Agents

Artists and Artisans and Movable Type Literary Group have merged into a new “bicoastal management company” called Movable Type Management (MTM). The combined company counts more than 200 authors and maintain offices in New York and Los Angeles.

MTM will also work on in-house film, television, and digital development. Movable Type Literary Group principle Jason Allen Ashlock will serve as president of Movable Type Management, focused on books and digital. Artists and Artisans founder Adam Chromy will be president of the company’s performance division, Movable Type Media.

Ashlock had this statement: “This is a move that accelerates our strategy to offer authors inventive and expansive management, and to offer publishers properties of utmost value … Combining two successful and highly complementary companies allows us to focus the efforts of each of our members, and create customized strategies for each of our authors. At a particularly challenging and exciting time for the publishing industry, this combination vaults us into a leadership role with our clients and our partners.”

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Trident Media Group, the literary agency representing Deepak Chopra, Paris Hilton, Jon Stewart, Tori Spelling and a long list of other authors, has launched Trident E-Book Operations.

The new division will “create, manage and implement innovative e-book strategies including the distribution of a variety of e-books directly to a large number of e-tailers in North America and internationally.” In addition, they will consult with authors about everything from digital design to social media to exploring new relationships with “traditional and non-traditional publishers.” Lyuba DiFalco and Nicole Robson have been appointed co-directors of e-book operations.

In the release, Trident chairman Robert Gottlieb explained: “Trident will not become a publisher, but will instead continue in its new e-book operations to have itself aligned with its clients whose interests we serve as an agent and manager.”

Over the past year, literary agencies have been embracing digital publishing technologies and taking on the role of the publisher.

For example, literary agent Scott Waxman is publishing eBooks through Diversion Books and Dystel & Goderich will help clients navigate eBook and print-on-demand options. Movable Type Literary Group literary agent Jason Allen Ashlock argued in a recent editorial that this approach is not fair for the author. What do you think?

Here is more from Ashlock in Publishing Perspectives: “Though some agents come to representation from publishing houses, without significant internal reorganization, few agencies could publish efficiently: workflow restraints, small staffs, capital concerns, and the modest revenues generated by most digital properties will prevent most Agent-Publishers from adequately managing and effectively publishing more than a few titles.”

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Some publishing experts predict that the digital publishing revolution will destroy the livelihood of literary agents. Smashwords founder Mark Coker has helped thousands of indie authors self-publish, but he still thinks literary agents can flourish in this new publishing environment.

In the slideshow embedded above (“The Literary Agent’s Indie Ebook Roadmap“), Coker outlined how literary agents can work with this new generation of authors.

Check it out: “As I mentioned in my prior post on agents, literary agents can add a lot of value to the publishing process. They’re the trusted author advocates charged with helping authors maximize the commercial potential of their works. A great agent brings passion, smarts and relationships that can multiply an author’s success several-fold. Literary agents represent some of the most commercially successful authors and author estates. In the presentation below, I share my ideas for how literary agents can better serve their clients by adding e-publishing services to their clients services mix.”

Yesterday novelist Lisa Yee warned her followers about an online fraud–somebody pretending to be her agent has been contacting writers about book deals.

Aspiring authors should beware. Here is the complete tweet: “Someone is impersonating my agent, Jodi Reamer & offering book deals. If the email addy doesn’t have Writers House in it it’s fake!”

You can read more about the real Jodi Reamer at Literary Rambles. Her all-star list of clients includes Stephenie Meyer, John Green and Lisa Yee.

UK literary agent Neil Blair will be leaving the Christopher Little Literary Agency, taking client J.K. Rowling with him. The Bookseller reports that Blair will be setting up his own firm, The Blair Partnership.

Here’s more from the article: “Blair’s current base is at strategic digital agency TH_NK’s offices in east London. TH_NK and Blair worked together to develop the Pottermore site, through which Rowling’s Harry Potter books will be sold exclusively as e-books, though it is not yet known if TH_NK will be involved in Blair’s new company.”

According to scotsman.com, freelance readers  convinced agency founder Christopher Little to sign the author in 1996.

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Dystel & Goderich Literary Management will now help clients explore eBook and print-on-demand options.

The agency founded the service to help “books we believe in and feel passionately about but couldn’t sell.” According to the agency’s site, they have “no intention of becoming e-publishers.” Last year the Wylie Agency created (and then resolved) a public dispute with Random House over the Wylie Agency’s push to make eBooks for clients.

Here’s more from Dystel & Goderich: “what we are going to do is to facilitate e-publishing for those of our clients who decide that they want to go this route, after consultation and strategizing about whether they should try traditional publishing first or perhaps simply set aside the current book and move on to the next. We will charge a 15% commission for our services in helping them project manage everything from choosing a cover artist to working with a copyeditor to uploading their work.  We will continue to negotiate all agreements that may ensue as a result of e-publishing, try to place subsidiary rights where applicable, collect monies and review statements to make sure the author is being paid.” (Via PaidContent)

Amazon Publishing VP Jeff Belle explained that the bookseller’s new Montlake Romance imprint will accept agent-submitted manuscripts. “We’re looking for the highest quality stories, wherever they may come from,” he said.

Montlake Romance will publish its inaugural title, The Other Guy’s Bride by Connie Brockway, in November. Follow this link to download a digital copy of the book’s first three chapters.

In an interview with Publishers Weekly, Belle explained: “The acquisitions process includes agent-submitted unpublished works, in addition to the acquisition process we have established for our other imprints … Our acquisition process includes unpublished works, some of which we acquire through working with agents.”

(via Jane L)

To say Gaby Rodriguez‘s life has changed in the last few weeks is a gross understatement. After Rodriguez created a live social experiment for her senior class project, posing as a pregnant teen at her high school, she had no idea it would create a national stir.

Friends, students and even relatives were led to believe that she was pregnant for 6 1/2 months in order gauge their reactions and prejudice toward teen moms.
The experiment was successful and the reaction, after Rodriguez’s big reveal, was overwhelming.

First, over 100 news outlets around the world begged her for interviews and then she took her first airplane flight ever to appear with Matt Lauer in a heart-to-heart for the Today Show followed by an appearance on Telemundo.

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In the new issue of WSJ Magazine, agent Andrew Wylie shared his thoughts about the contemporary publishing industry in an opinionated essay. We got a sneak peek at the essay where the famous agent pondered our digital future.

His essay stressed that despite self-publishing options, the writing profession needs “a chain of people who have authority and can help convey what is essential.” What do you think?

Here’s an excerpt: “The devaluation of quality editing and writing is sad and it’s inevitable. Each house has a large number of titles to publish, and with a difficult economy, fewer people to handle the publications. But publishers need to become smaller, leaner, and they will have to learn new disciplines. The whole one-year publication process must be reduced.”

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