PublishAmerica Faces Lawsuit
Publishers Weekly reported on Tuesday that controversial company PublishAmerica is facing a new lawsuit. As reporter Steven Zeitchik wrote, “though this time it has upset someone with a lot more clout–and lawyers–than unknown authors.” The Maryland-based publisher launched a new business division in the United Kingdom called PublishBritannica which incurred the wrath of Encyclopaedia Britannica.…
continue readingOld School Water Torture… Just… Make… It… Stop
I really wanted to like this book. The author has great credentials, the subject matter is of particular interest to writers, and the reference materials are impeccable. But reading this thing was like the old spy movies where our hero is subjected to the drip… drip… drip… drip… drip… drip… drip… drip… drip… drip… drip……
continue readingPublishing Too Open?
Frustrated writers like to rail against the injustices of the publishing industry. I’ve been known to vent a little here and there myself, although I stop far short of calling publishers a mafia. But there are many out there who, through much gnashing of teeth and beating of breast, lament that their novel is being…
continue readingMiss Snark: Literary Whippings
An anonymous literary agent calling herself Miss Snark runs a blog where she dispenses blunt, pointed comments and criticisms that are engaging and entertaining. You can submit work to her and she’ll run it through the Crapometer and post her thoughts. She also responds to comments. One viewer asks “I see a lot of agent…
continue readingBoD: Bloodbrothers
Richard Price may now be better known for his film work or his urban crime dramas. But his early novels are excellent examinations of working-class families and the pressures they face. Probably my favorite early Price novel is Blood Brothers. Published in 1976, this book follows the difficult decisions facing eighteen-year-old Stony De Coco. His…
continue reading