There Are No Rules - New Titles From F+W

Agents & Editors: What Has Changed About the Submissions Process?

Jane — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:38:12 GMT

At Writer’s Digest Books, we’re in the process of updating our popular title Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript and are looking for insight from agents/editors on how the industry is changing. Here are a few things we’re interested in knowing.

How have queries and submissions changed for you in recent years? Do you request different information? Do you accept email queries? If so, do you prefer electronic or paper queries? How important is format and formality in electronic communication?
What are your pet peeves and turnoffs?
What are your do's and don'ts for writers?
Have you changed how you select authors? How many of your authors are found through queries, and how many through other means? Do you want to hear about an author's platform?
What recent changes in your market do you want writers to know about?

Writers are also welcome to comment and offer tips.

Click here to e-mail me directly!

Serfitt & Cloye Gift Catalog

Jane — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:15:21 GMT

The Serfitt & Cloye Gift Catalog now has an online home, with an opportunity to join Serfitt & Cloye's Highest Society.

What's the Highest Society, you may ask?

The world at large may venerate and aspire to the Serfitt & Cloye brand, but very, very few people actually are or ever will become Serfitt & Cloye customers. It was designed that way, they like it that way. And, thankfully, enduring patrician inbreeding should permit Serfitt & Cloye to stay that course indefinitely.

Of course, such an intentionally restricted customer base means that those who do purchase Serfitt & Cloye's superlative super-luxury products and services are tremendously important, even precious. Consequently, the essential objective of Serfitt & Cloye is to overindulge and overfulfill each rarefied heir and Forbes 'Richest' List-aire they serve.

Which is precisely why Serfitt & Cloye created The Highest Society. Those who join The Highest Society are eligible to receive private electronic mail updates regarding the latest Serfitt & Cloye news, products, events, secret societies, lobbying efforts, snubbings, blackballings and much more. Membership is free. (Optional Dolce & Gabbana-designed platinum membership shield with name inlaid in ivory: $250,000.).

But don't delay. Enrollment is limited to the first person to sign up. Because, as you know, any group worth joining is worth excluding everyone else from. Visit this page and complete the form to see if it's you who will be received into The Highest Society.

Podcast Interview With Lee Lofland

Jane — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 19:20:12 GMT

Bleak House Books has interviewed WDB author Lee Lofland (Police Procedure & Investigation) about his views on writing and law enforcement. Click here to go straight to the podcast.

Click here to read an excerpt from Police Procedure & Investigation.

WD Author Featured in Oregonian

Jane — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:51:24 GMT

Just this summer, we released a hard-working fiction technique title, Bullies, Bastards, & Bitches, by Jessica Morrell. The Oregonian offered a nice write-up on Jessica and her new book after the Willamette Writers Conference last weekend. A snippet:

[Her book] was inspired in part by "The Sopranos" and Morrell's realization that an anti-hero such as Tony Soprano can be at least as compelling as any good guy.
"A lot of the old advice writers have been given is really outdated," Morrell said.

Like what?

"Like you should only write likable characters. Like the hero should always be someone the reader can relate to. Things don't have to be black and white. Most of the characters that are fascinating and have depth are colored gray."

Read the full article.

Graffiti Book Featured in Newsweek

Jane — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:33:44 GMT

Arrived to the office this morning and was welcomed with excellent publicity news for our new title Written on the City (HOW Books), which is a showcase of message graffiti around the world.

Newsweek is featuring the book in their August 18 issue. You can find the write-up on their site, too. They say:

The best examples are poignant ("One week that we've been separated," reads an image of two lovers), funny ("You looked better on MySpace," jokes another) and thought-provoking ("Create beautiful children. Marry an Arab," says a wall in Tel Aviv).

TOW Books: An Exciting New Sales Strategy!

Jane — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:15:22 GMT

Now it's time to talk about TOW Books. This is an imprint here at F+W that launched last fall, in partnership with John Warner of McSweeney's fame.

It's an imprint focused on humor.

We've discovered that humor is quite difficult to sell.

So we're giving books away, in their entirety, to help spark interest.

There are four titles we are now offering for free, as PDF downloads (you can also request free, physical copies):

Really, You've Done Enough: A Parents' Guide to Stop Parenting Their Adult Child Who Still Needs Their Money But Not Their Advice by Sarah Walker

Oh, the Humanity! A Gentle Guide to Social Interaction for the Feeble Young Introvert by Jason Roeder

Everything Is Wrong With You: The Modern Woman's Guide to Finding Self-Confidence Through Self-Loathing by Wendy Molyneux

So You Want to Be President? Find Out If You Have the Ego, Bankroll, and Moral Flexibility to Lead the Nation and Take on the World by John Warner

This imprint's survival depends on more people discovering these talented humorists. Won't you take a look and recommend them to a friend?

HOW Books: Always Extraordinary

Jane — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:58:50 GMT

I've been featuring HOW Books rather frequently, but they need the attention; most people I know aren't aware of the wonderful books we publish under this imprint that features top illustrators, artists, and designers.

One example is The Look Book by Chris Sickels (Red Nose Studio). This book released last fall and won a major award from the Society of Illustrators. BoingBoing recently mentioned the illustrator thanks to the efforts of HOW senior editor Megan Patrick. (FYI, The Look Book is NOT a children's book.)

And here's another plug for 100 Daily Monsters by Stefan Bucher—again, fantastic art. LA Weekly recently featured Bucher and his monsters and had this to say:

What kind of guy draws a monster every day? Bucher leads a lifestyle that some might classify as monstrous. Or, at the very least, vampiric. When the rest of the city is sleeping, he is drawing, from midnight to 4 a.m. He reasons, “Drawing is a monastic activity, on a straight line from illuminating manuscripts. Drawing a monster a day every day for 100 consecutive days? It becomes a stamina question.”
Bucher’s monastery, though, is open to the world, and people complain if no monster appears on time. It’s their morning coffee or lunch break.

That's kind of a good description for many HOW titles: art that's open to the world. Buy a HOW Book, support art! (Now off soapbox.)

Elvis Storm Troopers, Robots, and Indiana Jones All Agree

Jane — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:31:32 GMT

One of our HOW Books authors, Stefan Bucher, attended Comic-Con and was able to secure a few wonderful endorsements for 100 Daily Monsters, from, ah, celebrities, for example:

Click here to see his full report (and photo library).

Werewolves Reciting Sonnets?

Jane — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:06:32 GMT

We've recently succeeded in sparking more Zombie Haiku interest: BoingBoing pointed to the book's trailer, which, if you haven't seen, is a cool little production!

My favorite comment on the BoingBoing posting:

Wow. Now we just need werewolves reading sonnets and I'm set!

Writer's Market Mentioned on Good Morning America

Jane — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:14:57 GMT

This just in (thank you, Grace)!: On Good Morning America this morning, there was an interview with author Stephanie Meyer about her latest book. At the end of the interview, they asked her a question about writing/publishing a novel, and she mentioned Writer’s Market as a great resource. Here’s a video clip of it (it happens around the –1:30 mark): http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5487417

Writer's Market editor Robert Brewer comments:

You heard it: "Writer's Market IS a great resource."

I am surprised, however, that the conversation didn't shift focus at that exact point from Meyer to Writer's Market. A good interviewer would've interrupted saying something like, "Whoa-whoa, Stephanie--Writer's Market?!? Here let me get my pen out; can you give us all the URL on that? (pause) And one more time for the folks at home? Thanks, Stephanie. And tomorrow, we'll be bringing you an interview with the folks from Writer's Market." I mean, that's how I would've handled it. ;)

Interview With Faculty Chair of Vermont MFA Program

Jane — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:53:46 GMT

Here at Writer's Digest, we have been extremely fortunate to work with the faculty chair of the Vermont MFA program, David Jauss, to publish his writing instruction (or non-instruction) book, Alone With All That Could Happen. It is a lovely book that I hope gets the attention it so richly deserves. (In early 2009, we're also publishing a collection of essays from the Vermont MFA faculty called Words Overflown By Stars.)

For those who aren't aware, the Vermont MFA program (a low-residency program for creative writers) was ranked one of the best in the country by Atlantic magazine. So we're particularly excited about the partnership.

In any case, the whole purpose of this post is to let you know of a terrific 30-minute interview with David Jauss with Shelagh Shapiro, for her show called "Write the Book" on WOMM-LP 105.9 FM (Burlington, Vermont). It's available for free as a podcast through iTunes, or you can visit the show online and listen here: Write the Book podcast (July 26).

Finding Books You Like: Start at Page 69

Jane — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:57:01 GMT

Time for lighter fare! The Guardian (UK) has a charming article on the theory that it's possible to choose books you love by first reading Page 69. (Read the article here.)

I will now test this theory on a few recent releases from HOW, TOW, and Writer's Digest.

Zombie Haiku

Falling with the group,
by the time I get to her,
all that's left is hair.

Always be careful
when you're biting teeth with teeth.
Dead teeth tend to lose.

I push with my chin,
a better biting angle,
into her shoulder.

So You Want to Be President?

Long May Iowa and New Hampshire Reign! Primary Scenario 1

Regardless of the reasons why, everything is riding on the battle for these two states. Taking heed of legendary former House Speaker Tip O'Neill's maxim that "all politics is local," the first part of this challenge will ask you to demonstrate your knowledge of Iowa and New Hampshire. Decide whether each statement applies to New Hampshire or Iowa (or one of the other choices … you get the idea).

1. My motto is "live free or die."
A. Iowa
B. New Hampshire
C. Tony Hawk
D. Other

Answer: B (Tony Hawk is a good guess, but he isn't a state.)

Fiction Writer's Workshop, 2nd Edition

Epiphany should not be confused with a trick ending. For example, if you write a st ory in which a young woman looks forward to getting together with a man, giving this the appearance of a date, and then, in the last line of the story, it turns out that the man is her dad—and that's the whole point—you are not making an epiphany. The main character knew it all along, and the writer chose to hide this information to surprise us later. Now, this may be charming, but it's cheap. The character must come upon some genuine discovery.

New Release: Poet's Market 2009

Jane — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:20:16 GMT

We just received advance copies of Poet's Market 2009. Our production coordinator, Greg Nock, sent the following e-mail to make the announcement:

I've queried as the date grew near
(I'm so much an impatient creature)
but, at last, Poet's Market is now here.

The list is printed; that's the trick.
And with the wisp of smoke's transient nature
they'll soon be gone, so grab one quick.

It's Enough to Give You Zombie Nightmares

Jane — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:34:26 GMT

Today my inbox greeted me with a graphic retelling of an intense zombie nightmare that one of our designers experienced, which undoubtedly is a result of our newest little zombie book from HOW Books, Zombie Haiku. Just in case you haven't seen it yet: the author has produced a commercial for it that is now on YouTube. It's hilarious and a little strange.

> >

Illustrated Zombie Book = Awesome Review & Ecstatic Author

Jane — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:55:46 GMT

More news from yet another title from HOW Books, Zombie Haiku: Good Poetry for Your Brains. Ain't It Cool News offers up a superlative review, and here's a bit from the final paragraph:

This is the single best zombie read I have laid my eyes on this year and sure to show up in my picks for best original graphic novel of the year. The book does a phenomenal job of going into the mind of a zombie and does so in a creative and wholly new and imaginative way. If you have a taste for horror, this quirky little book is for you. But if you're a zombie fiend like myself, you should make it your single minded goal to seek out this book and digest then savor it. It's a true gem of a book for those with a taste for the macabre.

The author of Zombie Haiku, Ryan Mecum, stumbled upon the review and e-mailed us this morning to share his excitement:

I'm the guy who has been reading Aint It Cool every day for about 10 years now, and I saw this review this morning by just going to their site. CRAZY!!!!! I bawled like a baby and called my wife. It's like I'm in a dream.

Nothing better than happy authors (and superlative reviews).

Someone Is Trying to Tell You Something!

Jane — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:51:06 GMT

This September, HOW Books will release Written on the City: Graffiti Messages Worldwide by Axel Albin & Josh Kamler. It's a collection of photographs of graffiti, all text-based, all trying to communicate.

I've plucked out Page 118 for your sneak peek.

We signed this book after discovering the authors' wonderful site.

Forgotten Fashion Has Arrived!

Jane — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:28:00 GMT

Advance copies of Forgotten Fashion by Kate Hahn (TOW Books) have arrived at our offices! As the subtitle indicates, this book is an illustrated faux history of outrageous trends and their untimely demise. It's quite simply brilliant, and the staff was feasting on our fresh copies this morning. (That's a "Frigidaire Formal" on the book cover.)

(From L to R: Associate Editor Melissa Hill, Managing Editor Alice Pope [who was editor on the book], Managing Editor Amy Schell)

One of the more memorable fashions: "Emotionally Distressed Jeans: The Brainchild of Business and Psychology." Here's a brief snippet.

Displayed between two sheets of Plexiglas in an ultramodern Tokyo penthouse apartment is one of the world’s rarest pairs of blue jeans, preserved with the care usually reserved for an antique kimono. Like many late-1990s indigos, the pair is artificially distressed: faded, torn, and whiskered. Yet it was not created by a high-end denim designer, but a depressed, freshman girl at an American university. It was a product of the Emotionally Distressed Jeans project, an exclusive line available only on the black market to an elite group of extremely wealthy consumers.

The jeans were the brainchild of a secret partnership between two groups of graduate students—psychology and business—at the University of Pennsylvania. They believed that negative emotions, instead of being quashed with the decade’s drug of choice, Prozac, should be expressed and channeled into lucrative endeavors. Unbeknownst to UPenn administrators, they tested this out by giving a fresh pair of stiff indigo jeans to every student who visited the school’s mental health counseling center. The recipients were instructed to take out all their frustration and anxiety on the denim—rather than themselves or their friends—for a week. Seven days later, the “emotionally distressed” jeans were returned to the center, along with a logbook listing the methods used to create the damages.