First off, thank you once again to everyone who is participating in Be An Agent for a Day, which has been so much fun. The comments on the queries will close Saturday night, and results and stats on Monday!
Now that we have 10,000+ comments I have realized that compiling these stats will not be remotely possible on my own. I am humbly requesting ten volunteers to help me with stat compiling this Sunday. (I’m also happy to barter a query critique for your trouble — first 10 volunteers in the comments section UPDATE: the 10 spots are filled, thanks so much, volunteers)
Now then. Some fantastic news from a familiar name. Terry DeHart (aka terryd), finalist in the Surprisingly Essential First Page Challenge, let me know that he has just received a two-book deal from Orbit for the book he used in the contest!! Congratulations to Terry!
[schadenfreude](Oh. And remember the people who were mad about my choices for the finals of that contest? I sure do!) [/schadenfreude]
Speaking of friends of the blog, Anne & May are giving away copies of their just-released book BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO. Free books = always awesome.
In publishing news, NPR recently did a story on the state of the publishing industry and Pub Lunch (subscription) linked to an accompanying article. Per Pub Lunch, Random House Publishing Group spokesperson Carol Schneider explained the current marketplace thusly: “We’re acquiring fewer books… There are no specific numbers or formula involved here–we’re simply being more selective in all categories–literary, commercial, blockbuster.” And…… there you have it.
Meanwhile, there are rumors afoot that Barnes & Noble may enter the e-reader market with a device that could challenge the Sony Reader, Kindle, and (insert device of the future here). Any bets on what B&N will call it? I hope they go with Barnes. As in, “I read your book on my Barnes, chap!” And yes, it would probably force me to call people “chap”.
You may have heard a great deal about a “glitch” dubbed amazonfail, in which erotica and GLBT books, including some classics, were mysteriously delisted from sales rankings. In case you’re curious about it all, The Millions has a very helpful breakdown of what happened and how the news spread. And I can’t wait until we have failfail. “Fail” needs. to. go.
Via Neil Vogler, the Guardian reports that the guy behind PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES just got a monster (get it? get it?) book deal from Grand Central.
Also in the Guardian… our contest!
Grove editor Jofie Ferrari-Adler has added another excellent entry in his series of agent interviews for Poets and Writers. A must read.
Cynthia Leitich Smith announced that Katherine Paterson, author of BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA, Curtis Brown client, and truly wonderful person (seriously she’s so nice), has established a prize for YA and children’s writing at Hunger Mountain, the arts journal of the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Click on over for that.
In writing advice news, thanks to John Ochwat for pointing me to Pat Holt’s blog post on ten mistakes writers often make but don’t often notice. It’s not on the list, but you might not have noticed that the first letter of every paragraph spells a bad word. Just thought you should know.
And finally, someone is going to have to explain this Susan Boyle thing to me. What exactly are we supposed to take from it? That it’s surprising that people from a humble background can be wildly talented? That you have to look like Britney Spears in order sing… better than Britney Spears? 20 million YouTube views later and I’m struggling to understand.
Have a great weekend!
PurpleClover says
Nathan – you know you’re a millionaire. 😉
Okay I just watched the Susan Boyle thing for the first time (I tried a few days ago and the video wasn’t working on a FB page so I gave up). And I must admit…I blubbered like an idiot. sigh.
Nathan Bransford says
martin-
Ooooooohhhhh. I like it.
Anjali says
I don’t get the Susan Boyle thing, either. But I will say this. I cried like a baby a few notes into her song, and all the way through to the end.
Anonymous says
Nathan,
Maybe I missed it. What time Saturday night? 11:59 pm?
Thanks
Marilyn Peake says
Wow, lots of great news. One of your best This Week in Publishing posts ever. So much great news about authors, it gives me hope. (I am bleary-eyed, hoping to complete the first draft of my new sci fi novel in ten more days. Yes, I’m a fool.) Congratulations, Terry DeHart! Woo! Hoo!
I think I get the Susan Boyle thing. Over and over and over again, the judges, especially Simon Cowell, have emphasized to female contestants that they have to have a certain look … meaning the Pussycat Doll, Britney Spears look. It seemed that the days of Janis Joplin and Aretha Franklin were gone forever. Then, along comes Susan Boyle: overweight, not stylishly dressed, unemployed, middle age. Simon Cowell actually smirked and audience members rolled their eyes when she said she was 47 years old and hoping to start a singing career. Then she opened her mouth and began to sing. Her sheer talent wiped the smirk off Simon Cowell’s face and made him look like he had seen an angel. In a time when surface and material values appear to dominate everything, Susan Boyle has turned that notion upside down. There’s a wonderful lesson here. She gives us hope that anything is possible, even if conventional “wisdom” says it’s not.
Can’t wait for the results of the Be an Agent for a Day Contest. It’s gonna be a long weekend, waiting.
Nathan Bransford says
anon-
Well… after I get home that night and before I go to bed. I don’t know when that’s going to be. To be safe, best to have them in by the afternoon Pacific time.
Ink says
Oh, and as for the Susan Boyle thing, I’m of two minds. First mind, kudos to her for her perseverance and determination. Always nice to see. Second mind, well, I think it shows how shallow our society is. Let’s face it, it’s become a media storm because people were suprised that a dumpy and unknown 47 year old could really sing. If she was twenty five and fairly pretty, would anyone really care? It’s a story because everyone was prejudging her, as if the prettiness of a face were somehow symbolically representative of a person’s value or talent. Silly. And shallow.
I’m happy for her, in that it seems she’s worked hard and persevered. She had that lucky shot and took advantage of it. But I’m disappointed in the surface vanity of our culture. I’m guessing a lot of people are saying “Oh, it’s so cute, she can sing!” Which at heart seems pretty condescending.
Those are my two little bits of copper spinning on the tabletop.
Bryan Russell
Mira says
Okay, I’ll comment on all the interesting links in a moment, very cool, Nathan, (and major congrats on the Guardian article!!!)but first, I have a very important announcement:
I want to volunteer. Evidentally I was too late to sign up, but I don’t think that should stop me.
First, let me tell you what a great volunteer I’d be.
I’d be super fast. I’d be so fast, it would be like I wasn’t even counting the actual numbers. And then, it would be truly awesome how many votes my personal query got. You know, #51.
Okay, who wants to drop out and let me volunteer?
I’ll barter for it. I’ll give you a…..um…….ummmmm…….hmmmmm.
It will be a surprise. Yes. An incredible surprise. You’ll like it. Boy, will you like it.
Okay, hurry and take this offer! It won’t last forever, you know. It will actually disappear the moment someone takes me up on it.
Okay, who’s first in line? No pushing now.
Nathan Bransford says
bryan-
Well said.
PurpleClover says
I thought that was the point of the video? To teach us how shallow society is. It is a sad truth that in this world you must look a certain way to progress (they teach this in sociology).
So I think the video was a reminder of how rediculous society is. At least that is the belief I want to hold.
Dawn says
On the Susan Boyle thing: my enjoyment of that video was watching the astounded faces of the audience because I felt they did believe that you had to look like Britney Spears to “sing.” They looked at her and made a judgment, then they were overwhelmed with her beauty and that touched me. It still makes me tear up a bit. I LOVE to see that happen.
Nathan Bransford says
While I’m very happy for her that she got her break at the perfect time, I guess I just can’t escape the feeling that it’s at least partly sad that anyone would be surprised.
I mean, I’m in the talent judging business. I don’t look around the room and think, “Ok, where are the most attractive people? I’m sure they’re the best writers!”
T. Anne says
Hey Chap,
Susan Boyle is awesome. Hope to the hopeless maybe that’s the lesson here. Everyone loves the underdog (except maybe literary agents who seem to be inundated with them). Have a great weekend!
Kristi says
Regarding the Susan Boyle thing, for me it was an underdog thing. We (we being humans) tend to judge people more on looks than talent, so she started out with the odds unfairly stacked against her. Did anyone see the movie Rudy? Anyway, I’ll always be an underdog girl (hence why I’m a K.C. Chiefs fan). Happy weekend! 🙂
Kristine Overbrook says
RE: Susan Boyle — proof that you can’t tell a book from by it’s cover. People are always forgetting that it really is true.
Bane of Anubis says
Yes, Nathan, but if writers had to make videos instead of books or audio CDs, it would be a different story. It's sad in some ways, but most of us prefer looking at beautiful people… particularly the target demographic of music (& music videos); but I imagine Ms. Boyle has a strong Broadway/Classical future ahead (and hopefully she'll get everything she wants)
Nathan Bransford says
BofA-
That’s a good point.
Bane of Anubis says
And congrats to TerryD – sounds like the precursor to “The Road” w/o all the annoying grammar issues, etc… (I’m gonna stop myself before I get all vaklempt).
Dawn says
While I’m very happy for her that she got her break at the perfect time, I guess I just can’t escape the feeling that it’s at least partly sad that anyone would be surprised.
I mean, I’m in the talent judging business. I don’t look around the room and think, “Ok, where are the most attractive people? I’m sure they’re the best writers!”It is sad, Nathan, but remember that moment in Revenge of the Nerds when the nerds say to the pretty people, “There are more of us than there are of you.”
That was the truth. She was a winner for all of us who don’t fit into that pretty little crowd. *hugs to her*
*off to check out Colleen’s link to Boyle’s earlier performance.
Marilyn Peake says
Nathan said:
I mean, I’m in the talent judging business. I don’t look around the room and think, “Ok, where are the most attractive people? I’m sure they’re the best writers!”I think writers are lucky that way, but I bet writers would be chosen differently if they had to appear on TV and do a dance routine or something visual. Someone once told me that singers used to be judged on talent alone when they were heard only on the radio. Once music videos became the norm, the standards changed. Sad that so many of the standards were extremely shallow. On the other hand, dance routines were added as a major visual component of music videos, and I think dance has reached an incredible level of achievement within the past few years.
Ink says
Bane, you’re killing me…
“…without all the annoying grammar issues…”
Oh man, my bone marrow just froze and cracked. You gotta take it easy on me, Bane, I can’t survive reading too many lines like that…
Mira says
Ahem.
My secret passion is compiling numbers on a blog about queries.
Sadly, no one believes that I can do that because I don’t look like Britney Spears.
If only someone would give me the chance. A chance to prove myself. To prove that I don’t have to look like Britney Spears in order to compile numbers, I really don’t!
If only I could let the number compiling beauty inside me shine out….if only someone would give me a chance…..
sniff
Bane of Anubis says
Sorry, thoughts of that book (even self-inflicted ones) get my hackles up – I know I’m in the very tiny minority… I’ll try to refrain… I’ll try very hard… eventually I’ll get there.
Marian says
Re: Susan Boyle. The voice is the thing, just as in literature…you’re looking for the authentic voice that comes across in the query and makes it all the way into each reader’s heart.
The packaging can always be dressed up (in Susan’s case, wax the unibrow and fix the hair), but the authentic voice needs no embellishment.
Thanks for the query game-didn’t have time to do it nor time to compile, but it was a great learning opportunity.
Marian
Mechelle Avey says
Attractiveness matters in this industry, too, if only tangentially.
See: https://preview.writersdigest.com/article/Does_This_Book_Jacket_Make_Me_Look_Fat/
A Quote:
For most writers, says literary agent Ginger Clark, looks won’t be an issue, but “the bigger the deal, the more often it matters.” She explains, “If your agent is positioning you as the next big literary fiction genius—and therefore making it clear she’s expecting people to bid high—she’s probably doing so with the added bonus of you being attractive.” But long before attractiveness enters the equation, agents and editors will be more focused on basic presentability. “A well-spoken, articulate, intelligent and witty author is always a bonus,” Clark says.
Anonymous says
I think the equivalent to Susan Boyle in writing would be the query written on pink unicorn stationary, two toffees included, no SASE. The author claims she writes like – dunno, take your pick – and then you read the first 10 pages and realize she does and she gets this amazing deal.
Wouldn’t you be surprised?
kg says
So much cynicism on here with respect to Susan Boyle!! I don’t think people are pitying her or saying, “Oh, how cute.” I think people genuinely were moved by her singing. Our society puts SUCH a high premium on youth and physical beauty, and Susan Boyle is an ordinary looking person. When is the last time an ordinary looking person became a media sensation? This story gives me hope not because it proves that ordinary looking people can do great things (which is obvious to anyone who spends a moment to think about it), but because it shows that we as a society have a deeper appreciation for talent and beauty than the media would suggest. American Idol won’t even let anyone older than 28 compete in the show! Many of the people running our arts and cultural institutions need to be woken up to the fact that we’re not as shallow as they think we are (or, perhaps, as shallow as they want us to be).
Haste yee back ;-) says
Streisand’s got nothing on Susan! WOWZA, WOWZA, WOWZA! Good on ya Susan Boyle!!
Nathan… I think it’s a case of the ugly duckling quackin’ like a choir of angels!
Haste yee back 😉
Marilyn Peake says
Mechelle,
Good Lord. Perhaps the Pussycat Dolls or Britney Spears could be hired to talk about authors’ books in TV interviews. Think about it – The Pussycat Dolls discuss the works of Cormac McCarthy, or Britney Spears discusses the works of Thomas Pynchon.
csmith says
Mira,
Get back to work. I know you’re busy 😛 Your query counting genius will have to wait for another day!
xx
Nathan,
Great post – re Susan Boyle it was such a shock just hearing her randomly appear on this rather odd show and sing; especially since it was obvious she was not trained, just a gorgeous natural talent. I tend not to gush over this stuff much, but that kind of floored me.
Re writing – probably one of the few professions left where you don’t get judged on appearance. I may be slightly sensitive to this, female architects are treated with massive contempt on building sites. But it is kind of nice to be able to hide what you look like behind “12pt double spaced indent paragraphs”. (And now I sound like I frighten small children when I leave the house)
Chris
Other Lisa says
What BofA and Marilyn Peake said – musicians, especially singers, are soooo judged on their appearance. I mean, “Video Killed the Radio Star,” you know? And the whole American Idolization of everything has made it even worse.
Writers largely get to escape this but not entirely – in the film business, where I used to work, it’s a big advantage for screenplay writers to be young and male. Maybe we’re getting away from this a little nowadays, I’m not sure. But it was that way for years.
And I think the publishing industry has had a certain number of young hot authors whose looks and youth are a peg to market their work on. I’m not saying that’s why they were published, but I’m guessing it was a factor in publishers’ calculations of their marketability.
csmith says
Oh, and regarding the Holt post – because I know I use crutch words frequently, I downloaded a wordcounter. Just plug in the text, let it percolate, and then scan the list to see which words have a higher frequency than they should. Works wonders. Also confirmed my darkest suspicions about how dire some of my wordchoice was! A useful tool.
C
Anonymous says
Hey Nathan. Susan Boyle is Shrek. The message in her voice resounds inner beauty being more important than our bushy eyebrows. It’s the Ugly Duckling, Beauty and the Beast bollocks.
Mechelle Avey says
Yikes, Marilyn. Maybe THAT is the future of publishing. I bought Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire and inadvertently got the Pussycat Dolls version. I don’t know why the music industry felt the need to remake the song with the Pussycat Dolls right after giving A.R. Rahman an Academy Award for it. Was he not beautiful enough for the young and fabulous? If we see the future here on the Bransford blog and the future is beauty only beauty, I want Halle Berry repping me on the jacketflap. 😀 All the muttering about Milli Vanilli will be ignored.
Anonymous says
I think the Susan Boyle think has gone so large because we can see, in the judge’s reaction, a humbling reminder of how superficial we can all be.
Professing bewilderment at other people’s surprise in finding beauty in hidden places is a worthy line to take, but actually sounds a little disingenuous.
Rightly or wrongly we are surprised by it.
Rachel says
Great article in the Guardian!
And thanks for the query contest. It was enlightening on many, MANY levels. I sympathized with agents before and I do so even more now. (I didn’t even have time to get form rejections out by the end…just commented on the requests.)
Scott says
I think we need to get to metaFAIL before a singularity develops powerful enough to destroy the FAIL meme. I expect this to happen come the fourth quarter of the year.
Also, Susan Boyle was obviously trained. Her posture was too good. Specifically, she defied all eyebrow-to-talent ratios. Truth be told, her voice is quite lovely and affecting, and I don’t understand the rabid following either, but I’m going to consider creating a character around her. 😉
Finally, thanks for the contest, Nathan. Your blog is definitely the Susan Boyle of the agent universe. And congrats, compilers, although I think it would be cool to make the queries public for feedback.
Kristin Laughtin says
It amuses me that this post was made ten minutes before I saw it and the slots are filled already.
Congrats to terryd! That’s awesome!
Re: Susan Boyle: that’s exactly what we’re supposed to take from it–the whole “don’t judge a book by its cover” thing. Which we should understand anyway, but we’re pretty judgmental creatures.
Richard Mabry says
Nathan,
Always enjoy your “This Week In Publishing.” Thanks for putting it together.
When I blogged about the Susan Boyle story, I likened it to writers who struggle in obscurity for years, wondering if the sweat equity in their work will ever pay off. Draw whatever conclusion you wish, write your own parable, but for me, it said, “There’s always a chance.” And that’s good.
Nathan Bransford says
Okay. I atone for my stick in the mudn-ess. Perhaps the nice weather this weekend will warm my cold heart.
And Scott, “eyebrows to talent ratios” was extremely hilarious.
Sasha says
Nathan, thank you soooo much for the contest! That was a fantastic education that applies to writing and polishing my own queries.
Marilyn Peake says
Mechelle said:
“I bought Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire and inadvertently got the Pussycat Dolls version.”
Ouch! I bought the music CD for Slumdog Millionaire, but I accidentally did the same thing in trying to watch Jai Ho on YouTube – got the Pussycat Dolls’ version. I actually love the dancing talent of the Pussycat Dolls, but think the original version of Jai Ho is soooooo much better … It’s a version that gets stuck in my head for days after hearing it. I love, love, love Slumdog Millionaire – and the great rags-to-riches story behind the making of that movie. But I was crushed to hear that the little kids weren’t paid much and returned to the slums after the movie was completed. I’m so hoping that situation has been remedied.
jimnduncan says
Man, I’m just slow. I think people park on the blog waiting for it to get posted or something. Grats to those who get the critque.
As for the wonderful Susan Boyle. I don’t know that you can take anything from it other than you should never give up on your dreams. Plus, it’s just a very heart-warming story, always wanting to be a singer, having to care for her mother, never married, never kissed, and then to be the ‘frumpy housewife’ who knocks everyone’s socks off after getting giggled at on stage, is just very cool.
Be fun to see how these stats turn out.
Marilyn Peake says
Nathan said:
“Okay. I atone for my stick in the mudn-ess. Perhaps the nice weather this weekend will warm my cold heart.”
LOL. That is funny. We know you judge literature based on the writing, Nathan, and that you rep literary novels. Thank God! Not sure how many of us could afford to hire the Pussycat Dolls to deliver our queries. 🙂
Barbara Caridad Ferrer says
The Susan Boyle thing is fairly simple– it’s the classic feel good story. Everyone who saw her walk on onto that stage expected her to fail– especially after she was so awkwardly saucy in responding to Simon. Everyone was expecting the absolute worst, primarily based on her appearance, coupled with her dream, which was to be like Elaine Page, who is the absolute antithesis of who Susan Boyle is. Which made what then came out doubly stunning.
Plus, it was the realization of a dream, which is I think is a theme that resonates so strongly with most people. I think everyone has a little bit of that in them– wish they could have that moment.
Basically, Susan Boyle is a modern-day Rocky.
Other Lisa says
@Marilyn Peake – re: Slumdog kids and filmmakers – here’s the latest.
TecZ aka Dalton C Teczon - Writer says
Ah bummers, I woke up way to late today, I would of jumped on this. Congrats to the first ten! Thanks for the updates, Nathan. It’s encouraging to see the successes.
abc says
I know I should be over this whole FAIL thing, but it still makes me laugh. I guess I’m easy. For laughs, that is. Also, I agree about Susan Boyle. It’s kinda offensive that it is so *surprising*. Also, Tim Riggins!
(Does Tim Riggins = puppies? Yes.)
Furious D says
1. Congrats Terryd, I’m burning with white hot jealousy.
2. Free books= always awesome. Book with me in it available via Amazon= REALLY AMAZING. (It’s a small press book, I gotta shill it anyway I can)
3. That’s code for: “We’re p*ssing away millions on book deals with D-List celebrities rather than something people might actually read.”
4. They could call it the Barndle.
5. The story sort of reminds me of the Canada Customs Agency in Toronto in the 1990s. They were always seizing books being shipped to a GLBT bookstore, while letting the exact same books get shipped to the mainstream bookstores.
6. I’m working on The Old Man & The Sea Meets Godzilla.
7. With the way print media’s going, you’ll probably have more readers than the Guardian soon.
8. Very clever, those interviews are just a clever ploy for him to find a new agent!!!
9. The contest rejected my YA novel, The Bridge to Terabithia Gets Eaten By Godzilla. Then she beat me up for “bastardizing” her work. She’s tough.
10. And the word is F-U-R-I-O-U-S-D. Wait a minute!!
11. It’s the eyebrows, they have a hypnotic effect on mere mortals. Every YouTube view is another slave to her plot to conquer the world through brow-power!
Thomas Burchfield says
I hid under the table during the Be an Agent for a Week Contest, but I did avidly read The Ten Mistakes Writers Make with appropriate wincing. We always need reminding.
Hey, isn’t that whole YouTube just a rehash of the William Hung Show a few years back?