You all probably know by now how I like to share success stories on occasion from authors who have had their share of rejection. It’s pretty much a guarantee as a writer that you will be faced with rejection in one form or another at some point during your writing career, and it’s likely that even if you do find yourself one of the lucky ones to find an agent and/or publisher, there will still be rejection in your future. Many bestselling authors have remarkable stories to share about their paths to publication and this one from Costco’s magazine highlights the path taken by Tatiana de Rosnay and her now bestelling SARAH’S KEY. I like reading this magazine’s publishing section because it offers readers a peek into what the mainstream Costco buyers think their customers are looking for, so there are usually a mix of commercial fiction and nonfiction titles highlighted, and they often share a more intimate interview with an author they are promoting through giveaways (in this case, 50 signed copies of the book). Tatiana de Rosnay’s is an inspirational story to tuck away for those hard days when the rejection letters feel insurmountable. If you know of any great books that were at first rejected before finding a publisher, let us know. We all like to hear about positive behind-the-scenes stories that keep us motivated too!
Category Archives: Stacey
September 08, 2010 
DG&B 
distribution, future of publishing, marketing/publicity, opinion, publishers, Stacey Small-scale publishing
This piece about the successful online magazine Rumpus becoming a publisher is pretty interesting. Because they have a built-in readership, and members through their book club, it seems to make sense to go this route for them. But my question is with such limited resources (a staff of two), wouldn’t it be more efficient to go with a traditional publisher for better marketing, sales, and distribution channels? I’m not sure if they tried this and for some reason it didn’t work out, or maybe they want to fully be in control of the product they are releasing, but this seems like the kind of thing that if it works for them to publish successfully on their own, traditional publishers will be knocking on their door to try to get in on their built-in audience and make the stakes even higher and the numbers even bigger.
I think as an idea, this small-scale publishing has merit, but in actuality will be difficult to manage successfully, and to build on and grow at a sustainable level. And I know that at least one of the Rumpus writers is working on her own book project, and my guess is that she, and others affiliated with the mag, will be going the more traditional publishing route. I’ll be curious to see how it all plays out.
Spy novels by spies
I’m not personally a huge fan of spy fiction, but I came across this incredible list in the Seattle Times and felt it was worth sharing with our readers. You don’t often hear about the need for credentials to write fiction (even if it’s imperative to write nonfiction), but in this case, it certainly helps for credibility and presumably storytelling purposes as well to have worked in the intriguing and mysterious world of spies. If you have any interest at all in this category, this list seems a great starting point for novels across the category. I’ll start my reading with le Carré’s George Smiley trilogy. Enjoy, and let us know if you have any favorites that Mary Ann Gwinn might have missed in her comprehensive roundup.
Blogs to books to film
One of my clients is mentioned in this recent LA Times article that I thought was worth sharing. It’s interesting to see how the Internet continues to find new talent and how some of that talent translates to books, and other types of media, like film and television. The article notes that most bloggers become book authors before Hollywood takes interest. There are always going to be hits and misses: even bloggers with a big following don’t always translate on the book side to big sales. Heather Armstrong of Dooce has lots of traffic, but her first book didn’t make as big a splash as I’m guessing her publisher hoped. And Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman, had a huge hit with her first book, which her publisher didn’t pay a huge advance for.
Enjoy the piece, and if there are any blogs you’re reading that you love and haven’t yet found a home as a book or film or tv show, let us know!
Writing and food inspiration
As someone who represents a good number of cookbooks and loves food, I found this piece by Melissa Clark about food and writing to be sweet and enjoyable. She is passionate about food, and it shows in her prolific writing and recipes. Although I don’t know her personally, we have friends in common and I hear she’s a nice person. I hope someday I’ll have the opportunity to visit her home and have her cook for me. It sounds like a warm, inviting place to be.
Writing and drinking: Same rules apply
I found this piece from Sunday’s NYT book review enlightening and entertaining. The combination of booze and the written word goes way back and for good reason. Both offer pleasure, escapism, and the ability to keep one up late into the night. I’m especially fond of Keith Waterhouse’s advice that you should never drink while you’re writing, but it’s ok to write while you’re drinking. The similarities Nicholson hits on between drinking and writing are clever, and funny.
For anyone who likes to drink, read, write, or any combination of the three, you’ll enjoy this essay. Feel free to share your own stories of boozing and writing, or your favorites from history.
World’s cutest bookworm
It’s hot, and it’s almost August, so I couldn’t resist sharing this adorable picture posted on GalleyCat and taken by a mom who is taking these sweet photos as a maternity leave hobby. The bookworm is for all of us bibliophiles out there, but check out her blog—the pictures are so clever and so cute! And they beg the question—does this baby ever sleep anywhere but the floor?
Powerful parenting
A client of mine shared this link with me yesterday and I felt compelled to pass it on. We’ve been talking a lot about the recent cover story in New York magazine, I Love My Kids, I Hate My Life, which has generated a lot of controversy and ties in to what she’s talking about here. Everyone has their own stories to share, some more profound and painful than others. This one by writer and writing coach Jennifer Lawler moved me to tears, and I think if you read it through, you’ll see why. Since this is a book publishing blog, I’ll also say that she offers some good advice for writers, which she does, but that’s not really the point.
Thrills at ThrillerFest
I had a rare opportunity last week to get into the trenches with many aspiring writers, and a bunch of published ones, too. I thought our readers might enjoy hearing a little bit about it. There’s a great annual writer’s conference here in NYC called ThrillerFest, sponsored by ITW, an organization for thriller writers founded by the person many believe to be the creator of the modern day thriller (not to mention a client of DGLM!), David Morrell. It’s a pretty cool organization, and you can read more about its history on their website.
The conference offers several days of great author and agent panels that aspiring and published writers alike can learn from. It’s incredibly professional and well executed. It also is a wonderful opportunity for writers to meet not only other writers, but publishing professionals. One of my oldest and dearest clients, A.J. Hartley, was in town for the conference, and I offered to listen to pitches at AgentFest for 3 1/2 hours before meeting up with him for dinner and drinks. There were several dozen agents listening to pitches at AgentFest (having it in NY helps to draw lots of locals), a good number of bestselling authors (meeting R.L. Stine and Douglas Preston were person highlights), and a number of publishing executives, including my friend Jennifer Hershey from Random House, which sponsored the opening night cocktail party.
As one of the agents attending the pitch session, I can say the first hour and a half or two of pitches was enjoyable, even if the three minute pitches resembled a marathon speed dating session. The attendees were sincere, motivated, honest, sometimes nervous, but mostly excited to be there and grateful for the opportunity to meet with established agents. Writers and agents both were exhausted by the end, not to mention hungry, but most agreed it was a success. I now have a crowded in-box of queries from the conference, and I will be chipping away at them with fond memories of my short time at ThrillerFest!
Last Thursday, during ThrillerFest, there was also a great review in the Washington Post of a new collection of best-of thrillers (you know how much we love lists around here), compiled by Morrell and critic Hank Wagner with commentary from writers of the genre, including a piece by A.J. Hartley, whose day job is teaching Shakespeare at UNC Charlotte. It’s an impressive collection, worth checking out if you are interested in this kind of book.
It all got me thinking about writers, writing, and the community we all inhabit. We often find ourselves in our insular world of words, and it’s so important to get out and network within your writing community. There is such generosity and support available to aspiring writers. Even if you don’t write thrillers and can’t afford to attend a fancy New York writer’s conference, there are still a myriad of ways to reach out and connect with others who love what you love — local libraries, book clubs, bookstores all offer camaraderie and a place to surround yourself with a positive energy and renewed enthusiasm for your work that you can’t get from writing alone. I think it’s rejuvenating and inspiring to step outside the office, or get away from the computer for a blessed few days, or even a few hours, to do a different sort of work that’s unique, fun, and enlightening. When you head back to your desk, I promise you will come at it from a fresh perspective, and maybe the answers to that writer’s block you were experiencing, or that character whose fate you couldn’t figure out (or in my case that digital contract language we’ve been trying to sort out), will be waiting for you upon your return. I hope so.
Best of the year list, in June!
We’re always eyeing lists around town around the holidays to see various picks for the best books of the year. Now Amazon has come up with a way to trump the competition by coming up with a best-of list just halfway through the year. It’s kind of nice for readers to have a credible resource to go to without having to wait until the holidays. It’s an eclectic list that covers a lot of ground. There’s definitely something here for a varied set of interests. The nonfiction book I’ve been wanting to read for a few months now is the Rebecca Skloot, which has been a big critical and commercial success. Do any of our readers have other ideas for great books from 2010 that aren’t on this list? We’d love to hear about them.