Tuesday, December 18, 2018

OWN IT!


At around the age of eight, I learned to swim at a boys’ club in Hollywood. Then at 16, I enrolled in a course with the American Red Cross and got myself certified as a WSI (Water Safety Instructor). With this credential I could secure gainful employment as a teacher, a lifeguard, or a coach, anywhere in the country. I worked a couple of summers as a lifeguard, and I loved it. I looked forward to a long, rewarding career in or near the water. Or in the immortal words of Kenny Chesney: No shoes, no shirt, no problem.

Then I did a bit of research, and got gobsmacked with a hard dose of reality: The career path for a WSI was very uncertain. By far the majority of these jobs were both part-time and seasonal. The pay rate was lousy. Beach duty paid more, and Baywatch made it look sexy and glamorous; but the work in the hot sun was grueling. After considering all of these factors, the good and the bad, I reached a decision: The job wasn’t for me.

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

WHY SELF-PUB DOESN'T WORK FOR MOST


Imagine that you go in to work on Monday, and your boss tells you that you're getting a raise. Your pay will be doubled. Great!

On Tuesday, you get a letter from your landlord. Beginning next month, your rent will be doubled.

On Wednesday, you go shopping and discover that a loaf of bread costs twice what it did last week.

On Thursday, you go to buy gas. Turns out, the price at the Shell station is double what it was before. 

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

THREE REASONS WHY THE PUBLISHING WORLD IS LIKE AN EPISODE OF SHARK TANK


By Michelle Lazurek

Have you ever seen the show Shark Tank? This reality show features five billionaires that hear pitches from entrepreneurs looking to get their big break and have their product released to the masses. It is one of my favorite reality shows, but I have one confession to make:

Their choices often baffle me.

Mr. Wonderful claims there’s nothing proprietary about the product, yet Lori declares the product is a “hero.” Robert chides them on a lack of sales, yet Mark makes an offer, then pressures the entrepreneurs to make a decision fast because “the shot clock is running.”

All the while I scratch my head in disbelief, screaming at the TV: “why are you investing in that?”

Monday, April 23, 2018

DEFINING DIVERSITY


This past weekend, I attended the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. It’s by far the biggest book fair in the country, showcasing the works of wordsmiths from around the USA and the world. For two days each spring, it overtakes the entire campus of the University of Southern California. As a literary agent, I enjoy the networking opportunities there.

This year, for the first time, I also attended the annual book prizes ceremony that takes place the night before. Recent years have seen a growing demand for diversity in our business, and I was delighted at what I found: The field of nominees, and of winners, was about as diverse as anyone could ask: They were male and female, young and old, gay and straight. White, black, Latino, Chinese, and Pakistani. Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and probably more.

Monday, March 5, 2018

HOW TO HANDLE REJECTION


So. You’ve been working on that book for ten years now. You’ve submitted it to dozens or hundreds of agents and publishers, without success. Sometimes they say no, but often they say nothing at all. Or even worse: They ask to read your full manuscript (yippee!!), and then return with a brutal critique and rejection. I know the struggle, the sting, the existential wound.

For the calendar year 2017, the American book industry produced about a million titles. That’s right: ONE MILLION! That’s an all-time high, which means that the market is more competitive than it has ever been. And you need to work harder than ever, to score that coveted publishing contract

Where do you go from here? How do you stay motivated? If you want to turn those lemons into lemonade, you can gain a fresh perspective by starting here:

Thursday, February 8, 2018

THREE REASONS WHY EVERY WRITER NEEDS A WRITERS’ GROUP


With this entry, we welcome our new associate agent Michelle S. Lazurek. She will bring a fresh perspective, with an occasional contribution to this blog.

When I began my writing career in 2009, I felt like a fish swimming upstream in a lake of mature writers. They were all so much farther along in their careers than me. I thought I’d never catch up! But then something happened that placed me on the trajectory for success: I joined a writers’ group. I’ve been in groups where every attendee was a novice, and other groups where multi-published authors intermingled with newbie writers. In every experience, I have grown and stretched as a result. Here are three reasons why a writers’ critique group is so important to your success as a writer: