book publishing

It happens every time this year. The pile of books that publishers have sent me unsolicited in the hopes for a review stares me in the face, creating a sense of guilt. Though I know that all publicists send books out widely as part of their general marketing strategy, I always feel, well, bad if we don’t end up reviewing a book that nevertheless looks fantastic. The book just sits on my shelf.

So in the interest of clearing my slate, and easing my guilt (oy), I’ve decided to do something different this year.

Below is the list of those books on my shelf MOST itching for a review. If any GWP readers (in the US due to postage expense, sorry!) would like to review one, I’ll send my copy out to the first person who requests it. You can email me at deborah@girlwpen.com and state the title of your preference in the subject header. These reviews will be “due” by the end of January, and I’m asking that they be short ‘n snazzy (700 words or less).

It’s a great opportunity for anyone who has wanted to submit a guest post this year but haven’t yet to start off 2009 with a bang!  Ok, so here’s the list:

Isadora Duncan: A Graphic Biography by Sabrina Jones
The Third Chapter: Passion, Risk, and Adventure in the 25 Years After 50, by Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot
34 Million Friends, by Jane Roberts

And a book I’ve mentioned here a few times but didn’t get a chance to give it the review it deserves:
Ready: Why Women Are Embracing the New Later Motherhood, by Elizabeth Gregory (a very personal subject over here right about now, ahem!)

Lastly, ANY book put out this season (or next!) by the publisher who put out Sisterhood, Interrupted — Palgrave Macmillan. You can find that list here.

And speaking of GWP reviews, do keep a look out soon for Elline Lipkin’s review of Mama, PhD: Women Write About Motherhood and Academic Life! It’s been the hopper for a while but is coming soon, we promise. A personal aside: As a PhD and an aspiring Mama, of course I loved this one.

Sad times over here in the publishing world. The news reports come one after another: layoffs at Simon & Schuster, jobs cut at Random House, a freeze on acquisitions at Houghton Mifflin and layoffs as well, and plenty more to come, I’m sure, as the fiscal year comes to an end.

With the economy flailing, it’s no surprise that readers aren’t buying as many books. But is that really what’s causing all this distress?

Depression or no, it seems to me that publishing has been going in this direction for a long time. With the money that the big publishers have been spending on books in the post-Internet Age, in which content is otherwise cheap and plentiful, it seemed that it was just a matter of time before the old budgets couldn’t sustain themselves.

To make my point, here’s a generic case study from pre-economy-crash days: Let’s say Big House Publisher A offers a book deal to Author B for six-some-odd-figures. And then, to show its support for the book, Publisher A spends another 20,000 on publicity, marketing, and the like, making the overall expense on Author B’s book somewhere in the range of, let’s just say, $150,000. Throw in plant costs and overhead and manufacturing and shipping and that number gets even higher.

Now, Author B’s book is pretty commercial—not celebrity commercial, but an interesting topic that’s relevant to a good-size audience—and it gets some terrific reviews, and winds up selling, let’s say, 25,000 copies. Terrific! Well, come to think of it, the book is actually a little more nuanced and sophisticated and attracts a slightly more targeted niche audience and sells more like, say, 15,000 copies, but that’s 15,000 people who just read this book, and that’s fantastic too. An accomplishment any author can be proud of, no question.

Except. If you’re like me, this is where you stop and check your mental back-of-the-envelope P&L. Where, exactly, is the sustainable profit after spending six figures on a book that, like many wonderful books in your local bookstore, sells 15,000 copies? Or less? A scenario like the one above, for a book that costs $20, would mean losses for the publisher that would easily exceed $100,000.

The publishing industry, and the big houses in particular, have been headed for a housing-bubble-like crash for some time now, and we’re only starting to think about what a new mortgage might look like. A peek at a new writer-publisher model could be found, I’m betting, by looking at the independent presses, which tend toward savvier spending and more realistic expectations of what a book can do in the marketplace. The economy isn’t doing these indies any favors these days, either, but I’m betting these tight-and-lean operations are taking the hits with a little more stability.

If you’re a writer with publishing aspirations, I hope you don’t think I’m being a Cassandra. In fact, I’d say this isn’t necessarily bad news. I have to confess that I’m a little bit excited to see what’s next for literary America. If the rubric of yesterday was Big House = Big Advance = At the Mercy of the Big Three (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders) Only to Almost Earn Out Your Advance but Not Quite, then maybe the new rubric will allow for More Houses offering More Realistic Advances which could lead to More Generous Profits which will create a More Open Marketplace that advances A Wider Range of Authors and Ideas.

A girl can hope.

It’s a long way from here to there. But sometimes we need to take something apart in order to put it back together again in a better and smarter way, and if you’re an aspiring author, I’m rooting you on to take advantage of the time we’re living in by pitching your book to editors and publishers who understand the new economy and the value of your intellectual offering: indie houses, small and medium publishers, and boutique agents who are committed to your message and mission, not (only) to your bottom line.

More on the bottom line — and what this means for YOUR bottom line — next month.

Meanwhile, a few nights ago I got a chance to hear literary great Gary Snyder read letters Allen Ginsberg wrote to him about getting high and getting naked and sitting zazen and circumambulating mountains, and it reminded me why I’m in this book publishing business: I’m in it to be in it, to be a part of the public exchange of ideas and the intellectual development of our era.

What about you?

—Laura Mazer

I’m pleased to bring you Laura Mazer’s monthly column on publishing in the trade world, particularly if you’re an academic. This month she gives important tips on translating your style and structure for your popular audience. –Kristen

Hi all,

Good to be back up here on GWP! I’ve been getting a lot questions lately from academics who want to write for a trade audience but aren’t sure how to translate their scholarship into a style and format that’s suited for a wider audience. Here are few things you can expect to hear from your editor should you decide to publish your book project with a trade house:

— Be sure you’re writing in a plainspoken, accessible voice. That does not—repeat not—mean “dumb it down,” I promise! It means write conversationally, intimately. The academic world, understandably, pays a great deal of attention to precision in accuracy—in the trade world, you’ll need to find a way to be accurate but without using insider terminology or complicated concepts. Example: You may be writing an auto-ethnography, but you’ll need to call it a race memoir. And if you’re thinking of writing a book about longterm neurologic transformation, try saying that you’re writing a history of the brain.

— Show how your expertise is relevant to the life of today’s reader. How does your topic play out in the world of 2009? Find something current from which to launch your own findings. For example, if you have studied the rise of prostitution in 17th century France, start with an examination of
the sex trade today, and then connect the contemporary state of affairs with those in the 1600s in a way that reveals something fascinating.

— Convert your footnotes into endnotes. A trade book can’t be weighed down with long lists of small type at the bottom of each page, so you won’t be able to use footnotes to clarify and augment your narrative. If readers want to know your sources and read your comments, they’ll find them in the back.

— If you have credentials other than your academic degree, highlight them.
A well-rounded author is one who’s more likely to surface from the slush pile.

— Make your title catchy and clever, and your subtitle simple and clear.
It should be immediately obvious from reading your title and subtitle exactly what the book is about, without excessive gravitas.

That should get you started! If you have specific questions about translating the technical into the trade, send ’em to me and I’ll do my best to answer them. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Cheers,
Laura Mazer

This here’s an open call for reviews of the following, to be published here on GWP:

Open: Love, Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage by Jenny Block

My Little Red Book, edited by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff (Feb 2009) – an anthology about first periods! Read more on the author’s website, www.mylittleredbook.net

Interested? See our “Submit Your Ink” page for more.

Image cred

From Sarah Palin’s wardrobe to sex on college campuses…Hmm, not sure how to make the transition here, so I won’t try. But I’ve been wanting to share this list of some of the latest on the college kids and the sex. A couple of my brilliant colleagues at the Council on Contemporary Families recently pooled suggestions of books on a related subject and came up with the following list, some of which I’d heard of, some of which I hadn’t:

Sex and the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America’s College Campuses, by Donna Freita
Hooking Up: Sex, Dating, and Relationships on Campus, by Kathleen Bogle
What Women Want–What Men Want: Why the Sexes Still See Love and Commitment So Differently, by John Marshall Townsend
Quarterlife Crisis: The Unique Challenges of Life in Your Twenties, by Alexandra Robbins and Abby Wilner

And on the guy side of things of course:

Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men, by Michael Kimmel
Dude, You’re a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School, by CJ Pascoe

Are we missing anything?

Just a quick hit today on a book I’m about to get my hands on, titled The Decline of Men: How the American Male Is Tuning Out, Giving Up, and Flipping Off His Future, by Guy Garcia. Coming on the heels of Michael Kimmel’s most excellent Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men, I’m eager to see how it, um, measures up.

From the Publishers Weekly review:

Garcia (The New Mainstream) explores disturbing trends of men leading increasingly socially isolated lives and dropping out of high school and college in record numbers, naming them victims of an invisible epidemic. According to the author, modern men have failed to forge a new and productive role in the 21st century. Garcia charts the rise of feminism and the changing societal roles of both men and women, illustrating how and why men have become so confused about what defines masculinity; having lost their traditional role as provider and protector, men flirt with hollow substitute identities—drawing on Jackass culture (men pretending to be boys), gangster culture (boys pretending to be men) and metrosexual obsessions with grooming and body image—that have reductively redefined manhood and led men away from compassion, responsibility and family. Garcia wisely avoids degrading feminism or pitting men against women; instead, he offers an astute and well-researched meditation on how men might reclaim their identity and place in modern America and why such a transformation is important to future generations of both men and women. (Oct.)

Paging Clark Kent?

Jennifer Baumgardner’s latest has a kick**s title: Abortion & Life. Jen’s book came out in September, and I’m eager to read it. But thought I’d spread the wealth, too. Are any GWP readers up for posting a review?

More about the book, from the Publisher’s Weekly review:

Activist, filmmaker (of I Had an Abortion) and co-author (Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism and the Future) Baumgardner dedicates her work to spreading awareness about abortion. Graced with black and white photo portraits by Tara Todras-Whitehill of women wearing Baumgardner’s shirt, reading simply “I had an abortion,” the emphasis is on the testimony of these patients, revealing not only how common the procedure is (one in three women, according to the Guttmacher Institute) but how diverse those women and their situations are. Baumgardner begins with a brief history of abortion legislation in America, from pre-Roe v. Wade restrictions to clinic workers and doctors protested, threatened and murdered (as in the case of Buffalo doctor Barnett Slepian). Still, as Baumgardner says, it’s the record of “our lives [that] might provide the best road map to strengthening women’s reproductive freedoms.” Included is a comprehensive listing of abortion resources, and 10 percent of the book’s profits go to the New York Abortion Access Fund.

And you can read an excerpt on AlterNet.

Meanwhile, Rebecca Walker’s anthology, One Big Happy Family: 18 Writers Talk About Polyamory, Open Adoption, Mixed Marriage, Househusbandry,Single Motherhood, and Other Realities of Truly Modern Love, has a really long subtitle (then again, so did ours, Only Child: Writers on the Singular Joys and Solitary Sorrows of Growing Up Solo, which Rebecca is in, so ‘nuf said bout that). It comes out in February 2009.  From the book’s description:

more...

Team GWP with Shira Tarrant!

At Shira’s bequest, I am posting this picture sideways. Because Shira and I both look taller sideways. Plus, the photo came to me sideways and I’m bad at turning them around. You can still see Shira’s kickass boots. So here we are, with Kristen (who is naturally tall), celebrating Men Speak Out last night.

(“Tell the truth but tell it slant”?!)

Last night I went to hear Shira Tarrant and the guys from Men Speak Out: Views on Gender, Sex, and Power read from the book at Bluestockings. I was very moved, hearing these men read. It kind of reminded me why I’m in this line of work to begin with. Thank you, Shira, and thank you, feminist dudes. You are everyday heroes, all.

Picture to follow soon.

Meanwhile, just came across today’s review of Michael Kimmel’s Guyland by Salon’s James Hannaham. The review begins:

Imagine a world where you can’t express your feelings. Where women are treated as objects or bargaining chips, and alcoholism and drug abuse are the norm. Where you must reject your own mother, and your father will rebuff you. You’ll belong to a kind of cult that demands that you ostracize anyone who doesn’t follow the group’s twisted values. This cult may pressure you into physically and sexually abusing someone incapable of fighting back. If you’re an American guy age 16-26, congratulations. You probably live there already.

Read the rest.

It’s not often you hear an author says she loves her publisher, but I do. I just got a lovely mailing from mine–a big ole postcard featuring “New Books in Gender Studies from Palgrave Macmillan” and guess what’s smack dab in the middle!

Sisterhood, Interrupted: From Radical Women to Grrls Gone Wild is in great company, flanked by Cyborgs and Barbie Dolls: Feminsm, Popular Culture, and the Posthuman Body (a book that has the creepiest cover ever, but I’m pretty sure that’s the point), Stripping, Sex, and Popular Culture, and two more academicy sounding titles: The Gender Politics of Development and Gender, Violence, and Security. Also on their list are The Happy Stripper: Pleasures and Politics of the New Burlesque; Mothers, Monsters, Whores: Women’s Violence in Global Politics; and Third Wave Feminism–the expanded, second edition!–and news of a forthcoming gender series from Linda Martin-Alcoff and Gillian Howie. More info on all of these at www.palgrave-usa.com.