JK Rowling's New Novel Deal

Heading over to www.jkrowling.com today may cause some die hard fans' hearts to go a-flutter. The time has come. JK Rowling is getting ready to wow us all again.

In an effort to prepare for her new novel which she is publishing for adults, the site is under construction. We now wait, with bated breath, for the site to be relaunched later this Spring with the knowledge that JK Rowling is a planner who has a reason behind nearly every action when associated with her books. For the truly attentive fan, the new site will be a welcome distraction as they count down the months, weeks and days until the book's release.

For now, we celebrate all the news. First and foremost, Rowling's new book is for adults and something completely new. She said:

Although I've enjoyed writing it every bit as much, my next book will be very different to the Harry Potter series, which has been published so brilliantly by Bloomsbury and my other publishers around the world. The freedom to explore new territory is a gift that Harry's success has brought me, and with that new territory it seemed a logical progression to have a new publisher. I am delighted to have a second publishing home in Little, Brown, and a publishing team that will be a great partner in this new phase of my writing life.

The details of the deal are not completely disclosed, but Publisher's Weekly has been able to share some insight:

The author has signed a world English deal with Little, Brown, selling print, e-book, and audio rights to her first novel for adults. David Shelley, publisher of the Little, Brown Book Group in the U.K., will be editing the work, which is currently untitled; he brokered the deal with Neil Blair of the Blair Partnership. Rumors have surfaced that Little, Brown was given an exclusive on the work.

In the statement from Little, Brown, David Shelley's understandable excitement could be felt:

For me, quite simply, it is a personal and professional dream come true to be working with J.K. Rowling. She is one of the best storytellers in the world, and I am looking forward enormously to helping bring her new novel for adults to her fans and admirers, and to introducing her writing to new readers the world over.

As one of the millions of the JK Rowling adult fans and admirers, I'm here to say I CAN'T WAIT!!
And in true nerd fandom, my mind is already bubbling with questions like Why Little, Brown? Is this just a choice of publishing preference or, in itself, some clue for the attentive reader to find? JKR didn't just happen upon them, it looks as though she chose them. It is these kinds of moves that get my spidey-senses tingling. Also, in that same thinking, What is the significance of today's date 2-23-12? Even more than my first question, I feel that there is some clue or message in the selection of this time to transition the website and announce the publishing union.

My fellow book nerds, what do you think? What other clues has JKR already started to sprinkle? What type of book do you think this will be? So, so many questions!! Time to get ready for another incredible Rowling ride!

Much thanks to Susan Sipal of Harry Potter for Writers
who shared this news with me today!!

This announcement was also shared on The Word of the Nerd blog. 

(You should totally check us out over there!)

Writers, Are You Reading?

Last night I was pretty surprised by the title of an article from GOOD magazine that showed up in my twitter stream. It was a simple enough question, but it perplexed me all the same:

Why Don't More Writers Buy Books?

I read the question over and over. I mean, honestly, buy more books? I'm drowning over here and I also owe the library some money as well! But, I happen to love GOOD magazine, they are usually straight forward and not completely irrational, so I thought let me click the link and actually read the article to see what this is all about.

What's This All About

When it comes down to it, the numbers were simply not adding up. Publishers and literary magazines are being overwhelmed with a growing number of querys and submissions for publication, but their books and magazines are not selling off the shelves. In a time when everyone is questioning the future of the publishing world, the number of aspiring writers has suddenly grown astronomically. Those behind the books got to thinking - if all these writers were supporting the industry they want to be a part of then, perhaps, its future wouldn't be in question at all!

It ends up that this article that found new life on Twitter last night is actually from July 2010, but I wonder how off the mark it is. Without access to the data myself, or my own behind the scenes look into the publishing world, all I can offer is my own perspective and opinion on this subject.

My Thoughts 

Personally, I believe if you are going to submit work to a literary magazine for a possible submission, you should read that magazine. If you are going to continually submit to the same literary magazine, you should probably just subscribe to it. This is not just to support the industry, but also to know what types of work they are looking for and tend to publish.

The same goes with larger publishing dreams. If you want to write a romance novel, well, then, read romance novels. If you want to write mystery, then read mystery. Whatever it is that you are writing, you should become familiar with what's going on in the genre. You should know what is popular, what's been done and where you fit.

By the way, in my opinion, you should be reading a little bit of everything else also. You never know where you will get inspiration for your latest work, or what kind of author voice will move you until you are face to face with it. Learning happens in the strangest of places, usually when we least expect it, too, so you must expose yourself to as much as possible.

Yes. This can get expensive. (I'm living that right now.)

Yes. You can go to the library. (As I mentioned, I owe them some money, too!)

However, if you never pay for your reading, don't you feel the slightest bit insincere asking someone to pay you for your writing? I know I would.

I know writers love to read. The two go hand in hand. All the writers I meet are voracious readers, so I don't know if the article I read is even still relevant today. But here's a thought: the next time you absolutely love a book you picked up in the library and want to recommend it someone who you know will love it too, go buy it for them! The person you bought it for will love the unexpected gift and you can consider it your little thank you to the author of the great read.

How to Publish Your Nonfiction Book by Rudy Shurr

The following post is taken directly from one of my hand-printed Reader's Journal. I will be sharing these reflections each week on the Rivera Runs Through It blog. The date at the end of each post is the date of the original writing, which is typically the date I completed the book. The reflections are short, but represent my initial reactions to a book, a brief summary of the book or the questions it raised for me at the time. I hope you enjoy this segment in my blog and feel free to comment on what you read here.

How to Publish Your Nonfiction Book by Rudy Shurr

 

A very helpful book. This will remain on my shelf as a reference as I plan* to publish my English to Math Dictionary. This book has given me the knowledge of th publishing world I lacked - I now feel more confident in going forward with my plan. It also provides the reader with a simple step-by-step plan to employ for success.

Dated: 12/28/01

*I have not published any books yet, and never truly got the "English to Math Dictionary" in a place that I was happy with.

What are your opinions about self-publishing versus finding a publisher to work with?

Your Book Proposal from A Publisher's Perspective

Many bloggers are on the path from blog to book, so it was no surprise to me that there were publishers at the Blog World Expo to take advantage of this fact. I have no idea where my blogger adventures might take me some day, so I decided to check out the panel entitled "What Publishers Really think About Your Book Proposal" presented by a group of editors from John Wiley.

In short, a successful book proposal should contain the answers to three major questions:

1. Why YOU?
2. Why THIS Book?
3. HOW Is It Going To SELL?

As each of the editors shared their own personal preference for genre (one was a sci-fi editor, one was a historical and foreign-based fiction editor and one was a celebrity editor) and unique skills, there were some clear answers to these three questions that seemed to sell no matter what genre you may be interested in writing. Let's take a look at each one in detail.


Why YOU?

You must understand that as an editor in a publishing company each of these individuals is exposed to countless authors who are just as passionate about their work, who have been working just as hard as you (maybe even harder!), who write just and wonderfully as you, et cetera, et cetera, so you must answer the question: WHY YOU? Here are some of the answers that the editors said that catch their eye:

• You write a lot, possibly even in magazines
• You are an expert on the subject and have evidence of this fact
• You have been making a lot of "noise" in the field
• you have special expertise in language (this came from the editor with interest in the foreign-based genre)
• You are a celebrity (of course, this came from the celebrity editor)

Why THIS Book?

Have you been to the bookstore lately? Have you checked out the "New Releases" section? How about the "Bargain Books" section? Both of these sections have lessons in them - 1. How much competition is out there and, 2. how many of the books that do get published that still end up not being successful. You need to think long and hard about this question: WHY THIS BOOK? Believe it or not, just because you wrote it is not reason enough! Here are some things to consider and/or include in your proposal to let your prospective editor(s) know why your book needs to be published:

• Explain your book in terms of other successful published books
• Do NOT say "This has never been done before," OR, "This book is the first of its kind" - while this may sound like a positive unique experience, it actually sounds like your book has no shelf to be placed on in a bookstore!
• Be on the lookout for the publishing house you are contacting is promoting and explain how your book fits their current market (or go to a publishing house that better fits your book!)
• Read the "acknowledgments" sections of books similar to your own to find good contacts to make the right match

HOW Is It Going To SELL?

You may be embracing your artistic side as was philosophical through the writing of your latest masterpiece, but, in the end, this is a business. If your book can't sell or it doesn't look like you can be much of a help in the selling of it, then your deal is done. Your book proposal must have some evidence of the fact that you have considered sales and the selling of your book and that your plan may have some legs. Here are some things that help (and this is where the web and social media came to the panel):

• You have cultivated an audience, or created some sort of platform for yourself - this can be either through writing in print, or through the Internet
• You have a wide presence on the web
• You use your website as a TOOL FOR COMMUNICATION, not merely as an artifact of your work
• You can show interaction and/or influence with your audience (again, this does not have to be online)
• Do NOT spend time on the Internet as an afterthought - either all in, or all out

What Does It All Look Like?

Maybe you knew more about this stuff than I did before I sat down to this panel, but after all this chat about who I was, what my precious book was all about and what kind of sales person I was going to turn out to be, I was still wondering, "What the heck does the proposal actually look like?" Luckily, I was rescued from my curiosity and I now pass along the favor:

The Proposal

5-7 pages, containing:

• An annotated table of contents for your book, 

• A "Who Am I/Why Me" Statement (one editor said, "Formulate your Elevator Pitch", those of us who have been through the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog know all about elevator pitches!)

• & At least 1-2 sample chapters of the book, or some other equivalent sample of your writing (blogs or articles)

Other Quick Tips

There were so many little tips thrown in here and there for aspiring writers throughout the panel. I know I didn't get them all, but here are just a few that will hopefully help someone out there!

• Agents aren't necessary, but can be very helpful to run "interference" between you (the author) and the publisher (this way you don't always feel so offended when they are just doing their job by "hacking your baby"
• You will probably hate the cover of your book
• For fiction writers, a great place to create a platform is using the website Duotrope.com to get published in short fiction
• For all writers - the more you get published, the more "credits" you get
• **Be careful of blogging it could be a TIME SUCK!** (According to the editors there Blogging hit its peak in 2006-2007)
• Going from an eBook to a print book is difficult. HOWEVER, publishing a different print book with the SUCCESS of an eBook behind you makes the publisher's decision easier - in their eyes you already did the hard work

So what do you think, are you ready to write your proposal now?

Related Reading

• Publishing Myths and Truths for Bloggers from Ginger at Ramble Ramble
  

Other Blog Life Lessons

• The Birds and Bees of Your Blog Life
• 3 More Lessons From Blog World 
• 3 Lessons from My First Day at Blog World NY 
• How Darren Rowse Has Forever Changed My Life in 10 Days 
• Where Do I Get My Degree In Blogging?