publishing – Page 7

Tag Archives: publishing

Debut Novel Wins Literary Prize

Posted on 21 Jun 10 by Editor

It just goes to show, not everything in publishing goes to the already published and already connected!

Dutch author Gerbrand Bakker has won the 2010 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award for his debut novel The Twin, beating out well-known, well-published, and (other) award-winning authors Marilynne Robinson and Joseph O’Neill. Hearken ye first-time and aspiring authors!

I am particularly intrigued by The Twin, as twins and doubles are recurring themes in The Observer Tales. Although I was considering a short-story reading list for the summer, I may have to give this novel a look.

Category: Blogroll | Tags: fiction, gerbrand bakker, IMPAC Dublin Award, joseph o'neill, marilynne robinson, publishing, the twin, writing

Writer Links – Summer Reading, Female Heroes, and Fire Breathing

Posted on 21 Jun 10 by Editor

First, I want to wish Brittany Landgrebe get well soon!

Well, it is finally summertime! Do you have your summer reading list ready? Yeah, me neither. I have been considering re-reading The Lord of the Rings, and I do have a couple of non-fiction books from a used bookstore stacked up and awaiting my attention. But, no solid plans.

But, how about this idea: instead of committing to a few buzz-worthy novels, we could instead focus on reading a lot of short stories in magazines. Anyone up for this challenge?

And now, on to the links! Continue reading →

Category: Blogroll | Tags: becky levine, bethany wiggins, book clubs, brittany landgrebe, cassandra jade, jade smith, juliette wade, literary fiction, lord of the rings, publishing, summer reading, suzannah windsor freeman, talk to youniverse, write it sideways, writing

This Story Has Everything, About A Story That Has Nothing

Posted on 16 Jun 10 by Editor

I have to comment on a recent story in the Huffington Post by Real Time With Bill Maher writer Chris Kelly about the novel recently published with Glenn Beck‘s name on. It has everything a lit industry blogger could want:

Self-publishing. Derivative plot-lines. The influence of celebrity on sales. The question of whether literary merits — or other, less culturally healthy influences — drive publishers. Continue reading →

Category: Blogroll | Tags: chris kelly, circumference of darkness, glenn beck, huffington post, jack henderson, publishing, real time with bill maher, the overton window

Publishing Links – Medieval Militaries, Online Bookselling, and Writing Sex

Posted on 16 Jun 10 by Editor

A little history/archaeology news before we move on to the publishing links. A dig in Coventry has uncovered a 13th Century copper badge displaying the three lions of the English Coat of Arms.

This is particularly intriguing to me, as the intertwined history of badges and heraldic symbols (particularly animals) is central to the Observer Tales.

Now, on to the links! Continue reading →

Lit Agent Links – Query Letters, Rejection Letters, and Vampires (More or Less)

Posted on 15 Jun 10 by Editor

Yesterday, my home town paper The Washington Post published a neat list of the “Five Buzziest Summer Beach Reads,” including post-apocalyptic vampires, a post-vampire career apocalypse, a blast-from-the-past sequel, and an ape-girl. How can you pass that up?

And now, on to stuff recently blogged upon by literary agents: Continue reading →

Category: Blogroll | Tags: BookEnds LLC, Dystel & Goderich, Janet Reid, literary agents, nathan bransford, publishing, query letters, sears-roebuck, washington post, writing, wylie-merrick

Writer Links – Characters, Characters, and More Characters

Posted on 14 Jun 10 by Editor

Oh, Monday… with your false enthusiasm and wearisome clichés of toil resumed.

Prescription: coffee, with a healthy shot of cynicism and defiance!

The writer links this week are chock full of advice on characters and a writer’s personal approach to writing. On to the links! Continue reading →

Category: Blogroll, Uncategorized | Tags: authors, becky levine, cassandra jade, fiction, juliette wade, lev grossman, lydia sharp, publishing, seattle post intelligencer, talk to youniverse, the magicians, the sharp angle, writing

Lit Agent Links – Fewer Literary Feuds and Fewer Vampires?

Posted on 09 Jun 10 by Editor

First link of the day comes from Jessica at BookEnds. Following up on a fantastic post by Nathan Bransford about the importance of keeping a “series bible” to keep track of the little details in your fictional world, Jessica explains the difference between a series bible and a style sheet, and why an author should seriously consider developing a style sheet before his or her work goes under the editor’s knife.

I am using that as my intro today because Jessica’s idea hadn’t even occurred to me, even though I do maintain a rough series bible for the Observer Tales. (The releasable stuff, I rework into Observer’s Gloss entries.) Now I have another project!

On to the rest of the links: Continue reading →

Category: Blogroll | Tags: BookEnds LLC, Dystel & Goderich, Janet Reid, Kristin Nelson, literary agent, literary feud, nathan bransford, publishing, vampires, writing

Writer Links – Vampires, Pirates, and Novel Titles

Posted on 08 Jun 10 by Editor

This week I have begun a variety of summer renewal projects. I have potted 10 new plants in my new place, and have begun a photo catalog of my bookshelves. (I may post these to the blog, if encouraged.)

I have also begun a targeted revision of The Ligan of the Disomus, and a related short story, The Woman Who Wouldn’t Die. Although I do not subscribe to the common wisdom that a work of art is “never finished, merely abandoned,” I am glad that Ligan had not been picked up for publication before I had a chance to sketch out and complete a few short stories in the Observer’s world, and thus work out some larger-scale plot and character development decisions.

But, enough about my writerly life! On to the links from other writers: Continue reading →

Category: Blogroll | Tags: anne rice, becky levine, bookfox, brittany landgrebe, dawn simon, dying light, fiction, john fox, juliette wade, les edgerton, novella, novels, pirates, plotting and scheming, Poetry, publishing, scott meek, talk to youniverse, twilight, vampires, writing

Lit Quotes – The Bookbinder's Family

Posted on 07 Jun 10 by Editor

From The Reshaping of Everyday Life : 1790-1840 (1988) by Jack Larkin:

Just after Chloe Peck was married in Rochester, New York, in 1820, she wrote to her sister of “our family, which consists of 7 persons.” Living and eating together in the Pecks’ establishment were the newly wedded couple and five unrelated men and boys—the journeymen and apprentices of Everard Peck’s bookbinding shop.

Today “family” denotes people bound together by marriage and kinship … but early-nineteenth-century Americans almost invariably echoed Chloe Peck in describing their domestic groups as “families,” suggesting their sense of the household’s functional unity … [Everard] Peck a few years later wrote of his strong sense of responsibility for “the welfare of those connected with us, and the harmony and good order of our family.”

Afterthought: I whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the tenor and common details of early U.S. history.

Category: Quotes | Tags: american history, bookbinding, books, family, jack larkin, new york, publishing, rochester, the reshaping of everyday life, writing

Link Bonus – The Importance of the First Reader

Posted on 03 Jun 10 by Editor

As it occasionally happens, I discovered a great piece of advice not on my usual rounds of favorite writer, agent, and pub-pro blogs. Today’s iteration of this phenomenon is from Andreas Kluth, a correspondent for The Economist. His site, The Hannibal Blog, is ostensibly about composing a book, so I guess this is technically a writer link.

Pazoom — writer-link icon activated! (Hope Andreas doesn’t mind being represented by Sappho.)

Anyway, to the link itself. Invoking a few historical examples along the way, Kluth stresses the importance of having a good First Reader. Every aspiring author should find this quite interesting. Enjoy!

Category: Blogroll | Tags: alexander hamilton, andreas kluth, first reader, george washington, hannibal, moliere, publishing, sappho, the economist, writing