Why Do Good Books Fail?
SOMEONE NEEDS TO TAKE THE BLAME–OR DO THEY? This morning, my twitter account featured a couple of posts from a well-known book publicist who bemoaned the fact that publicists are always blamed when a book doesn’t take off. She’s not alone. Editors and agents are also frequently fingered. Indeed, sometimes the entire publishing team that […]
What do agents do all day?
What do agents do all day? The answer is, well, complicated. We think of agents as wheeler dealers, power brokers, talking tough and extracting large sums of money from publishers on behalf of their clients. There are occasional moments like this, and they can be fun. But the truth is that agents–at least effective ones–are […]
RETIREMENT HEIST named one of the top business books of 2011!
We were thrilled to hear that CEO Reads has named Wall Street Journal investigative reporter Ellen E. Schultz’ expose, RETIREMENT HEIST: How Companies Plunder and Profit from the Nest Eggs of American Workers one of the best business books of the year in the “Finance and Economics” category. Congratulations, Ellen and the brilliant publishing team […]
Rabbi Meir Lau’s memoir, OUT OF THE DEPTHS, just hit #1 in nonfiction in English-language books in Israel. This puts it ahead of START UP NATION (#2) and STEVE JOBS (#3)!
An Agent Perspective on ACX (Audible)
Audible asked me to to contribute a blog post to their site about my experience creating an audio working directly with an author through their ACX site. I had so much fun that I’m working on two more projects. You can read about it here: http://tinyurl.com/6whgf8z –Joelle Delbourgo
Are Agents Obsolete?
The demise of traditional book publishing and explosion of self-publishing opportunities seem to be two sides of a coin. Many authors are questioning the value of what a traditional publisher can provide and are choosing to publish books themselves. The availability of e-pub options make this appear deceptively easy. It would appear that anyone who […]
Memoir by Former Chief Rabbi of Israel Launched by Sterling
November marks the publication of OUT OF THE DEPTHS: The Story of a Child of Buchenwald Who Returned Home at Last, by Rabbi Israel Meir Lau. A memoir by an extraordinary man who I am honored to have worked with, the book chronicles the life of the child who would be come Chief Rabbi of […]
Benjamin Luft, MD’s work with first responders on 60 Minutes
On 9/7, I posted a conversation with Dr. Benjamin Luft, the compassionate doctor who founded the World Trade Center monitoring and treatment center, working with first responders, and who also created the WTC Oral History project, drawn from his work over ten years with nearly 6,000 first responders. Last night, on the evening of 9/11, […]
A talk with Benjamin J. Luft, M.D.
September 6, 2011 marks the publication date for one of the most important books this agency has helped to bring into being. WE’RE NOT LEAVING: 9/11 Responders Tell Their Stories of Courage, Sacrifice and Renewal, Edited by Benjamin J. Luft, M.D. A compilation of powerful first-person narratives, it is told from the vantage point of […]
It’s easier to say “no”
In preparation for my upcoming week as one of a team of publishing “experts” at Rancho La Puerta, I chatted with an editor colleague about the state of the industry. The editor had just come from a writer’s conference. He told me: “I used to introduce myself as an acquisition editor. But now, I say […]