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The Decent Thing to Call My Book
When I published The No Asshole Rule in February, I expected some people would love the mild obscenity in the title and others would hate it. But I didn’t expect people to apply such weird, inconsistent censorship rules to the title. For instance, when NPR’s Morning Edition called to book an interview, the producer told me she loved the book.
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You Keep Me Hangin' On
Dear Book Review Editor, I know this might come as a shock, but I'm beginning to think that our relationship is a fraud—that you aren't as committed to our mutual happiness as I am. Sure, you call when you're desperate for a celebrity interview or when you need a last-minute book for your mother-in-law, but looking back, I realize most of our interactions satisfy only your needs and wants.
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Another Eisenhower Biography?
As I open Claire Tomalin's Thomas Hardy biography, I anticipate a good read. I'm an admirer of Tomalin's previous biographies (Jane Austen and Samuel Pepys, among them). I know the Penguin Press imprint frequently means quality. As a biographer myself, I seek techniques that can improve my craft. Before I jump in, I read the acknowledgments.
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A Bookseller's Education
“You want to take it outside?” the man asked. He had to be kidding. “You sniffed and then bumped into me,” the guy, a middle-aged grizzled type, barked. “Where I come from, that means we go outside.” He stared at me some more. “I'm sorry?” I was walking quickly and he was a big guy, so the simple physics would've made me aware of contact.
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Undefinable
This fall, Sarabande Books will publish The Book of Beginnings and Endings by Jenny Boully. The book consists of beginnings and endings of more than 30 different texts, spliced together seemingly at random. The subject matter ranges wildly: invertebrate zoology, probability, the psychology of a scream, the retirement of an ice cream man, a plague of frogs.
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Who, Me, A Self-Help Author?
I've got issues. For the most part, my emotional baggage is pretty general stuff, like leftover childhood angst and present-day adulthood anxieties. I've sought the expertise of a couple of psychologists and found uncomfortable pleasure in pouring out the depths of my soul. And while these issues sometimes pop up during the most inconvenient times—in a romantic relationship, in the midst ...
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Mergers, Acquisitions and Me
I have to admit that during my 25 years as an editor and publisher, I never learned much about the nuts and bolts of publicity. Then I left publishing to become an author. In 2004, when Gotham published my first book, Humboldt’s Cosmos, I got a taste of green rooms and production studios. But exactly how these bookings came about remained as much a mystery as ever.
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No Room for 'Edgy'
Next February will mark the 30th year I've spent with Peter as one-half of a happy couple. We aren't married, so we use our first date—February 7, 1978—as our anniversary date. We have two separate apartments and have lived apart for all but four of our 30 years together, so we've enjoyed the best of both worlds: each other's company when we want it, and “me time” when w...
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Reviewing 101
My books have often been reviewed savagely. I was determined not to do the same when, recently, I saw an ad and signed on to review for PW. But I soon learned that it's surprisingly difficult to do a decent job of reviewing a book if you don't want to completely trash it—which is pointless since writing a book, even a bad book, is an achievement.
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Taken for an (Educational, Entertaining) Ride
I'll admit it: it was a dent to my ego when my biggest fan turned out not to exist. JT Leroy was by far my most flattering supporter. A true literary voice. A celeb magnet. And a man. It's very nice to be blurbed by a social activist like Eve Ensler or a bestseller like Marian Keyes. But when JT Leroy blurbed my second novel, then followed it with a flurry of e-mails, phone calls, fan mail to m...
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A Serious Summer Read
I used to think I loved reading. But then I discovered that I didn't—not once I knew I had to say something smart about the books. Five years ago I could easily have reeled off my 10 favorite books set in London. It would have been a fun game. But these days, knowing that I have to craft those 10 books into a syllabus and tell a class of juniors at Princeton why they're all so important, ...
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Hitchens and Me
An initially starstruck author realizes she and Hitch are in this together.
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Judge My Book by Its Cover
What goes into good book jacket design?
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Author, Media Savant
Come up with a good publicity plan, and your publicist may give you money to put it into action.
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What Ever Happened to Old-Fashioned Editing?
With fewer old-fashioned editors at work, we must, as communicators, edit ourselves.
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The BEA Shuffle
This year, walk—yes, on foot—from your arrival airport to the Javits Center
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The Big Chill
When it comes to tolerating free speech, the publishing industry is apparently no different from the rest of Corporate America.
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Huge in Finland
Navigating the wild world of foreign rights.
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All Hands On Deck
Poetry can sell—if you care enough to help it
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The Patterson School of Writing
Becoming James Patterson's coauthor was the best thing I could do for my writing career.
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