Great Information on the Countdown to a Book Launch
Mark Sarvas at The Elegant Variation provides a great look into all the things that are on a writer’s plate when it’s about two months away from the book launch.
continue readingPersonas from Long Ago
In LA Weekly’s lengthy and detailed article about Laura Albert and the J.T. Leroy hoax, Nancy Rommelmann reveals that Albert was making up cover stories and personas decades ago. And she also explains how the Leroy persona was the perfect creation for the times. “During the cultural relativism of the ’90s, if you wanted to sell…
continue readingFord Leaves Knopf
Wow. Richard Ford is ending his seventeen-year relationship with Alfred A. Knopf and moving to Ecco. Big, big news. This article is also useful because, as you know, I’m a bit obsessed by the mystery of sales figures. According to this article, Ford’s last novel, Lay of the Land sold “51,000 copies in hardcover,…
continue readingIt’s All a Question of Balance
Sell yourself. Tell the truth. Both very good advice. Both very necessary if you’re trying to get an agent or editor. The difficulty comes in balancing the two objectives. Seth Godin writes about how marketing creates placebos in order to influence your opinions of a product. “The design of your blog or your package or your…
continue readingSmith Criticizes Literary Awards
Zadie Smith “launched a blistering attack on literary prizes,” according to The Telegraph. This article quotes the author as saying literary awards are “only nominally” about the literature and instead are “really about brand consolidation for beer companies, phone companies, coffee companies and even frozen food companies.” Smith is the recipient of several major literary awards…
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