News has erupted of another potential merger and acquisition (M&A) in the Airline sector – the acquisition of Irish airline Aer Lingus by the International Airlines Group, IAG. IAG, the product of the merger in the early 2010s between ex-state-owned enterprises British Airways and Spain’s Iberia, has become one of the world’s global giants, ranked in the latest Forbes 2000 index of 2015 as the third largest airline in the world.
The post Let’s fly away: IAG and Aer Lingus appeared first on OUPblog.
By Lenny Allen
The title of the classic Philip K. Dick story asks whether androids dream of electric sheep. I don’t know the answer to that particular question, but I do know that we’re all–at this very moment, asleep or awake–dreaming of a digital monograph platform that is financially viable, intuitive, sustainable from the perspective of a rapidly shifting market environment, and adaptable enough to be able to meet both the short and long-term needs of scholarly research at all levels as well as the development of new business and acquisition models.
Algonquin Books has launched the ‘Ask an Editor’ video series on their blog. Executive editor Chuck Adams stars in the video embedded above and answers the question: “How did you acquire Water for Elephants?”
Marketing director Michael Taeckens explained how it will work: “For this series, readers who have any questions about the publishing process can submit them on our blog or on our Facebook or Twitter accounts. Every two weeks a different Algonquin editor will select and answer one of the questions submitted.”
The next Algonquin Books Club will feature a conversation between Gruen and The Help author Kathryn Stockett on April 26th. Those interested can check out the website for a reader’s guide, essays by Gruen, and her recipe for oyster brie soup.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Algonquin Books has launched the ‘Ask an Editor’ video series on their blog. Executive editor Chuck Adams stars in the video embedded above and answers the question: “How did you acquire Water for Elephants?”
Marketing director Michael Taeckens explained how it will work: “For this series, readers who have any questions about the publishing process can submit them on our blog or on our Facebook or Twitter accounts. Every two weeks a different Algonquin editor will select and answer one of the questions submitted.”
The next Algonquin Books Club will feature a conversation between Gruen and The Help author Kathryn Stockett on April 26th. Those interested can check out the website for a reader’s guide, essays by Gruen, and her recipe for oyster brie soup.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Lucky Press is in the midst of its submission period and yesterday I did the first round of gleaning the gems from a large stack of submission packages. I thought it might be helpful to provide writers with some tips. While there are many books and online articles and blogs that provide what authors should and should not do when querying a publisher or agent, surprisingly enough a good percentage of authors do not follow this professional advice. They believe they are outside the norm, or rules, or they simply haven't done the research, yet they hope (perhaps even expect) that a publisher will invest a lot of time and money in their manuscript.
The following tips are from the perspective of Lucky Press, a publisher with 30 titles in its list, in business since 2000.
THE GOALS OF A QUERY PACKET:
An author submitting material to a publisher wants to convince the publisher of the following:
1) That the manuscript is worth a closer look.
2) That the author is the right person to write this book.
3) That the author is professional in every way. This is reflected in the cover letter, email responses (keep it on the formal side), and general tone and attitude. An aside: the publisher does not want to hear about how hard it is to find a publisher; how you will have the book edited by your relative; how you want to find a publisher so you can go back to writing, which is what you really love to do...
4) That the author has given thought to what efforts are needed to build a readership and market a book; and whether or not he or she has the time for such efforts.
5) That when the publisher reads the synopsis and chapter summary of the book, she will want to read more and when she does read more that she can't put it down. All the items 1-4 combined with un-put-downable manuscript entice the publisher to go to the next step. Step 6.
6) That the author's proposed book is a good fit for the publisher. The publisher looks at what is already in her publishing companies list. The idea for many small publishers is to stay in a niche, within certain categories. In this way marketing efforts for one title, also help other titles in the list. In other words, if a reader (or bookstore buyer) is enthusiastic about YA Fiction Book One, they may also buy YA Fiction Book Two. Conversely, if a reader purchases YA Fiction Book One they are not necessarily likely to buy a book on breast cancer.
SIDENOTE: How to know if your book might be a good fit for the publisher: A small publisher looks at the titles in its list as sets of books, and is constantly evaluating how the titles not only are doing in the marketplace individually, but how the sets are doing in the marketplace according to genre. Readers and bookstore buyers find it easier to remember the publisher when they associate it with a "brand" -- when they know what they are going to get from that publisher.
Writers are advised to review a publisher's list and submission policies carefully before submitting, but some do not. This lack of attention is counterproductive to their goal of getting published, and its costly in terms of postage and printing. Writers should absolutely visit the website of the publisher they are interested in submitting too and carefully read (and print out) the submission information located there, following it to the letter. It is the first test the publisher has put before you, and it is an easy one to pass.
REASONS WHY THIS PUBLISHER SAID "NO, THANK YOU."Yesterday, I wrote about 20 handwritten rejection letters. Here's why.
1) Basic info missing. One query had no cover letter and the author's name and address were nowhere on the paperwork. There I am with pen in hand ready to send the author a handwritt
