Always Starting, Never Finishing...

I have a serious issue, a byproduct of my former life as an editor for the Science Fiction Book Club (and other assorted clubs in my ten years there). I start more books than I finish. On average, I am reading approximately 4 or 5 different books, and only a small number of them will see completion. This is a result in having worked for years reviewing material all of the material being published within a specific genre and never finding the time to finish as many books as I'd like. I am not one of those people that read only one book at a time, not for as long as I can remember. 

This is a problem that plagues me to this day, in my newest form of publishing professional self: I am always reading a few things simultaneously. I don't always get to the end of each one.

I've accepted it, this is sort of how I work. I read manuscripts for evaluation as freelance work, I occasionally bring home a mss from work at DK to better familiarize myself with the material for my job in sales, and I also read lots of different things for pleasure. Too much material, not nearly as much time.

So, where am I now with things? Let's take a look at a few things I'm reading. 

I was recently contacted by an editor at Black Hill Press, the savvy & geeky @ashleyeheaton, asking me review one of their new novellas, Sci-Fidelity by Alex Sargent and I'm enjoying the journey of protagonist, Ryan, whose obsession with classic pulpy sci-fi influences his own writing, as he explores the minefields of dating, maintaining friendships and his mundane, soulless job.

The press is a short form publishing collective, "founded on collaboration," as the front matter reads, that celebrates the all-too difficult to sell novella. I say bravo to them. The book also has striking jacket art, credited to Matthew Woodson.

I've also just started reading Cain's Blood by Geoffrey Girard from Touchstone. When I heard about the premise of the government cloning the DNA of a bevy of serial killers in order to create a new weapon... I couldn't wait to jump in--as I imagine that idea can only go wrong. Stay tuned on this one.

I'll write again soon with more of what I'm reading, or I won't but I hope to write more regularly. I've installed the Blogger app on my phone, perhaps this will help with the frequency.

This blog is personal and any topics, books or whatever other nonsense is written about is at the sole discretion of me, myself & I. Enjoy at your own risk and thanks for stopping by.

SFWA Annual NY Reception 2009

Attended the SFWA event on Monday night, the annual NY gathering of SF-ish folks at a new location, Planet Hollywood in Times Square, although I loved the Society of Illustrators location on East 63rd street, where it had been for several previous years.

Returning to 1540 Broadway was a bit nostalgic for me, having started there as an Editorial Assistant for the Mystery Guild back in 1997 on a rainy day in May, and eventually working my way to become one of the Editors of the Science Fiction Book Club. In fact, several SFBC editor alumni were in attendance as well [Ellen, Moshe, and Andy].

I had a good time, enjoying the flowing red wine and conversing with old friends as well as make a few new ones, like Lauren P. from Orbit Books, whom I chatted with for a while about book design, SI, and comics, of course. The locale worked out fine, albeit with the backdrop of tourists dining below us, amid dated Hollywood memorabilia, little of which I'm sure is authentic anymore.

The good folks at SFScope posted some photos here. I appear in the upper right hand corner of the 12th photo, in full beard. And with that, I bid you Happy Thanksgiving.

A conversation about tie-in fiction

The Angry Robot blog just posted a link to a conversation between Mark Charan Newton and Dan Abnett, which took place on Jeff Vandermeer's blog. The topic of conversation is the tie-in novel. It is a fascinating read if you're at all interested in this part of sf/f related books.

 

I'm one of those people interested in such things.

Not only because for many years I was responsible for acquiring tie-in books while an editor for the SFBC, and had the pleasure of finding many great reads over the years, which serviced many a fan base of the respective tie-in properties. But also because I'll soon be involved with developing tie-in fiction, which I'm psyched about.

Unfortunately there is a stigma associated with this type of writing. Some of it rings true of course, as with any work-for-hire work can be "hacked out" by a writer looking for little more than a pay check. But I feel that can be true of any segment of publishing whether it be other categories of fiction, or writing in general. My experience has been that certain authors take this work very seriously and fans of the tie-in property can spot a writer not giving his all.

Dan Abnett, having made his bones writing both comics and fiction on both sides of the pond, makes an interesting point how writing as work-for-hire for big comics companies is something everyone aspires to, and how this is the complete opposite with most tie-in novel work. There is a long history of it being looked down on. And that is sad, because if you're a fan of, say, Star Wars, there are so many more adventures waiting for you in the pages of the tie-ins.

I really enjoyed the post, and comments section, and I'm glad to see people in the field discussing this important part of SF-related writing.

I'll end with one of my favorite tie-in novels, in this case a comics tie-in by the man who wrote the original story in the comics, the legendary, Marv Wolfman. I read and bought for SFBC the Crisis on Infinite Earths novel tie-in published by ibooks, and found it to be amazing.

As a fan, it was incredible to see the story through the Flash's perspective, and the detail really added to the legacy of that infamous DC storyline. I'm sure several fans may have missed this book simply because it was a novel tie-in, but I thought it was brilliant.

As a publishing professional who is about to step back into the ring with tie-in novels, and be involved in their development, there is no greater conversation for me to see taking place right now.

A Time of Change at DC Comics...

There are many details coming out since yesterday's announcement that Time Warner has created a new group called DC Entertainment, Inc. and that well-respected president & publisher of DC Comics, Paul Levitz, is stepping down to return to his writing roots [as well as act as an editorial consultant for DC] with Diane Nelson being named president of this new group [along with a new publisher for the still-in-existence DC Comics group to be named in the near future].

I'd like to mention that over the years as an Editor for the Science Fiction Book Club, I had the chance to meet Paul Levitz several times and he was always friendly and willing to chat for a bit, and I honestly wish him the best in his new endeavors. He is someone I respect very much.

It is difficult for me to determine at this time if this announcement is the result of various Warner execs sitting in a conference room and creating this plan to "combat" the Disney purchase of Marvel Comics. Certainly a major power struggle in the entertainment industry has just hit a new level and each side is bolstering up.

What this might mean for the comics fans out there... who knows? But as far as that precious entertainment dollar, well, I'm sure each company will be working hard to make sure it goes to their side with boatloads of game/movie/tv/animation/toy/etc. products coming along.

This industry professional, comics fan, movie aficionado, and reader of all things comics-related will stay absolutely glued to the blogosphere and media sites to see how this progresses.

This just in -- Disney buying Marvel Entertainment!

The comics world is rocked to the very foundation today when it was reported by all the major news sites that the Walt Disney Company is buying Marvel Entertainment for an estimated 4 billion dollar deal.

In a stock and cash transaction, Disney will gain the ownership of some 5000 Marvel characters, and the future of Marvel will change somewhat I'm sure under new ownership.

What does this mean for Marvel Films? What does this mean for Spidy, Wolverine, and the X-Men gang? Stay tuned. How the Disney media powerhouse might transform the House of Ideas is yet to be seen.

This office tried to reach The Punisher for comment, he has yet to return my calls.

Thursday BEA Notes & Pics

Today was the first day of BEA, the official set up day as well as a day filled with conferences, panels, and discussions about what else - books.

I first paid homage to Osprey, the military history publisher that I've consulted for, as they were very generous in getting me a badge for BEA weekend. I felt it was the least I could do to show up at the booth and help them set up for a bit. Here's John and Kerry hard at work.

Also, I helped Shirley open boxes and sort books before I headed out to attend two of the conferences in the meeting rooms the convention floor. [Shirley - I'll put the other pic up on facebook soon.]

I wanted to say hello to a few colleagues as they set up before I grabbed a bite then headed to the meeting rooms. The floor was a flutter with forklifts, people frantically opening boxes of books, and wandering eyes like myself, taking it all in.

I visited a few more booths then headed downstairs to the Red Hot EReader panel which discussed many of the new options and technologies of ereader software and devices. This was informative as I have yet to purchase an ebook/reader yet, but as of now I'm still undecided on what to get.

Then I attended the BEA Editors Buzz panel where 6 prominent editors discussed the books they were excited about. Since I was only able to nab two bound galleys I'll discuss them here.
When Alexsis Gargagliano, an Editor at Scribner, discussed the wild ride of reading this unbelievable memoir, I knew I had to grab a copy. In Alex Lemon's Happy, his life seemed unreal, the amount of things that happened to him and the many things he did to himself sounded extraordinary. I was intrigued as it is also a story of redemption and I can't wait to take the journey with the author.
If I find copies of the other books over the weekend I'll talk about them here soon. I do plan to review these two books when I'm finished with them.

I also grabbed the one graphic memoir discussed, Stitches by David Small. When Executive Editor at W.W. Norton, Robert Weil, spoke about this dream-like memoir by a multiple award-winning children's book author and illustrator, it sounded right up my alley.

I've already read 50 pages, and it reminds me of Chester Brown's I Never Liked You, another favorite of mine. It is certainly looking to be a classic graphic memoir and I see it getting loads of review attention. It is beautifully illustrated and contains hints of that warped childhood that we all can [certainly I can] identify with. [Apologies for the terrible jacket image grab, I couldn't find anything this late in the evening. Need to get that scanner.]

Later that evening I left for the Petrossian Resturant on West 58th Street, for a wonderful launch party for the U.S. release of, A Crate of Vodka.

The evening promised "a night of Russian caviar, cocktails, and conversation" with authors, Alfred Kokh and Igor Svinarenko. I had a blast, and was joined by my good friend Nancy.

The party felt more like a publishing throwback with great conversation, piano playing, and of course...vodka. I'd like to thank Robert Miller, publisher of Enigma Books, for the invite.

Generally, this is how I like to end any night...with a little drink maybe, and a good book. On this night, it happened to be a flute of vodka and reading about a reporter and a politician discuss 20 years of Russian history and politics as they work their way through 20 bottles of vodka.

And this is only day 1.

Walking the Path

This is the type of day I like. First of all, it's only 9:30 a.m. and it is beautiful out. I'd prefer it to stay at the cool 68 degrees it is at now, but I can handle an 80 degree day. I've been home the past few days, happily editing a new manuscript about ancient warfare that has been very interesting, I'm really enjoying it.

But I am glad that I set out to get out of the house today and get into Manhattan. First, I'm heading to lunch with my friends from Osprey publishing, and I'm looking forward to catching up. From there I might hit Midtown Comics to check out yesterday's releases, and hopefully find some gifts for my godson's birthday.

From there I'll wander around, and hopefully share a drink and a few laughs with friends as the day goes by. I plan to end up in the Time Life building, where I used to work, as I've been invited to attend the Secret Identities: Asian Americans in Comics panel, which sound like a lot of fun, and I remember there sometimes being cool events like this in the building when I worked there.

I've also spent the past two weeks setting up meetings and planning to touch down with colleagues and friends at next week's Book Expo at the Javits Center. It looks to be a great show, if even a bit smaller than last year in L.A. That is fine by me, as I'll be wandering around and not working a booth this year.

I see BEA as a great networking opportunity, and I'm looking forward to meeting many new people, especially the other book review bloggers at the blogger signing event on Saturday.

And of course I'm looking forward to seeing old friends and grabbing some exciting new galleys to read!

No Empire Lasts Forever

The PublishersLunch daily email reported today that major changes occurred at HarperCollins, and it seems change continues to be in the air, reminding me once again the delightful reprieve of Comic Con is over. For more details see the link.

Also Reed [the company responsible for both NY and San Diego Comic Con] announced that BEA [Book Expo America - the annual trade expo for the publishing industry] will be in New York through at least 2011. It will be shorter as well, with the floor open for two full days with preliminary special events and various conferences the day before the floor opens.

To some this may not be good news, but for this independent professional, that makes it a bit easier attend as well as find "patronage" for a weekend badge in exchange for some of my services or assistance. I realize this is little comfort for those smallish publishers who struggle affording a booth in the Javits Center. But New York is the publishing capital of the world and I've attended whenever it's been here.

It remains to be seen how this news will be received.

Catching up on industry news and notes

The New York Times has written a piece that captured some of the buzz last week in the comics blogosphere (mainly at The Beat), about changes major comics distributor Diamond is making this year which will affect many publishers of weekly (pamphlet) comics. Could this be the end of the weekly comic book run? It is also worth noting that Diamond laid off 13 people last week; even the distribution giant is feeling the wrath of hard times in the industry.

Also last week, DC Comics cut some DC and Mad Magazine positions, and well-respected editor Bob Schreck was let go. This certainly speaks of difficult times as he was responsible for maintaining many great DC books and I wish him all the best. I believe he'll be at the company a while longer covering various projects through the transition.

Also Publishers Weekly let go of Editor-in-Chief, Sara Nelson, as well as a few other staff positions. When I had access to the magazine back in the office days I really enjoyed reading her collums as she was keenly tuned into the central vibe of the publishing scene. I'd also see her at various events around town, and I wish her the best in wherever her career takes her next. Nowadays I catch up with the magazine online or when freelancing in various offices and see a copy lying around.

In happier news, I was glad to see Neil Gaiman win the Newbery Medal Award for his enchanting novel, The Graveyard Book, which I really enjoyed, and reviewed here a few months back. This is one of the most prestigious awards in childrens literature, and the beauty of the book is that you don't have to be a child to appreciate the story. A film adaptation is in the early works. Read more here.

That's all for now. I hope to have a few more book reviews up soon. For the few who check in regularly, if there is anything specifically you'd like to see reviewed or talked about more here, please comment below or drop me a line.

Keeping an Ear to the Grindstone

As we approach another week's end, I gently keep an eye on the publishing world and what other shoes, sneakers, and boots may have dropped.

McFarlane Toys has announced cutting a few positions, reports The Beat. Nothing major, but obviously even the mighty Spawn creator & toy licensor has felt the sting of a stingy market.

Heidi, at The Beat, also has a nice piece about Nickelodeon magazine's (Nickmag.com) first comic book awards - a neat little piece about the enduring love of comics for youngsters - where they get to vote. Check it.

Also, a publisher I've always loved due to their beautiful design aesthetic, kitchy book ideas, and most-excellent superhero-themed spiral notebooks, Chronicle Books (based in San Francisco) announced that they have also felt backlist sales soften and must tighten the belt strap somewhat, reports Mediabistro's Galleycat blog, here.

The more I hear about "freezes" on salaries, publishing layoffs, and other related happenings, the more I'm reminded to try to stay as well-connected to contacts and friends in the industry, feeling that in our strength we can weather the storm, both under and outside of the corporate umbrella.

On a lighter note, I've a Deal of the Day, as I did some weekly comics shopping and holiday shopping at Midtown Comics earlier. It was a book that I had grabbed a few issues of and read a while back and I was waiting for the first trade paperback to come out: NORTHLANDERS: Book 1: Sven the Returned (from Vertigo/DC Comics).

I've already written a piece for a comics periodical which should be out in a few months, and this book is one of the few I profile as a great read. I'll write a full review of the 1st trade soon, but for $9.99 you get 200 full-color pages and an amazing story of viking adventure. What a steal! You rarely see comic book collections and trade paperbacks so aggresively priced, and I really hope it helps the word get out how great a comic book series this is.

Vikings have been a favorite of mine since I was a little kid [note: this book is targeted toward a mature audience], and this collection, falling under the Vertigo imprint, is equal parts brawn, steel, and balls. Remember, you are reading the blog of a guy who loved last year's Osprey holiday card with pillaging Vikings in a bacchanal-like frenzy. Below illustration by the legendary Angus McBride.

Grim times in the old book trade

It’s all over the blogosphere. Publishers are making major changes. One publishing news site already referring to today as Black Wednesday. That’s awfully disheartening. But reality, it might be.

Major reorganizations at Random House. The head of Simon & Schuster’s Children’s division “leaving the company.” Lots of shake up at Houghton Mifflin/Harcourt after they announced a freeze on new acquisitions. Also, Christian publishing house, Thomas Nelson announced that it’s cutting 10% of its staff, approximately 55 people (according to Publishers Weekly). Hard times all around. Even if god is your copilot.

The Comic Book and SF & Fantasy world have been affected too. I’ve read about layoffs at Wizards of the Coast, the CEO of Devil’s Due leaving his position along with a few staffers let go. And word from L.A. is that Tokyopop has let a few people go.

Also, a few comic book magazines made some startling announcements this week as well.

The Comic Foundry — only in its fifth issue — decided to call it quits, as the good folks behind it are simply too busy with their day jobs. [Edit. Note: I’ve had one small article published in CF #3, and will hopefully have a longer piece about comics in the last issue, #5]. And this magazine was nominated this year for an Eisner Award – an amazing achievement in the comics industry. [tears]

Also, comics industry veteran, Danny Fingeroth’s comics writing magazine, Write Now! will publish its last issue in Feb. of ’09 reports The Beat. I’ve purchased this magazine many times over the past few years, loving its approach to writing in the industry [something near and dear to my heart]. I’ll be definitely picking up the last issue.

Say it ain’t so? [insert appropriate Weezer riff here]

As a freelancer in the publishing world, this is a precarious time to be entering my second year ‘on the outside’ but such is the state of things. This grim reality reminds me how important it is to maintain a positive attitude, not to burn bridges, and to do everything possible to stay connected.

It is also a reminder to be as much of a jack-of-all-trades as possible. And that’s what this experience was all about for me. Trying my hand at special sales, subsidiary rights, book development, marketing strategy, and of course copyediting and proofreading – which I’m enjoying working on right now.

And, it’s important to hustle. I mean to literally hit the pavement. Getting work done at your desk is just fine, but sometimes in this big city, you have to get out there, walk the streets. Shake some hands.

I spent most of today going up and down subway steps, working my way across town then downtown, then back up again, all in the attempt to make a sale at a specialty store. So I lugged two heavy bags of books with me all day, and then dropped them off until the next specialty sale idea comes my way. You don’t know if you’ll succeed until you get out there and give it a try.

I realize the publishing business, just like any other, can be brutal at times. For me, I can’t see myself working with anything else – I love books. Comics, thrillers, mysteries, science fiction, fantasy, and of course non-fiction, such as military history.

I don’t know who I’m writing this post to. Maybe to myself. It’s scary when you see reorganizations happening (and I’ve been through one or two myself) and witness magazines fold. Not to mention watching the news these days about our economy is painful.

But we carry on. That’s what we do. Publishing folk. New Yorkers. Editors. Writers. People. We carry on.

As I told a friend earlier today when I emailed him to see if he was still safe at his day job, in the eternal words of Trent Reznor:

The Way Out Is Through [words to live by]