Category Archives: Lauren

June 14, 2013   Lauren   fun, Lauren, reading  
5

Kids these days

Happy Friday, everyone!  As I sought a topic on which to write today, I’m pleased to see the fine people of Renaissance Learning have done a study on the reading habits of kids over the years and the fine people of GalleyCat reported on it.  I’m looking forward to checking out the study in more depth, but from the infographic it’s interesting to compare the books mentioned to those I read.  I read the high school Top 3 from 1907 and 1964, but interestingly, I was only assigned one of the 2012 books, and I’ve never even heard of two of the 1923 titles, nor read the third.  Of the most read titles by grade at bottom, I apparently missed the most common titles of 2nd to 8th grades, but the other 3 are among my favorite books of all time.  From the summary, I’m very pleased to see the dreadful Silas Marner appears to have fallen from favor in the last decade.  Did you know Silas Marner was a linen weaver in Raveloe who wove linen near a stone pit?  I do, even though it’s been 15 or so years since I read it, because there is a chapter early on that is so repetitive that the information is permanently burned into my brain.  Man, I hated that book.

I’m very interested in the study’s finding that text complexity has reduced over the years.  It makes me wonder if it’s deliberate selection of less complex books or if books themselves are evolving in that direction.  The latter makes a sort of sense to me, if only because our vernacular does seem to get increasingly informal which has to impact the style in which books are written, even if they’re aiming for a high literary vocabulary.  If the bar is set at Oh Em Gee, how high do you really need to aim to sound lofty?  Linguistic progress seems to erode rules, but does it simultaneously create enough new ones to keep the vernacular as complicated as ever?  Is the level of our discourse actually changing on a linguistic level, or is this like all those other ways that we perceive change as negative even when it’s not?  If anyone has any thoughts or expertise on the matter, I’d be very interested to hear in the comments.

May 20, 2013   Jim   book club, children's books, Jim, Lauren, suggestions  
7

Eleanor & Park & Lauren & Jim

For anyone who was unaware, Lauren Abramo and I decided some weeks back to do our first ever online book club. We went with Rainbow Rowell’s delightful novel ELEANOR & PARK which, disappointingly, we both enjoyed. As such, no one was treated to watching two terribly opinionated agents facing off against each other.

 

For anyone who wants to see how the action went down, go to Twitter and check out #eandpdglm.

 

Here’s a confession: I’ve never taken part in a normal bookclub. We have one in the office where we all read different books and pitch them to each other, but that’s obviously different. With this one, though, I got to see what it was like to join with other people to chat about the same reading experience. Obviously I talk about books every day, but there was something so refreshing about doing it in a setting where nothing was at stake.

 

But as a newbie to the world of the traditional bookclub, I was a bit disappointed that no fights broke out and no names were called. I have to ask those of you who do this more regularly: are these events more fun when there’s someone to argue with? Or what about when a book is complicated and you really need to hash out some points?

 

And on a more selfish level, I’m curious—we know how many people were actively involved in our Twitter chats, but we don’t know how many people followed along later or what people thought about the format. So here’s a question: should we do it again? If so, should be keep it on Twitter? Do a different genre? Pick something more controversial? Add in a pie tossing at whoever makes the least popular comment?

 

Let us know! Inquiring minds, and all that…

May 17, 2013   Lauren   Lauren, marketing/publicity, reading, recommendations, selling, social networking, Twitter  
11

Why buy?

For all the time we spend talking about marketing and social media and discoverability, we don’t necessarily have much more than gut instinct to go on.  X works, Y doesn’t, prevailing wisdom says, but do we really even know?  The one thing we’re all confident of is that word of mouth is effective, probably so much more so than everything else.  But every once in a while, I like to stop and think about why I’ve chosen to read something.

The other day a client of mine got a not-yet-revealable blurb that made think, “Huh.  I think I’d actually buy a book with that blurb on it.”  Which underscores just how little they impact my choices.  I think I once bought a book because an intern recommended it to me and it had a blurb by an author I love, but blurbs alone don’t do it for me.  I still think they’re incredibly valuable for a million other reasons (the blurber might mention the book later, it helps to grab the attention of people along the chain between editorial and the customer, lends credibility, etc.).  But I don’t typically buy because of them.

I do buy books because of Twitter.  Usually it’s a critical mass question.  If everyone in publishing is reading something, I buy it (and eventually read it, though I’ll admit not always speedily).  Gone Girl; The Fault in Our Stars; Code Name Verity; and Where’d You Go, Bernadette? all made it to my house on the strength of the wisdom of the masses/fear of being left out.  Occasionally, one tweet reveals a book so perfect for me that I’ll rush out to get it, like My Beloved Brontosaurus, which I came across in a tweet from its editor Amanda Moon (@amsciam).  By title alone I knew it was for me.  My favorite dinosaur is still the Brontosaurus, and Pluto’s my favorite planet, and no lousy scientists with their knowledge are going to change that.  I not only bought it, I pre-ordered it (which I never do out of a combination of cheapness and impatience), and ordered one for a dino-obsessed friend’s upcoming birthday.

As someone who used to license first serial (periodical excerpt) rights for the agency, I always wondered how well magazine coverage translated to sales.  The trouble is the newspaper or magazine wants something that works in its own right.  But recently I read what was either an excerpt or an article referencing The Age of Edison, and I was really intrigued.  When I spotted the book at B&N the next day, I grabbed it.  Conveniently, it turned out to be my book club book for DGLM’s next book club meeting.

I do sometimes read the books that hit all the best of lists at year end, but I will admit that it’s an imperfect source for me.  It brings books to my attention, but I judge them with a critical eye before deciding whether to buy.  I’ll be reading Just Kids this weekend, which I kind of sort of thought about buying when everyone was talking it up, but never did till it became the selection for my book club.  Likewise, Beautiful Ruins abounded on the lists in December, but I didn’t read that till my book club decided I had to.

Incidentally, I adore the cover of Beautiful Ruins.  It called to me from everywhere.  But I resisted buying it because it didn’t sound like a book I’d like so much as it looked like a book I’d like.  So I’ll pick a book up for its cover, but it’s not a guarantee that I’ll actually take it home.  Until I had to, I just didn’t.  And for what it’s worth, I thought it was wonderful and well worth the read.

Word of mouth is really hit or miss for me.  It depends entirely on the mouth.  And there are recommendations I’ll take from someone and others I’ll disregard, if I think it’s clear the book doesn’t fall in the center of the Venn diagram of our tastes.  I have definitely at times chosen not to read something, based on who I know who loves it.

So I guess in the end I’m much more about critical mass than anything else.  Given enough reasons, I’ll pick something up, even if I’ve previously decided not to read it.  Why do you buy?  What works for you, and what decidedly doesn’t?

May 03, 2013   Lauren   chat, fun, Jim, Lauren, opinion, reading, Twitter, YA  
1

“She seemed to realize that she’d lost her right to knock.”

Were you with us on Twitter this past Tuesday, when Jim and I chatted with a bunch of folks about the first half of Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor & Park?  As promised, we want to take the conversation to the blog as well, for those who couldn’t make it.  If you want to read it without the SPOILERS you might find below, why not give it a read in the next two weeks, then come back and check out part one’s conversation here, and join us on May 14th at 6 p.m. EST on Twitter (#EandPdglm)?

I’d say the subject that most dominated our discussion was the 1980s setting.  Jim and I both felt that though we love how it plays out in the book, it might have given us some pause as agents considering the book in the slush pile: as Jim asked, “Do kids care about the 80s?”  Fortunately, we had some researchers in the chat to uncover the answer for us.  Anecdotal evidence from Susanna Donato (@SusannaDonato) and DGLM client Brian Bliss (@brainbliss) suggests that teens didn’t mind the choice, might even have been intrigued by it, but would not have cared about the music referenced, which is the source of much of the bond between the two characters.  I was perplexed when Bryan reported that his teen creative writing students wouldn’t have bothered to look up the bands on Park’s mixtapes, until I realized that I didn’t bother to look up the comics that take up an equal amount of the narrative, if not more.  Of course, I’ve heard of them, but it doesn’t mean I fully understand the context.  In the end, I don’t feel like I’m missing anything.

After all, that moment where Park first realizes Eleanor is reading his comics along with him and stops to let her catch up has plenty of impact no matter what.  That was one of Kellie Lovegrove (@k_love671)’s favorite parts of the book.  Other favorite moments in the first half included: the very end of the first half, which made Susanna’s heart race.  She also loved when Park asked his grandmother for batteries for his birthday so he could give them to Eleanor.  Jim swooned over “You look like a protagonist…You look like a person who wins in the end.”  And for me, the line referenced in the title of this blog entry, which I loved so much I ran across the room to get a post-it to flag it.

So if you couldn’t make it, tell me, what was YOUR favorite part?  And what did you think of the time period?  Do you have the same sense of dread about whatever Richie reveal is coming our way in the second half?

On May 14th at 6 p.m. EST, Jim (@JimMcCarthy528) and I (@LaurenAbramo) will reconvene at #EandPdglm to talk with everyone about the rest of the book.  If you haven’t gotten started yet, please jump on in!  It’s a pretty quick, short, wonderful read.  (Though Jim and I were rooting for a contrarian to come along and mix it up—are you that person?  Come tell us why!)  I can’t wait to find out how the rest of the book will unravel.

And in case you want to catch up so you can join us next time, here’s a handy dandy widget with all the good stuff to come out of our chat under the #EandPdglm hashtag:


 

 

April 19, 2013   Lauren   children's books, fun, Lauren, reading  
4

Back to the start

It’s hard to get away from the horror of the world this week, and our hearts go out to everyone much more immersed in it than we are.

For those of us in need of a distraction*, what’s more wholesome and good and right in the world than children’s books?  Nothing, I tell you.  So PW’s PWxyz blog has some for you, namely the books that made their staff big enough readers to become the kind of people who work at PW.  Not always children’s books, of course, but a few of those are among my childhood favorites as well.  Rachel Deahl’s reminiscence about The Bridge to Terabithia really strikes a chord with me, though I’m not sure I disliked it so much.  I knew what was going to happen and was determined not to care.  And then I did.  Boy, how I did.

For me, I’m not sure I can totally pinpoint a book.  Certainly the Laura Ingalls Wilder books were incredibly important to me growing up, as I’ve written about before.  If I try to trace it back to the first book I was passionate about, I’d say it would have to be something from the Cam Jansen series.  Do you remember Cam?  She had a photographic memory (hence her name), and she solved mysteries by puzzling together the clues hidden in her brain.  She was brilliant and feisty and dedicated and maybe a bit of a show off.

I like to think she’s still a role model for me today, though my memory isn’t quite photographic and I’ve never had to locate missing monkeys.

So what did it for you?  Was it a children’s book or something you encountered later in life?  When did you give yourself up to the reading gods and never turn back?

*Did that not work?  Try this.

P.S. Do you know about the group read Jim and I are doing?  Are you already reading Eleanor & Park?  We can’t wait to discuss with you.

April 08, 2013   Jim   book club, Jim, Lauren, Uncategorized, writing, YA  
3

The Abramo/McCarthy book reading bonanza

Looks like Lauren and I (and hopefully you!) will be reading ELEANOR & PARK by Rainbow Rowell for our first foray into an online book discussion.

We have lots of ideas that we’re going to try out with this. Keep eyes on this page and on both of our Twitter feeds for updates.

Throughout the process, we’ll have Twitter chats and longer form blog discussions, and we want you to be involved.

If there’s one thing Lauren and I have learned over the several years we’ve worked together, it’s that neither of us has any shortage of opinions, so with any luck this will be a lively discussion.

So what’s next on the docket? Read the first half of the book! Our first Twitter chat with be at 6:00 Eastern on April 30, and the first big blog discussion will be on Friday, May 3.

Hope to see you all there!

 

 

UPDATE: Join us tonight, Tuesday, 4/30, at 6 p.m. to discuss the first half of ELEANOR & PARK!  Just follow the hashtag #eandpdglm on Twitter.

April 05, 2013   Lauren   fun, Jim, Lauren, reading  
13

Calling all readers!

One of the things that I love most about publishing is the chance to discuss books with other people who’ve read them, which is actually something I get paid to do.  It’s all well and good to recommend books to people or even complain about them, but celebrating or debating them with people who’ve actually read them is one of my favorite pastimes.

To that end, Jim and I have a mission for you:  let’s all pick a book, read it at the same time, and discuss it together.  We’ve selected four options, and now you can vote for which one we should all read.  We’ll set up a schedule so we can have a few discussions along the way, with the aim that we’ll finish reading by end of May.

So which should it be?  Place your vote in the comments—one book per commenter, please.

 

Herman Koch’s The Dinner?

Mary Roach’s Gulp?

Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor & Park?

Maria Semple’s Where’d You Go, Bernadette??

 

On Monday, Jim will let you know who the winner is and the how/when/where of discussing.  So get to voting!

P.S. Three cheers for these authors who all have websites that are easy to find by searching their names, navigate, and link to the book you want!  Koch’s is actually here, but since his website is (understandably) in Dutch, I linked to RH.

 

UPDATE: Thanks for the votes, folks!  Eleanor & Park was the victor.  We hope you’ll all join us!  Details here: http://www.dystel.com/2013/04/the-abramomccarthy-book-reading-bonanza/

UPDATE 2: Join us tonight, Tuesday, 4/30, at 6 p.m. to discuss the first half of ELEANOR & PARK!  Just follow the hashtag #eandpdglm on Twitter.

March 22, 2013   Lauren   authors, celebrity, fun, Lauren, Twitter  
3

Authors in real life.

On the way home yesterday, I saw a man near the subway who looked oddly familiar.  I found myself trying to figure out what TV show or movie I knew him from or if he’d dated someone famous.  After a while I finally got it:  he’s someone I recognize from his profile picture on Twitter.

This made me think of how many more authors would be recognizable now than they ever have been before.  Thanks to social media, I know what plenty of authors I’ve never met look like, even many whose books I haven’t read.  Sure, some books have author photos in them, but not all, and you don’t have to be Thomas Pynchon to be fairly unknown as a person to your biggest fans.

When I worked at Barnes & Noble in college, I loved when celebrities came into the store for the fun of seeing them, sure, but I also loved seeing other people see them.  Among my favorite experiences is the day a girl nearly fainted at the sight of David Lascher (who you may recall as Sabrina the Teenage Witch’s boyfriend, or, if you are a truly awesome person of a certain age, as Ted from Hey Dude).  She was on vacation with her family, and you could just tell that it was everything she ever dreamed would be possible on her trip to New York City.  He was lovely and gracious about it, and her face after he continued on his way was absolute bliss.

So is that our world now?  I’ve definitely seen the enthusiastic “OH EM GEE, [insert author here] retweeted me!!!!” messages (you can go ahead and mentally add the appropriate emoticons), and you just need to click onto an author page on Facebook to see how engaged people are with authors as celebrities.  Does that bleed over into the real world yet?  Have you ever seen one of your favorite authors in an unexpected place (so not at a signing or conference)?  If so, did you say hi?  And authors, have you been approached in the grocery store?  Would you want to be?

In a happy coincidence, there’s a Sporcle photo quiz of novelists, poets, and playwrights.  Hey, it’s Friday, give it a go and let us know how you do.

January 25, 2013   Lauren   Lauren, reading  
5

Phases

A conversation Jim and I were having got me thinking about literary phases: he mentioned how much nonfiction he’d been reading lately, and it made me think how little nonfiction I’ve been reading lately.  Last year, my personal reading was all about YA—sure, I read other things, but the list was disproportionately skewed toward realistic fiction for teens.  On thinking about this, I’ve realized that I don’t so much have broad personal reading interests, but rotating interests.  Thinking back, in college I read every chick lit book there was till I came across one I couldn’t finish, and then I started in on literary Brit lit of the 80s and 90s.  But when I went one Amis novel too far, I switched off to lengthy magazine articles and didn’t pick up a book till I came across something impenetrable there.  This is apparently my reading personality, and it’s not unlike the way I consume music, television, and movies.  (I have a terrible habit of first seeing an actor whose work I enjoy and then watching their entire IMDB page in a short span of time, till I can’t stand to see their face.  Let me tell you, there are precious few actors whose output is always worth seeing.)  And it’s likewise true of genres, but there’s no call for turning my back (temporarily) every time I’m disappointed.  Intellectually I know that my love or hate for one book has no bearing on its competitor, but apparently when it comes to something as ethereal as what I’m in the mood for, an exciting novel or dreary tome dictates what will come next.  Now that I realize this, I wonder if I can counterprogram it—try to let that love spill and enthusiasm over into a new genre, or push forward in one in which I’m under-read despite what came before.

So I think I need to get some more narrative nonfiction on my to do read pile, and maybe I should spice things up with a thriller or two.  Any suggestions?

December 14, 2012   Lauren   holidays, Lauren, subsidiary rights, what we're looking for  
3

All I Want for Christmas

In honor of the holidays, I thought I’d share with you my Christmas wish list:

  • A universal territory schedule: If you have a book deal in English, you might’ve seen a long list of countries in the back of your contract, often labeled Schedule A.  That’s the territory schedule, my nemesis.  You see, the world gets carved up into blocks by the publishers buying rights, so there are a variety of territories you can sell, most often World (which includes translation rights as well), World English, US/Canada, or UK & Commonwealth.  Anything excluded from that is either reserved to the author, licensed exclusively to a second publisher, or part of the Open Market, which is primarily the world’s non-English-speaking countries, where US and UK publishers are typically free to distribute competing editions.  Sounds simple enough, right?

Except that apparently we can’t just agree that when we said UK & Commonwealth, we meant, you know, UK & Commonwealth.  There are the most common exceptions, like Commonwealth Canada going on over to the US side and non-Commonwealth Ireland getting grouped in on the UK side, for proximity reasons.  And then there are the many inane fights I have every year about whether Malaysia is Open Market or Commonwealth.  Hey, guess what debate is easily settled by the Commonwealth of Nations website?  (Fortunately we’re not believers in granting exclusive Europe to UK publishers, because otherwise I’d have to add “Israel is not in Europe” to my list of regular grievances.  This isn’t Eurovision or UEFA, my friends.)  And yet, we must argue these things all the time.  If you want to fight with me about whether or not you should get to sell books in Tristan da Cunha, I need you to fly me there and show me your distribution chain.  I will then contemplate your argument for several days on the beach and get back to you when I’ve decided.  Alternatively, I’d accept a Universal Schedule A that all of us in publishing agree to now, so we can stop having this conversation ad nauseam.  Then anyone who wants to pretend South Africa’s not a Commonwealth country or Iran is will have to say so, up front, when making their offer.

  •  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Popular science and interdisciplinary nonfiction.
  •  Mandatory naptime.  Look, I work in foreign rights, and it’s really important for me to be in tune with cultural differences.  So I’m going to start taking siestas.  I really think it’s going to do amazing things for our list in Spain.
  •  A robot that can be programmed to clear up my office clutter to my exact specifications each night when I leave, because I am very very particular, very very busy, and very very sick of tripping over the books that I knock on the ground each day.
  •  A wall-sized magnetic world map and teensy tiny book cover magnets so that when I sell a book, I can put it in the appropriate country, because how cool would that be?
  •  Peace on Earth, good will towards men.
  •  My two front teeth*
  •  You**

 

*Worst Christmas song ever?

**Best Christmas song ever.

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