Tag Archives: agents

An Open Letter to the DOJ from Someone Who Actually Cares About Writers (and Readers)

Posted on May 15, 2012 by davidgaughran

The leading literary agents’ organization – the Association of Authors’ Representatives (AAR) – penned an open letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) opposing the terms of the settlement reached with three of the publishers named in the Agency price-fixing … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged AAR, agents, authors guild, bob mayer, department of justice, DoJ, gail hochman, konrath, price fixing, scott turow | 275 Comments

Was Self-Publishing The Right Decision?

Posted on April 26, 2012 by davidgaughran

Sunday will mark a year since I first uploaded to Amazon. At the time, I was wrestling with a question that many writers are still dealing with today: should I self-publish? The argument about whether to self-publish has been debated … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged agents, anniversary, numbers, publishing deal, querying, rejection, self-publishing, should i self-publish, success | 139 Comments

Agents And Publishing: A Roadmap For Writers

Posted on July 30, 2011 by davidgaughran

I haven’t spoken much about the news this week that more agents are moving into publishing. I have already made my feelings clear here and in my book. In any event, there has been excellent coverage elsewhere, by Passive Guy, and Courtney Milan. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged agency publishing, agent publishers, agents, bookends, courtney milan, literary agents, passive guy, passive voice, publishing, publishing agents | 29 Comments

Borders Inches Closer to Liquidation. What Happens Next?

Posted on July 18, 2011 by davidgaughran

The deadline to save Borders passed yesterday, meaning that they will now proceed to a bankruptcy-court auction tomorrow. It’s not quite over for America’s second-largest bookstore chain, and a bidder could still emerge in the next day-and-a-half to save the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged #SelfPublishing, agents, bookstores, borders, borders liquidation, konrath, publishing, publishing news, query letters, self-publishing, should i self-publish | 40 Comments

Are Big Publishers Losing The Battle For The Big Backlists?

Posted on June 27, 2011 by davidgaughran

Ian Fleming Publications Ltd., the company which manages the literary estate of the deceased James Bond creator and thus controls not only all pre-existing James Bond works, but all future ones too, have been in the news this morning It … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged #amwriting, #litagents, #SelfPublishing, agents, backlists, big publishers, bond, curtis brown, ian fleming, indie, jonny geller, kris rusch, publishing, robin sullivan, short stories, short story markets, simon trewin | 18 Comments

The Kindle Store: The New Slush Pile?

Posted on June 7, 2011 by davidgaughran

We have spoken on this blog several times about what the future holds for agents in a world where publishers are disintermediated by the dominance of e-books and the marginalisation of bookstores. Some agents are responding to the fall … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged agents, guide, indie publishing, indie writers, jj toner, kindle store, let's get digital, online slush pile, ovolution, self-publishers, slush pile, virtual slush pile | 32 Comments

More Bad Behaviour From Agents, Publishers & VS Naipaul

Posted on June 4, 2011 by davidgaughran

It’s the hottest day of the year here in Stockholm, so I thought I would give you a quick weekend round-up before heading out to carbonize my skin work on my manuscript. There are some legal issues discussed below. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged agents, bad contracts, dodgy contracts, naipaul, passive guy, passive voice, publishers, scam agents, theroux | 12 Comments

A Bad Week For Agents

Posted on May 15, 2011 by davidgaughran

Even God got a day off on Sunday, so here’s some stuff for you guys to chew on, while I try and get a story finished. A Bad Week For… Agents Agents made a lot of headlines this week. First … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged agent publishers, agents, agents becoming publishers, amazon, bad agents, curtis brown, doubleshot, ed victor, estributors, goodreads, indie ebooks, literary agents, peter cox, reviews, sample sunday, scam agents, smashwords, transfection | 11 Comments

The Never-Ending Blog Tour?

Posted on May 13, 2011 by davidgaughran

After that monster marketing post yesterday, I have a bit of a writing emergency on my hands and can only post a short blog today with some news and links. Upcoming Releases I am a little behind on my writing … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged agents, guest blogs, never-ending blog tour, publishers, rusch, transfection | 4 Comments

Top UK Agent Announces Publishing Imprint

Posted on May 11, 2011 by davidgaughran

There was some interesting news in The Bookseller yesterday. Ed Victor, one of the top UK agents, has announced he is setting up his own publishing division – Bedford Square Books. We have talked on this blog before about The … Continue reading →