Yesterday, one of my clients asked me if I still enjoyed reading for pleasure because I review so many flawed manuscripts.  I answered that, indeed, I am able to put my “agent’s hat” aside when reading for my own enjoyment (other than, of course, to wish that the book I am loving had been one I had represented).  The problem is that I have so little time to choose what I read and so many books to choose from.

So, I am very eager to have your suggestions.  Not only would I like to know the titles and authors of the books you single out, but also why you think they are great reads.

I very much look forward to hearing from you.

In fact, I find book ideas everywhere especially in the obituaries which are often filled with rich and colorful material (one of my clients is publishing a book in June which began many years ago when I read one of these pieces).

I am always intrigued about where writers get their book ideas.  With nonfiction, many times the author explains this in their book’s preface or introduction.  Novelists on the other hand rarely explain where their ideas come from and so I am wondering, those of you who write fiction, what inspires you to write the stories you write.

Why were this man and his publishing company, one of the last independent companies in our business, so successful?  Because time and again he stepped out of the box in his book packaging and marketing decisions.  His willingness to do the untraditional and unexpected was what made him and Workman Publishing so incredibly successful.

We all, I think, can learn a lesson from Peter Workman.  I see it in the book ideas many of my clients present to me.  I see it in the new arena of indie book publishing, which is so exciting.  I see it in publishers’ new willingness to be creative in their pricing and promotional ideas.  Most importantly, I see it in publishers and authors being more willing to work together to publish great books successfully.

We will miss Peter Workman very much.  But I believe we can pay a great tribute to him by studying his many and varied creative ideas and implementing versions of them as we step out of our boxes and conduct and grow our business.

This got me thinking about the power of networking in our business.  Over the years, publishers have come to me for recommendations on people they should interview for jobs and I have not hesitated to recommend those who I think are qualified and appropriate.  And, of course, as an agent, it is networking that gets me to the right editors and publishers for my projects.

Historically, I haven’t seen a lot of networking  among the various segments of the writing community.  (Sure there are cliques – but these are small and not always effective.) That, however, seems to have changed now, and I think this change is a very positive one.  Over the last year or two, a number of my newer clients have recommended me to their friends and colleagues and everyone has benefitted from this.  By networking, these writers are learning more about their craft and about the business and I am learning more about new talent.

In fact, I think networking is absolutely essential in this crowded and very competitive marketplace. I would love to hear about your own networking experiences.

That discussion got me to thinking about ideas and where they come from—in particular the ideas that form the basis of novels.  I know that many first time novelists take their ideas from their own lives and experiences and that is totally natural.  Our longtime client, Gus Lee based both CHINA BOY and HONOR AND DUTY on his life, for instance.  But after that, what happens?

Some, I know, turn nonfiction stories into fiction—we see this especially with television series  like Law and Order; some use the events of history as the basis of their novels. Another of our clients, Mary Doria Russell, has based her last novels on Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp. And in his new novel, MURDER AS A FINE ART, our bestselling author David Morrell goes back to the 18oos and the works of notorious opium eater Thomas De Quincey  to create his story.

And so I thought I would ask you writers who I hope are reading this blog where your ideas come from, your own or other peoples’ lives?  I look forward to reading your responses.

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”?

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.

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.

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.

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.