A new twist: Perseus to offer self-publilshed book production, if you work through agent.

While there are many ebook production services, quite affordable to independent authors, the Bookseller now reports:

US independent publisher Perseus Books Group has launched a distribution and marketing service for authors wanting to self-publish their own e-books, offering a 70% royalty rate to the author.
Called Argo Navis Author Services, it will be offered to authors represented by agencies that have signed an agreement with Perseus, with Janklow & Nesbit Associates the first to have done so.

More details at original post
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/perseus-launches-self-publishing-e-book-service.html

Publishing and Rejection

Writer's Chronicle has a long interview this month with Janet Burroway that benefits all of us.

One thing in particular resonates with me now, because two of my clients received rejections from agents today.

Burroway discusses the difficulties of getting published in recent years, and has this to say:

"The agent is now less an advocate than a buffer between the publisher and the writer's unrealistic expectations...  Mergers, takeovers, and the disappearance of companies have become commonplace."

So publishers squeeze editors, who squeeze agents, and sadly they put the squeeze on the writers. High hopes are dashed, because only those with a book that will be the road to success for the agent, editor and publisher will see the light.

That's bad news but points again and again to the need for platform-building and doing good agent research.

How to get an agent to keep reading...

Writer's Digest had loads of free e-newsletters, and they often focus on a productive strategy to help you get ahead. Here for example are the seven reasons agents stop reading. You can see the full article here.


1. Generic beginnings
2. Slow beginnings
3. Trying too hard
4. TMI (Too Much Information)
5. Clichés
6. Loss of Focus
7. Unrealistic internal narrative

Now that you know what makes them stop reading, rework your proposal to improve your odds of success.

Hunting for an agent? Three good links...

I'm enjoying an agent panel this morning at the Univ. Wisconsin Milwaukee Spring Writer's Festival. Here are links to the three recommended sites for those seeking an agent:

AgentQuery
Association of Author's Representatives
AuthorAdvance.com

Agent's role: Or a roll of the dice?

Here are a few imiportant excerpts from a Wall St. Journal article today entitled: The Death of the Slush Pile

These excerpts point out the critical value of author marketing. That's why one-third of Release Your Writing covers the marketing strategies authors need, to keep their book alive, and why I started the Pajama Marketing blog as well. Keep visiting for ideas, and keep your marketing active. Look how critical it is today: (emphasis mine)

excerpts from The Death of The Slush Pile, WSJ

Even in the Web era, getting in the door is tougher than ever
• Don't be a barista waiting for someone to stumble upon your genius. "Our editors travel, they get around. They look at writer's conferences, at MFA programs. They look at magazine articles and at blogs. That's what editors do, they sniff things out from so many different sources." —Carol Schneider, Random House Publishing Group

• Contests! "I'm always wary to recommend to writers that they go to competitions too much because there are fees and they can end up spending a lot of money. But the ones that do get industry attention are really fantastic opportunities to network and to make important relationships." —Hannah Minghella, president of production, Sony Animation Studios, formerly in development at Miramax

A primary aim of the slush pile used to be to discover unpublished voices. But today, writing talent isn't necessarily enough. It helps to have a big-media affiliation, or be effective on TV. "We are being more selective in taking on clients because the publishers are demanding much more from the authors than ever before," says Laurence J. Kirshbaum, former CEO of Time Warner Book Group and now an agent. "From a publisher's standpoint, the marketing considerations, especially on non-fiction, now often outweigh the editorial ones."

In 2008. HarperCollins launched Authonomy.com, a Web slush pile. Writers can upload their manuscripts, readers vote for their favorites, and HarperCollins editors read the five highest-rated manuscripts each month. About 10,000 manuscripts have been loaded so far and HarperCollins has bought four.

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Agent reports success with eBay auction

For those following the July 5th post "Agent auctions her service on eBay..." you'll be glad to know the agent visited our blog and posted of her success with this innovative way to receive submissions.

Click here to read my original July 5th post, and Irene's comments,
and then click here to visit her web site. She is continuing to accept manuscripts through the auction method each month.

If you have a manuscript ready for critique, don't miss the opportunity for feedback. All proceeds support her fund-raising efforts for the Foundation Fighting Blindness and the Deafness Research Foundation.

A win-win-win ...

Let us know of your success.

Agent auctions her service on EBay? (Yes, for charity.)

This news item comes from Karen Dionne at Backspace.org:

Ms. Irene Goodman, president of the Irene Goodman Literary Agency, will auction a single spaced, half-page critique for 25 partial manuscripts (approximately 50 pages and a synopsis). This will be done on Ebay from Dec. 1 to Dec. 15, 2009. The 25 highest bidders will win. The critiques will all be done personally by Ms. Goodman. They will not be farmed out. Ms. Goodman will email the completed critiques to each of the authors within one month after the auction closing date. ... All starting bids must be $100 or more.

All proceeds will go directly into one of two foundations: the Foundation Fighting Blindness and the Deafness Research Foundation. Both foundations are well established, and the research in each area is incredibly promising. If the necessary funds are obtained to continue research, effective treatments can be expected in the next several years.

Another good agent research site

After learning one of my agent-finding recommendations was charging about $12/month for a subscription, I hunted around for an alternative.

I'm happy to recommend LitMatch (what a great name!). With free registration, you can:

* Track the queries, proposals and manuscripts you send to literary agents and view your entire submission history at a glance.

* Store information for multiple titles and track your submissions for each one independently.

* Use our matching search to find the agents who will be most receptive to your work.

* Save literary agents and agencies to your Hotlist for future reference.

If you're seeking representation for an upcoming book, sign up now at LitMatch.