Agent in the Middle

Cccchanges

2012-01-19T17:55:00.003-05:00

Well, we have exciting news at the L. Perkins Agency.

Marisa Corvisiero has decided to start her own agency, in conjunction with her literary consulting business, PowerHouse (see her blog announcement at http://thoughtsfromaliteraryagent.blogspot.com/), and Emily Keyes, who had worked with this agency as an intern while getting her Masters in publishing from studying NYU's Center for Publishing, and then going on to work in contracts at Simon & Schuster, has come back to us.

So welcome home, Emily! Emily is now the Contracts & Foreign Rights Manager at the L. Perkins Agency. She’s very passionate about YA and teen novels and is looking to acquire in that area.

Previously, she was a Contracts Administrator at Simon & Schuster, Inc. and a writer for “The World Almanac for Kids.” She is a graduate of the NYU Publishing program and knowledgeable about many areas of publishing, and an expert on all things “Sweet Valley.”

Email her at emily@lperkinsagency.com. Follow her on twitter @esc_key

And good luck Marisa.

An Agent's New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-01T22:42:00.004-05:00

You probably think that a literary agent's New Year resolutions should include things like keep up to date with query letters or take on new clients or sell more books. But when you've been doing this as long as I have (almost a quarter century), the last thing you want is more. What you want is better, and/or more efficient.

So, this year I want every single one of my clients, whether fiction or nonfiction, to be under both traditional and epub contract. This way, they should never have a week or a month when they have nothing to write.

And every author I represent should be in twitter and facebook and Goodreads, and comment and review books they love on Amazon. If you want someone to give you a good review, pay it forward. It's not rocket science.

I do not want to add another print book to my already buckling bookcases, unless I throw (or give away) another book. I recently redid some of the rooms of my home office and went through books from my adolescence, which I remembered loving, but when I pulled out the paperbacks, the pages flew out. Let's be real, I will never read those copies of those books again. So I am going to throw those books out and download what I want.

So, it's pretty simple. Better, more efficient, and leaner.

Brave New World of EPublishing

2011-12-28T23:49:00.001-05:00

You're probably a little shocked that I'm posting, but I closed the Agency between Christmas and New Year's (as all good publishing businesses do - it's one of the very few remaining perks of the business), and I have some time to myself, which I give to you.

It's been a crazy year. Ebooks now outsell mass market titles, practically putting paperbacks out of commission. Borders went out of business completely. But more and more people are reading, and that includes a whole new generation of readers who now consider reading entertainment again.

When the dust settles, we will find that the author has come out ahead, although many who have toiled patiently in the low advance/reserve-against-returns fields for years, just don't see the corn for the seeds.

I've been an agent for almost a quarter of a century. I've had a lot of authors say they would do anything to make a good living as a writer, and then ask me what they should do. In the past, that answer had way too much to do with luck and timing, but today, a genre writer who puts in 40 hours a week can make a good living as a writer within two years of starting out through epub. The times they are a changing.

I believe we are entering a whole new world of publishing that resembles the pulp fiction heyday of the past. Readers want dependable books that they can devour, and authors who can deliver them consistently. This will be a renaissance of story telling. It's quite exciting.

Its also exciting that books have once again entered the water cooler conversation, as witnessed by the Steve Jobs bio. We all downloaded and read it almost immediately. How many of us are reading 11/22/63 right now?

I am really looking forward to 2012, and being part of this brave new world for writers and readers.

Agent Life Update

2011-02-13T14:10:00.005-05:00

OK, so I've been working two jobs for two and a half years. And I've been doing a pretty good job of balancing the responsibilities of both.

I have four agents working for me, and a website (lperkinsagency.com) that gives writers a very detailed description of what we're all looking for. And I have personally stopped taking on new clients (unless, of course, Stephen King begs me), so I can focus on guiding my junior agents. We have broadened the scope of the agency as well. We have an ebook only agent who is kicking ass (and can really guide writers on that part of their careers) and we've starting selling children's books (Louise Fury just sold a children's picture book to Random House), not just young adult and middle grade fiction.

I go over every book that is submitted under my agency name with my junior agents. We do contracts together, so every contract gets my years of agenting expertise (and boilerplate). So I find it a little surprising that writers seem disappointed that I am no longer taking on new clients. Even if I wasn't running a publishing company (Ravenousromance.com now publishes about 200 books a year, and I personally edit 50 of them, and oversee a staff of five), I would probably only take on a handful of new clients a year. By running the agency and supervising, I (we) can launch many more new careers and resurrect old ones. The odds are actually much better for the unpublished writer here now.

But we are swamped. It staggers the imagination to see how many queries we get. An agent's life is not all about queries, especially now that it takes longer for editors to get approval on purchases (I have a book by a NY Times best selling author who has sold over 400,000 copies in hardcover that I have been waiting on an offer for for over 9 months), we can submit a finite amount. It makes no sense to have five horror first novels piled up with the same editor.

Why Writers Should Go To Writers' Conferences - It's Not What You Think

2011-01-22T04:05:00.002-05:00

Louise Fury, Sandy Lu, Marisa Corvisiero and myself (lperkinsagency.com) will be all be attending the Writer's Digest Pitch Slam (http://www.writersdigestconference.com/) tomorrow afternoon at the Sheraton where mostly unpublished writers will descend upon us hoping to find the agent of their dreams.

And many of them will, it just won't be what they expect.

I say this because, of course, I've been attending writer's conferences for years.

I go because I think of it as a way of giving back. It is rarely a way for me to take on new writers directly.

Let me tell you three stories of writers who I helped get published by going to writers conferences. Only one of them do I represent now.

Lisa Delman and I met at the Maui Writers' Conference. We kept on running into each other in the hallways and in restaurants and the pool, just about everywhere we turned. But she wrote nonfiction self-help books, and that's not really my thing, so I encouraged her to find an agent who thrilled at that. We ended up on the same plane home, and really bonded (we were the same age and playing the dating game), so we became "writing friends." During the course of a vacation conversation (I was visiting the town where she lived and we decided to hang out), she told me this moving story about the letters she had written to her mother when she thought she was dying, and I said to her, "that's your book!" DEAR MOM, I Always Wanted You to Know (Perigee http://www.amazon.com/Dear-Mom-Always-Wanted-Know/dp/0399530797- ) was born there, and I did represent it. It just wasn't the book she was pitching then, and it took 5 years from that Maui conference to publication.

Jeremy Wagner plopped himself in from of me at a BEA pitch slam only two years ago. He was the hardest working unpublished writer I'd met in long time. He had a decade of conferences he'd attended and editors he'd consulted with, and he told me he was so happy he'd finally gotten my attention, because I was the horror babe. And he was right. I had once been the horror babe, but I was now launching Ravenous Romance and not actively taking on new clients (but had just hired 4 new agents who were taking on new clients), so he thought he was screwed. But I told him I would be his guardian agent, and give him advice whenever he needed it. He needed it a lot. And I gave it - a lot. I bought a short story from him for an anthology I was editing for Ravenous Romance in HUNGRY FOR YOU LOVE (St. Martin's Press http://www.amazon.com/Hungry-Your-Love-Anthology-Romance/dp/0312650795/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1295686247&sr=1-1-spell), our Zombie romance anthology, which eventually made it to book stores, so I gave him his publishing start. But he also got an agent, and just sold his first novel, THE ARMAGEDDON CHORD (http://www.jeremy-wagner.com/books.html), to an epublisher, which is the right move for a new horror writer right now.

I met Trinity Blacio at Lori Foster's fabulous readers and writers conference in Ohio. It's an intimate gathering of about 200 readers and writers in Cincinnati, the home of Grater's Ice Cream, Skyline Chili and Montgomery Ribs. I had just launched Ravenous Romance and was looking to get a feel for what readers wanted, and Trinity introduced herself. I had bought one of her stories for our THREESOMES anthology (http://www.ravenousromance.com/lesbian/threesomes-an-anthology.php?keyword=blacio) She told me about a werewolf world she had been writing about for the last 7 years. Listening to her, I knew she had a world as complicated as Anne Rice's vampires. I bought the book, and her RUNNING IN FEAR (http://www.ravenousromance.com/fantastica/running-in-fear-abandoned.php?keyword=blacio) series is one of our best-sellers.

So the moral of these stories is that a writer shouldn't go to a writers' conference thinking that they will get their dream agent or book deal. Listen, learn, mingle, keep in touch with everyone. You might make a friend or a contact that will change your life, but let the experience be your guide.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-30T18:08:00.002-05:00

So, I am going to a big HUNGRY FOR YOUR LOVE party hosted by one of the authors in the anthology. I've had a zombie queen outfit made especially for this. It's quite exciting. They'll be giving away free copies of the book to everyone who attends and I hear the indoor pool has been dyed red and has body parts floating in it!

Next week we'll also have a book signing at Blood Manor, the live action haunted house downtown, so I'll announce the details as soon as they are in place.

Golden Apple Awards

2010-09-17T02:39:00.003-05:00

This evening, I was given the Golden Apple Award from the New York Chapter of the Romance Writers of America as Agent of the Year. It is quite an honor.

Below is the speech I made:

"I am so honored to be given this award tonight. I can’t tell you how much it means to me.

As many of you know, I have been a literary agent for two decades, where I really started as an agent of horror fiction. I am responsible for the sale of more than 250 vampire novels, and many of them have been romances, although we didn’t call them that years ago.

About 10 years ago, we started calling love with the proper vampire 'paranormal romance'. The romance community truly embraced me, and my writers and junior agents, and made us all feel loved.

I was also an agent of erotic fiction written primarily by women,. They too were taken in by the romance community and you will find many of my authors writing erotic romance happily ever after because they now have a much larger readership.

I am thrilled to be part of this amazing community that continues to grow and support each other, as well as other writers. And this RWA chapter is a dynamic force in this incredible universe.

Thank you so much for this award."

The Golden Apple Award, which fits perfectly in the open palm, is truly one of the most stunning awards out there. Mine has already found its place at the center of my living room table!

Advice to a New Writer

2010-09-02T11:48:00.002-05:00

One of my former interns had taken on a new horror writer, whose work has been under submission for 8 months. Most of the houses have rejected him, but he writes in periodically to ask "what's happening?"

I just wrote back to him today, and thought my note to him might be useful to other writers who have recently started the submission process.

"Print publishing is in turmoil right now. Leisure Books has effectively gone out of the print business, and B&N and Borders are having extreme financial difficulties. Mass market sales are suffering during the recession and horror is mass market. It's also summer. So, in all likelihood nothing is happening and nothing will be happening soon. I think it's almost impossible to place a first horror novel right now in print.

I can refer you to one of the other agents in house (go to our website) after Labor Day, but I do think epub is probably the way to go for horror right now.

Just because you are new is no reason for you to fail to follow publishing news. You should be reading the Writer's Digest blogs, Publisher's Weekly and Publisher's Marketplace, as well as Galleycat."

Interview with Agent Louise Fury

2010-08-02T00:38:00.003-05:00

We are all back from RWA, but I thought you might enjoy reading this recent interview with agent Louse Fury that ran on the NYRWA Blog.

http://rwanycblogginginthebigapple.blogspot.com/2010/07/q-with-agent-louise-fury.html

L. Perkins Agency Website is Live!

2010-07-26T16:33:00.004-05:00

It's taken years, but our website is now up and running! Please visit.

www.lperkinsagency.com

You'll find our history, bios of all five agents, as well as what we're looking for and how to get in touch with us directly.

More Queries Sorted

2010-06-17T21:08:00.003-05:00

Sandy Lu just announced that she has finished query submission until May 9th. She sorted through 300 today. Ten or 15 requests and she sent a few on to the other agents here.

I think we may actually be up to date in my lifetime!

Louise Fury says to add that if anyone is working on Steampunk romance, she wants to see it! And anything about South Africa, or by a South African author. Please include ATT: Louise in the subject line.

Queries update

2010-06-03T20:53:00.004-05:00

Sandy just left at 10 p.m. after a full day of query-hunting. She came in and there were 843 queries as of this morning, and she left with 485 to go, the last of which was dated 3/29/10. Many partials were requested from this batch, but if you haven't heard from us, I'm afraid we've passed on your material.

Interview with agent Sandy Lu

2010-05-08T16:55:00.002-05:00

Sandy sat down with village writers and bared her literary soul.

I love her answer to what kind of people she admires!

http://markhamvillagewriters.com/focus-on

We're Hosting the Next NXNY Publishing Gathering

2010-05-01T08:46:00.005-05:00

On May 4th, the L. Perkins Agency will be the host for the now monthly publishing gathering started as a response to all our editorial friends abandoning us for Austin during SXSW. Brett Sandusky really got the ball rolling on this, and we had a blast last month at Park, but we really liked the idea of a gathering of agents and editors once a month with alcohol, so we recommended getting together at the PourHouse, which has an incredible Happy Hour.

See the Invite below to RSVP
http://nxny.eventbrite.com/

The Pourhouse is on 108 street. If you take a cab, they will give you your entire cab receipt as a FREE bar tab (that also includes appetizers), as well as a happy 2 for 1 on drinks until 7.

The venue just confirmed that we will be allowed to use
The Sky Box
It has a 40 person capacity, this room is complete with:
Three 42" HD TVs
Private sound system
Private tap system
Accessible to and overlooks Red Light Bar
Private staff

#NXNY presents ... The 2nd official PCP in NYC, A Publishing Cocktail Party on Tuesday May 4th, 2010, 6:30pm @ The Village Pourhouse UWS http://villagepourhouse.com/
Yes, my friends, it is happening again. This time, as the hosts for the month of May, we (Louise Fury and Lori Perkins of the L. Perkins Literary Agency) are moving the party north…all the way up to W108th Street. But don’t fret; we will make your trip to the nosebleed section of Manhattan worth your while.
We have used our negotiating skills to score a cab tab. Yep, that’s right! If you take a cab to this event (the proof is in the receipt), the bartender will match your proven cab fare in the form of a bar tab. No more excuses not to travel uptown.
But that’s not all… (An agent’s job is never done). If you get there on time, that’s 6:30 p.m., happy hour will be in full swing until 7 p.m. That means 30 minutes of 2 for 1 margaritas, Absolut cocktails, Pyrat Rum and cokes or Cruzan Mojitos.
But what happens at 7 p.m.? Well, there’s a Facebook special with half- price appetizers from 7 p.m. onward. $3 Bud light drafts and $3 Bud Light Draft + shot. You can become a Facebook Fan at the venue that evening. And finally, for those that want some cheese factor—I know of at least one of you—I hear there is even karaoke.

What is #NXNY? A group of dynamic publishing professionals living and/or working in New York City and surrounding areas, who get together to share war stories and drink cocktails (preferably with umbrellas in them.) (The cocktails, not the publishing people.)

Sandy Lu Sells 4 Books in One Week

2010-04-27T06:41:00.002-05:00

There's no set program or course for someone to take to become an agent. You usually mentor with someone who shows you the ropes, watch their successes and frustrations (and in publishing today, there are a lot of frustrations), and then one day, you know you are a real agent - sort of like Pinocchio becoming a real boy.

Sandy Lu has been working with me for quite a while, making connections and plowing through hundreds of manuscripts, editing and shaping. From the day she got this one urban fantasy in, she told me that she was going to sell it. She loved it, and editors seemed to be getting back to her much quicker than usual.

Then last week, she closed on a nonfiction title at the beginning of the week, and turned the one-book urban fantasy offer into a three-book deal. Champagne flowed in our office. Sandy had arrived!

She's on a hot streak now. And I'm really thrilled for her. There's nothing like calling a first-time author and telling them they'll be published, especially when the two of you have worked on the book for a long time.

New Ebook Agent at the L. Perkins Agency

2010-04-07T22:43:00.003-05:00

Saritza Hernandez is a new agent working in my agency who will be selling ebooks exclusively. She already has offers from Ellora's Cave, Loose Id and Dream Spinner Press for some of her clients.

Below is her introduction:

Realizing that the publishing industry was transforming and moving into the digital space, I started looking for a way to help friends of mine whose writing talent was shared only among the few of us in critique groups, fan fiction sites and writing circles. For many of these authors, the idea of sending their manuscripts to large publishers was not only daunting but practically impossible as their work did not fit the print niche. For others, the idea of making a living out of a passion was (and is) a pipe dream. Many of these authors have large fan bases in their niche of the digital worlds they occupy. I started thinking of how I could help them transition from writing for fun to writing for profit and soon after I started researching ways to represent their interests to publishers in the digital market. I want to remain dedicated to helping authors gain pub credits in the digital arena while riding the wave of the digital transformation of the publishing industry.

I want to stay with erotica and erotic romance as my main categories to represent.

What I'm looking for:
Male/Male Erotic Romance
Paranormal (angels, demons, mythical beasts, ghosts, werewolves, vampires, etc.)
Historical
Steampunk
Sci-fi
BDSM-themed
Contemporary Romance
Dark, edgy thrillers
Male/Female Erotic Romance (though I prefer m/m to be honest)
Same subcategories as above
Menage where the trio gains the happily ever after
Same subcategories as above

What I'm NOT looking for:
Literary Fiction
Christian Fiction
Contemporary Romance without erotic elements

Saritza can be reached at sh@lperkinsagency.com.

Once again, please tell your friends. I think this is a really exciting opportunity for both writers and Saritza!

My First Sale

2010-03-30T08:57:00.004-05:00

As many of you know, Louise Fury has joined the team at camp L. Perkins Agency. I was regaling her with the torrid story of my first sale, and she said, "You must put that in your blog," so here it is for your entertainment pleasure.

As many of you know, I used to be journalist. I had left a rather slimy agent for training with someone I greatly admired, but was tough as nails. I had only made one sale in my first 5 months (cover story of US Magazine, so not too bad), but she was riding me hard to deliver.

I was riveted by a story on CNN about a family who was begging the Catholic Church to exorcise them of the entity that was molesting them nightly. I turned to my journalist-husband and said, "I really want to read that book when it comes out," and he said, "You're a journalist. Go get the book." And I did. I traveled by bus to Scranton, PA, met the family and the ghost busters and the local reporter covering the story (and saw my first velvet painting in a living room), and came back with the rights all signed up.

My boss was not a horror fan, so she didn't think the book would sell. She wouldn't let me send a messenger to the publishing companies with the proposal, so I walked it there myself in heels, my feet blistering by the end of the day.

A few days later, I had 7 publishers interested in the book. The auction started at $5000 and after two days of bidding, the book sold for $110,000.

The book went on to make number 15 on the NY Times best-seller list, and was made into a made-for-TV movie with Sally Kellerman, who was nominated for an Emmy.

And the point of that story for Louise, and all my agents in training, is that you must follow your instincts on a book, and go after it if you believe in it.

Query Letter Update

2010-03-23T10:10:00.002-05:00

Last week, Sandy went through another 150 query letters and is now up to Dec. 30th. So, If you sent us something dated before then, we are probably not interested in seeing your work. However, if you feel we might have missed you (and things do get lost in the traffic), feel free to requery.

However, Sandy will not be doing queries this week because of a death in the family.

Virtual Writer's Conference Tomorrow

2010-03-18T23:25:00.005-05:00

Terry Kate, this whirlwind of blogger romance information and energy, has put together this amazing Virtual Writer's Conference that starts tomorrow and runs through the weekend. For $20, you can get an entire three days worth of info and chat with industry leaders without having to dye your hair or get your nails done.

I'll be there at 1:30 with the new head of Dorchester, Leah Hultenschmidt. We'll be talking about our editorial blogging lives.

But I'll be in and out all weekend, because I love sharing what I've learned.

This evening, I was on the Twitter #askagent chat for an hour and half, before I realized I'd never deliver my latest Threesomes anthology for RR, if I didn't get back to work. I signed off with "Night folks. I have to edit a Threesomes anthology for RR" and someone said it was the best exit line they'd heard all night.

Virtual Writer's Conference info below:

March 19
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ccmFNKvtDA
http://bbpcon.blogspot.com

Query Submission Update

2010-03-11T22:02:00.002-05:00

Another day at the L. Perkins Agency, where Sandy Lu has spent the entire day sorting through e-queries and snail mail. She went through 200 e-queries and 50 snail mails, and she's only up to Dec. 8.

So, from here on, check this blog to see where we are date-wise. If you haven't heard from us, we are not interested. We are no longer going to be sending out rejections. Same goes for snail mail, so please remember to include your email address, in case we are interested.

As I have told people who re-query over and over again, we receive 30,000 query letters a year. It is physically impossible to get back to everyone in a timely manner.

Please don't double or triple query (meaning sending the same query to me, Sandy and Marisa). Take the time to read about our backgrounds, and choose who you would like to read your query. If you don't know, just send it to the agency email address.

Please don't take this personally. We are trying to streamline the process. We respect your time and hope that you can respect ours.

Liberty States Writers' Conference Next Week

2010-03-06T13:11:00.004-05:00

Sandy, Marisa and I will be attending the Liberty States Writers' Conference in New Jersey on March 13, see details:

http://www.libertystatesfictionwriters.com/lsf-writers-conference/

Sandy and Marisa will be taking pitches looking for new writers for representation. I will be there taking pitches as the Editorial Director of Ravenous Romance. Holly Schmidt, the publisher of Ravenous Romance, will also be there.

If you visit the ravenousromance.blgspot.com blog, you'll see we recently posted a call for F/F (lesbian) fiction, as well as a call for another big horror/romance anthology at Ravenousromance.com

Author Behaving Badly

2010-03-05T09:39:00.008-05:00

I am posting this rather long author/agent correspondence to share what I feel is an example of an author behaving badly, but thinking he has been wronged.

What is wrong with this behavior, you may ask? He's being polite. But he's not. He's being entitled polite. He seems to have forgotten that he has asked the L. Perkins Agency (and Sandy Lu has agreed) to read and evaluate his manuscript in our free time. Sandy has repeatedly told him she is interested and that she is very busy, but he seems to feel that that will change if he is persistent enough. If this kind of correspondence took place with every submission, we would never get any work done.

Then the bad behavior really kicks in. When he doesn't get yet another assurance that she is still interested and is still very busy, he writes to her boss (me), hoping that I will go in and chastise her enough to jump his book to the top of the pile.

However, I do hear him, and respond to him right away. It's very late and after business hours, which, of course, is when agents do all their reading. I make it very clear to him that he is one of many, and needs to wait his turn like everyone else. His feathers are ruffled, and he pulls his book.

I can't imagine what he thought he had gained from that exchange.

Sandy Lu commented. "There are only two things I want to add. First of all, he only checked status with me once, which I responded to within a few days. I have no records of him every checking in with me again, so I was shocked when he contacted you claiming that I ignored his status check. Of course, he may have left a phone message instead the second time, which I just deleted without responding. I should address this issue too - that it is never okay to check status by phone. "

Lori and Sandy,

Please feel free to pull my ms from your pile, I simply requested a status update of which I feel two weeks is sufficient time to reply with "still very busy please continue to hold on."
I have been waiting for seven months if you check the dates.
I am very glad to see your true attitude before representation.
Please feel free not to contact me further.
P

--- On Fri, 3/5/10, L Perkins wrote:

She obviously hasn't read it yet.

You do realize that all ms. reading is done after hours and that it takes 6 hours to read a 300 page ms.?

That she has probably requested about 100 300 page ms.? That we get 30,000 queries a year?

You are welcome to pull your ms. from the pile or wait your turn.

Lori Perkins,
Author of THE INSIDER'S GUIDE
TO GETTING AN AGENT (Writer Digest Books)
L. Perkins Agency
(718) 543-5344
agentinthemiddle.blogspot.com
visit ravenousromance.com

Twitter:LoriPerkinsRR

--- On Thu, 3/4/10, P wrote:

Dear Ms. Perkins,

I am curious as to the status of consideration of my work CXXXX of the Fxxxxx. I originally contact you on July 23, 2009, and you referred the work to Ms. Lu. I have received one update since at my request. My latest attempt has gone un-answered though, and I am now seeking your assistance. Your help in this matter is greatly appreciated. For your convenience I have put all correspondence in line from oldest to newest.

Thank you for your time,

P

**********

Query Thursday, July 23, 2009 2:30 AM
From:"P

To:lperkinsagency@yahoo.com

Dear Ms. Perkins,

Begins with 3 paragraph description of a dark fantasy novel.....

This is my fantasy novel, "CXXXX of the FXXX," containing 85873 words and based in both Greek mythology and in the Judao-Christian belief system. In keeping a potentially more religious audience in mind during the writing process, I have kept the book relatively free of objectionable material and language. Some may argue with some of my Biblical interpretations, such as portraying God equally as both female and male. I feel that this work would stand alone on the store shelves, as to my knowledge there is no other author that has used my unique take on mythology or on fallen angels.

As for myself, I have been a life long reader, to the point of reading Tolstoy and Tolkien at a rather young age. I have taken the required college level English and composition classes, as well as public speaking, drama, and Shakespeare. I have been told that my literary voice is very much like Charlaine Harris, and in some work reminiscent of Anne Rice. Some of my favorite authors are J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, Douglas Adams, Agatha Christie, and Anne Rice. I am open to all forms of publication from traditional to electronic.

If you are interested, please drop me a line. I can be reached at:

P

I look forward to working with you on this project and am anxiously awaiting your response.

Yours truly,

P

*********
Fw: Query Thursday, August 13, 2009 6:26 PM
From:"Sandy Lu"

Dear P:

Thank you for sending us a query letter describing your novel. My name is Sandy Lu, and I am an associate agent at L Perkins Agency. I would like to take a look at sample chapters (the first 50 pages) of your manuscript.

Please email your submission as a Word document attachment, including your bio and a two-page synopsis (all in one document). Please make sure your file name contains your manuscript title and not simply “requested material” or “sample chapters”, so I can locate your manuscript easily among all the other submissions I receive every day. Put “Requested Material” in the subject headline, as well as your full name and the title of your book. Make sure your manuscript is in Times New Roman font size 12, double space, with 1” margin all around, add page I.D. (your last name and title of your novel) on the upper-left corner and page number on the upper-right corner of each page (both in font size 10).

Kindly allow me at least 10 weeks for a reply before contacting me to inquire about your manuscript's status (although I will try to respond sooner).

I look forward to receiving your submission.

Sincerely,

Sandy Lu
Associate Agent
L. Perkins Agency

--- On Sun, 8/9/09, L Perkins wrote:

From: L Perkins
Subject: Fw: Query
To: "Sandy Lu"
Date: Sunday, August 9, 2009, 4:02 PM

Lori Perkins,
Author of THE INSIDER GUIDE
TO GETTING AN AGENT (Writer Digest Books)
L. Perkins Agency
(718) 543-5344
agentinthemiddle.blogspot.com
visit ravenousromance.com

**********

Requested Material-P Friday, August 14, 2009 2:41 AM
To:sandy@lperkinsagency.com
Message contains attachments
1 File (150KB)

Dear Ms. Lu,

Thank you for taking an interest in my work. Attached are the materials you requested; however, being new to this I was not sure if you wanted the first 50 pages as I wrote them in single space or the first 50 as double space. I chose the later, if this is insufficient for your needs please let me know, and I will gladly send more. On that pretext, if you desire a more complete synopsis, again please let me know. It was very difficult to paraphrase the story down after spending two years researching through Bulfinch, Edith Hamilton, Dante and the Bible.

Again, I would like to thank you for your consideration of my work, and I hope to be working with you in the near future.

Sincerly,
P
***********

Status: Cxxxxx of the Fxxxx Tuesday, November 3, 2009 3:14 PM
From:"P
To:"Sandy Lu"

Dear Ms. Lu,
I am curious as to the status of your work with my book CXXXX of the Fxxxxx. By my calculations it has been eleven weeks and I am sure you know how anticipation is, I can also understand how work can pile up around ones self, so if you or an assistant could just drop me a line I would appreciate it.
Thanks,
P

************

Re: Status: Cxxx of the Fxxx Thursday, November 12, 2009 8:01 PM
From:"Sandy Lu"

To:P
I am behind in my submission review and won't get to anything sent in August until late December. Thank you for your patience.

Sandy Lu
Associate Agent
L. Perkins Agency
5800 Arlington Avenue
Riverdale, NY 10471
Tel: (718)710-3662
E-mail: sandy@lperkinsagency.com

*************

Status: Cxxxxx of the Fxxxx Tuesday, February 16, 2010 2:55 AM
From:"P
To:sandy@lperkinsagency.com

Dear Ms. Lu,

I am once again checking in for a status update about my book Cxxxx of the Fxxxx. On November the twelfth, you had stated you were behind in your submission work and would not be getting to your August submissions until late December. So, I am now wondering how you are doing?

Again, I can understand how things can pile up, and I am sure you can understand how I can get antsy with anticipation as I await your reply. If you or an assistant could please drop me a line I would greatly appreciate the effort.

Thank you for all your time and trouble,

P

Meet My New Agent Marisa

2010-02-26T00:43:00.003-05:00

I'm thrilled to report that I've just joined forces with another new agent, Marisa Corvisiero.

Marisa is an author and an attorney as well as an agent. She is the founder of The Corvisiero Law Practice, P.C., a boutique law firm in midtown New York City, where she practices Entertainment Law and Corporate Law among other areas. Marisa is currently being featured by the National Association of Professional Women. In the last few years Marisa has merged her passions for writing and the law into her entertainment law practice, and she is now representing several authors. Marisa is actively building her client list now. She has a facebook page and a LinkedIn network.

Marisa will be specializing in science fiction, fantasy, horror and romance, as well as some young adult and children's literature. In non-fiction, she is interested in seeing proposals for memoirs, how-to (in any industry), guides and tales about the legal practice, parenting, self-help, and mainstream science (no text books please)..

How to contact: Send your query and first two chapters (or full book for children’s books – illustrations are not necessary) to Marisa at marisa@lperkinsagency.com.

And come here again soon for a more detailed description of the kind of books Marisa is looking for, and the books that she wishes she sold.

Tell your writer friends there's a new agent in town!

A Writer in the Family

2010-01-24T17:31:00.010-05:00

I've been writing this blog for three years, so most of you know that I have a teen-aged son who goes to my alma mater, the Bronx High school of Science, where he's been an active member of the robotics team. He's been building robots since he was 5, so I assumed he would become an engineer. He thought he would too, until he started writing.

My son also loves science fiction, and fantasy, and to my joy, horror (you all know that my heart belongs to horror?). I was overjoyed when he came home form camp one year and told me that 1984 was his favorite book (it's at the top of my list too). I attend the World Fantasy Convention almost every year, as well as NeCon, a small horror and dark fantasy writers' con in Rhode Island every summer. And every year I ask my son if he wants to go with me, and every year he says no, as though the thought of hanging out with his mother and her old horror-writing friends is worse than sitting through a My Little Pony marathon. So, two years ago I didn't even ask him if he wanted to go. And, of course, he asked me if he could.

I was shocked. "Why would you want to go to a writers con?" I asked.

"Because I'm working on my novel." Now, I knew he was "writing," but I figured he was "writing" like most other 15 year olds.

"How many pages have you written?" I asked

"Two hundred twenty of about 400," he answered.

And I was shocked again, because I really had no idea just how bitten by the bug he had been.

He went to NeCon, where he not only held his own, but did a horror/fantasy stand up routine that will live on in NeCon history forever, as well as made a whole bunch of his own friends (meaning separate from mine).

He went on to write a 550 page first draft of a dystopian urban fantasy, which I refused to read. (agents should never represent family, and parents in the publishing business should never give their writer kids the slightest reason to not write). I paired him up with two of my oldest friends who are writers, who guided him though the writing and rewriting process. The only advice I gave him (and not on purpose) was he heard me telling another writer that a fantasy novel in today's market has to come in at about 300 pages, so he rewrote his book into two separate novels.

Meanwhile he was also playing World of Warcraft religiously and moderating a whole bunch of WOW sites. He eventually became the co-host of a WOW podcast, and met his colleagues from the station in Anaheim last year for the WOW convention. Heady stuff for a 16 year-old.

I was proud of him, but still thought he would go into engineering.

Then we started the college application process. We had been thinking MIT, John Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon, RIT as a safe.

He told me that maybe he didn't want to major in engineering, since he was doing so much writing. I said, "no prob. Just double major," thinking I had everything under control.

About three weeks before all the applications were due, he said, "I think I want to major in English."

I took to my bed and wished I had smelling salts.

I said to myself, "what's he going to do for a living?"

And then I realized, what do I do for a living?

So I told him he could get that English degree, if he considered becoming an agent when he graduated. He emailed all his comic book and gaming friends and asked if they thought they'd need agents in the future, and they all said, "we need one now," so we know where he's heading in the near future.

And this weekend we learned that he sold his first short story to an anthology published by one of the major NY houses!

It's kind of amazing, because I didn't see it coming, although everyone else I know says it was written on the wall. I just never turned around to read it. Duh!

Marsha's Suggestion for Haitian Help

2010-01-20T08:46:00.002-05:00

As many of you know, my senior agent, Marsha Philitas, is Haitian-American. Below is a letter she sent to colleagues who have asked her how to help:

As most of you know, I am Haitian-American and watching Haiti be devastated by one powerful earthquake after another has been heartbreaking. Fortunately, my family is safe. We have heard from our extended family in Port-au-Prince and they survived the quake with minor injuries. But I worry for all those that haven't been found and for the sustainability of the rescue that is now taking place.

Many of you have asked me the best way to help contribute to the relief efforts. From my research, I've chosen to donate to Partners In Health at this time and urge you to do the same. PIH has been providing healthcare in the poorest areas of Haiti for over 25 years, so they are well equipped to provide aid with little resources. They were also one of the first organizations to respond on the ground when collapsed hospitals were abandoned. They maintained their clinics on the Haitian countryside and set up make-shift clinics in Port-au-Prince.

Personally, I've been a long time fan of PIH for their dedication to working WITH Haitians to provide much needed healthcare in a way that honors local culture and national pride.

They also have a 6% overhead, the lowest I've seen in a relief organization already established in Haiti. (Though please correct me if you have more information on this).

So I am raising funds for Partners In Health and I hope that you will join me.

Please help me reach my goal by making a contribution at:

http://act.pih.org/page/outreach/view/haitiearthquake/Marsha

Thank you!
Marsha

I've Joined the Twitterati

2010-01-12T01:21:00.005-05:00

After much kicking and screaming, I've given in and am now tweeting voraciously, so please feel free to join me and follow my every waking move @LoriPerkinsRR. You'll know when I get up and when I go to sleep, and what I've had for dinner and what I watch on TV. Nothing is sacred.

It's an amazing social networking world.

Its funny. I've been on Facebook for over a year, and on Twitter for less than a week, and they are very different mediums.

I love Facebook, because it's like short articles, you can attach websites with a brief photo, and my "friends" bios are so much more insightful. It's also much easier to find people by their real names on Facebook. And I like the comment and "like" features of Facebook to comment on something one of my friends wrote. There's no way to do that on Twitter - you have to retweet.

Twitter is great for fast news, notes and ideas, as well as reactions to news, notes and ideas. It's like a constant IM conversation with the people I want to hear from.

But all this social networking leaves me even less time to blog.

And I haven't written in my journal in weeks.

A Note to Publishers in these Recessionary Times

2009-12-14T07:38:00.002-05:00

Friday was the holiday gathering of the agents I socialize with. We had a fabulous French meal in midtown, and equally fabulous red wine. We were happy.

Until we started talking about the industry. Now you know that today most agent have come from the ranks of full-time publishing employment, so we all were commenting on how glad we were that we weren't on the other side of the paycheck anymore (note to readers: I became an agent directly from a stint as a newspaper publisher). One editorial consultant even mentioned an editor friend who had been promoted and told she still had her junior position expense account, plus the job respsonsibiities she was leaving, as well as those she was taking on. She wondered, "How is she going to get the bigger books, if she can't take agents to lunch?"

And it struck us all how simple it would be to change things now. Yes, I love a good lunch at Ruth Chris or the Rockefeller Cafe, but I really am there for the business. So, why don't publishers invite agencies to the conference room, where a number of editors can meet with a number of agents and order in? This would save so much time and money?

Granted those agents who are so impressed with themselves that they need individual lunches will always be there, but for most agents and editors, this would solve so many problems.

Just my holiday two cents after too much red wine!

What's Selling

2009-11-25T00:04:00.003-05:00

Writers always want to know what editors are buying, and I'm happy to report that editors seem to be buying again, although very slowly.

I want to underline that fact - they're buying but at a slower pace, and, often, for less than you might have gotten a year ago.

OK, so what's selling is paranormal romance and young adult fiction. And, as I've said countless times, you can never have too many vampire novels, with zombies following close behind. And don't forget to set those paranormal YA romances during the vampire/zombie apocalypse (seriously).

However, it's become increasingly difficult to sell any genre fiction from a male protagonist's perspective, unless he's really hot. But even if he's a really hot teen vampire, it's better to tell the story from a female point of view. If you have a male character, I'd almost suggest that you change the gender of your main character to sell a novel in this climate.

And as far as erotica goes, it is nearly impossible to sell any sexually explicit material from the male point of view, unless it's gay or M/M.

I have never seen a time in publishing where women's tastes have driven the market. I'm hoping that it produces a whole new crop of books that are unique (and profitable for all).

Can NaNoWriMo Novels be Any Good?

2009-11-07T00:12:00.002-05:00

If you go to the ravenousromance.blogspot.com site, you'll find that we are supporting NaNoWriMo. We are encourging writers to write erotic romance novels during this month and send them to us.

We expect to be deluged. We expect most of what we see to need so much work we will be unable to do anything with it except tell you where you need a lot of work. But we also expect to find some writers who we can work with and who will grow into RR authors. That's what editors used to do many years ago.

So I was a little shocked when one of our writers told me that many editors and agents have flat out refused to read any NaNoWriMo books.

And I was equally shocked that a reader of the RR blog said it would take years to get a novel to the point where it could be submitted, so any NaNoWriMo novel sent in after only a month of editing would probably suck.

Writing is a learned skill. And the more you do it, the better you become at it.

I was a journalist before I became an agent and an editor. You learn to write, and then you learn to write quickly. You learn to edit yourself. I've been writing (and pubbing) for three decades (since I was 17) and it took me forever to write anything when I was a young adult, and now I can write good, well-crafted prose at a speed I never imagined.

NanNoWriMo is about learning and mastering style and craft and pacing of information. The first thing you learn about writing is that writers write. That's what NaNoWriMo is really about - getting that book out of your head and onto the page. A writer's group, a good editor and even your reader will tell you what works, how to make it better and where to improve. NaNoWriMo (and RR ) is not about the Great American novel. It's about finishing your first novel. My advice to first time authors has always been to write the novel you can finish. It will teach you how to write the next one.

So, yes, I think there are going to be some pretty good novels sent to us from this NaNoWriMo excercise, especially since now there's a real market and place for your 50,000 word novels.

Are Agents Zombies?

2009-10-29T12:48:00.000-05:00

It's what we've all been waiting for, and yes . . . I know it's short notice, but please do come!

WHAT: Live Chat With NY Agent Lori Perkins - "THE ZOMBIE STOMP"

WHEN: Friday, October 30th - 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. EST

WHERE: RAVENOUS ROMANCE NING - Chat room, http://rrauthors. ning.com

Bring your poisonous apples, your favorite witch's brew and a *black hat* full of questions. We'll be talking zombie love and what's hot in publishing. Now's your chance to ask Lori what you always wanted to know about agents. So don't be shy!

And, oh, yes, we'll be giving away gift certificates for free e-books from the Ravenous Romance site!

Please pass the word and let all your friends know. We'd appreciate it if you'd twitter about the chat in the next few days.

Be there or Be Square!

Keta Diablo

http://ketaskeep. blogspot. com

Back from Killercon

2009-09-22T14:58:00.007-05:00

Every now and then an agent goes to a convention and gets inspired. This usually happens for me at Necon. It happened at Killercon too.

Killercon was awesome. Imagine your favorite horror, thriller and paranormal romance writers let loose upon Las Vegas? I don't think the city will ever be the same.

Now, you have to realize my biases here (my heart belongs to horror - especially vampires - I've sold more than 200 vampire novels in 22 years - although the zombies are trying to seduce me), and then my second love is erotica and paranormal romance, so this was an orgy for me. I went to every single panel and reading I could - I mean Joe Landsdale, L.A. Banks, Heather Graham - it was almost too rich for my blood.

And then we judged an erotic horror contest at midnight one night, and the submissions were so good, that I think we're going to buy the first place story for Ravenous Romance!

I dragged Lisa and Tommy Lane to Bite!, the vampire burlesque show that's been running on and off on the strip for the last two years and we had second row seats. Great concept, costumes, and dancing, although it could use more story and hotter men. But what fun!

And I even witnessed Brian Keene get inspired on the zombie panel. He now has the ending for his comic book series, and we all were amazed as Hal Bodner realized the underlying themes of his M/M zombie novel, FOR THE LOVE OF THE DEAD.

If you love these genres, mark your calendar for next year's Killercon. Brian Lumley and John Skipp have already agreed to attend. I think it's going to be in August next year. I can't wait.

I have a new Intern - Please Read her Blog

2009-08-02T01:35:00.003-05:00

As if I don't have enough to do - two full time jobs, three junior agents, a teen-aged son and a grown-up relationship - I got an email from a local journalism school graduate inquiring if she could intern with me this summer.

Now those who know me know that I believe in mentoring, because I was so poorly mentored when I was a young woman in my 20's by the icons of feminist journalism - they just made me feel so small and insignificant - and I vowed that when my turn came, I would give back. So I said yes.

But I take interning seriously, and always make sure that I have something to teach.

It turns out that Vanessa is a horror fan - she actually worked for someone I had just met at Necon - so there is much that I can teach her.

And I've asked her to keep a blog, so please visit, and comment, and encourage.

She'll be interning at the agency through the summer, and then begin a six month internship at RR while she goes for her Masters in Publishing.

http://vanessayvette.blogspot.com/2009_07_01_archive.html

Agent EK is Avidly Seeking Middle Grade and YA

2009-07-24T21:37:00.004-05:00

I'll post about Necon and RWA shortly, but while you're waiting for my reports, I thought you'd be interested to know that one of our junior agents at L. Perkins Agency has declared her love of YA and is aggressively seeking new authors, so tell you friends and family!!

Below is EK's description of what she's looking for:

"I’m tired of getting queries from authors who don’t currently read YA, never read YA, say books published today are terrible, but they heard that Harry Potter lady made more than the Queen, and hey, they can do that! Writing for kids is easy, right?

I love YA books. I loved them when I was a kid and I still love them now. I want to see manuscripts from people who love it as much as I do. I want to find the books that kids are going to remember with fondness. I inhaled Lois Duncan, LJ Smith, Babysitter’s Club, Sweet Valley, etc, etc. These days I’m excited by the writing done by Suzanne Collins, Kristin Cashore, Claudia Gray. I’m also into the teen novels by people like Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, Barry Lyga and others. I’m looking for smart middle grade and teen novels. (No picture books, please.) I like fantasy and paranormal, and other odd things. Zombies are pretty big at the moment, and I’d also like to see witches, psychics, time travel and superheroes. As far as non-genre, I like strong, female heroines and books with fresh voices and a quirky sense of humor. I’m really sick of knock-off “Harry Potters’ and “Twilights.”

Lori told me to list some of my favorite TV shows to give a better sense of my taste. I liked Buffy, Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars, How I Met Your Mother, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Justice League, Firefly, True Blood, Project Runway, Top Chef.... As I kid I loved Jem and the Holograms (magic earrings = always good) and Get Smart."

Send queries directly to EK at EKlperkinsagency@yahoo.com.

R.I.P. Charles Brown

2009-07-14T09:28:00.002-05:00

I started going to Horror, Fantasy and sci-fi conventions two decades ago, and every time I went, Charles Brown, the founding editor of Locus, was there. He was everywhere and knew everyone. I guess I thought he'd be there forever, because I was certainly a bit shocked to learn that he had died.

When I read his obit, I was even more impressed. He had started Locus as a means to secure Boston as the site of the annual World Science Fiction convention and then continued publishing it, turning it into a major voice for a genre. As someone who has started her own share of niche publications, that was quite a feat.

He'll be missed.

http://networkedblogs.com/p7362040

Trend Spotting, and Bosom Heaving

2009-07-11T17:23:00.003-05:00

I love it when I can read the New York Times Book Review when I get it (instead of the middle of the next week). This issue is also very thin, but interesting. Professor Christopher Benfey reviewed 4 lit bio novels and declared that "if these books are any indication, the biographical fever in current fiction has yet to run its course." And that statement ran three pages after a review of a novel based on the life of Charles Dickens' wife. So dust off your notes for that novel about Bram Stoker's mistress or Mae West's Secret Diaries.

The reason I was able to read the NYTBR was because I was at finally at the pool this weekend, where I was also reading BEYOND HEAVING BOSOMS. A friend came by and asked, "Is that your autobiography?" Makes me wonder what people think about me?

So Much has Happened

2009-07-07T22:18:00.002-05:00

So I go away for a week (to a cabin in Maine where I'm promised both TV and Internet and there is neither!!! The guy I rented the place from tells me I can use his next door neighbor's computer, but I'm in the midst of editing a Threesomes anthology for Ravenous Romance, and I don't feel like explaining why I've downloaded 13 menage stories to some guy's desktop) and so much has happened - and I don't mean the MJ funeral.

Editors are being fired again in droves (a bunch at Perseus, 100 people at Penguin UK), but the saddest firing for me was the closing of Black Lace/Nexxus and the "making redundant" of its editor, Adam Neville, a pretty brilliant guy who could appreciate both creative horror and erotica, two of my passions. I hope someone in England (or here) will scoop him up, but print publishing looks pretty dismal these days.

RWAchange seems to be gathering steam. If you don't know what this is, you must not be a romance writer.

At least 500 members of RWA have joined forces to get the national romance writers organization to recognize epublished romance writers as peers to their print colleagues. The times they are a changing.

New York Times Book Review Awfully Thin Lately

2009-06-20T11:12:00.003-05:00

Has anyone else noticed how thin the New York Times Book Review has become? It still seems to have a lot of ads, but many less reviews. And it's not even dead of summer yet, when all the journalists go to Cape Cod. That worries me.

While we're on the subject, I would love someone to start a credible stand-alone book review for commercial fiction and nonfiction. You know, a book review for books we actually read, and not ones we want to pretend we're reading as cocktail party conversation. And not genre centric. I want to know what (and why) everyone's reading what they're reading.

Sandy Lu Looking for Romantic Suspense

2009-06-19T10:18:00.001-05:00

Sandy Lu, one of my associate agents here, has announced that she is earnestly looking for romantic suspense, so send her your stuff. Tell your friends.

Sandy at lperkinsagency dot com.

And RWA Reponds to Deidre Knight's Call for Epub Inclusion

2009-06-19T09:09:00.002-05:00

It looks like this war of words is destined to go on and on for the immediate future, which is too bad.

Traditional publishing is failing all around us (with many good sized publishers declaring bankruptcy or just taking a moratorium on buying new books), and RWA dances on.

http://espan-rwa.com/rwa-president-pershing-responds/

Agent/Author Deidre Knight Takes on the RWA Stance against ePubs

2009-06-15T10:14:00.002-05:00

In case you've been hibernating (or don't pay any attention to the romance market), the Romance Writers of America (RWA) came out against epublishers in its June membership newsletter, stating that they would not recognize any publisher that failed to pay a universal advance of $1000 per title and that they would decline to have an epublishing presentation at the annual RWA convention in Washington D.C. this year. They felt it was not in the interest of their membership, who should be striving toward print publishing.

Those of us who see epub as the new mass market and the future of publishing have been frustrated beyond belief with this archaic, elitist stance, but Deidre Knight, one of the insiders to publishing and writing in epub laid it all out for RWA in this timely and necessary treatise. Rather than summarize, I hope you'll go to the ink and read for yourself.

http://tinyurl.com/kuewc6

I couldn't have said it better.

Let's hope this makes the right people step back and think.

Vampires Live Forever!

2009-06-03T10:15:00.003-05:00

There's an interesting piece over at B&N on the staying power of vampire fiction, I Vant to Suck Your Blood
http://tinyurl.com/pdfkgj.

It always fascinates me that the writers in SF & F (and sometimes horror) seem to have such disdain for vampire fiction (if they're not writing it themselves).

As you know, I love a good vampire novel (I've sold at least 200, and bought another 25 at RR). I believe you can never be too rich or too thin, or have too many vampire novels.

I'm reading the manuscript of WOMEN OF THE BITE edited by Cecilia Tan right now, and it just amazes me how fluid (pardon the pun there) the vampire mythos is.

7 Books Sold Since Lasted I Posted

2009-05-31T17:13:00.004-05:00

I've been a bad girl (you'd think that would be the lead for my other blog). I've sold 7 books in the last three weeks, and failed to tell you about the sales.

To my utter amazement, these last three weeks have been extremely busy around here (and one of them I was on vacation), so I am hoping that this is a sign of the turn around for publishing.

I sold two horror novels at the beginning of the three week cycle, another horror anthology a week ago Friday, two reprints for Ravenous Romance (see details at ravenousromance.blogspot.com) and two erotica titles last Tuesday. This is what being a literary agent should be like!

This year, BEA was subdued. Many of the publishers either declined to show in booths (Kensington, F&W, Rodale) or reduced their presence. But everyone there was there to do business, so it was the best BEA I've ever been to. I am quite sure that I made a sale or two in pitches in meetings, and the RR business I was able to do was amazing. It's truly interesting to go to BEA as both an agent and an editor.

Women in Publishing to Host Ravenousromance.com

2009-05-08T12:04:00.001-05:00

We've been invited to give a presentation at Women in Publishing on May 12th. Holly Schmidt and I will show you how we started the company, and where we hope to take it! And everything we've learned along the way.

When: Tuesday May 12th from 6:30pm to 8:00pm

Where: Time, Inc. 1271 6th Ave. The entrance is on 50th street. Make sure you have ID.

Tell your publishing friends.

Please RSVP to womeninpublishing2007@gmail.com

The Physics of Vampires

2009-05-06T06:57:00.002-05:00

I love Facebook. People who are as strange as you find you, so one of my "friends,"Rae Lori, whom I have never met, linked to this fascinating article.

http://io9.com/5241252/physicists-prove-that-vampires-could-not-exist

Did I ever mention that I love vampire novels? That I've sold at least 200 of them?

And right now, it's vampire week at ravenousromance.com, where the vampire novel of the day is 20% off. We have 5 vampire series.

Ask Me Questions About Feminist Smut NOW

2009-05-01T12:12:00.002-05:00

http://cravemoreromance.blogspot.com/

I'm over at Crave More Romance answering questions about Happy Endings and Feminist Smut. Join me.

In Praise of Feminist Smut

2009-04-30T10:25:00.000-05:00

I've appeared at a lot of writers’ conferences in the past 6 months (Romantic Times, Las Vegas, San Diego, Florida, ) and am set to do a bunch more (Writer's Digest, Lori Foster's, Necon, Killercon). I usually end up on an editors’ panel where I try to explain where Ravenous Romance is coming from editorially, and what sets us apart.

I got a phone call today from a major trade publisher, who is buying a number of our titles for reprint. He gushed about how much fun our books were to read, and how he thought he knew what to expect and yet was pleasantly surprised. He also said that the sex in the books was as good as any erotica he'd ever read, and he's been reading erotica for decades.

Whenever I do one of these panels, I always tell people that I have wanted to start an erotica company for women since I was a teenager coming of age in the 70s. I was completely blown away by Anais Nin and her Delta of Venus and Little Birds (and later read her diaries, twice), as well as Nancy Friday's various sexual fantasy collections. Erica Jong and Marilyn French didn't grab me as hard, but I was fascinated by the burgeoning genre of “clit lit.” The Anne Rice Beauty books came out when I was in college, and I was sure feminist erotica would soon rival that of the bad boys of American letters - John Updike, Philip Roth, Henry Miller.

But then there was nothing. Or more of the same male erotica, but nothing more by women, for women. Where was the feminist “smut”? I kept on reading the New York Times Book Review, but couldn't find a thing.

And then, out of left field (or, more accurately, Ohio) emerged Ellora's Cave. As a reader, I was thrilled to find this empowering online bookstore of erotic stories for women.

I was also looking for the thread that would link this new erotic readership to the not-so-distant literary tradition of erotica, but this new material was more about opening the bedroom door in the romance novels of my teens, which I also endorsed.

At Ravenous, we want to merge these two powerful (and commercial) erotic sensibilities, widening the readership of this female-pleasing (even if they're M/M stories) entertainment. We are reaching the readers of explicitly erotic romance, as well as the erotica reader, offering a guaranteed Happy Ending (which is what both these forms of fiction demand).

And I firmly believe that if Anais Nin were writing today, she's be writing for Ravenous and other digital erotic romance publishers, and making a small fortune

RT from the Eye of an Agent and Editor

2009-04-26T08:42:00.003-05:00

I have been going to writers conferences as an agent for two decades, and we all know it's a traveling card party - you see the same players year after year and you feel as though you could step into the card game right where you left off the last time you saw these folks.

The fact that I am an agent places me so squarely in the middle of the publishing perspective. I am just amazed at how I can see the big picture of the print publishing world, the epub world, as well as the crossing over genre to genre that most working writers do. It always amazes me when I see one of my horror or sci-fi writing pals selling his or her erotic romance at one of these conferences under a pseudonym.

Publishing is a big small world, and many of the people in it have never looked out from the other side.

And right now, it is growing and changing in ways very few saw coming, but it is so exciting.

Finally Closed a Deal

2009-04-01T16:57:00.002-05:00

OK, a while back I wrote about how this major publisher called me in November to let me know that if I wanted to follow the letter of the contract law and get an offer from them on the option novel they'd had for 90 days, they were going to have to pass. However, if I'd wait until the new year, they would probably buy it, because they could make their books balance that way.

So, I waited until February, when they informed me that even though my author had already written two books for them, they were going to need a whole new outline and three sample chapters to go forward.

We wanted to stay with this house, so we complied.

We were supposed to hear two weeks ago, but the editorial meeting was delayed.

I got a call today - five months later - saying it was a go. Of course, the offer was the same as the last one. We expected this.

But this is publishing today.

Warning: Mom Bragging

2009-03-29T18:21:00.003-05:00

Regular readers of this blog will remember that my son is a member of his school's robotics team where high schools complete as part of the First Robotics Competition in regional contests to see who can build the best robot to do a certain set of skills.

The NY regional was held two weeks ago at the Javits Center, and my son's team placed second, which was pretty awesome.

This weekend was the Connecticut regionals in Hartford and they can in FIRST!! And I was there! They are going onto Atlanta for the national competition where 300 teams will compete.

It is truly amazing to see how this nerdy engineering set of skills has been reconditioned into an incredible competitive sport.

So that's what I did this weekend.

Agent Chat Today

2009-03-14T12:58:00.001-05:00

I'm doing an agent chat today on http://groups.yahoo.com/group/castleintheskyflightoffantasy/.

Please join me and ask me interesting questions.

I've never done this before.

Sandy Lu - Another New Agent at L. Perkins Agency

2009-02-22T07:44:00.005-05:00

Lori Perkins and Sandy Lu of the Vanguard Literary Agency are pleased to announce that they will be working together. Ms. Lu will be an associate agent.

Sandy Lu began her career in publishing as an associate agent at the Peter Rubie Literary Agency. She holds BA’s in psychology and sociology from Queens College, with minors in music, business, and Japanese. Prior to becoming an agent, she attended the Ph.D. Program in Social and Personality Psychology at the CUNY Graduate Center and worked as a business/operations manager in the theater industry.

Sandy is seeking literary and commercial fiction, upscale women’s fiction, mystery, thriller, psychological horror, and historical fiction. She is especially interested in edgy, contemporary urban fiction. In nonfiction, she is seeking submissions in narrative non-fiction, history, biography, memoir, science, psychology, pop culture, and food writing. She also has a particular interest in Asian or Asian American writing, both original and in translation, fiction and non-fiction.

Sansy can be reached at sllperkinsagency@gmail.com

John Updike Dead

2009-01-28T01:14:00.002-05:00

I love Updike. I've been reading him since I was in high school. When 9-11 hit publishing really hard,and I was unable to sell books for 8 months, I read Updike to make me feel that books were worth selling (and therefore publishing).

I can't believe he's gone, or that I won't be looking for a new book from him next year and the year after that, or picking up a copy of the New Yorker and seeing yet another of his stories.

I have all these great little Updike stories to share - and now fewer and fewer people will know who he was.

The first time I met Updike (I have been waiting decades to write that) was at the annual American Academy of Arts and Letters Awards on 155th Street in Manhattan, when I was the editor of a community newspaper there. He was in his late 50's. I was in my 20's. His hair was breath-takingly silver. It was the physical thing about him I remember most. I mumbled something about how much I loved his work, and he mumbled something back. It was insignificant to him, but just incredible to me that I was meeting him (I met Ralph Ellison that day too!)

Years later, one of my best friends married into a family where John Updike was invited to her engagement party. She said he and his wife gave a lousy gift.

I also remember that in spite of how pivotal Rabbit, Run was as a book in the 60's, it was considered one of the worst movies ever made (starring James Cain). When I became an agent, I was told that Updike books were on the never option list in Hollywood.

Years later, when Witches of Eastwick was made into a movie, I was told a story (by some film agent) that the only way it got made was for Updike to promise to keep his hands off of it. They changed the ending completely and made it a better movie.

I remember being blown away by a simple sentence in Witches of Eastwick where Updike described the clouds in the sky as looking like bacon fat.

I learned only a few years ago that one of the reasons Updike was able to be the decades-long literary success that he was was because his mother had written for The New Yorker, and given him that all-important "in."

And I often think of just how good a short story A&P is all these years after reading it.

Tell me your Updike stories - I'd love to share them with my blog readers.

Free Download at RavenousRomance - Get it While it Lasts!

2009-01-20T18:21:00.003-05:00

If you read the Romance blogs, you already know about Ravenous Romance's launch celebration giveaway. Between now and January 31, Ravenous Romance is extending an invitation to readers to get a free $5 gift certificate to the site just by emailing us. $5 will buy either one full-length novel or several short stories (Ravenous Rendezvous).

But I wanted to put it here, just in case you missed it.

We're thrilled with the site and even happier with our content. What better way to launch a new venture and show it off than by offering readers an opportunity to check us out – for free!

Requests should be sent to customerservice@ravenousromance.com and gift certificates can be redeemed online at www.RavenousRomance.com . The offer is good for both new customers and returning customers.

My faves (which I shouldn't list, but I can't help myself) are Marrakesh (our sexy M/M retelling of Casablanca) and An Officer and His Gentle Man; Lisa Lane's Darkness & Light: Blood and Coffee and the entire Maestro vampire series by Rhonda Jones; Twilight's Edge and Vital Signs, our erotic soap operas; the extremely witty Opposite Sex and the romantic suspense Mind Games. Oh, and I just love the glamor and style of Pat Tucker's hip romances. Force My Hand, our dirty historical romance, took my breath away. And Knight Moves, our time travel with a Knight, titillated me too. Our Women of a Certain Age novels - Cybill in Between and Playgirl - were much more fun for me than Fear of Flying (but I was a kid when I read that). And The Land of Falling Stars, our answer to Gone with the Wind, should be read by everyone (and would make a great Valentine's Day gift to any woman on this planet). I like the anthologies I edited too - Men in Shorts and Sex and Shoes.

Let me, and RR, through our author reviews, know what you think of these titles.

The Holocaust Blind Date Hoax

2009-01-02T09:58:00.007-05:00

As I'm sure most of you are aware, right before the Christmas break, a story broke that Angel at the Fence, a memoir of two Holocaust survivors who met at the Buchenwald fence and then had a blind date 12 years later was a hoax. The book was to be published by Berkeley, and was already an Oprah pick.

It was another example of poor vetting on the publishing side of the spectrum (why can't publishers use the same yardstick as journalist's? Make the author give written or corroborating verbal proof?), as well as another example of an author making up a (believe it or not) romantic Holocaust past (Misha, the fake memoir about the woman who was brought up by wolves after escaping the Nazis). As well as yet one more Oprah-backed memoir that was too good a story to really be true (James Frey). I know it makes the reading pubic question the veracity of memoir, and that's not a good thing.

But, I looked in my email this morning, and had a very long blog entry from a man who claims he helped expose the Holocaust blind date hoax, and I thought it was an interesting backstory. I did not vet it, so I post the link here with that warning.

dan has left a new comment on your post "The New Year":

BRINGING DOWN THE HOAX

http://globalwishingwell.blogspot.com/

The New Year

2009-01-02T02:12:00.002-05:00

Who among us is not happy to see 2008 go?

But, there are some in publishing who predict even worse numbers for 2009.

I don't know.

What I do know is that what is selling is celebrity and branded books (I have two of those right now), as well as pop culture titles (I have one on the best seller list and another in development, although it's with a TV show, so it's also branded and official). There's still a strong market for YA, romance and erotica, but there are fewer slots open than last year.

And the ebook and audio markets continue to grow, while print publishing shrinks, but both were so small to begin with that it's inevitable that there would be growth there.

Two New Articles on Publishing; or Bad News, Good News

2008-12-23T18:23:00.002-05:00

From Salon.com

Read it and weep

The economic news couldn't be worse for the book industry. Now insiders are asking how literature will survive.

By Jason Boog

Dec. 23, 2008 | The end of days is here for the publishing industry -- or it sure seems like it. On Dec. 3, now known as "Black Wednesday," several major American publishers were dramatically downsized, leaving many celebrated editors and their colleagues jobless. The bad news stretches from the unemployment line to bookstores to literature itself.

"It's going to be very hard for the next few years across the board in literary fiction," says veteran agent Ira Silverberg. "A lot of good writers will be losing their editors, and loyalty is very important in this field."

One of the most visible victims was Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the publisher of Philip Roth, Margaret Drabble, Richard Dawkins and J.R.R. Tolkien, among many others. Just before Thanksgiving, the publisher (actually two venerable houses, Houghton Mifflin and Harcourt, which were bought and merged by an Irish company over the past two years) had announced an unprecedented buying freeze on new manuscripts. On Dec. 3, they laid off what former executive editor Ann Patty described as "a lot" of employees (the industry trade publication Publishers Weekly confirmed at least eight), among them the distinguished editor Drenka Willen, whose list of authors included Günter Grass, Octavio Paz and José Saramago.

On the same day, Simon & Schuster laid off 35 employees, and a companywide memo from Random House's CEO announced the dissolution of Doubleday (publisher of "The Da Vinci Code" and Jonathan Lethem) and Bantam Dell (Danielle Steel, John Grisham), distributing the pieces among the conglomerate's three remaining publishing groups, which ultimately resulted in lost jobs. The large Christian publishing company Thomas Nelson also announced 54 layoffs.

The bad news kept rolling in. Within weeks, Macmillan had laid off 64 employees, spreading the damage across the entire company, which includes such literary stalwarts as Farrar, Straus, and Giroux; Henry Holt; Picador and St. Martin's Press. Not only were some of the industry's most respected figures out of a job, but a tremendous number of writers had lost their editors and publicists.

Publishing has endured plenty of rough patches, but this time, matters seemed truly dire. "There is a tendency in the industry to think that it is always under siege. There's a certain amount of Sturm und Drang that is part of book publishing," says Sara Nelson, editor in chief of Publishers Weekly. "I think it feels worse because it's everywhere now. It feels like the world is coming to an end -- and book publishing is just one part of that."

Thanks to conglomeration and corporate distribution models, some of publishing's biggest houses were laid very low by the current stock market collapse. And scary holiday book sales figures compounded the industry's woes, with recent news of a 20 percent drop in sales in October from last year's book market. Even worse, Nielsen Book Scan reported a 6.6 percent drop in unit sales during early December. Not even the holiday season could bolster book sales.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt was particularly vulnerable to the Wall Street crash. Since the turn of the 21st century, investors have struggled to spin gold out of the different companies that now make up the conglomerate. In 2001, Vivendi Universal bought Houghton Mifflin (which has been publishing literary and educational books since the late 1800s), but then sold it to private equity firms a year later. In 2006, an Irish firm bought Houghton Mifflin; within a year, they had merged with one of Houghton Mifflin's largest rivals, Harcourt. The publisher's parent company is now saddled with billions in debt.

"There were hedge fund guys with no background in publishing buying up publishing houses," says André Schiffrin, founder of the New Press and author of "The Business of Books: How the International Conglomerates Took Over Publishing and Changed the Way We Read." He explains that corporate owners of major publishing houses expected impossible 15 to 20 percent profit margins in an industry with traditional margins of 3 to 4 percent. "They were part of that whole feeling that you could make money by buying and selling companies, rather than by selling books. At some point it comes to a dead end."

At the same time, shifting distribution models created another sort of dilemma. One expert blamed new kinds of stores for disrupting the system. "I think bookselling is the big problem," says Nelson from Publishers Weekly. "With the rise of the Barnes & Noble superstore and the advent of Amazon, the little stores are going by the wayside. Distribution is national, rather than individual. On the wholesale level, decisions are made by two or three groups of people. Used to be you could make a book with a bunch of small buyers. There are fewer small buyers, and they have less leverage."

Finally, experts suggest that publishers missed crucial opportunities to cope with digital books, Internet innovations and economic pressures. "The big houses proved incapable of looking at the future. I've always been struck at how relatively un-nimble the big houses are," says Tom Engelhardt, a consulting editor at Metropolitan books and the author of the prophetic novel "The Last Days of Publishing." He recently wrote an essay about the crisis at his Web site, TomDispatch.com, and says he predicted the crash for years -- but no one would listen.

All these factors have produced an industry slowdown that will affect all writers for years to come.

As the corporate monoliths limp into 2009, a number of smaller, more independent houses could thrive during this recession. A few of those presses have structured themselves to avoid long-standing problems that got big publishing into this mess: high advances, long author lists and spiraling costs.

Who will survive publishing's Ice Age?

At the Frankfurt Book Fair this year, Open Letter Books, a small press based at the University of Rochester, illustrated how a more nimble firm can benefit from the freeze. The publisher bid on the English translation of Mathias Enard's novel, "Zone" -- a single sentence that stretches for 500 pages. An influential translator had called the work the "book of the decade," and Open Letter director Chad Post expected tight competition for the rights. But no one topped his offer, and he hopes to publish the translation in 2010.

"There's not much to cut at smaller presses, so they are going to stay the same -- they will have an identity coming into the recession, and they will be the same when they come out," Post says. "It will open up opportunities for the smaller, more stable presses. The bigger houses like Knopf and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt are going through an identity shift. It will become very murky what kinds of books they produce."

The independent press McSweeney's Books led the move away from the corporate publishing model of big advances and blockbuster books. Ever since Dave Eggers' company started publishing books in 2001, the publisher has split profits 50-50 with writers, giving a small advance at the outset. The house marshals its resources by putting out a fraction of the titles produced by a major publisher, with a backlist of more than 35 titles.

"What a lot of the small publishers cling to is not huge, particular business insight, but rather a thing beyond business. We pick midlist books" -- meaning that class of serious literary books that don't rake in big sales -- "because we are excited about those books, not just because of the kind of money they will bring in," says Eli Horowitz, McSweeney's managing editor and publisher.

One of the big houses is now experimenting with such small-press techniques. Earlier this year, HarperCollins opened HarperStudio, an imprint that follows McSweeney's lead. The brand-new imprint also pays relatively small advances, splitting 50 percent of the profits with its authors. Earlier this year, Bob Miller left a 17-year-long stint at Disney's adult publishing imprint, Hyperion, to helm this new house.

"The book industry had a steady increase of costs without an increase in sales," says Miller, analyzing how conglomeration caused publishing giants to scrabble for the same blockbusters, driving advances higher. "We had passionate competition for what was perceived to be the next big thing."

HarperStudio has another strategy: "Our hope is to publish midlist books without betting our company on it. The midlist, in most companies, are the books that have the fewest resources. We're trying to grapple with that, spending $100,000 or less on a book," Miller says. Nevertheless, many of the imprint's first signings aren't exactly big risks, hitched as they are to celebrity names: a book by hip-hop artist 50 Cent, a Toni Morrison-edited anthology, and a 10-book contract for TV personality and chef Emeril Lagasse.

Who will survive publishing's Ice Age? Undoubtedly, the companies that can command developments in the impending digital book revolution. Early next year, Amazon will release the second generation of the popular Kindle, and the Sony e-Reader currently has more than 300,000 users. But the biggest shift might happen on cellphones. Lexcycle has created an e-reader platform for the iPhone and iPod Touch called Stanza. Since the application debuted in July, it has built up 600,000 users. So far, Lexcycle has partnered with big publishers like Random House, Pan Macmillan and Harlequin, as well as self-publishing companies like Smashwords.

Neelan Choksi, Lexcycle's chief operating officer, agrees that the midlist will suffer in coming years. "There's going to be less support for smaller writers in the traditional publishing model, in the big buildings in Manhattan," he explained. "But self-publishing and digital books haven't been considered. This upheaval will cause many authors to look at the alternatives more seriously." The Stanza reader, for instance, stocks thousands of e-books at varying prices, from free public domain books to self-published titles to 40,000 titles from Fictionwise, one of the leading digital book vendors. That list includes a variety of bestsellers like David Wroblewski's "Story of Edgar Sawtelle," Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series and the nonfiction hit "Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World. "

Rumors of publishing's demise are probably overstated, but the future of publishing may depend on what those laid-off editors, publicists and industry leaders do next. The morning after Black Wednesday, a publishing blogger and e-book aficionado named Mike Cane stirred up his readers with a bite-size manifesto on Twitter: "If the FIRED NY pubstaff are such hot fucking shit, let them coalesce and form an EBOOK-ONLY IMPRINT to crush their fmr employers." However callous this Twitter-versy seemed at the time, it posed an interesting challenge: Can the publishing world channel all of this collective anger, bewilderment and fear into industry-altering strategies?

"If the last five or 10 years have shown us anything, it's this: content will get out," Lexcycle's Choksi says. "With social networking and blogs, if you have something to say, it will get heard. It just might not look like the traditional publishing model you are used to."
Rumors of publishing's demise are probably overstated, but the future of publishing may depend on what those laid-off editors, publicists and industry leaders do next. The morning after Black Wednesday, a publishing blogger and e-book aficionado named Mike Cane stirred up his readers with a bite-size manifesto on Twitter: "If the FIRED NY pubstaff are such hot fucking shit, let them coalesce and form an EBOOK-ONLY IMPRINT to crush their fmr employers." However callous this Twitter-versy seemed at the time, it posed an interesting challenge: Can the publishing world channel all of this collective anger, bewilderment and fear into industry-altering strategies?

"If the last five or 10 years have shown us anything, it's this: content will get out," Lexcycle's Choksi says. "With social networking and blogs, if you have something to say, it will get heard. It just might not look like the traditional publishing model you are used to."
More Readers Picking Up Electronic Books

And from The New York Times

More Readers are Picking Up Ebooks

By BRAD STONE and MOTOKO RICH
Published: December 23, 2008

Sony has a campaign at Grand Central Station to promote the Sony Reader, it's digital book.

For a decade, consumers mostly ignored electronic book devices, which were often hard to use and offered few popular items to read. But this year, in part because of the popularity of Amazon.com’s wireless Kindle device, the e-book has started to take hold.

The $359 Kindle, which is slim, white and about the size of a trade paperback, was introduced a year ago. Although Amazon will not disclose sales figures, the Kindle has at least lived up to its name by creating broad interest in electronic books. Now it is out of stock and unavailable until February. Analysts credit Oprah Winfrey, who praised the Kindle on her talk show in October.

The shortage is providing an opening for Sony, which embarked on an intense publicity campaign for its Reader device during the gift-buying season. The stepped-up competition may represent a coming of age for the entire idea of reading longer texts on a portable digital device.

“The perception is that e-books have been around for 10 years and haven’t done anything,” said Steve Haber, president of Sony’s digital reading division. “But it’s happening now. This is really starting to take off.”

Sony’s efforts have been overshadowed by Amazon’s. But this month it began a promotional blitz in airports, train stations and bookstores, with the ambitious goal of personally demonstrating the Reader to two million people by the end of the year.

The company’s latest model, the Reader 700, is a $400 device with a light and a touch screen that allows users to annotate what they are reading. Mr. Haber said Sony’s sales had tripled this holiday season over last, in part because the device is now available in the Target, Borders and Sam’s Club chains. He said Sony had sold more than 300,000 devices since the debut of the original Reader in 2006.

It is difficult to quantify the success of the Kindle, since Amazon will not disclose how many it has sold and analysts’ estimates vary widely. Peter Hildick-Smith, president of the Codex Group, a book market research company, said he believed Amazon had sold as many as 260,000 units through the beginning of October, before Ms. Winfrey’s endorsement. Others say the number could be as high as a million.

Many Kindle buyers appear to be outside the usual gadget-hound demographic. Almost as many women as men are buying it, Mr. Hildick-Smith said, and the device is most popular among 55- to 64-year-olds.

So far, publishers like HarperCollins, Random House and Simon & Schuster say that sales of e-books for any device — including simple laptop downloads — constitute less than 1 percent of total book sales. But there are signs of momentum. The publishers say sales of e-books have tripled or quadrupled in the last year.

Amazon’s Kindle version of “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle ” by David Wroblewski, a best seller recommended by Ms. Winfrey’s book club, now represents 23 percent of total Amazon sales of the book, according to Brian Murray, chief executive of HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide.

Even authors who were once wary of selling their work in bits and bytes are coming around. After some initial hesitation, authors like Danielle Steel and John Grisham are soon expected to add their titles to the e-book catalog, their agents say.

“E-books will become the go-to-first format for an ever-expanding group of readers who are newly discovering how much they enjoy reading books on a screen,” said Markus Dohle, chief executive of Random House, the world’s largest publisher of e-books.

Nobody knows how much consumer habits will shift. Some of the most committed bibliophiles maintain an almost fetishistic devotion to the physical book. But the technology may have more appeal for particular kinds of people, like those who are the heaviest readers.

At Harlequin Enterprises, the Toronto-based publisher of bodice-ripping romances, Malle Vallik, director for digital content and interactivity, said she expected sales of digital versions of the company’s books someday to match or potentially outstrip sales in print.

Harlequin, which publishes 120 books a month, makes all of its new titles available digitally, and has even started publishing digital-only short stories that it sells for $2.99 each, including an erotica collection called Spice Briefs.

Perhaps the most overlooked boost to e-books this year — and a challenge to some of the standard thinking about them — came from Apple’s do-it-all gadget, the iPhone. Several software programs for reading e-books have been created for the device, and at least two of them, Stanza from LexCycle and the eReader from Fictionwise, have been downloaded more than 600,000 times.

Both of these companies say they are now tailoring their software for other kinds of smartphones, including BlackBerrys. Another company, Scroll Motion, announced this week that it would begin selling e-books for the iPhone from major publishers like Simon & Schuster and Penguin.

Publishers say these iPhone applications are already starting to generate nearly as many digital book sales as the Sony Reader, though they still trail sales of books in the Kindle format.

Meanwhile, the quest to build the perfect e-book reader continues. Amazon and Sony are expected to introduce new versions of their readers in 2009. Adherents expect the new Kindle will have a sleeker design and a better microprocessor, allowing snappier page-turning.

Mr. Haber of Sony said future versions of the Reader will have wireless capability, a feature that has helped make the Kindle so appealing. This means that the device does not have to be plugged into a computer to download books, newspapers and magazines.

Other competitors are on the way. Investors have put more than $200 million into Plastic Logic, a company in Mountain View, Calif., The company says that next year it will begin testing a flexible 8.5-by-11-inch reading device that is thinner and lighter than existing ones. Plastic Logic plans to begin selling it in 2010.

Along the same lines, Polymer Vision, based in the Netherlands, demonstrated a device the size of a BlackBerry that has a five-inch rolled-up screen that can be unfurled for reading. There are also less ambitious but cheaper readers on the market or expected soon, including the eSlick Reader from Foxit Software, arriving next month at an introductory price of $230.

E Ink, the company in Cambridge, Mass., that has developed the screen technology for many of these companies, says it is testing color screens and hopes to introduce them by 2010.

Many book lovers are quite happy with today’s devices. MaryAnne van Hengel, 51, a graphic designer in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., once railed against e-readers at a meeting of her book club. But she embraced the Kindle her husband gave her this fall shortly after Ms. Winfrey endorsed it.

Ms. Van Hengel now has several books on the device, including a Nora Roberts novel and Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals.” She said the Kindle had spurred her to buy more books than she normally would in print.

“I may be shy bringing the Kindle to the book club because so many of the women were so against the technology, and I said I was too,” Ms. Van Hengel said. “And here I am in love with it.”

Forry Ackerman Died

2008-12-05T20:58:00.001-05:00

Sci-fi's grand old man, Forrest J Ackerman, dies

Print By JOHN ROGERS, Associated Press Writer John Rogers, Associated Press Writer – Fri Dec 5, 4:02 pm ETLOS ANGELES – Forrest J Ackerman, the sometime actor, literary agent, magazine editor and full-time bon vivant who discovered author Ray Bradbury and was widely credited with coining the term "sci-fi," has died. He was 92.

Ackerman died Thursday of heart failure at his Los Angeles home, said Kevin Burns, head of Prometheus Entertainment and a trustee of Ackerman's estate.

Although only marginally known to readers of mainstream literature, Ackerman was legendary in science-fiction circles as the founding editor of the pulp magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland. He was also the owner of a huge private collection of science-fiction movie and literary memorabilia that for years filled every nook and cranny of a hillside mansion overlooking Los Angeles.

"He became the Pied Piper, the spiritual leader, of everything science fiction, fantasy and horror," Burns said Friday.

Every Saturday morning that he was home, Ackerman would open up the house to anyone who wanted to view his treasures. He sold some pieces and gave others away when he moved to a smaller house in 2002, but he continued to let people visit him every Saturday for as long as his health permitted.

"My wife used to say, 'How can you let strangers into our home?' But what's the point of having a collection like this if you can't let people enjoy it?" an exuberant Ackerman told The Associated Press as he conducted a spirited tour of the mansion on his 85th birthday.

His collection once included more than 50,000 books, thousands of science-fiction magazines and such items as Bela Lugosi's cape from the 1931 film "Dracula."

His greatest achievement, however, was likely discovering Bradbury, author of the literary classics "Fahrenheit 451" and "The Martian Chronicles." Ackerman had placed a flyer in a Los Angeles bookstore for a science-fiction club he was founding and a teenage Bradbury showed up.

Later, Ackerman gave Bradbury the money to start his own science-fiction magazine, Futuria Fantasia, and paid the author's way to New York for an authors meeting that Bradbury said helped launch his career.

"I hadn't published yet, and I met a lot of these people who encouraged me and helped me get my career started, and that was all because of Forry Ackerman," the author told the AP in 2005.

Later, as a literary agent, Ackerman represented Bradbury, Isaac Asimov and numerous other science-fiction writers.

He said the term "sci-fi" came to him in 1954 when he was listening to a car radio and heard an announcer mention the word "hi-fi."

"My dear wife said, 'Forget it, Forry, it will never catch on,'" he recalled.

Soon he was using it in Famous Monsters of Filmland, the magazine he helped found in 1958 and edited for 25 years.

Ackerman himself appeared in numerous films over the years, usually in bit parts. His credits include "Queen of Blood," "Dracula vs. Frankenstein," "Amazon Women on the Moon," "Vampirella," "Transylvania Twist," "The Howling" and the Michael Jackson "Thriller" video. More recently, he appeared in 2007's "The Dead Undead" and 2006's "The Boneyard Collection."

Ackerman returned briefly to Famous Monsters of Filmland in the 1990s, but he quickly fell out with the publisher over creative differences. He sued and was awarded a judgment of more than $375,000.

Forrest James Ackerman was born in Los Angeles on Nov. 24, 1916. He fell in love with science-fiction, he once said, when he was 9 years old and saw a magazine called Amazing Stories. He would hold onto that publication for the rest of his life.

Ackerman, who had no children, was preceded in death by his wife, Wendayne.

So What Does This All Mean?

2008-12-04T23:28:00.002-05:00

Publishers are basically not buying any new books for the rest of the year (this happened after 9/11 too - they are bought up at least two years in advance), staff cuts will be made across the board, imprints will disappear and one of the two major book sellers may close their doors forever.

OK, so here's what I've been telling my interns and my junior agents and all my publishing pals. There are all sorts of economic trends coming to a head at the moment.

We, as a country, are in a recession and publishing is no exception. I believe we, as an industry, have priced books out of the buyer's everyday market. A paperback should cost $5, a trade paperback $10 and a hardcover no more than $20. Only exceptional illustrated books should cost more than that, and I better get pop-ups and die cuts and music, if you want me to pay more than $25. When books cease to be an impulse/feel good purchase, and are something you have to calculate and budget (I'll get the new King this month, and then I'll get the Hamilton out of the library), something is wrong.

And the profit margins in publishing are way too tight. I still find it amazing that in today's publishing economics, the author and the publisher make less on a book than the bookstore and the distributor.

Publishing is in the same transition as the movie and music industries. The younger generation of movie watchers and music listeners have already grown used to getting their movies and music cheaper and faster with downloads. If books are to compete as a source of entertainment, they have to follow course.

Bookstores will have to change too - and they already are. Last week I was pontificating that bookstores of the future will actually be big electronic information stores. And then someone told me that Barnes & Noble owns GameStop. Today I just got a flyer informing me that Best Buy is now selling books. Soon, you will go to an electronics and information store, where you can buy almost anything you can't wear or eat. And that same "store" will have an online presence, where you can download almost anything they sell.

That's not to say that the book as we know it is dead, but it does mean that for books as entertainment, it's a brave new world. In Japan, half the books sold in the country are downloaded to phones. We can't be far behind.

So, what is happening now is the beginning of the shake out that the music and movie industries experienced 5 years ago. Certain kinds of books (I guess, like certain kinds of TV shows and movies and music) just are no longer working in this age of instant information. So we just don't need to publish quite as many books, but what we do publish has to either entertain or inform.

When the shake-out is over, we'll be leaner, but stronger. Book publishing will have moved into the 21st century and will be more responsive to its readership. It won't take 18 months to go from manuscript to book, and authors will get paid on their actual sales in the same year they are made.

Bad News, Good News?

2008-12-03T18:36:00.006-05:00

It should be no news to you that today was called "Black Wednesday" in publishing circles. Many jobs were cut at Simon & Schuster and Thomas Nelson, while the publisher of Houghton Mifflin quit and heads rolled at Harcourt. And then Random House re-organized and cut itself in half.

Meanwhile, three veteran publishing insiders have just started an epub and audio company that is buying over 400 books a year and finally pricing them at a cost that the consumer can afford, and giving the writer more than a third of the revenue.

I think the writing's on the wall. Or I hope that I'm reading it right.

So even though this is my agent blog, I realized that I owe it to you to write about just how incredibly amazing it is to be starting an epublishing company, while every print company around me appears to be imploding.

So, please visit, tell your friends, readers, family and enemies.

And give us your feedback.

It is our pleasure to introduce www.ravenousromance.com - a provocative new online book store for romance enthusiasts! We are publishing a-book-a-day™ , a Ravenous Rendezvous™ short story a day, as well as free online Lovestrology™ horoscopes!

Best-selling and award-winning writers
Ravenous Romance publishes best-selling and award-winning writers and their protégées, along with several talented new voices. We have the hilarious new romance novel by New York Times best-selling author, John Skipp, writing as his alter ego, Gina McQueen, as well as Catherine Hiller's debut, Cybill in Between, which John Updike has called "brave and joyful." You won't want to miss our amazing Fantastica™ paranormal and vampire romance tales. And starting December 14th, there will be a new book and a new short story on the site every day.

Lowest prices and highest quality
These books are a huge bargain - just $.99 for short stories, $4.99 for eBooks, and $12.99 for audio books. You won't find lower prices or higher quality anywhere else on the Web.

Ideal escape: exciting, steamy, & fun
Ravenous Romance audio books are high-quality productions, with top narrators/actors - ideal for taking the stress out of your commute and the boredom out of your workout. Escape the holiday chaos, entertain yourself while wrapping gifts or baking cookies, or just relax in the tub - only $12.99 for hours of pleasure!

You can purchase gift certificates, too! Who doesn't need a little more love in her life?

At Ravenous Romance, the pleasure is ours. Check us out at www.ravenousromance.com.

Advice to a New Author

2008-12-02T22:53:00.004-05:00

An author recently wrote to me saying he was recommended by his former agent who had sent his thriller to "less than a dozen publishers."

This was my response.

The truth is that there are only 9 major publishers left (and Harlequin is really only for women's fiction), so your book has been around the block as far as publishers who will pay decent money for it are concerned. And agents make their living off of 15% of your sale, so there are very few agents interested in selling to the small presses.

We're in a major publishing recession right now too, so it's exponentially harder to sell a first novel.

I've been in business over 20 years and have 80 clients, so I am not taking on any new clients right now.

If I were you, I'd pay for a subscription to Publisher's Lunch and make a list of agents who have recently sold books with descriptions like yours. And then I'd email them and say "I saw you recently sold xxx xxx xxx, which is similar to my novel."

But if you get a lot of no's, it's the market right now, and will be for at least the next 6 months.

You might have to write another kick-ass novel and start the whole process over again.

Some Houses Have Stopped Buying Any More Books

2008-11-25T10:38:00.001-05:00

HMH Places "Temporary" Halt on Acquisitions

By Rachel Deahl --
Publishers Weekly, 11/24/2008 12:54:00 PM

It’s been clear for months that it will be a not-so-merry holiday season for publishers, but at least one house has gone so far as to halt acquisitions. PW has learned that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has asked its editors to stop buying books.

Josef Blumenfeld, v-p of communications for HMH, confirmed that the publisher has “temporarily stopped acquiring manuscripts” across its trade and reference divisions. The directive was given verbally to a handful of executives and, according to Blumenfeld, is “not a permanent change.” Blumenfeld, who hedged on when the ban might be lifted, said that the right project could still go to the editorial review board. He also maintained that the the decision is less about taking drastic measures than conducting good business.

“In this case, it’s a symbol of doing things smarter; it’s not an indicator of the end of literature,” he said. “We have turned off the spigot, but we have a very robust pipeline.” The action by the highly leveraged HMH may also be as much about the company's need to cut costs in a tight credit market.as about the current economic slowdown.

While Blumenfeld dismissed the severity of the policy, a number of agents said they have never heard of a publisher going so far as to instruct its editors to stop acquiring. “I’ve been in the business a long time and at a couple of houses I worked at, when things were bad, we were asked to cut back,” said agent Jonathon Lazear. “But I’ve never heard of anything so public.” Lazear added that, in the past two weeks, business has been more “sluggish” than it had been all year.

Another agent who had also heard about the no-acquisitions policy at HMH called the move “very scary” and said it's indicative of an industry climate worse than any he’s ever seen.

Thus far one agent has confirmed that at least one of his manuscripts has been declined at HMH per the policy. But perhaps an editor at the house put it best; in an e-mail, the editor mentioned the policy and added, “Who knows what’s next.”

My Son Has Started a Writer's Blog for Young Writers

2008-11-22T11:57:00.003-05:00

My son surprised me this summer by informing me he was 220 pages into a fantasy novel. He has been working diligently on it, and on world building, and has now started his own blog about the writing, editing and selling process, http://maxximenez.livejournal.com/. It is aimed at other young writers, as well as first time authors.

Please encourage him, give him links to helpful sites, and make him feel part of the writing community.

I have not read his novel, but I have put him in touch with good writing friends who are guiding him.

I will not represent him, but I will lead him to the right people.

This should be a very interesting experience.

In Love with Audio Books Now Too

2008-11-18T22:58:00.002-05:00

So, you all know that I have been having a wild and lurid affair with my Sony eReader since I got it a few months ago? Instead of taking 13 books on vacation with me at the end of the summer, I took the eReader and 13 manuscripts!

I'm driving back and forth to Beverly, MA every 10 days or so (the bus, while as cheap as $1 each way for either the Megabus or the Boltbus, just doesn't seem to work for me because the travel time involved from my home to Penn Station and from Boston to Beverly adds too much time to the trip). I've heard my favorite Beatles and Zeppelin and Springsteen CD's endlessly for the 3 1/2 hour drive. So I decided on audio books.

And I'm in love.

I listened to Stephen King's new short story collection on the last two round trips, and was just thrilled.

Then I realized that I can re-read my favorite books this way.

I used to read Dracula, 1984 and Alice in Wonderland every year, but haven't had the time since I've been working in publishing. Now, I can't wait to hear Dracula read to me while I'm heading up I-95.

And I can order just about anything I want through the New York Pubic Library service.

Also can't wait to listen to Gone with the Wind again.

Who ever thought I'd be looking forward to these long drives?

Jenny Rappaport to Start her Own Agency

2008-11-17T07:54:00.001-05:00

Lori Perkins and Jenny Rappaport would like to announce that they are amicably parting ways, and that Jenny will be leaving the L. Perkins Agency to start her own literary agency, The Rappaport Agency.

After a mutually successful two and a half year business relationship, Lori and Jenny have found that their agenting interests are taking them in different directions. The L. Perkins Agency will continue to focus on erotica and chick lit, horror and pop culture, while The Rappaport Agency will specialize in science fiction and fantasy, as well as YA, and romance.

Speculative fiction has always been Jenny’s passion, and she is pleased to be able to take her work with it to the next level.

Marsha Philitas has been promoted to senior literary agent at the L. Perkins Agency.

Lori Perkins’ Blog: http://agentinthemiddle.blogspot.com
The Rappaport Agency website: http://www.rappaportagency.com
Marsha Philitas’ Blog: http://lifestyleagent.wordpress.com

The View from Here

2008-11-12T21:43:00.004-05:00

It's not all doom and gloom - my film agent put together a really good movie deal for a YA Vampire series - and I am expecting to close on a multi-book deal that could make one of my authors a branded name in her field. But, other than that, the only things that seem to be selling are YA and erotic romance, and even that is slower (Harlequin just called today and asked if they could wait a month to make an offer on an option book that they'd already had two months.)

Meanwhile, one of the houses I've been doing business with called to tell me they just let go of three editors, so things will be a little slower. And a multi-book deal that I was negotiating just got delayed until the house can re-evaluate market trends.

It's getting cold out there!

But I leave for the Florida Writer's conference in the morning, so maybe that will warm my bones?

So Many Books, So Little Time

2008-10-27T16:24:00.002-05:00

Life here on Planet Perkins has been intense.

On top of working two jobs, it was my mother's 75th birthday, so I threw her a party and all of her friends (and my relatives) came in for a shin dig on Thursday night. My favorite cousins (my cousin Dennis turned me on to comic books and my cousin Diane did the same with Barbie's, and now I have the most awesome super hero Barbie collection you could imagine) stayed with us for four days, and it was terrific to catch up, but almost impossible to keep up.

It was wonderful to be surrounded by people you adore celebrating a life well-lived, but reading and editing in between was just about too much. The New Jersey Romance Writers had their convention this weekend too, but Marsha Philtas went in my stead (see her blog post about it).

I have two big book deals in the works - one that I've been working on for over 2 years. When it rains, it pours.

Two New Agents at L. Perkins Agency

2008-10-20T11:34:00.003-05:00

We have some personnel changes at the L. Perkins Agency.

Marsha Philitas, who was a part-time erotica agent, has just been promoted to a full time agent and will be working full time for the agency. She is looking to increase her client list. She can be reached at mplperkinsagency@gmail.com and has her own blog, lifestyleagent.wordpress.com

E.K., who was an intern with the agency, will be joining the firm as a junior agent working directly with me. She, too, will be taking on a select number of clients. Her email address is eklperkinsagency@yahoo.com

As a result of this expansion, Jenny Rappaport will be focusing more directly on her passions - young adult, science fiction and fantasy.

We're really excited about these changes.

Some Publishing Numbers in this Economic Downturn

2008-10-10T21:00:00.001-05:00

(this is taken directly from Publisher's Lunch)

The Publishing Ticker: How Bad Is It? How are publishing-related entities faring relative the overall market as stock prices continue to fall? Fair warning: this story is not for the faint of heart, so skip down if you need to.

Below are some comparative results, looking over the past month, and in particular at the six days of trading ending with yesterday's market close. In this corner of the world, debt-free Barnes & Noble has been the most resilient so far, and among publishers and their parent companies, Pearson appears to have held up the best (though among somewhat smaller companies Bloomsbury is the star performer). As a benchmark, the S&P 500 is down 27.5 percent since its peak within that month on September 19, dropping 21.5 percent in the past 6 days. Since we're looking at some UK-traded companies, note that the FTSE 100 have given up over 20 percent in the past month, dropping 13 percent in the past 6 sessions ending yesterday.

Barnes & Noble is off 19 percent from their high on September 19 of 29.06, beginning their tumble after S&P cut their rating on the stock to "sell." But the stock is down only 10 percent in the last 6 trading sessions.

Scholastic had peaked on September 19, and is down 26 percent since then. The company has slid only 13 percent for the last 6 trading sessions.

John Wiley is off 25 percent from its September 11 high of 43.64, losing 19 percent in the past 6 sessions. Of the group the company is suffering the most in today's trading however, down over 8 percent in the first hour.

Borders is off 44 percent from their high on September 11 of 7.80, and down 35 percent in the last 6 trading sessions.

Books-a-Million has fallen even further, giving up 49 percent since peaking at 7.20 on September 11, shedding 25 percent in the past 6 days.

Among book publishers with publicly-traded parent companies, Pearson's London shares peaked on September 12 at 697.50 pence and have dropped 22 percent since then, but they have given up only 8 percent in the last 6 sessions.

Hachette parent Lagardere is down 31.5 percent from its high of 38.22 on September 12, giving up almost 19 percent in the last 6 days.

Harper's owners News Corp. are down 36 percent since peaking on September 12, dropping 24 percent in the past 6 sessions.

Simon & Schuster parent CBS is down 40 percent since September 11, giving up almost 30 percent in the past 6 days.

But, as noted above, Bloomsbury has been quite resilient, losing just 3.5 percent over the past month and actually gaining 8 percent in the past six sessions.

A little further afield, Amazon peaked at $81 a share on September 19, losing 31 percent since then. The company has declined 19.5 percent in the past 6 days. Company News: Lulu Layoffs; Harper Studio UK; and More Lulu.com is laying off 24 employees, almost a quarter of their workforce of 100. The reductions include recently-hired president Bryce Boothby Jr. and European vp Cristel Lee Leed. The company plans to relocate its headquarters from Morrisville, NC to Raleigh within the next few months. CEO Bob Young tells NewMediaAge "with the credit and capital markets frozen solid Lulu couldn't continue burning through money at its previous pace. We're very disappointed.... we were forced into a position of having to cut costs."

Bob Miller's Harper Studio has made an agreement with Harper UK to provide for direct publication in the UK, Australia and New Zealand of nearly all the books signed by the start-up so far. Studio is working with Harper UK nonfiction publisher Carole Tonkinson and editorial director Susanna Abbott. The same piece, Miller admits to The Bookseller's Gayle Feldman that his intention of selling on a non-returnable basis "might fail" though he says "it's too eary to tell."

Playgirl by Regina Perry and Porn as Plot Element

2008-10-08T21:43:00.003-05:00

One of my readers wrote in and asked "Who is it, what's the book and when's the release date?

Also, do you know of any novels centered around porn as a social issue? Or even some that focus on it in a personal way, like this novel?"

So I asked the author if I could share the details of the book with my blog readers, and she said she was happy to do so.

Playgirl is one of the December titles for Ravenous Romance. I'll share the date as soon as we schedule it.

And we also bought a really titillating short story from her, Tan Lines, about an unexpected encounter at a tanning salon.

My reader's second question is a whole other issue.

There's another title in the Ravenous launch list that works in this way, and I had a literary novel that used the porn world as a piece of the meta fiction mythos (which I couldn't sell), but I can't think of any other books off the top of my head.

So, how 'bout you? Do you know of any other novels that use porn as part of the plot, especially as a positive element?

I am sure there are classics in this vein in the LGBT market that I am just unaware of, but I would love to know what they are. Please share.

What Comes Around, ...

2008-10-03T14:47:00.004-05:00

Three years ago I attended the Florida Writer's Conference (which I am going to again this year) and announced that I was starting to look at erotica. A shy woman scheduled a meeting with me and told me she was working on a novel about a former Sunday school teacher who discovers Internet porn and how it transforms her life.

I told her to send it to me. It was both edgy and sweet, but needed work in its story-telling and structure.

When I got the gig at Ravenous Romance, I looked up the author. She had finished her novel. We read it, and we had a brilliant intern who helped her restructure the book.

She had also grown as a writer by then too, so we were able to buy the book, as well as a short story.

I was the editorial reader on that novel, and I was thrilled to see just how compelling this novel had become.

A Tip for the YA Market

2008-09-25T19:42:00.003-05:00

So, I was talking to a publisher who is expanding their middle grade fiction list into YA, expecting that they would want more vampires and zombies in high school. I was shocked when he said, "What we're really looking for is historical YA. We think it will be huge."

So, if you've got a historical that you can change the age of the protagonist on and/or a YA that could/should be set in the past, get to work polishing it off.

And let me know when you sell it (or send a query to Jenny Rappaport at jrlperkinsagency@yahoo.com).

When Does a Writer NOT Want a 3-Book Deal?

2008-09-24T08:29:00.006-05:00

You do this job long enough and you forget that it all looks so much simpler from the outside looking in!

Will Entrekin writes in "Is there ever a time a writer isn't trying to get a three-book deal?"

And the answer is when the economy is good.

Say you're a first time author. You've finished your first 300 page novel and your agent gets you a deal - an OK deal, but nothing quit-your-day-job life-changing. Publishers often want to sign you up for your next novel - often referred to as "untitled" - so they can lock you in at the first-time writer rate. They often "basket" or "joint account" the two-book or three-book deal, so that you have to earn out the entire two or three-book advance before they start paying you any royalties. It's a win/win situation for them. They get the great new voice at a discount rate and if you hand in a "sophomore slump," they can turn it down and ask for the money back.

With a three-book deal, even if your book does moderately well (block-busters are an exception), you won't see any added revenue until three years after the first book has pubbed (because it takes most companies at least one year, but often 18 months, to go from manuscript to print).

So, when the economy is good, you and your agent would expect that your first book would do well and that you should wait for domestic and foreign and film sales to come in to see if you can get a larger advance for your second book, based on performance. You might not, but they should offer you at least what they did for the first one (unless it bombs, which does happen) and the money won't be joint-accounted.

Sometimes the author wants the guarantee of future publishing and writing income (and wants to quit that day job), so s/he takes the three-book deal. Even with a three book deal that covers three years, the author usually has to take another simultaneous three-book deal (or three separate book deals) to make ends meet as a writer.

When the book is part of a series, it's often advised to go for the multiple book deal, too. It's really hard to move a series from one publisher to another, unless it's really popular - and you loose the backlist upsell. But, in a good economy, you're agent would probably be able to get them to drop the joint accounting. Not so easy now.

But when the economy is bad, publishers can just stop handing out contracts and a lot of working writers have no money coming in.

So that's why I say take the three book deal now.

What Does This Ecomonic Downturn Mean for Writers?

2008-09-18T11:26:00.004-05:00

In case you've been writing under a rock, let me inform you that we've been in a recession in New York for the past six months.

This stock market fiasco is hitting the city pretty hard. One of the 7 major houses has had a hiring freeze since June. They were 4 editors short since the end of the summer, and were not even looking for interns to supplement (BYW, I am looking for interns).

I know a young woman who had been offered a job (not in publishing) in NY and was set to move here this week. On Tuesday morning, she received an email that said they were sorry, but they would have to rescind their job offer in light of the current economic situation. It's gonna' be tough here for the foreseeable future.

It's not all doom and gloom. I just sold another book for one of my clients to Harlequin's Spice line. But the bad news there is that it won't be pubbed until 2011.

And there's the rub. These publishing companies work so far in advance, that when they decide to slow down acquisitions, they can literally just stop buying for 6 or 9 months. And that's what I predict will happen here.

So my advice is to close on any offer that comes your way now, or try to get a three book deal, because it's going to be very slow for the next few months.

But I would love to be proven wrong.

My New Blog

2008-09-12T21:03:00.004-05:00

To further the separation of Church and State, I've decided to start a second blog, where I will write about being an editor. This is my agent blog.

There you will find what we're looking for in calls for submissions, as well as what we've bought, so head directly to ravenousromance.blogspot.com.

I'll also be chronicling what it's like to start a new publishing company, which is pretty amazing.

Separation of Church and State

2008-09-11T09:43:00.007-05:00

There's been a lot of concern about how I will juggle the roles of agent and editor in this new venture, so we've worked out a system where any potential conflict of interest and/or the appearance of impropriety is nipped in the bud.

So here are the rules:

I will not take a commission on any sale of work by one of my clients to Ravenous Romance. The sale will be handled and overseen by one of my two agent colleagues at L. Perkins Agency. Jenny Rappaport will handle those authors who fall more directly into the romance side of erotic romance (which is one of her specialties), as well as any of my horror/fantasy clients who have ventured into this arena. Marsha Philitas will represent my authors who lean more towards the erotic, which is her specialty. Jenny Rappaport can be reached at jrlperkinsagenct@yahoo.com and Marsha Philitas can be reached at mplperkinsagency@yahoo.com.

Both Jenny and Marsha will receive 100% of the 15% commission on these sales.

I will continue to represent my erotica clients on existing deals and their options. New material in this genre, whether it be for Ravenous Romance or another publisher, will be handled by either Jenny or Marsha. Although I will be available for consultation, these will be my colleague's deals.

I will continue to represent my clients on their non-erotica deals.

I my some day take on a new client, but I am pretty full at the moment, so new clients to the agency will be directed to either Jenny or Marsha for the immediate future. However, I'm reading everything that is sent to me.

I will not edit my own clients' work at Ravenous Romance, unless they ask me to.

No writer is required to sign with the L. Perkins Agency in order to sell to Ravenous Romance. They may remain unagented. They can sign with Jenny or Marsha. They can sign with another agent.

Jenny and Marsha are not required to take someone on just because they've signed with Ravenous Romance.

Ravenous Romance will gladly buy books from other agencies.

OK, so why am I doing this? Especially since I am losing a substantial amount of my income by transferring my writer's commissions to Jenny and Marsha.

I have put my money where my mouth is. I believe that the future of mass market is epublishing and that the market for well-written erotica for women is still largely untapped. I am lucky to have two publishing colleagues who agree with me and have put their experience and resources behind this belief.

I have always been an entrepreneur. I owned a neighborhood newspaper in Manhattan when I was 22. I started my own literary agency in 1987. It is my nature to start things when I feel there's a need.

I feel there is a need.

Some writers believe that being an agent is all about making money. That has never been the case with me, as I come from a journalism background. It's about getting published. Most of my writers are "working writers," which means they support themselves from the craft, so they write at least two, if not four books a year. Few publishers want four books by one author, so they use pseudonyms or write in two fields.

I have always thought of myself as a "writer's fairy godmother." When people unfamiliar with publishing ask me what an agent does, I tell them that I am a writer's manager. It is my job to keep writers writing, and published. In a market that is changing as radically as publishing today, that's not easy.

Ravenous Romance will keep writers writing, and eating. While they wait for the next big book to place and/or figure out what the new trend in the marketplace is, Ravenous writers will be building an audience and getting a royalty check that has no reserve against returns.

Ravenous Romance is for all writers who would like a more immediate return on their writing investment and who want readers a few months after the book is finished.

There's more than enough to go around, as we are buying over 400 books a year and at least 365 short stories.

Twitter and Facebook

2008-09-10T09:11:00.003-05:00

Just to let you know, we've started Ravenous Romance reports at both Twitter and Facebook, so please follow us as we start this new company. I can't believe how many people are already following us.

Holly Schmidt is doing an almost day-to-day account of what we're buying on Twitter.

Ravenous Romance Press Release

2008-09-05T11:03:00.002-05:00

OK. Here it is - the announcement about the new epublisher.

We are buying an incredible amount of fiction - and some nonfiction in the form of memoir - and an amazing number of short stories - one a day for both novels and stories. So there's plenty of room for writers to break in, and for established writers to try their hand at something they thought they might like to write.

We've already bought a number of books by non-erotica writers who had a "trunk novel" of erotica, meaning they had no idea where to send it and had written it for their own pleasure.

We've bought a ton of fiction from previously unpublished authors.

And there are a handful of authors we've groomed, who we think are really going to break out, but time will tell.

The other thing that's really exciting is that we're buying an amazing amount of cross genre material. This is such fertile ground.

I think the daily short story, with its combination of a small advance and a huge royalty, might prove to be the best market for erotic short stories out there, but, again, time will tell.

Of course, I am still agenting for my existing clients, whether they be erotica writers or true crime ones. It is amazing what you can get done in a 16 hour day! But I am loving every minute of it.

We've worked out a terrific system so there's no possible conflict of interest. Jenny Rappaport and Marsha Philitas, my two agent colleagues here at L. Perkins Agency, will be handling the day-to-day agent work with Ravenous, but I'll post more on that next week when all the details are worked out.

Of course, we're buying books from other agents too. We've already done a deal with the Harvey Klinger Agency for one of our launch books.

And we're finding gold in the unsoliciteds.

Finally, we just learned that ebook sales for the month of June (the most recent month for statistics) increased by 87% since the same period last year, so even though printed books will never disappear, digital publishing is undeniably the wave of the future. And we are ready to ride that wave...hop on board!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Dalyn A. Miller
Dalyn Miller Public Relations
617-504-6869
Dalyn@DalynMillerPR.com

Literary Partners Group, Inc. Forms to Launch RAVENOUS ROMANCE™

Erotic romance publisher to provide high-quality, affordable content online

[Boston, MA, September 2, 2008] – Hollan Publishing, Inc. principals Holly Schmidt and Allan Penn have joined forces with literary agent Lori Perkins to form Literary Partners Group, Inc., which has announced the launch of Ravenous Romance™, an online publishing company. Ravenous Romance™ will publish daily novel-length erotic romances, as well as lunchtime “Hot Fling™” short stories in e-book and downloadable MP3 format. The company will offer content online at www.RavenousRomance.com beginning December 1, 2008.

Recognizing the shrinking margins and increasing obsolescence of print publishing in today’s market, LPG has leveraged their combined expertise and experience in the growing erotica and romance categories, and is taking them to the rapidly-expanding digital market. E-books and audiobooks are two of the strongest growth areas in publishing, as readers have begun to embrace the convenience of downloading material to smart phones, iPods, PDAs, personal computers, and various new-to-market electronic readers such as the Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader.

Ravenous Romance™ will offer erotic romance – stories with strong plots and character development, but with steamy sex scenes and explicit descriptions of sexual encounters. The stories will feature strong, passionate heroines and plots that express a broad range of fantasies. Ravenous Romance™ will be a destination site for women, with erotica that celebrates female sexuality, and strong Web 2.0 community-building features.

“We’re not the first in this arena, but we have a competitive advantage due to our unique experience and our ability to price and market our product aggressively, without the channel conflict that characterizes the large trade publishers’ forays into e-books,” says publisher and co-founder Holly Schmidt, who also points out that none of their competitors offer both audiobooks and e-books, nor do they offer new material with the frequency that Ravenous Romance™ will. “We will succeed by producing exceptionally high-quality erotic fiction by award-winning writers and their protégées, and offering it to our readers at an extremely competitive price point. In today’s market, consumers want quality content at an affordable price, with a visually-appealing and user-friendly retail interface. That is what Ravenous Romance™ will deliver.”

Romance is the most popular genre in modern literature, generating $1.37 billion in net sales annually and accounting for 26.4% of all books sold. Demographically, 56% of romance readers are under age 44, and 74% have college degrees. Overall, these women are computer-literate and comfortable with new technologies. They are also voracious consumers, having read an average of nine romance novels each in 2006. Digital content offers a way for women to keep their interest in erotic romance discreet, portable, and affordable. Schmidt points out that e-publishing is also an eco-friendly alternative to the environmentally damaging nature of traditional mass market publishing. With thousands of new romance titles printed, warehoused, and shipped each year in the U.S. alone, the environmental impact is significant.

Visit Ravenous Romance™ online at www.RavenousRomance.com, where you can download a free Hot Fling™ and register to win an iPod Touch.

For more information or to request an interview with Literary Partners Group, please contact Dalyn A. Miller at 617-504-6869 or via email at Dalyn@DalynMillerPR.com.

About Literary Partners Group, Inc.

Holly Schmidt is a publishing executive with 15 years of experience in editorial, marketing, and sales. She joined forces with award-winning photographer Allan Penn to launch book packager Hollan Publishing, Inc. in 2006. Hollan creates innovative, visual non-fiction books, including those in the love and relationships category. Lori Perkins is an agent with over 20 years of experience selling erotica and an impressive stable of authors.

Readers and Anthologies

2008-08-22T12:07:00.002-05:00

I bought an Ereader.

You guys were incredibly helpful, but I ultimately decided I didn't want another computer (no matter how small), so this is just for subway, metro north and plane rides.

And I love it so far.

(By the way, I bought it at the Woodbury Commons outlet center, where I was able to use a $50 coupon, so I feel real good about that too!)

Submissions for SEX AND SHOES will close September 2nd.

MEN IN SHORTS will close September 15th.

Also looking for Xmas, Hanuka, and New Years' erotica stories (not in the same anthology).

EReader vs. the Kindle

2008-08-14T20:44:00.002-05:00

I spent an hour and a half in the doctor's office waiting for my son to get seven stitches removed (broken glass) and read a few issues of what I call house porn (Good Housekeeping, Better Homes, etc.), but really wished I had one of the manuscripts I should have been reading with me. I didn't want to print something out, wasting paper and time, or drag my laptop around. I decided then and there, I'd get one of these reading devices.

So I went to the mall and asked to see the Sony eReader, because all the editors I know have one. I certainly like its light weight and page-like readability, but I was under the impression that you could track changes on a Word document, and I was told that's just not doable.

Is there any light-weight device I can do this on?

What's been your reading experience of the Kindle vs. the eReader, if any?

I really want to get one of these reading devices a.s.a.p., but it's really for manuscripts, not published books.

MEN IN SHORTS too!

2008-08-10T23:49:00.004-05:00

I took the red-eye in from San Francisco and went straight to work Tuesday morning. I really have been working since I got in (and it's after mid-night on Sunday).

I have never had such an intense summer, but that may be because two of my clients are starting an epublishing venture and they are buying so much of my clients' work. It's an erotic romance ebook publisher that's buying short stories and novels, but the novels have to be 50,000 words (that's 200 pages), so I'm editing back a ton of these titles to fit.

The erotic anthology SEX AND SHOES has been promised there.

I'm also going to be editing MEN IN SHORTS for them. That's an anthology about hot guys in shorts from the cute mailman to the basketball player to the bike messenger and that surfer dude. I am hoping you get the gist.

But go visit their website - ravenousromance.com. There's a free short story to download and a chance to win an iPod Touch.

My Best Friend's Wedding

2008-08-01T03:16:00.003-05:00

My best friend got married tonight. She and her man have been together for more than two decades, but it took this long to tie the knot!

She looked beautiful, in a pale silver strapless wedding dress - bridesmaids wore black and white. My dress was so nice, it's the first one of these that I will definitely use again.

But it was such a joy to dance at her wedding (although my feet were killing me).

I've been the friend of the mother of the bride for the most recent weddings I've gone to, so it was so nice to be the best friend of the bride.

And how's this for romantic?

I'm leaving in a few hours for my first Romance Writers of America conference.

Twenty years as an agent, and I've never been to one before.

But I'm selling so much erotica and romantic erotica, that this is the place to be this year.

Back from NeCon

2008-07-24T08:21:00.002-05:00

NeCon is 28 years old, and I've gone at least 10 times. I love it. It's this intimate horror convention on the campus of Roger Williams College in Rhode Island where 200 horror writers, editors and agents gather to tell each other tall tales of ghosts and publishing (and the ghosts of publishing, because the horror market has died and risen from the dead a number of times in the two decades I've been selling in it).

I am always inspired here, and I love to see my old friends return (some with new friends - three relationships have been established at this convention between fellow NeCon participants. Forget Match.com).

This time I took my 15 year-old son who suprprised me at the end of this school year by informing me that the reason he wasn't studying as hard as he should for his finals (he did fine) was because he had been gripped by the writing demon. When I sarcastically asked him (he says I am the most sarcastic mom he knows, and I wouldn't have it any other way) how many pages he'd written (expecting 10 or 20 as the answer), he blew me away when he said "I'm about half way through. About 220."

It was then that I told him he was coming to Necon with me so he could torture other writers with the plot for his dark fantasy novel.

And he did.

But he also loved it. Chris Golden brought his 14 year-old son Nicholas and there were 4 young ladies between 14 and 20 whose dad was a book-seller, so my son was in his glory. He even did a stand-up comedy routine about horror and fantasy in front of 200 adults. I was very proud of him.

I'm afraid I have passed the torch, although he does insist that he will continue to build robots for fun and profit.

SEX AND SHOES WINS

2008-07-10T00:14:00.002-05:00

I got such a great response to this, that I have decided to edit a SEX AND SHOES anthology, so send me stories at lperkinsagency@yahoo.com.

I'm looking for stories between 1000 and 5000 words. Be creative. These stories can be from either a man or women's perspective, gay, straight, etc.

I cannot wait to see what comes in?

P.S. Wouldn't it be great if I could pay the authors in shoes?

Some Titles I'd Like to See

2008-07-01T10:56:00.004-05:00

So, obviously I've been spending a lot of time reviewing the erotic romance market lately. I'm going to RWA this year, for the first time, because I am selling so much in this market.

However, there are a few books I just don't seem to see in my slush, so here are some ideas I would really like to see developed (and if you do, send them to lperkinsagency@yahoo.com and not the blog comments).

AN OFFICER AND A LADY
Turn the old Richard Gere classic on its head. Make her the officer and him the factory worker and still make it work.

I want a chick lit stripper novel, damn it! I get so many stripper stories by men, or heart-wrenching stripper memoirs, but what I really want is Bridget Jones as a stripper. (By the way, there's a short story anthology I'm working on, so any stripper short stories and/or strippers who write fiction, please contact me).

SEX AND SHOES
I don't know what the story is about, but I would definitely pick up this book based on the title alone.

A TALE OF TWO PRINCESSES
I recently went to a lesbian wedding and they both wore wedding dresses. My best friend is getting married for the second time in her mid-50's and I have been hunting down the ultimate wedding dress. This made me think about how much fun it would be to be two women buying and undressing each other in these elaborate clothes.

And tell me what novels/stories you'd like to see?

Publisher's Weekly's Front Page article on the New E-rotica

2008-06-27T21:05:00.000-05:00

The New E- in Erotica
Digital delivery helps boost the readership and sales.
by Sarah J. Robbins -- Publishers Weekly, 6/23/2008
Sex sells—and always has—so why, in the realm of erotica, has sex sold surprisingly more during the past few years? Is it the ho-hum economy? The war on terror? It's the Internet, stupid: empowering readers, writers and publishers of erotica, and offering instant access to a lively, diverse and ever-growing community. Only in the past few years have major romance publishers taken notice.

The consumers were far ahead of me,” says Kate Duffy, editorial director at Kensington, which launched its erotica imprint, Aphrodisia, in 2006. “For years I thought of e-publishing as something people did because they couldn't publish with us. But then we started seeing all of these stellar talents that had first been e-published. It wasn't that the books were in any way inferior—that was my prejudice. It was a different way of accessing consumers, and it would behoove me to investigate.”

One e-publisher who offers a variety of romance says the racier the story, the better the sales: “It can be difficult to describe the line between regular romance and erotica—it's often a tone or a feeling, or something specific that makes it more raw,” says Rhonda Peters, editor-in-chief of the Wild Rose Press, which publishes 14 different genres of romance in all lengths and in both electronic and print formats. “But whenever we have a new erotica release, it's 10 times more successful than anything else we put out.”

“The be-all and end-all” of online erotica, says Peters, is Ellora's Cave. EC publisher Raelene Gorlinsky says the company saw a 20% growth in e-book sales from 2006 to 2007, the year Kensington and other romance publishing heavyweights like Avon and Harlequin started new erotica imprints. Says Gorlinsky: “Once it was in front of their faces on bookstore shelves, people said, oh! I'll try this.” A large percentage of the original readership is still buying online—for immediacy, convenience and anonymity.

Pocket Books began publishing print versions of Ellora's Cave short stories and novellas in 2006, beginning with founder Jaid Black's Deep, Dark and Dangerous. The company recently optioned 39 more Ellora's Cave e-books, which are now being released in a series of anthologies that will appear, one a month, through February 2009. August brings a cheating-themed A Hot Man Is the Best Revenge; On Santa's Naughty List appears in time for the holidays. “We've had such fun creating these themed sets,” says Pocket editor Micki Nuding. Arguably the most anticipated Pocket/Ellora's Cave collaboration to date is this October's release of their first hardcover anthology, Forbidden Fantasies—featuring some of Ellora's Cave's premiere writers, including Black and Cheyenne McCray. “Unlike our other anthologies, this work is brand-new and has never been released before,” says Nuding.

Harlequin's erotic imprint, Spice, published its first print anthology, What Happens in Vegas, in May. Last August the company launched Spice Briefs—short erotic stories (5,000 to 15,000 words) published as e-book originals. “We knew there was a strong appetite for erotic online reads,” says editor Susan Swinwood. “We've been publishing two to three titles per month and have been thrilled at the response we've had from readers.” Spice will publish an anthology of the best briefs, Size Matters, in March '09.

“The bonus of having three or more short stories in a collection is that there's less time with setup and more time with the fun, juicy parts,” says May Chen, an editor at Avon's Red imprint. In December, Red will offer the Rachel Kramer Bussel–edited Bedding Down anthology; a month later comes A Red Hot Valentine's Day.

Readers also enjoy the variety within a given collection, says Alexandria Kendall, founder and owner of Red Sage Publishing, which has since 1995 published anthologies that combine a variety of genres, including historical, paranormal and contemporary. “They'll often pick up one of our titles because they're interested in one kind of story,” says Kendall, “but they'll end up discovering something entirely new.” Secrets Volume 23: Secret Desires and Secrets Volume 24: Surrender to Seduction will both be available in July.

Some publishers have suggested that the era of the anthology has passed, and that big name authors are what spur book sales. Popular romance writers have crossed into erotica with a good deal of success. Eric Jerome Dickey, a 12-time New York Times bestselling author, released his first erotic novel, Pleasure, in April. It's become a national bestseller. “I think his readers know to expect the unexpected when they come to his books,” says Julie Doughty, Dickey's editor at Dutton. “He turned his focus a little, exploring what happens when a woman leaves a relationship and asking, how realistic is it for one person to fulfill your every need?”

Something for Everybody

Women want erotica—but what, specifically, are they looking for? Every type of encounter within the realm of imagination. This October, Trafalgar Square will bring to the U.S. a diverse collection from Neon, an imprint of the British publisher, Orion. Part of its publicity campaign will include a giveaway with Playgirl magazine. “There's a smart packaging to these titles,” says publishing director Brooke O'Donnell. “They're hip and play to a readership really well.” Trafalgar Square will bring another British export stateside in November: the contemporary Intimate Company series (which includes The Confessional Diaries of a Girl Abroad and The Confessional Diaries of a Girl in the Country).

Some women gravitate toward sexy versions of real life; more and more seem to want something outside their realm of experience. “It's been very obvious to us and our authors that as erotic romance has become popular, readers have gotten acclimated to it,” says Gorlinsky at Ellora's Cave. “And they've become jaded. Things that were shocking five years ago—anal sex, ménage à trois—have now become vanilla.” Since, as Gorlinsky says, the human body can only do so many things, many writers have experimented with different types of adventure and fantasy—or a combination of the two. And readers have responded.

According to Ballantine senior editor Melody Guy, one reason for the category's success is the authors' promotional savvy. At Ballantine's One World imprint, the biggest erotica author, says Guy, is “far and away Noire,” whose 2005 debut novel, G-Spot, continues to backlist strongly. Coming next month is a story collection, From the Streets to the Sheets: Urban Erotic Quickies¸which will be followed next spring by Hittin' the Bricks, based on a screenplay by Noire. Noire's popularity, says Guy, “stems from the fact that she combined two genres in a way that no one else had—street lit and erotica—and appealed to fans of both genres.” She also, Guy adds, has a team of fans across the country that helps to promote her books, and she has a significant online presence.

One emerging category is erotic suspense—a technique St. Martin's bestselling writer Lora Leigh uses in her navy SEAL series to create heart-pounding moments, says SMP senior editor Monique Patterson. Last month, the publisher released her Wicked Pleasure; the second book in her Bound Hearts series, the third entry, Only Pleasure, will be out in January.

A writer's unique sensibility—and the way he or she creates the world in which her characters live—is key to a book's vitality, says Berkley senior editor Kate Seaver. “Each author brings a fresh take to erotica,” she says, “and that's what's so important—a really great story and compelling characters.” She cites new Berkley author Robin Schone's portrayal of Victorian London as an example; the USA Today bestselling author will headline the historical erotica anthology, Private Places, in August.

New American Library's executive editor, Claire Zion, says high-concept historicals, such as Colette Gale's Master: An Erotic Novel of the Count of Monte Cristo (the follow-up to last year's Unmasqued: An Erotic Novel of the Phantom of the Opera), have been very successful. “It's erotic and frank and a great retelling,” says Zion. In March 2009, NAL will release Madame Bliss: The Erotic Adventures of a Lady by Charlotte Lovejoy. “It's written in the tradition of Tom Jones and Fanny Hill, about a young innocent released in London,” says Zion. “It's a wink and a nod to the literary tradition of the 18th century that readers up and down can enjoy.”

Kensington editorial director Audrey LaFehr calls historical erotic romance “such a fun genre, because it's still so new we can try just about anything.” One Aphrodisia author, Kate Pearce, writes Regency England erotica, including March's Simply Sexual and the upcoming November title, Simply Sinful. But the imprint's front-runner remains paranormal erotica. “An alternate world really allows the writer the freedom to break all the rules and social taboos they face when writing a contemporary novel set in the 'real' world,” says LaFehr. “The sex tends to be hotter, wilder and much more inventive in paranormals, and the fans seem to be ready and willing to follow the writers' imaginations wherever they want to take them.” Kate Douglas's Wolf Tales novels, which have repeatedly gone back to press, are one Kensington success story. Her latest, Wolf Tales VI, will be published next month.

Bantam Dell senior editor Shauna Summers sees no sign of paranormal erotica slowing down. “The question for a while was, when is paranormal going to implode?” she says. “Now we know it's here to stay. We see it as a niche that has a very solid, loyal readership and is growing from there.” Coming in August as a Delta trade paperback is Seduced by the Storm, the latest installment of Sydney Croft's ACRO (Agency for Covert Rare Operatives) series—which includes sexy, superhuman encounters. Croft also contributes to Bantam's Hot Nights, Dark Desires anthology, released last month.

These genres are so hot, in fact, that there's some serious cross-pollination going on—especially among historicals and paranormal. Kensington author Elizabeth Amber's Lords of Satyr trilogy (including the final installment, Lyon: The Lords of Satyr, due in August) combines these subgenres—and has gone back to press three times. Another steamy example of this unlikely marriage can be seen in Avon's take on traditional fairy tales. In October, they'll release Ravish: The Awakening of Sleeping Beauty by Cathy Yardley.

The newest frontier in erotica, say some publishers, is male/male erotic romance aimed at heterosexual female readers. “Ménage à trois, specifically two men and a women, first became hot a couple of years ago,” says Ellora's Cave's Gorlinsky. “Now people are very fascinated by it.” The e-publisher has a variety of male-male story lines online; a few have been included in recent print anthologies.

“Interest in gay erotica among heterosexual female readers was once a bit of an industry secret,” says Kara Wuest, assistant to the publishers at Cleis Press. “Perhaps now it's becoming more generally known that many women read gay erotica because they enjoy the eroticization of the masculine form, regardless of orientation.” Their newest gay titles have themes featuring masculine archetypes—Truckers, Cowboys, Country Boys, Hot Cops and Hard Hats—and each, says Wuest, sells better than the last. Next up? July's Backdraft: Firemen Erotica.

“Gay men are feeling freer to say they like romance—a fully fleshed-out story with great characters and plots, and there's a huge number of straight women who want to read gay erotic romance,” says Laura Baumbach, writer and founder of ManLoveRomance Press. “Why not? They like men. One man is good, two are exciting together.” She started the company two years ago, frustrated that, as a writer, she lacked publication options through more traditional channels. Today, her titles rank third, fifth, and eighth among Barnes & Noble's gay erotica bestsellers. “It may take years before New York publishers catch on to the trend, but people are asking for it, so we dove in,” she says. “After all, you can write the best book in the world, but there's no point if readers don't know it's out there.”

Travel Guides Redux
Philadelphia-born travel writer Heather Stimmler-Hall began curating tours of Paris in the late '90s, a few years after moving there as a student. “People who came on the tours often took me aside and asked where they could find sex clubs,” says Stimmler-Hall. “It's quite funny—each one always thought they were the first one to ask.” She did her research but found few guides to serve the sophisticated woman traveler, empowered by films like Heading South and How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and bedazzled by Stimmler-Hall's new home: “Paris has always inspired women as a place of sexual liberation,” she says. That's why she'll publish Naughty Paris: A Lady's Guide to the Sexy City, through Austin, Texas–based Greenleaf Book Group in September. (The book will be available on naughtyparisguide.com in mid-July.) “This guide shows women exactly how to choose their own erotic adventure,” says Stimmler-Hall, “from erotic cabarets and art galleries to where to find the right lingerie and shoes in order to get the Frenchwoman attitude.” Up next? Berlin and London. “People don't want to stick erotica in one corner of their lives,” she says. “Whether it's in cooking or travel, they want a little sexiness throughout.”

On the other end of the spectrum is a male travelogue of sorts: Joe Diamond, currently a writer for Playboy TV's new travel series, Sexy Things to Do Before You Die has penned Around the World in 80 Lays, which Skyhorse Publishing will release in October. The book takes readers to brothels and other sex destinations around the globe, including Brazil, Thailand, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and the Czech Republic. “For a publisher in any category, the goal is to publish something different from what's out there. This book also happens to have one of the greatest titles of all time and a Larry Flynt blurb,” says Bill Wolfstahl, associate publisher and director of sales and marketing. Some people have raised eyebrows, concerned about the exploitation in the sex business, says Wolfstahl, who notes that there's nothing in the book about sex with underage girls. “It's not our job to tell what's right or wrong,” he says. “This is his story, and our feeling is that a little controversy can be very good for a book.”

A One-Woman Name Brand
Zane, a New York Times bestselling author of erotica, writes her sex scenes last. “People who think readers want to pick up a book and see sex sex sex miss the mark,” she says. “Even with the anthologies I edit, I select a story based on whether or not I really care about the people having sex.”

And as this singularly named master of invention expands her brand, she's consistently finding new ways to get the word out about her characters. This summer she's launched a viral marketing campaign for her own Atria imprint, Strebor Books, while serving as executive producer for a television adaptation of one of her bestsellers: Zane's Sex Chronicles is scheduled to premiere on Cinemax in September. (Atria will publish the companion short-story collection in August.)

Zane's editor at Atria, Malaika Adero, says the African-American female voice was long absent in American erotic literature. “Zane's filled that gap,” says Adero, who began working with the writer about six years ago. “It's the opposite of flowery—it's edgy and unvarnished. And hers are real characters and real settings that everyone can identify with, from riders on the subway to residents of suburbia.”

Zane's Sex Chronicles features the intertwining stories of five urban women and the men in their lives; when filming wraps, Zane will switch sets—she's next slated to film a telenovela series for BET, based on her novel Afterburn. The shooting of Addicted, her feature film for Lion's Gate, will begin in the fall.

Still Zane insists she hasn't lost traction with the printed word, whether she's pushing the boundaries of her own craft (last month Strebor released the lesbian erotica anthology Purple Panties, and Atria published Honey Flava, a Zane-edited anthology featuring a mix of African-American and Asian characters) or championing other writers. Strebor will release 32 books this year, among them Street Judge by former Detroit district court judge Greg Mathis, and Diary of a 12-inch Brotha by Dante Feenix.

And while she most often deals with fiction, Zane is equally attentive to the real-world needs of her readers, maintaining a blog on her Web site that addresses their questions and concerns. Some of these letters were collected in the writer's first nonfiction title, Dear G-Spot: Straight Talk About Sex and Love, which was released last summer. “Women today don't wait for a man to define them—they define themselves,” says Zane. “If you read my blog, it really shows—as they read these fantasies, they start to become more liberated in their own lives.”

Taschen Gets Cocky
In September 2006, Taschen bravely thrust forth The Big Book of Breasts—a 420-page ode to what its author, Dian Hanson, calls “America's premiere body part of interest.” Indeed. The $50 art book has sold 65,000 copies to date and has been bought by an equal number of men and women. How could they top it?

“People of course started asking what body part is next?” says Hanson, a 25-year veteran of men's magazine publishing and Taschen's sexy-book editor. “I said, look, there's only one thing that's going to approach that level of fascination.” Now, after much anticipation, The Big Penis Book will finally debut on June 26.

It features more than 400 photos of phenomenal phalluses—including some of the legendary John Holmes—most of them taken in the U.S. in the 1970s. Hanson spent more than a year researching the book, seeking out and interviewing the photographers and, when necessary, their archivists. “That I was very happy to do—especially to find the photographers people thought were dead,” she says. “Now they're all communicating with one another.”

The fruit of her labors is already selling out in Europe; Taschen's Beverly Hills and Hollywood stores get daily requests for the title. “The amazing thing to me is that no one else has thought of this,” says Hanson. So what, then, is next? Why, legs, of course. Oglers, look out: the book is slated to hit shelves in early '09.

What's the Difference between Erotic Romance and Erotica?

2008-06-23T13:29:00.003-05:00

So, I've been selling in this erotic marketplace for the past three years and someone just asked me why one thing worked and another didn't. I blithely said, well that's because the largest number of readers are in Erotic Romance, and they asked me to explain the difference.

I thought everyone knew - but realized that there are some writers who aren't even familiar with the term "romantica," so here goes.

I believe that Romantica is a term coined by the Ellora's Cave gals for their brand of erotic romance novels. They feature the happy monogamous endings and wish fulfillment of your average romance novel, but with many explicit sex scenes. The main character is always a woman, even though the story can be told from alternating points of view.

Erotica is sexually charged fiction, but it's payoff is not the traditional romance novel happy ending - anything goes with anyone.

So my interrogator asked me to give some examples of good Erotic Romance (because she wasn't taken with anything she'd read in this category so far) and I wanted to say, "all my client's work," but many of the books I've sold haven't been published yet.

The only one that is is PARIS HANGOVER by Kristen Lobe.

So can you guys recommend some really good Romantica, and Erotic Romance?

Good erotica too?

More BEA and Return from Vacation

2008-06-13T06:36:00.005-05:00

BEA in LA is almost as grueling as when it's in New York, because the convention center is so big and I have so many clients in the city. That means I walk miles up and down the trade show aisles during the day, and run around for breakfast lunch, dinner and drinks with clients in between. I am so wiped out by 7:00, that I never have energy to attend all the parties, which as a veteran agent I am finally invited to (when I was young and had the energy, they didn't know who I was).

A lot of people who have never been to this trade show think I sell books while there. That's the last thing agents do. We go to check on our big books and how they are being presented to the book selling industry (who the convention is aimed at), to see an overview of the industry in a snapshot, and to get inspired. We also get free books and goodies (although I have learned to only take what I can comfortably carry, because I can always ask an editor to send something to me).

My meetings are never with editors I can see in New York. They're with non-New York book editors, my foreign agents who come in for the show, and film contacts.

I also got to show my two agents-in-training the business ropes. It's really exciting to see the book world from fresh eyes, even in a recession.

Since BEA was in LA, I stayed over my brother's house, but since I worked all day, I hardly saw the family. So I finished business Saturday and we planned to go to Universal with the kids, but it caught fire and we went to Knotts Berry Farm instead. Monday I hit the beach and Tuesday I went to Hollywood, which I remembered as reminding me of New York. However, New York (or 42nd Street) has been cleaned up and Disney-ized, and Hollywood still reminds me of the 42nd Street of the 70's. which I am glad to be rid of. We also drove around Laurel Canyon, gawking at the beautiful homes of the rich and famous (too many of which were for sale).

We drove to San Francisco the next day in our rented white Mustang convertible with a black top. It's a great drive of beaches and small California towns, and roadside farmland of everything we love to eat - avocados, artichokes, lettuce, cherries, strawberries and garlic. Passed through Steinbeck country.

In Northern California, we visited Napa, SF itself and did the 17 Mile drive. Also caught a dual concert with Chicago and Doobie Brothers, which was wonderful. We ate like royalty and slept well, and hung out with friends. It was delightful, and made me realise that I am always working.

I got back midnight on Monday and have been working double time since I got in. I am convinced that when I leave home for long periods of time, my cats have frat cat parties and shed every hair they have ever grown. There's so much cleaning and shopping and sorting to do when I get back.

But it was worth it.

BEA

2008-05-29T00:20:00.002-05:00

It's the annual book trade show. This year it's in LA, which is nice for me because I get to visit my brother's family - but difficult because there's so much to do and so much traffic, and no one lives in downtown LA, where the convention is held.

Today I took pitches as part of the Writer's Digest Writer's Conference. Although I have more than enough to read, I am always curious to see what is out there. And there was one author who looked up the kind of books I have sold, and came specifically to see me. I know I will take on that book, so it's already a win-win situation for me.

My two other agents were also to attend, but one of them got so sick we insisted she stay home. So our intern, who is just learning the ropes, took pitches in her stead. I think it was an inspiring learning experience for him.

We also sat in on the agent panel at the conference, where I learned that the best-seller YOU'LL NEVER NANNY IN THIS TOWN AGAIN was a self-published book that sold in auction to a major house.

I also learned that the crossover market between young adult and adult fiction (which would be characters in college) was recently tried by a number of publishers and failed dismally. So the publishing belief that college students have no time to read books besides those in their assigned reading list appears to be true.

The trade show officially opens on Friday, where I will walk the floor and try to share the trends I see (which will be based on books that were bought 6 months to a year ago, before the recession).

Some Answers for Beginners

2008-05-19T10:18:00.002-05:00

Writer's Digest asked me to answer some questions for an upcoming article, but I missed the deadline (it was less than a week and I just had too much to do for you), so I'm posting my answers here. But do look for the articles when they run (and let me know when they do).

Article No. 1: SELF-PUBLISHING

Q. Do you review queries where a writer wants you to take on their self-published book?
If yes, what are you hoping/looking for?
If not, you can be candid about why not.

We get many queries for self-published books. I have taken on a few. I have one I'm selling right now, but they are never easy to sell.

Q. Is there a "magic number" - number of sales you need to see before you will consider the book?

No. I've had books with fabulous quotes or sales of over 10,000 that haven't resold. It's depends on the market.

Q. Have you ever taken on a self-pub book before? Were you successful in finding a traditional publisher? How did that work?

I have a self-published cook book that I am selling now. I read about it in an article about self-published titles. I have not sold it yet.

I have found it really hard to place self-published bocks, both fiction and nonfiction, but I know other agents who thrive on this practice.

Article No. 2: CHAPTER ONE PET PEEVES

Dennis Lehane once said that the sign of an amateur writer is that they start a story with the cliché of the protagonist waking up from a dream, then staring out the window, then staring in the mirror, then finally leaving the apartment on page 4.

Q. What do you hate seeing in chapter 1? What are your pet peeves

This can be anything:
It can be something the protagonist does
It can be some aspect of writing or storytelling
It can be that the chapter is too long, too short or too unfocused
Prologues?
Anything....

What will immediately turn you off in chapter 1?

It's not so much the first chapter, as book length. More than half the queries are rejected because the books are too long or too short.

A publishable novel today needs to be about 80,000 words - 120,000 if it is epic fantasy. Anything longer, and/or shorter is unsellable in today's market. When I write to new authors and inform them of this they argue with me citing Jonathan Livingston Segal or some tome by Stephen King, both of which were products of the 70's. Today's market cannot support first novels that are less than 300 pages (who wants to pay $24.95 for a 180 page book?) or much over 350 pages.

Of course, with the faster paced movies we are watching, books really have to start off with a rush. Dean Koontz wrote in the classic, but out-of-print Writer's Digest book, How to Write Best-Selling fiction, that your novel should open with your main character in terrible trouble and then be in even more grave danger within 5 pages. This always works.

So your novel has to grab me by the first page, which is why we can reject you on one page.

Buy Stamps

2008-05-10T09:19:00.003-05:00

Run out to your local Post Office and buy a bunch of Forever stamps for your queries. It goes up a penny on Monday.

But always buy Forever stamps, because of rising fuel costs.

The 42 cent stamp is still a bargin.

My Reading Schedule

2008-05-08T21:33:00.003-05:00

I read 800 pages last week (stayed up until 1:00 a.m. two week nights) and I still have more than 15 partials and full ms. that I should have read weeks ago.

There is just no way to really catch up with my reading.

When I was a younger agent with fewer clients, I used to take Friday as a reading day, and I would read for about 4 or 5 hours, but I haven't been able to do that for the past 5 years. All my reading is done nights and weekends.

I had hoped that by getting more agents and interns, I would be able to catch up, but what that means is that I now have even more to read, because they need my input on a lot of their projects.

Life also always gets in the way. We have a death in the extended family early this week, and I am out of the office all day Friday. Saturday night I have a family function and Sunday is Mother's Day, so I know I'll probably fall even further behind this week.

And Book Expo America looms at the end of the month, taking me out of the office for two weeks (I'm visiting San Francisco after, but seeing clients and publishers too).

Introducing Spencer Ellsworth...

2008-04-26T16:28:00.002-05:00

I'm the new agent, and I'm invigorated by some of the amazing books I've rescued from the slushpile. But there's a lot of things I'd like to see that I'm not. Some specifics:

Mormon historical novels. This is a rich and deep vein that hasn't been explored. I'd love to see a well-written book about Zina Huntington, a secret wife to Joseph Smith and faith healer, in the vein of Orson Scott Card's Saints.

Crusades historical or fantastorical novels in the vein of George R.R. Martin, Jacqueline Carey or Bernard Cornwell. Give me blood-drenched battles, intricate politics, good old steamy sex and bring the religious frontiers of the medieval Mediterranean into it.

Victorian, Edwardian, or Regency fantasy. Given the massive success of this genre lately, I'm surprised at how little we see it in the slushpile. If you have the next Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell, send me an email.

These are all genres where I'd accept the breaking of the traditional "word ceiling" for new authors, usually set around 100-120,000 words. Historical and fantasy novels need to be long and absorbing, and some new authors can pull it off. For shorter works, I'm always in the mood for a good memoir, particularly if it can deal with painful events through a good sense of humor. I also love Chuck Palahniuk and Dave Eggers, so if you can do literary satire, drop a note.

You can reach Spencer at sellsworthlperkinsagency@yahoo.com

No Returns: No Advances and Author Minimum Wage

2008-04-21T20:42:00.005-05:00

HarperCollins recently announced a new publishing imprint that will stop paying for returns.

Reserves against returns is one of the dirty little secrets of the publishing industry. It's a practice that was established after the Depression to entice book stores (once mom and pop stores, now chains) to order more books in the hopes that something would fly out of their stores. The way it is set up is that the stores can order as many copies as they want and then return what they don't sell for credit. No other industry I know of does this, so it's actually an out-dated practice.

The way this actually works is that in order to make sure the publisher doesn't overpay the author on books that might be returned (God forbid!!), 25 to 33% of an authors' book sales are not paid to the author until 2 years after the book is published just in case the books are returned.

So what this means is that in order to fund the publishing industry, authors lend a quarter of their book sales income to the industry until so much time has gone buy that there is no excuse not to pay them.

The reserve against returns policy, and returns in general, is something authors (and agents who make their living from a percentage of author's sales) should be over-joyed to see disappear from the industry.

But the model that HarperColliins has put forth is just moving the burden of author funding from the back end to the front end.

Let me explain.

They want to do away with author advances, which means that authors should write a completed manuscript and then wait up to a year and a half after signing a contract to see any money (because it takes at least 9 months to go from manuscript to published book, and sometimes, another 9 months to do an edit/rewrite before that).

This too is wrong.

I believe that even the never-before-published author should receive at least minimum wage for a completed novel. As a former journalist who can write to fit and under deadline, if I were to write 300 pages nights and some weekends, it would take me at least 300 hours (probably over a year). At minimum wage ($6.55), that would be $1955. Add in another 10 hours for editing and round up $2500 (so you can pay a 15% commission to your hard-working agent), and the absolute minimum a publisher should pay an author in 2008 is $2500.

I also believe that authors with a track record should be compensated accordingly.

And, for what it's worth, as long as I am posting my publishing beliefs here, I believe that authors should be paid within 30 days of sales, not every six months, since we now live in a universe where publishers can track book sales down to the minute.

What We Love to Read

2008-04-09T07:41:00.000-05:00

Bible is America's favorite book: poll Tue Apr 8, 3:07 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - When it comes to literary pursuits in the United States most people agree on at least one thing -- the most popular book is the Bible, according to a new survey.

It came in first in a Harris Poll of nearly 2,513 adults but the second choice in the survey was not as clear cut.

"While the Bible is number one among each of the different demographic groups, there is a large difference in the number two favorite book," Harris said in a statement announcing the results.

Men chose J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and women selected Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With the Wind" as their second-favorite book, according to the online poll.

But the second choice for 18- to 31-year-olds was J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, while 32- to 43-year-olds named Stephen King's "The Stand" and Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons."

Picks for second-favorite book also varied according to region. "Gone With the Wind" was number two in the southern and midwestern United States while easterners chose "The Lord of the Rings" and westerners opted for "The Stand."

Whites and Hispanics picked "Gone With the Wind" as their second-favorite book after the Bible, while African-Americans preferred "Angels and Demons."

"Finally, they may not agree on candidates, but one thing that brings together partisans is their favorite book. For Republicans, Democrats and Independents, the top two books are the same -- the Bible followed by "Gone With the Wind."

Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code," "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown, "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand and "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger rounded out the top 10 favorites.

Published Writers who Can't Get Agents

2008-03-30T21:52:00.002-05:00

I gave up my Saturday to do a presentation on Publishing in the 21st Century (and how things have changed since 9/11), followed by a panel on why some multi-published authors can't get agents for the Novelists Inc. Writers' Conference. Since this is a writers' group that is open to writers who have published a minimum of two novels, it's a very different kind of writers' group. The median number of books published by members was 16!

Many members have had multi-book deals in genre work (or even work for hire) and suddenly find it has become harder and harder to get published and/or they had a brief moment of success in the 80's or 90's and now no one will touch them, since the numbers on their last book were so bad.

So the panel I was on was on how to fight this, and it was fascinating.

Lois Winston from Ashley Grayson's agency actually had a whole list of reasons why this might be the case, which was so thorough that I told her to submit them as an article for Writer's Digest Magazine.

But, of course, the biggest reason is that the market has changed irrevocably since 2001, and today, every book has to be perfect (not too long or short and well crafted) and come with a marketing plan. Which means you have to have quotes, a website and a list of bookstores where you can do readings. Every book that sells to a major New York publisher, whether it is a mass market, trade paperback or hardcover must be able to guarantee 25,000 copies sold, or it will not be published by a major publisher.

And that is why so many authors find themselves without agents and publishers.

I know a lot of agents who will not take on an author who brings in less than $25,000 a year. Many of my authors were those discarded authors. I've since been able to bring them up to that level, but it's a long process of at least 3 to 5 years. So, as an agent, I have to be in love with the author's work in order to make that commitment.

And not every agent knows how to build an author. They only know how to sell what's given to them. I brainstorm with my authors on a regular basis. We hatch a plan, and if it doesn't work, we come up with another one. For me, this is the creative process that I bring to my work, but not every agent wants to do this work, or work this hard.

Office Closed for Good Friday

2008-03-20T21:53:00.005-05:00

I've been taking Good Friday off since I was a junior agent working for another agency and was asked to help move to a new office on that day. I told my boss that not only would I not help with the move, that I was taking the day off. She turned to the other commissioned salesperson agent on her staff, who had worked for her for 7 years, and said, "what's with this Good Friday? I never heard of it." My co-worker said, "as a matter of fact, I've been meaning to tell you I'm taking it off too." From then on, we went to church services at noon at Marble Collegiate Church together every Good Friday for years, until she moved her office to Toms River.

As I've shared with you, my mom is a liberal Protestant minister and I grew up listening to (and knowing) Norman Vincent Peale, who held the pulpit at Marble. So when I take the time to reflect on Good Friday, it's also a time to reconnect with my roots and all those services with my parents.

I do the big Easter dinner as well, with lamb and ham. I shop, I clean, I cook and serve and clean up. And then I'm supposed to be in my office bright and early on Monday. The Europeans have it right, with Easter Monday off, although I know that fewer and fewer Americans do anything to celebrate the holiday.

I believe that my liberal Christian up-bringing is one of the reasons I am so drawn to horror.

After my mother retired, she asked me why I had become an agent of horror fiction and I said, "because it's the most religious form of fiction there is." She smiled and said, "good answer."

It's amazing that so many religious holidays fall on March 21st this year. See the yahoo article for the complete story. Fascinating. There is certainly an end-of-the world fantasy novel someone could come up with based on this rare occurrence! http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080321/wl_time/goodfridayhappypurimeidetc;_ylt=Au9HCsBycnm09TZERd3dadUDW7oF

I wish all of you who celebrate something on this day a joyful holiday and a swift advent of some real spring weather.

My Graphic Novel Junior Agent

2008-03-11T19:23:00.002-05:00

Someone recently wrote in and asked who handles thrillers here? And the answer is all of us and none of us.

I'm not particularly looking for thrillers, but I like death and women in jeopardy stories, so a smart pathologist, forensics expert, serial killer profiler etc. unraveling nefarious deeds would be my cup of tea.

Jenny is a little more likely to go for the cop/CIA/military/soldier turned writer, but, again, that's not particularly what she's looking for.

Spencer likes historical fiction, so books like the Da Vinci Code would be his thing. However, what he's really looking for is sci-fi, narrative nonfiction and historical fiction, so he too is not really looking for thrillers.

Jenny has a blog where you can see all the things she is looking for (litsoup.blogspot.com), if you haven't been there already.

I've kind of kept Spencer Ellsworth in hiding, because I don't want him to be deluged with submissions. He was our intern for a year, and was promoted to junior agent about six months ago, but he is getting his Masters and is a new dad, and is only taking on a handful of fabulous clients.

But he's ready to go public and asked me to ask for graphic novels. He is a comic book maven and loves the format and story telling of the graphic novel. So if you know anyone working in this new medium, email me with the header "Graphic Novel Jr. agent" and I will make sure Spencer gets your query.

Making Space

2008-02-27T07:41:00.005-05:00

I finally bought some new furniture (Ikea does not last forever - 15 years seems to be the max). Of course, that means getting rid of the old, which means sorting through stuff.

It turns out that the furniture I bought is a little bigger than what I had, so I had to make room, which means throwing stuff out.

I had three desks in the office/den area where I work, so I decided to get rid of one and consolidate. I got rid of the huge copier from the 90's and replaced it with a compact one (that is also a fax and a printer - the 90's copier cost $4000; this one $100 - amazing!!!) and moved the second desk into my office. But I still had to get rid of more stuff to do that.

I have spent the better part of the last week sorting and throwing out, and I am amazed at what I held on to.

I had thought I would be able to keep up my reading while doing this, but I was wrong. I was just physically exhausted by the end of the night. I have also learned that sorting and parting ways with stuff (even if it's old books I will never read again and fax machines I don't need) is stressful.

So I had 7 partials and manuscripts that I had hoped to read over the President's Day weekend, and I only managed to read 2 and a half (I did finish the third, but now I have to look at it again for an edit - one step forward, two steps back).

And I have two lectures this weekend.

Meanwhile, the erotica submissions were many and quite wonderful. I read through all of them and passed them on to my very excited intern.

If you don't hear from us in a week or so, it means that my spam filter got your email and decided to erase it (there were one or two submissions that I think got winked), so please resubmit.

My Erotica Intern

2008-02-16T17:50:00.003-05:00

Please note that the title of this post IS NOT my erotic intern, so this is not a piece of erotica for your reading pleasure.

This is a post about my new intern who will be speciaizing in erotica and how you can help us corner this market (just joking - sort of).

As most of you know, after years of selling sci-fi, horror and fantasy, as well as books about popular culture, I ended up selling a lot of nonfiction by and about the adult entertainment industry (it's pop culture, Mom!). But I wondered about the fiction? I had been working with Ceclia Tan (selling both her erotica and nonfiction baseball writing) and we ended up doing an anthology together. We received over 200 susbmissions for the first anthology, and a lot of them were really good.

It made me wonder why I had never heard of some of these authors, because their writing was excellent. It turned out they were all erotica writers who had been making a living by writing hundreds of short stories a year, and they had excellent writing chops. Better than most of the sci-fi, horror or fantasy writers I knew, because once they've published a few stories, they move on to the much more lucrative long form.

But for many years there was no long-form for erotica. Or, just the same old same old, which was erotica by horny guys about a) sleeping with much younger girls or b) getting spanked (these seemed to be the British imports, which I affectionally refer to as The Spank Me, Baby titles).

About two years ago, the erotica market for women (which is erotic stories featuring women as the central characters, usually written by women) took publishing by surprise from both the African American reading community (Zane) and the electronic publishing readership (Ellora's Cave). Suddenly, mainstream women's publishing wanted in on this obvious market, and started publishing anthologies and novels that would have once made some of these prissy women's fiction editors blush.

So, quite suddenly, there is a real market, for well-written erotica novels featuring women in sexual situations.

About a year and a half ago, I started looking for these writers and I took on about ten of them hoping that my then-assistant would want to take them on under my supervision. When I offered her the gig, she told me she didn't want to be an agent, explaning "you work too hard." So I was stuck with ten new clients in addition to all my existing clients.

I've sold most of those writers' work. But I have many other writers (from anthologies and the wonderful world of blogs) who I would like to work with, if I could only find the time.

Enter my Erotica Intern. She found me from both my blog and my reputation and wants to do nothing more than work with erotica writers.

So, if you have a memoir and/or a novel, or you have a short story track record and wonder if you can be developed into the long form, send me an email titled "erotica intern" and I'll pass it on to her. Or if you know someone who should be writing their memoir and/or erotic novel.

Further Adventures of 1099's

2008-02-09T09:57:00.000-05:00

So I finally mailed out all the 1099's last week, thinking they should be mistake-free.

And the 1099's from the publishers started rolling in to me. One of them caught my attention because it was in a brown envelope - I was secretly hoping it was a surprise check for my author - but when I opened it, not only did they have the wrong mailing address, but the amount they had paid me was also twice what I had sent to my author. I knew this because I had been working on the 1099's so long and hard that I could recite the amounts by heart.

I checked my deposits and checks written to make sure I didn't make a mistake, but, no, there was only one check to this author in the amount I had written down.

I called the company first thing in the morning and told them that I thought there was a mistake. They called me back and told me they had sent two checks, gave me the check numbers and dates, and I frantically went through four months of bank statements, but there was no second deposit and no second check to the author. I asked them to make sure both checks were deposited in my bank account.

I had an early lunch and an afternoon appointment, so I was out of the office all day. When I got back, there was no message.

I got a phone call in the morning saying they would overnight me the second check and change the 1099. It turned out that Fed Ex never delivered one and never reported it undelivered or returned it to sender.

I am so thankful that I was on top of this, or my author would have been out some money, although I do wish he had been more like all my other authors and emailed asking, "where's my check." I would have caught it sooner. So, the moral of this story is DO email your agent when you believe a check is due.