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Interacting with university presses at a huge conference to our mutual benefit

anonyme — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:24:04 -0800

I'm an author, and I have a great job helping my fellow faculty members publish their books with university presses. Through this job I visit presses one-on-one sometimes, but that is expensive and involves major travel. A huge conference is coming up with 20 of our target presses in attendance, each at a booth. What is the best way to contact them pre-conference to arrange intelligent, mutually meaningful interaction? Should I write to the directors themselves, or is there a more grassroots way to poll university press staffs to get a feel for who wants to meet and discuss their take on scholarly publishing? And what's in this for them, other than the fact that my university is reasonably high on the prestige scale? Any other benefit to them?

Small press. No, not THAT small.

256 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:47:42 -0800

As a writer trying to press into the next stage of my career, how can I emphasize in my publishing history that "small press" isn't always a euphemism for "vanity press"? Having recently completed the first draft of the manuscript for my debut full-length novel as well as a query package for a non-fiction book, I find myself about to embark on the quest for a literary agent. There is no shortage of general advice, guidance and hearsay on this subject available online, but I have a more specific problem.

It comes in the form of my publication history. I have had a couple of semi-regular paid freelance gigs writing for print lifestyle magazines. I've also made a few fiction sales to minor magazines, both print and online. No problem.

The problem is that I also wrote a novella. I thought it was pretty good, good enough to see print, but I also knew that novellas are a really hard sell. In fact, from an unknown writer, they're an impossible sell.

I lamented this fact (with no ulterior motive; I can be quite dense when it comes to business sense) to a friend of mine who was the proprietor of a successful local independent record label and events promotion company. He asked if he could read the manuscript.

Long story short, his label offered to publish the book, provided that I would come on board without charging a fee to help them make it happen. We signed a contract (which involved no financial risk or obligation on my part) and the label basically dumped some money in my lap and said "bring us a print run."

I then did all the things that someone self publishing with money from their own pocket would do and, in the end arranged for a small perfect bound print run of 500 copies. We had a launch event and I promoted the book online. The label sent me on a reading tour of Canada and the northeastern USA. The books were sold at these events, online, and were on the shelves in a few dozen, mostly independent, bookstores in the USA and Canada.

We ended up selling out completely and having to do a supplementary print run of 250 to meet demand. Eventually, that sold out in entirety as well. Both the label and myself ended up with a decent amount of money in our pockets. It was the first and last book they ever published and the label has since closed down shop.

Anyway, the problem is that there doesn't seem to be any elegant way to compress this nonstandard publication experience into a query letter. On the other hand, I think this is my most significant publishing experience and, when properly framed, reflects quite well on me as both a writer and as someone who is willing to work to promote my own work.

My goal is to:

1. Make it clear that this was not an instance of self-publishing or vanity press.

2. Maintain professionalism by not shoehorning too much autobiography into the query package (as I have done in this post).

3. Most importantly, not misrepresent (or look like I'm trying to misrepresent) this publication as something more than it was.

I fear that if I just list it as "Title of Work," Label, Year as though the label were a conventional publisher the agent or publisher may simply not have heard of, then I'm violating #3. On the other hand, if I do something like "Title of Work," Label (Small Press), Year then I'll be violation #1 unless I violate #2.

Am I overthinking this plate of beans?

Innovative Book Designs

0bvious — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:37:46 -0800

Innovative Books: I am looking to compile a list of the most innovative uses of the book format. Books that break the mould in their layout and design, perhaps books that use online systems to extend their content value or push their form into new places. I am most interested in narrative and theory, but any book that is interesting (artist books etc.) would be really appreciated. I have a few examples, in order of publication, to set the ball rolling:

Compendium for literates : a system of writing by Karl Gerstner - A book about book form in an innovative form. Beautiful and still fresh

Dictionary of the Khazars: a lexicon novel in 100,000 words by Pavic - a 'dictionary novel' "written in two versions, male and female, which are identical save for seventeen crucial lines"

A Humument: A Treated Victorian Novel by Tom Philips - an artist who has used one particular edition of one particular book as a space for his work for many years

The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet by Reif Larson - extended use of footnote, side-note and illustration to give the narrative dimension

I would love any ideas you have!

Copyright filter

quidividi — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:42:34 -0800

Copyright filter: Do publishers of books like Richistan, Microtrends and The Ascent of Money—all of which use stories from newspapers, magazines and wire services as source material—have to pay the periodicals for the use of their material? Thanks!

Publishing a book on rivethead culture

velvet winter — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:51:33 -0800

I want to write and publish a book on the industrial music scene from a feminist perspective. I’m a decent writer, but I have no photography, graphic design, marketing, or publishing experience, and no industry connections. Where do I start? I have a long-standing interest in the harsh distorted music, extreme fashion, dystopian military aesthetic, and apocalyptic culture of the industrial/dark electro/EBM/powernoise underground music scene. I want to write and publish a book focusing on the people who are involved – bands, artists, fans and supporters.

There are a few books on industrial music and culture out there already, but I want to approach my project from a different angle. I envision the book as an affectionate portrait of a selected group of unusual people, focused on certain aspects of the subculture that I particularly appreciate. Rivethead culture is commonly seen as overwhelmingly male-dominated, but I see it as much more feminist-friendly than it might appear at first glance. It’s very accepting of LGBT folks, geeks, and body types that don’t fit conventional standards, for example. It’s also one of very few places (aside from a few others like goth, riotgrrl and punk culture) where women’s anger and aggression are accepted, and even encouraged.

What I want to do is shine the feminist spotlight on rivetheads of various genders, ethnicities and sexual identities. I want bold, insightful feminist analysis. I want to feature photos of real people with a variety of body types, rather than professional fashion models. I want to highlight older people involved in the scene, to counter the mistaken idea that this is just a youthful phase that everyone outgrows. And hey…it certainly doesn’t hurt that gritty settings featuring men in eyeliner and utilikilts, or women with purple hair and spiked leather jackets, are inherently interesting to me.

Inspirations for this project include:
* AxWound: Gender in the Horror Genre
(I found this while searching for one of my childhood heroes, Lt. Ellen Ripley in Alien!)
* The work of Kyle Cassidy, author of Armed America: Portraits of Gun Owners in Their Homes (previously on MeFi)
* The work of UK journalist Mick Mercer
* The Origins of Industrial Music by Jennifer Onativia

I’ve never done anything like this before. I don't know any of the people I mentioned whose work inspires me. Though the scene is fairly small, I’m not well-connected at all – I’m not a musician, DJ, or promoter. I'm just a fan with an abiding interest (and an introverted one at that). I’m definitely not a photographer. And although some of my writing has been published in small-press zines, I’m hardly a professional writer, editor, marketer, graphic designer or publisher. So I really have no idea where to start. And furthermore, I just finished a post-bac in accounting and am currently looking for a job, which means I’m cleverly camouflaged as a semi-normal middle-aged woman and would not be able to devote myself to this book project full-time.

In any case, I would not want this to be a fly-by-night kind of thing. I'm organized, hard-working and responsible, and I’d prefer to take a professional approach. I realize that the market for a book like this is very limited, and that it would be more a labor of love than a profitable venture. But beyond that, I'm clueless. What kind of budget would I be looking at, and would I have any realistic funding options aside from tapping my own pocketbook? Would it even be worth trying to pitch this idea to a traditional publisher? Are there any specific people I should talk to, and if so, what would be the most appropriate way to approach them about a project like this?

What else should I know that I probably haven’t considered?

Any advice would be very much appreciated, particularly from those who've successfully completed projects of similar scope. Thanks!

Canadian webpages to print pages

ashputtel — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:35:45 -0800

Can you name any published Canadian bloggers? I saw this question already, but time has moved on and I'm specifically wondering about Canadian bloggers (or internet self-publishers if they can't be called bloggers for some reason) who have moved into print.

Also, if anyone knows of any Canadian publishers who have put out a notable amount of internet-affiliated works, I'd be interested in hearing about them too.

I wrote a book... but I only had a copy for me...

Madamina — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:03:26 -0800

I have this amazing idea for a book that has never been done before and will sell like hotcakes. (No, seriously!) But I have absolutely no idea where to start. What do I do? I am very into local history, and I am astounded -- ASTOUNDED! -- that nobody has ever written a book about Local Phenomenon X. (Sorry to be so coy; I know it's annoying. I'm doing it anyway.)

For the purpose of explanation, let's say that I'm talking about the Empire State Building: you look at it and say, "You're kidding me, right? Surely people have written SOMETHING! I mean, it's the fricking Empire State Building!" Maybe people haven't written about it because it's too big of a subject, or they assume it's been done. Whatever the case, I know that there's nothing out there. Maybe a few historical booklets, but nothing of substance.

The thing about writing a book about the not-Empire State Building is that it could be so awesome. I have access to a huge repository of photos and stories, both in historical archives and from tourists. It's a beloved physical landmark with a great history, but people also have really strong feelings about it: working there, being tourists, the way it looks, what it means to the city, rumors, legends, you name it.

And that's just it. I know it could be a beautiful coffee table book, or even a bigger book with stories and a Website and and and... where do I begin? How do I focus my idea? I have ideas for the divisions (history, famous people who have been there, a tour of the area) but I want to make sure it's not too much of an overload.

(Also, I have ADD. Ooh, is that Julie Andrews over there?)

Things I have on my side:
--I've seen this thread.
--I am a writer and media professional, so even if I don't do it myself I can give it to someone who is good.
--I know the perfect people to get involved with it; one is a great photographer and the other has been involved with Local Phenomenon X for many years. They're young, but they've written a somewhat-similar book that is getting good press.
--People in my area will buy it, no doubt. I'm not concerned about making money, but I could price it really high and they'd still buy it. This is a huge nostalgia item.
--I work for the university and, as I've said, have access to all sorts of public information, experts and the historical society archives.
--My dad has written multiple books (coffee table and nonfiction) and operated his own publishing company, so I know he could be realistic with me about what has to happen.
--I have many contacts at our university press, who would probably publish it (or at least tell me where else I could take the idea).

Am I crazy?

the portable ...

sardonicsmile — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:11:01 -0800

christopher hitchens' edited the portable atheist is probably the most current book which by using the word "portable" purports that it is an essential reader in condensed format. but there are so many other titles which use "the portable such-and-such". how and when did this tradition start? for example, the portable dorothy parker is cited as one of only three portable versions to stay in print, the other two being shakespeare and the bible. was the fashion of "portable" started by the publisher of the dorothy parker tome, viking press?

Will excerpts of a work now hurt publication later?

bobbyno — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:54:41 -0800

If everything goes magically and a publisher is interested in my book sometime in the future, is it damaging to post excerpts on the Internet now, while I'm shopping it around? I'm querying agents right now. That's all going fine, thank you for asking. If, hypothetically, I hooked up with an agent and a publisher, would there be huge problems stemming from me posting parts of the book in question right now?

I would love to create a little energy around the book up front using my site, but I don't want to create any unnecessary kinks.

Thank you for your help!

(In case it matters, this is a intermediate reader/young adult fantasy novel. No vampires are involved.)

Automated extraction of the gist of an article?

zaebiz — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:49:57 -0800

I often have a whole bunch of 500-3000 word articles to read - all reasonably plain English with headings and sub-headings (and occasionally images). Is there any software out there which will take an article (or articles) and write a reasonable one or two paragraph summary of the article, or produce a list of key points?

Getting into book translation from movies

saysthis — Mon, 04 May 2009 02:40:15 -0800

How do I move into book translation? Do I want to? I'm a movie translator. I've done scripts, subtitles, promo materials, the works.

Although it's a fun industry, the real joy of it for me gets squashed by the tight deadlines and picky clients. I love getting into language, tweaking things so they're just right, and the research surrounding a project. But film operates on immensely tight deadlines, and as a friend says, "a project is never done, just due." The endless revisions, micromanaging directors/producers/screenwriters, and layers of agents and secretaries and production assistants don't really help either.

Example - I recently got the promo materials for an upcoming Confucius biopic. It's gonna be insanely expensive, and Hollywood is involved, so getting a good English translation is key. Can you imagine a cooler project? I'm getting paid to read the Analects! But they revised and revised and revised and finally sent me the final draft with two days to spare, one day of which I told them ahead of time I had things going on. So, one day to translate & proof a 10-page document, half in classical Chinese, the other half in Hollywood biospeak, research all the history and filmographies, and get it in. And now, it's been sent to three different people for checking, all of whom are coming back to me for explanation, none of whom are English-speakers, and none, I suspect, who are among the original authors.

That's not an isolated example. I love the work, but I'm just finding, again and again, that I don't have the time or incentive to delve in and indulge myself in a project in the movie industry.

I can take that for what it is (a day job), but it's not giving me the enjoyment or credit where I want it. I've read some very good novels, history books, and other stuff, that at least I think is interesting, and would have a lot of fun translating. Some, like an imminently readable colloquial-language analysis of the impact of the warlord-era generals on modern politics after the May 4th Movement here (by a credible historian), would be fantastic resources for grad students. I can imagine how a lot of what I've read would succeed with English-speaking audiences.

The process of translating a book doesn't intimidate me, but I have no idea how to approach publishers/authors with the idea, or even to get hired to do this, especially when I'm in Beijing, and the publishers who'd be interested in this information are scattered all over the world. Networking is key, and I'm out there trying to meet people in literary circles, but without knowing how to market the idea (or product if I translate a book first) and who to market to, I'm kind of running in circles. I'm willing to do one or two for free, maybe even more, if that's what it takes to get me established.

Here are the questions I can think of for the moment:
1) Would it be best if I just translated a book first, then tried to sell it?
2) Assuming I'm going to translate a book, should I contact authors first and get their permission/assent? Should I approach them and try to negotiate a contract, or just approach them and ask if they'd like their book translated and like to handle publishing arrangements themselves?
3) How should I approach American/English-world publishers? Should I secure cooperation with Chinese-language publishers before I go about this, or would it be more ideal if I notified English-world publishers of my intent, got their interest, then brought them projects?
4) Should I find an agent?
5) I know my book will be edited, but should I find my own editor, or pair with a publisher and let them edit?

These are the questions I can think of for now. I'd appreciate any advice you have. This is a big transition, it'll take a long time, and the more preparation I've got the better.

Any experiences with using Lightning Source?

LimePi — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:14:00 -0800

Does anyone have experience creating an account with Lightning Source? Do they have any unwritten requirements as to the scale of the publishing operation and the number of titles to be published per year?

publishing

ChloeMills — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 11:24:18 -0800

How do I go about publishing an art book? I have a really great idea for an art book. I have several artists and pieces that I am interested in including. I like the idea of self publishing (like from sites like lulu) - but I am not sure if the print quality is perfect. I also would prefer to print on recycled paper. Does anyone know if there are any self publishing sites that let you print on eco friendly materials?

I am afraid to approach publishers because I am scared they might steal my ideas? Can they do that? I've had my artwork ripped off a lot in the past.

I've never published a book before and I am afraid artists won't take me seriously, especially if I self publish.

Any suggestions?

How to safely get an endorsement?

CollectiveMind — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:06:21 -0800

OK, I've posted on this subject before. Each time, I'm a little further along. Here is where I am right now. I've been working on a book since March. The idea upon which the book is based has been getting a lot of attention recently and has consistently been in the news for about four years. After a recent post about some impending national publicity, it was suggested that I create a proposal and find an agent to help distribute the book. The agent I found says that the marketing portion of the proposal needs to have endorsements about the book from authors a publisher would recognize. This is to prove that the agent isn't the only one who thinks the idea is viable.

So, I've searched the Internet for the email addresses of all of the authors of the books I compared to my own in the proposal. Agents want this done to show a publisher that few or many books on a subject might show market potential. Anyway, I've found the email addresses for the authors of about half of the books in my proposal.

Should I have any hesitation of explaining this possibly novel concept to established authors who write books on parallel concepts in hopes of getting their endorsement? Are their endorsements likely?

I wrote a novel. Now what?

letahl — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 10:32:07 -0800

Can I use viral marketing techniques to get my first novel published? I wrote a novel (Nanowrimo), and I actually like it. Its still in draft format, so it needs some editing, but it is structurally sound. My question is, "Now what?"

A website with a little popularity is going to do an article on me and my novel, and it goes up on Monday. It should drive some traffic to the lowkey writing blog I started recently. I have NOT done much to this blog, just used it more as a static page to point potential clients to for freelance writing assignments. So what should I do to that site by Monday to further a goal of getting this thing published?

Similarly, is there a way I can use viral marketing to promote an unpublished book such that I don't have to go sending unsolicited manuscripts all over the place? The latter sounds like a pretty brutal way of trying to get published.

About me: I'm a freelance lawyer and have published academic articles, magazine articles, and done a good bit of freelance writing. This is my first novel.

Resources: I have a well-developed blog on my primary area of scholarly interest, but its not on point with my novel. I could potentially use that as leverage for promoting my book. I'm on the major social networking sites (facebook, twitter, linkedin, inactive on myspace), so I am open to using those. I am capable of building a website for the book, but that seems a bit ridiculous. I'd rather use the writing site I linked to.

About the book: The novel tells the story of a remote Alaskan village after a large-scale economic collapse. The book follows the people in this town, over the course of a single winter, trying to make a life for themselves in difficult conditions. It is character and plot focused (not premise focused). It has around 60 short chapters.

Any help with strategy as of this point would be greatly appreciated, if in the form of links to potentially helpful AskMe posts or other websites. Even if you think of something that may be helpful to me, but which answers a question I'm not asking, please do share.

Help with Pitching a Book.

CollectiveMind — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:35:23 -0800

Something I've been involved in for several years has been getting a lot of publicity lately. And I've just been told that it is about to get some national publicity within the week. I've been working on the format for a non-fiction book on this subject for some time because I think it could be the formational guide for this growing genre. But I have no idea how to pitch the idea. Some experts say a checked and finished book proposal must be prepared and submitted to small presses, or agents or publishers. To not make it as polished as possible is risk the rookie slush pile. Others say a polished book proposal is much better since it's faster for the writer and the recipient. But because this topic has been getting so much publicity lately, and because the national exposure might prompt a wave of competitive ideas, I feel I need to send out a mass email to capture their attention first, even if the majority reject the query.

Does anybody with experience in the book publishing or marketing have a compromise between pitching a fully formed book proposal with sample chapters and a media plan, and an email saying "this is what I'm thinking about, and are your interested in working with me?" For me, the issue isn't who to pitch to over a long period of time. Instead, I know who I have to pitch to, but how should I pitch them in a short period of time? And how are the small presses, agents and publishers I pitch likely to respond? Is slow and steady best?

"Why do publishers add 'A Novel' to the titles of novels?": A Question.

CKmtl — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:41:43 -0800

Why do publishers slap on "A Novel" to the titles and/or covers of, well, novels? A few examples:

Anathem by Neal Stephenson (look at the cover)
Duma Key by Stephen King
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga (from today's FPP)

21 out of 56 books (nearly all of those 56 are novels, as far as I can tell) on the current NYT Fiction Best Sellers lists also have "A Novel" in their titles or on their covers. And that's by no means an exhaustive list.

I can understand the point of putting "A [Name-of-Series, Name-of-Continuing-Character, or Name-of-Universe] Novel" on books. Readers can then easily identify a Discworld, James Bond, Dragonlance, or what-have-you book.

Since booksellers now have defined sections, a novel in the Fiction section isn't likely to be mistaken for an autiobiography. Anthologies and collections of short stories are relatively easily identifiable by their tables of contents, credited editors, or descriptions. Poetry is usually off in its own sub-section. Which leaves the novel as the bulk of the Fiction section.

So why the generic "A Novel"?

Help Me Date a Book!

CheeseburgerBrown — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:44:52 -0800

How might one go about deducing the age of a book with no publication date printed inside of it? Antique books acquired at auction; estimated origin late 19th to early 20th century; most of them are Googlable but some are not. My wife suggests that the inclusion of the occasional colour illustration (on different paper) might help gauge the age. At what point did relatively inexpensive books have access to sufficiently cheap technology to achieve this? Any other practices that might help mark a decade for us? Help me, publishing historians, you're my only hope.

How do I break into publishing?

prunes — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:37:48 -0800

How do I break into one of the larger publishing houses? So I have spent the past year and a half thinking really hard about what I want to do careerwise. My tentative conclusion is that I should pursue my interests in a position where I will learn a lot. From there, opportunities will follow. Well I think I want to be in publishing. I love books. I am obsessed with books. And if I could have my druthers I would be in science fiction publishing. Just my luck I picked an obscure, unpopular niche in a tepid (dying?) industry.

For reference, I received a BA in Economics undergrad and I have been working for nearly a year and a half for a Big Four accounting/consulting firm doing financial advisory. I do not have any tangible experience in the publishing business from extracurriculars such as editing the school paper. I do not work in New York, but I imagine that a career transition of this nature will necessitate my moving there.

So how can I make this switch?

Book reviews and when not to care about them

Anonymous — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:28:10 -0800

Question about small presses and book reviews. So I wrote a nonfiction hardcover book that I'm pretty proud of. Then it came out and it didn't get reviewed anywhere.

While this sucks, I have no illusions about how hard it is to sell a book these days. Still, just out of curiosity, I'm trying to determine how common it is to get no reviews.

Some factors: The company, which is small but enjoys wide distribution at places like Barnes and Noble, packaged and presented the book in a way that I suspect was a turn-off to potential reviewers. The product came off as musty, arcane, and irrelevant; the press release that went out was awful; and the cover didn't match my goal of writing a cool book; now I know how Kilgore Trout felt.

Mostly, I'm just curious: Does anyone out there, either as an author or in the publishing industry, have first-hand insights into how this all works? Do certain companies, by dint of their relationship with Publishers Weekly, etc., have a better chance of being reviewed? This company, for some reason, has a track record of consistently not getting their books reviewed, despite buying table space at bookstores.

The second part of my question is: I've also been weighing whether I should try to solicit reviews myself, all this time later. Not having my own shipping and handling department, and tired from a long book tour, and soooo over the book itself, I've been of a mind to cut my losses, chalk it up to experience, be glad I'm on library shelves, and move on.

Is that crazy? The way my royalties are set up, I see no chance of meaningful profit, just the slim possibility of some modest recognition, a review somewhere saying my book isn't half bad. But I'd rather let it go than grub around for reviews this late in the game, if it's not worth it.

Or maybe someone out there has had success turning around a dead-horse book that flopped on launch? I just want to get some perspective on how I should look at all this. Thanks...

Can I get the publishing rights to my grandfather's book?

TheManChild2000 — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:04:38 -0800

My grandfather wrote a successful buck in the early '40s. He passed away about ten years ago, and just recently I've gotten the urge to see if it would be possible to release the book to Project Gutenberg and also maybe do a Librivox recording. How does one go about finding out about who owns copyrights in this kind of situation?

You can't read 'em all... that's précis talk

alb — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 07:29:13 -0800

Précis, outlines, abstracts for contemporary non-fiction books -- are there any sites or publications doing this? Reviews give some sense of the substance of non-fiction books, but in an inconsistent, incomplete, and opinionated fashion. Sometimes I don't want the opinion or the greater context, I just want a fairly detailed idea of what arguments and ideas are put forth, specifically for newish non-fiction books--in other words, a précis. Any pointers to resources like this?

Bonus question: Any copyright concerns in this area? Aren't factual summaries, paraphrases, etc. protected derivative works?

Why wouldn't this book be published in the US first?

Locative — Tue, 27 May 2008 22:17:36 -0800

Why isn't the sequel to The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters out in America yet when it's already published in the UK? The UK published the first book after America did, so why would the UK publish the sequel first now? Is it even going to be published in the US? Help me, booksellers and those knowledgeable in publishing! I read Gordon Dahlquist's book The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters when it came out in the USA in 2006. I knew he was working on a sequel, so I was eagerly awaiting its publication.

However, my recent Googlings show that a sequel, apparently called The Dark Volume, came out in the UK at the beginning of this month. What gives, since it isn't out in the US yet?

Since the first book came out in the UK after it came out in the US, why would the sequel not come out in the US first too? Did it not do well enough in the US to merit publication of the sequel? Is this possibly the reason that the first book hasn't come out in paperback yet, nearly two years since it came out?

I can get the book, now I want the bank.

parmanparman — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 07:50:20 -0800

I have been asked to put together a package to find publishing companies to sponsor some work of a non-profit - also called corporate underwriting. It's not publicists I want, I think I need marketing departments. I have a few questions on how to do this... I think I need to reach out to marketing departments. I am great on the phone, but I don't think cold-calling when I'm looking for sponsorships is the best idea. Any tips you might have of getting a list of people in the publishing or book industry who are responsible for underwriting and sponsorship decision-making would be a real help. If there are people here who have insight about how to make an approach, I would also really appreciate it. Thanks for any advice!

Is there any good info in Publishers Weekly?

ocherdraco — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 08:35:52 -0800

BookPublishingFilter: I've been an editorial assistant for six months, and I'm trying to figure out how to best learn more about the business. I read Publishers Weekly every week, but I have yet to understand what I'm supposed to get out of it. Folks in the business (past or present): do you find PW useful? If so, how? What parts of it are good? If not, what industry pubs are good? (Or should I just stick to things like the NYTBR and Bookforum?) Incidentally, I'm curious how many book people are a part of the hive mind.