Reluctant rejecters are not all created equal. Some wait to see if a proposal or novel heats up before pursuing. It’s like the guy who only wants you once you’re with someone else.

Some really don’t know what they think, or they over think things, or they are made to feel insecure by their bosses. I’ve seen some ugly exchanges at editorial meetings back when I was an editor. I’d be reluctant, too, if my balls were cut off.

And then we have the editors who like to be nice and don’t like hurting other people (the fairer sex, I’m afraid to say, is more often guilty of this). They feel bad; hence reluctant. Fortunately for them, god invented e-mail. They also subscribe to the old saw, if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all.

A powerful agent from one of the big shops once said that there is no point in being nice when turning down a project — it doesn’t help the writer.

If anyone ever comments here, I would love to know what you think of that sentiment. Are writers better off knowing what editors really think?

Filed under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Over the decade during which I have been doing the devil’s work, I have finally become inured to rejection letters. They come with the territory. That said, the different ways editors go about rejecting projects is fascinating. I have identified at least seven types:1) The Eager Rejecter 2) The Reluctant Rejecter 3) The Avoider Rejecter4) The Braggart Rejecter 5) The Apologetic Rejecter 6) The Sadistic Rejecter and 7) The Every-Cliche-In-the Book Rejecter.

Today, let’s talk about the Eager Rejector. The first thing to note about this type is that he hasn’t figured out that e-mail is a really useful tool with which to decline a project; there is no need to pick up the phone to reject a book. Still, the eager beaver loves to jump on the horn first thing. We have noticed that most editors reject books in the afternoon after having put it off for while. After lunch is good: we’ve all had our lunch, we’re a little less alert, and we’ll be going home soon where we can lick our wounds or drown our sorrows. Only the Eager Rejecter gets off on his ability to RUIN your day right out of the gate. Some of these types want to be thanked for being so prompt, reading so quickly. Yeah, well, thanks for finishing so quickly and kicking me out of bed, too. I mean, please. Eager rejecting is just uncool. Next up: The Reluctant Rejecter.

Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »

Better than any mood altering medication is a glowing New York Times daily review for any one of my clients. And today that would come from critic Dwight Garner for Temple Grandin’s Animals Make Us Human. A rave. I would link it here, but I need someone to teach me how to link.  It’s amazing how when the review hits the stands the phone starts ringing. Producers want to know if film rights are available (sorry, no, soon to be an HBO film starring Clare Daines), scouts call to see if foreign rights are available, foreign publishers call, etc. This is the fun part. The a lot of fun part.

A few nights ago, I was able to see Temple talk to a class of 50 or so students from New York’s top science high schools like Bronx Science. They weren’t sure what to make of her at first, the somewhat flat voice, the Western garb she famously wears. She started by telling them what kids used to call her in high school: robot, rewind, retard. She ended by telling them about finding mentors, and the importance of perserverance.

People often refer to these moments as why they got into the business in the first place. Make no mistake: I got into the business because I needed structure and health benefits. But I’m glad I got to stay. It was beyond rewarding to see those beautiful science kids with their arms in the air.

Later, taking Temple back to the hotel, she asked after my dog. I said everything was great with her, but I had one question. The dog (a girl) humps me from time to time. Only me, not my husband, not my daughter. Why only me? Temple smiled widely, “She think she owns you.” I guess that would make me her bitch.

Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

One of the worst aspects of being an editor (and a new author) is the frenzy to get blurbs. Having no blurbs is like having no extra curriculars on your college application. Or no lace on your bra. It still fits, it still does its job, but where are the frills?

Most people are highly cynical and believe that you can only get blurbs from friends and through connections. This is mostly true, but it still requires a degree of chutzpah. That said, it does happen from time to time that a writer of note notices a new writer. I still have a postcard sent from William Trevor that endorsed a young Irish-American author. Just a hand written sentence from a leaky fountain pen — it meant the world to us.

From a publishing perspective, blurbs are most useful to the people inside the publishing house and the retailers to stir excitement pre-publication. People need validation. It’s one thing when an editor says that this is best novel he or she has ever read; it’s another entirely when it’s from Toni Morrison or Philip Roth. Discerning readers also scan blurbs when perusing a book. An endorsement from a respected author can be a deciding factor. [Note to self: write about spying on shoppers in bookstores.]

Much as I hated trying to get blurbs for my writers, after all who likes imposing on other people, I was never more flattered than the first time someone asked me to blurb their book. By the sixth time, it got a little tiresome especially as I was asked to blurb all the eating disorder books, you know, Fat Like Me, The Fat and the Fury, For Whom the Fat Tolls, Eat Me, to name a few. Still, I always blurbed the books, remembering how hard I worked as an editor to get support for my authors, and how much it meant to me to get some quotes on my own books.

One day, I confessed to a fellow agent that I didn’t love one of the books I blurbed. She was HORRIFIED. What about my good name? I replied that I basically traded that in when I became an agent. She didn’t laugh. She thought it was horrible of me. Was it? Was I becoming what Lucy Grealy lovingly called herself, “a blurb whore?” Bad enough to be a publishing slut.

And you can quote me on that.

Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Media Alert: Neil de Grasse Tyson will be on the Jay Leno Show on Monday, January 19 and on Jon Stewart’s Daily Show on Wednesday, January 28 to explain why he spearheaded the decision to demote Pluto’s cold ass Continue reading →

Filed under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

After one week on sale, Temple Grandin’s new book,  ANIMALS MAKE US HUMAN, hits the New York Times Bestseller list and at #13. I’ve worked with Temple for over twenty years, first as her editor and now as her agent. This is so sweet. Congratulations Temple! Congratulations everyone at Houghton Harcourt (talk about grace under pressure), and thanks to Temple fans old and new. Oh, don’t forget to get a copy!

Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »

Every other month I have lunch with my agents’ group. We call ourselves ETA, which stands for editors turned agent. That’s right, all of us, at one time or another, were gainfully employed as editors. And all of us joined the dark side. I look forward to these lunches because we are all like-minded having similar backgrounds in editorial. But the real reason is the superb gossip, character assassination and publisher bashing. It’s a bloodletting with sushi and diet cokes. Sometimes we’ll even debate the meaning of a contract clause or compare discount percentages! Good times. Today, the sushi was exceptionally good.

Filed under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

It’s okay if you missed the Golden Globes. They’re sort of like the PSAT’s, meaning there’s still time to prepare for the Oscars. People have often been surprised by my fanatic love of Hollywood Award Shows. It’s been this way since my childhood. In part, as an attention starved middle child, I’ve always had an acceptance speech at the ready — even after being summarily dismissed from NYU film school. Publishing has its award nights, its reviews, its share of the public eye, but c’mon. Okay, I confess, I’ve always wanted to be a part of glitterland. I just got sidetracked in the book biz for 25 years. I can’t complain. It’s been very good to me. I’ve worked on amazing books and loved many of my authors, the gossip’s been decent and at the end of the day, those beautiful objects.

Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »

This is probably the most asked question I get at writer’s conferences. And this is my answer: when you have a perfectly polished non-fiction proposal or novel or memoir, subscribe to Publishersmarketplace.com. On this site, you will be able to search whatever category you hope to publish into and find all the recent deals in that category along with the agent of record. That is the best place to begin putting together a list of agents who might be right for your project.

Publishers Weekly on line is another good source. Look at the acknowledgments of books you loved; if an agent is thanked, he or she might be a kindred spirit. Network: go to conferences, readings, workshops, read Poets and Writers where agents are often profiled. Now, with Google, you can easily research any agent.Many agencies have websites and post their submission guidelines. There are good reference books, too, that list agents like Getting Your Book Published for Dummies.

If up to ten agents turn you down and all give the same reason, or send a form letter rejection, then you may want to reassess your project. Is it really ready? Are you marketing it correctly? Have you workshopped your novel? Have you developed your platform? If you get a variety of rejections, keep going until you can either glean some valuable information or can’t take it any more. But don’t waste your time and energy sending your writing to someone who doesn’t represent material in your category. I get tons of queries from people writing sci-fi, historical fiction, thrillers, self-help, etc. when I don’t represent any writers in these categories. Lose-lose.

Manuscripts, of course, are not math problems, and the test for whether they work is highly subjective. It’s all about the right fit. Agents are, contrary to popular belief, human. Well, most. And they would much prefer to discover a superb new writer than turn hundreds down. Remember, a lot of agents have passed on writers who went on to become bestsellers — I believe thirty passed on Grisham’s first novel, A Time To Kill. (I’m not ready to confess, here, who I stupidly didn’t “see” or “get.”)

Most important, try to take your very thin writer’s skin, through which you feel everything and as a result produce searing and pellucid prose, and turn it into rhino skin, tough enough to withstand the inevitable rejections. You shouldn’t send a manuscript to an agent unless you know that nothing that agent says will stop you from writing. It’s about finding the person who does see it, does believe in you.

Stay focussed. Be professional. And like love, remember, it just takes one.

Filed under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

This is the season of movies based on books, plays or short stories. Doubt. Benjamin Button. Reservation Road. The Reader. Frost/Nixon. The Tale of Despereaux. Marley and Moi. This is good for writers. I know it’s commonplace to trash movie adaptations, but any additional money or exposure you can get as a writer is jam as far as I’m concerned. I’d option my mother if I could.

So far I’ve seen Benjamin Button. When I’m on my death bed, I will wish I had those two hours and forty minutes back. This is one suckface of a movie and it just might win more gold than Michael Phelps.

The Reader: The beginning is so good.

Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »