Authorlink Launches Searchable Agency Database for Listed Writers
DALLAS, TX/7/1/02–Authorlink, the award-winning rights showcase for editors, agents, and writers, has launched a streamlined service for its listed writers—a free searchable database of literary agencies, accessible by keyword. Writers, agents, and publishers who have access to the system can, for example, simply type "mystery" into the search engine for a list of agencies who specialize in that category.
"A few other searchable agency databases exist, but most are extraordinarily expensive and offer little or no screening for professional standards," said Doris Booth, Authorlink President. "This database is FREE to writers who have their manuscript listings on our site. Though we always encourage writers to check agencies through many sources, our database provides preliminary screening against questionable businesses,"
A sample directory lets unregistered visitors to the site view companies listed in the database, but does not offer detailed information or the valuable search function unless the person is a listed writer.
Information in the database will be more current than many other services because agents can log into their own accounts and update information anytime. The agency database is one of a number of automated new functions and services being added to Authorlink.
Writers submit their manuscripts for evaluation and possible listing in Authorlink's Rights Showcase. A listing contains a short synopsis, excerpt, and author resume for the writer seeking an editor or agent. If a short listing interests an acquiring editor or agent, he or she can request the full work. A small fee is charged to the writer for the listing. Authorlink does not offer any editorial services, but the site does briefly evaluate manuscripts only for the purpose of placing the work by experience level on the site. Through Authorlink's automated system, the writer receives the evaluators' comments, useful definitions, and reading lists keyed to his or her specific needs.
Authorlink now serves more than 75,000 unique visitors per month (nearly a million per year, not including page views). Authorlink pioneered its unique services for writers in 1996, and is now among the top 1% of most-clicked sites on the web. The service was built upon personal relationships with the publishing and writing community.
One of the site's latest additions is "Authorlink Book Review," an independent book review service focusing on paperbacks, eBooks, and some hardcovers.
Thomson Acquires
McGraw-Hill Lifetime
Learning Assets
NAPERVILLE, IL/6/19/02—The Thomson Corporation (NYSE, TSX: TOC), one of the world's largest providers of corporate and professional learning solutions, has acquired selected courseware, technology and e-learning assets from McGraw-Hill's Lifetime Learning division, part of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP).
The acquisition adds significant branded and mission critical content to the Thomson portfolio of offerings, creating the largest and most comprehensive set of enterprise-wide, end-to-end learning solutions available globally. Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"When you serve thousands of the world's leading businesses, including the vast majority of the Fortune 500, it's clear that employees' knowledge and skills have become a company's most critical competitive advantage. We are living in a knowledge economy where a corporation's ability to accelerate the development of human capital in complete alignment with business objectives is vital to success," said Alex Brnilovich, president and CEO of Thomson Enterprise Learning. "In adding this leading content and branded courses to our enterprise solutions, we further expand our ability to meet customers' demand for the very best learning content integrated into a more strategic enterprise-wide learning program. We are turning corporate learning into corporate empowerment."
The addition of these leading courses – encompassing everything from improving sales performance and call center operations to helping ensure workplace compliance – represents the continued focus Thomson takes in providing corporate clients with new tools for driving growth and achieving competitive advantage.
The Thomson branded learning approach includes well-known authors, academics, and business leaders who develop timely, issue-oriented courses. The result is learners more engaged in content that addresses relevant and mission crucial business needs in an innovative, cohesive and high quality fashion.
For example, the new content incorporates such subject matter experts as:
Avaya for call center and CRM contact center courses; Fortune 500 consultant Dianna Booher for sales and communications courses; Xebec for business skills courses in multiple languages including their entire multi-lingual library; ELI for legal compliance training, civil treatment and human resource management courses; Harvard University's Manage Mentor online multi-lingual resource that covers 28 key business topics.
"These courses were developed by recognized thought leaders in response to real business problems. They help employees acquire new skills and parlay that knowledge into increased sales, improved profitability and better overall business performance," said Brnilovich.
"The need for professional education has never been greater. The increasing skill base of today's workforce, combined with the blending of business disciplines and corporate pressures for financial growth result in a solid and sustained demand for high quality professional development," said Cushing Anderson, senior analyst at IDC. "The stable of subject matter experts from important business areas that contribute to this library combined with the broader assets and global capability Thomson offers, put it in an industry-leading position to capitalize on this continued market growth. Thomson is in a position to provide end-to-end learning solutions and strong branded content to the largest companies in the world."
While, the acquisition will enable Thomson to continue its focus on providing learning solutions that link job performance to business objectives. The courses will be available through Thomson Enterprise Learning businesses, including NETg ( http://www.netg.com/) and Thomson Enterprise Solutions ( http://www.thomsonlearning.com/.)
About Thomson
The Thomson Corporation ( http://www.thomson.com/), with 2001 revenues of $7.2 billion, is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers. Thomson provides value-added information, software applications and tools to more than 20 million users in the fields of corporate training, assessment and testing, higher education, reference information, law, tax, accounting, financial services, and scientific research and healthcare. The Corporation's common shares are listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE, TSX: TOC).
Penguin Pulls Out
of Joint Venture
Biography Line
7/1/02—Penguin reportedly is withdrawing from a joint venture with Lipper Publication, a move that essentially will shut down the biography line, Penguin Lives. According to a story in the New York Observer, Penguin Lives co-founder and editor James Atlas said Penguin has not given an explanation for the shutdown, but he said some aspects of the publication didn't fit well with the corporate structure.
Some investment analysts said financial problems inside Lipper & Co., prompted the collapse. The Observer, however, said that "Collapse may be too strong a word, though. The line has issued 22 books so far, and still has 12 more titles scheduled through 2004, which both Atlas Viking say will still be published." Also, a business and science series with Norton may also proceed. Observer article
iUniverse Reduces
Staff, Closes Corporate
Publishing Unit
6/18/02— iUniverse.com has reportedly laid off 36 employees in an effort to cut costs and refocus on its core business of publishing authors' books for a fee. As part of its cost-cutting measures, iUniverse will close down its corporate publishing unit and its Campbell, Calif. corporate headquarters, and will centralize operations in Lincoln, Nebraska, where its author publishing facilities are located.A spokesperson said that existing corporate clients will continue to be serviced.
The changes are being made by a new management team headed by Kim Hawley, newly named CEO of iUniverse, and formerly CEO of software developer Action Point. Richard Tam, founder and former CEO, will become chairman of the board. A number of senior executives including Douglas Bennett, the former president and COO, are now working as advisors and are expected to leave the company over the next few months.
Only last year the company scored $39 million in financing to build their "digital publishing infrastructure service."
Random House Audible
and Rodale Press to Produce
Sex and Dating Audiobook
WAYNE, NJ/6/19/02—Audible, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBL) and Rodale Press have launched The Men's Health (R) Playbook: All the Right Moves for Dating, Sex and Marriage. Available only at audible.com and MensHealth.com, The Men's Health Playbook serves as a guide to help men who are looking for a new love, repairing a broken heart, or trying to explain the mystery of the opposite sex.
The audio-only collection is being featured at MensHealth.com, the site that receives 2.3 million relationship- and fitness-minded visitors each month, and on audible.com, a leading site for audiobook downloads. The promotion will also include e-mails to both sites' fan bases. The companies are hoping to reach the fitness-minded who frequently listen to audiobooks while working out.
Audible.com also offers T he Men's Health Longevity Program as an audio series, published by Random House Audible in February 2001, and building upon the success of that title the companies decided to create, produce and aggressively market The Men's Health Playbook. Based on articles and essays from the Men's Health archives that have not been available in one collection before, The Men's Health Playbook addresses a number of efficiencies in distribution via downloads—no physical media, immediate access, low pricing and cross-promotional opportunities—that were not possible before the advent of Audible's Internet audio service.
" Men's Health is the source that millions of men look to for sex and relationship advice, and we are pleased to see that trusted content turned into an original e-audiobook," said Dave Zinczenko, Editor-in-Chief, Men's Health."Now men can have the content they value most available to them in a new and easy to access format."
" The Men's Health Playbook is the newest title from Random House Audible, the only publishing imprint to produce spoken audio titles specifically suited for downloading and streaming over the World Wide Web," added Beth Anderson, vice president and publisher, Audible. "We look forward to a successful launch and more creative projects with Men's Health that wed the power of Internet distribution with great content."
The two-hour tape is narrated by Broadway, film and television actors Hank Jacobs and Nicole Fonarow.
About Audible.com
Audible.com features daily audio editions of the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times—available on a subscription basis in time for the morning drive to work each day—as well as Forbes, Harvard Management Update, Scientific American and Fast Company. The site also offers a powerful collection of audiobook best sellers and classics by authors such as Tom Clancy, Stephen King, John Grisham, Mary Higgins Clark, James Patterson, the Dalai Lama, David McCullough, Stephen Hawking, 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, and original shows such as RobinWilliams@audible.com. 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.
About Rodale Press
For more than 50 years, Rodale has been a leading publisher of information on healthy, active lifestyles. With a mission to inspire and enable people to improve their lives and the world around them, Rodale reaches more than 30 million people every month through its magazines, books, Web sites and other media. Rodale properties include such well-known magazines as Prevention, Men's Health, Organic Style, OG (formerly Organic Gardening,) Runner's World, Backpacker, Bicycling, Mountain Bike and Rodale's Scuba Diving. Rodale publishes nearly 100 new book titles each year and maintains a strong backlist of more than 500 book titles on the subjects of cooking, health, fitness, gardening, nature and spirituality. Recent Rodale New York Times best sellers include Dr. Shapiro's Picture Perfect Weight Loss and The Wrinkle Cure. In 2001 and 2000, Rodale was named one of "The 100 Best Companies To Work For" by Fortune magazine.
About Audible, Inc.
Audible(R) ( http://www.audible.com/(R)) is the Internet's 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 150 content partners that include leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers and business information providers. Audible.com is Amazon.com's ( 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 Company's key business partners are Card Access Inc., Casio Inc., Compaq Computer Corporation, Handspring, Hewlett-Packard Company, Microsoft Corporation, Royal Philips Electronics, RealNetworks, Inc., SONICblue Incorporated's Rio Audio Group, Sony Electronics, Texas Instruments and VoiceAge Corp. Audible, www.audible.com, AudibleManager and AudibleReady are registered trademarks of Audible, Inc. and all are part of the family of Audible, Inc. trademarks.
Barnes & Noble.com
Launches ''What
America's Reading''
NEW YORK/6/26/02—Barnes & Noble.com (NASDAQ: BNBN) ( http://www.bn.com/) has introduced a new feature, "What America's Reading," providing hourly, daily and weekly updates on bestselling books. The data is organized in a number of ways, including a "Top Ten" list of bestsellers across all categories and formats at both Barnes & Noble stores and on Barnes & Noble.com.
" What America's Reading" will be integrated throughout the web site and can be accessed at www.bn.com/bestsellers.
"Barnes & Noble's 600 stores and Barnes & Noble.com serve tens of millions of customers a year. We know what America is reading better than anyone else, and we can report it faster than anyone else," said Marie Toulantis, CEO of Barnes & Noble.com. "This is the definitive list, as measured by Barnes & Noble customers, who are the best barometer in the world of what America is reading. We are pleased to provide this insight along with a 40 percent discount available at Barnes & Noble.com on the Top Ten."
The current Barnes & Noble Top 10 are:
Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich The Beach House by James Patterson & Peter De Jonge Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (movie tie-in edition) by Rebecca Wells The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen L. Carter The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum Little Altars Everywhere by Rebecca Wells Face the Fire by Nora Roberts The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus Self Matters by Phillip C. McGraw
These regular features will be included in "What America's Reading":
The Barnes & Noble Weekly Charts: The definitive look at the nation's bestselling fiction, nonfiction, children's and business titles, based on sales data from Barnes & Noble stores and Barnes & Noble.com. The charts track the movement and longevity of the top titles. The Barnes & Noble Top 100: A snapshot of what Barnes & Noble.com customers are buying—updated hourly so it always reflects the most current data. The Top 10 of Everything: Daily lists of bestselling books in more than 300 categories, from architecture to Zen Buddhism. The Bestselling Pre-Ordered Books: A weekly update of the books that are selling online before they hit the shelves. The current list includes The Remnant: On the Brink of Armageddon, the tenth book in the Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins Left Behind series; the paperback version of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter #4); and Red Rabbit, the upcoming Jack Ryan novel from Tom Clancy. The Hot Lists: Intriguing lists that reveal the hidden details, the emerging trends and the highlights from the world of bestsellers. This week's Hot Lists include the top spy books, a comparison of what's being read in New York and in Los Angeles, and—with a nod to the Fourth of the July—the bestselling presidential biographies and the top road trip books. Book Talk: A weekly look behind the numbers. Each week, Book Talk will provide analysis and commentary about what's buzzing in bestsellers—the unexpected surprises, the things readers will want to know.
About Barnes & Noble.com
Barnes & Noble.com is a leading online retailer of books, music, DVD/video and magazine subscriptions. Since opening its online store ( http://www.bn.com/) in March 1997, Barnes & Noble.com has attracted more than 12 million customers in 228 countries. Barnes & Noble.com's online bookstore includes the largest in-stock selection of in-print book titles with access to 1 million titles for immediate delivery, supplemented by more than 20 million listings from its nationwide network of out-of-print, rare and used book dealers. Barnes & Noble.com offers its customers fast delivery, easy and secure ordering, and rich editorial content.
Another Grann
Protege to Leave
Penguin Putnam
NEW YORK, NY/6/18/02—Penguin Putnam has laid off Hillery Borton, one of its promising young editors who began her career as an assistant to publishing icon Phyllis Grann (now with Random House). Borton is among a number of people who followed Grann's departure, including Stacey Creamer and assistant Emily Owens.
Borton, who started her career as Phyllis Grann's assistant, had recently been acquiring titles of her own. Her books have been well received by reviewers. She recently edited Paul Greenberg's Leaving Katya, which recently received a favorable review in The New York Times.
Borton also was one of the champions of "Inside Sessions," an online writing school that reportedly was the brainchild of Grann, but which appears no longer directly associated with Penguin.
A Penguin spokesperson said that when Phyllis Grann left, Penguin agreed that Hillery should stay on and finish up some editorial work, but only as a temporary arrangement.
Ingram Celebrates
Opening of Largest
Distirbution FacilityCHAMBERSBURG, PA/6/27/02—Ingram Book Group June 27 celebrated the grand opening of its 665,000-square-foot distribution center in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The largest facility in Ingram's national distribution network, the new Chambersburg complex integrates several key functions including state-of-the-art book and magazine distribution, expanded freight consolidation, and Ingram's national returns center, all under one large roof! Such operational efficiency allows Ingram to handle thousands of additional titles in a location central to East Coast customers, publishers, and printers. GENERAL NEWS News Corp
May Abandon
Italian TV Deal
TOKYO/6/24/02—According to the Financial Times, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (NWS) has failed to find an equal investor to help create Italy's sole pay-TV operation, and may walk away from the deal.
Two weeks ago News Corp agreed to a $1.5 billion deal to take over Vivendi Universal (V)'s Telepiu pay-TV unit and merge it with News Corp's Italian platform, Stream. But the deal was contingent on News Corp finding investors to buy up to 50% of the merged company, allowing News Corp to manage the venture. The platforms together have lost an estimated $750 million last year in a market that analysts believe is too small for more than one operator, and greater losses are projected during the next few years.
After two weeks of prospecting in Italy and elsewhere, News Corp appears to have failed to find enough investors, placing the deal in doubt.
Telecom Italia SpA (TI) owns half of the much smaller Stream, but refuses to increase its stake in the merged group. The phone company is seeking to sell most assets where the phone company owns minority shares, particularly in unprofitable ventures.
If News Corp drops out of the deal, Vivendi could be forced to renegotiate the $1.5 billion cash and debt agreement. The pullout would also pressure Telecom Italia to find partners willing to salvage the pay-TV venture, since Telecom Italia has up to $1 billion in liabilities at Stream, which it owned until News Corp acquired half the company in 1999.
Lightning Titles
to Appear
in Palm Devices
6/27/02—In a long-anticipated move, Palm Digital Media has announced a joint marketing agreement with Lightning Source in which Lightning will carry and fulfill eBooks encrypted in Palm format, enabling the Palm-formatted titles to be carried on Amazon.com.
Vivendi CEO
to Keynote Global
Education Alliance
ENGLEWOOD, CO/6/17/02—The Global Alliance for Trans-national Education(R), Ltd. (GATE(R))—the consortium of education, business, government and non-governmental leaders that addresses quality-assurance issues in educational services crossing national borders— will host its seventh annual conference, "Assuring Excellence in the Business, Technology and Globalization of Online Learning," 18-20 September 2002, at the Paris Hilton in France.
The keynote address for the conference will be delivered by Agnes Touraine, the chairman and chief executive officer of Vivendi Universal Publishing. Ms. Touraine, the head of the world's second-largest education content publisher, will discuss the global education market and the dynamic trends taking shape in the burgeoning field of digitized, online learning.
Noting that the current growth trend in online education around the globe presents opportunities for Vivendi Universal Publishing, particularly as it relates to new ways to learn and news ways to teach, Ms. Touraine says, "It's increasingly important to bring together representatives from academia, business and government to craft cooperative strategies that can leverage their strengths to take advantage of opportunities created by new technologies and to ensure quality outcomes."
She adds: "Assuring excellence in the emerging field of online learning and exploring new opportunities in education are critical to the continued growth of digital products at Vivendi Universal Publishing, while we continue to pursue the development of traditional education tools. We're pleased to take part in this important conference."
Said Scott Wyatt, director of GATE: "We're pleased to have Vivendi Universal Publishing associated with our event. Ms. Touraine has built a very dynamic organization that is capitalizing on the converging trends in global education and technology. Her address will be a memorable opening to our conference and will set the tone for two days of insightful discussion on online learning, cross-border education and corporate training."
More than 125 education and corporate learning professionals from universities, governmental agencies, and commercial and non-profit businesses from around the globe are expected to attend the GATE conference. Delegates will attend workshops, discussions and presentations on such timely issues as merging corporate and business sector learning efforts; trade in online educational services; and the need to promote quality assurance in the fast-growing field of borderless, trans-national education. A detailed conference agenda is posted at http://www.edugate.org/.
Prospective conference-goers can register online for the GATE event at ww.edugate.org, or by calling +1.303.784.8274.
About GATE
Founded in 1995, GATE is an alliance of businesses, educators, quality-assurance agencies, governments, and intergovernmental organizations that nurtures and sustains communication among education and training leaders worldwide. The organization's objectives are to develop principles of good practice and recognition by accrediting quality trans-national education and training programs; explore issues facing educational institutions in a global marketplace; network across national borders with corporations, government bodies and educational associations and institutions; access global information about educational systems and trends in technology-driven education; and ensure that trans-national education standards keep pace with technological change. GATE is a subsidiary of Jones International (TM), Ltd.
GATE's international headquarters are at 9697 E. Mineral Ave., Englewood, Colo., 80112, U.S.A. Telephone: +1.303.792.3111. Web site: http://www.edugate.org/. E-mail: gate@edugate.org.
Hanley-Wood
Launches Two
Magazines
6/19/02—Hanley-Wood, the leading business-to-business media company serving the housing and construction industry, will launch two new publications this fall.
Exterior Contractor will serve specialty contracting firms involved in roofing, siding, decking and window replacement projects.
El Nuevo Constructor — the first Spanish-language magazine for Hispanics working in the residential construction industry—targets Spanish-speaking builders, subcontractors and trade workers across the country, the magazine will provide how-to training articles geared for the busy construction worker.
"We are excited to launch publications that will directly address two rapidly growing segments within the housing industry," says Rick Strachan, group publisher. "Hanley-Wood is committed to providing the highest quality editorial products and these two magazines will reach readers new to Hanley-Wood publications."
Launching in fall 2002 with four issues scheduled for 2003, Exterior Contractor will provide business, technical, and product information to owners of specialty contracting firms involved in roofing, siding, decking and window replacement projects. Circulation will consist of high-volume roofing, siding, decking and window replacement contractors. Exterior Contractor will be the only publication to serve this growing market.
Authored by the editors of Tools of the Trade and The Journal of Light construction, El Nuevo Constructor will be distributed quarterly for free. El Nuevo Constructo will be written in Spanish along with English summaries including how-to training pieces, tool reviews, and translation of construction terms and useful phrases. Each issue will contain a mix of stories aimed at increasing readers' skills in such trades as framing, roofing, drywall, painting, masonry, and concrete work. El Nuevo Constructo will launch in October, with four issues scheduled for 2003. The magazine will be mailed to big builders with large Hispanic workforces, delivered to major distribution outlets in heavy populated Hispanic markets, and distributed at trade shows and industry events with high Hispanic attendance.
"We are pleased to offer these new publications geared specifically towards two fast growing groups within this robust industry, " says Peter Goldstone, magazine division president. "The housing industry is strong and all signs point to continued growth."
Hanley-Wood a leading business-to-business media company serving the housing and construction industry. Founded in 1976, Hanley-Wood is a $160 million company owned by VS&A Communications Partners III, the private equity affiliate of media industry merchant bank Veronis Suhler Stevenson. Hanley-Wood publishes leading magazines in the residential and commercial construction industry. From its Exhibitions Division based in Dallas, Hanley-Wood produces nine trade shows, four of which are listed in the Trade Show 200, including World of Concrete at #19. Hanley-Wood Integrated Marketing is based in Minneapolis and the Home Planners Division, based in Tucson, is the leading publisher of house plan magazines, Special Interest Publications and eplans.com. Hanley-Wood's Internet Division has a major Internet presence through its sites including Builder Online, Remodeling Online, and its new publication, ebuild, the comprehensive guide to building products.
BOOKSELLING Barnes & Noble
to Open New Store
in Michigan
NEW YORK, NY/6/19/02—Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller, will open a new 28,000-square-foot bookstore on July 3 at 500 South Main Street. The store will stock close to 200,000 book, music, DVD and magazine titles and include a cafe serving Starbucks coffee. The new Royal Oak Barnes & Noble will be open from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday and employ approximately 60 people from the community.
Barnes & Noble's bookselling innovations have established it as the number-one operator of retail bookstores in America. Its innovations include:
The Readers Advantage membership program. Designed for Barnes & Noble's best customers, this program gives members an additional 10 percent off everything they buy. The annual fee is $25. Rapid special-order service. Special orders have been commonplace in bookselling, but Barnes & Noble's new service takes it to new heights in terms of selection and speed of delivery. Its booksellers are able to instantly access the real-time inventory of every title in the company's distribution network, enabling its booksellers to order and confirm the availability of virtually any book in print at the click of a button. With more than one million titles available, Barnes & Noble stocks more books than any competing retail or online bookseller, and substantially more titles than even the largest book wholesalers. Large-scale children's departments that are bigger than most typical bookstores. Stocking over 15,000 titles in an easy-to-browse environment, Barnes & Noble Junior departments are designed to appeal to children, parents, teachers and librarians. Children's story hours will be held twice a week. Every CD listening stations. The store's music department features the most advanced listening technology, enabling customers to listen to any CD in the store by simply passing it under a scanner. Connected to the company's online electronic music catalog, the store's listening stations make "browsing with your ears" a reality. The Discover Great New Writers program. The leader in discovering new writers, the Discover program, now in its 13th year, has an unparalleled record of finding tomorrow's literary stars from today's publishing newcomers. Over the years, Discover has prominently featured and promoted such writers as Frank McCourt, Jonathan Franzen, Laura Hillenbrand, Hampton Sides and Tracy Chevalier.
"We have become the market leader because of our unparalleled selection, service, convenience and the most sophisticated inventory systems in all of bookselling," said Mitchell Klipper, chief operating officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc. "Our new rapid special-order systems enable us to offer our customers the largest selection and fastest delivery of any bookseller. In short, if we don't have it on our shelves, we'll get it for you and offer the convenience of in-store pickup or home delivery."
Store manager Amy Fitzgerald said, "Bookselling is a very local business. Underlying our success is our expertise at tailoring the selection of every store to the community it serves. I have the ability to order the books my customers need and adjust the selection to the lifestyles and interests of this community. We also plan to have an ongoing series of author signing and book discussion groups."
About Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) is the world's largest bookseller, operating 599 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 49 states. It also operates 298 B. Dalton Bookseller stores, primarily in regional shopping malls. The company offers titles from more than 50,000 publisher imprints, including thousands of small, independent publishers and university presses. It conducts its e-commerce business through Barnes & Noble.com ( http://www.bn.com/) in which it owns a 36 percent interest.
Barnes & Noble also has approximately a 60 percent interest in GameStop (NYSE: GME), the nation's largest video-game and entertainment-software specialty retailer with 1,038 stores.
General financial information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained via the Internet by visiting the company's corporate Web site: http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/financials.
Borders Books
to Open
Four Stores
6/20/02—Borders Books and Music will open another four stores during the next year.
The company will open a 15,000-sq.-ft. store in August in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., in southeastern Orange County. The store will be located in the Plaza el Paseo shopping center at El Portal and La Promesa, and will house more than 140,000 book, music, DVDs and periodicals.
Borders plans a 23,576-sq.-ft. store in Spokane, Wash., for a September opening in the Northpointe Plaza shopping center at Highway 2 and East Hawthorne Road. The new store will feature more than 200,000 book, music, DVDs and periodicals.
In November, Borders will open its seventh store in the Twin Cities area—a 24,000-sq.-ft. facility in Coon Rapids, Minn, near Minneapolis and St. Paul.. The store will carry more than 200,000 book, music, DVDs and periodicals.
The fourth store, embracing 16,835-sq.-ft., will be located at Watertown, N.Y., in northern New York State, in Salmon Run Mall at Highway 81 and State Route 3. The store, scheduled for a Spring opening, will stock an estimated 140,000 book, music, DVD and periodical titles.
AWARDS HealthGate's `Journal Notes'
Receives Accolades From
American Medical Writers
BURLINGTON,MA/6/19/02— HealthGate Data Corp., (OTCBB: HGAT), a market-leading provider and electronic publisher of healthcare information for health-related organizations, has received the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) New England Chapter's Will Solimene Award of Excellence in Medical Communication for Journal Notes: Making Sense of Medical News. The award—which "recognizes outstanding work in biomedical and health communication by New England writers"—was announced at the AMWA-New England Chapter's 2002 Awards Presentation Banquet on Thursday, June 13, 2002.
Journal Notes, developed and written by HealthGate's internal editorial team, is a weekly, proprietary HealthGate feature that highlights timely, interesting, "breaking news" articles that are "consumerized" into a commentary designed to help consumers better understand the medical news that they get from various news sources—the Internet, TV/Radio and print. In Journal Notes, HealthGate medical writers and physicians review, evaluate and comment on new research and findings and provide scientific background and context for the topic at hand.
"We are pleased to accept this important award as testimony to the quality healthcare content that HealthGate is known for," said Bill Reece, HealthGate's CEO. "This win also validates our decision to expand our proprietary content offering and provide our customers with useful, informative and timely healthcare information that ultimately helps patients lead healthier lives."
Journal Notes was judged on a number of criteria, including: clarity, style, readability, scientific/medical accuracy, originality, creativity, usefulness to intended audience, up to date relevance and layout.
About HealthGate
HealthGate Data Corp. (OTCBB:HGAT) is a market-leading provider and electronic publisher of healthcare information. HealthGate offers customers the most comprehensive content repository of healthcare information, unrivaled in its breadth and depth of content. HealthGate's authoritative content is used by more than 600 hospitals in the U.S. to provide the capability to drive down costs through more effective research and treatment, regulatory compliance, and clinician and patient education. The company's multi-dimensional XML-based content can be delivered electronically across virtually any technology and tightly integrated into a variety of applications used by its customers.
Since 1999, HealthGate has become an integral part of operations in approximately 12 percent of all hospitals in the United States. Some of the most respected healthcare institutions in the world, including Brigham and Women's Hospital, Swedish Medical Center, and HCA now utilize the data provided by HealthGate. The company's content repository is supported by a flexible, multi-dimensional technology infrastructure designed to enable HealthGate to rapidly develop products and services for customers as well as additional markets such as pharmaceutical companies and payors (insurance companies, governments, and self-insured organizations).
FILM/TV Group Forms
New Center for Film
& TV Design
LOS ANGELES,CA/6/18/02—A group of 75 prominent motion picture and television designers, illustrators, set designers, and busy executives, has formed the non-profit Center for Film & TV Design.
The group will embrace all aspects of motion picture and television design, including production design, art direction, illustration, set design and costume design. Its mission is to provide forums, preserve outstanding design achievements, advance understanding of design through publications, activities, exhibitions and special events, support scholarly research, rescue endangered film and television design history and explore new design technologies.
The Center's immediate goal will be to maintain an archive, establish a library, conduct seminars, maintain a research facility, open a museum, publish texts and documents about design, producing special events and conferences. The organization also will preserve records and artifacts, establish and produce an oral history. In addition, it plans on having a program for visiting artists, maintaining a museum shop, establishing student internships and cataloging over a long term all film design holdings, archives, and collections. Although the Center has modest initial funding, it has ambitious plans to attract regular financial support through donations and special fund-raising events.
Center officers are Production Designer Michael Baugh, chairman; Business Executive Mary Ann Grasso, secretary-treasurer; and Production Designer Norman Newberry, vice president; Other members of the Center's Board of Directors are Production Designer Rene Legler, Production Designer Harold Michelson, Researcher Lillian Michelson, Costume Designer Mary Rose, Production Designer Tom Walsh, and Set Decorator Robert Zilliox. Baugh is also the present treasurer of the Art Directors Guild while Newberry is a past president of the Guild. Rose is currently treasurer of the Motion Picture Costume Designers Guild.
An example of one of the more invaluable collections of Hollywood filmmaking history that will become a major asset of the Center is the Lillian Michelson Research Library, which presently contains 7,000 books, 100,000 periodicals (some dating back to before the Civil War) and l.5 million clippings, stills and photographs. Over the years her library has grown through the addition of many private collections belonging to retired and deceased Production Designers. The Michelson Library has a bit of a gypsy history. It began in 1969 when Lillian Michelson, a veteran researcher for studios and production companies, purchased the Samuel Goldwyn Studios Library collection. The library has traveled from the American Film Institute, where it was housed for 10 years, to Zoetrope Studios (now called Hollywood Center Studios) to a warehouse of the Los Angeles Public Library and then onward in 1987 to Paramount Studios and subsequently to DreamWorks, where it is presently located and open to working professionals. In her collection of magazines that date back to the 1920s, 30s and 40s are early editions of Life, Look, Fortune, Time, Newsweek, Ladies Home Journal and numerous others. When creative designers and writers want to review the look of a particular year, these early magazines and books are deemed invaluable.
Center Chairman Baugh said: "With the formation of our new Center for Film & Television Design our industry finally has an organization willing to dedicate itself to the managing and preserving of television research libraries and design artifacts. We must not let these treasures disappear. And we now need the full support of a caring industry to help us fund the ambitious goals we have for the Center."
Temporary headquarters for the Center are at the Studio City offices of the Art Directors Guild (818/762-9995).
PEOPLE Barnes & Noble Announces Two Executive Appointments
NEW YORK, NY/6/18/02—Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller, has announced that Maureen O'Connell, formerly chief financial officer, has been appointed executive vice president of finance and will report directly to Leonard Riggio, chairman of Barnes & Noble, Inc. Larry Zilavy has been appointed the company's chief financial officer, reporting directly to Steve Riggio, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Ms. O'Connell, who joined Barnes & Noble in March 2000 as chief financial officer, will now be responsible for corporate finance and strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and will oversee the company's investments in various subsidiaries. Over the past two years, she has managed and successfully led a number of important financial transactions for the company, including the issuance of a $300 million convertible bond, the completion of an initial public offering (IPO) of GameStop and a recently completed $500 million new revolving credit facility. Prior to joining Barnes & Noble, Ms. O'Connell served as the chief financial officer of Publisher Clearing House.
Mr. Zilavy joins Barnes & Noble with a distinguished 25-year financial career. Mostly recently, he was Executive Vice President of IBJ Whitehall Bank and Trust company where he worked since 1992. While there he helped establish, build and manage the bank's largest business as head of its corporate finance group. Prior to that, he served as Vice President and Division Executive at the former Chase Manhattan Bank, where he worked for eleven years, managing commercial lending operations, credit and relationship management, and administration and business development.
About Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) is the world's largest bookseller, operating 599 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 49 states. It also operates 298 B. Dalton Bookseller stores, primarily in regional shopping malls. The company offers titles from more than 50,000 publisher imprints, including thousands of small, independent publishers and university presses. It conducts its e-commerce business through Barnes & Noble.com ( http://www.bn.com/) in which it owns a 36 percent interest.
Barnes & Noble also has approximately a 60 percent interest in GameStop (NYSE: GME), the nation's largest video-game and entertainment-software specialty retailer with 1,038 stores.
General financial information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained via the Internet by visiting the company's corporate Web site: http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/financials.
AOL Names David Lebow Executive Vice President
DULLES,VA/6/19/02—America Online, Inc., the world's leading interactive services company, today announced that it has named media industry veteran David Lebow as Executive Vice President, Programming and Strategy for AOL Interactive Services. Reporting to AOL Interactive Services President Jimmy de Castro, Lebow will coordinate strategic programming and promotions initiatives for the AOL service and the AOL brand. He will also evaluate consumer trends and research about the AOL service to help develop new content and services to meet consumer needs. Lebow will work closely Jim Bankoff, Executive Vice President of AOL Brand Operations, and David Gang, Executive Vice President of Product Marketing, on de Castro's executive team.
Prior to joining AOL, Lebow was Senior Vice President of Operations for Emmis Communications, a diversified media company with radio broadcasting, television broadcasting, and magazine publishing operations. As such, he was responsible for day-to-day operations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Indianapolis, Phoenix, St. Louis, and Terre Haute.
"AOL has become a vital part of the daily lives of millions of people, and David will have a huge impact on the product we deliver to consumers." said de Castro in making the announcement. "His deep experience in media, strong background in consumer research and a great intuitive feel for the pulse of the consumer make him a perfect fit for the company and the team."
"AOL has always been about what consumers want — making their lives easier and saving time," said Lebow. "Their ability to deliver the experience that is most relevant to the way people live and what they do online has made them the leading company in the interactive medium. We have a great opportunity to make AOL even more indispensible as people continue to expand activities and time spent online. I look forward to working with Jimmy and the AOL team to build an even more valuable service for consumers."
Previously, Lebow served as Executive Vice President/Western Region and, before that, as Chief Operating Officer for the Office of Product and Strategy for AMFM (now ClearChannel), the nation's largest radio broadcasting company. Lebow joined Evergreen/Chancellor/AMFM after founding Ratings Point Management, which provided the radio industry with cutting edge techniques to use Arbitron as a strategic tool in programming, marketing, and sales.
Before founding Rating Point, Lebow worked in various roles with Emmis Communications, the Arbitron Company, GAF Broadcasting, and Chase Broadcasting. He graduated from Ithaca College School of Communications with a degree in Broadcast Management.
About America Online
America Online, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL Time Warner (NYSE:AOL). Based in Dulles, Virginia, America Online is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies and e-commerce services.
FINANCIALS Wiley & Sons
Reports Fiscal
2002 Results
NEW YORK/6/20/02—John Wiley & Sons, Inc., (NYSE:JWa) (NYSE:JWb) announced today that earnings per diluted share for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2002 advanced 11% to $1.03, excluding an unusual charge related to the relocation of the company's headquarters.
Including the charge, earnings per diluted share was $0.91 in fiscal 2002, compared to $0.93 in fiscal 2001. Net income was $65.0 million excluding the charge and $57.3 million including the charge, compared to $58.9 million in fiscal 2001. Revenues for fiscal 2002 increased 20% to $734.4 million from $613.8 million in fiscal 2001.
For the fourth quarter, which is seasonally the company's least significant in financial terms, earnings per diluted share was $0.10, excluding the unusual charge, compared with $0.13 in the prior year. The decrease was primarily attributable to the write-off of two small investments in an environmental remediation portal and database and an informatics company. The impact of the write-offs was $0.05 per diluted share. Fiscal 2002 fourth quarter net income was $6.2 million, excluding the unusual charge related to the relocation, and a loss of $1.5 million, including the charge. Revenues for the fourth quarter of $189.2 million increased 40% over the $135.5 million reported in the fourth quarter of last year. Excluding Hungry Minds, revenues for the company advanced 13% for the fourth quarter and 5% for the year.
The company achieved strong revenue gains in the fourth quarter, as a result of the Hungry Minds acquisition and organic growth. All of the company's U.S. based businesses contributed to the results. European segment revenues increased, driven primarily by STM journals and higher education programs. Wiley Canada and Australia enjoyed gains, while the company's business in Asia continued to be adversely affected by the weak economy.
"Wiley's performance was solid in fiscal 2002, continuing our record of strong earnings growth," said William J. Pesce, President and Chief Executive Officer. "In spite of the formidable challenges we encountered, particularly after September 11th, our leadership team stayed focused, executed our plans and achieved record financial results. Contributing to this performance was the acquisition of Hungry Minds, which is exceeding our expectations."
He concluded, "We are well positioned for another successful year. We will continue to leverage our competitive strengths to generate organic growth in our core businesses – Professional/Trade, STM and Higher Education. In addition, our acquisition strategy is working and we will continue to pursue attractive opportunities. Our forecast for fiscal 2003, assuming no major disruption in the market place, indicates double-digit growth in revenues and earnings. Our fiscal 2003 forecast includes the non-cash benefit of lower amortization of intangibles due to the adoption of the new accounting standard SFAS No. 142, offset by higher depreciation costs due to the company's relocation. Unusual charges related to the relocation are excluded from this guidance."
Income for the fourth quarter and the full year was affected by an unusual charge in the amount of $12.3 million, or $7.7 million after taxes, equal to $0.12 per diluted share, related to the upcoming relocation of the company's headquarters to Hoboken, New Jersey. This charge consists of lease payments from the move date through the lease termination date on the company's vacated offices in New York and the accelerated depreciation of leasehold improvements and certain furniture and fixtures and equipment based on revised estimates of useful lives. The company expects to incur additional pre-tax charges of approximately $2.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2003, primarily duplicate rent through the move date and moving costs. The relocation will provide a more collaborative and efficient work environment, relieve overcrowding in our current facility, and will meet the company's growth needs. The move is being accomplished on attractive financial terms, including all relocation charges, which were anticipated when analyzing a variety of options.
Hungry Minds' performance has been even better than expected since its acquisition in September 2001. The integration of operations has proceeded smoothly. By fiscal year-end, the company had increased the distribution of Hungry Minds' products, especially through online channels. From the September 21st acquisition date, Hungry Minds contributed $91.4 million to revenues and was accretive to earnings. The company is projecting fiscal 2003 revenues for Hungry Minds of approximately $165 million. It is expected that Hungry Minds will continue to be accretive to earnings in fiscal 2003 and beyond.
Segment Highlights
Professional/Trade – Domestic Professional/Trade reported a revenue increase of over 100% for the fourth quarter and 56% for the full year, compared to the prior year periods. Excluding Hungry Minds, revenues increased 12% for the quarter and 3% for the full year in a soft market. Direct contribution to profit advanced 176% and 75% for the fourth quarter and full year, respectively. Direct contribution to profit margin for the year improved to 25% of revenues compared with 22% of revenues in the prior year, as a result of synergies realized through the integration of Hungry Minds.
During the year, the Professional/Trade segment experienced the negative effects of the slowdown in retail and corporate sales following the September 11th terrorist attacks. Business and travel books were most affected. The culinary, architecture, psychology, and general interest areas continued to perform well. The pace of sales improved significantly in the last four months of the year. The rebound was powered by two bestsellers – Christopher Byron's Martha, Inc. and Martin Weiss' Ultimate Safe Money Guide. Other revenue drivers were a strong tax season and the launch of several titles from the company's publishing alliances such as BusinessThink by David Marcum and Steve Smith (the Franklin Covey Institute); The Professional Chef, seventh edition (the Culinary Institute of America); The Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice, 13th edition (the American Institute of Architects); and Brought to You in Living Color: 75 Years of Great Moments in Television & Radio from NBC by Marc Robinson.
The acquisition of Hungry Minds nearly doubled the annualized revenues of the domestic Professional/Trade segment through the addition of new products and capabilities. The acquisition included 2,500 active titles, which are available in 39 languages. Well-known brands include the For Dummies and Unofficial Guide series, the technological Bible and Visual series, Frommer's travel guides, CliffsNotes, Webster's New World Dictionary, Betty Crocker and Weight Watchers. The acquisition has accelerated revenue and earnings growth by enhancing the company's already strong presence in the segment and leveraging its worldwide distribution channels. In a notable success, Windows XP for Dummies, which was published just as Wiley acquired Hungry Minds, became the industry's top-selling computer title.
Other acquisitions included Frank J. Fabozzi Publishing and Wrightbooks Pty Ltd., publishers of high-quality finance books for the professional market in the U.S. and Australia. Wiley also acquired the highly regarded Bell Labs Technical Journal, which is targeted to practicing engineers.
Shortly after the close of fiscal year, Wiley acquired a list of approximately 250 titles from Prentice-Hall Direct, a unit of Pearson Education, for approximately $6.5 million. This acquisition brings to Wiley a collection of practical, "hands-on" teaching resources, which complement Wiley's renowned Jossey-Bass Education series and its market-leading Janice Van Cleave series.
Scientific, Technical, and Medical (STM) – Domestic STM's revenues advanced 6% for both the fourth quarter and full fiscal year, reflecting strong journal subscription renewals, the growth of Wiley InterScience online services, the addition of three society journals, and new products. Direct contribution to profit declined, reflecting the previously mentioned write-off of two small investments. Excluding this write-off, direct contribution increased 2% for the year, while the direct contribution margin was 44% of revenues, compared with 46% of revenues in the prior year. Society journals typically have lower margins than other journals. Also, in fiscal 2002, STM continued to invest in sales, marketing, and service enhancements for Wiley InterScience.
Wiley InterScience continues to evolve as a global enterprise with its growth reflecting our customers' need for quality content, when and where they want it. Journal articles viewed increased 33% over the previous quarter with April's usage the highest to date. There were several significant Enhanced Access Licenses signed during the quarter, including academic and corporate customers.
Links to Wiley InterScience from outside services such as CrossRef, PubMed, Ebsco Online, and others, increased by 52% during the quarter. Reference linking between Wiley InterScience and the ISI's Web of Science became available during the quarter, which should drive more traffic to Wiley journals. The company also signed a linking agreement in the fourth quarter with Chemical Abstracts Service to build links between ChemPort and Wiley InterScience.
More content was added to OnlineBooks on Wiley InterScience, which offered 250 titles by the end of April, and this in turn drove more usage, with 175,000 chapters downloaded during the quarter. Usage of online major reference works nearly doubled during the quarter with nearly 300,000 articles viewed. The Encyclopedia of Computational Chemistry, an online reference for industrial and academic chemistry researchers, launched in April.
During the fourth quarter, an additional 15 medical journals were made available via the PDA-accessible MobileEdition service, including the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, International Journal of Cancer, Pediatric Pulmonology and Lasers in Surgery and Medicine. Worldwide journal revenues increased as a result of anti-piracy initiatives and the Chinese government's decision to close the largest supplier of pirated journals.
Higher Education – Revenues for the domestic Higher Education group advanced 42% for the fourth quarter and 6% for the full year. Direct contribution to profit, which is generally negative in the fourth quarter, improved for the quarter and was up 6% for the full year. Direct contribution margin for the year was 31% of revenues, unchanged from prior year. Although enrollments in engineering, a key Wiley area, were flat, the company's business, psychology and geography programs performed well.
In November 2001, the company acquired 47 titles from Thomson Learning in business, earth and biological sciences, foreign languages, mathematics, nutrition, and psychology. The company has already created value by leveraging its existing infrastructure and by strengthening author relationships, resulting in new contracts for additional educational packages.
Higher education demographics remain favorable overall, with more students attending college and enrolling in lifelong learning courses than ever before. In addition, the soft economy has resulted in increased student applications to graduate programs. The company has introduced new, value-added materials and services to combat used textbook sales, which is a continuing industry-wide problem. Initial student orders were received for the Web Access License, a fee-based service that provides access to online supplements for students.
With approximately 1,700 Web sites that support its texts, in addition to many Web-based free and for-sale supplements, Wiley Higher Education has launched a number of products that integrate technology and print to provide students and instructors with tools to improve outcomes or meet specific objectives. An example is eGrade, Web-based software that allows students to do independent, self-paced practice homework with immediate scoring and individualized feedback. The company also introduced Calculus Machina, a step-by-step, Web-based calculus tutorial that will be customized to additional subjects.
"Active Learning Editions" with brief texts and integrated study tools were introduced in fiscal 2002 as a lower-priced alternative to traditional textbooks. During the fourth quarter, the company published the first Interactive Homework Editions, a new product that integrates end-of-chapter problem solving with an online interactive e-book. The IHE program was successfully pilot-tested at Penn State.
Europe – European segment revenues advanced 8% in the fourth quarter and 6% for the full year. Direct contribution to profit improved 7% over the prior year's fourth quarter and 9% over the prior full year. Direct contribution margin for the year was 33% of revenues compared with 32% of revenues in the prior year. The STM journals business was strong with improved subscription renewals and growing electronic access. Higher education programs also were a key revenue driver.
At the end of April, Wiley acquired A&M Publishing Ltd, a U.K.-based publisher for the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, and GIT Verlag, a German publisher for the chemical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, security, and engineering industries. These acquisitions complement and strengthen Wiley's extensive offerings for these markets and will enhance the company's competitive position.
The Company launched wileyeurope.com to facilitate online selling in European markets. In Germany, the company moved to new offices that provide a more collaborative and productive work environment. Wiley's operations in the U.K. will move to new offices this summer.
Other: Revenues advanced 29% for the fourth quarter and 6% for the full year compared to the prior year periods, reflecting a solid performance in Canada and Australia, offset to a large degree by weak economic conditions in Asia. Direct contribution to profit was up 3% for the year.
Four business titles published by Wiley Asia were included on regional bestseller lists during the quarter. Strong growth continued in China, as Wiley's foreign rights and co-publishing business benefited from the opening of China's educational market. Wiley Canada signed an agreement with the prestigious Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario to publish a series of business books.
Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., provides must-have content and services to customers worldwide. Its core businesses include professional and consumer books and subscription services; scientific, technical, and medical journals, encyclopedias, books, and online products and services; and educational materials for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Wiley has publishing, marketing, and distribution centers in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols JWa and JWb. Wiley's Internet site can be accessed at http://www.wiley.com//.
Global Entertainment
Announces Annual
Shareholder Meeting
MIAMI/6/19/02—Global Entertainment Holdings/Equities, Inc. (OTCBB:GAMM) ( http://www.globalentertainmentinc.com/) announces that the Annual Meeting of Shareholders will be held Tuesday, July 16, 2002 at 10 AM CDT.
Proposals to be presented include the election of the Board of Directors, approval of the company's selection of independent accountants, and the consideration of any other business as may properly come before the meeting or any adjournment thereof.
The location of the meeting is Harrah's Council Bluffs Casino Hotel, Harrah's Boulevard, Council Bluffs, Iowa. Shareholders interested in attending may contact Nancy Urselita, Senior Administrator for Global Entertainment at (305) 374-2036 for more information.
The New York Times
Company Declares
Regular Quarterly Dividend
NEW YORK, NY/6/20/02—The New York Times Company's Board of Directors today declared a regular quarterly dividend of $.135 per share on the Company's Class A and Class B common stock.
The dividend is payable on September 19, 2002, to shareholders of record on September 4, 2002.
This dividend is the 135th consecutive quarterly dividend paid on the Company's common stock since the Company went public in 1969.
The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT), a leading media company with 2001 revenues of $3.0 billion, publishes The New York Times, The Boston Globe and 16 other newspapers; owns eight network-affiliated television stations and two New York radio stations; and has more than 40 Web sites, including NYTimes.com and Boston.com. In 2002 the Company was ranked No. 1 in the publishing industry in Fortune's list of America's Most Admired Companies. Among all 530 companies on the list, the Company ranked No. 1 in quality of products/services and No. 1 in social responsibility. The Company's core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.
Book/Movie Deals PublishersLunch.com
Reports Book
Deals for June
These book deals are reported on Authorlink as a courtesy of PublishersLunch.com. For more like these, visit the PublishersLunch.com site. Deals are rated as follows:
"nice deal" $1 – $100,000 "good deal" $101,000 – $250,000 "significant deal" $251,000 – $500,000 "major deal" $501,000 and up NA, amount of the deal not available
FICTION
6/17/02—Bestselling author of The Eyre Affair Jasper Fforde's THE WELL OF LOST PLOTS and another novel, for publication in spring 2004 and spring 2005, to Molly Stern at Viking, for mid-six figures, by Eric Simonoff and Tif Loehnis at Janklow & Nesbit (NA). Fforde's second book, LOST IN A GOOD BOOK, will be published in Spring 2003.
6/17/02—Linda Lael Miller's romantic thriller THE OTHER CAROLINE about a woman with a rare disorder—she has unexpected mirror visions of herself—to Amy Pierpont, at Atria/Pocket, in a "quite major" deal, for two books, by Irene Goodman (world).
6/17/02—Elaine Coffman's untitled Scottish historical, plus two additional historical novels, to Amy Moore-Benson at Mira Books, in a major deal, by Helen Breitwieser at Cornerstone Literary (world).
NONFICTION
6/17/02—Marla Cilley's SINK REFLECTIONS: FlyLady's BabyStep Guide to Overcoming Chaos, an offshoot of the flylady.net website (with over 110,000 registered subscribers), which mentors those who seek a sense of control and accomplishment in their lives, by taking large overwhelming tasks and breaking them down into small babysteps to end the cycle of chaos and clutter, to Danielle Perez at Bantam Dell, in a major deal, in a pre- empt, for trade paperback publication in fall 2002, by Michelle Tessler at Carlisle & Co.
The book was initially packaged and produced by Southern Mountains Press, launched recently by Lawrence D. Chilnick and Naomi Rosenblatt.
FILM
6/17/02—Film rights to Larry Watson's first novel MONTANA 1948, to Echo Lake Productions, by Milkweed Editions.
6/17/02—Film and television rights to a series of books by Dan Gutman, HONUS AND ME, JACKIE AND ME, BABE AND ME, SHOELESS JOE AND ME and MICKEY AND ME, about a boy who finds a magic baseball card which takes him back in time to play baseball with some of the greatest players in history, to producer David Rosemont, on behalf of Kirchoff and Wohlberg by Hotchkiss and Associates.
Hyperion to Publish
New Book by R&B
Star Ashanti
NEW YORK, NY/6/19/02—Hyperion plans to publish the first book by R&B singer Ashanti, to be titled FOOLISH/UNFOOLISH: Reflections on Love, which went straqight to #1 on the pop charts after its April release. Ashanti is the fastest-selling new artist of all time with 750,000 records sold in the first two weeks of its release. FOOLISH/UNFOOLISH will be published in November 2002.
Two songs from that album held the #1 and #2 spots on the U.S. top singles chart—and she is the first artist to ever achieve this. Ashanti also wrote a recent hit song for Jennifer Lopez, "Ain't it Funny."
The book will be a collection of Ashanti's original poetry and reflections about love and relationships. Also included will be personal and touching stories on what—and who—moved her to write each piece. This incredible collection of "reflections on love" will give an up-close and personal look into the world of R&B singer Ashanti.
Of the book Ashanti said: "I'm excited to have the opportunity to share my poetry and thoughts about love with my fans and I'm proud to have Hyperion as my publisher."
The announcement was made by Editor-in-chief Will Schwalbe. Of the deal Schwalbe said: "We are thrilled to be publishing the first book by this extraordinary writer and performer. Ashanti is truly multitalented and we believe her poems and reflections will delight, surprise, and move readers. This is a book for her literally millions of fans — but also for anyone seeking fresh insight on a timeless theme."
Editor-in-chief Will Schwalbe and editor Jennifer Lang negotiated the deal with Stephan Dweck. The editor for the book will be Jennifer Lang. Hyperion retains U.S., Canadian, audio, book club, and first and second serial rights.
Hyperion, which was founded in 1991, publishes general-interest fiction and non-fiction hardcover, trade, and mass-market paperback books for adults and includes the Talk Miramax, ESPN Books, ABC Daytime Press, Hyperion East, Theia, and Hyperion AudioBooks imprints. Hyperion is the adult trade book publishing unit of ABC, Inc.
Authorlink News, Success Stories,
And Recognition Authorlink Writer
Hubbard Sells Book
to McGraw Hill Second in One Month to Land Contract
5/1/02—Graydon D. (Dee) Hubbard has sold his book, Slim to None, to McGraw-Hill as a direct result of Authorlink. The poignant story of his daughter's long (and fatal) journey through the wasteland of anorexia treatment is told mostly through her hospital journals. The title will be released in January 2003, leading into National Eating Disorders Month.
Hubbard is the 76th Authorlink writer to sell his work. The manuscript, originally titled, Why Won't Jenny Eat? had been listed with Authorlink for about a year. Hubbard's first agent, signed through Authorlink, terminated for health reasons. His second agent, also found through Authorlink, lost her position when her agency drastically downsized after September 11. Fortunately, a few months later, McGraw Hill editor Michele Pezzuti spotted the work on Authorlink, made a direct request for the materials, and subsequently offered a contract.
Another writer, Ginger Hanson, who won the Best of Show and Historical Romance awards in the 2001 Authorlink New Author Awards Competition, has secured a two-book contract with Kensington Publishing Corporation. Her award-winning book, D' Angelo's Destiny, will be published as the lead title of two under Kensington's Ballad imprint next spring.
Ginger is the sixth contest winner to attract a publisher, partly based on having won the Authorlink Award, which turns five years old in July 2002. She's the 75th writer for whom Authorlink has played a role in helping to become published.
Authorlink, online for more than six years, is the award-winning rights marketplace where editors and agents buy and sell unpublished and published manuscripts and screenplays. The site features publishing industry news and provides serious writers with access and exposure to the broadest range of legitimate publishing professionals.
Authorlink is among the top one percent of most clicked sites on the web, and generates more than 2.5 million page views per year.
A Comprehensive Listing of Sold Titles Hanson Signs Two-Book
Deal With Kensington;
Becomes Authorlink's
75th Success Story,
and the 6th Authorlink Contest
Winner to Publish
DALLAS, TX/ 04/01/02—Ginger Hanson, who won the Best of Show and Historical Romance awards in the 2001 Authorlink New Author Awards Competition, has won a two-book contract with Kensington Publishing Corporation.Her award-winning book, D' ANGELO'S DESTINY, will be published as the lead title of two under Kensington's Ballad imprint next spring. Ginger is the sixth author to attract a publisher, partly based on having won the Authorlink Award, which turns five years old in July 2002. She's the 75th writer for whom Authorlink has played a role in helping to become published.
"I'm still in shock," said Ginger in notifying Authorlink about the sale. "The editor actually e-mailed me last August, right after I won the contest. But I never received the message. With all the traumatic events in New York last fall, I didn't contact her until earlier this year, saying that DESTINY had won the Authorlink Best of Show. She's buying the books from my proposal alone. Nothing but good things have happened to me since first winning Best of Show. I have sold four articles to a regional magazine, and now I have a two book contract with Kensington."
Other contest winners who have attracted publishing contracts include: June Park, BINGO QUEENS OF PARADISE (Harper Collins); Cynthia G. Alwyn, BEST SERVED COLD (St. Martin's Press); Michaela August, SWEETER THAN WINE (Neighborhood Press), and Ekaterine Nikas (Katy) Terlinden, DIVIDED CHILD (Avid Press).
Major Publishers
Browse Authorlink
for Manuscripts
Statistical Update
DALLAS, TX/ 07/01/02—Literary 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, 1658 requests have been processed for requested manuscripts. Of the 348 editor or agent offers we've been able to track, 77 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"
Authorlink News Archives Suarez Becomes
Danette Suarez, who has listed her work in the Emerging Writers section of Authorlink since last November, has sold her manuscript, OMEGA, to Brown Bag Books, an imprint of World Holdings Group, Inc. in New York.
World Holdings is a start up publisher with no track record as yet. The company was established in April 2001. The house plans to focus on children's and ethnic titles.
Suarez's 85,000 word novel is about a young man who must accept the shameful knowledge of his father's infidelities and his illegitimate sibling.
Authorlink Writer
Freni Sells Work
to California Press
73rd Authorlink Writer to Land Publisher
MARLBORO, MD/1/1/02—Authorlink writer Pamela S. Freni has become the 73rd author to sell her manuscript as a direct result of the popular online marketing service. Her book, SPACE FOR WOMEN will be released in mid 2002 by Seven Locks Press, Santa Ana, CA (www.sevenlockspress.com) and will be available at major bookstores and online booksellers.
Ms. Freni who lives in Upper Marlboro, MD (twenty miles east of Washington, DC), was listed with Authorlink for about two years and had several queries for the manuscript before Seven Locks offered her a contract. She is represented by the Stefanidis Agency which is active on Authorlink. Seven Locks made the direct request for Freni's manuscript through the Authorlink service.
In announcing the sale, Freni called Authorlink "a fine and useful service."
The 25-year-old Seven Locks Press publishes quality books covering a wide variety of contemporary topics that provoke thought, enlighten, and entertain. Its authors include political figures, icons of journalism, and recognized experts including Bill Moyers, Hedrick Smith, Congressman Cecil Heftel, Sir Eldon Griffiths, Jane Glenn Haas, and Alan Bock.
Ms. Freni's book is about the heated space race between the US and Russia. After Russia sent the first man into space, the US was backed into a public relations corner that could only be answered by sending the first woman into space.
Thirteen enormously talented women tested and trained and were on the verge of being astronauts in 1960 when political pressure forced them off the stage. Even forty-one years later,they are talented and ambitious and some of them are still looking for a ride into space.
Pam began writing the book as a direct result of hearing of the thirteen women discussed in her book. "I was so incensed at how they'd been treated by NASA and others, I decided that the story should be told, so I naively began to write a book," Pam said. "It's amazing how much ignorance played a part in the process. I thought if you wrote a book, someone just published it."
Freni's favorite authors are Michener and Dava Sobel. They can tell a story that quickly fades from words to mind pictures. You don't even realize you're reading, just pictures passing over your mind's eye.
Does she have any advice for newcomers trying to break into publishing?
"As a newcomer, I have read a thousand documents all reminding writers not to take any rejections personally and to persevere. It's true. Also, never take 'No' for an answer if you believe in your writing."
Asked why she thinks so many writers get rejected, and so few become published, and what elements of good writing would she guess are missing from an aspiring writer's work, Pam had this to say:
"It doesn't seem to be a single element so much as it is the 'heart' many of us miss adding into our books. We make word choices that either describe something or that grab the imagination and wrestle it to the ground. We can either say, 'The fireman raised the flag,' or we can say, 'The fireman cradled the scarlet and white banner as he struggled to the top of a small smouldering mountain of debris where he defiantly raised it to the top of the mast of the remains of the World Trade Center.' I think we have to be honest with our emotions and let them enter into our stories. That gives them heart and catches the eyes of the editors."
Pam says she has learned her craft from, "Reading, reading, reading. Dissecting word usage from authors I enjoy. Reading every web page targeted at authors such as Authorlink.com. Listening to a really good editor who has worked on two manuscripts for me.
And what's the funniest thing that ever happened to her on the way to getting published?
"After twenty-three rejections on Space for Women, I mentioned it to a friend from the office. She looked startled and asked if I would like an agent. She then handed me the phone number of an author friend of hers who recommended his agents to me. Thinking that it couldn't be this easy, I contacted them and they became my agents. See it's easy! I was so lucky and have felt from that day, that this book was destined to be published."
Seven Locks Press has won a Benjamin Franklin Award and the Category Bestseller Award from Amazon.com. In the last few years Seven Locks Press selection of books has expanded to include a collection of coffee table books, gift books, celebrity bios, and new age titles. The company has introduced a line of juvenile titles and launching a line of fiction titles. Seven Locks Press is the publishing arm of Chapman University Press and a distributor for other small presses that rely on the marketing and publicity capabilities of Seven Locks Press. This year, Seven Locks Press will be publishing twenty-one new titles and will distribute nine titles for other publishers. In 2001, the publishing program will nearly double to forty new titles. James C. Riordan is publisher.
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.
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. Michael’s 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: Authorlink’s 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.
Jan Letoha Becomes
70 th Authorlink Writer
to Land Publisher
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. It’s 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! It’s 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 aren’t so crazy after all.’ So I started writing Bury The Past. Writing fiction was a lot harder than I thought it’d 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 I’m 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, she’s 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 — it’s the only thing that worked for me! Then develop a huge store of patience and persistence and don’t think you’re home free once you sign a contract. That’s when the real work starts!”
Authorlink Writer
Joy Jasper Sells Work
to St. Martin's Press
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."
Davis' 'Twin City'
Nominated for Townsend
Prize in FictionATLANTA, GA/3/14/02—Jerry Lee Davis' novel, TWIN CITY (Authorlink Press), has been nominated for the Townsend Prize for Fiction. This spring, THE CHATTOHOOCHEE REVIEW, a literary journal, again will award the Townsend Prize, Georgia's most prestigious literary citation, which honors the career and legacy of Jim Townsend, founding editor of ATLANTA magazine and mentor to a generation of Georgia writers. Awarded biennially, the Prize has recognized distinguished fiction by Alice Walker, Celestine Sibley, Ferrol Sams, JoAllen Bradham, Judson Mitcham, and James Kilgo.
The 2000-2001 winner will be announced at a luncheon in honor of nominees on May 9, 2002 at the Wyndham Midtown Atlanta hotel.
Davis is an established Atlanta playwrite. TWIN CITY is his first published novel. about a young boy struggling for acceptance and peace in a dark and chaotic world. Through his relationship with the young daughter of the only Jewish family in town, he confronts the harsh realities of cruelty, hatred, and misery to discover the power of humor and love. Authorlink's Goldring
Wins Series Contract
With Berkley Publishing
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."
Two Authorlink Press
Writers Earn
Top Recognition
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."
66th Authorlink
Writer Signs
Publishing Contract
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."
Authorlink's Goldring
Wins Series Contract
With Berkley Publishing
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."
Former LA Times Reporter
to Contribute Kids' Book
Column to Authorlink
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
Authorlink Writer
Lands First Book
Deal With Scribner
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.
Clemente Becomes
61st Authorlink Writer
to Sell To Manuscript
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.
Fifth Authorlink
Contest Winner Earns
Publishing Contract
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.
Authorlink Writer's
New Book Released
by Marlowe, New York
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 world’s most prestigious news organizations, the Los Angeles Times has a full circulation of 1.4 million copies per Sunday issue.
Lovato’s 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 Vince’s credits are previous LA Times bylines,
the sales of two short stories to Stephen Speilberg, two nominations for California Newspaper Publisher’s 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 TemptationsTemptation’s 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 BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO DAY TRADING ONLINE (Adams Media) by first-time author, has risen to #12 on Amazon.com’s 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
Third Authorlink Contest
Winner Signs Contract
With Major Publisher
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. Martin’s bought the project. I’m thrilled and stunned at the same time. It didn’t 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 girl’s life.
"I wasn’t sure the book would sell, but Anne believed in it and in me. Since I’d 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, Cynthia’s 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, I’ll sit in my car during lunch break (it’s the only quiet place at work) and make notes. Although I’ve started writing the next Brenna Scott book, it doesn’t yet have a title."
The 2000 Authorlink New Author Awards Competition is now accepting entries for this year’s 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.
Authorlink Writer's
Novel Released
by Berkley Publishing
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
Authorlink Named
Among Best Education
Resources on the Web
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.
Authorlink Teams
With Lightning to Offer
On-Demand Book Imprint
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/
Authorlink Named
Among Writer's Digest
Top 101 Sites For Writers
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.
Four Authorlink Writers
Sign With WriterBeck
Agency in Two Weeks
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.
Update: Authorlink Writer
Sells WOLF'S TALE
To TOR Books
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.
Psychologist Tom Harbin
Becomes 25th Authorlink
Writer to Sell Work
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 Wolf’s 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/. (Note: The second annual Authorlink New Author Awards Banquet will be held as part of the 1999 Harriet Austin Writer’s 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 weren’t 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 Tabin’s clients is 1993 Pulitzer Prize Winner Robert Olan Butler.
How does it feel to have her first two novels sold? “I don’t 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
Ingram’s Hot List
DALLAS/FT. WORTH, TX/ 6/30/98—Tim McGuire’s 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 world’s 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, Eddie’s 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 “EDDIE’S 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 boy’s journey to young manhood together with family anecdotes and homespun philosophical excerpts from great-great grandfather Mann’s 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."
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. Michael’s 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: Authorlink’s 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.
Jan Letoha Becomes
70 th Authorlink Writer
to Land Publisher
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. It’s 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! It’s 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 aren’t so crazy after all.’ So I started writing Bury The Past. Writing fiction was a lot harder than I thought it’d 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 I’m 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, she’s 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 — it’s the only thing that worked for me! Then develop a huge store of patience and persistence and don’t think you’re home free once you sign a contract. That’s when the real work starts!”
Authorlink Writer
Joy Jasper Sells Work
to St. Martin's Press
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."
Authorlink's Goldring
Wins Series Contract
With Berkley Publishing
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."
Two Authorlink Press
Writers Earn
Top Recognition
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."
66th Authorlink
Writer Signs
Publishing Contract
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."
Authorlink's Goldring
Wins Series Contract
With Berkley Publishing
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."
Former LA Times Reporter
to Contribute Kids' Book
Column to Authorlink
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
Authorlink Writer
Lands First Book
Deal With Scribner
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.
Clemente Becomes
61st Authorlink Writer
to Sell To Manuscript
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.
Fifth Authorlink
Contest Winner Earns
Publishing Contract
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.
Authorlink Writer's
New Book Released
by Marlowe, New York
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 world’s most prestigious news organizations, the Los Angeles Times has a full circulation of 1.4 million copies per Sunday issue.
Lovato’s 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 Vince’s credits are previous LA Times bylines,
the sales of two short stories to Stephen Speilberg, two nominations for California Newspaper Publisher’s 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 TemptationsTemptation’s 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 BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO DAY TRADING ONLINE (Adams Media) by first-time author, has risen to #12 on Amazon.com’s 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
Third Authorlink Contest
Winner Signs Contract
With Major Publisher
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. Martin’s bought the project. I’m thrilled and stunned at the same time. It didn’t 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 girl’s life.
"I wasn’t sure the book would sell, but Anne believed in it and in me. Since I’d 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, Cynthia’s 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, I’ll sit in my car during lunch break (it’s the only quiet place at work) and make notes. Although I’ve started writing the next Brenna Scott book, it doesn’t yet have a title."
The 2000 Authorlink New Author Awards Competition is now accepting entries for this year’s 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
Three More
Authorlink Writers
Sign Publishing Deals
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.
E.A. Blair Becomes
43 rd Author to Find
Publisher Via Authorlink
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.
Authorlink Writer's
Novel Released
by Berkley Publishing
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
Authorlink Named
Among Best Education
Resources on the Web
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.
Authorlink Teams
With Lightning to Offer
On-Demand Book Imprint
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/
Authorlink Named
Among Writer's Digest
Top 101 Sites For Writers
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.
Four Authorlink Writers
Sign With WriterBeck
Agency in Two Weeks
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.
Update: Authorlink Writer
Sells WOLF'S TALE
To TOR Books
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.
Psychologist Tom Harbin
Becomes 25th Authorlink
Writer to Sell Work
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 Wolf’s 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/. (Note: The second annual Authorlink New Author Awards Banquet will be held as part of the 1999 Harriet Austin Writer’s 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 weren’t 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 Tabin’s clients is 1993 Pulitzer Prize Winner Robert Olan Butler.
How does it feel to have her first two novels sold? “I don’t 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
Ingram’s Hot List
DALLAS/FT. WORTH, TX/ 6/30/98—Tim McGuire’s 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 world’s 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, Eddie’s 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 “EDDIE’S 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 boy’s journey to young manhood together with family anecdotes and homespun philosophical excerpts from great-great grandfather Mann’s 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."
