Cool Book Deals

Larry Bird and Magic Johnson are teaming up to write a book together, chronicling their rivalry and friendship; Susan Canavan at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt just acquired world rights from Jay Mandel at William Morris, and Boston Globe columnist and ESPN contributor Jackie MacMullen will co-write. Bird, of the Boston Celtics, and Johnson, of the Los Angeles Lakers, perhaps best define 1980s-era pro basketball, and the collaboration is also noteworthy given the possibility of Celtics/Lakers matchup in this year’s NBA finals.

“We’re thrilled to publish the defining book on perhaps the greatest rivalry of all time,” said Houghton president Gary Gentel. The rivalry will be felt throughout the publishing process, too—Canavan is a Celtics fan, while Mandel is a Lakers supporter.

The contract also includes a bonus of $33.32 to be paid if the Lakers and Celtics do indeed meet in the 2008 finals (a figure that signifies the respective numbers of Bird and Johnson). Pub date is fall 2009. --PW Daily.

I wouldn't count on that bonus though.

Truly, Madly, Deeply

Flame Books are fast becoming one of my favourite independent publishers - perhaps this is a hasty decision to make on the basis of having read two of their output, but already I am sensing a definite Flamesque quality. They are novels of brave, textured writing, dealing with ordinary people experiencing the extraordinary. Confused, intricate relationships between flawed humans - with exceptional writing ability to boot.

Tru by Eric Melbye was sent to me quite a while ago, and it is through no fault of the book's inviting (if slightly haunting) cover that it has taken this long to read. I just hope I can now do it justice, since I have been battling with a dreadful internet connection for over an hour, and have reached the end of my tether, as Our Vicar's Wife occasionally says. [N.B. this was written yesterday, and I gave up...]

The 'Tru' in question is Gertrude Hayes, resident in an old people's home and member of an amusing 'gang' there - a collection of disparate characters, levelled together by their grouping at this final home, waiting for the inevitable. Tru's closest friend Agnes, dramatic and in the onset of dementia, gives her a journal for her birthday: "The journal is the destination", as she says. Tru decides to record her history, her guilt about her family, the misadventures which led to this point in her life. From then onwards, the narrative is shown through journal entries (though this is rarely evident except at the beginning of chapters, and never annoying or intrusive as even Anne Bronte was when she used the device). This motley assortment of the aged occupy some chapters; the rest charts Tru's childhood, through early tragedies and even earlier pregnancy; the fragile and mysterious relationship she has with her ethereal daughter, Maddie; echoes of longing and searching throughout the annals of her past. She lives in a dead-end town - 'Delamondians don't bother to understand a thing, only judge it' - always known as The Hayes Girl, and cannot escape the unfriendly eyes of those surrounding her.

That sounds a bit glum, doesn't it? In synopsis, it is rather - but Tru's story, in its mixture of remembering and imagining, is told with a humour and understanding which captivate rather than repel, and feels more like truth than anything else. You can find truth discomforting, but cannot challenge the teller. Melbye's writing is honest in a way which makes the title Tru so apposite, despite being fiction. In the old people's home, Agnes 'remembered days, or made them up. It's all the same now.' This threading of recollection and invention in Tru's narrative creates an emotional honesty, which even an autobiography would rarely achieve. And there are also many beautiful images amongst the loss; I liked: 'She was like a shard of broken glass, beautiful and dangerous and hardly there.'

A difficult book to categorise, and not like much that I've read before - except, as I say, similarites with The Bestowing Sun. I can't wait to see what else Flame Books has to offer.

Bears and Belgrade

What a fun and surreal day I've just had... thankfully no small part of it has spent reading, so perhaps The Block has disappeared. Nearly finished an excellent book I was sent to review by Flame Books, who published Neil Grimmett's The Bestowing Sun, about which I raved a while ago, and which I heard recently will become part of a trilogy. The other book which has brought me back to readerdom is Pride and Prejudice - I forget how wonderful Jane Austen is until I read her. For a hopeful author, it is almost discouraging to see how brilliant a writer can be (especially with dialogue) that it's almost not worth putting pen to paper anymore. I don't think I quite trust anyone who's read Austen and doesn't admire her.

The most fun and unusual activity I took part in today was... actually, both activities qualify for those adjectives, so I'll just list them in chronological order. My friend Charley celebrated her 24th birthday, and as she is known as Bear (not sure why) she had a Teddy Bears' Picnic. Bring food and teddy bear. So, I made some coconut rock cakes (since Our Vicar and The Carbon Copy hate coconut, I put it in everything I make that they're unlikely to eat) - tip: sprinkle muscovado sugar on top before baking - and took David with me to the picnic. We went on the bus, but he snuck into my bag, and didn't pay for a seat. He even brought his own marmalade with him - seen in the picture - and made some new friends. Patch and Fido had their own Teddy Dogs' Picnic at home...

Later on, I attended a Eurovision Song Contest party... perhaps that means nothing to my non-European visitors, but everyone else will have smiled and rolled their eyes. An annual competition, European countries submit a song as daft and tuneless as possible, and then vote based entirely on which countries share borders with them, eventually crowning someone the winner. Costume changes are encouraged, as are cross-dressing and pirate outfits. Bizarre rock, cheesy pop and overly-ambitious operatics are all welcomed. The UK - especially since the invasion of Afghanistan - perform spectacularly badly. This year we triumphed with joint-last place, and Russia took the crown - with an admittedly acceptable entry. Terry Wogan provides hilarious commentary, especially during the announcement of the votes, wherein he gets increasingly indignant/inebriated. A fun evening with some friends, all wielding scorecards with the categories 'Song, Performance, Dance Routine, Outfits' - we declared Armenia the winners, and they managed a respectable second or fourth or similar. Spain were unquestionably the worst, but did quite well nonetheless. Roll on next year; I can't wait.

That was a great game of golf, fellers.

And with those last words from Bing Crosby, the No Holds Barred Q&A Session is officially over. Thanks to everyone who wrote in, and I hope you all have a wonderful long weekend!

How much do I share with a writer about their submission?

After you send a book out on submission, how much do you let the writer know of what's going on?
It depends on the author. Some want an update each time I hear something from an editor, others don't want to know anything until I sell the book. I usually update my clients once every few weeks unless I have instructions to the contrary. As for the actual editorial letters, I typically will only share them if my client specifically asks or if they say something substantive.

Do editors call you up out of the blue with an offer, like a bolt from above, or do they generally keep you posted at each stage of the process?
Most of the time I'm kept in the loop, but on occasion I've gotten an offer in out of the blue. I definitely prefer being posted as things progress though, because I can then keep other editors who are reviewing the book in the loop.

Is there anything the writer can do - or not do - at this point that will make any difference?
Sometimes I'll have my client speak with an editor to make sure they share the same editorial vision, but usually there's nothing a writer can do. I suggest deep breaths.

Also, we all know when a book is on submission the writer is a nervous wreck, but what's it like for you? Just another day at the office, or does the anticipation get to you as well?
It's certainly not as nerve-wracking as it used to be, but I still get excited when I'm submitting a new project and I'm absolutely ecstatic when an offer comes in and I get to call my client.

Since this is the last question, I'll elaborate a bit more on that last point. In my opinion, the best part of my job is that phone call to a client telling them that they have an offer, and it's even sweeter when it's my client's first book. The second best part of the job is reading that project for the first time and falling in love and making an offer of representation. A close third is seeing that book in the store after years of sweat and labor.

I doubt these three events are ever as emotionally satisfying for me as they are for a writer, but because I have so many clients I get to feel these things over and over again. It's pretty amazing.

How long from initial submission does it take to sell a book?

How long does it usually take for a book you're submitting to make the rounds to all the editors you plan on sending them to -- meaning, do you send it out to one editor at a time and the process can take a few years? Do you send them out five at a time, and the process take months? What's the average turnaround time until a book gets sold or probably isn't going to be?

There are two ways to submit projects - either exclusively to one editor at a time or simultaneously to various editors at different publishing houses. Fifteen years ago the industry standard was exclusive submissions, but that has since changed and multiple submissions are considered the norm (though certainly not the rule).

How many and which editors I submit to at any given time is a true trade secret. I determine a strategy based on the individual book and the potential publishers, and then I discuss this strategy with my client before submitting. I will say though that I almost always submit to at least three editors at any given time and have also submitted to up to twenty at once.

If or when I get a pass from an editor I may immediately send it out to another editor, or I may wait for more responses to see if they all describe the same problems about the project. If I submit a book to eight editors and they all pass with the same concern, then I might ask my client to revise before submitting elsewhere.

As for the average turnaround time before a book gets sold, there are too many factors for me to give an accurate answer. It depends on how many editors you can submit the project to (which depends on the genre), how long each editor takes to respond, whether the author decided to revise, how many editors express interest, whether I can conduct an auction, etc. I've sold some books just a few weeks after first submitting to editors, but I also once sold a book two and a half years after my initial submission.

Why Fulham?

Okay, you like championships, so you like the Spurs. What's the attraction with Fulham, then?

I started tracking them years ago, when Eddie Lewis was on the team. Over time they've become my favorite club.