What’s in store for Barnes & Noble? (This week in books)

This week! In Books!

The Barnes & Noble sale to a hedge fund is still the talk of publishing folks. Any potential changes will reverberate through the industry. Publishing sage Mike Shatzkin (buy his book on the publishing industry!) runs down what it means. His conclusion? It will take more profound change than what’s been done in the UK to make the “big chain bookstore” model commercially viable in the US anytime in the future.

Watch out for predatory companies hijacking your Google Searches! Victoria Strauss at Writer Beware warns against unscrupulous services trying to catch you via Google Ads. This is a serious problem. Know your rights, do your research, don’t go with bargain basement edits or services from someone with no experience, and stick to trusted sources.

Loved this post by Karen Dukess: Writing a novel? Here are the seven friends you need.

Agent Jessica Faust advises that you not only consider what’s catchy when you think of your title, but also be mindful of the tone.

Pitching a short story collection? As Janet Reid points out, you probably need a novel too.

And Walt Whitman’s 200th birthday was a few weeks back. The New Yorker looks back at his legacy.

This week’s blog posts, in case you missed them:

• How to work with a literary agent on edits
• Why you should remove the word “ensues” from your query and synopsis and light it on fire
• Should authors have more control over their covers?
• Why it works: “Gilead” by Marilynne Robinson

Comment! of! the! week! goes to Marilynn Byerly on whether authors should have more control over their covers. She’s had some challenges with publishers:

I have heard so many horror stories from big publishing, particularly romance covers–overweight heroes, a woman with three hands, and modern Jordache-branded jeans on the heroine in a historical romance to name a few.

In my own case, working with small publishers, I’ve had to fight over covers. A romance cover on a science fiction adventure, an action/adventure cover on a romantic suspense, and a misplaced hand that made the cover hysterically funny. I even paid to have one cover done myself because the publisher was so clueless about my genre. I’d rather be considered difficult than lie to the reader about the kind of book I’m selling them.

Sometimes, feedback is a good thing.

And finally, narlugas, the offspring of a narwhal and a beluga, are very real. Thought you should know.

Have a great weekend!

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