How NOT to Begin a Submission E-mail
Subject: Male Author Craves Approval
Seriously? Come on, man. This is a publishing house, not the singles section of the local newspaper.
Best Slush-Pile Introduction Letter EVER!
Dear Submissions Editor,*
I’m hoping I’ve caught you at the perfect time. Right before you embark on your summer holidays so you’re not really paying attention to work. You’re too busy dreaming of those long, lazy days ahead, lying on a beach, spending quality time with the family, watching cricket on a 60” sceen or drunkenly revealing your true feelings for your superior to their face at the office Christmas Party (tick all applicable options). Basically, the one time of year when you’ll be in the right frame of mind to say; oh, sure, Liane. Whatever. Why not? Send your little manuscript. Send it forthwith. I’ll read it first thing next year. Then you’ll return from your break in 2011 feeling refreshed and relaxed, yet also invigorated and ready to see (or read) the best in everything. I will surely seem like the next Paul Jennings when you’re in such a good mood (the jaded, disillusioned feeling that everything you’re reading is all a load of trash doesn’t actually set in until at least March, does it?). Wow. She’s an evil genius, I hear you think. Perhaps I am. Perhaps I am.
*I really mean no disrespect to your position and I hope you won’t take offence at my letter!
Have We Found a Place for Short Stories?
Amazon.com is betting that an uncommon length of reading material — longer than a magazine article but shorter than a book — will be a popular format in electronic form for its Kindle e-book reader.
The online retailer said Tuesday it is launching Kindle “Singles,” a section of its electronic bookstore dedicated to pieces that are 10,000 to 30,000 words or 30 to 90 pages.
Amazon said that is about twice the length of an article in The New Yorker or several chapters of a book.
And the company said it is soliciting the pieces outside of the publishing industry.
“Today’s announcement is a call to serious writers, thinkers, scientists, business leaders, historians, politicians and publishers to join Amazon in making such works available to readers around the world,” the company said.
It said “interested parties” should contact digital-publications@amazon.com
Amazon did not immediately respond to an inquiry about how much the “Singles” would cost.
The news comes as Amazon’s tries to keep its Kindle reader in the dominant position in the e-reader market.
It faces competition Apple Inc.’s iPad and other similar dedicated reading devices such as Barnes & Noble Inc.’s Nook.
In January, Amazon said it planned to offer do-it-yourself authors and publishers royalties of about 70 percent on their e-books if they use its e-book self-publishing program, the Kindle Digital Text Platform and meet certain criteria.
Amazon shares rose $1.89 to $154.92 during afternoon trading.
Has anyone read Booky Wook 2 by Russell Brand yet? I haven’t read My Booky Wook (he wasn’t famous enough for me to care back then) but god I’m having fun reading this one! I’m stumbling a bit with the British accent and constant stream on consciousness but it’s a satisfying bit of trash that’s much more clever than you think it is.
Not J-Franz’s Glasses!!
To answer your first question: No, I wasn’t the one to attempt stealing his glasses.
To answer your second question: Yes, I wish I had attempted to when I met him.
Read more about the stolen glasses saga here:
Poor J-Franz. He’s having a pretty rough 2010!!
And You Thought “Freshly Ground Black People” Was Bad?
Yesterday Jonathan Franzen made an announcement to his readers at a publicity event in London’s Southbank. The critically acclaimed author, who was recently on the cover of Time magazine, regretted to inform his fans that HarperCollinsPublishers UK had printed an earlier version of the Freedom manuscript by mistake.
This affects stock in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Franzen’s US publisher, FSG, are the only ones to print the correct version of the text.
It is estimated that this (easy to make!) mistake will cost HarperCollinsPublishers dearly.
Read more here:
Stephen King: Just Another Delivery System
Jonathan Franzen signing copies of Freedom after a reading in Powell’s Books, Portland.
"…stealing toilet paper from the Burger King, which she had done several times trying to survive as an assistant in publishing…"
— from Life Sentences by Laura Lippman
