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July 29, 2005

Tip: your agent loves to be acknowledged

This is a puff piece, and contains details that may be embarrassing to the author.

Agents have a reputation as a necessary evil, or, as one friendly editor put it to me, "necessary weasels." And, though we live in great anticipation of every contract, advance check and royalty statement, there's nothing that quite warms an agent's heart like a sincere acknowledgement of his efforts.

I was reminded of this today when I had the pleasure of reading a gracious acknowledgement in a soon to be released book. As always, I'm tickled pink. And more importantly, I'll work hard to keep my client's regard.

Your agent loves publishing -- many of us are frustrated writers and editors ourselves -- and it's great to see our own names in print. So, yes, it's an ego boost. I have to admit that.

It's good advertising, too: potential writers often comb the acknowledgements to find just the right agent for their project.

If your agent did a good job, acknowledge her. You needn't be verbose, sincere will do just fine. I guarantee you that your agent will notice.

And be sure to thank your editors. I don't care how much you fought over the manuscript, preferential edits or delayed checks. Be polite and professional and give credit to your editor.

There's plenty of tussling in this business, good manners go a long way.

Posted by matt at 2:08 PM | Comments (0)

July 18, 2005

The "Age of the Conglomerate" and Harry Potter

Recently, Viacom mogul Summer Redstone declared that he was dividing Viacom, and that the "age of the (media) conglomerate" was over.

This is interesting news because Redstone was one of the foremost practitioners of "growth by acquisition." The media kingdoms built alongside the dot com bubble, such as Viacom or The Company Formerly Known as AOL Time Warner, have had relatively poor results, and most have had a difficult time integrating all of their media properties or benefiting from the supposed synergies. Disney itself has struggled, even as it continues to roll out such successful films as Pirates of the Caribbean, or television hits like Desparate Housewives.

The biggest bonanzas often grow from the bottom up, and the best case in point today might be the absolutely huge sales of the latest Pottter book.

The first Potter title was pubbed by U.K. publisher Bloomsbury, and the U.S. rights were picked up by Scholastic. The movie rights were nabbed by Warner Bros. No one company controlled or directed the Potter phenomenon. Instead, the various entities work together as best they can, and are dependent upon the good graces of J.K. Rowling, who retains ultimate control over the Potter empire and, most importantly, a god-like grasp over the lives of her characters. Thankfully, the best and most enduring books aren't written by committee.

Posted by matt at 6:35 AM | Comments (0)

July 11, 2005

Fighting Writer's Block, part two

David Boles weighs in on the "myth of writer's block," quoting his mentor Dr. Howard Stein who urged his students to follow the "ass on chair" approach! Good stuff.

Posted by matt at 9:06 AM | Comments (0)

July 8, 2005

Shameless Client Promo: Photoblog 2.0

Harold Davis hosts what is becoming an increasingly stunning photoblog, Photoblog 2.0, which began, innocently enough, as the future companion web page to his forthcoming Digital Photography Digital Field Guide (Wiley), but has become much more.

Harold obviously has great fun exploring the technical side of photography, whether playing with various lenses or Photoshop, and he's posted some great pics of the Berkeley environs, but his recent sets of wilderness shots hearken back to his first career as a professional wilderness photographer, and it's a pleasure to see him doing something he so obviously loves and is so obviously good at.

It's nice to see what can become of a web site meant as a companion to a book -- it can have a life of its own -- and it's great to watch an author in action who loves his subject. This recent post is part one of what promises to be much more than a digital camera tale.

Posted by matt at 9:41 AM | Comments (0)

July 7, 2005

Dave Taylor on the "Myth" of Writer's Block

Dave has a short article on what he calls the "myth" of writer's block. he writes

Okay. Here's my key piece of advice for all new writers:

GET OVER THE WRITERS BLOCK MYTH

Really.

It's a job, you're a professional writer, and your task is to type, to put words down, to produce. Writer's block is for fiction writers and hobbyists who enjoy the anguish and angst of "the creative process". One of the very best things I ever learned about writing was from NJIT professor Peter Elbow's books, that WRITERS WRITE.

It's good advice. He suggests you sit down and write no matter what, and he suggests that blogs are a great exercise in this regard.

As an agent I see "blocks" that fall into a few categories, and this list doesn't include large life changes such as divorce, death in the family, depression and the like, which can derail or delay any book project:

Anxiety

It's one thing to pitch a book, it's another to actually sit down and write it. Authors are unique in that they work very much alone and can be their own worst critics, anxious about every little detail. Anxiety can be a great tool that spurs you on to wonderful things in your life, but if you let it overwhelm you, you won't get far. Save your anxiety for the re-write. Don't over-edit while you're writing your first draft, but be sure to edit it well before you send it along to your editor.

Know Your Audience

If you don't know your reader you'll be at sea. John Steinbeck once suggested to a young writer that he choose a specific person to write to, and he himself often wrote with his agent in mind. If you have a specific reader in mind you can engage in a much more meaningful connection, and with a more casual, direct voice. Pick your reader and you may find that the words flow more freely. Some of my clients have written to their mothers, isn't that a nice thought?

You Need an Outline

If you don't know where you're going, you're going to have a hard time getting there. If you're stuck on a chapter but have a great outline you can work on sections that are working for you and work back to the section that's troubling you.

Master Your Sample Chapter

If you do everything you can to nail your style and voice in your sample chapter, you'll have fewer problems along the way. If you're working with a house that requires a unique style or approach, do your best to understand what your editor needs from the get-go and the entire process will be much smoother, and you'll have a leg up on understanding your audience as well.

Posted by matt at 10:09 AM | Comments (0)