mailbag posts
Mailbag: A form query
I received the following e-mail:
Within the last few months, I sent you a query regarding my book, [title redacted], which you kindly declined to represent. In the interim, I have built my own website , and I’ve since had grown my audience to hundreds of enthusiastic readers. I’d like to invite you to check it out at [url redacted],
If you are interested in representing this book, then I would be interested in speaking with you.
Thanks for your time,
If anyone is interested in how to write a query letter, well, this is not the way.
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Posted: December 21st, 2009 under mailbag, writing.
Comments: 3
Mailbag: A book of idioms
Posted: November 19th, 2009 under language, mailbag.
Comments: 3
Mailbag: Bellemeade Books and Jonathan Williams
Mark Bromberg of Bellemeade Books writes on the subject of Jonathan Williams, author and publisher of the Jargon Society (we published his The Magpie’s Bagpipe at North Point Press) and generously includes the above scan of a Jargon Society publication, which I take the liberty of sharing.
… I have been a long-time reader and admirer of the late Jonathan Williams and his Jargon Society Press, the website here now run by his friend and collaborator, Thomas Meyer (A selection of 1960s correspondence between Davenport and Williams about publishing, art, and life can be found here).
I thought you might enjoy this cover image of “Elite/Elate Poems” (Jargon, 1975) — with authentic-era coffee stains! — and a BellemeadeBooks post about Mr. Williams from the archives. You will be able to access the entire blog with more timely posts once you are there.
Thanks, Mark!
Posted: October 26th, 2009 under authors, community, mailbag.
Comments: 2
Mailbag: Electric Literature 2 (and party)
Andy Hunter, Editor in Chief of Electric Literature, writes:
I wanted to let you know we just released our 2nd issue, featuring work by Colson Whitehead, Lydia Davis, Stephen O’Connor, Pasha Malla, and Marisa Silver….
We made a trailer for Colson’s story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSf_4vxWmxg – we are always extremely grateful when you feature our videos on your site.
Sure, why not?
Posted: October 25th, 2009 under community, mailbag.
Comments: none
Mailbag: Press release promoting a resource for writers
Right Reading passes along the following e-mail unedited (except for removing the publicist’s e-mail address). This is a typical form for a book press release. The brief personalized cover note shows the publicist is doing her job diligently. The writing advice is pretty standard for conventional mainstream fiction, and writers should be aware of these conventions before choosing to break them.
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Posted: August 20th, 2009 under mailbag, writing.
Comments: none
Mailbag: What should my royalty rate be?
Rightreading hereby initiates a new feature (no doubt destined to be as fitful as all our others) in which we answer e-mails from readers.
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A reader writes
I know very little about book contracts.
Can you please elaborate on this subject?
Specifically, what percentage of each book sold should I receive as the author?
.
Dear reader
The most general answer is “whatever the market will bear.” If you are writing great poetry that will someday be taught in university classes, the answer is no one is likely to pay you any royalty at all. On the other hand, if you are a famous and controversial public figure — Sarah Palin say — you can pretty near name your price.
But the general answer isn’t much help to the vast majority of writers who fall somewhere between those extremes.
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Posted: August 12th, 2009 under contracts, mailbag.
Comments: 2