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AgentsBreaking: Hachette Book Group to Transition to Agency Model
Here's an excerpt: "There are many advantages to the agency model, for our authors, retailers, consumers, and publishers. It allows Hachette to make pricing decisions that are rational and reflect the value of our authors' works. In the long run this will enable Hachette to continue to invest in and nurture authors' careers--from major blockbusters to new voices. Without this investment in our authors, the diversity of books available to consumers will contract, as will the diversity of retailers, and our literary culture will suffer." And he added this point about eBook releases: "Another great benefit to our consumers is that we intend to release HBG e-books simultaneously with the hardcover (or first format print edition)." This makes Hachette a valuable ally for Macmillan in their price feud with Amazon (AMZN). In a paid advertisement about the Amazon debate, Macmillan CEO John Sargent defended the agency model: "Under the agency model, we will sell the digital editions of our books to consumers through our retailers. Our retailers will act as our agents and will take a 30% commission (the standard split today for many digital media businesses). The price will be set the price for each book individually. Our plan is to price the digital edition of most adult trade books in a price range from $14.99 to $5.99. At first release, concurrent with a hardcover, most titles will be priced between $14.99 and $12.99. E books will almost always appear day on date with the physical edition. Pricing will be dynamic over time." In its letter about why they temporarily stopped the direct sale of books, Amazon tied the agency model to its list of complaints: "Macmillan, one of the 'big six' publishers, has clearly communicated to us that, regardless of our viewpoint, they are committed to switching to an agency model and charging $12.99 to $14.99 for e-book versions of bestsellers and most hardcover releases." Read the entire letter after the jump. Rubin Pfeffer Takes Digital Post at East/West Literary Agency
Pfeffer will lead the EWA's east coast branch working as "partner and content agent." In this new position, he will work on building both digital and print content designed for "21st Century incarnations of publishing." In addition, he will also work as EWA's digital media strategist. Here's more from EWA founder Deborah Warren: "We are thrilled by the innovative new directions that Rubin will bring to our agency ... EWA was launched with a bi-coastal vision, and Rubin, with his keen editorial acumen, business sense and digital savvy, is the ideal 'east' to complement our 'west' and 'south' (by way of Mary Grey James in Nashville, TN)." Bookseller Counts Losses at Literary Agencies
According to a report at The Bookseller, it has been a rough year for agents. The company measured the performance of six different literary agencies in the UK, finding that only one of those agencies managed to turn a profit in the last financial year. They spoke with Clare Alexander from Aitken Alexander Associates about the trend. Here's more from the article: "Alexander also blamed the downturn on the medium-term trend of publishers eschewing literary authors for celebrities: 'Publishers' focus has been on celebrities, and most agents play very little, if any, role in that,' she said. 'I think we are at a turning point now. The search for good writing is still on in most of the world, and in some of England too.'" Changes at Dystel & Goderich
DGLM's expansion continues as they have just opened a West Coast operation ran by lit agent, Michael Bourret as well as the addition of Jane Dystel's new assistant, Rachel Oakley. Why Agents Reject a Manuscript: By the Numbers
Since last summer, the agent from Fine Print Literary has asked 124 aspiring writers to send her full manuscripts. Reid kept track of all her responses to this gigantic stack of work, giving us an invaluable peek into The Mind of an Agent. Here are a few examples, complete with tallies: "Just plain not good enough: 21 (a novel needs to be in the 99th percentile-these were closer to 90%--not bad, but not good enough) Good premise, but the rest of the novel didn't hold up: 11 The Quotable Steve Wasserman
During a panel entitled "Writer, Agent, Publisher" (hosted by this GalleyCat editor at the eBook Summit), Wasserman stirred up Twitter with his sharp commentary about publishing. Read more about the panel at eBookNewser. When agent Jason Allen Ashlock told him: "I think we fundamentally agree" about eBook delays, Wasserman replied: "Probably, but we're on a panel. We need a little bit of faux drama." He also pondered the excessive pondering of the future of eBooks. "I suppose we could sum up this entire two-day conference under the headline 'too early to tell.'" Happy Unofficial Agent Appreciation Day
Here's an excerpt from her tribute to her agent, Joanna Stampfel-Volpe at Nancy Coffey Literary & Media Representation: "Like all writers, I often find myself stumbling into the ocean of overwhelming self-doubt. This is normal, I believe. But Joanna never lets me swim out in that ocean too far. One of the amazing things about my agent is that she truly, honestly believes in my work, even when I might not." Above, the author and agent are pictured together. Feel free to leave a tribute to the agent in your life in your life in the comments section. Look for more about the life of a 21st Century agent during our eBook Summit coverage next week. The Rappaport Agency Closes
After working at Folio Literary Management and the L. Perkins Agency, she opened her own agency focused on science fiction and fantasy, young adult, and romance. Here is the announcement, from her blog: "It is with a great deal of sadness that I announce that The Rappaport Agency, LLC will be closing for business at the end of the year, due to economic reasons. I have been privileged to get the chance to work with amazing people over the last four and a half years, many of who I am proud to call my friends. In the coming weeks, I will be wrapping up outstanding submissions and putting things in order. I can be reached by e-mail at jenny [at] rappaportagency[dot]com." She concluded: "This isn't a decision I've come to lightly; it's taken a lot of thought and effort to reach this point, and to decide to seek a change of careers. I want to thank you for reading along with me on LIT SOUP, and I hope to remain connected in the writing community. I'm still going to be writing myself, striving like the rest of you for publication, and to get my own words out there." The 21st Century Literary Agent
She explained how she founded Karen Gantz Literary Management, and was joined by her partner, Dr. Joyce Starr--talking about the agency's author coaching services. Gantz didn't sugarcoat the industry while talking about the current market. "We feel there is an even higher standard in obtaining a book deal today," she explained. "Every week I meet with an editor on the phone or in person. There is a much higher standard because there is so much content on the web for free--publishers have to find something that's really fresh, dynamic, and new to take a chance on an author...In Virginia Woolf's day, you just sent in your manuscript and it was published, no questions asked." She also thought agents were more important during the digital age, explaining one part of her bargaining strategy: "Many of these [contract] issues are in flux they are evolving. One of the ways to deal with it to put a provision in the contract that when these rights percentages change and the standard in the industry improves, the author will benefit from that change," she concluded. Agent Auctions Critiques of Partial Manuscripts
The auction will run from Dec. 1, 2009 and ends Dec. 15, raising money for the Foundation Fighting Blindness and the Deafness Research Foundation. Her 22-year-old son (pictured, with Goodman) suffers from Usher Syndrome, a genetic disease that causes progressive loss of hearing and sight. She explained: "when you are 22 and you are losing your sight and your hearing, you want the cure to happen NOW. All this costs a lot of money, and that's where your dollars will be spent." Here's more about the quality of Goodman's advice: "I believe that nicey-nice doesn't really help you. Honesty does. If you can accept well-meant feedback from someone who has built a lot of best-selling careers, then this is for you. My track record in this regard astonishes me when I look at it. There are dozens of books that sold for sizable advances as a direct result of my feedback to the authors. When you are hungry for information that will really make a difference, not waste your time, and respect your goals, you need a real industry professional who has walked the walk." Previously24 Agents Looking for New Writers Literary Agents, bah! Who needs them? How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal Mary Grey James Joins East/West Literary Agency Why agents don't return calls: Part 3 Why agents don't return calls: Part 2 Why agents don't return calls: Part 1 Agents Are Grumbling: Editors Turning Into Agents AvantGuild: This Agent's Cooking Up Plenty of Deals AvantGuild: What Can Brown Do for Writers? AvantGuild: The Agent Who Discovered Obama AvantGuild: A Savant's Peek Behind the Curtain Agent Jarred Weisfeld on Rod Blagojevich's Book Deal Hundreds of Writers Pool Agent Complaints Agent Kate Lee on Microblogging Books Foundry Sells Three Books in Three Days AvantGuild: Hast Thou Pitched the Jabberwock? Featured Agent of Color - Kirby Kim Fagerness Plunges Into Foreign Territory Solo Seth Godin Urges Agents to "Hyperspecialize" Agent Eric Simonoff Joins William Morris Agency AvantGuild: Two Agents, Serving the Word Agents and Editors Blog Worst Queries Creative Artists Agency Spooks NY Literary Agents Brendan Deneen Joins FinePrint Literary Management AvantGuild: Professor, Bookseller, Kidlit Agent AvantGuild: An Agent Who Seeks (and Spreads) Inspiration "I Want To Represent Books That Actually Reach People" AvantGuild: This Agent Keeps Pitching After Deals Are Done Agents: Keep Your Hands Off Our Two Percent Literary Agency Takes Two-Point Conversion to "Pay the Bills" AvantGuild: The Agent Who Came in From the Slush Pile Agent Stephen Barbara Moves To Foundry Literary + Media Marlene Stringer Starts Her Own Agency Exclusive Video: Foundry Agent on the Publishing Meltdown Agent Peter H. McGuigan Predicts More Celebrity Books East Coast Agents Versus West Coast Agents AvantGuild: An Agent Opens Up the Hispanic Book Market AgencySpy: How to Get a Book Deal in Advertising NoHo Literary Agents Seek Like-Minded Office Mates AvantGuild: Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Want to Hear Your Voice AvantGuild: Liza Dawson Wants Your Gorgeous Historical Thriller AvantGuild: Agents for Good News, Written Well AvantGuild: Now This Veteran Editor's Making Pitches AvantGuild: Alexandra Machinist Is Ready for Your Queries AvantGuild: "An Omnivorous Appetite for Nonfiction" Why Should We Care About Your Story? The Easily-Overlooked Art of Agent Research AvantGuild: Katharine Sands Wants Good Fiction Bad AvantGuild: Boston's "High Priestess" of Book Deals Literary Agent Opens Her Blog to Authors' Advice & Experience Emmanuelle Alspaugh Changes Agencies AvantGuild: Scribe Agency Wants to Hear You Sing AvantGuild: Building an Agency Outside NYC Summer Cats: Wylie Rakes It In Summer Cats: Whoopy, Singing in the Sun Summer Cats: Sebastian and Petunia Tackle Manuscripts Summer Cats: Hemingway Cracks Down on Grammar Knight Agency Hires New PR Director AvantGuild: This Agent Wants True Nonfiction Only, Please Ira Silverberg: Keeping it Safe to Read in America AvantGuild: How to Catch Holly Bemiss's Eye mediabistro.com Taps Sharlene Martin's Publishing Expertise Schafer Leaves Janklow For True Love, Own Agency AvantGuilders: Meet Literary Agent Nadia Cornier Ginny Weissman Tapped as Sharlene Martin's Chicago Rep Nesbit: Publishers May Transform Into Distributors Wylie: "Trying to Represent Quality With Discipline" Ira Silverberg Moves His Desk to Sterling Lord The Pipe Dreams of the Aspiring Writer After Much Editorial Abuse, One Agent's Polite Response Your Call: "Project Freeze Out" Likely a Crock Anna Stein's Greatest Week Ever? elsewhere on mediabistro.com: Pitching Lisa Hagan elsewhere on mediabistro.com: Meet Kate Epstein UK Agent's Resignation Creates Literary Sh*tstorm Scott Moyers Won't Be A Junior Jackal Robert Barnett's Multimillion Dollar Advance Touch Calder Picks Authors and Sticks With Them PFD Agents Says No to Outside Sale Gunning for the Conservative Lifestyle Gersh Agency Forms Literary Unit More on Abate/ICM/Endeavor Triangle Tango Andrew Wylie Creates a Stir in France Ed Victor Still the Man in Britain ICM Sues to Block Abate Move to Endeavor Endeavor Confirms Abate Hire, Book Expansion Christopher Little Agency Offers Prize to Student Writers |
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