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Agreed! I love getting books, but I always ask for so many so exclusively that my family asks me if I'm sure I don't want something else. Quite a few of the titles on those lists are on mine as well!

This reminded me of the year I got a whole box full of the Trixie Belden mysteries. I was fourteen and I'd been reading them for years, but they'd hired another writer to keep writing them, so they were up to about 35 and I only had about 20. My brother got a stereo and when I opened my box, I found all the rest of the books in the series. I was so ecstatic...taking them out, counting them, going over every title. Finally, in frustration, my mother said, "Sheesh! Look closer at the box." When I did, I found a $50 gift certificate (this was 1982 so that was a LOT) for the mall. Mom said, "I can't believe you didn't see it. Didn't you feel cheated when your brother got a stereo and all you got were some books?" And the answer was, "No!" It never occurred to me that there would be more than the books!!! Even though my parents always spent the exact same money on us, I hadn't even noticed.

P.S. You can send me the food chopper. I love those types of things.

All very helpful information! Thank you.

I noticed Flashlight Press and immediately thought of I Need My Monster, which we picked up at the bookstore the other day. Love it!

I noticed that Carolrhoda isn't on the list. It does welcome new authors--and unagented submissions (although the submission period is not year 'round). I think great things are happening at Carolrhoda.

Thanks... just knowing this is what you do out there gives me focus as I work on my own material. Thank you for posting here. It gives inspiration for those of us who are persevering in STARTING a career at any age.

Fascinating, and really helpful. Thanks.

Year after year I never have a problem finding debut authors! It's exciting.

My debut novel for middle grade readers Dead Frog on the Porch was published by a newer publisher Gumboot Books out of Vancouver. Check out their submission guidelines.

Thanks for sharing this bit of research! Very interesting to those of us in the trenches.

I read that PW article earlier today--a 30+ percent growth in YA is projected by 2013! Now there's some good news.

That is definitely interesting news. Thanks for sharing!

I blogged about the PW article yesterday too. I'm a visual person, and loved the graphs they included :-) This list of yours is helpful, too. Thanks!

I'm s sucker fir graphs, too, Angie, and that PW piece is full of them.

Thank you Alice. You are a lighthouse and a cup of sweet hot tea.

Cool post, Alice. It's interesting to me how many authors sell without an agent and which houses will look at your manuscript without one.

Interesting and helpful. Although they mentioned 53% didn't like podcasted INTERVIEWS, it didn't say anything about podcasted NOVELS. I'd be interested to know what teens think about that.

I saw this on another blog yesterday. Yet another form in which our book must appear now!

Strange - I, for one, don't know that I'd like being 'interrupted' while reading to watch a video. But if less avid readers are drawn into books, then I'm open to as many options as possible. As I've always professed, it should be about choices.

So many choices - I don't know if this is good or bad. It certainly is something to consider.
Thanks for keeping us up-to-date on technology!
DL Larson

I loved Miss Suzy! Such a sweet story of justice. That's the book that made me fall in love with Arnold Lobel's illustrations. I love the little toy house in the attic. I don't think my copy exists anymore. Eaten to bits by bookworms.

Say, I wonder if Miriam Young was inspired by a squirrel infestation in her own attic.

That's a tough question, because so many books influenced me as a child. If I had to choose a picture book, though, it would be Many Moons by James Thurber, illustrated by Louis Slobodkin. That book taught me that everyone has a different answer, and sometimes the simplest one is the best.

The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes, by Du Bose Heyward. Illustrations by Marjorie Hack.

It's about a little brown bunny who dreams of becoming one of the five Easter bunnies when she grows up. Everyone makes fun of her, but she tells them to wait and see. When she is grown she ends up having 21 babies and thinks her chance is over. But the wise old grandfather bunny sees something in her, in the way she is raising her family - seeing that she is wise, kind, swift, and clever - and makes her the fifth Easter bunny. She is the only female among them.

The book appealed to me in so many ways. It made the world seem vast, yet dreams were still attainable. And though the Country Bunny was afraid that others might see her as just a mother, she always believed herself capable of anything. I suppose to this day that book is feeding some of my delusions. =)

"Days with Frog and Toad" written/illustrated by Arnold Lobel. The story discusses friendship and loneliness (and related fears). Frog was the taller, laid back fellow while Toad was the shorter and more serious of the two amphibian chums. The tale has poetic and philosophical feel akin to that found in the works of Charles M. Schultz. I read and reread this book throughout my childhood. Every word and image gave hope in times of loneliness. I love children's books that embrace rather than gloss over these raw emotions...because children feel everything.

Cinderella from Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Reading collection. I poured over this version of Cinderella when I was four to the point of obsession. Handled with care, it went everywhere with me. Knowing that the bullied child had the last laugh and was not forgotten, provided hope. It was and still remains a beautifully illustrated piece of escapism, even though now life has taken most of its idealistic magic away. I can still remember the scent of the covers. :)

secret garden

Miss Suzy is my favorite from childhood. I have a blog post about it, too. It made me smile to see the cover here! Love it!

Scuppers the Sailor Dog (Margaret Wise Brown and Garth Williams). I loved the idea that he wanted to go to sea, "so he went there." And the list of all his goods both before and after he visits the navy store. And the illustration of the little house he built after his shipwreck is gorgeous.

Mine was "The story of Ferdinand" by Munro Leaf, illustrated by Robert Lawson. It's the sweet story of a Spanish bull. Instead of butting and fighting like all the other young bulls, Ferdinand liked to sit quietly and smell the flowers. But on the day the men came to get the fighting bulls from the pasture, Ferdinand sat on a bee, which stung his butt. He leapt into the air, butting, snorting, pawing ... and was taken to Madrid to fight.

All the lovely ladies had flowers in their hair and when Ferdinand entered the arena, he simply sat in the middle of the arena and smelled. There no was fight, no display, and Ferdinand was sent back to the pasture, where he remains, very happy, sitting and smelling the flowers.

Doing what you love, and not necessarily what others expect, is a good life lesson.

Marguerite Henry's KING OF THE WIND.
I related to the MC so well and it got me interested in reading more books.

I second Shelli's "Secret Garden" and Laura's "Country Bunny." I actually forgot about that one (shameful!), so thanks for bringing back wonderful memories of reading with my Mom. Another favorite picture book is "The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear" by Don Wood. Adorable, funny, and about strawberries, can't ask for more.

So many memories came flooding back to me upon seeing the picture of that book! I loved that book.


How Fletcher Was Hatched by Wende and Harry Devlin was another of my many many favourite books as a child.

This was my daughters favorite book too. When she found it in the boxes of books in the attic she squealed with delight. She is 38, by the way, and still loves this book. She took it home with her and read it many times to her son.

I still own Miss Suzy and am eternally grateful to my grandparents for signing me up for the Children's Book Club. I loved the illustrations and wanted Miss Suzy to take the dollhouse back to her tree.

I was glad the thugs got their comeuppance. Much later in my life, when a confrontation with "thugs" didn't go well, I took a lesson from Miss Suzy and developed "soldier brothers" to help me feel safe and to help me find friendship again.

I was VERY MUCH a reluctant reader growing up. Syd Hoff was my favorite author early on and Danny and the Dinosaur was a book I read a hundred-zillion times.

Thanks for the audio book tip. My favorite reader is Barbara Rosenblat - she does ever accent and voice - I'll listen to anything she reads! That's great that audio books are being promoted more. I haven't been without an audio book in the house for the past 17 years! :) Silke

I'll have to look for Barbara. My favorite reader is Stephen Briggs - crivens!
:)
e

Have you ever tried audio short stories? I think they're perfect for running errands, waiting at the doctor's office or just when I'm walking the dogs. You can find several sources online, and Sniplits (http://www.sniplits.com)is one that has excellent readers.

I hadn't heard of that one Anne, thanks!
:)
e

I heard you're coming to the West Coast? Do you know the days or places yet?

Hey Puffy, thanks for stopping by my bloggie!

Yep, I'll be all over Cali this trip. Here's my tour schedule:

http://lisamcmann.com/html/tour.php

Thanks, I found your tour schedule. You'll be all over Southern California! My favorite restaurant in the whole world is in Pasadena. I will come to see you in Pasadena for sure! Will you have any free time before or after the book signing?

I don't have my detailed schedule yet so I'm not sure. Definitely not before, since we'll have school visits and a signing late afternoon as well, before Vroman's. Probably not after since we'll be exhausted by then. :)

I'll be there!

Fine print? How come this doesn't count? Obviously you needed to consult a lawyer before you made this deal with your husband. Boy, he's sneaky.

You aren't by any chance gonna be at the LA SCBWI conference this year? Just a slim chance maybe?

Hey Stina,

I don't have plans to go to any SCBWI conferences this year. When is the one in LA?

Hey Lisa, the LA conference is August 7-10. I've attended two in NYC, but this will be my first time for LA.

I'm just looking forward to the mini vacation, though I don't think my husband is too excited about spending five days on his own with our 3 children ;)

Do these A**hole reviewers (and no I've never received a bad review from one)realize that THEY are part of the problem with what's happening in the industry??? They are telling people NOT to buy and read books, and these very people make their living through people buying books. They're agents doing this very thing on their blogs as well. It's INSANE!!! These people are ultimately hurting themselves. With everything that's already happened, why won't these people wake up? There are people who have their jobs this very day because of the Twilight books, and yet they still go around telling everyone how bad a writer Meyer is. Don't misunderstand: you can hate something, that's fine; but why not just refuse to review it; only review those books you do enjoy???? Stay positive; keep the industry positive and let the readers decide for themselves regarding the books reviewers decide not to review because they didn't like them. Industry heal thyself!!!

Great advice in this post! I dread the (inevitable, I'm sure) bad review of my debut book out next year. I'm just hoping there are more good reviews than bad. Action really is the best medicine!

Frankly, I hate it when I'm shopping on Amazon and the major review is cruel or dismissive. I remember one review shich complained about a writer's style, and gave an example of a "bad" sentence. I didn't agree with the reviewer at all.

I always read reader reviews first. I don't necessarily take those at their word either, but there are more of them, so you can tell some people "get" the book and others, sometimes, just don't. I think it gives a better sense if the book is for you or not.

I think in the comment to another post, a published author mentioned this problem though -- even after you have book out there on the shelves, you still have to deal with rejection.

Sucks.

As a writer, I can't imagine it yet.

As a reader and an unpaid, unprofessional blogging book reviewer, I can say that bad reviews really aren't that bad.

First of all, how much stock can I put in a reviewer who's paid to review a book in a genre she already hates. You'd never get a positive review of a blood-and-guts Horror novel from me, for example. Yet, it might turn out to be an award-winning bestseller!

Second of all, I've noticed readers follow reviewers who's tastes they share. This means if the reader hates Horror, she's going to pass on reviewers who love it.

Thirdly, readers are smart. They know reviews are subjective.

And, lastly, most importantly, even a bad review is good because it gets your book's title and cover art out there in front of the readers. So, if DOWN HOME ZOMBIE BLUES by Linnea Sinclair gets a stinky review, a reader may go, "Wait just a doggone minute! How could a book with that cool of a title be bad?" And she'll buy it anyway.

I bow to your interesting post.

As an author, my reviews in PW and Booklist came out in the SAME week. They were both as far apart on the scales; polar opposites. What I learned from this? Those reviews were from two different people; and though they were heavily weighted because they were from prestigious journals, I came to realize that this is all very subjective. Crikey, I haven't liked every book I've read (or written, for that matter, but that's between me and my laptop). You are right to encourage a trove of reader reviews on Amazon. My publisher gave me that same advice and it has served me well. Bravo!

I've had some reviews that didn't even make sense. Ah well. They usually all balance out in the end.

But when I read a great book that I love, and when I admire and respect the way it was written, I believe it's important to write my own review. I just did it recently about the latest book I read.

And everyone else should do this, too. It takes all of five minutes to sign up on Amazon, and to be able to write a review you only have to make one purchase. There are used books there for one penny plus shipping. It's worth the money.

Interesting. As a songwriter, this reminds me of how things work on Broadjam.com. As a musical community, we review each others' music. However, if you can only give a scathing or highly unflattering review, you're encouraged to skip that song and move on to the next. This doesn't mean you only give stellar reviews; only that you don't give really bad ones.

As a novel writer I'm clear that no matter how you slice it, getting a book written, spit-shined and polished, securing an agent, and being published is no small feat. It takes an enormous amount of dedication, hard work and commitment. Any book that ends up on the shelves of a bookstore (or in the hands of a book reviewer) deserves at least a little credit. IMHO.

No matter how good your book is, someone is not going to like it. You can't please everyone. That's how I would look at a bad review, no matter who wrote it.

And then I'd go out and do like you said...put out the positive publicity! :D

Y'know, PW hated my last book when it was part of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Lottery (er, contest).

Only problem was, they read about 5 percent of it. And got teensy little plot points wrong, which would have been obvious if they hadn't skipped about 20 chapters.

But oh well. I'm sure that even though they got the main conflict and the character of the romantic entanglement ass-backwards, the rest of the review was just fine.

"Get Even"

That's a motto of a lot of coaches I've met over the years. And:

"You're not a loser if you get knocked down, you're only a loser if you stay down."

Kristin,

This reminds me of something I read once (by Seth Godin) about the best way to deal with something negative or regrettable coming up on google when you're searched:

If you can't get rid of the bad, drown it out with the good. The more good you put out there, the less important, noticeable, and accessible the bad is.

Kirkus was nice to my book, VOYA, however, ripped me a new one. Honest to God, it was the most hateful thing I'd ever read. Plus, the reviewer mixed up the plot, so it made me wonder if he/she/it had even read it.

I don't know how I feel, actually. Because when I search book reviews using book bloggers, Amazon reviews, and Goodreads, I've seen some pretty mediocre books get 5 star reviews. I understand taste is subjective, but when you look closer and see that *all* the 5 star reviews are someone the author has as her livejournal friends, it does get suspicious.

Who do you trust? A pissed off hateful book reviewer who gets paid to review as a job? Or the author's friends flooding Goodreads and Amazon claiming mediocre books to be the second coming (in the hopes the author will do the same for them when they get published)?

I pay attention to NONE of it.

As a bookseller, I can tell you it's also important to impress the booksellers. When Twilight first came out I'm pretty sure I remember the actual reviews weren't wonderful--but one of the booksellers in our store liked it. So a couple of us read it. And liked it. This happened in a few different stores across the country and BAM! (As Emeril would say.) We really, really like advance copies too.

Also, don't underestimate the power of a local newspaper's review. They tend to be more positive toward a native son or daughter--and that way you support a local writing venue as well, and perhaps things like the disappearance of the Rocky Mountain News can be delayed/averted.

Anonymous 4:53PM said, "Don't misunderstand: you can hate something, that's fine; but why not just refuse to review it; only review those books you do enjoy????"

As a book review blogger, if I start a book and realize within twenty pages that the book is one I won't be able to give a good review for, then I usually stop reading and don't review it. However, sometimes I'm halfway into the book or even at the end before I realize there are some problems I feel I'll have to point out. After putting that much time into reading it, I'm going to review it. I try to be fair, though, and also point out as many good things as I can.

I'm not trying to prevent people from buying or enjoying the books. I'm trying to help people find books that they'll enjoy. That means I need to point out things that might make this book not enjoyable for some people while not bothering others in the slightest.

(BTW, I've never read the Twilight books.)

Heads up, Jenny @7:33--

Twilight had star reviews from PW, School Library Journal, and Booklist.

Far more importantly, it was a lead title which we all know puts a book out there in such an undeniable way that you're gonna get sales whether it has star reviews or not.

Give me a choice between a star review or being a lead title, I'll chose lead title, hands down.

*To comment on the OP, I don't think average, everday readers care about reviews. They are still going to pick it up and read a page or two to see if they think they'd like it. I understand that reviews provide a guidline of sorts, but the cruel ones speak more about the reviewer than the book, in my opinion.

To Anon. @ 7:46
*ducking and dodging ninja-starred PW reviews*

I agree. Lead. Definitely.

But Christopher Paolini (Eragon) and Richard Paul Evans (all those Christmas stories...) didn't have any reviews when they initially published their books themselves. A small group of readers read them and loved them. Gotta work hard. And then work harder.

For authors who don't have leads or starred reviews, however, the local newspaper route--I've had far more Posts and Gazettes shoved under my nose ("Find this!") from readers than PWs--is still a valid publicity route. The crowd is small, but like Paolini and Evans, it just takes a few....

All I'm saying is that there are other avenues for backing your book.

As a reader, I tend to read the reviews of the average joe on Amazon; they tend to be closer to my opinions and tastes than the major reviewers are.

A bad review on a book that interests me doesn't deter me from reading it; most of the time I disagree with it anyway, just like I don't really agree with movie critics for most of the time.

I do understand though that it affects the author, especially when with booksellers. I guess the best thing to do is be as positive as possible and be proactive about making sure there are good author endorsements of the book, like you mentioned.

Bah I should have proofread my comment :facepalm: :P

As a reviewer (and writer), I can always find something good to say about a book. A good reviewer can generally figure out who the book is aimed at and bring out the highlights that will sell that book to that group of readers.

For example, in my book club I didn't finish reading the last book we read. (I know, I know. How huge a faux pas is that?) But I knew why I didn't finish reading and was able to express that to the group. The storyline's conflict simply wasn't for me. However, I could still find plenty of great things to say about the book--as well as indicate which group of readers it would appeal to or not. ;)

BTW, I really like your advice on how to deal with a bad review. It's very positive. I like it!

Jean

I totally don't understand the people saying there should be no bad reviews; that if you realize you hate it, refuse to review it.

Um, that defeats the whole purpose of a review. Why bother reading them if every single one is going to be a good one?

Frankly, honest reviews, good or bad, are all that's worth printing.

Yes, don't get discouraged. Check out what your READERS think. People who shop for books on Amazon are going to give more credit to what the readers are saying & how they are rating the book.

If you have a bad PW review, but 4.5 stars from readers, I'll completely ignore the PW review.

I'm just so sick of all the negativity is all, especially now with this economy...and now some crabby lesbian agent woman has come up a new way to bash writers and their queries using Twitter. . . as, um, a learning tool. Yeah, right! I swear there's a special place in hell waiting for these types of people.

Anon 12:48

I can tell you why I only post positive reviews.

1) I have an extremely full Real Life and I bore easily. I don't have time to read books I don't like.

2) I prefer, and I think the Bloggers who read my reviews prefer, help finding books they can love, rather than ones they're likely to hate.

So, I'm honest about little details, such as Historicals using contemporary elements to snag readers because a lot of us just hate that, but if I don't like it, I don't read it.

As an author with a small publisher, I have run into the same sort of situation. It would be nice if bookstores caught up with today's publishing technology!

Jane Kennedy Sutton
Author of The Ride
http://janekennedysutton.blogspot.com/

As a small independent publisher myself, I've run into similar responses. It's too bad because many self/small publishers have a very good product.

Big BOX Bookstores, Big BOX Publishers...
2009: Time for thinking outside the BOX.

Diana Black
Appreciative Echelon Author
http://www.woofersclub.com

Karen,
I've always found your comments on the Murder Must Advertise yahoogroup to be very astute and this post is yet another example of how savvy you are about today's publishing industry. I'll definitely be back to your blog!

You hit the nail on the head - POD is just digital printing! It wastes a few less trees. (Don't know why in this day & age of "GO GREEN" that idea hasn't caught on!)
I've heard many other small to mid-sized publishers diss those who use the POD technology, which is REALLY sad.
You just keep doing what works for you, Karen!
And didn't a recent edition of IBPA have a whole section about publishers who were kicking the returns habit by no longer allowing returns? The industry WILL change!

Excellent post. I'm with you. Too much archaic snotty attitudes within the big boy powers-that-be kepiung perfectly good books and literature from reaching the shelves of bookstores.

The bookstores have nothing to loose by hosting book signings when authors sell on consignment, but I've found the small bookstores are more willing to do so than the larger ones, except for Barnes & Noble. I've had great success with them. They are very cooperative.

When we have a group booksigning, they even print up posters themselves.

Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
http://www.morganmandel.com

Ugh. I just read this too at PW. Too bad for the ms I have out with Harcourt right now. As if I needed any more obstacles to get published.

Pardon me while I vomit...

Any guesses how long this might last? Obviously they can't put an embargo on accepting manuscripts forever—as tough as these economic times are, it's a lot harder to make money when you're not producing anything.

My husband works at Harcourt Assessment, or what used to be Harcourt Assessment. The Harcourt parent company sold off all the different divisions just under a year ago. The scattering and acquisition by other companies might have something to do with this.

I wonder if a temporary freeze has to do with a editorial policy re-alignment.

Like: We bought books that way, now we are going to buy books this way.

Or: You're all fired. My new editors will buy books.

Or: We're selling the company.

Hmmmmmm...

I'm not at all surprised, which is horrible to say. :S

Sadly, I had a feeling this was coming. I decided months ago the best thing to do was lay low and concentrate on writing. The publishing business will rebound, but for now, it's time to hunker down, go to the mattresses as our friend Tony might say.

I wouldn't be surprised to find out other executives have gotten the same directive and not made it public.

I'm glad I can wait till everyone loosens their belts again.

at least those HMH rejections on my desk aren't personal, right?

ugh. going to be a long winter.

Fabulous. I just finished the revisions HMH requested on my middle-grade and was getting ready to send it in. I wonder if I should even bother now???

Amy C, I heard from a very reliable source that this news applies only to adult fiction at HMH.

Just

Make It Stop.

F*ck.

Great. Just when I get an agent, right?

Do you suppose they're readying the company for staff layoffs?

Thats the most depressing thing I've read in weeks... And there's been a lot of depressing things, lately. Dang.

I am published with HMH children's division and one of the things I've heard is that this has more to do with the credit crunch and the company's highly leveraged position from recently purchasing Harcourt and less to do with being a sign of grim economic times.

That might explain why they're taking so long to respond to my application. This is HUGE news! (and not good)

As short a term, knee-jerk reaction I have ever seen that, with luck and justice, should rebound off their over-inflated stomach and leave them winded long after everyone else has recovered.

I'm with Lora, I'll go hunker, polish my novel until you can see your reflection. Write a few more and polish those. And keep my toes crossed while I type that this will blow over soon.

What what what? Awww man. This is the difference between knowing you'll probably never qualify for the Olympics, and that the Olympics have been canceled.

Can anyone confirm if this applies to the childrens or adult divisions of Harcourt? Or both?

I'm an AQ Editor for a company that HMH kind of sold ('licensed in perpetuity' - weird deal) a few months ago. This AQ freeze can only mean bad things. My take: HMH Riverdeep is $6 billion in debt and creditors are demanding quarterly payments. With book sales declining, HMH is desperate for cash. I've never heard of suspending acquisitions - it's your future revenue. I can only conclude they don't want to pay new advances and are hoarding cash on hand, which means they have serious cash flow problems.

I've never seen anything like announced out loud before. But I have seen publishers do things like this very quietly during a change of hands, when the company has been sold and everything is being restructured.

I'm with the group of writers that's going to hunker down, and polish manuscripts. So that way, when the publishers loosen the belts, I will have several polished books ready for submissions.

Anon 7:13 is probably right on. Often when a company is getting ready to a. put themselves up for sale. b. close their doors, they halt spending where they can. No matter what the true reason is, it isn't a positive for the company. Publishing houses are in deep do and this may be the shot across the bow to a spate of downsizing, rightsizing, etc. It is disturbing.

I have not seen this particular bit of scary news, but I have been speaking with friends that own or have knowledge of where book sales are going and things do not bode well, especially for the independent book store folks. The interesting thing about it, though, is that the numbers for the bookstore that I consider to be sort of a leading edge indicator (it is also an independent) were great for the year up until about mid September. That's when the bottom fell out and he is now down about 20 percent for the past few months. While this is not a good omen, the rapidity by which it came may suggest that a rebound for book sellers (books are economical entertainment and gifts) could be equally as quick.

I have blogged about this at: http://www.redroom.com/blog/james-buchanan/the-economy-and-books

Or at my website: www.orchardwriting.com.

I think we all need to calm down. The news lately has been bad, but the more people buy into it the worse it gets. There will always be a need for fantastic books. Storytelling is a part of the human experience that goes back as far as human kind. So the best thing to do is to keep creating the best writing we can and be patient while the industry does some sorting out. :)

Jana

I think this may be part of the slow, steady evolution of how the industry does business. Like newspapers, the printed medium is going to become seriously downsized, to a marginal market, while the book industry as a whole will eventually become digitized. Storytelling and fantastic books will never go away, but the format in which they are sold will most certainly change with the times. The concept of a bounded volume of paper equaling a book will make way for things like Amazon's Kindle, just like how stone tablets and stacks of papyrus gave way to the printing press. The cost of doing publishing the current way is starting to catch up with the industry, imho. Just my 2 cents...

For what it's worth, an author friend of mine talked to a Houghton editor at a conference yesterday. The editor said the boycott on acquisitions does not apply to the children's arm (thanks to 'anonymous' who told me the same thing above) and that the boycott will likely be lifted after the first of the year.

Don't worry, they just need to go to the governemnt and ask for a Bailout - all will be well. *wink*

I agree with Anon 11:24.

And I see a day, if piracy and payment issues can be solved, when readers will buy/upload directly from the Author's very own computer. Digitized words/ pictures/animation/movies/games will be the norm and as a "creator of content," the authors and illustrators will have to *Brand* themselves and be very clever at marketing. This will lead to many creative folk getting their 15 minutes and then passing into oblivion. Sustaining attention will be increasingly difficult as the pace of new tech grows and offers even more options. (But some will do so... there's always the ole' 80-20 rule)!

There will be a few *Clearing Houses* that will gather up the breakout creative enterprises and will Shepard them creatively and legally, much as lit agencies, managers and entertainment lawyers do now. But, for the most part, entertainment Congloms will be few as the entertainment market/s fracture into niches.

I think!

Haste yee back ;-)

With the economic downturn, companies will be looking at ways to cut costs. If what Anon. 9:45 says is correct, then HMH is going through a reorganization and once their dust settles they will open back up for business in seeking new manuscripts.

Writers will have to ensure that the manuscripts they are presenting to agents and publishers is in top form with a hook to catch a deal.

A good book is a good book. It will sell even in tough economics times. I love how writers are always so quick to find a reason to explain why they will never publish.

Anon 4:57 --

Can we have a moritorium on the masses of unpublished writers procaliming, "If a book is good it will sell."

It simply isn't true.

Kristen and other agents take on "good books" all the time that don't sell for a variety of reasons. Writing a "good book" is only about a fourth of the equation.

Why doesn't this surprise me? We all know the economy has been taking a nose dive worse than the Hindenburg. Everyone is running scared. 'Risk' has become the ultimate in naughty words.

Yet things will rebound. We'll just weather this storm and go back to normal... or so I hope. It might be a rough time for any of us to pitch books, but there is always that desire for entertainment among the masses...

thanks for the link to the article, alice!

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www.garunkumar.blogspot.com

Thanks for the heads up, Alice. Great seeing you at the SCBWI conference.

Well, I have to buy this issue, just for the Sandra Boynton cover!

Thanks for your LA posts!

Hi Alice, thanks for the heads up! BTW, I've awarded your site the Brillante Weblog Premio Award for 2008. Thanks for always keeping it interesting and informative!

Cynthea
http://www.writingforchildrenandteens.com

Alice, I was doing some research on Elizabeth Law, VP and Associate Publisher at Simon & Schuster and it appears maybe she has left to a company called Egmont. Do you know if this is accurate?

Since today is the [unofficial] Blogger Appreciation Day, I wanted to say a quick "THANKS" for writing. I am reading and thinking about what you wrote.

I appreciate your info on who is where and what they are doing.

[…] 2.SO? or Why Libraries Should Care, repurposed from BIGWIG, served as the day’s introduction. Jessamyn then offered a practical introduction to Flickr and del.icio.us. She even inspired me to rekindle […]

Wouldn’t it be more useful to talk about *free software* instead of *open source* software? The former is more political and more “open” than the latter, which is just tied to business ways of thinking about software.

All the software I was talking about was free as well as open source. I defined the difference for people so they would understand it. I find if you’re trying to make people understand something, use terms of the context they already live in. Libraries currently buy software primarily, so talking to them about the Open Source model and then explaining that the bulk of the products they would use in their library are also free (and yes I talked about Stallman/Torvalds) is important. It was really a FOSS talk by and large but people have heard of “open source” and so that was the title of the talk.

[…] five talks in five days in two countries […]