This week! Books! Again a little late!
First up, there was a first part of an interview with me over at Writer’s Unboxed, in which I discus civility and virtue, my parents, why I left publishing, the existential angst of modern reality television (that part I made up), and much more. Stay tuned for part two. And if you, yourself, have been the subject of an author interview, please take a moment to fill out Jan’s survey regarding such. Thank you!
Some BEA recaps have been rolling in, and Bloomsbury publisher Peter Ginna had a great field guide to the flora and fauna of BEA, including the VIPs, the swagaholics, and the wannabes.
Speaking of VIPs, the Wall Street Journal had a profile of superagent Andrew Wylie, who had some interesting thoughts on the internationalization of books and what will happen in the e-book era.
Ever wondered what it’s like to have your book go on submission? My former client Natalie Whipple wrote an indispensable post called What To Expect When You’re Submitting, which has all the information you need to know. Is it normal to get revision requests? How long does it take? What will the process do to my sanity? Natalie covers it all.
And in more life of the writer news, from agent Rachelle Gardner’s archives a post on those moments when you feel like giving up and instead showing what you’re made of, over at Shrinking Violet Promotions my former client Jennifer Hubbard wrote a great post about the difference between solitude and isolation, and the Rejectionist talks about soothing the puppy that is your brain.
This week in the Forums, favorite summertime dishes (and Watcher55’s gazpacho recipe), talking conferences and conventions, whether you should post works online that are set in the world of your novel, are writers online too suspicious, and what’s your genre?
And finally, my colleague David Carnoy reviewed the new Nook and came away feeling it’s superior to the current Kindle. Here’s a video hands-on with the device:
Have a great weekend!
You too, have a great weekend!
To me not having 3G is a big downer. That's one of my favorite things about my Kindle. I don't have to have internet access to download a book. Its just a matter of convenience.
My jaw dropped when I read this this morning, I mean, you've got to be kidding Naipaul: https://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jun/02/vs-naipaul-jane-austen-women-writers
and then it turns out I can't determine (I wonder if Naipaul can show all us how exactly) whether a writer is female or male based on first paragraphs:
https://www.guardian.co.uk/books/quiz/2011/jun/02/naipaul-test-author-s-sex-quiz
Just had to share!
Especially superb collection of links this week, Nathan. I really liked Natalie's and Rachelle's blog posts. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the mention Nathan.
I too often wondered if you had a little teacher in you. Congrats to your parents.
Ahem – I often wondered….
Always love ur end of week links 🙂
Nathan, enjoyed the interview at Writer Unboxed. You would probably make a great teacher,judging from all the writing posts you've shared with your readers.
Haven't yet checked all the other links. But I agree with your comments on civility. It's what makes this blog a nice place to hang out, virtually of course.
Thanks for the update-have a great weekend!
Nice interview!
Great interview, Nathan! I really appreciated your discussion of virtue and ethics. I loved the questions she asked you. I agree with D.G., your blog is definitely a reflection of your web presence. You've created a web oasis here, where people have opinions, and don't always agree, but most disagree cordially, or at least they don't get into mean arguments. It's very much to your credit.
The interview with Andrew Wylie was interesting. I don't understand, though, why he says that e-readers won't be a big thing. Why, then, did he open his own imprint? I'm not sure he's being truthful. Sorry, but I think he's trying to play both sides, so he doesn't alienate traditional publishers.
I really liked the Rejectionist's post, I love her voice and quick witty writing style. I like Natalie and Jennifer's style too.
One of the things about e-readers, I've noticed…I think I'm right, is you can't switch. Is that true? I've bought a ton of books on Kindle, so I don't think I could have a Nook, right? The books I "own" actually belong to Amazon? That's something I'd like to figure out.
Very much enjoying the forums now that I have time to post there – schools wrapping up, thanks all be to heaven above.
Thanks for all that you do, Nathan! Blog, forum, this week in books – thank you! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
Wowza – the links this week are stupendous!
I loved Natalie's post. It's so encouraging to hear that I'm not the only one who gets a case of "the crazies" when I send my work out! And her advice was wonderful. Thanks for passing us that link.
Andrew Wylie's interview was interesting; I don't think I agree with him about most people not having a screen in the library that they access their reading from – as he said before, he prefers the classics and the long-term return types of books, but the ones that top the short-term best-seller lists are the Danielle Steeles. In other words, on any given day, more people are buying the types of books he doesn't tend to read, and are reading them in ways that he "doesn't have the time" for. I think he'll find himself in the minority. That said, I appreciate his view of a print/eReader blend in the near future. I think that makes sense. He's a very interesting person.
Thanks again!
Thank you for mentioning my survey! Your posters have been generous with data and comments.
WRITING CONTEST……My blog Amish Stories is having its first ever contest this week. The First prize winner will win 2 tickets to tour the farm where the 1985 move "Witness" staring Harrison Ford and Kelly Mcgillis was made in Strasburg,Pa . This farm is now Amish owned, and the family has given permission for folks to tour their farm. This may be the last time anyone will be able to walk and see the same things that Harrison Ford and the other actors saw during the making of "Witness". The Witness tour should last about 2.5 hours. In addition to the Witness farm tour tickets, 1st prize winner will also receive 2 tickets for Jacobs choice. There will also be a 2nd place prize, which will be 2 tickets for the Amish Homestead. Please go to My blog http://www.AmishStorys.com for contest details, and more information on the prizes. Richard from the Amish settlement of Lebanon county.