Junk Bonds, Blue Chips, and Publishing
I learned about this great post from Ed last week and meant to share it with you and then just got swamped… Levi Asher makes a fantastic comparison of the similarities between banking and publishing. “Big hits like Da Vinci Code and Cold Mountain inspire book executives to take great risks on possible future successes,”…
continue readingLiterary Sales Figures and Success
As we’ve discussed in this space before, sales figures are one of the great mysteries of publishing. Unless you have a Neilsen BookScan account, you’re pretty much playing a guessing game about how much this person sold versus that person. Galley Cat points to this post by Moonrat on what, exactly, is a good sales…
continue readingThe Quickness of Crisis Books
We often complain about the slow pace of publishing. And while those criticisms are sometimes absolutely valid, it’s amazing at how quick the industry is to jump on a topic. Yesterday, Publishers Weekly had an article on all the financial crisis books snatched up by publishers recently. “Though the situation on Wall Street continues to…
continue readingWild Boy on Sirius Radio
I was flipping through the various Sirius Satellite Radio channels on Saturday and stumbled upon a special presention about Andy Taylor’s new memoir, Wild Boy: My Life in Duran Duran. Taylor, the guitar player for Duran Duran, the Power Station, and few solo songs, writes about his childhood, the incredible fame of Duran Duran, the…
continue readingConflict, the Passover Question, and Fear of Sentimentality
Today, we wrap up our question-of-the-day from Joshua Henkin, author of the critically acclaimed novel Matrimony. Thanks for Joshua for all this time and great information this week. Slushpile: What is your single-best, most-important, can’t-live-without writing tip you would offer to aspiring authors? Henkin: First of all, I want to thank you, Scott, for having…
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