Category Archives: Jane

August 20, 2012   Jane   advice, goals, Jane  
3

Establishing goals

I used to hate thinking about and writing down goals, probably because when I first had to do them it was as part of a budget plan I was assigned to create annually when I was a Publisher. That all changed when I first became an agent, though. One of the very first authors I worked with was writing an unusual book on achieving one’s dreams. In order to do that, the author advised, you had to write down ten goals that you were reaching for – things you never thought you would achieve. He demanded that I as the agent on the project go through this exercise just as a reader would. At the time, I was a single mother of a young daughter beginning a new career and not in the mood for dreaming about anything. But I went along and wrote down things I just knew would never happen: increase my gross book sales threefold by the end of the year (in terms of dollars); meet and marry the love of my life within the next two years; buy a house in the next three years; have another child in the next five years…. And every week, he demanded that I review my goals.

Well, the upshot is that I never sold that book (that actually wasn’t one of my goals). But, incredibly, I did achieve every other goal, and within the time period I had laid out. I did sell that amount in advances and more; I did meet the love of my life and we are about to celebrate our twenty-fourth wedding anniversary; I did buy that house in the country; and my handsome son has just turned 20.

So, when I began my own company, I asked everyone I worked with to set short term goals each quarter; these were almost wishes – they should be reaches – and they should be reviewed monthly. Recently, Miriam told me that she has always hated doing goals “with the burning intensity of a thousand suns,” but she has become a believer because the process really does work.

I have now begun asking my newer clients what their goals and wishes are. It’s an exercise that is energizing many of them and they are realizing that setting short term goals enables them to strategize about their entire career.

I wonder whether you set goals for yourself already. And, if not, don’t you think you might begin now?

August 07, 2012   Jane   Jane, opinion, problem solving  
2

We’re all really on the same team

This last week, I found myself in a really heated conversation with a publisher about one of my clients.  I called him to see whether they were going to act on my suggestion to help pump up the sales of her book and he jumped down my throat for what he said were all of my complaints about their not trying hard enough to make this title a huge bestseller.

When I pointed out that, in fact, I don’t work for him but for my client and that as her advocate it is my obligation to put forth as many ideas as I can on her behalf, he understood better where I was coming from.  It is true that publishers often forget that the agent is working for the author and not against the publisher.

We talked about the various ideas I had offered and why he felt some might not work, and I understood better where he was coming from.  He also admitted that his “heated tone” was coming from a place of utter frustration at not being able to achieve the sales that he and his colleagues had been hoping for.

In the end, we both realized that we are on the same team and working for the same goals – to build this author’s career.  Later in the week, when I passed on another suggestion to him, he seemed to accept it from where it was coming from and he promised to address it quickly with his colleagues.

So, the bottom line is that agents, authors, and publishers are all working towards the same end – to increase book sales as efficiently and creatively as possible.

Has this been your experience with the publishing process?

July 23, 2012   Jane   Jane, mentors, writing  
8

Writers mentoring writers

Throughout the years that I have been an agent, I have represented writers who work in many different categories.  And, early on, it became obvious to me that some authors are not at all supportive of those coming up in their category.

This past week, though, I experienced a situation which was quite the opposite.  Brad Meltzer, a bestselling novelist, read the work of someone who approached him at a writer’s conference. He was so taken with this material that he spent time researching who might be the best agent for this new writer and he sought me out.  When we connected over the phone, we had a good talk about this new writer, his work,  and Meltzer’s reaction to it, and I now have two of his novels and am excited to read them.  I might add here that I had never spoken with Brad Meltzer before and so was really blown away by the fact that he went out of his way to help a newbie.

This episode also reminded me of years ago when my client Gus Lee’s first book, CHINA BOY was about to be published.  His editor introduced Gus to bestselling author Amy Tan over the phone.   Amy read the book, loved it, and provided a wonderful quote for it.  Subsequently, Gus and Amy became very good friends.

These two experiences underline how valuable mentoring others can be.  Not only does the mentee receive help and support, but the mentor, I think, also gets a great deal of satisfaction out of it.

I wish there was more of this support among established authors and new writers.  Our industry, I think could really benefit from this kind of thing.

Do you have stories of established authors who have mentored you or others you know that you want to share?

July 09, 2012   Jane   editors, Jane, opinion, publishers, relationships  
3

Publishing relationships

Recently I came across this interesting piece, and it got me to thinking about the value of publishing relationships.

It has long been felt that ours is a “people business,” and I strong believe this is true.  Even with the growth of social media and e-mail, talking face to face always seems to get things done faster and more cordially.

And, in this age of such enormous change in our business, talking to each other about how we can all benefit from these changes is more important than ever.  This goes for publishers and agents, editors and agents, authors and editors, authors and agents, and on and on.  As these relationships grow and develop, they become more and more valuable to our clients and their books.

Recently one of my authors has faced some real challenges with their publisher where there is a great deal at stake. And so in addressing these challenges I included people who I have “grown up with” in the business – people who now are at the top of the publishing company.  My younger colleagues who are directly involved in the issues involved have “slapped my hand” about this; they think I am going around them.  But I don’t agree.  I am simply using the fact that I know these folks at the head of the company can solve the problems and I am telling them directly how concerned I am.  I know by doing this that ultimately these longtime relationships will help solve the issues.

Then there are always the points where there is a disagreement or misunderstanding between colleagues.  Last week, I felt an editor had done something underhanded regarding one of my authors and when I brought this up a couple of days later at a lunch with the head of her company, we discussed it – each of us passionately defending our point of view — and ultimately agreed that we would put this behind us and move forward.  Had we not had a long and solid relationship, this would not have happened.

I actually feel so fortunate to have made so many good friends over the years in this business; I have met and gotten to know some very smart, quite wonderful people.  It is indeed one of the reasons why I love this business and have stayed in it so long.

June 25, 2012   Jane   Jane, opinion, publishers, timing  
3

The return of the instant book

Last week, I witnessed something I hadn’t seen in many years.  It took ten days from the time  the  publishing agreement was signed to being handed a bound copy of Tracey Garvis Graves’ ON THE ISLAND. That is truly amazing and exciting in terms of future publishing ventures.  But publishing instant books, as they were once  called, isn’t new to many of us who have been in the business for years.

In fact when I held my copy of Tracey’s book  in my hands, I thought back to many exciting titles that were published in this way back in the day.  And when I looked back I found this New York Times article which describes some of what took place during that time.

This kind of publishing was inspired in the ‘60s , ‘70s and ‘80s by major news events.  The most popular of the titles was The Report of the Warren Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy; others included  The Pentagon Papers, The Israeli Rescue at Entebbe and many, many more.

A publisher would usually team up with a news organization like one of the news weekly magazines or The New York Times and together they would produce a manuscript, often using material from the government which, of course, was in the public domain.  They would work on this for a week, sometimes less, and then go through the production process, typesetting, printing, binding and shipping the books.

I was actually a part of one of these projects right at the beginning of my career:  I carried a manuscript, after the writing and editing, were completed from our offices in New York to Chicago where I was taken to the printer in Des Plaines, Illinois, where the book was ultimately printed bound and shipped out.  It was all very exciting and very hush hush – most of these instant books were top secret until they were published, which created great excitement.

The problem was that while the publishing company was working on these projects , all other work , especially in the editorial department came to a standstill and, ultimately this led to  the demise of the instant book; the profits they were making didn’t justify what they were costing in terms of the loss of other business.

Now, though, with the change in technology, books can be produced much faster and efficiently – and even more inexpensively.  So the possibilities are becoming very exciting and bode well for the future.

As I like to say, there are no totally new ideas, it’s just the way they are “presented.”  What do you think about the whole “instant” book phenomenon?

June 12, 2012   Jane   BEA, future of publishing, Jane, opinion  
2

The same is not the same

So this past week, BEA took place again in New York and, walking around the floor, I was more aware than ever of all the changes that have occurred and continue to take place in our business. This is far from those first meetings I attended so many years ago at the Shoreham Hotel in Washington.  It is also incredibly distant from the heady years where the show, held in Los Angeles, or Las Vegas or even New Orleans included multi-level booths, every bell and whistle imaginable and parties that were incredibly over-the-top.  Julie Bosman’s article in The New York Times described some other interesting changes

This year, the space itself was noticeably smaller than last year (and recent years past) with fewer exhibitors.  And despite the fact that we attended on “opening day”  the crowds and excitement seemed diminished.

The fact of the matter is that our business is going through some real upheavals. E-book sales continue to grow and this is pushing down the number of physical books sold.  The mass market distribution system has almost totally collapsed and so those categories previously published in mass market are either not being published or are being published exclusively online. The Department of Justice lawsuit has distracted everyone and if the settlement isn’t overturned or changed, the future of independent bookstores could be in jeopardy because they simply will not be able to compete against Amazon.  Self-publishing online is becoming far more “acceptable” and many writers are beginning to make a very good living doing this.  And then there are those of us who are helping in the self-publishing/e-book publishing process and establishing new branches of our business in order to keep up with the times.

Indeed, walking around the hall, I heard many who were genuinely worried about the future of our industry.  But then there are others of us who are excited about the innovation that is taking place.  Yes, many of these changes are challenging, but I am personally delighted to face them and see what we can do to help our clients understand and deal with them – and ultimately benefit from them. I think the only way to go forward at this point, is not to look back at any mistakes our industry has made and move forward to make sure the book, in whatever format, continues to thrive and that writers are encouraged to produce new and exciting material.

Most of all, we cannot forget that one of the reasons we are in this business is that our colleagues, by and large, are truly a great group, and that we all have the same goals in common.  Remembering this will make our work going forward more satisfying…if not easier. I, for one, am looking toward many more BEAs and an exciting new world of publishing.

May 14, 2012   Jane   advice, contracts, deadlines, Jane, opinion  
13

The ominous delivery date and what happens when you don’t make it

Most writers know that as a part of the book publishing negotiations, a delivery date is established in the publishing contract.  I usually leave this date entirely up to my clients, telling them that they should take a realistic amount of time to complete their manuscripts.

Most opt for a year or twelve months from their receipt of the publisher’s on-signing money.  Sometimes they will go for less, especially if the subject matter is a timely one or if there is a competitive book in the works.

And then there are those who take well over a year to complete their book and then wonder why they have to wait yet another year before it is published.  (This of course is the way traditional publishing works – a general rule is that there is a 12-months lag between manuscript acceptance and book publication).

But what happens when the author is late?  I thought about this when I ran across this piece which appeared in last Thursday’s Wall Street Journal.

Usually the first thing that happens when  authors tell me they are going to be late with their manuscript is that I go to the publisher and with the author’s agreement establish a new delivery date.  “Extensions” as they are called are not at all unusual, but the publisher is generally not willing to grant more than one or two at most.  After these are exhausted, more often than not, the publisher will cancel the contract if the manuscript has not been delivered, and as a result, the author has to pay back all of the monies he or she has previously received.

Sometimes though, as in the piece above, the publisher tolerates an author being late, hoping that when the manuscript is finally delivered, it is so good that it is well worth the wait.  I actually have a project which is currently about seven years late, so late, in fact, that the acquiring editor left the company for a new career for a number of years and then decided he really wanted to be an editor so he returned to the same house to find that the manuscript was still not delivered.  This is one of those cases where the hope is that the final result will improve with age.

My own feeling about late deliveries is that they are unfortunate but often unavoidable.  The most important thing is that the author do everything he or she can to effect the ultimate delivery of a solid manuscript which the publisher will be happy to publish – even if it is seven or ten or fifteen years late.

I wonder what you think about the question of the timeliness of manuscript deliveries?  Should the author be allowed an unlimited number of extensions?  Should they be penalized for being late, even once?  Or is a good book worth the wait?

April 30, 2012   Jane   advice, future of publishing, Jane, opinion, publishers, retailers  
5

What you can do about the DOJ lawsuit

Following up on my previous blog—and having read a huge amount in the last two weeks about this matter—I feel more strongly than ever that we all, agents, authors, publishers, independent bookstore owners, and readers, can and should do something about the settlement the DOJ is proposing.

In order to try to stop the Department of Justice there is something called The Tunney Act, which allows members of the public to comment on any proposed settlement by the government on a civil antitrust suit.  The “Competitive Impact Statement” filed in court by the Department of Justice on April 11th states that the Depart of Justice will cause written comments received from any person to be filed with the court and published in the Federal Register.

If you are in agreement that the terms of the settlement are onerous for publishing and bookstores, you  need to write a letter and send it to:

John R. Read, Esq.
Chief, Litigation III Section
Antitrust Division, United States Department of Justice
450 5th Street, NW, Suite 4000
Washington, DC 20530

You may also submit your comments attached in an email to john.read@usdoj.gov (with a copy to stephen.fairchild@usdoj.gov).

Please be sure to reference the name of the litigation in your comments.  We suggest the following or similar reference:

United States v. Apple, Inc. et al., No. 12-CV-2826(DLC) (S.D.N.Y.) – Comments on Proposed Final Judgment as to Defendants Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster

All public comments received will be considered by the U.S. Department of Justice and will be filed with the Court and published in the Federal Register (the Daily Journal of the U.S. Government).

These letters and e-mails must be received by June 23rd so please read all you are able to about the issues and write and mail your letters expressing your opinions as soon as you can.

I feel strongly that we must keep the publishers and bookstores alive—both independents and the remaining chains.  I hope you all will help.

April 16, 2012   Jane   e-books, future of publishing, Jane, opinion, publishers, retailers  
10

Is the Department of Justice’s Suit Against Publishers Good for Authors?

Last week, the Department of Justice sued five publishers and Apple and charged them with collusion in the implementation of the agency model for e-book pricing. The charge is civil, not criminal.  Three of the five publishers, Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster are settling their suits, but Macmillan U.S. and Penguin Worldwide are not.  Here is what Publishers Weekly reported followed by statements from John Sargent CEO of  Macmillan and John Makinson, Chairman and CEO of the Penguin Group.

So, what does this mean to authors?

Ultimately it means that Amazon, which has had a very strong market share in discounting e-books recently with Barnes & Noble starting to catch up under the agency model, will now virtually have a monopoly on selling e-books.  The company, which as we know, sells many products other than books, can afford to lose money on their sales of e-books because they have so much other merchandise to make a profit from.

Barnes & Noble and other accounts, however, cannot afford to lose money and they will do if they are forced to compete with Amazon’s steep discounting.  In fact late last week, B&N stock took a substantial dive for this very reason.

And, if as a result of this, Barnes & Noble is forced out of business, it will be a disaster for publishers and authors alike.  There will be nowhere to display physical books any longer.

I am not a lawyer and so I can’t discuss the legalities of any of this.  What I can suggest is that if authors agree that giving Amazon a true monopoly in the e-book publishing business will be hugely destructive to the business as a whole, then they should blog, write op-ed columns, and get as much publicity possible in order to attempt to turn this situation around.  It is myopic, in my humble opinion, to believe that allowing Amazon to become a monopoly in the e-book business will ultimate benefit consumers (see David Carr’s piece in today’s New York Times).

What do you all have to say about these developments?

April 02, 2012   Jane   fun, Jane, technology  
16

Finally! I have an iPad – now what?

So after coveting an iPad ever since it was introduced I finally acquired the latest version.

As soon as this one was announced, I ordered it online from Apple and was so excited when it arrived.  A day later, after one of my very techno savvy colleagues helped me set it up, we realized it was broken and had to be replaced.  Problem number one!

That crisis was resolved and after receiving an initial tutorial, I was off and running.  Less than a week later I realized that I had used up my monthly allowance of 4G!  How could this have happened?  Because I had no idea what I was doing.

Oh well, time to experiment.  I have changed my subscriptions to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal so that I read them on the iPad and have found this to be an entirely different experience than reading the actual physical papers.  Frankly, I am not sure that I prefer the digital versions, although over the weekend I found a wonderful review of one of my titles, American Icon by Bryce Hoffman, in the digital version of the Times and it wasn’t in any paper I had that morning (I still receive the physical copies of the paper on the weekends).

What I’m clear on is that there is going to be a learning curve for me and it might be steeper than I initially anticipated (after all I adapted to my iPhone immediately and it has truly changed my life).  I have begun to read books on my iPad but because I am reluctant to take it on the subway, where I do a lot of reading, I still depend more on my kindle for that reading experience.  And many of my friends and colleagues who have iPads tell me they rarely use them outside of their homes – how odd, I think.

Still, I am determined to learn all about this newfangled contraption and so I have scheduled an appointment this week at the Apple store for a tutorial on how to best use my iPad and maximize my reading pleasure as well as using all its other assets and apps.

I would love to find out whether you are enjoying using your tablet devices (iPads or others) especially as reading tools.

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