This is one of those books that when I was done, I just thought, Wow! I’ll be thinking about this one for a very long time. A lot of complexity here with his daughter, the international journey to look for his wife, and his own demons. I really enjoyed this one!
5 stars!
Guilford Press is an independent academic/scholarly press located in midtown Manhattan. We publish outstanding titles in psychology, education, geography and related fields. We are a very productive company with high standards in a collaborative environme
The marketing department at Guilford is fast-paced, productive, and highly invested in the quality of our work, and is seeking a full-time Marketing Administrative Assistant to join our team. At least two years’ administrative experience, with book publishing experience preferred.
The Marketing Administrative Assistant has a busy and detailed role in supporting the marketing department, which includes:
• Securing pre-publication endorsements from prominent professionals for use online, on book jackets, and in marketing materials.
• Effectively tracking rapidly-changing status of dozens of projects.
• Accurately updating our title information database, including making copy changes and entering various information.
• Processing a variety of departmental memos that relate to the endorsement process.
• Various other administrative duties, such as completing audits and running reports, as needed.
Click here for details and to apply.
Sometimes people have a knack for writing their own query letter. Often they don’t.
It’s not because they can’t write well; it’s because the query is a sales tool and few authors, fiction or nonfiction, are trained in sales techniques.
Queries have a second obstacle built in: until an author is published, they often don’t know what the publishing industry expects them to include in the query or the book proposal. They don’t know the buzzwords, they aren’t sure how to position their work in the market, they don’t know what trends are current and what is fading rapidly away. The mistargeting of only one of these items is enough to make an agent or publisher stop reading and move on to the next query.
Practice is fine. Publishing industry savvy is much, much better.
Display natural talant by:
–Reading industry publications: Publisher’s Weekly, Writer’s Digest, etc.
–Read industry blogs: Huffington Post has several, and up-and-coming authors often blog about their experiences.
–Subscribe to industry newsletters. Publisher’s Weekly has a free e-newsletter, as does Writer’s Digest. There are tons of free e-newsletters out there. I sift through a few dozen every week.
Baker Publishing Group, in Ada, is currently accepting applications for a full-time in-house editor in the trade department. The trade department produces books in a wide variety of categories, including fiction, youth, devotional, self-help, relationships, marriage, parenting, cultural critique, professional, spirituality, biblical studies, and apologetics. Responsibilities include editing or managing the editing of assigned titles, corresponding with authors, combining author and proofreader corrections, and reviewing cover and catalog copy.
Qualifications:
A candidate should have a BA in English or other related majors, or equivalent work experience; three to five years of book-editing experience; knowledge of the Bible; a familiarity with Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed.; excellent copyediting, grammar, and spelling skills; and proficiency in Microsoft Word. Personal characteristics should include an attention to detail, strong organizational skills, the ability to handle multiple tasks, and the ability to work well with others.
Click here for details and to apply.
I read this because I enjoyed Blindness so much. This one turned out to be a bit more political than I usually like. However, I enjoyed it quite a bit, in no small part because of the wry humor the author brought to the topic.
3 stars.
How women are presented in fiction (and whether they appear in fiction at all) is important enough to have another look at the issue via this fellow author’s blog post.
Fortress Popular is a new unit of Fortress Press. It targets the general consumer with books that are culturally engaged and grounded in fresh, substantive, accessible, and inspiring theological reflection.
The unit needs a marketing manager to build a strong brand and achieve financial goals.
-Work with the Vice President & Publisher in the development, positioning, messaging, and launch of the brand and its products.
-Lead marketing communications strategy, campaign planning, execution, monitoring, and analysis of the brand and its products.
-Guide the effective use of a range of marketing tactics/tool including print, e-mail, web, social media, SEO, etc. Ensure that team stays abreast of emerging marketing trends.
-Manage internal and external creative talent to deliver breakthrough work on time and on budget.
-Evaluate the effectiveness of marketing initiatives using a variety of data sources.
-Achieve annual quantitative goals (including sales, customer retention, market share, etc.) for assigned product lines.
-Participate in the annual budget and revenue forecasting process. Manage assigned portions of marketing department budget.
-Contribute to the evaluation of new project acquisitions, partnerships, and series development with development teams.
-Collaborate with internal customer-facing teams to effectively reach organizational goals.
Click here for details.
Fantastic story. Other people told me this is a book-length rant against consumerism, and I don’t care. I read it for how the characters interacted, how they faced the challenges before them. It ended pretty much where and how I expected…and that was not disappointing. It has a strong message beyond anything it might say about consumerism and provides a deeply satisfying read.
5 stars!
The Scripps College Writing Program seeks a distinguished visiting writer for the Mary Routt Endowed Chair of Writing during the spring semester of 2016. The successful candidates will serve as Mary Routt Chair of Writing throughout the spring semester (from mid-January to mid-May). The Chair will teach one writing workshop course of his or her own design and will give two public readings or talks. We are looking for candidates with a significant record of publication in creative nonfiction, fiction, or poetry; we prefer candidates who can show evidence of outstanding teaching ability. For more information on the Mary Routt Chair position, see http://www.scrippscollege.edu/departments/writing-program/mary-routt-chair.
Just to be clear, acquisitions editors at publishing houses don’t charge fees. If a “publisher” is asking for fees, then that company is not a publisher. It is a printer. Don’t let the growing popularity of hybrid self-publishing units confuse you. Know exactly what you want and go to the right place.
Now, for freelance editors, fees obviously need to be researched. There is no standard, really, because an individual editor’s experience can be very different than the next person’s. In general, though, the lower the rate, the less experience that person has.
That doesn’t mean they can’t do a good job. It does, however, mean they might not be as good at targeting how to change the words on the page. Editing is like cutting a diamond. There are a lot of people who can cut diamonds but you have to cut at the right place and shape it in the right way to achieve the diamond’s full potential. Same with manuscripts!
This Creative Writing and Literature Faculty position is a full-time appointment with teaching responsibilities to begin Fall 2015. Applicants must have an MFA (or equivalent) or PhD in Creative Writing, at least one published book in fiction, and college-level teaching experience. Preference will be given to candidates with some expertise and record of publication in creative nonfiction. Successful candidates will also demonstrate experience with and commitment to fostering students’ professional practice skills in various writing fields. The position requires flexibility, collegiality, teaching, and administrative skills as well as a strong commitment to the profession and higher education. Deadline: March 1.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
Teach 6 department courses per academic year (3 each semester).
Engaging in ongoing professional and faculty development.
Assessment work and curricular development with departmental faculty and SFUAD Provost.
Assigned administrative duties.
Ongoing development of coursework and class materials to keep courses at the leading edge of knowledge in the discipline.
Providing student support for every aspect of learning in the form of regular office hours, tutorial assistance, professional practice, and career advice.
Ongoing student performance evaluation and outcomes assessment.
Click here for more info.
Always interesting to go back and read a classic work. This one I enjoyed for about 350 pages. Then the dialog got to be a bit much to read…very repetative. But I know that is part of what was expected and enjoyed at the time, so I overlooked that element as much as possible. A great classic thriller overall!
3 stars.
The University of Illinois seeks candidates for the position of Director, University of Illinois Press. Nearing its 100th year of scholarly publishing, the University of Illinois Press enjoys a reputation as one of the top university presses in the country, producing the very best scholarly research and reflection by writers from all over the world. The Illinois Press publishes about 100 new books per year as well as over 30 periodicals, and increasingly publishes in an electronic format. Particular strengths include American history, African American studies, women’s studies, music, film studies, communications, Lincoln studies, Chicago studies, and sport history.
Although located on the Urbana campus, the University Press is a university-wide unit in the three-campus system with the director reporting to the Vice President for Academic Affairs. It has a staff of nearly 40 and an operating budget of over $4 million. The director is responsible for providing leadership in all aspects of planning, budgeting, staffing, and program management and development. In consultation with the Press Board the director develops and coordinates the publishing program and decides which books and journals are published and how they are marketed and sold.
Click here for details.
For acquisitions editors at publishing houses and agents alike, always research what they are asking for and give them exactly that. Often it’s only that one-page query. For those who want a query plus author bio or query plus synopsis, savvy authors who have already written their book proposals can just cut and paste the appropriate section out of their proposals and print it off as an additional page that goes with the query.
Part of giving them what they want means not giving them what they don’t want. Check their guidelines to find out if they take fantasy but not steampunk, mystery but not cozy.
Save yourself a lot of time and waiting around. Check first, and you’ll move ahead more quickly.
Writer's Resource/Sunspot Lit 