 2013   Jane   Jane, opinion, social networking, writing  
12

The conundrum of social media

It seems to me that the distractions of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and all the other social media sites are really interrupting the daily flow of our lives.   And I don’t know if that is a good thing.

There is little doubt that these are wonderful new ways for us to communicate with each other and make new “friends” and contacts;  for those of us who “follow” – they are often enormously entertaining, sometimes even enlightening.

But, it seems to me that they are becoming such a distraction that they are taking us away from the serious writing we should be doing.  Indeed some of my authors spend so much of their time on social media – to promote their work or for other reasons – that they complain they have no time left to write their books.

I found this article by Matthew Dicks in The Huffington Post last Thursday and thought it was relevant as it speaks about those things that keep us away from our writing and how many of us have trouble overcoming them: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-dicks/when-do-i-write-in-the-cr_b_2775893.html?utm_hp_ref=books

Indeed, I am almost afraid of the potential addiction of social media knowing that many of my colleagues spend so much time on it.  There’s a fine line between using social media wisely and abusing it to the exclusion of our more important work and it’s one I struggle with as much as everyone else.

I wonder what you think of all this?  Has social media taken over your life?  Do you feel you are drowning in it?  Or, do you want to spend all of your time chatting  with your “friends” and “tweeting”?

February 04, 2013   Jane   about us, genre, Jane, nonfiction, what we're looking for  
0

Something “new” for me

This piece from last week’s  New York Times attracted my attention and although I totally disagree with the notion that just because the facts concerning a non-fiction book have changed since its original publication, its content should be arbitrarily updated, it did make me think about non-fiction in general.

For many years, most of what I represented was non-fiction and then recently and very deliberately (and because I truly love it) I have been concentrating on fiction, all kinds of fiction – commercial and literary – and have had great success with indie authors and more traditional types.  But my yen for good narrative non-fiction is still very strong and I would love to see some new ideas.

Of course, as you all know, in this category the author needs to have a solid platform and the credentials necessary to write authoritatively on a subject – these things have become increasingly important. And there has to be a great story, one with a beginning, a middle, and an end. With those elements, I would love to consider some compelling new nonfiction in the areas of science, history, biography, politics, and business.

I hope that some of you reading this blog will keep this in mind, send me your work, and spread the word.

January 07, 2013   Jane   advice, goals, holidays, Jane  
6

Resolutions

It’s a new year, so what else would I write about but New Year’s resolutions?

I know, I know – New Year’s resolutions sound  soooo  boring, but I have found that making them, and checking them monthly and keeping them in mind is very important to moving forward in life and in work.

Putting together a written list—and I do think these should be written down in order to cement them in our minds—takes time and it should take thoughtfulness.  What do we want to achieve this year, health wise, relationship wise, business wise and in our efforts to give back to the universe?

A few of my clients this week presented me with their lists of what they wanted to achieve in their book publishing careers this year, and I am so happy to have these.  It will help me to focus my efforts in helping them.  In fact, I plan to encourage as many of the authors I work with as possible to do the same thing in the coming weeks (a goal should be to have all New Year’s resolutions completed by no later than the middle of January, I think).

And of course, I have done my own set of resolutions in all of the above areas.  I plan to review them very regularly and refine them when necessary (resolutions should be as specific as possible, I find).  Then at the end of the year, I will do an overall evaluation of how  I’ve done in each area, and that will enable me to put together next year’s resolutions that much more easily.

So, what do you think of this whole idea of setting New Year’s Resolutions?  Do you plan to do them for yourself?  I am eager to know your thoughts on the subject.

December 10, 2012   Jane   advice, Jane, social networking  
13

Social media—do I practice what I preach?

So, many of us here have been “preaching” to our clients for years about the importance of them using social media to build their fan base and to sell their books.  We have even created an “Author Website and Social Media Guide” which we share with everyone we represent.

This week, one of my authors called me on my Twitter usage (or lack thereof), saying that I wasn’t following her and asking me why that was.   She told me how important it was to her to have me follow her on these sites and I realized that if that was the case for her, then it must also be true for many of my other authors as well.  The fact is that I simply don’t use Twitter much and am only a bit better on Facebook.  Don’t even talk to me about LinkedIn.

Why is that?  The truth is that despite its value, I don’t really know how to use social media effectively – what to say, how often to say it, and most of all does anyone care are all issues that  stop me from being more active on these sites.  In fact, I who preach using it every day, several times a day to whomever will listen, am totally intimidated by it.

I wonder, as the year is coming to an end and I establish a new year’s resolution to increase my social media presence whether you can suggest ways to make this easier for me. I am eager to hear your ideas.

November 26, 2012   Jane   Jane, opinion, self-publishing, what we're looking for  
19

The self-published author—what does an agent look for?

Last week, Laura Howard, an Indie author, asked whether I would write about what an agent looks for when offering representation to someone who is in the self-published community.  Since we represent a significant number of authors who originally were/are self-published, I was delighted to accept her request.

The first thing I look for in any author, self-published or not, is the quality of the writing.  If the work is poorly written, then we cannot represent it no matter how strong the sales are initially (substandard writing will not sustain high sales in my opinion).

An author’s sales numbers and how they build over time are also very important.  Unit sales are critical but so is the author’s position on the lists of the various e-tailers—Amazon.com; BN.com, etc.  A prolific author will often see each subsequent book in a series build up the sales of the previous books.

The author must be very active on social media—having an effective, accessible website and/or blog is important, as is a solid presence on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and other networking sites.  Positive reviews of the author’s self-published books by the target readership are critical as is a willingness to interact with and be supportive of other writers in his/her category.

Finally, I always like to talk with prospective self-published clients to make sure that what we think we can offer them matches their expectations; we try never to over-promise although we do assure all of our clients that we will do our very best to help them build their careers and have a positive experience doing so.

The goal is to sign up writers who have a solid future in Indie and traditional publishing, or a mixture of both.  So far, it’s working out very well for us and we’ve learned a tremendous amount.  I am happy to answer any questions regarding this subject which is becoming an important one in our business.  Let me hear from you.

November 06, 2012   Yassine   about us, e-books, Jane, news, Yassine  
1

Hello!

Thank you so much Jane for the kind introduction. It is fantastic to be here at DGLM, although I confess, these are familiar surroundings. As Jane mentioned, I began interning here in May 2011 while I was studying for my Master’s degree, so I am absolutely delighted to be a full time member of DGLM’s remarkable team. With e-books and e-readers continuing to offer us new ways to access books, it is an exciting time to be heading up DGLM’s digital publishing program. As a long-time lover of books, I feel incredibly privileged to have the chance to work closely with authors, the people who make us fall in love with books.

November 05, 2012   Jane   about us, changes at DGLM, e-books, Jane, Yassine  
2

Welcome, Yassine Belkacemi!

Since its inception, our digital publishing program has been happily growing, both in the number of authors participating and in the number of titles published.  Currently we have 40 authors and 133 books in the program.

I am delighted to announce that we have now hired a full time project manager for this program who, in just a few short weeks, has already increased our percentage of growth.

Yassine Belkacemi was born in Scotland where he did his undergraduate studies at University of Edinburgh.  He then received a Master’s Degree at Columbia University here in New York.  He has been interning for us since May of 2011, and I have been eager to find a permanent place for him on our staff.

I hope you will all join me in welcoming Yassine as the newest member of the DGLM family.

October 15, 2012   Jane   fun, genre, Jane, writing  
12

Dreaming

The other night I had dinner with New York Post columnist Cindy Adams and  I told her that I am always having trouble deciding what to write about in my bi-weekly blog entries and I couldn’t imagine how she came up with at least one interesting and fresh idea every day.  Then, she described the column she had to do for later in the week asking people how they would spend their time if they could do anything they wanted.

So, (and this is related to the post I did two weeks ago) it got me wondering what writers wish they could write if they weren’t writing what they currently do?  Would they switch from fiction to non-fiction?  Would they go from adult mysteries to children’s picture books?  Would they go from cookbooks to memoirs?

So I am putting the question out there.  If you could write something different than what you  currently write, what would that be?

October 01, 2012   Jane   advice, genre, Jane, opinion  
7

Typecasting – good or bad?

So last Thursday I read this interesting  piece  in The Wall Street Journal and it got me to thinking (again) about whether being slotted into a category is a good or bad thing.

I say “again” because long ago when I was the publisher of World Almanac Publications and my employer wanted to branch out into areas far from our popular reference book line, I went to the book buyers – Dalton, Walden, and Ingram – and asked them their opinion.  Every one of them opined adamantly that no matter how good these proposed books might be, they wouldn’t buy them from us.  We were the publishers of popular reference books, they said, and that is the way it was going to stay, as far as they were concerned.  Ultimately, the decision was made by my colleagues to go ahead with the new products.  Knowing what would surely happen, I left the company and became an agent, and that publishing program ultimately failed miserably.

So, what about someone like J.K. Rowling and her foray away from the Harry Potter world into the adult nonfiction category?  Notwithstanding the success of The Casual Vacancy, should she have taken this chance?  And if the book doesn’t sell up to expectations, what will that mean to her career?

Many of my talented self-published clients ask this same question.  They understandably want the ability to publish in more than one category, but the question is, always, will their readers, their fans, “follow” them?  I often find myself advising that an author should build up his/her sales in one category, become a best seller and then do whatever s/he wants.

A terrific example of this is Mitch Albom. Michael Crichton is another author who mixed it up in his bestselling novels. And what about all of the thriller writers recently who have found their way into the children’s category?

So, I am curious as to what you think.  Should an author, bestselling or not, publish in more than one category or would they be better served by “sticking to their knitting”?

September 20, 2012   Jane   agents, authors, Jane, rejection  
4

What in the world was he thinking?

Last Friday, I ran across this story on Galleycat and I was really amazed and troubled by it. I sincerely hope this is an isolated, freak incident, but it made me think about our process and how it is perceived by the authors who approach us.

We agents work very hard to encourage new writers and to help them find a home.  Often our business depends on unsolicited queries (I know mine does).  Finding something wonderful in the “slush” pile gives everyone a sense of real satisfaction and during the last twenty-five years I have had my share of new clients come from there.

This, though, is not the norm.  Even though we pride ourselves in reviewing everything that is sent to us, we pass on most unsolicited queries .  In fact, we would be helping nobody by signing an author who isn’t ready and submitting his or her work only to be turned down by publishers.  More than anything else, the author would suffer – his or her ego would be hurt by the mass rejection and he or she would have to wait a good long time before submitting again to the same editors who had just turned down the material.

When we do turn a writer down, whether they are solicited or unsolicited, we try to do so thoughtfully.  There is absolutely no point in being rude or discouraging.  That said, with the volume of queries we receive, there’s no avoiding the dreaded form rejection letter.  We know authors hate these and we’re not thrilled to use them, but we simply don’t have the manpower to write individual notes to everyone.

So my message to authors who are just starting is to have your material be as ready as possible before you query agents and if you get turned down, think about why, continue to work on your project and try again when it is in a more polished place.

Persistence is one of the things I live by; giving up is simply unacceptable.  But so is lashing out against people who work hard and are genuinely trying to help.

« Older posts
Newer posts »