Monday, July 13, 2009

Free as a (Jail) Bird:
Why crime and genre conventions should be free for anyone under 18

When I was growing up, my family lived just a few blocks from the renowned Black Orchid bookstore. My father was a voracious crime fiction reader, and every few weeks he would come home with a bag full of books recommended by Bonnie and Joe. Once he was finished, he would pass them along to me, and I would dive right in. This is where I developed my love of the genre, became fascinated with many of my idols, and became a full-fledged lover of crime writing.

I would have loved to have been able to go to a conference to meet many of these men and women who created the characters and stories I so dearly loved. And I was far the only kid my age who would have done the same. I would have loved to go to a ThrillerFest. Bouchercon. Sleuthfest. Left Coast Crime. If I was a teenager today, sadly it would not even be a possibility. And for thousands of kids who love crime fiction, they're left on the outside looking in.

Between hotel, airfare, conference registration and other incidentals, crime conferences are going to run you upwards of $1,000. Few people have that kind of disposable income, and even fewer young people. And so as much as I love being at book conferences, I can't help but notice that the average age of the attendees tends to veer to the older side. This is not because only older readers read crime fiction, it's because they're the ones who can afford to actually meet their favorites writers while attending informative panels. I think this needs to change immediately.

Young readers are the future. They're our future. I guarantee if we make an effort to attract middle school and high school kids to our conferences, they'd be reading our books for decades. They would spread the world among their friends. Maybe they would recommend a George Pelecanos or Laura Lippman book to their friends along with Stephenie Meyer. Which is why I propose that anybody under the age of 18 should be granted free registration to book conferences.

I understand that there are costs involved with putting on a book conference, and many of those costs are defrayed by the registration fee. But I'd be shocked if you couldn't find a willing publisher (or author) who was willing to cover the costs.

Crime fiction needs to replenish its ranks. Promoting literacy should not only be in the hands of a few authors who have the resources to fund organizations and donate large sums of money. There are thousands, if not millions of eager readers out there who would lose their minds if given the chance to meet Lee Child, Sandra Brown, David Baldacci, Brad Meltzer, James Patterson and Clive Cussler. These readers would be thrilled to meet their favorite writers, and eager to find new authors to devour. We have simply priced these readers out. If we don't make a concerted effort to bring younger readers into the fold, we'll lose them altogether. We need to go out of our way to attract young readers to our festivals.

Let me repeat that: we need to go out of our way to attract young readers to our festivals.

Members of International Thriller Writers have sold over a billion books. Mystery Writers of America is one of the oldest and most prestigious writer organizations in the world. RWA and RT have some of the most fun and innovative conventions in the world. Sometimes these facts are lost on us. They are not lost on young readers.

Let anybody under 18 register free for our conferences. Let's make an effort to open up our worlds to them. And I guarantee you, many of them will never, ever want to leave.

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posted by Jason Pinter at 8:58 AM 12 Comments




Wednesday, May 27, 2009

My Own Personal BEA

With Book Expo America right around the corner, I thought I'd get in the spirit and have my own little BEA right here. These are the books that are showcased in my booth, the ones I can't wait to read. Some may be obvious--some less so. But if you love to read do yourself a favor and check these out.

When I was a kid, I grew up on three authors: Terry Brooks, Brian Jacques and Stephen King. While away at summer camp, I would stay up until ungodly hours of the night plowing through 1,000 page epics like "The Stand" and "It." To say these were some of my favorite childhood moments is an understatement. While King has always has a propensity to write long books, it's been some time since we've been granted a thousand page doorstopper of a novel. For some reason, I have the most trouble with King's books that top out around 600 pages. They seem not quite long enough to be stretched up to epic length, but not quite short enough to have the locomotive velocity of "Carrie" and "Cujo." I haven't loved King's recent books ("Cell" was the last one that felt like real, old-school King), but when I heard 'thousand page book about a town in Maine suddenly and inexplicably encased within a dome' my ears perked up. That sounded, well, cool. So I'll happily shell out my $35 and strap on a weightlifting belt to give my back support while I churn through this monstrous bad boy. Hopefully it'll make me feel like a kid again. Plus the book comes out on my birthday. This is a good sign. (November 10th, Scribner)

Guillermo del Toro has firmly established himself as one of the most visionary pop directors of his generation. Somewhere between Steven Spielberg and Sam Raimi, he has created some of the most incredible and enchanting characters and worlds that have come along in some time. Don't believe me? Just watch "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army," which is inhabited by some of the most awesome and colorful monsters and weirdos since the Mos Eisley Cantina scene in "Star Wars." Not to mention del Toro is currently at work on adapting J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" and you get a sense of the guy's vision and clout. So combine this with the strong writing of Chuck Hogan, throw in a vampire virus threatening to wipe out New York (shades of King's "The Stand"), and you should have one of the summer's most fun reads. The advance buzz for this book is quite good, showing that it just may live up to the hype surrounding del Toro's involvement. (June 2nd, Morrow)

Let me be frank. I hate celebrity tell-alls. Especially celebrity tell-alls by washed-up, D-list actors and reality show stars who sell out their friends, their family and their dignity for the chance to stretch their fifteen minutes just a little further. But I'll make an exception for Dustin "Screech" Diamond. Like many people of my generation, "Saved by the Bell" was pretty much the most important show of my lifetime. I spent enough hours watching the exploits of Zach, Slater, Screech, Kelly, Jesse and Lisa to quality for Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours corollary (I shudder to think how many geniuses were ruined by this show). I don't know what it was, but this show transfixed me. You couldn't relate to the plots (an oil field is discovered under the school's football field, the crew starts a band called, wait for it, "Zack Attack"), everyone in the cast had hair that looked like Vidal Sassoon lived on the set, and only at Bayside High in the 90's could a male character call a female classmate "Mama" without being slapped with a harassment suit. It didn't matter. I loved this show, and plan to analyze Screech's tell-all like it was the freaking Zapruder film. So Diamond, who's been a tabloid prince the last few years with a sex tape and various reality show gigs, promises to spill the dirt on his years at Bayside (Screech does deserve a better cover. This thing looks like a monkey decided to play around with Photoshop). I don't know about you, but I can't wait to find out just what really happened with Screech, Lisa, and that metal detector at Stacy Carosi's summer resort... (September 29th, Gotham Books)


Few sportswriters are more polarizing than Bill Simmons. He wears his Boston heart on his sleeve, isn't afraid to call out anybody at any time, has seriously campaigned not once but twice for NBA GM jobs, and he writes just about the funniest sports columns you've ever read. His first book, NOW I CAN DIE IN PEACE, was an appetizer for Simmon's fans--tasty, but we wanted the main course. That book was a collection of previously published columns (with more footnotes than a David Foster Wallace novel), a love letter to the 2004 Red Sox who reversed 86 years of the franchise's futility which Simmons chronicled in painstaking detail. In addition to his humor and love for pop culture (Simmons never met a 90210 reference he didn't like), he writes some of the most insightful and poignant sports stories that aren't afraid to slaughter sacred cows in search of the truth. Add in a healthy ego that seems to compel him to work his butt off, and this book, clocking in at a whopping 720 pages, will no doubt have NBA fans buzzing by the time the 2009-2010 season begins. Though at 720 pages, this book will require many, um, trips to a certain room--if you're a Simmons fan you know what I mean. (October 27th, ESPN/Ballantine)


I thought OFFICER DOWN was one of the best debut novels I've ever read, and after PROBABLE CAUSE and the brilliant PERSON OF INTEREST (how that was not nominated for an Edgar is beyond me) Schwegel has quickly joined my "day of release purchase" club. Many crime authors write interesting plots. Schwegel writes interesting plots with some of the most human and flawed characters ever to hit the genre. Anyone can hold a gun. Anyone can investigate a crime. Schwegel proves that the best crime novels are the ones where you care about the people involved. Schwegel is a combination of Ed McBain, James Lee Burke and Harlan Coben: tough police procedurals with flawless writing populated by characters who could live right next door to you. I'm still waiting for another Samantha "Smack" Mack book, but in the meantime I'll be happy to devour this offering. And can anyone explain to me why PERSON OF INTEREST didn't rack up every award nomination possible? Anyone? I thought so. (July 7th, St. Martin's Minotaur)

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posted by Jason Pinter at 8:37 AM 4 Comments




Thursday, May 21, 2009

Brainstorming Meeting

When I was an editor, we would have semi-regular gatherings called "Brainstorming Meetings." In these meetings--attended by editors and publicity folks--we would toss around ideas that we think would make good books. They would always include memoirs by the celebrity-of-the-moment (who was usually no longer famous by the time the meeting ended), but occasionally ideas for some really intriguing books would materialize, and an enterprising editor would contact the right folks and an actual book would come of it. 

So I'd like to try this right here, have a book "Brainstorming Meeting" at the Man in Black to see what books you would love to see written. They can be memoir, fiction, humor, history or politics. They can be young adult, mystery--any kind of book that isn't out there that you would like to read. Try to be somewhat realistic--J.D. Salinger doesn't seem that keen to pen a sequel to CATCHER IN THE RYE. Otherwise everything is fair game.

I'll start things off with a few ideas:
--A collection of Mitch Hedberg's journals (a la the Kurt Cobain journals that were published a few years ago).
--David Morrell's sequel to FIRST BLOOD.
--A new big, bad, unputdownable 1,000 page Tom Clancy novel.
--A Quentin Tarantino book on film

What are some books you'd love to see published?

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posted by Jason Pinter at 10:14 AM 3 Comments




Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Why Dan Brown Matters

Now that I'm back in NYC full time, at least once I day I walk through my local bookstore. On any given afternoon, I'm likely to see a group of teenagers huddled in several aisles, hunkered around a book or manga, pointing, talking, laughing and enjoying themselves. To these kids, reading is cool, something to experience and talk about among their friends. They could be doing any one of a dozen other things, but they're hanging out in a bookstore. Things like that make me smile.

Yesterday I wrote a post, perhaps overly snarky, about a poster of Orlando Bloom promoting reading hanging on the wall of a library. Now, regardless of what I think about Mr. Bloom, something in children's literature seems to be working. When you think about all the books that have been published over the last few years that have been cultural touchstones, they're all books aimed at children and young adults. The publication of new books by J.K. Rowling, Christopher Paolini and Stephenie Meyer have become events. People line up at midnight on release day for their copy, just like I did for a brand new U2 album back in the day (my dad always came with me to our local HMV because I was too young to drink the bottle of Guinness that came free with each purchase).

The night Stephenie Meyer's BREAKING DAWN was published last year, I was walking my dog. We passed by my local Barnes & Noble around 11:00, and the line to get in had already wrapped around the block. Kids were dressed to the nines, costumed and buzzing with excitement. I was informed by a security guard that nobody else would be allowed into the store because there was no room. No room! These kids weren't home watching television or playing videogames or texting. On this night, kids were lined up outside of a bookstore because reading was cool. I thought back to a few years ago when my friend Mike had a pool party. I remember all of our friends hanging around, drinking beer and margaritas...all of us except for my friend Mark. Mark was sitting on a chair, reading the sixth Harry Potter book which had just come out. And we all knew to leave him alone.

Yesterday, Knopf/Doubleday announced the September 15th publication of Dan Brown's long-awaited followup to THE DA VINCI CODE, one of the best-selling books of all time. Five million copies of THE LOST SECRET will be shipped to stores. But five months before the book comes out, the sniping has already begun.

The book will be a critical and commercial disappointment.
The book won't save the publishing industry.
Dan Brown has goofy hair.

The haters can shove it. To my mind, THE DA VINCI CODE was a perfectly decent thriller. No more, no less. Sure the prose was a bit clumsy, but the plot kept me entertained for a few hours (something that should not be taken lightly). Obviously the book touched a nerve far deeper than that of pure entertainment, just as books by Ms. Rowling and Ms. Meyer have. I have read three different New York newspapers this morning, and all three have prominent articles on the impending publication of THE LOST SECRET. These articles are not buried in the middle of the paper, but are printed within the first eight or so pages (right up there with tawdry wedding scandals and mockery of David Patterson--you know, the important stuff). The publication of this book is a bona fide event. When was the last time a book for adults was an actual event? Sure Grisham and Patterson sell books by the truckload, but their release dates are hardly the kind of thing you call your friends to talk about.

So naturally, the haters are going to come out of the woodwork, as is their right. There are a lot of people who disliked the book for the book itself, but there are also a lot of people who hated the book for what it stood for ("This is one of the best-selling books ever?"). I don't really care much about those people. THE LOST SECRET is a thriller, first and foremost. Even the press release touts it as pure entertainment ("...a brilliant and compelling thriller...readers will feel the thrill of discovery..."). And yet within minutes September 15th became a full-fledged pop culture event. People will be lining up to buy their copy. And even if it doesn't come close to the success of THE DA VINCI CODE, I can't remember the last time there was this kind of buzz about a book aimed at adults. Perhaps Bill Clinton's memoir approached it, but I'm willing to bet a whole lot more people actually read Brown's book than Clinton's (I bought Clinton's MY LIFE, and it looks lovely holding up the foundation of my apartment building).

So September 15th will come, and there will surely be a great deal of criticism before and after the fact. I don't really care. I'll buy my copy and I'll read it, and I know a lot of other people who will too. The book may be brilliant, or it may suck. It may shatter every sales record, or it may be a commercial disappointment. It may be read as entertainment, or it may be read for the religious and spiritual implications. The bottom line is that all of this discussion and argument, all of this buzz and anticipation...this makes reading cool for people of all ages. And that is something that should never be taken for granted.

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posted by Jason Pinter at 8:46 AM 12 Comments




Tuesday, April 14, 2009

The Space Between

I've had a bit of an odd feeling recently. Most people are aware that the fourth Henry Parker novel, THE FURY, was originally slated to come out in March (last month), but was pushed back to October. Nevertheless, I am often reminded that not all my readers follow this blog or all the other time-wasting social networking sites that drain my soul. Other the last month I've received a lot of emails all basically saying, "Uh, at the end of THE STOLEN, the teaser chapter says THE FURY will be out in March. What happened?"

Well, suffice it to say THE FURY did not come out in March. Because THE FURY was written as the first part of a two-book series, my publisher decided to push both books back and release them in a short time frame to increase shelf presence and hopefully maximize publicity. So THE FURY will be out in October, and the fifth Parker novel, THE DARKNESS, will be out in December. I took great pains to make sure each book could be read individually, but I'd be lying if I didn't say the books were meant to be read in order. I certainly hope that's how most people read them.

Now, I'm not sure if this is possible for someone who's contracted to write two books a year, but I'm getting a little stir crazy. Because I had three books out out in the span of thirteen months, I was getting used to the rapid publication schedule. I loved the entire process. Loved seeing new cover concepts, loved writing and revising back cover copy, and loved talking about the books to anyone who would listen. But after those three books in thirteen months, it will now be fourteen months between releases (from THE STOLEN in August '08 to THE FURY in October '09). So I've found myself getting kind of antsy. Because I wrote THE FURY during my original publication schedule, the book was done, copyedited and proofed months ago (I believe that process was finished in October '08). Galleys should be in around mid-May. The last few months I've been working full-tilt to finish up THE DARKNESS, a process that wasn't easy considering I was also recovering from major spine surgery.

Two weeks ago, I turned in the final draft of THE DARKNESS. I should see copyedits some point over the next two months. In between, though, I've been slowly getting to work on the sixth Parker novel (tentatively titled THE INVITED), while also working on a side project (close followers of this blog and my Twitter feed know what I'm talking about. No, it's not a Parker novel. It's not even a crime novel.). I'm so excited for the next two Parker novels come out, but since that's not for another five and a half months I need to pace myself. I don't want the books to come out and feel like my excitement has dwindled. It shouldn't. I honestly feel like these two books are the best in the series so far, and every time I tell people what they're about I get goose bumps. They're the most personal books yet for Henry, as well as the most timely and intricate stories. The first early reader who finished THE DARKNESS actually cried. Call me a sadist, but that made me smile.

So for now, it's back to work on Parker #6. Strange feeling to be working on the sixth book in a series nearly six months before the fourth even comes out. I'll plow through, though, because I have enough on my plate to keep me excited, enough ideas for future Parker novels, and one or two more ideas that have really inspired me lately.

I should also have final cover art for both THE FURY and THE DARKNESS soon. I can't wait to share them, as they might be my favorite covers yet.

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posted by Jason Pinter at 7:51 AM 0 Comments




Monday, April 06, 2009

May 1st, 2009
International 'Buy Indie' Day

On May 1, 2009, please support your local independent bookstore by buying one (or more!) books. Hardcover, paperback, audio, doesn't matter, as long as the purchase is made at an indie. Independent bookstores are imperative to the health of the book industry and contribute greatly to the culture of our communities. Join the 'Buy Indie' Facebook group for more info, and and stay tuned to hear about local indie activities and signings in your neighborhood. To find a list of local independent bookstores in your area, please visit www.indiebound.org. 

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posted by Jason Pinter at 9:49 AM 0 Comments




Friday, April 03, 2009

PBO vs. Hardcover
Who wins (and does it matter?)

There's an interesting discussion about the stigma and economics of publishing books as paperback originals over at The Kill Zone. This stems from ITW's decision to eliminate their "Best Paperback Original" category from this year's Thriller awards.

Check out Michelle Gagnon's take, and then John Gilstrap's. As a current PBO author, I decided to chime in on Michelle's post. 

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posted by Jason Pinter at 10:04 AM 0 Comments




Friday, March 20, 2009

A Conversation in Bob Barnett's Waiting Room

(note: I have met Bob Barnett, and he's a very nice guy)

(Interior: Elevator opens into the office of a high profile literary agency. President Barack Obama walks out. He approaches the receptionist.)

Barack: Hi...um, Shelly, right?

Receptionist: It's Sheila.

Barack: Sheila, right. Sorry, haven't been here too often. Kinda busy, you know. Did you see me on Leno last night?

Receptionist: Sorry, I don't stay up that late.

Barack: No sweat, neither do I. Anyway, I have an 11:45 with Mr. Barnett.

Receptionist: Sure thing Mr. President. He's running a little late, please have a seat in the waiting room.

Barack: Sure thing. Can I smoke in there?

Receptionist: No, sir.

(Obama, disgruntled, heads into the waiting room, where he is shocked to see...)

Barack: George W. Bush, what are you doing here?

George: Oh, hey Barack. Good to, um, see you. I'm just waiting to meet with my agent.

Barack: Your agent? Bob Barnett?

George: That's right. When it came time to write my book, there's nobody else I would want brokering my deal. Why are you here?

Barack: I, um...needed somewhere to smoke.

George: I thought this was a no smoking office.

Barack: Ok, you got me. I'm here to meet with my agent.

George: Wait...are you saying Bob Barnett is your agent too?

Barack (sighing): Yeah, that's what I'm saying. 

George: Hold on, didn't you used to have a different agent?

Barack: Yeah, but that was a long time ago, back when nobody really knew who I was. 

George: I hear you, partner. Once you hit the big time, you need to run with the big dogs.

(George holds his fist out. Barack just stares at it.)

Barack: Uh...

George: Come on, don't leave me hanging.

(Barack reluctantly touches George's fist)

George: Alright! Terrorist fist jabs for everyone! 

Barack: Please don't call it that.

George: Isn't this so weird? I mean, what are the chances that we'd both have the same literary agent? Isn't that, like, so funny?

Barack: Hilarious.

George: So what's your book about?

Barack: Well, I've written two critically-acclaimed, bestselling memoirs that have sold millions of copies around the world. I'm thinking about a children's book, and maybe a book reflecting on my presidency once I leave office. What about you?

George: Paranormal erotica.

Barack: Huh?

George: I'm just joshing with you. It's a book on the hardest decisions I had to make while president.

Barack: That sounds like it could be insightful.

George: Does it? I kind of wanted to write one of those cookbooks. You know, "Kill 'Em and Grill 'Em" or something. But some 'people' (George makes finger quotes) thought I should write something a little more 'serious' (more finger quotes).

Barack: (silence)

George: So who's writing your book?

Barack: Excuse me?

George: You know, who did you choose to interview you with a tape recorder and then ghostwrite your book?

Barack: Um, I wrote both of my books myself.

George: Riiiight. So who really 'wrote' your books?

Barack: I did. Really.

George: Ok, ok, I get it. You're really embracing the whole 'ghostwriter' thing. Me? I'm thinking of using that Salter guy McCain seems to like. He told me he'd going to need at least half an hour of tape. How about that, he must think I have a lot of wisdom to impart!

Barack: You know, I'm not sure how I feel about this. I mean, during the campaign I basically implied your presidency was up there with the reign of Satan himself. And now we're here, in the same office, selling our books through the same agency?

George (laughing): I know. What are the odds?

Barack: Yeah. What are the odds.

(The door opens. In walks Bill Clinton)

Bill: George! Barack! What are you guys doing here?

Barack: Hey Bill, I'm waiting to meet with my agent.

George (reading a copy of 'Highlights'): Hey Bill, my Dad says hi.

Barack: What are you here for, Bill?

Bill: Well, Bob sold my first two books. Got me a sweet, sweet deal for both of them. So when it came time to write a new book, there's nobody I'd rather have handling my contract. You know Barack, would you mind giving Hillary whatever exercises Michelle is doing for her arms? Hello, two tickets to the gun show please!

(Bill extends his fist. George leaps forward and taps it while Barack shakes his head.)

George: That's right, Bill, you old hoss. So what are you writing?

Bill: Paranormal erotica.

Receptionist: George, Mr. Barnett will see you now. And Mr. Obama, please put out your cigarette.

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posted by Jason Pinter at 9:34 AM 4 Comments




Thursday, March 05, 2009

Michael Viner's Huffington Post Column: Decoded!

A few days ago, I used my editor/agent/superhero powers to decode the press release about former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's book deal with Phoenix Books. Now, the president of Phoenix Books, Michael Viner, has published an article on the Huffington Post about the reaction to his company signing up Mr. Blagojevich. And so, using the same superpowers, I will now decode Mr. Viner's HuffPo article (actual article in italics. Decoded article in bold):

A lot has been said this week about Rod Blagojevich and about his book deal with Phoenix Books. It seems that the issue is the presumption of innocence is no longer with us. As a publisher who believes that there is more than one fascinating story here I am puzzled as to why we have been made part of the story.

Decoded: Please keep talking about our book deal and Mr. Blagojevich. For the love of God, public outcry, controversy and curiosity is the only way we're going to make money on this thing. Also, I am puzzled (with joy!) as to why we have been made part of the story. And in case you missed it, Phoenix Books also has a large selection of popular fiction and mystery books. 

When Harper Collins decided to pay $3 million to O.J. Simpson there was no public outcry until the book turned out to be a great hoax. Little Brown paid Paula Barbieri $3 million for having accomplished no more in her life than having had a fling with the same Mr. Simpson. There were no lessons learned, there were no compelling reasons. Mr. Blagojevich may or may not have committed a crime; that is for the courts to decide. However, the rush to judgment was a landslide seemingly aided by political lobbyists and those with their own agendas. It could appear that Mr. Blagojevich considered breaking the law, but whether he did or not is a decision for a jury, and not the spectators to make.

Decoded: Gee, I hope Mr. Blagjoevich isn't reading this, because I just compared him to an accused murder/convicted felon and his talentless girlfriend who showed her boobies in Playboy.

His story is in large part, the story of how the lobbyists in America work and how integrity can easily be lost. The casual free drink turns into a free lunch and is often followed by a paid speaking engagement for a trumped up audience. These are followed by fact finding trips to luxury vacation spots and a myriad of other temptations that seem to be, for many in government, part of the standard perks. If through Mr. Blagojevich's book we learn how the system works from someone who is as critical of himself as the system that he used, and perhaps abused, then this is a cautionary tale worth telling.

Decoded: Kinda weird that I use the phrase "if through Mr. Blagojevich's book" considering I'm the one who bought it, and I should probably know what he is and isn't going to discuss. Unless, that is, I bought it as a cynical public relations ploy in the hopes that the scandal surrounding an impeached governor will sell books and raise the profile of my company. But come on, do you really think I would do that? ;-)

The effort to block his story from being told makes it all the more enticing. If Mr. Blagojevich is guilty, that guilt is shared by myriads of public officials as well -- and the true victim of these excesses are you and I -- the American public.

Decoded: After all, how could you expect Mr. Blagojevich to have told his story? It's not like he ever did any media appearances in which he could have discussed it or anything. And if Mr. Blagojevich is in fact guilty, the victims are you and I...oh wait. Not 'I' as in 'Michael Viner' because if the book does well I'll be making a ton of dough off of Mr. Blagojevich. So really it's just you.

I cannot recall a book that delineates the pitfalls and the failings of any governor. But if this book is well and honestly told, then it is one that should be a guidepost to all those who serve, or would serve, the American public. As well as to the lobbyists who have contributed to many of the problems in our system and have caused the present economic dilemma. While governor, Mr. Blagojevich took on the drug companies and many other lobbyists. It is not beyond the realm of possibilities that his swift ejection from power has something to do with the windmills he tilted and the transgressions that he made.

Decoded: Again with the 'Ifs'! I mean, you'd think I had no idea what was actually going to be in this book! And you know what else isn't "beyond the realm of possibility"? Flying monkeys! I mean, have you seen "The Wizard of Oz"? That looked real!

It is an open secret that exceptional pressure was exerted on publishing companies not to publish this book. The reasons why will become self evident, and I only ask that the public at large give him a fairer trial than the railroad ride he was given out of his role as governor.

Decoded: Yes, the book will fully expose the reasons why publishing companies were pressured not to buy this book. Namely the fact that paying money to a disgraced politician might not be the most savvy public relations move, not to mention the fact that Rod Blagojevich is about as well-liked in this country as Bernie Madoff and herpes. And by "give him a fairer trial" of course I mean please take $25 that could otherwise go towards buying groceries, filling your gas tank or paying bills and give it to Mr. Blagojevich and myself. Did I mention we have a line of popular fiction and intriguing mysteries?

Whatever the verdict, this is not a black and white case, and we hope to at least show the full scope of the rainbow web behind these events.

Decoded: As you probably know, both rainbows and webs are incredibly thin and transparent. I felt that this was an appropriate metaphor to use in describing Mr. Blagojevich's book. He really is lucky to have me as a publisher.

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posted by Jason Pinter at 10:21 AM 0 Comments




Monday, March 02, 2009

Rod Blagojevich's Book Deal: Decoded!

As a former editor, current author and part-time super hero, I have participated on both sides of the dealmaking process. So when I read that former Chicago Governor Rod Blagojevich just got a "six figure book deal," I decided to put on my super-secret publishing decoder glasses and see what the former Governor's press release really says (Actual release in italics. Decoded secret press release in bold). Here we go:

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich today signed a six figure book deal with one of the largest independent book publishers in the U.S., the PR firm representing Blagojevich announced today.

Decoded: Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagjoevich today signed a deal with the largest publisher of tawdry, D-list celebrities, celebrity wives, and all out degenerates, including Debbie "Eminem's mom" Nelson, Natalie "world's highest paid escort" McLennan, Larry "Hustler" Flint, Vera "I kept Dee Dee Ramone's last name so people would recognize me" Ramone King, and Patch "Robin Williams played me in a 1998 movie, remember?" Adams, the PR firm representing Blagojevich announced today because Blagojevich is paying them to do so.

Blagojevich, who vehemently denies he tried to sell President Obama's senate seat, will write about the discussions, the considerations and the factors involved in picking Obama's successor to the U.S. Senate. Blagojevich maintains he was hijacked from office because of politics. In the book, he will write about his journey that led up to the twice-elected governor and former congressman being ousted from office. He also plans on exposing the dark side of politics that he witnessed in both the state and national level.

Decoded: Blagojevich will consistently claim to be an upstanding member of society and a squeaky-clean politician, while refusing to take blame for anything he's ever done and throwing everyone he's ever met under the bus because he's not going to sell books unless he creates controversy. He will also include a full color photo insert full of old people, children and minorities holding hand-made signs that read "We Love You, Rod Blagojevich" spelled out in macaroni.

Phoenix Books is run by maverick publisher Michael Viner whose titles include books from celebrities like mega-rock star and businessman Gene Simmons and talk show host Larry King. Phoenix also has a large selection of popular fiction and intriguing mystery books.

Decoded: Michael Viner is a "maverick" who publishes disgraced personalities like Jayson Blair who no other publisher will touch because they wouldn't be able to sleep at night, as well as books from musicians like Gene Simmons who have since made nasty sex tapes and sold their artistic souls for reality television glory.

"The governor chose to go with a large independent company because he wanted to tell his story without any restrictions over content that might've come with a major publishing house," says Glenn Selig, Blagojevich's publicist and founder of The Publicity Agency. "He simply did not want to accept constraints or conditions on what he could say in this book."

Decoded: The Governor signed a deal with Phoenix because no mainstream publisher would touch him with a ten foot pole, and because he likely wouldn't talk about any issues that were not completely self-serving or include anything juicy or interesting that people would actually want to read. Yet he must spin this unsurprising lack of interest so he sounds just like his "maverick" publisher.

Selig says the governor will tell the American public the truth about what happened. He does not intend to pull any punches and will reveal information and provide insights that will at times be embarrassing to himself as well as to others.

Decoded: Remember, he was hijacked from office due to politics, so any embarrassing insights will certainly not have anything to with Blagojevich's political career, because that would contradict the notion that he did nothing wrong. Instead, the former Governor will discuss the time he peed himself during a screening of "The Blair Witch Project." 

"There were some people in high places who didn't want the governor to write this book and worked to try to squash a book deal," says Selig.

Decoded: By high places, the Governor means Dale Jorgenson, the guy Blagjoevich lifeguarded with one summer, who heard that his former friend Rod is planning to tell the embarrassing story about the two of them, a bottle of Cuervo and a donkey from Tijuana named Carlos. 

The terms of the book deal were not disclosed. The book, which has a working title of "The Governor," is set to be released by Phoenix Books in October.

Decoded: The terms of the deal were not disclosed because a former Governor taking a low five figure, incentive-laden publishing contract is kind of embarrassing, and we'd prefer to call it a six figure deal because technically if the Governor earns his bonuses it could conceivably total that much. And the title of Blagojevich's book was inspired by Richard Nixon's autobiography: "The President".

The literary agent of record is Jarred Weisfeld of Objective Entertainment.

Decoded: Don't call him, he'll call you.

For Breaking News developments on former Gov. Blagojevich, please follow The Publicity Agency on Twitter at http://twitter.com/PublicityAgency.

Decoded: For breaking news on Shaquille O'Neal's current dining location, follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/the_real_shaq. Because that will be far more entertaining.

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posted by Jason Pinter at 5:23 PM 4 Comments




Friday, February 27, 2009

My response to Neil Gaiman Part 2
(plus Cory Doctorow, John Scalzi and Wil Wheaton)

There are some new posts today on the text-to-speech controversy, most notably by John Scalzi, Wil Wheaton, Cory Doctorow and a second by Gaiman. Doctorow makes some interesting points on copyright law (I concede that all of these people are far more technologically adept than I am. In fact, part of me feels silly for even trying to argue against these guys who are all pretty highly regarded in the tech arena). But for the most part the other arguments can be summed up as, "Text-to-speech doesn't sound as good as a professional audiobook, so there's nothing to worry about."

This is true. However a Big Mac isn't quite as tasty as a filet mignon, yet Big Mac sells a few million more burgers every year not because it tastes better than the filet, but because $2.99 fits into the average person's budget a whole lot better than $40.

And before anyone thinks I'm a Kindle basher, it's quite the opposite. I hope this device revolutionizes the industry. I hope it gets millions more people reading because books can now fit their lifestyle, budget and schedule to a greater degree. I hope it becomes the iPod of reading devices, and I hope that a few million more hours will be spent reading books on a Kindle than wasted catatonically drooling over "The Real Housewives of Orange County." And I hope, more importantly, that it encourages young people to read more. Granted I don't think I'll ever be able to stop reading physical books, because the one thing the Kindle will never be able to replace or replicate is the joy of walking into my favorite bookstore and browsing the shelves. 

Right now, the Text-to-Speech option is too primitive to fully challenge the audiobook in terms of quality. But the Kindle has been on the market for less than 18 months. 18 months. What spectacular advances do you think we'll see in the next five years? Ten? Perhaps, as Gaiman suggests, there will never be software that can duplicate every single tone and voice inflection that a human being can inflect. But even if that is true, there will ALWAYS be a market for an inferior product that can be purchased much cheaper or had for free. Just ask the movie industry which has lost hundreds of millions of dollars to pirated downloads. Sure watching a shak-i-cam version of "The Dark Knight" doesn't compare to seeing it in IMAX. But if the choice is between paying $30 for a ticket and snacks versus popping some Orville Redenbachers and watching in your underwear, you just might go Orville's route. If a professional audiobook gets an 'A'  grade and TTS is a 'D', yes, people are likely more willing to pony up the extra dough for the audiobook. But in time, if TTS can get to even a 'B-', you're kidding yourselves if you don't think a lot of people won't choose to save $20 bucks by buying the all-in-one E-book and TTS option. But you want to know which audiobooks are least likely to be impacted by TTS? Celebrity memoirs. Sigh.

Not to mention the impact this could have on audiobook producers. Audible.com did a bang up job producing an audio version of THE MARK. And while Amazon does own Audible and, as Doctorow suggests, they likely didn't buy it to let the company suffer, there are many other terrific audiobook producers who don't have that kind of life raft. It would be a shame if companies like HighBridge, Listening Library, Recorded Books and Brilliance had to cut back on their productions because of unfairly lost revenue.

Most New York Times bestsellers are priced at $9.99 on the Kindle. Audiobooks tend to go for anywhere up to $60 depending on the length of the program. So for a book like, say, Ken Follett's WORLD WITHOUT END, which is sold for $59.95 on 36 CDs or $31.95 for a download. Either way, by going the TTS route, you're saving a chunk of change. And consider this: I believe most authors receive a royalty rate 10% of the list price for audiobooks, and up to 15% for print editions. So for every Kindle copy of WWE sold, Ken makes about $1.50. For every audiobook, he makes between $3.19 and $6.00. For every sale the reader saves money, Ken loses a few dollars. Now multiply that by a few thousand, and potentially a few million as E-books gain popularity, and you're talking a potentially seismic shift in potential revenue not just for Ken, but for all authors, publishers and audiobook divisions.

I don't consider myself a stick in the mud and I'm not suggesting millions of dollars be spent on a lawsuit that would, as Gaiman says, be better spent promoting the wonders of books (print, audio, etc...). But there must be a middle ground, a compromise. Perhaps readers can pay a extra, small fee for the TTS option on their Kindle. Perhaps, down the road, readers will be able to pay a flat fee and have access to both the electronic and professional audio versions. But simply saying this issue doesn't matter is lazy. And saying it doesn't matter because the software can't currently compete with audiobooks is, as I said in my previous post, remarkably shortsighted.

In reality, the TTS option will likely not have a large impact on either the print or audio editions of books in the immediate future. But with technology improving on an almost daily basis, and the likelihood of technology changing the industry down the road, for once the industry should step out in front of this issue rather than waiting for it to smack them in the head with a 2x4. Especially if, as rumors suggest, a Kindle 3 could be available by Fall 2009.

So let's come up with a solution that works for both parties, that allows Amazon to grow and develop new technologies while making sure authors and publishers are fairly compensated. And then let's take those few million dollars both sides would have spent on a lawsuit and put it towards literacy campaigns and school outreach programs. That's the only thing 100% guaranteed to increase readership while keeping the industry healthy and vibrant for a long time.

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posted by Jason Pinter at 11:27 AM 6 Comments




Thursday, February 26, 2009

In response to Neil Gaiman

Having just read Neil Gaiman's take on the controversy surrounding the Amazon Kindle 2's use of text-to-speech, and whether or not it infringes on audiobook rights, I couldn't help but throw in my two cents. And I have to say, with all due respect (seriously, I think he's a brilliant writer), I thoroughly disagree with Mr. Gaiman.

In my mind, this issue is similar in a lot of ways to the recent writer's strike. A large stumbling block of that work stoppage was the issue of writers demanding to be paid for their work that was broadcast over the Internet. The argument was that the potential for profiting off of digital media would increase dramatically over time, and writers were being cut out of the revenue pie. Now, taking Gaiman's response, that a book is a book is a book, one could argue that when you write a script (tv, film, etc...) you are creating it, in essence, for the whole universe. You are selling the right for it to be broadcast anywhere--television, movie theaters, internet, etc...for essentially a flat fee, or one royalty regardless of rebroadcast potential. But the writers claimed, rightfully so, that many people were, or would be, seeing greater profits off of their work without the writers seeing increased compensation. Studios were taking in revenue off of internet advertising and other streams, and writers claimed those alternate revenue streams would increase as years passed. And if they did not do something about it, they could be paid less and less (as t.v. viewership decreased) while studios made more or at least broke even via other revenue streams (advertising, iTunes, etc...).

What I argue in regard to this issue is that the book market is beginning to segment dramatically. An author's piece of the financial pie is being carved up into many smaller slices, with e-books beginning to take on a larger role and audiobooks still a potentially lucrative market. The Kindle is profiting from this text-to-speech option. That is not debatable. And this being the very first Kindle with the new voice option, there is no doubt the quality of text-to-speect will improve over subsequent generations. The bottom line is that down the road, as voice quality improves (or even if it doesn't), people will buy the Kindle for its ability to essentially double as an audiobook player. And in all likelihood the voice narration will improve. And even if it does not match the total quality of professional audiobooks, there are a whole lot of people who would be happy to save $30 for a slightly inferior version. Don't think that's true? Tell that to the music and movie industries which have had to deal with pirated product. All of this adds up to more revenue streams for the publisher (i.e. Amazon), and less revenue for the author. If the Kindle cuts into audiobook sales, it means simply less potential revenue for authors.

Ten years ago, we would have never imagined the technological breakthroughs that would have had people listening to music digitally (preposterous!), on a business card-sized player that could hold up to 800 albums at once (absurd!) and even doubled as a cell phone and Internet browser (ridiculous!) on which you could also watch entire movies (nobody will ever watch movies on their computer!). Saying "it's not a big deal," in my opinion, is remarkably shortsighted.

Now, again, all respect to Mr. Gaiman, but this kind of market segmentation works in the favor of more successful authors. Due to the current economic climate, bookstores are cutting back on orders and taking fewer chances on unproven commodities or risky commodities. Perhaps rightfully so. Major bestselling authors have less to worry about because the bookstores (and audiobook producers, and all other tributaries) can expect a certain number of sales. As tides rise, people with bigger platforms will be able to keep their heads above water. But the situation is different for authors who must squeeze out every bit of potential book revenue to stay afloat.

Robert B. Parker had this to say in a recent interview in the Wall Street Journal: 

 The changes in publishing are good for the likes of me. It's ever more a business dependent on the chain bookstores and less on the full-service bookstores, and the chains tend to stock the best-selling authors. If I were new, I'd bemoan this. It's probably bad for publishing and for literature, but it doesn't hurt me or the likes of Stephen King or John Grisham.

Exactly right. For these authors, and authors with similar platforms, revenue is not a problem. They don't much worry about their next contract, and whether or not they sell subsidiary rights will not affect their ability to pay rent or put food on the table. But what about an author who makes $60,000 a year, $10,000 of which comes from audio sales? What if, down the road, the Kindle cannibalizes his/her audio sales to the point where another contract is not offered? Audiobooks are more expensive to produce than print books and carry a higher price tag, so the author loses out on a certain dollar amount for every audio sale lost. Saying this issue is no big deal is like a politician claiming we're in a "mental recession" while riding in his private jet, unaware that below him there are people losing their homes. At some point perspective is lost, and while arguing dollars and cents may seem silly to some, to others ceding it completely may at some point alter their career.

Just like the writers strike, what authors fight for now will not have a dramatic, immediate impact on their revenues. But what they fight for now could drastically impact their revenues down the road. It means authors will be able to maximize their revenue streams, and for many this could be the difference between publishing and not publishing, between making a living writing versus looking for work elsewhere.

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posted by Jason Pinter at 9:06 AM 15 Comments




Tuesday, February 17, 2009

The Mystic Arts of Getting a Literary Agent

During this month's "Love is Murder" conference in Chicago, I sat on a panel with several editors from different publishing houses. I was assigned this panel, presumably, because I spent several years as an editor, dealt with many authors and agents, and was able to offer some thoughts about editing, agents and how to get published. I wasn't surprised to hear that many people in the audience had much to learn about this process, yet I was surprised to hear some of my fellow panelists offering thoughts that were totally counterproductive when it comes to landing an agent. So in an effort to demystify a process that is often shrouded in darkness, here is a list of practical things you should--and should not--do when trying to get a literary agent:

--Always follow an agency's submission guidelines. This was a point contested by one of my LIM panelists. His reasoning? Bucking the guidelines will get you a quicker response. Of course that response for him, and for you, has been and will always be 'No'. If an agency's submission guidelines say not to email submissions, DO NOT email submissions. If they ask for double-spaced, 12-point font, send it in that format (even if you wrote it in single-spaced 10 point). Look at it like this: agencies receive literally thousands of submissions every year. By stating right off the bat you think you're above the rules, you're telling the agent you're going to be a pain in the butt. Not exactly the way you want to start a professional relationship, and an easy way to find yourself in the rejection pile, albeit quicker.

--Wait until the allotted time period ends before checking in. If the agency's guidelines say to wait 4-6 weeks for a response, feel free to send a (polite) follow up after that window expires. 

--DO NOT slag other authors in your query letter. Telling an agent how much more talented you are than Bestselling Author X is really just telling the agent how much of a bigger head you have than Next Submission in the Pile.

--It's fine, and even expected, for you to compare your work to other authors. Not in a derogatory sense (see previous item), but in a way that gives the agent a sense of who your audience is and how they might pitch it. Good: "I write layered mysteries in the vein of George Pelecanos." Bad: "I write layered mysteries in the vein of George Pelecanos, only better."

--You're the only one who cares what your mother thinks. I've read enough queries over the years to fairly ascertain that 100% of all mothers and fathers think their child's book is fantastic. Telling an agent this in your query letter does not speak to the quality of your manuscript.

--Write your query letter like good jacket copy. It shouldn't reveal too much, and it should leave the agent wanting to read more.

--Only include information in your query bio that pertains directly to the book itself. If you're writing a non-fiction proposal, include your credentials and make the case as to why you are the right person to write this particular book. If you're writing a novel, include any writing awards, advance quotes from notable authors, or story publications. What not to include: your resume.

--Unless the guidelines request it, never paste your manuscript/proposal in the body of an email. You know that friend who send you emails that seemingly go on forever and have you hitting the 'scroll down' key for hours? Well, multiply that by a thousand.

--You may be "the next great New York Times bestselling author," but that's dependent on factors well beyond you, me, your agent and often even your publisher to decide. Let your work speak for itself, and hope for the best.

--Don't sign up with the first agent who offers you representation just so you can say you have an agent, just like you wouldn't hire the very first employee to send you a resume. Take your time. Make sure this agent is the right one. Look the agent up on their website, or see their sales at publishersmarketplace.com. If your agent does not have any sales to a reputable publisher, let's just say the odds are not in your favor to be the first.

--If an agent offers you representation, you have every right to ask them for a list of recent sales. If they deny your request, think long and hard about why. Would you hire an employee who refused to offer any references?

--Don't waste your time by throwing your manuscript at the wall and hoping that it sticks. By sending out random queries to every agency in the book without researching what each agent represents, you're going to end up wasting a fistful of dough sending your cookbook proposal to agents who only represent literary fiction.

--Do not pay any fees to the agent upfront. Period. If the agent asks for money, they are not a real agent. Agents get paid on how much your work earns. You make money, then they make money.

--Research agents. There is far too much information out there for any author to be in the dark when searching for representation. Check out the aforementioned Publishers Marketplace. Other resources include Publishers Weekly, Literary Marketplace, and of course Google. If an agent offers to represent you, Google the crap out of him/her.

--Don't go chapter by chapter through Writers Market guides submitting to the 'A' section first, then 'B' then 'C' then so on. Compile a list, say your top 25 agents, and query them accordingly. Don't waste your time or money querying Apex Literary Agency (not a real agency) which hasn't sold a book since 1997.

--Blogging, Tweeting, Facebooking, Flickring and Friendraising is all well and good, but if it takes time away from your manuscript that is bad, bad, bad.

--Finishing a first draft is the easy part, it's how you revise that makes you a writer. Sending a first draft of your manuscript to an agent is like going on a first date without having showered in three days. Clean yourself up. Anybody can spit out 80,000 words, it's choosing the right 80,000 in the right order that will get you published.

--You might think submitting your manuscript on green paper written in red ink tied in a bow is pretty, but I can guarantee you the agent will not.

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posted by Jason Pinter at 8:42 AM 5 Comments




Saturday, January 31, 2009

The Future of Publishing
Part 4

Read here to see what this is all about.

What is one thing you would you do to change book publishing for the better?

Please do not throw out the beautiful baby with the bathwater!
Do not get rid of the whole system - fix what doesn't work. Maybe betting the farm on hoped for blockbusters isn't the way to go anymore. Instead, maybe use P.O.D. to bring the brighter literary lights (that may not have celebrity status or other hook, but nonetheless are solid stellar work) to the market. We have the technology. We CAN rebuild it (publishing, that is).
The agents, editors, designers, production people, marketers, sales reps, acquiring librarians, critics, reviewers, bloggers, etc. etc. - they are all doing a fantabulous job of putting great books in front of the readers who will most appreciate them. That's not broken -- what's broken is a business that exists to serve shareholders and not readers. Subsidy publishers - in spite of their claims to even the playing field for authors are no better - as they live to serve the paying author (again, no one paying for book production seems to care too much about the end user - reader). That needs to change. Put the reader first, Jason. Put the reader first.
Kat Meyer, editor, theBookishDilettante.com

For starters, admit that newspapers are dead and spend marketing dollars accordingly. If somehow, newspapers find a way to survive going forward, then they become an opportunity. Second, publishing needs to get a clue about the Internet and electronic publishing. People are still reading, but you have to put the words where the eyeballs are. Print books also need to advertised as such. Right now, there's no standardized non-proprietary format for ebooks. Both publishers and authors act more hysterical than the recording industry (which deserves everything bad that's happened to it for its own shortsightedness) about ebooks. That needs to stop and a lot faster than it's happened in recording. Third, ditch the returns system. It's an illogical system profitable only for the big chain stores. Fourth, break up the big distributors. I'm sure Borders and BN will howl with agony over this idea, but we have reached a point where distribution suffers from a near monopoly.
Jim Winter, reviewer for Mystery Scene and January Magazine

Expanding on Scott Sigler's previous answer: when the iPhone App Store first appeared, I immediately made both books of my 'Max Quick Series' available as $5.99 downloads for the iPhone. In addition, I also made the first six chapters of the first Max Quick book (The Pocket and the Pendant) available as a free app download. As a result, my free sampler got *a thousand downloads per day* in the first two months, and I converted hundreds of these into sales weekly. In fact, in the app store right now -- after nearly six months -- my sample book is still at #41, still ahead of samplers by established authors. Before this, like Scott Sigler, I had made my books available as free podcast audiobooks. I've received over 2.4 million downloads to date. Like Sigler, JC Hutchins, Mur Lafferty and Seth Harwood, I've built an audience online via podiobooks, twitter, facebook and email. I know them, they know me. Which leads me to the first thing I would do: the iTunes App Store book section (both ebook and podiobook) is not very well organized. Publishers, authors and Apple should work together to create a better 'iTunes of Books' experience. This should be inclusive of new authors and established authors: the chain should not be locked up. The benefit to the publisher is access to a crowd-sourced farm league of new author talent: it comes to them already proven, with an established audience.

Jason’s received some interesting and even provocative responses, although I have one caveat – most of the answers are critical of the publishers and the way they go about their business. Silly advances for silly books; anachronistic marketing; a failure to adapt to the latest technology; in short, most people complain that publishing companies are clinging to an outmoded business model. This may all be true, and the Good Lord knows that I’ve had my fair share of disappointing experiences with publishers, as most writers tend to have; but is there an element of mote-and-beam going on here? In other words, no one writer has said that the one thing they’d do to change book publishing for the better is write better books. For all the hand-wringing about publishers’ inability to incorporate the interweb into their marketing model, how many writers have incorporated the interweb into their writing? How many writers have thought to themselves, for example, about the sea-change in other forms of popular art – movies, TV and music – and audience appetite for a blend of reality and fiction? There’s a generation of potential readers coming through for whom the Fourth Wall doesn’t exist. Last night, for example, I watched the ‘Family Guy’ episode in which Peter ‘outs’ Luke Perry, with the character of Luke Perry voiced by Luke Perry – although Lois refers to the character as ‘Dylan’, his character in Beverly Hills 90120. On Wednesday I watched the documentary ‘Anvil!’, the story of how an aging metal band from Canada are still trying to make it in their fifties. As a movie, or even a mockumentary, it would have been very funny in the ‘Spinal Tap’ mode; as a documentary, a real take on the rock ‘n’ roll dream, it was simultaneously soul-destroying and inspirational. Next Thursday, I’ll be getting along to see ‘Notorious’, a biopic of the Notorious B.I.G., who – regardless of your opinion of gangsta rap – made art of his life, of experiences that are possibly fictionalised but certainly rooted in an authentic, relevant reality. I can’t remember the last time I read a book that left me hollowed out and yet bursting to make something new, the way ‘Anvil!’ did. Or, for that matter, a book that makes me laugh like ‘Family Guy’ does because – bonkers as it is, and with no respect for the boundary between truth or fiction – it taps into the experience of our utterly confused cultural narrative. This morning, on the web, in the space of an hour, I read a short story, took on board the responses to Jason Pinter’s question, checked last night’s football scores, watched a book trailer and two music videos, downloaded the latest Anthony and the Johnsons album, and watched an extended trailer for the ‘Notorious’ movie. Can, or should, that kind of disjointed cultural mish-mash influence my own writing later on, when I grab a quiet couple of hours? Not the specific elements; but the jump-around nature of it, and the blend of reality and fiction? Maybe it’s because I watch a lot of movies, reviewing them for a living, and read a lot of books, but I’m finding it increasingly difficult to suspend my disbelief when confronted with a story I know is pure fiction, regardless of how good it is. For that matter, just look at the Oscar noms for ‘Best Picture’ – Frost/Nixon, Milk and Slumdog Millionaire are all, to a greater or lesser extent, examples of the collision between fiction and reality. I’m currently working on a story in which the name of one of the main characters, Billy, is a nod to Kurt Vonnegut and SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE, which is the last book I read, when I re-read it last May, to really suck out my guts and make me think about life, the universe and writing (I subsequently read ARMAGEDDON, but it’s not Vonnegut’s finest moment). Billy, my Billy, is actually a character from a novel I’d written about five years ago, who last May turned up in my back garden wanting to know why he’d been forgotten, and condemned to the limbo of the unpublished ghosts. The result was a book called A GONZO NOIR, which is currently under consideration with a U.S. publisher, although I’m not optimistic about its chances; nonetheless, I’ve started a new story, in which Billy returns, telling me about this guy he’s met on Crete, Sebastian, who claims to have been involved in a Nazi war crime, but who has been left in the limbo of an unfinished manuscript after the untimely death of the author, who may or may not have been writing a novel based on a true story. Can I help Sebastian finish the story and get him out of limbo? Whether anyone will want to read that story is a moot point. And I’m not claiming that the notion of meta-fiction is so new and fresh that, to come back to Jason Pinter’s question, it’s going to change the industry – Vonnegut, Hunter S. Thompson, Flann O’Brien, Italo Calvino and, going a long way back, Laurence Sterne, are all favourites of mine.
I suppose the point I’m trying to make is that if there’s problems with the publishing industry, it extends to all elements of the industry, and that includes, vitally, the writers. Maybe, just maybe, a central issue for the future is that the audience, and certainly the generations coming through, won’t be content with straightforward fiction, in the way that even the best animated movies from Pixar, Dreamworks and Disney will, for adults, always be just kids’ movies.

Read Part 1. Read Part 2. Read Part 3. If you work in publishing (author, editor, agent, critic, bookseller or reporter) and would like to participate, email me at jason@jasonpinter.com with your response to "What is one thing you would you do to change book publishing for the better?" and I will post it.

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posted by Jason Pinter at 8:14 AM 6 Comments




Thursday, January 29, 2009

The Future of Publishing
Part 3

Read here to see what this is all about.

What is one thing you would you do to change book publishing for the better?

A. Understand no one will buy a book that they don't know exists. Have you ever walked into a supermarket and said to a clerk - I want to buy a cereal you never heard of and neither have I?
B. Stop reacting to every social networking trend as if it is marketing. Blogging, Facebook, Myspace and Twitter are all well and good for people who are social networking and for authors who are right for it but publishers can't use them instead of real marketing solutions.
C. Institute and option system for some books the way Hollywood does. Option a book, take it out in eformat -for free-see how it does - if it does well go for the full price and bring it out in paper.
D. Be honest with authors and make them your partners.
E. Offer higher royalties if the author is willing to forgo part of his/her advance to put it into marketing.
F. Pay more attention to models like Twelve, Vanguard and Bob Milllers -which is publish no book you cannot afford to market.
G. When you sell the hardcover offer the ebook and audio free.
H. For one week, before an authors next release comes out offer a title from that authors backlist as an unlimited free ebooks. Do this for every single author. Do it in audio too.
I. Understand sampling is not five pages-its a totally free book and nothing makes a reader buy a book than being in love with the author's work.
J. Don't remainder books. Give them to hotels to so every room has a library and people can discover more books.
K. Test every cover. Create an online testing program so no cover goes out without you being sure that it conveys what the book is about and will attract readers.
L. Get more books in non bookstores.
M- More ideas over at my blog often...http://mjroseblog.typepad.com/buzz_balls_hype/
M.J. Rose, author of THE MEMORIST, editor of Buzz, Balls & Hype

In my post Cri de coeur, I recount the story of an author whose in house publicist spun empty promises, then did practically nothing to promote the book. I hear this story over and over again, from authors published by houses big and small. And now I'm hearing from authors whose editors and/or publicists have been let go just before publication, so there's no one to champion their books inhouse. And there's no one to offer any guidance about what the authors are supposed to do now. The one thing I would change is to have publishers treat ALL their authors as business partners, not just as product suppliers. This means publishers would do the following for each and every author, not just the few whose books are anointed as lead titles:
--Explain the publicity process well in advance, preferably with a written guide.
--A few months before publication date, schedule a sit-down (or phone-in) launch meeting between author, editor, agent, publicity staff and freelance publicist (if applicable). In that meeting, have honest, forthright discussion about how the publisher, author and any freelancers can best work together to promote the book. 
--Just as important: detail exactly what publisher and author expect of the other, and what the publisher will--and won't--do.
--Be truthful with "orphaned" authors. Tell them who's going to take care of their books, and what they can do to pick up any slack.
Bella Stander, book publicity consultant for commercially published authors

Publishers should start with niche marketing. Time and again, they pay inflated prices to book an ad in a huge daily which probably has the net effect of selling 100 books. Books like The Shack have proven that word of mouth is the most effective means of marketing and the old model of having a million people see an ad for a book in a day and then bank on that to sell a 100,000 copies should go by the wayside. Niche and targeted marketing is by no means a new idea, the problem is that publishing is very antiquated and I'm not implying that the industry is run by an elderly crowd--when the old guard retires, the new people are always ready to continue the same bad habits.
Anonymous, literary magazine editor

The industry needs to do a better job of marketing itself. Not specific titles (which they also don't do terribly well), but the idea of books and reading in general. The success of books like The Da Vinci Code and Marley and Me show that consumers are willing to buy and read books. What we need to do is convince them to do it more often. Publishers should find new ways to promote reading as a leisure activity. There are still a lot of people out there who like to read -- we just need to reach those people and remind them of how much fun it is.

Last week I signed a new deal with St. Martins/Thomas Dunne Books for my next two novels. I was one of the writers who got caught in the Houghton-Miflin Harcourt merger. In fact, my novel Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere came out in hardcover last summer and now it's completely in limbo, no plans for a paperback release at all from Harcourt. Which brings me to my one thing I'd do to change book publishing: make all formats of a book available at once - hardcover, trade, mass market, e-book - whatever version people want to buy. I guess I could have said, "Embrace the technology," and push it even further. If I'm going to buy a book online, why can't I click on whatever version I'm willing to pay for? Also, I'd like to see e-readers get a lot cheaper, or even be give-aways from e-book of the month clubs or from publishers if you're willing to agree to buy two dozen books in the next year, like Columbia House used to do. I'd still like to be able to browse bookstores, though, so I wish bookstores would "stock" e-books. I could browse, talk to the staff (the best part of bookstores) and get my e-reader loaded up. I've been saying for a while that publishers and booksellers have to stop thinking of themselves as printers, trucking companies and warehouses and start thinking about what it is they really do - choose, design, edit and know their stock and their customers.

I was a Publicist at Bloomsbury & Walker for 4 years and recently left for a job at an internet startup because I didn't see the traditional book publishing industry adapting (just panicking and crumbling) as the world changes around it. My thoughts are below.
1. Get rid of returns. No other business in the world has a model that matches the absurdity of the buy-and-return model that Barnes & Noble and other vendors enforce on publishers.
2. Publish less. Stop the "spaghetti against the wall" approach of rush-publishing too many barely-edited books that won't be promoted, budgeted for or even bought into stores and focus on the carefully planned publication of a select number of strong titles in order to give them the marketing and promotional support that they deserve. Retail buyers will be less overwhelmed and won't reject as many books for being too similar. Editors will be able to actually edit instead of just acquire. Marketing and publicity departments will be able to make solid plans with actual budgets. This requires boards of directors, stockholders, publishers, retail buyers and editors to reevaluate their priorities and profit models but they aren't currently making a profit so, why not?


Stay tuned for Part 4 tomorrow. Read Part 1. Read Part 2. If you work in publishing (author, editor, agent, critic, bookseller or reporter) and would like to participate, email me at jason@jasonpinter.com with your response to "What is one thing you would you do to change book publishing for the better?" and I will post it.

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posted by Jason Pinter at 5:50 PM 2 Comments




The Future of Publishing
Part 2

Read here to see what this is all about.

What is one thing you would you do to change book publishing for the better?

Publishing has long existed in a top-down, trickle-down mentality. A book is acquired, then editorial bosses have to get excited, then sales and marketing have to get excited, then bookseller accounts have to get excited and finally, oh, there's this pesky reader who's supposed to buy the finished product, but by then the deck is often stacked. But we're in an on-demand culture, where people don't want to be dictated to but want the freedom - perceived or real - to choose what they want when they want it. And when the reader is so far removed from the process of making books, there's this huge disconnect that's now even bigger. So it's a huge challenge, but publishing's going to have to adjust its mentality from top-down to bottom-up; engaging the reader as early as possible. Knowing not just anecdotally but quantitatively what readers want to read, how they want to read it, and making books available in as many formats as they wish. But that's not going to be easy - and I wish everyone luck as we figure out how to adjust in this very scary, but also very opportunistic and very exciting time.
Sarah Weinman, editor, Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind

I'd get the major publishers together on a standard e-book format, one that's DRM-free and not tied to a device (like the kindle). Most important, we need to get e-book prices down. Charging the same price (or more!) than a hardcover for a digital file is absolutely ludicrous--we're hamstringing this technology at a crucial phase in its development.

One major thing that has to change is the attitude that publishers (and their editors) are the gatekeepers of quality. There seems to be an ongoing perception that only a select few people in New York City high rises have the golden touch, the ability to know what is "good fiction" and what is "bad fiction." These gatekeepers decide what gets published, and what stays forever on the slush pile. While that skill set has its place, in today's world there are far better options for making business decisions. By embracing free content, the zero-cost distribution model of the Internet, and learning how to monitor which authors can generate their own audiences, publishing can see what's going to sell by doing a rather basic measurement -- watch the people who buy the books, and see what they like before you print anything. The marketplace won't tell you exactly what books will fail, but it will tell you what books will succeed. The recent article in Time Magazine identifies several such examples, like Lisa Genova's "Still Alice" and Daniel Suarez's "Daemon." Both books were rejected dozens of times by agents and publishers who "knew" the books would not sell. Genova and Suarez self-published via different strategies, then generated sales to end customers, proving that they knew their potential audience better than the experts. 
(http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1873122,00.html). My story is another example. I have hundreds of rejection letters from the people who "knew" what would sell and what would not. I started giving my stories away via podcast, and three years later hit the NY Times extended list with my second hardcover, CONTAGIOUS. Cory Doctorow continues to prove, over and over again, that if you give your content away, fans will discover you, fans that are happy to pay for your work. Upcoming novels by J.C. Hutchins (7th SON, St. Martin's Press) and Seth Harwood (JACK WAKES UP, Three Rivers Press) will outsell the vast majority of new authors hitting shelves at the same time. Does it make sense to regularly hand out advances, pay editorial, production and sales staff, pay print costs, distributions costs and take returns on books that are proven to no one other than a handful of staffers who work under one roof? Repeat this formula for the hundreds of thousands of titles printed every year, and it's no wonder the system is collapsing in on itself. Publishing needs to start watching free content, monitoring it like pro football scouts watching the college ranks. Authors that can build an audience before Big Publishing ever steps in are the "blue chip" recruits of the literary world. People like Mur Lafferty, Matt Wallace, Mark Jeffrey and Tee Morris already have thousands of people listening to their stories -- why haven't publishers snatched them up? These people have proven their potential to readers, not to editors, not to publishers, and not to critics. It's a business, and happy readers are what makes everything happen. 

I would like to see publishers spend less money on the big celebrity and political books so that debut novelists, and other authors of serious fiction and nonfiction can get a fair shake. There are so may great, media-driven books that do not get their just deserts regarding publicity and advertising budgets because there is so little money left over after the million dollar advances go toward books that will never, ever earn out their advances. If money were more evenly distributed, more authors would earn a reasonable income, more books would receive media coverage, and there would be more balance in the industry as whole which would serve authors and readers alike.

The industry could use more sex, rock and roll, and any other form of recreation that will permit the austere types to loosen up. The inability from some to pursue fun and to foster curiosity was bad enough before all the layoffs, but it's now reached a catastrophic level. If you're working at a house, you could lose your job tomorrow. If you're a midlist author, you could be dumped tomorrow. If you're an independent bookstore proprietor, tomorrow you may not have the energy to prevent yourself from decking the insensitive lout who boasts about how he'll buy the book you've highlighted on the table at Amazon. Good eggs are disappearing and it's all very sad, but the true eggs will stay. Remember that nature abhors a vacuum. If we approach these concerns with anything that might cause us to remain bouncy and buoyant, then we're one step ahead of the dour D-Fenses who will implode and start metaphorically shooting people in the streets tomorrow. If you're not passionate about books, get out of this business. If you're not willing to fight for something better, get out of this business. If you're not willing to dust yourself off the ground, get out of this business. If you're not helping others and you're being selfish about preserving your meager place on the ladder, get out of this business. If on the other hand you're living in the present and paying attention to the future, and you have the chops and the fortitude to persuade the stubborn holdouts (even if it means bracing a John Anderson-like blow, as Jeff Dowd did last week), then you're absolutely vital to the future of publishing. You're needed. And you must go in and change things for the better.

Stay tuned for Part 3 tomorrow. Read Part 1. If you work in publishing (author, editor, agent, critic, bookseller or reporter) and would like to participate, email me at jason@jasonpinter.com with your response to "What is one thing you would you do to change book publishing for the better?" and I will post it.

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posted by Jason Pinter at 7:31 AM 0 Comments