My latest at Forbes on an 11-year-old with a book deal

My latest article at Forbes online is titled, "11-Year-Old Boy Lands Book Deal About Crocheting After His Creations Go Viral" and since posting it yesterday, it's now the most-read of all my articles there. I believe that's partly because the star of it posted it on his Facebook page, which has a lot of readers, and people are interested in children who become authors. Read it to learn more about the Wisconsin publisher who moved quickly to secure the book deal and what they're looking for from future kid authors (they are open to submissions).

New articles: Somali refugee Congresswoman Ilhan Omar memoir and US tour of The Bookshop Band

My latest articles for Forbes online, which I didn't get to post last week, are about Somali refugee turned Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's memoir book deal and The Bookshop Band doing their first U.S. tour. I interviewed Representative Omar's literary agent and her editor, who said, "Her voice on the page is very much as it is in real life—fresh and positive even when she is tackling serious issues, with real empathy and deep knowledge. Her story counters everything we keep hearing from the current administration and the right-wing media about refugees, immigrants, Muslims and women. This memoir presents an urgent and important counter-narrative."

Hope you'll check them out and follow me on Forbes if you want to be emailed when new articles drop. I write seven each month.

Chocolate & Vicodin - the book deal

So happy for Jennette and can't wait to read this book. Also, she quit her job and launched her web design company Make My Blog Pretty. Check it out.

From today's Publishers Marketplace:

NON-FICTION: HEALTH
Author of Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir, Jennette Fulda's CHOCOLATE & VICODIN: AND OTHER FAILED CURES FOR THE HEADACHE THAT WOULDN'T GO AWAY, in which the author humorously explores the twisted maze of eastern and western medicine as she visits doctors, acupuncturists, and chiropractors, and ingests pills, pot, and obscene amounts of ice cream, all in search of the elusive cure for her chronic pain, to Jennifer Heddle at Pocket, by Holly Bemiss at the Susan Rabiner Literary Agency (world).

Remind me why do people want to get married?

via Publishers Marketplace:

June 2, 2009

Non-fiction:
Memoir

Journalist and former Larry King Live producer Carol Ross Joynt's INNOCENT SPOUSE, a story about marital secrets and financial infidelity that recounts the author's attempts to pick up the pieces of her shattered life when, after her husband's sudden death, she learns that he was under investigation by the IRS for tax fraud and, as his surviving spouse, she is responsible for repaying his debt of over $2.5 million, to Suzanne O'Neill at Crown, at auction, by Laney Katz Becker at Folio Literary Management (NA).

Kristen Schaal and Rich Blomquist book deal

Fun fact: Christina Amini is also Susie Bright's editor at Chronicle.

From Publishers Marketplace:

Comedian and Flight of the Conchords star Kristen Schaal and boyfriend Daily Show writer Rich Blomquist's THE SEXY BOOK OF SEXY SEX, a book of sexual advice and history -- covering everything from orgies ("the more the hairier") to the latest slang ("Dirty Sanchez, Greasy Monocle, Clever Octopus") with passages of titillating erotica sprinkled throughout, to Christina Amini at Chronicle, in a pre-empt, for publication in fall 2010, by Daniel Greenberg at Levine Greenberg Literary Agency (NA).

Making money off Madoff

We knew this was coming, right?

From Publishers Marketplace:

NON-FICTION: MEMOIR
Author and former Self editor Alexandra Penney's book, based on her blog as the Bag Lady at The Daily Beast about learning to live without all the money she lost in the Bernie Madoff fraud, to Ellen Archer at Voice, by Ed Victor at Ed Victor Ltd..

Happy happy happy publishing news, or yes, Fat is fucking contagious!

Want to know why this is so freaking awesome? Because when things like this happen, it makes me believe in writing, in publishing, in my own instincts. I'm not saying this book deal wouldn't have happened without me, but I'm honored to have played a tiny role in it. It makes me feel like even when my own writing is falling apart, at least I'm still a good reader, I still believe in books, and I never want to lose that.

I had a feeling agent Holly Bemiss would like the work of Kim Brittingham. How? I don't know, I just did. I like to call it agent matchmaking, and I think I'm pretty good at it (DO NOT email me though and ask me to find you an agent; I like it to be kinda spontaneous). Anyway, I just remember a while ago having dinner with Kim and discussing this and it was a little uncertain, and that's okay. Book deals don't (often) happen overnight.

Kim is a perfect example of someone who built up her brand, for lack of a better word, bit by bit, writing, yes, for (omg! the horror!) free on the best place on the Internet to write for free imo, Fresh Yarn (go look at their list of contributors and judge for yourself whether it's worth it). Her site is simple, but it has all the pertinent information at the left. She blogged and wrote and worked with The Memoirists Collective (read Kim's "Fat is Sexier Than You Think," which goes along with this recent Elastic waist post, which you'd have seen if you'd been reading my overly obsessive frequently updated tumbleblog) and remained passionate about her interests. She got media attention. She was patient. She was also open to suggestion; I don't know all the details and it's not my place to share them, but I think flexibility is hugely important when it comes to the publishing process. I meet so many people who are uptight and anal and about the preciousness of their words that no one (probably) will ever want to work with them.

Holly's list is growing and quite impressive; she is right up there on my list of agents who I want to read all their work. More on Lucy Knisley's graphic memoir French Milk soon. She also reps comedian Jeff Mac (Manslations), Alison Bechdel, (was wrong on this one - she was her publicist on Fun Home and her agency reps Bechdel), the amazing Ellen Forney (who did Lust and illustrates Lust Lab in The Stranger and other awesome stuff; click here for one of my favorites), Nicole J. Georges and Christy C. Road (Bad Habits).

So here's a tip on how to get a book deal: Be Smart. Be a Good Writer. Be Witty and Creative. Have a Great Agent. Get Gawker to Write About You. The End.

If you haven't already done so, go read Kim's essay "Fat is Contagious" at Fresh Yarn.



NON-FICTION: MEMOIR
Popular blogger and author of the publicized essay Fat is Contagious, Kimberly Brittingham's READ MY HIPS, her unflinching, humorous and uplifting story of how she learned to ditch dieting, love her body, and live life to the fullest no matter what her jean size, to Julia Pastore at Harmony, in a very nice deal, by Holly Bemiss at the Susan Rabiner Literary Agency (World English).

Today's book deals of note

And by "of note" that's all I mean - I'm not rushing out to read Newt Gingrich's book. from Publishers Marketplace:

NON-FICTION: ADVICE/RELATIONSHIPS
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his daughter Jackie Gingrich Cushman's FIVE PRINCIPLES FOR A SUCCESSFUL LIFE, words of wisdom and advice for leading a fulfilling life with contributions from prominent figures in politics, business, and culture, to Crown Forum, with Mary Choteborsky editing, by Kathy Lubbers at The Lubbers Agency.
******
CHILDREN'S: YOUNG ADULT
Alyson Noel's next three books in THE IMMORTALS series, to Rose Hilliard at St. Martin's, for publication in 2010, by Bill Contardi at Brandt & Hochman (US).
******
NON-FICTION: SCIENCE
Lead singer of the seminal punk rock band Bad Religion and professor of life sciences at UCLA Greg Graffin's ANARCHY EVOLUTION, a provocative manifesto about science and faith, to Julia Cheiffetz at Harper Studio, by Caroline Greeven and Marc Gerald at The Agency Group (world).
******
NON-FICTION: POP CULTURE
Jake von Slatt and Jeff VanderMeer's STEAMPUNK, based on the website www.steampunkworkshop.com, exploring the Steampunk subculture, its art, design and DIY projects, to Sigi Nelson at Artisan, by Marc Gerald at The Agency Group (World).
******
NON-FICTION: HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS
It's a Jungle Out There author Amanda Marcotte's THE OTHER RULES, a one-stop fueling station for liberal-leaning women who want tools and language to be able to take a stance on the political issues they believe in, to Brooke Warner at Seal Press, for publication in spring 2010 (world).
******
NON-FICTION: ADVICE/RELATIONSHIPS
Sexpert and frequent contributor to the Howard Stern show Dr. Natasha with Francine LaSala's A LITTLE BIT KINKY, a handbook to help couples put the spice back into sex with tips and ideas for exploring uncharted territory in the bedroom, to Becky Cole at Broadway, by Sharon Bowers and Jennifer Griffin at The Miller Agency (World).
******
NON-FICTION: ADVICE/RELATIONSHIPS
Nerve.com's "Miss Information" advice columnist Erin Bradley's EVERY ROSE HAS ITS THORN: A ROCK N ROLL GUIDE TO GUYS, a humorous handbook to using rock and pop star archetypes, from Jimmy Page to Pete Doherty, to decipher your own love life, to Gabrielle Moss and Katherine Obertance at Tarcher, by Brandi Bowles at the Howard Morhaim Literary Agency.

Anatomy of a six-figure book deal

Fascinating look at the making of Lenore Skenazy's six-figure book deal for Free Range Kids: Giving Our Kids the Freedom We Enjoyed Without Going Nuts With Worry (click through for her site/blog) based on this New York Sun article on letting her 9-year-old son ride the subway alone, up now at Alan Rinzler's The Book Deal. This is all in keeping with a book I'm going to post about soon, David Seaman's Dirty Little Secrets of Buzz - as in, getting people angry is good.

At this point it was a Wednesday afternoon in our San Francisco offices, and the end of day in NYC. My heart beat accelerated, a small vein in my temple began to pulse, and the situation escalated immediately to code red, taking control of my life. I stopped doing anything else, made some urgent calls to my immediate team, and emailed the proposal to my boss the publisher, his boss the President, and our team marketing manager, sales director, publicity guy, and many others, including big sales honchos and national account reps at our parent company John Wiley & Son’s corporate offices in Hoboken.

To justify paying a competitive six-figure advance, I’d need to persuade literally dozens of people throughout the company that we could sell enough copies to earn out in the first year enough royalties to equal or surpass whatever other companies were going to bid.

Looks like we'll still be talking about Sarah Palin in 2010

from Publishers Marketplace today:

NON-FICTION: HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS
Salon columnist Rebecca Traister's BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY: Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, Michelle Obama, Tina Fey, and the Year that Changed the Face of Feminism, an enduring, incisive, and often humorous work of social commentary on the unexpected ways the 2008 presidential election brought issues concerning women and power, sexism and feminism to the fore, to Wylie O'Sullivan at Free Press, in a pre-empt, for publication in September 2010, by Linda Loewenthal at the David Black Literary Agency (world).

Major book lust - Cooking Cute

photo via Cooking Cute

from Publishers Marketplace:

NON-FICTION: COOKING
Japanese pop-culture blogger La Carmina's COOKING CUTE, a "kawaii" (think Hello, Kitty) cookbook that brings the recent trend of personified bento boxes to an American palate, to Meg Leder at Perigee, by Lindsay Edgecombe at Levine Greenberg Literary Agency (word).


This is a perfect time to tell you that tomorrow the SXSW Panel Picker goes live, and I will be spamming you like crazy to vote for my food blogger panel (with free cupcakes!) "Nom Nom Nom: The Secrets of Successful Foodblogging." (which, if there's room, I just may ask La Carmina to be on!)

My grandfather's book deal!

I have been waiting for the official word, and here it is, straight from Publishers Marketplace. I could not be more thrilled and am so thankful to everyone who posted comments on the excerpt from his memoir at Memoirville. This is more exciting for me in its way than anything I'll ever do, and has brought my grandfather and I much closer together. I'm so honored to have played a role in this book deal. I don't know when the book will be out but I believe it's a Spring 2009 title and I will of course keep you posted!

Above is a photo of him with Congressman John Hall, and below is him testifying in front of the Subcommittee on Disability & Memorial Affairs of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs in June 2006 (the audio of the testimony is online somewhere, but I don't have the link in front of me right now).

NON-FICTION: MEMOIR
Norman Bussel's MY PRIVATE WAR: LIBERATED BODY, CAPTIVE MIND-A WWII POW'S JOURNEY, after being held as a POW in Nazi Germany, the author struggles to reintegrate with civilian life at a time when post-traumatic stress disorder was an unknown phenomenon, to Jessica Case at Pegasus, on behalf of Helen Zimmerman at the Helen Zimmerman Literary Agency (World English).

Monday. Blog to Book Panel. Be There. I Am Moderating.

From Blogger to Author:
How Bloggers Get Book Deals, and What This Means for Publishing
a mediabistro.com panel discussion with editors, agents, and writers
Monday, December 11, 7-9 pm
$20 ($15 for members); $5 more at the door
Small Press Center, 20 West 44th Street
New York, NY 10036
http://www.mediabistro.com/courses/cache/crs2350.asp?c=crsref
======================================================================

A couple years ago, having a blog with buzz was enough to get a book deal.
But sales have been disappointing, and publishers are wary of turning
another "my blog about me" into a book.

How do you go from successful blogger to successful author? It's not all
about traffic. In this frank discussion, bloggers/authors (blothors? ok,
maybe not) discuss how their blogs got them noticed, played a part in their
writing process, and helped or hurt when their books hit the shelves. And
what
does this mean for publishing?

Speakers include:

-- Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, author of Apartment Therapy (Bantam), and New
York editor and co-founder of Apartment Therapy, the design blog the New
York Times called "quietly addicting"

-- Kate Lee, literary agent at ICM, whose client list includes prominent
bloggers, journalists, novelists, and memoirists

-- Michael Malice, founding editor and co-author of Overheard in New York,
and subject of Ego & Hubris: The Michael Malice Story, by Harvey Pekar
(Ballantine Books)

-- Laura Mazer, Managing Editor at Seal Press (an imprint of Avalon), which
has published numerous titles that began as blogs

-- Julie Powell, author of Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously
(Little Brown), a book based on her blog chronicling a year cooking all the
recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking

-- Robert Rummel-Hudson, author of the forthcoming memoir Schuyler's Monster
(St. Martins Press) which began as an online journal about how his life was
transformed when his daughter Schuyler was diagnosed with an extremely rare
neurological disorder that left her unable to talk

-- Rachel Kramer Bussel, moderator, Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations,
writes The Village Voice's Lusty Lady column. She's edited 13 erotic
anthologies and her first novel, Everything But..., will be published by
Bantam in 2008.

I never thought it would happen to me...

I will post about the fabulous In The Flesh tonight chock full of KICK ASS readers who all did a wonderful job of making the packed-to-the-gills crowd laugh and ponder what's "normal." I saw my agent there and she told me about this listing and then I got home and there it was!

But anyway, it's officially official (though I will also say that there was an auction. an auction! Yes, I'm a geek but I was really excited about that even though it almost gave me a heart attack.), I am going to be a novelist. Twice, in fact. And I couldn't be happier about getting the chance to work with Danielle Perez, who I've been hearing nothing but fabulous things about from various writerly folks, including Susan Shapiro and Lauren Baratz-Logsted.

As someone who rabidly checks Publishers Marketplace every day and tries to keep up with the publishing industry, and someone with what will be 13 published books to my credit come spring, I'm honored to finally be moving into the big time and to take my fiction to a whole new level.

Village Voice Lusty Lady columnist and In The Flesh reading series creator Rachel Kramer Bussel's EVERYTHING BUT.... and EYE CANDY, to Danielle Perez at Bantam Dell, in a nice deal, by L. Perkins Agency (World).