Breaking News
Time Warner
Trade Publishing
Closes IPublish.com
TWTP Will Continue To Distribute Electronic Books
NEW YORK, NY/12/4/01 Laurence Kirshbaum, chairman of Time Warner Trade Publishing, announced with great regret today that its electronic publishing division iPublish.com will be closing by the end of the year.
The sale of electronic books (primarily electronic reprints of existing print titles) will be moved to the TWTP group responsible for electronic promotion of Warner and Little, Brown print titles. The iPublish web site–designed to publish newly discovered authors–will be closed. The closing of iPublish will affect 29 employees.
In making the announcement, Mr. Kirshbaum said: It is with great regret that I announce the closing of iPublish. This is the suspension of a dream that many of us shared when we started iPublish 18 months ago. Sadly, timing is everything in business, and sometimes being too early is as harmful as being too late. The market for e-books has simply not developed the way we hoped, and given the overall economic climate, we cant jeopardize our thriving print business by carrying a money-losing operation indefinitely into the future. I believe that the day for e-books is still ahead, and that is why we will continue to be aggressive publishers and marketers of our e-book reprints.
Mr. Kirshbaum added: This has been a very painful decision and I am especially grateful for the extraordinary band of pioneers, under Greg Voynows leadership, who have worked so hard to make iPublish work. They are an incredible group and they have inspired all of us with their passion and dedication and innovation. Unfortunately, the economics of sustaining this kind of publishing on a broad-scale are simply not there yet. But I believe that iPublish will some day be recognized for establishing a template that other publishers can follow.
Greg Voynow, Senior Vice President and General Manager of iPublish, noted that the level of creativity and talent shown by the writers who joined the iPublish community has been astonishing, as were the seriousness and passion of the thousands of iPublish members who were in effect our editorial board, reviewing works. Our hope was that all of this would serve the greater good of TWTP, and that the parallel universe we created would plug in to and benefit the print side. But, we were ahead of our time. Although the customers arent there yet, I believe that iPublish did help define the future of publishing.
Wal-Mart Presses
Magazine Distributors
For Major Changes
11/27/01Wal-Mart, one of the nations largest retail outlets for magazines, and Time, Inc., may force magazine wholesalers to fundamentally change the way they charge for distribution services. Wal-Mart generates about $450 million in annual magazine sales, accounting for a 10 to 15 percent share of the U.S. periodical market.
A new model of distribution, called cost-to-servestrongly advocated by Time, Inc. would base the wholesalers payment on the type of service provided. Currently, wholesalers are paid a percentage of the cover price for each title sold.
Time, Inc. has been pushing for the new model, and has asked Wal-Mart to test the program during the next few months.
The test is expected to delay Wal-Marts selection of a new wholesaler lineup while the chain decides how it will compensate specific wholesaler functions. Contracts that would have been awarded by years end may be stalled for a number of months.
Millions of dollars are at stake in W al-Marts realignment of wholesaler contracts. In addition to the cost-to-serve plan, the retailer plans to award contracts to the wholesaler that dominates the market in each specific area. Some Wal-Mart stores located only a few miles from a wholesalers warehouse now receive shipments from rival wholesalers hundreds of miles away. The new plan, designed to help Wal-Mart achieve market density, would match store locations to the nearest warehouse.
Wal-Mart currently uses three of the four major wholesales: Anderson News Corp., Chas. Levy Circulating Co., and Hudson News Co. Anderson has about 75 percent of Wal-Marts business. A fourth major wholesaler, News Group, has been included in previous bidding.
Phyllis Grann
Named Vice Chairman
At Random House
NEW YORK, NY/11/26/001Phyllis E. Grann, who stepped down last month as Chief Executive Officer and President of Penguin Putnam Inc., the countrys second largest trade book publisher, will join Random House Inc. on Jan. 2 in the newly created position of Vice Chairman, a corporate advisory position. She will report to Random Houses Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Peter Olson.
Grann, 62, has been greatly admired over the past 25 years for her editorial, publishing and executive skills.
The rare times someone as gifted as Phyllis becomes available you seize the opportunity to work with her, Olson said. Phyllis would be an invaluable addition to our company at any time but never more so than now as we must apply even greater ingenuity to overcome the ongoing book marketplace downturn. She and I have created a role for her at Random House Inc. that is as unique as she is.
Random House Inc. is the U.S. company of Random House, the worlds largest trade book publisher.
Grann will have no specific day to day editorial or publishing responsibilities, but Olson observed that all of our adult and children s divisions worldwide can draw upon her publishing expertise and broad range of creative, media and business relationships. They will also be welcome to consult with her on plans for a specific book or publishing program. She will be a wonderful collaborator, especially when working with our publishers on projects of mutual interest. The Random House Inc. publishers, who continue to report to either Olson or Joerg Pfuhl, the companys president, make all their own final decisions on which books they choose to publish.
Grann was Chief Executive Officer and President of Penguin Putnam Inc., the U.S. affiliate of The Penguin Group, since 1996. She began her publishing career at Doubleday & Co. in 1958 as secretary to Nelson Doubleday. Following editorial and executive positions at William Morrow & Company and Simon & Schuster, she became President and Publisher in 1984 of the Putnam Berkley Group, rising to CEO in 1987 and Chairman in 1991. In 1996 she helped engineer its merger with Penguin USA to create Penguin Putnam Inc.
Grann has published innumerable fiction and nonfiction bestselling authors, including Lance Armstrong, A. Scott Berg, Tom Clancy, Robin Cook, Patricia Cornwell, Clive Cussler, Ken Follett, Dick Francis, Sue Grafton, Jack Higgins, Alice Hoffman, Steve Martini, Robert B. Parker, Nora Roberts, John Sanford, Amy Tan, Kurt Vonnegut and Stuart Woods.
Random House, the worlds largest trade book publisher, is comprised of an array of prestigious publishing divisions and imprints which publish many of the worlds foremost and most popular writers of adult and childrens fiction and nonfiction in hardcover, trade and mass market paperback, audio and digital formats. Its U.S. company, Random House Inc., publishes more than 3,500 new books and audios annually and maintains an active backlist of almost 25,000 titles.
Random House English-language publishers in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa are market leaders in their respective countries. Random House also encompasses some of the leading publishing houses in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela and Colombia. Random House is the book division of Bertelsmann AG, the worlds most international media company.
Pearson Forms
Joint Partnership
With Chinese TV
BEIJING & LONDON/11/19/01Pearson plc, the international media and education company (FTSE: PSON; NYSE: PSO), announced a joint venture with CTV Media Ltd, the publicly traded multimedia and production arm of China Central Television (CCTV), the nations largest television broadcaster.
The new Beijing-based company, Pearson CTV Media, will provide education and consumer content across television, broadband services and publishing for Chinas 350 million television households.
The centerpiece of the joint venture will be a long-term cross-media effort in English language training as China works towards greeting the world in English at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. As part of this effort, which will begin in March 2002, CCTV will provide Pearson CTV Media with unprecedented distribution across its television network, which reaches more than 1 billion viewers every day.
Pearson Broadband, the broadband television division of Pearson plc, will own 50 percent of the venture, with CTV Media Ltd holding a 40 percent stake. Cyber Solutions Co. Ltd, a broadband and telecommunications services company based in Beijing, will hold the remaining 10 percent.
Zhao Huayong, President of China Central Television, said, In August we began meeting with Pearson to explore how we might work together. Since then we have made great progress and I am delighted that we have established this long-term relationship in the fields of education and television with Pearson.
Marjorie Scardino, Pearsons chief executive, said: We are very pleased to have this opportunity to work with our partners to meet the huge demand for learning English that exists right across China. We aim to make the learning process more accessible and more engaging than ever before. We will be helped in achieving that goal by the unique nature of our joint venture with CTV Media, which spans television, publishing and Chinas emerging broadband network.
Pearson CTV Media will produce a range of television programming to introduce conversational English in an entertaining setting on CCTV channels. Four television series are planned, with two already in development and the first to be broadcast on CCTVs Channel 5 (sports) and Channel 10 (education and culture) beginning early next year.
These shows will generate significant advertising and sponsorship opportunities for multinational corporations looking to promote their products in China, where the advertising market grew at a compounded annual growth rate of 41 percent in the 1990s. All television programming will be supported with companion publishing from Pearson imprints including Longman, the worlds leading English language teaching company. Longman will publish print, online and audio courseware, and the joint venture will pilot broadband services, including self-study English language courseware. The pilots will run in Beijing housing complexes recently installed with high bandwidth Internet connections. The total online population in China is approximately 26 million.
Pearson CTV Media is also working on a number of other projects, including:
a six-part Eyewitness China television series, focusing on Chinas history, art and culture, for distribution around the world. Based on the award-winning Eyewitness format developed by Dorling Kindersley, another Pearson company, the series will combine original production and exclusive access to more than 10,000 hours of footage from CCTVs television archives. DK will publish new companion consumer titles alongside Eyewitness China. television programming for The Travel Network, a new travel channel to be launched in China in January 2002, which will feature multimedia content from DKs Eyewitness Travel Guides on the worlds major cities. television syndication of DK Visions existing award-winning television programs in China.
This alliance makes the most of new opportunities emerging in China and pairs us with a strong, entrepreneurial partner in CTV Media, said John Hollar, President of Pearson Broadband. This enables us to help meet the huge demand in China for innovative, high- quality education and entertainment across all media platforms.
China Central Television, established in 1958, is the national television station of the Peoples Republic of China. CCTV is Chinas earliest and largest television broadcaster and runs 11 channels reaching 1 billion viewers.
CTV Media (CTV Intermediary Co. Ltd.) is a television and film production and distribution subsidiary of China Central Television. In 1997 it became the first Chinese television company to go public. CCTV now indirectly controls 67 percent of the shares. CTV produces its own programs and distributes them, as well as programs it licenses from the international marketplace, throughout China. This year, CTV expanded its scope to include all aspects of television production.
Pearson CTV Media is planning four television series, with two already in production:
Phrase of the Day, a series of more than 250 90-second vignettes, each introducing an English-language phrase. This series will introduce everyday English phrases set in real-life situations such as shops, hotels and taxis. It will be broadcast throughout the day. The Maze, the biggest contestant-based show to be screened in Chinas television history. The Maze will feature teams of contestants who race through a multi-level maze and gather rewards each time they are able to read an English phrase.
Pearson plc (FTSE: PSON; NYSE: PSO) is an international media company with market leading businesses in education, business information and consumer publishing.
Pearson Education is the worlds leading learning company. Its textbooks, online learning tools and testing and assessment programs help to educate more than 100 million people worldwide. Through market-leading imprints such as Longman, Pearson helps more than 40 million people a year to learn English – more than any other company in the world. Longman, which was founded in 1724, first published the landmark Dr Johnsons English Dictionary in 1755 and pioneered English Language Teaching (ELT) materials in the 1920s. Today, Longman produces ELT materials in 17 languages for 55 countries and has recently launched online courses at http://www.pearsoned.com/.
The Penguin Group is one of the worlds leading consumer publishers, with an unrivaled range of fiction and non-fiction, bestsellers and classics, childrens and reference works for audiences in more than 100 countries. Dorling Kindersley publishes illustrated reference books and travel guides for children and adults of all ages. The Financial Times and its network of business and financial newspapers and online services informs the daily decisions of more than 4 million businesses and investors worldwide.
Pearson Broadband is the broadband television arm of Pearson plc. From its offices in New York, Phoenix, Ariz., London, Hong Kong and Beijing, Pearson Broadband creates interactive educational, media-rich broadband applications and television both for the home and classroom.
Cyber Solutions Co. Ltd is a Beijing-based technology company that will be providing specialist technology services to the joint venture.
Books-A-Million
Sales Increase
In Third Quarter
BIRMINGHAM, AL/11/20/01Books-A-Million Inc. (Nasdaq/NM:BAMM) announced financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended Nov. 3.
Net sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2002 increased 8.5 percent to $97.8 million from $90.1 million in the year-earlier period. Comparable store sales for the quarter decreased 3.8 percent.
Excluding the effects of collectibles sales, comparable store sales decreased 2 percent. Net loss for the quarter was $1.9 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $1.6 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, in the year-earlier period.
For the 39-week period ended Nov. 3, net sales increased 8.1 percent to $299.3 million from sales of $276.9 million for the 39-week period ended Oct. 28, 2000. Comparable store sales decreased 4.1 percent when compared with the same period of fiscal 2001. Excluding the effects of collectibles sales, comparable store sales decreased 0.1 percent for the period. For the 39-week period, the company reported a net loss of $3 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $1.7 million, or $0.10 per diluted share for the year-earlier period.
Commenting on the results, Clyde B. Anderson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, We are very pleased that we were able to meet our earnings estimates for the quarter. We believe this is a significant accomplishment given the current state of the economy and particularly the retail environment. In addition, we are maintaining our fourth quarter estimates of $0.36 to $0.40 per share compared with $0.27 per share in the prior-year period.
Anderson continued, During the quarter, our history and inspirational categories performed notably well, as did magazines and gift items. Desecration, the latest in the Left Behind Series, was a strong performer, even though it was on sale for only the last five days of the quarter.
Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, we are enthusiastic about the lineup of new titles, including John Grishams Christmas book, Skipping Christmas and Lifes One Nation, a tribute to the American spirit after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. We also anticipate strong demand for the Harry Potter childrens series and the Lord of the Rings trilogy due to the release of major motion pictures during the fourth quarter.
Books-A-Million is one of the nations leading book retailers and sells on the Internet at www.booksamillion.com. The company presently operates 205 stores in 18 states and the District of Columbia. The company operates four distinct store formats, including large superstores operating under the names Books-A-Million and Books & Co., traditional bookstores and combination book and greeting card stores, both operating under the name Bookland, and Joe Muggs Newsstands. The companys wholesale operations include American Wholesale Book Co. and Book$mart, both based in Florence, Ala. NetCentral Inc., an Internet development and service company, is located in Nashville, Tenn.
Audiobooks
Find Space
On Library Shelves
WAYNE, NJ/11/26/01–Audible Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBL) announced that two public library systems are offering audiobooks that have been made available through Audibles library solution program.
These announcements follow the Kalamazoo, Mich., Public Librarys launch this past March. Audible is the leading provider of downloadable spoken audio that informs and entertains anywhere and at anytime with audio editions of books, newspapers, magazines, radio programs and original shows.
Audible is an agent of change for how audiobooks are being delivered to the public, said Brad Stephens, Technology Coordinator of NOLA Regional Library System. Audibles library solution allows us to save shelf space and lower replacement costs for damaged or lost materials and still provide an excellent listening experience to our patrons.
Libraries can not afford to be left behind in a digital revolution, added Julie Ben-Simon, Manager, Vendor Relations, of the King County Library System. Audible has demonstrated the ability to offer libraries viable lending models that respect copyright, improve customer service and stretch public dollars as far as possible.
Audible applauds the vision of these public library systems and their mission for improving their patrons audiobook listening experience, said Matthew Fine, senior vice president for Enterprise at Audible Inc. Our library solution is gaining momentum as early feedback from participating libraries indicate that patrons are embracing our technology.
As of Nov. 1, both libraries began loaning patrons an AudibleReady(TM) portable audio player and carrying case, headphones and a car cassette adapter, as well as the digital content of the listeners choice.
Digital audiobooks can never be lost or broken, nor do they take up any valuable shelf space. The participating library purchases and downloads several lending copies of a digital title from Audible. The library transfers the audio onto its own AudibleReady players, which play Audibles secure audio files. Libraries then lend these devices to patrons for specified lengths of time.
Audible.com features daily audio editions of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Los Angeles Times all available on a subscription basis in time for the morning drive to work each day as well as The Economist, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, Scientific American and C-SPAN. The site also offers a powerful collection of audiobook best sellers and classics by authors such as Stephen King, John Grisham, Frank McCourt, Jon Krakauer, Scott Adams, Mary Higgins Clark, James Redfield, James Patterson, William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson and Jane Austen. There are also speeches, lectures and on-demand radio programs including Marketplace, All Things Considered, Car Talk, Fresh Air and This American Life. All of the programs at audible.com are available for PC-based playback and on-the-go listening using numerous AudibleReady(TM) portable digital audio players offered by leading consumer electronics and computer manufacturers.
Audible(R) ( http://www.audible.com/(R)) is the Internets largest, most diverse provider of premium spoken audio services for content download or playback on personal computers or AudibleReady(TM) PC-based mobile devices. Audible has more than 32,000 hours of audio programs and 165 content partners that include leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, magazine and newspaper publishers and business information providers. Audible.com is Amazon.coms ( http://www.amazon.com/) exclusive provider of spoken word products for downloading or streaming via the Web. Additionally, the company is strategically aligned with Random House Inc., to pioneer the first-ever imprint to produce spoken word content specifically suited for digital distribution, Random House Audible. Among the Companys key business partners are Card Access Inc., Casio Inc., Compaq Computer Corp., Handspring, Hewlett-Packard Co., Microsoft Corp., Royal Philips Electronics, RealNetworks Inc., SONICblue Incorporateds Rio Audio Group, Sony Electronics, Texas Instruments and VoiceAge Corp.
Authorlink.com Sees
Surge in Interest
As Publishers Avoid Mail
DALLAS/12/01/01Since the anthrax scare, Authorlink.com has seen a dramatic upsurge in editor/agent requests for manuscripts from the online site. Authorlink is the award-winning literary rights site where editors and agents come to buy and sell manuscripts.
Authorlink Editor-in-Chief Doris Booth attributes the upturn in online requests for manuscripts, as well as overall website traffic, to mailroom uncertainties at large publishing houses, and to the need for editors and agents to find fresh, inspiring material for a changed America.
The New York Times reported Nov. 8 that the anthrax scare gives one more excuse for all but a handful of publishing houses not to read unsolicited manuscripts [that come through the mail].
. . . There are thousands of short stories, poems, queries and letters in an unidentified mailroom somewhere as editors and publishers ponder what to do next, the Times article said.
Booth believes the scare has prompted editors and agents to consider the Internet as a faster and safer source for finding good material.
At Authorlink, writers manuscripts are evaluated by experience level, and brief queries are posted on the site by category. Editors and agents browse the pages and make requests to see an entire work, if interested. A powerful new search engine allows publishers and agents to instantly search by a variety of criteria, and to get a feel for a writers credentials and writing style from the short listings.
Booth estimates that traffic, which generally held steady through the terrorist attacks, has increased 10 percent within the last 30 days, and editor/agent requests for manuscripts has nearly doubled during this time.
The site has influenced the sale of a number of manuscripts in the past few years to both small presses and major publishers including Random House, Simon & Schuster, St. Martins Press, and others.
SchoolNet
Secures $5M
In Financing
NEW YORK/11/26/01SchoolNet Inc, the leader in data-driven decision-making for K-12 school districts, has secured $5 million in Series B financing.
This new round of funding was led by Ascend Venture Group LLC, a New York City-based private equity firm that invests in companies that leverage emerging technologies. The Princeton Review Inc. (NASDAQ:REVU), an earlier investor and strategic partner of SchoolNets, also participated.
SchoolNet has emerged as a leader in the education industry, using data and decision support tools to advance education reform. SchoolNet works with districts to bring data where its needed in the hands of administrators, teachers and parents working to increase academic performance.
We are very pleased to have quality investors and partners like Ascend and The Princeton Review, said Jonathan D. Harber President and CEO. This important round of financing supports our market position. Though the economy has weakened, we feel confident that public schools will continue to receive funding, to push for accountability and to drive for increased academic achievement.
Second to defense, President Bush and Secretary Paige continue to place education as a top priority, calling for accountability and the availability of disaggregated data, observed Denis P. Doyle, Vice-Chairman and Chief Academic Officer.
Ascend Venture Group is pleased to lead this round of financing and is excited to be partnering with SchoolNet, said Roszell Mack III, Partner, Ascend Venture Group. SchoolNet is particularly attractive to us because of the size and importance of the K-12 education market and the extraordinary amount of expertise possessed by the companys management team.
As part of the financing, Roszell Mack III will join SchoolNets Board of Directors which includes Alan Wurtzel, former CEO and current Vice-Chairman of Circuit City Stores Inc. (NYSE: CC), Mark Chernis, President and Chief Operating Officer, The Princeton Review Inc. (NASDAQ: REVU) and Richard Segal, President, SeaVest.
SchoolNets decision-making platform includes Account(TM), Align(TM) and Outreach(TM), all of which draw from SchoolNets data warehouse.
Account is a decision support tool for school administrators that queries a data warehouse, tying multiple disparate databases into one resource. Superintendents and principals have instant access to information on student demographics, staff development, assessments, HR and finance. Users can perform analysis at the district, school, class and students level.
Align is an instructional management tool, allowing curriculum and instruction staff as well as teachers to align standards, lessons, assessments and curriculum materials. Teachers use Aligns instructional designer to assess student achievement by standards and plan instruction accordingly.
Outreach is a web site management tool for technology coordinators. In addition to providing a district-wide portal, it gives each school a private extranet with built in workflow. Outreach allows districts to create one place for users to log into all of its Internet applications. Districts and schools can use group calendars, share files and post news. Local control panels allow technology coordinators to set groups and permissions for each page of the site.
Outreach also provides seamless access to partner products, including Princeton Reviews online diagnostic assessment program, Homeroom.com and more than 2,000 titles from The Learning station.
SchoolNet also publishes The Doyle Report, http://www.thedoylereport.com/, a web-based e-newsletter that provides critical industry information to reform minded educators.
The company will use the additional financing to continue product development and sales efforts.
Ascend Venture Group LLC, based in New York City, is a venture capital firm that funds businesses leveraging emerging technologies. Ascend identifies attractive investment opportunities through formal and informal minority and women-based networks. Currently, Ascend manages in excess of $50 million and has invested in more than 25 companies.
The Princeton Review is an education company specializing in test preparation and higher education admissions services. Founded in 1981 and headquartered in New York City, the company offers classroom and online test preparation courses, tutoring and college counseling and operates educational websites.
More than half a million students, parents and counselors visit http://www.review.com/ each month for free tools and information about applying to colleges and graduate schools and to research financial and career options. The company also helps K-12 schools strengthen their students academic skills and improve their performance on high-stakes state tests with its powerful online service, homeroom.com and related print products and professional development seminars. The Princeton Review also authors more than 175 print and software titles on test preparation, college and graduate school selection and admissions and related topics.
SchoolNet, Inc. is the leading provider of data-driven decision-making solutions designed to improve student achievement in K-12 school districts. SchoolNets products and services include a data warehouse, Account the executive information system, Align – the instructional management tool and Outreach – the web site management tool. SchoolNet also publishes The Doyle Report, http://www.thedoylereport.com/, a web service providing critical industry information to reform minded educators. Educators across the country use SchoolNets products and services.
GENERAL NEWS Magazine
Ad Sales
Decline
NEW YORK/11/21/01Magazine publishers during the third quarter posted the worst decline in ad sales in more than a decade. The decline significantly worsened after September 11, to end down 11 percent.
According to Media Industry Newsletter, which covers the magazine industry, December ad sales for 168 monthly magazines declined 17 percent compared to December a year ago. The overall decline for the year is expected to be 7.6 percent.
Ppersonal finance and technology publications suffered the greatest losses.
Fast Companys ad pages fell in 2001 by 54 percent; Wired was off 45 percent; Yahoo! Internet Life declined 37 percent; SmartMoney dropped 33 percent.
Weeklies and bi-weeklies also were hit. Business Week and Forbes fell 37 percent; Fortune was off 39 percent. Newsweek declined 27 percent; U.S. News & World Report, was down 25 percent, and Time dropped 22 percent.
Studies show that many Americans are worried about spending too much and going into debt this holiday.
Gaylord Sells
Music Unit
In Cash Deal
NASHVILLE, TN/11/27/01Gaylord Entertainment Co. has sold its Christian music division, Word Entertainment, to Warner Music Group for $84.1 million in cash.
Word Entertainment has a music catalog containing more than 75,000 masters and also is a leader in printing and distributing hymnals and choral music. The deal, which was announced Monday, is expected to be completed in January.
The company is home to some of Christian musics top-selling performers including Amy Grant, Sixpence None The Richer, Rachael Lampa, Sandi Patti, Point of Grace, Nicole C. Mullen and Marc Schultz.
The sale is the latest from Grand Ole Opry owner Gaylord, which is in the midst of a major restructuring effort to focus on its more profitable convention hotel and hospitality business. The company announced a third-quarter loss of $45.1 million earlier this month. Shares were up 44 cents to close at $21.64 on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday.
Gaylord owns the Gaylord Palms hotel near Kissimmee, Fla. The 1,406-room hotel, off Interstate 4 near Walt Disney World, is on track to open in February.
We are making significant progress on our strategy to transition Gaylord Entertainment to a new, focused Gaylord, said Colin Reed, the companys chief executive officer.
The company reported earlier this year that Word had not lived up to expectations since being bought from Nashville-based Thomas Nelson Publishers in 1996.
Warner Music Group CEO Roger Ames said Warner could maximize Words potential at a time when Christian music is enjoying explosive growth.
Hearst Corp
to Unload
'Talk' Magazine
NEW YORK/11/26/01Hearst Corp. reportedly wants to sell its share of a 50-50 joint venture with Miramax Films (a division of Disney) to fund Tina Browns Talk Magazine. Hearst, like other magazines, has been hurt by declining ad sales, and may be seeking a buyer for its stake.
The magazine, which lost about $25 million last year, was launched in August 1999 and has undergone several major resdesigns and staff turnover. A spokesman for Miramax said managemnet is firmly committed to the magazine and was not aware that Hearst wants out.
The book publishing unit, Talk Miramax Books, has been profitable, with one of its titles, "Ice Bound" by Dr. Jerri Neilsen, reaching best-seller status last year. The unit also has offered New York Mayor Giuliani $3 million for a two-book deal.
Harvard Business Review
Plans Special Issue
On Leadership
BOSTON/11/26/01The Harvard Business Review has announced that it will publish a special issue in December on breakthrough leadership. This is the latest new initiative from the globally respected magazine, which announced earlier this month that it was increasing its frequency to 12 times a year.
The contents of Breakthrough Leadership: Its Personal, the magazines first special issue, call for a new understanding of effective leadership as an intensely personal process, grounded in emotional self-awareness. The issue features the new article by emotional intelligence expert Daniel Goleman, Primal Leadership: The Hidden Driver of Great Performance. The issue also features personal recollections of Michael Eisner, Jack Welch and other prominent business leaders on the events and people that shaped them, as well as a collection of landmark HBR articles on leadership. Breakthrough Leadership: Its Personal appears on newsstands Dec. 1.
Business leaders turn to HBR for ideas that will help them run their businesses better even in the toughest times, said Suzy Wetlaufer, editor of Harvard Business Review. Todays harsh economy and climate of uncertainty have made the ability to lead effectively a business imperative. This special issue represents the most essential insights on how to become a better leader and foster that skill in others.
Following steady increases in advertising and circulation, HBR announced earlier this month that it was going monthly, its second frequency increase since January, when the magazine went from six to 10 issues. Year-to-date ad pages have increased 20 percent, from 386 to 482, and ad revenue has grown 50 percent.
Concurrent with its frequency increase, HBR is increasing its rate base to 235,000 from 225,000. As part of its new monthly schedule, HBR will publish two special issues each year on single topics relevant to the current business environment.
The increased frequency and special issues are a response to our readers, who look to us for trusted advice and timely insights on the issues that are most critical to their success and the continued growth of their organizations, said Penelope Muse Abernathy, publisher of Harvard Business Review. HBR is growing with them, by delivering groundbreaking content at a pace consistent with the demands our readers face every day.
Harvard Business Review is the leading magazine of business thought and practice. Written for the men and women who create, lead, and transform organizations worldwide, HBR seeks to publish ideas with impact, from the greatest minds in business. Published 12 times a year, the magazine has a rate base of 225,000 and is available on newsstands. Based in Boston, Harvard Business Review is a business unit of Harvard Business School Publishing, a wholly owned, not-for-profit subsidiary of Harvard University. Website: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/.
B&N Plans
Superstore
In Bozeman
NEW YORK/11/20/01–Barnes & Noble Inc., the nations largest bookseller, announced it has signed a lease agreement to open a new superstore in Bozeman, Mont.
The 25,000-square-foot store, expected to open in late October 2002, will be located in the Gallatin Valley Mall at 2825 West Main St.
We are excited by the prospect of becoming a vital part of this dynamic community, said Alan Kahn, chief operating officer of Barnes & Noble Inc. Customers at the new Bozeman Barnes & Noble will have access to millions of books in every imaginable subject and a comprehensive range of CD, video and DVD titles. As a community institution, a significant percentage of the stores books will reflect the local lifestyles and interests of Bozeman customers.
The Bozeman Barnes & Noble Customer Service Counter enables customers to order books at the store and have the order completed through Barnes & Noble.com for delivery to their home, office or to a friend.
The new Barnes & Noble store will carry an extensive selection of childrens books in an area designed especially for kids. The stores music department will offer more than 25,000 CD, video and DVD titles. Its Red Dot electronic music catalog, a touch-sensitive customer kiosk, features information on the actual location of CDs in the store. Listening stations will be available for customers to preview selected recordings. The store will also feature a Barnes & Noble Cafe, serving in a classic bistro setting Starbucks coffee, cappuccino, espresso; the full-leaf teas of The Republic of Tea; cold drinks; and a variety of reasonably priced gourmet sandwiches and desserts.
The Bozeman Barnes & Noble bookstore will develop an ongoing calendar of events, including poetry readings, book discussion groups, author signings and childrens story-telling hours, often featuring special guests. These events are designed to respond to the specific interests of the Bozeman community.
Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) operates 569 Barnes & Noble and 331 B. Dalton bookstores and GameStop (formerly Babbages), which is the nations largest operator of video game and entertainment software stores with 990 stores. Barnes & Noble stores stock an authoritative selection of book titles and provide access to more than one million titles. They offer books from more than 50,000 publisher imprints with an emphasis on small, independent publishers and university presses. Barnes & Noble is one of the worlds largest booksellers on the World Wide Web ( http://www.bn.com/) and the premiere bookseller on America Onlines (Keyword: bn) proprietary network. Barnes & Noble.com has the largest standing inventory of any online bookseller. Barnes & Noble also publishes books under its own imprint for exclusive sale through its retail stores and Web site.
Disney Efforts
Support Troops,
Assist Relief
BURBANK, CA/11/21/01The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) reiterated its commitment to support U.S. troops at home and abroad and assist in the nations relief and rebuilding programs. The scope of Disneys efforts include several initiatives and various company affiliates, including ABC, Inc., ESPN, Disney Channel, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Disney Consumer Products and The Walt Disney Studios.
DisneyHand, the companys corporate public service arm, will coordinate all efforts.
The Walt Disney Co. has become a USO World Sponsor, supporting outreach and marketing efforts on behalf of the USO and its programs. Disney is providing more than $1 million in financial aid and in-kind support for the USO. Disney talent will visit U.S. troops abroad in January and the company will produce and feature public service announcements focusing on how people can get involved in the war effort that will run on several Disney media outlets beginning this week. In addition, Disney has donated several thousand videos through the USO to military bases and will provide a combination of first-run movies and library classics for troops and ESPN The Magazine will be distributing magazines on USO tours. Also, on Nov. 11 and 12, in honor of Veterans Day, ABCs Who Wants to Be a Millionaire featured military personnel from the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. Fourteen finalists were chosen at an audition of 1,700 service personnel at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Va., the worlds largest naval station and home of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.
Disneys radio properties also are providing support to U.S. troops. TalkRadio 790 KABC, 95.5 KLOS-FM, ESPN Radio 1110-AM, KDIS 710-AM and Radio Disney have partnered with the Voice of America (VOA) and the Army Broadcasting Service in providing these two agencies with recorded holiday messages that will be heard by U.S. servicemen and women stationed in various countries and messages of goodwill to people around the globe.
Disney also will focus on its core constituencies – kids and families – as the nation continues work on relief and rebuilding efforts. The Walt Disney Co. has been working closely with the Points of Light Foundation, a non-profit, nonpartisan organization whose mission is to involve more people more effectively in volunteer service to help solve serious social problems. Disney produced and is running public service announcements on ABC-TV and Disney Channel encouraging people to volunteer and offer their services. The spots featured the Foundations contact information (1-800-VOLUNTEER) and encouraged Americans to take positive steps in helping heal the country in the aftermath of September 11. Disney companies will continue to provide financial and in-kind support, particularly promotion throughout Disneys media outlets, for Points of Light Foundation.
In addition, DisneyHand has sent gift copies from Disney Publishing Worldwide of the illustrated childrens book Across America, I Love You to childrens public libraries around the country. Across America, I Love You is a poetic tribute that draws parallels between this countrys natural phenomena and a youngster who is growing increasingly independent. The book was originally published in 2000.
The terrible events of September 11 prompted all Americans to take stock of their priorities and determine how, in big ways or small, they can help in the fight against terror, said Michael D. Eisner, chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Co. In this spirit, our company is also working to do what it can. One of our strengths is the ability to communicate with a wide range of people across our nation and around the world. And so, we are mobilizing in a number of ways to get the word out about what we all are fighting for and how we can each help mount the battle.
Immediately following the events of Sept. 11, The Walt Disney Co. established the DisneyHand: Survivor Relief Fund, to which Disney made a corporate contribution of $5 million and Disney employees contributed more than $700,000. Other Disney entities, including KABC-TV, ESPN Radio and Radio Disney in Los Angeles and Dallas radio stations KSCS-FM, KMEO-FM and WBAP-AM raised more than $1 million through events and promotions. Disney cast members from around the country also offered their volunteer services, including providing medical assistance, making and delivering food for rescue workers, lending assistance at community centers for grieving families, staffing for fund-raising activities, organizing relief-fund drives, purchasing and delivering needed supplies and offering general support for those working at the site of the World Trade Center Towers.
At Disney, we are proud of what our company and our cast members have done to help the nation, but we all realize that we can always do more, said Walt Disney President and COO Bob Iger. This may be a different kind of war, but it is still a war and, just as during past conflicts, this company and this industry have a valuable role to play. We intend to make a meaningful contribution for as long as it takes.
In late September, Disney companies created and introduced public service announcements featuring First Lady Laura Bush to help kids cope with their feelings and emotions about the September 11 attacks. The spots featuring Mrs. Bush launched Disney Channels Express Yourself campaign, which featured celebrities talking about communication, diversity and optimism and aired frequently on ABC and its affiliated stations, as well as Radio Disney. The Express Yourself campaign has continued to run on Disney Channel during the Zoog Disney afternoon and primetime programming block and features other well-known personalities, including Whoopi Goldberg, Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle), Hilary Duff (Lizzie McGuire) and Christy Romano (Even Stevens). The campaign urges viewers to express their feelings in positive ways and to seek out the goodness that still exists in the world.
On Nov. 11, in Beverly Hills, industry executives, including Iger, met with Karl Rove, a senior White House official, to discuss Hollywoods role in the war on terrorism. Rove articulated several ways in which the Bush Administration believes Hollywood might help the war effort, including public service announcements encouraging Americans to volunteer and helping children cope with current events, support for troops and their families and outreach to international communities. He also stressed that this was a war against terrorism and evil, not Islam and that the administration was not asking Hollywood to produce propaganda. Many of Disneys initiatives that began before that meeting will continue and will be augmented with new programs.
The meeting on Nov. 11 was a positive dialogue to which the industry responded appropriately. The administration articulated their points well and presented reasonable ideas for all of us to enable America and its citizens, military and civilian alike, to contend with the challenges of a changed world, said Iger. Disney is a leader in an industry that is extremely effective when it comes to communicating messages and it is incumbent upon us to use those tools for this effort.
WEB NEWS Rapsheets.com
Adds Cook County
To Database
MEMPHIS, TN/11/26/01Rapsheets.com has added criminal records on more than 2.5 million persons in Cook County, Ill., to its Internet site, solidifying its position as owner of the nations largest public database of criminal records.
Through its Internet site, Rapsheets.com provides instant criminal records searches for $3 per name – an alternative to more expensive, time-consuming courthouse searches that have long been the only means for checking a persons criminal record. Qualified users can search records on more than 32 million persons from 27 states and numerous major metropolitan areas of the country.
While other companies recently have tried to emulate the success of Rapsheets.com, none has the long history of collecting and disseminating
public records. Rapsheets.com is owned and operated by The Daily News Publishing Co. of Memphis, which has been the citys newspaper of record for more than 100 years.
We began our online criminal records business in 1997, said Peter Schutt, company president. Other startups have followed in our footsteps, but many of these Dotcoms actually fulfill their Web-based searches by interfacing with our databases.
Rapsheets.coms Chicago records are exclusive to the company, as are criminal records it owns from New York City, the state of Colorado and several other populous jurisdictions.
Rapsheets.coms databases contain public records from courts and prison systems, generally dating to 1990. The company updates almost every jurisdictions records monthly. All of the records in Rapsheets.coms databases are housed in its own data center.
Customers from more than 450 cities in 45 states now use Rapsheets.com for criminal records searches, Schutt said. Private investigators, screening firms and corporate human resource executives have already found the instant search capability delivered from our criminal records databases to be of great value in their businesses.
How to Search
Log-on to Rapsheets.com. Register online through a secure server using a major credit card. Choose a specific jurisdiction. Type individuals name and date of birth (optional). Select from name matches. View the individuals record.
In 1997, Rapsheets.coms parent company began compiling public records from state criminal justice agencies, courts and other government sources around the nation and delivering instant search results. In January, the company separated its criminal records searches from its main Web site ( memphisdailynews.com) and launched Rapsheets.com.
PEOPLE Coral Reef Literary Agency Closes
Coral Reef Literary Agency of Calcutta, India, has closed its doors. Owner Nanda Banerjee said the move was partly based on poor sales of US authors in India.
FINANCIALS Hollinger Announces
3 rd Quarter Results
TORONTO/11/26/01Hollinger Canadian Newspapers L.P. (TSE:HCN.UN.) announces net income including special items for the quarter ending Sept. 30 of $51.4 million or $0.28 per unit compared to $22.56 million or $0.14 per unit for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2000.
For the nine months ended Sept. 30 the net income was $167.6 million or $0.92 per unit compared to $75.55 million or $0.47 per unit for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2000.
Income before special items and income taxes in both the third quarter and nine months ended Sept. 30 was significantly lower than in 2000, primarily as a result of the disposition of properties to CanWest Global Communications Corp. in November 2000, the sale of UniMedia Company in January 2001, the sale of the majority of the Ontario properties in July as well as lower operating results at the partnerships remaining operations, offset in part by lower interest expense as a result of the conversion of the acquisition notes to units in November 2000 and interest income primarily related to the CanWest debentures received in November 2000.
In the first nine months of 2001 special items totaled $117.77 million and included gains arising mainly from the sale of UniMedia Co. in January and the sale of the majority of the remaining Ontario community newspapers in July. In the first nine months of 2000, special items totaled a loss of $1.67 million and principally represented severance charges.
Same Store Analysis
On a same-store basis, including only those newspapers which were owned for the nine-month period in each year, total revenue was $77.4 million in 2001 compared to $81.98 million in 2000, a decrease of $4.56 million or 5.6 percent. EBITDA for 2001 was $8.58 million compared to $10.75 million for 2000, a decrease of $2.17 million or 20.2 percent.
Investment and Other Income
For the nine months ending Sept. 30, investment and other income includes a cash dividend of $1.22 million on 8.16 million CanWest non-voting shares, interest on cash balances of approximately $3.3 million interest income of $23.9 million accrued on the subordinated debentures the partnership received as partial consideration from the sale of newspapers to CanWest in November 2000 and other interest income of $2.27 million.
This debenture interest is payable at the option of CanWest either in cash, by the issue of additional debentures or by the issue of CanWest shares. The total principal amount of debentures (as adjusted, if required) is due on Nov. 15, 2010. The principal amount of these debentures was $239.8 million as at Dec. 31, 2000. On Feb. 28 and July 31, a CanWest subsidiary issued additional debentures with a total principal amount of $20.9 million to the partnership. These debentures represent the arrears interest owing from Nov. 16, 2000 to July 31 calculated at 12.125 percent per annum, of which $17.47 million relates to the current year. As a result, the principal amount of all CanWest debentures held at Sept. 30 is $260.8 million.
Financial Condition and Liquidity
Working capital consists of current assets less current liabilities. At Sept. 30, working capital was $28.39 million compared to $43.47 million at Dec. 31, 2000. The $15 million reduction in working capital results from lower cash balances on hand at Sept. 30 primarily due to cash distributions in excess of cash inflows during the period.
Long-term debt, including the current portion was $100,000 at Sept. 30 compared with $1.2 million at Dec. 31, 2000.
Cash flows provided by operating activities were $22,783,000 in the nine months ended Sept. 30 compared with cash flows provided by operating activities of $98.98 million in 2000. The reduction in cash flows provided by operating activities compared to 2000 results primarily from the sales of the Unimedia and Ontario newspaper properties and lower operating results at the partnerships remaining operations.
Cash flows used in financing activities were $375 million for the nine months ending in September as compared to $107.9 million for 2000. The cash flows used in financing activities included cash distributions of $374.9 million in 2001 as compared to $107.4 million in 2000.
Cash flows provided by investing activities were $340 million000 for the nine months ended Sept. 30 as compared to cash flow used in investing activities of $7.96 million in 2000. The increase in cash flows provided by investing activities results primarily from the proceeds on sale of the Unimedia and Ontario papers in January and July.
Distributions
During the year, the partnership has paid two special distributions of $0.70 in March and $1.18 in August using the proceeds from the sale of properties during the year.
General
In September, the partnership, Hollinger International Inc. and Hollinger Inc. announced that the partnership had constituted a committee of independent directors to explore with Hollinger the possibility of an offer to purchase the units of the partnership not held by Hollinger, being approximately 24 million units. The structure and terms of any such offer (including the form of consideration to be offered) have not been proposed and there can be no assurance that any offer will be made.
LEGAL Mom Fires Son
as Publisher
of SF Examiner
SAN FRANCISCO/11/14/01Ted Fang, ousted last month as editor and publisher of the San Francisco Examiner by his mother, Florence Fang, threatens to sue her for breach of an oral agreement to give him a 51% interest in the newspaper plus employment. Fang seeks majority ownership of the newspaper and reinstatement as publisher, according to his attorney, E. Robert Wallach.
Neither Florence nor Ted Fang could be reached for comment.
Economic problems and family infighting have plagued the Examiner since the Fangs acquired the newspaper from the Hearst Corp. a year ago. The rift became public last month when Florence Fang issued a statement that she had placed her son on administrative leave and had taken over as publisher.
In June seven construction companies filed liens collectively valued at more than $1.4 million against ExIn LLC, the Examiners parent company. The companies claimed that the Fangs failed to pay them for remodeling the Examiners offices.
Insiders specculate that the newspaper's financial problems led Mrs. Fang to fire her son.
He has a highly corroborated oral proposal from his mother, explained Wallach, to give him a 51 percent interest in the Examiner as well as an employment agreement and a continuing involvement with Fang publications.
In addition to the Examiner, the Fangs publish the San Francisco Independent, the weekly Asian Week and other small papers in the Bay Area.
Authorlink News, Success Stories,
And Recognition Authorlink Sales at a Glance
A Comprehensive Listing of Sold Titles
Major Publishers
Browse Authorlink
for Manuscripts
Statistical Update
DALLAS, TX/ 12/1/01Literary agents and editors regularly surf Authorlink in search of good writers. Among major houses making requests and/or visiting the site, are: Random House, Knopf, St. Martin's Press, Simon & Schuster, Penguin/Putham and many other smaller publishers. More than 700 writers are currently listed with us. Since tracking began, 1598 requests have been processed for requested manuscripts. Of the 322 editor or agent offers we've been able to track, 72 have lead to publication as a direct or indirect result of exposure on Authorlink. Additional sales and agent contracts are pending.
On average, about 55-65% of the listed writers have received requests by editors and agents, some receiving multiple requests. Of those who have received interest, about 20- 30% are signed with agents and 15- 20% have directly sold their works to publishers during this time, not including pending sales.
The site, which matches literary agents and editors with writers, has received praise from editors at Penguin UK, Avon, Berkley, Random House, Time-Warner, Bantam Doubleday Dell and other major publishers.
See "What People Are Saying About Authorlink"
Joyce Lackey
Sells Book
to Gardenia Press
72nd Authorlink Writer to Land Publisher
A publisher contact made several years ago has finally paid of for Authorlink writer Joyce Lackey. The author who received a request for her novel as a result of her Authorlink listing for, The Ghosts of Buffalo Creek, has at last sold the work to Gardenia Press, a small publisher who plans to release the work in July 2002.
News Archives
June1, 2001–Michael E. Bemis of Kennebunk, Maine, became the 71st author to sell his work as a direct result of listing his work on Authorlink.com.
His book, Safe & Sound, a nonfiction work about how to buy a safe, private, and quiet home, will be published by Hanrow Press of Rancho Santa Fe, California. The small press, founded in 1982, has specialized in law and safety engineering books until now. The publication date for Safe & Sound has not yet been determined. Michaels work had been listed with Authorlink for about a year when Hanrow requested a look at the full manuscript. Authorlink interviewed the author about his success:
AUTHORLINK: When did you begin your writing career, and what prompted you to do so? Is there a special story behind your decision to become an author?
BEMIS: I started writing in earnest while serving as Sheriff of York County, Maine. When I left law enforcement full-time I was able to devote more time to my writing.
AUTHORLINK: Who was the greatest influence on your decision to write, and in what ways did they encourage you?
BEMIS: My mother who is a published author.
AUTHORLINK: How important has your agent been in guiding your career?
BEMIS: I briefly had an agent but due to personal hardship they were forced to close. I presently do not have an agent.
AUTHORLINK: How did Authorlink help?
BEMIS: Authorlinks excellent service and support has consistently exceeded my expectations. Without Authorlink, Safe & Sound would not be poised for publication.
AUTHORLINK: Do you have any advice or insights for newcomers trying to break into publishing?
BEMIS: It sounds monotonous, but they should just keep trying.
AUTHORLINK: Do you perceive New York publishing to be a closed society or an open one?
BEMIS: I think it's open to good writing and content that's timely and unique.
AUTHORLINK: What are publishers looking for today?
BEMIS: What will sell and authors with a passion to sell it.
AUTHORLINK: How did you learn your craft? Through reading? Conferences? A university? Mentoring? A combination of these, or other means?
BEMIS: Nothing formal, just a lot of research, reading and writing.
April 15, 2001–Jan Letoha this month became the 70 th Authorlink writer to sign a publishing contract as a result of her listing on Authorlink.com. Her first book, Bury The Past , will be published by Port Town Publishing in August, 2002.
Port Town Publishing (PTP) is a small publishing house located in Superior, Wisconsin. The company was founded in 1999 by Jean Hackensmith, a struggling romance author who got tired of getting rejection letters from the New York publishers. PTP publishes about 4-5 novels per year, including original romance, science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and horror.
Bury The Past was listed on Authorlink for 22 months. During that time, Jan also signed with an agent through Authorlink, but the agent closed her agency due to illness.
Jan has also listed her second book, Fire On The Moon, with Authorlink. Its another spooky, romantic suspense story.
How did Jan feel when she heard that her book would be published?
Like a genie popped out of a bottle and granted me three wishes! Its the best feeling in the world!
Jan began writing about ten years ago. I read a time travel/historical romance and thought, If this author can get away with such a fantastic story, maybe my ideas arent so crazy after all. So I started writing Bury The Past. Writing fiction was a lot harder than I thought itd be, though. Getting the hang of writing dialogue was really tough.
Before listing her work with Authorlink, Jan had tried the traditional methods of marketing — sending out query letters and sample chapters. I had another agent a few years back, Jan said. A word of advice — if an agent asks for money up front, look out! Maybe Im just jinxed when it comes to agents. Anyway, I'm convinced that Bury The Past would be sitting in a shoe box on my closet shelf if I hadn't discovered Authorlink.
When Jan is working on a book, shes a person obsessed — or possessed. She'll write 10 – 12 hours a day, especially during the summer.
In the real world, Jan teaches Psychology and U.S. History at a South Georgia high school.
What advice would she give to writers who want to be published?
Research the requirements for different types of novels. It seems that publishers want to see key elements in a book that will appeal to their specific type of market. Read a book on editing manuscripts so you can delete what publishers don't want to see. List your book on Authorlink — its the only thing that worked for me! Then develop a huge store of patience and persistence and dont think youre home free once you sign a contract. Thats when the real work starts!
67th Authorlink Sale
2/26/01–Joy Waldron Jasper this month became the 67th Authorlink writer to sell a manuscript as a direct result of contacts made through Authorlink. Jasper found her New York agent– Sam Fleishman of Literary Artists Representatives — via Authorlink, and he subsequently sold one of her works to St. Martin's Press.
The new book, "The USS Arizona: The Ship, the Men, the Attack!," will be in bookstores November 1, 2001, in time for Veteran's Day (November 11) and the 60th anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day (December 7, 2001)
"After meeting my agent through Authorlink, we signed a contract in December 2000 to represent my novel. Then we signed a second contract in January to represent my nonfiction book," Jasper explained. "As is often the case, the nonfiction sold first. St. Martin's Press bought it in February 2001, and has moved at an impressive speed to release it in less than a year, so as to offer it to readers at the 60th anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day — a mere nine months later, which is stunning in the world of publishing! Kudos to my wonderful editor, Mac Talley at St. Martin's Press, and to my amazing agent, Sam Fleishman."
Joy became an Authorlink writer in October, 2000. The fictional work that originally attracted her agent is titled "Betrayal at Pearl Harbor." While that novel hasn't yet sold (as of press time), the nonfiction book on Pearl Harbor was rapidly sold through the agent who connected with Jasper through Authorlink.
The USS Arizona book is the story of life aboard the USS Arizona in peacetime, and the survival stories of 10 men who lived through the attack. As a journalist and a diver, Joy first visited the USS Arizona underwater in 1983, covering the story of the photo documentation and scientific illustration of the gallant battleship, the greatest casualty of the Pearl Harbor attack. She was so enthralled with the story, she searched out survivors and began interviewing them, crisscrossing the country for several years to hear their stories. Hearing their emotional tales, she was fascinated by the tremendous bond and affection they felt for their ship, and she felt it was a story that needed to be told.
"I'm a writer who prefers to write every day, in the morning when I'm fresh, and for a period of three to four hours," Jasper said of her working habits. " If I'm on a splendid roll, I might write for longer, but I like to achieve 10 pages a day that I'll keep. It never hurts to stop in the middle — of an idea, a sentence, a chapter. I like returning the next day to something unfinished so that I'm inspired to jump in again. I don't think there's any one way to write, but I think it's important to find your own best period of the day and the length of time that makes sense for you. Writing books is my top priority, and I write full time."
For the record, Joy's children are grown, and she lives in New England with her husband and a garden full of perennials
"I've completed my second novel in a series of underwater thrillers (the first — working title, Betrayal at Pearl Harbor, which is listed on Authorlink — is under review at several major houses at this time)," Joy said.
I'm currently working on another nonfiction book on the Lewis and Clark expedition, and another historical biography is in the outline stage.
"I want to thank Authorlink for providing me a forum for my work, she added. "I was encouraged by having been selected for the Authorlink web site, and once I had a page there (http://www.authorlink.com/001051th.html), I had confidence to approach agents. I sent a number of Authorlink-listed agents an email, condensing my query to three paragraphs and asking them to look for more information on my page. I got positive responses from eight out of ten queries I sent. Of those eight, I was extremely fortunate to find a superb agent to represent me, and who got a sale within a month at a major press.
"Thanks to all at Authorlink. And I want to say to my fellow writers: '"Keep writing, and don't lose heart! If it happened to me, it can happen to you.'"
Authorlink Writer
Chopra Finds
Publisher for Work
68th Authorlink Sale
4/1/01–Dr. Prem Chopra, author of the new age nonfiction book, "If I Had Known," has sold his work to Hanrow Press in Rancho Santa Fe, California. The small press, founded in 1982, has specialized in law and safety engineering books until now. Chopra's book is their first venture into trade books.
Dr. Chopra has been listed with Authorlink since October 2000. He signed a contract with Hanrow Press early this year. He became the 68th author to sell his work through Authorlink in the last 36 months.
Jan Wallace Becomes
69thAuthorlink Writer
to Sign With Publisher
69th Authorlink Sale
4/1/01–Jan Wallace became the 69th writer to sign a publishing contract through Authorlink in the past 36 months in late March. Ms. Wallace, a first-time author, signed a deal with PortTown Publishing for her book, Where Roses Grow Wild. The publisher is a small Wisconsin house that releases about four books per year.
Ms. Wallace had two manuscripts listed on Authorlink between 1999 and 2000. In January 2000, Authorlink received a request from WMG Promotions, a literary agency, requesting the manuscript. She signed a contract with WMG the very next month, and shortly thereafter WMG sold the work to PortTown.
Port Town senior editor Jean Hackensmith wrote to Agents Cary and Sherry Wolf that she found the manuscript to be "funny, romantic and tragic." She said she had tears streaming down her face in the end.
Jan Wallace credits the editor with giving each writer a lot of attention to make sure the manuscript is everything it should be for the reader.
"It's an unbelievable feeling knowing someone reads your manuscript and it really has an effect on them positive effect at that, that you make them feel for the characters themselves, because that's what it's all about-believing in the story."
"Authorlink has made it possible for writers to link up with the correct agents and publishers, and gives agents a chance to review works by various writers," Jan explained.
I started along time ago writing, as child I would write stories and put on plays in the basement of my parents' home. I've always told stories, then one day said, lets see if anyone would like to publish any of the stories. Friends have read them and said they were good, but, hey, these are friends after all.
Jan once worked for The University of Georgia Extension Service in the Fort Valley, Georgia office. Today she is a fulltime writer.
"I start a manuscript and work each day 6 to 8 hours," she said. "It usually takes 3 months to finish a draft, then another three months to get the bugs out. I edit, fix mistakes and read it over and over, proofing each page until it is correct.
"I can see why books cost what they do and why some people just give up, it is not an easy job to do it over and over, no ones manuscript is correct the first go around, you realize when you re-read it the feeling might not be there so you have to correct it put heart where there was none."
Jan is married to her childhood sweetheart, and they have four children. Twenty-six years ago they bought an old historic house with 17 rooms in Marshallville, Georgia, restored it and live there today with their family and many dogs, cats, doves, ducks, chickens and rabbits.
"My advise to other writers is: don't quit dreaming about what you believe in, you have to believe in yourself, before anyone else will, and then you go from there, keep writing don't give up. "Write from your heart, and let it be about something you know. If you venture into another area you don't know the reader will know it too, and you've lost. So stay with what you feel and understand most about life. "It'll work for you.
"I am especially thankful for my agents," Jan said. "They have worked late into the mornings trying to find a suitable publisher. They work with writers because they love the written word."
Kat Goldring, among new writers listed on Authorlink, has signed a three-book contract with Berkley Publishing Group for her cozy mystery series, Crow's Feet and Lemon Drops, to be released in September 2001. Kim Waltemyer is the Berkley editor who made the acquisition, and Carol McCleary of Wilshire Literary Agency, made the sale for four figures.
McCleary had represented the series 5 1/2 years before the first book sold.
"I already had an agent when Authorlink was kind enough to list me in some of their first presentations," said Kat. "Ours was a mutual endeavor as Authorlink was just starting up and I had just finished a revision with the first novel under the wings of the DFW Writers' Workshop. Just as an aside, that DFW Writers' Workshop stands for that and never has meant "Dallas Ft. Worth" as some like to say. In fact one of the founding members with whom I was lucky enough to work with and helped name the group told me it really meant, Damn Fine Writers.
"I believe the fact that AUTHORLINK listed me was one of the reasons my agent did not give up on presenting my work to top notch publishers. I have a few magazine articles and short stories published but my best and most extensive showcase was writing and illustrating with my original drawings a newspaper column for a year titled 'THE MEDICINE PATH.'
"AUTHORLINK has been wonderful. My agent and I have always been grateful for the professional format available on the site for presenting my work. We came very close to making a sale through the site with China, and may yet sell the foreign rights with help through AUTHORLINK.
Kat Goldring works full time as a high school foreign language department head and Spanish teacher. She spends an hour to hour and a half per day in editing and rewriting the novels and outlines for the first three in the WILLI GALLAGHER MYSTERY SERIES. During holidays and summer time (8 weeks) that time increases to 3-4 hours a day. This doesn't include the hours for research, marketing, the time to work with other writers on shared projects, and commitments to two writing groups.
"Not only do I work the 40-hour drill and the writing tight-wire," Kat explains, "but I also sing and play the guitar in two groups: SISTERS OF THE WIND includes a fellow writer, Shirley McKee. We two do mostly classic/golden country western and cowboy/girl programs for local clubs, groups, schools, city gatherings and such. The HIGH MILEAGE country western band, some seven members strong, includes three law officers, performs for trail drives and city functions.
How does it feel to have a published contract?
"I go back and forth between elation of having a fantastic adventure and panic attacks," says Kat. "I am so thankful for all the wonderful folks, including AUTHORLINK, who have crossed my path at the right time, and have helped me make a lifelong dream come true. WAKAN TANKA (Great Spirit), of course, I thank for all lessons learned and all paths. This is one of those paths strewn with bluebonnets, soft moss and warm cuddly critters. The panic part has to do with getting to those book signings. I'm directional dyslexic and panic when traveling to new places. So . . . maybe that's the next adventure and lesson!"
Kat Goldring currently is working on the next two novels in the WILLI GALLAGHER SERIES: SNOW SNAKE and SWEET CHARIOT. She also have a second series, the DELTA PAIGE SERIES, and has finished the first book in that series, COOPER STREET GIRLS.
Authorlink asked the author: How helpful was DFW Writers' Workshop?
"I would not have cleared out the flaws in my manuscript. The members helped me to develop a selling novel. I would not have met my agent, Carol McCleary, if DFW Writers' Workshop had not had her as a guest. I would not have had the opportunity to meet my editor, KIM WALTEMYER with BERKLEY PUBLISHING. I interviewed with her during her visit with DFWWW. Although I've served as an officer and hosted many dinners as well as parties at my own country home for the members, editors and agents, I still owe DFWWW a great deal."
Dallas and Atlanta/2/15/01– Jerry Lee Davis, author of Twin City (AUTHORLINK PRESS), and Ginnie Bivona, author of Ida Mae Tutweiler and the Traveling Tea Party (AUTHORLINK PRESS), have recently earned top recognition in two different markets.
Jerry Lee Davis of Atlanta has been nominated for the First Novel Award in the 37th annual Georgia Author of the Year Awards, sponsored by the Georgia Writers' Association. Ginnie Bivona's Ida Mae Tutweiler recently climbed to number one on the Dallas Morning News Bestseller List for paperback fiction. Ginnie lives in Dallas.
The Georgia Awards ceremony, hosted by Mercer University Press, will be held at a dinner March 17 at Mercer University in Macon,Georgia.
Among a number of recent review of Ginnie Bivona's book was an article by Don Johnson on Read-a-Bargain.com.Johnson called Bivona's Ida Mae "A wonderful,character-driven story that produces open memories we thought we'd forgotten. . . . I expected a typical 'woman's' book but found a story of human beings for human beings. Man or woman your time won't be wasted on this one."
Charlene Tess has become the 66th author to find a publisher as a direct result of Authorlink. Port Town Publishing, a small Wisconsin publisher, will release Ms. Tess's THE VAN WINKLE BRIDE as a trade paperback romance in June 2001. The book, originally listed on Authorlink as THE VAN WINKLE CONNECTION, is Ms. Tess's first published work.
"The senior romance editor of Port Town Publishing saw my posting on the Authorlink website and thought my novel sounded intriguing and suitable for her list for 2001," Charlene explained. "She contacted Authorlink Editor Doris Booth, who contacted me. Doris Booth forwarded an e- mail to me from Port Town Publishing. I sent the publisher a copy of my manuscript by snail mail. The editor read it and said she could not put it down. She offered me a contract by e-mail and then sent me a written contract by snail mail."
Charlene listed her novel on Authorlink on April 10, 2000, and sold it on November 25.
"My husband and I met Doris Booth at a SouthWest Writers Conference and decided to advertise our editing business on Authorlink. Two of my novels had won first place at Southwest Writers Conference Contests, and I had been trying to get them published by the old-fashioned way: query, partial, full manuscript, SASE, wait, wait, wait method. Authorlink sounded like an attractive, modern way to market my novels. And it worked! I am delighted with the results," Charlene said.
"I have been writing as long as I can remember and have published essays, feature articles, short stories, and a nonfiction book, but this will be my first published novel.
"Presently, I am working on a rewrite of a romance novel that my sister and I co-wrote, and I am about one-third of the way through a mainstream novel entitled The Greatest Gift. It is the story of the unshakable bond between a mother and daughter in spite of tragic circumstances that shatter their lives."
Charlene says her best advice when it comes to becoming published is "to be like the old Timex watch slogan: 'Take a licking, but keep on ticking.' In other words, keep trying. And don't forget to try new ideas if the old ones aren't working for you."
Kat Goldring, among new writers listed on Authorlink, has signed a three-book contract with Berkley Publishing Group for her cozy mystery series, Crow's Feet and Lemon Drops, to be released in September 2001. Kim Waltemyer is the Berkley editor who made the acquisition, and Carol McCleary of Wilshire Literary Agency, made the sale for four figures.
McCleary had represented the series 5 1/2 years before the first book sold.
"I already had an agent when Authorlink was kind enough to list me in some of their first presentations," said Kat. "Ours was a mutual endeavor as Authorlink was just starting up and I had just finished a revision with the first novel under the wings of the DFW Writers' Workshop. Just as an aside, that DFW Writers' Workshop stands for that and never has meant "Dallas Ft. Worth" as some like to say. In fact one of the founding members with whom I was lucky enough to work with and helped name the group told me it really meant, Damn Fine Writers.
"I believe the fact that AUTHORLINK listed me was one of the reasons my agent did not give up on presenting my work to top notch publishers. I have a few magazine articles and short stories published but my best and most extensive showcase was writing and illustrating with my original drawings a newspaper column for a year titled 'THE MEDICINE PATH.'
"AUTHORLINK has been wonderful. My agent and I have always been grateful for the professional format available on the site for presenting my work. We came very close to making a sale through the site with China, and may yet sell the foreign rights with help through AUTHORLINK.
Kat Goldring works full time as a high school foreign language department head and Spanish teacher. She spends an hour to hour and a half per day in editing and rewriting the novels and outlines for the first three in the WILLI GALLAGHER MYSTERY SERIES. During holidays and summer time (8 weeks) that time increases to 3-4 hours a day. This doesn't include the hours for research, marketing, the time to work with other writers on shared projects, and commitments to two writing groups.
"Not only do I work the 40-hour drill and the writing tight-wire," Kat explains, "but I also sing and play the guitar in two groups: SISTERS OF THE WIND includes a fellow writer, Shirley McKee. We two do mostly classic/golden country western and cowboy/girl programs for local clubs, groups, schools, city gatherings and such. The HIGH MILEAGE country western band, some seven members strong, includes three law officers, performs for trail drives and city functions.
How does it feel to have a published contract?
"I go back and forth between elation of having a fantastic adventure and panic attacks," says Kat. "I am so thankful for all the wonderful folks, including AUTHORLINK, who have crossed my path at the right time, and have helped me make a lifelong dream come true. WAKAN TANKA (Great Spirit), of course, I thank for all lessons learned and all paths. This is one of those paths strewn with bluebonnets, soft moss and warm cuddly critters. The panic part has to do with getting to those book signings. I'm directional dyslexic and panic when traveling to new places. So . . . maybe that's the next adventure and lesson!"
Kat Goldring currently is working on the next two novels in the WILLI GALLAGHER SERIES: SNOW SNAKE and SWEET CHARIOT. She also have a second series, the DELTA PAIGE SERIES, and has finished the first book in that series, COOPER STREET GIRLS.
Authorlink asked the author: How helpful was DFW Writers' Workshop?
"I would not have cleared out the flaws in my manuscript. The members helped me to develop a selling novel. I would not have met my agent, Carol McCleary, if DFW Writers' Workshop had not had her as a guest. I would not have had the opportunity to meet my editor, KIM WALTEMYER with BERKLEY PUBLISHING. I interviewed with her during her visit with DFWWW. Although I've served as an officer and hosted many dinners as well as parties at my own country home for the members, editors and agents, I still owe DFWWW a great deal."
Laguna Beach, CA/12/15/00–Barbara J. Odanaka, former LA Times sports reporter and columnist, will join Authorlink on January 1 2001 as a regular columnist. Her articles will provide writers with in-depth insights on writing and publishing children's books, and will include interviews with children's editors at major publishing houses.
Among upcoming topics for her column will be:
January 1: Rejection 101 February 1: A Crime to Rhyme? March 1: Every Story Tells A Picture April 1: Successful School Visits May 1: Beautiful Noise–Why "Quiet" Picture Books No Longer Make the Grade June 1: Five to Watch: A look at Upcoming Children's Authors
From time to time, she will provide special reports on major children's book conferences.
Ms. Odanaka left her career at the Times to write books for children. She is an active member of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators.
Barb earned a BA in English from the University of Southern California. She lives with her husband and son in a California beach town, and is a founding member of the Skateboarding Moms Society. She can be reached at bodanaka@aol.com
NEW YORK,NY/10/1/00–Jimmy Gleacher, who has been listed as an Authorlink writer since October, 1999, has sold his first novel to prestigious Scribner, an imprint of Rawson Associates and part of Simon & Schuster.
Meredith Phelan of Linda Chester and Associates in New York found Jimmy's novel, "Roll Again," on one of her frequent searches of Authorlink, signed him on, and subsequently sold the work for five figures. The mainstream fictional work, to be released in 2002, is the 64th title to be sold either as a direct or indirect result of Authorlink.
Agent Wray
Signs Fifteen
Authorlink Writers
9/00–Pamela Wray, owner of the new and growing Pamela Wray Literary Agency, has agreed to represent 15 writers found over the last several months as a direct result of Authorlink.
Among the works now represented by Wray are several thrillers and young adult works. Ms Wray, an aggressive agent, already has sent works by the newest Authorlink ensigns out to key publishers.
In another case, Ms. Wray signed a children's author who, while not officially listed on Authorlink, connected with Wray through the service. The work is a moral folk tale, similar to Uncle Remus.
"I was so excited about this book that he expressed it to me over night, and I have already spoken with numerous publishers, special merchandising and TV producers, " said Wray. "I am going to put this book up for auction because there is so much interest."
"The Authorlink website is the ultimate place for any editor, literary agent or publisher, and I am so thankful the staff's hard work and diligence," Ms. Wray said in a note to Authorlink.
Ms. Wray is among a number of agents who regularly surf the Authorlink site in search of good manuscripts.
New York House Pays Handsome Advance
New York, NY/5/26/00 —Authorlink writer Gary Clemente became the 61 st author to sell his work to a key New York publisher.
Lebhar-Friedman, New York has slated a 2002 publication date for " Confessions of a G-Man: Inside the FBI, originally listed on Authorlink as The Marking of a Hoover. Clemente will be paid a $5,000 advance plus royalties for the work, half up front and half on delivery of the finished manuscript. Sale of the book is the direct result of Clemente's listing on Authorlink.
"Confessions" will be an inside look at the FBI through the eyes of Clemente's father, who was a career agent for 26 years. The book will deal with anecdotal stories and inside information about the Bureau, the war on Communism in the Fifties, the mob, and J. Edgar Hoover among other things.
How did he find Authorlink? A writer friend told him about it and spoke highly of the service.
Authorlink seemed to be up front about everything and didn't present itself as a scheme to make money off of writers," Gary said. "Doris Booth answered all of my questions promptly and professionally while the book was made available for review. I was pleased with how some of the particulars of the book was presented and listed on-line."
How long were you listed on Authorlink before the sale Gary's book was listed on Authorlink for about five months before Lebhar-Friedman Editor Frank Scatoni (formerly with Simon & Schuster) spotted the title and requested a proposal. This was all done through e-mail.
Gary, 48, has been writing full time and semi-professionally since he got out of college. He's written in a number of different mediums along the way. He has several other projects in the working stage, including a collection of short stories; a humor book based on the newspaper column he writes weekly; and a suspense book in the same vein as Michael Creiton.
How does it feel to be a published author?
"My first and only published book was a children's piece that came out in 1995, called 'Cosmo Gets An Ear,' about a little boy who gets his first hearing aid. Being published in book form is a wonderful feeling. It's an achievement I'm the most proud of in my writing career.
And does he have any advice for new writers?
"Take it from somebody who has written all of his adult life and even some before as a kid — it's got to be in your blood, because getting published is not the easiest thing to do. You write because you have to — it's who you are and nobody's going to make you stop. One thing that can be valuable is to learn how to distill and recognize exactly what it is on a gut level that attracts people to certain stories and why. There are usually one or two elements working that can make a successful story or book. Examine a well-made movie or book and practice how to recognize the "concept" that made it work. Other than that, as Winston Churchill said, 'Never, never, never give up.'"
Pamela Wray
Literary Agency Signs
Four Authorlink Writers
5/00–Pamela Wray Literary Agency based in Alabama, has signed four Authorlink writers for representation.
They are Steven Rudd, Midnight Run; Jan Letoha, Bury the Past; J.E. Deegan, In Dark Covenant; Norman Davis, Stonecypher's Gold.
Authorlink Author
Carolee Joy Takes
Rising Star Award
6/15/00–Carolee Joy, author of Wild Angel (Authorlink Press) won second place in the prestigious short contemporary category of the Rising Star 2000 Awards, a division of the Romance Writers of America.
The winners, including the Grand Prize winner, were offered free registration at the RWA national conference or equivalent cash. Winners were presented at the Sooner Area Romance Authors in Tulsa, Oklahoma May 20.
Los Angeles, CA/ 5/15/00 –Ekaterine Nikas (Katy) Terlinden, the 1998 Best of Show and mystery winner of the Authorlink New Author Awards Competition, has landed a publishing contract with Avid Press
( www.avidpress.com Her winning novel, Divided Child, will be released by Avid in Winter 2000 under her pen name, Ekaterine Nikas. It is the fifth time in two years an Authorlink contest winner has won a substantial publishing contract.
"Authorlink.com offered a wonderful contest that gave me an important boost to my career, got me access to editors and agents, and provided a very impressive reference for query letters," said Terlinden.
Katy had been writing for about ten years before she heard about Authorlink on one of her writer lists. She advises new writers to "be persistent, be part of a network, enter contests (they are a great way to get agents and editors to look at your work), and keep your mind open to the possibilities offered by small presses and e-book publishers, especially if your book does not fit easily into the New York mold."
Katy also says, "utilize the Internet to the fullest. I probably would not have made my sale without it. I think Authorlink is a great resource for writers and an excellent example of how new writers can use the Internet to break through the barriers to publication.
NEW YORK, NY/5/1/00–Beyond Anger: A Guide for Men, by Thomas J. Harbin, Ph.D, has just been released by New York Publisher Marlowe & Company's Avalon imprint. Author Tom Harbin directly attributes the sale of his book to his listing on Authorlink.
Forensic Psychologist Harbin sold his nonfiction manuscript, originally titled STANCE OF ANGER, to established publisher, John Muir Publications as the result of a direct inquiry by the publisher in May, 1998. Muir was bought by Marlowe Books, a division of Avalon last year.
In his new book, Dr. Harbin helps men understand their anger by explaining what the specific symptoms of chronic anger are and by showing angry men how their actions negatively affect family, friends and co-workers.
Tom is one of nearly 60 Authorlink writers to sign a contract with a publisher since sales tracking began in early 1997.
Tom had been listed on the site for eight or nine months before receiving the request. Generously sharing the sales figures with other Authorlink writers, Tom said he was paid a $1,000 advance upon signing a contract, another $1500 upon delivery of the revised manuscript, and the final $1000 was paid when the book was released.
Tom began writing the manuscript about seven years ago, for use with angry men in his clinical practice. "The book sort of grew over the next couple of years and I guess I have been actively trying to sell it for about three years," he said.
"At first, I naively sent it to editors who had done similar work. Then, I engaged a New York agent who had promoted books for a friend of mine. Honestly, I was about to put the manuscript away and forget about it or start the self-publishing journey. Then I became aware of Authorlink while absently surfing the net for agents."
While not officially working on any new titles, he has started writing some short stories about the goings on in his rural North Carolina county, and he's been keeping copious notes for a possible book about his role as a forensic psychologist.
When asked what he would advise first-time writers, he said I would not presume to offer anyone advice. I think that lucked out so far.
And how important was Authorlink to his begin published? My book would still be sitting on a dusty disk somewhere, without Authorlink, he concluded.
In little more than three years, nearly 300 writers have reported signing with agents as a direct result of Authorlink, and more than 1500 requests from editors and agents have been processed.
The author lives and practices in North Carolina.
Authorlink
Correspondent
Joins LA Times
Authorlink writer, Michelle Lovato, has been hired by the Los Angeles Times to cover special sections issues.
Regarded as one of the worlds most prestigious news organizations, the Los Angeles Times has a full circulation of 1.4 million copies per Sunday issue.
Lovatos work will premier March 13.
With more than two years experience as an Authorlink California publishing correspondent, Lovato has covered several events, and can be found by searching archives.
Lovato is the owner/publisher of The Silver Lakes Gazzette, a weekly newspaper, and a columnist and reporter for The Inland Empire Business Journal, a Southern California regional business magazine.
Accompanying Lovato in her new post will be her husband, Vince, a 20- year veteran of journalism. Among Vinces credits are previous LA Times bylines,
the sales of two short stories to Stephen Speilberg, two nominations for California Newspaper Publishers Association awards and was the recipient of a fellowship to Rice University in Houston Texas.
Lovato has 10 years experience as a political and business reporter
and specializes in feature stories. She writes a newspaper column entitled, Thank You, Lord and has won several awards for her short fiction.
Both Lovatos are pursuing careers in the publishing industry. Ms.Lovato will continue contributing articles to Authorlink.
Authorlink Author
Carolee Joy Ranks
as RWA Finalist
DALLAS/FORT WORTH, TX/ 3/13/000–WILD ANGEL (Authorlink Press, April 2000) by Carolee Joy has been named a finalist in the Golden Quill contest sponsored by the Desert Rose Chapter of Romance Writers of America. Other finalists include multi-published authors such as Vicki Lewis Thompson, one of Harlequin TemptationsTemptations biggest sellers.
In addition to WILD ANGEL, SECRET LEGACY, another novel by Ms. Joy, is also a finalist in the Golden Quill competition for Best Romantic Suspense and Best First Book.
New Author
Ranks #12
on Amazon
ATLANTA,GA/3/10/00–A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO DAY TRADING ONLINE (Adams Media) by first-time author, has risen to #12 on Amazon.coms top 100.
The book, agented by Deidre Knight of the Knight Agency (listed on Authorlink), was released only a week ago, and began its quick rise after the author appeared on CNBC Today.
American Self
Publishers' Group
Honors Mitchell
SAN FRANCISCO, CA/ 3/1/00–Ed Mitchell, whose manuscript had been listed with Authorlink before he decided to self publish, has been awarded the National Publishers Freedom Award for Best new Fiction. The honor will be bestowed by the year-old American Self Publishers Association (ASPA) for Mitchell's novel, GOLD RUSH 2000. Resource Library. The ASPA award will be given in a formal ceremony May 13 in San Francisco. In addition, the work was accepted by the National Steinbeck Center Resource Library.
Mitchell attributes part of his success to Authorlink for having seen "the quality in my book, and having had the courage to publicly declare that assessment." Authorlink, while not a self publisher, helps writers market their work through promotion to editors and agents, and through listings of their work on its award-winning site, authorlink.com
Dallas, TX/1/1/00–Three winners of the Authorlink New Author Awards competition have landed major publishing contracts within the past 18 months. The latest Authorlink contestant to become published is Cynthia G. Alwyn (pen name), who placed among the top three in the 1999 Authorlink awards competition.
Carol Berg of Ft. Collins, CO, the 1999 Authorlink first-place, science fiction/fantasy winner for Song of the Beast, won a three-book contract with Roc (an imprint of Penguin Putnam). And June London, 1998 Authorlink mainstream winner signed a six-figure contract with Harper Collins for her novel, Bingo Queens and a second work-in-progress, tentatively titled Stray Bullets.
Ms. Alwyn won the 1999 competition for a book titled, Tail of the Serpent, but it was her newest work, Best Served Cold, that convinced New York Agent Anne Hawkins of John Hawkins & Associates, to become her agent. Hawkins subsequently sold the work to St. Martins Press for an undisclosed amount. The title will be released in the Winter of 2001.
"I have been surprised how fast things can happen," said Cynthia. "I met Anne Hawkins, who is now my agent, at a conference in 1998. We kept in contact, and when I visited with her at the 1999 Authorlink Awards presentation in Georgia, we finalized our business partnership with my new book BEST SERVED COLD. A short time later, St. Martins bought the project. Im thrilled and stunned at the same time. It didnt feel real to me until I started getting mail from them."
BEST SERVED COLD features protagonist Brenna Scott and her search dog, Feather, a black Bouvier Des Flandres. Together, they search for lost or missing people. In this book, Brenna and Feather race the clock to locate a child before the kidnapper makes good his threat to take the little girls life.
"I wasnt sure the book would sell, but Anne believed in it and in me. Since Id worked with a canine search and rescue team for nine years, I do have first-hand knowledge of how dogs and handlers work. Although the story is fiction, I believe my experience in this area helped sell the book," said Cynthia.
Due to the commitment of her day job, Cynthias writing time is limited. "I usually write Thursday through Sunday and a solid eight hours a day while on vacation. I frequently work out plot points and tidbits about characters driving to and from work. Most days, Ill sit in my car during lunch break (its the only quiet place at work) and make notes. Although Ive started writing the next Brenna Scott book, it doesnt yet have a title."
The 2000 Authorlink New Author Awards Competition is now accepting entries for this years contest through March, 2000. Awards again will be presented at the annual Harriette Austin Writers Conference, University of Georgia, in July, 2000. Top prize is $500.
For details see: http://www.authorlink.com/contest_00.html
8/15/99–Three more writers have won publishing contracts as a direct result of their listings with Authorlink. All three are clients of Elisabet McHugh, McHugh Literary Agency, who discovered them on Authorlink several months ago. This brings to a total of 49 the number of books that have been sold through Authorlink during the past 2 1/2 years.
Chris Spicer has accepted an offer form McFarland & Co. for Frankly, My Dear. . .:The Life of Clark Gable.
Publication will be in 1001, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of Gable's birth.
Neva Hacker, author of Missing Candy, and Charles Crone, author of The Palestinian Solution, have sold their work as e-books to Fictionworks, through Ms. McHugh.
7/1/99–Scrivenery Press will publish Authorlink writer E. A. Blair's A Journey to the Interior, in November, 1999, making Blair the 43 rd author to find a publisher via Authorlink since sales tracking began in 1997. Thirty-one writers have been published as a result of Authorlink, with houses such as Berkley, Tor, John Wiley & Sons, Carol Publishing Group and others. Twelve more titles will be released in August, 1999 by Authorlink's own imprint–Authorlink Press, bringing the total of successfully published authors to forty-three.
"I had tried sending material to about 50 agents, and though many were favorably impressed, all rejected the work, probably because their slice of an author's first book might not have seemed profitable enough," said E.A.
Blair, who holds a Masters Degree in Fine Arts has been writing since 1951. His day job for the past 30 years has been in publications for the aerospace industry. Some time back, he wrote and published a professional book, but turned to serious fiction only about ten years ago.
E.A. had been trying to sell his work through agents for five years, when he discovered Authorlink in May, 1998. He had been listed on the site for ten months when Scrivenery Press Publisher Ed Williams spotted his work on the web site. Scrdivenery, whose titles are distributed by Ingram Book Group, is actively building both its fiction and non-fiction lines.
Asked how it feels to be a published author, Blair said, "Vindicated. The related adjectives will come later."
Blair's contract did not include an advance, but does pay standard royalties.
"My impression of Scrivenery is that they are professional, intelligent and use advanced publishing technologies–as witnessed by the use of Authorlink and Ingram Book.
"Finding Authorlink was like a door to opportunity suddenly opening," said Blair.
He advises the unpublished writer to "Write patiently, critically."
He has a second title underway.
NEW YORK,NY/6/10/99– LOST RIVER, a novel by Authorlink writer, Pax Riddle, is now on bookstore shelves. Pax made the deal with Berkley Publishing Group (division of Penguin/Putnam) as part of the connections he made through Authorlink. The book is available via: http://www.lostriver.org/, barnesandnoble.com or amazon.com
6/10/99–Authorlink has been selected as a featured site in StudyWeb
( http://www.studyweb.com/) as one of the best educational resources on the web.
StudyWeb is one of the Internet's premier sites for educational resources for students and teachers. Since 1996 professional reviewers have scoured the Internet to select only the finest sites to be included in StudyWeb's reviews. Each site in StudyWeb includes a detailed review describing it's merits.
DALLAS, TX /5/1/99–Authorlink, the award-winning news/information and marketing site for the publishing industry, will launch its own book imprint, Authorlink Press, this summer. The move results in part from a new publishing partnership between Authorlink and Lightning Print, Inc, the print on demand subsidiary of Ingram Book, worlds largest book distributor.
Authorlink Press will carry the fine tradition of New York-style publishing into the digital age, said Authorlink President Doris Booth. We will serve as a market proving ground for the titles that truly deserve to be published and read–titles that eventually may find their way to larger houses, after we establish a solid track for them, said Ms. Booth.
Lower-cost digital and on-demand printing now enable Authorlink Press to publish books once considered economically too risky. The company will aggressively market the titles, establish sales records and then seek to turn them over to larger publishers.
The imprint will use the latest technology to publish digitally-downloadable books and trade paperbacks, printed on demand. Titles will be distributed through multiple on and off-line sales channels, including Ingram, which serves major booksellers such as Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.com.
Authorlink has also established an alliance with Peanut Press, to help supply electronic books for 2 million Palm Pilot and IBM WorkPad owners. Authorlink marketing ties also include alliances with the book review site, Bookbrowse.com (280, 000 page views annually), larger publishing houses, and other distribution and marketing resources.
Authorlink Press emphasizes aggressive, targeted marketing and distribution for every title it buys-a vital element often missing from tight production and promotional budgets at traditional publishers. The company's own loyal audience of 170,000 book lovers provides one the ready audiences of book buyers.
Not only do our readers support fellow writers by buying and reading their work. They provide vital marketing feedback. At Authorlink the end consumer will tell us which books they like and why–not marketing reps, nor retail booksellers with special agendas, but the readers themselves, said Ms. Booth.
Admittedly, digital publishing furrows new ground for Authorlink Our imprint is a test of its own-measuring whether consumers will buy truly good titles through Internet sites, hand-held devices and on-demand, with books printed at the time of their order (one- off). Ms. Booth explained.
In 1999 Authorlink Press initially will release 12 fiction and non-fiction titles, both in digital and trade paperback (on demand), with 12 to 24 titles to follow next year. They will be promoted to targeted, vertical markets, and to horizontal mass audiences via the Internet and traditional channels.
The imprints digital books will be available on the Authorlink.com site and through Peanut Press
( http://www.peanutepress.com/) late this summer. Most titles-and all of the initial 12–will also be available in the Ingram title base and may be ordered through all Ingram ordering systems, accessible to Barnes & Noble, Barnesandnoble.com, Amazon.com and, other major booksellers and libraries.
Both first-time and seasoned authors will be included in the list. Categories include suspense/thrillers, mainstream commercial fiction, science fiction/fantasy, romance, and narrative and commercial nonfiction. No anthologies or short stores are considered, and length ranges from 70,000-80,000 words. The new house is not a subsidy or vanity publisher, and will pay standard publishing industry royalties.
Unsolicited manuscripts are NOT accepted at this time and will be automatically recycled. Prospective authors should, instead, consider submitting their work for possible listing in the site's Author Showcase section.
Authorlink will continue to showcase listings of ready-to-publish manuscripts, and to market them worldwide to editors and agents, as it successfully has done for thee years. Authorlink has been rated among the top 25% of most useful sites on the web by Microsoft's One Click Away E- zine.
Web site: http://www.authorlink.com/arch4_files/authorlink.htm
Writers Digest magazine has selected Authorlink as one of The 101 Best Web Sites for Writers. The 101 were culled from the Digest staffs lists of favorites, as well as from nominations made by about 1,500 visitors to writersdigest.com.
The 101 Best is the cover story of the May 1999 issue of Writers Digest. The list is also published in its entirety on the Writer's Digest website, at http://www.writersdigest.com/101sites.
The list of recommended websites is just one of several recent additions to writersdigest.com.
Authorlink holds other distinguished industry awards, and including its ranking by Microsoft's One Click Away E- zine among the top 25% of most useful sites on the web.
5/1/99–Four Authorlink writers will have signed with a single literary agent within the past two-weeks. Beck Roberts, owner of the Writerbeck Agency, has contracted Mackey Murdock and Andrea Giacomuzzi–both listed with Authorlink and found through the site. Two more writers were polishing their manuscripts, but were expected to sign with Ms.Roberts within days.
Beck Roberts represents 70% fiction and 30% nonfiction, and handles most categories except for erotica and cartoons. She has 30 years of experience as a published writer in both fiction and nonfiction and 20 years in related marketing fields. Ms. Roberts has been an agent for a little more than a year, and has already signed seven writers, including the new Authorlink people.
Her agency is based in South Carolina, where she moved with her husband and two children to have a simpler lifestyle than in Atlanta.
"Being a relatively new agent, I am more eager than some to work with the authors and their manuscripts, sending them out with strong cover letters to publishers. I am tireless in my efforts and truly get excited about seeing good works in print," she said.
The agency has no sales at present but, as Ms. Roberts said, "Good things take time and I am confident in the authors' work and my ability to promote it successfully."
Editor's Note, 5/11/99: This agent has retired due to a severe illness and will not be accepting other clients.
Agent Describes Publishing Recipe
By Sam Hughes
The Dickens Group Literary Agency
3/99–David Holland and his upcoming first novel MURCHESTON: THE WOLFS TALE (TOR Books) is a lesson to all who serve as functionaries in today's literary marketplace. Success may well depend on an old recipe: a good writer, a persistent agent who is willing to nurture true talent, and an editor who takes his or her job to heart and who will fight for a book. In the case of David Holland, whose work has appeared on Authorlink the factors that traditionally made the publishing industry great came together after seven years of productive author/agent interaction.
The heroes of this story are Hollland, one of the finest writers our agency has seen, agent Bob Solinger, who recognized brilliant writing and spent seven years pounding on doors to sell Hollands work, and Karla Zounek, the TOR editor who fell under the spell of Hollands writing and worked one-on-one with him to produce a fine literary horror story with a distinctive Victorian setting and tone.
For agents and editors struggling against adverse forces in the current marketplace, it is important to recognize the Holland phenomenon. Services such as Authorlink — a sterling example of what Internet marketing can and should be are invaluable to everyone, especially to new writers. And the ultimate lesson for writers, agents and editors alike: eventually, good writing sells.
Writer's Seven Year
Effort Pays Off,
Authorlink Plays Part
Louisville, KY/1/1/99–David Holland, a writer featured on the Authorlink site, since August, 1997, has sold his novel, THE WOLF'S TALE, with The Dickens Group as his agency. David has tried for seven years to become published, and at last found an agency that believed in his work and found the right publisher. More details of his success will be published here soon.
2/15/99–Forensic Psychologist Tom Harbin has sold his nonfiction manuscript, STANCE OF ANGER: RECOGNIZING AND CHANGING THE PATTERNS OF MENS ANGER, to established publisher, John Muir Publications. Tom is the 25th Authorlink writer to sign a contract with a publisher Since sales tracking began in early 1997.
The title will be released in the spring of 2000, according to acquisitions editor Cassandra Conyers, who requested the manuscript directly from Authorlink in May, 1998. Tom had been listed on the site for eight or nine months before receiving the request.
Generously sharing the sales figures with other Authorlink writers, Tom said he was paid a $1,000 advance upon signing a contract, another $1500 upon delivery of the revised manuscript, and the final $1000 will be paid when the book is released. Authorlink assumes a royalty arrangement is also included in the contract.
Tom began writing STANCE about seven years ago, for use with angry men in his clinical practice. The book sort of grew over the next couple of years and I guess I have been actively trying to sell it for about three years.
At first, I naively sent it to editors who had done similar work. Then, I engaged a New York agent who had promoted books for a friend of mine. Honestly, I was about to put the manuscript away and forget about it or start the self-publishing journey. Then I became aware of Authorlink while absently surfing the net for agents.
Tom said having his first work published feels daunting. Muir wants him to increase the book length by about 67% during revision, and he's not a full-time author. He hopes he can get it done on time, especially since there are substantial penalties for being late.
While not officially working on any new titles, he has started writing some short stories about the goings on in his rural North Carolina county, and he's been keeping copious notes for a possible book about his role as a forensic psychologist.
When asked what he would advise first-time writers, he said I would not presume to offer anyone advice. I think that lucked out so far.
And how important was Authorlink to his begin published? My book would still be sitting on a dusty disk somewhere, without Authorlink, he concluded.
John Muir Publications, established in 1969, will release 68 titles in 1999, and 75 in 2000. Main interests are in travel and alternative health.
In little more than two years, 215- plus writers have reported signing with agents as a direct result of Authorlink, and more than 960 requests from editors and agents have been processed.
Writer Cindy Appel
Lands Columnist Job
as Result of Authorlink
2/15/99–Cindy Appel, recently named Cyber Columnist of the Quarter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, attributes her job as a Star Telegram Online Columnist directly to Authorlink and the 1998 Authorlink Electrify Your Writing seminar.
I found out how to become a cyber-columnist from the talk given at the Authorlink workshop last May by Star Telegram Online Marketing Director Bonnie Bradshaw. I became a weekly columnist by July of last year, said Cindy.
Her column, titled, Every Day IS Mothers Day can be found at www.star-telegram.com/homes/cappel/columns/momsday.htm. Cindy takes a semi-humorous look at the world through the eyes of being a full-time mom and struggling writer. She has even developed a loyal following of sorts, too, and takes suggestions from readers on future column topics.
I just thought that others who read Authorlink might like to know how helpful it can be to their writing careers, said Cindy.
Agent McHugh Signs
12 Authorlink Writers,
Sells to Key Publishers
12/1/98–Twelve Authorlink writers have signed contracts within the past couple of years with Literary Agent Elisabet Mchugh, all as a direct result of the Authorlink service. And McHugh has sold many of their works to major publishers.
One of these clients, Roland Jansen, whose first book Profits From Natural Resources was just published by John Wiley, is now working on a second investment book. Linda Swink, Eric Winkler, David Whale and Sam Sackett also sold their books through Ms. McHugh.
In recent months, this agent has added a number of other Authorlink writers, including: Steven Levi, David Dial, S.Alan Hepps, Terry Milton, Jim Norton, Rebecca Spalten, and Lewis Tracy. A thirteenth writer is about to be signed with her.
"Authorlink is providing a great service for agents and editors," says Ms. McHugh, who works exclusively through the Internet and has clients in eight countries. "I'm impressed not only by the quality of the manuscripts that you have listed, but also the prompt service rendered by your staff when I request a manuscript. And I check out the new listings on your website on a regular basis."
Authorlink Writer
Sells Nonfiction Title
to Lone Wolf Enterprises
12/1/98–Dale C. Maley, author of Road Map to Retirement: How to Quickly and Easily Develop a Financial Plan for Retirement, has sold his work to Roger Wolfs Lone Wolf Enterprises, Ltd. ( http://www.lonewolfent.net/) as a direct result of Authorlink
The book will be released both in hardcover and online in the first quarter of 1999. Lone Wolf has more than 60 titles in print.
Maley will receive 15% of gross for printed book and 15% of gross for electronic book sales.
Maley discovered Authorlink when he picked up a paper flier at the Harriet Austin Writer's Conference in Athens, Georgia last July, then followed up by visiting the site at http://www.authorlink.com/arch4_files/authorlink.htm. (Note: The second annual Authorlink New Author Awards Banquet will be held as part of the 1999 Harriet Austin Writers Conference in Athens, July 23-25, 1999).
Dale, who has been writing for about two years, said it took him only 15 months to find a publisher through Authorlink He first found an agent through Authorlink who tried, but failed to sell the title to a large publisher.
How does it feel to have his first work published? Very exciting, it has been a long, arduous, and perilous journey from writing those first few words of the manuscript until getting it published, said Dale.
He advises new writers to Make sure your book is either the best among all the competition or among the first few books published in a new subject area. Be diligent, patient, and believe in your yourself and your work.
Authorlink Helps
Writer Secure
International Agent
12/1/98–J.D. Wetterling, author of SON OF THUNDER, has sold his first work to domestic publisher, Rivilo Books, Felix C. Lowe, publisher. The title was schedule for release in November, 1998. While J.D. located a publisher on his own, it was Authorlink that helped him find his agent. The Stefanidis Agency based in Geneva, Switzerland, discovered J.D.s listing on the Authorlink site and requested a review of the manuscript. The writer agreed to let Stefanidis handle the foreign rights.
Wetterling , who has been writing for nine years, had tried to locate an editor and agent for the last eight years. He found Authorlink while surfing the net. He found the publisher networking through friends.
How does it feel to have his first work published? Wonderful! he exclaimed. Wetterling, whose day job is as a Stockbroker with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, has two more novels in progress. He hopes to write all day, every day, for the rest of his days. Books and the Internet helped him more than anything else to improve his craft.
He advised new writers to never give up.
Authorlink Writers
Now Able to Track
Their Own Page Hits
12/1/98– Authorlink writers are now able to track the number of hits to their individual pages each month. We're now adding individual counters to every page, so writers can determine the level of interest in their listed manuscripts. The counter, which resets at the first of each month, does not show who visited the page, but it gives the writer an idea of how interested editors, agents and general readers are in his or her topic and title.
The counter is now being added to every new writer's page. Writers with existing listings can request an ID and password for the service by emailing: dbooth@authorlink.com
JLA Agency Signs
Four Authorlink Writers
In 60 Days, Praises Site
11/15/98–Jay Lace, owner of JLA Literary, reports that he has signed contracts to represent four Authorlink writers during the past 60 days.
They include: Michael Sedge, Author of the novel, The Oracle, and a nonfiction work, Fettuccini or the Frustrated Soul; Margaret Brennecke, author of the novel, Seeking Refuge; Miles Twaddell, author of the novel, Victory Day, and Charles Carron, author of the non-fiction work, The Suing Game.
JLA, a new agency actively looking to build a small roster of clients, found all four writers listed on Authorlink
"We are looking for original works with commercial appeal," said Mr. Lace. "We have discovered that using Authorlink helps us separate the chaff from the wheat, and saves us hundreds of hours that would otherwise be wasted on unsuitable manuscripts."
The agency adheres to the AAR's guidelines, although it is not yet a registered member.
Wiley Releases
Authorlink Writer's
First Book in November
11/1/98–Roland Jansen, who found an agent and publisher through Authorlink, has received the first copy of his new book, Profits in Natural Resources, from publisher John Wiley & Sons. The new release shipped to major bookstore chains in early November.
"It all started with Authorlink, " Jansen said in a message to Authorlink this week. "The Internet works."
Agent Signs
Three Authorlink
Writers Within Months
AUSTIN, TX/10/98–Brian G. Clark, Esq., owner of BGC Literary Management, has signed contracts to represent three Authorlink writers within less than two months.
BGC is an aggressive and highly professional new agency headquartered in Austin, TX.
Clark said he has signed Eric Scherer, author of THE OLYMPUS PROJECT; Ekaterine (Katy) Terlinden, who wrote THE DIVIDED CHILD, and Pete Murphy, author of SALAMANDERS. Ms. Terlinden was Best of Show (suspense/mystery/thriller) winner in the first annual Authorlink New Author Awards competition. (See the second annual Authorlink competition guidelines at http://www.authorlink.com/contest_99.html).
"The advent of literary agents came as publishing houses cut editorial staff, allowing agents to step in as the front line arbiters of taste and commercial viability," said Clark. "Authorlink has become the new additional front line for the busy agent, a source for trusted pre-screened material to pursue at their convenience."
Authorlink Finalists
Sign Publishing Contract
With Neighborhood Press
8/29/98–Marian Gibbons and Karin Welss, finalists in both the Romance and SF/Fantasy/Horror categories in the 1998 Authorlink New Author Awards Competition, have signed a publishing contract with Neighborhood Press for their historical romance novel, SWEETER THAN WINE. SWEETER THAN WINE is scheduled to be released in May, 1999, under the pseudonym of Michaela August.
In this novel WWI widow Alice Roye must fight to save her Sonoma winery from the threat of Prohibition. She falls in love with her new vintner, a European refugee, not knowing that he served as an enemy soldier during the war.
"We believe that entering our work in contests such as the one sponsored by Authorlink really opened some doors for us, " said Karin Welss. "SWEETER THAN WINE is definitely a local history novel, highlighting a little-known aspect of Prohibition," explains Welss when asked about how she and Gibbons chose the subject for their novel . "A lot of hard-working American winemakers and grape-growers lost their livelihoods when beer and wine were outlawed along with hard liquor, and California's wine industry languished for the next fifty years."
Gibbons adds, "It was a very emotional time, so soon after World War I and the deadly influenza epidemic. Although the concept of Prohibition was well-intentioned, its effect was devastating even before gangsters and bathtub gin became the popular symbols of its failure. Grape-growers didn't know, right up to harvest in 1919, whether or not they could legally pick the best crop they'd ever seen. I found the research fascinating."
How did they make the sale? After finishing the manuscript, Gibbons and Welss spent a year sending out query letters and partials. They also entered several writing contests, including the Authorlink contest. "The romance writing community is incredibly supportive of new writers," Welss says, and Gibbons agrees: "We got a lot of help and encouragement from the published authors who judged two of the contests." A major obstacle to overcome in selling SWEETER THAN WINE was its WWI-era setting. "It's always difficult for new authors to break in," remarks Gibbons, "and even more difficult when editors are convinced that no one wants to read historicals set in the early 20th century." Their finalist status helped generate leads for possible publishers, as did their membership on several writing-related Internet listservs.
Welss remembers: "Someone on RWALINK (the Romance Writers of America members-only listserv) mentioned that Neighborhood Press was a fairly new publishing house open to romance submissions, and they spoke very highly of the Senior Editor, Rhea Griffiths. We queried Rhea via email, got a favorable response, and the rest is history." Marian Gibbons and Karin Welss are working on separate solo projects at the moment, although they have several more co-authored novels in the planning stages, including a sequel to SWEETER THAN WINE.
Gibbons is currently writing a sequel to In a Mirror, Darkly, set amid the turmoil of Berkeley in the 60's. Welss has another historical romance in progress, a tale of love and blackmail set in Restoration England.
About Neighborhood Press: Rhea Griffiths founded Neighborhood Press in 1995 with nothing but a desktop computer, an America Online account and the belief that "if she built it, they would come…" Now a rapidly growing small press, Neighborhood Press plans to publish twelve novels in 1999 as well as six issues of The Lovers Knot, a new magazine aimed at readers and writers of romance. Additional information about Marian Gibbons and Karin Welss, writing together as Michaela August, is available at the HREF="http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Square/3524/"Michaela August Web Page.
Another Writer Wins
Publishing Contract
Via Authorlink
EquiLibrium Press Signs Mitchell
NEW YORK, NY & CULVER CITY, CA/ 8/98–Joyce Slayton Mitchell, author of more than 32 nonfiction books published by major houses such as Bantam, Dell, Simon & Schuster, and others, has sold another nonfiction work as a direct result of Authorlink
Ms. Mitchell's newest manuscript, Pregnant in New Zealand: Mother and Daughter Letters from Afar, will be published in May, 1999 by EquiLibrium Press, Inc. of Culver City, California.
EquiLibrium Press Publisher Susan Goland requested the manuscript several months ago after seeing Mitchell's listing on Authorlink This will be EquiLibrium's first title as a new publisher, specializing in all aspects of health and wellness for women.
Pregnant in New Zealand is the story of a courageous and adventuresome young woman who finds an exotic life in the Pacific. This collection of New Zealand-to-Vermont letters is written in the first hours of pregnancy, leads to a dramatic 45-hour labor, and reveals the tensions of midwifery, and differences in generations, race and hemisphere.
Ms. Mitchell, who lives in New York, has successfully listed several works with Authorlink since late 1997. The newest book had been listed on the site for about 45 days or less, when Publisher Goland spotted it. The entire process, from listing to sale, took place within about three months.
Authorlink Winner
Signs Six-Figure
Deal at Harper Collins
7/98–June London, mainstream winner of the 1998 Authorlink New Author Awards Competition, has signed a six-figure contract with Harper Collins for her novel, Bingo Queens and a second work-in-progress, tentatively titled Stray Bullets.
The first title will be released in April, 1999, and the second manuscript will be completed in August, 1999. Both will be released under Harper Collins Cliff Street imprint.
Ms. London, whose real name is June Park, lives with her husband in a small Oklahoma town, similar to the setting for Bingo Queens, her first novel.
She met her agent, Robert Tabian of Robert Tabian Literary Agency , four years ago at an Oklahoma writers' conference. He showed considerable interest in her story at the time, though only a few chapters had been completed.
June sent an earlier novel out to 20 agents, all of whom rejected her. In 1988, early in her career, she took lessons from well-known writing coach, Jack Bickam at the University of Oklahoma in 1988. He was my mentor, one on one, June said. She began winning various contests and published a few shorts stories. She also began teaching creative writing at local colleges. The more I taught, the more I learned, June told Authorlink.
When she finished Bingo Queens in February last year, she suddenly remembered the meeting with Tabian. A few weeks earlier, she had entered the Authorlink contest. On April 13, 1998 Authorlink notified her that she had won first place in the mainstream nonfiction category. About two weeks later, Tabian notified her that Harper Collins wanted to buy the work.
While we werent responsible for making the direct connection with HarperCollins, said Authorlink Editor Doris Booth. we sure know how to spot the winners.
Tabian is a former editor at Putnam and was with International Creative Management before opening his own agency. Among Tabins clients is 1993 Pulitzer Prize Winner Robert Olan Butler.
How does it feel to have her first two novels sold? I dont know, says June. I suppose reality has yet to sink in.
Asked when she first became interested in writing, Ms. Park, a native of London, England, said that as a child during World War II, she read books while sequestered in bomb shelters to calm her fears and remove her from reality.
For the past ten years she has devoted herself exclusively to her writing career.
Authorlink Author
Tim McGuire Tops
Ingrams Hot List
DALLAS/FT. WORTH, TX/ 6/30/98–Tim McGuires newly-released Western, Danger Ridge (DORCHESTER/LEISURE BOOKS) has been listed by Ingram Book Company among the top ten most requested western fiction titles in the mass market/paperback category for several consecutive weeks in June. The excellent showing was posted even before the title was scheduled to reach bookstores by the end of that month.
Tim McGuire is among writers whose ready-to-publish and newly-released works are listed on Authorlink Danger Ridge is his first novel. Another western, titled, Nobility, , is due for release by LEISURE next year. Ingram is the worlds largest trade book distributor.
Authorlink Writer
Pax Riddle Sells
Book to Berkley
6/20/98–Authorlink writer, Pax Riddle, has sold his first novel Lost River to Berkley Publishing Group for the mid four figures. Pax joined the Authorlink site in early 1997. Some months later he signed with a top New York agent, whom he found through the Authorlink private agency directory. Berkley Editor Kim Waltemeyer bought the manuscript in June, 1998.
Lost River is the story of a young Modoc woman married to a white man, who struggles to balance her Indian heritage and her family in the face of looming war between her people and the US Army. The book will be released in Summer, 1999.
Pax Riddle writes full time, and lives with his wife and teenage daughter in Connecticut. He is working on a second novel, The Education of Ruby Loonfoot, and recently sold a nonfiction article to Wild West magazine.
Pax advises new writers to join a good work-oriented critique group, and consider their comments closely, while maintaining your style and integrity. If you wish to sell your work, versus merely write it for artistic, self satisfaction, find out about the marketplace. See where you can find a niche, he says.
New Author Finds
Agent on Internet,
Sells Six-figure Deal
7/98–First-time novelist William Kowalski of Erie PA. has sold his manuscript, Eddies Bastard, to Harper Collins. After receiving offers from several houses, agent Anne Hawkins of John Hawkins & Associates Inc., New York accepted a two book deal totalling in the mid six figures. Marjorie Braman, Senior Vice President for Harper Collins Adult Trade Books made the successful offer. Irv Schwartz of The Renaissance Agency, Los Angeles, CA, will handle film and television rights.
Kowalski first contacted Hawkins with an unsolicited E-mail query. He found her E-mail address via a search of AOL user profiles for literary agents.
In the fictional autobiography, William Kowalski explores the importance of family and the place of the individual in the continuum of history and time.
Living alone in a decaying mansion, Grandpa Mann is the last surviving member of a once-great family. Or so he believes until the day he stumbles drunkenly out the back door and discovers a baby in a picnic basket. A note taped to the handle identifies the occupant as EDDIES BASTARD, the child of his only
son recently killed in Viet Nam. What follows is the bittersweet story of the old man raising his grandson as the last, proud scion of the Mann family and steeping him in all of its rich and bizarre heritage.
Kowalski braids the story of the boys journey to young manhood together with family anecdotes and homespun philosophical excerpts from great-great grandfather Manns Civil War diary. The result is a story mixing warm humor with nostalgia and the inevitable sadness common to most American family histories.
Michigan Writer
Sells First Book
Via Authorlink
7/98–David Whale has found an agent and sold his book, HOW SCHOOLS REALLY WORK: AN ACTION GUIDE FOR PARENTS, through Authorlink Before having his work accepted for a listing on Authorlink he had written an agent himself, only to be turned down.
"It seemed like to me there should be a better way to reach potential editors and agents. Authorlink turned out to be the answer," David said.
He found Authorlink through a search engine while surfing the web. "I liked the way it was laid out and the content," he said. " I figured it was worth a try, and the results and support were outstanding all the way."
Whale said his agent has been great to work with. "We do all of our communicating via email. She is based in Idaho and I am in Michigan. We've never met face to face but I feel I know her and we have a very good relationship."
David waited a number of months before his agent connected with him through Authrolink! But persistence paid off. About nine months after his listing on Authorlink Agent Elisabet McHugh had made a sale for David. That's less than half the time it usually takes to sell a manuscript.
The hardcover book will be released in September, 1998 by Avisson. While David has published some scholarly papers and continues to do research and writing on the same topic as his book, this is his first full-length published work.
Sam Sackett's
'Career Karate'
Finds Publisher
6/98–Sam Sackett expected it would take a long time to find an agent, even with the help of Authorlink His listing first appeared on the site in April, 97, and about six or even months later he signed with agent, Elisabet McHugh, after receiving requests from three different representatives, and subsequently a publishing house.
"Placing the book with a publisher took longer than I thought, "said Sackett. "I think any author feels his work is so good that it will sell immediately, and I am no exception. Reality was, as it usually is, disillusioning." That process took about four more months.
"Was I skeptical of Authorlink at first? Sure. Anybody who has lived long in this economy has run across enough scams to make him skeptical of anything that sounds like a good deal. It's a by-product of the free enterprise system that crooks are free to function until they're caught.
"I found Authorlink very professional and timely. I was particularly impressed with their efforts to make sure that the agents they list operate ethically, " Sam said. " I even passed along a couple of names of agents who approached me about whom I was leery, and Authorlink acted appropriately."
How did Sam Sackett begin his writing career?
"Miss Grassle, my kindergarten teacher, assigned all of us to write a book in imitation of the little reader which was our text. I became hooked on writing and have been writing ever since."
Right now Sam has obligations that prevent him from the kind of sustained writing effort that he would like to make, so he's working along at translations of a couple of Flemish novels because he can do them a page at a time in between other chores. When he can free up his time more fully, he plans to finish a book on how to get a job, TWELVE STEPS TO FINDING THE PERFECT CAREER, which his present agent is also interested in representing.
Another agent whom he found through the Authorlink listings, has three of Sam's novels: ADOLF HITLER IN OZ, AN AMERICAN PRODIGAL, and SWEET BETSY FROM PIKE.
Sam's book, CAREER KARATE: WINNING STRATEGIES FOR MANAGERS, will be released by The Graduate Group sometime this spring.
"I think Authorlink is a great opportunity for writers. Before I discovered Authorlink, I had used the lists of agents in the Literary Market Place, only to be told by them — at least by those of them that answered at all — that they were not accepting work from new writers. The agents listed by Authorlink are all agents actively seeking new talent. For that reason Authorlink saves writers an enormous amount of time and effort in bringing them together with people who actually are interested in considering their work. So I am really very thankful to Authorlink and will be happy to sing its praises wherever and whenever I have the occasion."
Eric Winkler Sells
First Work
Within Five Months
6/98–Eric Winkler signed with a literary agent and sold his first manuscript, Partnership Marketing, to Greenwood Publishing, all within only five months. How did he do that? Through Authorlink
"At first, I made the mistake that first-time authors make of trying to pitch my manuscript directly to publishing houses. While searching the Internet for publishers, I ran across Authorlink" Eric explained. "Rather than try and learn the book publishing industry overnight, I thought I'd "borrow some experience" from Authorlink and I couldn't be more pleased with the results."
Authorlink asked Eric if he were skeptical of the service at first, and why?
"I have to admit I was skeptical at first. There are so many mine fields on the Internet that I worry about paying for any service offered on the 'net. I was impressed by the list of authors on the site and by the current publishing industry news. It seemed like a gamble worth taking and I'm very pleased with the connections Authorlink made for me."
Eric had searched for several months and had a number of dead-end conversations with publishers. He made the mistake of thinking he didn't need an agent. "Looking back, it was a little like thinking I could do my own dental work with a few lessons," he commented.
Eric said he was surprised how fast Authorlink produced results for him. It took less than a month for him to sign with agent, Elisabet McHugh through Authorlink He agreed to partner with her in October. By December, 97 he had received his first serious offer from a publisher. Then, in February, 98, only five months after Authorlink connected him with an agent, he sold his first book.
Asked if he had any advice for other first-time authors, Eric advised: "Don't be afraid to admit what you don't know. Do you need Authorlink? Yes. You can't possibly expect to learn the publishing industry overnight, so let Authorlink lend you their contacts and their expertise.
"I don't know about other writers, but I asked myself over and over whether or not I needed an agent. I did. My agent helped me focus my work and helped crystallize the vision for my project. Unless you are fortunate enough to be a publisher writing about the publishing industry, you need an agent to help you navigate this complicated business."
Eric Winkler said he had "nothing but praise" for Authorlink "This service sets realistic expectations and then exceeds them. I consider myself fortunate to have found Authorlink and even more fortunate that my agent found me through Authorlink This is a service I'd recommend to any first time author."
Roland Jansen
Finds Publisher
In Six Months
5/98–Roland Jansen has just sold his first book to John Wiley & Sons as a direct result of having secured agent Elisabet McHugh through Authorlink
Unnatural Profits from Natural Resources: How to Make Big Profits, Globally, From Oil, Gas, Grains and Metals will be released by John Wiley & Sons in August, 1998.
Dutch-born Jansen, director of fund management for the oldest bank in Liechtenstein, wrote the book in German in September 1996 and originally titled it, The Coming Squeeze in Natural Resources. A friend who review it told him his German was "hopeless" and suggested he write it in English. He did. In January, 1997 he began surfing the Internet to find information on publishers and came across Authorlink
"I thought Authorlink was a great idea for an aspiring writer living in a remote area and with no contacts in the publishing world. My book was accepted for listing on the service and after only two months, in March, 1997, Authorlink Editor Doris Booth informed me that literary agent Elisabet McHugh was interested in reading the full manuscript. After receiving valuable background information from Doris about the agent, I signed with Ms. McHugh on April 3."
In the following six months, Ms. McHugh encouraged Jansen to refocus the book and he completed the new version in August, 1997. Only a month later John Wiley & Sons made the offer to publish the book.
His advice to new writers: "Listen to the feedback you get from publishers who don't want to buy. Your work must be unique and you must be able to tell a publisher why it is so special. Finally, don't let anyone take away your dream of being published."
