Category Archives: nonfiction

July 21, 2011   Jessica   Jessica, media, nonfiction, reading  
2

Reading Detours

I am a creature of habit; even in the boundless spaces of the internet, I march a well-beaten path between the New York Times, Salon, the Millions, assorted publishing sites and a familiar assortment of blogs.  Last night, in an effort to shake up my routine, I decided to explore some new sites. I began with Brain Pickings, which bills itself as “a discovery engine for interestingness, culling and curating cross-disciplinary curiosity-quenchers, and separating the signal from the noise to bring you things you didn’t know you were interested in until you are.” Although I found the description somewhat twee, the brains behind Brain did a good job engaging mine. Smart stuff, including the ambitious if not slightly ridiculous “Everything you need to know about culture in 10 books.”

From there, I poked around at The Atavist, one of the new on-line homes for long form journalism, the meaty, painstakingly researched magazine pieces that occupy the interstices of my life. Philip Gourevich’s article “Climbers” in last week’s New Yorker about the Rwandan Cycling Team is a perfect example. I read it on line at the grocery store.  (If you write in this vein, query me.) The Atavist, bless them, is also looking to monetize their content; they sell original long form pieces, complete with cool multimedia imbeds for the the iPad and iPhone for $2.99. $1.99 buys you a version suitable for Kindle.

I moved on to Byliner, another safe space for the embattled long-form, where I could binge on the collected works of any of scores of established writers and acquaint myself with some new ones.  At that point, relieved that long form journalism is being collected (the “curated” tag bothers me a bit: are these stories museum pieces?) I headed to a source for another endangered species, investigative journalism. I finally checked  out Propublica,  and felt reassured that the practice of muckraking is not so dated as the word that describes it.

I concluded my tour feeling pleased and slightly overwhelmed—as ever, so much to read, so little time. Until, of course, it occurred to me that during this whole exercise (ostensibly a departure from routine), I simply discovered more of the kind of stuff I like.  It’s hard to argue that any of the above, worthy as they are, were substantially broadening my horizons, prying open my mind. Plenty of thinkers have pointed out that the internet can allow us to spend time exclusively with others who reflect back our tastes and opinions. So in the interests of a more mind-blowing detour, can anyone recommend some good sites?

June 09, 2011   Jessica   Jessica, memoir, nonfiction, parenting  
10

Difficult Reading

 

The New Yorker summer fiction issue arrived this week, and since it’s been a busy few days, my husband got to it before I did.  He then warned me not to read Aleksander Hemon’s essay “The Aquarium: A Tale of two Daughters.” I should have listened. And ultimately I did.  I found Hemon’s account (which, fiction issue aside, is nonfiction) of losing his nine-month-old baby to a fast-growing malignant brain tumor impossible to finish. I started skimming rather than reading, then just allowing my eyes to take a kind of snapshot of the page, and finally had to put the magazine aside.  Since becoming a parent a little more than five years ago I have zero ability to handle stories like this. Having baby number two last fall in no way helped. This reaction is a little embarrassing, but it’s so primal, so non-negotiable, that I suspect this is some Darwinian adaptation at work here. That in the interests of remaining sane, and for the furtherance of our species, parents (mothers?) simply cannot dwell too long in thoughts of tragedy, calamity and terrifying loss. This way madness lies.  Or maybe it’s just me. In the on-line magazine The Millions, a pregnant Edan Lepucki describes reading any number of books that she’d been warned to avoid. www.themillions.com/2011/05/the-perils-of-reading-pregnant.html.

Before I was a mother, I represented a pediatric emergency room doctor whose stories of the ER were as powerful as they were beautifully written.  I could not, however, sell his collection. I’ve since come to understand why. I doubt I could read them myself now.  It doesn’t help (and maybe even makes me something of a hypocrite) that I’m the sort of person who believes we ought not shy away from subjects that are “just too hard,” on the grounds that the compassion or awareness we awaken when we read about the awful stuff that happens in this world can sometimes motivate us to ameliorate it, but here’s a place where my logic is overruled by my gut. Am I alone in this? I’ve heard wonderful things about Elizabeth McCracken’s  An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination: A Memoir, but I don’t know if I can hack it.

May 18, 2011   Miriam   celebrity, controversy, culture, fiction, Miriam, nonfiction  
3

Scandals/Scandales

The thing about taking turns blogging once a week as we do here at DGLM is that you sometimes have the perfect subject to write about but it’s not on your designated day.  Then, Wednesday rolls around, you had a miserable commute into the rain-soaked city, your lower back aches and you’re walking around like an 80-year-old who’s nine months pregnant (you know how pregnant women waddle when they’re in their sixth trimester…or was that just me?), the piles on your desk are mocking you, and all you want to do is read everything you can find online about the Schwarzenegger and Strauss-Kahn scandals.  So, in lieu of something pithy and informative about publishing (e-books, the business as we know it is dying, yadda, yadda), I’m just going to ramble on about these two current headliners.

The Schwarzenegger story is tawdry and lurid in a way that we’re so used to (John Edwards is cackling madly somewhere) that it’s really just a fill-in-the-blank kind of scandal.  Doesn’t mean I’m not going to pick up my copy of Star as soon as it hits the newsstands.  The Strauss-Kahn case, however, is much more interesting because it is so multi-layered and speaks to so many different kinds of abuses and contradictions.  Arnold Schwarzenegger’s infidelity is hurtful to his family and fans in the way that these kinds of betrayals generally are.  Strauss-Kahn’s alleged actions will have an effect on the global marketplace and the fate of several countries currently facing huge financial crises.  Criminal behavior is an apt description and not just because of the appalling nature of the offense.

So, being that it’s the way my brain is wired after 150 years in the business, I see potential for books in both stories: Schwarzenegger’s would be a novel—Jackie Collins meets Dominick Dunne perhaps?  Strauss-Kahn’s a serious, non-fiction exploration of why powerful men, whose careers are devoted to helping humanity in macro ways, often turn out to be such sleazeballs and our complicity as a culture in letting them get away with it—this is more of a Michael Lewis meets Philip Gourevitch for a long discussion over coffee kind of book.

Which, if either, would you buy and read?  And why?

February 25, 2011   Michael   fun, Michael, nonfiction, West Coast  
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I like to talk about the weather

There’s a real possibility that it might snow here in LA over the next couple of days!  Overnight temps here are supposed to get into the low 30s, and there could be snow at elevations as low as 500 feet.  Craziness, especially considering how warm things were up until last weekend.  But yes, folks, it really can get cold here in sunny California, and it can actually get cloudy, too–today is one of those days (though as I typed those words, the sun broke through the clouds–it can’t be kept down for long).

What’s this got to do with books?  Probably not much, but I’m feeling the blogger’s block this week, and I was tickled by this Jacket Copy post on the weather and the Farmer’s Almanac.  For those that know me, I’m a bit of a Farmer’s Almanac fanboy.  I have no use for the information, really–I don’t garden–but I love both weather and predictions, so it’s the perfect combination for me.  And it’s impressive just how often they get it right, even if they seemed to have missed the mark with this cold snap we’re having.

Any other Almanac fans out there?

February 17, 2011   Jessica   future of publishing, Jessica, nonfiction, opinion, reading  
2

Between interest and exhaustion

We live in interesting times: It remains to be seen what will happen in Bahrain, Yemen, Libya and the other Middle Eastern and North African nations where citizens are demanding more responsive, democratic governments, but it is as good a time as any to reflect on the way current events and more broadly, history, are published. Publishing houses must weigh whether they can rush or “crash” a book out in order to capitalize on often-fickle public and media interest, or wait until there is some clarity about the facts on the ground. A book on Egypt that went to press on the night of Thursday, February 10, when Hosni Mubarak announced that he would not step down, would look very different than one that went to press nineteen hours later, when he tendered his resignation. Book publishing has, for obvious reasons, been ill-suited to record breaking news. Books are time consuming to write, and to tie a book too closely to volatile situations is to risk publishing a work that is outdated before it hits the shelves, or worse yet, one that’s just plain wrong, a latter day Dewey Defeats Truman. So we look to books for the long view—analysis, breadth and depth. Yet once written, both paper and e-books can actually be created quite quickly (interestingly, it can take just as long to get e-books into retailers’ systems as paper books).  Publishers are always keen to capitalize on media attention, hoping to leap through—and ideally wedge open—the magical window that exists before Americans grow exhausted of a given subject. It’s not easy.

My question: have current events driven any of your book purchases?

February 02, 2011   Stacey   food, media, nonfiction, prescriptive, Stacey  
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Vegan Pursuits

I’m generally a big lover of meat and fish, making my views on vegetarian and vegan eating somewhat conflicted. However, I represent a lot of great books and authors in the category, including a very talented and successful vegan cookbook author whose books sell well year after year so I know there is a loyal and growing audience out there for books that appeal to this market. That was confirmed with the release of lifestyle author Kathy Freston’s Veganist, debuting yesterday with an appearance on Oprah and an interview in Vanity Fair, among other big publicity hits. Of course the book shot straight to number 1 on Amazon, and I’m guessing we’ll be seeing it high on the bestseller lists in coming weeks. It is encouraging to me that a seemingly niche topic can attract such a splashy mainstream response, following in the footsteps of Skinny Bitch, The Kind Diet, and Michael Pollen’s books, among others.

I haven’t actually seen the book yet, but from what I’ve read Freston’s book is really a straight lifestyle book, without recipes, outlining the many benefits of a vegan life. I am not someone who generally jumps on the Oprah bandwagon, but I do think there’s a lot of good to be found in this message of eating a healthier, more environmentally friendly, plant-based diet. That sounds a little more realistic to me, and one of these days I’d like to actually give it a try. I’m sure I’d miss the meat, but maybe I’d finally be able to shed those last few baby pounds that have been hanging around way too long, since the twins just turned 2 last week! And there would certainly be some great stories and lessons to share with the kids. If any of our readers are fans of vegan lifestyle or cookbooks, I’d be curious to hear what your favorites are. Now I’m off to make myself a salad for dinner.

December 13, 2010   DG&B   advice, Jane, nonfiction, writing  
7

That intimidating book proposal

by Jane

For the last several months, many of us here at DGLM have talked about the necessity of preparing solid book proposals. A strong proposal is so important because it not only helps the editor and publisher to know what you are doing, it actually helps you, the author, to focus on your subject and the market you are trying to reach.

Many feel that doing this work is an “unnatural” act, and I admit that it can be very difficult. Once it is done right, however, it can be a very effective tool for everyone.

We work very hard with our clients to help them create their proposals. We send them basic instructions, sample proposals and then we review and comment on each draft until we feel the material is ready to be submitted.

Because we think this part of the publishing process is so very important, I thought I would share our basic formula for putting together a non-fiction proposal.

The proposal is broken down into several parts:

The first is the Overview. This begins with a brief dramatic anecdote which is meant to get the reader, in this case the editor at the publishing company, into the material. Immediately after this anecdote, you should describe in two or three sentences—no more—what the book will be about. This is followed by another brief paragraph on why it is being written and then another on why you are qualified to write it.

After this, you need to describe the different groups of readers who will buy your book—both demographically and statistically. The more numbers you have here the better.

The final element of the overview is a comparative section where you compare your book to others that would be found in the same place in the bookstore. In each case, book by book you must provide the author, the title, the publisher and the year of initial publication and, book by book, you need to tell us how your proposed book will be as successful or more so.

The next element of the proposal is the Annotated Table of Contents. This consists of chapter heads and no more than a couple of sentences on what each chapter will contain.

Then we need at least One Sample Chapter that matches a chapter described in your annotated table of contents. (I always suggest an early chapter, but the contents cannot repeat anything that has previously appeared in the overview of the proposal.) The sample chapter is meant to do two things: show off the writing and tell us things we don’t already know.

Finally, there should be a more formal narrative Bio of the author.

This is followed by links that serve as Support Material—reviews of previous books, recent articles by and about you from national publications, a schedule of speaking appearance, any national media appearances, etc.

So there you have it—my holiday present to you. I know this isn’t easy, but as I said, once this is done right, it is incredibly helpful in not only selling the proposed book but also in writing it.

Naturally, as always, I am open to answering your questions.

November 10, 2010   DG&B   contest, fun, memoir, Miriam, nonfiction  
9

And the winners are….

by Miriam

After much in-fighting and name calling, we’re ready to give you our top three picks for memoir pitches, following last week’s contest. This was a tough process because many of the pitches sounded like books we’d like to read (and/or represent). I hope you will actually send us your queries when you’re ready to tell these stories.

Now, without further ado, the winners:

First place: Ariana Richards
Second place: Ken Olsen
Third place: Tamara

Honorable mentions: February Grace and EHF for Suzan W

If the winners would e-mail me their addresses at Miriam@dystel.com, we’ll send you your prizes (Michael Tucker’s delightful Living in a Foreign Language, a DGLM water bottle, and a DGLM soup mug).

Thank you so much for playing along!

November 02, 2010   DG&B   advice, biography, John, nonfiction, opinion  
0

The biographer as fan

by John

Back when I was an editor at Putnam Young Readers, I had the pleasure of helping National Book Award-winner Nathaniel Philbrick adapt his adult bestseller In the Heart of the Sea for young readers. It’s often tricky to translate adult work for a younger audience, but In the Heart of the Sea had a clear hook: One of the two main characters from In the Heart of the Sea was 13-year-old Cabin Boy Thomas Nickerson, to whom any young reader could relate.

However, after reading Nat’s review of Geoffrey Wolff’s The Hard Way Around: The Passages of Joshua Slocum in this Sunday’s New York Times Book Review,  I realized there’s another key reason why his book translated so well for young readers: Nat’s a big fan of his material, and his personal feelings permeate the entire work. I love Nat’s idea that you can take a nonfiction topic and show what you think of the story, actively involving yourself rather than approaching it as a non-judgmental author/reporter. I also love his suggestions that a) you can work within the existing record, rather than having to dig up little new minutiae that don’t really add much to the basic plot, and b) that well-known stories are still worth telling, especially if you give them a personal slant.

This fan-boy narrative style is one that Russell Freedman and Elizabeth Partridge have used successfully in their nonfiction work for kids, and I wish I saw more of it out there. So to all you nonfiction writers, here’s a simple plea: Get off the sidelines and get into your books!

September 22, 2010   DG&B   favorites, fun, nonfiction, reading, Stacey  
3

The parenting shelf

by Stacey

I get a newsletter from The Skinny Scoop about all kinds of parenting topics, and this post made me think about parenting books and how many we buy and either don’t read, or read a chapter of and file it away. In our new house which is sorely lacking bookshelf space (see Lauren’s photo of my book closet), I took a precious shelf and dedicated it to parenting books I’ve bought or received over the years. It runs the gamut from fertility books to pregnancy books to baby naming books to taking care of baby books, and finally (lucky us!) to books about having and raising twins. Many didn’t make a lasting impression, and some turned me off completely with their alarmist and ultra conservative advice, but there are definitely a few I’ve passed on (mostly about sleep training) like The Baby Sleep Solution, which helped us get our twins sleeping through the night in a flexible way, and Twinspiration, a smart, realistic guide for parents of twins which should get a prize for most clever title.

What are your favorite parenting books, and which ones did you hate?

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