QueryTracker Blog

Helping Authors Find Literary Agents

Friday, May 2, 2014

Publishing Pulse: May 2, 2014


Today I'll be on my way to the Malice Domestic conference in D.C. Malice is an annual mystery fan convention that offers panels, book signings, and visits with favorite mystery authors. This is my second time at Malice, but my first as a published author. If you're planning to attend, please come up and say hi. (I look *just* like my photo.)

Around the Web

Those of us who are still shivering this spring can warm up by checking out out the Publishers Weekly picks for 2014 summer reads.

If you think you suffer for your art, take a look at this article in Kirkus, "Authors Who Do Really Funky Things for Research (Like Go To Prison)."

Last week agent Carly Watters posted about why even independent and hybrid authors could still use an agent. Worth reading!

The QT forum (and awesome blog team) boast a number of authors who write Young and New Adult fiction. Even if you don't, you might be interested in what Bookish has to say about YA trends here.

Have a great weekend, everyone! 

A Jersey girl born and bred, Rosie Genova left her heart at the shore, which serves as the setting for much of her work. Her new series, the Italian Kitchen Mysteries, is informed by her deep appreciation for good food, her pride in her heritage, and her love of classic mysteries, from Nancy Drew to Miss Marple. Her debut novel, Murder and Marinara, was named a Best Cozy of 2013 by Suspense Magazine. The second book in the series, The Wedding Soup Murder, is scheduled for release September 2. An English teacher by day and novelist by night, Rosie also writes women’s fiction as Rosemary DiBattista. She lives fifty miles from the nearest ocean  in central New Jersey with her husband and two younger sons.





1 comment:

R.E. McDermott said...

One comment on the post by Carly Waters, specifically in regard to her quote:

"You only get one chance to make a first impression with editors. Make a professional one by having an agent handle the business side of things."

The post in general, and that comment in particular, might be a bit more credible if the post itself hadn't contained at least two obvious typos.

I don't doubt that there are good honest agents that earn their money, but I suspect many successful self-pubbed authors (and I count myself among them) doubt the 'necessity' of having an agent. And yes, I'd like print distribution beyond what I'm currently achieving via CreateSpace, but I'm not willing to trade a significant chunk of current revenue to get it.

It's a strictly business decision, and to my mind, it's not a foregone conclusion that an agent is a 'value add.' If and when I can be convinced that an agent can augment the bottom line, I'm there in a heartbeat, but it will take more than generalities and promises to move me in that direction. Just my opinion.