Tuesday News: Publishers at Comic-Con, self-publishing and agent contracts, how BookBub works, and the Telegraph’s 1914 archives

JanetPublishing NewsBookBub / Comic-Con / contracts / History / Literary Agents / marketing / newspaper / Publishers / research / Self-publishing / World War I8 Comments

No Lack of Major Prose Houses at Comic-Con – I think this article is a great example of how diversified entertainment options are, both in terms of partnerships between media outlets and formats, and competition for reader/viewer/gamer eyeballs and dollars. Jane has long said that it’s other forms of entertainment, not other books, that publishers and booksellers have to worry about. I, for one, think she’s right.

Comic-con may celebrate comics but the fans are on the lookout for books and related media of all kinds. Over the weekend, HarperCollins and its partners are set to preview an interactive, multimedia project based on writer James Frey’s Endgame trilogy, which chronicles teens hunting for ancient keys that could save the world. At its core, the project is an augmented reality game that allows players, using their smartphones, to scavenge for items around Comic-Con. Endgame is also getting the film treatment by 20th Century Fox. Frey, HarperCollins, Google’s Niantic Labs and 20th Century Fox collaborated on the project, and they’re planning panels, signings, access codes to games. –Publishers Weekly

Self-Publishing and Author-Agent Agreements: The Need for Change – A pretty important article on the extent to which existing contracts between agents and authors impact self-published and hybrid authors, especially those who have had rights reverted on books that were originally covered under the agent-author agreement. It still slays me that literary agents don’t need to be a) licensed, or b) attorneys, despite the fact that they are so clearly in a fiduciary role. So given that, it seems that authors need to be even more careful and educated about what they sign and who they choose to represent them and their work.

I’ve warned in the past about interminable agency clauses in author-agent agreements (language through which an agency claims the right to remain the agent of record not just for the duration of any contracts it negotiates for your book, but for the life of the book’s copyright). One of the many concerns raised by such language is what happens if you want to self-publish backlist books that the agency originally sold for you. With an interminable agency clause, might your agency feel entitled to a share of your self-publishing income? –Writer Beware

How BookBub’s Selection Process Works – A very interesting, graphically enhanced, explanation of how BookBub chooses its selections. The overwhelming theme? A successful book is more likely to be chosen to enjoy even more success. Hmmm.

It’s important to know before reviewing the graphic that BookBub has always limited the number of titles we feature in order to avoid overwhelming our subscribers and to ensure all our partners’ listings have an equal chance of performing well. So while every book that gets submitted to us goes through this process, only about 10%-15% of them will be chosen for a feature. We hope this graphic reveals just how tough those decisions can be for our editors! –BookBub

Life on the eve of war – If you’re a fan of Downton Abbey, or just fascinated by life in Britain in 1914, at the edge of a war that changed the world in profound and innumerable ways, check out the Telegraph’s newspaper archives for that year.

A month before the outbreak of war Henley Regatta opened in “brilliant fashion”, The Daily Telegraph reported, with record crowds and “perfect” weather. It presents an image of Edwardian Britain as we fondly imagine it to have been, before the sudden cloudburst of August 1914.

Of course, the reality was far different for the 99 per cent of people who did not own land, collect rents or vacation at Biarritz and Marienbad. Most Edwardians worked in dark, noisy factories, cut hay in fields, toiled down dirty and dangerous mines; had bones bent by rickets and lungs racked by tuberculosis. Life expectancy then was 49 years for a man and 53 years for a woman, compared with 79 and 82 years today. They lived in back to back tenements or jerry-built terraces, wore cloth caps or bonnets (rather than boaters, bowlers and toppers) and they had never taken a holiday – beyond a day trip to Brighton or Blackpool – in their entire lives. –The Telegraph

Janet

isn't sure if she's an average Romance reader, or even an average reader, but a reader she is, enjoying everything from literary fiction to philosophy to history to poetry. Historical Romance was her first love within the genre, but she's fickle and easily seduced by the promise of a good read. She approaches every book with the same hope: that she will be filled from the inside out with something awesome that she didnʼt know, didnʼt think about, or didnʼt feel until that moment. And she's always looking for the next mind-blowing read, so feel free to share any suggestions!

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