Sound Advice
Last week we asked readers to share advice they would give their younger selves who were just starting out in the publishing business. Answers poured in over Twitter (#pwpubadvice), Facebook, and on our website. Here are some of our favorites.
@notsowiseowl
Editorial is no ivory tower. Ask questions about all aspects, from typesetting to warehouse inventory procedure. Knowledge is power.
@brett_quirk
Make connections. Desk work is the job that needs to get done. Networking builds your career.
@JessOBrien11
As an acquisitions editor I would tell myself: seek out the books that inspire you most, they’ll lead you to your best work.
@PerigeeBooks
Summer Fridays are real. Use them.
From the Newsletters
Andy Weir, author of The Martian, on how to research like a writer, and what to do when the facts ruin a plotline.
PW’s exclusive cover reveal of Jon Scieszka’s Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor (Abrams/Amulet), illustrated by Brian Biggs.
Inside the plan to relaunch Heavy Metal magazine as a brand for print and digital content, plus film and TV.
The most-read review on publishersweekly.com last week was The One by Kiera Cass (HarperTeen).
Blogs
From Kafka to Joyce to Jonathan Safran Foer, here are 12 books that end midsentence.
Children’s bookseller Josie Leavitt offers a guide to managing returns.
Podcasts
Jennifer Donnelly discusses the mermaids and undersea realms of Deep Blue (Hyperion), the first book in the Waterfire Saga, and her first book for middle-grade readers.
Cartoonist Dean Haspiel on his new tongue-in-cheek superhero series, The Fox (Archie Comics).
PW senior writer Andrew Albanese discusses the LA Times Festival of Books and its Amazon problem, and takes a look at the success of the nascent Digital Public Library of America.
Listen to these and other podcasts here.
Authors
Novelist Tessa Hadley discusses the complicated female protagonist of her latest book, Clever Girl (Harper).
John Bennett, coauthor of Jack the Ripper: The Forgotten Victims (Yale Univ.), on recovering the stories of murdered women who weren’t considered official victims of the Ripper.
Events
Why do some cookbooks thrive in traditional channels while others take off in specialty markets or nonbook chains? Find out during our March 21 webcast, hosted by PW senior editor Mark Rotella and featuring panelists from the Taunton Press and Robert Rose Inc.
How has the rise of digital publishing impacted romance books featuring queer and trans characters? Representatives of Harlequin’s Carina imprint and independent presses MLR and Riptide Publishing will discuss this and much more during our March 28 live webcast. Register now—it’s free!
PW Radio
Paul Rosolie discusses his new book, Mother of God: An Extraordinary Journey into the Uncharted Tributaries of the Western Amazon (Harper). Plus, PW blogger and children’s bookseller Josie Leavitt talks about why women buy books for young adults.
